As the energy merged, his Sharingan immediately reacted.
His iris turned a deep blood red.
The single existing tomoe began to rotate slowly around the pupil. Almost simultaneously, two additional tomoe formed gradually.
Within seconds, the pattern finally completed. Three black tomoe now rotated slowly over the crimson iris.
Although it had not yet reached the Mangekyō Sharingan stage, the eye had fully matured into a complete Uchiha form.
But almost at the same moment, an unpleasant sensation hit him.
His vision blurred briefly, as if both eyes were being forced to adjust to a vastly expanded flow of information.
"Gh…"
Kuro's body stiffened slightly on his seat.
One hand instinctively pressed against the side of his head, while his breathing stalled for a few seconds.
The sensation felt familiar.
A typical Uchiha reaction when their Sharingan awakens, evolves, or reaches a new stage.
"I really hate temporary side effects like this…" he muttered lowly, clearly dissatisfied.
He closed his eyes for a moment, waiting for the discomfort to ease.
"If my life had a developer," he continued flatly, "I'd give it a minus hundred star rating."
A brief pause.
"Then send a long complaint tagged: bad user experience."
When he opened his eyes again, the discomfort had gradually begun to fade.
Everything now looked far sharper, more detailed, and more vivid.
Colors appeared slightly muted, while a translucent red tint—typical of an active Sharingan—covered his vision.
He could see the faint cracks in the toilet's ceramic wall, tiny scratch marks on the surface of the stall door, even the fine fiber patterns of the tissue paper beside him with almost absurd clarity.
The reflection of the ceiling light was broken down into layered lines, almost resembling streams of energy.
His gaze slowly lowered to his own body.
With the Sharingan active, the flow of magical energy inside him was now far more visible. The circuits of magic appeared like faint translucent pathways running beneath his skin.
The corner of his lips lifted slightly.
"…Not bad."
A faint note of satisfaction colored his voice.
Without lingering any longer, he deactivated the Sharingan.
The blood-red hue in his iris gradually faded, returning both eyes to normal.
A moment later, Kuro opened a small Gate of Babylon beside him once again.
From within the golden portal, a far more luxurious-looking ticket slowly floated out before landing in his hand.
Divinity Summon Choose Ticket.
Kuro stared at the ticket for a few moments.
"According to the earlier explanation…" he muttered quietly. "This ticket allows me to choose any Servant with Divinity."
His gaze narrowed slightly. A choice that broad was clearly too flexible.
He began weighing several names in his mind, searching for someone suitable for various situations.
"Maybe… Tamamo no Mae?"
His tone sounded mildly contemplative.
(Note: slight spoiler—Astolfo's summoning will appear in the next world session. One by one, guys! 😅 Creating and writing a storyline isn't easy, even if this is just a fanfic 😅)
But a few seconds later, he shook his head slightly.
"Not here. And not now."
His eyes drifted around the toilet stall.
Summoning a Servant in a bathroom was clearly a terrible idea.
"I still have plenty of time."
The corner of his lips curved faintly.
"So I'll save it for later."
Without hesitation, Kuro stored the ticket back into the Gate of Babylon.
A moment later, he reached into the golden portal again and pulled out a diamond roughly the size of his fist. Its surface reflected the toilet's light with a sharp, crystalline shine.
"Resurrection."
The circuits of magic inside Kuro immediately activated, glowing faint blue beneath his skin before flowing toward the diamond.
A thin layer of light wrapped around its surface for several seconds.
"Transmutation Active."
In the next moment, the structure of the diamond began to change.
Its surface softened like liquid clay. The shape slowly shifted, was compressed, and then reshaped by Kuro's magic.
A short while later, the hard material had completely transformed into an elegant cup with a simple design.
Kuro studied the result for a moment.
"…Nice."
He slowly turned the cup in his hand, seemingly satisfied with the transmutation.
"Time to taste a wine made from a mix of astral blood and the essence of Orochi flesh, processed and then steeped together with Totsuka no Tsurugi."
As someone who quite enjoyed alcohol—and for some reason had developed an even stronger drinking habit since becoming Kuro—he was naturally interested in trying this newly obtained wine.
The golden portal opened again.
From within it, a golden liquid slowly poured out, filling the diamond cup in his hand.
Choosing diamond as a container was actually simple.
Something unusual should be enjoyed in something equally unusual.
However, that reasoning did not change the fact that Kuro was currently still inside a men's restroom.
He slowly rotated the cup, watching how the surface of the wine reflected the light above his head.
Kuro brought the cup closer to his nose and inhaled its aroma.
Almost instantly, his eyes widened slightly.
A soft, sweet fragrance hit his senses.
