Chapter 460

"Don't pinch my cheeks with your body. If you're so capable, pinch me with your own body!"

"That's what Erice, said."

Novia can no longer fully control Erice's body, probably due to the silver clump in Erice's hair under normal circumstances. Although it's possible to force it, Novia didn't insist, considering it part of Erice's growth.

"With the body you imagine me to be, like an old man?"

Novia suppressed a laugh, "Haha, Erice, you really do have some strange ideas."

Erice was silent for a moment, then turned her face away and whispered with a hint of Shame:

"... Whatever makes you happy."

Chapter 479 'Revolution'

And so, nine-year-old Utsumi Erice began her solitary life in Akihabara.

The so-called job is to help clean up the aftermath of crimes caused by Servant, or to infiltrate places where children can be seen without being too conspicuous to investigate. In short, it is a lot of monotonous chores, and there is little interaction with the citizens of Akihabara.

Because the Kuonji residence is so out of place with the style of Akihabara, the area it is located in is relatively remote. This is in line with Erice's own wishes, since she is still 'special' and does not have Command Spell or Servant.

Compared to the past, people in the New Era still don't call the Kuonji House a "haunted house" like people in the past. After all, it was built in the 1980s and was out of place in the style of Misaki Town. Building an unnatural mansion on Hill would definitely annoy people.

Even though this misunderstanding will gradually disappear with the development of the times, when people who grew up here occasionally talk about this place, they will probably jokingly say something like, "Ah, is it that mountain Witch or Vampire? Oh well, it's all the same, it's a haunted house anyway."

However, the New Humanity in Akihabara didn't seem to have any particular thoughts on this. After all, they didn't want to bother others unnecessarily. Apart from that, it could be said that the New Humanity were the 'ideal' humans. After the Holy Grail equalized everything in terms of material possessions, social interactions, and status, they could be said to find joy in helping others, even if it might harm themselves.

As for her roommate, Aoko Aozaki Erice noticed that she rarely came back and was indeed very serious about completing her work. So, just like she was trying to impress Manazuru Chitose, who wasn't there, she was also working very hard on these simple tasks that were assigned to her.

"That's not enough?"

Because of its proximity to the sea, the Akihabara at night are constantly exposed to the sea breeze.

Meanwhile, Erice was covered in mud and water, her body filthy and covered in unrecycled garbage, panting heavily in a secluded alley.

Before her stood a monstrous creature that was constantly splitting apart; its very purpose in life was to dismember humans according to their limbs and organs.

Although most of the tasks assigned to Erice by the City are simple, there are occasionally some slightly more difficult tasks, such as the one we are doing now.

The residents of the Mosaic City all believe that living in the city is very safe, but only the residents believe these words. For the AI that manages the Mosaic City, this belief is a stable and happy thing. In order to maintain the daily life and fantasies of those citizens, people like Erice are needed to do taboo and disgusting jobs.

"Night Watch" is Erice's job title. Most of the people working there are Magecraft from the old era. As you can see from the name, it is similar to the role of the Police Officers in the past. Thanks to Manazuru Chitose, Erice, who works as Night Watch, has the privilege that only a few Night Watch have - the Superior Communication Access.

This means it can secretly listen in on or block communications between residents.

But for Erice, who has virtually no interaction with the residents, it's completely useless.

"Phew... I can't be bothered to listen to your gloating..."

To evade the monsters' attacks, Erice had to roll back and forth on the steep and narrow stone steps. "A bunch of guys who aren't even Servant, I could take them down with one hand, except for their ability to split apart..."

These monsters are Gremlin, a type of legendary monster originating from the early 20th-century industrial society. They are generally depicted as small, swarming, mischievous, and goblin-like creatures.

In the New Era's Night Watch's guide, they are defined as small monsters that hide in mechanical or electronic components and devour the Od that infiltrates the city.

"No matter how many you kill, they will still swarm back in droves, and besides, your body is already failing."

Erice knew that the Demon King was telling the truth.

The physical enhancements she had applied to herself had lost their effect. Her enhanced vision, cardiopulmonary function, and all other bodily functions were completely exhausted, leaving her without even a normal level of ability. Just seconds before, the girl's finger had almost been bitten off; in other words, she was in dire straits...

But Erice wiped the mud from her mouth, snorted, and replied, "If I die, you won't have a good life either."

The girl's unspoken message was 'Hurry up and possess me,' but she didn't want to directly ask the Demon King, who was watching her fall into a miserable state, so she said it this way.

"So, what is the price?"

Novia seemed completely unconcerned. "Miss Death God."

Erice had only recently become Night Watch, earned the nickname "Death God" due to her aloof attitude and the fear she evoked among the Servant. However, Novia understood that Erice's aloofness was simply a matter of not knowing how to get along with people. After all, when talking to her, she was like a firecracker, ready to explode at any moment.

Erice feels like she's heard this guy's 'price' thousands of times over the years, and the more she hears it, the angrier she gets.

