"Master's femininity needs beginner-level decoration tips, an easy sweets guide, and an apron…"
Rikka Cake
"Done! Simple recipe, no hiccups! This'll spark her interest in sweets—"
"Yo, Paisen! Delivery done? Oh, cake! Lemme try—"
"Nnnnnn!!"
"Delish!! Nice job, Paisen! Hm? What's up?"
"You guys!! You're ruining Master's femininity—!!"
"Guh—!! (Friendship effective)"
"If it's come to this—!!"
Flyer: Recruiting Allies to Boost Master's Femininity
"I'll spread these everywhere! Master can't stay like this—!"
Headband and sash equipped
"She'll face a spinster's pyre—swallowed by muscles!! No way! For Master, I'll bear any shame! I'll save her!!" ← This one's an Avenger
"Got the flyers! Here I go!!" ← This one's an Avenger
Human Observation – A Woman's Tale for Last. Trading Femininity for Martial Arts, the Heroine's Story
"Well, this pointless encounter's a drag, but let's burn words with introductions."
The boy slammed his feet on the desk, leaning on his hand.
"I'm Andersen. Hans Christian Andersen. A trifling fairy tale writer whose works somewhat circulated."
"Hans Christian Andersen…! Amazing, Senpai! Heroic King! He's one of the three great fairy tale writers! The Little Mermaid, The Little Match Girl—he captivated the world!"
Mash spoke with rare excitement.
—Right. Mash loves reading, so he's her idol.
"This kid? A Heroic Spirit? Seriously? What, stabbed everyone with a pen?"
"That's a barbarian's logic. Poor diet stuffed your head with potatoes. Stick a finger in your left ear, twist out the rot from the right. Otherwise, your head'll decay."
"Huh!?"
"So, Mash likes fairy tales. Don't talk to him. Your ideals will shatter into despairing illusions, guaranteed."
"Eh…!?"
"Fairy tale writer. You said there's what you want to write and what you must write. The former's unleashed creativity; the latter's bound by deadlines and reason, right?"
"Impressive. You remembered my words. Easier than memorizing failed proposals, I suppose."
"Your talk's dull, but your eye for people's first-rate. Your words had flavor worth recalling."
"Honored. As a Servant or hero, you're a joke, Heroic King?"
—Incredible.
What's incredible? Obvious.
The vessel's cool dismissal of such venomous barbs is one thing, but—
—This hero before us, staking his life on every word, evaluating others with his entire being, is what's truly incredible.
A king can't rise in anger first.
He's "storytelling" his existence as a king with everything he has. Striking first would brand him a fool king who killed a brilliant writer.
—This is a writer's hero… the pinnacle of a cultured soul, summoned by pen and imagination alone…!
"By the way, The Little Mermaid was what I wanted to write. A princess, swept by foolish love, trading her divine voice for a pathetic romance! Writing it was thrilling! Suppressing my hives and 'normies explode' urges!"
"—S-So that's how it was…"
"Mash's eyes died!!"
"That's the face I had, idling at Camlann awaiting summons."
"I told you. He's a writer's hero. No way he's sane."
—I've never felt such despair…! Stay strong, Mash! The wound's deep!
"—Damn. I spilled trade secrets to a fan in my usual spiel. You led me into it, Heroic King! Do you know how much effort it takes to win one reader!?"
"Punishment for your insolence. I'll steal one fan from you. Costly, eh, Andersen?"
"—A single chat cost me dearly… You're a writer's ultimate taboo. Too tricky for friend or foe!"
"Oh? Why's that?"
"'You can do anything'! As an enemy, inconsistencies in setting and depiction get bashed. Your flippant talk earns hate! The comment section'll be flooded with slander! Defeating you needs airtight settings, depictions, and weakening reasons layered thrice over! Your dialogue's a chore to write! You take the effort of dozens of normal characters, Gilgamesh! A foe untoppled without plot armor or protagonist buffs—every writer's bane!"
"Hahahahahaha!! Well said!!"
"As an ally? Just as bad! Overstep, and it's 'cheat' or 'OP stan'—a storm of criticism. Your 'can do anything' forces writers to their creative limits! Normally, 'defeat the enemy' takes 10 units of effort—you demand 100, 1,000! You outstrip readers' imaginations, push writers past their limits. Every writer dreads depicting you, the ultimate plot-ruining nuisance!"
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!! Indeed! A story about me won't fit in mongrels' hands, readers or writers! Yet here I stand, at the story's heart!"
"I'd call it a mistake, but… you're blessed with readers and fans. But that's not all. You, pandering? Your way is to stir and shred any story. If that's refined, if you're the star of a thrilling, beloved work…"
"Then?"
"—Someone 'loves,' 'admires,' and 'expects' you with their whole being."
—!
"No hero would trample a reader's pure devotion. An endangered, innocent fan, eyes sparkling, eagerly flipping pages for your next feat, heedless of settings or petty consistency, craving only your story and triumphs. A pure, untainted 'fan' makes you a delightful protagonist."
—He adjusted his glasses, visibly irked.
"—That's the 'fan' we writers dream of. One earned stamps a character's success. Cherish them, fool!"
—This evaluation… could it be…
"—Tch. Such a pure soul can't exist in this filthy world. If it did, my good mood would make sense."
"Right, right. Live up to that inexplicable respect and admiration—but…"
His eyes glinted sharply.
"One warning, Heroic King. Purity is fragile devotion embodied. The stronger the respect, the deeper the admiration, the more boundless that devotion grows. Extreme devotion, extreme adoration—its endpoint is clear."
"—"
"—Don't 'let go.' A fan like that is irreplaceable. Realize it after losing them, and it's too late. Your heroic saga, your glories, will be drowned in tears of grief and regret on the story's final page."
It was—
A fairy tale writer's heartfelt warning.
"…Hmph. I'll keep it in mind."
"Do that. …Talked too much. Look at their shell-shocked faces. Lead them and crush the culprit."
"—The culprit's here?"
"Second-floor study. Floating weakly."
"—Got it. Master."
"Yes?"
"You and the writer come. Artoria, Mash, Mordred, stand by. This'll be quick."
"Y-Yes."
"What, sneaking ahead?"
With a snap, a tablecloth emerged from ripples.
"Eat up. —Time to assess Master and the phantom."
"Awfully kind. Fan influence?"
"Maybe. It doesn't feel bad, that's for sure."
—The writer's greatness hit me hard.
"Hey, what about me? Evaluate me too!"
"What? Want pity as a worn-out, unsold career woman?"
"No—!! Like, a rom-com or romance!!"
"Your story's a heroic saga or hot-blooded battle, obviously. At best, Precure. A superhero backed by kids' cheers, toppling evil in theaters—what else could you expect? Look in a mirror."
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!"
"Too much laughter!!"
—I'll cheer with all my might. Go, Cure Rikka—!! Absolutely cheering.
"My rom-com worldline was incinerated…!! I'll never forgive the mastermind!! I'll pierce them with my life's greatest blow!!"
"You're a hero to the core. …But."
"?"
"I see how much conflict and pain it took to get here. One misstep, and it'd be a banned horror tome or a vile book of lust and decay. 'That won't do'—someone risked their life to shift your path. You had the best editor."
"—"
"…No. I'm happy. Crying because I'm happy."
"—I see."
"…Hehe, 'the best,' huh? Praised by a writer's hero. —Gudoshi…"
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