Pretty wild that within a few days this story is already over 300 favourites and 60+ reviews. I've basically been writing all these chapters so far on my phone and then editing them on my computer. I'll update my other stories eventually but I wanted to get the ball rolling on this one. Not really anything I need to go over as most of you all are happy with the way I've been portraying Emiya for the most part. So without further ado I will get started.
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Morning came by pretty quick for Archer. Servants didn't need sleep and it wasn't like he slept a lot as a counter guardian. But he was in a sort of composite body and it seemed to only need a few hours rest before it was fully operational. He couldn't really tell how much he slept, but it was probably two to four hours. Considering the fact that the sun could barely be seen rising from out the window of his bedroom.
'It was pretty late when I got here last night'
A short stretch popped any loose joints as he stood from his bed. He couldn't hear any movement in the house so he assumed Village Leader and his family were asleep. Archer didn't feel the need to say goodbye to the Village Leader, even though he was very thankful for the hospitality. He also didn't need the praise of saving those girls. The thanks he had received was more than enough for him.
After checking his clothes to see if they were relatively dry, which they were, he dressed himself in his usual black armour and pants before grabbing his arm coats and waist coat. They had seen much worse in terms of damage and weather conditions.
Emiya then quietly left the house and started to make his trek back to Frontier. The ground was still wet and muddy from last night's rain so he'd have to give his boots a good cleaning.
'Not like I can just enter a spirit form and have all my clothes magically repair themselves without me doing anything'. A spirit form would certainly be nice, but he had gone for hundreds of years without one.
The walk back to Frontier passed by at a decent speed for the counter guardian. It wasn't like he needed to stop for anything or deal with any major threats along the way. He took his time when walking back so that he could just relax and enjoy the scenery.
And by the time he reached Frontier, the sun was high in the sky. It was roughly a little past noon when he entered the city. There was a short line up to enter but once he did reach the gates, all he had to do was show his adventures tag.
There wasn't anyone he needed to see or anywhere he needed to go other than the guild hall, so he head right there. Upon pushing the doors open, Emiya was greeted with a similar sight to when he entered the day before. A few glances were thrown in his direction as the newbie came back. A few of the more grizzled adventurers nodded to themselves and were happy that a new adventure made it back safely.
But that didn't matter to the counter guardian, so he waited in a line where the same receptionist he met before was sitting behind her desk. When it was his turn up, she looked up from a set of papers and was surprised to see Emiya there.
"Mr. Archer!" Guild Girl smiled "You made it back".
"I did" Archer smirked "didn't think I could do it?"
"No no nothing like that" she waved off a little embarrassed "A lot of beginners don't survive their first goblin quest".
Emiya nodded "I can see why. The way they defended themselves wasn't perfect or anything. But a rookie could easily be killed in that sort of scenario".
Guild Girl agreed with Archer before pulling out a quill and a piece of paper "Would you mind telling me what happened so I can make a report?"
"Sure" Emiya crossed his arms and began to explain. "When I reached the village, I spoke with the leader in an attempt to gain any useful information. He told me that at least ten goblins attacked with a large one being sighted. I eventually tracked down the goblins before it started raining, they were held up in a cave a few miles away from the village".
"And how many goblins were there?"
"Twenty normal ones, a magic caster and a hobgoblin".
"You encountered a shaman and a hobgoblin?" Guild Girl was surprised.
Archer nodded "They weren't too difficult to deal with. But once I cleared the cave, I found the missing women".
"Were they okay?" She asked hopefully.
Archer lowered his head "One dead of shock and trauma before I got there. While two other women survived. I took them back to the village in a cart and spent the night at the Village Leader's house".
Guild Girl seemed genuinely sad at the fact someone died "At least the family can have some closure". She sighed before asking "Was that all?"
"Other than three goblin children, there wasn't anything else".
"Oh… I see" she seemed to understand. After putting the paper aside she stood up and went to retrieve a small pouch. She handed the pouch to Archer with a smile "Here is the reward of three silver and five copper coins".
"Thank you" Emiya took it with a nod "How much do you guys sell potions for? And what do you have?"
