Tiamat did not think the same way as Illya. She had already been defeated before, so she knew she was not invincible. Two consecutive defeats had made her wary of her surroundings, especially in this World War, where even she, as a Beast, did not dare claim she would win. Anything could happen in this war...
"Hmph! Don't try to scare me, Caster. Come on... let's find a place to spend the night..."
"..."
Tiamat did not respond to Illya, but she still followed the cute girl. Even if she was an incredibly shameless Master, her maternal instinct made it impossible for her to leave Illya alone.
She was the mother of life, and even now, in her juvenile (larval) form, that maternal instinct had not disappeared. On the contrary, it remained as strong as her love and hatred toward humans.
At the same time, another troublesome existence was entering the World...
This one was Saber of the Green...
The replacement for the Saber that Est had just killed. In truth, it was quite tragic. The Masters' summons had been synchronized so that each Master of the Blue and Green Factions would be summoned at the same time. That meant that when Yuki was summoned, Attila was summoned as well...
But because Est killed Attila almost the instant she was summoned, that synchronization changed. Now, the World Holy Grail was once again summoning Saber of the Green.
"Hmm~ hmm~..."
Humming an unfamiliar tune, a cheerful girl appeared within the summoning spell...
She was a very beautiful young adolescent, with light blonde hair and pale blue eyes that gave her the impression of being an English mixed-blood.
She wore a very cute green dress, loosely fastened, revealing her still-developing chest and the smooth white skin of her shoulders...
Her soft, fair skin was highly alluring, naturally awakening a man's protective instincts. Yet contrary to her delicate appearance, this girl was an immensely powerful Magus—so powerful that even the magi of the Age of Gods could not compare. And while her chest was not fully exposed, there was a mark there, or more precisely, the Command Spell 'Seraph'.
The girl's name was Manaka Sajyou...
"World War... hehe, how fun."
Spinning on her own axis to the rhythm of her humming, dancing slowly, Manaka smiled and narrowed her eyes in happiness. She had been waiting for this—another chance in this war...
"Arthur... Arthur... Arthur... this time... this time I'll fulfill my promise... my beloved, my prince~"
Manaka had failed before and lost the war, unable to fulfill her promise to her prince. That failure had plunged her into deep sorrow. Fortunately, she was revived, and now she was once again a Master in the Holy Grail War.
Even though this was the most dangerous war of all, Manaka felt no fear. Instead, she smiled brightly.
Another chance was more than enough. And what did it matter if the war was dangerous? What she desired was not easy to achieve either, so she would give everything for the love of her prince...
"Let's go, Saber~ My prince's wish won't be easy to obtain..."
"Um, um, understood, Master..."
Behind Manaka, a blonde young woman followed her enthusiastically. She was short in stature, but unlike Manaka, her figure was curvaceous, possessing a breathtaking beauty. Her pale skin, long reddish-blonde hair tied with a ribbon, and bright lime-green eyes added a striking touch to her appearance.
She wore a revealing red-and-white dress with thick long sleeves, a transparent front, a leotard, and high boots adorned with golden armor...
This girl was the new Saber of the Green—and also the new Beast...
Nero Claudius / Beast 666....
Of course, Rin and Luviagelita had no idea that two Beasts had arrived, nor that the Masters of the other factions were joining forces to fight against them...
At this moment, they were forcibly kicked out of the restaurant. Tohka was an insatiable girl—her stomach had wiped out all of the restaurant's reserves. With no other choice, Luviagelita and Rin had to leave...
"Awww~ I'm sleepy."
As the main culprit behind the total annihilation of the food, Tohka patted her still-flat stomach. This made Luviagelita's and Rin's eyes widen in disbelief. It made no sense scientifically, and they wondered where all that food had gone, filling them with envy.
One of the girls' biggest concerns was gaining weight from eating, which was why they sometimes held back from enjoying delicious food to preserve their hourglass figures. But Tohka's physique completely denied that logic. She had the best of both worlds, leaving the duo grinding their teeth.
Naturally, this did not affect Tohka at all. With her stomach full, her eyes began to close...
"I'm going to sleep..."
"Wha—?!"
Without even asking Rin, Tohka vanished in a flash. She still had her bed in Yuki's spiritual world.
"S-Sleep?! How is it possible for a Servant to be sleepy?! Come back, Saber! Saber!"
Rin could not believe it. After all the trouble it took to feed that Servant, she just disappeared...
And even though it was late at night, when most people were already asleep, Tohka was a Servant who neither needed sleep nor food.
They were supposed to be the perfect guardians, protecting their Master twenty-four hours a day. Unfortunately, Tohka did not follow that rule...
"Aww~"
"Yay, Yoshino, it's bedtime~"
And Tohka was not the only one. Yoshino wiped the corners of her eyes and let out a cute yawn, while Yoshinon gently patted her head...
"What? You're leaving me too, Rider?!"
"Rin-chan, it's not good for cute girls like Yoshino to stay up late~ Yoshino has a strict nighttime schedule~"
"But you're a Servant!"
For Yoshinon, this was the limit. Even though they had only been summoned a few hours ago, Yoshino's biological clock had knocked her out.
"See you tomorrow~"
With that, she said her goodbye and vanished quickly, ignoring Rin's complaints.
"...!!"
With two of her Servants gone, Rin panicked and quickly turned toward Est.
"?"
In response, Est tilted her head. She remained expressionless as always, but Rin was already prepared to grab her at the slightest movement. She would definitely cling to her and not let her leave.
Fortunately, after a few seconds, Est remained exactly the same, unmoving. Rin relaxed a little...
"You're not leaving?"
"Why would I?"
"Aren't you sleepy?"
"No. I am a sword spirit."
Est's answers were as flat as ever, making Rin sigh in relief. Fortunately, the Foreigner was reliable...
"..."
Luviagelita, on the other hand, did not know whether to feel pity or jealousy toward her rival.
It was obvious that Rin's Servant was absurdly powerful, but that same fact meant Rin could not control her.
[Haha, Rinrin-chan doesn't need to worry. Tohka-chan and Yosshi aren't night people, so it's natural for this to happen~]
For Nia, it was already a miracle that Tohka and Yoshino had stayed on their feet for so long. Even after sharing a Throne in the Crown, their biological clocks were still incredibly precise.
"How am I supposed to know that?! And besides, you're Servants! You shouldn't be sleepy!"
Rin's small, flat chest rose and fell with anger. Just moments ago she had been smug and confident, but now...
She did not even dare turn to look at her rival, afraid of being ridiculed.
[Maa~ calm down, don't get worked up, Rinrin-chan. Don't worry, the replacement is already on the way~]
"Replacement?"
Rin did not even finish speaking when two Servants materialized beside her...
"Kukuku! Tremble before our greatness, humans! We, the Hurricane Sisters, have arrived!"
"Notice: we will be acting as guardians for tonight. Please take care of us."
They were two beautiful girls with orange hair. One of them struck an exaggerated pose, imitating a demon king. As she did, the wind blew around her body, creating a scene straight out of an anime.
The other girl, meanwhile, stepped up to Rin and introduced herself directly.
The scene made everything incredibly awkward. At a glance, they looked like twins, yet their personalities were completely different...
One seemed to suffer from chuunibyou, while the other looked like a robot.
"...Yes?"
Even though it took Rin a moment to react, she quickly checked the abilities of these new Servants. She had already lost Rider and Saber.
And in this dangerous war, the stronger, the better.
---