"Thank you for completing the commission. Here is your reward," the Adventurers' Guild receptionist thanked Ritsuka when he returned, giving him a moderately-sized bag of gold coins and some pink gems.

After thanking her and saying farewell, he went down the steps back into the main street where the woman who saved him earlier was waiting for him. "Here," Ritsuka offered the rewards he was given, "Since you were the one who actually completed the commission."

As it turned out, the woman had cleared out the bandit camp shortly before running into Ritsuka and saving him, having been attracted by the sounds of fighting and Ritsuka's not-so-brave screaming. That was now twice he owed her and he doesn't even know her name yet. Since he (like the massive dum-dum he was) continued to pose as Kaedehara Kazuha, she didn't introduce herself. So for the time being, Ritsuka was calling her not-Artoria.

"There is no need, I have little use for Mora," not-Artoria politely declined the offer.

"But I have to pay you back for helping me," Ritsuka replied. "Is there any way I could repay you?"

"Hmm…" the woman had a thoughtful look on her face, bringing a hand to her chin. "I have not had anything to eat in some time."

Annnnddd now Ritsuka felt sorry for his wallet.


"Thank you for the meal…" Not-Artoria quietly expressed her gratitude. To Ritsuka's surprise, she didn't actually eat that much; only some herbs and a little rice at the restaurant they dropped by for lunch. Not that he was complaining, of course, it was a nice surprise that she didn't have the same appetite as the variants of Artoria he knew.

Ritsuka himself ate light too, mainly because he had expected not-Artoria to order more but also because he probably had to ration out his gold (or Mora as it was evidently called) while he was here. After they ate, Ritsuka tried to make small talk with her as they walked the streets of Liyue Harbour.

"So…" He thought of a good starter topic. He was unsure of what sort of relationship Kazuha had with the woman but he assumed they were friendly enough. "How have you been doing?"

"I have been doing well," she answered concisely. "And how have you been feeling, Kaedehara? From what I heard from the Traveler, you had run into trouble recently, have you not?"

'The Traveler?' Ritsuka assumed that it was the same Traveler that sent him the letter that very morning. And apparently Kazuha got caught up in something? "I've been doing well too," he essentially parroted what the woman said and it wasn't a total lie. Minus the whole mental switch, Ritsuka felt completely fine. "What did the Traveler say to you?" Maybe that'll give him a clue as to what's going on.

"I've been told you encountered an Abyss Lector not too long ago. Even if you are a skilled swordsman, fighting one alone is not an easy task," not-Artoria unknowingly helped him understand his situation a little better. While he had no idea what an Abyss Lector was yet, it might be what caused all this, Ritsuka thought.

"Don't worry about it, I'm still alive, aren't I?" Ritsuka replied in a carefree tone.

Not-Artoria gave him a doubtful look— or at least what Ritsuka assumed was a doubtful look —but seemed to believe him. "I see, you truly are a powerful warrior…" she hummed. "Then why were you struggling with those Hilichurls?"

Ah… he walked into that one, didn't he? "Well…" He timidly muttered which apparently was all he needed to say.

"I understand. You must have your reasons," the woman said. "I will not prod further."

"Uh… thank you." Ritsuka internally sighed in relief.

"If there is nothing else, I must be returning to my training," not-Artoria said as they reached the bridge going from the more simplistic southern side of the Harbor to the northern side with the taller, condensed buildings. "May we meet again."

The woman bowed to him before going off on her own as Ritsuka waved her goodbye. "Bye-bye!"

Whoever that woman was, Ritsuka liked her. She helped him, didn't ask for much, gave him some information that may or may not be important, and went on her merry way. He just hoped the next person he meets would be like that.

"Ya-hoo! Is that you, Kazuha?!"

…Why was he getting a sinking feeling in his stomach?

Ritsuka turned around to see a young(-looking) girl in a nearly completely dark outfit, with shorts that showed off her legs and a very nice hat. She had long reddish-brown hair styled in twin tails and scarlet eyes with particularly shaped pupils.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" She had an air of cheeriness around her that couldn't help but make Ritsuka crack a smile. At the same time though, he couldn't help but feel some unease. Which was odd 'cause he was positive this girl sounded like Mash. "What 'cha been up to? Honing your skills, I hope. As your master, you better have grown since the day you departed."

Ritsuka felt himself sweat bullets as he realized who the person before him was. If the girl was truly Kazuha's mentor in what he assumed was his swordsmanship, he won't be able to fool her as easily as he did not-Artoria. "I… have. But I'm still nowhere as good as you are, Master," he came up with the lie on the spot. If all goes right, maybe he won't have to do anything that could potentially out him.

"Nonsense!"

'Uh-oh—'

"I'll be the judge of that!" The girl declared while puffing her chest. "Kaedehara Kazuha, I challenge you to a duel!" She dramatically pointed a finger at him.

