Bright morning sunlight filtered through the window as Lin Luo, lying in bed, slowly opened his eyes. He instinctively reached out to embrace something beside him - only to grasp empty air. A quick glance revealed that Kurumi Tokisaki had already left the room, a subtle disappointment settling over him.

After all, mornings were especially meaningful for an energetic man like himself - wasn't there a saying? "The morning is where the hardness of the day begins."

Rubbing his still-drowsy eyes, Lin Luo's gaze drifted toward the wall clock. It was already eight o'clock in the morning! Though he knew it was time to get up, as soon as he tried moving, an unexpected soreness in his back and legs made him freeze mid-motion.

Normally, no matter how brutal a battle or intense exercise he underwent, the Rule of Creation within him would shield him from any exhaustion. But this time was different. To increase success probability for the Reality Marble plan, he had poured over 99% of his strength into the array, leaving most abilities inaccessible and causing both his power level to plummet dangerously low and his physical constitution to regress.

Though calling it regression might be an exaggeration - after all, those powers could be reclaimed at any time. To put it simply, this was akin to self-sealing his abilities.

So for someone who had once been practically a perpetual motion machine, feeling some fatigue after a night of wild activity wasn't surprising... although it was only mild fatigue.

Just as Lin Luo lay in bed feigning laziness, the door creaked open. Kurumi Tokisaki wheeled a breakfast cart into the room with soft footfalls echoing against the floor from her slippers.

"You really are fond of wearing slippers. And wooden ones at that," Lin Luo remarked while lying on his side, watching her cute gait with amusement.

"Because Grassy Field is so quiet. There aren't many people to talk to except for little animals, so I thought it'd be nice to have some sound whenever I wanted - and gradually got used to it." Kurumi smiled softly before adding, "Are you not going to get up? Breakfast time! This was made especially for you."

As she approached the bed and knelt down, resting her chin on her hands by his side, her eyes sparkled mischievously.

Lin Luo cupped her smooth, pretty face in his palms. Before Kurumi could even protest, he suddenly pulled her close and began kissing her lips fiercely until she was nearly breathless before smirking, "Compared to breakfast, I'd rather eat you."

A silvery tear slid down Kurumi's cheek unchecked as she blushed furiously at the words, exclaiming, "We already did a lot last night..."

"Last night was last night. Now is now." Lin Luo pressed his fingers against her soft lips, tracing them gently before watching her face flush even deeper. With a wicked grin, he slipped his finger into her mouth to toy with her tender tongue while teasing, "But I am feeling a bit sore right now, so how about something light for breakfast? What do you say?"

Kurumi huffed in mock indignation but couldn't resist his teasing. After hesitating briefly, she shifted position and pulled back the blanket covering Lin Luo's lower body before kneeling at the foot of the bed. Bending forward with determination, she gently took him into her mouth, offering a loving "good morning bite" as breakfast.

As Kurumi's nimble tongue danced over his member - sometimes swallowing, sometimes sucking - Lin Luo groaned in pleasure, closing his eyes to savor the sensation while running his fingers through her silky hair...

...Seven days had passed since that chaotic battle in the previous Holy Grail War, or rather, since the night when Lin Luo consumed Kurumi Tokisaki. In this week, Fuyuki City remained eerily quiet - at least on its hidden channels.

After Fourth and the Four Heavenly Kings crashed the party, every participating faction felt immense pressure. Even though a single shrine maiden among them managed to hold her own against their entire team (with a transformed Cirno holding her ground in a stalemate), they still couldn't breathe easy since one of their strongest was already unmatched by just one enemy.

And above those four stood an even more terrifying Fourth!

Forced by this overwhelming pressure, all rivalries were set aside - including the ongoing feud between Shiki and Toki. They understood clearly that divided, they would lose; united, at least they had a fighting chance.

Though some did consider withdrawing from the Holy Grail War entirely, the humiliation of previous defeats made fleeing akin to surrendering dignity itself. Their pride wouldn't allow such shame - nor was there any guarantee the other side would let them escape even if they tried.

Yet despite forming this alliance, no one had a clear strategy against the Four Heavenly Kings.

So these days were spent brainstorming methods that didn't rely on brute strength. From the fact the shrine maiden hadn't killed them outright, it seemed alive prisoners were more valuable to their enemies than corpses - offering an exploitable weakness.

