『It's late today, so how about we meet tomorrow morning?』
『Hmm... We did fight excessively. You can decide the location.』
Hmm... a famous place in Fate...
After a quick search, I found the Kouzhou Ensaikan Taizan, a Chinese restaurant in the Fuyuki City Mount Miyama shopping district.
『How about the Kouzhou Ensaikan Taizan in the Fuyuki City Mount Miyama shopping district?』
『A Chinese restaurant, is it? Well, anywhere is fine. I will be there at 2 PM. Lancer, we are withdrawing.』
"As you wish, my lord."
And so, Lancer dematerialized. Artoria, looking dazed, was about to return when Irisviel spoke up.
"I'd like to try Chinese food too. Is that alright?"
Hmm... if she's not used to spicy food, I wouldn't recommend it.
"Can you handle spicy food?"
"Eh?"
In the very near future (at 2 PM), Irisviel was said to have regretted going to the Chinese restaurant.
Afterward, we collected the remaining Noble Phantasms and returned home.
In any case, we returned to the mansion. I was washing up with Tiamat, and Irisviel was washing up with us as well.
"Why are you here... Aren't you a married woman?"
"Um... yes... but you were bathing so naturally, I thought it might be a Japanese mixed bath."
"It's only possible because it's Tiamat."
"Mhm, mhm. Isn't it because I'm Mama?"
At my words and Tiamat's proud nod, Irisviel came to a bewildered conclusion.
"Then isn't it fine?"
'Kiritsugu, did you not even teach her about sex education?'
Her lack of education, to the point where she thought it was okay to bathe with a strange man, made me think about Kiritsugu.
"Wait, when was Illyasviel born?"
"You know about Illya...? She was born eight years ago."
Clank!?
Just then, the door opened and Artoria came in.
She entered with a towel wrapped around her body and asked with a questioning expression:
"How old is Irisviel?"
"Hmm... about nine years old, I think?"
At that, both Artoria and I felt our evaluation of Kiritsugu plummet.
"So she gave birth to Illya when she was one year old... He really threw sex education and everything else out the window."
"Fufu, Kiritsugu taught me about sex education himself. Illya was born in the process."
It didn't seem like something to be ashamed of, but something in Artoria's eyes turned pitch black.
A look that said 'What trash.' It was a gaze filled with even more contempt than she had for Merlin.
"And you, Artoria?"
"I am here to protect Irisviel."
Artoria seemed to have gotten a bit prickly.
"So, you'd rather have Kiritsugu as your Master?"
"No, I'm glad he's not... but isn't there not enough time to trust Caster's Master? And with a Divine Spirit present, I must be even more distrustful."
"Aaaaa? Mama's fault?"
At that, Artoria shook her head and said:
"No. By the way, what are your names?"
"I'm Akira."
"Tiamat."
At that, she let out a deep sigh and said:
"Hmph, to be honest, I cannot even begin to comprehend what you were thinking when you participated in the Holy Grail War, or what your mental state is."
Artoria's fact-bombing made me wonder if she had turned into her Alter form.
"I will be frank. Are you an enemy or an ally to Irisviel?"
Just then, Irisviel, with not even a towel wrapped around her body, spoke proudly.
"Saber, I believe Akira is neither an enemy nor an ally, but in an ambiguous category..."
"Irisviel..."
Artoria brought over a towel and began to wrap it around Irisviel's body. Irisviel continued:
"He separated me from the Grail, so I have no more worries... but honestly, Akira's actions have been ambiguous. He could have helped in that fight, but he didn't, not even once."
It seemed she had hit the nail on the head.
"That's true. If someone is heading towards their own demise... there's no reason for me to stop them."
At those words, Irisviel looked at me with an understanding gaze.
"I see... By the way, I wonder what Chinese food is like~"
"Ah, if you don't want to taste hell, it's better not to go. It can be spicier than you think."
"Hmph, if I were to give up over something like that, I wouldn't have participated in the Holy Grail War in the first place!"
If she saw the dish after saying that, she would surely regret it.
"Let's rest comfortably tonight."
"Yes! Let's just relax and unwind today!"
"Irisviel!?"
Irisviel hugged Artoria, and Artoria, unable to hide her bewilderment, was said to have been forced into a bath.
Caster, who had watched the whole process, gave a thumbs-up with a nosebleed, and I was said to have felt my favorability towards Medea plummet.
Afterward, the bed... I, Tiamat, Medea, Irisviel, and Artoria all ended up sleeping in one bed. I couldn't help but say to Medea with a flustered expression:
"Hey, Medea? Why is there only one bed?"
