Chapter 12


"You've been frequenting Da Vinci in her workshop lately, are you okay Mash?" asked Ritsuka, as the two of them were walking in the hallway.

"Ah, I'm okay senpai! I just went for daily check-ups more than usual ever since that moment during our time in the Las Vegas Singularity, where I was able to channel Galahad's powers for a bit." She then replied, and Ritsuka nodded. "I see I see, what did Da Vinci have to say?" he asked.

Mash pondered over it. "Even Da Vinci was confused as to why it happened, but she told me that maybe Galahad was just too relaxed that Okita-san diving straight towards us just made him act upon reflex…" she explained, and yet she was embarrassed, "…I really find it hard to believe…"

Ritsuka simply laughed and patted her head. "I guess she just wants you to not worry much." He told her, and Mash blushed a bit. She looked at him and smiled, enjoying the feeling. "I-I see…very well."

The Master then yawned and stretched. "Whew~ we haven't done anything particularly noteworthy today…" he spoke, and Mash nodded. "It's these rare moments of peace that we should be thankful for, since we get to rest and recuperate, among other things." Mash then replied.

"I suppose, but it is boring," Ritsuka admitted, then an idea came to his mind. "How about we do some training together? We haven't been doing that for a while now!" he suggested, his face lighting up, or so Mash noticed.

A blush formed yet again on her face, but she nodded. "Yes, let's do that, senpai!" she immediately replied.

"Alright, then let me just get to my room and change Mystic Codes." He spoke, and Mash nodded again. "Alright. I'll go ahead and change into the Ortinax." Mash replied.

They both smiled and ran separate ways.


Ritsuka Fujimaru, while having seen and been exposed to a few odd, unusual and most of the time life-threatening sights and phenomena was still capable of being surprised at what he sees now.

Scathach-Skadi was seated on his bed, and on the floor was a frozen Merlin, who was in the act of dogeza, and what surprised Ritsuka even more was he was not facing Skadi but rather the door to his room, which means he was apologizing to him.

"Um…what happened here? And where is—"

"To answer that second question: the human mage is with his hooded apprentice, as always, walking around the place." Skadi then answered, and Ritsuka simply nodded.

"As for the first one…" she then added, sighing. Ritsuka then positioned himself to sit beside her on the bed, as he felt that this was going to be quite the long explanation.

"The wizard here, for some reason that even perplexed Odin, cast quite the potent spell on me that made me be extremely enamored with that human mage that seemingly always had a frown upon his face." She then told him, and Ritsuka went wide-eyed.

But not for the reason Skadi just told him. He was wide-eyed because the explanation wasn't really long.

"For a Caster of my caliber to have fallen prey to this incubus' entertainment…" spoke Skadi, but trailed off as the ice that encased Merlin only grew thicker. The room temperature began to drop rapidly.

Ritsuka needed to act to calm her down.

A man then entered the room. The two of them then looked at him.

Lord El-Melloi II simply sighed. "I believe you forgot to mention that I did tell you about it, but I suppose it only added to the fact that it was indeed a strong spell." He explained.

Scathach-Skadi, obviously even more annoyed, abruptly stood up, and grabbed the Master by his collar.

"Master, I believe you and that girl were going to have some 'training', yes? Then you wouldn't mind me joining in, yes?" she then asked, as she walked out of the room with Ritsuka in tow.

The Master simply waved El-Melloi II goodbye.

He sighed yet again, and snapping his fingers once, the Merlin encased in ice combusted, enough to thaw him out.

Merlin wasted no time standing up properly. "Ta-da~!" he simply spoke, and the Lord was getting irritated by the second.

"You both have every right to be angry indeed, but allow me to ask one question: you enjoyed the attention, didn't you?" he asked.

"Don't take me for a fool, Kingmaker. It was a potent spell, and as such, it was obvious you were behind it." The Lord simply replied, adjusting his glasses and turning his back on him.

Before he exited the room, he stopped and turned his head a bit. "If you were looking for the results you wanted in your little experiment, then you should've made it so that her object of affection was the young Master." He told him, as he then exited the room.

The Mage of Flowers simply giggled. "But you see, esteemed Lord of the Clock Tower," he spoke, as it was now his turn to leave the room, "I need not cast an unnecessary spell to let her feelings truly blossom."


"Mash!" shouted Ritsuka, as shards of ice were coming towards him. Mash was quicker to move, as she successfully blocked the attack.

The Master was having a hard time as he wasn't wearing his Combat Mystic Code, but he simply considered it a challenge all the same.

Boosting Mash's offense and using one Command Seal to increase her output, he realized that this wasn't a normal training session anymore.

He noticed that Skadi was really pissed and that he and Mash were fighting with their lives at stake.

"S-Senpai, doesn't this remind you of that time in the Second Lostbelt?" asked Mash, as she too was becoming weary of how Skadi was acting.

"I know, Mash, but we have to just play along!" he spoke, as ice walls formed on all sides of the two of them. Mash quickly grabbed the Master and leaped up, as the ice walls collided with one another.

She went back down, steam going out from the Ortinax's exhaust ports, and as she settled the Master down gently, she charged at the Caster.

Ritsuka simply watched as ice clashed against the exoskeleton Mash was wearing, and with every shield strike she does, Skadi simply smiled coyly as her masterful use of ice and magic protected her.

She then wrote a rune in thin air. As soon as Mash saw the tiniest glint of flame, she did a backflip as fire exploded right in front of the two of them.