"We sell a small selection of stamina and antidote potions as well as some minor to mid healing potions. The stamina and antidote ones range from one to three silver pieces, depending on size. While our healing potions are from five silver pieces to one gold piece".
"I see" Emiya thought for a moment "Is there any special form of conversion for the money?"
"It's just the standard conversions. One gold is equal to ten silver and ten copper is equal to one silver".
'Pretty simple conversion. But I got barely any money from that quest it seems'.
"What about rooms and food?"
"A room is seven copper a night while food ranges".
Archer chuckled "Sounding a little rich for my blood right now"
"I'm sure you'll make more money in the future" she smiled.
"Is there any new quests up?"
Guild Girl sighed "I put up some more quests earlier, but all the porcelain ones have more or less been taken".
"Is there nothing left?"
"Other than sewer clearing, there isn't really anymore porcelain quests right now" Guild girl answered.
Archer sighed heavily "Is there a way I can take higher level quests without having a higher rank?"
"If you join a team that is willing to take you on a quest, then you can do a higher level quest"
'Either I wait for an opportunity, or I actively start asking people for help' he almost snickered 'like that'll happen'.
"Feel free to take a seat in the dining area or the bar and talk to some of the other adventurers. I'm sure a party or two wouldn't mind taking you along".
"Might as well give that a shot" the ex-guardian shrugged before walking towards that area. 'I'm not really hungry, but I am still curious about more of this world's cooking'. Emiya had found himself a table up against one of the walls near a window. The guild wasn't jam packed, but pockets of adventurers occupied a few of the tables. He didn't have to wait long for someone to approach his table. Emiya had looked to the person and saw a young good looking woman with brown hair in a ponytail and wearing a maid dress. The slightly odd thing was the lupine ears and tail she had.
"You're a new face" the girl smiled "I'm Padfoot Waitress, I'll be your server and maybe cook today!"
"You cook and serve?" Emiya tilted his head.
"Yup!" She nodded.
"What's on the menu?"
"Today we have a vegetable soup made fresh from the market vegetables. A platter of smoked and roasted meat, warm or cold. We also have roasts, pork belly, and venison. A few tarts made with all of the fruits in season. And of course everything is accompanied by wine or ale!"
'Sounds like the typical medieval menu selections' Emiya thought.
"Or if you're feeling adventurous" she leaned a little closer "I do cook a few other things that aren't on the menu if you're willing to try".
"And what would that be?"
"I'm trying my hand at more baking" she started "I'm trying to make a different kind of pie. I want it to be something with strawberries. But there's already so many things that can go with it" she almost whined.
"Have you tried rhubarb?"
"Rhubarb in a pie? Haven't really thought of that" Padfoot put a hand to her chin.
"It's fairly simple" Archer continued "two and a half cups of fresh chopped rhubarb along with the strawberries, sugar, tapioca flower and all the other pie filling ingredients make for a good mix".
Padfoot seemed impressed "You really know your stuff"
Emiya chuckled "I know my way around a kitchen".
"Oh really now?" The waitress smiled "how about you come show me how to make this pie?"
Emiya raised a brow "are adventurers even allowed in the kitchens?"
"With permission of course" Padfoot shrugged "and I'm sure any of the other chefs wouldn't mind learning a new recipe".
"I guess I haven't cooked anything in a little bit" Emiya contemplated for a moment "I think I'll take you up on that offer".
"Wonderful!" Padfoot beamed "come with me then" she led Emiya into the kitchen getting a few odd stares from the other adventurers.
Upon entering the kitchen, Emiya was a little impressed by the size of the kitchen. A few waitresses moved around and were grabbing dishes prepared by the chef and his assistants. It felt nostalgic for Emiya, even though he didn't work in a restaurant.
Their entrance gained the attention of the head chef. "Padfoot" a man in his forties with slightly grey hair and a moustache looked at them. "Why're you bringing an adventurer into my kitchen?" He said casually while cutting up a turkey with fairly good skill and precision.
"This here is uh…"
"Archer"
"Archer here! Gave me a good idea for a new pie and he was going to show me how to make it!"
"Oh really now? You wouldn't be the first adventurer who could claim that they were a cook. Only to be some of the worst cooks I've ever seen". The chef grabbed a white apron from somewhere before handing it to Emiya "As long as you don't burn down my kitchen and stay out of the way, we won't have any problems".
