Emiya Residence.
- "Romania, then?" Emiya muttered thoughtfully.
- "That's vampire territory, right?" Runeas asked, giving me a suspicious look. "Admit it, Romani. What are you up to?"
- "And also, would you mind explaining this, Master?" added Artoria, nodding toward Sarra, whom Merlin was watching with interest.
Right now, I gathered all the residents of the house to discuss the upcoming vacation. Everyone was present, even da Vinci-chan, who had to be practically dragged out of Azazel's house. And, of course, most of the attention was focused on the newly minted Beast.
- "Oh, that's Beast VI/S. Our new neighbor," I said calmly. "As for Romania..."
- "We're talking about the Beast, Master! Don't pretend it doesn't mean anything!" Artoria protested, but she was met with complete indifference, as if this happened every day. She turned her head from side to side, unable to believe what she was seeing, and then, apparently giving up and clearly embarrassed, began to shake Archer. "Even you, Shirou?! Say something!"
- "This is our Master," he said as Artoria shook him like a doll. "As long as she's not trying to kill us, everything's fine."
- "Uh-huh," Merlin nodded. "Just relax."
- "Beast more, Beast less," Mo-chan shrugged.
- "I beg your pardon, my king, but I support the opinions of Sir Mordred and Merlin," Lancelot added.
- "Alas, my younger sister, in addition to being ungrateful for the food that my husband pays for free, has too narrow a view of the world to understand such an obvious truth," Morgan sighed, her face showing what was undoubtedly feigned shame. "I apologize to each of you, especially to her chosen one. I am sincerely sorry for this."
- "Will you repeat that to my face, dear sister?" Artoria growled naturally.
- "Now, now, Artoria. Fighting is bad. And we all think you're very grateful and smart," Medusa hugged her from behind, which made her embarrassed and blush, and then provoked her even more.
- "Let me go!" Artoria raised her voice, wriggling. "I'm not a child!"
- "The battle between you is already getting tiresome. Why don't you come up with another way to dispel my boredom?" Gil said in his usual manner.
- "How rude. It's customary to apologize for such rudeness, isn't it..." Morgan smiled and looked in the direction Gil's eyes had followed, which immediately widened. "Lancer?"
- "Yes, that was rude, Gil," Enkidu shook his head, but clearly with amusement. "Apologize."
- "But..."
- "Apologize," Enkidu repeated with an extremely sweet smile on his face, which instantly silenced Gil and made him flinch.
- "I... apologize..." Gil said, gritting his teeth but doing as Enkidu had 'asked'.
- "Well done," Enkidu said with a soft smile, patting Gil on the head. "Mother and I are proud of you."
- "Stop it right now!" Gil protested, instantly shaking off his hand.
- "Don't you like it?" Enkidu asked, a hint of hurt in his voice.
- "You... I..." Gil didn't know what to say, so he clicked his tongue and just let Enkidu entertain himself, and then Tia joined them and started patting his head too.
- "Some things never change, huh?" Da Vinci-chan asked rhetorically with a smile.
- "Um... Romani-san... Why Romania?" Gabriel spoke up. "Not that I'm against it, but isn't our company a little too... noisy for a place like that?"
- "Exactly!" Runeas agreed. "He's up to something and just wants us to think he's kind, when in reality he's an actually demon!"
- "Whatever it is, I don't think we have a choice, Lady Gabriel," Griselda said. "Mr. Archaman is too stubborn and selfish to give any of us a say in the matter."
- "Griselda! Stop it!" Gabriel immediately rebuked her.
- "I apologize for telling the truth," Griselda said, bowing slightly in my direction.
- "Griselda!"
- "Arrr!" Hercules growled, and Medusa nodded in agreement.
- "He's right, Miss Archangel. The Master deserves it," she agreed. "I'm more surprised that you postponed your wedding preparations, Berserker."
- "Everything is almost ready," said Morgan. "And I thought the four of us needed a little distraction. Especially Yasaka, since a couple of insects decided to cause trouble during this period."
- "I asked you not to call them that, Morgan," Yasaka shook her head. "Yes, they caused trouble, but I'm glad it was over quickly. Thank you."
- "It's okay," Morgan waved her hand. "It wasn't difficult for me."
- "Okay, everyone shut up," I said, clapping my hands and reinforcing it with magic, thus restoring silence to the living room. "Yes, I'm planning something. No, it's not a war or anything like that. And, again, no, it won't interfere with our vacation."
- "You answered and didn't answer the questions at the same time, mongrel," Gil smirked.
