The thirty-six seconds after waking up each morning were my indispensable period of silliness... BY Tohsaka Rin.

"So that means these girls are all your mechanical maids then," Rin muttered to herself after spending several minutes in her daze. Seated on a chair eating breakfast prepared by the maids, she asked Lin Luo with a mouthful of food.

Generally speaking humans tended to look undignified while dining, but this rule clearly didn't apply here. Setting aside Rin's personal issues at least these beauties maintained proper etiquette - slow chewing and careful swallowing made for an exquisite spectacle. The occasional gluttonous episode should be ignored entirely.

"Hmm," Lin Luo savored the taste in his mouth as he admired the view of the maids enjoying their breakfast. He found the scenery quite appetizing, especially during this peaceful time.

Rin was unaware she'd unknowingly become a condiment for Lin Luo's meal. After speaking, she returned to her sandwich with renewed vigor. The breakfast was both abundant and delicious - exactly what suited her taste buds after all these maids were real enough in every way.

The concept of mechanical maids was completely new to Rin. In fact no one except Lin Luo knew about them since when he'd created the first batch yesterday, the other girls had been immersed in their dream world.

At first hearing this revelation she nearly experienced a shockwave through her frame - well actually it would be more accurate to say "a tremor in her phoenix-shaped body". The sudden emergence of hundreds of beautiful mechanical maids did feel quite overwhelming. But after Lin Luo's explanation, the tension in her chest finally eased. After all they were just machines.

Watching the three maids across from her enjoy their breakfast so intently suddenly made her wonder - if these were mechanical maids then why could they eat?

The instant he saw Rin's expression Lin Luo knew what was coming and chuckled. "Their bodies have automated digestion systems. While constructed differently, aside from the materials used they're practically human in every way."

"Oh, is that so..." Rin lifted a spoon to swirl her coffee as she examined the maids with an analytical gaze before tilting her head in thought, "So can they get pregnant then?"

This was indeed quite shocking - seems Tohsaka Rin's period of silliness wasn't over yet.

Lin Luo nearly choked on his drink at this question. The sudden pause in motion from Yanye and the other two maids as they stared at Rin with expressions bordering on disbelief only made it worse.

"What are you staring at? I was just asking casually!" Facing four pairs of eyes clearly treating her like an idiot, Rin's face flushed slightly as she hunched forward. "You said yourself these girls are almost human, so obviously some things need clarification!"

"Sigh," Lin Luo sighed dramatically while shrugging his shoulders. "Sorry but a pregnancy system at my level is still beyond my capabilities."

"Waaah... Are you deliberately mocking me?" Rin's embarrassment turned into an outburst as she glared at Lin Luo with the ferocity of a cornered tiger.

The commotion didn't last long though. Just then other girls began emerging from the elevator including Misaka who looked genuinely surprised at the sight of so many maids - even Heike Eisen, usually oblivious to such matters, wore an expression of pure bewilderment.

"What happened here? Why is it so lively?"

"You turned into a human trafficker now?" Imp Evangeline's interrogation was particularly ruthless as her tongue-in-cheek remark added +1 on the venom meter and +2 on the evilness scale.

"How absurd," Lin Luo rolled his eyes at this child prodigy who sometimes spoke without thinking. "Do you really think there are places in this world where I could abduct so many people?"

No explanation was necessary as all the maids bowed politely to Imp Evangeline's group, introducing themselves as mechanical servants created by their master.

"Mechanical maids?" The girls stared in disbelief before finally noticing through careful observation that these were indeed robots. Though Lin Luo's world-king level craftsmanship made them look completely human from the outside, the girls still managed to spot subtle differences despite not being ordinary people.

As they exchanged questioning glances toward him, Lin Luo was inevitably drawn into another round of explanations. The girls finally understood though Shidou Kyōko showed some discontent. "Father, are you dissatisfied with me somehow?"

The depression from being abandoned by Kurone had clearly left deep scars on her psyche.

