Disclaimer: I don't own Fate/Stay Night or Campione. They belong to their writers Kinoko Nasu & Takedzuki Jou
*Story start*
It's been a week since I started my journey to meet the Campione.
If you think I'm stupid enough to just go and meet with the Devil Kings without doing any single preparation that might preserve my life against people who has managed to kill a Heretic God, think again.
The Campiones - as far as I know from Yuri's descriptions - are tyrants of the highest order. They can do what they want and to who they want to do it and none may defy them. There are cases like the American Campione, John Pluto Smith, who is considered a masked hero in his domain (I was freakishly reminded of the characters in some of the old sentai series I used to admire when Yuri described him to me) and despite his regular destruction of giant structures during his fights against his enemies, he is seen in a positive light as someone who protects the masses.
The regular destruction of structures he wrought is summarily treated as taxes in exchange for driving off the enemies that threatens those in his domain. However, his positive image also describes him as an eccentric of some kind who likes to be in the limelight as the main character or protagonist in a play or adventure or something like that.
I'm not ashamed to say that I've started to admire him for managing to achieve the very ideal of my childhood dreams.
Still - among the current existing Campiones - he is the only one who can be considered even remotely reasonable. The others that I've heard of are either full of ego (Luo Hao), tyrants (Voban), irredeemable idiots (Doni), thieves (Alec) or a recluse (Aisha). And worst of all, there is no one who could match their powers except each other.
Them meeting each other is a whole other problem.
From my studies about Campiones with Yuri, Campiones usually have strong personalities and are mostly the reason why they would fight each other whenever they meet. The result of this is usually the utter destruction of the environment. Some of the aftereffects of these fights can be seen even today in the form of lands that can no longer support life, huge craters reported as meteor strikes or whole civilizations disappearing over night (Croatia).
Due to this, the various magical organizations in the world would try their utmost to prevent Campiones from ever meeting each other or bar that, from meeting in a hostile environment. For this very reason, it is also generally the best approach to deal with the magical organizations the Campiones are in charge of instead of the Campiones themselves since members of the organizations should know their master's temperament best.
The other reason is the various magical organizations don't even want to deal with the Campiones. Sure, they want the backing of a Campione but they don't want to deal with them either. It's quite a selfish reason but there are reasons to it and it's very a simple reason too. In other words, it is because the Campiones are just troublesome to deal with.
Imagine someone who is an eccentric and wields godly powers that can destroy nations on a whim. Political influence has no bearing to them, brute force is useless against them and they live long lives. The organization they're in charge of caters to their every whim because they're either trying to minimize the damage they would cause when they head out to fight Heretic Gods - or whatever it is that Campiones do because of their fancy - or because they just want the power that comes from being backed by a Campione.
Basically, incurring the wrath of a Campione can either get you killed or a lot of innocent victims in a disaster that wasn't supposed to happen in the first place if the Campione is left alone most of the time, so I'm not stupid enough to meet them without collecting as much information about them as I can. Which is why currently, I'm staking out (yes, again with the stakeout) the Witenagemot's Headquarters.
If my studies with Yuri is correct, than this organisation is my best bet in getting the information I need on the Campiones. From Yuri's description, the Witenagemot was formed by people deeply involved with magic: Mages, Occultists, Fairy Doctors, and others. Also those who were short of being experts like ordinary scholars, marketplace researchers, catholic priests, protestant preachers, monks, shinto priests, artists, capitalists, nobles, royalty and even imperial families. Unlike other Mage Associations, the Witenagemot is more of a research organization with a few wizards as members. The Witenagemot of Greenwich can't be called a magic association it is more of a mutual aid society than anything else.
My current objective is to spy on Princess Alice, the Speaker of the Witenagemot, to find out where she lives.
...
...
I'm now currently in England looking for the Speaker of the Witenagemot's home - who's a beautiful lady with long blonde hair that reminds me a bit of Tsukiumi - trying to figure out her secrets.
...
...
I'm becoming a stalker aren't I?
...
...
AHHHH, screw it!
It's not like I haven't done this before to collect information on my targets!
Damn hormones for getting in the way of my missions! This is for the greater good so that I don't unwittingly cause the death of innocent victims by angering a Campione, damn it!
I'll just apologize later if I have to but right now it's a necessity because I still don't want to carelessly announce my presence to the magical community without making sure that I or anyone I know might get caught in the crossfire if I ever make a wrong move. Also, a bunch of the people in the Witenagemot acts like stuck-up nobles. Princess Alice doesn't seem to be like them - from what I've heard - but she is still part of the Witenagemot so her loyalties lies with them.
I can't risk her reporting me to the Witenagemot and getting those I care for in unnecessary danger.
*Sigh*
Now that I've cleared my mind of my conflicting emotions, it's time I make my usual 'information gathering' of Princess Alice.
...
The first time I ever laid eyes on The White Hime-Miko was the first day I arrived in England and went straight to the Headquarters of the Witenagemot. It was actually more of a coincidence that I was able to spot her that day since it seems that Princess Alice does not actually come to the Witenagemot Headquarters regularly because she has a weak body for some reason. I haven't been able to find out if either her body is naturally weak or if she has some sort of illness.
If it is the former than I'm not sure I can help her. Avalon may be able to heal illness and injuries but if the body itself is weak since birth like a weak heart or a similar important organ, than Avalon may not work for her as it is already the natural state of the body. Which is also the reason why I'm really hoping that the cause of her weak body is an incurable illness of some kind that she was inflicted with. Because in that case, Avalon will work for her just fine.
I could have just used Structural Analysis on her to find out what the cause is immediately but there is just one tiny problem with that. Namely, what I'm seeing isn't Princess Alice at all. It is actually ectoplasm that was made to look like her. It is similar to the Kage Bunshin that I'm used to seeing in the Elemental Nations.
I wondered why Princess Alice would send a 'clone' of herself of all things to the Witenagemot but immediately discarded that thought as it was actually very easy figure out why. Since her real body is weak, it stands to reason she would send a clone of herself to deal with physically exhausting matters that may actually worsen her condition so that her 'real' body may rest. It was such an obvious conclusion that I didn't even need 10 seconds to figure out something like that.
Once I figured out that little piece of information I began to form some ideas to use as a bargaining chip when I eventually confront her and start negotiations. If she strongly wishes for her body to recover, I can use Avalon's healing ability to barter for information on the Campiones while making sure that she keeps my existence a secret.
On the other hand, if she is loyal to the cause of the Witenagemot, than she won't fall for such temptations and my cover will be immediately blown the moment I go to meet her. I contemplated on hypnotizing her but had to immediately scrap that plan as Princess Alice is known as one of the strongest Hime-Miko in the world so hypnotism most likely will not work on her and I don't plan on threatening or harming her either unless it is a last resort and even then I may still hesitate.
