Humanity's Last (Master) Counsellor

by Morii Hikikko

Chaldea safeguards the world from all kinds of threats however, with the surge in the number of Servants, it became clear that the biggest danger at the moment are the relationships between these Heroic Spirits. In order to avert this crisis, Humanity's Last Master is assigned a new mission. New cover by my good friend criselda.

4. Chapter 4

Revision Notes:

8/9/2022 - Overhauled Marie's interlude + minor errors

10/9/2022 - Minor errors/corrections

---

Spoiler Alert: This chapter is largely based on the first Summer Event of FGO also, there may be other Fate franchises that will be referenced and/or hinted.

You have been warned.

---

Chapter 4 – It's Summer So Having Those Kinds Of Events Should Be Fine

"Rayshift… Start!"

At that time, no one could've expected that such words that have been said for countless times already would lead Humanity's Last Master and all other Servants who accompanied him to…

.

.

.

Be stuck in a deserted island with communications from Chaldea cut, limited food and no assurance when help will ever arrive…

Calling the situation as dire would be an understatement.

Despite that however…

"Hmm. Not bad," nodded Scathach who was trying to hide her unusual excitement by feigning to be calm. Her pink bikini and pareo combination which exposed a lot of her skin stood in stark contrast to her usual attire which covered her entire body. Not just her getup, she also managed to change her Class into Assassin.

"Ah, it's nice and cool and easier to move around in. Haha." Mordred commented in her red two piece swimsuit with black outlines while holding on to a shield, which had the same color theme to a particular Holy Sword, like you would with a surfboard. With that, she has made her transition into a Rider Class Servant.

"Hmm… I need to prepare appropriate weapons for this outfit," Artoria, in a white two piece swimsuit with blue outlines, mumbled to herself while pulling out a green water gun from out of nowhere thus, turning her into an Archer Class Servant. Don't worry about it.

"Come take a look at me. If you can't endure the heat, enjoy the heat. That's the way of a proper lady. What do you think, Master?" said Tamamo no Mae in a white t-shirt around one size larger than her actual body. She is holding on to a blue and white parasol with one hand and a floater with the same color theme as the parasol on the other. Finally, she put on a large brown summer hat on top of her head that has a space which exposed her fox ears. The parasol she held apparently makes her a Lancer Class Servant now. Again, don't worry about it.

"Hehe! I'm in a swimsuit! On a tropical island! With Master! We're not just stuck here. We're not just stranded on an empty island. For me and my Master yes, this is our honeymoon. Hehe… Hehehe…Hehehehehehe…" the delusional Kiyohime giggled to herself in her yellow two piece swimsuit with a jacket of sorts reminiscent to that of a traditional Japanese kimono. For some reason, she is wielding a green naginata and this qualifies her to be a Lancer Class Servant. Thinking too deeply about it will only lead to headaches so just don't.

"It's a little embarrassing showing so much skin but I can't help it. Given the situation, I must forget my role as a saint and deal with this trouble as just plain old Martha," though it may appear as if Saint Martha was talking to others, she was really only trying to make an excuse for herself but as everyone was capable of reading the room, they didn't point that out. Yes, including the fact that she was beginning to do some shadowboxing while on her black two piece swimsuit, red pareo and black summer hat. As her current manifestation focused on her holy aspect more than the fact that she managed to tame a dragon, her class is adjusted into Ruler.

"I've never done anything like this. It's a little exciting, isn't it?" Marie Antoinette said while looking around and taking in all the sights in the vicinity. She put on a red one piece swimsuit with yellow ribbons and was holding on to a blue beach volleyball. Despite her simple garments however, the Queen's usual radiance is not lost. In this form, she is a Caster but whether she is aware that she is conjuring spells or not is a different story altogether.

"I spend a lot of time on the water but it's been a while since I've dressed up to swim. Master, do I look weird?" asked a worried Mary Read on her white two piece swimsuit.

Before a certain Master could say anything however…

"It's very cute and it looks great on you, Mary!" answered Anne Bonny in her black two piece swimsuit to compliment her partner's attire. As Anne's parameters were highlighted more in this form, the two manifested in the Archer Class.

"While I do agree that a swimsuit is better suited for this environment, can we really do battle while wearing them?" the practical concern was stated by none other than the honor student, Mash Kyrielight, in her white summer dress with magenta colored outlines.

