Chapter 608

No, no, no, Xiang, isn't your focus a bit off...? Shouldn't a normal daughter, upon hearing such a declaration, react with something like, "You're the one who turned my dad into a mere tool?!"

"Really? Isn't that romantic?"

Zabi-ko seemed to have found a kindred spirit, and gave Hibiki an extremely subtle expression, but in Ritsuka, it was already at the level of "smugness".

She even straightened up slightly from her prone position and nodded to Xiang with a hint of pride as a teacher.

Then, Zabi-ko's gaze fell back on Ritsuka.

"Come to think of it, Ritsuka, you're not bad either."

"Huh? What's wrong with me?" Ritsuka's heart skipped a beat, and she had a bad feeling.

"After all, we are rivals, friends, and sisters."

"Indeed! Indeed!" Hibiki immediately chimed in enthusiastically, completely unaware of the complex relationship implied in those words. "I remember before the New Primates Succession War, I actually became Servant along with Chikagi, and then you summoned me, Ritsuka. I was so shocked at the time! Senpai, you are my most respected Master!"

"Alright, alright, that's all in the past."

Ritsuka was both amused and exasperated by the two people's back-and-forth flattery, and decided to move on from the topic.

However, this was clearly futile.

Hakuno poured himself a cup of barley tea with a matter-of-fact air, then looked at Ritsuka with a subtle expression.

"Ritsuka," she spoke, her voice calm, but it instantly made Ritsuka's sarcastic nerves tense, "As a senior, it's only natural for me to occasionally inquire about a junior's romantic experiences, right? After all, Novia and I have already reached the finish line honorably and obtained the ending CG. As for your storyline, although it's over, it's still quite long."

The "senior" that Kishinami Hakuno refers to has nothing to do with age, strength, or even the order in which they were summoned.

It was a kind of coded language unique to her and Ritsuka, with only one core meaning—

"I, Kishinami Hakuno, got that man first, completely and utterly."

"Hakuno, could you tone down your 'I've already cleared the game while you're still grinding away' senior comment a bit?!" Ritsuka couldn't hold back any longer and delivered a precise retort. "Our situation is much more complicated! It's not your kind of 'two-person world' Holy Grail War!"

"Oh?" Hakuno tilted his head, looking like he was all ears.

Even Hibiki noticed the subtle tension in the atmosphere. Her big eyes darted back and forth between Ritsuka and Hakuno, but she ultimately chose to follow her curiosity.

"Senior! I want to hear too!" She moved closer to Ritsuka, gently tugging at the hem of her apron. "Father... although he left a long time ago, he must have left you with a lot, right? Like Hakuno Kishinami -senpai's 'victory'!"

Caught between Hibiki's earnest gaze and Hakuno's amused look, Ritsuka Fujimaru knew she was doomed today.

"Ugh... really..."

She sighed helplessly, but her gaze unconsciously softened and became distant.

"... It's not exactly a 'victory' that belongs to me alone. That person, from the very beginning, never intended to be mine alone. What he left me with were more like... signposts."

Ritsuka's gaze seemed to pierce the distant past.

"After the doctor and he left, I and the rest of the group embarked on a journey to repair the Pseudo-Singularity. In that demonic Shinjuku, I encountered a very... very troublesome enemy."

Ritsuka recalled the math professor who always wore an elegant smile.

"James Moriarty looked at me at the end, smiled, and said this—"

Ritsuka mimicked the other person's tone, bowing slightly, her voice carrying Moriarty's characteristic flamboyance:

"--'As expected of the old man's chosen one, he truly is Master I admire.'"

She straightened up, a bitter smile on her face:

"I was stunned for a long time. 'Old man'... He was someone who left so young, yet he was always referred to with such an old-fashioned term by older heroic Heroic Spirit. Even my enemies could see that person's shadow in me. That feeling was truly strange. I felt both proud and... a little unwilling."

It's as if no matter how far I go, I'm still just someone following behind him, being protected by him.

"Snort."

Hakuno let out a meaningful nasal sound.

"Praised by the enemy? It seems the 'legacy' he left you is quite useful." Zabi-ko's sharp tongue began to show. "However, that was ultimately his light, not yours. What did you do when there was no such 'legacy' to rely on? For example... in that Deep Sea Cyber-Paradise even I find troublesome?"

Ritsuka Fujimaru did not respond with her usual sarcastic remarks or wry smile.