"Understood" Emiya said with seriousness. One does not mess with a chef's kitchen.
"At least you got decent manners" the chef said before going back to his work.
Padfoot grabbed Emiya's arm and led him to a small corner of the room where there was an extra stove and small table for prep work. "Guild Chef got me a small area to myself when I want to cook something for myself" the girl said to Emiya as he put on the white apron.
"I'm assuming you can make pie dough?" Emiya questioned.
"Of course I can!" Padfoot said with pride "Unless you got yourself a fancy dough recipe".
"Not really no" Archer shrugged "for the crust I'll need all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, salted and flavoured butter if you have, salt, an egg, vinegar and a cup of ice cold water".
"On it!" Padfoot exclaimed before gathering all of the ingredients as well as a sifter and some cups for measuring.
"First we're going to mix up the flours, sugar, shortening, butter and salt" Emiya started to prepare while Padfoot nodded along with interest. "While I do this, whisk up an egg with the vinegar and about a quarter cup of cold water". Padfoot immediately began by cracking an egg into a bowl before adding the vinegar and water. As she whisked, Emiya blended the other ingredients.
Once they were both done, Emiya continued "Now slowly add yours to mine. Just have to be careful to not overwork the dough". With what looked like practiced ease, she followed Emiya's instructions as he mixed. After mixing for a short while and adding any extra flower to the now formed ball. Emiya then traced a kitchen knife which caused Padfoot to widen her eyes in curiosity, but she didn't comment.
Archer divided the dough into two pieces before tracing a rolling pin and using it to form one of the dough balls into a disk shape. "Now you put the dough into the bottom of a pie dish" he said as Padfoot grabbed him a pie dish. "Do you guys have an ice box or a fridge?"
"Yea we have one just over there" she pointed to a small box "and a freezer for all the meats and stuff over here" she motioned to a door not too far from them.
"Good. It's best to let the dough chill while we mix up all of the ingredients for the filling".
"Any particular reason?" She asked.
"It allows the gluten to 'relax' so to speak. It's also easier to roll and manipulate when it's chilled slightly. Plus it helps the moisture find its way back into all parts of the dough".
Padfoot nodded with an "Ohhh". Once the dough was placed in the ice box, Emiya continued with his lesson.
"For the filling itself, we'll need red rhubarb, washed and cut strawberries, sugar, tapioca, a small amount of flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, vanilla extract, butter, egg whites and larger granule sugar". Padfoot nodded along with each ingredient before making multiple trips around the kitchen to grab the ingredients. When she returned, the lesson continued again.
"We'll need to get this oven preheated so that when we're done, it can go right in" these weren't modern stoves by any means. So he couldn't just set the temperature to four hundred twenty five degrees. He actually had to light the stove and give it a decent bit of time to warm up to a temperature that would be close enough.
With another traced knife, Archer began to cut the rhubarb and strawberries at an impressive speed. "Once all this is chopped and ready. We mix this with the sugar, tapioca, flour, lemon zest and juice, cinnamon and vanilla. Have to make sure to mix it well" Emiya mixed. "If you could go get the chilled dough for me". Padfoot eagerly retrieved the now chilled dough.
Archer then poured the filling into the crust. He then took a few cubes of butter and placed them along the top of the filling. After tracing another rolling pin, he rolled out the other ball of dough before placing it overtop the pie and crimped the edges to seal. Archer then had Padfoot get him some egg whites which he used to brush the pie before placing the large granular sugar as a garnish.
A quick glance and feel of the stove let Emiya know that the oven was at the appropriate temperature to bake. "No we just cover it in foil and bake it for about fifteen minutes, lower the temperature by about fifty degrees and then let it bake for another forty five to fifty minutes. Or until the filling starts to bubble". Archer covered up the pie before placing it in the oven carefully with a traced pair of oven mitts.
"Any questions?"
"How are you making stuff appear like that?"
"I can 'trace' weapons and objects for a period of time dependant on the amount of mana I use. It's easier to make anything related to a sword though" he didn't elaborate any further. 'Not telling people too much about one's magic is pretty much one of the only things I agree with magus' about'.
