In an instant, the swelling on her lips and the burns on her tongue vanished.
The numbness in her mouth also faded completely.
Seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka let out a sigh of relief, her eyes growing slightly misty.
Finally...
Finally, someone who actually seemed friendly had arrived!
And he was brimming with masculine charm.
In just a short while, Fujimaru Ritsuka's impression of Su Luo improved dramatically.
"Master from Chaldea, I know why you came."
"Rest assured, Tiamat will not cause any destruction to this world." Su Luo chuckled and got straight to the point.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash both turned serious.
"Senior, you know what kind of being Tiamat is, right? As the Beast of Revelation, once she returns to the world, she will severely damage the planet's ecosystem."
"She is only an avatar right now. Most of her power has been restrained, so she will not harm this world."
"Besides, do you really think she looks like a god who would endanger the world?"
As he spoke, Su Luo reached back and stroked the massive horn on Tiamat's head.
Tiamat cooperatively put on a gentle expression and affectionately wrapped her arms around Su Luo's neck from behind.
Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka fell silent at the sight.
When they had received this mission at Chaldea, they had both assumed that whoever threatened the continuation of humanity would be a cruel, world-destroying monster.
But seeing Tiamat's kind and loving demeanor, they could not help wondering whether a woman like this would truly destroy the world.
Just as the two fell into silence.
The communication devices on their wrists suddenly made a sound, snapping Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash back to their senses.
"Don't let him fool you!"
"Tiamat is the Second Beast, holder of the principle of 'Return.' Her very existence is extremely dangerous."
"Even if she is merely an avatar, the Spirit Base reaction detected by Chaldea is so powerful that it cannot be measured at all."
"If Tiamat goes berserk, this world will absolutely face its end."
"When that happens, who will take responsibility!"
The familiar voice echoed beside them. Su Luo glanced at the device on Fujimaru Ritsuka's wrist, a trace of surprise appearing in his eyes.
That voice... if he had heard correctly, it should have been Olga Marie.
Had she somehow survived that explosion?
Or had none of those events happened yet?
But if Chaldea had not been blown up, there should still have been forty-seven Master candidates.
Why send someone as mediocre as Fujimaru Ritsuka?
The question flashed through his mind.
Hearing Olga Marie's assessment of her, Tiamat glared unhappily at the device on Fujimaru Ritsuka's wrist.
She worried that Olga Marie's words would affect Su Luo's opinion of her.
What if Su Luo listened to her, distanced himself from Tiamat, or even sent her back to the Imaginary Space?
What meaning would there be in living then?
A chill ran down Fujimaru Ritsuka's spine, as if some ancient beast had fixed its gaze on her.
Her entire body began trembling uncontrollably.
Director, could you please stop talking?
If you keep going, I feel like Mash and I are going to lose our lives.
Fujimaru Ritsuka prayed bitterly in her heart.
Fortunately, Tiamat cared about maintaining her image in front of Su Luo and did not make a move.
Su Luo reached out and soothed the irritated Tiamat.
"If Tiamat goes berserk, then let her go berserk."
"Even if the world is destroyed, it has nothing to do with me."
At worst, he could take the people close to him to another world and live a happy, peaceful life.
Besides, with him around, how could Tiamat possibly go berserk?
Su Luo's utterly indifferent remarks nearly made Olga Marie, who was still at Chaldea, explode with rage.
What kind of thing was that to say?!
What did he mean, the world's destruction had nothing to do with him?!
The matter of the Second Beast endangered every life in an entire world. Was that something one person could decide?
And once Tiamat went berserk, the disaster would spread across the entire world.
Would he, living in that world, really escape destruction himself?!
Olga Marie, far away in Chaldea, nearly started arguing with Su Luo in anger. Thankfully, Romani and Da Vinci stopped her in time.
Otherwise, no one knew what might have happened next.
The communicator remained silent for a long time.
Silence and awkwardness began to fill the living room.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash grew nervous.
They wanted to take the initiative and start a conversation, but they had no idea what to say.
In the end, Su Luo was the first to speak, breaking the awkward silence and rescuing Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash from the embarrassment that had their toes curling.
"Has anything major happened at Chaldea recently?" Su Luo asked.
Mash froze for a moment, then shook her head. "No. If there has been any major event, it would be the sudden detection of an anomaly in this world's human history. Senior and I were sent here to carry out the mission."
Hearing that, Morgan gave an amused smile.
"They sent you here to carry out a mission? Are you sure your director did not simply dislike you and send you here to die?"
Morgan's words carried a hint of mockery.
She could tell that Fujimaru Ritsuka's aptitude was exceedingly mediocre, while Mash, a Demi-Servant, had not even mastered her own power.
