Reika Rikudou tensed up again. Her life had taught her that there was no such thing as a free lunch. Jiang You's inexplicable demands and apparent goodwill were impossible for her to trust. She feared this Magus would use her as a sacrifice, just like Hyouma Sagara had planned to.
"Don't be so quick to refuse."
Though Reika's expression remained neutral, Jiang You could read the atmosphere and sense the thoughts of the woman who, according to her profile, was a year younger than him.
"I can make this promise mainly because your and your Servant's wishes are incredibly simple. They don't require the Holy Grail at all."
"My wish?"
Reika looked at Jiang You in confusion. She was someone who tended to go with the flow; as long as she could survive, she didn't care how. She had joined the Holy Grail War partly out of a maternal affection for Little Jack, but also with the mindset that since she was already caught up in it, she might as well participate.
"Do you know my wish?"
"Right now, your wish is to help Little Jack win the Holy Grail, isn't it?"
Jiang You recalled her character profile. Her backstory was so brief that he could grasp it completely after just a glance.
"And as for what you'd wish for after winning the Holy Grail... you haven't really thought about that, have you?"
"..."
Reika Rikudou actually had a vague idea of what she might wish for, but she couldn't articulate it. She truly lived day by day, passively drifting through life—whether as a prostitute or a Master, she was always pushed forward by circumstances, with no real choices of her own.
"You're right. Little Jack's wish is my wish, but her wish..."
Reika had no idea how Little Jack's desire to return to the womb could be fulfilled without the Holy Grail.
"To return to her mother's womb, to wish she had never been born, right?"
Jiang You spoke before Reika Rikudou could, aiming to make his words more persuasive.
"Little Jack is, after all, an aggregate of the vengeful spirits of unborn children from murdered women. It's understandable why she'd have such a wish. But she isn't a real child and doesn't have a mother in the traditional sense. So, it doesn't matter how it's done or who does it for her, right?"
"You can do it?"
Reika Rikudou still couldn't comprehend how Jiang You planned to fulfill such an abstract concept, nor why he would help her for no apparent reason.
"I can't do it myself, but I happen to have someone here who can grant her wish."
Jiang You summoned Tiamat.
"This is Tiamat, the Mother of Mothers..."
Reika Rikudou stared at the girl with enormous horns, but she didn't sense anything particularly special about her. However, she was certain this was a Servant. Reika was skilled at reading people, and from the white-haired loli's attitude, she could tell this new Servant was likely even stronger than the other one. With at least three Servants now by Jiang You's side, any thought of resistance vanished from her mind.
It seems like all the characters around Jiang You are white-haired lolis (Hundred Faces was ignored), Reika Rikudou thought, sizing him up with a strange look. He didn't come here just because he's taken a liking to Little Jack, did he?
"Don't call Mommy that."
Tiamat rapped Jiang You on the head, expressing her displeasure. His way of addressing her made her feel incredibly awkward. Then, her gaze was immediately drawn to Little Jack.
Little Jack's existence was exceptionally unique, something even Tiamat, with all her experience, had never encountered before. An aggregate of vengeful spirits from unformed children, she had a profound effect on any Servant who embodied the concept of "Mother."
"Such a pitiful child... Don't cry anymore. Come to Mommy."
Tiamat opened her arms to Little Jack.
But Little Jack refused. First, she didn't feel safe around these people—they had just been enemies moments ago. Second: "I'm not crying. And... you don't look like a mommy at all."
Although Tiamat knew Little Jack was referring to her size, the words still landed like a critical hit. For a moment, she nearly shattered into pieces all over the floor.
Jiang You steadied the teetering Tiamat and explained to Reika Rikudou, "You're not an official participant, so you don't understand the significance of that name. Just know that she possesses a Noble Phantasm called the 'Primordial Sea,' a womb that birthed countless legendary creatures. Theoretically, humanity also originated from it. That sea is essentially no different from a womb."
Jiang You had already explained this to Tiamat before, so she didn't say much, simply nodding as she summoned the Primordial Sea at her feet. In truth, Tiamat wasn't entirely comfortable with putting Little Jack to sleep this way. To her, every life, once born, deserved to grow up healthy. Even Little Jack should have the chance to experience her own life.
"The Mother of All Things?"
Reika Rikudou, being a modern woman, immediately pulled out her phone and started searching for information. Even for a relatively obscure myth like this, she could find some details.
"She sounds like a very powerful Servant..."
Reika paused. Whether Jiang You was lying about this didn't matter anymore. Even if he had forced her hand, the outcome would be the same. She decided to trust him. Now that Little Jack had a chance to fulfill her wish, Reika felt a pang of reluctance, but her personality prevented her from voicing it.
Little Jack stared at the black mud pooling at Tiamat's feet without any disgust. Her body's instincts told her this was the place she longed for.
"Is this Mommy's tummy?"
Little Jack looked at Tiamat with curious eyes. She had no concept of biology, only knowing that it would be incredibly comfortable inside.
"It is indeed a womb."
Tiamat nodded. The Primordial Black Mud was, in a sense, Tiamat's uterus, serving a similar function. If Little Jack truly wished to disappear, the Primordial Sea could fulfill that purpose, just as it had swallowed humans in the Seventh Singularity to create other beings.
"Then I want to go back! I acknowledge you as my Mommy!"
Little Jack gazed at Tiamat with eyes full of hope. For her, the meaning of existence was to return to that warm place. Her mind was as simple and single-threaded as a child's, her joys and sorrows written plainly on her face. Moreover, she had self-destructive tendencies. "Just let me disappear here!"
"If you disappear, you won't be able to feel anything at all."
Tiamat rejected the request. Jiang You had explained Little Jack's situation to her in detail, and she hadn't yet figured out how to stop the girl's self-destructive impulses.
"Huh? Why not?"
Little Jack touched the dagger at her waist, considering whether to force her way in.
"But I can let you come and go as you please."
Tiamat still gave Little Jack a choice, deciding to deal with the matter of decomposition later.
"Yay!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Little Jack leaped into the Black Mud—a sight that would make any normal person recoil.
"Now, let's deal with your problem."
Little Jack had been easier to handle than expected. That was just how children were. While other Servants merely had the appearance of children, this one was a child in the truest sense, perhaps even younger in mind.
"You can take everything I have."
Reika Rikudou felt lost for a moment. But she was used to the feeling of having things taken from her—whether it was her family or... her body.
"Huh? Who said anything about taking your things?"
Jiang You's expression seemed to ask, Do you even have anything worth taking?