Of course, the people of Chaldea had no way of knowing what Ophis was thinking.
"It's never easy, is it?"
Ritsuka gritted her teeth, but wasn't truly surprised.
From the very first singularity, there haven't been many powerful individuals willing to help Chaldea directly. Even if they don't become outright enemies, they usually speak in riddles, only offering aid after Chaldea has proven themselves.
These extraordinary beings often have their own values. If you can't align with or change those values, you won't be able to sway them.
"Well, it's no surprise that King Ophis isn't interested in Chaldea right now... She's rarely interested in anything. If you want to catch her attention, you'll need to do something truly remarkable. Like, oh, I don't know, maybe take down the Northern Goddess?"
Merlin, lounging casually in a corner of the temple, commented as if it were none of his concern.
"As expected from Merlin! That's not a bad idea, Ritsuka should give it a try!"
Roman's excited voice echoed through the communicator.
"...Doctor, please don't make things worse!"
Mash quickly refuted Roman's suggestion.
"Ahem, seriously, Ritsuka, you should talk to King Ophis about the Holy Grail. There was a brief reaction earlier..."
"Oh, right..."
Ritsuka was about to speak when Ophis, who had slowly returned to her throne, interrupted.
"I can hear you. Is this Holy Grail you're talking about?" [I actually don't understand what the Doctor said. I always have to ask someone to repeat it…]
Sitting down, Ophis flicked the golden sphere at the top of her staff, and a trace of magic power escaped.
"The Holy Grail's reaction appeared again! I considered this possibility, but after all, she already possesses the Grail… If she's akin to the King of Heroes, her traits wouldn't deviate much…"
"But why is the Holy Grail shaped like a sphere?"
Ritsuka asked, tilting her head as she looked at the golden orb.
"Is it a sphere? Hmm... It's possible that the Holy Grail is encased within something, or that it was transformed. Although it's difficult, it's possible with divine-level magic. The purpose could be to conceal the Grail's energy."
Roman made these guesses, which were clearly outside a doctor's usual expertise.
"Well, the Three Goddess Alliance likely has that goal... but I can't give it to you right now."
As she gathered the magic power from the Holy Grail back into the orb, Ophis met Ritsuka's gaze and shook her head.
"Yeah, I figured..."
Ritsuka sighed, slumping her shoulders.
If it were that easy, it wouldn't justify the battles they'd fought in previous singularities.
But Ritsuka quickly regained her resolve.
"In that case, I'll defeat the Three Goddess Alliance and prove our strength to you. Then, will you hand over the Holy Grail?"
"Senpai!?"
With one hand clenched into a fist, Ritsuka boldly declared to Ophis.
"…"
"Hey! Did you hear me?!"
After a long silence, Ritsuka noticed that Ophis's gaze wasn't on her at all but fixed on something behind her.
Ritsuka turned to see what had caught Ophis's attention and saw... a tuft of blonde hair.
"Lily?"
"Huh?"
Lily tilted her head, clearly confused.
"Is your name Lily?"
Ophis suddenly asked.
"Uh... My name is Altria Pendragon. I'm just a humble knight. You can call me Lily."
"…"
Ophis nodded slightly.
"You remind me of Enkidu."
"Huh?"
Lily was even more confused.
Enkidu… She had seen the one who looked like Enkidu, but didn't think they resembled her much...
"Ah, don't worry about it. King Ophis has said something like this to others before… Love sees what it wants to see, I suppose."
Merlin, with a raised finger, cheerfully interjected, only to be quickly silenced by a gold brick that flew out from golden ripples in the air.
Sighing, Ophis rested her head on her hand.
"Enough. Uruk is my city. It's not a place for outsiders to interfere. So..."
She paused, then stared intently at Ritsuka.
"If you can prove your strength, I'll give you information about the three goddesses… and if you can use it to deal with the real goddess, I'll reward you. But..."
Ophis narrowed her eyes, her snake-like gaze sending a chill down Ritsuka's spine.
"If you think you can defeat the three goddesses... it's either a clown's joke or sheer arrogance. You have value, so don't waste your life with such reckless thoughts."
"Is… is that so?"
Ritsuka was initially intimidated by Ophis's powerful aura but then broke into a bright smile.
"Thank you for the warning, King Ophis."
"Hmm…"
Ophis was visibly taken aback for a moment, then nodded.
"Siduri, arrange accommodations for them."
"Yes."
Siduri bowed with a gentle smile, then turned to the Chaldeans.
"Please, follow me."
As the Chaldeans left, Ophis let out a sigh of relief.
"King Ophis isn't the best at communicating, is she?"
Merlin got up and looked at Ophis with a smile.
"No... it's more that, after being accustomed to authority, I'm not used to speaking as an equal with those who come seeking help. But I am a king… I should treat others as a king would, right? I bear the responsibilities of a king, though I rarely exercise its power. Perhaps even the idea of kingship is shallow to me. In that sense, I'm just someone burdened with doing a king's duties."
"Is that so?"
Ophis tilted her head slightly.
"My only responsibility is to prevent the extinction of humanity. Beyond that, I won't interfere. That alone is enough."
"Indeed."
Merlin waved dismissively and left the hall without commenting on Ophis's response.