Her worries however were settled when the party made quick work of the monsters that appear to have resided on this beach before them.

As for Hachiman Hikigaya who was on a pair of green swimming trunks, he could only feel amazed at how composed he was of his current situation.

Had such a thing happened around four Singularities prior, then he was sure that he would be having a panic attack right about now.

That being said, it didn't mean that he didn't have any worries whatsoever.

If he described his current situation as stranded on an unknown island without any contact with Chaldea, he could easily maintain his calm.

However…

If his mind ever begins to wander along the lines of being stuck alone on an island with a bunch of scantily-clad beauties then he would start sweating nervously.

The most dangerous thing in this island is probably not the place itself.

He could only pray that the meditation techniques he learned from a monk who is perpetually on a journey would work their magic.

In more ways than one, for Humanity's Last Master, this was a battle for Survival.

---

Interlude I – Senpai, How Do I Look?

While getting stranded on an unknown island is indeed unfortunate, the group from Chaldea was still lucky enough that this place just happened to be rich in natural resources.

With the exception of the Master, and to a certain extent Mary Read and Anne Bonny, each and every individual was fully capable of defending their self, so in order to survey as much of the island as possible in the shortest amount of time, the team decided to split up.

After going through the most impartial and unbiased way of decision-making, otherwise known as rock-paper-scissors, Hachiman Hikigaya ended up being paired with none other than his very first Servant, Mash Kyrielight on the first day of their island exploration.

Since the place they just happened to be assigned to is the forest area that is close to the shore, the pair had more than enough leeway for a conversation as the danger level here relative to everywhere else is pretty low.

"Have you been to the sea often, Senpai?"

Mash finally managed to ask the question that she has been curious about ever since they landed on the island.

"Not that frequently no, but I vaguely remember coming more regularly with my family when I was younger though," Hachiman brought a hand to his chin and began rummaging through his memories. "In the first place, we did live relatively close to the seaside. Why do you ask, Mash?"

"No, I was just wondering," a faint crimson could be detected on the Shielder's cheeks. "It seems like you're very used to seeing girls on their swimsuits as you barely reacted to how everyone looked."

"Ah, about that," Hachiman scratched the back of his head and involuntarily avoided looking Mash in the eye. "Let's just say it's my self-preservation instincts kicking in. Yeah, let's leave it at that, Mash."

"Self-preservation?"

"Yep yep. Now then, let's get back to work shall we?"

The two continued their survey of the area after that.

Though he was the one who said that they should concentrate on their task, it was actually Hachiman himself who couldn't focus.

Even though he bore the moniker of Monster of Logic, it is also an undeniable fact that he is a young man and there was far too much stimulation for him on this isolated island.

As of the moment, letting his mind be occupied with work was the best that he could do.

In a sense, it could be said that he was lucky to be paired with Mash today as the more dominant feeling he gets when looking at her leaned more towards the desire to protect rather than carnal lust, although he would be the first to admit that the gap between the two isn't that far off.

"Oh?"

"Oh?"

Just when he thought all that, he ended up coincidentally trying to pick up the same fruit on the ground that Mash herself was trying to get, making their fingers brush each other on the process.

"..!"

He pulled back his hand a few centimeters away by impulse.

It wasn't like such an event hasn't happened before in the past. In fact, it occurred rather often but because he was more conscious of Mash right now, he couldn't avoid feeling a bit flustered.

"Sorry about that, Mash. I didn't notice you there," he scratched the back of his head with the same hand that went for the fruit as he apologized.

"It's okay Senpai, I didn't expect you to reach out to the same fruit as well," Mash grabbed the coconut-shaped fruit and brought it close to her Master for him to be able to take a closer look at it. "By the way, do you think this is edible?"

It was a good thing that his kouhai was rather innocent in matters such as these though that only made him feel guiltier in the process.

As someone who preferred to stay indoors during his free time and being a member of a household whose annual family income was just around the middle class, Hachiman Hikigaya did not have the privilege to travel to a lot of places around the world. As such, his mental encyclopedia of which fruit and/or plant is edible between the others was severely limited to what was sold in the supermarket. Though for this case in particular, he doubted if having such extensive knowledge could even be of use.

