Hello, everyone! This is my first story in this site, and (I think) the first Fate/Apocrypha X Tsukihime Crossover. My main work in this site is as lioncousin's beta for his story, Fate New Rebellion, so check it out! This story is a Side Story to that fic, but in no way will this affect the main story and vice versa. You don't need to read this story to continue with Fate New Rebellion, nor is it the other way around. Since it's a Side Story, I'll try to avoid dragging it on to be as long as the main fic, so this will be about 5 chapters long.

As always, constructive criticisms are welcome. After reading it, please kindly put your thoughts into the review section!

It is a beautiful summer's day.

Taking a break from my duties, I decide to lounge on the porch, overlooking a plain garden. Originally, the garden itself was extravagantly decorated, with multitudes of plants from this world (which I obviously didn't recognize), brick pathways, a number of small streams and ponds, and other toys that cursed family could afford. Now, since this place serves a different purpose, I remodeled the garden, leaving a slightly disorganized and barren place.

Relaxing my muscles, I take note of the flat grass plain that serves as a mock training ground, though I'd like to organize a picnic there soon. Some of the towering trees are removed, roots and all, so the cavity on the ground can serve as pivot points for the mansion's Thaumaturgical defences. The streams that deviate from the local leylines are filled, then stuffed with traps, both lethal and (slightly) less lethal. The ponds are enlarged to be used for a fishery, for no apparent reason other than being a food supply.

I mentally note the next steps to develop them even more, before forcefully shutting my mind to simply enjoy the day. A rest is paramount to any sort of activity, especially if you're someone that's been just thrown into a different world altogether, then wanting to overthrow its local government. Come to think of it, I'm very fortunate to be blessed with a Servant's abilities, as a normal person would've had a stroke by now.

A cool breeze blows gently around the porch, tickling my hair and carrying the scent of grass and flowers to my nostrils. At times like this, I offer my prayers and thanks to God for his bountiful gifts He's given us. Truly, His creations are all wonderful, even if we humans always try to rearrange it as if we know better.

Slowly, I feel my mind dozing off... Mm... it's a good day...

It was a beautiful summer's day.

- Shake. Shake.

"-ther! Father!"

- Shake. Shake.

"Father!"

I slowly opened my eyes, letting them to adjust to the bright sunlight. Strange. Usually, I could detect people coming near my body even when asleep, but I didn't wake up until this girl shook my body. Hmm... perhaps I overworked myself last night?

Shifting my gaze towards the ball of energy beside me, I lifted my body groggily. I heard a few pops... ugh, yes, it's overworking after all...

Slowly, I placed my hand on top of a head covered in black hair.

"Muu!" A cute sound emerged from her lips as I started to lightly mess her hair.

"Sorry. Did I overslept?"

The girl shook her head. "N-No." Her face was apologetic, seemingly afraid she just disturbed my rest. "Err... just... I brought the bread..."

The teenage girl turned around and jogged lightly towards the table. Her hair, slightly longer than her shoulders, glinted blue under the light. Inadvertently, my eyes were then drawn downwards, to her growing back, slimming waist, blooming hips, and alluring legs. I imagined her sizable chest heaving and bouncing seductively as she ran.

Now, I certainly wasn't a raging pervert lusting after young girls, even if the girl in question had truly grown into a shockingly lovely young woman in her own right. My moniker of 'Saint' wasn't for nothing, after all. The... 'observation' above was mostly objective, with the subjective part was simply myself breathtaken by a creation of God. So it didn't count.

Right?

Basket in hand, she ran back towards me, even if our former distance didn't really necessitate a sprint. However, I failed to admonish her after seeing her beaming expression, all proud and happy as she delivered the goods.

Elesia, now 15, was the daughter of the local baker. Her father was Asian, while her mother was a native French, and the best of their features were successfully handed down to their sole child. She was of average height, but with a slim build all the people in this rural area possessed after years of manual labor.

Without taking the wooden basket from her hands, I chose a fresh roll and decided it'd do for my breakfast. Immediately, the scent of homemade butter wafted through my nose, and a familiar, supple feeling was trasmitted through my fingers. Offering a small prayer, I ate the delicious bread.

The bread, of which its previous iterations I had eaten for the last 10 years, was different in taste.

