Chapter 64

Emiya's residence.

Upon returning home, I immediately settled on Tia's lap, burying my face in her stomach and wrapping my arms around her waist. At my actions, she hummed cheerfully and began stroking my hair

Now the training arch had begun, where nothing is essentially happening. Which means I can relax and think. More specifically, I can decide who to replace Emiya with, and then send that Servant to the Underworld for supervision

I don't have any suitable replacements from my current lineup of Servants. Grandpa, Gil, and Hercules are tough, but they will have to be discarded for obvious reasons.

We'll have to call in a new one. But who exactly? The most obvious options would be Chiron, Scatach, Leonid, and Zhuge Liang in the person of Weaver.

The Queen of the Land of Shadows and the King of Sparta are almost perfect options when it comes to fighting prowess and the rigors of training. On the other hand, Chiron and Zhuge Liang would be able to develop tactical and strategic thinking at a higher level than the first two

Right now, there were only me, Enkidu, Archer, and Tia in the hall. At the same time, Artoria, Lancelot, and Mordred occupied the training area underground that I had created at their request. Merlin and Gil had left to check something out, as Lancer had told me. Hercules and Medusa settled in the backyard, clearly wanting to reminisce about the past. Grandpa is still in the Underworld watching the Rias group. Morgana made Arthur and Le Fay introduce her to Vali's group, and Katerea left with them. And Alaia has been out of sight on principle for who knows how long.

Regarding the Beasts. Fou was occupying Enkidu's head, but Goetia found something interesting in the Underworld and decided to see what it was. This is the first time he's left my body for such a long period of time, as he's definitely been gone for a couple days

I sighed tiredly and left Tia's lap, pulling her behind me.

I guess it's okay to visit Yasaka. After all, she and I have unfinished business.

- You're in charge, Shiro. - I said as I was leaving.

- Will you be long? What if someone comes looking for you? - Emiya raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

- Who? Who do I need-" I was about to object when suddenly someone started tugging at my clothes.

-Why is Rizevim acting so strange?

I slowly turned around and lowered my gaze, where I saw Ophis looking at me with an impenetrable gaze. At the same time, Tia smiled happily and hugged her, to which Ouroboros didn't react in any way.

- What do you mean? - I asked, not understanding what she was getting at.

Ophis didn't answer me but grabbed my hand. My vision blurred for a moment, and when it returned to normal, me, her, and Tia found ourselves in a large and luxurious room. And no sooner had I examined the details than my hearing was pierced by a scream of anger and bewilderment.

- Why?! What's wrong with me?! Why do I dream about that bastard's face every night?!

I froze and slowly turned towards the source, where I saw a certain person screaming into a pillow on a huge bed. She was wearing a nightgown and her hair was in disarray. Rize-chan was wriggling around with her face buried in the pillow, screaming and muttering, giving the impression of some schoolgirl in puberty.

At the same time, I finally managed to get a glimpse of the room's decoration. And I would not say that its occupant was a stickler for order and cleanliness. Silk curtains covered the windows tightly, so that the room was almost entirely in darkness, except for a single lamp by the bed. Clothes were scattered all over the place, and dust covered some parts of the interior as if no one had cleaned it for days on end. And-

- Maybe he cursed me? Yes! That's the way it has to be! Some kind of spell to throw me off balance... But... His face was so beautiful... - Rizevim-chan muttered, and then abruptly straightened up and smashed her head into the pillow with force - No! Why do I find this smug, pathetic, inferior, and charm-

Then there was the sound of hitting something hard. And even from the farthest corner of the room we were in, I could see the red stain on her forehead.

- Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! Why the hell am I thinking these thoughts?! What's wrong with me?!

I stared at it all with my eyes and mouth wide open, unable to believe what I was seeing. My hands had already wiped my eyes twice, and magic had tried three times to find any sign of illusion or drugs in my blood. But it was all in vain

How the hell did the almost main antagonist of the whole story go from being a charismatic and self-assured manipulator to...this....