I may have killed my fair share of people - guilty or not - so my hand is far from clean of the blood of the innocent, but I still prefer not to take any lives if I can help it. The lives I took was for the sake of saving more lives in the end so it was not as if I take delight in taking another person's life. Far from it in fact. If Archer hadn't given me a crash course - during the Holy Grail War - of what I should expect if I pursued my ideal, I probably would've been in despair for not being strong enough to save everyone.
My encounter with him has instead made me strengthen my resolve and the memories I inherited from him allowed me to save more people than what I would've originally been able to thanks to the insight, experience, skills and the many blades that now reside in my Reality Marble that those memories of Archer provided. Thinking of it now, I should've been grateful to him for knocking some sense into my head instead of angry with him for giving up on his ideal.
If Archer hadn't done so, I no doubt would've already walked the same path of self destruction like he did. Of that I'm completely sure as we are after all the same person, burdened with the same ideals we decided to shoulder and distorted with the same kind of beliefs. My encounter with Archer had prevented me from being too naive about my ideals.
It it wasn't for his chastisement I probably would've blundered into some kind of terrible incident with my naive thinking and caused more people to die when trying to stubbornly save everyone instead of trying to save as many as I could by making necessary sacrifices.
Thinking back to the time I fought him in the Einzbern castle made me realize that he wasn't actually trying to kill me back then... In the very depths of his heart anyway. How else could a third-rate magus like myself who didn't even know how to fight properly defeat a Heroic Spirit - even if he was weak from limited prana - who was hardened by his skill and experience in countless battlefields?
Most likely his true objective was to save me. In order to prevent me from making his mistakes by walking down the path of my ideals without knowing the consequences those very ideals entail, he had forcefully made me inherit his memories and experiences. He wanted to save me from the very hell that he has experienced from walking down that path even if he himself didn't realize that he was doing it by telling himself that he just wants to kill me.
That hypocritical bastard.
We really are the same person if even the person we hate most is unconsciously in the list of people we want to save. Our desire to save people is just that strong. The desire to save people is the very core of our being, thus no matter how much we want to deny it we still want to save everyone in front of us no matter how impossible that desire is.
Of course we would still kill those said people if they are beyond saving. Archer would have most likely killed me if I was beyond saving. If he had deemed that I would tread the very same path he did with the same naive beliefs that would destroy me, he would have shown no hesitation and killed me on the spot if only to spare from the very same despair he experienced.
Knowing what I know now, I realize it would have been a kind of mercy for me as well if all that awaits me in that bloody path is the hell that Archer is trapped in right now. Both of us will never wish that kind of hell on anyone. I would have done the same thing if I ever end up meeting an alternate of mine who's trying to go down that path without a bloody clue of what awaits him.
In the end, he made sure that I am fully aware of the folly of blindly following my ideals without the firm resolve required to tread through its blood stained path. It is one of the truths of the world that my naive young self wanted to ignore before getting a huge wake up call by Archer.
You cannot save everyone. The only thing you can do is to save the most number of people by making the least number of sacrifices.
In other words, I have to be ready to harden my heart in order to make the necessary sacrifices to save as many people as I can but at the same time I mustn't lose my heart to my very own ideals. If I start to close my heart I may end up the same as my adoptive father, Emiya Kiritsugu, who was a person that ended up broken and despaired by his very own ideals.
Losing my heart would also mean I would never be able to love my wives and children again, which is something I would never allow myself to do even if I end up having to suffer the despair of sacrificing the few to save the many.
As it is, my hand has long been stained with the blood of the innocent even if it is for the sake of saving more lives. Despite my bloodied hands however, I still manage to gain the love of so many women which in turn showed me how far a person's heart may endure the despair of seeing his ideals to be out of reach again and again and again by just simply having someone or in this case some people who would believe in them, support them and take on the same burdens they themselves decided to shoulder.
Every time I came back on a mission where I again failed to save everyone, basking in the love of my wives and my children that my wives had given birth gave me hope that I had done the best I could to save as many lives as I could and so I should be content that those lives I saved would now have a chance at happiness as long as they live seeking it. And as long as I live to see another day, I could continue on to fight for my ideals of saving people.
It is these kinds of thoughts that had kept me from becoming a stone cold killer with no emotions and nothing to live for except for my ideals which would have eventually destroyed me. If I had, I would not have gained the love of my wives in the first place. So I will never lose the heart that my wives had intended to preserve when walking down the bloody path of my ideal. I will not betray them like that even if they are currently no longer with me, and if I have my way than that won't stay for long either.
I've found some clues that might give me access to a way to go back my original world from my studies with Yuri but for now I have other issues to deal with.
Ever since I started spying on her, I have never been able to find the home residence of Princess Alice. Every time she decided to head back, her 'clone' would just disappear and I would lose the chance to track her home. I once thought that I could tail Miss Ericson - a woman who always accompanies Princess Alice when she's at the Witenagemot - to Princess Alice's home but so far she hasn't gone back yet to wherever that place is as she seems to be busy with filling paperwork.
And it's a lot of paperwork since she still hasn't finished them all even after a week of almost nonstop signing and writing reports for the Witenagemot. I'm even starting to feel sorry for her despite her looking not even the tiniest bit tired from all that desk work. Seriously, I might've gone insane with that amount of paperwork. I silently thank the Root for never putting me in that kind of situation myself.
As I continue my daily stakeout, a limousine drove in front of the Witenagemot's headquarters and I spotted Princess Alice arriving in it. This is the second time I am able to lay eyes on her for the week so I paid close attention to see if I could glean more useful information this time. Unfortunately, it looks like she's doing the same routine as the last time I saw her. Meeting with the stuck-up nobles while being accompanied by Miss Ericson, reading some of the documents the Witenagemot has accumulated, drinking tea like a proper British lady in the court-
Huh?
Did she just winked at me?
That's impossible! I'm about 4 kilometers away with my Archer outfit - to increase my sight - and in a Bounded Field. Hell, I'm wearing parts of the Assassin outfit that gives me Presence Concealment - I've been studying them to look for what could cause the Presence Concealment to make hybrid outfits of my original ones - for good measure. Even Yuri was only able to feel that I'm spying on her without knowing from where and now this woman can not only sense me spying on her but she knows from where too!
Okay. Calm down. I might be just blowing this out of proportion. It could be that she got dust in her eyes which caused her to close one of her eyes out of reflex and made it look like a wink.
Yeah, that's it. That would explain about her 'winking' at me...
Except she's putting up a medium-sized handkerchief saying "Hello. Do you want to talk? It's not nice to spy on people you know?" in front of her in my direction.
...
She's good.
Wait. This isn't the time to be impressed with her abilities!
Damn it! I underestimated her and now my cover's blown!
What should I do now?
Okay. Let's start by assessing my current situation. I've been discovered by the very target I'm trying to spy on and my cover is now blown...Or maybe not.
I haven't seen any sign of hostile activity coming in my direction ever since Princess Alice's declaration and now that I think about it, she had made sure to flash me that message while making sure that no one else who was nearby could see her doing it. Not only that, if the message she showed me is her true intent then perhaps she is willing to meet me in a peaceful setting if it's just to have a talk.
