The next morning, the first golden rays of sunlight slowly streamed through the bedroom windows.
Arthur opened his eyes lazily, and the first thing he saw was Atalanta completely naked beside him.
She was already awake.
Her long hair spread across the sheets, contrasting against her pale skin while those feline eyes silently watched him.
Slowly, a small smile appeared on her face.
"...You're finally awake." Atalanta murmured.
Arthur smiled faintly at that.
"Good morning to you too, Kitty."
She let out a quiet nasal laugh.
"You sleep way too heavily, you know that?"
"You spent the entire night using me as a pillow." Arthur replied calmly.
"...Hm."
She clearly didn't look regretful at all. On the contrary, Atalanta simply moved a few inches closer to him without the slightest embarrassment.
Arthur slowly raised a hand and stroked her hair.
"...I'm happy." he said softly.
Atalanta blinked a few times.
"Happy?"
"That you still want to stay by my side, after everything."
For a moment, she stayed silent before letting out a small amused laugh.
"...You really are a strange man."
"Hm?"
"You're probably the only man in the world capable of sounding genuinely happy saying something like that without seeming like a scumbag."
Arthur merely smiled at her words. Even though it sounded like criticism, he knew that wasn't really her intention.
Then he slowly slid his hand across her stomach.
"I still intend to do far more for you to make up for those stupid mistakes." he murmured.
Atalanta silently watched his hand.
"...Arthur."
"You broke the vow you made to Artemis and gave your chastity to me." He continued calmly.
Her feline ears twitched slightly.
Arthur then pulled her closer.
"So I'll honor that properly, Kitty."
Atalanta's eyes softened almost instantly when she heard those words.
She slightly looked away.
"...You really know how to say dangerous things."
"But I'm not lying, Kitty."
Arthur continued gently stroking her stomach.
"Besides..." he murmured. "I know your desire very well."
Atalanta remained silent for a few seconds.
Then a small smile appeared on her face.
"...Children." she answered quietly.
Arthur nodded while his fingers slowly slid along her waist as he spoke.
"You want a family."
Atalanta closed her eyes for a moment.
"...Nothing in this world would make me happier than that."
Her voice sounded incredibly honest.
Arthur smiled softly and hugged her closer.
Atalanta immediately snuggled against his chest.
Her feline tail slowly swayed behind her.
"...Even though you're a hopeless scumbag..." she murmured quietly. "I'm willing to continue staying by your side."
Arthur chuckled softly.
"What an honor."
Then he leaned slightly forward and nibbled on her ear.
"Nn?!"
Atalanta immediately trembled.
A small shiver ran through her body while her feline ears twitched violently.
"...S-Stop that, Arthur."
Arthur merely continued teasing her ear slowly.
Then—
"Rrnnn..."
A low purr involuntarily escaped from her chest.
Silence filled the room.
"..."
"..."
Atalanta froze the moment she realized what she had just done.
Arthur slowly raised an eyebrow.
"...Did you just purr?" Arthur asked.
"...That didn't happen." She answered immediately.
"It definitely did." Arthur smiled.
"...It was just the wind."
Arthur was already starting to laugh at her terrible excuse.
But then Atalanta started quietly muttering something under her breath.
"Hm?" Arthur tilted his head slightly. "What did you say?"
She slowly opened her eyes.
Then stared directly at Arthur.
"...You know, hearing you mention the goddess Artemis to me sounds like a joke."
Arthur blinked a few times.
"...What?"
His expression became genuinely confused.
"...What do you mean?"
Atalanta stared at him silently for a few seconds.
Then her expression slowly became completely blank.
"...So you really don't remember."
"Hm?"
She let out a small tired sigh.
"...Fine." Atalanta murmured. "I'll refresh your memory."
---xXx---
Third Singularity - Okeanos.
Atalanta still remembered that period perfectly.
At the time, she and David had just joined the group.
And unfortunately, that also meant meeting Orion.
"...That bastard was worse than you." Atalanta commented dryly.