Lin Luo wanted nothing more than for everyone to fight daily with full effort so he could harvest mystery at maximum speed. But even though he controlled the Holy Grail War's flow, individual wills remained beyond his reach. More importantly, if they became his puppets through his power, their mystery would become impure - all he could do was guide them by setting traps for them to fall into voluntarily.

So now he had no choice but to wait until they launched an attack themselves.

Of course, provoking Shizuka and others directly could work too. But without killing anyone, such actions felt absurd considering his current role as world-conquering demon lord. And the Four Heavenly Kings? Proud bastards who looked down on others like ants - what would make them bother to antagonize their prey themselves?

Though his boss character design was full of plot holes, these high-IQ characters instinctively converted those flaws into suspicious points rather than comedic ones.

Naivety vs genius - that dynamic wasn't baseless.

But if he handled subsequent actions too carelessly now, the whole plan could fall apart. And currently with no movement from the alliance...

This week's inaction had left Lin Luo surprisingly free. By day, he either transformed into a little boy to bond with Shiki or stayed at Tohsaka Manor playing with his two daughters; sometimes he'd remain in the hotel teasing Shizuka and Toki, occasionally strolling around town. At night? Either bed-hopping between Tohsaka Rin and Kurumi...

The lifestyle was relaxed and comfortable, but his plans remained stagnant.

Lin Luo knew this couldn't continue - even if time wasn't an issue for him, such delays were still dangerous given the magnitude of his project. So he spent these days thinking about solutions to break through this stalemate.

"Why not try luring in more people?" Kurumi asked after their morning session ended, her bright eyes meeting Lin Luo's while she sat beside him with flushed cheeks. "If we attract more people to Fuyuki City, the situation will become even more chaotic. Even without a demon lord present, so many people gathering in one small city would naturally lead to conflicts and battles."

Lin Luo, seated on the sofa eating breakfast Kurumi had prepared, frowned thoughtfully. "That's true, but I can't leave Fuyuki City right now. Waiting passively is our only option at this point."

He understood her suggestion perfectly well - not just Shiki sisters or Hayato, without his prior manipulations, even with Holy Grail War twists, the chances of these people voluntarily coming to Fuyuki were practically zero.

Because he had arranged things in advance, they were all now gathered here. As for the other required participants like 27 Patriarchs, False Humanity, Churches... Though he had spread some hints about Fuyuki's existence attracting those entities, figures at the level of 27 Patriarchs weren't easily lured - their wisdom and caution were legendary. From their continued absence alone, it was clear current circumstances still lacked sufficient temptation for them.

This was one of Lin Luo's miscalculations: preparations had been insufficient. But he hadn't really had time to prepare at all since arriving in this world - the Holy Grail War was already underway when he got here! Managing to gather Shiki and others was already quite an achievement.

And now, with the array activated, he couldn't leave Fuyuki for even a moment until completion. No matter what other thoughts he had, it wasn't possible anymore.

Of course, sending Kurumi's group out as agents could work too - but how many people could they realistically capture through force? And if they did so openly, any moderately intelligent person would become suspicious. This approach offered no benefits to his plans at all.

The ideal solution was obvious: release information that would attract 27 Patriarchs and other similar figures, convincing them voluntarily to fall into this trap.

But such operations weren't really Lin Luo's specialty - though he had some clever companions like Yagokoro who excelled in schemes, they still lacked someone to spread the message. In short, what he needed was a "big" helper!

"But we do have helpers," Kurumi suddenly smiled mysteriously. "Didn't you already ask someone for similar help when this all began?"

"Uh..." Lin Luo blinked in sudden realization.

Right! Soon after arriving in Type-Moon World, he had asked Arthur to find people for him. That was how Shiki arrived at the scene and why Shallow River Kimiko's rescue worked out - both because of information Arthur provided. He had said globally - though until now there were still no signs of the Black-White Princesses, Arthur's immediate agreement alone showed how vast his network truly was.

Considering Arthur's personality and intellect, if it wasn't something he could accomplish, he wouldn't have agreed so readily. If anyone could be that "big helper," it had to be Arthur.

