"It's Mom!"
The girl who appeared from under the blanket wore a proud smile as she made the declaration with absolute seriousness.
She looked no more than ten years old—thin as a reed—but on her head sat two heavy, curling ram's horns. Her features were childlike yet so exquisitely beautiful it was as if a goddess had sculpted her from divine clay.
"You... could it be..."
Roy's eyes locked on the girl. His gaze lingered especially on those distinctive ram's horns, circling them as an unbelievable thought started taking shape in his mind.
"Tiamat...?"
"That's right! I'm Mom!"
The girl rose onto her knees on the bed, hands on her hips, looking completely smug.
"Even artificial lifeforms are no exception—Mom sees all life in the world as her children! So Roy, you can call me Mom too!"
She declared it with pride and looked at Roy expectantly, clearly eager to hear him say it.
"Why are you here?"
Roy didn't answer as she wished. Instead, he stared at her in astonishment.
Tiamat.
That name was not to be taken lightly.
The primordial goddess of creation from Sumerian mythology—one of the most powerful deities in existence.Though not a combat deity per se, her divine authority was still vast and oceanic in scale.
How could such a being be here?
Was he still dreaming?
A layered dream?
"Mom's been here all along!"
Even though she didn't hear the title from him, Tiamat wasn't discouraged. She climbed off his legs, dusted herself off, and then knelt properly in front of him.
"All along? What do you mean?"
Roy pinched himself. Ouch. It really hurt.
So it wasn't a dream?
"Of course I mean all along!"
"No, I mean—when exactly did you come here?"
"Hmm..."
Tiamat tilted her head.
"Mom came back with you."
"Back with me... so you've been following me ever since we left the Outside World?"
"Yup! Mama's been staying inside your body this whole time!"
"Ah, I see... so that's how it is..."
Roy rubbed his temples.
This was one hell of a surprise.
He remembered it now.
Back in the "Outside of the World," he had heard a gentle voice that woke him up—he had assumed it was a dream. But now it seemed that voice had been Tiamat all along.
Root had told him that he'd been compensated before reentry, and that if he checked his inner self, he'd find it.
Roy had been too exhausted and fell asleep right after returning. He hadn't had the chance to look.
Now, that "compensation" had jumped out on its own!
"Tiamat was the compensation Root mentioned!"
Roy finally understood.
What a massive gift!
He had known Root would give him something in return, but he never imagined it would be this big. After all, being dropped into this world and reincarnated as a homunculus had been its own doing—assuming Root wasn't lying. Root had simply helped guide him a bit. And yeah, he'd suffered a lot…But if all that earned him Tiamat, then Roy felt like he'd scored big time.
"Mom, you're so amazing. Do you think my body can still be saved?"
Roy sat up straight, facing her, eyes full of hope.
"Easy peasy!"
Tiamat beamed, delighted both by being called "Mom" and Roy's flattery.
"Mom has a gift of power just for you! With that power, modifying your body's cellular vitality isn't just easy—it's twice as easy! Wait, is twice-as-easy more easy or less easy...?"
Tiamat tilted her head again, frowning in deep thought as she struggled with the logic puzzle.
Tiamat's power...
Roy's eyes lit up.
His homunculus body had already been in use for seven or eight years. Most of its lifespan had been spent. At the current rate, he had maybe five years left before dying of old age.
Yes, Touko had a spare body prepared for him. She would help him transfer into it after the Holy Grail War ended. But even with her skills, that body still couldn't break past the human limit.
As much as it pained him to admit, that was reality.
But Tiamat wasn't just a goddess—she was a creator god who specialized in life itself, wielding every authority related to it!
How far could she push the limits of his body?
"What is this power? How do I use it?"
"No rushing! You need to form a contract with Mom first!"
Tiamat snapped out of her math funk and smiled brightly.
"In human magecraft, a contract between two parties creates a power imbalance—stronger power flows toward the weaker party."
"But Mom's too powerful. So I can't give you too much—at most, I can offer the equivalent of a Servant's A-rank physical enhancement."
"Actually, Mom wanted to share her divine authority too, but your soul and body are just too weak. You'd collapse. Mom can't risk giving that to you—it'd only hurt you. Mom's so useless... uwu..."
Her lips quivered, and tears welled up in her eyes.
She looked like she was about to cry.
"Mama's the best!"
Roy instantly straightened his posture and gave a big thumbs-up.
"It's not your fault—it's mine for being too weak. Even a small portion of your power is a massive help. Mom's strength is a huge blessing!"
"Really?"
Tiamat blinked, tears stopping mid-formation. Her gaze was filled with anticipation and nervous hope.
"Of course! Without Mom, I don't know what I'd do. Having someone like Tiamat as my mom… that's just the best thing ever!"
Roy nodded vigorously, showering her with praise.
"Yay! Roy's such a good child. Mom loves Roy so much!"
Tiamat's face lit up again, her radiant smile practically shedding glittering stardust.
That smile—it's too dazzling.
I must protect Mom's smile!
"Then, my dear child—let us now form the contract."
"Yes!"
Roy let out a breath of relief now that she was back to her cheerful self, and immediately began preparing the contract ritual.
Normally, human magecraft couldn't possibly bind someone like Tiamat.
But if she initiated it herself, it was a different story.
Contracts in magecraft fell into two broad categories:
Unequal contracts, like the Master-Servant bond—essentially a system of command and subordination.
Equal contracts, which weren't so much "contracts" as they were the creation of mutual magical causality.
Roy and Tiamat, of course, formed the latter—a mutual pact, with Tiamat initiating it and Roy accepting.
As soon as the contract was sealed—
Roy felt a metaphysical link establish between them. At the same time, a surge of impossible power poured from Tiamat through the connection and into his body.
***
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