Chapter 359

Chapter 359: Chapter 359

Those exhausting yet blissful days lasted for only three more days before coming to an abrupt end.

The reason was simple.

Hestia couldn’t take it anymore and raised the white flag first thing in the morning.

She might have been a goddess, but with her divine power sealed, her physical constitution was no better than that of an ordinary person.

How could she possibly compete with Kiriya’s Level 6 physique?

After three days of thoroughly overindulging herself, she had finally reached her limit.

When Kiriya showed signs of wanting to keep spoiling her, Hestia hurriedly claimed that she had arranged a girls’ day with Hephaestus and fled Hearthstone Manor as though her life depended on it.

"Heh. All enthusiasm and no stamina. Finally learned your lesson, huh?"

Standing in the living room, Kiriya watched Hestia’s hurried retreat with an amused smile.

The petite goddess had severely overestimated herself.

Time and again, she had recklessly provoked him despite knowing perfectly well what would happen.

At least now she had finally tasted the consequences.

"So what’s next?"

Esdeath emerged from her room and walked over, tracing a slender finger in circles across Kiriya’s chest.

"Want to go into overtime?"

"Esdeath!"

Jeanne immediately protested from nearby.

This woman had truly become addicted. Did she have no concept of moderation whatsoever?

"What? Are you saying you don’t want to?"

Esdeath snorted softly.

"Funny, because I seem to remember someone being awfully clingy the other—mmph!"

Jeanne lunged forward and clamped both hands over Esdeath’s mouth before she could finish.

Her face had become so red it looked ready to steam.

"Uh..."

Kiriya looked at the Ice Queen, whose eyes were practically glistening with invitation, then at the mortified Saint beside her.

He had to admit, he was tempted.

Very tempted.

In the end, however, he forcibly reined in his increasingly unruly hormones and shook his head.

"Let’s save it for another time. We’ve rested enough. It’s about time we started our next training journey."

Jeanne breathed a quiet sigh of relief, though somewhere beneath that relief was a tiny trace of disappointment even she failed to notice.

"Oh?"

Esdeath immediately brightened and slipped free of Jeanne’s grasp.

"Which world are we going to this time?"

"That stays a surprise for now."

Kiriya smiled mysteriously.

"But I can promise you one thing. There are plenty of powerful people there."

"Oho. That’s all I needed to hear."

A fiery gleam appeared in Esdeath’s eyes.

Battles in the bedroom might be thrilling in their own way, but nothing could replace the exhilaration of facing a genuinely powerful opponent on the battlefield.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go now."

She was already impatient to leave.

"We should pick up Ryuu first," Jeanne reminded her.

"Exactly what I was thinking."

Kiriya nodded.

The three made their way to the Hostess of Fertility, where they found Ryuu and briefly explained the situation.

After a little preparation, the four of them entered the Dungeon together.

Once they reached the secluded corner of the 37th Floor they had used before, Kiriya activated his ability.

The four disappeared from that world.

...

Just as before, Esdeath, Ryuu, and Jeanne experienced nothing more than a brief flicker across their vision before the world around them completely changed.

The dark, frigid Dungeon chamber filled with hidden dangers vanished.

In its place stood towering buildings and broad, modern roads crowded with vehicles.

Neon lights illuminated busy streets packed with people, some browsing stores filled with more merchandise than the girls had ever seen in one place, others drifting between brightly lit entertainment districts.

Everywhere they looked, the city radiated peace and prosperity.

This was the famous City of Peace—Fuyuki City.

And the four of them were standing atop the rooftop of a tall building overlooking it.

"Where... are we?"

Esdeath and Ryuu both frowned.

They could clearly sense magical energy dispersed throughout the surrounding atmosphere, and its concentration was not particularly low.

Yet the strange metal machines racing along the roads, the devices people carried in their hands, and the enormous moving images displayed across the sides of buildings were all things they had never seen before.

"These are electrical appliances. You can think of them as humanity learning to tame lightning and use it on a massive scale."

Kiriya began explaining patiently.

