"Host, I think this body qualifies for the record of fastest death. You've barely used it for a few days and it's already about to be scrapped."
"If you don't want to collect that award, then be quiet."
While observing the wounds inflicted by the power of Vipralopa, Satsuki said calmly, "It's a bit troublesome, but this is ultimately my own power. Fixing it will only take time."
After several days of observation, Satsuki had already figured out the kind of damage Metis had suffered. Repairing the body itself was not too difficult. It would simply require some time.
The reason she had not acted yet was that the most severely damaged part was the core—the Gorgon Stone.
This stone, engraved with Medusa's head, already bore several cracks across its surface. Fortunately, Athena's myth was widely known throughout the world. That fame gave her divine authority extremely resilient protection, preventing the worst-case scenario of immediate collapse.
The Gorgon Stone functioned much like a divine core. It stored most of the authority and power of Metis, the Goddess of Darkness. However, as for how to repair a divine core, Satsuki had yet to come up with a good solution.
Still, shutting herself away to ponder it alone would not produce any breakthroughs.
After maintaining the body in a constant refreshed state, Satsuki left the room.
She walked through the corridor and entryway, removing the sign hanging on the front door that read Temporarily Busy, No Visitors.
As usual, she went to the mailbox outside the front yard and took out the letters that were stuffed inside every day.
Satsuki received a large number of letters almost daily. If she failed to clear either her personal locker at school or the mailbox at her house for even a single day, they would already be a quarter full.
After three days of accumulation, one could see a thick stack of letters piled inside simply by peering through the slot.
Taking out the key, she unlocked the back of the mailbox and scooped out all the letters in one go—around sixty in total.
Returning indoors, Satsuki spread the letters across the wooden table and began sorting them.
With a quick glance, she saw that most were the weekly love letters she routinely received. These required no response.
Although she had no interest in them, she had no intention of embarrassing those young boys experiencing their first stirrings of affection—so she did not toss the letters straight into the trash in public.
Another portion consisted of inquiries and well-wishes from classmates and teachers, asking why she had not attended school recently.
Based on her closeness to the senders, she decided to reply to some of them.
After determining how to handle these less important letters, Satsuki reached directly into the small mountain of envelopes and pulled out one that looked utterly ordinary.
There was nothing special about its appearance. The corners bore no decorative patterns or embellishments. Yet the contents were quite interesting.
—It was a challenge letter.
The writer's words revealed that they already knew Satsuki had once crossed swords with the King of Swords. However, for some reason, the sender claimed they could not directly challenge a "foreign Campione," and so had chosen to settle for the next best option—seeking a duel with Satsuki, whose swordsmanship was said to rival that of the King of Swords.
Satsuki looked at the signature and pondered for a moment.
"—Ena Seishuuin. That surname seems familiar somehow."
Following that faint impression, she quickly retrieved related information from memory. She had come across it before while browsing records of this world's myths at home.
A representative of one of Japan's distinguished families—one of the four great houses—and a long-standing lineage of Hime-Miko.
Nearly every generation of this family produced individuals with outstanding spiritual power. Their reputation within Japan's Shinto circles was immense. Even within the History Compilation Committee, they held significant influence.
However, like many prestigious houses, the number of gifted heirs had gradually dwindled. By the current generation, only a single daughter remained.
Rumor had it that she possessed excellent swordsmanship and considerable talent in curse techniques. If nothing unexpected occurred, she would likely be a Hime-Miko like Yuri Mariya.
Satsuki gazed at the name on the signature for a moment longer.
It was probably this Ena Seishuuin.
She folded the letter away. She did not take the matter too seriously. She merely could not understand why the other party had sent her a challenge letter.
After some thought, the only likely cause seemed to be the History Compilation Committee.
Were those people not busy enough cleaning up after Marquis Voban?
However, to Satsuki as she was now, this matter held no importance. She had no interest in learning what the Committee's true intentions were.
With her current abilities, taking a little girl seriously would feel like bullying.
So, after smiling faintly in mild amusement, she burned the letter together with the earlier pile of love letters in flame.
...
Bunkyo Ward.
Yushima Shrine.
Located near the famous Kanda Myojin Shrine, it was not a large shrine like the latter, but more akin in style to the Seven Heroes Shrine.
