The next five days passed.
Night once again fell over Fuyuki City and its surroundings.
As before, during this time, Kuro continued gathering various information about the prospective Masters in the Holy Grail War as well as the conditions of Fuyuki City.
At the same time, he also performed daily system check-ins.
However, this time, the rewards he received felt far more interesting.
He also noticed one thing—every seven days, the system seemed to grant a special reward.
Among the items he received:
First, a box containing one hundred high-purity gems.
Second, on the seventh day, he obtained a gacha ticket for a Hero summoning, limited to Hindu mythology.
Third, five hundred thousand gold coins.
Fourth, an increase of 500 OD Points.
Fifth, he suddenly acquired an active skill: Histeria Savant Syndrome.
As for the Hero summoning gacha ticket, Kuro did not use it immediately.
As for Histeria Savant Syndrome, Kuro still didn't fully understand why the system had granted it.
Most likely, the system had detected a danger on the horizon. Yet, he himself still didn't understand what kind of danger it was.
Recalling the ability, when activated, it could boost brain performance to peak levels—almost equivalent to a supercomputer.
However, to trigger it, a specific condition related to a woman was required.
"…Strange."
He didn't pursue the thought any further, nor did he experiment with the skill.
For now, he chose to set those matters aside.
At this moment, Kuro was in the forest, not far from Fuyuki City.
He stood in a relatively open area, slightly wider than the surrounding trees.
In his hand was a Hero summoning gacha ticket, ready to be used.
The ticket was golden, with patterns that felt suspicious due to its random nature. Yet Kuro chose to ignore that, hoping to summon something useful.
His goal in calling a Heroic Spirit was not to win the war.
Rather, it was to increase his chances of survival.
If possible, and he managed to get a sufficiently powerful Hero, he even planned to eliminate all participants in the Grail War… or end the war himself.
He stared at the ticket in his hand.
"…Hmm," he murmured. "If I'm not mistaken, using it only requires a command. No ritual necessary."
A brief silence.
He raised the ticket high.
"With this treasure, I summon!"
{Note: not summoning Mahoraga, okay? 🗿}
The next moment, the ticket emitted a golden light. At the same time, the Command Spells on his left wrist—hidden beneath the long white shirt—reacted as well.
The three marks of an absolute Master glowed faintly, shaped like three pairs of blood-red seraphim wings, all interconnected.
Almost simultaneously, a summoning magic circle appeared before him.
"This momentum…" Kuro murmured quietly. "Whoever appears must be a powerful Hero… could it be Karna?"
A few moments later, pink and red flower petals materialized from nowhere, scattering around him.
Kuro froze.
"…Or maybe Arjuna?"
At that moment, the flower petals began to converge, merging to form a humanoid figure.
Slowly, from below, a pair of small, floating legs took shape.
The figure continued to rise, revealing a petite body draped in a thin purple veil-like outfit, adorned with golden petal-shaped accessories.
Silver bobbed hair swayed gently.
A pair of red eyes stared lazily—as if observing something utterly uninteresting.
For a moment, the figure reminded him of Sakura Matou.
But it was different.
The aura it radiated felt divine… and far heavier.
Before the figure could utter a single word, Kuro dropped to his knees.
His knees hit the ground.
"SSR, huh…" he murmured quietly. "But why… Kama?"
As he had suspected, the figure before him was none other than Kama—the Goddess of Desire and Love from Hindu mythology.
Kuro immediately lifted his face, then covered it with his right hand.
"Kama is useless in this Holy Grail War!" he said. "What good are love buffs and debuffs against other Servants?"
He drew a long breath.
"For some reason… I smell trouble, and my chances of survival just dropped in a single breath…"
A brief silence followed.
Kama stared at him with no change in expression.
The flower petals around her continued to fall slowly, as if time itself moved more slowly around her.
"…Huh?"
Her voice was soft.
Flat.
Yet it carried a faint undertone of displeasure.
She tilted her head slightly, silver hair swaying gently.
"Just summoned… and immediately insulted."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Her gaze fell upon Kuro, still kneeling.
"Master-san… quite bold, aren't you?"
Kama floated slightly closer.
The distance between them was now not too far.
"And you say… I'm useless?"
Her voice remained soft.
Too soft.
She lifted her hand slowly.
The tip of her finger pointed toward Kuro, without actually touching him.
