Did Takumi like Nero?
Of course he did! He liked her a lot!
Honestly, who wouldn't like a beautiful girl who showed genuine affection and didn't care about his appearance, especially when he was at his absolute lowest?
At the very least, Takumi wasn't immune to that kind of charm.
"Emmm... You're only delighted enough to want a hug?"
Hearing Takumi's words, the displeasure on Nero's face instantly vanished. She put on a thoughtful expression, pretending to evaluate his answer, stealing glances at his face the whole time.
But before Takumi could even say anything else, Nero couldn't hold back anymore.
"Umu, umu! I suppose that answer is acceptable! I shall grant you the honor of embracing my flawless form!"
With a sweet, radiant smile, Nero threw her arms wide open and immediately closed the distance, looking even more eager than he was.
Though slightly bewildered by the girl's rapid mood swings, Takumi followed his instincts and pulled the petite Emperor into his arms.
Feeling her soft body against his, he greedily inhaled the rich, elegant fragrance lingering in her hair and along her neck.
"...My, is my Praetor actually this impatient? But that's fine! I love this side of you too!"
Feeling his warm breath against her earlobe and neck, a faint blush crept onto Nero's cheeks.
Takumi: "..."
If he couldn't feel her breathing just as deeply against him, or the small hands eagerly roaming his back, he probably would have been embarrassed by her blatant teasing.
But, just like Nero, he loved this side of her too!
Sensing Takumi's thoughts, Nero's face flushed even redder. Whether it was from shyness or pure joy was hard to tell, but she spoke with a distinct, whiny pout:
"I haven't forgotten how you deliberately ignored my question earlier! If you don't give me a satisfactory reason... hmph!"
She trailed off there.
Not because she was planning some "severe punishment," but simply because she hadn't actually thought of one and couldn't come up with anything on the spot.
"Because if I stood up, I could hug you much tighter, Emperor."
Catching onto Nero's thoughts, Takumi smiled faintly and whispered.
"Ugh..."
Hit by Takumi's incredibly straightforward attack, Nero's ears turned bright red. Thrilled, she hugged him even tighter.
"Furthermore..."
Takumi didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he slid his hands slightly lower down her back.
Furthermore what?
Not hearing the rest, Nero looked up in confusion.
Takumi didn't give her time to ask. With a sudden burst of strength, he lifted her entirely off the ground.
"This way, I can hold you up high! (≧▽≦)"
How tall was Nero? Exactly 150cm!
She had the curves of a mature woman, but her height was incredibly adorable. Takumi had actually wanted to pick her up like this for a long time!
Suddenly finding her feet dangling in the air, Nero: "?!"
Spinning the petite Nero around in a circle, Takumi was having the time of his life. But Nero, feeling like her height was being openly mocked, puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
Right before she could throw a proper tantrum, Takumi quickly set her back down.
He took two steps back.
"Sigh. No matter how many times I look at it, your outfit always feels a bit... bizarre, Emperor."
Looking at the pouting Nero, Takumi recalled the sensation from a moment ago and couldn't help but comment with a sigh.
For starters, when he picked her up and spun her, those golden boots of hers were incredibly glaring. Plus, considering they were solid metal, they were hard—she had actually bruised his shin with them.
Completely missing his actual point, Nero looked down at her clothes in confusion.
It was the same outfit she always wore.
The top half was a perfectly normal, elegant crimson dress. But the bottom half was where things got weird. The front third of the skirt was made of almost completely transparent fabric, offering an unobstructed view of her pale, thick thighs and her white panties.
"Umu! If you're worried about the transparent part in the front, Praetor, you can rest easy! As long as I don't want anyone else to see, no one else can see through it!"
Nero planted her hands on her hips and stated proudly.
"I have no idea why you're so proud of that... Besides, I wasn't talking about the skirt. I was talking about your boots."
"Don't you think those solid gold, metal boots are a bit... ugly?"
Remembering how Nero looked running around barefoot in the Second Singularity, Takumi tried to subtly guide the conversation.
