The clock showed eight in the morning.
Kuro's candy shop remained as usual—almost empty.
Only occasionally did a customer walk in, served by a "cashier" woman who looked completely human… though in reality she was nothing more than a doll, her movements and expressions nearly flawless.
Meanwhile, on the second floor, inside a fairly neat room, Xu Fu sat leaning against the side of the bed, while Kama lay comfortably on top of it.
In their hands, each held a ROG Xbox Ally—a handheld device with a smooth display and a full interface, currently showing a blocky world of Minecraft.
The sound of button clicks and game effects filled the room.
"You looked very 'happy' last night, huh… until morning," Kama said casually, without taking her eyes off the screen.
Her tone was light.
But clearly… there was something behind it.
Xu Fu let out a small snort.
"Me?" she replied quickly. "Happy? Don't be ridiculous."
She pressed the buttons a bit harder than usual.
"He's… completely without limits. Like a madman."
Her tone sounded annoyed.
Yet—her cheeks were faintly red.
Kama glanced sideways for a brief moment.
One second.
Then returned to the screen.
"Your face is red," she said flatly. "And your tone… doesn't match your words."
A faint smile formed.
"You're lying."
Xu Fu immediately turned her head.
"Lying about what?!"
"Shall I explain?" Kama replied calmly. "Your heartbeat, your facial expression, even the way you're sitting right now—everything indicates the opposite."
Xu Fu let out a low growl.
"That's just… a physical reaction! It doesn't mean I enjoyed it!"
"Oh?" Kama finally turned to face her fully, one eyebrow raised. "So your body 'reacted,' but you disagree with it?"
A pause.
Her smile turned faintly sharper.
"Interesting."
Xu Fu quickly looked away.
"Shut up…!"
She refocused on the screen, mining blocks aggressively.
"And stop acting like you know everything, weird Servant!"
Kama let out a soft chuckle.
"I am the goddess of love," she replied lightly. "Of course I know."
She returned to the game.
"Unlike someone who clearly enjoys it… yet keeps denying it."
Xu Fu pressed the buttons harder.
The blocks on the screen shattered faster.
"…Do you want me to throw you out the window?"
"Go ahead," Kama replied casually. "But don't blame me if you end up missing me later."
A brief silence.
Xu Fu froze.
"…Huh?"
Kama smiled faintly.
It was no longer just a casual expression—there was something deeper behind it.
"And I don't mind if you become familiar with it," she said lightly. "It's part of my enjoyable duty… though, honestly, it can be annoying."
She tilted her head slightly.
"I even considered… locking him away in a storage room."
Slowly, a soft pink magical aura began to glow around her.
Not explosive.
Not aggressive.
But unmistakably present… and suffocating in its subtlety.
"However," she continued gently, her eyes narrowing slightly, "remember one thing."
Her tone lowered.
Deeper.
"Only I am allowed to give him 'more love.'"
Her smile remained.
"…until Master-san has no choice but to start expecting it from me."
Silence.
A few seconds passed.
Xu Fu stopped pressing the buttons.
The Minecraft screen in her hands was simply left idle.
"…Are you serious just now?"
Her tone was flat.
But clearly… not relaxed.
She slowly turned toward Kama.
Her brows were furrowed.
"Locking him up? Monopolizing him? That's not 'love'—that's obsession."
She let out a small snort.
"And turn off that aura. It's distracting."
Kama didn't answer immediately.
"Ah. One more thing," Xu Fu continued, her tone sharpening. "Don't act like you have exclusive rights."
She lifted her console slightly, then lowered it again.
"He's not yours."
A pause.
Her gaze stayed locked on Kama.
"…and he's not mine either."
Her voice softened slightly.
More honest.
"But if you think I'll just stay quiet while you play 'goddess of love' however you want…"
A faint, sharp smile formed.
"…you've got the wrong person."
Kama let out a soft laugh.
Short.
Light.
But not entirely warm.
"Obsession?" she repeated softly. "You call it that because you don't understand yet."
She shut off her console casually.
The pink aura was still there—faint, but steady.
"Love is never 'fair'," she continued calmly. "There is always someone who gives more… and someone who only receives."
She looked directly at Xu Fu.
"…I simply make sure I am the one who gives the most."
Xu Fu snorted.
"If that's your version of love… yeah, no wonder," she replied. "Sounds exhausting."
Kama smiled without offering an explanation.
And the game continued—though the atmosphere was clearly… no longer entirely peaceful.
***
Without realizing it, seven days had passed.
In a space hidden from the real world—more precisely, within a construct resembling a layered Reality Marble intertwined with a Mirror Dimension—stood a simple hut on its own.