"Even if you ask me, I don't think I'll be able to tell. I don't recognize any of these at all," Hachiman received said fruit, looked at it from different angles, shook it a couple of times before quickly giving up and just shrugging. "For the time being, how about we just gather anything interesting we find?"

"Okay, Senpai!"

Following Mash' enthusiastic nod, the pair began to take samples of each and every plant around their vicinity.

Fruits weren't the only thing they gathered, though they did pick up a lot of them whether they be as small as berries up to fruits around the average size of a watermelon. They also elected to take some leaves to check if they had any medicinal properties, seeds to find out if it was going to worthwhile to plant them, as well as mushrooms, though they did make sure to wrap them up individually in case any of them were poisonous.

By the time they were done, the bag that they bought with them was filled to the brim with all said samples.

At this point, calling it massive would be an understatement.

Even looking at it was enough for Hachiman to feel how heavy it was.

"We got carried away, huh."

"Yes, somehow we ended up just taking one a piece of everything," Mash nodded in remorse before pumping her fists with enthusiasm in the next second. "Don't worry, Senpai. I'll be sure to carry them back to our base no problem!"

"…"

He had no doubt that Mash, with the strength of a Demi-Servant, should be able to complete the task without any issues.

For all intents and purposes, he was an advocate of gender equality.

There was no reason for him to intervene.

This was not a matter of whether it was appropriate for the girl to carry the heavy load when there was a boy in the vicinity; this was nothing more than putting the right person on the right job.

.

.

.

However, the idea of letting Mash do all the work just didn't sit well with him. The problem could've easily been solved had they brought two bags with them instead of one but alas they lacked the foresight to prepare an extra one.

Much like the discomfort he feels every time he sees someone eat sushi using a fork, there were some ideas in this world that he understood that he can't truly accept.

"No, I'll do it," Hachiman stepped forward and began a few arm stretches.

It didn't help that such chivalrous attitude was ingrained in him from an early age courtesy of his mother and little sister.

If either of them found out that he let a girl, and his kouhai at that, lift such heavy baggage, he was for sure going to be disowned by the family.

Conditioning truly transcended even mortal boundaries.

If he ever ended up summoning Pavlov as a Servant, he swore he'd smack him at least once.

"Are you sure, Senpai?" the kouhai asked in worry.

"Yes, this is that, you know… Uh.…" Hachiman only managed to come up with an excuse after a few seconds later. "Training. Yeah, training," he forcefully nodded multiple times in an act not just to convince his kouhai but also his own self.

"If you say so," Mash reluctantly backed down after he said all those.

Sure enough, the pile they managed to gather could not be described as light but all the training he had with that Shishou of his has really paid off as it didn't take long before his body sort of adapted to the load he was carrying.

Rather than heavy, it was more appropriate to describe it as difficult to carry as the assortment of fruits, leaves and whatnot felt like they were moving around the bag with every step he took.

After around an hour or so of walking, the pair was finally able to return to their base.

Since she wasn't able to help with all the heavy-lifting, Mash took it upon herself to sort all the items upon their return.

Having been subjected to such intense labor, Hachiman was far too tired to argue so he just let his reliable Servant do as she pleases.

By the time he was able to regain most of his breath, Mash was also finished with the task she set out for herself to do.

"It seems the others haven't returned yet."

"Yeah, seeing as they are assigned in the more dangerous areas, they probably got held up a bit from all the monster exterminating that they inadvertently had to do."

As the sun was just about to set and they were in the perfect position to see it clearly from their base, Hachiman took that silence as a cue to wait for the event to happen and watch it together.

He would not have imagined that during that interval, his very first Servant was actually trying to summon all of her courage to ask him one important question.

"By the way, Senpai," Mash swept a strand of hair behind her ear while suppressing the blush on her cheeks. Hachiman had no idea why he found the gesture to be so alluring to the point that he wanted to accuse Mash of using some Magecraft. "How do I look in my swimsuit?"

Hachiman's brain short-circuited for a few seconds after being asked such a question so suddenly.

In his attempt to not say anything that sounded too insincere, he ended up spouting out the most generic phrase a guy could ever think of.

"Yeah… You're cute. Really," at this point, the entire face of the cynic was as red as a tomato. He could only pray that the orange hue from the setting sun would conceal that fact.

