Command Room, Chaldea Security Organization
Mash POV
"Anchin!! You're back!!!" Kiyohime exclaimed as she glomped Senpai the moment he emerged from his Klein coffin.
Senpai nearly fell back into his coffin, but he stopped himself in time and held onto the tiny berserker that was dangling from his neck and bombarding him with a barrage of light kisses.
[Wah!! Kiyohime jumpscare!! ]
[SeeDotbyTheSea: Kiyohime does not play around, she went straight for the kill the moment Gudao left his hidey hole. ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: I am a bit envious that she gets to kiss and touch him, but Kiyo's kissing him like a cartoon character so it's more funny when compared to the other times he's been kissed. ]
[Well, at least bro has someone to welcome him when he comes home, I just come home to a cold apartment. ]
[Heart0f6old: Oof. ]
[GroundHippowdon: Poor Gudao looks so out of it, he's barely reacting to Kiyohime's affections. ]
She felt an ache in her chest when she saw that and was about to reprimand the small girl, but Chiyome beat her to the punch.
Quite literally.
Kiyohime let out a pained grunt when Chiyome karate chopped her head hard enough that the berserker let go of Senpai's neck.
"Kiyohime, My Lord just came back from a difficult mission, he needs space to breathe without you slobbering on his face like a dog." Chiyome pulled Kiyohime away from Senpai with surprising force.
Kiyohime narrowed his eyes at Chiyome, "Stay out of my way, Orochi Miko, a ninja has no place to dictate how a noble lady greets her husband."
Chiyome tightened her grip on the berserker's kimono harder.
"Jalter is more of a noble lady to My Lord than you are, now stand back." Chiyome coldly stated which made the tiny berserker narrow her eyes dangerously at the assassin.
[JAlter: Hey! The fuck do you mean by that?!]
[Electrical★Streamer_Iono(MOD): Ooh!!Shots fired!! ]
Chiyome's eyes widened when the supposed mature white dragon girl threw a punch aimed squarely at her face, which landed with a loud smack.
[ShortShorts_QUEEN: OH SHEET!!! ꉂ(°□°'˶) ]
[KicksYouIntheFace193: That haymaker had surprisingly good form. I never expected Kiyohime would know how to throw a punch. ]
[BattleMANIAC: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!! ]
Chiyome reeled back before she growled and repaid the punch with one of her own. Koyohime grunted before she grabbed a fistful of Chiyome's hair and pulled, eliciting a yelp from Chiyome.
Senpai looked at the scene and rubbed his temples to soothe away the budding headache, but before he could open his mouth to order them to stop fighting, two black keys struck out and bound their shadows, immobilizing them.
"Alright ladies, I know Gudao-kun is a handsome catch and all, but he just went through a very traumatic experience and needs his space." Da Vinci turned to the side.
"Emiya, if you will?" Da Vinci asked which caused the redhead to sigh before he looked at the two snake themed servants with an unamused stare.
"I expected Kiyohime to act like a petulant child, but I expected better from you Chiyome."
Chiyome pursed her lips and looked down in shame while Kiyohime just glared at the red archer.
Archer picked up Chiyome like she was a sack of potatoes and was about to pick up Kiyohime, but stopped when blue flames licked the berserker's kimono.
"Touch me and your hand turns to charcoal, Archer." Kiyohime warned, which made the man shrug.
"Fine by me, I don't like dealing with crazies anyway."
"But I do~" Jalter declared in a sing-song voice when she emerged from behind the red archer with a devilish grin.
Kiyohime gulped whe Jalter approached and got to her eye level.
"You and I are going to have a nice, long discussion about boundaries and reading the room." Jalter picked up Kiyohime by the scruff of her kimono, much like a mother cat does to her kitten and dragged her out of the Control room, completely ignoring Kiyohime's desperate flailing.
[V-is4Victory!: Wait, why is it that Kiyohime's fire is not burning Jalter's hand? ]
[Fyre&Flamez: Because JAlter is fireproof, and she has power over dragons due to her Dragon Witch Skill. ]
[V-is4Victory!: Ah!! Thank you!Much luck will come to you, kind sir!! ]
[This is basic info, we've known this since Orleans. How do you not know? ]
[V-is4Victory!: Sorry!! I am soo busy spinning my trusty…. V-WHEEEEEL. I can't spare time to watch the stream. (╥﹏╥) ]
[I felt that V-Wheelin my soul. :Good Civilization Altera Emote: ]
[It's-ALWAYS-Pikachu: Lol. I love Victini's depiction in Gates to Infinity. Despite how lackluster the overall game was compared to the masterpiece that was Explorers of Sky that came before it. ]
[V-is4Victory!: Sure buddy. Whatever you say pal. ]
Meanwhile, Archer cleared his throat, "Well now that the gag event came and passed we can finally get back to business."