"Those are cars. They’re vehicles powered by a fuel called gasoline..."

He continued describing the world’s technological development and giving them a general overview of modern civilization.

Ryuu and Esdeath listened with obvious fascination, feeling as though an entirely new world had opened before them.

After a while, however, Esdeath noticed something strange.

"Kiriya, are you sure this world actually has the powerful enemies we’re looking for?"

She glanced down at the crowds below.

"These people... are incredibly weak."

Unlike Kiriya, Esdeath did not possess a specialized ability like Energy Sensing, but years of battle had given her highly refined instincts when judging the presence of other living beings.

The people below inspired absolutely no reaction from her.

They felt as harmless as ants crawling along the roadside.

Could a world like this really offer the kind of opponents they needed to improve?

"Those people obviously can’t."

Kiriya waved dismissively.

"They’re ordinary civilians, no different from the common people in your Empire or the ordinary residents of Orario."

Then his tone shifted.

"But that’s only the surface. Hidden beneath this world’s normal society are people known as Magi. They possess genuine supernatural power."

"Magi?"

Esdeath’s interest returned slightly.

"Are they strong?"

"Uh... aside from a small minority, most of them are only so-so."

The moment those words left his mouth, Kiriya saw Esdeath’s eyes begin to narrow and hurriedly continued.

"But Magecraft has plenty of fascinating applications. One of the most interesting allows Magi to summon great heroes and legendary figures from mythology and history."

He smiled.

"Those are the opponents we’re actually here for."

"Mythology? Legends? Great heroes?"

Now even Ryuu’s eyes lit up.

Having grown up in a world where legendary heroes had truly existed, the elf had read countless heroic tales since childhood.

Naturally, the idea of meeting such figures in person held enormous appeal.

"Are they strong?"

Esdeath immediately asked the only question that truly mattered to her.

"Absolutely."

Kiriya nodded.

"The strongest among them can rival Level 7 or even Level 8 adventurers. And if they use their ultimate trump cards, some can temporarily unleash attacks comparable to Level 9 or beyond."

Then he pointed toward Jeanne.

"Take her, for example. Jeanne was one of this world’s most famous heroes. She’s known as one of the most renowned saints in human history."

"Jeanne?!"

Ryuu and Esdeath both exclaimed and turned to stare at her.

Several mysteries surrounding Jeanne suddenly made considerably more sense.

No wonder she had been so powerful from the beginning.

She had been a legendary hero even before joining them.

"So how do we find these Heroic Spirits?"

Esdeath cracked her knuckles eagerly, looking ready to challenge one immediately.

Even Ryuu seemed unusually excited.

"Well... first we need the right to participate."

Kiriya shrugged.

"We’ll need Command Spells. Otherwise, the people involved might not even treat us as legitimate participants."

He proceeded to give them a brief explanation of how the Holy Grail War worked.

"I see."

Esdeath grinned, her fingers cracking loudly as she clenched her fist.

"So basically, we find someone who already has a place in this war and take it from them."

Her smile grew distinctly predatory.

"Tell me. Who’s the unlucky bastard?"

Kiriya didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he turned toward Jeanne.

"Jeanne, how many Servants can you sense in the city right now?"

Jeanne closed her eyes briefly.

Having manifested as the Ruler class, she possessed one of its special privileges: exceptionally powerful Servant detection.

Within a radius of roughly ten kilometers, she could sense the presence of other Servants, even through Assassin’s Presence Concealment.

"Three, as far as I can tell."

Her eyes opened.

"Lancer, Assassin, and Rider."

"I see."

A faint red gleam flashed through Kiriya’s eyes.

"Where’s Rider?"

Jeanne pointed north.

"About four kilometers that way."

"Then let’s go take a look."

Kiriya’s expression remained perfectly pleasant as he spoke.

Yet all three women could feel the icy killing intent concealed beneath that calm exterior.

Their expressions subtly changed.

Ryuu glanced at him.

’Does this Rider’s Master have some kind of grudge with him?’