Chapter 184A
Lounging on the uncomfortable tiles of the mansion roof, Assassin stared up at the cloudy sky above, the chilly winds blunted by the wards surrounding the base, but it wouldn't have made any difference to her anyways. Scratching her sides without any regard to onlookers, she yawned, staring at the sky with half-lidded eyes.
There was simply nothing to do.
While everyone else in the magus camp had their responsibilities and duties to fulfill, she basically had none. They had already been delegated their positions before the war had started, filling in every spot that needed to be filled. Medical care, surveillance, resupply, resource management, defense and more, they already had all areas covered when it came to what was needed in a war. While she was a Servant, and a ridiculously powerful one at that, the only thing she could really contribute to the Clock Tower's forces was combat strength. Aside from shining in battle, and acting as one of their best weapons against other Servants, there really wasn't anything else she was particularly good at outside of that, except maybe eating and repairing her ship. Both of which weren't particularly useful skills for the mages, so she was basically left to her own devices while promising not to stray too far from the mansion on Gray's orders.
As a result, she opted to stay out of the way of the mages indoors and stick to the roof. While the magi downstairs didn't exactly conform to the stereotypical image of a mage, they only treated her with the bare minimum of courtesy, and she was perceptive enough to tell that they only tolerated her out of respect to the head of operations, Lord El-Melloi. He, along with her Master Gray and a select few, were probably the only people who really treated her closer to a human than a familiar, which she assumed the rest saw her as. She didn't have much contact with the mercenary or the witchcraft expert, who rarely stepped out of her workshop.
Sighing, she shifted her body sideways and leaned her head on her hands, her eyes travelling downwards to the gate that separated the outside world from the mansion, a boundary that also served as a point of anchorage for the Bounded Fields surrounding the place.
Assassin.
Hearing Gray's voice, her ears perked up. Was it finally that time?
Her attention fell to the hooded girl walking out of the mansion doors, several wards and Bounded Fields springing to life and then deactivating after detecting her presence, marked as a non-hostile target by the creators of the defensive measures.
Bouncing to her feet, she jumped from the roof spiritedly, her feet lightly tapping against the ground despite the height from which she fell from.
"Heading out now?"
It was only very rarely that Assassin got to leave the mansion outside of scouting and fighting, and it was usually because she needed to accompany Gray and protect her Master whenever she ventured off from the mansion. It was a simple precautionary measure against other Servants and Masters, even though Gray was actually strong enough to, theoretically at least, stand against a Servant by herself for a brief period of time. Unlike last time though, Flat didn't seem to be tagging along, which puzzled Assassin. There was never a moment when he didn't seize the chance to get out, especially with Gray, so it was out of character for him to not be around. As if reading her Servant's mind, Gray spoke up.
"Flat's working with the professor."
Ah, that would explain it. The number one passion of Flat's life seemed to be teasing and messing with Lord El-Melloi, from what she'd seen so far.
"Let's go then."
Lifting Gray into a princess carry on her arms, she almost jumped off into the air before her Master stopped her, the normally quiet voice jumping an octave higher as a subtle crimson dusted her cheeks.
"I-I'll walk this time Assassin!"
Gray managed to squeak out before the Servant leaped off, like the last few times they had gone out, leaving Flat in the dust whenever he tagged along. It was a miracle he had even been able to find his way to wherever they were, and without using any magecraft as well, or so he claimed.
The first time Gray had gone flying with Assassin, it had been an exhilarating experience that left her knees weak even with what she had experienced before, and it still was. It was just that, well, she was slightly embarrassed, especially when her mentor saw her like that. So she decided to walk from now on, to avoid being caught like that in front of him.
"Sure."
Assassin shrugged, fine either way since she got to go out and stretch her legs.
The ornate gates parted for them, a brief shimmer of light indicating the Bounded Fields falling down, allowing them to exit peacefully. The moment they stepped out, the gates automatically closed behind them, sealing off the mansion from intruders as the Bounded Fields rose up again, cutting off the outside world from the workshop. A prismatic field visible to anybody who called themselves a magus stretched from one side to the other, blurring the sky behind them with multi-faceted faces akin to a diamond. This was the best they could manage with the pre-arranged resources from the Edelfelts and the skill of the magi present. It could withstand siege from a team of fifty mages and weather the assault until the next week, the defenses robust enough to completely repel a spell of any of the Five Elements under a ten-count chant, and physical attacks were taken into account as well, able to stop a boulder thrown at the speed of race car if necessary.