- How long has this been going on... this...? - I whispered to the Ophis.

- A few days. Rizevim sends a descendant of Lucifuge in his place when he himself doesn't leave the room - she answered monotonously - I don't understand why she's acting so strange. A sex change can't be the reason, can it?

Just a sex change? No, I don't think so. But a change of sex and psyche? It could be. Maybe I overdid it

- In theory-" I was about to explain when I was interrupted by Rizevim-chan's outcry.

- Who's in here?! Didn't I tell you not to come in here?! You-" she straightened up abruptly and turned in our direction, then froze without speaking with her arm outstretched.

She didn't move. I didn't move. And our gazes met. A spark ran between us. A lightning bolt, as if the rest of the world didn't make sense. Her mouth opened and closed, her eyes unblinking and her lips quivering. Disbelief and shock were clearly visible in her gaze.

After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, I smiled awkwardly and waved my hand as if to greet an old friend.

- How are you doing?

Rize-chan didn't respond. She didn't respond at all until....

- Noooooooooooo!" she screamed like a banshee and curled up into a ball and released demonic energy, creating an explosion.

BOOM

The shockwave blew everything around Rizevim-chan away, knocking the door off its hinges and launching it far, far away. And the huge cloud of dust that had accumulated in her room filled the space, blocking the view.

I managed to put a closed field around me, Tia and Ophis, so we escaped the consequences. With a wave of my hand, the veil of dust was blown away by the light wind, revealing Rizevim-chan. Everything around her turned to nothing: curtains, furniture, clothes, leaving only a bare bed. Her hands held her knees tightly in a lock, and my hearing caught her mutterings.

- This is a nightmare... I'm dreaming all this... He can't be here, right...? Yeah, I must be dreaming, and he'll disappear on his own....

Heh. On the one hand I feel sorry for the sight, and on the other... well....

I grinned and pulled a seductive smile onto my face.

- Rize-chan? - I said in a sweet tone and started walking slowly towards her. At my actions, she jumped up on the spot, staring at me - It's okay. I'm right here with you. Whoever that bastard is, I'll protect you from him.

I spread my arms out to the sides, as if preparing to give the warmest hug I was capable of.

- It's okay. No one will hurt you under my protection. You have my word. - I said, still smiling sweetly and seductively, practically approaching her bed.

- You... You..." she mumbled, trembling with fear or excitement as her gaze never left mine.

And just as I was about to reach her, a terrified Euclid Lucifuge flew into the room with his demonic wings spread.

- Mistress! Are you all right?! - he shrieked, and when he saw me, he became alert and prepared to fight - How did you get here?

- Ophis. - I answered calmly, pointing at her.

- Ophis?! - he was surprised, and looked at her - Why did you bring an enemy here, Lady Ophis!

- Rizevim was acting strange, and I decided to find out why. Did I do something wrong? - With her head tilted to the side, Ophis asked innocently.

- Yes! You can't just bring your enemy into the base! This is fundamentally wrong! - Grayfia's brother declared.

- Why, when I can? The Magician and the Great Mother are not enemies. - As if to state the obvious, Ophis said.

- 'I... I...' Euclid repeated, not knowing what to say, as his gaze ran between me and Ophis. And then he froze, processing her words, and stared at her incredulously - "Great Mother?"

- Aaaaaaaa~" Tia sang out, raising her hand.

- "Why do you call this dragon 'Great Mother', Lady Ophis?" - Euclid asked cautiously.

- She-" Ophis wanted to answer as I teleported behind her back and covered her mouth.

- Stuff happens. Ignore it, siscon.

- "Siscon"? What does that word mean? - Euclid was distracted.

And while his attention was shifted, I activated the magic circle and went home with Ophis and Tia.

There was more to come. Wouldn't want them to know Tia's identity. At least not yet. Uh-huh-uh.

-0-

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