Scrunching my brow in deep thought, I tried to recognize this new flavor. It's far from unpleasant; in fact, the bread was better than what her father usually made. Since I'd lived for several decades by now, the answer came quick.

"Herb butter, wasn't it?" I smiled at her, confident in my guess. "Not as the final glaze, but the fat content in the flour."

She bashfully smiled, confirming my expectations. Truly, this girl would be asked for her hand in marriage soon by many, many males... It made my protective instinct tingle.

Again, I stroked her head, making her close her eyes with a blissful expression.

"It's very good."

Her ears started to redden, a habit she still retained even after all these years we knew each other. The blush extended to her cheeks as I prolonged my stroke, which I used as a cue to get up from my work bench.

Gingerly replacing the basket to a nearby stool, I discreetly stretched my back by flexing my muscles independently. It's a trick I learnt from my good friend Risei, based on some bodybuilding techniques. Some of its advantages was the ability to draw energy unnoticed for a preemptive strike, among others.

A thought crossed my mind, caused by the absence of a familiar presence.

"Elesia," I called out, "have you seen Nanako?"

The young woman turned around and looked all over the place, trying to discern the whereabouts of my assistant. After a while, a negative reply came back.

Nanako. Or, to be precise, the Seventh Holy Scripture, lent to me by the Holy Church. I proposed the deal through my results on the field, as in no way I'd reveal my true strength in front of those Bishops, and I received her 13 years ago. However, what amazed them was the materialization of the Spirit residing inside of it, which I simply named Nanako. Apparently, I was the first person in history to have the strength to do so. It only smoothened the process, and now she's masquerading as my personal assistant while I was in this village.

The tricky part was to figure a continuous way to provide illusions for Nanako's hands. She was originally a unicorn spirit, and as such possessed no digits on her hands and feet. I had to personally designed it, since the Church disliked using Thaumaturgy other than Holy Blessings and related skills. Fortunately, the fact she was once a powerful nature spirit played into my hands.

Nature spirits were representatives of Gaia born from nature, and all of them were able to warp their immediate surroundings to a certain degree, depending on their strength. As a unicorn, she had tremendous powers over the soul, which manifested in her abilities as a Holy Scripture. Luckily, part of those powers included the ability to grab objects with hooves, so it saved me the trouble of engineering actual tangible fingers for her to use.

'Hah... that girl is really...! I'll spank her properly this time!'

Yes. The other issue with having sentient weapons walking about was that they tended to... walk about. Because of the requirements to summon her ethereal body onto this plane, it's understandable that she'd crave freedom from her physical shell of a weapon. Plus, having a horn as her weapon form wasn't very practical, so she's rarely even used for cases other than emergencies.

However, that was 13 years ago. Now, I expected discipline from her, at least to a certain minimum, but she still abandoned her responsibilities too often to play outside. Physical punishment wasn't exactly my favourite, but it was that or a ban on food, which was crueler, according to my personal tastes.

Sighing, I turned towards my guest. She looked slightly disappointed for failing to locate that wild bronco. Really, she needed to relax more. It's not like my every word was law! It's confusing how she looked up to me so much, when all I did was normal for a priest of my standing. Lately, it even became a bit awkward for me.

Smiling to ward off the atmosphere, I walked towards her. Lifting her chin with my index finger, I calmed her down. "It's fine, Elesia. Rather, I need to thank you for bringing the bread."

Her disappointment turned into a strange, dreamy expression, the redness on her cheeks returned. Okay...

Holding her shoulders, I spoke, "Now, would you like to pray?"

"A-Ah! Yes!" Her mind quickly snapped into focus.

Leaving her to kneel in front of the altar, I made my rounds around the church. Topping up the holy water, checking the oil storage and candles, noting any structural wear on the building, and so on, I completed my daily routine. Again, my annoyance for Nanako's absence resurfaced, as she's supposed to reduce my workload regarding these morning rounds.

Returning to the main hall, I spot the young baker standing in front of the side door I went out of. Was she waiting for me? Ah, I forgot to give her the blessings...

"Did you wait long?" I began to quicken my pace. "I apologize..."

"Of course not, Father!" She hurriedly corrected me. "Please, don't concern yourself over me! It is I who's supposed to wait, anyways."

Touching her shoulder, I guided her back into the hall. "Please, stop saying things like that. Isn't it only natural for myself to concern about you? As a man of God, and as a human, please indulge me in this selfishness."