The reason Lin Luo hadn't considered him before? Because he already knew the truth but wasn't ready to face it - subconsciously excluding him from consideration. Now with Kurumi's reminder, realization finally dawned on him.

"Hmm... I suppose we'll have to ask for his help," Lin Luo mused after a moment before declaring.

Though he still didn't know how to face that family yet, business was business. So without further delay, he immediately called Arthur.

"Ah! Mr. Lin!" Arthur's phone was clearly on 24/7 unlike Lin Luo's which often stayed off - the call connected within three seconds.

"Mm, it's me," Lin Luo smiled at Arthur's excited tone.

"Um... Mr. Lin, my sister has already arrived and wants to discuss something with you but knows you're busy right now so she didn't mention anything yet. If you have time, would you mind coming over?"

Was this going to be an awkward conversation from the start?

Lin Luo sweat-dropped before saying, "I'm quite occupied at the moment. Let me handle things first and then come over."

"Oh okay," Arthur's disappointment was obvious.

Though Lin Luo understood why he was disappointed, he decided not to comment and instead asked, "By the way, how's the task I gave you last time coming along?"

"A bit of trouble... Though I've deployed enough informants, some people aren't so easily found through just science. Like that Black-White Princess you mentioned - since I didn't use powers exceeding this world's norms, I still haven't located them..."

"Mm, don't worry about it. Their residences are somewhat different from ordinary people's - not finding them is normal. But now I need you to do something else for me."

"What?"

"27 Patriarchs, False Humanity, UO, Magus Association, Church Executives... various superhumans and extraordinary beings. Attract all of them to Fuyuki City. The more the better."

"Er?" Arthur looked puzzled. "Why this?"

"You'll understand later. Can you do it?"

"...Can I use forceful methods?" After hesitating a moment, Arthur asked.

"This..." Lin Luo shook his head. "Probably not."

"Oh," Arthur's tone became glum. "Then that complicates things... but if it's your order, Mr. Lin, I'll give my best effort."

"I'm looking forward to good news then... By the way, should I send some wise ones to help you?"

"Wise ones?" Arthur paused before declaring confidently, "Those are completely unnecessary! I have an exclusive think tank team, so don't worry - I promise a perfect mission execution!"

Exclusive think tank? Impressive!

Though surprised at first, Lin Luo decided not to question further - even if Arthur's own intellect was questionable, maybe his think tank could be trusted.

...

After making this grand assurance, Arthur immediately gathered his think tank... twenty-something young people, both men and women, including several preteens with cute little girls and boys among them. They stood, sat or lay around the room while eating snacks.

Once Arthur explained the situation, a young man slurping ramen from a big bowl suddenly suggested, "How about food? There's this saying - 'people die for money, birds die for food'."

Before Arthur could respond, a blonde little girl reading a book glared at him and said coldly, "27 Patriarchs and UO aren't birds or people... Idiot!"

"Then use male beauty!" A handsome young man suddenly stood up, tearing open his shirt to reveal well-defined abs before posing dramatically.

Still the same blonde girl, she snorted, "Gay!"

Arthur ignored them completely.

A moment later, a girl playing on her computer looked up and said, "I've developed a new satellite lately. Maybe we can try it?"

Arthur shook his head, "Science won't work."

The girl immediately gasped in horror, "This isn't scientific! I'll focus on science for 100 years!"

Still the same blonde girl continued to mock, "Science is dead."

Beside them, a glasses-wearing little fat boy held up two plastic figures and confidently declared, "Use cute girls from anime to attract them. Definitely effective."

The blonde girl scorned him, "Don't speak you otaku!"

"Actually," a pretty young woman began speaking when suddenly a boy lying in the corner jumped up holding a cobra while shouting, "Oh my god! Who put a snake under my blanket? That's why I've been having testicle pain lately!"

The blonde girl frowned and looked puzzled, "Weird. I was sure I put mice there..."

Seeing their chaotic state, Arthur wept dramatically before pleading with the little girl, "We're discussing serious business here. Please stop messing around!"

At that moment, the ramen-eating youth just finished his meal and used chopsticks to tap on the bowl while saying to the little girl, "Come into my bowl."

...

Yes indeed - this was Arthur's think tank team. If Lin Luo could witness this scene firsthand, he would likely vomit three liters of blood. (To be continued...)