Emiya looked at them with a warm smile, "Welcome back you two, I am glad to see you two are safe after the wild adventure you went through."
The Archer turned to her, "Mash, you performed admirably against a significantly stronger opponent than you, good job."
Emiya's genuine praise caused butterflies of pride to fly inside her stomach.
"Yes, thank you Emiya, I tried my best."
Emiya nodded before his eyes went to Senpai, and gained an empathetic look on his features, "Ritsuka, I know your decision was not the easiest, but I am proud you had the courage to follow through with it."
Senpai's lips curved up the slightest amount but the smile did not reach his eyes, "Thanks Emiya."
Emiya nodded before he left with Chiyome, who was staring blankly into space with her signature deadpan look.
"Anywho!! Welcome back and good job you two. You retrieved the grail and you achieved our original goal of finding Lev!"
[Umu!! :Umu Emote: ]
[:Umu Emote: ] x 1732
[PsychicMoostache(MOD): And good riddance. While I am left unsatisfied by the fact that I didn't get a chance to land one of my own attacks, it was still satisfying to see the bastard die. ]
[Don't completed revenge stories always leave a hollow feeling a moral lesson on how "revenge is bad?" ]
[PsychicMoostache(MOD): No. I feel like my soul and mind has lightened. Overall throwing sand on his face was very therapeutic. ]
[KicksYouIntheFace193: Kicking someone on the back of the head is also very therapeutic. :Umu Emote: ]
[JAlter: … Don't think I've forgiven or forgotten what you did to me Kicks. I dunno how and I don't know when, but I will find a way to return the favor to you. ]
[KicksYouIntheFace193: I know, and I've made my peace with it. I am always down for a round of Smash in the meantime though, if you're willing. ]
[JAlter: Once I have my hands free, you're on. ]
She still felt sad that it had to come down to killing Lev, but that concern was overshadowed by a more worrying issue.
"But Doctor, we still don't know why he betrayed humanity, nor who his "King" is. So we still don't have any leads." She said, which made Doctor Roman's lips curl down slightly into a light frown.
"Yeah, I know, but, we still have five singularities left to resolve, and plenty of targets to extract information out of when the time comes to encounter them."
"You mean the 72 god pillars that Lev claimed he was a part of?" Senpai's question caused a shiver to run up her spine.
Her arms still ached from the force of Flauros's blows. She was lucky that she had help, or else… She held her arm tightly at the memory, "I don't really find it comforting that we still have 71 more of these demon gods left to fight, Lev alone was hard enough."
[Electrical★Streamer_Iono(MOD): Ain't that the truth? You guys literally fought a raid boss and won!! ]
[Gotta fight em all. ]
[Krystal: I'd rather spend my whole life catching all 1000+ pokemon to complete the pokedex rather than fight a single one of those things. Blech.
[Same. ]
[Did anyone else see the "bad end" videos on UTube? ]
[ShortShorts_QUEEN: Yeah, I saw one of them. Fucking bullshit is what it is. At this point, whoever the creator of the stream is is just a sadist dingus who enjoys watching us suffer. ]
[Joseph-TheBigCheese: RIP Gareth. ]
[RIP Gareth. ] x 213
[Beaumains: Uh guys? I'm still alive though? ]
[Joseph-TheBigCheese: Not in that other reality you weren't. Lev killed you good. ]
[Beaumains: (˶╹ˎ╹˶ )?]
[DragoonRuleZ: Don't worry about it Gareth. That timeline isn't canon. ]
Doctor Roman let out a grunt that affirmed her thoughts, "It's a daunting task, I know but the fact that you were able to take one down is proof enough to me it is possible. We will just have to try our best to whittle them down one by one while also doing the same with the remaining grails and restoring the singularities."
A flash of a memory passed through her vision for a brief moment. It made her hang her head in dejection, since it disproved Doctor Roman's words.
"B-But, we didn't kill Flauros. Zenobia was the one who did it."
"That is debatable." Da Vinci disagreed, her arms crossed, clearly showing her displeasure.
"Our team and Romulus already had Flauros on the ropes, Zenobia just finished him off. If anything, she stole our kill and prevented us from extracting more intel from that monster wearing human skin."
Doctor Roman sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time in the conversation, "Not much we can do about it now, Lev is dead, Director Olga and the others who died in Lev's attack have been avenged, and we have the grail. All in all, it was a successful mission despite its dangerous and chaotic nature."
"It was a crazy adventure, that was for sure Doctor Roman." She said, which made the Doctor's frown deepen.
