Olga Marie watched Adam summon yet another Servant—and once again it was a Divine Spirit. She began counting on her fingers.
Four of them now.
She was completely numb to it.
"This is insane!" she muttered. "If this were a Holy Grail War, one single Master would have more Servants than half the other participants combined—and every single one of them is ridiculously overpowered!"
Adam had already finished explaining the current situation to Scáthach-Skadi. She nodded thoughtfully and turned her gaze toward Cú Chulainn.
Right now the man was still standing ramrod straight, eyes completely unfocused, looking as if he had shut down entirely—like a certain perfect creature that had simply left the planet behind.
Scáthach-Skadi frowned. Something was different. The faint trace of Odin she had sensed earlier was gone.
She pointed at him and told Adam, "Something feels off. The aura that resembled Odin has completely vanished."
Adam stepped closer. Cú Chulainn no longer looked merely stunned—he seemed more like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Adam waved a hand in front of his eyes. No reaction whatsoever.
Odin had already withdrawn. Once he confirmed Adam's identity as someone from a more advanced parallel timeline, he had no further reason to stay. He simply released control of the body.
There was absolutely no other reason. None at all.
Adam scratched the back of his head and gave Scáthach-Skadi an apologetic look.
"Sorry about that, Skadi."
Scáthach-Skadi brushed the purple hair away from her face, tilting her head in confusion.
"Why are you apologizing, Master?"
Adam remembered that shortly after she arrived at Chaldea she had mentioned wanting to ask Odin something. Unfortunately, the All-Father had fled the moment things got complicated.
"Weren't there some things you wanted to ask Odin?"
"Huh?"
Scáthach-Skadi blinked, momentarily lost. She had become so happy in her current life that the matter had completely slipped her mind. What exactly had she wanted to ask?
Then it came back to her.
Her eyes slowly lost focus as the memories resurfaced. She murmured softly, "Ah… that."
Her life now was so fulfilling that those crushing memories had nearly faded. She thought back to her time in the Lostbelt—three thousand long years after Ragnarok, in a world where the gods had perished and nothing could be saved.
She had wanted to ask Odin why he hadn't simply let her die. Why he had forced her to keep living in that burned-out twilight of the gods.
For three thousand years—even for a god—the emotional erosion had been devastating. She had come to see the humans and Valkyries of that Lostbelt as her own children. She loved them deeply. Yet she had been forced to kill them again and again, never allowing them to resist or even to think.
In a world without an underworld, she had taken countless lives. Even though there had been no other choice, she could never forgive herself. She hated that version of herself with every fiber of her being.
It had been too painful. If she could have chosen, she would never have wanted to bear such a burden. If she had simply died along with the rest, none of it would have happened.
That was why she had wanted to ask Odin—why had he made her live through all that suffering?
But now… none of it mattered anymore.
Someone had already untied the knots in her heart.
Scáthach-Skadi was happy. Most of that happiness came from Adam's patient efforts. Knowing her past well, he had spent a great deal of time and care gently guiding her through her trauma.
The results had been worth every moment. She no longer sank into depression over her past. She was ready to embrace the present and look forward to the future at Chaldea.
She had finally found where she belonged.
As those thoughts filled her mind, Scáthach-Skadi looked at Adam. Time seemed to stop. In her eyes, only he existed.
Adam noticed the way she was staring at him. It wasn't the usual gaze that made his back ache with tension. This one was pure—clear and transparent like the gems in her eyes.
For some reason it filled him with a strange sense of peace.
Still, he was a little confused.
"What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?"
Had he done anything special? Why was she suddenly looking at him like this?
And the air between them… it definitely smelled like romance.
Scáthach-Skadi continued gazing at the bewildered Adam with soft, affectionate eyes. A faint blush colored her cheeks as she smiled like a young maiden in full bloom.
"It's nothing. I just remembered some wonderful things."
Adam still looked puzzled.
"Really? What kind of memory could make you smile like that?"
He glanced at the emotion value system.
[Scáthach-Skadi Emotion Value +10]
[Scáthach-Skadi Emotion Value +10]
[Scáthach-Skadi Emotion Value +10]
...
Just what kind of memories could excite her this much? What exactly was she thinking about? Why were the values skyrocketing?
Scáthach-Skadi wanted to pour everything out, but the words caught in her throat. Saying her feelings directly was still far too embarrassing.
She looked away, unable to meet his eyes, her voice slightly flustered.
"N-no, it's nothing… Forget I said anything."
The way she panicked was adorable beyond words in Adam's eyes.
Even though she couldn't voice her feelings out loud, it didn't matter.
One of Adam's favorite pastimes was teasing tsunderes. The best way to handle them was to be straightforward.
He looked straight into Scáthach-Skadi's eyes with the same tender gaze she had given him.
"Skadi, you're still incredibly cute today."
Scáthach-Skadi instinctively fanned her burning cheeks with her hand.
"C-cute… isn't really a word that suits me."
Despite her words, the smile on her face refused to fade.
She had always disliked feeling hot.
Yet right now she found herself quite fond of this warmth.
Just then Cú Chulainn suddenly snapped back to awareness, as if someone had logged back into the account.
The first thing he saw when his eyes opened was his beloved Shishou gazing at Adam with pure affection.
What the hell?!
Is my master actually in love?!?!
***
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