"That's amazing! And who knew you could do all of that so quickly! I can't wait to try this pie when it's done!" She could barely contain her excitement.
"I'll keep an eye on the pie for the fifteen minutes. And I'm assuming I can't just stand here for the next hour after that".
"I do have to get back to work, but I'll make sure to keep an eye on it while it bakes" Padfoot gave Emiya a thumbs up.
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The next hour passed by in no time at all. After fifteen minute, Emiya lowered the ovens temperature and left the kitchen so that Padfoot and the others could do their work. His previous table was still available so he chose to sit there and wait. Padfoot did give him some bread, soup and a mug of water free of charge for teaching her how to make the pie.
The food itself wasn't half bad at all. The bread was relatively soft, the soup was good if not a little too salty. But Emiya could somewhat understand since he assumed they made it in bulk to feed adventurers at a moment's notice. He took his time to eat the food and shared a few words with Padfoot as she passed by. She asked multiple times if he wanted any ale, but he refused. Not that he hated alcohol or anything. He just wasn't much of a drinker. After a while Emiya became lost in thought, but was taken out of it by a shout from the kitchen entrance.
"Archer!" Emiya looked over to see Padfoot smiling and waving at him "Pie is done!" Any adventurers that were still around lifted their head and raised their eyebrows in curiosity.
And as usual, Emiya mostly ignored the stares as he made his way into the kitchen and towards Padfoot's little corner. She stood by the stove and waited for Emiya to look inside. He lifted the foil on the pie and saw that it was indeed ready to be taken out. He traced a set of oven mitts, pulled the pie out and placed it on the small side table. When the foil was taken off, the smell of the pie filled all the kitchen staffs noses. They all perked up. Padfoot's eyes were practically stars with how bright her expression seemed when looking at the pie.
"Just have to let it cool off for a few minutes then it's ready to serve".
"I almost can't wait" Padfoot's mouth was watering.
"Well it certainly looks and smells good" Guild Chef walked over to them. "Gotta say I'm impressed kid. If it's as good as it looks, might have to put it on the menu sometime" the chef grinned.
"Feel free to" Emiya nodded to the chef.
"We'll call it 'Archer's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie'" Padfoot beamed.
"You sure about that?" Archer raised a brow.
"Well you made it, makes sense to name it that" Guild Chef shrugged. "If you weren't already an adventurer, I'd hire you as a baker or one of my assistants".
Archer chuckled "If you need help and I'm not busy. Feel free to ask".
"I'll hold you to that then" Guild Chef handed him a knife "now cut that pie up and let's try it.
With that, Emiya cut into the pie. It slid through with next to no resistance while retaining its integrity. Padfoot brought three plates over and three forks. The pie was divided into eight pieces and served between the three.
Emiya observed as Padfoot bit into it first eagerly. Her eyes lit up like Christmas as the first bite hit her mouth. She squealed in joy at the bite.
Guild Chef was next as he took a fork full of the pie. His reaction was a lot more tamed than Padfoot's. His eyes widened momentarily "My word… it's soft but not too soft, it's sweet but not to the point it's sour. The crust is soft and flavourful too. Probably the best pie I've had in a long time".
Archer nodded his head in thanks before taking a bite himself "Didn't turn out too bad".
"It's wonderful!" Padfoot was almost done her piece "Guild Chef! You have to put this on the menu!".
"I'll definitely have to" Guild Chef took another bite. "Have either you or your friend here to show me".
"I think I could make it now" Padfoot thought for a moment.
"I'll look forward to trying it then" Emiya smiled slightly to her.
"What do you wanna do with the rest?" Padfoot asked.
"I think I'd like to give a slice to the two receptionists. Guild Girl got me registered so I'd like to give her one".
"And the other three pieces?"
"Could sell them or give them to someone else in the guild" Archer shrugged while getting two plates and two forks. "You already gave me a free lunch so no need to give me the money for it".
"Aye aye sir!" Padfoot called out.
"You realize I'm your boss right?" Guild Chef commented as Emiya left the kitchen.
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After handing the slices of pie to the two receptionists, which they were grateful for, Emiya made his way to the bar. He did have to find a way to embark on a higher level quest. While he could do those sewer clearings, it wouldn't provide him with any new information. He could already guess what lurked in the sewers and doubted that much could surprise him down there.