"A bit too crazy if you ask me…and for what it's worth, I am so sorry we threw you into the lion's den like that."
[Krystal: The only ones at fault are Zenobia, her allies, Flauros/Lev for trying to destroy Rome, and that Amaterasu lady who planted Gudao and Mash in the middle of a desert. ]
[MalasadaMayhem: True, but if not for that sun goddessmeddling, Gudao would have never been able to form a contract with Stheno at all and that would have led to a dead end earlier than if they didn't meet Zenobia first.]
Senpai shook his head and dismissed Doctor Roman's apology, "It's alright Romani, we can't expect you guys to hold our hands forever. This is our second official singularity, if we didn't know how to make our own calls by now, then humanity is truly and utterly doomed."
The Doctor chuckled, "True that, good answer Fujimaru. I am glad we could count on you two to pull through." Doctor Roman pulled his sleeve to check the time.
"Now then, it's getting late, why don't you and Mash go take a rest for the night? You both pushed yourselves rather hard last mission, and I'm sure you are eager to sleep in a proper, soft bed tonight rather than inside a sleeping bag over a rocky cave floor."
"Yeah, my back is feeling very sore from that extreme camping we just endured the past week." Senpai admitted while putting a hand on his shoulder to massage the pain away.
"In that case, I'd recommend a massage. They do wonders for helping soothe muscles after a long day's work." Doctor Roman said, which made Senpai smile.
"Don't I know it, I could honestly go for a massage right now."
[Burning_Jealousy: I know plenty of full body oil massages Anchin!! Once I escape from this oversized baby's grasp, I will lather you up and massage you with my bare body!! ]
[Downbad_Cowgirl: Yeesh, talk about thirsty. ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: Says the girl who simps for every muscular man that shows up on screen. Smh. ]
[ :Hypno Emote: ] x 453
She looked at Kiyohime's message and frowned. She knows Senpai would not feel comfortable with that kind of massage, much less if it came from someone like Kiyohime.
She cleared her throat and walked closer to Senpai.
"Senpai, if you want a massage, then shall I give you one?" She offered, and the moment the words left her lips the room turned quiet.
[AYO!! ]
[Electrical★Streamer_Iono(MOD): No way! Mash made a move on Gudao!! ( ˶°ㅁ°) !! ]
[Don'tTouchMyBuns!: It's about time! Gurl finally stepped up!! ٩>ᴗ<)و ]
[Burning_Jealousy: Stay out of this eggplant!! ]
[Gible_Archeologist: Go eggplant go!! ]
[Go eggplant go!! ]
Senpai was taken aback for a brief moment before he sent a hopeful gaze at her.
"Really? You can do that?" Senpai asked and she nodded and she started to list off all the kinds of massage techniques she knew after she learned them from all those youtube tutorials she watched.
"I know several effective methods, like shiatsu, deep tissue... "
"Goodness Mash, how bold…" Da Vinci said while looking between her and Senpai with a flushed face.
Doctor Roman meanwhile was pursing his lips in disapproval, "Mash, I don't think it's appropriate to offer something like that-"
Doctor Romani tried to speak but was cut off by Senpai.
"Sounds good to me Mash, I would love to get a massage from you." Senpai said, which caused Doctor Roman to splutter.
[And Rizzuka seals the deal! ]
[Lol!! Look at Romani's face!! ]
[(≧▽≦) ]
Smack.
Da Vinci smacked Roman's arm, which caused him to let out a cry of pain,"Ow!! What did I do?!"
Da Vinci rolled her eyes at Doctor Roman's whining, "Oh don't be such a killjoy Doctor Romani, it's just a massage, it's not like she's asking Gudao to fill in for Chiyome as his bedwarmer."
She sent a knowing look at Mash which made her avert her gaze.
"I-I Um…." To be honest, she wouldn't mind doing that too, but before she could muster up the courage to say so, stupid Roman interrupted her.
"Alright alright, I get it. Geez, can you blame me? Mash is like a daughter to me, and while I wholeheartedly trust Fujimaru to act like a gentleman, no father wants to hear about their daughter's escapades!" Romani cried out in exacerbation, like he was the victim.
[Normie_Norman: As a father, I 100% agree with Romani. I would rather not know what my little girl is doing in her own private time. ]
[Kohga: Seconded. Both Mash and Gudao are consenting adults, but there is a time and place for everything. ]
Roman cleared his throat, "Right, well I will leave what you two do in your own time at your discretion. You both deserve it, just promise me you will at least sleep a full eight hours tonight."
