"You can't eat them!"
The moment Mualani heard Koji say he wanted to try dragon meat, her expression changed, and she hurriedly stopped him.
In Natlan, dragons could practically be called humanity's companions. People and dragons lived together in harmony, and under normal circumstances, no one would harm a dragon—unless it had lost its mind and gone mad.
"I was joking. I was just curious," Koji said.
Other than Natlan, there really weren't many places where dragons and cattle could coexist like this.
As expected of the land of dragons.
…
Sky above, ring-shaped bands of light, free fall.
"So it's free fall? I can't even use my wind glider."
Lumine wrapped her arms around Koji's waist. A wind glider depended on the Anemo Archon's divine power to function, and in another world, that obviously wasn't going to work.
"This is the world of Fate. After Chaldea's Master enters a Singularity, free fall is a pretty common experience," Koji said as he slowly descended.
[Blessing of Flight]
"Lumine, with your Anemo Element, you should be able to fly too, right?"
The flexibility of the Anemo Element could make the body lighter. Since Lumine had mastered Anemo, she ought to be able to stay afloat for a while.
"With you here, there's no need." Lumine rubbed herself against Koji's chest. Since she had him, there was no reason to do it herself.
"Ahhhhhhh—!"
Suddenly, loud screaming came from the air not far away. Just like them, it was someone else in free fall.
"It's female Fujimaru Ritsuka. Don't tell me it's Chaos Evil Gudako?" Lumine narrowed her eyes and muttered.
Male Fujimaru Ritsuka was Gudao. Female Fujimaru Ritsuka was Gudako.
"Probably not that gag-character Gudako. Otherwise she could bulldoze her way through the Singularity, tear Goetia apart with her bare hands, and there'd be no need for free fall."
Koji took a moment to sense her presence. He didn't feel any dangerous aura from Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Of course, that didn't rule out the possibility that under special circumstances, Fujimaru Ritsuka might transform into Chaos Evil Gudako.
"Manifest—The Distant Ideal City that Has Already Arrived! Lord Camelot!"
A chalk-white fortress unfolded, letting the two people plummeting at high speed land safely.
"Ow, ow, ow… why is the handoff wrong again, damn it…"
Lying on the ground, Fujimaru Ritsuka cried out in pain. Dust splashed up and fell all over her, making her look filthy.
"Master, are you all right?"
Mash knelt there, shook her dizzy head, and asked with concern.
"I'm okay. I'm not hurt."
Fujimaru Ritsuka sat up. This wasn't even the first time she'd landed like this. She was already used to it.
"Hello~"
"Hello… wait, who are you people?!"
Hearing someone greet her, Fujimaru Ritsuka reflexively answered back, then immediately reacted and looked at Koji's group with sharp vigilance.
Why would there be people in the middle of this desolate wasteland? And why were they dressed so modern?
"We're just passing travelers. Hello there, you two from Chaldea. Mind having a chat?"
"Holy crap—what the hell?!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka blurted out a curse. She had just met them, and they'd already doxxed her on the spot.
The power of being exposed was way too absurd.
"You could say that. As for who we are—I'm Koji. The blonde is Lumine. The white-haired one is Shenhe. The blue-haired one is Fusa—"
"Why is my introduction just 'the blonde'? What kind of messed-up label is that?" Lumine interrupted Koji unhappily.
She really disliked being called "the blonde." She was a traveler, not some delinquent tearing through the streets on a motorcycle.
Koji continued, "No need to worry about us. We're just travelers wandering the world."
"We came to witness. We came to remember."
"I see. I understand now," Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded.
Mash broke out in awkward sweat. Master… do you really understand?
"You all… this place is dangerous. You should leave as soon as possible," Mash said kindly.
This was a Singularity. And this one was especially dangerous.
"No need to worry. I'm very strong. Just take care of yourselves." Koji struck a seated bodybuilding pose.
If nothing unexpected happened, the weakest one in this Singularity would probably be Tiamat herself.
At that moment, a voice came from the white bracelet on Fujimaru Ritsuka's wrist:
"Fujimaru, who are you talking to? There aren't any detected energy reactions there."
"Huh?"
She wasn't stupid. No energy reaction meant nonexistence. Even ordinary humans had some degree of energy signature.
There was probably only one explanation.
But no matter how she looked at it, it didn't seem right. So what exactly was going on?
"Blessing of Concealment. This blessing prevents our presence from being detected by anything. Even Clairvoyance can't lock onto our location," Koji explained.
"I've heard of blessings, but something this effective should be impossible, shouldn't it?"
Romani's puzzled voice came through.
Though he was now an ordinary person, he had once been Solomon. He possessed Clairvoyance, so he knew exactly how powerful it was.
"How could it be impossible, Doctor? I'm a little curious about your ring," Koji said, his voice filled with amusement as it reached Romani, far away in Chaldea.
What the hell—he got exposed too!
Cold sweat broke out on Romani's forehead. He knew exactly what Koji was referring to.
Koji had seen through his former identity.
"Romani, you look like you're sweating pretty hard there," Da Vinci said teasingly as she looked at him.
She knew Romani's identity, but she hadn't told anyone.
In all of Chaldea, she was probably the only one who knew.
"What ring?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka smelled gossip instantly. Could it be that their "totally ordinary" doctor was actually some hidden big shot with a secret past?
"Ahem, it's nothing. He's talking about an antique ring of mine."
Inwardly, Romani prayed: Please don't say it. It's not time yet.
"Yes, that's right."
Perhaps Koji really did sense Romani's prayer, because he didn't directly expose his true identity after all.
Still, both Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash keenly sensed that something was off. Once this Singularity was resolved, they were definitely going to question him properly about the issue caused by the King Selection and about that interrupted communication.
They were comrades. Keeping things hidden like this was way too distant.
"Move! Move! Get out of the way!"
The sky boomed, and a girl came crashing down at high speed, with absolutely no sign of braking.
Thud!
Everyone dodged. The black-haired woman smashed face-first into the ground and slid along it for quite a distance before finally stopping.
Now that was a face brake.
Other than Koji and Lumine, everyone else wore strange expressions.
What kind of bizarre greeting ritual was this?
With her rear sticking up in the air, it looked like she was inviting someone to give it a good drum-beating.
"Oww… that hurts. Seriously, couldn't someone have caught me?"
The black-haired woman, Ishtar, rubbed her face and hissed in pain.
If she weren't a goddess, landing like that would probably have left her disfigured.
"Why should we catch you? You're not trying to scam us, are you?" Koji asked.
"As if!"
Ishtar glared at him wide-eyed. There was no way she'd do something that tasteless.
(End of Chapter)
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