I heard her mutter slowly. "Geez, you're nosy sometimes, Father..."

Chuckling, I completed the blessing I gave her every morning, before seeing her off. I'd like to escort her back, disregarding any protests she might come up with, but since that pet horse of mine was being naughty, I had no one to left my tasks to.

Just a few steps outside the gate, Elesia suddenly turned around.

"Ah! I just remembered... Would you come for dinner tonight, Father? Mr. Holter gave us a few rabbits, and it's a bit much for us three to eat alone, so..."

I stopped her rant before it got too long. Often, she'd talk about things for several minutes, and then trailing off in the end with a small voice, leaving the other party dissatisfied. It's one of her few quirks, and one I found cute, actually. Sadly, both of us couldn't afford the time right now.

"Of course. I'd love to eat your cooking again."

She beamed me a smile so bright I squinted my eyes slightly, before bowing and walked back home.

- Chime.

At the familiar sound of his door bell, Alain reflexively turned around to greet his customers. Then...

'Eh?'

Sighing, he chided his daughter. "Elesia, why didn't you use the back door? You know I hate false hopes..."

The girl merely giggled, before absentmindedly went around to the kitchen area, humming along the way. Almost automatically, she poured some flour, eggs, and milk, then began kneading.

She kneaded some more. And then kneaded again. And again. Again. Again...

"ELESIA!"

"Wah!"

Sighing for the second time, the elder baker spoke in a tired tone, "Hurry and clean up."

Inwardly, he smiled at the scene of his child furiously wiping the remains of the overworked dough from the floor. If she didn't throw it down when she jumped, he would never used it anyway, it'd be too airy for the customers' liking. However, this had become somewhat of a routine experience.

'It's been... 10 years? Yeah, that's about right.'

It'd been a decade since Shirou Kotomine arrived at this village.

He remembered that day quite vividly, since the local church hasn't had a proper priest for a few years before his marriage. Usually, a caretaker or passing bishops was the one taking care of the building, and withheld some sermons and ceremonies, mostly on public holidays. Well, it's not like the villagers could complain; after all, a backwater place like this was thankful enough to even have a proper place to pray to.

When that man arrived, along with his diminutive assistant, it caused quite a stir. Judging by his wardrobe, Father Kotomine was perhaps a big shot from a grandiose church in a large town. He's eloquent, young, friendly, and handsome, so the villagers instantly adored him.

Okay, it was the women that adored him back then, but through his first year he already integrated seamlessly into the daily life of the people. Many were worried he wouldn't be used to hard labor, even in these modern times, but they were proven to be wrong. He brought techniques and customs that optimized farming and production, which massively improved the standard of living to a level never before heard of.

For instance, using his personal connections, Father brought over and installed several sound recording and player instruments in public places, enabling them to listen to better and newer musical pieces. Of course, the one installed at the church played gospel music, but even that addition made the masses more eager to pray and worship there.

Alain's bakery had the newest microwave oven installed, as well as several snack shops and cafes. Father claimed those items were leftovers from factories, and since he knew the manager, he managed to secure several to be used by the villagers.

At the church, there was a vegetable and fruit garden developed using cutting edge technologies and techniques, like a hanging garden, semi-automated watering and irrigation system, power generator from waste plants, and so on. He held seminars and workshops every few months regarding all aspects of life, imparting his knowledge to advance the philosophical mindset of the people. Even the teachers at school always came to him for lessons and advices.

Truly, if God promised them a savior, he was certainly the person He spoke of.

...Which is a bit of a problem when your own daughter was madly in love with said person.

Elesia was only 5 years old when Father Kotomine arrived. Naturally, he accommodated all the children that came to the church along with their parents, and also provided counseling for the parents. The children back then got along extremely well with the young priest, and it's not an understatement to say he's an idol to them.

'Ah, come to think of it... he aged very well, didn't he?'

It's a talking point a few years ago, when many noted the Father hadn't aged a day since he stepped foot in this place. It was jarring, compared to their own children that grew like weeds, so some harbored suspicious feelings towards him. However, he demonstrated many physical exercises that extends a person's working life and health in general, which was proved successfully by those same people. By then, he dropped a figurative bombshell, claiming he's well over 30 years old.

