Instead of answering immediately, Kuro approached her first and sat down beside her.
His gaze turned toward the landscape of the Mirror Dimension stretching into the distance before he finally gave a small nod.
"Niángzi..." he repeated, trying out the pronunciation. "It's not actually that difficult. But if you prefer to be called Yuyu, I don't mind either. It's easier, anyway."
After saying that, he turned his head and found their eyes meeting.
"By the way, keep me company while I have a drink here." Kuro pointed toward the empty space beside them. "Do you mind?"
"Fufu~"
A soft laugh escaped Yang Guifei's lips.
"If that is the wish of the Emperor I serve, then of course I don't mind."
However, a moment later, her gaze swept across their surroundings. Empty buildings, lifeless streets, and the silent landscape of the Mirror Dimension stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Even so..." she continued, tilting her head slightly. "I don't think this place is particularly suitable for enjoying a drink."
Kuro fell silent for a moment, his eyes sweeping across the distinctive scenery of the Mirror Dimension surrounding them.
"Not very suitable, huh?" he said softly.
The corner of his lips lifted slightly.
"I agree."
After saying that, his right hand gently touched Yang Guifei's back.
At the same time, the space around them changed.
The local center of gravity shifted silently, rotating the orientation of the world by several degrees until the wall of the building that had previously stood upright slowly became their new footing.
Yang Guifei's eyes widened slightly.
The change happened so suddenly that her body nearly lost its balance. Fortunately, Kuro's hand was still on her back, enough to keep her from falling.
A few seconds later, once the new gravitational field had completely stabilized, Kuro withdrew his hand.
Yang Guifei quickly regained her position before looking around in wonder.
The building's windows were now beneath their feet.
Meanwhile, the streets that had previously been far below had now become a vertical expanse in the distance.
It was as though the entire world had simply been rotated at will.
"Wait a moment."
Kuro raised his left hand in front of him.
"Let me change this place a little."
His black hair slowly turned white, like the first snow falling in winter.
At the same time, the color of his eyes shifted to blood red.
An aura of Divine Corruption flowed calmly from his body, spreading through the surrounding environment like an invisible mist that was nevertheless enough to make the world respond to his presence.
The next second, reality within the Mirror Dimension began to bend repeatedly.
A single drop of water appeared from nothingness.
Then two.
Then dozens.
Within seconds, their numbers multiplied until they formed a gigantic whirlpool of water surrounding the area.
The ground beneath their feet changed as well. The surface that had previously been a building wall slowly rippled before breaking apart into wooden planks, which arranged themselves into a floor.
Wooden pillars emerged from empty space, followed by supporting beams that connected to one another, forming the framework of a building.
From afar, thousands of clay roof tiles floated through the air. The tiles duplicated themselves mid-flight before arranging themselves neatly into the roof of an Eastern-style pavilion.
Yang Guifei's eyes widened.
Even for a Heroic Spirit, the sight was extraordinary.
"Master..."
Her voice was quiet.
"Did you really alter the environment just because I said this place wasn't suitable for drinking?"
A faint smile appeared on Kuro's face.
"Why not do it while I'm at it?"
"That is not an answer."
Yet Yang Guifei still let out a soft laugh.
Meanwhile, wooden walls began assembling one by one.
Several low tables, seating cushions, display shelves, and other furnishings emerged from golden portals of the Gate of Babylon, filling the interior of the newly formed pavilion.
Outside the building, the once-turbulent whirlpool of water gradually became calm.
Its surface transformed into a vast pond filled with lotus flowers.
Kuro observed the result for a moment before snapping his fingers.
Several goldfish immediately appeared in the water.
They swam leisurely among the lotus leaves, their broad tails resembling brushstrokes from a living painting.
"Fufu~"
Yang Guifei watched everything with sparkling eyes.
"I think I'm beginning to understand why some of the Servants become spoiled so quickly after being summoned by you."
"Really?"
"Because it is difficult not to get used to this."
Kuro merely chuckled.
At the same time, the sky of the Mirror Dimension slowly changed.
The light of dusk faded away.
The darkness of night began to envelop the horizon.
From afar, enormous chunks of ice floated upward into the sky before arranging themselves into an artificial moon.
A soft bluish-white light immediately illuminated the pavilion, the pond, and the expanse of lotus flowers surrounding them.
Looking at the finished result, Kuro smiled in satisfaction.
"I think this is much more suitable."
He lowered his hand and sat down first on the floor of the pavilion.
Two empty glasses made of diamond emerged from the Gate of Babylon, followed by a golden bottle of wine stored inside a diamond container of the same quality.
