January 3, 1995
Morning...
Instead of a pillow, I found myself using Tiamat's chest as one.
It wasn't intentional; it just happened when Tiamat pulled me into an embrace.
She wasn't looking at me with any romantic interest, but rather as if I were her son, holding me without any ulterior motive.
If any other man saw this, they'd probably come at me with a knife, shouting, "If I can't have you, no one can!" But well, there were no such witnesses in our motel room, so the chances of that happening were close to zero.
Besides, Tiamat wasn't an ordinary person but a Beast and a goddess, so it was 100% certain she could stop any such incident before it even began.
"Fufu, are you awake?"
"Yeah..."
"I'm sorry if I held you too tight and you couldn't breathe."
"No, it wasn't that bad..."
To actually die of suffocation, you'd have to be dealing with the brutish Lancer Artoria.
Tiamat, on the other hand, acted with care, as if holding a baby, so there was no risk of suffocation.
"I see. That's a relief."
"Well then, shall we get up now?"
Grrrrrrr.
"Should we go to the supermarket later and cook something?"
"That sounds wonderful."
I searched for a nearby supermarket on my smartphone, and we headed there to buy some groceries.
Cabbage: 86 JPY
Onion: 188 JPY
Canned Tuna: 176 JPY
10 Eggs: 198 JPY
Oysters: 198 JPY
Soy Sauce: 170 JPY
Garlic: 87 JPY
Pork: 500 JPY
Supermarket: -1,603 JPY
Remaining Balance: 949,613 JPY.
It felt like a very nutritious haul.
Afterward, we returned to the motel and began to cook.
The motel room was equipped with a gas stove, a ventilation fan, and cooking utensils.
"Just wait a moment, child."
"No, I can help..."
"I would feel too bad if I only ever receive from you."
Tiamat's words left me with nothing to say, so I just watched her cook by herself.
I was impressed as she prepared the food as if making a bento box; she was amazing.
We didn't have any plates, so we had to use the cutting board as a substitute. However, to use the other ingredients, we had no choice but to ask the motel owner for some plates.
Soon, although we had no rice, we had a hearty meal of onion and tuna salad, fried eggs, oysters, and grilled pork.
Chew, chew.
It wasn't bad.
Eggs usually require oil, but it seemed she had used the pork fat to fry them.
It was a bit greasy because of the fat, but the salad helped cut through it. When that wasn't enough, the soy sauce helped offset the greasy taste.
After that, I ate the oysters with the sauce. It was enough to fill our stomachs, but it was a shame there was no rice.
But this combination... it seemed incredibly rich in protein.
Nah... must be a coincidence, right?
We finished our meal.
"Thank you for the food."
"I'm happy you enjoyed it."
"By the way... how are we going to catch the serial killer?"
"I am sorry. Since I don't possess Clairvoyance, it seems it will be difficult to find him. Aaaa..."
Well, I had already expected that.
"In that case, shall we wander around at night?"
"Yes, but you must make sure to get enough sleep."
I patted Tiamat's head.
"I am not a child... LaLaLa..."
"I just felt like patting you, that's all."
Tiamat blushed slightly and smiled with pleasure.
"I see."
With just that one word, she closed her eyes as I continued to gently pat her head.
I touched her horns for a moment, and then her elf-like ears.
"You must have been very interested in my horns and ears. It's a strange feeling, having someone touch them, but it's not unpleasant."
"It's just that I've never had the chance to touch them before."
"I see..."
Tiamat just kept her eyes closed.
For some reason, I felt a sudden impulse to pinch her cheeks.
"Eubbbbb..."
When I suddenly pinched her cheeks, Tiamat flailed about with a flustered expression.
I let her cheeks go.
"Ugh... I feel like you just bullied me like a child..."
Tiamat touched her own cheeks and glared at me.
"I don't know why, I just really wanted to pinch them."
"You are a bad child."
And then, Tiamat pounced on me.
CRASH!
She climbed on top of my stomach and looked down at me.
"..."
What is this? This dangerous position?
It was an extremely dangerous position from a rational perspective, so I had to instinctively restrain myself.
"Bad children must be punished."
"Isn't this a rather bad position?"
And honestly, Tiamat was quite heavy.
It wasn't a normal human's weight; I felt she was heavier because of the added weight of her horns.