Doctor Roman's eyes narrowed at Senpai, "That counts double for you Ritsuka. Once you wake up, swing by my office to get an in-depth check up before breakfast. I need to look to see what the damage was on your magic circuits."
Ah, she was such a terrible Kohai. She had forgotten her Senpai was hurt amidst all the drama that happened between Senpai and Stheno.
"Y-Yes Doctor."
"I understand, Romani. I'll swing by in the morning." Senpai said.
Romani nodded but his serious face did not relax, "And before I forget, I have one more thing to tell you, Ritsuka."
His features softened, "While I am not a certified therapist and I am busy as heck, I can always spare some time in my schedule so we can hang out and lend you an ear if you need to talk about what happened earlier."
Senpai's smile flattened a fraction, "I appreciate the offer Romani, I'll stop by when I can."
"Alright, stop trying to delay their intimate moment together by bringing down the mood Romani." Da Vinci chastised the Doctor, who just sighed again before pouting.
Da Vinci grinned at them in a way that reminded her of the Cheshire cat, "I hope you enjoy your skin on skin contact you two!!"
"Um… thanks, come on Mash." Senpai left the room and she followed him out the door.
✦✧✦
After leaving the command room, they walked through the corridors in relative peace, the artificial lights lighting their path. The weather outside was surprisingly calmer than usual and it added to the peaceful and empty halls of Chaldea. Neither of them spoke as they enjoyed the silence of the walk.
Nero would have really found the world outside their facility rather beautiful, especially since the sky was clear tonight and was making the snow glisten in a really pretty way.
"Are you okay Mash? You look down." Senpai's voice made her jump in surprise, but she quickly regained her composure, "I was just thinking about Nero. We helped her defeat the people destroying her empire like Flauros and Zenobia… but I feel bad we just left her in the middle of Hispania all by herself with no way for her to find her way back to her home."
She looked down in shame, "Even if it never actually happened, I still feel bad just abandoning her there, especially after she said so many tearful goodbyes… and not only that, I still feel awful that we had to betray Zenobia like we did."
Senpai grunted at the mention of Zenobia, clearly still having heavy emotions regarding her, "Yeah… "
"But… despite all those hard moments, and all those times we almost died, and the fact that I am still scared of fighting…"
Her lips curled up into a smile, " I still had a lot of fun."
Her smile was contagious, as Senpai's mood improved as well and he smiled again, "I feel the same way."
[What are the odds The World decided to pay the fare for Nero's taxi ride back to Rome? ]
[GARcher: Fairly high or fairly low depending on how it handles the fact the singularity was on the verge of becoming a lostbelt. For all we know, The World course corrected history so that Nero was supposed to be in Hispania that day for a diplomatic meeting or something. So I wouldn't worry.]
[I'mJustABill: Now I can't get the image of Nero pointing a thumb next to a busy road so she can hitchhike herself back to Rome. ]
[Heart0f6old: Nah, if it was Nero, she would be flashing her exposed butt cleavage or her legs to get a free ride rather than stick out her thumb. ]
[Best_Kohai-BB(MOD): She would definitely do that. ]
She noticed the scorch mark near the wall that Kiyohime left several weeks ago that had not been cleaned up yet, and spoke, "Oh, we're here Senpai. I guess it's time for me to give you what I promised to you."
Senpai looked at her with concern, "If you feel tired, we can just reschedule it, Mash."
She shook her head, "No, it's alright, I still have some energy to help you relax. Just leave it to me."
Senpai chose not to say another word and swiped his keycard on the keycard entry system next to the door.
The door opened with a low hiss and he walked into his room. Before she entered, she felt something stirring inside her clothes.
"Fou!!" To her and Senpai's surprise, Fou leapt out from her jacket and ran down the hall. They stared at his retreating form for a while before they just shrugged and continued on their business.
She went inside Senpai's room, allowing the door to close behind her.
Now they were all alone… together, with no one else to see what they were about to do.
[Should we tell them that they forgot to turn off the stream? ]
[Best_Kohai-BB(MOD): Nah, it's funnier this way. GudakoBot, enter spectator mode. ]
[GudakoBot: Spectator mode enabled.TTS and potshots disabled. ]
[Electrical★Streamer_Iono(MOD): You sneaky PUTA! ]
[Best_Kohai-BB(MOD): :Ah, eto... bleh meme Emote: ]
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, "Alright Senpai, if I am going to give you a massage, I need you to take your shirt off and lay on your bed, or else it won't be as comfortable."
"Oh, sure thing Mash." Senpai undid the zipper of his jacket and neatly folded it and placed it on a nearby chair. Then, he put his hands under his shirt, and pulled it off without warning her.
…wow.
