A pool beneath the moon

After the burning continued for about three months, a distorted light appeared throughout the Lostbelt. Then, as if a canvas had been drawn up, the world was grabbed and put away.

The Qin, the Blue Country, even the clouds in the sky were absorbed, and once again, the Fantasy Tree disappeared. In the eyes of other Lostbelt observers, Chaldea had solved another Lostbelt.

In space, an entire country suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the southern lands of Russia.

Those on the ground felt the sky shrinking, while scholars meticulously recorded all the data happening before their eyes, their pens practically sparking.

Just as everyone was preparing to head there, a rainbow-colored sword light flashed, slicing open a space inside the Epang Palace. Then, the space where Bai Mo was located vanished.

Only the towering Fantasy Tree stands tall, radiating light as if proclaiming this new life.

Where is the boss? He's disappeared.

Xu Fu immediately sensed it, but having just experienced a transfer from the Fantasy Tree, Bai Mo's current state made it difficult for the Servant to determine whether he was still alive.

"It's alright, he was just picked up by someone. Let's go back to Chaldea first; Mr. Goredolf has probably already prepared a sumptuous feast for us."

Ritsuka patted Xu Fu on the shoulder reassuringly, signaling her to relax. Then, she led Hinako Akuta, Xu Fu, Reines, and their group to Chaldea.

Almost simultaneously, Olga Marie received a leave request from Lord El-Melloi II. Looking at the request, which was exactly the same as that of Dr. Roman, she couldn't help but twitch at the corner of her mouth.

"What are you guys doing? Your Ritsuka's Servant needs her confirmation for this kind of extended leave."

"That's why I'm applying now—because I don't want to meet my Master!"

Looking at Reines in the picture, full of anticipation for life in Chaldea, Mr. El-Melloi felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

When the Qin Shi Huang of the Blue Country saw this scene, he breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the sky, where the Great Wall still hung in the sky.

"Sigh, I guess I'll need to rest for a long time. My tour is coming to an end again."

After all, Bai Mo is definitely not in good condition right now, so he still needs to handle some trivial matters here.

However, it seems that the Third Lostbelt has also ended smoothly. Qin Hong's Primordial Spirit has been successfully retrieved. This guy had almost lost his mind, so Oga took his Primordial Spirit away instead of letting him go and eat sand with Landao Tianwu in the sand.

Of course, this would have to wait until Bai Wunan's extraction was completed.

Everyone was immersed in the victory. As for Bai Mo, Ritsuka recognized the sword light from the Real of the World and was not worried at all.

"It'll be fine if you hand it over to Miss Arcueid."

Several days later...

In a remote, Millennium Castle, in a room where no one could find him, lay Bai Mo's dwelling. He slowly opened his eyes, and what came into view was a pale blue ceiling.

Moonlight streamed into the room through the window. The room was a huge bathhouse, with staggered windows along the walls, each decorated with fresh flowers.

The pool water was warm, containing the same life force as the previous hot springs. Bai Mo closed his eyes, and as a surge of power coursed through him, he used his newly recovered strength to rebuild his charred body using the Asura Way.

"Phew, at least the ashes are more intact this time; we don't have to reassemble them from the remaining heart and brain tissue."

He floated on the water, preparing to close his eyes and get some rest. The data processing and high-frequency government policy-making had left his brain, which hadn't had much rest, feeling deeply exhausted.

As for this place, he was very familiar with the building. Although he had never actually been inside, he knew that this was the Millennium Castle.

"Woke up?"

A ripple of water came from behind him, and a pair of fair, lotus-like arms wrapped around his neck.

"Arcueid... Although this place is large, shouldn't you be in the bathroom when there are other people around?"

A soft cheek pressed against his face, long golden hair flowed from behind, teasing his skin, and the touch from behind made the pool water feel even hotter.

Arcueid gave a slightly puzzled "hmm," then breathed into his ear:

"Bai Mo, have you ever been to a swimming pool or the beach?"

"You've been to the swimming pool before? What happened?"

Arcueid reached out and pinched Bai Mo's ear, saying with some displeasure:

"You can go to a swimming pool that can hold dozens of people without a second thought, but you can't stay in this bathhouse with me?"

"How can a swimming pool and a bathroom be the same thing?"

"So, a swimming pool or the beach is fine? I'll get one then."

Bai Mo felt a sense of powerlessness, but then he thought that compared to Hinako Akuta's combo of erasing memories, using a human stick, and finding a cave where no one could find her, Arcueid was simply too innocent.

Moreover, Bai Mo is a person who respects objective facts. Now that he has just completed the transfer of the Fantasy Tree, the possibility of him leaving Arcueid in its prime is so low as to be negligible.

"Never mind, I need to recover first. Can you please stop messing around?"

"The way you put it makes it sound like I'm not letting you rest."

