"Don't worry. This tale's recorded in the Chaldea Adventure Log! (Fou!)"
Hold it!
"Both sides ready?" Jeanne, clad in a single towel, presided.
"I'll settle this, Golden One," Nero, wrapped in a towel, glared, her emperor's aura like a crimson rose.
"Ha! Regret challenging me as you fall from your throne," Gilgamesh, towel concealing his royal key, stood defiant.
"In the name of Ruler, I judge this battle! Prepare!"
The two braced.
"Here we go—"
"Mmm!"
"Hmph."
"Unlimited Bath Endurance Match! Begin!!"
The signal dropped, and the contest began!
"Ha! I bathe daily! Victory's mine!" Nero boasted.
"A fine handicap. I see your excuses already, Emperor," Gilgamesh taunted.
"My line!" Nero shot back.
Why this? Flash back a few minutes.
"So, Ritsuka's appointed governor and guest general, fighting on the front lines for the Holy Grail," Romani explained in Nero's grand Roman bath.
The capital, Nero's rightful Roman Empire.
A fractured Rome, torn by rival Servant emperors, beyond Nero's sole power to defeat. Thus, she enlisted the Master's aid, granting Ritsuka the governor's mantle.
An enemy faction held the Grail.
Ritsuka and Mash would face them on the front lines.
"Hahaha! Governor? No half-baked title now! Shall I call you that?" Gilgamesh laughed, his consciousness at rest in leisure.
"The role aside, securing Nero's cooperation is a coup. It gives us legitimacy and backing," Romani noted.
"Tedious but vital. War without patronage is mere guerrilla tactics—far from a king's battle," Gilgamesh agreed.
"Scorched-earth strategies exist, but… I suspect the mage with the Grail is…"
Only one name comes to mind.
"Lev, that clown? Easy prey. Inferior in every way," Gilgamesh scoffed.
"So sure? Caution's wise, but your confidence is unreal. Got proof?"
"I deemed him unworthy."
"Wow, that's confidence! Oddly, I can't argue!"
Lev Lainur, betrayer of Chaldea and humanity, who once killed Olga Marie.
His name stirs my soul. Why?
"He failed to see Olga Marie's worth. A blind fool. Had he enslaved her, we'd be checkmated," Gilgamesh said.
"You saved her, right?"
"Don't misunderstand, Romani. Olga Marie saved herself. She activated the Grail. I merely gave her the chance."
I just wanted her to live, to befriend Mash and the Master.
The wish this extraordinary king granted. That's all.
"I didn't chain her with debts. Don't mistake that."
"I know. Still, let me say thanks."
A sincere bow from Romani.
"Thank you, from me too."
"Always groveling. Humility's fine, in its place," Gilgamesh teased.
"Compared to you, we're all ancient!"
"Ha! Bow before a king, kneel, and wait!" Gilgamesh lounged, foot dangling in the bath.
Lev Lainur, who trampled Olga Marie's trust.
I'll make him pay for her pain.
Then—
"Having fun, Golden One?" Nero's bold voice rang out.
"What?! Co-ed baths?!" Romani cut the call in panic.
"What's this? Interrupting a king's cleanse with that tiny frame?" Gilgamesh challenged.
There stood Emperor Nero Claudius, clad in a single towel.
Rome's progressive. Mixed bathing's normal?
"I'd never be so crude! I challenge you to a duel!" Nero pointed dramatically.
"As the true sovereign, accept my challenge!"
"Oh…?" Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow.
What's this?
"They say you're a king! Hero King, bearing all creation!" Nero accused.
"Fact," he confirmed.
"Outranking me, an emperor? Outrageous! Yet Mash and Ritsuka adore you, always talking about you! It's dull!"
Their praise for him reassures me.
"Hmph, my charisma surpasses yours," Gilgamesh smirked.
She's competitive.
"As emperor, I can't just accept a superior! Thus, I challenge you!" Nero declared.
"Ha! With that unbalanced body? Even with a gender-swap potion, I'd crush you," Gilgamesh scoffed.
There's a potion for that?
"It's obvious! We're in a bath! Man versus woman—one contest!"
Not back-scrubbing?
"Oh? Name it," Gilgamesh pressed.
"Who can stay in the bath longer! First to falter loses!!"
Bloodless, though nosebleeds might happen.
"Petty, but fine. I'll indulge you. Learn the gap between king and emperor," Gilgamesh accepted.
"Settled! First to faint loses! Golden One, get a fair judge!" Nero demanded.
"Where's the Master and Mash?"
"Asleep!"
"—Jeanne."
Snap.
"I heard everything! As Ruler, I'll oversee!" Jeanne appeared, towel-clad, waving a flag reading 'Chaldea's Little Ones.'
"First to lose consciousness loses, agreed?"
"Umu! Boil yourself, Golden One!" Nero taunted.
"I permit your defiance. A fine diversion," Gilgamesh replied.
That was minutes ago.
Now, two hours in.
"Huu… huu…" Nero panted, face flushed, barely enduring.
"What's wrong, Emperor? Done? I could go ten more hours," Gilgamesh stood serene.
"Don't… mock me… I'll win… Rome's emperor… never loses…" Nero gasped.
Impressive. She's human, yet matches a Servant's vessel…
"Continue, Jeanne. Judge fairly," Gilgamesh said.
"Ducks go quack-quack♪ Frogs go ribbit-ribbit♪" Jeanne sang.
Thirty minutes later.
"…I'm… still…" Nero, limp as an octopus, mumbled.
"Still conscious?" Gilgamesh asked.
"I won't… lose… Emperor… yields to none…"
…
"…I'm…"
Her murmurs faded.
"—"
"Nero-san? Nero-san?" Jeanne called.
"…Still…"
Alright.
"Jeanne, get her out," Gilgamesh ordered.
"Yes?"
I'm overheating.
"I'm done. I've sweated enough. Call it a draw," he declared.
"Match voided? Understood!" Jeanne nodded.
"Hmph. Spirited for a woman. Clinging to me as a human—impressive," Gilgamesh said, summoning a cooling sheet from golden ripples. "Apply it. She has duties tomorrow. Can't falter."
"Got it!" Jeanne complied.
"Your grit tonight earns my respect, Nero Claudius. Fine entertainment," Gilgamesh chuckled, leaving the bath.
"…I'm… still…" Nero whispered.
The vessel acknowledged one emperor's tenacity.
"(Nero Claudius is great—truly great. She embodies Rome's image: splendor, passion personified. Her 83cm bust—small? Fool! At 150cm tall, it's exceptional. Scaled to average height, it's 86-88cm—a stunning figure, rivaling or surpassing Saint Jeanne's. Driven by duty, I dove into Rome's twin hills—so soft. Unbelievably soft. Like slime breasts, sinking endlessly in a blissful, indescribable sensation. I once thought Rome was gluttonous, full of vomiting nobles and overindulgent fatties. I was wrong. Nero is Rome; Rome is Nero. Her hills hold all Rome's beauty. Dive into her embrace—every road leads to Rome. She'll welcome you!) (Fou!)"
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