Otherwise, you can find another savior.

Page 332

The air in the room grew tense again, and Sakura's fighting spirit rekindled:

"I reissue the duel challenge, betting the throne called 'Sister' on it, and I challenge you, Bavan Shi."

Bawan Shih turned around gracefully, adjusted her glasses, and the lenses reflected a sharp light: "Of course, I accept the challenge no matter how many times, Sakura. Whether as the rightful successor to the British Witch or as her older sister."

"Really... it's not settled yet, you're not allowed to call yourself 'older sister' without permission!" Sakura protested.

Shiomi really wanted to tease her about how old she was, but then she thought about it and realized that Bawan Xi was even older, yet she seemed just as enthusiastic as Sakura.

“I think I understand why you were hiding outside, my wife.” As she was being led to the spectator stands, Shiomi whispered to Morgan, “It would have been better to let me fight the Beast God's Remains alone…”

"Let us witness this together, my husband!"

As a result, Morgan suddenly got excited and became just as enthusiastic as everyone else.

Even though the air conditioning in the room was cool enough, Shiomi was still sweating profusely.

Chapter Three: Late Night Snack Time

Standing on a blank Earth, Chaldea observed a completely new fact: the planet no longer distinguished between day and night.

Moving westward from what was once Russian territory, Storm Border deliberately avoided submerged navigation, instead boldly traversing the blank skies above the landmass towards the Wandering Sea.

The sky remained unchanged throughout this period, maintaining its clear blue color. The outside air was still composed of substances suitable for human respiration, and the temperature remained comfortable for human survival.

Despite being close to the Arctic Circle, it still has the warmth of late spring and early summer.

Even in terms of time, it is indeed May, just before the start of summer.

Without day and night, the biological clock that relies on day and night for rest would be unconsciously disrupted. Therefore, StormBorder uses an atomic clock installed on board to calculate the time and turns off the lights and blocks out the light at night so that the crew can get proper rest.

Aside from the personnel who need to be on duty on the bridge, only Nemo and his crew, who are responsible for the core of Storm Border—the Noble Phantasm Nautilus Battleship—are often awake.

"What are you doing, my husband?"

In the ship's kitchen, Morgan suddenly spoke up, asking Shiomi, who was behind the kitchen counter.

He was leaning against the kitchen counter, holding a bowl in his hand, eating by himself.

"Ah...it's nothing, I'm just a little hungry." Shio paused for a moment, slowed her chewing, and answered Morgan vaguely, "I spoke to Nemo, who's in charge of the kitchen, and he said I could use the kitchen."

“No, I mean… it’s rest time now, and you don’t have to be on duty today, right?” Morgan said, her hands behind her back, as she casually approached the kitchen counter. “When I opened my eyes, I found an empty spot on the bed, with only the two of them there. I thought something unexpected had happened.”

Shio couldn't help but chuckle: "To be honest, it really was an unexpected event, because I was hungry and quietly got up to have a midnight snack."

"Oh? To be able to leave the room and come outside without us noticing, my husband's skills are getting more and more impressive." Morgan walked around the kitchen counter and walked up to Shio to tease her.

“I didn’t just live for six thousand years for no reason,” tide Jian said, swallowing her food. “I should have made some progress.”

In the end, the biggest impact of his long years in the Fairy Kingdom was the accumulation of his strength, even though his family and companions in Chaldea felt somewhat unfamiliar upon their reunion.

However, he did not feel that his state of mind had changed much as a result.

This was also Romani's assessment of him. He had thought that Shiomi would become someone everyone found unfamiliar, but his spirit seemed to remain unchanged.

When lifespan is extended to the extreme, one's mental state also changes, becoming more stable and robust.

“But then again, it’s because you think you don’t need to pay attention to your surroundings when you’re asleep that you do this,” tide Jian added.

After all, Morgan, her master, and Artoria are all the type who can wake up instantly if there is even the slightest danger in their sleep.

The reason they were able to let their guard down and sleep peacefully was twofold: firstly, Shio was by their side, and secondly, Storm Border was indeed safe.

Despite their high-profile actions, neither the Hidden Ones nor the Alien Apostles dared to launch a surprise attack.

“That’s true.” Morgan elegantly covered her mouth and yawned. “Now that I’ve found you, I won’t disturb my husband’s precious late-night snack time any longer. I’ll head back to my room first—”

"Since we're here, why don't we eat something together?" tide Jian asked. "Eating alone is so boring."

