After walking for quite a while through streets littered with the wreckage of collapsed buildings, I spotted a large supermarket that had miraculously managed to keep its shape.
The front glass had been shattered, but the inside had escaped the flames and was relatively intact.
We stationed two golems at either side of the entrance like gatekeepers, sent the other two to patrol the outside, and then stepped into the pitch-dark store.
Instead of the acrid smell of ash, the air carried the scent of old dust. At the very least, every breath no longer felt like it was scorching my lungs.
I dropped down onto the floor and let out a heavy breath.
The physical exhaustion was bad enough, but worse than that was the savage hunger clawing at me because Mana I had never felt in my life was now being forced through my entire body, leaving me hollow inside.
"Just wait a little, husband. I'll go gather up everything tasty in no time."
After checking my condition, Shuten clicked away on her wooden sandals and disappeared deeper into the dark store, humming to herself.
A little later, she came back with her arms full of uncrushed canned food, bottled water, and canned fruit.
"Here you go. There's meat, sweet peaches, and water too. I'll taste it first, so you just eat comfortably."
Shuten lightly popped open a can lid with her nail and held it out to me.
A faint smile came to my face at her thoughtful care. In one corner of the supermarket, Kojiro had settled down and was keeping watch while tilting back a bottle of sake from who knew where.
I took a few of the cans and water bottles she had handed me and rose to my feet. Then I walked over to Mash and Director Olga Marie, who were lingering anxiously near the entrance.
As I approached, Olga Marie's shoulders shrank in on themselves as usual, and Mash tightened her grip on her shield.
Even in the face of that instinctive disgust and wariness, I silently stepped forward and set the cans and water down at their feet.
"They're covered in dust, but what's inside should be fine. You must be hungry, so eat and recover your strength first."
At my calm voice, Olga Marie bit her lip and looked back and forth between me and the food.
"Don't be ridiculous! How do I know you didn't put poison or a curse in them? You think I'd eat something you handed me?!"
The director's response was as prickly as ever. From the other side, Shuten muttered, "That bitch has some nerve," while letting off killing intent, but I raised a hand to stop her.
"If you don't trust it, you don't have to eat it. I'm not forcing you."
I was just about to turn away.
"...Thank you."
It was a tiny voice, barely louder than a mosquito's buzz. After hesitating for a moment, Mash picked up the bottled water and canned food from the floor.
Her violet eyes were still trembling faintly from the aura she felt from me, but there was unmistakable sincerity in them.
"Mash! Are you in your right mind? That man is...!"
"Director. Right now, we need to preserve our strength. And..."
Mash opened a can and cautiously swallowed a bite.
Letting out a sigh mixed with relief, she offered a bottle of water to the director as well, then bowed her head toward me.
"...It's fine. I'm sorry for suspecting you so blindly earlier. I still haven't completely let down my guard around you, but... at the very least, I understand that you truly intend to resolve this Singularity."
Mash was suppressing the instinctive revulsion she felt toward me and using reason to control herself as she apologized.
Compared to earlier, that fierce hostility had definitely softened a little.
Of course, someone like her, practically a symbol of goodwill itself, could never fully accept filth like me.
But this much compromise was enough for me.
"All right. As long as you understand."
I gave a light nod, then returned to my spot and sat back down.
As if she had been waiting, Shuten pressed herself right up against me and speared a slice of yellow peach with a fork, bringing it to my lips.
"Say ahh, husband. I really don't like you taking care of those people, but I'll let it slide because you're kind."
At Shuten's sweet complaint, I obediently opened my mouth and accepted the peach.
As the sweetness spread through my mouth, it felt like some of the tension left me. While eating, I tossed a question that had suddenly come to mind toward Mash.
"By the way, can you still contact Chaldea? You said the control room was destroyed, but what happened to the other Masters?"
At my question, Mash, who had been quietly eating, wiped the dust from around her mouth and answered in a heavy voice.
"...Communications connected very briefly, then were cut off again. And the other Masters... all of them were critically injured in the explosion and placed in cryopreservation. The only Master left in Chaldea right now is one senior, Master Number 48."
A deep sadness passed through Mash's eyes.
"However, that person was also caught in the explosion and injured, so they're currently being treated in the infirmary. Right now, Chaldea's only forces in this Singularity are me and the director."
Master Number 48. Her senior.
Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Chaldea's last Master, and the true savior who would one day stand against the Evils of Humanity and save the world.
I swallowed the peach syrup and smiled bitterly to myself.
In the end, this world really did have a true protagonist. Someone loved by everyone, made of pure goodwill, an absolute force of good who would never break before any trial.
If that person came to this Singularity, or if I ended up going to Chaldea later, what would happen?
