No way, the one connected to the Root is... a Beast?!
Shock filled Goetia's gaze.
If Goetia was the greatest accident in the Seventh Singularity, then Sajyou Manaka was the BUG in the Seventh Singularity.
A true BUG!
A Beast connected to the Root, possessing independent consciousness, yet capable of using Divine Era Magic!
This was the Princess of the Root!
"I'm not a Beast, you know. I'm just an ordinary landlord. Recently, my tenant has been addicted to games every day. This morning, while preparing breakfast, I happened to catch sight of him in this Singularity, so I came over out of curiosity to take a look. But the journey was quite far and unexpectedly time-consuming."
Sajyou Manaka smiled faintly, but that smile was filled with deep grievance.
"To think that he really was cheating on me."
"Still, even for a bad man who cheats, I should be the one to punish him. After all, he's my tenant."
At this, she stared at Goetia. "It seems you won't actually die after I kill you?"
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. You're already so weak that you've lost the value of fighting me. You'd better honestly go back to your temple."
She snapped her fingers.
It was clearly such a simple gesture, yet the surrounding magical energy seemed to cheer and leap for joy in an instant. They rejoiced at being able to be used by the Princess of the Root, gathering in a flash before pouring down together upon Goetia on the ground.
Explosion after explosion resounded incessantly. Every single blast was no less powerful than the release of a Noble Phantasm. Goetia's Counter Summoning could certainly immunize him against attacks from Heroic Spirits, but Sajyou Manaka was no Heroic Spirit.
She was the Princess of the Root, and likewise, a Beast...
Beast VI.
The moment the final explosion subsided, Goetia's figure quietly vanished.
To be precise, after dying, he returned to the Temple of Time to await rebirth.
Then, amidst everyone's dumbfounded gazes, Sajyou Manaka slowly stood up. She gently patted the dust from her skirt, turned her head to look at Lan Ze, and smiled faintly.
"Why are you looking at me so surprised? Didn't I tell you long ago?"
"I really do know magic, you know."
As she said this, her gaze suddenly fell upon Tiamat.
Lingering for a moment on the woman's magnificent bosom, Sajyou Manaka's gaze then dropped to their tightly clasped hands.
Then, the young girl's smile—which had remained as calm and breezy even when facing Goetia—gradually froze.
She was cute in appearance.
She was powerful in strength.
She was a princess favored by the Root.
She was none other than Sajyou Manaka, the Princess of the Root connected to the Root since birth, also known as... Sayo Ryokuga.
As for this moniker, the reason was actually already glaringly obvious.
Because... she had been cuckolded...
The powerful Princess of the Root at this very moment caught the scent of a Beast on Lan Ze.
Not her own... but rather, the scent originating from Tiamat.
No wonder Lan Ze had been addicted to games every day during this period, and no wonder such a rich scent always emanated from him whenever he played games.
Everything made sense now.
Because Lan Ze wasn't playing a game at all; he was playing reality!
The intensity of the Beast scent on Lan Ze right now was practically as though the master of that Beast was declaring her ownership.
And in truth... the other party had indeed declared her ownership.
Upon seeing Sajyou Manaka, Tiamat immediately tightened her grip on Lan Ze's hand. She took half a step forward intentionally, blocking the front of Lan Ze as if deathly afraid that her cub might be stolen away.
Her traditionally gentle eyes were laced with wariness.
Not only Sajyou Manaka, but Tiamat also sensed a familiar scent on Sajyou Manaka.
This was the scent that had originally lingered on Lan Ze earlier, though it had all been subsequently wiped away through her arduous cultivation (licking).
Tiamat could be certain that this young girl was the Beast who had been engaged in a scent turf war with her earlier.
Sajyou Manaka tilted her head slightly, a strand of soft, pale gold hair falling across her cheek, and her gaze locked straight onto Lan Ze.
"Don't you have anything you want to say to me?" she smiled faintly.
Lan Ze pondered for a moment. "Thank you?"
"You're welcome... As if!" Sajyou Manaka silently covered her forehead, raised her gaze, and curved her lips into a cute arc. "Can you explain why you appear here?"
If Sajyou Manaka hadn't arrived just in time, the best outcome right now would probably have been Tiamat unsealing her Refinement bonds, beating the somewhat weakened Goetia to a pulp, and then going berserk due to losing control of her consciousness.
And then... all the efforts Lan Ze and the others had put in previously would have been completely in vain.
"This is a bit complicated to explain... Besides, I'm the one who wants to ask you," Lan Ze said, looking at Sajyou Manaka in a daze.
"Why do you know magic?"
"Didn't I repeatedly emphasize to you that I know magic?" Sajyou Manaka replied with a face full of innocence, a delightful smile involuntarily blooming on her face as she looked at Lan Ze's dumbfounded expression.
Then, upon seeing Tiamat's body pressed tightly against Lan Ze, and those two huge, soft mounds sandwiching his arm, her smile quickly stiffened somewhat, and she secretly clicked her tongue with a muttered "tch."
Breasts like those that easily strained the shoulders, made running inconvenient, and felt uncomfortable to sleep on were truly annoying.
"How did you get over here...?" Lan Ze asked again, full of doubt.
He was genuinely bewildered. Although he already knew this wasn't a game, having a living, breathing person suddenly bounce over in front of him like this was truly startling.
"As for that, let me explain."
At that moment, the panting voice of the white-haired mage came from not far away. Leaning on his staff, he jogged over, looking thoroughly exhausted.
Having finally managed to break free from the Tide of Chaos just moments ago, he had been forced into a fierce battle with the Lahmu, and only after resting for quite a while had he finally hurried over.
Judging by the looks of it, however, the great battle was long over.
