Just as BB had said, the church located on SE.RA.PH's "leg" truly had become a combat-free zone.
While patrolling outside, Shiomi confirmed this for himself. The monsters—SE.RA.PH's hostile attack programs—never came within a dozen meters of the church.
At first, seeing those monsters in this digital world, he thought they were about to attack and got ready to fight.
But in the end, he'd been overthinking it.
Still, the Mooncell item BB had given him worked perfectly.
After a moment of hesitation, Shiomi, not wanting to be a burden, had made up his mind to use it.
His condition gradually returned to what it had been before the battle at the Temple of Time.
His Magic Circuits and physical abilities were both fully functional—just as he remembered.
Even so, Shiomi remained uneasy about BB's so-called "non-combat zone."
If the Beast was in the middle of its transformation, and SE.RA.PH was essentially its "feeding trough" or "pasture," then based on BB's intel, SE.RA.PH would eventually be fully assimilated into the Beast.
Chaldea couldn't offer any support, and their own mana perception wasn't enough to track changes across the entire Singularity.
"We'll just have to wait for BB to wake up," Shiomi muttered to himself, turning to head back toward the chapel—when the sound of the door creaking open stopped him.
He turned to see Scáthach stepping out from inside.
"Even if you're able to fight, going out alone without a Servant… was that how you operated during the Holy Grail War?" Scáthach asked.
"I didn't go far. Even if a fight broke out, you guys would get there right away," Shiomi replied, shaking his head.
"With no enemy Servants or attack programs nearby, isn't it boring out here alone?" Scáthach asked again.
"I just got my control over magic back—it's hard to sit still. I figured I'd at least scout the area a bit for everyone."
Shiomi smiled sheepishly.
He knew he was acting like a kid—his magic and circuits felt like a cherished toy that had just been fixed.
Even though he never really cared about being a Magus, regaining it all made him a little too excited.
"Besides, speaking of boredom… didn't you feel the same when you were alone in the Land of Shadows?" he added.
"Oh? You're going to throw that at me?" Scáthach chuckled, clearly surprised by his remark.
"So, did you come out here to call me back in?" he asked.
Scáthach shook her head. "I just came to check on you. And—I won at rock-paper-scissors."
"You're really pulling that move, huh," Shiomi said, mimicking her tone with a grin.
"Hmph..." Scáthach raised her hand and gave him a light chop on the head.
So light it was barely noticeable.
Which is why Shiomi could clearly sense the emotion behind the gesture.
"Master... are you disappointed? That all the years I spent in the Land of Shadows... had been planned out from the start?" Shiomi held her hand still pressed to his forehead, then gently wrapped his own hands around it.
Scáthach simply watched his movements in silence.
"Hard to say. Whether it was all by design—or just coincidence..."
Her voice trailed off, as if unsure how to continue.
"I've always felt truly lucky to be your disciple," Shiomi said sincerely, looking straight at Scáthach. "Though… I should also apologize. I always knew it wasn't just coincidence, but I kept pretending I didn't."
"That's not your fault. Don't shoulder responsibilities that don't belong to you," Scáthach sighed. "That kind of habit will only crush you under the weight, sooner or later."
"Yeah… I'll try," Shiomi replied with a faint laugh after a moment of pause.
"Out of all the disciples I've taught, you've stayed by my side the longest—and you're the only one who learned everything I had to give," she said with a soft smile. "But at the same time, you're also the only one whose fate I've never been able to see."
She'd foreseen the ultimate end of every disciple she'd trained. She knew from the start that none of it could be changed, which is why she simply watched over them from the Land of Shadows.
And because of that, the one fate she couldn't see brought her an entirely different kind of anxiety. Even after Shiomi left, she couldn't help but track his condition as best she could.
She didn't have Clairvoyance, so she couldn't see every detail—but knowing where he was and that he was safe was enough to ease her mind, if only a little.
"Maybe I accidentally overcame death, and turned into someone like you?" Shiomi offered, trying to lighten the mood.
Scáthach's gaze turned sharp. "I don't have the Authority you do. You've already become someone I can't even match."
"Didn't expect to hear you say something so gloomy, Master," Shiomi said in surprise.
"When I became immortal, everything about me froze. I stopped growing. But you… not only did you master everything I could teach, you've stepped into a realm I can't even touch."
She paused here, gently placing her other hand into Shiomi's, letting him hold them both together.
"—So feeling a little lonely is only natural."
Especially now, after finally confirming part of her beloved student's origins, it was unavoidable.
She'd tried to hide that feeling behind ambiguous words at dinner.
But in the end, she couldn't keep it from showing—and he'd picked up on it.
"Do you regret it, Master? Regret ever taking me in as your disciple?" Shiomi suddenly let go of her hands, pulled her gently into his arms, and whispered the question near her ear.
"You idiot disciple, don't ask questions with such obvious answers," Scáthach said, using a nickname she hadn't in a long time.
"Then say it. Even if we understand it inside, some things need to be spoken aloud—or they'll never feel whole," Shiomi insisted gently but firmly.
Scáthach felt his embrace tighten, as if he wanted to draw her completely into himself.
She let out a quiet sigh.
"No, I don't regret it. Having a disciple like you… even emotions dulled by time have become clear again."
Shiomi softly stroked her waterfall-like hair, carefully holding the weight of the emotions she entrusted to him.
"And I'm really glad, too—that you were my first woman."
"Why don't you say that in front of the others next time?"
"That'd start a war, wouldn't it?" Shiomi shivered.
"Then don't ruin the mood with dumb comments like that, you idiot disciple," Scáthach murmured as she rubbed his back.
"R-Right..."
...
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