It's a naive conclusion but it's something that I very much hope is true. Still, it's always best to prepare for the worst case scenario.
Now then, if she really wants to have a talk with me then she should have figured out a way for us to have some privacy. Or does she expect me to make the necessary arrangements on my own? If it's the former then I'll have be careful of any ambush in case she intends to betray me while the latter makes sure that I will have more control over the circumstances of our meeting even if it means I have to spend days planning for it.
While these thoughts are running through my mind, Princess Alice flashed me another message with a different medium-sized handkerchief. It contained an address for a place somewhere around Hampstead.
Hmmm...looks like she'll be the one making the preparations it seems.
So, do I ignore it and just make my own plans or do I take the bait and hope for the best? The first choice will make me lose an opportunity to set a positive image in Princess Alice's eyes that can make our negotiations smoother while the second choice puts me inside an unfamiliar territory where the enemies have the home advantage if they decide to be hostile with me.
That said, she didn't set a date for us to meet so perhaps she expects me to come at my own convenience. Well, if that's the case I could take a few days to monitor the meeting place - which is probably her home - and come up with a safe way to meet her without alerting the other residents.
Heh, it seems Princess Alice has decided to have a compromise for our meet. She would be in a territory familiar to her while I will be able to make plans and contingencies in case something goes horribly wrong during our 'rendezvous'. If she was able to plan this far ahead, that means she has a very good grasp of diplomacy. Not surprising since she is the Speaker of the Witenagemot but it's still a nice thing to know that she could be reasonable person if a bit manipulative.
Oh, I have no illusions that she is a manipulative person. Her demeanor reminds me a lot of Rin and my wife can spin anyone in her little fingers until they don't even know left from right unless she allow it.
I still love her for it. I don't care if she Gandrs my ass until next week when she's angry with me because I'll still love her and she knows it because she always milks me for all that I'm worth every time it's her turn to get me in bed.
Sometimes I still find it hard to relate my high school crush with the real Rin. Especially since I'd never imagined the school idol to be so...kinky in the bed.
Good old Rin. I miss her.
And all my other wives too of course.
Okay. Now that I have finished reminiscing about my original world, it's time I pay a visit to that address Princess Alice gave me. The sooner I arrive there, the sooner I can case the place and decide whether meeting Princess Alice there is a good idea or not.
I just hope nothing would go wrong though considering my usual luck, it wouldn't be surprising if it did.
xxx 2 Days Later xxx
It looks like I was right when I assumed the address of the meeting place Princess Alice gave me is her home.
It's actually a very huge mansion with a size that can rival Jounan high school's main building. I've seen bigger mansions like the one in the Valliere estate before so this is not that intimidating to me.
Despite it's size though, it was not hard for me to map the place out in just half an hour (thank you, Structural Analysis) and find out the patrol routes and schedules of the guards, maids and butlers of the mansion in just one day, especially since there are only around twenty people in the mansion including Princess Alice and her father Duke Gododin.
The guards are stationed on every entrance to the mansion while the others mostly patrol the grounds. There are only a few guards who patrol inside the mansion itself. I thought the amount of guards for the mansion of a Duke was too small until I discovered that all of them are around the rank of a Great Knight. In other words, they had forgone quantity for quality for their guards.
I was glad I had decided to sneak into the Witenagemot's Headquarters five days ago to watch the organization's knights train. Thanks to that, I was able to tell the rank of their knights after some careful observation. From my estimates of their prowess, I could probably match five to seven of the Great Knights at once if I use some of my more lethal weapons. I shouldn't have a problem incapacitating them without killing them if I use my Anti-Magic weapons, but I want to keep those as my trump cards as much as possible.
Other than the residents of the mansion, there are also magical wards around the mansion that acts as an alarm and they are all over the place. Any normal magi would find it hard to penetrate the defenses of those wards without tripping the alarms. Fortunately, I have already met a few of father's (Kiritsugu) alternates and learned the finer arts of 'breaking through' Bounded Fields so this much security isn't going to be a problem.
I might have had some trouble stealthily sneaking into the building with the hounds that the guards bring along with them when they patrol the mansion grounds in my original world but my current Assassin outfit's Presence Concealment also masks my scent in this world so I can circumvent around the hounds without them picking up my scent quite easily.
Basically, it shouldn't be a problem for me to sneak into the building undetected to meet with Princess Alice with my current skill set. My only worry is whether she has the strength to be conversing with me or not.
After finding her room thanks to the usage of Structural Analysis, I was able to confirm the current state of her physical body. If what I gleaned with my Structural Analysis is correct her body is slowly weakening everyday due to her usage of her Hime-Miko powers. Seeing her like this idly reminded me of Yuri's poor stamina before I implanted Avalon inside her. Yuri has been able to do more physical labour ever since, though her stamina is still very low.
Anyway, seeing Princess Alice bedridden the whole day sent a small pain in my chest.
So this is the result of using too much of her powers as a Hime-Miko, huh?
From her behaviour with people I've seen her interacted with, she seemed to have a bubbly and cheerful personality with a bit of love of mischief put in the mix (so she's still the manipulative type). To think that her body is so weak that she isn't even allowed out of her bed because of it. I already knew her body was weak from illness though it seems I had underestimated how ill she truly was.
Despite that, she doesn't seem to have a bleak view of the world. Quite the opposite actually, as I was able to watch her tease one of her maids who seems to have just gotten engaged. I've begun to admire her perseverance. Even when moving her body to go and relieve herself requires tremendous effort on her part.
If our negotiations go well, she should no longer have to worry about her body's condition once I implant another copy of Avalon in her.
Without her knowing of course.
Hell, I'll implant it in her discreetly even if it won't go well. I can't just ignore her plight even if she might become hostile later because of her connection with the Witenagemot and I can't just tell her to betray her own organization either. Also, it might not be her fault if our negotiations failed later considering that I'm trying to keep my own identity a secret so I can't even be honest with her most of the time.
*Sigh*
Now that I have made my decision, it's time I sneak into the house and meet with Princess Alice. It's a good time to do so too since her 'clone' seems to be busy entertaining a guest who came just this evening just before nightfall.
I've already made sure that the guest won't pose any problem to my sneaking in the mansion.
Also, I've discovered that unlike the Kage Bunshin from the Elemental Nations, Princess Alice's 'clone' can't operate without her controlling it. In other words once Princess Alice deploys her 'clone', she will be too busy with controlling her 'clone' to be aware of her physical body's surroundings. If all goes well, I could have enough time to Trace a copy of Avalon and implant it in her before she even realises that I'm in the room with her.
I've abandoned my earlier notion to use Avalon as a bargaining chip to negotiate her silence after seeing her condition. I just hope this won't bite me in the ass later.