"Shidou is wonderful," Lin Luo reassured as he gently patted her head before lifting her into a seat next to him. Only then did the girl's expression brighten again.

"Enough questions for now, everyone has spent... uh, been busy all day and must be hungry by now, let's eat breakfast first." Lin Luo greeted his guests but when his gaze landed on Misaka she quickly turned away blushing - clearly still shaken from yesterday's events.

He scratched his head without comment since it wasn't the time for private conversations among so many people present.

Though Yanye and her companions occasionally showed childishness around Lin Luo, they behaved perfectly as proper maids when facing Imp Evangeline - pouring tea, arranging chairs, busily attending to needs with enthusiasm.

These twelve girls were all from noble bloodlines some even royalty or empresses themselves so being waited on didn't seem unnatural except perhaps for Misaka and Heike.

The dining table Lin Luo had created was immense enough for dozens yet only sixteen occupied seats - himself, the girls including Misaka, plus Yanye's three maids.

"By the way why did you decide to create so many maids?" Tokiwadaira immediately asked after sitting down.

Needless to say without these maid staff how could he manage this massive sky castle alone? And without them doing chores what would he eat? Would he really resort to dining on everyone's deadly cooking? Of course Lin Luo only thought these things through - speaking such thoughts aloud might result in blood spattering five steps around him.

"So now you're relieved of the burden of laundry and meals, right?"

"Yes that makes sense at least." Tokiwadaira nodded in agreement.

...Thank goodness for small mercies. Goodbye deadly cooking.

"By the way with the god war over and rewards received things seem a bit too quiet now," Tokino Kurone mused while eating thoughtfully.

"How could they be boring?" Lin Luo countered. "The twelfth floor is a massive entertainment complex - movies, games everything's available. The eleventh floor has an entire labyrinth where you can go for adventurous challenges."

"Therefore proving you're just looking for things to do when bored," Tokino responded lazily.

"Speaking of which have you decided on your next world yet?" Before Lin Luo could reply Rin suddenly asked.

Lin Luo sighed - trying to argue with twelve mouths at once was clearly impossible. He wasn't some mythical figure from ancient tales who could satisfy thirteen women in one night.

"Yes, I've already made up my mind," Lin Luo admitted. Regarding possible worlds the only options available were those bound through heart contracts with his female companions. The Index and Type-Moon universes went without saying even the Level 3 world couldn't be revisited... leaving him two possible destinations - the Weapon Race universe and the Rose of the Reincarnated Princess.

He was personally quite intrigued by the latter. While seemingly peaceful and mundane on the surface it concealed profound mysteries rivaling even Type-Moon's third magic system - the Holy Grail War had already surpassed the capabilities of Heaven's Feel through creating autonomous golems with consciousness and immense power.

Moreover during Shidou Kyōko's world-merging event he'd glimpsed a figure resembling Kurone in the World Heart. This mystery needed solving since if that vision was truly him it meant someone could see into the future - an ability Lin Luo had never encountered before, hinting at Kurone's unfathomable power.

Still he wasn't ready to visit this world just yet. Kurone aside his strength alone was formidable enough for Lin Luo to fear being overwhelmed. If by some chance Kurone noticed him and turned hostile it would be disastrous... though the probability was low he couldn't afford negligence since getting involved in a god war meant anything could happen.

Plus there were the unpredictable rabbit-like figures manipulating destinies along with alchemists obsessed with creating perfect dolls - making this world quite dangerous overall.

The Weapon Race universe might seem violent due to constant battles but its overall rank paled compared to Type-Moon or Index. With the Seven Holy Weapons being the strongest power in that world it would essentially be a vacation if nothing unexpected happened there.

From both world rankings and chronological order Lin Luo felt visiting the Weapon Race universe next made better sense - especially since Reiko had been eagerly anticipating Eden Garden for so long, fulfilling this wish after only completing the first phase of the god war would also help relax everyone's mood.

