In the end, as a member of the Special Forces assigned to search for the Proper Human History Servant vanguard, Artoria left the God-Shattering Alliance's underground base on her own as soon as Aphrodite was shot down and raced toward the battlefield.
And yet she still arrived the latest. By the time she got there, Storm Border, which had set out from the western forest region after confirming there were no longer any large-scale threats in Olympus, had practically arrived right behind her to rendezvous with Shiomi and the others.
After hearing the Knights of the Round Table's report, Artoria felt even more unwilling to let it go. So while Shiomi lay exhausted and resting, she stayed by his bedside the whole time, keeping watch over him.
"In my opinion, you don't need to take this so hard," Morgan said, curled up on the sofa with a nutrient drink in hand, speaking to Artoria as she sat by the bed watching Shiomi. "Even if you'd been there, you wouldn't have been able to help."
"I know. Whether it was Demeter or Aphrodite, among those hostile gods, only Tenkei could deal with them," Artoria said, fully aware of that. "But Beast targeted him when he was in poor condition after the fight and tried to ambush him, and I still couldn't make it in time."
"We're not much different," Scáthach said, shaking her head. "From the look of it, if Orion and the others hadn't arrived when they did, my beloved disciple would've driven Beast off again, just like on Hecate Island."
In the end, Orion and the others arriving when they did had helped Shiomi without anyone even meaning to. It saved him strength, letting him put what he had left into stopping Zeus from sealing off the barrier around the Interstellar City.
"Mm…" Artoria murmured in acknowledgment.
She understood perfectly well that no one had done anything wrong.
It was just that her read on the timing had been a little off this time. She hadn't made it in the first moment, hadn't been able to do anything. She was supposed to be a key fighting force, yet she'd ended up with the easiest job.
That tiny mismatch was enough to leave her with a lingering, petty frustration, the feeling that she hadn't given it her all. So she kept sitting here, keeping watch.
Really, she was just sulking at herself.
"To think the Lion King of back then would end up pouting at herself," Scáthach said, seeing right through her and teasing without mercy. "So this isn't just about getting your humanity back. Looks like you even found the girlish heart you threw away when you became king."
Artoria's ears instantly grew hot.
Because Scáthach was right, she had nothing she could say back. She could only hurriedly change the subject.
"L-Letting that go… what do we do next? Tenkei protected the route to the Orbital Grand Temple by pushing himself to the limit, but that 'Tower of Heaven' doesn't look like something you can just move through easily."
"Storm Border will probably have to stay on standby in the air," Morgan said with a shake of her head. "It can't fly up to support us until the barrier is lifted."
"In other words, we'll still have to split up after this," Touko said as she opened the door and walked in. "The good news is we have enough Servants. Chaldea can keep sufficient strength behind to protect Storm Border, while the Proper Human History Servants who've manifested can take the lead and assault the Orbital Grand Temple."
"The humans of Olympus have special lives. Every single one of them has Mana on par with a Servant, and once they're trained and armed, their soldiers are, in a sense, excellent mass-produced Servants. Compared to the Interstellar City, the Orbital Grand Temple is likely to have even stronger forces."
"And Grand Archer is here," Morgan added. "I thought that once Beast was dealt with, the Grand Servant who'd fulfilled his mission would withdraw, even if he still had strength to spare. But it seems the Counter Force is giving him leeway on how long he can remain manifested. He'll probably stay until the battle with Zeus is over."
Good steel should be used where it matters most.
What Morgan meant was simple: Orion would serve as the main force, joining the Knights of the Round Table as the first wave, supporting Shiomi in his fight against Zeus.
After all, Zeus's true strength was still unclear. But just from the thunderbolts alone—each strike carrying power on par with Artemis's arrows—and his omniscience that allowed him to survey all of Olympus, it was enough to catch a glimpse of how overwhelming he really was.
"So Kirschtaria will be yours to deal with?" Scáthach asked. "He's a top-tier genius Magus. To beat him in Magecraft, you'd need an equally exceptional genius."
"Can't you handle him yourself?" Morgan asked with a teasing smile.
"I'm not a pure Magus," Scáthach replied breezily. "Compared to Magecraft, I prefer blades and spears. Besides, that young man won't be without Servants at his side. I'll take care of them for you."
"Hmm…" Touko let out a thoughtful murmur.
Scáthach looked at her. "Do you have a different take, Puppeteer?"
"No, not really," Touko said with an easy laugh. "The scale of the upcoming battle is already beyond what I can handle. Even with Golden Wolf helping out, I wouldn't be able to fight properly."
"Feeling dissatisfied too?" Scáthach teased. "Why not become my disciple? Study Runes under me for three years, and I'll guarantee you'll be able to stand on this kind of battlefield."
Scáthach's joke about the Land of Shadows sent Touko into laughter. "Becoming the Queen of the Land of Shadows' disciple really is an offer no Magus could resist… though if I did that, wouldn't I end up as Tenkei's senior apprentice?"
"I wasn't planning on taking any more disciples," Scáthach said, continuing the banter, "but for my beloved disciple's sake, I suppose I could at least put your name down."
It had only been a single day since they set foot on Olympus, but everyone had already been through one brutal fight after another. With Shiomi now asleep, trading a few meaningless jokes to relax wasn't such a bad way to steady their nerves.
"…Three years is way too long…"
At that moment, Shiomi sat up in bed with Artoria's support. She pulled a pillow over and propped it behind his back.
He let out a wry, half-amused complaint.
"My husband, you're awake," Morgan said, closing the book in her hands.
"Yeah. I recovered faster than last time. Figures…" Shiomi shook his head, then looked at her. "But you—without the throne of the Fairy Kingdom, pulling off a 'Tower' on that scale in one go must have drained your Mana dry, didn't it?"
"Still better than you," Morgan replied with a playful blink. "At least I didn't pass out."
Shiomi smiled in relief. He glanced around the room, then deliberately put on a dramatic air. "Hmm… everyone's here, but Skadi didn't come. What a shame—"
Before he could finish, a muffled voice sounded from beneath the thick blanket. Skadi, dressed in close-fitting sleepwear, wriggled out from under the covers, eyes half-lidded as she asked Shiomi if he'd been calling for her.
"..."
The sudden development left him swallowing the rest of his words.
"Everyone's worried about you, so don't say things that childish," Artoria said, stroking Shiomi's hand and smiling as she teased him over his reaction.