"I'm glad," Mash let out a sigh of relief after hearing such a positive answer from her Master. "Be sure to tell the others what you think of them in their swimsuit as well, okay? I'm sure they'll be happy too if you praised them."

"Is that so? I'll keep that in mind."

Though he said all that, given how flustered he was, his kouhai's words just went in one ear and out the other.

An awkward silence drifted between the two as they both opted to avoid looking at their counterpart in the eye.

After several agonizing seconds, it was Mash Kyrielight who found a way to set up a temporary retreat.

"Ah, I'll go make some tea."

"Yeah, I'll join you later," with his mind a little clearer than it was earlier, Hachiman was able to think about other stuff aside from the embarrassing compliment he just said. "Just in case, brew enough for the others as they might return by the time you're done."

"Okay, I'll do just that."

Mash bowed and left her Master alone afterwards.

Once he saw that his kouhai was out of earshot, Hachiman sighed and lightly bumped his head on the trunk of a nearby tree. "Hah, I'm so pathetic."

"You'll get used to it very soon, Master," a familiar voice suddenly gave an advice from out of nowhere.

"Wah!" Hachiman leapt back in panic. "Who's there?!"

"Relax, it's just me," the owner of the voice revealed herself to be hiding on the other side of the same tree that Hachiman bumped his head on.

"Shishou?!" in stark contrast to the smiling Scathach, Hachiman was sweating profusely. "Since… When have you been there?" his trembling index finger was more than enough indication that Hachiman himself was partially afraid to find out the truth.

Scathach of course knew deep inside that what her Master really wanted to ask was whether or not she heard the little exchange the pair had earlier.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

"Guh!"

Hachiman bumped his head on the tree once again, this time, with slightly more force than earlier.

"It's only normal for you to be captivated, Master. Try as you might, it is difficult to go against your nature," Scathach consoled Hachiman before adopting a stricter expression in the next second. "I will say though, it's better for you to get some resistance to it as soon as possible, you never know if our enemies won't take advantage of such an obvious opening. In other words, think of this as a little training to fix such a weakness."

Hachiman Hikigaya closed his eyes and inscribed those words of his Shishou in his heart.

Sure enough, if he himself encountered an enemy who was weak to the charms of a woman, he wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of it.

As someone who was naturally more doubtful of other people, especially girls, it wasn't that difficult for Hachiman Hikigaya to consciously alter his mindset.

"I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Shishou."

Despite hearing such a resolute answer from her Master, Scathach only sighed in disappointment. "It's only been a few minutes and I see that you've already forgotten about the promise you made with Mash, although, I guess I'm partly to blame for that."

"Did you say something, Shishou?" the clueless Master asked while tilting his head.

"Nothing. I was just thinking whether you would like to have some physical training every morning? Seeing as we're on the beach, there's a couple of things we could try that we normally aren't able to."

Since it looked like she was in a slightly sour mood than usual, Hachiman did not take the risk of saying anything too unnecessary.

"Yes, Shishou!"

In the end, Humanity's Last Master forgot about waiting for and looking at the beautiful sunset.

---

Interlude II – When You Give The Fox An Inch, She'll Take A Mile

Despite being on a tropical island, it wasn't like there were only trees as far as the eyes could see. In fact, this landmass that was actually much larger when you step foot on it rather than look at it from the sea is composed of several environments ranging from plains, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, forests and even caves.

On this particular day where the sun was just bright enough to not make the atmosphere too gloomy and it was only cloudy to the point that you wouldn't directly feel the heat, a pair composed of Master and Servant could be seen strolling on one of the plains on the island.

Nothing could be said to be eye-catching about the entire area except maybe for the fact that it's one of the wider prairies on the island.

Before Hachiman Hikigaya could ask his Servant what they were doing here in the first place, the answer to his unasked question became apparent after he saw what she was doing.

"A picnic, huh?" he commented after his counterpart finished laying on a blanket on the ground and setting up her parasol.

"Yes! And with none other than your very own Tamamo-chan with you!" Tamamo no Mae supplemented while her singular fox tail was swishing back and forth in excitement.

She then began to arrange several food containers on the blanket. There were an assortment of sandwiches, cookies, cakes and even sliced fruits. Regardless, it was an amount that was far too much for the two of them to finish on their own.

"This is quite a feast," Hachiman said before taking a seat on one of the empty corners of the blanket.

