After it was over, Scáthach and Shiomi lay side by side, both faintly slick with sweat.
Her body was still trembling. Even though everything had ended, she continued to shiver from time to time, with spasms that looked almost like convulsions.
"That was… pretty intense," Shiomi murmured, resting his arm across his forehead. "Is Master's aphrodisiac on the same level as Medb's honeyed mead?"
The potion itself had been smooth and mellow in taste, and he had drunk it together with his master.
If he had to describe it, it was somewhat like alcohol, except this was no ordinary drink. It was a crystallization of Age of Gods–level potion craft.
It was just that Scáthach truly lacked experience in making potions. In a moment of carelessness, she had failed to control the dosage, creating something like an overdose, pushing them into a rather "dangerous" state.
"...Not quite. Medb's honeyed mead is her Noble Phantasm. Its nature is different from a potion."
Scáthach hugged her pillow and answered lazily.
"That's true," Shiomi nodded, realizing his comparison had been a bit excessive.
His master turned her head and smiled at him. He smiled back as well, as if they had merely brewed something in a laboratory and casually conducted a test afterward. With no real chance to study potions in the Land of Shadows, this at least made up for that regret.
"But still, when you think about it, the two of us have lived close to ten thousand years combined. As a Magus and a warrior, we're already beyond reproach, yet we stumble over something like potion-making. That's a bit embarrassing."
Shiomi got out of bed, poured two glasses of water, and brought them over. Scáthach did not take hers, remaining sprawled there lazily.
"No one can be good at everything. And this isn't something of high or low priority. Don't worry about it," Scáthach said with a light laugh.
"That's fair. Compared to expecting Master's potions, wouldn't it be more realistic to drag Master into the kitchen instead?" Shiomi joked.
"You're getting more and more disrespectful. You want your teacher to cook for you now?" Scáthach deliberately put on an air of authority.
"Not you cooking for me. Cooking together," Shiomi clasped his hands in mock supplication. "Even if you really have no experience, just helping out might be fun, right?"
"That does sound reasonable. If I ever feel like it, I'll consider it," Scáthach said, reaching out her hand.
Understanding, Shiomi set down the glass, took her hand, and helped her up.
The Queen of the Land of Shadows, usually as sharp and straight as her crimson spear, was now completely limp and powerless, like a doll entirely at the mercy of her beloved disciple.
"Not bad," Scáthach smiled, her eyes soft and alluring.
On the one hand, they really had gone a bit too far. On the other, she had genuinely enjoyed herself.
Still, thinking about it now, she had already begun to reflect. In the future, she would have to choose the time and place more carefully, lest she interfere with more important matters.
"Master, are you thirsty?" Shiomi brought over the glass of water he hadn't finished.
"Mmm," Scáthach replied softly.
So Shiomi took a mouthful of the cool water and passed it to Scáthach mouth to mouth. Her throat trembled slowly as the parched passage, scorched by desire, was moistened once more.
After she had drunk enough, Shiomi carried Scáthach to the bathroom, set her down in the empty bathtub, and began running hot water.
"Tell me what you were thinking. Making potions is one thing, but going as far as an aphrodisiac?" He leaned close to her cheek as he asked.
"A sudden whim," Scáthach said frankly. "You never needed to worry about recovery in the first place. Potions are nothing more than extra Mana. Letting them handle it would have been enough."
"Mhm, so—" Shiomi played the part of a dutiful listener.
"I fought hard, and I even shielded my beloved disciple from Afrodite. Doesn't that count as hard-earned merit?" Scáthach asked.
Shiomi froze for a moment, then laughed.
"So Master felt it was exhausting, and wanted to have a bit of fun with her disciple?"
"On a battlefield where not a single step can go wrong, one still needs some way to soothe the mind and body," Scáthach said as if it were only natural. "Besides, with my beloved disciple right before me, food placed at my lips, there's no reason not to eat it."
"That's the Celtic way," Shiomi said with deep conviction. He himself was much the same.
In the end, it was just a few words to dress up what had happened today, turning it into a bit of lighthearted ornamentation.
"Still, I owe you an apology for failing to keep that goddess here," Scáthach said with a lazy smile. "If we had been able to kill her as well, then even if you were exhausted in the end, Kirschtaria Wodime would not have escaped."
Afrodite had realized, almost the moment Artoria and the others arrived as reinforcements, that the naval battle was approaching its midpoint. She also sensed Kirschtaria's presence, judged that she should regroup with him, and swiftly withdrew from the battlefield.
"How could that be your fault, Master? She was a living goddess, after all. Since you couldn't easily take her down, it's only natural that she escaped," Shiomi shook his head and comforted her. "You fought hard. Before we advance into the 'Void Cavern,' please rest well, Master. I'll be there the moment you call."
As he spoke, he reached into the bathwater, now rising past Scáthach's chest, tested the temperature, and turned off the faucet.
Then he knelt beside the tub and quietly kissed Scáthach's lips.
Fighting together, moving forward together, living together...
"Such a lonely kiss. Something on your mind again?" Scáthach sensed the change in his mood.
"Every time I'm close to you, Master, I feel like a foolish apprentice who'll never truly grow up," Shiomi said with a soft laugh. "Like I'll always need you by my side. It's a kind of attachment that comes straight from the heart."
"Of course. I am the very first one in all of your memories," Scáthach said, having recovered a little strength. She adjusted her posture slightly, bracing herself against the edge of the tub and meeting his gaze. "Master, lover, comrade-in-arms, or even mother. To you, I am all of those at once."
"Don't say it out loud like that. It makes me embarrassed," Shiomi said, leaning in to kiss her again.
Moved by the way he kissed her, Scáthach showed a hint of nostalgia.
"The first time you kissed me, it felt just like this."
"Did it?" Shiomi himself had no such awareness.
"You only dared to brush your lips against mine, afraid to use your tongue," Scáthach said, lightly sucking on his upper lip. "Whether it's the way you kiss, or how you deal with women, you learned all of it from me."
"Master, don't make it sound like I'm your toy," Shiomi complained helplessly.
"Hehe."
Scáthach smiled, pressed her forehead against his, and lifted a hand to stroke the hair at the back of his head.
Shiomi laughed along, then asked teasingly,
"Master, do you love me?"
"How should I answer that? A single word like 'love' is far too narrow."
"You're really good with words."
"Not even half as good as my beloved disciple... mm."