Adam froze the instant he heard Little Da Vinci's words.
He blinked, then asked again just to be sure.
"You mean… you take seventy percent, and I only get thirty?"
Little Da Vinci nodded, bright and certain.
No mistake. He had heard her perfectly.
Adam's brows drew tight. He would have preferred to believe he'd misheard.
"What kind of joke is this? Why the hell do I only get thirty percent?"
This was the precious material he had worked so hard to… acquire from Da Vinci!
The smile on Little Da Vinci's face never wavered, but the flavor of it changed in a heartbeat—something sly, something satisfied, like every piece had fallen exactly into place. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and for a split second a tiny heart seemed to float across her gaze.
She was deliberately riling him up, hoping he would snap and do exactly what she wanted.
Adam, who knew every one of her little games by heart, caught the signal instantly. He finally understood what she was really after.
Before she could finish her perfectly reasonable explanation—"Master, it's only fair. After all, I—"
"Yah~"
Adam scooped her up without warning, lifting her clean off the ground.
The moment his warmth enveloped her, that familiar, overwhelming presence, Little Da Vinci's breath hitched. A soft, needy pant escaped her lips.
On the surface she still tried to play coy.
"Master… what are you doing? You're not going to make me do that, are you?"
"No, absolutely not."
The protest would have sounded far more convincing if her legs weren't locked tight around his waist, if her arms weren't wound around his neck, and if her eyes weren't already shimmering with open, shameless anticipation.
Adam looked at her flushed face, the way her whole body trembled with want, and the corner of his mouth curved.
Just as expected.
This was her favorite routine: provoke him, push him right to the edge, then give that tiny, breathless hint that it was okay—right before she let him take her straight to heaven.
Seeing the hunger she couldn't hide, Adam decided to indulge her completely.
He had always been a master at stir-frying tomatoes.
No gentle preheat. No slow build. He slammed the heat to maximum, flames roaring under the pan, and dropped the tomatoes in all at once.
The second they hit the scorching surface, juice exploded everywhere—hot, sweet, dripping.
Perfect. These were exactly the right kind.
Every fierce flip of the spatula sent more glistening juice bursting free. The tomatoes surrendered completely, softening, melting, giving up everything they had.
When the juices had cooked down just enough, Adam cracked in the eggs.
They spread instantly, coating every slice, soaking deep, turning the whole dish rich and golden and utterly decadent.
He kept the fire roaring, adding more eggs, stirring harder, faster, until the tomatoes could take no more. They collapsed, limp and trembling, utterly spent, every inch of them wrapped in thick, creamy egg.
Finally Adam slid the finished dish onto a plate.
Tomato scrambled eggs—perfectly done.
The juices had melted completely into the eggs. The tomatoes were deliciously soft, almost too tender, but still an exquisite, mouth-watering feast.
Adam savored every bite, enjoying a truly wonderful day.
Neither of them noticed the unexpected figure outside the door.
Big Da Vinci—yes, the adult one—had her ear pressed to the wood, listening to every single sound coming from inside.
She had come to ask where all her materials had vanished to.
Could crafting Olga Marie's new body really need that much?
But the moment she reached the workshop door, she heard the unmistakable sounds of intense stir-frying.
Her eyes flew wide. She clapped a hand over her mouth in pure shock.
"Eh?! So that's… how it is between them?"
Inside, Adam was so lost in his cooking that he didn't notice the notification in his system: the emotion points pouring in weren't only from Little Da Vinci anymore. Another, very familiar Da Vinci had just added a huge surge.
Outside, Da Vinci listened for several long minutes. Her body grew hotter with every wet, rhythmic sound, every soft cry of delight. Her cheeks burned.
She licked her lips. The little gasps Little Da Vinci made while "eating" Adam's tomato scrambled eggs sent the strangest, sweetest ache through her.
A quick glance left, right—no one. Chaldea's halls were quiet, personnel thinned out, timing perfect.
Once she was certain she was alone, Da Vinci felt that same hungry heat rising in her own body. She had no eggs, so she couldn't make the dish herself… but she could listen. She could imagine.
So she stayed right there, ear to the door, slowly biting into a raw tomato while the delicious sounds from inside filled her mind, letting the fantasy carry her away.
———
The next morning, Adam was already awake and back at work on Olga Marie's new body.
Little Da Vinci, however, was still sprawled on the bed. She had clearly eaten far too much tomato scrambled eggs the night before. The pleasure had been incredible, the satisfaction soul-deep, but her body was exhausted from all that vigorous "digestion." She didn't even want to move.
Adam tossed her a Golden Apple. The moment she bit into it, her eyes lit up and she sprang to her feet, full of energy again, skipping off to upgrade Chaldea's Servant summoning system.
As she passed the doorway she paused, sniffing the air.
"What's that smell…?"
It felt vaguely familiar, but she was too excited about her new idea for the summoning system to dwell on it. She hurried away.
Adam watched her bouncing figure disappear down the corridor. She never brought up splitting the materials again. Apparently the "payment" he had given her last night had been more than enough.