"This much is natural! It's our first outing with just the two of us for a long while after all. I couldn't afford to hold back!" Tamamo reasoned calmly but her tail's movements could not completely conceal her joy.

"You didn't have to prepare so much for me, you know?"

Tamamo immediately rebutted. "Of course I have to! You're my one and only Master after all."

"Master, huh?" Hachiman's lips twisted into a smile of irony. "I suppose that's true."

"Is there something on your mind, Master?" her tail's movements stopped after she asked that question.

"A lot of things, in fact," Hachiman answered noncommittally in an attempt to sidestep away from the topic.

"Would you mind sharing some of your concerns with me then?" Tamamo requested while pouring a cup of tea for her Master.

"No, it's fine. I wouldn't want to worry you with the troubles of a high-schooler, Tamamo-san," Hachiman silently nodded as a gesture of appreciation for the tea.

The smile that was plastered on his face was easily seen through by Tamamo no Mae however.

"Are you having trouble with some of us Servants who are trying to show you our affection, perhaps?"

Hachiman was rendered speechless from such a comment.

It initially confused him how Tamamo was able to pick up on such cues but upon remembering her origins of serving in the palace, it didn't come as a surprise anymore.

Compared to the deceitful nobles and tricky officials back at her time, reading the thoughts of a high school boy like him is probably just child's play for her.

Underneath her frivolous exterior, Tamamo no Mae is without a doubt a lady with vast wisdom. As if following the will of its owner, the Fox Miko's tail stood still and upright.

"Was it that obvious?" since the cat was out of the bag already, the cynical Master did not bother keeping it secret anymore.

"To me, yes. The other ladies at Chaldea who have experience in some form or another should have also noticed as well."

Hachiman's shoulders slumped in depression while he continued to munch on one of the sandwiches. "And here I thought I was hiding it really well too…"

"Fufufu, isn't it fine? I personally found it pretty cute."

If he had to give an accurate description of his Servant's smile then it was very similar to another acquaintance of his back in Chiba, none other than a certain Ice Queen's older sister though at their essence, the two smiles are not quite the same.

While that Onee-san used her smiles so that others don't get to understand her actual motives, this Servant on the other hand, smiles in order to hide secrets which could potentially harm her Master if he knew them.

Hachiman was more than thankful for her good intentions but he'd much prefer if she just laid the facts to him straight.

"If you don't mind answering, what do you even see in me in the first place?" Hachiman asked in an attempt to fish for the actual truth of the matter.

He would never have expected for such a haphazard approach to ever work.

"I can't speak for the others but personally, I find Master to be very radiant in my eyes."

Hachiman looked at Tamamo in complete befuddlement. The fact that he could sense no lie on her words did not help him at all.

"How?" was the singular word that he could utter in his state of confusion.

"Isn't that pretty obvious?" Tamamo tilted her head after hearing her Master's response. "It's that, you know. To me, looking at you fighting for the rest of Humanity is such a captivating sight and before I knew it, it gave birth to these kinds of feelings."

This time around, the answer he heard from Tamamo's mouth was more or less something he already expected.

It was once again not because he's Hachiman Hikigaya but rather because he's Humanity's Last Master.

"I'm only doing such a thing because no one else can do it. If I had the choice, I would love to quit if I could," Hachiman shrugged while munching on a cookie.

At that, Tamamo responded with a knowing smile. "Is that so? In that case, how about giving up right now?"

That provocation however was something Hachiman was not prepared for.

"Are you sure you should be saying something like that to me? I'll really do it, you know?"

"Well, go on then, Master?" Tamamo ignored her Master's threats and pressed on instead. "If it helps you decide, I'll support you regardless of whatever decision you'll make, Master. That's what any elegant lady would do."

The standoff between Master and Servant lasted for a few seconds until eventually; it was Hachiman Hikigaya himself who backed off first.

"Nah, screw that, I'll keep trying my best to save the world," the cynic now grabbed a few berries and tossed it over to his mouth.

Some small part of him even began to harbor the faint hope that perhaps his earlier assumption may have been wrong.

"Oh? What made you change your mind Master?" the Fox Miko graciously played along with her young Master.

"If someone says not to do it, then it makes me want to do it more," Hachiman's smile then became a little more dastardly. "Let's just say, I'm in a rebellious phase."