"Can I say no?" Ritsuka asked in a small tone, making the girl break down in laughter.

"Haha… nope."


If there was anything Kazuha could say that was truly awe-inspiring about his current predicament was the advanced technology he was consistently surrounded by. It wasn't anything like the ancient devices found around the world, being cleaner and more complicated than simply pressing or activating something to open a passageway.

…Okay, that was also part of this place but you get his point.

One of the greater pieces of technology in Chaldea (in Kazuha's opinion) was the massive chamber called the simulator. He heard the spearman mention it earlier but he had no clue what that was yet; now though, as one of the favours he was doing to the Servants, he paid a visit to the simulator where they were waiting for him.

To his astonishment, the simulator (as its name would have implied) was a recreation of grassy fields and hills. Kazuha was aware there was magic that could do similar— he heard of an incident in the Chasm underground that had something similar from the Traveler —and it wasn't all that different from the Domains littered around the world, but he never expected to run into one here.

However, Kazuha couldn't admire the scene for long before he noticed the twin Servants he promised to meet— one of them anyway.

"Ah, Master, thank you for coming," the sister of the duo greeted him with a smile.

The brother, on the other hand, was not as friendly as his sibling. "You took your sweet time, human. I expected you to arrive earlier since it was my sister who requested your head." For his blatant disrespect, he was appropriately smacked by his sister who chastised him for his words before apologising to Kazuha in his place.

Being the naturally calm and kind person he was, Kazuha accepted it with no issue even if he was mostly surprised at how different the twin's personality were from what he initially thought. The blonde twins he was helping were called the Dioscuri, the meaning of which was lost on Kazuha. Naturally, them being twins, blondes, and sword wielders immediately reminded Kazuha of the Traveler and their still missing sibling— one of the reasons he decided to agree to assist them now.

The brother being a bit too quick to anger and putting his sister on a pedestal was different and slightly questionable but Kazuha accepted it.

"What do you require assistance with?" Kazuha politely asked. While he didn't mind getting to know the two, he was on a bit of a schedule.

"Straight to business then? Good," the brother nodded, "We need you to best Jason in a duel."

"...I beg your pardon?" And who was Jason?

"You see, this is not truly a favour for myself, Master. It's more so for my brother," the sister explained. "He can explain more."

"As you know, despite being a good leader, Jason is not that powerful as a Servant," the brother continued. "And his usual cowardice is truly embarasssing to see."

"Don't just keep insulting him, Brother."

"I've praised his leadership skills, haven't I? In any case, it's embarrassing to see him being only to call our allies to do the fighting for him."

"Are you trying to insult Master too?"

"I am not… this time." Kazuha was unsure if he should feel offended or not. "I believe he needs some motivations to stop sitting around and better himself. That is where you come in, Master."

"By besting him in combat?" Kazuha questioned, waiting to hear his logic.

"If a pathetic and normal human like you can best him in swordplay, then he will have to find it in himself to get better!" The brother announced his grand plan. "A foolproof plan, don't you think?"

Kazuha gave him a look that said "Really?"

"Master, you don't need to agree if you don't want to. And advice that you don't," the sister interjected much to her twin's chagrin. "I mean no offense but Jason is still a Servant even if he is not as powerful as those like my brother and I. As a normal human, you stand little chance in beating him."

Kazuha still had no idea what being a Servant truly meant. The best guess he had was them being similar to the Adepti of Liyue— powerful beings capable of great feats. If he wanted to make another guess, he'd assume they were similar to Vision-wielders. If it was the latter, then it should be an equal playing field. Having an Anemo Vision himself, it shouldn't be an iss— 'Oh wait.'

That's right, he didn't have his Vision at the moment. He had the feeling something was missing and just attributed it to his sword. Turns out it was his Vision too. Oddly, despite knowing the negative effects of a person losing their Vision, he didn't feel any different although that could just be because it was a new change.

Back to the topic at hand, the brother was asking him to fight and defeat a Servant named Jason to help motivate him to grow. A noble if unorthodox request. He had no issues with helping out.

"I'll do it," Kazuha accepted with determined nod.

"Are you sure?" The sister had a surprised look but when he nodded again, she made no attempts to dissuade him. "Very well, we will look for Jason and bring him here."

"This shall be amusing to watch," the brother chuckled mostly to himself. "Get ready, Master. You will need it."

…Why did he feel like he made a mistake?


A/N: Kazuha's section was much shorter but don't worry, it'll put in the extra mile for next chapter. The way I wanna go about it is one chapter will be Ritsuka then Kazuha, and then the next chapter will be Kazuha then Ritsuka, then repeat. So Kazuha's duel with Jason will be first up next.

I also wanted to insert another VA joke, in this case with Pollux and Fischl but I couldn't find a way to work it in naturally.

Anyway, see you all next time!