Its location… made no sense.
It stood in the middle of an orange rocky hillscape, yet the slope of the terrain was inconsistent.
Some surfaces appeared folded like paper, others were bottomless voids, while certain boulders floated in midair without any support.
Even the sky was unstable.
At times it looked cracked like glass.
At others, it appeared layered, as if multiple worlds were stacked behind one another.
The spatial structure of this place did not follow normal laws.
Gravity shifted directions in certain areas.
Distance itself was deceptive.
What looked close… might not be reachable in a single step.
And what looked far… could be just one step away.
Amid that geometric chaos, the small hut still stood.
Simple.
Contrasting.
As if it were the only "normal" thing in a place that was completely abnormal.
This place—was actually an artificial space.
A private construct created by Xu Fu six days ago, hidden beneath the warehouse of Kuro's shop.
Not merely a hiding place.
But an isolated dimension that separated itself from the outside world.
Here—reality could be folded.
Structures could be altered.
And limitations… were simply something that could be negotiated.
The hut's door slowly opened.
Kuro stepped out, his shoulders slightly stiff. He slowly rotated his waist, trying to loosen muscles that felt tense after days of near nonstop work.
"…Seven days and seven nights," he muttered.
His tone was flat.
"And still no meaningful progress."
He let out a long sigh.
His gaze swept across the strange landscape around him—folded ground, floating rocks, and a sky cracked like shattered glass.
"What I did end up doing…" he continued quietly, "was learning a few Mystic Arts."
A brief pause.
"Though… I haven't fully mastered them yet."
His hand moved casually, producing a cigarette.
With a light touch, a magic circuit ignited and heated up, forming a small flame at the tip of his index finger.
He lit the cigarette and took a slow drag.
Thin smoke drifted from his lips, dissolving into the unstable air.
"Daily check-in was… decent," he added. "Some of the results were quite interesting."
He shrugged slightly.
"…but for the current situation, not very helpful."
A moment of silence.
Then—a transparent screen appeared in front of his eyes.
__________________
Name: Kuro Tokito (Cain Ainsward)
Race: Half-God
Title: Reincanator
Job: Magus
***
Strength: 5
Vitality: 5
Agility: 6
Charm: 500
***
Level Circuit Quality: 2
Magic Circuit: 75
OD Capacity: 3055
Mana Absorption: 105
__________________
Kuro looked at the transparent screen in front of him with a calm expression, slowly taking a drag from his cigarette.
Silence.
He exhaled a long breath, thin smoke escaping his lips and dissolving into the unstable air.
"…Except for the Charm attribute," he muttered. "There's at least a pretty decent increase… though for now, I don't really need it."
Without much reaction, he closed the screen.
The interface vanished instantly.
A few seconds passed.
Then—his hand moved, opening access to the Gate of Babylon.
Black-golden light rippled softly.
From it, a ticket appeared and landed in his hand.
Golden in color.
Its surface shimmered faintly.
A Random Summon Spirit Ticket.
A reward from one of the gacha draws a few days ago.
Kuro stared at it for a moment.
"Maybe with this…" he muttered softly, his tone slightly uncertain, "…I can obtain a Heroic Spirit that can at least help with… this problem."
He didn't continue the sentence.
But it was clear—what he meant.
Silence.
An unnatural wind from the dimension slowly passed through, making the hem of his coat sway slightly.
Kuro raised the ticket upward.
His gaze remained calm.
Not hopeful—but not entirely indifferent either.
More like… curious.
"Well," he said lightly.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"At least… let's see the result."
He lifted his hand higher.
Energy began to gather.
"With this treasure…" he muttered softly.
A brief pause.
"I summon."
{Note: Furube yura-yura...}
In the next moment, the ticket emitted a golden light. At the same time, the Command Spell on his left wrist—hidden beneath his long white shirt—reacted.
The four absolute marks of a Master began to glow faintly. Their shape resembled three pairs of seraphim wings, connected in a blood-red pattern.
Almost simultaneously, a summoning magic circle appeared in front of him.
"Not sure why…" Kuro muttered. "The effect is the same as when I summoned Kama. This system isn't very creative with cinematic effects."
A moment later, magical energy manifested around the summoning circle in the form of eight massive serpent heads, coiling together violently as if guarding something sealed at the center.
The eight heads turned toward Kuro. Their gazes were sharp, cold, and suffocating.
Their tongues flicked out, hissing softly, as if testing the presence of the Master.
"Eight-headed serpent?" Kuro murmured. "Orochi…? Or maybe related to Shuten-Douji?"
_____
Author's note:
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