Built along a small road in Yushima, it usually had no chief priest or shrine maidens stationed there. It was entirely managed in rotation by nearby worshippers.
It was such a shabby shrine that it did not even appear on electronic maps.
It was now dawn.
A young girl pushed open the elegant doors of the shrine's main hall and stepped inside.
Her slender black hair flowed like water, loose and beautiful. Her face was equally refined, matching the elegance of her hair. Though she appeared petite, it was largely due to the clothing that made her figure seem slender.
Yet what drew the most attention was the long cloth bag slung over her shoulder.
If passersby had seen her, they would likely have found it strange.
The shrine's gates, normally closed, had suddenly been opened—occupied boldly by a high school girl in a short-sleeved uniform. Yet she was not trespassing, so there was no basis to accuse her.
Moreover, there were scarcely any pedestrians at this hour.
"I understand, Grandfather. I should be able to do it... As for swordsmanship, I do have some confidence."
She sat gracefully on the wooden floor of the shrine's hall while speaking on her phone.
"But did she really defeat that King of Swords? I still have my doubts... I went to the scene, but I couldn't discern any useful information. And those people who know nothing about swordsmanship couldn't provide anything valuable either. There's no way to infer how much strength either side displayed."
As she spoke, she deftly untied the cloth bag resting on the floor with her free hand.
A long sword in a black lacquered sheath was revealed. Its blade measured three shaku, three sun, and five bu in length—her reliable partner.
Scattered beside her were more than ten documents containing investigation reports on two girls her age.
"If you ask me, wouldn't it be better if I just showed my strength directly to that foreign Campione and replaced her as the Agent?"
After speaking, she picked up one of the papers lying on the floor.
Erica Blandelli. Born in Milan, Italy. Affiliated with the magical society "Copper-Black Cross". Sixteen years old.
Height: 165 centimeters. Measurements: 87-58-88.
Looking at the photograph taken from a camera angle, she was an outstanding beauty.
To so brazenly annotate a Campione's physical measurements—if the other party cared, it could very well spark a diplomatic incident.
She—Ena Seishuuin—looked at the personal data of this Campione and smiled with confidence.
"Compared to that one, she looks far more suitable as my opponent. If it's her, I should be able to enjoy the fight to my heart's content."
Speaking to the companion lying on the floor, Ena lifted her gaze toward the outside.
...
Europe, benefiting from the "legacy" left by its ancestors, generally lives a more "leisurely" life compared to East Asia.
This can be seen from their work schedules and the fact that shops are usually closed on weekends. As for unpaid overtime or the infamous 996 routine—it is simply unthinkable.
As for Erica Blandelli, although she was a genius knight and, in theory, should have been disciplined, rising early and resting early like the King of Knights—
—Unfortunately.
In Erica's dictionary, the concept of "early to bed and early to rise" did not exist.
Her lifestyle was the exact opposite of the knights described in stories. She would stay up late into the night before going to sleep.
If there was nothing to do, she would sleep until nearly noon. That was precisely the kind of life Erica enjoyed.
However, in recent days, she had been waking up early.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she picked up the important documents that Arianna had delivered.
These were materials sent to her by Sayanomiya Kaoru of the History Compilation Committee. They contained general information about Japan's prominent magical families and ancient Onmyoji lineages.
This was also the result of their prior negotiation.
She had agreed to become the Godslayer secretly protecting Japan. In exchange, she was granted emergency command authority over Japan's magicians, curse users, and Hime-Miko.
This condition had caused considerable headaches for Japan's side, but in the end, they had no choice but to accept it.
For an ordinary person, being parachuted in as a supreme leader would likely result in subordinates outwardly obeying while secretly resisting.
But this did not apply to Godslayers.
Take the King of Swords as an example. Although he rarely managed the affairs of his magical societies personally, leaving most authority to subordinates such as the Female Wolf and the Lily Flower leaders—
When he truly issued an order or enforced his will, no one could defy him.
The reason was simple.
A Godslayer's power was so overwhelming that they could overturn a nation by themselves.
They themselves were myths walking freely in this world. No matter how much others struggled to catch up, they could only look up in awe before such monsters.
