"Damn it!"
*Crash!* The sound of a shattering bottle echoed as shards of glass flew.
Unable to contain his rage, Ryuuji had thrown a liquor bottle. He was seething, breathing heavily.
He slammed his uninjured left arm against the wall and let out a roar. The more he looked at his empty right sleeve, the more agitated he became.
"Now, now, calm down, Master! The prosthetic arm is complete!"
The universal genius had modified her gauntlet to create a prosthetic arm. Her eyes weren't visible due to the dark circles, but Da Vinci felt as if she were being glared at by bloodshot eyes.
Ryuuji stood there, panting raggedly, before finally slumping into a chair and extending his right arm. A white, blood-soaked bandage was wrapped around it.
Da Vinci unwrapped the bandage and connected the prosthetic.
A moment later, Ryuuji moved the new prosthetic arm on his right side.
"I made it in a hurry, so you won't be able to feel anything with it. A prosthetic that connects to the nerves will take some time to build."
It moved as he willed, but there was no sensation. The fact that it moved according to his thoughts was an incredible feat of technology in itself, but he couldn't stand the fact that his perfectly good arm had been replaced by a prosthesis.
"Grrr, that damned Servant!"
He used the prosthetic arm to grab a nearby chair and hurled it. The wooden chair crumpled upon impact with the wall and shattered into pieces.
The prosthetic arm granted him strength that surpassed human limits. It wouldn't be enough against a Servant, but against a human, it was enough to be called superhuman.
It was a quality prosthetic, a testament to Da Vinci's efforts, but the man who had always considered himself an apex predator couldn't comprehend its greatness at all.
He had always been the best. No matter if others ignored him or what, he had risen to the top with his own abilities.
He had proven that in Chaldea, and though he was eventually exiled as a result, he had made a fresh start in France and stood at the pinnacle.
Or so he thought. But the result was that he had lost an arm to a nameless black knight and had been forced to flee with his tail between his legs.
He couldn't accept that reality.
"For a common extra! A mere knight who's nothing more than a supporting character in life!"
A black knight whose face he didn't even know. At best, wasn't he just one of the dime-a-dozen supporting character knights? At least, that's what he thought.
Did he even know? Could this pathetic man, who looked down on Servants and thought of the heroes and anti-heroes of the past as his playthings, possibly know that the one who cut off his arm was the most famous knight in the world?
Far from grasping his own place, he was merely angry that someone had defied and ignored his magnificent self.
Having become so utterly conceited, did he truly believe himself to be the center of the world, the protagonist? Historically, there were many such arrogant and pathetic beings.
There were many such figures in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, with Yuan Shu being a prime example.
Funnily enough, even that Yuan Shu was more capable than him and was the legitimate son of a prestigious family. But Ryuuji had nothing.
He was good at using his innate talent, but his application of it was utterly vile.
He couldn't see his own faults in the slightest, blaming everyone else for everything.
"It's because you're weak! You call yourself a Servant, and you can't even protect your Master!?"
Ryuuji threw another liquor bottle at Da Vinci. Perhaps because he threw it, the ordinary bottle struck her, and she began to bleed from her head. She bowed obsequiously, apologizing to him, as he collapsed to the floor, trying to quell his anger.
"How... how can I get my revenge on them?"
He sought advice from the genius, Da Vinci. In response, Da Vinci explained the plan she had devised.
"There is a way. First, we'll go for an all-out war."
The method was simple. An all-out war. They would mobilize all the living dead they had gathered and engage in a frontal assault. However, that was just bait.
"Chaldea has arrived now, haven't they? If so, Chaldea will ultimately target the Holy Grail, the cause of the Singularity. They'll go to Orléans to fight. When they engage the enemy's forces, our forces will join in, creating a three-way battle. At that time, Chaldea's main forces will likely be inside Orléans, fighting the enemy's leadership. And then? We just steal the Holy Grail."
It was a strategy of letting others do the hard work and then swooping in to grab the prize. Or rather, a strategy to just eat from a fully prepared table.
It was a plan devised because the Holy Grail in Fuyuki, at least, wasn't in Saber's possession but was rather being guarded by her. Ryuuji stroked his chin with his left hand, thinking it was a plausible plan, and decided to gather his forces immediately.
However, there was one thing they didn't know.
The fact that in France, the Holy Grail wasn't a separate object.
Here, the Holy Grail was a Servant. Jeanne Alter, whom they had met.
She was the very one born from the Holy Grail, and at the same time, the one who held the Grail within her body. She herself was unaware of the Grail's existence or that her own heart was the Grail.
Furthermore, aside from the physical Grail, the Grail itself was in the possession of the black magician, Gilles de Rais. Since there was an owner, simply stealing the vessel wouldn't solve anything.