His abs were surprisingly chiselled and masculine, which makes sense since he has been pushing himself physically during their missions and given a well balanced diet by Emiya.
Her face felt hot as she saw the well toned upper body of Senpai before her.
[Mash darling, you're drooling. ]
[SoniaYampers: Guys, this isn't cool, we can't just peep on Gudao and Mash!! This is a major breach of privacy!! ]
[Heart0f6old: Then why are you still here? Unlike you, I am headed out, because I don't wanna see man abs. Laters! ]
[SoniaYampers: T-That's not the point!! People, stop watching!! ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: HECK NO. Shirtless streams are rare, I am gonna enjoy every frame of this rare moment. ]
[Downbad_Cowgirl: Hm… not bad. His muscles could use more definition, but overall, I'll give his abs and muscles a passing grade. :Umu Emote:]
[Burning _Jealousy: :Naruto 4 tails Mode roar Emote: ]
[JAlter: WTF?!! ]
[Blood_Countess: Hm, not a bad physique. ]
[Bethany_Brawler: There's nothing wrong with a massage… Master deserves one, as he is rather tense. Though I must request that all of you stop watching and repent for your sins. ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: NEVER!! ]
"...Mash?"
Oh no! Senpai caught her staring at his body!! She cleared her throat, "Sorry Senpai, I was distracted. Please get on the bed so I can give you your massage."
To her relief, Senpai didn't question her further and laid down on the bed. At the same time, she took off her own jacket and neatly put it in the same place Senpai put his shirt.
She walked to the side of his bed and placed her hands on his warm, rock solid body. Senpai flinched under her touch and she realized her mistake.
"Ah!! Sorry Senpai, my hands are cold. Give me a minute." She cupped hands together and blew warm breaths into them, then she rubbed them together to create some friction. Once her hands were sufficiently warmed, she tried again.
Senpai didn't flinch this time and so, she began her session by loosening him up with a rocking motion.
[Downbad_Cowgirl: Wait, where's the oil? Don't tell me, is Mash just gonna rawdog his back without any lube?! ]
[AltariaFloof: Did you seriously have to describe it like that? ( -_-) ]
[I think that's a bit too rough there Mash. ]
"Alright Senpai, now I am going to relieve your tense muscles by applying pressure on your pressure points."
She proceeds to use the technique she learned from that nice lady on youtube and pressed on his back with her palms. Senpai let out a groan, which tells her that it's working.
[Ow… ]
[GroundHippowdon: Ah I see what's going on. Mash sucks at giving massages. Truly being Gudao is suffering. ]
[V-is4Victory!: He should have spun my… V-WHEEEEL!!! when he had the chance, he really could have used the boost. Then again, considering how he ended up in this situation, I don't think his luck would have been enough to help him. ]
"Hm, let's see, now I am going to do some lumbar, wait a moment."
[I don't think that's how you use the word lumbar. Do you mean that you are going to use some lumbar techniques on him? ]
[Gible_Archeologist: (ᵕó_ò) I fear for his spine…]
She took off her shoes and jumped on top of him, an action which made her Senpai squeak.
She tilted her head at his reaction, "You okay Senpai?"
"Y-Yeah i am fine, I was just surprised." Senpai's face was flushed red, was it that hot in here? Well, friction massages do generate a lot of heat.
"Okay, now try to relax, I am gonna pop out all that built up stress in your spine," She placed her hands on the lower part of his back and began to massage it in a back and forth motion, but before she could get a chance to crack his back, a polite knock on the door stopped her.
"Who is it?" Senpai's muffled voice asked.
"Master," Ah, it was Lord Vlad, what was he doing here?
"As much as I hate to interrupt your bonding session with Baroness Mash, I wish to inform you that you forgot to turn off the stream before you started. I do not wish to see you two disgrace yourselves further, so I would be more than happy to take them off your hands."
Both her and Senpai's breath hitched at what Lord Vlad told them. Then, they both turned to face the orb floating not so innocently nearby.
[PerfectlySaneHex: DAMMIT!! HE SNITCHED!! ]
[Bethany_Brawler: Thank you Lord Vlad the Third, may the blessings of God be upon you. ]
[Lord_Impaler: Tis only my duty Saint Martha. ]
[Best_Kohai-BB(MOD): Ah well, it was fun while it lasted. ]
"Ah! I forgot!!" Senpai cried out and frantically reached out and typed in a command to his chatbox.
Her face turned a red blush fierce enough that she felt dizzy, and she let out a shriek.
Within moments, the camera vanished and they were both alone for real this time.
They both let out a sigh of relief. She took a look at chat and narrowed her eyes at the shameless chatters who peeped on them.