'Probably just giant rats and bugs' he thought to himself while taking a seat at the bar and observing his surroundings again. There were pockets of adventurers at different tables, some were teams of three and others had upwards of five. Emiya was certainly a lone wolf type and didn't really like to work in teams, but even getting to know some of these people could prove invaluable in the future.
'That begs the question. Who should I approach? Everyone here seems either too green or too cocky for their own good'. He narrowed his choices down to two groups, or rather pairs that he could observe. All of which were silver rank judging by the tags on their necks
The first pair was two more 'heavy' looking warriors. One was a young woman wearing from fitting white armour with a shield on her back and a sword on her hip. She had blonde hair, blue eyes and was currently speaking to her partner over a mug of ale. Her partner was a large man with short black hair and a chiselled face. He had a few visible scars on his face and wore a set of black armour with a large sword strapped to his back. The two also had capes that fit their colour scheme of white and black respectively.
The second pair was another team of a guy and girl. The male almost made him do a spit take, if he would've been drinking something. If it wasn't for the swept back strawberry blonde hair and blue armour, he would've mistaken him for a certain blue lancer. The way he was confidently speaking to his partner and keeping a hand close to a lance/spear was reminding him of the Celtic hero. His partner seemed a lot more calm and collected than him. Emiya could only describe her as a witch with her current getup. She was a very attractive woman with purple hair and yellow eyes. Her robes revealed plenty of her body as she smoked a pipe and adjusted her witch hat.
'Now who should I approach? On one hand, it would be good to go with the group that possibly has a magic caster. I don't know anything about this world's mages and how they operate. But the other team seem more built for fighting in front line fights' it all boiled down to who could help him learn the most. And it was pretty obvious that he should learn about this world's magic sooner rather than later.
'Hopefully they won't turn me away' Archer then stood from his seat at the bar and approached the magic caster and the spearman.
The spearman seemed pretty into the story he was telling the witch and noticed Emiya's approach once he realized the witch wasn't paying that much attention to his story. At least more than she usually did.
"Hm?" The spearman turned to look at Emiya "need something?"
Archer nodded "I'm Archer. I joined the guild recently and I was looking to join a team at the suggestion of Guild Girl".
"Guild Girl?" the spearman was interested "she say to ask us?"
Emiya shook his head "Just to ask a team to join and participate in a higher level quest. There aren't any porcelain quests that don't involve sewer clearing".
"Well you've certainly come to the right guy" the spearman smirked "Names Spearman, the frontiers strongest" he gestured to the lady at the table. "This here is my partner".
"Hello there. My name is. Witch. Pleasure to meet you" Said the woman who spoke in short sentences.
"Well don't just stand there!" Spearman grinned "sit down" he patted the spot beside him, Witch being on the other side of the table in front of Spearman. Archer took his seat before Spearman continued "So you got any experience? If you don't I can train you up for a small fee".
"I have battle experience. I returned from a goblin quest earlier today".
"Oh really now? That it?"
Archer shook his head "I've fought a few magical creatures in the past. People too".
"Do you" started Witch "Have experience. With magic?"
Archer nodded "I have some experience with magic. Just not too much of this lands magic".
"So you're not from around here is that it?" Spearman asked as received a nod "Ain't no big deal" he waved off "Don't know too much magic myself. As long as you can fight and don't slow me down. I'd be willing to do Guild Girl a favour and help you out" he grinned. Spearman then looked to his partner "Any objections?"
"I. Have no. Issues"
"Alright then it's settled! Just stick with us for a bit and we'll show you what we adventurers are about. But before we leave for a quest" Spearman gave a slightly savage grin "I wanna see how you defend yourself. Deal?"
Archer raised a brow at the grin "Sure".
"To the training area!" He stood up, followed by Witch who stood with more grace.
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After stepping out of the guild. The group of three went a short distance away from the building towards the edge of the guild where there was a small sectioned off area with training dummies laying around. A few other adventurers had been there practicing with varying weapons. A few glanced in their direction and waved at Spearman when they approached. Witch leaned up against a wall to the side and observed the two men.
