Rikka nestled close to Artemis, who had been blown away and knocked flat.
"Rikka... Ah, I..."
"Yeah, it's okay. I'm not mad anymore."
Rikka flashed a bright grin. There was no lie in that smile.
"Marshmallow, carry that side. We're hauling these back in trips."
"Yes, Jeanne-san!"
"My... you're so strong. I can't afford to be outdone either!"
The three Servants were busily carrying the dango back.
And as for—
"Darling!? Where's Darling?!"
Looking around for Orion...
"Wait, what is with this lineup?! Scary! This is scary! What's going to happen to me?!"
Bound by the Chains of Heaven, Orion was pinned to a rotating stake.
"Haha! To you! To you, who maintained the sanity to continuously stop the Goddess, I shall grant a reward!!"
"Ooh! Hunter of Greece, what magnificent reason you displayed! That lonely struggle must be compensated!"
"—Shall we begin, Gilgamesh?"
Positioned in four directions were the Sun King, the King of Conquest, the Great Hero, and—
"Indeed. In light of your reason and noble judgment, I permit this reward to be bestowed!! —Here we go!!"
—(Fainted.)
『Ea――!?』
"Wait, no way, seriously? Haha, no, I... I don't deserve something like this—"
"T・Y・O――――!!!!"
Reaching for his cape—
"S・F・O――――!!!!"
Placing a hand on his hip—
"DAU――"
Reaching for his waistcloth—
"A-E-I-O-U-O-O-O-O――――!!"
The King of Heroes, whose upper body was always exposed—his lower half was now bursting free—!!
""""CAST OFF――――!!!!!!""""
From four directions, the hunter of reason (lol) who kept the goddess in check was granted the honor of an audience with the naked royal bodies—!
"UGYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH――――!!!!!!"
Bound to the spinning stake, Orion had nowhere to run. A spell was even cast to prevent his eyes from closing, leaving his vision completely overrun by bare bodies from all four directions—!
"UPON THIS EARTH!! NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE PHARAOH!!"
"THIS!! IS MY PATH OF CONQUEST♂!!"
"I owe Hippomenes an apology... Hera, seriously, cut it out."
"GAZE UPON IT!! THIS!! IS THE BRILLIANCE OF CHALDEA'S TREASURE!!!"
—(Fainted.)
『Ea――!!』
"HELP MEEEEEEEE――――!!!!!!"
Orion was thoroughly enjoying his reward. If not for you, Artemis would have gone on an even wilder rampage! Thank you! Our hero, Orion!
"Darling... looks like he's having fun..."
"See? Being with everyone is so many times more fun!"
Rikka picked up a dango and fed it to Artemis.
"Munch..."
"So let's all eat together back at Chaldea, okay? Everyone, together. Artemis, Orion, everyone!"
"Rikka..."
Looking at the outstretched hand, Artemis gasped in shock.
"Your hand...!"
Rikka's fingertips were near-necrotic, turning black and charred. It was because she forced herself to use Artemis's move repeatedly, causing her magical energy to bottom out to the point where her body couldn't keep up with the generation.
"Why did you push yourself so hard?! Doing something like this..."
Normally, she didn't have to fire it continuously. If she had just used it to beat Altera, that would have been more than enough.
"Because it's obvious, isn't it? If I hurt my own Servant, I have to get hurt just as much. That's what being a Master means, right?"
Besides, she needed to deliver the message using this exact move—to Artemis.
"This move, the blessing you gave me... I was genuinely so happy about it. So even if I had to push myself a little, I wanted to convey that to you."
"Rikka...!"
"Thank you. I might have messed up a bit, but your feelings made me so happy, Artemis!"
It would probably stay like this for a while until mana could be restored properly. Even so, Rikka kept smiling.
"Let's go home! Back to Chaldea! After we apologize to everyone, let's eat delicious dango together! Artemis!"
Even if her hands were near-necrotic, even if it was pushed-upon goodwill—she accepted it, gave thanks, and reached out her hand with a smile.
Because Artemis—was her friend.
"Rikkaaaa... Waaah, waaaaaaaah!!"
Faced with such warm acceptance, Artemis burst into tears.
"I'm sorry, Rikka~! I didn't mean for this to happen! I swore to the moon I never wanted you to end up all beaten up like this! I didn't mean to~! Waaaaaaah!"
"There, there, it's okay, it's okay... At least you're fine compared to Orion..."
"I AM NOT FIIIIIIIINE――――!!!!!!"
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Rikka! It was all my fault~! I'm sorry for hurting you! I'm sorry for making you all beaten up~! Waaaaaaah!"
Artemis wept from the bottom of her heart, filled with deep regret. For better or worse, she had acted entirely for Rikka's sake, never wishing for Rikka to be harmed in the slightest.
"There, there... You worked hard, you really did... Wow, your chest is super huge..."
As they hugged each other, Rikka gently patted Artemis as she sobbed hysterically.
"Alright, let's head back. Punishment time is over, so now we just have to go apologize properly, okay?"
"Yes... I'll listen to whatever Rikka says..."
"Good girl! Then let me tell you: friends are always right by your side!"
"Yeah! I'm so glad I followed Darling after all~! I will never forget you, Rikka! Never ever!!"
Hand in hand, the two stood up together.
And above them all, the moon shone down with a gentle, soothing light—
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