"Reiko, let's take you to Eden Garden on our next visit," Lin Luo smiled seeing her eager expression.

"Really?" Her eyes instantly sparkled with delight.

"Of course," he nodded. "But before that I need to finish organizing things here so it might be a while - is that okay?"

She gave an enthusiastic nod though she understood waiting wasn't unreasonable if there were still unresolved matters in this world. After all even five hundred years of waiting hadn't been enough for her.

The breakfast ended after about fifteen minutes and the following hours saw Lin Luo leading his dozen girls along with three maids exploring every corner of the sky castle together. Despite having only visited yesterday it now looked completely renewed through Lin Luo's recent modifications - though in reality most of those thirteen floors were just decorative since the thirteenth was a dream world and the first three served other purposes.

At the twelfth floor where entertainment complexes resided, half-otaku Misaka and pseudo-otaku Imp Evangeline ended up having an intense video game battle. While Misaka's combat abilities were inferior to Imp Evangeline's, their gaming skills proved evenly matched as both used different tactics - with Imp relying purely on technical skill while Misaka combined superpowers for advantage.

This ultimately helped Misaka relax and return to her usual confident self of the 'Pistol' Queen.

The eleventh floor's labyrinth proved more challenging however. Everyone except Lin Luo who sneakily used G's abilities ended up trapped inside for an entire hour with all sorts of strange creatures - it took that long before he could rescue them from their torment.

Needless to say Lin Luo was later subjected to a round of collective punishment for cheating.

Even more amusing happened at the underwater zone where one girl nearly got molested by giant tentacles despite her lightning abilities being useless against data projections. Though Lin Luo's quick reflexes saved her, similar incidents occurred in the natural habitat with dinosuars - four of them were swallowed by a T-Rex after their powers were nullified there.

While all these creatures existed as mere data projections making survival guaranteed, actually watching yourself get devoured wasn't pleasant at all. The four big eaters developed anorexia for several days afterward...

And in the infinite space zone known as "Endless Sky" they experienced infinite freefall - seeing themselves crash into planets only to be prevented from actual impact in a truly terrifying yet thrilling way.

After several hours of this chaos when they finally returned to the first floor Rin couldn't help but rage, her words perfectly reflecting everyone's feelings.

"There's got to be something normal out there!" she bellowed as they approached the main hall where Lin Luo pointed toward the courtyard.

"If it's another crazy thing I'll personally dismember you!" she threatened ominously before stomping outside with her head held high.

To their collective shock twelve massive floating cities had appeared around the sky castle forming a perfect circle. "What are those?" Misaka asked curiously.

"These are ancient cities I created based on online ruins," Lin Luo explained, "just for decoration though they have no historical value."

"How do we even reach them?" Lily questioned since each was miles away from the main castle except for those who could fly.

Lin Luo smiled. "Yanye demonstrate please."

"Yes master." As Yanye stepped onto a gray circular platform at the courtyard's edge she vanished in an instant after just three seconds with only a soft beep.

"This is dimensional teleportation," Lin Luo explained, "each platform is a transporter that sends you directly to your destination city. The same platforms exist there too."

"But does every floating city have these?" Misaka asked.

"Of course not," Lin Luo shook his head smugly. "Only nine cities have transporters - the other three are kept mysterious on purpose."

"Why so?"

"Just for fun of course." Lin Luo said with an air of triumph...

Meanwhile far away from all this commotion a sultry woman emerged from cracks in the earth stretching languidly. A nearby rock transformed into human form as it spoke, its expression suddenly shifting to alarm.

"Oh no we overslept! The god war has already ended - someone else claimed this world!"

The woman narrowed her eyes before laughing coldly. "What's that matter? With our combined strength even a World King can be killed easily. Let him enjoy his victory while he still can."

"Indeed," the man laughed heartily, "he mustn't expect enemies to appear at such an inopportune moment - perfect for catching him off guard!"