Leaving aside the Servants present here, this mission involved someone as significant and dangerous as Tiamat. Was Chaldea's director really not out of her mind for sending these two half-baked newcomers?
Hearing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately agreed indignantly. "Exactly! I'm just a Master with average talent. Why are the other forty-seven Masters all better than me, yet Mash and I were the ones sent here?"
"Was it just because I accidentally fell asleep while the director was giving a speech? Could she really have sent me here to die over something that trivial?"
Although Fujimaru Ritsuka felt somewhat upset, she was also helpless.
She knew her own limits. Her aptitude was mediocre, and she was simply incomparable to the other forty-seven Masters.
Yet for some reason, Olga Marie had ignored all those outstanding people and sent her here to carry out the mission.
Still, she knew Olga Marie probably was not that petty.
Olga Marie was Chaldea's director, and Chaldea was an organization that safeguarded human history and prevented humanity's extinction.
As director, Olga Marie could not possibly disregard the continuation of humanity just to retaliate against Fujimaru Ritsuka by throwing her into this dangerous world, could she?
Fujimaru Ritsuka sighed inwardly.
Poaching Talent Right in Front of the Director
After hearing Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka's explanation, Su Luo roughly understood the situation.
The unexpected change involving Tiamat had probably prevented the bomber lurking within Chaldea from carrying out the explosion in time.
Moreover, Lev likely wanted to figure out what exactly was going on with this sudden development.
Otherwise, if this incident affected Goetia's plan, he himself would not escape blame.
As Su Luo pondered this, Olga Marie's weak voice came through Fujimaru Ritsuka's wristband once more.
"I understand, I understand already!"
"I'll do it, all right?"
Then, after Olga Marie cleared her throat.
She spoke in a rather solemn tone. "This... sir, please forgive my earlier rudeness."
"This matter is of great importance. Chaldea has no choice but to treat it seriously."
"Oh? So your idea of treating it seriously was sending two newcomers here to die?" Semiramis raised an elegant brow, her words laced with sarcasm.
"..."
"Since I chose to do this, I naturally have my reasons. Let us get to the point first, Empress." Olga Marie ultimately suppressed her emotions.
After all, she was now Chaldea's director, not the little girl who only knew how to hide beside her father.
She could not let her temper dictate everything.
"So, how do you intend to handle this?" Su Luo gave Semiramis a look, signaling that he would take over from here, before continuing.
"Let me make this clear first. If you intend to threaten or bribe me, you should abandon that idea now."
"I do not like that sort of thing. If you push me too far, do not blame me for leading these Servants into Chaldea and speaking face-to-face with you."
"Who wants to threaten or bribe you? We are not idiots." Olga Marie replied irritably.
Leaving aside the other Servants beside Su Luo, merely seeing how close Tiamat was to him made it impossible for Olga Marie to consider offending him.
From what he had said earlier, she could tell that he was not some softhearted person who would let others manipulate him as they pleased.
If she angered him, he really might drag the lives of everyone in the world down with him.
With that thought, Olga Marie took a deep breath. "What I mean is that we can cooperate."
"When we face a crisis, you provide assistance. And when you need something, we will grant you the authority and convenience to help resolve unnecessary troubles."
Put simply, Chaldea could handle any trivial matters Su Luo had. There would be no issue even if he treated them as tools.
Meanwhile, Chaldea would only seek Su Luo's help when they encountered a crisis they could not handle themselves.
"The terms are not bad, but I refuse." Su Luo pondered for a moment before decisively rejecting the offer.
"Huh? Why? Chaldea is, after all..." Olga Marie froze. Thinking Su Luo considered Chaldea too weak, she hurriedly tried to explain.
But the King of Lions interrupted her.
"That is enough. Shut up, Magus!"
"Cooperation can only be established when both sides possess comparable strength. The difference between our strength is far too great."
"Even without any backing, the terms you offered would not solve any problems for us. No Magus in the Clock Tower would dare provoke us."
"Even if someone wanted to cause trouble for us, we could deal with them ourselves. We would erase whoever created the disorder and put an obedient Magus in that position instead."
"Our strength is our authority! We do not need your help!" The King of Lions unleashed her full presence, her tone icy and her words razor-sharp.
She left Olga Marie on the other end speechless.
Su Luo nodded in agreement.
Compared to the conditions Olga Marie had offered, having her come work in his castle was far more appealing.
Still, when the time came to face Goetia, he could go and watch.
In that battle, Fujimaru Ritsuka had summoned all the Servants from the other seven Singularities by herself.
Even excluding those already bound to someone else, he could still gain an enormous haul.
Before you continue