After finishing his cigarette, Kuro began exploring the workshop, searching for the summoning circle while taking care of a few things.
Before long, he finally found it.
However, before starting the Heroic Spirit summoning ritual, Kuro first performed a Check-in on his system to obtain a reward.
He didn't do this without reason.
The Check-in function had the ability to increase the user's chances of survival in dangerous situations—or at the very least, provide insight into possible outcomes.
And in a situation like this, it was extremely useful.
After all, summoning rituals always carried risks. Especially since the Grail in this war had been corrupted.
The possibility of summoning an unstable—or even rebellious—Heroic Spirit was not something to ignore.
Ding!
[Congratulations, you have obtained a Multiverse Ticket that can be used to visit any reality for 30 days, equivalent to 3 hours in this world.]
Ding!
[Reality Travel function has been unlocked!]
[The realities you visit can now be saved in your Personal World List.]
[Note: After the cooldown period ends, you can revisit the realities listed.]
Kuro fell silent for a moment.
In his hand now was a silver ticket.
Its surface shimmered with a shifting spectrum of colors when touched by light—as if reflecting something not of this world.
"…So with this ticket, I can visit any world for 30 days…?"
A faint smile formed on his lips.
"I kind of want to try it right away," he murmured. "But…"
He let out a long breath, suppressing the impulsive urge that had briefly surfaced.
"…better to save it."
His gaze returned to the ticket in his hand, now much calmer—filled with consideration.
"For a moment like this… something like this is better used as a trump card."
Without hesitation, Kuro slipped the ticket into his pocket.
Just in case.
Kuro took out Xu Fu's hair catalyst from the Gate of Babylon, along with a slightly crumpled sheet of paper.
He stood at the edge of the circle, reading the notes in his left hand while his right hand extended forward—though its position was slightly hesitant.
"Eto… okay… first line…" he murmured softly.
"Silver and iron to the origin…"
"…Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone."
He paused for a moment.
"…is this even the right order…"
Kuro glanced at the magic circle in front of him, which had yet to react, then returned to his notes.
"Next… The ancestor is my great master… Schweinorg…"
"…The alighted wind becomes a wall… the gates in the four directions close…"
He frowned slightly.
"'Coming from the crown… the three-forked road… that leads to the kingdom… circulate…?'"
He let out a quiet sigh.
"Why does this have to be so complicated…"
Still, he continued.
"Shut. Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill…"
"Repeat every five times… simply, shatter once filled…"
The magic circle before him finally began to respond—the red light trembled, then slowly shifted into a dim blue glow.
Kuro blinked.
"Eh… oh, right… the path…"
He immediately straightened his posture, slightly panicking as his ritual had truly activated.
"I announce… uh—Your self is under me… my fate is in your sword…"
"In accordance with the Holy Grail… if… uh, I mean—if you abide by this feeling, this reason… then answer."
He paused for a fraction of a second, making sure of the next line.
"Here is my oath."
The last Command Spell on his hand began to glow.
"I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the—"
He stopped.
"...living or dead…?"
He quickly glanced at his notes again.
"Ah—right."
"I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the living."
"I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the living."
He swallowed, then read the last part a little faster, as if wanting to get it over with.
"You… seven heavens… clad in three words of power… arrive from the ring of deterrence…"
He raised his right hand slightly higher, though it still felt awkward.
"O keeper of the balance—please… come out already."
A burst of light exploded, sending a wave of magical pressure that whipped through the air, making the edges of Kuro's clothes flutter wildly.
However, after the light subsided, silence filled the space around him.
"Eh…?"
Kuro blinked and stared right at the center of the now-empty ritual circle.
"Where's my Servant!?"
Fatigue immediately hit his body, making his knees buckle as he collapsed to the floor.
"Ugh… my body feels heavy… my head's spinning," he muttered softly. "Looks like I overused OD before it fully recovered…"
Reaching into his pocket, Kuro pulled out a magic energy crystal he had discovered earlier while exploring this place.
Some of his magical energy was restored. Kuro sat back up on the floor and looked at the nearby magic circle.
"System…" he said, "my ritual worked, right?"
Ding!