She raised her shield. "Ortinax is still stable and combat-capable, Master!" Mash yelled, and Ritsuka nodded. "Good! Don't let her runes touch you!" he shouted back, and Mash simply replied with "Understood!"

Spikes of ice then sprouted from underneath Mash, and as she braced for impact, she only felt cold.

As she removed the headgear she was wearing, she was surprised to see that the Lord El-Melloi II was right beside her, with a cigar in his hand.

It seemed he used the cigar to boost her defenses, as well as give her a bit of mana that would allow her to use her Noble Phantasm.

"S-Sensei?!" Ritsuka spoke, surprised. He rushed towards the two of them.

"Lady, I think that's going a bit too far." He then spoke. Skadi sighed. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"This was supposed to just be a simple training session between the Master and the young Demi-Servant. Your interference only leads to all of you exerting too much energy." He explained.

Skadi was still feeling annoyed, but she sighed, and as she pinched the bridge of her nose, she calmed down.

The training room's simulation of an open plain vanished, and it was now just a huge dark-blue room.

Lord El-Melloi II simply sighed, smiling a bit. "I guess this time, my meddling helped." He remarked.

Ritsuka then checked if Mash was okay. "I'm fine, senpai! Thank you for worrying though…" simply spoke Mash, although the latter part was softly spoken.

"I'm glad, and you did nicely today, Mash! We should show the data to Da Vinci!" Ritsuka spoke, and Mash nodded. "I think she would be delighted to see it too, senpai." She replied.

"Sooooo hot…" then spoke the Caster adjacent to them. As the two of them looked at her, they all noticed that the Lord El-Melloi II was already at the exit.

Skadi blushed. She was madly blushing. Her whole face was red.

"W-What? Cut it out!" she then spoke. Ritsuka and Mash were both confused and simply continued staring.

"Forget what you just heard." She added, looking away, composing herself.

Mash looked at Ritsuka, and as he looked back at her, they both nodded, understanding what he needed to do.

"Um, Skadi—"

"Die." Skadi cut him off.

"Eh?!" spoke Mash in surprise. "Huh…?" replied Ritsuka.

"Freeze and die. Turn to ice to cool me down!" Skadi yelled.

Mash rushed in to save her Master but was surprised to see the Caster darting towards the exit.

The Lord El-Melloi II merely stepped aside, as if he was waiting for this to happen.

Both Mash and Ritsuka were left confused.


"Ahh what a day~" yawned Ritsuka, as he exited the bathroom after taking a shower. He dried his hair with the towel, hung it behind the door and simply fell onto the bed with his back first.

He landed on something soft, but he felt that it wasn't the bed.

"Let me tell you a little secret." Then spoke Skadi, not minding that the Master unintentionally rested on her lap.

"R-Right…" was all Ritsuka spoke, blushing a bit. He didn't do anything rash or say anything else as it might ruin the Queen's mood further.

But as he stared at her, he noticed that she was already calm.

"In the Lostbelt, I was a goddess loved and courted by many gods... Next thing I knew, all the gods disappeared in Ragnarök, leaving me as the final god in all of our world." She spoke. Ritsuka knew what she was talking about, of course.

After all, he was the one that ended such a world.

"Left behind. That means...That is why..." she then softly spoke, closing her eyes. Ritsuka waited for what she had to say further.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, seemingly glaring at him. "Do not ever refer to me as a 'spinster' or the like." She added.

Ritsuka was confused. "Huh?" he replied. He realized that he experienced lots of confusion today.

"Understand? Do you understand?!" asked Skadi, drilling into him with her stare. Ritsuka stared back, immediately nervous. "Answer me!" demanded Skadi.

Ritsuka then sat up slowly and held his laughter.

Skadi was surprised and was flustered. "H-How dare you to laugh at a goddess's plight!" she spoke.

"I've no reason to call you as such, Skadi." The Master simply replied, turning around to look at her.

Her blush went full force, and she looked away. "How bold of you to be calling me by my name…" she remarked.

He then approached her, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Even a goddess is capable of being adorable, huh?" he simply spoke.

'She really is cute. Underneath that cold, serious, and commanding aura is a soft woman.' Ritsuka thought.

Skadi then took his right hand, gently caressing it with both her thumbs. "I'm sorry you had to use a Command Seal today…" she softly spoke.

Ritsuka simply smiled and held her hands gently as well. "It's alright, Skadi. I did enjoy that training session we did." He admitted.

This made the Caster smile.

"M…Master." She then called out. Ritsuka looked at her. "Hm?" he replied.

"C-Can you do that again? N-Not to my cheek though…" she requested. Ritsuka knew what she wanted.

He leaned in closer again, but first, he held her cheek. "Are you sure about this, Skadi?" he asked.

As Skadi's face only went redder, she closed her eyes and nodded, anticipating the kiss.

Ritsuka smiled and pressed his lips unto hers.

The kiss lasted a few seconds, but it was obvious that she wanted more.

Eventually, she ended up on top of him, but rather than dominating him, she was resting on his chest.

Ritsuka wrapped his arms around her. "You're so adorable, Skadi~" he remarked.

"S-Shut up…" replied Skadi, but as she looked up at him, she received yet another kiss.

Only this time, it was a longer one.


For reference, Skadi here is in her 1st Ascension. I believe in that kind of Skadi supremacy.

- The Void Sprinter