Suke ultimately did not agree to Hikami Meruru's request.
It wasn't that he was afraid of making Tsukishiro Yuki unhappy—making a mother and daughter reunite was his duty as an uncle, after all! It was purely because he didn't have a second Bus Ticket.
The two Iridium Mystery Boxes he received as achievement rewards earlier had opened into another Iridium Key and a Bus Ticket, respectively. The former had been used by Suke to unlock the map sectors for the Wizard's Tower and the Community Center, leaving one use in reserve. The latter, however, he hadn't had the chance to use yet.
Only after consoling Meruru and guaranteeing that he would regularly take Tsukishiro Yuki to her world to visit her did the jellyfish-spirit girl reluctantly stop sobbing and let go of her impulse.
"Farmer Big Brother, you must notify Noah for the next festival too! Noah likes it here very much~"
"Uncle, see you when you're free~!"
The next day, Spirit's Eve came to a close.
After declining the kind offer from the wealthy young lady, Nikaido Hiro, to help purchase agricultural production facilities (mostly because they would be useless), Suke sent the girls back to their respective worlds.
The girls from the Magical Girl Witch Trial world were fine, as they each had family and friends, but Bronya and Sin from the Honkai Impact 3rd world, who had no one to rely on, appeared especially reluctant to part.
But Suke had no choice. He couldn't even keep Meruru; what could he use to keep these two lolis? The Cross-Realm Gate opening function of the Iridium Key was only effective for Stardew Valley residents certified by a Bus Ticket.
After offering some comfort and telling them to go join Cocolia—who had already been imprinted with a mental seal by his Magic · [Brainwashing]—Suke stuffed a pile of local specialties into their hands. This was an expedient measure. In truth, as long as Cocolia didn't go crazy and chose to be a good person, living in the orphanage she ran wouldn't be too bad.
After all, there was a girl named "Seele Vollerei" there, waiting for her two destined partners of the future.
"A successful conclusion!"
Looking at the Pelican Town square, which had become empty once more, Suke flipped through the Stardew Valley calendar. The next major festival would be the Festival of Ice, a few days before winter.
Seeing the date marked with a purple star-spangled flag on the calendar, Suke knew that the future Pelican Town would no longer be dead silent. The good days were still ahead!
For now, he decided to go use that Bus Ticket.
Suke actually really hoped to recruit a farm sla... oh no, a Farmhand who could really help him work hard! A Miss Pink Elf, a pink-and-white puppy, plus a skeleton soldier... As for Abigail, she was a noble connection hire; he couldn't boss her around.
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed there wasn't a single particularly capable worker among them! Well, actually there was, but that was a different concept entirely.
"Don't send me any more bitter, resentful Witches; send me someone durable and tough! Junko Enoshima would be fine too; at least I wouldn't have any psychological burden bossing her around!"
Since Tsukishiro Yuki, Elysia, and the others had gotten dizzy drinking the Ancient Fruit Wine from the Golden Mystery Box last night and still hadn't woken up, Suke was the only one at the bus stop.
He inserted the Bus Ticket into the ticket slot beneath the machine, praying this bus would be reliable. The shit-yellow, broken-down bus parked at the station vanished instantly as usual. After waiting for about half a minute, the sound of a bus approaching came from the tunnel in the distance.
The vehicle stopped, and the doors opened.
This time Suke didn't wait; he impatiently boarded and poked his head inside. However, when Suke saw a familiar face—a red-haired girl with a high ponytail sitting there with a bewildered look—he was completely stunned.
Suke: ???
Suke rubbed his face. Only after confirming he wasn't dreaming did he look squarely at the red-haired girl named Fujimaru Ritsuka.
No, sister! Why are you dead? Didn't I just send you back to Chaldea?! Are you here to scam me out of a ticket?!
Suke felt like he had been set up by some dirty entity. For the second time. Although he knew something bad had likely happened, he couldn't hold back. He grabbed the collar of Fujimaru Ritsuka, who looked like she hadn't woken up yet, and hoisted her half-asleep body up.
What is going on, little sister?
"Far... Farmer? Eh, I remember I returned to Chaldea... Did you come to visit my Chaldea, Farmer?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka, shaken vigorously by Suke grabbing her collar, shivered. Her expression was still dazed, as if she had no idea what had happened. This scene made Suke frown deeply.
"Fujimaru Ritsuka, do you not even know that you've died?! Only dead people can sit on this bus!! What happened at Chaldea? Speak up! If I can help, I will!"
Excluding the possibility that the Bus Ticket violated its own description to pick up the living, Suke was certain that a major catastrophe had occurred at Chaldea!
Pulling Fujimaru Ritsuka off the bus, Suke took a piece of wild horseradish from his backpack and stuffed it directly into the girl's mouth.
"Gwuah!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka swallowed the wild horseradish, and the wasabi-like spice rushed straight to her brain, sobering her up a bit. Seeing Suke's gloomy expression, she realized this was no time for jokes.
She... what happened to her? Dead... If Suke wasn't lying to her, how could she be dead?
