At that moment, Fuutarou Uesugi was still focused on the last question.
When he noticed Shiro Sakamaki had already handed in his paper, a flicker of unease stirred in his heart.
Still, he reminded himself to stay calm. What mattered wasn't how fast they finished, but who scored higher. Speed didn't guarantee accuracy.
Ebata, adhering to fairness, didn't immediately check Shiro's answers. He silently waited for Uesugi to finish.
Finally, as time ran out, Uesugi set down his pen.
"Mr. Ebata, I'm done."
Ebata nodded, placing both papers in front of him and giving them a preliminary review.
Uesugi's handwriting, likely due to the pressure, was slightly messy—but still legible.
But when Ebata looked over Shiro Sakamaki's paper, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise.
He had expected rushed and careless writing, given how quickly Shiro had finished.
But instead, the handwriting was perfectly clean, almost like it had been printed. No erasures, no signs of hesitation—it looked pristine.
Even just on presentation alone, Shiro already held an advantage.
"Both of you, I'll need more time to thoroughly evaluate the content. It's getting late, so let's call it a day," Ebata said.
Ichika yawned. "Yeah… it's really late."
Miku was already asleep on the table. The other sisters—Nino, Itsuki, and Ichika—were all nodding off as well.
They'd stayed up to support Shiro and didn't want to disturb him. If not for him, they'd have gone to bed long ago.
They'd assumed the results would be released tonight—but clearly, they'd have to wait a bit longer.
Shiro nodded. "It's late, I won't keep you any longer. Please rest well."
"Good night."
"Good night, Shiro-kun~"
"Bye, sweet dreams…"
"Bye-bye."
One by one, the sisters said their goodbyes as Shiro gave Ebata a polite nod and left the Nakano residence.
"Uesugi-san, would you like a ride?" Ebata offered.
Uesugi hesitated. The trains had stopped running, and a taxi wasn't an option financially.
"In that case, I'll take you up on the offer. Thank you, Mr. Ebata."
Ebata nodded. "Ladies, I'll take Uesugi-san home first."
"Okay, drive safely, Mr. Ebata."
---
When Shiro returned to his apartment, Kanna Kamui was already asleep on the couch, the magical girl anime still playing softly on the TV.
Empty snack wrappers were scattered all around—clearly Kanna's handiwork.
Shiro walked over quietly and gently picked her up.
Kanna stirred slightly, sniffed the air with her tiny nose, then relaxed upon recognizing his scent.
That simple gesture of trust made Shiro smile. He still didn't fully understand why Kanna had chosen to follow him so willingly—but her trust gave him a sense of warmth and belonging.
After tucking her into bed and cleaning up the living room, Shiro grabbed a cold beer from the fridge.
Gulp, gulp, gulp—burp.
He downed the can in one go, letting the chill hit him as he slumped into the sofa with a sigh of satisfaction.
His thoughts drifted back to the terrifying display of power from Thor earlier in the day. It had completely shattered his usual calm, leaving him with a vague sense of urgency.
Thor hadn't shown any hostility toward him, but their only potential point of conflict would be Kobayashi. As long as he didn't endanger her, the chance of becoming enemies was slim.
Now that Kanna was acting as a bridge between them, there was even a chance of joining the dragons' circle.
But dragons respected strength—nothing else. The peaceful dynamics between humans and dragons in the original story couldn't be relied on.
If Shiro wanted their respect, he needed power—equal or even superior to theirs.
He thought it over into the night, until finally, he made a decision.
No more hesitation—it was time to explore the secrets of the Cthulhu Original Codex.
Of course, using something that dangerous inside his apartment would be foolish.
---
Later that night, a black silhouette soared through the skies above Tokyo.
Shiro landed silently in a remote mountain area. Opening his inventory, he stared at the Cthulhu Original Codex and took a deep breath.
He first learned about this artifact in his past life while watching Fate/Zero. It was the Noble Phantasm of Gilles de Rais, a C-rank Servant.
Once a marshal and comrade of Jeanne d'Arc, Gilles had appeared in the Holy Grail War as a caster. Ironically, his magical ability was mediocre at best.
Compared to someone like Medea, Gilles was more like a deranged amateur.
His primary method of attack—summoning grotesque Sea Demons—was nothing more than a numbers game.
Even his so-called ultimate technique, summoning a giant Sea Demon, had been annihilated by Saber's Excalibur.
But in terms of sheer occult knowledge, no one could rival Gilles.
His Noble Phantasm, the R'lyeh Text, was a grimoire overflowing with esoteric knowledge and madness.
Fascinated by this lore, Shiro had dug deeper—eventually falling into the depths of Cthulhu Mythos.
He discovered that the Teaching Book was modeled after the legendary R'lyeh Text, said to have been recorded on clay tablets from the sunken city of R'lyeh.
Most were destroyed, with only scattered manuscripts remaining.
And now, the version he possessed had an unusual title: Cthulhu Original Codex Edition.
That… was very suspicious.
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