I let her shoulder rest against mine and shifted my focus to my own bar. Taking another bite, I kept my expression unchanged.
Artoria kept her attention on her bar, but she caught my actions from the corner of her eye and froze.
"Master... How can you eat this with such composure? Do you not find it repulsive?" She asked, grip tight around her own bar, having forced down more than half of it through sheer stubbornness.
"Or perhaps... you actually enjoy it?" Her eyebrow arched, voice rising in incredulity.
"I don't. It's disgusting." My reply was instantaneous.
Artoria's eyes tracked my hand as I took another bite. Her lips twitched slightly at the dissonance between my words and actions.
"If you say so, Master." She turned her attention back to what remained of her bar. Raising a hand to pinch her nose, she took a deep breath, then bit into it again, her teeth sinking in with force.
We ate together for some time, the rising sun casting a pale light over us and our surroundings.
A tranquil silence settled between us as we remained on the bench, taking our time to finish the energy bars.
Within minutes, I finished my bar, crumpling its wrapper in my palm. Artoria took a little longer but finished hers as well.
Without a word, I took the wrapper from her grasp, crushed it with mine, and tossed them both toward a nearby trash can without looking. Those crumpled wrappers arced through the air and dropped cleanly inside.
Throughout it all, the weight of her shoulder remained firmly pressed against mine.
Sunlight hit my face, prickling my skin with an unfamiliar warmth. However, the intense stares from passersby, especially women, on my partially exposed shoulder and chest made Artoria shift in her place.
"Master, you require a new set of clothes." Artoria stated, moving her shoulder ahead of mine to physically block their view of my skin.
I turned my gaze to her hair, noticing the mud stuck between her golden locks, and replied.
"And you need a bath."
She tilted her head at me, her hands still resting calmly on her thighs. Instead of answering verbally, I raised a finger and pointed to the exact spot on my own head that mirrored the mud in her hair.
Artoria raised two fingers to that spot and pinched it. Then, lowering her hand, she eyed her fingertips with scrutiny.
A dab of mud clung to her fingertips. She rolled it between her fingers and gave a curt nod.
"It would seem neither of us is presently fit for public." She concluded. Her voice was composed, though a slight twitch of her brow betrayed her irritation at all the attention I was getting.
"Let's go, Master. We need to check on the others as well." She was on her feet before those words had fully left her mouth.
I remained seated for a moment longer, taking in the rising sun one last time.
Artoria tugged on my torn sleeve, her gaze sweeping over a small crowd beginning to gather near our bench.
I stood and followed as she led the way.
"Artoria."
"Hm?" She looked back, her grip tightening on my sleeve.
"You are taking us the wrong way. Our house is in the opposite direction."
My words made her shoulders go rigid. Her face flushed red as she brought a hand to her mouth and coughed deliberately.
"Ahem... As a dutiful knight, I was simply checking whether you remembered the directions, Master. We can't have you forgetting something as vital as that."
She didn't wait for my reply, turning on her heel and dragging me down the opposite path. I let her lead for a few steps and opened my mouth, expression calm.
"You're going in the wrong direction again."
Artoria halted in place, looking back at me with a blank expression.
"The fastest path is going down through that subway station and coming out from its other exit." I pointed at a subway entrance at the corner of the road ahead of her.
Her hand slipped from my sleeve to my hand, grip turning crushing.
Had she held any other human with this much force, their palm bones would have fractured by now.
Artoria altered her direction toward that subway and resumed walking, making me trail behind her.
The people in our surroundings parted to create space for us, especially at the sight of a man with long hair being dragged along by a small blonde girl with mud in her hair.
...
..
.
Home.
Artoria walked inside with a click from the front door opening inward. I walked in right behind her.
The sound of a pair of footsteps resounded in my ears. Purple-blue hair flashed first in my vision, then came two pointy ears, and finally a relieved face became visible.
Artoria looked ahead and, in a moment of rare courtesy after all they had been through, stiffly extended her hand toward Medea for a handshake.
"You appear unharmed. I am glad."
Medea ignored those words and walked forward, passing her by without acknowledgement. She lunged at me instead, her arms wrapping around my waist, prompting me to take a step back to balance myself.
Artoria's arm hung awkwardly in the air, fingers still extended for the handshake that never came. She curled them inward slowly, one finger at a time, until her hand formed a loose fist.
"Master! I was so worried about you, and I'm glad you're safe." Medea said while burying her face in my chest, rubbing her cheek there.
A moment later, she pulled her face back and glanced at Artoria's fist, then to the mud still clinging to her golden hair.
"Saber." Medea's voice softened with faux sympathy. "You have mud in your hair. Quite a lot, actually. Did you lose a duel with a puddle?"
Artoria's jaw tightened.
"The terrain within Ryuudou Temple was unfavorable. A trivial matter."
Medea turned to me.
"Look, Master." She tsked softly, eyeing my torn shirt. "Saber dragged you all the way home looking like this? You require new clothes, yet you stand here—still in rags." Her fingers traced the torn cloth at my shoulder with pity. "What kind of knight fails to provide for her own Master's basic needs? One might question her suitability as your Servant."
She put a finger to her chin, eyes drifting toward Artoria with a small smile.
"Oh—I forgot. Saber is penniless. How could she possibly buy you new clothes?"
Artoria's eye twitched.
"Will you never cease your attempts to sow discord between Master and myself?" Excalibur materialized in her grip, its golden edge catching light from a nearby window.
"Why would I?" Medea stepped forward, violet magic circles rotating to life across her arms. "Master does not need any Servant other than me now that the war is over."
Her smile sharpened. "Come, Saber. Let us finally decide who is Master's favorite—once and for all."
She brought her arm toward Artoria.
"If you insist." Artoria shifted her stance, Excalibur's tip pointed at those violet magic circles.
Medea's magic circles flashed.
Artoria bent her front foot.
They moved simultaneously—
I moved faster.
One finger against Medea's magic circles, halting their movement. The other against Excalibur's tip, stopping it cold.
Both Servants froze.
I glanced at Medea. Then Artoria.
"From now on, both of you cook your own food."
Medea's face went pale. Her circles shattered into fading sparks.
Artoria took an unsteady step back, Excalibur dissolving from her grip.
They looked at each other. Then at me.
"NO!"
...
..
.
***
[200 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
[5 chapters ahead on P@tr3on = [email protected]/Not_Aaryan]
...
[Authors Thoughts]
I've got you all.
Take care.