"How about it, Yuyu?" Kuro asked as he raised the bottle. "Is the place suitable enough for a drink this time?"
Yang Guifei smiled before sitting down beside Kuro.
"It would be difficult for me to say no."
She placed her pipa to her left before picking up the bottle of wine. With an elegant motion, she poured the golden liquid into both diamond glasses until each was half full.
Kuro picked up one of them and immediately took a small sip. His gaze remained fixed on the lotus pond and the artificial moon hanging in the Mirror Dimension's sky.
Beside him, Yang Guifei did the same.
However, the moment the wine touched her tongue, she fell silent for a moment. Her eyes blinked slowly, and a faint redness began appearing across her cheeks.
Even so, she took another sip. This time, considerably more.
Meanwhile, Kuro remained completely oblivious to the change.
"Lately, I've been thinking about a lot of things. The Servants, the mana supply, a permanent base..." he said. "I even considered building something like Chaldea."
"Hmm..."
Yang Guifei nodded slightly as she took another sip of her wine.
A few moments later, her glass was empty.
"The problem isn't the building," Kuro continued. "What's difficult is finding the right territory."
"Territory..." Yang Guifei repeated.
"Yeah. I need somewhere that's safe enough, large enough, difficult to discover, and, if possible, won't interfere with the world I'm living in."
"Won't interfere..." Yang Guifei repeated again.
Kuro sighed.
"And on top of that, the number of Servants keeps increasing."
Yang Guifei looked at the empty glass in her hand before glancing at the bottle of wine still sitting between them.
Without thinking, she picked up the bottle and took a gulp directly from it.
Her head felt a little lighter.
Because of that, she took another gulp, making her cheeks even redder.
Yet for some reason, the wine tasted far too good to stop drinking.
"I already have fifteen Servants at the moment."
"Fifteen..." Yang Guifei repeated.
"Yeah."
Kuro took another sip from his glass.
"And I'm not even sure that number is going to stop increasing."
"Master..."
"Hmm?"
Yang Guifei was still holding the bottle of wine in both hands.
"Then what if it becomes twenty tomorrow?"
Kuro froze for a moment.
"...Please don't curse me."
Yang Guifei giggled softly.
Meanwhile, Kuro was still far too preoccupied with his logistical problems to realize that the Servant beside him was already drunk.
Kuro let out a soft sigh.
"Well, the point is, I still haven't found a location that's truly suitable."
He swirled the wine in his glass before turning toward Yang Guifei.
"What do you think?"
"Hmm?"
Yang Guifei blinked several times. She appeared to think very seriously for several seconds before finally nodding.
"I agree."
"Agree with what?"
"That."
Yang Guifei raised her hand and pointed in a certain direction.
Kuro followed the direction of her finger.
There was nothing there.
"What are you pointing at?"
"Hmm..."
Yang Guifei tilted her head.
"I forgot."
Kuro fell silent.
Only now did he really pay attention to Yang Guifei's face.
Her cheeks were flushed.
No, not merely flushed.
Very red.
"Are you drunk?"
"I'm not drunk."
The answer came far too quickly.
Yang Guifei immediately shook her head.
"Yuyu can hold her liquor."
"That is exactly what a drunk person would say."
"No." Yang Guifei shook her head again with a serious expression. "Yuyu is not drunk."
Kuro had just opened his mouth to respond when Yang Guifei suddenly narrowed her eyes and stared intently at him.
"...Eh?"
"Hmm?"
Yang Guifei squinted even harder.
In her vision, Kuro's figure began to blur.
One became two.
Two became three.
"Master is multiplying..."
"What?"
"Three."
"There's only one of me."
Yang Guifei continued staring for several more seconds.
"Four."
"That's not how mathematics works."
"Five."
"You're not even counting correctly."
Yang Guifei fell silent.
Her expression showed that of someone contemplating the most complicated problem in the world.
Then, after a while, she placed the bottle in her hand down and reached forward, taking Kuro's cheeks in both hands.
"Hold still."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Yang Guifei did not answer.
She simply held Kuro's face and stared at him from close range with complete concentration.
After several seconds, her eyes widened slightly, and she smiled happily, almost like a little girl who had just witnessed a simple magic trick.
"Oh."
"Hmm?"
"Now there's only one."
"That's because there was only one from the beginning."
Yang Guifei nodded in satisfaction, as though she had just solved an extremely complicated problem.
Kuro simply stared at the wine bottle, which was now half empty, then looked at Yang Guifei and back at the bottle.
"..."
He was beginning to suspect that giving Orochi wine to a Servant whose alcohol tolerance he didn't even know might not have been the best decision he had ever made.