Inside Uruk's Ziggurat.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Everyone gathered here, including Gilgamesh, who had been waiting for Ritsuka and the others to return with Naoki, now fell silent.
The reason was, of course, the little boy sitting on Ritsuka's shoulder, and the unconscious little girl in Mash's arms.
"Fujimaru, these two children are..."
Even Gilgamesh was surprised and confused. Though he vaguely sensed the truth, he still needed confirmation.
Before Ritsuka could answer, the little boy on his shoulder spoke: "Even though I've shrunk, you don't have to not recognize me. King Gilgamesh, it's me, Natsukawa Naoki."
"No, this King knows it's you. The issue is, how did you end up like this—"
"So cute~~~~!"
Before Gilgamesh could ask further, Merry swiftly jumped and pulled Naoki from Ritsuka's shoulder, hugging him tightly.
"Naoki in child form... Hehehe~~~ Truly adorable, no less cute than little Arthur~~~"
"Ugh... Haa—!"
Struggling to pull his head out from Merry's 'valley,' Naoki, with flushed cheeks, stomped his feet irritably: "What are you doing, Merry? Put me down!"
"No way~~~"
With a somewhat worrying smile, Merry pressed Naoki's head back: "Little kids have to obey big sis, you know. If you're not obedient and move around too much, you'll get punished~"
"Ugh..."
With great difficulty stretching out half his head, Naoki looked toward Rei.
(Rei! Help me!)
(Understood, Master.)
After finishing the telepathic conversation, Rei approached Merry and grabbed Naoki's outstretched hand.
*POP!*
Accompanied by a somewhat odd sound, Naoki was pulled out from Merry's embrace by Rei, then hugged into hers.
Merry raised an eyebrow: "Oh la la~~~ So loyal to your Master, Rei. Let me hug him again~~"
"Sorry, I refuse, Merry. This would disturb Master. Master is currently a child, not suitable for excessive contact with women. Please keep your distance from Master for a while."
(No, you watch your own actions too!)
Seeing Rei saying that while secretly enlarging her chest size and pressing it on Naoki's head, everyone didn't know how to react or what to say.
Enduring the weight on his head, Naoki could only resign himself after realizing he couldn't fight back for now.
"Better to discuss the main issue first. As for why I became like this, it's actually a kind of side effect."
"To suppress the rampaging Arcueid, I used all the power I could at that time. As a result, part of my physical existence was also burned as fuel."
Nearly fifty hours without sleep and outputting full power, Naoki's judgment and control abilities must have declined. Plus, to suppress Arcueid on time, he released his power without thinking.
"In the end, both my existence size and Arcueid's shrank by sixty percent. After recombining, we could only reincarnate to this level. Consider our condition as returning to youth."
"Hmm... I see, this King understands the situation. You've worked hard, Holy Sword Bearer. You've truly sacrificed too much for Uruk this time."
Gilgamesh said with a serious face: "But this is truly troublesome. Originally, this King hoped you'd rest for two days, then continue as the main force against Tiamat, but now... does this form affect your power?"
Naoki nodded: "Of course. First, my Mana output is only about one-tenth of before. My physical abilities have also dropped drastically. In Servant terms, maybe equivalent to all D ranks. My endurance and Mana aren't affected, since planetary support still applies."
Frankly, Naoki's frontal combat ability had dropped drastically. Compared to his previous all-rounder type, now he was more suited as a traditional Mage providing remote support.
"Additionally, my mental state might also be a bit younger."
(No, your mentality was always young.)
Everyone couldn't help but think.
"Is there a way to recover?" Gilgamesh asked. "Consider this a reward for delaying Tiamat. Is there a way for you to recover?"
"Give me the Holy Grail from your treasury."
Gilgamesh's Holy Grail.
"The reason I became a child is the loss of existence size. To overcome this, it actually just needs a massive amount of Mana. The key point is to shorten the time. With the Holy Grail, the recovery time that originally took years can be shortened to a few days. Considering we'll fight Tiamat in two days, I think I can recover fastest to around twenty years old."
Hearing Naoki say that, Gilgamesh firmly took the Holy Grail from his treasury and threw it to Naoki—it was a reward he deserved, and in matters of reward and punishment, Gilgamesh was never stingy.
But...
[Stop him!]
"Okay, I got it~"
A voice suddenly sounded from Ritsuka's wrist, and the Holy Grail thrown to Naoki was immediately intercepted midway by Merry.
[Wait, Miss Touko?! Why are you suddenly barging into the control room?! Leonardo—sorry Roman, Touko says she doesn't want to see that innocent little child turn back into a white-stained adult—what? Wait, Atalanta-san, Gray, and the Director too—BIP—!]
Amid the loud commotion, communication from Chaldea was forcibly cut off.
Ritsuka and Mash's faces became somewhat awkward.
"Over there... something bad seems to have happened?"
"The Doctor should... be fine."
"After all, it's Touko and Tama (Atalanta), so it's natural." Merry said while playing with the Holy Grail.
In Rei's embrace, Naoki struggled hard to stretch out his tiny hand: "Merry, what are you doing? Give me that Holy Grail!"
"Hehehe~~~ Should I return it? Should I~~~~~"
With a mischievous smile, Merry brought the Holy Grail in front of Naoki: "If you want..."
This person is definitely thinking bad things!
Naoki immediately shouted: "Rei! Grab it!"
"Ah~~~~ By the way, I want to sleep hugging little Naoki tonight. If someone wants~~~"
Rei, who was about to move, instantly froze, then looked extremely hesitant.
Seeing this, Naoki couldn't hold back and yelled: "Hey! We're still in wartime! Think about those things after the battle ends! And Rei, don't get tempted by just one sentence. I'll sleep with you later! Now give me the Holy Grail—muumph!"
Before finishing speaking, Naoki's mouth was covered by Merry's hand.
Merry smiled gently: "Alright, be a good boy, little King. Don't worry, I have no bad intentions."
"Muumph liar!"
Naoki struggled hard.
"Arcueid's condition is also very bad. I have a way to help her recover to normal. Consider this for Arcueid's sake; you don't want her unable to recover."
"..."
Seeing Arcueid still sleeping in Mash's arms, Naoki, who was struggling hard, hesitated for a moment, glared angrily at Merry, then stopped.
(Ehehe~~~ Success!)
Like an evil big sister who succeeded in her plan, Merry smiled, then rubbed little Naoki's cheek, and looked at the others: "Then, I'll leave Naoki to me and Rei to take care of for the time being."
"Eh... is this not..."
Seeing Naoki who looked reluctant, and the two adult women sandwiching him, Ritsuka suddenly felt his teacher was heading down an irredeemable path of evil.
Meanwhile, on the throne, Gilgamesh, as if seeing something, sighed helplessly: "Is this drama over? Then, this King entrusts the task of guarding the young Holy Sword Bearer and True Ancestor to you, Flower Mage and Root Princess. Make sure they're ready for the battle against Goddess Tiamat in two days!"
"Yes, yes, yes~~~"