Thanks for the invitation. I'm in Type-Moon, inheriting the legacy of Zi-O.

“Uh…” Mashu turned her pleading gaze to Nianzhuo again.

"It'll be fine after this conflict is over." Nian Zhuo nodded. After all, it's a round-the-world voyage; what boy wouldn't be interested in that?

"Hmm, I'll consider it too~" Ritsuka's side ponytail twitched, clearly showing her curiosity.

"Really? Really!" Drake was even more delighted. "With you all here, you're worth a hundred... no, a thousand! Once we've secured food and fresh water, we'll set off! Come on, let's get back to the ship!"

"...Senior, and Mr. Nianzhuo. Is this alright?" Mashu looked at Drake as he walked away and asked softly, "After the era was corrected, our memories will all—"

“No problem~” Ritsuka smiled. “Because she is Captain Drake.”

“Yes, I think it’s fine too.” Nian Zhuo nodded. “Because she is the woman who shot down the sun.”

"Hey...you two, you're not really planning to travel around the world...?" Seemingly realizing some surprising truth, and then seeing Ritsuka and Nencho's mysterious smiles, Mash's face instantly turned red.

"...Please don't make fun of people like that!"

Amidst laughter and chatter, the group walked toward the Golden Deer, which was moored on the other side.

Continue sailing

Back on the moored Golden Deer, Drake immediately ordered her men to get to work.

"Hmm..." After examining the Viking nautical chart in his hand, Drake pointed in a direction to Nian Zhuo and the others. "According to the Viking nautical chart... there's an island to the northwest." He looked at his already raised sails and stroked his chin. "At our speed, we should arrive in about ten hours. If we have a tailwind, we can arrive even faster."

“Leave the text to us to decipher.” Mashu said, taking the Viking books and turning on her communication device. “Director Mary, I’m sending you data.”

“No problem, it’s just a few books. I can handle that.” Mary readily agreed, but then her tone became more urging, “By the way, I hope you can establish the summoning points as soon as possible.”

"Let's hope the next island will have a spiritual vein." Mashu nodded to indicate that she had remembered.

"Alright, guys!" Captain Drake slapped the mast and shouted to his men below, "Set sail!"

—However, on that little-known island—

"Huff... huff... huff..." A purple-haired girl was running, panting heavily, before collapsing to the ground.

"Ugh... I'm so tired, I can't go on." Looking at her trembling legs, the girl looked like she was about to cry. "I can't move... I can't run anymore..." Then, the girl looked around.

The white walls, dotted with a few lantern-like torches, and the winding roads—it's clearly a maze.

"This is the first time in my life I've ever run like this. Besides, why did I become a Servant?!" Like a little girl, the girl shouted and yelled in the deserted labyrinth.

“Stheno’s not here, and even my silly sister Medusa is gone—” Then the girl turned her head away as if she were being haughty, and muttered softly, “...No, actually I don’t care whether she’s here or not, really. It doesn’t matter from any angle…” Looking at the empty surroundings, the girl sighed helplessly again.

"Sigh... Who am I even talking to?" Then, the girl looked around at the maze that had trapped her, and couldn't help but stomp her foot. "Besides, this is that maze (labyrinth), right? How is it possible... to escape... There are no ropes." The girl seemed to have thought of something, and looked around with a slight tremor.

"...Speaking of which, there must be that thing here. Since this labyrinth exists, there must be that thing." As if they were waiting for her to say this, several pairs of scarlet eyes appeared on the way here, along with the rough roars of monsters.

"...!" Looking in that direction, the girl quickly stood up after confirming that she hadn't misheard. "As expected...!" The same roar came from the road in front of her, and the girl seemed to be caught in a miserable situation of being attacked from both sides.

"It seems like something's following us... Ugh, what am I supposed to do?!" The girl turned her head and saw a tall figure standing in front of her, with a pair of black tentacles on its head.

"Aa ...

Meanwhile, Drake frowned as he looked at the nautical chart in his hand.

"Hmm...?"

"What's wrong, Captain Drake?" Mash asked kindly.

"Hmm." Drake nodded, as if confirming something. "The smell of the air has changed."

