At noon, Lin Luo returned to the inn. The three little lolis and the Queen were having lunch in the room. He had originally felt a little guilty, but to his surprise, no one seemed to care that he had been gone for so long; they merely glanced at him before lowering their heads and continuing to eat.

Well, while this saved him a lengthy explanation, Lin Luo was still somewhat conflicted. After all, he hadn't returned all night. The fact that they weren't even jealous felt like a complete dismissal... Weren't they worried he might have been chasing skirts?

Lin Luo observed everyone's expressions, sensing the atmosphere was a bit strange, and couldn't help but ask, "What happened here?"

"Bang!" Suddenly, the loli Rin slammed the rice bowl in her hand onto the table, grinding her teeth, "I swear I will never play video games again!" Her face held a trace of deep pain and bitterness, an expression that spoke of unbearable memories.

At the same time, Mikoto let out a deep sigh, "Yeah, it’s getting so boring. This is the first time I’ve realized that playing games can be this tedious." Saying this, she turned her face away to look elsewhere, exuding an aura of aloofness—the look of someone utterly unchallenged, lonely as snow.

"Tsk..." Lin Luo somewhat understood. Apparently, Rin had been crushed playing video games yesterday, while Mikoto had simply won too many times and grown bored, which explained their mood. It made sense; winning constantly was good, but when the opponent was someone with negative combat power, there was clearly no spark, so feeling bored wasn't surprising.

At least, if the opponent of a supreme master like Dugu Qiubai were something as weak as the Big Bad Wolf, he might feel bored, but if the opponent were the city management of Tianchao, it would surely result in sparks flying everywhere, perhaps even inspiring awe.

Of course, Lin Luo couldn't be bothered with such childish squabbles. The two had been sparring for more than a day or two; what was settled in bed was usually settled outside, and they’d be fine in a couple of days.

"Huh? What's this?" Shokuhou, sitting near the door, immediately became curious upon seeing the black cat Lin Luo was carrying.

"Oh, this? Just a cat," Lin Luo said casually, tossing it onto the table.

"Hey, we're eating..." Loli Rin was clearly still angry. Suddenly, such a dark object appeared before her eyes, and her irritation flared up. She glared, ready to curse, but the moment she saw the cat's appearance, she froze, her eyes widening in disbelief. "This... this is..."

Lin Luo smiled at her, "Do you feel it?"

"Mm-hmm," Loli Rin nodded repeatedly, her gaze locked onto the black cat, her expression a mix of excitement and astonishment. Even Lin Luo could sense the magical energy emanating from the cat; with her level of magic, sensing it would be effortless... Such vast magic—it was definitely a rare familiar.

"Do you want it?" He picked up the black cat and dangled it in front of Rin, a hint of teasing in his eyes.

"I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it!" Loli Rin nodded immediately without hesitation.

"Wow, what kind of cat is this? So cute!" Mikoto seemed to have just snapped out of her 'lonely as snow' state. Seeing the black cat, her eyes lit up, and she reached out to pet it.

"Yeah, it really is cute, though it looks a bit strange," Shokuhou murmured while stroking the cat's four tails in amazement. Even Mugino, who usually wasn't fond of animals, glanced at it a few times.

"It's really cute?" Lin Luo pulled the cat back toward himself, meeting its eyes. He couldn't quite agree with their aesthetic judgment; this black cat looked so bizarre, he couldn't see what was cute about it... Wait, it dared to stare back at him? Definitely not a cute creature.

Challenging me? Seeking death? Lin Luo glared back fiercely.

"Meow..." As if understanding the meaning in Lin Luo's eyes, the black cat let out a weak cry, shrinking back with a frightened expression.

"Don't bully it!" Mikoto’s protective instincts immediately surged, and she snatched the cat up into her arms. The black cat, grateful to its 'savior,' licked Mikoto's finger affectionately.

"Ah," Mikoto beamed. She already loved small animals, especially cats, but cats usually disliked her electromagnetic waves, preventing close contact. Discovering that this black cat wasn't bothered by her powers made her like it even more... plus, it had such a unique look.

"Wait, that's my cat!" Rin protested. This was the cat she had set her sights on; how could someone else claim it first? She immediately rushed forward to snatch it back. Mikoto was equally unwilling to yield, grabbing it back from Rin’s hands, "Who said it was yours?"

"If I say it's mine, it's mine." Swish, Rin snatched it back swiftly.

"It's not yours!" Mikoto snatched it away even faster.

Thus, the two pulled and tugged, one grabbing and the other touching, until finally, each held onto two legs, refusing to let go. The contested black cat was nearly pulled into a Transformer state... At this moment, it wept.