"How could they be?! This brilliant gold, this elegant design—"
Nero was about to argue, but then she caught onto Takumi's true intention. Her gaze instantly turned profound, though a hint of genuine shyness flickered in her eyes.
"Ahem. Well, if my Praetor dislikes them... I suppose changing into a different outfit isn't entirely out of the question!"
Glancing down at her boots again, her face flushed slightly as she coughed and made the offer.
"Then it's a promise!"
Takumi clapped his hands together happily.
With that minor detour resolved, Takumi looked down at his own clothes. He was still wearing the scorched, battle-damaged uniform from the fight. Confused, he asked:
"By the way... this is definitely my Noble Phantasm, but how did you all get here?"
"Uh, I mean, when did you get here? How long have you been waiting?"
[The Unfalling Chaldea] was essentially a Reality Marble, similar to the Time Temple. It was the ultimate safe house forged from his own mind, absolutely impenetrable from the outside. Once he acquired it, Takumi knew he was completely safe.
Even if he lost consciousness, [Chaldea] would automatically pull him into this sanctuary.
But because he had been unconscious the entire time, Takumi had absolutely no idea what had happened, or even when Nero had arrived.
"Emmm, we actually haven't been here that long. Maybe about seven days?"
Nero thought about it and began to explain.
It wasn't actually that complicated.
Following Takumi's final clash with Goetia, not only did the original Chaldea completely lose track of him, but the Servants lost him as well. In that exact moment, the [Heart of Fire] connection—which hadn't broken even while he was tanking the Human Order Cannon—suddenly snapped.
This naturally caused the Servants, who were already terrified for his safety, to panic even more.
But they couldn't find a single trace of him on the Throne of Heroes. Ereshkigal couldn't locate the soul she had placed her blessing upon. They couldn't even sense a fragment of his existence.
Even the most powerful, god-tier Servants among them tried every method they knew, but they found absolutely nothing. It was as if Takumi had been entirely erased from existence.
It wasn't until half a month later that the faint, wavering connection of the [Heart of Fire] slowly began to re-emerge.
However, the connection was incredibly weak. It couldn't even transmit coordinates, let alone forcefully summon them like it had during the Grand Temple of Time.
Left with no other options, the Servants could only wait.
Finally, seven days ago.
Tiamat, possessing the absolute authority of [Independent Manifestation], impatiently forced her way through the strengthening connection, violently tearing her way into the space.
The other Servants, completely stunned by her raw power, simply followed in her wake and arrived at [The Unfalling Chaldea].
There, they found Takumi sleeping peacefully in his room, his entire body enveloped in a cocoon of gold and white flames, exactly like when he had reforged himself in the Underworld.
Furthermore, because Servants require a "summoner" or an anchor to remain manifested—and standard summoning rituals are incredibly complex—aside from Tiamat, every other Servant had been brought here by the lingering pull of the [Heart of Fire]. Unless they voluntarily terminated their own summons, they had nowhere else to go. They were essentially trapped inside [Chaldea].
"I see..."
Hearing Nero's explanation, Takumi scratched his head, feeling incredibly guilty.
To think I made everyone wait this long just because I was sleeping...
"Well, in that case, I need to go see everyone right away!"
Knowing exactly what he had to do, Takumi made his decision.
"Umu, umu! We really should hurry! The Mother Goddess of Creation practically wanted to stay glued to your side 24/7. If she finds out you woke up and she wasn't here, she might actually throw a tantrum and wreck the place."
Nero nodded in full agreement.
"Huh?"
Is she really that clingy?!
Takumi was dumbfounded.
Feeling a sudden sense of urgency, the two of them hurried out of the room, heading toward the main area where the Servants had gathered.
Stepping out of the automatic door, Takumi was just about to turn the corner when a figure suddenly appeared, walking directly toward him.
At a distance of less than twenty centimeters... a collision in the next second was mathematically guaranteed.
But Takumi wasn't a normal human anymore!
If he had anything going for him, it was his absurd reaction speed!