[MashuMellows: GudakoBot, time out everyone on stream. ]
[OH SHIT!! ]
[PerfectlySaneHex: I saw shirtless Gudao again, now I can die in peace. ]
[AltariaFloof: We're sorry Mash!! We didn't mean to stick around and look!! ]
[MashuMellows: Yet you did, now get out. ]
[GudakoBot: Several thousand peoplehave been timed out for 1 hour. ]
[ __Red__: :Ash hand wave emote: ]
[ __Red__: ..... :Scared Ash Emote: ]
"Thank you Lord Vlad!!" Senpai thanked the man on the other side of the door.
"It was no trouble, now if you'll excuse me, I am going to wait an hour for your audience to come back before reprimanding them. Have a good night you two." Vlad walked away.
"Well, now that we are alone for real this time, let's resume the massage, Senpai." She pushed both of her hands into his back, which elicited a loud cracking noise and a scream from Senpai.
✦✧✦The Next day, Cafeteria, Chaldea Security OrganizationChiyome POV
"You look like shit." The drunkard Cu Chulainn told her Lord, and while she disagreed with his vulgar way of stating it, he was right.
After she was dragged away from Her Lord's side by Emiya, Mash had taken advantage of her absence and made her move.
The Shielder Demiservant physically assaulted her beloved Master and had the audacity to call it a "massage." She had been powerless to stop the brutality, no thanks to Emiya, and Her Lord paid for it by enduring having his back bruised and beaten for hours!
[Heart0f6old: I saw the clip of all you guys getting mass timed out, and you all call ME a pervert LOL!! ꉂꉂ◟(˃᷄ꇴ˂᷅๑)༡]
[Krystal: Shut it Gold, you're still THE pervert. ]
[Heart0f6old: Course I am, but I am a classy pervert, not like you degenerates. ]
[Just_N: There's nothing classy about making crass remarks about all the women and female servants who show up on screen. ]
[Heart0f6old: Hey, at least I don't go after married women. ]
[SoniaYampers: Didn't you try to hook up with Kream when she was first summoned, only to get publicly rejected by her? ]
[Heart0f6old: That was different!! That's why I asked if she was single first!! I am no homewrecker like @ Downbad_Cowgirl]
[Downbad_Cowgirl: It's not homewrecking if the house is already a mess!! ]
[Shaddap!! ]
The only solace she can take comfort in is that Mash had enough decorum to leave before Her Lord fell asleep and dragged the shielder into his warm, firm embrace.
She missed feeling his touch every night, but alas, that Rider Saint proved herself to be an annoying obstacle. She could easily sneak past her by using her presence concealment skill and sleep with him anyway, but that would only make her appear no better than Kiyohime.
They already shared too many similarities than she felt comfortable with, she did not want to add another to the list.
"Yeah, I had a hard time last night." Her Lord said as he pulled out the chair from the table and sat down. She wanted to tell him not to associate himself with this drunkard, but as a shinobi, it was not her place to order Her Lord like she was his wife.
Cu let out a snort, "I'll say, you two were so loud last night, you practically kept everyone up. Gotta say, you're quite the Casanova, Master." Cu said, which caused both Her Lord and Mash to blush in embarrassment.
"I-It wasn't like that, it was just a massage!" Her Lord tried to defend, but Cu did not let up.
"That's how it always starts out. You rub their shoulders, you let them rant about their day, and then when you're all warmed up?" Cu waggled his eyebrows, which only turned Mash and Her Lord's faces redder than before.
She frowned at the Caster's crude joke, but Emiya made the first retort.
"Now now, there's no need to be a jealous dog and air out Master's private life for all to see, his stream does enough of that already."
[By no fault of our own. I only come here during Chaldea streams at daytime. ]
[Gible_Archeologist: Gudao is entertaining and I love his streams, but as a historian, I really enjoy listening to the wisdom of actual people of the past more at times. ]
[Beaumains: And I enjoy talking to someone about my daily life at Camelot. ]
[Lord_Impaler: I will admit, it is nice to have an audience to directly part knowledge of things history books don't bother writing down. ]
"Cheh, I'm not jealous, I'm proud. He's not just a man who the ladies swoon over, he's also been on many adventures and has shown bravery and courage that rivals many heroes of legend. If he was born in my time, he would have already cemented a spot in the Throne of Heroes by now. "
Emiya set a plate of pancakes with blue chunks of fruit embedded in them, a hearty helping of crispy bacon, and spinach mixed into a clump of scrambled eggs.
He also carefully placed a cup of prepared coffee with creamer, milk, and sugar added in with their Lord's preferred ratios. She will admit, Emiya's attentiveness to their Lord's needs would make many chefs hired by the nobility look like lazy, uncaring slobs in comparison.