- "Oh? As if you're not interested in what's going to happen there yourself, golden boy?"
- "Hmm... You're right," he replied after thinking for a moment. "Don't disappoint me, mongrel. Or you'll know the wrath of the king."
- "Oh, I'm so scared," I rolled my eyes and got up from the sofa, moving Kunou and Gabi off my lap, which obviously didn't make them very happy. "Okay, everyone is free. Pack your things, those who haven't done so yet. We're leaving tomorrow."
- "Where are you going?" Emiya raised an eyebrow.
- "I have something to do before we leave," I said, and a magic circle lit up beneath me, leading me to something. More precisely, to someone.
-0-
When I arrived, I didn't know what to do, because a very, VERY unusual scene was unfolding before me. It was a situation where a small but loud and vicious dog was literally threatening a meter-long dog that could have bitten it in a couple of seconds, chewed it up and spat it out, leaving only an empty space. So...
- "Everyone lie down, or I'll kill her!" shouted the man, threatening with a stationery knife. He was an ordinary person with no special abilities whatsoever, and clearly intoxicated.
- "Let go of the hostage!" shouted Yukimura-san, pointing his weapon at the man along with his partner. "You don't want the consequences you're heading for!"
- "You think I'm weak and won't do it?! You think I'm good for nothing?! Like everyone else?!" the criminal continued to shout, pulling the hostage even closer to him and putting the knife to her throat.
It seemed like a relatively typical situation where a person, under the influence of not-so-good external factors, simply resorted to extremes. And, to be honest, in such a case, it would not have attracted much attention, but the hostage...
- "Save me, help me..." she said plaintively, with an extremely obvious feigned fear in her voice. "I'm so weak and helpless... Where is my hero to save me..."
Who was it? Pff. Obviously, it was Rizevim, who was now acting out an incredibly surreal scene. She, the descendant of Lucifer, the first Fallen, and Lilith, the Mother of all demons, possessing enormous power, intelligence, and beauty, I give her credit, was being held hostage by some guy with alcohol in his blood.
And while I was still trying to comprehend what I had seen, she noticed me.
- "Oh, my hero!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm and excitement that could rival the best theater actors. "You have finally arrived to save me!"
- "Huh?"
That single sound made both the police and the criminal instantly turn their attention to me. I didn't know where to go, so I just covered my face with my hand, as if I wasn't there at all.
- "This man grabbed me roughly and wanted me to go on a date with him!" she continued this circus. "But I am a faithful woman and will never let that happen, even if it costs me my life! Come and save me, my hero!"
At these words, all three ordinary people, as well as the onlookers around, began to stare at me openly, which made me feel more ashamed than I had ever felt in my life, or rather, in all my lives.
It was like a silent scene from a comedy film of extremely dubious quality, and I was the main character in it. I just wanted to disappear, especially from the eyes of the decent Yukimura-san, who had helped me more than once. And I could literally see that the criminal himself felt the same way, even through the haze of alcohol intoxication.
- "Romani-san... Do you know her?" Yukimura-san asked me, glancing at the criminal out of the corner of his eye.
- "No."
- "But this woman..."
- "I don't know her."
- "How can you say that?! All those nights when thoughts of you warmed my body and heart were a lie?!" Rizevim burst into tears, then, partially 'calming down' and sniffling, looked at me. "O-okay... Even if I'm just another woman in your path... Even if my feelings mean nothing to you... I will still love you!"
Absolute silence. Dead. Just like a cemetery at midnight on Halloween.
- "Romani-san..." Yukimura-san began. "How could you... You're married, and yet..."
- "What a bastard..." whispered the onlookers.
- "So he's married and still has the nerve to cheat on such a beautiful and kind woman..."
- "He's the worst..."
- "Just die..."
I just stood there. I stood and thought. I thought about whether to end this circus or just run away. And...
- "So it's not me who's the criminal, it's him!" the man shouted, pointing the knife at me and letting go of Rizevim. "I thought I was the worst, but no! He's the worst!"
That was the finale, and what did I do, as an adult, smart, mature, intelligent, charming, and independent man? The answer is obvious...
I just ran away.
- "Stop!" Yukimura-san shouted.
- "Hey, stop!" some guy shouted.
- "Catch him!" shouted a random mother with a child.
- "He's the enemy of all women!" shouted the schoolgirls.
- "Let's catch him and castrate him!" shouted the criminal himself.
But I didn't listen to them and ran with all my might, wiping my undeserved tears with my sleeve.
I will take revenge on you, Rizevim... I will definitely take revenge on you...
-0-
A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
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