"Master, is something wrong? You seem lost in thought," Amakusa remarked, pausing his cleaning for a moment to look at Gudako, who was staring into space.
His voice snapped the Master out of her daze, and looking at him she gave a reassuring smiles as she said: "I'm fine, I was just thinking about something. With Christmas coming closer every day, I suppose I just felt a bit nostalgic, and started reminiscing about last year."
"Oh? It's unlike you to look back on things like that."
"Yeah, it is. It's been about a year since King Gilgamesh (Caster) arrived at Chaldea, right?"
"Indeed," the Ruler confirmed, though he was unsure what had brought his Master to this particular train of thought.
As if Gudako noticed his confusion, she explained: "I was thinking back on what happened with Jeanne Lily last year, and how you kinda went all-out pretending to be the mysterious villain-pretending-to-be-an-ally Santa Island Mask. So, that got me thinking about back when Gilgamesh (Caster) had just joined, and how he had some other Servants causing up a stir, you among them…"
"Ah, I think I can see where this is going."
"I think Angra called it… Operation Eradicate Chaldea?"
"I stand by my earlier opinion about the name not being exactly artful."
Gudako bit back a comment about a pun like Onriedo not being much better, knowing it'd be too low a blow given how badly the re-living of his personal nightmare back in Shimosa had affected the Ruler.
Instead, she simply continued: "It seems like you really enjoy playing the villain, huh?"
"I must admit I enjoy getting caught up in such an act, but in general I simply find that it's a role that suits me."
"You know, it's saying things like that – among with the times you were literally the villain of an incident – that got you put on the list of Chaldea's evil masterminds in the first place."
The only reply was Amakusa's usual laugh.
To Gudako's surprise, however, Amakusa didn't simply return to work like he normally would've, but instead resumed the conversation after a moment of silence.
"Admittedly, if I do get asked to play the villain again sometime in the future, I actually have an idea in mind."
"Really? Wow, I didn't realize so much thought goes into these things."
"I assure you, they usually aren't planned out beforehand. But my alternate self in Shimosa ended up giving me some inspiration for this one."
Gudako was even more surprised to hear Amakusa suddenly bring up Shimosa himself: they hadn't really talked much about it after she ended up comforting him after they got back.
Still, if he'd somewhat recovered from his experiences there, she could only consider that a good thing.
"Alright then, what has this inspiration led to?"
"I think that for my next act, it might be an interesting idea to kidnap a princess. Not an actual princess of course, but someone of equal or even more value to Chaldea." As he said this, Amakusa looked Gudako in the eyes with an intensity she didn't expect, and the young woman got the impression she was supposed to know who he was talking about.
What's more, the way he was looking at her… It was a bit unnerving, if she had to be honest. His gaze wasn't cruel or calculating, but it was so intense that it was making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and her heart skip a beat.
Gudako had stared down more than a few demon gods in the process of restoring humanity from its incineration alone, yet something about Amakusa at that moment made her break their gaze as she forced herself to think on his words for a change of pace.
Amakusa said someone of great importance to Chaldea, and the only person Gudako could think of was Da Vinci. But she didn't fit the typical image of a princess in the slightest.
Maybe Mash? No… while she was definitely important to both Chaldea and Gudako herself, she didn't give off the 'kidnapped princess' vibe either, even if she was no longer able to access her Servant powers.
Amakusa chuckled as he recognized Gudako's confusion for what it was, saying: "You can't figure out who I'm talking about, can you? That's fine: it's like you not to realize it."
"And," he added with a glint of amusement in his golden eyes that accompanied his usual smile, "Don't worry too much about it: you'll be the first to know when I ever decide to enact this plan."
"That comment only makes me worry more, especially the 'when' part!"
But Gudako wouldn't get any more information out of the amused Ruler. Ah well, at least the nervousness he'd made her feel had dissipated.
For anyone wondering, I imagine that after his talk with Gudako after Shimosa, Amakusa had some realizations about his feelings for her, resulting in his current, more proactive attitude. Thus, writing this chapter was pretty fun.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did, and see you all next time!