There was only a few seconds of silence.

Then, he slowly began to speak, word by word.

"Speaking of which, Hakuno, you're the one who should be."

Instead of answering, she asked a question.

This is a signal that the control of the conversation has shifted at this moment.

Hakuno's hand, which was about to pick up the teacup, paused in mid-air for 0.1 seconds.

It was an extremely subtle flaw, almost undetectable, but Ritsuka noticed it.

"Why did you respond when I summoned you after you became the New Primates? Your story was already 'completed'." Ritsuka's blue eyes, always brimming with energy and gentleness, became incredibly serious. She leaned forward, closing the distance between them. "And why have you returned to the battlefield?"

This problem is like a depth charge dropped into a still lake.

It bypassed all the superficial debates about "whose love was deeper" or "whose victory was more complete," and went straight to the most fundamental "why" behind the Kishinami Hakuno operation.

Yes, why?

Why would you, the victor who claims to have "achieved the final cutscene," return from that Perfection finish line to this battlefield filled with mud, sweat, and tears, a battlefield where we, the "still struggling to fight monsters," are left behind?

Hibiki also sensed the unusual atmosphere. She subconsciously held her breath, glanced at Ritsuka, and then at the always composed senior Hakuno Kishinami.

Hakuno's face still wore that blank, expressionless look.

She continued what she had been doing, bringing the teacup to her lips and taking a small sip, as if Ritsuka had only asked, "How does today's Black Tea taste?"

Ha?

In the unheard depths of one's heart, a voice tinged with a hint of joy arose.

Ritsuka has learned to bite, huh? That's interesting.

She put down her teacup, making a soft "tap" sound.

"The logic is simple," Hakuno began, his voice still as steady as a synthesized speech. "As a senior, isn't it perfectly normal for me to help a junior? And as a victor of SE. RA. PH, handling anomalies is one of my basic duties. So I answered the summons simply to fulfill my job responsibilities. That's all."

Xiang was completely bewildered, but still exclaimed in amazement, "I don't understand!"

"Wow... Senior Hakuno Kishinami has administrator functions? That's amazing! Like... like the world's GM!"

"So, don't easily believe what she says, Xiang."

Ritsuka looked at Hakuno and smiled helplessly.

She wasn't fooled by that "excuse" at all.

Because Ritsuka saw it.

Beneath that calm, expressionless mask, deep within those seemingly empty, light brown pupils, a fleeting, complex emotion flickered.

That's not the GM's sense of responsibility for bugs.

That's more like...

An Ashes had long since completed a discontinued game heard that a brand-new, unique DLC related to their beloved character had appeared on another server. The reaction was a mixture of "How is this possible?", "Let me see!", "What did that character go through somewhere I don't know about?", "Damn it, why didn't they tell me sooner?"... and, deep down, a tiny bit of Jealousy they themselves didn't want to admit.

Ritsuka didn't say anything.

Some things are a matter of tacit understanding between two people.

She simply smiled and looked at Hakuno with an "I understand" look in her eyes.

As expected, Kishinami Hakuno fell silent.

A few seconds later, seemingly in an attempt to regain control, she abruptly changed the subject.

"... Whatever happens to me is fine." Her voice was a little colder than before. "Instead of that, junior, you should worry more about your own affairs."

Hakuno reverted to his "senior" demeanor, his eyes turning playful.

"I heard that you not only attract the attention of 'game-beaten players' like me, but also some more troublesome things. Like, in that place called Salem? I heard you almost gained a 'sister,' a Miko of an Outer God who would cry and beg you to share your 'brother' with her?"

These words contained a wealth of information and accurately pinpointed Ritsuka's dark past.

"Hakuno!" Ritsuka's face flushed red instantly. "How did you know all this so clearly?!"

Wasn't the matter of the Pseudo-Singularity specifically Da Vinci for handling?!

"My Information Network is Universe in scale, you know, junior."

Kishinami Hakuno gracefully tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear.

Hmph, Moon Cell is an all-rounder when it comes to intelligence gathering.

Seeing Hakuno's composed demeanor, as if "everything is under control," Ritsuka's own indomitable spirit, akin to that of a "protagonist," was instantly ignited.

She took a deep breath, and the blush on her face quickly faded, replaced by Warrior's expression that was a mixture of determination and sharpness.