Arthur immediately looked offended.
"That's impossible, Kitty."
"No, it isn't." She replied without hesitating for even a second.
Atalanta could still perfectly remember the first time Orion appeared aboard Francis Drake's ship.
The tiny whining bear while Artemis appeared behind him.
"ORIOOOOON!!"
The goddess practically launched herself at him immediately.
"You were staring at another woman again, weren't you?!"
"N-No I wasn't, Artemis! I swear on my masculinity!" the little bear replied.
"Then why were you staring at that woman's breasts?!"
"It was reflex! Natural male reflex!"
"..."
Atalanta still remembered the absolute silence that took over the deck at that moment.
Especially the look Arthur gave Orion.
An extremely cold look.
"..." Back then, Arthur merely narrowed his eyes slowly.
Because from the very instant Orion appeared on the ship, the damned bear wouldn't stop throwing perverted glances at every woman in the group.
Francis Drake.
Mash.
Ritsuka.
Practically every woman on the ship except Artemis herself.
Every time that happened, Arthur looked at Orion like someone contemplating whether or not to kill an insect.
"...Your disgusting stare is irritating me." Arthur said coldly back then.
Orion immediately pointed at himself.
"ME?!"
"Yes, you."
"HEY! I'M A HEALTHY MAN!"
"You're trash."
"THAT WAS PERSONAL!"
Atalanta slowly massaged her forehead as she remembered that.
"...You looked like you were about to kill him several times."
Arthur stayed silent for a few seconds.
"...Now that you mention it... I really did almost kill that stuffed bear a few times..." he murmured slowly.
The memories gradually started returning.
"...Ah."
Atalanta narrowed her eyes.
"Starting to remember?"
Arthur placed a hand over his face.
"...Wait."
More fragments began surfacing in his mind.
The sound of Orion crying on the ship's deck while Artemis tried clinging to him, and Drake laughing loudly in the background.
And then Arthur's eyes slowly widened.
"...Oh no."
"...Oh yes." Atalanta replied.
She still remembered perfectly what happened afterward.
One fine day, she simply woke up in the morning hearing another commotion on the ship's deck.
And discovered that something absolutely impossible had happened.
"...You somehow took the virginity of the virgin goddess." Atalanta said emotionlessly.
Arthur immediately covered his face.
"...Oh my God Bruh."
"And even worse."
Atalanta continued staring directly into his eyes.
"Somehow, mysteriously, you literally stole all the obsessive love she felt for Orion and made that goddess redirect all of it toward you."
"..."
"..."
Arthur looked completely bewildered.
At first, he honestly didn't even understand what she was talking about.
But as Atalanta continued narrating, the memories became clearer and clearer.
Until he finally remembered why he had done that.
Then his face slowly became empty.
Atalanta immediately noticed the shift in his expression.
"...You remembered?"
Arthur remained completely silent for a few seconds.
"...It was because of dango." Arthur replied while covering his face.
"..."
Atalanta stared at him expressionlessly.
"...What?"
Arthur slowly looked away.
"...Artemis had gotten an absurd amount of dango."
---xXx---
Flashback.
Artemis happily carried a massive box of dango while walking around the ship.
"Fufu~ Orion, look how many I got!"
"OOOOH! Dango!"
"But you can't eat too many! They're special!"
Arthur honestly wasn't even paying attention to the conversation at the time since he was flirting with Drake.
Until Orion appeared crying a few minutes later.
"ARTHUUUUR!!"
"...What is it now, you damned stuffed animal?"
"Artemis is mad at me!"
"Congratulations for the thousandth time, you have a talent for that."
"HELP ME!"
Arthur sighed deeply and asked without even looking at him.
"...What did you do this time?"
Orion immediately looked away.
"..."
"...Orion."
"..."
"...Orion."
"I ACCIDENTALLY ATE ALL HER DANGO!"
"..."
Silence took over the ship as Arthur slowly turned his face toward him.
"...You did what?"
