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

The explosion produced a thunderous sound, and at the same time, smoke and dust billowed out. The sudden dimming of light also allowed the two people opposite to see the purple light in the eyes of Nian Zhuo's mask.

However, the burst of smoke, which should have spread evenly in all directions, was unexpectedly pushed aside in one corner as if it had encountered some kind of obstruction.

Of course, that's all in hindsight.

"Eh..." Drake only just realized what was happening when Nianzhuo crushed her seemingly inevitable attack. "Nianzhuo, what are you doing?"

Only then did she realize that behind the berserker's tall body, there was a purple-haired girl in a white dress.

At the same time, another reaction representing a Servant lit up on the Chaldea screen.

"Damn... two Servants?!" One was troublesome enough, let alone another. Mash used her remaining strength to block Drake and Ritsuka.

However, although Ritsuka also looked puzzled, she did not ask Nencho for his reason for doing so.

For some reason, Mash and Drake didn't hear it, but she and Nianzhuo did.

The berserker's previous words, "protect."

However, seeing the berserker beside her covered in wounds, the girl suddenly stomped her foot, and tears even welled up in her eyes.

"I know! I know!" With a self-deprecating look, she walked up to Nian Zhuo. "I'll go with you, okay?! Kill me or do whatever you want!" She put her neck in front of Nian Zhuo's hand and closed her eyes.

"Alright, hurry up and do it!" With a look of wanting to die, she pointed to the berserker behind her who had tried to stop her but fell to the ground. "Asterius is already on the verge of death. Even if we take him away, he won't be of any combat value anymore! Besides, if we dawdle and wait for this guy to die, the labyrinth might collapse, you know?"

However, Nianzhuo was inwardly groaning: "My dear aunt, now that you've come out seeking death, even if I wanted to help you, my hand is in pain too."

Yes, don't be fooled by how cool Nian Zhuo looked when he crushed the cannonball. The enormous kinetic energy and heat exploded directly in his palm. Even with the protection of the armor and the enhancement of the Joker Memory, Nian Zhuo's hand was still severely numb from the shock and it still trembles from time to time.

"What, you're not going to kill me?" The girl couldn't see through Nian Zhuo's thoughts; she just stared at his mask with interest before walking back the way they came. "—Then let's hurry back. Leave the guiding to me."

“…Ugh…” The berserker behind him reluctantly looked away.

"No, um, wait a minute." Mashu stopped the girl who was about to pass by her, scratching her cheek awkwardly. "Um... excuse me, could I take a moment of your time?"

"What do you mean?" The girl's eyes sized up Mash for a few seconds. "You country bumpkin shield girl. Let's go, let's go to 'that guy's' place." As she spoke, she tried to pull her hand away from Mash's.

"So rustic...?" Mashu and Nianzhuo in front of her were both surprised by the girl's words.

"Hey, you little brat." Drake was far less polite, lightly tapping the girl on the head with his fist. "You can't speak ill of your savior."

"Huh?" Unexpectedly, the girl immediately turned to look at Drake and made an incredulous sound. Her gaze lingered on Drake's huge, ample chest for a second before instantly looking away. "Did I ask you, an overdeveloped woman, to speak?"

Holy crap…! A few drops of sweat dripped from Nian Zhuo's forehead, hidden beneath his mask. The girl's sharp tongue had exceeded Nian Zhuo's own expectations.

“You really dare to say that…” Nian Zhuo scratched his cheek and turned to walk towards the girl.

"—Oh?" Drake laughed angrily, raising an eyebrow. "Do you perhaps want to become a replacement for the goddess statue on the bow of my ship?"

"Goddess?" Even the girl herself was a little confused, and her gaze toward Drake became unfamiliar. "...Although I don't know what you're talking about, I am the goddess Euryale, aren't I?" Then she suddenly covered the corner of her mouth.

"What, you don't even know this yet, and you've been chasing after me?" The girl revealed a devilish smile. "Of course, there's no way there's someone on your ship who exudes the aura of a super idol like me."

“…emmmmm.” Nian Zhuo suddenly felt a little tired, in every sense of the word.

However, in a corner unnoticed by everyone, Decade appeared in an unknown spot, his green glasses staring at Nianzhuo, letting out a soft chuckle.

"Don't let me down, Nianzhuo."

Their figures scattered and disappeared.

The initial understanding was wrong.

The atmosphere became slightly awkward, and Nianzhuo and his group looked at the girl who was talking to herself with somewhat embarrassed expressions.

"Honestly, even if you're just following orders to capture me, that's fine, but you should at least know my name, right?" The girl kicked a pebble at her feet, her expression even showing a hint of disdain. "There should be a limit to rudeness. Where did you come from, some third-rate pirate?"