The clear dominance of ripe grapes was present, layered with faint oak, warm honey, and a subtle elegant floral note.
But beneath it all, something far heavier lingered.
Deep.
Sharp.
Almost like a faint spiritual pressure embedded within the scent itself.
As if the drink carried traces of an existence far beyond ordinary alcohol.
Kuro remained silent for several seconds.
"…The aroma is incredible."
His voice carried genuine admiration.
"This is far more complex than any wine I've ever tasted."
His gaze returned to the liquid inside the cup.
"If the aroma alone is like this…"
A faint trace of anticipation appeared in his eyes.
"How does it taste?"
Without waiting any longer, Kuro finally took a sip of the wine.
For a moment, he froze.
The liquid touched his tongue with a smooth sweetness, surpassing even high-quality dessert wines.
The rich flavor of ripe grapes immediately dominated—lush and mellow—followed by layers of honey, dried fruit, vanilla, and a faint hint of warm spice.
The body felt thick.
Warm.
Yet completely without harshness.
The alcohol content was high, but it went down incredibly smoothly.
It didn't burn the throat aggressively, instead leaving a gentle, comforting heat that slowly spread through his chest.
At the finish, a difficult-to-describe aftertaste emerged.
Slightly metallic.
Very subtle.
But not fishy.
More like a unique mineral sensation mixed with something wild and primal.
That trace lingered on his tongue for quite a while.
Kuro stared blankly ahead.
Several seconds of silence passed.
"…This is absurd."
He looked back at the contents of the cup.
"How can something with this composition taste this good?"
His voice carried genuine confusion.
Then the corner of his lips slowly lifted.
"…I need more of this."
Kuro stared at the cup in his hand for a moment longer.
The temptation to immediately finish more of the wine surfaced naturally.
But a few seconds later, he realized something.
"…Wait."
His gaze narrowed slightly.
He was currently outside with Chiyome.
And it was still daytime.
Getting drunk in the middle of the day, then returning to his Servant while half-tipsy was clearly not a good idea.
More importantly, Kuro knew himself well enough—he actually enjoyed alcohol quite a lot.
If left unchecked, there was a real chance he would end up drinking far too much.
He let out a short sigh.
"No."
His tone became firm, as if rejecting a serious temptation.
"Things that are too easy to enjoy tend to lose their value."
The corner of his lips curled slightly.
"Besides, the longer something is held back…"
His gaze returned to the diamond cup that had contained the wine.
"…the more satisfying it becomes when it's finally enjoyed."
With that decision, Kuro stood up from the toilet seat.
He stored the diamond cup back into the Gate of Babylon.
The golden portal swallowed it without a sound.
After making sure everything was neatly put away, Kuro opened the stall door and stepped outside.
The atmosphere in the restroom returned to silence.
As if nothing had ever happened there—aside from a man who had just made a diamond cup, upgraded his Sharingan, planned a summon, and done a premium wine tasting… inside a toilet.
***
As soon as he returned, Kuro sat back down in his seat, directly across from Chiyome.
Before saying anything, he immediately picked up his now-cold cup of coffee.
Without rushing, Kuro took a slow sip, as if trying to neutralize any lingering trace of alcohol aroma.
Then he lowered the cup and looked at Chiyome with a relaxed expression.
"Was I gone too long?"
A brief silence followed.
Chiyome didn't answer immediately.
Her brows faintly furrowed.
For some reason, she sensed something familiar from her Master's aura.
A subtle scent.
A faint spiritual pressure.
And traces of energy that felt slightly different compared to a few minutes ago.
However, judging that probing too deeply into her Master's private matters would be inappropriate, she chose to ignore the anomaly.
Her expression softened again.
Chiyome shook her head slightly.
"No."
There was a brief pause.
"Although I did briefly think My Lord might have found something more interesting than returning to this table."
Her tone remained calm, but there was a faint, subtle hint of sarcasm beneath it—almost imperceptible.
Kuro fell silent for a second.
Then the corner of his lips lifted slightly.
"You're not entirely wrong."
He leaned back comfortably in his seat.
"Let's just say I did find something quite interesting."
Kuro lifted his coffee cup again.
"But unfortunately, it's something better enjoyed later."
His gaze briefly lowered to the coffee in his hand.
His tone was relaxed, though a hint of satisfaction lingered in it, hard to conceal.
"Delaying small pleasures sometimes makes the end result more satisfying."
He took another sip of coffee.
Then looked back at Chiyome.
"So, consider this me making a very mature decision."
________
Author's note:
This is strange, why has it been so quiet lately since yesterday?
Guys… where are you? No responses? Is it really that boring?