"It's not that I don't like interacting with others, it's just that they don't bring the same sense of warmth that you do, Jean, so my attention is all on you."
Such a super direct pitch made Jean a bit shy; it was truly admirable that Frostnova could say such things without changing her expression.
"Ah, um, it's fine. You can decide your own thoughts for yourself. No matter what, I'll support you."
Jean, who had originally wanted to persuade Frostnova to be more outgoing, now found herself at a loss for words.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Taking the opportunity, Jean ran to open the door.
The identification panel showed Sister Shiraori's visit. Jean opened the spatial gate, and a few seconds later, Sister Shiraori stepped out from it.
"Hi, I'm back! Jean, did you miss me?"
For some reason, Sister Shiraori's mood was particularly high.
"Yes, yes, yes, I missed you! I missed you to death, Sister Shiraori."
"Hehehe, that's good. I brought you a gift..."
At that moment, Frostnova walked out.
"Jean?"
"Eh?" Sister Shiraori suddenly froze there.
"Sister Shiraori, let me introduce you. This is Frostnova..." Jean then briefly recounted the events of their previous trip to the Terra World.
"Eh, ah, oh, I see..." Sister Shiraori reacted flatly throughout the story, only showing a surprised expression when the defeat of Cthugha's avatar was mentioned.
"I didn't expect you to be so good at seeking death, though it's not surprising; you were quite the death-seeker before."
In the end, 'death-seeker' became Sister Shiraori's evaluation of Jean.
"Oh, right, take this." Sister Shiraori pulled out a very familiar-looking invitation letter.
Indeed, it was the one that read, "Clash! The Grand Strategy of the Unknown Holy Grail War!"
Jean then took her own out of her spatial pouch to show Sister Shiraori.
"Oh my, you already have one?"
"Yes. What exactly is this thing?" Jean asked.
"It's a Grand Prix hosted by one of our partners. These kinds of Grand Prix are used to distribute high-value items. Every entry ticket is sold for a price, and the total sum is roughly equivalent to the value of the prizes. Of course, the organizers can also make another profit through operations like broadcasting."
"So what's the prize this time? That greater grail from Type-Moon?"
"Not exactly. It's called a Holy Grail War because the battlefield is a modified pruned timeline from Type-Moon, but the prize is indeed a Grail—a real Holy Grail."
"A real Holy Grail?"
"Yes, it's said to be a grail truly filled with the Holy Blood of the Son. Although legends are always unreliable, it can be guaranteed that the blood inside is the highest grade of divine blood. The kind where a normal person would become highly divinized just by touching a drop."
"They're actually offering something like that as a prize?" Jean said with some surprise.
"Divinity is just so-so; the floor is higher, but the ceiling is the same. Besides, the main reason is that the organizers couldn't swallow this on their own. This item came from some communities who traded it for materials to rebuild Hakoniwa during its recent dissolution. But while this thing is highly valuable, the top-tier powers look down on it, and the bottom-tier can't afford it. In the end, several parties invested together to take the order."
From her tone, it seemed Sister Shiraori looked down on divinity quite a bit.
"The dissolution of Hakoniwa... is that for real?" Jean heard something surprising in the middle of that.
"There was a problem with the planning when that world was built; they actually wrote a perpetual motion machine into the world framework. Although people kept patching it, it was doomed in the end. This time it was a voluntary dissolution, just to preserve the chance to rebuild Hakoniwa."
Because this Reincarnation World was built using a modified Hakoniwa plan, Sister Shiraori was quite knowledgeable about Hakoniwa.
"So perpetual motion machines really don't exist?"
"That depends on your vision and the level at which you view the problem. Infinity and eternity both exist; reaching that stage might be true perpetual motion. Everything else is just secretly drawing from something they don't know about. There are individuals who hold perpetual motion machines—for example, Milim. The Infinite Mana Reactor is a type of perpetual motion machine, and she can also manipulate 'star particle'. But a world is a whole that emphasizes internal cycle balance; the appearance of a perpetual motion machine eventually leads to collapse."
Saying this, Sister Shiraori put the invitation letter away, felt around in her spatial pouch again, and pulled out another ticket.
"What's this?"
"This is a Type-Moon related mission commission. If you want to participate in the Grand Prix, it would be a good idea to accumulate more 'affinity' in Type-Moon."
Jean picked up the commission document and examined it carefully:
[Commission Document]
Objective: Obtain intelligence related to the principles of Materialization of Soul.
Reward: 100~10,000 T-Points, paid according to the detail of the intelligence. Retrieving the original formula will grant an additional 20,000 T-Points.
Description: Enter this Holy Grail War in the form of a simulated Heroic Spirit to obtain the relevant intelligence. Additionally, a Command Spell Counter-Formula X1 is included, which can counter and reflect a command spell once.
Deposit: 200 T-Points. If no valid intelligence is obtained, the entire deposit will be forfeited.
Jean's current points were very tight. After all, returning to the Ark World through the evil god contract required point support, and the 2000 T-Points on hand were barely enough to pay.
So seeing that the commission offered T-Point rewards made Jean very satisfied. One must know that the evil god contract she took before was meant to make money, but she ended up not making a single cent. (She did gain a wife though).
---
While Jean was looking at the commission, Sister Shiraori turned her gaze to Frostnova.
"Sister Shiraori," Frostnova called out, following Jean's lead.
Sister Shiraori stared at Frostnova with a scrutinizing gaze for a long time.
"A brilliant soul, a proud heart... although your desires are strong, they are all directed solely at Jean. Not bad." She nodded and continued, "Do you know? Your current position is one that countless people look forward to and even make their life goal. So remember, cherish it well."
Frostnova nodded, seemingly half-understanding.
At this time, Jean pulled on Sister Shiraori and asked her, "How do I go about taking a commission like this?"
"For things involving the outside of the Reincarnation World, go to the first floor hall of the White Tower; the interior is the Black Tower. For craftsmen, there's a guild on the pedestrian street. There are also some professional middlemen acting as brokers."
"OK, I got it. Thanks!"
Next, seeing there was nothing else, Sister Shiraori took her leave. However, Jean thought her state seemed a bit strange.
---
— Kiana's Home Theater —
(Kiana is watching TV at home when the door is suddenly kicked open.)
Kiana: Oh shit, you idiot Shiraori, you're trespassing on private property!
Shiraori: (Silently walks over and sits down next to Kiana.)
Kiana: Wh-what's wrong with you?
Shiraori: My sister is raising a rabbit.
Kiana: Isn't raising small animals a good thing? It cultivates the mind.
Shiraori: It's the kind that wears clothes and can talk.
Kiana: (Points to Zootopia playing on the TV) Judy? The one who's a cop?
Shiraori: Humanoid, rabbit ears, white hair!
Kiana: A bunny girl? Sigh, is that all? Isn't it just your sister getting a partner?
Shiraori: This is already the second one. My sister is a fickle playgirl.
Kiana: Then let me tell you, your sister isn't as good as me. Toward my Mei, I am single-minded, as heaven and earth can witness.
Shiraori: Heh.
Kiana: What? Is there a problem?
Shiraori: Hehe.
Kiana:???
Shiraori: Hehehe.
Kiana: You're damn well crazy!
Shiraori: Right, I forgot the main business. Here, this is for you.
Kiana: A Grand Prix ticket? Wow! I've been looking for this for a while. You really are my soulmate, Shiraori!
Shiraori: I prepared this for my sister, but it turns out she already has one.
Kiana: Get lost!
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