I'm so angry! If he helped me, wouldn't he have readily agreed? This Demon King knows perfectly well what he's doing, yet he deliberately told me about this plan. Mind's Eye [True] wicked. Besides, I didn't even install any cameras in the room. What more does he want from me?

"Anyway, are you coming at me now or not!?"

"Can."

Novia smiled as she watched Erice, who was running around trying to avoid Gremlin. "But the condition is that you can't use your Night Watch status to skip classes at the Akihabara Old Humanity Lecture Hall. Of course, I'm not some kind of Demon. As long as your academic performance is up to standard and you have enough credits for extracurricular lectures, you can work as you please. Oh, and you must attend the regular check-ups at the group therapy room."

In fact, because Erice had never Servant, she was forced to undergo psychological treatment by the local Ais after arriving in Akihabara. After all, Chitose couldn't manage Akihabara immediately from Shinjuku, and the girl didn't seem to be making a request to her Grandmother.

Novia received a moment of silence from Erice, but the girl obediently placed her hand on her chest, which was considered a silent agreement.

The next instant, Erice, stood up and looked at the crowded Gremlin.

She raised her hand and pointed to the horizon at night. A bolt of lightning flashed across the distant horizon, followed by a series of muffled claps of thunder.

Just like in "The Demon King," a raging storm swept from the forest to the sea, the figures of the Gremlin were shrouded in smoke brought by lightning... or rather, they were transformed into smoke, the bodies of the small monsters gradually turning into smoke.

"Done."

Then, the Night Watch who arrived to assist couldn't see any intruders through the thick smoke.

Only the little girl, known as 'Death God,' never turned around until the very end, as if she were always Protection the city's lights.

Two hours later, in the Bathroom of the Kuonji residence.

"Is the water a little too hot?"

"A bath feels better when it's hot. Most Servant treat bathing as a hobby. Everyone loves bathing, and some even have Noble Phantasm that's Bathroom. It's called the Baths of Caracalla, and it's enormous—" Erice, full of enthusiasm, suddenly paused. "And, you should go now."

"OK."

Although the Demon King is very annoying, his behavior is still relatively docile and obedient.

Erice thought to herself.

He doesn't seem like a ruthless Demon King at all.

Afterwards, Erice, feeling both annoyed and expectant, leaned out of the bathtub.

The Bathroom mirror was already fogged up by steam. Erice used the mirror as a canvas and used her fingertips to draw the words "Demon King" (ErlkoNig).

"Idiot, it's not like we can't shower together, why do you have to listen to me at a time like this..."

Akihabara, the basement of a leather workshop.

As the shop owner Leatherworker, he has a well-developed physique due to years of self-discipline and regular gym workouts. At first glance, he might be mistaken for a Servant. He is also one of the patients in the group therapy room in Akihabara. According to him, "As Old Humanity, he is struggling to find his own place in the world."

To the people in the neighborhood, the Leatherworker, with a gentle smile on his face, who made leather bags or children's shoes to sell in his workshop where only the sound of his Hammer echoed, was a very ordinary and normal person.

Meanwhile, in the basement, the Leatherworker ripped off a leather belt from the wall. The leather made a sonic boom as it was pulled through the air. In front of him was a human corpse that had recently died. The man laughed as he hit it, tilting his head back, and gradually many red marks appeared on the dead body.

"The first one went really smoothly, Master. I heard this guy's Familiar is a Blue Morpho Butterfly."

A Servant with a handsome face, like a porcelain doll, sat on the workbench peeling Apple. The blade moved among the peel, creating continuous, blood-red spirals.

"People are born with the freedom and equality they deserve. You can live in this city doing nothing, yet Kabukicho still exists in that city called Tama. Can this be considered a successful revolution?"

Upon hearing this, the Leatherworker slammed his fist onto the corpse, the entire row of brass rivets trembling with the immense impact.

"This is human land! It belongs to humans! What right do those damned undead have to be with us! Even if the outside world is Hell where humans can't survive, it doesn't mean we deserve to be treated like this!"

The basement suddenly fell silent. The exhaust fan in the corner whirred, mixing the smell of fresh leather with the stench of decay into a viscous vortex. The Servant, like a porcelain doll, jumped off the workbench, stepping over the scraps of leather scattered on the floor, treading on the blood-stained tiles like hopscotch.

"Yes, a revolution is needed, both in the past and present, in France and in the New World, a momentous revolution is needed..."

His name was Louis Charles, the last Louis, Louis XVII, son of Louis XVII and Queen Marie.

The Leatherworker suddenly grabbed Louis's wrist. Louis noticed that his Master's fingernails were deeply embedded in his pale skin, yet he felt no pain—his Spirit Core had long been relentlessly burned by the karmic fire of Revenge.

"Kill Manazuru Chitose."

The Leatherworker's voice seemed to come from underground, "And then... our revolution succeeded."

The Leatherworker, a survivor of the Old Humanity after the great war, harbors a deep desire for complete self-destruction. For such Master, the Holy Grail assigned him Servant capable of properly healing him. Thus, the Monster of Avenger Louis XVII was awakened from the realm of the dead and returned to the world of men.