The announcement made the men in the village green with envy, and so they began practicing the exercises he taught them, to good effect. Actually, it was a different case for Nanako, his attendant. She said her growth was stunted by a disease, and coupled with her adorable, doe-like, charming stare, all the people that asked immediately believed her without a trace of doubt.

It was scary sometimes, the power of a girl...

Anyway. Alain had watched his lovely little girl grew up into a beautiful young woman. He might be biased, but he's confident she's the best flower in this part of the continent, if not the hemisphere. And such, he had attended quite a few proposal meetings, several of which were with good families and good boys. However, today wasn't the era of arranged marriage anymore, so he'd like her to choose for herself, much like he did when he married her mother.

When she was little, her exotic looks only served to distance her from her peers. Thankfully, this period soon ended, and she made friends left and right with her cheerful and daring personality. Growing up, those looks she inherited from her mother attracted even more pair of eyes, some good, though most were terrible.

Even if her own pair of eyes only had sights for one man.

While working on several more doughs, he continued his inner debate. A few customers came and went, but his wife and child took care of that side, so he had some time to himself. Like his child earlier, he went through the motions perfectly and unconsciously, showing the movements of a master baker.

Objectively, and with quite a sizable part of his subjective opinion, there was no better man than Father Kotomine... for any girls of marriageable age. He, as a father, would like the very best man for a son-in-law, and the prime candidate only lived 20 minutes down the road on foot. Strictly speaking, even he himself felt short as a man when comparing himself to that man of God.

However, there was always a part of his brain that... didn't click quite right when meeting the priest. If put into words, it was the part of his mind that regulates his instincts and emotions, of which he was fully aware was very inaccurate and baseless. It felt like the part of him, tempered by his travels and experiences, rejected the man in question...

Almost as if... Shirou Kotomine was not human...

- STATIC.

'Ah, what have I been thinking?! It's rude to Father Kotomine!' Alain gingerly shook his head while smiling softly. 'Hmm... maybe I'll pray later in the evening... Oh, God! Nearly forgot my wife invited him for dinner!'

Dusting off the flour from his hand, he took a wooden plate and skillfully places the numerous doughs on top of it, before sliding them into the brick oven. Sure, the microwave was practical, but not for mass production like this. The part of him that was most delightful regarding that device was his stomach, since he could eat warm meal anytime he liked.

Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself for the dinner. 'I'll talk with him regarding Elesia. It's best to know the opinions from both sides, after all.'

- STATIC.

And with that, he continued his work.

"Come on, sis!" A childish voice resounded along the riverbank.

"Yeah! Over here!" Another one rang.

- Gusu, gusu.

If an adult was watching from a nearby elevation, he or she would simply smile at the freedom and happiness the children had. Running around, shouting and laughing, playing as if all was well in the world. After all, they're just children, right?

Except... one of the wasn't exactly a 'child'.

Dots of golden hair appeared every now and then among the bushes, in a display of hide and seek. The colour wasn't uncommon in these parts of France, and there were several other blonde tops moving about nearby. However, what made her stood out was her height.

Among teenagers, her height would be categorized as 'short', and her build was normal, albeit slightly lanky. Among the children she's playing with, she stuck up like a chapel tower. Therefore, someone might assume she's their caretaker, or perhaps she's just entertaining them as a big-sister figure.

Well, they're not wrong. But it didn't encompass the whole picture, either. Because, now, she's seriously playing with them, as if she's of the same age.

"Right, right! Hu-hu, whereever you are, get ready!" The young girl exclaimed energetically. She began to crouch, like a predator stalking her prey, eyes glinting with a wild spark. "Now. Where. Are. You?! Kukuku, hmm... Over there!"

Swiftly, she rotated her neck towards her victim-

Only to see the children neatly lining up, nervous grins on their faces.

"Ah... ahahaha..." One of them started chuckling awkwardly. "Umm... nice playing with you!"

With a bow, all of them scampered away to their homes.

At first, her mind was confused at the scene just unfolded in front of her. However, deep down, her heart and instincts already know...

'He-He-He's right b-behind me, isn't he?'

- Gulp.

Exaggeratingly slow, she turned her face around her shoulders. Sure enough, a demon was there.

The demon spoke.

"Explain."

Never before in her life Nanako's mind raced so fast to search for an excuse. Of course, no half-baked excuse would postpone her impending execution, so her brain racked her memories for anything, anything to be used as reasonable evidence of progress.