How would that righteous savior see me, wrapped in a curse that seemed to gather up every unpleasant thing in the world and leading evil Heroic Spirits at my side?
Conflict would be inevitable. The brighter the light, the darker and more ominous the shadow looked.
But well, it couldn't be helped.
Even if the world pointed at me as a villain and praised the true savior instead, I would simply walk my own path.
I hadn't come here to play at being a hero. I just wanted to smash the absurdity in front of me in my own way.
Once I had sorted out my thoughts, I brought up the system window in midair.
[Held Items: Craft Essence Select Summoning Ticket x1, Heroic Spirit summoning ticket (Evil alignment guaranteed) x1]
They were the rewards I had just obtained from defeating those Servants.
The Craft Essence Select Summoning Ticket.
Being able to choose anything was an incredible advantage, but at the same time, it made it harder to judge what would be most efficient right now.
Should I choose that ring? Or some other Noble Phantasms? Or a bond Craft Essence that could act as a catalyst to summon a specific Servant?
No, I'd put it on hold for now.
At the moment, I already had four reliable golems and two powerful Servants.
I could postpone it for now. Especially since the Craft Essence choice needed more thought. Of course, if the system could summon even irregular Heroic Spirits, then there was already one Craft Essence I had in mind.
I had also thought about those ten rings, but those only had meaning in the hands of the King of Mages.
If anything, going to the doctor with that might create friction between us, and it might make the final boss even more wary of me because of it.
Then again, maybe he'd be wary no matter what. Whether I summoned that Servant or chose the ring, it might all amount to the same thing.
Of course, the story would change if I got a few more selection tickets.
I was about to close the system window when I checked the newly updated Main Quest section.
[Main Quest: Restore Singularity F. Objective: Defeat Saber and restore the Singularity. Reward: Guaranteed 3-star or higher Evil-aligned Servant summoning ticket x1, random Craft Essence summoning ticket x2.]
At last, the final destination had become clear.
I closed the system window and leaned back deeply. As soon as the tension faded, the exhaustion I had been holding down came rushing in, and my eyelids grew heavy.
"Husband, are you tired? Come here."
Shuten tapped her thigh and pulled me toward her.
Without resisting, I laid my head down on her soft lap.
Shuten's cool fingers carefully brushed through my hair.
Whenever her fingertips playfully traced over my ear or cheek, a sharp tingle of demonic energy ran through my veins and brought with it a strange pleasure.
"You really are a strange man. You're so indifferent to everyone else, so why are you only this careless with me?"
Shuten lowered her head and whispered by my ear, her voice low but soaked in deep affection.
"If you lie here this defenseless, I could just gobble you right up, and no one would ever know."
"If you were going to eat me, you would've done it already. And if it's you, Shuten, I don't mind."
When I answered bluntly with my eyes still closed, Shuten burst into laughter and rubbed her cheek against my forehead.
"Ahaha, that's true too. But husband, I'm really asking because I want to know."
The playfulness faded from her voice, replaced by something deep and sticky.
"Everything in heaven and earth hates you and pushes you away, so why don't you hate them back? Just hold on to me and give the order once. Without dirtying even one of your fingers, I can tear the heads off those beasts and build you a tower of blood."
It was a chilling offer.
If Mash and the director had heard it, they would have been horrified. But with my eyes still closed, I gently wrapped my hand around hers.
"Shuten. Even if I took revenge on the world, it wouldn't erase my nature or the past I've lived through."
At my calm answer, Shuten's hand paused.
"I was treated like a monster, but I don't want to become a real monster. Even if they call me evil and throw stones at me, I'll walk the path I chose. The moment I abandon my humanity, I really will become the filth they say I am."
I opened my eyes and looked up at her. Her golden eyes were wavering.
"So I don't need a tower of blood. Just..."
I lightly leaned my face against the back of the hand cupping my cheek.
"Just stay by my side like this and be on my side. Even if the whole world hates me, if you remember me and stay with me, that's enough."
At my seemingly casual but gentle sincerity, Shuten froze with her lips slightly parted.
A moment later, her eyes reddened, and with a breath that sounded almost like a beast in pain, she suddenly threw her arms around my neck. The sickeningly sweet scent of alcohol and her warmth wrapped around my whole body.
"Ah... this is driving me mad. You really are... what are you trying to do to me? You turn this rotten oni's insides upside down like this, and you're not even going to take responsibility."
Shuten buried her face in my chest and muttered. I lightly patted her back and stared up at the dark supermarket ceiling.
"Then I'll take responsibility. That's how people live, taking responsibility for what they do."
It didn't matter whether the true savior came or not, or whether the world called me evil.
At the very least, right now in my arms was an oni who loved me more blindly than anyone else in the world. That warmth alone was enough reason for me to keep living in this hellish world.
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