Operating purely on instinct, Takumi dug his heels in, leaned backward, and was just about to smoothly dodge back toward Nero.
Ha! As if you could hit me!
Just as Takumi was about to flash a triumphant smirk, a slender arm suddenly wrapped around his shoulder.
Crap! It's a grapple move—
The entire sequence happened in less than a second. Before he knew it, Takumi was pulled forcefully into an incredibly soft embrace.
A familiar yet entirely unexpected fragrance filled his nose. His entire face was buried in something unimaginably soft and massive. As his hands instinctively scrambled for purchase, he felt smooth, perfectly toned skin beneath a thin layer of clothing.
"How does this feel?"
A gentle, teasing voice echoed right next to his ear.
'I think... it actually feels pretty amazing?'
Subjected to a devastating "motorboat" attack, Takumi instantly lost all combat capability, his brain completely short-circuiting.
"Grrr—!"
Takumi might have been enjoying it, but the Emperor behind him instantly exploded with rage. Without a word, Nero wedged herself between them, aggressively prying the two apart.
She glared furiously at the woman whose figure was undeniably better than her own.
During her seven days in [Chaldea], Nero had thoroughly assessed the competition, analyzing every girl who harbored feelings for Takumi.
Jeanne? The Holy Maiden didn't even realize she liked him yet. In Nero's eyes, she wasn't even on the starting line.
Jeanne Alter? Tsunderes always lose to straightforward attacks!
Ereshkigal? She might be a goddess, but she was way too shy to ever make a proactive move. Not a threat!
Because of this, she had easily managed to maneuver those three away, ensuring she was the only one present when Takumi finally woke up.
But this Lion King... She looked completely aloof and hadn't shown much interest in Takumi previously. Yet, her sheer "danger level" and this blatant ambush proved she was an absolute menace!
Takumi finally snapped out of his daze and looked at the Lion King, who had been pushed away by Nero after her unprovoked "motorboat" assault.
Taking a good look at her, Takumi froze.
Unlike Nero, who was wearing her standard Servant attire, the Lion King wasn't wearing her heavy, impenetrable armor. Instead, she was wearing a casual, incredibly domestic outfit that gave off intense "older sister" vibes.
She wore a thin white T-shirt that clung tightly to her curves, a light blue cardigan draped casually over her shoulders, classic black pantyhose over her legs, a tight black miniskirt, and a pair of simple heels...
This—this was perfectly in his strike zone!
Combined with the visual impact and the lingering sensation of the physical assault, Takumi's breathing instantly became erratic.
"Well? How does this outfit look?"
Seeing his reaction, the Lion King's eyes sparkled with amusement. She casually spread her arms, did a slow twirl, and playfully lifted one leg, perfectly modeling the outfit.
"Grrrr!!!"
Finally realizing why this woman had specifically changed into this outfit, Nero glared at the Lion King with absolute venom.
But tragically, glaring was all she could do.
Because among everyone currently present in [Chaldea], aside from Takumi, the Lion King was the only one who had manifested with her true, physical body. Even Tiamat had only managed to hastily construct a temporary Servant vessel.
"Anyway! Let's go, Praetor! Everyone else has been waiting forever!"
Feeling entirely too passive, Nero quickly grabbed Takumi's hand and practically dragged him toward the gathering hall.
"Uh, yeah, we should probably go see everyone else..."
Being dragged along, Takumi scratched his cheek awkwardly and pointed toward the hall.
They really had kept the others waiting long enough.
"Mhm. Let's go."
Completely unbothered, the Lion King smiled faintly and followed casually behind them.
...
The room Takumi had been sleeping in wasn't far from the main recreation area. A few moments later, the trio arrived.
"Oh? Our grand hero finally decided to wake up!"
Sitting at a small table, sipping an unknown alcoholic beverage from a mug, Drake was the first to spot Takumi at the door. She paused for a second, then grinned widely, raising her mug in a teasing toast.
Hearing her voice, the Servants who had been chatting idly or playing games immediately turned their surprised, delighted gazes toward the door, finally laying eyes on the boy they feared might never wake up.