"The...smell of the air?" Mashu took a few breaths but didn't notice anything different.

"The air smells different in different countries and on different lands," Drake said with a smile, sharing his sailing experience. "It's not so bad when it's so close from England to France, but the air really does smell different on other continents."

"Hmm." Mary, through the communication device, seemed to sense something. "Ms. Drake, are you feeling the difference in wind caused by the temperature difference and ocean current changes?"

“What’s with calling me Ms. Drake?” Drake’s cheeks flushed. “It’s really uncomfortable to be addressed like that, Miss Scholar.”

“Ah… well, I’m sorry.” Mary thought for a moment, then finally relented. “Then please forgive my rudeness, I’ll call you Drake.” Mary then coughed twice, steer the conversation toward Nianzhuo and the others. “Ahem, Mashu, Nianzhuo, and Ritsuka, Drake might be right. Right now, the temperature and ocean currents where you are are clearly different from the island we just visited. In a little while, we should be able to pinpoint your exact location.”

However, a pirate suddenly ran up.

"Boss! A ship has appeared in the northwest!"

"Good! What kind of flag does it have?" Drake, his body throbbing with the urge to plunder, looked excitedly at the pirate.

"Report! It's a pirate flag I've never seen before!" The pirate gritted his teeth and immediately ran down.

"That's the enemy!" Drake looked at Nianzhuo and the other two. "Nianzhuo! Mash and Ritsuka! Get ready! Time to get to work!"

"Understood, Captain Drake!" Mash nodded to Drake, then looked at Nencho and Ritsuka beside her. "Then, Mr. Nencho, and Master, let's go!"

“Of course, but this time, I’ll provide backup.” Nian Zhuo took out a yellow-green watch face from his pocket.

"Eiji, Ankh, we're going!" Then, with the driver on his waist, Nencho 2 took out the Zi-O watch face and the OOO watch face that he had been holding tightly in his other hand.

Then, Nianzhuo gently turned the dial.

“zio――!” “ooo――!” were placed at both ends of the driver, and then it was flipped.

Suddenly, a yellow tiger, a green locust, and a fiery red falcon flying from the horizon all came onto the deck and then merged with Nianzhuo's armor.

"Rider Time! Kamen Rider Zi-O!! Armor Time! Taka Tora Batta! OOO!"

"Mash! Hold my hand! And Ritsuka too!" Nianzhuo reached out his hand as the pirate ship drew closer.

"Understood! (Okay!)" The two girls hugged Nianzhuo's arms tightly, and then the locust armor on Nianzhuo's legs faintly emitted a green light.

Then, they jumped to an astonishing height and plummeted toward the oncoming pirate ship.

"Men! Let's get ready to fight!" How could a challenge be complete without pirates? Drake, naturally unwilling to be outdone, was also ready to jump over and fight. However, she knew she couldn't jump as high as Nian Zhuo, so she had to stay on her golden deer for now.

The battle took place on both ships.

Deep Sea Love, Devout Faith

Rhodes Island is destined to be anything but peaceful today because of the relationship between these two people.

Exusiai and Skadi have gone public with their relationship... which basically means they're together.

Upon hearing this news, Kal'tsit even dropped the research report in her hand to the ground. Warfarin, who was tied up on the outside, twisted her body to confirm that this was not a dream.

Meanwhile, at Penguin Logistics, Texas was so frightened that Pocky fell to the ground, and Croissant simply stopped doing her own business.

Swire and Chen Huijie, who were arguing, were also stunned.

All eyes were on the two people holding hands in the center.

"Hehehe~" Exusiai touched her long, wine-red hair and nuzzled Skadi's soft cheek. "What's wrong~ Is everyone so surprised that I'm with Skadi?"

"This isn't a question of whether you're surprised or not!" Amiya slapped the table upon hearing this, her bunny ears bobbing on her head. "What's so special about you two that makes you a good match?!"

Indeed, Skadi from the Deep Sea and Exusiai from Laterano are from completely different worlds.

They have different beliefs, different customs, and different pasts.

However, these two very different people have now publicly announced that they are together.

