"Oh yes, we've already met."
Medea held Esdeath's hand and echoed Busujima Saeko's words.
And echoing her words represented a concession.
Busujima Saeko's reply contained the composure of a hostess; if Medea had not responded to Busujima Saeko's words or changed the subject, it would have conveyed an attitude of "war has begun."
Only echoing her response was a concession.
Medea was showing that she "temporarily" accepted Busujima Saeko's status as the main wife.
The reason for this, of course, was Kisaragi Rin's attitude.
Kisaragi Rin believed they could understand this meaning, and Medea and Esdeath certainly did.
If they were the ones to initiate conflict, regardless of whether they could seize Busujima Saeko's throne, they would have already lost a round emotionally.
Looking at her Master, Medea sighed while holding Esdeath's hand.
Her concession had another reason.
From her perspective, she could actually accept Kisaragi Rin's bias towards Busujima Saeko.
After all, there's no logic in a newcomer immediately displacing the veteran.
Thinking empathetically, if Kisaragi Rin had directly cast aside Busujima Saeko today and chosen to be intimate with her instead, Medea wouldn't have been overly happy.
Because that would mean Kisaragi Rin could carelessly replace her with someone else next time.
If he called someone Sweetie before and now calls her Madam Niu, a Kisaragi Rin who favors "the new over the old" would not win Medea's love.
"That's good."
Kisaragi Rin felt relieved; at least they wouldn't start fighting today.
Kisaragi Rin took out the Otherworldly Girl Helper Manual, which now included Medea, Lily, Esdeath, Medusa, and Saber.
Their reforged bodies did not differ much from before in appearance or race. Medea and Lily had Elf bloodlines, Medusa was a Vampire, Esdeath was a strange Iceborn, and Saber had Red Dragon blood.
Now, when Kisaragi Rin opened the manual, everyone except Saber, who only had 91 affection level, had reached the maximum value.
Kisaragi Rin looked at Saber and realized she hadn't yet grasped what trouble had befallen Kisaragi, and that fellow Hanako was currently explaining it to her.
Hanako: "I'm telling you, there's no rush now. The real conflict will only erupt later."
Saber: "Why?"
Hanako: "Because it will be dark later."
Saber: "Why does conflict start when it gets dark?"
Hanako: "Because..."
Kisaragi Rin shot a look at Hanako, and the Human-faced Dog quickly covered Hanako's mouth.
Nightfall, that was indeed a problem.
"Since Miss Medea just arrived, Kisaragi Rin should spend time with them today."
Busujima Saeko offered proactively.
Since Medea was willing to concede, she naturally didn't mind taking a step back herself.
The atmosphere relaxed. Seeing that there was no drama left to watch, the Spider Mother walked over, kissed her Master, and returned to the Infinity Castle.
Now that the Workshop was connected to Ryudoji Temple, she had quite a lot on her plate.
The sky outside grew dim, and Kanroji Mitsuri asked, "You haven't had dinner yet, right?"
"That's right." Saber's ahoge stood up straight, and she nodded affirmatively.
Before coming out, they had fought four consecutive battles in one day. Saber was hungry; Saber had finally heard something she could understand.
"Then Saeko and I will go cook!"
Kanroji Mitsuri said happily, thinking that eating might help everyone warm up to each other.
"I'll join too."
Medusa raised her hand.
Step one of the Snacking Mission: get along well with the others to gain greater enjoyment.
"In that case, I'll join as well."
Medea also stood up. Actually, she knew a little cooking Skill, though she wasn't particularly skilled at it.
Living together in the future was already decided, and considering all aspects, their relationship couldn't be allowed to stagnate.
The kitchen was right next door. The only ones left sitting in the living room were Shizuka Marikawa, Esdeath, and Lily.
"This is good. After spending a few more days together, their relationships should become closer."
Kisaragi Rin completely relaxed.
The atmosphere today was strange, but the most crucial point was not actually the struggle for the main wife position.
Medea knew from the start that this was not something that could be achieved easily.
The real problem lay in unfamiliarity.
It was the first meeting between the Fate Faction, led by Medea, and the Apartment Faction, led by Busujima Saeko. No one knew the other side's attitude toward them, so they inevitably had to probe for results.
To probe whether anyone intended to flip the table.
To probe whether their personalities were suitable for closer interaction in the future.
And the current outcome was positive; no one had the idea of being self-centered or refusing to yield an inch.
Kisaragi Rin was glad he hadn't brought out Gilgamesh, otherwise, with her personality, she would likely have detonated everything.
Now was a good start.
Just like the probing that occurred when Busujima Saeko first met Kanroji Mitsuri, as long as they spent time together, they would eventually sense the brilliance in each other's souls.
"Kisaragi-san, I'm hungry."
Saber's ahoge became increasingly droopy.
"Do you want a snack?"
Kisaragi Rin pulled back the curtain on the low table, revealing the candy that Kanroji Mitsuri had placed inside.
After meeting Auntie Tsubakiwara last time, Kanroji Mitsuri visited the store a few more times and apparently made friends with Tsubakihara Mira there.
There was no need to worry about Shizuka Marikawa; from her perspective, Kisaragi Rin had only been gone for three hours.
Kisaragi Rin walked over to Esdeath; he needed to pay more attention to her.
"Esdeath, how are you doing?"
Kisaragi Rin clearly sensed her displeasure, took Esdeath's hand, and looked her directly in the eye.
"Hmph." She hummed softly in dissatisfaction, but Esdeath still averted her gaze and lifted her thigh to rest it on her Master.
"You must spend more time with me."
She had already had a heart-to-heart talk with Kisaragi Rin in the Fate World. The result was that Esdeath would no longer force Kisaragi Rin to love only her, but Kisaragi Rin must spend more time with her and fight with her.
"No problem."
Kisaragi Rin stroked Esdeath's thigh, feeling the texture, which was even smoother than before, and asked curiously, "How is your current body?"
The operation after entering The Root was indeed planned by him and Medea, but Kisaragi Rin neither understood Magecraft nor had he been to The Root. Everything had just been theoretical, so he was very curious about the state they were in now that they were no longer Heroic Spirits.
For instance, does this count as a low-configuration Chaos Body?
"Ice Release, Battle Continuation, the Blood of the Ice Demon God, and similar things have all become innate body Talents. Using them is much smoother than when I was a Heroic Spirit."
Esdeath raised her hand, and a glowing Rapier appeared in her grasp.
"Demon Manifestation and Noble Chariot have become Companion Spirit Treasures. Although I haven't tested their Abilities yet, continued growth should definitely be possible."
"The more crucial point lies in this body."
"In the body I had before becoming a Heroic Spirit, I could sense a certain limit, but now..."
Esdeath said seriously, "I cannot sense the growth limit of this body."