This was a flaw in the Holy Grail System that even Manazuru Chitose hadn't realized, revealing that replacing the act of measuring people's hearts with True Magic and relying entirely on True Magic to handle things was a negligent act, and it also had its limits.

Because even Servant have their own most precious 'wishes'.

As Avenger Louis XVII differed from characters like Jeanne d'Arc Alter Earl; having suffered persecution since childhood, his hatred extended to everyone.

"Everything is for the revolution."

Louis tilted his head and smiled, moonlight streaming through the basement skylight and casting shadows on the dismembered corpse opposite him.

"Manazuru Chitose's granddaughter doesn't have Servant, Master. Didn't we just encounter someone in a similar situation in the group therapy room not long ago?"

"Did you mean..."

The Leatherworker paused, then suddenly realized, "Ah, I'm so sorry, I didn't even think of that."

"It's alright, Master."

Louis's tone, however, revealed his naked sincerity.

The reason he was chosen by the Holy Grail as the Leatherworker's Servant was not only because both of them had a desire for complete self-destruction, but also because when Louis XVII was alive, after his father Louis died on the guillotine, he was sent to the Temple Tower and imprisoned. The Committee of Public Safety at the time made Antoine Simon, the Shoemaker, his guardian.

Because Simon and his wife had no children and lacked experience in caring for children, historians also believe that they were not well-educated and their ideas were relatively primitive and barbaric. It is said that Simon would give Louis XVII alcohol, teach him to swear, teach him the language of the slums, and how to sing revolutionary songs, in an attempt to give him strength and make him 'become a man'.

The Simon the Shoemaker participated in the Paris Commune during the France Revolution (different from the Paris Commune established in March 1871). At Chaumette's suggestion, he planned to make Louis XVII lose his class consciousness. However, after the Thermidorian Reaction, he and twenty-two others, including Robespierre, were executed.

Perhaps it was because of the Simon the Shoemaker that this Leatherworker became Louis XVII's Master.

"Alright, in that case, let's approach that brat in the group therapy room a month from now."

The Leatherworker smiled gently. "There are still a few people in the prison. Come with me to deal with them."

"Isn't it alright to alert the enemy?"

"Pain cannot wait, Louis."

"In that case, I have no choice but to work alongside you, Master, towards the revolution."

Louis XVII, the Avenger, possesses a Noble Phantasm called "Death's Redemption in the Mire Prison," which completely isolates him from the outside world on both physical and Magecraft levels. Once someone is caught within the range of this Noble Phantasm's effect, it becomes impossible to seek help from the outside world.

Afterward, the Leatherworker would carefully maintain the victims' vital functions, processing them alive by hammering Brass rivets into their bodies, then meticulously tanning them with Chromic Acid, and finally sewing them together with needle and thread.

The reason the Leatherworker created a piece depicting the victims was simply because he felt it could demonstrate how painful it is for humanity to live in the New Era.

"Speaking of which, Master, have you seen that?"

Louis placed the leather that the Leatherworker had just peeled off into a dark green solution and slowly stretched it out.

"That..."

The Leatherworker, who was threading a needle through the corpse, pondered for a moment, then said, "You saw it too?"

Louis XVII nodded.

At the moment the man he and the Leatherworker captured died, both of them saw a silver phantom smiling at them as if in joy.

At the same time Louis XVII, as Servant, felt that he had gained a certain Authority for a short time. He also understood that this temptation would undoubtedly lead to a surge in murders, especially among the Old Humanity, who were more easily attracted to death due to the trauma of war.

But what exactly was that phantom?

The Avenger fell into deep thought.

That was definitely not the Holy Grail, because Louis, as an Avenger, understood that the reason he wasn't marked as the end of the City like Robespierre in the present world was entirely due to his disbelief in the events. In City that was trying to suppress change as much as possible, the Holy Grail would never allow human deaths to occur.

That means there is something outside the Holy Grail that motivates humanity to die.

So the Avenger subconsciously looked up through the basement window at the moon and smiled slightly.

"If it's for the success of the revolution, then any number of deaths is acceptable; isn't this an inevitable sacrifice?"

One month later, at Shinjuku Central Plaza.

The piece prepared by the Leatherworker and Louis was placed in the bustling, yet rarely visited, square.

Because of its exquisite craftsmanship, the piece was regarded as an avant-garde work of art by people passing by in the square. For forty-five minutes after it was set up, it did not cause any disturbance. Some people even happily took pictures of themselves and the piece.

It wasn't until someone accidentally touched the remaining blood on the artwork that they realized it wasn't some avant-garde art piece, but a very terrifying threat.

Starting from this point, the authorities of all the Mosaic City in Japan launched a search network to investigate this Theater-Style Crime. All the well-known Servant and talents in the fields of criminology or detective work in Japan were mobilized to stand on the front line of the search and try their best to solve the case.

Meanwhile, in Akihabara, Erice was in a group therapy room, watching a small Theater performance of "Revolutionary Trial" by another pair of people undergoing psychotherapy.

As she gazed at the combination of the muscular, gentle man and the porcelain doll-like little boy, Erice casually muttered to herself: