"Is Eiji still moping around?"
Satoru Gojo looked at Suguru Geto beside him, continuously stuffing Kikufuku into his mouth.
Kikufuku are essentially mochi balls filled with various ingredients. They have a cool texture, and their flavor depends on the filling. Different regions have different names for this snack.
"Yeah, you can't tell from his face, but he hasn't been talking much lately, and I can rarely find him," Suguru Geto nodded. Ever since Eiji's Divine Dog, Little White, was killed by a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Eiji had been in a slump. Suguru had tried to comfort him, but it didn't work.
It was only then that Suguru realized Eiji was usually the one comforting him.
While he could spout eloquent words about justice and righteousness, he had no idea what to do when someone close to him needed comfort.
Suguru felt a pang of guilt. If they hadn't split up, if he had been a little faster, Eiji might not have lost one of his Divine Dogs.
After "casually" discussing with his parents how to comfort friends, they offered a suggestion.
Take him out and have some fun to distract him.
That's when Suguru thought of Satoru Gojo.
Wherever Satoru Gojo was, it was bound to be lively. If Satoru played with Eiji for a few days, maybe Eiji would be captivated by him and temporarily forget his sorrow.
"Oh~, this is a rare sight, I have to capture it."
With that, Satoru pulled out his phone, a look of eager anticipation on his face.
"Satoru, we're here to comfort Eiji."
Suguru felt a headache coming on. He hoped bringing Satoru wouldn't backfire.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Eiji, whom they were worried about, was in his room drawing the summoning circle needed for the ritual. A golden Cavalry chess piece was placed within it.
Each user of the Ten Shadows Technique has only one Summoned Spirit.
Once this Summoned Spirit is completely destroyed, it cannot be summoned again, not even with a re-taming ritual, because there is no longer a Summoned Spirit that can respond to the ritual.
Knowing this, Eiji was devastated after the death of his Divine Dog, Little White.
In his previous life, Eiji had also experienced the loss of a pet.
That was a fox dog named Beibei, raised by his grandmother.
Sometimes, his grandmother would even cook a special dish just for Beibei.
When Beibei passed away, his family gathered around. His grandmother gently stroked Beibei's head, murmuring words of blessing.
"Don't be afraid, Beibei. Go to the other side where there's endless meat."
"If you're not happy there, come back and be our dog again."
They didn't bury the little dog until long after it had passed.
When Eiji truly had to say goodbye to a dog he had grown up with, he found it far more painful than losing Beibei in his past life.
The Divine Dogs were his companions for the longest time; they had truly become his family.
When he first arrived in this world, his father was already dead, and his mother, with a numb expression, eventually hanged herself.
He was also mocked for his lack of talent.
Although there was no overt abuse, he was driven around and bullied by various people during the day, and forced to study feudalistic indoctrination at night. Eiji, who had received a complete education and possessed his own thoughts, naturally couldn't accept it.
After leaving the Zenin Family, Eiji awakened the Ten Shadows Technique. From then on, the Divine Dogs stayed by his side.
Eiji had been in this world for 8 years, and for 7 of those years, the Divine Dogs had been his companions.
The black Divine Dog, Little Black, who had used the Assassin class chess piece, was usually very quiet. It would often lie by Eiji's feet, and Eiji wouldn't even notice.
Little White, who used the Cavalry chess piece, was the complete opposite – excessively lively.
More energetic than a husky.
Because of this, the Divine Dogs held an irreplaceable position in Eiji's heart. This was the reason for Eiji's despondency after the death of Little White.
To help himself overcome his negative emotions quickly, Eiji began researching the Illusionary Power collected by the Holy Grail.
Since the previous confirmation of the Fate/stay night production plan in the Heroic Spirit Pictures, Director Yamaguchi had immediately put his team to work and finalized a collaboration with the television station.
Although they didn't get a prime-time slot, they secured a decent broadcast time.
Fate/stay night had now reached its second episode, which coincided with the arrival of King Arthur, Artoria.
To maximize the acquisition of Illusionary Power, Eiji invested more resources into the animation of Artoria's arrival.