Of course, this all proved moot in the face of high Magic Resistance and a Servant's strength, with some possessing massive amounts of Mystery or Divinity able to simply break through by tapping the Bounded Fields with a finger.
The two left merrily, unaware that their defenses would be penetrated mere days later.
While Gray dealt with the parcels she said she had to collect, Assassin went to the shopping district nearby, staying close enough to Gray that she would be able to respond instantly when called, though they weren't really expecting to be attacked. El-Melloi had simply instructed Gray to keep her close at hand, and after begging Gray for a while, her Master had finally relented and granted her permission to wander around within a certain distance. She had gotten the feeling her Master was weak to pressure in these kinds of things, and it had paid off in the end. Humming lightly, she skipped through the streets of the shopping districts, paying the fashion boutiques, restaurants and groceries no mind as walked with a singular purpose, her focus placed on one place only.
When the mouth-watering scent was caught by her nose, she increased her pace, turning the corner to come to a stop in front of her goal. The horizontal piece of white cloth suspended across the top of the entrance was inked with the name of the store, the red paper lanterns hanging next to it advertising the specialties with bold black letters.
'Mushi-Ramen Restuarant'
'Salt broth', 'Soy Ramen', 'Mapo-Tofu Ramen'
Ducking under the cloth, she entered the establishment, blissfully unaware of the eyes on her back.
Once inside, the full force of the heady smell hit her, a delightfully thick salty taste that she deeply inhaled, memories of the ramen she had encountered during her life resurfacing once more in her head. The bubbling of the broth in the kitchen right behind the counter, the cook dipping the ramen in and out of the water in the familiar mesh strainer, bowls of soup awaiting ramen to form the perfect combination resting on the stainless steel of the counters behind them. The slurping of the noodles was especially loud in the cramped space, but for Assassin it was a blessedly familiar sound that she used to hear all the time, from herself.
Once inside, she took a seat on the wooden stools at the counter, looking at the wooden plaques hanging from the wall, engraved with the menu and prices.
Aaaahhhh, it's been too long.
She hadn't had the chance to eat at a ramen shop ever since she had been summoned, even though the Holy Grail War was in the country that was known as the birthplace of the heavenly dish, and it was only now that she could savour those delicate flavours once again. Taking her time, she studied the words, taking stock of all her options to pick the best bowl she would enjoy.
As she was looking through the menu, another customer entered through the flaps, the new presence causing her eyes to shift slightly in their direction.
It was a tall man, dressed in a black cassock that fell all the way to his shins, and a face that was unmistakable no matter where he went. Nevertheless, for Assassin, she had yet to come to understand him, though she was aware that he was a man of the Church from his clothing, and understood his position in the war as well. The brief glance they shared confirmed each other's suspicions, but since they were neutral against each other, and on top of that in public during broad daylight, the priest simply slid into a seat next to Assassin, not even bothering to look at the menu as he ordered.
"Mapo Tofu Ramen, without ramen, extra spicy."
Her eyebrow twitched when her ears picked up the words, an uncontrollable tic forming as she processed the order in her mind. Mapo tofu ramen without ramen? That was just plain mapo tofu then, don't mess around like that!
Levelling a wrathful glare that would burn holes in magma at the priest for ordering such an affront to ramen lovers all over the galaxy, the priest pretended not to notice, feigning ignorance as he silently felt joy over the provocation that had succeeded in angering the Servant next to him. It looked like he would be able to have some fun, which would go well as a side dish with the mapo tofu he was about to have.
Seething inwardly at the blatant disrespect the priest had just displayed against the ancient tradition of ramen, she turned her attention back to the menu, the grinding of teeth audible even with the slurping of ramen all around them.
But just as she made up her mind to order the salt-broth ramen with extra chashu pork, marked as one of the specialties of the shop, a bowl of steaming of mapo tofu was plopped down in front of her before she had the chance to open her mouth. Perplexed, she stared at the red liquid with jiggly white cubes floating in it, until the man who had delivered the dish gruffly informed her of the reason while jerking his chin at the culprit.
"He insisted on treating you to a bowl as well."