"Yes, while I agree that Master Ritsuka is living quite the adventure right now, I feel I should remind you that he is still a normal human at the end of the day. He's already experienced a Greek tragedy firsthand, so don't encourage him with your hero bullshit and get him to die like a Greek hero too."
Anger flared from her chest at the reminder. Her protective side disliked that Stheno gave Her Lord no choice but to kill her with his own hands, but her practical side saw value in the lesson the goddess taught Her Lord.
Sometimes, a noble must be the one who leads by example and swings the executioner's sword himself. To be a noble lord meant that making difficult decisions is a necessity. As much as she loved her Lord's kindness, he needed to strengthen his resolve if he hoped to have any chance to restore humanity. Overall, she is glad that Her Lord has matured, but that doesn't mean she will excuse the woman who forced him into that position in the first place.
She knew it was only a matter of time until Zenobia showed her face again in Chaldea. It might not happen now, but she knew it was inevitable. When the time came and Zenobia does show her face again, she will give that woman her most sincere thanks for helping teach Her Lord a hard lesson in being a commander.
Then she will knee the bitch directly in the vulva, because regardless of what feelings Zenobia held for Her Lord, she still seduced him the improper way and tried to get him to abandon his noble mission and his most loyal kunoichi.
Her Lord looked at his food for a brief moment before sighing and eating the meal without complaint.
[Chef-SieboldE4: I am glad to see that Gudao has finally gotten over his own pickiness and is actually consuming pokemon based cuisine. ]
[Yeah, it was funny seeing his reaction at first, but after a while it gets a little annoying. ]
After an hour of eating, chatting, and a few refills of coffee passed, Her Lord finally pushed his empty plate away and stood up.
"Alright, I'm done. I'm going to the summoning room."
Loud, frantic footsteps came rushing from the kitchen, which was then followed by Emiya scolding Kriemhild to not run in his kitchen.
Mash pursed her lips in disapproval, "Senpai, Doctor Roman told you to take it easy for a while. Your magical circuits are still healing and bringing more servants over will only lengthen the recovery process."
"It's alright Mash, I'm not going to summon new servants or anything like that. I'm just going to bring back Astolfo and Siegfried and that will be it."
"Well, I suppose in that case it would be okay." Mash hesitantly said and Her Lord smiled before she thanked the Shielder
From the corner of her eye, she noticed a dejected Kriemhild turn around and return to work.
✦✧✦Summoning RoomRitsuka POV
"Sorry Master, I-" He raised his hand up to stop Siegfried from finishing that unwarranted apology.
"It's alright Siegfried, it's not your fault. I used you as a crutch for a long time and it caused me to be careless. If anything I should be the one apologizing to you."
Siegfried looked like he wanted to protest but one hard look from him stopped the dragonslayer from trying, "Understood Master. I hope my absence did not cause too many issues."
[Blue-TheCHAMP: Bro, you have no idea what kind of shitfest occurred after you passed. ]
He tried not to show the emotions on his face, but seeing how Siegfried narrowed his eyes, he had failed.
"I see. Well, I suppose I can look through the records to see what happened after my absence." Siegfried walked off the shield and stood next to Mash and Chiyome.
Next, he brought back Astolfo and to his relief, his gruesome death didn't affect his bubbly personality at all.
"Yahoh!! I am back!! And more rabbity than ever!!" Saber Astolfo exclaimed while he stuck out his chest in pride
[AltariaFloof: Oh good, he's finally back… safe and sound and in one piece. TᴖT ]
[He's surprisingly okay on the outside, but how is he on the inside? Flauros penetrates him rather deeply last time. ]
[Gross. ]
[Junior_Researcher: Despite how much of a dunce he can be at times, I will give him credit that his use of TTS before he perished was rather creative. ]
[HippityHoppip650: It was metal af. Also very sad. ]
"Are you sure you are fine Astolfo? You had a very grizzly end last time."
Astolfo waved off his concern, "I am a-okay! Don't worry about me Master, for every rabbit that my enemies take down, two more take its place!!"
Astolfo walked off the shield and asked the one question he knew he was going to be asked.
With a heavy heart, he told Astolfo what Charlemagne told him before he sacrificed himself to fight Zenobia.
Astolfo listened and his cheery mood drooped alongside his rabbit ears,
"Aw… So my King won't be joining us after all?"
"He was very explicit that he wouldn't show up right away, but I can still try to summon him when I call the others. Who knows? Maybe he'll answer."
