Seeing what Morgan had written, Shin was stunned.
Wait. This is still the realm of fiction, right?
"Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother" had shown up. The tone was completely wrong here.
[Queen of Britain]: If you're curious, you could ask Lady Marika directly — she was the one who executed the mission. From what she described, she mostly stood to the side, as she gathered it was really a family matter. She did say she got to speak at length with the three-eyed figure, and came away feeling that young people today are remarkably prone to rebellion.
Shin: …
A girl with a lantern and her three-eyed uncle. Something that had apparently happened in the China of some other world — a young man splitting a divine mountain to rescue his imprisoned mother, with a magical lotus lantern in play and a three-eyed god standing in the way.
And Marika had been there for it. Observing. And commenting on youthful rebellion.
Shin was starting to get a feel for this chat's particular energy. It felt like the thing running it had a very specific taste — maternal figures, matrilineal themes, filial piety arcs. If you swapped out the admin for the reincarnation of some grand overseer with an obsession for mother-centric mythology, it would explain an awful lot.
At least Kaguya was here. Otherwise, he would have started quietly wondering whether he himself might someday end up categorized as someone's "mother" — the kind of memetic contamination that was genuinely frightening to contemplate.
[Queen of Britain]: In any case, I'm currently unable to leave — the politics of the Fairy Kingdom have become overwhelmingly demanding, and there is almost no one besides myself capable of managing them.
[Queen of Britain]: So I'll simply dispatch one of my knights instead. Her strength should be more than sufficient to manage any unexpected complications.
[Queen of Britain]: @Spreading Witch Factors — Great Witch, what is your decision?
The Great Witch glanced at Shin beside her, and had been about to say she didn't particularly want to go either — but for some reason, Cocolia's planted flag flickered through her mind uninvited.
Well. Just to be safe, perhaps this time she ought to go herself…
"Mother."
"Hm?"
"Let me go ahead and look things over for you first, please."
Shin's voice drew the Great Witch's attention and she turned, a little puzzled.
Only Shin knew what had just happened.
In the moment the system notification had appeared, the Perfect Human Being system — which had been dormant for quite some time — suddenly pulsed with a surge unlike anything it had done before.
[Ding! High-concentration "Perfect Human Being" essence fragments detected. Host participation is recommended.]
[Notice: This world contains a special essence that may assist the Host in fusing the Saint's Corpse.]
Shin's thoughts sharpened.
After bringing the Saint's Corpse back from the JoJo world, he had been keeping it stored inside his body — and had nearly forgotten it was there. He'd had the Great Witch examine it, but she hadn't been able to make anything of it either, and had simply returned it to him. The main issue was that the Saint's Corpse hadn't awakened a Stand for him the way it might for someone in the JoJo universe, and didn't seem to be producing any Hamon-vision effects the way it had for Kars.
He had assumed that once the Saint's Corpse left the JoJo world, it simply lost its function — something to revisit the next time he went back to hold Heaven DIO accountable.
But now it seemed there was a solution after all.
"Mother." Shin met the Great Witch's gaze, earnest. "Let me go."
The Great Witch pressed her lips together. She clearly had not dismissed Cocolia's planted flag as completely as her expression had suggested.
"Shaya, are you certain? The Moon Princess says the task is simple, but if you go, I have no way to watch over you. What if something happens?"
"Don't worry." Shin smiled. "Don't forget, Mother — I'm considerably stronger than I used to be."
That was nothing but the truth. In terms of sheer HP alone, Shin now operated at the kind of regenerative threshold that would be called a drop-of-blood revival state in high-powered cultivation fiction.
Besides — if he spent all his time living in a greenhouse under the Great Witch's protection, what was even the point of having the system?
The Great Witch studied him for a few seconds, and finally sighed and replied in the chat.
[Spreading Witch Factors]: Since Morgan is sending someone on her behalf, I'll have my child go in my stead as well.
[Spreading Witch Factors]: Shaya could use some real-world experience.
[Queen of Britain]: Very well.
[Queen of Britain]: Then I shall dispatch Lancelot. I'll instruct her to cooperate with Great Witch's child. I hope they get along.
Shin's eyebrow went up.
The Fairy Knight Lancelot… Melusine?
That was a heavyweight if ever there was one. As a fragment of the last dragon Albion, at full power she was capable of reducing an entire continent to ash.
He wasn't particularly worried about his own safety anymore — if anything, this was practically a fully escorted mission. Against a basic task, Melusine alone was like fielding a starship against a primitive tribe.
Assuming the Anecdote they were being sent into was genuinely the mortal-world legend that was The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, this was roughly equivalent to sending star-destroyers to sort out a folk story.
Kaguya had apparently noticed the same thing.
[Moon Princess]: Hold on — I just thought of something.
[Moon Princess]: Morgan's knight Lancelot, and Great Witch's Shaya who can transform into any living thing…
[Moon Princess]: I know this Anecdote task doesn't put any ceiling on combat strength, but something about this combination feels… strange.
[Moon Princess]: Actually — what exactly does the task description mean by "ideal conclusion"? Does it mean making sure I don't get taken back to the moon, or does it mean making all my suitors disappear off the face of the earth?
[Lord of Lands Between]: I am also curious — who gets to define what "ideal" means, in this context?
[Lord of Lands Between]: That said, now that the participants have been decided, I shall await good news from beneath my Golden Tree.
After brief preparations, at the manor on Witch Island.
Meruru stood to one side, worry written plainly across her face as she helped Shin straighten his collar — seeing off her brother who was about to set out once again.
"Brother… I won't hold you back this time, but please come back soon!"
"The 'reward' you promised — you said you'd spend three whole days with me, you know… wahhh~…"
Shin was at a loss for words. He ruffled the little crybaby's head, then turned to look at the Great Witch.
The Great Witch was currently adjusting the Sharingan core, tinkering with something. When she caught Shin looking over, she simply gave a small wave.
"Go on. Your safety comes first. If anything feels off, abandon the mission and come straight back."
"There are plenty of ways to grow stronger — you don't have to insist on this one particular path. You understand, Shaya."
"Yes, I know."
Shin gave a small nod. The light of the [Boundary-Break Talisman] scattered around him and his field of vision began to stretch and extend.
[System Message: Transfer initiating. Target world — Non-Human Legend: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.]
[Due to specific causality detected in the Host, the system has automatically matched you to the optimal entry point.]
In the blaze of white light, the last thing Shin heard was Kaguya's voice in the chat — bright and self-satisfied.
[Moon Princess]: Heheh~ Looks like I'll be seeing the light of day very soon~
Knowing rescue was finally on its way, Kaguya — who had admittedly been getting a little snappish after two days of confinement — had recovered her full yamato nadeshiko composure.
[Moon Princess]: With Great Witch's arrangements and Morgan's, all I need to do is lie here in my bamboo and wait for the credits to roll~
[Moon Princess]: Anyway, everyone do your best~ Whoever gets me out of this bamboo first — I might just fall a little bit in love with her~
To be continued…
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