The offender gave a hint of a smile at her as he started digging into his own platter of spiced tofu, the cassock neatly folded on his knees beneath the table so he could sweat freely as he ate, an impressive musculature hidden beneath the black cloth on full display, though Assassin wasn't one to admire such sights. Instead, she only had eyes for the offensive pile of steaming tofu in front of her, the spices enough to make her eyes water, penetrating past her defences as a Servant, or perhaps more accurately circumventing it as the food couldn't be considered as a harmful attack. It was merely spices that would trigger the body's natural reactions.
Nevertheless, she felt bad about wasting food, since she had acutely experienced starvation numerous times during her times as a bounty hunter, living from bounty to bounty without any guaranteed income. Maybe she could just take a few bites from this and then order the actual bowl of ramen she wanted to-
"Perhaps it might be too much for you."
These words, blatantly provoking, stabbed into Assassin's pride as a prodigious eater of everything, her hands trembling as Kirei calmly continued eating his food, sweat trickling down in rivulets from head to toe. If she had eaten Gawain's Mystery Mash before, she could finish this! Though she had thrown up the contents of her stomach into the toilet on her ship after eating the Mash.
Abruptly, a cloud of red dust fell on her mapo tofu, so thick she almost couldn't see the wooden counter past it, and when she looked up she could see Kirei's hand retreating from the space above her dish, the seven spice condiment clutched in his hand.
"Forgive me, my hand slipped."
The smug tone laced beneath his words of apology was the cherry on top as Assassin swore to kill the priest somehow, neutrality be damned. Grabbing a spoon, she gritted her teeth as she stared down at the tofu floating in the burning hot pepper sauce, the Sichuan pepper kernels popping up more frequently than she would have liked between the gaps of the tofu. To make it worse, all the white glistening surfaces of the tofu were now dusted with the chili powder Kirei had added when his hand 'slipped', and it was almost entirely various shades of red now when one looked at it from the top. Knots of dread were beginning to form in her stomach, but before her hesitation got to her, she closed her eyes and dipped her spoon into the dish and dumped her first load into her mouth, steeling herself for the inevitable flood of flames that would scorch her from the inside out.
She was woefully underprepared as a stream of what felt like plasma straight from a star dripped into her guts, her throat instantly numbing the moment the tofu entered her mouth. Her nose started manufacturing snot like there was not tomorrow, a steady stream of transparent slime coming out and clogging her nose harder than a thirty year old sewage pipe. She opened her eyes, only to find the world blurred and out of focus, taking a second before she realized it was her own tears that were blocking her vision, the ducts open with full force as she started crying a river from the first bite, the water droplets falling on the dish and diluting the sauce. Opening her mouth, she desperately tried to breathe, but all she managed was a choked cry as the cold air stabbed her mouth like knives, sending her nerves receptors into a frenzy.
Glancing at the mess of a face that was not far off from a picture-perfect ahegao, the shop owner sighed as he placed down a large glass of water in front of her.
Darting out her hand faster than a striking viper, she almost slammed the entire mug into her face in her desperate bid to swallow the water as fast as possible, trickles of clear liquid streaming down her cheeks as she rabidly gulped down the water, draining it dry in three seconds flat. She didn't care how she looked to other people, the only important thing right now was to perform first aid on her digestive system and pray she didn't suffer any side-effects tomorrow.
As the piercing numbness in her mouth faded a bit, she found her hands moving by themselves as she scooped up another bite of the terrifying concoction, the porcelain spoon swimming through the peppers, minced meat and cranberry red sauce, in search of the next bite of tofu.
It felt like she was moving a mountain as she raised the spoon once more to her mouth, unwillingly dragging the mouthful of pure pain to her waiting mouth.
A sneeze triggered from the spices sent the tofu rocketing back into the plate, her snot dribbling out again as she searched for a tissue to stop the flow of bodily fluids. By that point, her face was as red as it usually was after she got drunk, her perspiration turning the baseball cap uncomfortably damp, which she removed after wiping her nose. Ditching her sports jacket as well, she placed it across her lap haphazardly, only to realize her thighs were sweaty and hot, instead moving the jacket to being tied around her waist, the blue fabric already soaked through with sweat in the short amount of time it had been exposed to the open pores of Assassin's skin. It wasn't even that hot in the restaurant, thanks to the winter air blowing in from the open door, but the mapo tofu was simply too strong.