He turned back to his workbench and dove deep into the intricate work of reconstructing Olga Marie's body.
...
Several hours later.
Progress was excellent. The hardest, most mana-draining sections were finished; only time remained.
After the long, intense session, Adam finally allowed himself a break. He dropped onto the bed—fresh sheets, of course. The old ones had… been dealt with.
He let out a long, tired breath. Yesterday's "cooking" had taken more out of him than he'd realized.
He opened his system and pulled out a Silver Apple. Three quick bites and the fatigue melted away.
Then he checked his full inventory.
[Golden Apple ×2]
[Silver Apple ×5]
[Bronze Apple ×9]
The stock was shrinking fast. Especially after last night. Adam sighed, a little wistful.
He glanced at his emotion-point summon pool and the current balance.
Roughly seventy pulls left.
Last night's haul had been generous, yet something felt off. Could Little Da Vinci alone have provided that much?
The thought made him frown. These points were nowhere near enough for the future. Not when he would soon be facing those ravenous, insatiable girls again—sometimes one against three, sometimes one against five…
He wondered when he would finally draw a Mystic Code that could restore stamina and magical energy continuously.
And that wasn't even the biggest drain. While studying the system earlier, Adam had discovered he could spend emotion points to raise his Servant summoning limit.
Right now he could maintain six Servants. For 100,000 points he could unlock a seventh slot, then an eighth, and so on—potentially summoning hundreds if he had the points.
But he didn't. Not even close.
Still, the thought of the next seven Singularities waiting ahead lifted his mood instantly.
No problem. Plenty of emotion points to harvest there.
Especially the very first one.
The Evil Dragon Hundred Years' War—Orléans.
Those two Jeannes, black and white, were going to be an absolute goldmine.
Adam's lips curved into a predatory smile as he thought of Jeanne Alter and the original Jeanne d'Arc.
He opened his Servant roster. Just imagining the coming events made excitement bubble up inside him.
Then his eyes landed on Mash's entry.
He had been so busy the last two days he had completely forgotten to bring her out.
Her cost was zero anyway—she only took up one slot.
Previously he had removed her from the active lineup and sent her back to Chaldea to keep her safe. Several days had passed here, but only minutes or seconds might have passed on the other side. It should be fine. She probably wouldn't greet him with a shield bash.
He selected Mash in the second deployment slot and tapped "Deploy."
The instant she materialized, Mash spun around, searching frantically. The moment her eyes found Adam, the heavy weight on her chest vanished. She exhaled in pure relief.
Adam opened his mouth to greet her—
—and she launched herself at him like a rocket, crashing into his arms.
"Mmm~!"
The impact nearly knocked the wind out of him.
After steadying himself, Adam looked down at the girl clinging to him and returned the embrace, arms wrapping around her gently.
He stroked her short hair with tender fingers, soothing the fear and pain she had carried.
They stayed like that for a long moment, hearts pressed close.
Then Mash's voice rose, soft and trembling, a fragile plea against his chest.
"Senpai… promise me you won't do that again, okay?"
"If I didn't have you… I…"
She was talking about what he had done before—sending her to safety first while he stayed behind in danger.
He had always told her that a Shielder's duty was to protect, yet he had protected her by putting himself in harm's way.
For Mash, that had been pure torment.
The second she had returned to Chaldea, standing in her familiar room, she had felt lost. Then panic for Adam's safety had set in; she had paced the floor, helpless. Finally the guilt had crashed over her—she could do nothing, protect no one.
Right now, her heart felt exactly like—
Why? Why? I've become so much stronger now…
Yet it still feels like nothing has changed. I still couldn't protect Senpai at all.
Nothing… nothing has truly changed!
The next instant, Mash was resummoned by Adam once more.
Even though barely two minutes had passed for her, those two minutes had been pure torture.
After holding each other for a long while, Mash's emotions finally calmed. She looked up at Adam, her eyes shimmering with quiet longing.
Adam knew that look all too well.
Without a word, they both leaned in, drawn together by the same impulse.
Just as their lips were about to meet—
Knock. Knock.
"Master, I've finished upgrading the Servant summoning system."
"Chaldea is ready to begin the summoning. Would you like to come watch?"
Little Da Vinci's cheerful voice came through the door.
Mash instantly pulled away, face burning with embarrassment.
Adam let out a helpless sigh and glanced toward the door. Of all the times…
He opened it to find Little Da Vinci standing there, ready to greet him—until her eyes landed on Mash beside him, head lowered, cheeks flushed.
A sly, knowing glint flashed in Little Da Vinci's gaze.
"Oh my~ Did I interrupt something?"
Adam sighed again. "Would you believe me if I said no?"
Of course he was going to watch the summoning.
The three of them headed toward Chaldea's summoning chamber.
In just those few hours, Little Da Vinci had already completely overhauled the Servant summoning system. Because she was a genius, naturally.
Chaldea had successfully recovered the data of the Servants who had fallen in Singularity F. They were now attempting to summon them back.
