Bite Him! Woof!

"Is Eiji still feeling down?"

Satoru Gojo glanced at Suguru Geto beside him, continuously tossing Kikufuku into his mouth.

Kikufuku was essentially a rice cake wrapped around filling. It had a cool texture, and its flavor depended on the filling. This snack went by different names in different places.

"Yeah. You can't tell from his face, but he hasn't been talking much lately, and he's often nowhere to be found."

Suguru Geto nodded. Ever since Little White of the Jade Dogs had been killed by the Special Grade Demon Cursed Spirit, Eiji had remained in low spirits. Suguru Geto had tried to comfort him, but failed.

Only then did Suguru Geto realize that Eiji was usually the one comforting him.

He could say plenty of cool things when talking about righteousness and lofty ideals, but when someone close to him needed comfort, he had no idea what to do.

Suguru Geto felt somewhat guilty. If they had not split up back then, if he had moved just a little faster, perhaps Eiji would not have lost one of his Jade Dogs.

After "casually" discussing with his parents how a friend of his did not know how to comfort people, they gave him an idea.

Take him out to have some fun and distract his friend's friend.

So Suguru Geto thought of Satoru Gojo.

Anywhere Satoru Gojo was would definitely be lively. If Eiji spent a few days hanging out with Satoru Gojo, perhaps he would be drawn in by him and temporarily forget his sadness.

"Oh~, this is such a rare sight. I have to record it."

With that, Satoru Gojo pulled out his phone, looking eager to get started.

"Satoru, we're here to comfort Eiji."

Suguru Geto had a headache. He could only hope bringing Satoru Gojo along would not have the opposite effect.

Meanwhile, the Eiji they were worried about was in his room, drawing the Summoning Circle required for the summoning ritual. A golden Rider Chess Piece sat in its center.

Every user of the Ten Shadows Technique only had one of each Shikigami.

Once a Shikigami was completely destroyed, it could not be summoned again. Restarting the Taming Ritual would not work either, because there would no longer be a Shikigami capable of answering the ritual.

Knowing this, Eiji had been devastated after Divine Dog: White passed away.

In his previous life, Eiji had also experienced the death of a dog.

That had been his grandmother's Pomeranian, named Beibei.

Sometimes, his grandmother would even stir-fry a small dish especially for Beibei.

When Beibei passed away, the family gathered around him. His grandmother gently stroked Beibei's head while speaking words of blessing.

"Don't be afraid, Beibei. There'll be endless meat for you over there."

"If you aren't happy there, come back and be our family's dog again."

They did not bury the little dog until long after he had passed.

When Eiji truly said goodbye to a dog that had grown up alongside him, he found it far more painful than Beibei's death in his previous life.

The Jade Dogs had been his longest companions. They had truly become his family.

When he had first arrived in this world, his father was already dead. His mother wore a numb expression before finally hanging herself.

He had also been mocked in every way because he lacked talent.

Though no one openly abused him, all kinds of people ordered him around and bullied him during the day. At night, he had to study those feudal, brainwashing doctrines. Having received a complete education and possessed his own thoughts, Eiji naturally could not accept it.

After leaving the Zenin Family, Eiji awakened the Ten Shadows Technique. From that point on, the Jade Dogs had stayed by his side.

Eiji had been in this world for eight years, and for seven of those years, the Jade Dogs had accompanied him.

Little Black of the Jade Dogs had used the Assassin's Chess Piece, so he was usually very quiet. He often lay by Eiji's feet without Eiji even noticing.

Little White, who had used the Rider Chess Piece, was the complete opposite. He was excessively lively.

More of a husky than a husky.

That was why the Jade Dogs held an irreplaceable place in Eiji's heart, and why Little White's death had left him so depressed.

To pull himself out of his negative emotions as quickly as possible, Eiji began researching the Illusionary Power collected by the Holy Grail.

After Director Yamaguchi confirmed the production plan for Fate/stay night with Heroic Spirit Pictures last time, he immediately began work with his team and arranged a partnership with a television station.

Although they had not secured a prime-time slot, they had obtained a decent broadcast time.

Fate/stay night had now aired its second episode, right at the moment King Arthur, Artoria, descended.