Finally, Lin Luo intervened—more because he was annoyed by the noise (though he felt pity for the cat was part of it). Given the cat's abilities, it was essential for it to become Rin's familiar (to which Mikoto expressed considerable dissatisfaction), but conversely, when the cat wasn't working, Mikoto also had the right to "use" it (a fact Rin found quite unacceptable).

Despite everyone's complaints, the black cat's ownership was settled: Rin's familiar, Mikoto's pet.

It should be mentioned that upon hearing about the black cat's abilities, Rin's eyes lit up with excitement. Her gems had been depleted in the A Certain Magical Index world, and the newly crafted ones were few; she had been worried about running short. However, since the black cat could absorb magic power to create magic crystals, her gem supply worries vanished. Although these magic crystals were inferior to her own crafted gems, she could recraft them without needing raw materials—a change in quantity could lead to a change in quality.

"Right, what is this black cat's name?" Suddenly, Mugino asked a question everyone had overlooked.

"That's right, we can't just call it 'Black Cat.' A familiar needs a name," Rin agreed.

"A name... Let's call it Kuroine Gokōri," Lin Luo said after a moment's thought.

Although giving such a lovely name to this rather unlovely cat felt slightly dissonant, they were both black cats, so it didn't seem entirely wrong. Besides, indulging in a little fantasy about Black Cat-chan wouldn't hurt... See? My pet black cat is named Kuroine Gokōri. How cool is that?

"That's a beautiful name." No one objected, so the topic of the black cat was temporarily shelved. Afterward, Lin Luo announced, "I previously said we'd only stay in this city for two or three days, but things have changed. I think we'll have to stay longer."

"Eh?"

...

Half a month later, at the foot of the mountain in Misaki City, Lin Luo and his party bid farewell to Touko and Aoko.

Over these two weeks, Lin Luo benefited immensely from his exchanges with Touko, receiving significant help in understanding magic and perceiving the nature of the world. Due to Lin Luo, Rin also learned a great deal from Touko.

"Are you really leaving?" Aoko looked at Lin Luo with reluctance at their parting. She had climbed the mountain almost every day for the past several days, having a blast, and felt a sense of being the elder sister when with Mikoto and the other lolis.

"Yeah, we have to go," Lin Luo nodded... To lay groundwork for you two, my current focus has been lacking; if I don't leave soon, I'll get off track.

"Well, you're welcome back here anytime... I'm saying that on behalf of my big sister," Aoko chirped cheerfully after a moment of slight dejection, winking at Lin Luo.

Hey... Don't say things that could be misinterpreted. Lin Luo couldn't help but roll his eyes; it sounded to him like Aoko was trying to play matchmaker.

"Take care." Touko didn't seem overly concerned, just saying the words lightly before heading up the mountain. Aoko soon followed, waving goodbye as she left.

"I can't believe it, in just a few days, you managed to charm two more girls without us noticing," Mikoto and Rin occasionally glared at Lin Luo on the road, their tone carrying a hint of sourness.

Lin Luo broke into a sweat. "No, that wasn't charming them; it was just coincidence."

"Coincidence my foot!"

"No, I don't have a foot to use for that, you two are the ones with sisters."

"..." The two were speechless.

...In the time that followed, Lin Luo and his group continued their world tour. Since they didn't encounter anyone else worth focusing on, they stayed in any one place only briefly. In just four months, their footprints had spanned almost all seven continents. Four months later, the group faced their second parting.

"You're really going alone?" Mikoto and the others looked at Lin Luo with some concern.

"Yes. The Holy Grail War will start in at most two months. You all need to go back and prepare, so I can manage the rest of the journey alone. Don't worry, I will definitely be back within the time limit."

Lin Luo smiled. The only continent they hadn't set foot on during these four months was Europe. While some other European countries could be ignored, Lin Luo felt he had to visit Britain and Germany. Britain had the most True Ancestors and Dead Apostles, and Germany was the location of the Clock Tower.

However, Europe was also significantly more dangerous. If they traveled together as before, their presence would be too conspicuous, possibly alerting some perverts to their activities. It was better for him to go alone.

"Alright." Seeing that Lin Luo's mind was made up, the others didn't press the issue, but... "You must come back."

"Yes, I will definitely be back."

Finally, Lin Luo watched the four board the plane, and only after they were completely out of sight did he turn and board his flight to Germany.

Several hours later, Lin Luo finally set foot on German soil. In this country secretly teeming with True Ancestors and Dead Apostles, Lin Luo acted with extreme caution, striving to remain low-key... After all, despite his strength, he was still somewhat lacking when facing those monstrous entities.

Things went smoothly at first; apart from the occasional encounter with some mages, no major incidents occurred. However, on the third day, while walking down the street, something happened to Lin Luo that he could never have anticipated.

"This... Could it be her?" Looking at the picture in the newspaper, Lin Luo's eyes were filled with shock.

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