"At least Abi is cute as a younger sister!" Ritsuka puffed out her chest, retorting defiantly, "She's much easier to talk to than some of the Lostbelt kings! Speaking of which, Hakuno- senpai, have you ever heard of the Lostbelt stories?"

Zabi-ko remained silent.

As the "Moon King" who knows everything, she naturally knows about Lostbelt.

However, they only know about it, but don't understand the process.

However, before Ritsuka could speak, Hakuno preemptively changed the subject to maintain his last shred of dignity, "Alright, junior. There's no need to repeat what came before. Let's start with that world of reincarnation where the logic of God has completely collapsed— the India Lostbelt."

Hakuno's remarks left Ritsuka with unspoken thoughts about the past in Norse and Russia.

Sure enough, even at a time like this, this guy still wants to maintain control.

"... Alright. Let's start with India then." Ritsuka coughed twice. "It's a... too 'Perfection' world. Perfection it's despair-inducing."

"The sky there is always a pure blue, and the earth is always bountiful. People there have no worries, no pain, no Sorrow, not even... any decent 'emotions'."

"Because everything is under the control of that 'god,' endlessly repeating the cycle of 'creation' and 'destruction.' In each cycle, 'god' eliminates what he considers 'Perfection': disease, aging, pain, confusion... until finally, even the greatest 'uncertainty'—the 'human heart'—is erased."

"Those who have been reborn countless times will peacefully welcome the end of each world under the blessing of 'God.' For them, it is not death, but a return to a 'happy world' that is absolutely correct and without any errors."

Xiang was somewhat confused; she couldn't understand why such a world could exist.

"But we are 'wrong.' Our very existence is a negation of that 'Perfection world,'" Ritsuka continued. "There, we met many companions. There were heroes as dazzling as the Sun, Berserker burdened with curses, and... the last remnants of that world's 'gods' before they became gods."

"I don't want to dwell on the details of the battle. Because the most despairing part wasn't the fight against that Omniscience and Omnipotence and omnipotent black god. It was after we finally defeated that 'god' with great difficulty and countless sacrifices..."

Ritsuka's voice trailed off.

"The hero who gave us such great help— Rama —had something slumbering within him that we could not comprehend at all. It was the ultimate truth of the India Universe, known as 'Supreme Brahman.' It awakened at the moment the Deity fell."

"No malice, no thought, not even will. Just 'existence.' But existence itself is the most thorough 'formatting' of the entire Lostbelt, and even of us Outsider. The Black God we just defeated was helpless against him, neither Arjuna's remaining humanity nor Karna, who opposed him."

"That feeling..." Ritsuka looked at her hands, as if the helplessness she felt back then still lingered on them, "It's like you've given it your all and finally defeated the final boss of a game, only to find that the game itself is a program that points to 'Game Over.' No matter how hard you struggle, you can't escape it."

"Finally, it was a miracle. It was countless impossible coincidences, the Three Aspects, Durga, Mohini, and Kama... it was the convergence of all the forces we can and cannot imagine, that barely managed to completely destroy that 'concept' once again."

Before Hakuno and Hibiki could recover from that world where divine logic had collapsed, Ritsuka's voice rang out again.

This time, it was tinged with a clearer pain called "loss".

"Then, there's Atlantis. If India is a spiritual Hell, then the Atlantic Ocean is a physical Hell."

For the first time, Hakuno's expression became extremely solemn.

Because of the records in her intelligence database regarding this period, the red alert for casualty reports almost covered the entire screen.

"That ocean was so vast. Our companions, one by one... fell along the way."

Ritsuka's voice was very calm.

Charlotte Corday used every one of her Noble Phantasm to open the path.

Orion, who burned his life force to defeat the Moon Goddess.

"To protect us, Mandricardo smiled and turned into dust of light."

"And then there's... Achilles and my Teacher, who single-handedly faced the entire army to create even the slightest chance of victory for me..."

Ritsuka subconsciously used the word "Teacher," then gently shook her head.

"There, I almost lost everything. Every step forward required the sacrifice of a Servant. In the end, I even felt that perhaps giving up from the beginning would have been the best way to honor them."

"But we still made it to the end. We stood before that 'captain'— Kirschtaria Wodime."

"He's incredibly strong, the most powerful Master I've ever seen, and the most dazzling one. He should have been the victor."

"But in the end, he said these words to me when I had nothing—"

Ritsuka's eyes revealed a complex emotion that even she herself was unaware of, an emotion acknowledged by her nemesis.