"Mikon! I don't really mind this bad boy persona at all!" Tamamo's sudden high tension dispelled the more dignified persona that she adapted earlier and she was now back to her more playful self, a side that Hachiman is much more used to interacting with.

"Well, if you're happy with it then I guess that's fine."

The resigned tone her Master took made Tamamo a little concerned.

"I've been thinking about it for a while now but shouldn't Master let loose a little bit? This kind of rare beach getaway is not something that happens every day, you know?"

"Well, I can't really come up with anything I want to do right now to be honest," Hachiman's eyes then took a more criticizing tone. "Besides, I don't wanna hear that advice from someone who's holding herself back as well."

"What are you talking about, Master? The only one holding back here is you, alright?" because she was back to the usual Tamamo, it was far easier for Hachiman to see through her act.

"Yep, that sounds very convincing from the woman who channeled all her enthusiasm on cooking this much food," Hachiman did not miss the very slight flinch that his Servant made as a reaction to his words.

"Mikon! You shouldn't point out those kinds of things to a maiden, Master! No matter how obvious the signs are!" Tamamo stared at her Master judgingly as she put both of her hands to her hips.

Hachiman easily flipped out his own counter-argument. "You say that and all but I'm sure that if I keep my silence, you're going to get cranky about it, right?" he followed that statement up with a shrug. "Whichever approach I take, you're always going to have something to say about it."

Tamamo couldn't even bring herself to be mad at her Master's remark. In fact, she was even impressed. After all, they were completely true.

"You really know me quite well, Master."

"It's only natural. We've been fighting together for a long while after all," Hachiman began absentmindedly gazing at the clouds. "Hey, Tamamo-san."

"Yes, Master?"

"You seem to have a lot of ideas for fun things to do on this island. How about sharing them with me? If I like the sound it, I might consider giving it a try with you."

Tamamo blinked twice in surprise.

"Master, do you understand what you're saying?"

"More or less," he answered calmly. "Isn't this the best approach for the two of us to take? You have some fun ideas but are embarrassed to do them on your own and I happen to be free to accompany you. It's a win-win situation, wouldn't you say?"

For some reason, the incarnation of Amaterasu still decided to mount one last act of resistance.

"I have a reeeeeaallly long bucket list, you know?"

She was not fooling anyone with that composed front when her tail was already starting to move a little faster proportional to her excitement.

"In that case, we should get started as soon as we can," Hachiman's gaze went back to her Servant. "What's up first?"

"Well..." Tamamo no Mae's gaze kept drifting around anywhere except at her own Master's face. "First, I would like to know what Master thinks of me in my swimsuit."

Amidst blushing cheeks, Hachiman's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Is this really on there?"

"Of course it is!" the embarrassment Tamamo showed earlier now changed entirely into passion. "This kind of thing is very important for us girls, you know?"

Hachiman sighed while briefly recalling his blunder with Mash's case.

Swearing not to show such a shameful display once again, Hachiman decided to be more spontaneous with his words.

"Whether in your usual miko outfit or in a swimsuit, Tamamo-san always looks beautiful."

"Ah…"

Tamamo's mouth opened wide after hearing such praise.

She was way too happy that she even forgot to smile.

"M-M-Master, can you say that again?"

"I refuse," the blunt rejection came instantly after.

"Ahhhh! I should've brought a recorder with me!" her elation quickly turned into frustration after she realized her mistake.

"Calm down, Tamamo-san. Don't lose sight of the goal now. We're going to complete your bucket list, remember?" Hachiman consoled his Servant while thinking that he made a mistake while praising her.

"Ah, that's right. I shouldn't get too excited just yet," Tamamo quickly recovered from her stupor.

"So, what's next?"

"Then, since we're already having a meal next would be," Tamamo averted her eyes in embarrassment. "Is Master willing to feed me?" she forced herself to say such a statement while blushing profusely.

"Eh?" this time, it was Hachiman's turn to blink twice in surprise.

"You know what? Nevermind," the Fox Miko tried to gloss over everything with the most composed smile she could make at the moment. "Please forget I said anything."

As a sort of apology for messing up on her first request, Hachiman Hikigaya decided to play along with this next one.

"It's not like I didn't want to do it, I was just surprised, that's all," Hachiman then picked out one of the sandwiches and brought it close to Tamamo's mouth. "Am I doing this right?"