[You have successfully summoned the Heroic Spirit named Xu Fu. Current position is nearby.]
Receiving the message from the System, Kuro let out a relieved breath.
"Good…"
***
Meanwhile, inside the men's restroom of the building next to Atrum's workshop—specifically one of the broken toilet stalls, where water sprayed wildly into the air from a shattered bowl—a slender young girl could be seen.
Her clothing resembled that of a high-ranking official from the Chinese Empire of the 3rd century BC, dominated by shades of blue and white.
Her black hair covered her left eye, wrapped with a ribbon circling her head, giving off a distinctly gloomy impression.
In her arms, she held a handmade doll—a woman with sharp red eyes, dressed in a black gown.
There was no doubt about it. The girl was Xu Fu, the Heroic Spirit successfully summoned by Kuro.
On the other hand, due to the leak and the nonstop spray of water, her clothes, hair, and even the doll in her arms were completely soaked.
"…"
Silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of splashing water like a broken shower.
"…This…" she muttered softly. "…have I been summoned to a… human waste disposal site?"
Her gaze swept around the area. Water continued to spray uncontrollably, the floor beginning to flood, and the toilet in front of her lay in complete ruin.
"Ah. Wonderful. Truly elegant."
A brief pause.
"A third-rate summoning ritual."
After that, she lifted the doll in her hands, and her expression immediately turned serious.
That object was not merely a doll, but a symbol of her personal devotion to Yu Mei-Ren.
"…Wet," she said, her voice growing colder. "…You've soaked Yu-sama."
A chilling aura instantly radiated from her slender body.
"My Master… or whoever was foolish enough to summon me…"
She fell silent for a moment, then glanced toward the wall—as if "seeing" Kuro's location through the contract connection.
"I hope this is just a mistake."
"Because if this was intentional…"
The sentence trailed off, but her aura alone made her meaning clear.
She crouched down, touching the water on the floor with the tip of her left index finger.
Her eyes analyzed the filthy puddle—bacteria, waste, and an indescribable stench.
From that alone, her irritation only grew. How ignorant her Master must be to neglect the conditions required to keep her in optimal state.
Xu Fu let out a faint smile.
For some reason, her first impression of her Master was a desire to kill him—at least before the contract had fully stabilized.
Of course, she wasn't foolish enough to immediately kill her own Master.
She stood up, let out a breath, and began analyzing the situation like a scientist.
"Hm… coordinate distortion… incomplete aria… shifted leyline pathway…"
"…or…"
She paused for a moment, then smiled cynically.
"My Master is an idiot."
A few moments later, she stepped toward the exit, water still dripping from her hair and clothes.
"Very well. I'll go meet this fool and judge for myself… whether he deserves to live."
Despite her words, part of her reasoning remained simple—she could sense several people approaching.
Her arrival, accompanied by that earlier rumble, had clearly been far too conspicuous.
In a modern era like this, drawing excessive attention was nothing but trouble.
Just before stepping out, her body faded—shifting into an astral form, vanishing beyond the limits of physical sight.
And sure enough—
The moment she vanished, two building staff stepped into the restroom.
Their footsteps halted almost at the same time.
"…Huh?"
Water was still spraying wildly from the shattered toilet, soaking the floor that was already covered in puddles. The splashing echoed through the narrow space, faintly bouncing off the ceramic walls.
One of them frowned, staring into the stall.
"Just now… there was a sound, right?"
"There definitely was," the other replied quietly, his eyes scanning the area warily. "Like… someone talking to themselves."
They exchanged glances.
Confused.
But there was no one there.
Only a broken toilet, filthy standing water, and an eerie atmosphere lingering in the air—as if something had just happened… and then disappeared without a trace.
"…Did you see that?" one of them pointed at the water, its surface rippling gently, as if it had just been disturbed.
"Don't tell me…" the other swallowed. "Someone was here just now?"
"If there was… where did they go?"
Silence.
The two of them looked back into the stall, this time more cautiously.
Still empty.
"…I don't like this," one muttered, his voice nearly a whisper.
"Just clean it up quickly," the other replied, though his tone wasn't entirely steady. "Then we report it."
___
Author's note:
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