Their plan could only be described as incredibly naive. Did they really think the enemy's leadership and Chaldea would just stand by and watch them steal it? It was a plan born from their complete ignorance of the enemy's and Chaldea's capabilities.
"Alright, let's rest a bit, then gather the troops and prepare."
"Then we'll have to abandon this place. But what about the children?"
"Hmm? Oh, right, I heard that Atalante brat got taken out. I'm not having any fun either, so should I just kill them?"
"Even so, just killing them is a bit much."
Da Vinci stopped Ryuuji from just killing them, not because she cared about the children's lives, but because it seemed like a waste of painstakingly gathered human resources.
Having fallen, Da Vinci's thought process had become completely that of a magus.
"Ah, I have a good idea. Give those brats some weapons."
"Huh? They won't be much help."
"Chaldea. That Kuriyama guy is a damn bleeding heart. I figured it out after watching him for a few days. And Ritsuka, that bitch is just a high school girl, right? What can they do against little children?"
Ryuuji laid out a plan to use the children to stop Chaldea as well. He smiled a wicked, vicious smile.
Meanwhile.
Chaldea had passed through Lyon and was heading towards Bordeaux, where Ryuuji's camp was located.
During a short break while traveling on Tarasque.
"While we rest, shall I explain?"
"Yes, now would be a good time."
Sho approached Siegfried, who had been cured of his curse by BB.
Siegfried, like Kiyohime, had made a contract with Sho, and having met the conditions, he was replaced by Sho's own Servant.
As one of the few special Servants, Sho had a high bond level with him, highly valuing his heroism and his pure love for Kriemhild.
Of course, Báthory's bond was only around 8, so making a contract with her didn't result in any major changes.
After forming the contract, Siegfried had calmly suggested that he would listen to the details later and that they should move on to make up for lost time. Thus, after traveling for some time, they were now taking a short break to talk.
As everyone was sighing and regrouping, Ritsuka said she needed to take care of some business and headed into the forest for a moment.
As she was taking care of her business.
"Even if we're both girls, isn't it a bit rude to show up when someone's relieving themselves?"
Ritsuka, who had been squatting, stood up and slowly pulled her stockings up.
The one who had come to find her was Kiyohime.
"My apologies. But I needed to speak privately with you, the one they call the main wife."
A girl with the same name as her own Master's former name. Moreover, she had a deep connection with Sho in a previous timeline, and was a case of someone who was originally a man but became a woman. Though according to Sho, she was originally a woman here.
Kiyohime's intuition could not be deceived.
"You were originally a man, weren't you?"
"Your proof?"
Ritsuka nonchalantly stretched her back and asked. Kiyohime scoffed in response.
"How many women who were originally men do you think I've seen? I am more sensitive in these matters than others. Love is my very reason for living, you see. I have a good eye for people."
"Is it because you're the child of a lord? You seem to have had a good upbringing~"
Ritsuka said with a smirk as she twisted her waist to loosen up. Kiyohime covered her mouth with her fan and stared silently at Ritsuka.
"Honestly, I find this hard to accept. This Kiyohime has served by my husband's side for many years. How long have you been with him?"
"The time we've spent together is important, sure~ But isn't what matters most what happened during that time? From the looks of it, there are a lot of you on your side. On this side, we spent a long time as just the two of us, you know? Later it was three, but still."
Kiyohime realized that Ritsuka was also a regressor. To become lovers in just a few days and show such immense affection?
Sho simply thought that since this was such a world, Ritsuka was affected because she was a woman, but Kiyohime, unlike Sho, thought about it without that rule.
Since only Kiyohime had heard about the regression, she was the only one who could reach this conclusion.
"I've heard the general story. It is a sad affair. But that is a separate matter. I am worried whether someone like you can properly support my husband. As for me, as for us, we still don't know you. Especially since my husband revealed everything to you, for your sake. But what is the reason you are hiding things?"
"Because I want Sho to be happy without knowing. At least, for now. It's not a story that would do any good to know right now."
Ritsuka said that hiding things about herself was actually better for Sho. Kiyohime stared at her for a moment before folding her fan.
"You... don't trust anyone, do you. Not us, and not even Miss Mash."
Ritsuka's eyes were ones she had seen somewhere before. The eyes of someone who distrusts humans. They were just like Castor's eyes.
"I trust the people I can trust. I just don't trust most people, that's all."
"You are the complete opposite of my husband. He is someone who values trust. But you are someone who values distrust. Aren't you too incompatible with my husband?"
Kiyohime made a provocative remark, intending to test her. In response, Ritsuka chopped Kiyohime's neck with her forearm and slammed her into a tree.
"What do you know, to say something like that~? Kiyohime. Sho seems to think highly of this world's Kiyohime, but I really hate a girl named Kiyohime, you know?"
"I am not the person you know."