Despite that, or perhaps because of that, her mouth felt as heavy as lead.

"U-Um... I... found a leyline?"

The demon's aura flared.

"Wa-wa-wa-wa! And... there's a-a-a pattern!"

Silence.

...

- Fidget, fidget.

...

"We're going home."

Nanako's face lit up in delight. "Y-Yes! Master!"

A few steps onto the hill, a cold-blooded voice

"No carrots for a month."

"U-U-Uuuwwwaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

That afternoon, the entire village winced at the sound of tender flesh being smacked, accompanied with cute screams echoing across the streets. All of them, however, ignored the weekly occurrence and continued on with their life.

'Ugh... a debt is always troublesome...'

I was sitting inside my office, located right behind the rear wall of the main hall. When I first arrived here, I was surprised at the size and quality of the building, and that extended towards the office, as well. It overlooked a small stream and parts of the surrounding forest, with great natural lighting and circulation. Of course, not ideal for a Workshop, but that's what the basement was for.

However, since the basement was unavailable as storage, the fragile items there had to be relocated upstairs into this very office, while the more durable ones were kept inside a new, sturdy wooden shed handmade by the local carpenter. Oddly, he was very enthusiastic about building the thing; he flat-out refused my plan of doing it myself, and instead brought over his entire crew and erected the whole thing in a single day and night. Again, very odd.

Currently, I was analyzing Nanako's reports and findings, combining them with everything we had learnt about Michael Roa Valdamjong's reincarnation.

Why, you might ask, was I doing this? The answer was a simple Equivalent Exchange.

I wouldn't bother with the details, but the essence was this: in exchange for borrowing Altrouge Brunestud's entire political power, and quite a few of her military prowess, I would end the existence of the Extra Dead Apostle Ancestor.

Now, I wasn't saying that I had negative views about my employ, no. The Black Princess was a truly lovely and polite young woman... Ruthless and professional, yes, but certainly far simpler to handle than her air-headed sister. Elegant, beautiful, and seductive, her faction was the largest within the Twenty-Seven Ancestors (or Twenty-Eight, if you count Roa). We got along incredibly well very quickly; in fact, I could even call her my friend, not just an ally.

In order to achieve my dream... In order to save humanity, at least this much was necessary.

After the last Holy Great War, admittedly, I had no influence whatsoever to the people around me. I was defeated... because my mindset was too narrow. I was blinded by the prize in front of me, so much so that I only depended on the strength of myself and my Master, along with whatever flimsy alliance we made with other Masters and Servants.

Naive. Even after I died, had I truly learned nothing?!

What I needed... was overwhelming strength. Not just strength in body, mind, and Thaumaturgy, but also in politics, military, economics, technology, and many others. Only then, would I achieve complete victory... and also the salvation of humanity.

By making this deal with Altrouge, I gained myself three decades worth of political power base in exchange for one. That's one decade, spent in this peaceful haven with Elesia and her family, along with the kind villagers.

Of course, my current task was by no means simple, but that ojou-sama really provided me with the best environment to do it, on purpose or not.

If I could be critical of her, perhaps... her pride. It was her pride that led her to accept my terms with minimal consequences. Her pride, laid shattered in pieces after Roa humiliated her in their duel. Her pride which didn't allow her to sit back and let her dear sister finish her nemesis off.

To be honest, just the fact she acknowledged me to be stronger than her and didn't lift a finger to hunt me down with various reasons was an amazement in itself.

Now, onto business.

Roa based his own mindset and Thaumaturgy on the concept of Numerology. Truly a pioneer, his efforts led him to be able to access Akasha, which only a select few across dimensions were allowed to. If you're curious: no, I wasn't one of them. However, information provided by the Grail and Alaya was enough for me to deduce his methods and relationship with the Akashic Records.

The Akashic Records in itself was incomprehensible, and even lethal for most existences. As the culmination of history and the future, it could even be called 'God's Dictionary' as an oversimplification. Therefore, one must view it under a specific filter... a sort of protective visor, if you would call it that. The visor protected the user's mind, and filtered the information gleamed through it so that it's legible and usable.

Numerology, and by and extent the Kabbalah, was Roa's visor.

The techniques and principles of Numerology was simple: to use numbers to describe phenomena. Therefore, it's possible to predict future phenomena through complex calculations, and through it, the future of the users as well.

