The corridors of Chaldea were quiet after dinner.
Kojiro had stayed behind in the cafeteria alone, insisting that a proper meal should always be followed by tea, so only I and my three Servants were taking a slow walk together.
With my stomach full, the tension in my body eased pleasantly.
It happened while we were walking in that silence.
"...Hm?"
I felt something soft and plush creeping up around my backside.
When I turned my head slightly, I saw Baobhan Sith, walking close beside me, pretending to look elsewhere while slyly groping my ass.
A mischievous smile hung at the corner of her lips—or rather, a teasing smile that practically begged me to tease her back.
She clearly wanted me to turn toward her and play along.
I chuckled inwardly and reached out in the exact opposite direction of what she expected.
I grabbed Shuten-Douji's ass instead, as she walked on my left humming to herself.
Shuten-Douji's shoulders jumped, and I could almost see a sharp current of demonic energy run up from her tailbone.
She looked up at me with wide, startled eyes. But then her face flushed red, and she smiled so seductively her pointed fangs showed.
"Goodness, husband, you're hopeless. Was it really that hard to wait until tonight?"
Shuten-Douji pressed herself right against me, rubbing the cheek caught in my palm with slow, teasing movements as she whispered stickily into my ear.
"If you're already this desperate, then tonight I might just have to devour you down to the bone...."
"W-What?! I touched you, so why are you grabbing that oni woman's ass instead?!"
With her plan having failed and Shuten-Douji reaping the rewards instead, Baobhan Sith bounced in place, burning with jealousy.
"Touch me too! Me too!"
Huffing, Baobhan Sith sprang up onto my back and clung to me.
"Whoa..."
She was heavier than I expected, enough that I nearly pitched forward. Fairy or not, she was still a Servant, and the generous weight pressing into my back from her chest only made it worse.
"Master, grab my thighs tight. I'm not getting down no matter what!"
Baobhan Sith was hanging off my back, Shuten-Douji was plastered to my left side, and I was effectively pinned in place.
At that moment, Olga Marie, who had been walking on my right, cleared her throat and edged closer before taking my empty right hand in both of hers.
"Um, Yaiba..."
Olga Marie's cheeks were red as apples. Keeping her gaze fixed on the floor, she whispered in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
"Y-You can... tease me too. Hold my hand, or, um... like with Shuten-Douji, my butt—no, that's not what I meant...!"
Seeing her stammer and flounder like that, I finally couldn't hold it back and let out a laugh.
It was a dazzling flower garden, enough to make anyone in the world jealous.
But no matter how lovely the flower garden was, enduring the draining barrage of affection from blindly devoted, jealous women twenty-four hours a day was exhausting, both physically and mentally.
I understood in my bones why Kojiro always quietly read the room and slipped away.
...Sometimes, I wished I had a male friend too. Someone I could just sit back with and relax around, shoulder to shoulder.
But when every human who looked at me reacted with disgust, ordinary friendships were impossible to even dream of. Maybe that was why I longed for it all the more.
Carrying Baobhan Sith on my back, I checked the system inventory.
[Guaranteed Evil-Attribute Summon Ticket Below 3-Star x1, Guaranteed Servant Summon Ticket 2-Star or Higher x1]
The 2-star-or-higher ticket didn't guarantee an Evil alignment, so if it spat out a lawful good Servant, a bloodbath was practically guaranteed. Pass.
That left the guaranteed Evil-attribute summon ticket below 3-star.
Most 1-star and 2-star Evil Servants were dependable male Servants like Spartacus or Hassan of the Cursed Arm.
Of course, if Salome popped out, that would defeat the whole purpose... but statistically, a male Servant was still more likely.
Summoning another Servant would definitely make the Chaldea staff recoil in horror and grow even more hostile toward me, but that was already our relationship anyway.
As soon as I reached my room, I set Baobhan Sith down on the bed and gestured for Shuten-Douji and Olga Marie to step back for a moment.
"Husband, what are you fixing to do?"
"Call a friend."
Without hesitation, I opened the system window and used the summon ticket.
The air in the room sank heavily, and a massive vortex of magical energy rose from the floor.