It seemed that no matter how much she compressed them, the weight of the horns couldn't be reduced.
With my strength, I couldn't do anything; it was difficult to get up even if I wanted to.
"Hey, this situation is pretty dangerous."
Sensing something was about to... rise, I took a deep breath to calm myself.
"Hmph."
"..."
She was pouting.
"This is your punishment."
For a punishment, this is too much like torture. Her weight pressing down on my stomach...
To be precise, it wasn't her full weight, but a portion of it was pressing down on me.
We stayed like that for about 10 minutes before she finally got up and moved aside.
And I started patting Tiamat's head again.
Her body was that of an adult, but her soul gave off the air of a child.
"Do you like it when I pat your head?"
"Yes."
"Aaaa..."
"LaLaLa~"
I imitated Tiamat's cry.
To be specific, it was the sound of the younger Tiamat...
Anyway, after I finished patting her head, I checked the map.
The sewers were where Gilles de Rais appeared later, so it was clear that wasn't the place for now.
That meant we had to wander around and look for the killer.
"Sigh. I guess we have no choice. We'll have to find him by walking around."
"Yes. I will help you in any way I can, so do not worry."
And so, we began to wander the surrounding area in search of the serial killer.
"It would've been nice if I knew some tracking magecraft..."
"I'm sorry, Mama is not a magus."
No, I wasn't talking to you, Tiamat.
In any case, I relied on my smartphone as we walked around, but I noticed something odd.
'Does this phone not have a battery? There's no battery indicator...'
The phone wouldn't turn off.
It was as if the battery capacity was meaningless, so I could only scratch my head and stay silent.
For lunch, we bought some sushi rolls from a convenience store.
Convenience Store: -1,980 JPY
Remaining Balance: 947,633 JPY.
I bought several boxes of rolls, each containing four pieces.
The price was around 200 yen per box, which was a pretty crazy price.
"Please come again."
The part-timer bowed his head after putting the food in a bag. His gaze was directed at Tiamat, but he quickly looked away.
After eating six boxes of rolls, our stomachs were full, and Tiamat and I set off together to find a trace of the serial killer.
The further we walked down the street, the more people couldn't take their eyes off her.
Along the way, I even witnessed a scene where a man let out a crack sound as his lower region shriveled up.
'It would be great if I could learn some kind of perception-blocking magecraft...'
It seemed best to summon a Caster quickly, but the problem was that I had to deal with that serial killer first to guarantee a Caster summoning.
What I wanted was to twist the original story as little as possible.
If it got twisted too much, it would be disadvantageous for me, and frankly, making major changes to the original story was a burden.
Honestly, the original story is already greatly twisted the moment the Caster's Master dies, but even if I become Caster's Master, the initial situation would likely remain the same.
I looked at Tiamat.
I didn't know to what extent the adult Tiamat's abilities were unlocked, but if she acted as a mana supply as a living being, her magical energy was clearly at a level that could maintain a contract with a Servant long after the Holy Grail War ended.
If that happened, my safety wasn't guaranteed, but it was still better than nothing, right?
Frankly, it wouldn't be strange if Tiamat and I were given a Sealing Designation.
Well, the smartphone I have is more likely to be the target of a designation, but...
Would anyone even know about this phone?
As long as I don't reveal the truth myself, there's no way I'll get a Sealing Designation.
Who would know that this piece of scrap metal contains such enormous amounts of information?
In this era where smartphones don't even exist yet, it would be useless.
As I was thinking that, I saw a young man walk past us casually.
With orange hair, a white t-shirt underneath, and a purple jacket over it, it was Ryuunosuke Uryuu.
As he walked further away, I looked at the back of his head and said:
"That's him."
"Yes. The stench of blood is overwhelming... Just how many lives has he taken..."
Tiamat looked at Ryuunosuke with a pained expression and hugged me.
"Are you going to fight, Akira?"
"Probably?"
I had considered not fighting even if I participated in the Holy Grail War, but Goldie was the biggest variable.
"I see. If you are in danger, I will protect you."
"Tiamat..."
It was a romantic atmosphere, but her "Mama" power was so strong that it felt strange.
Should I call this kind of thing being very accepting?
"Well then, shall we follow him?"
"Yes."
And so, we began to follow Ryuunosuke.