“No wonder you didn’t go to the dining table, but ate at the kitchen counter.” Morgan looked at him with amusement.

This person is still so casual.

During his pilgrimage, whenever they ate together, he always took meticulous care of everything from beginning to end. Even if it was just a picnic, he would always make sure everyone sat down properly and ate a meal together.

But if he's eating by himself, he'll eat while he's cooking.

I thought that after ruling Lontinion, Shiomi would have some sense of being a queen.

"I'll try it, I'm not hungry anyway."

Morgan brushed her hair aside, opened her mouth and leaned closer, and tide Jian naturally fed her a bite of food.

This is a very common stir-fried vegetable dish, a typical home-style cooking method of Shio, with a refreshing taste, perfect as a late-night snack.

"how?"

"What else can I say? It's as delicious as ever, and I can't think of any better compliments." Morgan smiled gently, her gaze suddenly becoming distant. "It just suddenly reminded me of the past."

“Habetrothal and Bavan Shi are both on the ship. You can call them over and have another nighttime chat,” Shiomi said with a smile.

“Never mind, Habertrot is probably fast asleep right now,” Morgan shook his head. “As for Bavan Shi…”

Although she was aware of the situation, she had no real memories of the pilgrimage period, or of the present-day Bawan Shi, except for her time as a princess after that.

"Then let it go." tide Jian smiled and said, "Yesterday is gone, today must not be forgotten, and tomorrow is still possible."

“Well said.” Morgan clapped silently.

In the dimly lit cafeteria, only the kitchen counter was lit, somewhat like certain moments at home before the crisis in pan-human history.

“I remember you ate quite a lot for dinner, so why were you suddenly hungry in the middle of the night?” Morgan asked again.

"...You still ask..." tide Jian choked abruptly, "I'm almost drained dry by you guys."

Life on the ship was nothing short of a night of revelry.

In addition, the past few days have been spent on slow cruising, while also investigating the state of a blank Earth, keeping me busy day and night.

"Really?" Morgan reached out and pinched his waist suggestively. "Take it easy for a few days afterward?"

"No need for that, I was just kidding," tide Jian quickly added.

After all, his hunger in the middle of the night had nothing to do with his private life.

"Are you really going to just make do here?" Morgan leaned against the kitchen counter, waiting quietly.

She planned to wait until he finished eating, then accompany him back to his room.

"We can clean up the kitchen right away after we finish eating, it saves so much trouble." tide Jian said quite proudly, "You don't usually need to do housework, you would never think of such a life hack, right?"

“I considered doing it, but you took it all on yourself.” Morgan frowned. “Now that I think about it, you quite like taking on everything, getting everything done for others, like sealing away the Calamity and the Naraku Worm…”

Even Morgan didn't know what the remains of the Beast God were suppressing until the very end.

“One thing at a time. If you want to complain about me, I think it’s understandable.” tide Jian stirred the food in her bowl, mixing it together.

"Even if I have to blame you, it's only because you almost made me lose you."

Morgan spoke softly in a low voice, then suddenly hugged Shiomi and asked for a kiss that smelled a bit like food.

Then, the two of them laughed together.

Chapter Four: Sleepless Night

"Oh, so you just sneaked out for a late-night snack. Could this also be considered 'cheating' in some sense?"

In the middle of the night, Shiomi returned to the room with Morgan and found that his master and Artoria had both woken up, so he simply explained the situation.

"What's this about stealing food?" tide Jian poured herself a glass of water and complained as she drank. "Master does the same thing. When it's just the two of us in the office, he'll sneak under the desk while I'm organizing documents and reports."

“Anyway, you can handle that yourself, so naturally I want to find something fun to pass the time.” Scáthach pinched Shiomi’s cheek without any politeness. “Aren’t you enjoying it yourself?”

"Ouch, ouch, ouch... Master is absolutely right..." Xi Jian muttered while begging for mercy, "Besides, you're all awake now, so wouldn't it be a waste if I tried to sneak out quietly to get some late-night snacks and then sneak back?"

“Since we’re both awake, it wouldn’t hurt to chat for a bit.” Morgan wrapped his arms around Shio’s neck from behind and rested his face on Shio’s shoulder. “Maybe we’ll fall asleep while we’re talking.”

The room was lit only by a dim, somewhat ambiguous nightlight.

"Could it be... that what you mean by 'chatting' is going to be about this kind of topic?" Artoria's excellent intuition allowed her to quickly discern the content of their upcoming nighttime conversation.

