Despite the absolute chaos that breakfast turned into, things eventually calmed down.
Mainly after Arthur fed all of them.
For some reason, that seemed to work disturbingly well.
Even Jeanne became several degrees less aggressive after receiving food.
Which was honestly concerning.
After breakfast ended, Arthur decided to leave alone for a while.
Even though he was slightly worried that Jeanne and Atalanta might eventually start a civil war inside Chaldea's embassy.
"...You two aren't going to try killing each other while I'm gone, right?" Arthur asked.
Jeanne immediately looked away.
"...Depends," she answered.
"Depends on what?" Mash asked nervously.
Jeanne slowly pointed at Atalanta.
"Depends on whether she keeps breathing the same air as me."
"..."
Atalanta immediately narrowed her eyes.
"Interesting," she replied coldly. "I was thinking the exact same thing."
Arthur stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then he looked at Merlin.
"If they start fighting..."
"I run," Merlin answered immediately.
"...Coward."
"Arthur, I'm a mage, not a suicidal warrior."
Arthur merely let out a deep sigh before leaving the tavern.
---xXx---
A short while later, Arthur found Siduri organizing several scrolls inside the Ziggurat.
As soon as she saw him approaching, Siduri immediately stood up.
"Lord Arthur."
Arthur gave a faint smile.
"Siduri."
She looked slightly uncomfortable around him.
Which was understandable.
After all, looking at Arthur was practically the same as looking at an alternate version of Gilgamesh himself.
And after the strangely long conversation the king had with that man, well, Siduri had definitely noticed that Gilgamesh started acting differently around her.
"...Is there something I can help you with?" she asked politely.
Arthur nodded lightly.
"The two Servants I summoned will assist at the demonic front alongside Gil's Servants."
Siduri blinked several times.
"...Both of them?" she asked, slightly surprised. "Will they be alright?"
Arthur immediately smiled upon hearing that.
"...You should be worried about the demonic beasts that cross their path."
"...Hm?"
Arthur crossed his arms.
"If those two truly fight seriously..." he casually commented, "perhaps not even Ushiwakamaru, Benkei, and Leonidas would be able to defeat them."
Siduri's eyes widened slightly.
That definitely was not a small evaluation.
She had already seen just how powerful Gilgamesh's Servants were.
Especially Leonidas and Ushiwakamaru.
And yet Arthur said that without the slightest hesitation, as if merely stating an obvious fact.
Siduri remained silent for a few seconds before slowly nodding.
"...I understand."
The previous night, Gilgamesh had left clear orders.
She was to offer Arthur full support.
Even if she still didn't completely understand who he was or why that man could speak to Gilgamesh as an equal.
Now that Arthur was sending his own Servants to reinforce the walls, Siduri naturally had no intention of refusing.
And she knew Gilgamesh would probably approve immediately.
"I'll arrange everything," Siduri replied.
Arthur gave a slight smile.
"Thanks."
After saying goodbye to her, Arthur returned to the tavern and immediately found chaos.
"...LET GO OF MY HAIR, YOU BITCH!"
"Then stop calling me a house cat!"
Jeanne and Atalanta were trying to kill each other in the middle of the room.
While Merlin calmly watched everything while drinking tea.
"..."
Arthur stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then he sighed deeply.
"...I literally left for less than an hour."
Mash looked like she was about to cry.
"Senpai, they started because Jeanne called Atalanta a 'feline carpet'!"
"She started it!" Jeanne immediately replied.
"You pulled my tail, you damn woman!"
"Because it was swaying annoyingly in front of me!"
Arthur simply walked calmly toward the two of them.
Then grabbed both of them by the head.
"...Enough fighting," he said while smiling at them.
The two instantly froze upon seeing that smile, chills running down both their spines simultaneously.
"...Tch."
"..."
Even while irritated, both eventually backed down without continuing the fight.
Which honestly only made Ritsuka even more terrified.
"...He really domesticated both of them."
"That's terrifying," Olga muttered through the communicator.
---xXx---
That same afternoon, after lunch and a long sequence of promised rewards, Jeanne and Atalanta were finally taken to the walls.
Jeanne complained the entire way there.
"...If some beast appears that's too ugly, I'm burning that entire wall down."
"You can't just burn everything," Atalanta immediately replied.
"Yes, I can."
"..."
"Actually, she really can," Arthur commented.
Atalanta massaged her forehead.
"...What a troublesome woman."
"Oh my God bruh," Jeanne said upon hearing her words.
Soon afterward, Ritsuka and Mash also left to continue their duties in Uruk.
Unfortunately, they still needed to prove their worth before Gilgamesh, and Arthur had no intention of interfering with that.
That was part of their growth.
For the first time that day, Arthur and Merlin were completely alone inside Chaldea's embassy.
"..."
"..."
Merlin lightly coughed.
Then elegantly stood up.
"...I'll prepare some tea."
Arthur silently watched her walk toward the kitchen.
A few minutes later, Merlin returned carrying two delicate cups.
Her smile looked refined beyond reason, elegant beyond reason, and simply suspicious beyond reason.
She handed one of the cups to Arthur and then—
"Oops."
As if it had happened completely by accident, Merlin ended up sitting directly on his lap.
"..."
Arthur blinked a few times.
