Once he'd eaten and drunk his fill, Shiomi could no longer stand being stuck in his room to recuperate.
As long as there wasn't an active battle, simply resting would let his body recover little by little.
"Mmm. Just as I thought, direct physical contact really does restore Mana more efficiently," Morgan said, holding Shiomi's hand as they walked the corridors of Storm Border and offering her verdict.
"Back then, if someone so much as brushed your Magic Circuits with Mana, you'd blush and crouch down into a little ball," Shiomi said with a matching smile. "Now you're used to doing the opposite, pulling Mana out of my Magic Circuits instead."
"Do you miss the old me?" Morgan ran a hand through her hair. "There's no need for me to keep this form. If my husband wants, I can go back to being the Rain Witch from the beginning, or the Savior I became later on… though only in appearance, of course."
"No need," Shiomi said, shaking his head. "The form that suits you best is the best."
They stopped at a porthole. From inside the ship hovering above the forest, they could see the surviving southern and northern districts of the Interstellar City, still bright with lights in the night.
"Looks like our fight with the Olympian gods didn't affect them at all," Shiomi said.
Morgan nodded. "While you were unconscious, Sakura and the others made contact with that pair of twins, along with the Proper Human History Servants, and went to investigate the remaining two districts. To them, whatever the gods do is a blessing… especially my husband's 'Tower of Heaven.' They think it was Demeter's miracle."
Shiomi blinked. "So Demeter's death hasn't gotten out? Olympus is deliberately keeping it quiet?"
"Who knows," Morgan said, shaking her head with an unconcerned smile. "Or maybe they just didn't think it was worth explaining."
They continued strolling through the ship as they talked. Word of Shiomi's awakening quickly spread, and before long someone came looking for them.
It was Sakura.
"Father, are you… feeling better now?" Sakura asked, naturally taking Shiomi's hand, worry plain on her face.
In response, both Morgan and Shiomi reached out and gently stroked her hair.
"He's doing great," Morgan said, teasing. "Go on and dump any odd jobs on him. Your father's slept enough."
"How could I?" Sakura shook her head hard. "Just fighting gods is exhausting. He can't be worked any more."
"But you didn't come rushing over just to check on me," Shiomi said, thinking it over. "Let me guess. Is there some trouble only I can handle?"
Sakura nodded. "It's Mordred. She's the only Servant from the Proper Human History vanguard who survived, but her Spirit Core is badly damaged. She's on the verge of fading, and only Klironomia is keeping her Spirit Origin stable."
"Take me to her."
Shiomi was surprised that the survivor was Mordred, but she was an old friend who had helped Chaldea more than once. He couldn't just watch her be ground down by her injuries until she disappeared.
Sakura led the way, with Shiomi and Morgan following along at an unhurried pace to the infirmary where Mordred was being kept.
For Shiomi now, treatment on the level of repairing a Servant's Spirit Core was practically effortless.
Sakura hadn't even thought to bring Shiomi in at first; it had been Touko who reminded her that she could ask her own father.
"Well?" Shiomi asked Mordred. "How do you feel?"
Now wearing armor woven from Mana again, Mordred slammed a fist into her palm. Crimson lightning from Mana Release crackled around her body.
"Great!" she said, thrilled at the fully restored Spirit Origin. "Now I can fight again. I heard Father summoned the Knights of the Round Table again. Is that true?"
"Didn't you ask Sakura?" Shiomi said, puzzled. "And besides, Art— King Arthur was right there. Why not just ask him?"
"I was half-dead at the time," Mordred said bluntly. "Knowing those guys were coming and still not being able to get on the battlefield… taking that regret back with me to the Throne of Heroes would've been the worst."
"So you were just sulking at yourself," Morgan said, unable to help shaking her head. "You really are exactly like someone else."
At least when it came to that part of their personalities, Artoria and Mordred were truly alike.
"Huh? Who did Mother say?" Mordred asked.
"Use your own head, Mordred," Morgan said, shaking her own. "And besides, I'm not your mother. I'm a fairy of paradise born in another history."
"Then back then, why did you—" Mordred trailed off, looking a little awkward.
She was referring to how Morgan had gone along with it before.
"I didn't have a choice," Morgan said with an easy smile. "At the time, I was a Servant, so I had to disguise myself as the 'me' from Proper Human History as much as possible. Now that there's no need to pretend anymore, I'm correcting it. Of course, I still welcome you as a comrade. After all, every extra fighting force makes our odds against Zeus and the Alien God that much better."
"Ah… oh… I see."
Mordred felt it was getting complicated and decided not to dig any deeper.
That was when Sakura spoke up. "So, a temporary contract, Saber? With a Master's support, fighting would be more convenient."
"Sure, sure," Mordred replied readily. She shook hands with Sakura and formed the Master–Servant contract. "Man, we really are tangled up by fate, Master. How many times have I helped you now?"
"Well, we are sisters without blood ties," Sakura said with a bright smile. "Naturally, that makes us closer than complete strangers. I'll be counting on you in the battles ahead."
"Hey… even your mother's stopped bringing that up. Do you really have to keep mentioning it?" Mordred groaned, once again getting hung up on that point.
The previously quiet infirmary immediately grew noisy. Even though there were no other patients resting there, Shiomi felt it wasn't appropriate. Just as he was about to take them outside to continue talking, Artoria arrived.
"Have you recovered, Mordred?" she asked.
"Uh… ah… yes, Father," Mordred replied at once, stiffening up and stumbling over her words.
Artoria nodded. "Good. It seems repairing a Spirit Core really is something only Tenkei can do. If you're free later, come by the conference room. We're holding a Round Table meeting."
"Yes!" Mordred answered loudly.
Artoria gave a gentle smile before turning and leaving.
She had clearly come only to check on her, to confirm whether Mordred could attend the Round Table meeting.
"…Something's off. Father's attitude… wasn't she unusually gentle?" Mordred muttered. She dismissed her armor and scratched her head, looking troubled.
"Well…" Sakura hesitated, unsure how to put it.
Then Mordred suddenly recalled the final records of the Sixth Singularity and shouted,
"I remember back then, Shiomi, you bastard— huh? Where'd he go?"
Unfortunately for her, the sharp-witted Shiomi had already anticipated this reaction and quietly slipped out of the infirmary together with Morgan.