"I had to make it in a hurry, so it couldn't be helped! Don't get any strange ideas!"
Hey, do you think I'm the protagonist of some harem kingdom? I'm not some golden-tanned playboy!
"Sleep well, child."
Tiamat hugged me and went to sleep. Artoria, who saw this, watched me with a bewildered gaze.
"Zzzzz..."
On the other hand, Irisviel, whether she was gutsy or just had a carefree personality, was sleeping soundly.
'Let's just sleep... Worrying about it is bad for my mental health.'
And so we slept. When afternoon came, we headed to the place where we were supposed to meet Lancer's Master.
All the Servants and Irisviel who arrived there sat down with pale faces, full of regret.
"Nom..."
"Huh?"
"Munch, munch."
"????"
At the sight of a princess-like girl with platinum blonde hair and a blue dress, I realized who she was.
'Ignore her.'
We each sat at our own tables for the meal.
"Excuse me, do you serve rice?"
The owner just nodded.
"Then, one mapo tofu, please. With rice."
Jingle, jingle.
Another person entered.
The Mapo Priest had arrived.
"A lot of customers today."
And as he sat down.
"The usual, please."
The owner just cooked without a word.
Not long after, Lancer's Master came in.
"It's cramped. Cough."
Lancer's Master, coughing from the spiciness of the food, and Lancer, dressed in a black suit.
"Are you?"
"Yes~ For now, shall we sit and eat?"
Lancer's Master, seeing Irisviel and Saber, nodded with a look of understanding and sat down.
After that, there was only silence.
When the food finally came out after a long silence, everyone stared at the mapo tofu with horrified expressions.
"Is this mapo tofu?"
"Ugh... I'm suddenly full. Can I eat it later?"
Artoria and Irisviel stared at the mapo tofu with horror and pale faces. The priest could be seen eating the mapo tofu deliciously, and Manaka was also eating with ease.
Lancer and his Master were sweating, looking as if they had walked into a death trap, and Tiamat was just swallowing nervously and sweating.
I took a bite, and then ate it with rice.
My mouth was on fire from the spiciness and the heat of the rice, but I chewed it carefully, blowing on it.
"Mmm! Delicious!"
Everyone looked at me with expressions of disbelief. Next, Tiamat started to eat.
"Nom..."
And then she froze, her face turning pale like Kyaru's (from Princess Connect) when she ate a bug, but her mouth wasn't moving.
'Don't tell me she fainted while standing!?'
After that, everyone started to take a spoonful, and the moment they put it in their mouths, they could be seen fainting.
"Hmm!? This is delicious."
Irisviel, perhaps influenced by the Grail's corruption, started to eat the mapo tofu well.
The after-effects came later. In any case, the Servants were said to have been forcibly ejected and disappeared outside.
Finally, Lancer's Master cleared his throat and said:
"I have already eaten, so I will eat later."
He was just avoiding eating it, and Lancer showed a look that said, 'My lord, what a brilliant excuse,' and said that if his lord wasn't eating, then he wouldn't either.
And so, we filled our stomachs with mapo tofu and rice and paid the bill.
Kouzhou Ensaikan Taizan: -2,800 JPY
Remaining Balance: 409,139 JPY.
The owner served the mapo tofu on a large, generous plate, and we were grateful to eat for such a price, with each of us getting a bowl of rice.
If we came here often, our insides would burn, but it was so delicious that it wouldn't be bad to come here once in a while.
"That was delicious~"
"Yes. The fiery taste and the feeling of my stomach burning are nice. This kind of stimulation isn't bad~"
At the girl's voice, I froze and slowly turned my head. Manaka was standing there.
"Hi~ My name is Manaka Sajyou. Though it seems you already know me. I came because you're interesting."
"Ah... I see?"
"So interesting, my heart is pounding."
Wait, you haven't fallen for me, have you?
"..."
"For now, I'll be going. I'll have to bring Francesca next time."
To me? Or for the mapo tofu?
If it was Francesca, I felt like she would collapse and die on the spot after eating mapo tofu.
I didn't know much about Francesca, but from my perspective, she seemed like a hedonist. But in front of mapo tofu, she probably wouldn't even be able to stand.
"Well then, see you next time~ Bye-bye~"
And just like that, Manaka disappeared in an instant. Medea muttered to herself.
"A... Reacher of the Root?"
And I just gave a bitter smile.
"Ignore her. Ignoring her is the answer."
At my words, Medea quietly nodded.