"So? Aren't you the same person at your core? Or not. But I don't like you provoking me like this. Hey, you. Do you know what it feels like to be surrounded by goddesses and forced to drink their piss?"
Ritsuka was smiling, but her eyes were gradually turning a murky violet. Eyes stained with madness and PTSD.
Hearing this story, Kiyohime could sympathize with what Ritsuka must have gone through. But that aside, it was hard to accept.
FWOOSH!!!
"!?"
"You are a wounded person. So what? Unfortunate pasts, isn't that something all heroes have experienced? You seem to think you're the only one who is unhappy. You don't even know what hardships my husband has lived through. Well, perhaps that's a different story. Whatever misfortunes you have suffered, this is a separate matter. I find it unsettling to approve of you supporting my husband in such a mental state."
"You, what are you?"
Ritsuka seemed a little flustered by Kiyohime's aura, which was different from just moments ago.
"If you want to be with my husband, fix that unstable mental state of yours first. They say what is broken is hard to fix, but my husband is someone who has done it. You would be better off confiding in my husband and receiving mental counseling from him."
Kiyohime gave her heartfelt advice. Ritsuka's mind was broken. And as such, she thought Ritsuka would only tire out Sho and those around her.
Her feelings for Sho were real, but that was precisely why it was a problem. Ritsuka needed treatment first. It was to the point that if Nightingale saw her, she'd say her head needed to be split open for treatment.
"What is that power of yours? Are you really that weak little Kiyo-chan?"
"Weak? Ah, it seems the me of this world is like that. I too was weak in the past. Before I was loved by my husband, that is."
A vast amount of magical energy emanated from her.
"Do you know how many Holy Grails I have received from my husband?"
"What, H-Holy Grails?"
"Nineteen."
"!?"
Ritsuka was astonished to hear that a whopping nineteen Holy Grails had been given to a single Servant. And BB, who was eavesdropping, was so surprised her eyes were about to pop out.
"It seems the power levels of our worlds are quite different. In our Chaldea, there are those who have received more Grails than I, and many who are stronger than even this version of me. Sir Heracles, in particular, was awe-inspiring."
"Nineteen Grails, no, and there are even more than that?"
"Fufufu, that power I felt from you just now. It is familiar. Yes, it's like the one who was Beast VII, the Prime Minister of Earth. The Alien God, I mean."
At those words, Ritsuka froze for a moment.
"Do you know how many Beasts my husband has subjugated with us? On top of that, he has killed not just Divine Spirits, but several gods as well."
"Sho is... that amazing?"
"For your information, we've also subjugated O.R.T., you know?"
[Pfft!]
At those words, BB, who was drinking coffee to calm her mind, spat it all out onto Da Vinci's face beside her.
"You are welcome to think it's a bluff. But we did it. And in our Chaldea, several Beasts are my husband's Servants."
"Hah."
"Lady Ritsuka? This Kiyohime will acknowledge that your feelings are genuine. However. Let's not cross the line and do anything strange. At the very least, considering what we've encountered with the Prime Minister of Earth, I can roughly guess what kind of thing you are trying to do. Fufufu, it seems my studies with my teachers to become a fine wife have paid off. The me from here wasn't this intelligent, was she?"
Kiyohime, who had filled her head with teachings from the many professors and gods of Chaldea, striving to become Sho's right hand.
On top of that, she had experienced so much that she was quick on the uptake. Especially considering the beastly aura she felt from Ritsuka, the Human Order Bleaching they experienced, and Goetia's Incineration of Humanity, she could formulate a hypothesis.
"I have no intention of stopping you. In fact, I think it's a good thing. However. If any harm comes to my husband. I will have no choice but to call them, you see?"
"'Call them'? What?"
"Fufufu, if we prepare things related to them, we should be able to call them. My husband, that is. Lady Ritsuka? I will trust you."
It was a warning. A declaration that she would be watching.
Ritsuka had never expected that even after her identity was figured out, she would be threatened in return.
"Just how amazing was Sho in his past life?"
[Honestly, I'm pissed off that you were lectured and threatened, but my analysis confirms it's 100% true. Senpai, just what were you doing before you came here?]
"...BB. I honestly thought that side would be easier. I'll have to change my approach. Let's be friendly with those girls over there. And, I think we can definitely trust them. If they're that strong, there seems to be no possibility of them betraying Sho. Honestly, I'm a little envious, you know?"
[Senpai....]
Frankly, she was somewhat jealous of their existence. And while she hadn't trusted them 100%, through this exchange, Ritsuka felt that she could trust them.
She felt that Sho was amazing, and at the same time, she was envious.
Envious that he could have such a relationship of absolute trust.
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Also, new fanfictions have been released:
[Jujutsu Kaisen X FGO] My Cursed Technique is Summoning
[Fate] Dying, I meet heroes.