Inside the room, as Shiomi carried Artoria back, Morgan and Scáthach shifted slightly to make space, allowing him to gently place the temporarily weakened Artoria onto the bedding.
"Honestly, you could hear that noise all the way through the stone walls," Scáthach murmured, wrapping her arms around Shiomi's shoulders from behind. "Good thing Gerda's room has been treated with soundproofing Magecraft."
Shiomi pulled the quilt over Artoria and spoke with conviction, "I knew Master would do exactly that, so I didn't waste any time."
"More pressing than that, my husband—have you decided how to handle the possibility that Touko Aozaki might have appeared in this Lostbelt?"
As Morgan spoke, she laid Shiomi down on the bed, cradling him between herself and Scáthach. The warmth immediately enveloped them.
"So you all noticed, huh?" Shiomi muttered. "I've already figured it out. Do I need to explain it again?"
"Not necessary," Scáthach replied. "I just need to remind my beloved disciple: if this information turns out to be false, be extremely cautious."
Her words struck Shiomi with a sudden realization.
What if someone had deliberately disguised themselves, leaving clues that resembled Touko Aozaki, luring them all the way to Skadi's castle? What if it really was Touko who appeared before Shiomi, but in reality, was some Servant—or even an Alien Apostle—disguised...?
"From that angle, it's a rather insidious scheme," Morgan said, her gaze dropping. "That child was merely an observer. What she told us must be what she saw firsthand. To me, it certainly wasn't a lie."
Shiomi's relationship with Touko was known only to his family; outsiders, including Marie and Romani, had no idea of the specifics.
But this time, they were facing an unseen alien god and those enigmatic extraterrestrial apostles. If any of their Servants had access to such information, orchestrating such a scheme wouldn't be out of the question.
Shiomi's expression grew increasingly serious as he pondered. Morgan couldn't hold back any longer and cupped his face, gently kneading it.
"Alright, alright. Scáthach and I were just offering a warning—worried that Artoria was too caught up in being affectionate with you to explain things fully," Morgan said, frowning with a wry smile. "If our words end up making you hesitant or fearful, that would defeat the purpose."
"No," Shiomi replied. "I'm just thinking—if this is truly a deception, what would the deceiver's purpose be?"
"What else could it be? To wipe us all out, of course," Scáthach said. "If we're eliminated in time, Chaldea becomes much easier to handle."
Of course, even with that, it didn't mean Storm Border was defenseless. Otherwise, Shiomi wouldn't have dared to go out investigating with just the three of them.
"And assuming this is a trap, the biggest issue is the uncontrollable variable," Morgan continued. "That variable is my husband."
If the Alien God had reached the level of omniscience and omnipotence, able to know Shiomi's every move, it would have been more efficient to launch a full-scale attack when Neo-Chaldea was still unstable, rather than trying to set up such a complex scheme with Alien Apostles.
Overly targeted conspiracies tend to be more difficult to control from start to finish.
After all, Gerda and the villagers hadn't even heard the name of that Touko-like figure before they saw her being taken away by Skadi's Envoy.
"Why are you all suddenly comforting and advising me? I thought you'd be angry." Shiomi pulled his arm free and wrapped it around both of them. "Or is it that, in your eyes, I'm actually a fragile, easily swayed person?"
"If it's a crisis facing the world, even if none of us are by your side and you have to face it alone…" Scáthach smiled slyly. "You wouldn't show the slightest panic—"
"But when it comes to an ex-lover, or even kindness directed at you personally, you become more easily flustered than Morgan, you're even more at a loss." She pressed further.
"Um…" Shiomi felt somewhat at a loss for a reply.
"Besides, why did my husband stop back then? Was it simply because he cared about Odin's prophecy and related matters, or—" Morgan's fingers traced Shiomi's jawline, her tone teasing yet dangerous. "Was it because the existence of the goddess Scáthach-Skadi softened your heart?"
Shiomi suddenly felt utterly defenseless.
"I—I can't say that either. I just… I just—"
"Don't put it so harshly, Queen of Winter." Scáthach suddenly changed the subject, deliberately defending him. "It was only because she saw an enemy who looked exactly like me, yet showed no clear hostility, that she refrained from killing Sigurd."
"As if you hold such sway over him." Morgan began to provoke Scáthach.
"It's actually quite true," Scáthach stated. "As long as I ask, and it's not unreasonable, my beloved disciple will agree to anything."
"Is that so?" Morgan began whispering to Shiomi.
"Regrettably, I truly can't bring myself to be ruthless when I see my master's face," Shiomi explained, narrowing his eyes.
Scáthach nodded repeatedly.
Back in Britannia, even knowing his master might have come to kill him to stop the war, Shiomi couldn't bring himself to fight. He only begged Scáthach for time to finish his task.
"You'll get hurt like this sooner or later," Morgan murmured indistinctly, her lips pressed against Shiomi's earlobe.
"That's precisely why we need to keep an eye on my beloved disciple—we can't let dubious women get close to him." Scáthach pondered thoughtfully. "I find Skadi's attitude toward you rather peculiar. There might be something intriguing in the prophecies Odin left behind."
"In Proper Human History, Skadi also holds the identity of the Scandinavian gods' bride," Morgan mused. "If Skadi in this Lostbelt, as the last Scandinavian god, never had the chance to marry—much like a certain queen of the Land of Shadows—then she could only fixate on my husband—"
"I suspect you're guilty of personal attacks, Queen of Winter," Scáthach remarked, sliding her hand toward Shiomi's inner thigh.
"Merely stating facts—how is that personal?" Morgan's hand roamed casually across Shiomi's chest.
"In any case, you wouldn't be suggesting... that this Lostbelt Odin left a prophecy before vanishing for Skadi—"
Shiomi's words trailed off abruptly.
His Achilles' heel had been seized, and he dared not speak further.
"We'll see when the time comes," Scáthach said.
Then, Shiomi was pinned down on the bed.
"A man born under heaven—how could he endure to live beneath others forever?"
He struggled to regain control, but his efforts proved futile.
...
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