After evading the patrolling guard in the mansion grounds, I scaled the darker side of the mansion's walls and arrived at the roof. From there, it's just a matter of moving slowly so as not to make too much noise and 'passing' through the various wards without triggering them to arrive at Princess Alice's balcony. I've begun to appreciate the wonders of Presence Concealment ever since arriving in this world.
The lives I could have been able to spare when I was in my original world with it.
Unlocking the balcony's glass door is a piece of cake with my two centuries of experience. Once I arrive inside her room, I used a quick Structural Analysis just in case she prepared a 'surprise' for me.
Turns out she did prepare something though I wasn't expecting it.
It looks like she already knew I would come tonight - Figures, even Yuri was able to predict my coming, so why shouldn't she? - and prepared a note beside her bed.
"Dear Mister Mysterious Stalker,
Please wait for me inside my room until I've finished entertaining my guest.
Do not worry, I have no intention of sending the guards after you as long as you don't do anything untoward to me or the people in my home.
I'm quite sure you are itching to have a chat with me so please be a gentleman and wait for me quietly.
Sincerely,
Alice Louise"
...
...
...
I'm speechless.
I don't even know what to think right now.
She already knew I was coming and prepared a note to ask for me to wait until her guest has left. If I take the note at face value, than she really just want us to sit down and talk and as long as I don't do anything to harm anyone in the mansion, than she would not send her guards to put me down.
What are her intentions though?
I'm a stranger to her. She only knows that I have been spying on her and that's supposed to make her more cautious instead of welcoming me with open arms.
The more I try to figure out her thought process the more confusing it becomes.
*Sigh*
Well, at least she is not hostile so our negotiation should go smoother than I expected. It's still too soon to tell but from her reaction towards my spying on her, she seems to be handling it quite well even if I consider this whole situation as weird. Also, like I had hoped, she is now concentrating on entertaining her guest using her 'clone' so I'm free to do what I had decided earlier.
"Trace... On."
Muttering my aria I prepared to Trace another copy of Avalon. Princess Alice has deigned to welcome me with open arms despite the negative impression that I should have given her when I spied on her. Since she has decided to extend to me her goodwill, it stands to reason that I should give something back. If I use Avalon as a bargaining chip now, after all what Princess Alice had done for me, I might never be able to look myself in the mirror ever again for using this girl's only hope to move about with her own body against her.
Just like I had done all those years ago for Yuri, I made sure that the copy of Avalon is perfectly recreated in every single aspect. It's power, history, aura, appearance, everything. I will not allow a single imperfection to mar this particular Noble Phantasm for the very concept it represents.
A utopia.
A place where a person may feel safe and protected, knowing that nothing may harm them when they are there. There are times that I wish I could do the very same to everyone I wanted to save.
Finishing my Tracing of Avalon, I place the scabbard on Princess Alice's body and push - for the lack of a better word - it inside her.
There, it's done. Now that Avalon is inside her, Princess Alice should be making a speedy recovery.
Using my Structural Analysis, I find that Avalon is already working its miracle to heal Princess Alice's body. At the rate it's healing her, it would probably take about a week, give or take a few days, for the Noble Phantasm to fully heal her. She should already be able to move about with her own body in a few days. This is probably the only thing I would be able to do for her that's personal. After this, it would probably be strictly professional. Still, imagining Princess Alice being able to enjoy the full advantages of a perfectly healthy body fills my heart with a certain warmth of accomplishment.
It is times like these where I would be able to save someone without sacrificing anything that I truly treasure, for these are the only times my ideal may come true in its truest and most beautiful form.
All that I have to do now is set up some Bounded Fields to give us some privacy - you can never be too careful - and wait for Princess Alice to return her consciousness to her body.
xxx Scene Break xxx
After a few hours of waiting patiently in her room, Princess Alice finally woke up to address me.
"Hello, Mister Mysterious Stalker. It is nice to finally meet you in person. I am Alice Louise of Navarre. Please call me Alice." She said in a cheerful voice.
Not the most endearing way to refer to someone but considering that I've been spying on her, it could have been a lot worse. "Hello, Miss Alice. You may call me Archer." I answered her while bowing slightly with all the manners of an English gentleman I could recall.
"Oh, my. You are quite the gentleman. I never actually expected that and your choice of an alias is quite interesting as well."
"Now, will you finally tell me why you have been trying to collect information on me for the last week, Mister Archer? Since I didn't sense any sort of ill intention, I assume that you just want to speak with me?"
I'll say it again. She's good.
"Yes, you are correct. As you perhaps have deduced, I wanted to have a chance to speak with you without revealing myself to your organisation. Would you allow me this selfishness of mine for not wanting to reveal my identity?"
She smiled softly to me - which is a very beautiful smile that made me blush - before answering. "Very well. As long as you don't have any ill intentions toward myself, my oranisation or the people in this mansion I will allow your selfishness during our meetings. Now, what is it that you want to talk to me about?"
So far so good.
"I thank you for your generosity. I'm here to ask a favour of you. I would like to know all the information that you and your organization have been able to collect on the current existing Campiones." Better try to do this as polite as I can. Good manners can take you a long way.
Alice closed her eyes and seemed to be in deep thought. When next she opened her eyes, her features had become more serious. "What would you do with that information if I decide to give them you?"
Better not lie to her now. I'm confident in my poker-face especially since I'm wearing my shroud that covers my whole face and head except the eyes but if her instinct as a Hime-Miko is strong enough - which she has already demonstrated - she will likely be able to tell if I lie.
Here goes then.
"I'm planning to go on a journey to meet all the current existing Campiones. The information that you can give me will allow me to try my best not to incur their wrath or bar that, escape their wrath with my life intact."
Alice's whole body was stunned and she was only able to blink at me. Her mouth was slightly opened as well. It took her about ten seconds to finally form the words she wanted.
"You are serious? Why would you want to meet all the current existing Campiones? You do know who and how dangerous they are don't you?" Her voice sounded a little worried and alarmed.
"My reason to meet them is...personal. Suffice to say that I just want to meet with them face to face so that I can make my own judgement on what kind of people they are. And yes, I do know the general consensus on what kind of people and how dangerous they are. Even so, I'm still going to go and meet them. With or without the information I currently seek."
Alice just stared at me. She looks a bit incredulous.
"So whether or not I give you the information you want you will still go and seek the Campiones?"
Since there's nothing else I could add to that statement, I just nodded.
Alice seems to be contemplating something with a troubled expression before she sighed and asked me her next question. "If I were to order my guards to seize you right now, what are the chances that they will succeed?"
Hmm...looks like Alice is worried about the consequences of what would happen if she just let me go to meet the Campiones, though she seems conflicted whether or not to send her guards to capture me.
I wonder why?
It's not like we've known each other for long, so she shouldn't be this troubled to capture me if she deems me a threat. Not only that, other than my polite manners I don't think I've made any positive impressions ever since we've met. Unless she's reluctant to apprehend me because I haven't done anything to harm anyone - yet - she shouldn't be this conflicted to give the order to her guards.
