---o---
Solomon, Grand Caster, the Formal Successor to Humanity—the creator of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods, one of the Seven Evils of Humanity, and the master of Goetia, the Beast who possessed the Principle of Pity.
At the same time, he was Chaldea's first successful example of Heroic Spirit summoning.
Secretly summoned by Marisbury Animusphere to participate in the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki, Japan, in 2004, he was a Grand Magus who achieved victory.
As a king who was destined to be perfect, omniscient, and omnipotent from birth, Solomon never experienced a "human" life. He mechanically ended his life as a king, never experiencing true "freedom."
He harbored a strong desire, one he himself didn't even realize, to become an ordinary person who was "not special and had only average abilities."
Therefore, the wish Solomon made to the Holy Grail was to "become human."
He discarded all his power as a Heroic Spirit, reincarnating as a new human with no connection to King Solomon.
That was Romani Archaman.
A completely ordinary youth who hoped to live as a simple, unremarkable "person," and who didn't even possess any magic circuits.
Now, this man who had lost all his power had appeared in the Seventh Singularity.
"You're a great help, Da Vinci-kun."
Having learned that the last Master of Humanity, Fujimaru Ritsuka, had been taken hostage, the man immediately commissioned the omnipotent Da Vinci to modify his body, forcefully acquiring the qualifications for Spiritron Transfer. He now stood on a vast plain, taking deep breaths.
"There's really no need to thank me for such a small thing."
The cross-dressing CEO, who had temporarily taken over as acting director of Chaldea after Romani had arrived in the Seventh Singularity, used quantum communication to greet the man who was already on the Sumerian plains.
"Speaking of which, don't you need a Servant to protect you?"
The cross-dressing CEO, who was probably the only person in all of Chaldea who knew Romani's true identity, looked at the man who represented Chaldea as he set off to negotiate with the unknown sun god.
"Your current constitution isn't exactly strong, even with the protection of Jacob's Limbs."
"Jacob's Limbs or something, please spare me."
The doctor, now lacking the strength to use the ancient grappling technique in which Jacob wrestled with God until dawn, wryly smiled.
"That style of combat is even more reliant on technique than the Greek Pankration. There's no way my current reaction speed would be enough to use it."
"Then why didn't you bring a Servant? If the director of Chaldea were to die in the mouth of a demonic beast, that would be the biggest joke in the world."
Da Vinci, who was temporarily serving as Chaldea's acting director, sighed.
However, Romani, who had not brought a Servant, seemed completely at ease.
And then, as if she had suddenly realized something, Da Vinci's entire face lit up in understanding.
"I see now, you commissioned that dream demon."
"Although I really didn't want to rely on him, at this point in time, he's the most reliable person I can turn to."
---o---
At dawn, the world was silent.
The sun had just revealed itself behind the distant mountain peaks. The warmth of its first rays of light mingled with the coolness of the fading night, creating a sweet sense of languor.
Once that languor faded, a new day would unfold.
In Miss Kiana's room, the lithe girl, stained with the marks of another person, slept soundly.
The girl's long white hair, dyed with radiant hues, was strewn haphazardly across the bed, creating a rather erotic tableau with the plain white sheets and her snow-white, supple, youthful flesh.
Sleeping with the girl, the youth, whose sleep schedule was even shorter than that of Time Assassin, opened his eyes as dawn approached.
As an absolute time management master, Li Zihan's allocation of time was top-tier.
As long as he could ensure that his mission would be completed, flirting with different girls was merely a basic skill.
For example, last night he had devised a plan to flirt with four girls at once.
He made sure to show his worst side to Gudako, preparing to reverse the situation and gain affection once she started actively trying to conquer him.
He prepared dinner for Bronya and Kiana, delivered his due, and then succeeded in bringing Kiana into bed.
Then, he got up in the middle of the night to find "Ishtar" and commission her to be his matchmaker.
And then, after the late-night chat, he returned to his bedroom to continue sleeping while holding the girl in his arms.
So scummy.
Simply hopeless.
Feeling the soft body of the girl in his arms, Li Zihan mused.
As a scumbag, he was probably one of the most meticulous ones, with his scumminess refined to a fine art.
After all, despite already having so many wonderful girls, he still went on to pursue others.
And it was clear that those girls were completely devoted to him, willing to entrust him with their most precious treasures and their very lives.
The youth, who could recall the adoring gazes of so many girls just by closing his eyes and thinking back, combed his fingers through Kiana's slightly messy hair as he mused.
His actions were truly the work of the scummiest of scumbags.
After a rare moment of self-reproach, the youth slipped deftly from the bed and gently pulled the blanket over Kiana.
Then, sitting by the bed, he cheerfully retrieved his daily schedule from his pocket of imaginary space.
There was still quite a lot to do today.
Play video games with Bronya using their black-tech setup.
Take Kiana fishing, and keep at it until they catch something.
Trim the flowers and plants in the temple and prepare some jokes and stories for his late-night chats.
Other than that, it was mostly just waiting for Dr. Romani's special delivery, and looking after a certain Useless Goddess whose body gets commandeered by Ereshkigal at night.
Despite having a mission with the hellish difficulty of saving the Human Order, his days felt more like a slice-of-life anime. The youth stretched languidly.
"Hey, hey, didn't you say you were going to synthesize your Clairvoyance?"
The System, which vaguely recalled him saying he was going to take out that Merlin fellow and use his Clairvoyance—God's Perspective—to enhance his own Clairvoyance—Epitaph, chimed in with a snarky comment.
"Huh? Was that a thing?"
The youth, who had gone straight home after throttling Kingu, looked slightly stunned.
"Hey, hey, don't tell me you've been so focused on women that you've completely forgotten what you were supposed to be doing."
Looking at the stunned youth, the System fell silent, then let out a faint sigh.
"Just kidding."
The youth, who was indeed joking, laughed.
"Before I deal with Goetia, I really need Merlin to play hide-and-seek with Tiamat."
"As for sacrificing Merlin... we can talk about that after the Doctor arrives."