Yuan Shikai lay on a bench with his head resting on Semiramis's lap, opening his mouth to enjoy the grapes she fed him.
Even the most stubborn woman could be won over with enough coaxing.
They were in the garden at the very top of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, with sunlight spilling through the gaps between the branches onto them.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, though the outside world preferred to call it the Impregnable Fortress.
Armed to the teeth as it already was, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon deserved whatever name people gave it.
After the Holy Grail War ended, Semiramis had periodically poured vast quantities of magecraft materials into it.
Over five years, the word "vanity" could long since have been dropped from its name. Its current specifications could even make it a "hanging garden" surpassing a "temple."
Many factions had once sent experts to infiltrate it and gather intelligence while Yuan Shikai was away.
Without exception, none had returned.
Some Dead Apostles had even launched suicide attacks, unleashing anti-army-class magecraft against the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Yet they had failed to break even its outermost defensive barrier.
Over time, the name Impregnable Fortress had spread.
Yuan Shikai genuinely had no idea so much had happened after he left.
Mainly because he had asked Lorelei to help keep an eye on things.
Lorelei had never sent him any messages, either, leaving him the last to learn what everyone else already knew.
At that moment, Yuan Shikai suddenly felt he might have been a bit of a "scumbag."
It was not really Lorelei's fault. She had offered her support, but Semiramis had refused.
Women always seemed to harbor some inexplicable hostility toward one another.
That hostility was especially pronounced when they shared the same man.
Yuan Shikai said,