Leaving the building where she had appeared, Xu Fu walked along the street before entering another structure—a workshop belonging to a Magus.
She moved down a corridor littered with blood and lifeless bodies, heading toward the place where she could sense her Master's presence.
Not long after, Xu Fu arrived at a dim, shadowy room.
In the stillness, a figure sat there—undeniably her Master.
At a glance, one might mistake him for a woman—his long hair and delicate features giving that impression.
He wore a loose white sweater that slipped off one shoulder, paired with black trousers. Seated near the window, one hand held a glass of chilled whiskey.
The faint light from within the room and the glow of the building lights outside cast a soft reflection across his face, along with the subtle shimmer of the liquid in his glass.
Meanwhile, Xu Fu did not reveal herself immediately.
She remained silent, observing him from the shadows—a presence that seemed to blur the boundaries of gender, and at the same time, carried an air of something that had already transcended humanity itself.
After a few moments, Xu Fu finally moved, slowly approaching the figure by the window.
However, she did not stop in front of him—she stood directly behind him instead.
"A question… are you my Master?"
Hearing the voice echo within his mind, Kuro let out a faint smile.
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he took a slow sip of the whiskey in his hand.
"Yes…" he said calmly. "I am your Master. A Magus who summoned your existence, and the one supplying the magical energy that sustains you."
Silence lingered for a moment.
Kuro's eyes suddenly changed—turning crimson like spilled blood, a single tomoe spinning briefly before dimming once more.
"Now it's my turn to ask," he continued. "Are you my Servant?"
Without hesitation, Xu Fu manifested from her astral form.
Her body slowly took shape behind Kuro, then she knelt gracefully, lowering her head in a gesture of respect.
"That is correct," she replied calmly. "I am the Servant who has answered your call."
She lifted her face slightly, her gaze remaining sharp despite her formal posture.
"My name is Xu Fu," she continued. "A seeker of to how killing immortality, and a loyal devotee of Yu Mei-Ren. As for my class… for now, you may consider me a Caster."
Meanwhile, Kuro finally rose slowly from his seat.
He turned around, looking directly at the Servant he had just summoned.
"Kuro Tokito," he said briefly. "That's my name."
A short pause, then the corner of his lips lifted slightly.
"From now on… we'll be working together, Caster."
Xu Fu slowly rose from her kneeling position, standing upright once more before Kuro.
Her gaze remained calm, though there was now a sharper edge to it.
"Master," she said flatly, "there is something I wish to ask."
She paused for a moment, then continued.
"My earlier manifestation… not within the magic circle. Was that intentional?"
Kuro, still holding his glass of whiskey, merely raised an eyebrow slightly.
"No," he answered casually. "I didn't even expect you to not appear at the center of the summoning circle."
He then took a calm sip of his drink.
"By the way," he added, "where did you appear?"
Xu Fu fell silent for a moment.
"…In a toilet."
Kuro immediately spat out the whiskey he had just taken.
"—PFFFT!!"
Xu Fu didn't move as the spray of whiskey hit her.
The liquid splashed across her face, hair, and clothes.
"Kh—khuk! Uhuk—!" Kuro coughed, struggling to steady his breath. "A—toilet!?"
He stared at Xu Fu in disbelief.
"You're serious?"
Silence.
Slowly, Xu Fu raised her hand, wiping the droplets from her cheek with the tip of her finger.
Her gaze shifted—flat… then gradually turned cold.
"…"
A faint, chilling aura began to spread from her body.
"Master…" her voice was quiet, yet carried unmistakable pressure.
She looked straight at Kuro.
"First, I was summoned into a human waste disposal site."
A pause.
"Second, I was thoroughly soaked because of it."
Another pause, longer this time.
"And now… you've sprayed me."
A smile formed—thin, but clearly unfriendly.
"Is this the 'welcome' of the modern era?"
Though her tone remained calm, the pressure behind it was steadily intensifying.
However, a few seconds later, she drew a slow breath and closed her eyes briefly.
The aura subsided.
"…Forget it," she said coldly. "For now, I'll consider it an accident."
Her gaze flicked briefly toward the glass in Kuro's hand.
"But if it happens again…"
Her sentence trailed off—there was no need to finish it.