I better prepare myself for the worst case scenario. The situation might still be salvageable but there's no telling wha-
The moment I felt a familiar sensation, I reacted on reflex.
It's a sensation that I'm used to feeling whenever I sparred with Negi in the first form of his Raiten Taisou. Suffice to say, I was able to finally master the ability to predict Negi's movements after about a month of training with him in Evangeline's resort. The ability required me to perceive the ionic discharge that he releases whenever he moves using his Raisoku Shundo.
Thanks to the training, I was able to make myself move on reflex to Trace Kanshou and Bakuya and cut the place where I predicted Negi would appear when he comes out of his Raisoku Shundo.
Which is exactly what I'm doing right now.
Fortunately, my mind caught up with my body's movement fast enough to stop myself from beheading a man in a suit who suddenly appeared in a burst of lightning. Both my swords are now mere millimeters from the man's neck.
What the hell just happened?
My body had reacted completely on reflex when I felt the ionic discharge I had trained myself to feel. However, other than that lightning using version of Fate (I don't remember his name) and Negi himself, I was sure there was no one in this world who could use Raisoku Shundo. There is however only one person in this world that most likely could use a similar version of it ever since he usurped an authority that turns him into lightning.
The English Campione, Alexander Gascoigne.
Great, I've just tried to behead one of the only 6 existing Campione in the world.
My reflexive action had caused the whole room to be deathly silent. Not surprising since they just saw me try to behead someone who had suddenly appeared in Alice's room by - most likely - moving at lightning speed (literally) and would have likely succeeded in beheading him if I hadn't stopped myself at the last moment.
"Who are you?" The Black Prince Alec finally asks.
"Archer." I couldn't exactly form a more detailed answer as my mind right now is going into overdrive trying to figure out a way for this whole situation not to end with people dying from a Campione's rampage.
"Not giving your real name, huh? Tch. Fine then. Do you mind moving those swords away from my neck now?" He sounded irritated but doesn't seem to be enraged.
Good. This might still end without any bloodshed.
Needing no more urging from the Devil King, I removed Kanshou and Bakuya from his neck and made a gesture that looked like I was storing my swords in the back of my coat while I actually astralized them instead (A trick I learned to use for all Noble Phantasms. It's really useful if I want to save prana by Tracing them earlier and materializing them when I need them).
"Sorry about that. It was a conditioned reflex." Although he doesn't seem angry I better apologize and explain just in case.
"Reflex? You're telling me you felt me coming?" The Campione didn't sound convinced by my explanation.
"Of course he did. How would he have been able to put those swords on your neck otherwise?" Alice said this while sounding quite amused.
Huh, looks like the whole spectacle was actually entertaining for her. If she isn't alarmed by the whole thing then maybe this situation really will end peacefully. Better make sure that I don't make anymore mistakes though.
"I'm used to dealing with someone who uses lightning magic a lot. So when I felt the ionic discharge that announced your arrival, my body acted on its own." There, an easily understandable and veritable explanation.
"I see. So my ability can be easily predicted by sensing the ionic discharge that I emit, huh? Tch. Better try to find a counter for that." He sounded a bit annoyed that one of his abilities could be easily countered.
"Never mind that now Alex, you can figure out how to do that later. So, how does it feel to almost lose your head by an unknown magic user instead of another Campione or a Heretic God?" Alice still sounded very amused by this whole event.
From the way she talks with the Campione, it can be easily deduced that they know each other quite well. Also, she seems to have either forgotten about our earlier conversation or just decided to shelve the matter for the moment. Either way, it's an opportunity for me to buy some time try to find a way convince her.
"Mind your own business." The Black Prince sounded more annoyed than before.
"Oh? So you don't feel even a bit ashamed that you were bested by a mere magic user?" Even I can see that right now Alice is filled with glee.
"He didn't beat me." Despite Alice's teasing, Alex still hasn't lost his temper. Although he is getting more annoyed by it.
"He would've if he hadn't stopped himself at the last moment. Otherwise, you would've been a head shorter already." Alice is really milking this whole situation for what it's worth it seems.
"Even so, he still didn't beat me and that means I'm still a King no matter what you say." That statement made me frown a little. Does he think being a King is that easy?
"Huhuhu. Whatever you say Alex. So, what reason do you have to honour me with your visit?" Alice seems to have decided that she has teased Alex enough, though I have the feeling that she'll never let this matter end that easily. She's probably never gonna let Alex forget about this night. Ever.
"I heard that some of your people was able to pinpoint the current location Guinevere is holed up in. I want you to tell me where she is and the report that the person who found her filed in." Alex seems to have decided that moving the matter along is his best choice for now. If only he knew.
"Ah, it's about that is it? I apologize, but you're too late. Guinevere has already left that place a while ago and we've lost track of her again." Alice answered with an apologetic look.
Yup, she's lying.
I've had enough experience to read someone from their expressions, so I can tell she's lying through her teeth. And if I can tell that she's lying than maybe...
"You're lying." Yeah, like I thought, Alex was also able to see through her lie too.
"Tell me where she is. Now, or I'll force it out of you." Damn, looks like he's starting to lose his temper. If I remember correctly from my studies with Yuri, Guinevere is currently the strongest Divine Ancestor (a Mother Earth Goddess who has lost most of her divinity) and is being pursued by Alex for some reason that Yuri doesn't know yet.
Still, I can't let Alex go through with his threat. I guess it's time to use my ultimate intimidation technique. It's been a long time since the last time I used this technique on someone else, but I kept practicing it in the woods so that I won't become rusty with it. I'm really interested on the effects it has on a Campione but I'll also have to be careful so that I don't take it too far. This is going to be a huge gamble.
"Mister Alex, threatening a young maiden who is bed ridden from sickness is...forbidden."
I was never able to see it for myself, but I knew when I have successfully materialised the Ashura - as everyone has decided to call it that - as I can feel the menacing aura that's coming from the space behind my left shoulder. This technique has never disappointed me whenever I want to use it to scare someone senseless without harming them in the slightest.
...Well, physically at least.
And just like I thought, both Alice and Alex reacted instantly to the Ashura's face that I know has materialised behind me. All the blood was drained from Alice's face while Alex has become almost as pale as a ghost. Both of them were trembling in fear but Alex was able to keep his trembling from being too obvious. I guess it should be expected of a Campione to be able to still keep his cool when confronted by this technique even if barely.
Heh. I love this technique.
"Now then, since everyone has calmed down a little, we can continue with the conversation without resorting to any violence."
I decided to break the silence after ending the projection. It's better that they don't get used to it or, heaven forbid, seeing it too long will let them figure out how to do it too. After all, I was able to use it after seeing it a number of times and was finally able to reproduce it after a few months of research. And I'm only third-rate magus.
It was only because Miya has restrained herself from using this technique in front of other magi that Rin, Luvia, Bazett, Lorelei and Medea was never able to figure out how to do it too. Needless to say, I never used it in front of them either.
