The next morning.
At the sports field of a high school in Mifune City.
Naoki and Atalanta stood at the starting line of the running track.
"The rules are the same as before. Any method to win is fine, right?" Atalanta asked. "But your trick of opening a spatial gate is banned."
"Even without you saying, I know that's too unfair for you."
A race.
That was what Naoki and Atalanta had agreed on last night.
Around mid-last year, during Naoki's summer break visit, he casually brought up the topic of golden apples while chatting with Atalanta.
Of course, not the golden apple that sparked the dispute among the three goddesses, but the three golden apples that caused Atalanta to lose a race.
In her lifetime, having participated in numerous adventures, including the voyage of the Argo, Atalanta's fame spread across Greece, attracting many suitors. Her father hoped she would marry a hero.
However, Atalanta had sworn to the Moon Goddess to remain chaste forever and had no desire to marry. To fend off suitors, she proposed a race to determine a winner.
If someone could beat her in a race, she would marry them. But if they lost, they would be killed—a rather unconventional contest.
The outcome is well-known. With the help of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty, a man named Hippomenes defeated Atalanta using three golden apples and married her.
[If someone could honorably beat you in a race now, would you marry them?]
When discussing this topic with Atalanta, Naoki had asked it playfully, just to tease her. He expected her to get mad and retort, but to his surprise, she challenged him to a race.
Since Atalanta had said any method was allowed, in their first race, Naoki shamelessly used Imaginary Manifestation to open a spatial gate, stepping directly to the finish line. Atalanta chased him down for a while before forgiving him.
Since then, as if determined to erase the shame of being defeated by cheating, Atalanta always found ways to challenge Naoki to a race whenever he returned.
For the record, excluding that first cheated match, their race record was—Naoki, fifteen races, fifteen wins.
"By the way, after so many races, Miss Kitty, you should know you can't beat me in a race, right?" Naoki said during their warm-up. "In terms of pure physical ability, we're not far apart. But if I use Mana, it's basically the same as opening a spatial gate again, isn't it?"
Based on Servant stats, both Naoki and Atalanta had Agility ranked A. But what made the difference was Naoki's Mana Burst ability. If he used Mana, his speed far surpassed Atalanta's. Even if Atalanta used Mana too, their Mana reserves weren't on the same level.
Annoyed, Atalanta glared at Naoki, then sighed lightly. "So? You think there's no point in racing me anymore?"
"Not at all. If you want, I'll race you as many times as you like. But if we keep this up, won't you owe me a dozen marriages by now? Speaking of, you already owe me fifteen, right?"
"Ugh…"
Atalanta's warm-up movements froze.
[If someone beats her in a race, she'll marry them]—though they hadn't made such a promise before racing, only aiming to determine a winner. Naturally, Atalanta had no such intentions. But factually, as Naoki said, she did owe him.
If reincarnation existed in this world, in her case, she'd owe fifteen lifetimes.
But thinking about it…
"You talk like that—do you actually want to marry me?" Atalanta laughed as if joking. "With our race record, even if you really wanted to marry me, I wouldn't have any reason to refuse. Fifteen races, fifteen losses—the worst defeat I've ever suffered."
Besides that one cheated spatial gate race, in the remaining matches, Naoki hadn't used any unfair methods. As he said, he defeated her honorably.
After a brief silence, Naoki stood at the starting line. "So, what do you want? Win or lose, do you want to marry me?"
"That… let's talk about it after you beat me in this race."
The race followed the same format as before: an 800-meter track, ten laps, first to finish wins.
Eight kilometers was no issue for either of them, and the race ended quickly. The result was the same as the previous fifteen times—Naoki won, leading by three laps.
Sitting with Naoki on a bench near the finish line after drinking some water, Atalanta said, "Naoki, I'm really grateful for everything you've done for me."
"From helping Jack the Ripper move on, to arranging my identity so I could live normally in modern society… I'm truly thankful for all you've done."
"Two years ago, during the Holy Grail War, my reason for joining was to repay a debt. Helping you a bit during the war to make your victory smoother… It might not fully repay the debt, but it should count for something."
That's what she said, but in the Holy Grail War two years ago, Atalanta didn't feel she helped Naoki much. Maybe she contributed a little when Merry tricked her that night, and perhaps in the final battle against Solomon's army of evil spirits.
Beyond that, there wasn't much else. In truth, Naoki didn't really need her help.
"But luckily, we both have a long time ahead… Doing something for you to repay the favor over a long period should be enough, right? In nature, my mindset is similar to the Knight King's, but compared to her, I have a slightly different feeling toward you…"
Atalanta didn't finish her sentence, but Naoki already understood what this Mrs. Natsukawa meant.
"So, want to move to Camelot Apartments?"
"Forget it. I'll stay here. At least here, besides Shiki, you're all mine." Atalanta said, tugging Naoki's collar. "From now on, you have to come back for a week every month, and come alone, got it?"
"Alone… That's a bit… I'll try."
If he came alone for a week, Naoki felt he might end up spending three days and three nights in bed.