"Obviously you use a bow if your names Archer" Spearman casually said with his spear behind his head with his arms hooked around it. "Don't exactly know how to test you on that. So what else you got?"
"These" Archer said casually while tracing Kanshou and Bakuya, just on the duller side so he didn't kill anyone. Witch seemed a lot more interested in this battle. Spearman raised a brow before twirling his spear and getting in a ready stance.
"Secretly a warlock or something?" Spearman joked as he planted himself.
"Not quite" Emiya raised his blades.
"Makes no difference to me" Spearman grinned. "Just matters if you know how to use em!"
Spearman then shot off towards the awaiting ex-counter guardian. His spear was thrust forward but was blocked by Kanshou and Bakuya being thrust upward. Kanshou was then swung horizontally at Spearman who stepped back and swung his spear back down into the awaiting blades of Emiya. Emiya broke off the exchange pushing forward in an X shaped motion. A slash from both blades was blocked by Spearman in a great show of skill. Spearman then swung his weapon in an arc. Only for Archer to hop back as the spear hit the ground. With the spear momentarily grounded, Spearman took a kick to the chest that sent him skidding back slightly.
"Not half bad" Spearman's grin became wider. As he rushed forward with vigour.
His charge forward was sidestepped by Emiya who tried to bring his blades down on top of Spearman. But Spearman wasn't a silver rank for nothing. In a great feat of acrobatics, he planted and swung off his back foot and smacked his spear into Emiya's blades and sent him skidding back this time.
Spearman didn't waste the opportunity and pursued. Archer had landed back on the ground in time to deflect a spear thrust before trying to slash at the adventurer who brought his spear up by sliding one hand down the shaft. The two continued to exchange similar blows as more people began to watch their little display. Even some other adventurers came from the guild to watch the mock battle. Even the two adventurers that Emiya was debating on joining were watching from beside Witch as they conversed.
'This guy isn't too bad' Emiya thought as he deliberately left an opening to catch the adventurer off guard. 'He's no Cú. But his skill is still apparent' a cross attack was performed after he made an opening and almost struck the adventurer but just barely missed.
By this point the training ground was only filled with observers as everyone was watching the battle. It was pretty crazy to see a porcelain ranked adventurer keep pace with a silver rank after all. But this was still a light spar and only a test of skill. Not a true battle. The fight continued for a few more minutes as the two continued to exchange blows. No serious hits were landed. As the two clashed together again before breaking apart, Spearman stood straight up with a grin.
"Gotta say I'm impressed" Spearman planted his spear on his shoulder. "Not many can keep up with me like that. Even though I was holding back a bit" he added at the end.
"Not too bad yourself" Archer grinned a little, enjoying the fight.
"I think you got yourself a temporary spot on the team" he approached Emiya and held out a hand.
Emiya took the hand and shook it as the crowd started to disperse "Much appreciated".
Witch approached the two as they shook hands "What. Was. That magic? Was it. Warlock. Weapon bond?"
Emiya shook his head as he let go of Spearman's hand "I'm able to make copies of weapons to use in battle".
"That's a pretty nifty ability" Spearman whistled.
"How many miracles. Do you have?" Witch asked.
"Miracles?" Emiya questioned.
"Basically how many times you can cast certain magic spells" Spearman gave an abridged explanation.
"I don't use these… miracles I guess you could say. As long as I have mana or magic, I'm able to use it".
"That. Is. Very odd…" Witch was in thought over this.
Spearman then tapped her shoulder "Don't fret over it too much. Got plenty of time to ask him questions. Let's go grab ourselves a decent quest. What do you say?"
"I have no qualms with that" Archer agreed as the three made their way back into the guild.
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Odd place to end off I know, but I wanted to plan out the quest they take and how to go about interactions between the three. The spar was probably a little too short for some people's liking but it was just a quick spar to test Emiya's skills. Spearman is actually a pretty thoughtful guy and has good skills to back it up. As evident by some of the more recent Goblin Slayer chapters where we see more of him. Fun fact, I originally planned for this to be the chapter where Emiya met Goblin Slayer but decided against it. I also wrote practically all of this on my phone and probably seem a little rushed since it was mostly downtime.