"This...this brat...!" Drake gritted his teeth, his anger completely aroused, but he still forcibly suppressed his urge to fight.

"Um, that... this unknown woman..." In the end, it was our social butterfly Ritsuka who stepped in and approached the girl. "You've misunderstood, and we want to clear up that misunderstanding."

"Huh...? What...?" The girl finally noticed the orange-haired girl, her gaze shifting back and forth between her and the other girl. "...By the way, you...aren't human. Hmm? Hmm? The Master of 'that thing'? But why are you here?"

Finally, it dawned on him that the orange-haired girl in front of him was indeed human, but she was a magician, the same purple-haired servant over there.

"No, more importantly, since you're the Master, you should properly discipline your Servant!" The girl kicked Ritsuka's knee as if he were a piece of trash. "What's wrong with that perverted Servant?! Even Greece doesn't have anyone as perverted as him!?"

"Um...that!" Finally snapping out of her daze at the girl's rustic address, Mashu walked up to her and said in her usual tone, "...We didn't come after you!"

"...Huh?" The girl was taken aback at first, then asked with a hint of confusion, "So who exactly are you people?"

"We are—" Okay, Mashu, the signature commentator, is back online. He leans close to the girl's ear and whispers about their origins.

Nianzhuo, on the other hand, watched with great interest, eagerly anticipating the girl's expression after learning the truth.

"What! Is! This!?!" The girl's angry roar echoed throughout the entire maze.

Her cheeks flushed red as she looked at the group of visitors from another world before her.

"You guys are really causing all sorts of misunderstandings! Ugh! What is this all about?!" The girl, exasperated, abandoned all pretenses and sat down on the ground, sulking.

"This...this is what we should be saying!" Looking at the berserker lying on the ground not far away, Mashu still clearly remembered the immense power of each of that beast's attacks, which had caused her immense suffering. "Besides, you set up a barrier to trap people, of course we would consider you an enemy!?"

"Hmm..." Upon hearing this, the berserker silently turned his face, which was lying on the ground, to another direction, but still tried to stand up.

"Ah, Asterius!" Seeing the berserker's actions, the girl quickly waved at him. "Just stay there and don't move! You're very sturdy, so as long as you don't move around, you won't die." Then, her gaze shifted to the berserker's wounds, and the girl hesitated for a moment, "...I shouldn't die, right?"

“…Hmm.” Nodding at the girl, Asterius shifted to a more comfortable position and continued lying on the ground.

"Don't worry." The girl pointed to Nianzhuo and the others towards Asterius. "These guys don't seem to be that guy."

"...I'm very sorry, we were also a bit at a loss." Only now did Mashu compose herself and bow her head to apologize to the girl. "It was Asterius who set up the barrier, right?" Her eyes turned to the berserker lying on the ground.

“Yes.” Nodding, the girl admitted that everything here was done by that berserker. “However, he didn’t want to lock you up, but rather to prevent those guys outside from getting in.”

“I see.” Mashu nodded in understanding, but then thought of Captain Drake’s ship, which was trapped and unable to move. “But if we don’t remove the barrier, we’re helpless…”

“…Hmm. There’s really nothing I can do.” The girl glanced almost imperceptibly at the silent Nianzhuo.

She understood that even if they refused to open the barrier, the man on the other side could still kill them. So, she had no choice but to find a way to compromise... The girl winked at the berserker behind her.

"Oh my, you agreed so quickly?" Drake hadn't forgotten the girl's earlier taunts and moved closer to her.

"It's just simple addition and subtraction." The girl patted the slightly dirty hem of her skirt, which she had hurried over to, and said calmly, "If you want to get out, either Asterius will die, or he will break the barrier. In that case, it's better to break the barrier." The girl looked down at the tall figure behind her and lowered her eyes. "...It's much better than being left alone."

“…I see.” Drake laughed heartily, patting the girl’s head at the same time. “Not bad, hmm, I like it.” It was unclear whether he was praising Euryale for being adaptable or referring to her environment.

Not long afterward, Drake's laughter gradually subsided.

"But why did you insist on setting up that thing called a barrier? Or something like that?" Drake now understood the girl's predicament. "It's because you were forced into a corner, right?"

"—This has nothing to do with you, right?" Euryale hesitated for a second, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to deny Drake's conjecture.

"It's related!" To everyone's surprise, Drake pointed at himself with a thumbs-up and said with a smile, "I love fun things the most!"

"...Huh?" What kind of strange human is this? Euryale felt as if she had seen a ghost.

"Traveling around the world, adventures, underground labyrinths, monsters, and so on..." Drake said with a look of "I'm used to it all," "This world is full of interesting things." Then, Drake took off his captain's hat and carefully rubbed it in his palm.