"What? After all, Skadi is cute." Exusiai pinched Skadi's cheek, who had been silent all along, and remained as carefree as ever. "If we're talking about being a good match—as long as I like her and she likes me too, isn't that enough?"

"This..." Speechless for a moment, young Amiya had never seen such a scene before. Then, she gave up and waved her hand, "Forget it! I don't care about you anymore, but I still hope you can be together and be happy."

"Well~ of course~" Exusiai was still very happy today.

Even Skadi couldn't help but smile slightly.

――Outer Ring Road of Longmen――

"Hey~ Titi, do you want to buy one of these?" The girl with a halo above her head held the hand of the silver-haired girl and wandered around Longmen Street.

Exusiai smiled and placed a small whale statue in front of Skadi, her orange eyes sparkling with excitement.

"How is it? Isn't she cute?" This was Exusiai and Skadi's first date. Although Exusiai had her usual expression, judging from her slightly trembling little hands, they were both quite nervous.

“I think… it’s not bad.” Skadi gave an ambiguous answer and then looked at the stall.

Under the boss's smug gaze, Skadi carefully picked up a Lateran statue.

“Then, I’ll take this.” Skadi’s usually expressionless face broke into a smile as she placed the small angel statue in Exusiai’s hand. “To avoid being crushed by me, you can pay for it.”

"Mmm~ Okay~" Exusiai's cheeks flushed slightly as she watched Skadi choose the angel statue, but she quickly turned to the shopkeeper, "Then, we'll take these two. How much is it in total, boss~"

"Oh! That'll be 307 LMD in total, but..." The middle-aged shopkeeper looked at the two girls in front of him, then chuckled, "Considering how good the two ladies are, I'll make it 300 LMD!"

"Ah! Thank you, boss~" Exusiai said, tugging at Skadi's sleeve. "How about it~ I told you we'd have good luck, right?" She then took the two statues from the boss and handed the Laterano statue to Skadi.

"Hmm...shouldn't you be keeping this?" Skadi looked at the statue in her hand, somewhat curious. "After all, you're the Lateran one..."

"Hmph~" Exusiai proudly puffed out her chest, the halo above her head even shining slightly. "We Laterano people, even statues are sacred, able to protect our loved ones~" Then, she personally took the two ends of the statue's silk rope, wrapped them around Skadi's white jade-like neck, and gently tied them around her neck.

Feeling Exusiai's breath approaching, Skadi shyly looked away.

"Next, let Titi tie it for me~" Exusiai handed another orca statue to Skadi, and without hesitation, she swept her long red hair aside, exposing her neck to Skadi.

“…Hmm.” Skadi nodded and leaned closer to Exusiai’s profile.

Feeling as if their breaths were mingling together, Skadi and Exusiai blushed.

Then, Skadi, as if playing a prank, bit Exusiai's exposed earlobe.

"Ah~" Exusiai let out a cute cry, her face flushed red as she covered her ears. "Tee-Tee!? What, what are you doing~"

"Hmph~ This is the price you pay for bullying me earlier." Skadi said, revealing a small smile of a successful prank.

Looking at the small statue of Exusiai hanging down to her chest, Skadi suddenly pulled Exusiai into her arms.

"I hope it can protect you and safeguard your life," Skadi whispered, stroking Exusiai's long, wine-red hair.

"Me too~" Exusiai wrapped her arms around Skadi's waist as well, whispering, "I hope you can have the blessing of the angels. What we Laterano people want to protect cannot be destroyed as long as we live~"

"Don't say things like that." Skadi gripped Exusiai's shoulders with both hands, her red eyes meeting Exusiai's orange eyes.

What did those eyes hold? Six parts blessing, three parts disappointment... and one part sadness.

"Well, after all, even Tima-neechan is still here~" Exusiai patted her cheeks and regained her usual energy.

"..." Skadi just stared at Exusiai's face, then her silver hair fluttered as Skadi suddenly leaned close to Exusiai's lips.

"Eh---Ugh~ Ugh~ Titi?!" She wanted to say something, but her words were cut off by Skadi's kiss.

The girls entwined, separating yet remaining close, stretching out a thin, silvery-white thread.