Chapter 25

[Reconciliation (Client: Clio the Jackal)]: Reach a reconciliation with the dying Stellaron parasite, Clio the Jackal, and absolutely do not continue to harm her life.

Reward: 120 points

Difficulty: One Star

Mr. Emiya pursed his lips. He hadn't expected that the creature he intended to deal with this time would be of such a "scummy" disposition. Facing death, it still wanted to bribe him, Shirou Emiya, with points. Was he that kind of person?

"Cocolia, Serval, I'll leave her to you."

Turning around, he caught the two mature older sisters who were sliding down from the ground. Points or no points, it wasn't important to Mr. Emiya. What was important was that he couldn't stand seeing some people unable to personally kill their traitors and enemies.

Good, So good, Magnificent, the greatly benevolent Immortal Venerable Mr. Emiya!

"Clio."

Standing before the culprit who had almost destroyed Belobog, Cocolia's expression was somewhat dazed, and also somewhat relieved. Perhaps this pathetic state of hers was originally meant to be her own end.

Certain of everything the Stellaron had promised, Blindly obeying all that the Stellaron had accomplished.

Perhaps, the heavens had heard the pleas of the struggling people of this land.

If not for the Visitors from Beyond, she herself would have eventually stood against everyone, turning the entire land into a desolate expanse of ice and snow.

But, It was at this very moment that these Visitors from Beyond suddenly arrived, as if following a predetermined script, appearing just when the Stellaron had the greatest hope of being unsealed in hundreds of years.

"This is probably fate. I don't know when it started, but I've also begun to believe in such things."

"Cocolia!!!"

"I'm here."

Cocolia's expression appeared calm and composed, but this very calmness was the sight Clio absolutely did not want to see. She let out a hysterical curse, "You traitor, you betrayed Preservation, you betrayed Belobog! You're no different from me!"

Her attack power is a bit weak... ...

Serval pouted beside her. If it were her, she would have just spoken her mind directly and cursed them out, why be so indirect about betrayal or not?

"That's right, I am also a traitor. Moreover, I was the one the Stellaron designated from the very beginning. I was also the one who was supposed to be on your side."

She confessed everything about herself, even a smile appearing on her face.

"Perhaps, I should thank you, Clio. You took my script, but inadvertently took on the role of the ugly duckling that I was supposed to play."

"Cocolia!"

"I'm here. No matter how many times you call me, I will respond like this. However... your current furious look is a bit like you're acting spoiled, darling."

...Could that be something Cocolia would say?

Serval looked at her good friend in disbelief. How did she not know that this woman had become so eloquent now? As if sensing her friend's thoughts, Cocolia whispered with a smile, "I learned it from you."

"Don't push this onto me."

"Cocolia!!!!!"

When Clio roared out again, Serval unhesitatingly delivered a full-power kick to her head, causing her to fall into a sleep as deep as an infant's.

"You were disturbing my sight, you damn thing."

"It's fine to let her bark a little longer, 0.7. Your temper is still so fierce, Serval."

"What? Are you trying to play the good guy now? When we ambushed those noble young masters back then, you were the one who struck the hardest. Your brother was even made to lose control of his bowels by you."

"That's all in the past. I wouldn't do that now."

"You wouldn't just lose control of your bowels, right?"

Cocolia chuckled at this, and Serval couldn't help but laugh along. Their laughter echoed through the canyon, then gradually faded, turning into silence.

After a long while, Serval spoke softly, "Cocolia, you really... took a very, very long detour."

"Mhm, but in the end, I could still return here and see you again. I'm already very happy, Serval."

Chapter 052: You want to open a dark channel too? (Seeking first order, 4/10)

"Something's a bit strange."

The Stellaron was retrieved and sealed. Logically, the incident should have concluded at this point.

However, Mr. Emiya felt a subtle sense of dissonance.

It wasn't anything else, he just genuinely felt that with that little devil girl's personality, she shouldn't have let things go so easily.

"Not strange at all, old man."

In the central plaza before Kliperburg, old Sampo, disheveled and with blood seeping from a few places on his body, appeared before Shirou.

"The incident wasn't supposed to end like this. That woman cut off a small piece of the Stellaron and placed it elsewhere."

"You actually intervened?"

"I, old Sampo, am also a native of Belobog."

He let out a sigh of relief and sank to the ground, speaking with some exhaustion.

"That woman has no bottom line when she's seeking amusement. It's not to the point of rivers of blood, but she injected a virus into the automaton code for the mechanical settlement and gave Clara, that little girl, a small fragment of the Stellaron."

"According to that woman's plan, the mechanical settlement should have gone to full war with the people of the Rocky Town... Additionally, I found a small imaginary bomb within the Stellaron fragment, exactly enough to destroy that small piece of Stellaron."

"What do you mean? Did her conscience kick in?"

"So, she doesn't care about rivers of blood at all, only about amusement. She just wants to see others' reactions when they realize the truth after being deceived – their fury or their angry curses."

"And this time in Belobog, she's already had the greatest amusement."