"Then…"
Her red eyes fixed on him.
"…want to find out?"
A faint smile appeared on her face.
Not a warm smile.
But something dangerous.
"How 'useless' I really am."
The air around them seemed to shift slightly.
There was no raw, brute force.
Yet something subtle… creeping.
Slowly.
Binding.
Unnoticed.
"…Or," she continued softly, "do you want to take back your words, Master-san?"
Her smile widened just a little.
Kuro was silent for several seconds.
"…No," he answered flatly, briefly, and without hesitation.
The hand covering his face slowly lowered, revealing an expression that remained flat—contrasting sharply with the situation before him.
He did not look afraid.
Nor pressured.
He appeared… analytical.
"Objectively speaking," he continued in a serious, almost cold tone, "in the Fifth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, with Servants capable of city-level destruction, the concept of 'love'… is low impact."
Silence.
"…Unless you have a hidden gimmick that's truly broken," he added casually.
Instantly, the quiet shifted.
The subtle aura that had been creeping before did not dissipate—it thickened.
Colder.
More… personal.
Kama did not speak immediately.
Her eyes simply stared deeper, sharper, into Kuro.
The flower petals around her stopped falling, as if time itself refused to move.
"…I see."
Her voice remained soft.
Yet now, there was no longer even a trace of warmth in it.
"Master-san…"
Her body floated closer, until it finally came to a stop right in front of Kuro.
Very close.
"…If you talk like that…"
She tilted her head down slightly.
Her face was now level with Kuro's.
They were only an inch apart.
"…that means you've never been in love, have you?"
The voice was soft.
Gentle.
Yet it felt sharp, as if piercing straight through.
Kuro frowned slightly.
"None of your—"
His sentence trailed off.
Kama's face suddenly drew closer, and their lips touched in a kiss that was gentle yet startling.
For a moment, Kuro's mind went blank.
The next second, his face flushed faintly, and his heart pounded like a war drum.
Adrenaline surged through his body, making his head feel light and his thoughts waver under the overwhelming sensation.
He tried to pull away.
But Kama's palms gently held her in place.
Almost at the same moment, a soft, wet, and warm touch slipped between his lips, flowing in an intense, hot sigh.
"Lick...♡ slurp...♡ haa...♡ lick...♡"
The feeling grew deeper, clouding his consciousness.
Something inside him suddenly snapped.
Silence.
Kama slowly pulled away, gazing at Kuro, who had now lowered his head.
"Master-san," she said softly, yet dangerously. "How about it? The love I feel… sweet, isn't it?"
Her smile was faint.
"If you still want it, just say so. I can give you as much as you want~"
But then she tilted her head.
Something was off.
"Huh? Master-san?"
Kuro's voice sounded soft.
"…Helpless."
In an instant, one of the three Command Spells on his left arm disappeared.
"…Eh!?"
Kama's body suddenly locked up.
Something invisible restrained her, draining her strength and balance, forcing her down to her knees.
Her knees hit the ground.
Before her body could fall backward, Kuro caught her by the back.
Their gazes met at an extremely close distance.
"Miss…" Kuro said quietly.
His tone remained calm.
"Kissing someone you've just met isn't a good thing."
His eyes stared straight into hers.
"It seems… no one ever taught you that."
He paused briefly.
"Or… is this simply the nature of the Goddess of Love?"
Silence.
Kama tried to move her body, but to no avail.
The effects of the Command Spell still bound her.
But instead of getting angry, a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Using a Command Spell just to subdue me?" she said softly.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Master-san… I didn't know you were this kind of person."
Her tone remained soft, but it was clearly sharper.
"And… is it wrong if this is my natural disposition?"
She looked deeply into Kuro's eyes.
"Giving love… that's part of who I am."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Or…" she continued softly.
"Are you the one who wants to teach me?"
___
Author's note:
Hello everyone~
Thanks for continuing to read my story! I really appreciate you taking the time to follow along each chapter.
This chapter continues the journey, so I hope you enjoy the development—whether it's the characters, the interactions, or the direction the story is heading 👀
Things may progress slowly at times, but everything is building toward something bigger… so stay tuned 😏
As always, your support means a lot to me! If you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave a comment, add it to your favorites, or drop some power stones—it really motivates me to keep going!
See you in the next chapter~ ✨