Before long, the group arrived at the summoning room. The doors slid open automatically.
Inside stood Mash Kyrielight, Ritsuka Fujimaru, Doctor Romani, and several other Chaldea staff members.
They exchanged quick greetings.
Mash Kyrielight's eyes lit up when she saw the other Mash.
"Shishou! You're here too?"
She hurried over, and the two of them immediately started chatting.
Ritsuka Fujimaru's gaze lingered on Adam. Unconsciously, memories surfaced of that night—the warm, maternal woman who had let him rest his head on her lap. Even now, it felt like a dream. When she woke up the next morning, she had been alone in bed.
What surprised her most was that it had somehow been a double dream. After falling asleep in the first one, she had dreamed of Adam again.
She wouldn't mind if dreams like that happened more often.
Adam noticed Ritsuka staring and tilted his head.
"What is it, Ritsuka? Do I have something on my face?"
Ritsuka startled, the vivid memories flashing through her mind again. Her face grew hot and she quickly shook her head.
"N-no, nothing!"
Little Da Vinci had already met everyone earlier while working on the system.
She glanced around the room. "Where's the big me?"
Doctor Romani scratched his head, recalling the morning.
"I think she said she had a burst of inspiration last night and locked herself in her workshop. She hasn't come out since."
"I see."
Little Da Vinci didn't think much of it. She hopped onto the control console and began preparing the summoning.
Doctor Romani watched her with a fond, slightly dazed smile. Even though he had officially met her that morning, he still couldn't quite believe it.
I thought I was hallucinating from exhaustion… but there really is a tiny Da Vinci. She looks like a little girl playing cosplay.
While operating the console, Little Da Vinci suddenly turned to Adam.
"Oh, right, Master. I have a surprise for you regarding the Servant summoning."
Adam raised an eyebrow. "A surprise?"
"Care to translate that for me—what exactly do you mean by 'surprise'?"
Little Da Vinci just grinned mischievously.
"Hehe, you'll find out in a second."
Now Adam was genuinely curious.
A surprise for the summoning system…
What could it be? It couldn't possibly pull his Servants straight from the other Chaldea, could it?
Little Da Vinci began the ritual.
A familiar rainbow circle spread across the floor.
Oh? Was this going to be a good pull?
Suddenly, the entire facility's power flickered. The lights flashed wildly before plunging into complete darkness for a split second—then snapped back on.
Ritsuka stared at the blinking lights in confusion.
"Uh… is this normal?"
Doctor Romani, who knew how normal summonings looked, grew visibly alarmed.
"Wait, what's happening? Does a regular Servant summoning use this much power?"
Little Da Vinci, however, looked perfectly calm and confident.
"Don't worry. This is completely normal."
The glowing circle slowly converged into a single point. Light burst forth as a Servant materialized.
It was a king cloaked in darkness.
Artoria Alter.
But something about her was different from when she had appeared in Singularity F.
The moment she manifested, Artoria Alter's gaze locked directly onto Adam.
And stayed there.
Staring.
Adam felt an immediate sense of wrongness under that intense stare. Something was very, very off.
That look… he recognized it all too well.
Little Da Vinci watched the scene with open satisfaction. The reaction from Artoria Alter confirmed that her little experiment had been a complete success.
While modifying Chaldea's summoning system, she had added one of her own ideas.
This new system could pull Servants directly from Adam's Chaldea—along with all the memories they had gained in the Singularities.
Which meant the Artoria Alter standing here right now was a fusion: the Artoria Alter from Adam's Chaldea combined with the one who had experienced Singularity F.
Artoria Alter remained completely still, eyes fixed on Adam as she processed the flood of new memories.
Once the integration finished, her gaze shifted. A spark of irritation appeared, mixed with clear intent to thoroughly "punish" him.
The longer Adam stared into those increasingly familiar eyes, the more a thin layer of cold sweat formed on his forehead.
Something was definitely not right.
---
Hi guys, I just wanted to let you know that the rewrite for the Supreme Overlord project is officially ongoing now. If you want to read it, feel free to check out my second account.
Since this account got shadowbanned and I can't really interact with anything anymore, I decided to upload it on my second account instead: Elenea. (I'll leave a comment under this post so it's easier for you guys to find my second account.)
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[Father of the Evil Gods]
Synopsis:
In Zoroastrianism, the Mother of the Evil Gods is the source of all sin and darkness!
It is said that she created the Six Archdemons: Malice, Chaos, Aging, Betrayal, Weakness, and Destruction!
After obtaining the Authority of the Mother of the Evil Gods in the Little Garden, Saigou became the Supreme Being in the world of Overlord;
Surrounded by the Overlord, the Witch of the Void, the Archon of Teyvat, the Sage of Gensokyo, the Satan of DxD, and the Creator of the Demon Pillars;
Saigou was certain that he had firmly established his name as the Evil God;
And so, he must shout at the top of his lungs - God is dead!
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If you're curious and want to read it, feel free to check out my second account.