I wasn't a professor of mathematics, by a long way. So all I needed to do was collect data, determine any possible leads, and left everything else to Altrouge's attendants. My Revelation skill was worked overtime, along with every ounce of my knowledge regarding human (and non-human) behaviors and Thaumaturgy, both from the Church's side and the Mage's Association's.

After 2 years of work, we narrowed it down to this general area, and since Roa always resurrects inside a significant number of population, this village was a no-brainer as a target.

All I needed to do was wait.

And I had an inkling on who his target was.

Upstairs of a certain bakery, a small tussle was occurring.

"M-Mother! Enough! I can do this myself!"

"Ah, how can I? Ufufu, now... maybe like this?"

"Kya!"

"...Or this?!"

"Uwah!"

After a few more minutes, both of them descended to the dining room, located behind the work area. They found the patriach waiting stiffly on the table, dozing off. However, as his wife and daughter's footsteps echoed lightly along the floor, his head snapped back up, a trail of drool on the side of his lips.

Of course, it provoked a chiding from Saya, his wife.

"Dear!" She trotted to his side and roughly wiped the drool with a napkin. "What would you do if Father walked in through the door just now?!"

"Huh?" Still groggy, Alain rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "The bell would've woke me up, dear, don't worry..."

"I'm not worrying about you! Today's supposed to be Elesia's big day!"

A timid voice sounded from behind the parents, though whether they heard it or not was unclear.

"Um... Mother, it's not that much of a big deal, alright?" Taking a seat on the table, she unconciously smoothened her dress nervously, contrary to her protest. Additionally, after that, she started to fuss with her hair, then her collar, the hem...

Unknowingly, her parents were watching with a smile on their eyes.

Earlier that afternoon, Father Kotomine called them. It was quite an occasion, since something that needed to be transmitted through phone must be very urgent and important. Usually, the Father didn't even bother and walked right to everyone's front door, or sending Nanako to deliver messages, an this time the anticipation didn't disappoint.

Elesia received a scholarship in Paris.

Instantly, what was originally a normal family dinner turned into a sudden party.

Father Kotomine hadn't revealed many details regarding the news, only mentioning that he'd be slightly late in order to sort out the documents first, and that Nanako would be coming along as well. The delay only served to further the elation in the family, and the menu for the dinner was revamped substantially to a more fancier one. A simple stew changed into a roast dinner, salads into baked greens, small appetizers changed to cheese dish, and so on.

Truly, Father had been too kind for them.

Elesia was certainly a brilliant and gifted child. She quickly became her father's par in baking, her mother's in cooking, and she's always around the top every year in school. Her fellow students' comments of her was mostly positive, stating she's quick to offer help to others in need. She was popular in school and the village, but always remained humble after Father Kotomine advised her to do so. In fact, he tutored her quite often, therefore, it wasn't an understatement Elesia only became the woman she was today because of his mentorship.

The child herself was brimming with joy, her body always seemed to be trembling in excitement. However, as the hours went by, the excitement boiled down to a realist's nervousness.

All her life, she had never went outside the village, much less leaving her parent's care for extended periods. The thought that she'd list contact with her friends and the villagers also weighed on her mind, though her father, in a bout of embarassing-parent mode, shouted to the whole street regarding the scholarship. Congratulations flooded their family, tears were shed, hard smacks and pats to the back were exchanged. The support she received lessened the burden somewhat.

Although... the thumping inside her chest was because of a different reason altogether.

The knocks on the door jolted her shoulders. She turned around quickly, but her mother was already answering the door. Soon, both their guests appeared in the dining room.

Father closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, before saying, "For today, I'll indulge in the sin of gluttony. I hope God and your family can accommodate me?"

A laugh filled the room, before the courses were served and the small talks began. Father demonstrated his skill of distinguishing Elesia's cooking and her mother's, while praising both heavily, causing the girl to blush and the mother to giggle.

Such was the peaceful scene in that bakery.

The first thought that occurred to me was, 'God, she's beautiful...'

Looking at Elesia now, and comparing her to this morning, the difference wasn't like night and day. If put into words, her self this morning was a locked treasure chest inside a mysterious cavern: plain, well-crafted, and very tempting. Tonight, that treasure chest burst open, displaying all the sparkling jewels and gold in contained.