After briefly scanning the documents, Erica relied on her years of training and experience in the "Copper-Black Cross" to extract the information she needed from the deliberately obscure reports.
"It seems Japan's magical world has also entered a period of decline. The once-famous Onmyoji families completely fell after World War II and vanished from prominence. Aside from the Abe lineage still active in politics, are these the only ones left worth mentioning?"
"The Seishuuin family, the Kuhōzuka family, the Rengjō family, and the Sayanomiya family. Apart from these, the rest are just insignificant rabble—not even qualified to serve as lower-tier members..."
Erica closed the documents and let out a lazy yawn.
"Anna~ Is there still no news about Satsuki today?"
Arianna, standing beside her, bowed slightly and replied, "Miss, the observer stationed outside Miss Satsuki's residence will report back shortly. However, we have received a letter from another acquaintance~"
"Who?" Erica asked curiously.
"It's Karen~ I only just found out she's also been in Japan recently."
Karen Jankulovski.
She was Erica's rival—the personal maid of the Sword Fairy, Liliana Kranjcar.
"Oh~"
Upon hearing that Karen was in Japan, Erica's expression became subtle. The slight curl of her lips even carried a mischievous, almost wicked smile.
"I see. What does she want?"
"She invited you to meet at a café at ten o'clock. She said she has important information to hand over personally."
"Understood~ I'll be there on time," Erica replied cheerfully.
...
Time passed quickly amidst her tasks. Soon, the clock hand pointed to nine.
Erica stood up from the table, stretched lazily, then changed into her red dress before heading out.
At this hour, the streets were filled with pedestrians—and Erica was undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching figures among them.
Her beautiful golden hair shone like a crown, paired with dazzling looks. Combined with a physique that balanced seductive charm and artistic proportion during her growth stage, any one of these traits was enough to draw attention.
And most importantly—she was a foreigner.
Although Japan was a developed country, it remained a relatively closed island nation. This alone was enough to attract countless gazes.
Unlike the relatively reserved and shy women of East Asia, Erica had absolute confidence in her beauty and displayed it without restraint.
Aside from her height of around 160 centimeters, every aspect of her rivaled that of a model.
While waiting, at least seven Japanese office workers, distracted while staring at her, ended up walking straight into utility poles.
Click...
The café clock chimed as the hour struck.
Accompanied by the sound, a crisp voice came from the entrance.
"My apologies, Miss Erica. Thank you for waiting."
"As punctual as ever, Karen," Erica replied with an elegant smile.
The one who entered was a girl who looked serious and capable, with long green hair.
Although she was a maid, she was not wearing a maid outfit. Instead, she had on a sleeveless inner top with a short-sleeved cardigan—like ordinary casual wear.
"Naturally. After all, it's Lady Liliana. Deceiving her is hardly difficult."
The girl—both an old acquaintance and rival to her mistress—returned Erica's smile with one just as sly.
It looked like a meeting between a cunning merchant and a corrupt official.
"You really are a wicked woman, Karen. Very reliable," Erica remarked.
"Not at all. Compared to you, Lady Erica, I am far behind. Oh, right—this is what you wanted."
Leaning against the table, Karen handed over a stack of photocopied pages.
Erica took them and checked the contents. From the tone and style alone, she could tell—it was unmistakably Lily's work.
Strictly speaking—these were the latest installment of Liliana's ongoing creative notes, which she had been writing for years.
Most of the contents were romance stories, short poems, and essays—materials Erica secretly purchased from Karen at a high price.
"Oh my, Lily... It's completely unexpected. That usually serious and proper girl has turned into such a sentimental maiden this time."
Reading the contents, Erica couldn't help but recite aloud.
"I hate someone so cold and distant... But what is this pounding in my chest—could this be love? Ah, these feelings won't stop anymore..."
"Pfft—"
Even Karen, who usually maintained a serious expression, almost burst out laughing upon hearing Erica read those lines.
"Mocking your mistress' work like that is not something a proper maid should do, Karen," Erica said.
Karen took a few deep breaths before barely suppressing the "pounding in her chest."
"Miss Erica, we maids are professionally trained. No matter how funny something is, we won't laugh—unless we can't hold it in."