The exquisite artwork, dreamlike scenes, and the beautiful Knight King deeply captivated the audience. The first wave of "King fans" had subtly emerged, and wisps of Illusionary Power were collected and recorded by the Holy Grail.
While researching Illusionary Power, Eiji discovered it was a different kind of power from Cursed Energy. Compared to Cursed Energy, this power born from curses, the Illusionary Power collected by the Holy Grail gave a more positive and beautiful feeling.
This also gave Eiji a certain understanding of the existence of Heroic Spirits. Heroic Spirits were not Cursed Spirits, but rather beings like elementals or deities born from faith.
Most importantly, while researching these powers, Eiji discovered information about the Divine Dogs within the Cavalry chess piece.
That's right, the existence of the Divine Dogs was recorded in the Cavalry chess piece, and the information was very comprehensive.
This was understandable. Ever since Eiji discovered that Heroic Spirit chess pieces could be used by the Summoned Spirits of the Ten Shadows Technique, the Assassin and Cavalry chess pieces had been on the two Divine Dogs. Other chess pieces were taken as needed on site.
At this moment, Eiji suddenly had a new idea: to summon the Divine Dogs in the form of Heroic Spirits.
With the fans' illusions of Artoria as a reference, Eiji quickly succeeded in using the Holy Grail to convert his Cursed Energy into the Illusionary Power needed to summon Heroic Spirits.
Eiji began to devote all his energy to researching the Holy Grail and Heroic Spirit Summoning, continuously converting his Cursed Energy into the Illusionary Power required for summoning Heroic Spirits through the Holy Grail.
This was also why Suguru Geto had been unable to contact Eiji recently.
Other Heroic Spirits needed to collect Illusionary Power because people's understanding of them was insufficient. Therefore, the Holy Grail needed to gather enough Illusionary Power as an anchor to shape the Heroic Spirit's image and strength.
However, the Divine Dog, Little White, did not need this, because over the past seven years, the Holy Grail had been recording Little White's information every moment through the Cavalry Chess Piece.
"Phew, done."
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Eiji looked at the summoning circle he had drawn and the golden Chess Piece in the center of the circle.
"The storage of Illusionary Power is also sufficient, so now all that's needed is..."
Eiji was a little nervous.
The Holy Grail already had the function of absorbing and storing magical power. Eiji's talent was extremely high, and his Cursed Energy output was also large. In addition, he injected excess Cursed Energy into the Holy Grail every day for storage.
Therefore, even though the Ten Shadows Technique consumed a lot of Cursed Energy, Eiji had never experienced running out of Cursed Energy.
This was also why Eiji was able to quickly convert enough Illusionary Power after finding a way to summon Little White again.
"I declare."
"Your body rests under my command, and my fate is upon your sword."
...
"You are the Seven Heavens, bound by the Great Word of Power, from the Wheel of Inhibition, Guardian of the Scales!"
The golden Chess Piece emitted a pure white radiance, and a white figure gradually appeared on the summoning circle.
"Woof, woof."
As soon as the white figure fully appeared, it pounced on Eiji.
Little White placed its paws on Eiji's shoulders, its tongue constantly licking Eiji's face.
Eiji did not dodge. He held Little White with one hand and vigorously petted its dog head with the other.
"Welcome back, Little White."
"Woof, woof!"
Just then, a figure suddenly jumped in through Eiji's window.
"Yo Eiji, let me see if you've been crying."
Little White and Eiji simultaneously looked at Satoru Gojo, who had jumped in through the window and struck a protagonist's pose.
"Huh? What's going on here?"
Satoru Gojo pushed down his sunglasses, his Six Eyes curiously looking at Eiji and Little White.
Eiji and Little White, as if telepathically connected, turned to look at each other.
"Bite him!"
"Woof!"
"Huh? Attacking me out of nowhere? Young man, you have no honor. Hey, don't bite my pants, they're new!"
Everything was as if they had returned to the small country courtyard seven years ago.
"What is this situation?"
Suguru Geto, who arrived a step late because he used the door, thought he was still dreaming.
The Ferocious Dog beside him glanced at Suguru Geto, yawned, and continued its nap.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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