Merlin, meanwhile, merely crossed her legs elegantly while holding her teacup, still sitting on his lap.
"...What a pleasant afternoon, don't you think?" she commented softly.
Then she adjusted her hair with an extremely calculated movement.
Her entire posture looked like it came straight out of an aristocratic painting.
A perfect sophisticated onee-san.
"..."
Arthur decided to accept it for now.
Mainly because the feeling of Merlin's ass on his lap was absurdly good.
"Uruk truly possesses a unique charm," Merlin casually commented while taking a sip of tea. "Though I still prefer Avalon."
"Hm."
"It's rare to have such a peaceful moment alongside an interesting man like you," she continued softly.
Arthur simply rested his face against his hand while watching her act.
Yes, that was definitely an act.
And an extremely forced one at that.
After several minutes enjoying that suspicious situation, Arthur finally cleared his throat.
"...Merlin."
"Hm~?"
"...Tell me, did you lose some kind of bet?"
"..."
Merlin remained completely motionless upon hearing the sudden question.
Her elegant smile froze for a few seconds.
Then she slowly looked away.
"...Yes."
Arthur stayed silent for a moment.
Then his shoulders started trembling.
"...Pfft."
Merlin immediately narrowed her eyes.
"...Don't laugh."
Unfortunately, her reaction only made things worse.
Arthur covered his face while finally bursting into laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Merlin puffed her cheeks slightly in irritation while maintaining her refined pose on his lap.
"...That's extremely rude."
"Sorry—" Arthur tried to speak between laughs.
"But your face when you admitted it was just too good," he completed while squeezing her cheek.
Even while laughing, he naturally slid one arm around her waist, pulling Merlin slightly closer against him.
She blinked lightly upon feeling the embrace but did not pull away.
In fact, she ended up relaxing slightly more on his lap while huffing.
"...I should've known you'd figure it out quickly."
"Because this kind of behavior definitely doesn't suit you," Arthur replied while still laughing softly. "So?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"What was the bet?"
Merlin avoided his gaze for a few seconds like someone clearly reconsidering all her life choices.
"...It was with Romani."
Arthur immediately raised an eyebrow.
"...Romani?"
"Yes."
Merlin took a small sip of tea before continuing with a resigned sigh.
"We had an argument over something extremely important."
"What kind of argument?"
"...Who could destabilize the other first."
"..."
Arthur remained silent for a few seconds.
"...That sounds exactly like the kind of stupid thing you two would do."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment, Merlin."
Merlin completely ignored that.
"So we decided to make a bet."
She elegantly adjusted her hair while trying to recover part of her dignity.
"If Romani lost..." Merlin calmly continued, "he would have to walk around Chaldea wearing diapers for two entire days."
"..."
Arthur froze upon hearing that, then slowly turned toward her.
"...Sorry, what?"
"Diapers," Merlin repeated serenely. "For two days."
"..."
"..."
Arthur started trembling again.
"Don't laugh," Merlin said.
The next instant—
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Arthur practically doubled over from laughing.
Even tears started appearing in the corners of his eyes.
"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF BET WAS THAT?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Merlin turned her face away with an irritated huff.
"...It was his idea."
"THAT MAKES IT EVEN WORSE! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Arthur simply could not stop laughing.
The mental image of Romani walking around Chaldea in diapers was simply too devastating.
"And how did you lose?" he asked while trying to catch his breath.
Merlin immediately fell silent.
"...Merlin."
"..."
"...Merlin."
She finally sighed dramatically.
"...I underestimated that man's destructive power when he's desperate."
Arthur started laughing again.
"And what was your punishment?"
Merlin closed her eyes, then spoke with as much dignity as possible:
"...If I lost, I would have to throw myself into the lion's mouth."
Arthur blinked.
"...What?" he asked, confused.
She slowly pointed at him.
"...You're the lion."
The silence lasted exactly two seconds.
Then Arthur exploded into even louder laughter than before.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Merlin immediately covered her face with one hand.
"...This is humiliating."
"No— wait—" Arthur tried speaking while laughing mercilessly. "So you're doing this entire act because you lost a bet to Romani?!"
"...Yes."
"And the punishment was literally coming here to seduce me?!"
"Basically."
Arthur was completely out of breath from laughing.
"This is hilarious!"
"..."
"My God, Romani is an evil genius."
Merlin immediately narrowed her eyes.
"...He's a degenerate coward."
"No, no," Arthur replied while trying to calm down. "He's just an idiot."
"Hm?"
Arthur was still smiling while holding her waist.
"Seriously, is Romani stupid?"
Merlin blinked several times.
"...What do you mean?"
Arthur looked directly at her with an amused expression.
"Why would he make a bet where the only punishment is you coming to sit on my lap while acting charming? I'm the only one winning here."
"..."
Merlin froze upon hearing that.
Arthur continued smiling.
"He could've demanded something way better for himself."
"..."
"..."
For the first time since the start of that conversation, Merlin truly had no response.
Then, slowly, her face began turning slightly red.
"..."
Arthur immediately noticed.
"Oho?"
"...Shut up."
"You only realized that now, didn't you?"
"..."
"Merlin."
"...Be quiet," she muttered while covering her face with both hands.
(End of Chapter)