Tamamo no Mae's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you serious, Master?"

"Can you please take a bite already?" Hachiman scratched his cheek with his vacant hand and averted his eyes. "This is getting more and more embarrassing by the second so if you don't mind…"

Before he could finish his words however, Tamamo leaned towards the sandwich offered to her and took a nibble.

It was an act that froze Hachiman in place.

"Mmh~! I can't believe it was possible for the dishes I made to become even more delicious," Tamamo beamed as she chewed on the sandwich. In tandem with her excitement, her tail also began to swish back and forth at a rate much faster than earlier but as if recalling something extremely important, her whole body then jolted. "That's right! It's Master's turn next!" the Fox Miko who wanted nothing more than to be a devoted wife picked out one of the sandwiches as well and brought it close to Hachiman's mouth. "Now then Master please say Aaahn~"

"Wait just one second!" the pessimistic logician finally snapped out of his trance. "I don't remember this being part of the deal!"

"That won't do, Master," Tamamo skillfully ignored his protest. "It has to go both ways after all."

The smile that she cast made Hachiman unable to refuse.

Well, I was the one who said I'll listen to her requests anyways.

Cornered, Humanity's Last Master could only take responsibility for his own words.

He leaned closer to the sandwich brought to him and opened his mouth.

"Aah."

The deed happened much faster than he expected and before he knew it, he already found himself swallowing the portion he bit off.

"Was it good, Master?" the fox asked despite already being fully aware of what his answer will be.

As it turns out, Tamamo no Mae resembled two of his few female acquaintances.

Whether a miko or a kouhai, I guess a fox always ends up being sly.

"Yeah, of course it is."

I literally ate one of them earlier.

But Hachiman was tactful enough not to say that out loud.

"That's good," Tamamo smiled brightly once again but Hachiman noticed that there was more to that expression than just joy. "Now it's my turn once again, Master! Aaahn~"

"You must be joking."

"I'm waiting, Master."

What exactly have I gotten myself into?

Sure enough, because Tamamo no Mae wanted to keep taking turns in feeding each other, the two were only able to return to the base after it was very late.

That night, rumors of a tryst between the two were spread around after a tired Hachiman Hikigaya and a refreshed Tamamo no Mae went back together.

Naturally, after hearing such a thing, Hachiman Hikigaya set out first thing in the morning to extinguish the source of such scandalous gossip.

"Mature elegant lady, my foot! Get back here, you scheming fox!"

Needless to say, the origin was none other than Tamamo no Mae herself.

"Come on, Master! Catch me if you can!"

In contrast to the indignant Hachiman, the Fox Miko was genuinely enjoying herself.

On that day, another box in Tamamo's secret summer bucket list was checked.

Make Master chase me by the seaside.

Since she didn't specify the why's and how's of the scenario, she let this incident count.

---

Interlude III – Something More Valuable Than Treasure

Lumber, Stone and Iron.

Aside from Food and Fresh Water, these are the other resources that the team from Chaldea are gathering in order to construct facilities to improve the overall living conditions on the island as well as for ultimately constructing a boat in preparation to depart said island.

While the former two could easily be gathered in abundance, Iron however is a bit rarer and given the direction at which the island's development was proceeding, they were going to need a lot more of it soon.

Depending on whether they are able to find a stable supply of this metal or not, Chaldea's team may have to alter their course.

That being said, it wasn't like Iron was extremely scarce, it was just that there was only one place on the island where you can gather them.

The Mountain.

When there's a mountain, there's a cave.

And according to a pair of female pirates, when there's a cave…

There's bound to be treasure.

"I see. So that's why you two enthusiastically volunteered to explore the caves," Hachiman commented while casting a judging glance towards the two-in-one Servant he accompanied.

"Well, we're pirates after all," the petite Mary Read nodded matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, we couldn't just let go of such a rare chance!" the voluptuous Anne Bonny concurred from her side.

Hearing the opinions of the female pirate pair made their Master sigh.

"That wasn't a compliment," Hachiman retorted.

As the pessimist and realist that he is however, Hachiman took their assumption with a grain of salt.

Because the cave offered no natural lighting, Scathach gave Hachiman a stick which was inscribed with a rune that said light. It was a much safer option than a torch. It produces illumination when magic power is fed to it and turns off when you stop doing so.