"Big words from someone who tried to intimidate us using a mysterious ability." Alex said a bit menacingly. Wow, he was able to recover from that real fast. As expected of a Campione.
"Whatever do you mean?" I used my most innocent voice like I do every time I feign ignorance after using the Ashura.
"Don't play dumb, I'm talking about that...thing that was floating behind you just now." Alex seems to be losing his calm more and more.
I know it isn't right and not only that, it's a really risky thing to intimidate a Campione but I can't help it. It's always so much fun to mess with people after using the Ashura, it's practically a tradition between me and Miya.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He most likely can't see it because of the shroud I'm wearing - he probably can if he's good enough to read my expression only from my eyes - but right now I'm smiling at him with my most innocent smile. Again, it's one of the ways me and Miya always feigned ignorance after using our respective 'masks'.
A vein appeared on Alex's forehead - What is this? A cartoon? - but before he could say anything else, he was cut off by Alice mumbling loudly to herself. "Hmm...project a menacing aura...the word 'forbidden' is used as a keyword...most likely the user's own mental depiction of what is considered fearful..."
Huh?
That sounded like someone analyzing something they saw that they completely immersed themselves in their thoughts.
No way! Was she able to figure it out? That can't be! It took me months to learn it by myself! And she only saw it once!
No. Not yet, she hasn't figured out how to do it yet but I better stop her before she makes any headw-
"I think I've figured it out."
Too late!
"Alex, trying to threaten me in my own home is...forbidden."
I don't believe it. She was actually able to do it after just seeing it once. ONCE!
Like I feared, Alice was able to figure out how to materialise her own version of this technique. Right behind the space of Alice's left shoulder there was the face of a woman with very long dirty black hair that covers even its own face but its bloody mouth and one of its wide bloodshot eyes can be clearly seen from the openings of its hair.
It looked like the ghost from a horror movie called The Ring I saw once but a lot creepier and the menacing aura that's being emitted by it makes it scarier than anything its movie counterpart could ever hope to achieve.
And it was really creepy.
I can feel my face paling and the blood on my face draining a bit, but thankfully the many times I've faced this technique from Miya has allowed me some measure of resistance to it. Alex however, started to stagger back a little with his face paler than the time he saw my Ashura. Not surprising since I held back earlier because I didn't want to scare Alice too much and cause her weak body to become worse even if Avalon is currently slowly healing her and I didn't want to over do it when intimidating a Campione.
Alice however, is not holding back at all. She was even able to reproduce the bloody eyes that I sometimes see Miya do when she was more serious. Alice was also making her projection take out it's long tongue that looks real slimy and creepy and moving it about like a snake which is also quite disgusting. This is almost as scary as that time Miya went all out and produced her Hannya mask in the dozens with bloody eyes and...
I shivered. I really don't want to remember that.
"This is all your fault." Alex seems to want blame me for (unintentionally) teaching Alice this frightening ability.
I can't fault him for that, because I'm currently blaming myself too. I should've known better than to show this world's current strongest Hime-Miko this technique if even I could learn how to do it after just seeing it a couple of times, but it's too late for any regrets now.
What have I unleashed into this world?
"Oh? Whatever are you referring to?" Looks like Alice is also copying my innocent act like I did earlier.
...
...
I've already said it twice but I'll say it again. She's good.
At her blatant mimicry of my ability and manners I just glared at her a little and she just smiled back at me with the usual innocent smile me and Miya use whenever we feigned innocence.
Damn. She's doing that too, huh? And I can't just chastise her without being a complete hypocrite about it.
Why?
Because I'm the biggest Faker in the world! That's why! Everything I do is based on copying others. But I'm still going to say something even if it'll make me hypocrite.
"You damn copycat."
"Ohohoho. I honestly have no idea what it is you are referring to."
Damn it!
Root! I know this is all your fault as much as it is mine but I'm still going to push all the blame on you!
Damn you, Root!
"Tch. Enough of this. Tell me where Guinevere is. NOW!" Alex has finally lost his cool and has started to raise his voice but even I can tell that it's just bravado because his face is still pale and his body is still trembling.
In response, Alice only sounded teasing. "How rude. It's very ungentlemanly to force a lady you know? Your title of Prince is surely weeping right now."
"You-" Before Alex could finish his sentence, Alice projected her...Ghost Woman faintly behind her and caused him stop.
Huh. I never thought to project my Ashura mask like that before, and it looks like Alice has perfect control of her Ghost Woman. How much talent does she have?
"Guh! Fine! I'll just find her myself!" At that, he suddenly disappeared in a burst of lightning.
That was...anticlimactic.
He was here for only about 15 minutes and he is already running with his tail between his legs. Isn't he supposed to be a god slayer? I was sweating buckets trying to figure out a way to make our earlier clash not end in the total destruction of this side of the country and now he just up and leaves after being confronted by Alice's Ghost Woman? Just like that? That technique is really terrifying if it could even frighten someone like him.
...Well, I guess that's expected. Even I feel like running away whenever I'm confronted by that technique and I've fought Heroic Spirits, Dead Apostles, Phantasmal Beasts, man eating zombies and other unspeakable horrors. Hell, I've been closer to death more times than I can count and have died once already! It's no wonder that Campiones who have fought Heretic Gods would be afraid of this ability too.
Really. What was I thinking when I (unintentionally) taught her this ability?
"Well. Now that the interruption has gone. Where were we?" Alice looks really happy right now.
Huh?
Oh, that's right!
We were negotiating about giving me all the information the Witenagemot has on all the Campiones but the earlier debacle made me forget about the whole thing!
Damn it! I was supposed to use the extra time I had from Alice's and Alex's unexpected meeting to figure out a way to convince Alice to hand me the information. I have to figure something out! Fast!
Hypnotize her? No go. She's the current strongest Hime-Miko. There's no way it'll work on her!
Threaten her?...Yeaaaah. NO!
Seduce her?...Still no go! I've never flirt with anyone, never mind know how to (consciously) seduce them! Now that's a thought. I've married more than a dozen beautiful women but I've never tried seducing any of them. How the hell did everyone kept falling for me? Damn it! I'll figure that out later. I can't believe I even considered that option!
What else can I do?
"There's actually not that many personal information that we posses on the current Campiones but the procedures that I will have to go through will take up some time since the information itself is kept highly classified. Still, it shouldn't take more than 3 days to collect the information you will need, so could you come back to meet me again by then?" Alice said in her - more than usual - cheery voice.
How about if I- Huh?
"What?" That was the only thing that I was able to say after having my thoughts that were going more than a mile a minute suddenly stop dead.
"*Sigh* I said that you can come back after 3 days to collect the information you need." Alice huffed a little while putting both her hand on her hip because she had to repeat herself.
It actually makes her look quite cute.
No! Don't get distracted! Okay. How the hell did she just go from considering to capture me with her guards to willingly give me the information I need without even negotiating for anything?