"Tell me, what amusement?"

"Of course, it's... you, young master!"

The heavily injured old Sampo suddenly vanished, replaced by Miss Sparkle, who had moved close to Shirou. She spoke with a smile, "Young master, do you admit that Lady Sparkle's intelligence and skills are peerless, and her beauty is unparalleled?"

"What do you want now?"

"Oh my, I just genuinely want to chat with you again, young master. Sampo wanted to stop the surprise I prepared for the mechanical settlement, but I didn't actually prepare any Stellaron for that cute little girl. The poor Brother Sampo almost got himself killed by Mr. Svarog because he was desperate to get the Stellaron from the little girl. It was I who cleaned up his mess."

"So, there really is leftover Stellaron, isn't there?"

"Young master, you guess? Where could it be?"

"No need to guess."

Shirou pulled out a button gift box and placed it directly in front of Sparkle, then he also laughed happily.

"It was given to me, right? Masked Fool."

Sparkle froze slightly, and then before her eyes, Shirou Emiya's image suddenly disintegrated, transforming into a grey-haired girl with three curled ponytails.

"Click, click, click..."

Accompanied by a sudden burst of continuous camera clicks, a man's voice abruptly came from nowhere.

"Changing appearances isn't your patent, sister."

Having dispelled the Faceless King's Noble Phantasm, Shirou emerged from invisibility. With Aether Editing, forcefully matching a single Noble Phantasm with the local legend bonus wasn't too difficult. The Faceless King's aura-blocking function hadn't even been detected by Sparkle, an apostle of Joy.

As for Bronya, she used the shapeshifting ability she'd previously acquired – Gaia Foundation. Although it was just a toy, it was truly unmatched in its mimicry of form. Furthermore, Shirou had used the Faceless King's effect to conceal Bronya's personal aura. In this situation, how could Sparkle, who had only met him twice, possibly discern the truth?

"Nice shot."

Looking at the continuous shots in the camera, which even captured Sparkle's moments of astonishment and daze, if old Sampo saw these photos, he would have been willing to spend his entire fortune to buy one.

No, If he took them to the tavern to sell, they'd fetch billions, at least.

Lady Sparkle looked at the camera in Shirou's hand, her expression momentarily stunned, but then she burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"As expected of you, young master. You can even make Lady Sparkle into amusement. Great Lord of Amusement, you've truly found us a great new friend."

[Emotional Value from Sparkle +99]

[Emotional Value from Sparkle +11]

Hoh, double happiness?

The earlier emotional burst was genuine joy and happiness. The latter seemed to indicate that this woman was somewhat flustered. Mr. Emiya also immediately revealed a delighted smile.

Are all these women the type to have the strongest mouths?

But it's fine, Mr. Emiya loves it when you're all mouthy.

Hmm, perhaps only when kissing will you be a little soft.

"Alright, alright, Lady Sparkle has indeed lost. But Lady Sparkle has still left a gift for Little Grey Hair."

The follower of Joy looked at Bronya with a smile.

"Lady Sparkle wasn't lying. There truly is a grand firework capable of blowing up the entire Belobog. Although it's not under Belobog, it does exist... I placed that thing where the Antimatter Legion is most concentrated."

"Consider it a small parting gift from Lady Sparkle. You'll have to use your cute little brain to guess where the button is..."

"It's with Clara, right? At worst, it's with Hook."

Shirou interrupted Sparkle's incantation. Since this woman had come to the Lower City, she would have made arrangements. Hearing Shirou so clearly state those two names, Lady Sparkle pouted her lips and sighed helplessly.

"Young master, can't you let me have one last moment of pleasure?"

"If you're pleased, how can I have fun?"

"Then next time, I'll definitely serve you, young master..."

"Forget it. If you dare to scheme against me again, I'll tie you up and take pictures of you making a beautiful 'Ahegao' for remembrance."

"Hee hee hee... Then you must have Little Grey Hair there too! And it would be even better if Little Star Core Spirit and that Little Pink Hair were invited as well."

Damn it, you actually want to open a black channel?!

...I want to too, but never mind.

Bronya looked at the two individuals bickering across the distance with a subtle expression, feeling a bit intimidated. Are there really so many calculating people scattered throughout the vast universe?

The content they discussed in just a few words was enough to cause a huge commotion in Belobog.

The Masked Fool was one thing, but why could Shirou Emiya follow the other party's train of thought and even predict their moves?

Mother, is it too late for me to take back my bold declaration of venturing out into the world?

Chapter 053: Oops, I woke up and became a whole family bucket. (Seeking first subscription, 5/10)

The Stellaron was successfully recovered.

The aristocratic rebellion was also investigated thoroughly.

Perhaps because she was preparing for self-judgment, Cocolia dragged all implicated nobles down with her.

The small Belobog had nearly a hundred noble families, and in this round, Cocolia stripped away the titles of the vast majority of them.

Following that was a grand reshuffle, digging up old debts, and absolutely no loose ends were left if they could be resolved in one go.

In just three days, Belobog was practically drenched in blood.