One must know that as the Master who saved the Human Order, the number of Heroic Spirits with Divine Spirit Origins alone in her Chaldea was no less than double digits! Even if Goetia resurrected, he shouldn't have the ability to breach her Chaldea head-on!
Fujimaru Ritsuka's memory remained frozen at the moment she returned to Chaldea. She remembered passing through the rayshift tunnel connecting to CHALDEAS with Mash as usual, returning from Salem to Chaldea.
As for what happened after that, she really couldn't remember. What happened before she sat on that bus which, according to Suke, only dead people rode? No memory at all. No impression whatsoever.
It was as if the instant she returned to Chaldea, she was like an ant stepped on by a passerby—annihilated without even the power to resist!
Suke took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to fuss about Fujimaru Ritsuka wasting one of his Bus Tickets. He dragged Fujimaru Ritsuka and ran straight for the Cross-Realm Gate in the farmhouse cellar without another word.
After typing a message in the Farm Public Channel stating he was going to handle some important matters—to prevent Tsukishiro Yuki and the others from finding him missing when they woke up—Suke first had Fujimaru Ritsuka stand guard on the Stardew Valley side of the Cross-Realm Gate, telling her to watch the door and not allow anyone to enter.
He himself resolutely entered the gate leading to Salem!
Taboo Garden, Salem.
Salem, the hometown of Abigail, remained as sunny and breezy as ever. But Suke, having already witnessed battles between gods and immortals, was not deceived by this surface appearance.
He sprinted to the leyline node Chaldea used for Rayshifting, intending to check the rayshift tunnel that Fujimaru Ritsuka claimed had been stabilized. But in the very next instant, a certain intuition rose within him, and he abruptly looked toward the horizon of Salem—
There was a giant female phantom, so massive it could be equated to a planet!
Infinite Sanskrit chants sang behind her; immeasurable golden lotuses fell from above her head. She had demonic horns growing from her head, her eyes were closed tight, her fingers formed a mudra, and a smile was on her face.
Between the magnificent bosom of her revealing attire, which seemed to harbor immeasurable lust, a white earth wrapped and entangled by numerous threads resembling fate was spinning. Within that white earth, one facility was so conspicuous—
CHALDEAS.
The existence at the center of the destiny vortex of the FGO world, which had saved the Human Order multiple times!
Without needing Fujimaru Ritsuka by his side, Suke could immediately call out the true name of that female figure who looked like a Bodhisattva:
Beast III:R.
Demonic Bodhisattva · Sessyoin Kiara!
But something was wrong. If Suke's deduction wasn't incorrect, Fujimaru Ritsuka's current plot point should be at the conclusion of the 1.5 Subspecies Singularities.
Although Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others had already encountered this Beast in the Deep Sea Cyber Paradise, with the help of the Moon Cell's super AI, BB, and the sacrifice of Meltryllis, this Beast of Pleasure had been temporarily eliminated. Logically speaking, she shouldn't appear again before the start of FGO's second major arc!
Moreover, although the Demonic Bodhisattva Sessyoin Kiara in the FGO worldview was powerful, her output should be on par with Goetia, who was also a Beast. To instant-kill Fujimaru Ritsuka, the destined savior, without even giving her a chance to react... theoretically, even the prime body in CCC that absorbed BB and the Sakura Five couldn't do that!
Perhaps sensing Suke's gaze, or perhaps noticing that there was still an anomaly not yet subsumed within this already controlled Human History, Sessyoin Kiara opened her long, narrow phoenix eyes. That gaze, filled with lustful love and craving, projected straight toward Salem where Suke was—
BOOM————!!!
It was an explosion of brilliance that the mortals of Salem could not perceive! The invisible darkness protecting Salem clashed with the Demonic Bodhisattva's gaze; the shockwaves alone seemed capable of shattering a planet!
This was not normal!
With thunder ringing in his ears, Suke focused his breath and instantly activated the power of the Statue of Yoba! Although separated by the barrier set by The Man of Providence, preventing the Demonic Bodhisattva from affecting Suke inside Salem, Suke also couldn't directly attack her outside the barrier.
But by using the phantom manifested by the statue to temporarily elevate his own status, Suke actually saw it—
Located deep within the pupils of the Demonic Bodhisattva Sessyoin Kiara's eyes, there hid a golden triangle he knew intimately!
That was God's The All-Seeing Eye; it was HIS evil, the symbol indicating that humanity would ultimately not escape HIS control! Two completely different, yet equally magnificent powers were concentrated on Sessyoin Kiara's body.
As if a certain qualitative change had occurred, the aura of this Demonic Bodhisattva became compassionate yet tyrannical.
[Foreign lost lamb...]
[Why do you feel hesitation?]
Her voice was like a great bell, her words like heavenly constitution. The divine power stored in the Statue of Yoba was consumed faster than at any previous moment. Suke widened his eyes, desperately trying to see more.
No... what else...!
As blood began to seep from his eyes and his Health bar started to drop, Suke finally saw it clearly—
Besides the Buddha and the God, there was one more power spiraling within Sessyoin Kiara's bosom. Its name was:
"Mother."
_____
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