To obtain as much Illusionary Power as possible, Eiji had invested more heavily in the animated segment depicting Artoria's arrival.

The exquisite animation, dreamlike scenery, and beautiful King of Knights deeply captured the viewers' attention. The first batch of King's fans had already begun to emerge, while strands of Illusionary Power were collected and recorded by the Holy Grail.

While researching Illusionary Power, Eiji discovered that it was a force different from Cursed Energy. Compared to Cursed Energy, a power born from curses, the Illusionary Power collected by the Holy Grail felt more positive and beautiful.

This also gave Eiji some understanding of the form in which Heroic Spirits existed. Heroic Spirits were not Cursed Spirits, but something like fairies or deities born from faith.

Most importantly, while researching these powers, Eiji discovered information about the Jade Dogs within the Rider Chess Piece.

That was right. The existence of the Jade Dogs had been recorded within the Rider Chess Piece, and the information was extremely comprehensive.

That made sense. Ever since Eiji discovered that Heroic Spirit Chess Pieces could be used by the Shikigami summoned through the Ten Shadows Technique, the Assassin's Chess Piece and Rider Chess Piece had remained on the two Jade Dogs. The other pieces were taken out and used as needed.

At that moment, Eiji suddenly had a new idea: summon the Jade Dogs as Heroic Spirits.

With the Phantasm Force fans had generated for Artoria as a reference, Eiji quickly succeeded in using the Holy Grail to convert his Cursed Energy into the Illusionary Power required to summon Heroic Spirits.

Eiji began devoting all his energy to researching the Holy Grail and Heroic Spirit Summoning, continuously converting his Cursed Energy through the Holy Grail into the Illusionary Power needed to summon Heroic Spirits.

That was also why Suguru Geto had been unable to reach Eiji lately.

Other Heroic Spirits required the collection of Illusionary Power because people lacked sufficient recognition of them. Therefore, the Holy Grail needed enough Illusionary Power as an anchor to shape the Heroic Spirit's form and strength.

But Little White did not need that, because over the past seven years, the Holy Grail had been recording Little White's information every moment through the Rider Chess Piece.

"Phew, it's finished."

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Eiji looked at the completed Summoning Circle before him and the golden chess piece at its center.

"There's enough Illusionary Power stored up too. Now all I need to do is..."

Eiji was a little nervous.

The Holy Grail itself had the ability to absorb and store magical power. Eiji was highly talented and possessed a great deal of Cursed Energy. On top of that, he injected excess Cursed Energy into the Holy Grail every day for storage.

Therefore, although the Ten Shadows Technique consumed a great deal of Cursed Energy, Eiji had never exhausted his reserves.

That was also why, after finding a way to summon Little White again, he had been able to quickly convert enough Illusionary Power from his Cursed Energy.

"I declare."

"Your body shall be under my command, and my fate shall rest upon your sword."

"You are Seven Days Bound by Three Great Words, who came forth from the Wheel of Suppression, Guardian of the Scales!"

The golden chess piece emitted a pure white radiance, and a white figure gradually appeared atop the Summoning Circle.

"Woof, woof."

The moment the white figure fully materialized, it pounced on Eiji.

Little White placed both paws on Eiji's shoulders, his tongue continuously licking Eiji's face.

Eiji did not dodge. With one arm, he held Little White close, while his other hand vigorously ruffled the dog's head.

"Welcome back, Little White."

"Woof, woof!"

Just then, a figure suddenly jumped in through Eiji's window.

"Yo, Eiji. Let me see whether you've been crying."

Little White and Eiji simultaneously looked toward Satoru Gojo, who had jumped through the window and struck a protagonist's entrance pose.

"Eh? What's going on here?"

Satoru Gojo lowered his sunglasses, his Six Eyes curiously examining Eiji and Little White.

As if they shared a telepathic bond, Eiji and Little White turned to look at each other.

"Bite him!"

"Woof!"

"Huh? You actually ambushed me? Young man, you have no sense of fair play. Hey, don't bite my pants! I just bought these."

Everything felt as though it had returned to that little countryside courtyard from seven years ago.

"What's going on?"

Suguru Geto, who had come a step later because he used the door, wondered whether he had not fully woken up yet.

The Ferocious Dog glanced at Suguru Geto, yawned, and continued his afternoon nap.