With her middle-school style bloomers and gym shirt on full display, she continued eating, only the scarf remaining on her neck as the rest of her removable clothing had been taken off. If one looked closely, you could almost see the steam rising off her head in a white cloud, a fierce blush all over her body turning the milky white skin into a bright pink, which bordered on crimson in some places. After every bite, she had to pause and take a moment to recollect herself, her mind numbing along with her mouth as she consumed the volatile mixture of spices and tofu.
The glass of water which she had drained dry earlier was already replaced with another mug in a flash, the owner long used to dealing with customers like her that seemed on the verge of straight-up fainting from eating this dish. While none had ever entered a serious condition after partaking of this particular course, he could count on one hand the few who hadn't immediately started sweating, crying and sneezing while desperately trying to employ various methods to bring relief to their tongues. He'd seen one person actually stick a wet tissue into their own mouths to try and wipe off the film of mapo tofu sauce that clung to the lining of their mouths and taste buds, to no avail. Another had just thrown up back into the bowl. There were also many toilet incidents, which was partly the reason why he had more toilet stalls built during the restaurant's renovation last year.
In addition, whenever the priest was around, the mapo tofu related incidents seemed to just increase exponentially. At this point, he'd come to expect bad things to happen whenever the man came in, and he'd have glasses of water prepared behind the counter, ready to be dispensed where it was needed.
Every bite was as hellish as the first as she swallowed, the numbness somehow doing nothing to stem the myriad sensations burning through her mouth and throat, simultaneously igniting her tongue and deadening it. Her nose wasn't capable of smelling any more, a permanent stream of fluid blocking it, and she could feel her stomach roil as well, the strong spices building a warmth deep in her core, turning her into a living furnace with the source in her belly.
She lost track of time as the bowl slowly emptied, all five senses fading as they grew insensitive from the over stimulation, her eyes brimming with tears that threatened to spill out as her jaw shifted to swallow the food. By the end of it, she just wanted to give up and let her face fall into the mapo tofu as she drowned in the bowl, the strength in her body leaving her with each bite, but she managed to persist and conquer, feeling the priest's cool gaze on her back the entire time even though he was never looking at her when she turned her eyes towards him.
The shop owner didn't spare a glance for her as he took her empty bowl, the only things remaining in it being a glaze of red oil and stray bits of spring onions and mince meat, scraps that she didn't have the energy to clean up any more. It was commendable that she had managed to stomach the entire dish, which wasn't small by any means, the plate full to the brim while being roughly the size of her face as well. Sinking to the counter, she sluggishly dragged the mug of water over to herself and as her head lolled against the wooden boards, only raising herself high enough to reach the rim of the glass and sip the drink, the warm water sliding down her throat and massaging the back of her throat, her mouth tingling as something other than peppers and tofu slid past her tongue. It felt therapeutic, having the water cleanse her insides, but the moment she stopped sipping, the pain returned, so she had no choice but to keep drinking. Though Servants couldn't really die from overeating, she felt slightly sick after drinking so much water while eating, bloating her stomach and making her movements slow. With a fuzzy mind, she was too late when she sensed someone new coming through the entrance and laying their hands on her shoulder.
"We received reports about a student eating ramen here during school hours. Could you please accompany me back to the station?"
Slack jawed, she allowed herself to be dragged out as her body went limp, her eyes turning into round saucers at the sudden appearance of the police. In all honesty, she had considered it as a possibility that could happen, given her appearance. The blonde hair gave her the feeling of a delinquent, and her school clothes outfit didn't exactly help her image in this regard, with the jersey and bloomers she'd picked for today being the exact image. In retrospect, she should have chosen more casual clothing, which would've made it less likely she'd be reported, though her looks still made her seem young enough to be a truant student in casual clothing.
Unable to cause a scene in broad daylight, she was led out while the priest smirked slightly as he dug into his mapo tofu, sweating like a pig all the while.
On the other side of the district, Gray frowned while carrying the paper wrapped packages, wondering why her Servant refused to respond to her. It didn't feel like something happened to Assassin, since the connection to her was still whole, and there wasn't any alarm or strong emotions coming through the link either, so she was probably fine. Perhaps she was being intentionally ignored because of something Gray had done? Puzzled, she decided to treat Assassin to something tonight, just in case that was what was happening right now. She remembered that Assassin had mentioned something about liking exotic cuisine before, and she'd heard about a special tofu dish around here as well...