"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!"
From the other side of the ship—
"ORIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!"
Artemis' fury exploded violently.
Even Drake got startled.
"OH SHIT."
Orion immediately clung to Arthur's leg.
"SAVE ME!!"
"Get off me, you miserable bear." Arthur kicked him away.
Arthur still remembered perfectly what happened afterward.
Orion in absolute panic trying to hide behind every woman in the group while Artemis lost her mind over the stolen dango.
And then the damned bear had the brilliant idea of trying to shift the blame onto him.
"ARTHUR TOLD ME TO EAT THEM!"
"..."
Arthur slowly turned toward Orion while an enraged Artemis approached him.
"...You son of a bitch."
Orion immediately pointed desperately.
"I DON'T WANNA DIE!"
Arthur could still remember perfectly what he thought at that moment.
'Okay.'
'I'm going to steal your woman and give you a taste of true NTR.'
---xXx---
Silence filled the room.
Atalanta watched Arthur with a completely dead expression.
"...So you completely destroyed their relationship because of dango."
"It wasn't just because of the dango!" Arthur immediately protested.
"..."
"He tried to use me as a human shield and ruin my good reputation with women!"
"..."
"..."
Atalanta slowly placed a hand over her face.
"...You men are idiots."
Arthur coughed awkwardly.
"...To be fair, I didn't expect flirting with Artemis to actually work."
"But somehow it did." Atalanta sighed.
"...It did."
Atalanta sighed deeply once more.
Arthur then became thoughtful for a few seconds.
"...Now I understand."
"Hm?"
"When I was summoned into this era..." Arthur murmured. "I felt some kind of strange interference in my Saint Graph."
Atalanta slightly raised an eyebrow.
"...Interference?"
Arthur nodded slowly.
"It was probably Artemis trying to forcibly establish a connection with me so she could be summoned too."
Atalanta immediately looked like she completely believed that was possible.
Because honestly, it sounded exactly like that obsessively affectionate goddess.
Arthur then stayed silent for a few seconds before laughing awkwardly.
"...The last thing I heard from Orion was genuine gratitude."
"..."
Atalanta slowly closed her eyes.
"...Of course it was."
Arthur rested his face on one hand while sighing.
"...He sounded sincerely relieved."
After Artemis redirected her obsessive love toward Arthur, Orion had finally been able to sleep peacefully.
Which probably turned Arthur into that man's greatest enemy.
And simultaneously his savior.
BOOOOOOOM!!
The bedroom door exploded inward from a violent kick.
"IF YOU TWO KEEP UP THIS SAPPY SHIT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING I'M GONNA THROW UP!"
Jeanne entered the room with a huge grin on her face.
"...It's already past time for you bastards to wake u—"
FWOOOSH!!
A pillow shot across the room like an ultra-speed projectile.
"GAH?!"
THUD!!
The pillow hit Jeanne's face with so much force it left a perfect red mark.
The entire room fell silent as the pillow slowly dropped onto the floor.
Then Jeanne saw Atalanta completely naked, standing on top of the bed with her bow already partially drawn in her hand.
Her eyes gleamed dangerously.
"...It still wasn't your turn." Atalanta said slowly.
Her killing intent started rising as her voice became colder and colder.
"You had no right to interrupt us."
"...I don't care." Jeanne replied as a grin spread across her face.
A vein immediately bulged on Atalanta's forehead.
"...You bitch."
"Gonna cry, kitty?"
Atalanta's patience died that exact instant.
"I'M GONNA TURN YOU INTO A PINCUSHION, YOU BURNT SCARECROW!"
"COME TRY IT, STRAY CAT!"
Arthur silently watched the two arguing for a few seconds.
Then sighed deeply while rubbing his face.
"...Can you two calm down a little?"
Both of them immediately turned toward him.
"SHUT UP!!"
"..."
Arthur fell silent.
Then slowly looked toward the ceiling.
"...I should've just stayed asleep."
(End of Chapter)