Arcueid came to him like a fish, Bai Mo tried his best to keep his gaze on her face. Although he was so weak that he could hardly move, he still couldn't help but feel a burning heat.

Arcueid then gave a subtle smile that also seemed to convey a sense of relief.

"Phew, that scared me to death! I thought you really only reacted when fighting with men. I'm so happy that you're sexually normal."

"How did you come to this conclusion? I am also a normal adult male."

"Who told you to be so stubborn before, and to hang out with that old man... Anyway, my strength has increased now, so you're not allowed to go looking for that bald old man again!"

She pulled him into a tight hug, rested her head on his shoulder, and whispered, "Why don't you rest and recover first? After all, if we take advantage of you while you're weak, you'll only end up feeling tired and uncomfortable, won't you?"

If you want a horse to run fast, you have to feed it well, right?

"Could you please leave for a while so I can get some rest?"

"My presence won't hinder your recovery, and what if you manage to escape?"

Clearly, this guy wasn't planning to let him go easily, so Bai Mo had no choice but to pursue the only viable option at the moment: to begin restoring his condition, re-infusing his burned bone marrow with life force, and getting his heart to beat again...

This time was different from before. In Russia, for the first time, only a remnant the size of a seed remained. Afterwards, consciousness gradually returned only after the body recovered naturally.

In Northern Europe, the situation was urgent due to damage to the Fantasy Tree and the relatively small size of Northern Europe region.

The good news is that the improvement in physical condition is very obvious. Generally speaking, it is now possible to awaken the body's strength earlier and accelerate the healing process.

The bad news is that this time, once he's sober, his situation isn't so good.

As Bai Mo gathered his strength, the water temperature became just right, and with his heart beating strongly again, he was able to move again. Just then, Arcueid in front of him stopped moving and began to breathe steadily.

What happened?

"She was sleepy and fell asleep, can't you tell?"

Crimson Moon's words reached his ears, but Arcueid was still asleep. Bai Mo's gaze sharpened. Arcueid could fall asleep suddenly like this; it meant that she needed sleep when her power was overexerted.

The first time I encountered him, his attack depleted my strength, and then I was ambushed, leaving me almost completely drained. I slept for a whole day to recover.

After obtaining Magnetic Field Power, excessive consumption might lead to a situation like this.

"She got into a fight? Who exhausted her like this?"

Hearing Bai Mo's concerned yet somewhat serious tone, Crimson Moon paused, then chuckled softly:

"It's nothing serious. As I told you before, the arrival of a new Lostbelt means we need to increase the area that maintains this place and expand the coverage of the laws that sustain it."

The method involves going to the arena, as mentioned before, which can lure alien creatures carrying remnants of the system. The creatures you'll encounter there are mostly aggressive alien monsters.

As Crimson Moon spoke, a memory entered Bai Mo's mind. He saw Arcueid in that arena during this period, taking down one strange and powerful alien beast after another and collecting the remnants. He had almost no time to rest and even faced many in a row.

He would move the Lostbelt to another location, while Arcueid would help him expand and stabilize the area gradually. Otherwise, there would be overlapping and overwhelming pressure, even though the population density of Great Qin was not high enough to cause deaths.

The difference is that Arcueid has almost no rest time; they are basically always engaged in high-intensity battles. They occasionally come to Chaldea to check on things, but otherwise, they spend most of their time fighting.

Even during the time she was away, she was already preparing for the next Lostbelt.

"Well, she wanted to go to Chaldea to be an advisor and chat with you, so she had to cut back on her time, which naturally made her more tired. Your schedules are almost identical now."

This child may be a little slow, but he's still very hardworking.

Crimson Moon added in her mind, "That's probably why the Vortex of the Root didn't come looking for trouble."

Hearing this, Bai Mo sighed deeply. He clenched his fist so hard that his nails dug into his flesh. Then, he used his strength to weave a nightgown for Arcueid and changed into simple clothes himself.

She wiped away the water droplets, then the princess carried her away from the pool and back to her bedroom, placing her on the bed.

But Arcueid's hand remained tightly gripping his arm. Bai Mo glanced at it, but still didn't pull away. He sat down beside her, leaning against the headboard.

"Take a good rest."

As he smoothed her long hair, he propped his head up with one hand and began to examine himself.

"You idiot, you're only thinking about what's in front of you. Do you really think what she did was perfectly reasonable? Have you become the kind of person you once despised?"

After the question was raised, Bai Mo fell into deep thought. His heart had never felt such pressure before, and even its beating slowed down.

He suddenly felt that it would be better to stab himself through the heart with a sword; perhaps that would release this pressure.

But this is escapism.

Remember this memory, never forget this shame, and never again ignore those behind you.

He slowly loosened his clenched left hand, and a few drops of blood flowed from his palm.