One Beast had been dealt with, and then...
Two more Beasts had popped out.
Fortunately, Merlin wasn't some kind of savior of the world, or his mindset would have completely collapsed by now.
The Beasts hindering Humanity's Order had popped out three in a single day, and then two of them had beaten the other one away... That news probably wouldn't be believed by a single soul if it got out.
And what was most terrifying was that one of the Mothers of Genesis had actually managed to control her own Refinement, while the other...
Even Merlin couldn't find a single weakness on her.
If he really had to name a weakness, it was probably that her chest was too small.
"The Court Mage of Britain?" Sajyou Manaka eyed Merlin. "Why are you here?"
"Can't be helped. I'm a Grand Caster candidate! Protecting Humanity's Order is my unshirkable duty!"
With that, Merlin looked at Lan Ze and smiled. "Actually, it's not strange that Miss Sajyou was able to come over. After the incineration of Humanity's Order, someone like me can run from Avalon all the way to Uruk just as easily. On the contrary, you..."
Merlin paused. "Why do you know the Princess of the Root?"
At this, he let out another helpless sigh. "If I'd known, wouldn't it have been fine if you just had her come help directly? What was I working myself to the bone for?"
Sajyou Manaka gave a light huff. "I'm not omnipotent either. Besides..."
Why would I help a love rival... She looked at Tiamat's figure and added the thought inwardly.
"Ahem..."
At that moment, a soft cough came from nearby, and the Old Man of the Mountain slowly approached the group.
Looking at the man whose armor was battered beyond recognition, Lan Ze's mouth opened slightly as he prepared to say something.
Yet, as if the man already knew what Lan Ze wanted to say, he shook his head. "This old man is merely a wraith stirring in the darkness. There is no need for thanks. A great battle yet remains in the future, and it shall be entrusted to you all then."
With those words, the Old Man of the Mountain leaned on his greatsword, his pitch-black figure vanishing as if scattered by the wind.
This was the Crowned Assassin—when he arrived, no one noticed how he appeared, and when he slacked off... equally, no one noticed how he left.
Watching this scene, Lan Ze could only silently record this debt of gratitude in his heart.
Gradually, his attention was drawn back by the softness of Tiamat pressing tightly against his side, and he instinctively glanced down, his field of vision seemingly filled with nothing but that snowy-white, colossal bosom.
Sure enough, they're huge... Lan Ze thought instinctively.
Just then, a box suddenly popped up before his eyes.
[Escort Tiamat back to the room to rest. Tomorrow, once the Refinement is completely sealed and stabilized, assist her in logging out of the game.]
This time there weren't even any choices provided... Lan Ze complained inwardly, turned back to look at Tiamat, and asked, "Mother, shall I take you back to rest first?"
"Aaa." Tiamat gently nodded, hugging his arm affectionately as if she never wanted to let go again.
Yet this scene nearly caused the smile on Sajyou Manaka's face to completely fail. No matter how elegant the Princess of the Root was, witnessing a sight no different from being cuckolded right to her face made it difficult to maintain her composure.
Merlin glanced left and right, sensing a sense of crisis. Smiling, he tugged Ishtar and the others along, whispering, "Let's leave first. Everything's fine here now."
Merlin and the company quietly slipped away, and it was only at this moment that Lan Ze finally realized the gravity of the situation.
In truth, he had never really regarded Sajyou Manaka as a romantic partner beforehand, especially since she still looked like a little girl at heart. It was precisely because of this that he could joke around with Sajyou Manaka so easily.
Yet now, even a fool could tell that Sajyou Manaka's feelings for him were dead serious...
What do I do... I'm not into lolis.
Watching Sajyou Manaka slowly approach, and feeling the tightening pressure of Tiamat's embrace around his arm, Lan Ze felt the truest sense of intangible pressure he had ever experienced in his life.
"You two, moderate yourselves a bit."
Right at that moment, Gilgamesh finally spoke up.
He still bore wounds upon his chest, and his crimson eyes cast a chilling gaze at Sajyou Manaka and Tiamat.
A flicker of relief washed over Lan Ze's heart as he looked up at Gilgamesh.
Both Beasts turned their gazes toward Gilgamesh as well.
"Aaa?" Tiamat tilted her head in confusion as she looked at Gilgamesh.
"Is there something you need, King of Uruk?" Sajyou Manaka similarly asked.
"Hmph." Gilgamesh emitted a cold snort, glanced at Tiamat, and let his gaze linger for a moment on Sajyou Manaka's smiling face before finally massaging his brow in helpless exasperation.
"What this king means is, stop flirting here. Do whatever you like with Lan Ze after you go back; this king will not involve himself in your domestic affairs."
One was practically his "mother," and the other was the Princess of the Root who had just batted away Goetia... Gilgamesh wasn't idle enough to meddle in the affairs of these two.
Such a headache-inducing matter was best left for Lan Ze to resolve himself.
As for him...
Being a spectator... and finding amusement was quite enough.
Ishtar sat cross-legged on a table with her arms folded, gazing blankly at Uruk outside, which was undergoing reconstruction in the aftermath of the great battle.
Prior to this, no one would have imagined that Goetia would launch a sudden surprise raid, or even cause Tiamat to go berserk.
Prior to this, no one would have imagined that they would actually stabilize the situation, and ultimately even beat that First Beast running away.
And most importantly... prior to this, nobody probably would have imagined that two Beasts would now be inside the exact same house... along with a single human.
That was the Divine Messenger Ishtar had snatched from Ereshkigal, though it had originally caught Sajyou Manaka's eye before being intercepted midway by Tiamat—the very candidate for a lover she had intended to enjoy for herself.
Ishtar's mood was extremely complicated.
Before you continue