“Generally speaking, most interesting things in this world are outdated, which is why I became a pirate. But let’s put that aside for now.” Drake then patted his captain’s hat, looked at Euryale’s thin frame, and nodded. “And you have a valuable scent about you, so I’m going to take you back to the ship.” He then reached out to take Euryale’s hand.

"Hey, what gives you the right to make this decision on your own!" Euryale's eyebrows shot up as she looked at the captain's hat in Drake's hand. "Get on board!? Don't be ridiculous! I will never! I will never abandon Asterius (that guy)!"

"Huh? What nonsense are you spouting?" Drake chuckled, putting his captain's hat on his head. "Of course I'm taking Asterius with me too."

"...?" The berserker lying on the ground tilted his head toward Drake after hearing someone call his name.

"Huh...?" Euryale froze on the spot.

“He has such strong willpower and stamina,” Drake said matter-of-factly. “And looking closely, he really is a good man! If I let such a talent go, I’ll really become a laughing stock!” With that, Drake walked over to Asterius, squatted down, and touched his strong shoulder.

"Hey, how about you become a bodyguard on my ship?" Drake said, pointing to Nian Zhuo, who hadn't reacted at all. "Look, see that guy? He's the captain of the bodyguard team on my ship now, the top-notch fighter!"

“…When did I become your bodyguard?” Nian Zhuo still didn’t say those words, but chose to go along with Drake’s statement.

After all, he understood that in order to successfully continue the conquest in this singularity, he couldn't let go of any Servant he encountered who could be considered his companion.

Besides, he really wanted to recruit Asterius, since he was superior to Nianzhuo in both strength and endurance. Having someone like that join the team would surely be a huge help.

“But if you don’t want to, there’s nothing I can do.” Drake patted him on the shoulder, then looked back at Euryale. “I’m telling you, will you die if you don’t hide in the maze?”

"No...no." Even at this point, Euryale still couldn't quite believe it. "...Really? Is it really possible?"

“Of course!” Drake replied without hesitation. “I’ll offer a good salary too. Ah, but don’t expect too much in terms of benefits or anything like that.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Euryale clutched the hem of her skirt. “Um… as long as you don’t mind…” Then, she looked at the berserker lying on the ground.

"...Asterius, what do you think?"

“Go.” With that, Asterius nodded to her and then stood up.

"...Is this alright?" Euryale looked at the complicated wounds on his body.

"If you go, I'll go with you." The berserker blushed as he spoke. "Alone, I'll be lonely."

Nian Zhuo, who was standing to the side, unconsciously moved his hand, but remained silent.

“Really? Okay then.” Euryale finally made up her mind, and the little devil’s smile returned to her face. “I’ll do you the honor of boarding the ship.” Then, as if she had thought of something, she looked at Drake. “Oh, but you’ll have to prepare a private room for me, okay? I don’t intend to show my face in front of those vulgar crew members.”

"Of course, there has to be a bathroom too!" Euryale held up her index finger, carefully considering her requirements. "Ah, and—"

“Um, Mr. Nianzhuo, and senior.” Mashu moved closer to Nianzhuo and Ritsuka, and whispered as she looked at the harmonious Euryale and Drake, “…we didn’t even get a chance to say anything before things were settled.”

"Congratulations, congratulations~" Ritsuka spread her hands and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Trust her. She’s the woman recognized by the Holy Grail of this world.” Nian Zhuo’s voice, hidden beneath his mask, sounded somewhat heavy. “She’s a pirate etched in history, so it’s enough for us to trust her.”

“…That’s right.” Mash nodded in agreement, then looked at the obediently standing berserker to the side. “Speaking of which, the Minotaur should be an absolute monster that devours sacrificed children—” Before she finished speaking, Mash deliberately made everyone look in the direction of the berserker.

In fact, Nian Zhuo also noticed that Euryale, who was the size of a little girl, was circling around Asterius... no, Minotaur.

“Let me sit on your shoulders, Asterius.” Euryale’s voice held a hint of anticipation. “Oh dear! You’re taller than Medusa!”

"Mmm...mmm...mmm..." Asterius, blushing, obediently squatted down and carefully lifted Euryale onto his shoulder.

"Ouch, squat down a little lower!" Euryale slapped his shoulder. "I'm going to hit my head!"

"Mmm..." Averting his gaze, Asterius obediently squatted down again.

"Haha!" Drake laughed heartily. "You have quite a few demands, my goddess!"

Fou, meanwhile, was jumping around Asterius, looking quite interested in him.

Perched on Asterius's shoulder, Euryale's silvery laughter reached everyone's ears.

—It brought a smile to everyone's lips.