She was a peerless beauty who could only be described as such, appearing no older than seventeen or eighteen. Clad in a twelve-layered kimono reminiscent of the Heian period, the vibrant and luxurious garment weighed dozens of pounds, exuding noble elegance.
The girl possessed crystalline, gemstone-colored eyes and hair of a flaxen hue lighter than deepest black. Though her heavy robes obscured much of her figure, the graceful curve of her exposed neck resembled that of a swan, radiating an ivory-white translucence.
At first glance, she seemed like an ancient Japanese noblewoman or a princess of the imperial family—her attire and demeanor unmistakably Japanese. Yet Roy knew that by modern nationality, this maiden before him was Indian. She was none other than Janaki, the wife of Veeraj from mythology.
History had once documented Janaki's existence, venerating her as the goddess of agriculture—the origin of her identity as the Earth Mother Goddess. Later mythologies chronicled her descent from divinity: first becoming human, then even transforming into the princess of Mithila, wedded to Veeraj.
And the girl standing before Roy was none other than the divine ancestor Janaki herself!
"It's been a long time, Janaki! By human reckoning, it must have been thousands of years since we last met."
Roy gazed calmly at the dazed young woman before him as he spoke.
Hearing his words, Janaki snapped out of her reverie and gave a refined nod, like a noble lady, murmuring softly, "...Indeed, it has been millennia, Demon King."
Her voice was distant and wistful, carrying both joy at seeing Roy again and a trace of estrangement from their long separation.
Janaki clenched her teeth as she stared at the man before her—someone she couldn't decide whether to describe as beautiful or dashingly handsome. She took a step back, her mind reeling as if struck by an explosion, her thoughts thrown into disarray. The ancient memories surged back into her heart.
This was something that had happened in ancient India over two thousand years ago. At that time, a Campione had ravaged the land, known as the Demon King, drawing the resentment of countless common people. Under his tyranny, though it couldn't be called utter devastation, many mortals had lost their means of survival.
Finally, a hero descended from the heavens—valiant, peerless in martial prowess. He fought the Demon King in many battles, yet lost more often than he won.
That hero was none other than the Last King, tasked with slaying the Demon King.
However, at that time, Guinevere had not yet transformed herself into the Holy Grail. Each time the Last King sought to eradicate a Demon King on earth, he had to wander the land to activate the Oath of the Covenant. Without invoking this oath, the Last King, Veeraj, was little more than an ordinary Heretic God—no match for a Campione who had slain multiple deities and wielded numerous Authorities.
Due to Veeraj's repeated defeats, several magicians of that era sacrificed their lives to summon an Earth Mother Goddess, hoping the hero would slay her and absorb her essence, gaining the power to defeat the Demon King.
Yet no one had anticipated that the Earth Mother Goddess summoned would be none other than Janaki, Veeraj's wife from myth.
In the legends, Veeraj had already wronged Janaki. Though it was just a myth, the emotions and temperaments of both Veeraj and Janaki were real. Meeting Janaki again as a Heretic God, Veeraj, as the Last King, still had to fulfill his duty of exterminating the Demon King—forcing him to make a painful choice.
Veeraj slew Janaki with his own hands, seizing her Earth Mother essence to activate the Oath of the Covenant. Like most Earth Mother Goddesses, Janaki was struck down by the Steel God, her divine status degraded, and she became a Divine Ancestor.
At that time, Roy happened to be in ancient India under Aisha's Authority, witnessing it all. Whether it was Veeraj's battles with the Demon King that were later recorded in history, or whether the epic existed first and Veeraj came afterward—the causality had long since become twisted and confused.
Roy had casually saved Janaki back then, preventing her from perishing in the divine battle between Veeraj and the Demon King. By then, the Last King had already activated the Oath of the Covenant and was in the midst of exterminating the Demon Kings. When Roy traveled to the past, he was effectively a Campione of that era—someone who should have been targeted by the Last King as well.
Completely unprepared, Roy could only flee with Janaki. Gradually, whether it was because they developed feelings during their escape or because Janaki resented Veeraj, this wife of Veeraj and goddess of agriculture offered her body to Roy, allowing him to violate and enjoy her freely as revenge against Veeraj.
Sometimes, when Roy saw Veeraj's sorrowful expression, he couldn't help but feel that this Last King resembled the cuckolded protagonist from a green-hat novel.
During their escape, Roy also completed his own arrangements. At the time, he wasn't prepared to fight Veeraj—he simply sent Janaki to the Netherworld before seeking out Aisha and Aphrodite, using Aisha's authority to return to the modern era.
In a way, he was just as irresponsible as Veeraj—a typical man who took what he wanted and then walked away without a second thought, leaving behind the goddess who had endured hardship with him for over two thousand years.
Upon returning to the modern era, Roy initially assumed that the events of the past would fade into obscurity under the influence of historical correction. However, he later discovered that his actions in the past had genuinely altered the present. He even conducted special research on the matter, concluding that if his changes in the past aligned with the natural flow of history, they wouldn't be corrected at all.
In the correct history, the one who abducted Janaki should have been a Campione who fought the Last King—now, it had simply become another Campione, Roy. This had no impact on later generations, as Janaki wasn't a particularly significant figure in this history, so the force of historical correction didn't exert its usual effect.
Still, meeting Janaki again after more than two thousand years left Roy feeling somewhat awkward. After all, he had returned to the modern era through time travel, while Janaki had truly waited in the Netherworld for over two millennia.
Pulling his thoughts back from distant memories, Roy met Janaki's gaze. Her glass-like eyes flickered with complex emotions, too intricate even for him to fully decipher.
She shook her head and spoke softly, just as she had in the past.
"...Roy, my King. After you disappeared, I searched for you in both the Netherworld and the mortal realm for a hundred years. I thought you, too, had been slain by Veeraj, and I grieved deeply—until I visited the House of Plutarch and learned from Plutarch himself that the Demon King I had met was actually from two thousand years in the future. Only then did I give up my search."
"...I waited in the Netherworld for two thousand years. Then, a little over two years ago, I finally witnessed your birth. But history had already been set in stone—I didn't approach you then, knowing that even if I tried, the force of historical correction would stop me. Only after you used Lady Aisha's authority to return to the past and 'met' me did this broken chain of causality finally reconnect completely."
The rules of the Campione world were somewhat ambiguous—even concepts like time and fate could be influenced under the power of divine authorities.
Janaki continued, "...Though I do resent you for abandoning me, I understand it was beyond your control. I am even more grateful that you once saved me, which is why I spread our bloodline across this land. Every witch in this land is our descendant."
As she spoke, a faint blush appeared on Janaki's fair cheeks.
Roy's heart stirred as he immediately grasped the implication of her words—did this mean all the shrine maidens in Japan were his descendants?
Yuri Mariya and Ena Seishuuin were shrine maidens. Did that mean he had slept with his own great-great-great... granddaughters, generations removed? And not just them—Roy had enjoyed the services of many shrine maidens over the years.
Though the blood ties between Roy and these shrine maidens had grown exceedingly faint after so long, the realization still left him with an odd feeling.
***
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