Astolfo shook his head, "Thanks for your consideration Master, but it's alright. We can't force Charlie to show up. It was a miracle we even met up with him at all, given how normally he wouldn't be summoned as his idealistic, heroic self. During a normal grail war, he would have been summoned as the actual historical figure, who is a completely different servant."
[RocksAPlenty: Aww, that sucks. I wanted to see Charlie again. Bro gave us back the word "Cool" after Gilles took it from us. ]
With both Siegfried and Atolfo back to the land of the living, he told Mash he was ready to head out and relax.
Before either of them had a chance to leave, the familiar robotic voice of GudakoBot spoke up.
[GudakoBot: "Septem Singularity complete!! Dispensing rewards… For completing the second singularity, here is your Alluring Empire of Perfected Eternity Badge. Holy fuck that was a mouthful. " ]
His eyes shot up in surprise as he read the text. This was new, usually GudakoBot would dispense rewards after he summoned his new servants to Chaldea. This time it happened after he resummoned servants he already had.
Mash's shield lit up and just like the previous times, a badge showed up on top of a velvet pillowcase. He bent down to pick up the badge and to his surprise, he actually felt some resistance.
The badge was heavier than he expected and it became clear why when he took a closer look and noticed it was made of solid gold.
[Wow! A solid gold badge!! That is freaking amazing!! ]
[Krystal: I wish one of my badges was made of gold. ]
[All of Gudao's badges are so pretty!! I wish more gyms used precious metals and gemstones rather than boring normie metal and cheap gems. ]
[DragonMasterLance: We can make that happen, though it would have to be reserved for 8th level gym badges only. It'd be too expensive otherwise. ]
[Junior_Researcher: Naturally. ]
Just like the prior badges, this badge was also etched with an intricate design. Septem's
The badge was that of a highly detailed tree, a tree which reminded him of the noble phantasm that Romulus used against Flauros.
The one that strained his circuits, he didn't remember its name and he didn't know the symbolism behind it but he'll file that question for later when he looks into Romulus's legend later.
He also noticed the tree roots looked serpentine and the tree was crowned by a tiara made of chains that had a rose shaped black gemstone at its center.
He didn't need to lock himself in a library to decipher what this design of the badge symbolized. It was representing Zenobia and Stheno being above Rome.
Suddenly his eyes caught movement and he leaned in to get a closer look at the black rose gemstone. He was surprised to see that something was indeed swirling inside the gem, or rather, a bunch of somethings were swirling around the pistil of the rose.
Was that… sand?
Anakin was right, sand does get everywhere, he just never expected it would be to this extreme.
He pulled out his badge case and slotted the badge in its designated space
Three down, many more to go.
Another ping noise caught his attention, which usually meant that GudakoBot was going to announce a new feature to his stream.
He sighed, already dreading what kind of sharp scissors GudakoBot was going to hand to his toddlers in chat.
He turned his gaze to read the Bot's message, expecting the worst.
[GudakoBot: New Feature Unlocked. HoloWatch!!
My fellow viewers of the Pokemon world, for years, you have been watching Gudao through your screens and reacting to our world.
Now it's his turn.With HoloWatch,Gudao is now able to have the option to experience the pokemon world, like no one on earth ever has.
Using the stream as a connection, Gudao will be able to watch broadcasts of actual, real life pokemon battles or contests taking place in the pokemon world.
The feature is only available in downtime, and will be unavailable during missions. Showings are limited to special events shown on live television like Charity events, Pokemon League Conferences and the equivalent for Contests. The feature requires a functioning TV monitor or projector to function, because watching on a tiny screen dulls the experience.
Upcoming battle: Blaine Vs Champions Cynthia, Diantha, and Iris. ]
His mouth hung open at the notification.
Well, he didn't see that coming.
____________________________________________________________________________
New Chatters:
Normie_Norman: The Gym leader of the normal type gym of the Hoenn Region and father of May/Brandon in the games and also Max in the anime.
Dr_Griseous: Showed up on the last chapter of Septem but I forgot to clarify who he was, this is Giratina. Unlike his brothers, he is not a cringelord and he actually has a few doctorates.
AN: And we're back to Chaldea chapters again. Hope you guys enjoyed that.
Incidentally, I am going to take next week off because I have a family trip that will take a lot of my writing time away.
Rather than waste my time worrying if I will be able to upload on time, instead I am gonna spend that time relaxing with my family. I will still write during the limited downtime I have, but it won't be enough for me to write a full update.
Also, if you guys have any fanfic suggestions that have amazing pokemon battles(not including Hard enough and Pokemon Trainer Vicky since I know of them already) I would love to hear them. I've never written a pokemon battle before, so I will need to brush up my skills so I can convey it properly(especially since it's a triple battle).
See you on September 13th!