Hmm? Wait. Just now. Didn't she seem very happy?
"Are you...in that good a mood?"
"Why, yes actually. Thank you for asking." Alice sounded quite pleased too.
"Why?" Seriously. If it was this easy to make her happy, I might've saved myself a lot of headaches from thinking too much on how to do it. Well, at least seeing her smile like this gives me a warm feeling in my chest.
"When you first asked me to give you the information I was worried for both the safety of the population and yourself when you meet the Campiones. As you know, there's no telling what would happen if you go and meet them." She looked a bit worried at this.
So, she was worried about me as much as she was worried about everyone else. She really is a good person. I should apologize to her later for worrying her.
"However, your...almost beheading of Alex showed that you're quite experienced in battle. Enough to even give a Campione some trouble, if my estimate is correct."
Yikes. She was able to find out that much from that little scene? Well, maybe little isn't an apt description but I'm sure I didn't reveal that much either.
"Also, when Alex tried to threaten me, you came to my defence even when you knew he was a Campione. I was able to tell from your reaction that you've already figured out his identity. Despite that, you didn't back down because you were worried for me. That shows you are very good person because you wouldn't allow anyone you see get hurt if you can help it."
I just scratch the back of my head - like I always do when I'm embarrassed - at that statement.
She was able to figure out that too? It could be just me trying to score points with her, but doing that reckless stunt in front of a Campione is probably what made her believe that it was legit and that I didn't have any other motives.
"Not only that, you gave me an ability to scare even a Campione! Oh, I'll have so much fun with this ability. Huhuhuhu." Alice was really happy at this I can almost feel her cheerful spirit.
So that's the real reason! She was happy that she was able to gain an ability to make even a Campione cower!
Ugh!
Please don't tell me she wants to conquer the world with it!
"From all this, I can tell you are not a bad person and whatever your motives are for meeting the Campiones, I'm sure that it is anything but selfish if your determined eyes when you said that it was personal is anything to go by. So I know you definitely won't misuse the information even if I hand it to you. On the contrary, you most likely would make sure that no one will be inconvenienced by it. It is why you seek the information about the Campiones in the first place." She just smiled softly at me when she said this.
I blushed a little. Although I already know this, she's quite beautiful when she smiles like that. And it seems I've set a positive image in her eyes from that last debacle.
I'm glad.
It really was the right decision not to make Avalon a bargaining chip in this negotiation. If all goes well, she should make a full recovery after I leave to meet the Campiones. It's a pity I won't be able to see her myself once she recovers but I'll still have the chance to do so after I finish my current mission.
"Thank you for this Miss Alice. I'll never forget this favour. So, I can just come back in three days to collect the files I need right?"
"Yes, that's correct. Make sure you come at midnight and don't be late. It's rude to make a lady wait you know." As always, she said this in her cheerful teasing voice. I did sense a little mischief in there somewhere but right now, I couldn't care less about it.
"Then I'll just be on my way. Oh, by the way, it's not much to repay this favour, but do you have anything you would like me to make? I'm confident in my culinary skills." Well, it's the least I could do to repay the favour and I'm sure she would love my cooking.
She just blinked a few times before smiling at me again. Am I imagining things or did she just become more beautiful than before?
"Oh, Sir Archer, you really are someone who could not stop with the surprises. Very well, in preparation for that night, I'll keep myself from eating dinner then. I hope you don't disappoint. As for what I'd like. Hmmm...perhaps you could surprise a lady such as myself? As long as I deem it elegant and delicious that should be enough to satisfy me." Alice looks both excited and amused at the same time and her smile is becoming more radiant.
Is she glowing? Nah, just my imagination. But why is it that I keep thinking that she's becoming more beautiful? Well, it's true anyway so I'll just leave it at that.
Also, she has just issued me a challenge.
Oh, I'm definitely going to enjoy this. I have a whole repertoire of elegant dishes that I'm sure that a lady like her will definitely love. But something like that isn't going to be enough for this so I'm going to pull out all the stops short of my best - which will make her orgasm - for this particular dish. I'd say she deserves it and I can think of it as an early congratulatory gift for her full recovery.
I wonder if she'll ever figure out that I'm the one responsible for her recovery?...Nah, there's no evidence that might connect me to her recovery except the 'coincidence' of the time of our meeting and the time that she recovers.
All's well that ends well I always say. Heheh. Always wanted to say that.
"Alright then, I'll come back in three days with my specialty dish. I'm sure you'll love it. Good night then Miss Alice."
"I can barely wait Sir Archer. Good night." Alice's smile is really radiant now. It really suits her.
After hearing her answer, I decided to just jump out the window and into the night. Everything went well tonight - well, almost everything - so it's a cause for celebration. The success of tonight's mission gave me hope that perhaps everything else will go just as well.
xxx Alice's 3rd Person POV xxx
She has never felt happier than she is before tonight.
Her body is healing. HEALING!
How many doctors and healers have tried to diagnose and failed miserably to find a way to cure her illness? She has lost count of all of the specialists that her father had hired in the hopes that they could find a way to maker her recover from her illness. All the research on the various healing spells that currently exists in the world had not yet even come close to find a way to heal her.
And now, a mysterious stalker that calls himself Archer who has been spying on her for the last week, showed up in her room and somehow healed her!
She has a very good idea how he managed it too.
Ever since she returned to her body after entertaining her guest - another stuck-up noble who just wants more prestige - she could feel her body that was so heavy before this - that just having a short conversation in her body takes so much effort that she would collapse soon after - is now lighter even if not by very much. But what surprises her is that her body - instead of becoming heavier and weaker after conversing - felt lighter and lighter at a very slow rate. After she discovered this, she used her Spirit Sensing on her body to find out what's happening with her body.
It was then, that she discovered...something that was imbedded in her just a few hours ago that was slowly healing her. It was most likely a powerful Divine Artifact of some kind for what else could it be that it is able to - even now - slowly heal her?
She has no doubt that the person who imbedded this in her is Archer for he was the only one who was near her body around the time the Divine Artifact was imbedded in her.
At first, she was worried that Archer was going to use this Artifact as a bargaining chip to get what he wants in exchange for giving her the only thing that had any hope of healing her weakening body. Instead, he never even brought up the subject of the Artifact and her instinct is telling her that he seems content to keep it a secret.
She was a bit suspicious of that, but as long as her body isn't directly being searched through mystical means, the Artifact that was implanted in her will never be discovered by anyone. This is because, whatever magical presence the Artifact is emitting, it doesn't seem to be leaking out of her body. What that means is that if there is anyone or any Heretic God who might be looking for the Artifact, they will never find it as long as she keeps the existence of the Artifact a closely guarded secret.
If that is the only price she has to pay in order for her to keep the Artifact for herself so that she may finally move about with her own body without it deteriorating anymore than it already is, than she will gladly pay it. Archer may have had some ulterior motive for imbedding the Artifact in her but she can't help but feel grateful to him for doing it.