Her beauty wasn't a breathtaking, ethereal, inhuman one. She had flaws and shortcomings, though very minute. And those imperfections... was what made her look incredible.

'Really, where did this family hide that dress?'

She was draped in indigo silk, a thin material which hugged her figures well and emphasized her curves just in the right place. A light make-up adorned her face, enhancing her looks without overdoing it. The dress was low-cut around the neck area, slightly revealing her sizable bust, but the expanse of fair skin was adorned with an intricate small golden necklace.

It's a long shot from the most luxurious accessories I'd seen, but I'd slash anyone's throat if they admitted they didn't suit her perfectly.

It's unfortunate that I couldn't appreciate it the way she'd like me to.

My body was that of a human. So, the flutter in my heart was there. The physical arousal was there. The increased perspiration was there. However, I shut the down before they escalated even further.

Because I wanted to save humanity as a whole.

To save a group, you have to be objective and fair to each member of that group or population as possible. Now, I wasn't a proponent of killing of your emotions the way professional assassins and mercenaries do, since the human potential could only be transcended through a massive surge of emotion. Whether it's love, hate, anger, hope, all of it was what made us human.

All of it made humanity worth saving.

Balancing objectivity and subjectivity was key.

As such, even though I noticed her feelings towards me, and even though I might have a hand in developing those feelings, I could only cruelly reject her from my heart.

Every time our eyes met, she blushed heavily while I smiled at her. My human part wanted to further our relationship, to foster these feelings, to properly love her as a woman. But for the sake of my dreams, for that part of me that was still human and could still dream and desire, my Servant side took control.

I wanted to save her. From the possibility of becoming Roa's next host, from the Church's purging, from pain and disappointment. To do that, the things she desired from me most were what I couldn't give her at all cost.

I was disgusted by myself, sometimes.

The feelings I felt right now was more like admiring an incredible piece of art; the lust I felt was a possessiveness created from desiring to have that certain piece by any means necessary. The nervousness I experienced was simply for being in the presence of the piece's owner, for fear of tainting it, corrupting it, breaking it.

Of course, I had no such intentions.

If I was asked if I loved Elesia as a woman, I would say yes in a heartbeat. However, it was because I unconditionally loved humans, and the desire to protect her, care for her, love her... all came from that emotion. Compared to a normal human being, then yes, the adoration I had for her could be categorized as 'sexual love'.

Therefore, this was necessary.

After the desert and wine was served, I shifted my expression to a serious look.

Sensing the important matters at hand, the other three people in the room focused their attention on me. Nanako, on the other hand, looked sleepy after such an extravagant meal. I let her doze off, as her input wasn't necessary right now.

"So," I started with a calm tone, "I'd like to start with an apology."

Immediately continuing before they could interrupt, I said, "I used her school records, which should be confidential, without your permission or knowledge. It's a capital crime, therefore, I ask for your forgiveness." I already knew they wouldn't make much of a fuss, but getting everything out of your way first was a good plan.

As expected, they were flustered, and assurances from them came almost at the same time.

I waited for them to quiet down, before saying, "Elesia."

Her head perked up slightly, waiting for my good news.

"It's Sorbonne."

If there were a contest of synchronized squealing, this family would've won hands down. Both Elesia's parents couldn't even got a complete word out, all stuttering and spasming and hugging each other. Elesia was silent, her mouth ajar. Slowly, she covered it with both her hands, her eyes still in disbelief.

I pulled out several papers from under my robes. "I'll make quick and simple, then. This," I handed one to Elesia, "is the list of majors you can choose. These," I put the rest of the papers in front of Alain and Saya, "are the administrative papers, requirements, and boarding arrangement. Please consider them carefully, then ask me any question you have."

My heart raced slightly as I watched Elesia considered her options. If I was right, she'd chose 'that' subject...

"Um..." she called out to her parents, "I'm interested in these..."

'Not bad', 'promising', 'if you can' were the words I managed to catch from across the table. I didn't use Reinforcement on my hearing, mainly because it's pointless, and I wanted to grant them a sense of security.

After a few minutes, she turned towards me.

"I'd like to study Applied Mathematics, minoring in Theology."

Outwardly, I smiled, praising her for choosing well. Inwardly, I restrained myself from lashing out with my Black Keys.

It's absolute.

Elesia was Michael Roa Valdamjong.