Kuro gave a faint smile as he glanced at the view outside the window.
"It won't," he replied shortly.
He then turned his attention toward the quiet center of the room and snapped his fingers.
The space around them rippled softly.
One by one, gemstones of various types and levels of purity emerged from the void, slowly piling up into a shimmering cluster that reflected the dim light of the room.
Seeing that, Xu Fu's eyes gleamed with interest.
She observed carefully, then narrowed her gaze slightly.
"…Not ordinary storage," she murmured. "There's no summoning distortion like standard Magecraft… nor is it coordinate-based instant transfer."
She stepped a little closer, studying the phenomenon in detail.
"This is closer to… a space separated and bound to your very existence," she continued. "A 'miniature world' that stores objects—rather than summoning them from outside."
A brief pause.
"However… its structure is far too stable to be just a bounded field. It doesn't even feel like a modern magical construct."
Her gaze returned to Kuro.
"…Almost like a Reality Marble," she said quietly, "though its primary function seems more like a storage medium."
Kuro gave a faint smile.
"Exactly," he said. "The space is based on my personal reality—or, more accurately, something resembling it."
He lifted his glass slightly and continued.
"Almost like a Reality Marble, but not entirely. Its purpose isn't to overwrite the external world, but to serve as an absolute storage medium."
Hearing this, Xu Fu fell silent for a moment, digesting the explanation.
Then, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.
"…Interesting," she murmured.
Her gaze returned to the growing pile of gemstones.
"With a system like that, you can store vast amounts of resources without degradation… and access them at any time with no meaningful delay."
She turned back to Kuro, this time with a slightly different expression—more serious.
"Then… Master," she said softly, "you are not just an ordinary Magus."
A brief pause.
"…And perhaps," she continued, "I need to reassess my previous judgment of your worthiness to live."
A light karate chop landed on Xu Fu's head—not painful, more like a scolding.
"What's the meaning of that?" Kuro protested, his tone slightly annoyed. "Were you planning to kill your Master? How… rude. But fine, it's whatever."
Kuro then smiled broadly.
"As punishment, clean up all the corpses and blood in the corridor and other rooms in this workshop. After that, fill all those gemstones with magical energy."
Xu Fu turned sharply toward Kuro, ready to voice a protest.
But before she could speak—
"I was planning to clean it myself while you carried out my orders," Kuro interrupted casually. "But thanks to that crow-mouth of yours, don't expect me to make it easy."
Kuro sat back down, poured whiskey into his glass, and leaned back casually as if he carried no burdens.
"Get to work," he said lightly. "My beloved Servant~"
A brief silence followed.
Xu Fu stared at him without expression.
"…I understand," she replied flatly.
Yet a faint cold aura lingered around her once more.
She let out a slow breath and closed her eyes for a moment, as if restraining something.
"…My Master is truly an infuriating human," she murmured softly.
She opened her eyes again, glancing at the pile of gemstones, then toward the blood-soaked corridor.
"But… a contract is a contract."
Xu Fu turned, her steps light as she began walking toward the corridor.
"Consider this… an initial investment," she added quietly.
Before fully leaving, she paused and glanced back.
"And for the record…" she said flatly, "I will not attempt to kill you—so long as you don't give me a sufficiently good reason."
A brief pause.
"For now."
Without waiting for a response, she stepped forward, beginning her task—cleaning up the mess left behind with the cold efficiency that was uniquely hers.
Kuro's voice suddenly echoed in Xu Fu's mind through telepathy.
"Make sure everything is spotless, and strengthen the barrier. This place will be our base."
Xu Fu clicked her tongue softly, clearly annoyed.
"Yes, alright…" she replied flatly. "Such a nagging Master."
While Xu Fu set to work, Kuro enjoyed the glass of whiskey in his hand, gazing out the window.
The lights of Fuyuki City stretched before him, glittering calmly under the night sky.
"Hmm…" he murmured softly.
The corner of his lips lifted slightly.
"Atrum Galliasta… your choice to build the workshop here isn't bad."
He raised his glass a little, watching the reflection of light in the amber liquid.
"Views like this…" he continued casually, "…are perfect for enjoying whiskey on a quiet night."
Kuro then took a slow sip of his drink, letting the silence of the night fill the room around him.