It's not that it's impossible, but it's a bit too much... a challenge to her personal character.

After all, in public, Shiomi respected everything about Artoria more than anyone else, and never made anyone feel that she was being "desecrated" by him.

My sword is with you, and your fate is intertwined with mine.

This is the vow that Artoria made to Shiomi.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to talk about it.” Morgan stared at Artoria slyly. “Although my husband respects you very much, even when you went to see him alone in Lentinion, he didn’t do anything to embarrass you, did he?”

"Are you trying to say that in Tianxi's eyes, I am actually an unattractive woman?" Artoria sensed the hidden meaning in his words.

“No, not at all.” Morgan waved his hand. “But what happened after that? After returning here, has my husband done anything unusual except at night when we're alone?”

tide Jian slightly shifted her gaze: "That's not the case. When food is in front of you, you can't just not eat it."

"Hmm..." Artoria held one of his hands and responded with a muffled sound.

When she went to Shiomi's magic workshop, she flirted with him for a few moments, and her clothes loosened. Even when she left with the tools made by the magic workshop, her face was still red.

Moreover, that was the first time she had ever been picked up by one person.

“Really, just like a wild beast in heat. As a child acknowledged by Tiamat, it seems my beloved disciple is quite the Beast.” Scáthach sarcastically remarked, “As for the reason behind it, let’s just say it’s ‘breeding’.”

"Is this the same thing..." Shiomi stepped forward to meet the criticism, trying to refute it.

"As a human qualified to ascend to the throne of God, yet your mind is filled only with carnal desires, that's the 'beastly nature' of my husband, the Beast." Morgan's hand moved from behind to Shiomi's chest, teasingly roaming over her. "Goddess of the Holy Lance, do you feel the same way?"

Facing Shiomi's pleading gaze, Artoria decisively ignored it, reverting to her long-absent expression as the Lion King:

"That's true."

"..."

Since their jokes were based on facts, tide Jian was unable to refute them and could only remain silent, watching the three of them laugh one after another.

tide Jian was surrounded by them, all in a mess on the bed. He simply shut his mouth and let them complain, while his hands freely took advantage of the situation.

Since we've already become "beasts," we might as well be even more beastly, so we don't get tricked for nothing.

Then, Shiomi discovers that her senses other than touch have been blocked by magic.

It's a rather simple sensory interference magic trick; if necessary, Shiomi could undo it with just a thought.

"Huh? What's going on now?"

Before he could finish speaking, the three of them kissed him one after another.

Then, the magic trick dissipated on its own; it was the very short kind.

"Can you tell who kissed you first?" Morgan cupped her face, which was resting on her lap, and leaned down to ask. "If you answer wrong, you'll be sleeping on the floor tonight."

“No wonder it’s like this.” tide Jian understood. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Maybe I should just answer wrong and sleep on the floor.”

Scáthach's ruby-like eyes stared straight at him: "In that case, I do have a way to make my beloved student regret deliberately answering this quiz wrong."

Then, he felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

It seems that some of his "fear" of his master is ingrained in his very bones.

"Alright, alright, I won't mess around anymore." Shiomi raised her finger and swept it across Scáthach, Morgan, and Artoria in turn. "This is the order, right? Don't think that just because you've blocked four of the five senses, I won't know."

"Putting aside right and wrong, tell me the basis for your judgment?" Scáthach used the hair hanging down her chest as a beard to tease Shiomi's nose, making him feel both itchy and comfortable.

Shiomi smiled easily:

"What else could it be? It's just a matter of personal habits. Master is always more aggressive, while Artoria is clearly not good at taking the initiative. As for Morgan, it's because she unconsciously reveals the feelings that have accumulated over time."

His words easily silenced the three of them.

It was obvious that his answer was completely correct.

"A mere disciple, yet so arrogant." Scáthach kept her eyes closed, clearly not expecting this level of arrogance; her smiling eyes revealed her current emotions.

"Well……"

Artoria pressed her lips slightly. She thought back and realized that it was always Shiomi who took the initiative; all she had to do was decide whether to accept or not.

"It's amazing that you can perceive emotional things," Morgan said thoughtfully. "I didn't even realize when it started to become like this."

"I don't know either, I just suddenly realized it."

tide Jian sat up and greedily embraced the three of them, pressing her face close to theirs.

“I am very happy and grateful that you have always been by my side,” he said sincerely.

He was also held tightly by the three of them, and his silent reply reached Xijian as well.