That is, if he ever had any ulterior motive.
After interacting with Archer - even if it is for a very short time - she can tell that he is not a person who would wish ill upon others without very good reason. Her long experience in interacting with people who have either noble and ill intentions was enough for her to classify Archer as the former.
The more she thought about his behaviour, the more she is convinced that Archer had imbedded the Artifact in her for the very reason that it is actually for her sake and that reason alone. He did not even consider the act as a favour to her let alone desire any sort of compensation from her if his offer to make dinner for her is any indication.
Giving up information on the Campione in exchange to have her wish granted was a small price to pay in comparison.
Still, when she first found out about Archer's desire to meet all the Campiones, she was very conflicted.
In one hand, his quest might jeopardize the safety of many innocents, a disaster she is honour bound to prevent as she was in the very position to do so. It is the reason she didn't want to tell Alex where Guinevere is currently hiding, as the place is actually filled with people who has nothing to do with the supernatural side of the world. Telling Alex where Guinevere is currently hiding will needlessly endanger their lives for no other reason than the Campione's selfishness, even if he is the type that likes to plan things out before engaging in a battle.
On the other hand, Archer is her saviour who bestowed her - without telling her - a powerful healing Artifact and he most likely did it because he wished for her well being and only that. If she had any doubts about his motives, they were all squashed the moment Archer tried to defend her from a Campione while being fully aware of who he was confronting and how dangerous it was to do so.
Just remembering that scene makes her picture Archer in a dazzling armor on a white horse. Her prince charming who would always come to her rescue.
Perhaps this is what people call love at first sight? Or is it just her gratitude for Archer playing with her mind?
Either way, when he confronted Alex with his...Ashura, her Hime-Miko instincts suddenly fired up and spoke to her that this man would defend her from anything that tries to harm her. Not only that, she also felt he was very powerful, enough to give even a Campione a run for their money. This confused her in more ways than one.
For one thing, she has felt the magical power that Archer emits and she was sure he was not that strong in that department as even she surpasses him by a very wide margin let alone a Campione whose magical power exceeds even hundreds of old and powerful sages.
However, Archer seems to possess a range of strange abilities if his ability to break into the mansion completely undetected except for her (and even then it's because she was specifically keeping an eye out for him), producing swords out of thin air (she was sure he was not pulling it out of a pocket dimension like other knights and mages she knows usually do) and that Ashura of his that could cower even a Campione (she is so going to have fun messing with the nobles at the Headquarter with this new ability of hers).
Perhaps he has other strange abilities that could baffle even Campiones?
Although it seems unlikely, she somehow feels that Archer could most likely pull it off. Also, this is both of her instincts that are informing her of all this, so how can it be wrong?
She has long since been able to separately identify which of her instincts that are informing her, her ordinary human instincts and her Hime-Miko instincts. Basically, her Hime-Miko instincts has never been wrong in its predictions and everything that it has ever told her while her human instincts are less reliable and much more...primitive in its interpretations (such as telling her that she should jump Archer and get him in her bed the next time they meet, which is exactly what she is planning to do).
If her Hime-Miko instincts tell her something, she knew enough that it will always be true but now both of her instincts are informing her that a mage that doesn't even have a quarter of her magical powers could duke it out with a Campione and has a good chance of coming out on top. The experience is so mind boggling and bizarre that her logical mind has started to try and find the many faults in that line of thinking.
But her instincts will not be denied.
There has been many times when her Hime-Miko instincts have informed her of matters that can sometimes be considered ludicrous but despite her scepticism, they have always been true and it has happened so many times that she has started to ignore her human instincts in favour of her Hime-Miko instincts if they ever clash.
So if both of her instincts are agreeing on a particular subject, that could only mean that it is an absolute and undeniable truth no matter how much her logical mind wants to protest. It is the reason she stopped worrying for him if he ever meets the other Campiones and his noble bearing guarantees that he will make sure that the masses will not be inconvenienced by his actions. Which is why she finally agreed to give the information on the Campiones to him.
The more pressing question is, how can something like this be possible?
It is one thing to accept an impossible conclusion no matter how ludicrous it is but another thing to figure out how something that is considered an impossibility to be even remotely real.
Does it have something to do with the Artifact that is currently imbedded in her?
How was Archer able to acquire such a thing?
Where did Archer learn those strange abilities of his because she has never encountered anything like them before.
So many questions but so few clues to form an even remotely satisfying answer.
There is one thing she was able to figure out from her jumbled mind however and it made everything else that surface in her mind become pointless.
She was in love with Archer.
Why she suddenly developed such a feeling for someone that could only be considered as a total stranger is still a puzzle to her as well. She supposed it was caused by her gratitude to him for granting one of her dearest wish to move freely with her own body, which was a wish she had given up on after experiencing so many failures in trying to heal her and he didn't even try to take credit for it.
Simply put, this was the so called scenario where a damsel in distress is saved by a hero and they fell in love with each other, a childish dream she once had at a very young age that she ended up burying in the very depths of her heart as time flew by and she started to grow up.
To think that the small childish dream she once had would come true.
A person suddenly shows up in her life and saves her from her predicament. He then proceeds to defend her when the Devil King (Campione) tries to threaten her. He (unintentionally) bestows her an ability that could even drive away said Devil King if used correctly. And finally he offers her dinner of his own making as a token of gratitude for her generosity when the one who should feel such a thing was herself.
The feeling of her gratefulness to Archer is so strong right now that it's making her have thoughts that are both silly and romantic.
Once she considers whether to push through with her feelings, her Hime-Miko instincts flared up again informing her that if she ever let him go without telling him of her feelings for him, then she would regret it for the rest of her life. Her human instincts is again telling her to just bed him and be done with it.
Well, if both of her instincts are in agreement of her feelings then who is she to consider otherwise?
Now then, in preparation for their next tryst, perhaps she should learn about those Karma Sutra things that Hindus practice.
She can't wait to see Archer's reaction to her 'feelings' when next they meet.
A/N: Alright guys before anyone start flaming me for the final scene, I'm just gonna say that I agree with you.
I've been trying to make her fall for Shirou in a believable way but even after hours of brainstorming, I can't seem to figure out a way that I can be satisfied with, so I'm going to put this up and get everyone's opinion on the scene.
While you guys are busy evaluating the scene, I'm going to start writing the next chapter. I'll most likely modify some things in the last scene and post it at the same time as the next chapter. Don't worry, I'll make sure to tell you guys if I make the changes or not so you don't have to read the whole scene again to confirm it. If you guys think it's okay, I'll just leave it as it is.
By the way, after I was told how the review system worked, I've decided to make The Fake Campione (Draft) fic as a place to dump draft chapter, previews and scrapped chapters for this fic so if anyone is interested, please look there for these things.
Well, please review and don't hold back anything. I'll gladly welcome everything you guys will throw at me.