[Searching for bonds engraved upon your soul... Synchronization complete with Bond Level 7 data from a specific Heroic Spirit.]
A silver ring spun brilliantly, then burst apart with a pop, and a gigantic silhouette filled the room.
"...!!"
A huge figure nearly three meters tall, his head almost brushing the ceiling.
It was Berserker, Asterios.
"...Did you... call me...?"
Unlike his rugged appearance, his voice that filled the room was slow and innocent, almost like a young boy's.
Asterios looked down at me, then hunched his enormous frame and carefully approached.
"Master... I remember you."
With one giant finger, Asterios lightly tapped my head as if afraid I might break, then gazed at me with clear eyes.
I let out a deep sigh of relief inside and smiled.
Thank God. A dependable friend I can actually talk to showed up.
But at the same time, one question crossed my mind.
Wait. He remembers me even at Bond Level 7?
I had assumed everyone remembered me because their bond levels had reached 10 or higher. But if even Asterios, who was only at Bond Level 7, remembered me, then what exactly was the system's standard for memory synchronization?
Was it different if I summoned a Servant without a summon ticket? Or did this synchronization also happen once a local Servant formed a contract with me and our bond passed a certain threshold?
Was the cutoff Bond 5 or higher? Or did synchronization only happen when they were called with summon tickets?
One hypothesis led to another, but the system offered no clear answer for now. I pushed the complicated thoughts aside and reached out my hand to Asterios.
"It's been a while, Asterios. Let's get along."
Asterios took my hand, then bashfully touched one of his massive horns and gave a sheepish grin.
That was when it happened.
There came a careful knock knock from outside the room.
"Yaiba, it's Ritsuka. Are you asleep?"
It was Ritsuka. Maybe the events of the morning were still bothering her, or maybe she had wanted to properly introduce the Beni-Enma she had summoned. Hard to say.
"I'm awake. Come in."
The door opened, and Ritsuka poked her head in with a bright smile.
"Hey, our Beni-Enma was—huh?!"
Ritsuka's eyes widened as round as ping-pong balls.
Her gaze was locked on the three-meter-tall mountain of muscle standing beside me: Asterios.
As a Minotaur, he possessed overwhelming innate monstrousness, enough to radiate a fearsome pressure that would make any ordinary human faint on the spot.
"Ah, um... hello......"
Asterios timidly raised a hand in greeting, but when he saw Ritsuka's frozen expression, he flinched and drew his huge body in on itself.
"...I look scary... so I frightened you again......"
Asterios's eyes quickly dimmed. He had been born a monster, hated all his life, and shut away in the labyrinth. It was an old wound that ran deep.
The fearful gaze of others was what hurt him most.
But Ritsuka's reaction was not what Asterios expected.
"Wooooow!!"
The eyes that had been frozen a moment ago suddenly filled with sparkling starlight. She bounded into the room, grabbed Asterios's giant forearm without the slightest hesitation, and hung off it.
"You're huge, seriously huge! These muscles are amazing! Your horns are enormous too! Wow, this is so cool! Hi, I'm Ritsuka!"
Far from being afraid, Ritsuka stared at him with shining eyes, marveling at him like a child at an amusement park.
"...I'm not scary... to you...?"
"Not at all! You look super dependable... and kind of fluffy, actually. Can you put me on your shoulders just once?"
Asterios stared down at Ritsuka blankly, then his face reddened and he broke into a bashful grin.
Then, with his giant palm, he carefully lifted Ritsuka and gently set her atop his broad shoulders.
"Wahaha! This is so high up! I can see the top of your head perfectly, Yaiba!"
"...Careful. You'll fall."
I gave a disbelieving little laugh and warned her.
Watching the scene, Shuten-Douji, Baobhan Sith, and Olga Marie all clicked their tongues in disbelief.
"That girl's got some nerve, doesn't she?"
"Is she crazy? I know she's friendly, but clinging to someone like that the first time you meet them?"
Ritsuka really did go beyond pure-hearted and into eccentric. But maybe because she was that kind of eccentric—
For some reason, I felt at ease.
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