It was the kind of product that would put the inventions of a certain lion-headed Servant to shame. Good thing, he didn't go on this trip though because he might've raised a riot if he found out about such an innovation. Either that or he would try to build a factory that produced it 24/7. Neither scenario sounded too appealing so Hachiman swore not to let that guy know about it.

Since the interior of the mountain formed a natural labyrinth, the team sent to explore here is also given the responsibility to draft maps of the tunnels and create markings along the passageways to aid in their exit.

Those miscellaneous tasks were all done by Hachiman while Mary and Anne were on combat and lookout duty, though aside from bats, the party hasn't encountered anything inside that prompted them to fight.

"By the way," Hachiman tried to pull both of his arms back to himself but to no avail. "Just how long do you two plan on hooking my arms with yours?"

"Now don't say that, Master. I know for a fact that you like this too," Anne teased while pressing her chest even closer to Hachiman making him blush though that fact was disguised by the dimness.

"I won't deny that but…" Hachiman racked his brain trying to find an excuse for himself but the sensations he could feel attacking him from his right side was far too powerful as a distraction. "Okay, I've got absolutely nothing."

"Unfair, Master. Don't only pay attention to Anne," a sulking Mary protested on Hachiman's left side. Although Mary's side lacked weight and volume, because she is just at the right height, her Master's hand was inadvertently being guided to an even more dangerous territory.

As the cynic's willpower was slowly being chipped off, the cave's labyrinth graciously offered him a way out of his perilous situation.

The path ahead of them split into two.

"Another fork, huh?" Hachiman commented as he put another mark on the map of the cave on his hands, while doing so he also discreetly removed himself from the grasp of his two Servants.

"Should we head right this time as well, Master?" Mary suggested while preemptively positioning herself on the path.

Since this was still their first attempt at exploring this deep into the cave, the group elected to always pick the right path unless it turned out to be a dead end, in which case they come back and take the left path of the most recent fork and proceed from there.

"Yeah, whether it will lead us to a dead-end or another fork that will be where we'll stop for today, we still need to retrace our steps back to the exit after all."

"Roger, Master," Anne responded with a playful salute.

"Be careful. The scent of blood in the air seems thick," Mary warned while gripping her cutlass a little harder.

"Let's proceed with caution then."

After saying so, Hachiman turned off the light provided by the stick. The trio then waited for a couple of seconds to let their eyes adapt to the darkness.

"Alright, I'm relying on you to be the vanguard, Mary-san."

"Sure, no problem," the little pirate smiled as she twirled her cutlass.

"Sorry for leaving it all on your shoulders this time, Mary," Anne apologized while pressing both of her hands together.

"It's fine. Not much we can do about it anyways. I'll be relying on you to cover me from behind, okay?"

"Yes!"

The three adapted a linear formation with Mary out front, Anne in the middle and Hachiman Hikigaya supporting from behind.

They took careful steps as they advanced not only because of the difficult footing but also as a precaution against nearby enemies.

Because of these measures, it took a much longer time than normal for them to move deeper into the cave.

As they did so, the scent of blood that Mary noticed from the point where the path diverged into two was detected by both Hachiman and Anne now.

What awaited the three further down the path was an abnormal darkness caused not just by the absence of light but also from the denseness of magic power.

This was accompanied by the gut-wrenching smell of blood and rotten corpses.

Amidst it all was a large squirming shadow whose exact figure was hard to identify exactly given the lack of lighting, though it was obvious that it wasn't human.

"Master, what should we do? It looks like it's only alone."

"Grrr!"

Mary whispered in a soft voice but the beast in the darkness sensed her killing intent and let out a grunt.

"Over here."

Hachiman dragged the two girls to hide behind a large rock formation as even in this level of darkness, their vivid hair colors would be hard to miss. In order to make sure that they wouldn't instinctively scream, Hachiman had both of his hands cover each girl's mouth.

"Endure it for now."

It was only after the two nodded did Hachiman move his hands away from their mouths.

"Grrr!"

The beast growled as it approached the three's hiding place.

As if the situation wasn't bad enough already…

"Grrr!"

"Grrr!"

"Grrr!"

Multiple snarls echoed around the cave and in the next second several shadowy figures joined the beast that almost spotted the three from Chaldea.

"Master?"

Without looking at the worried Anne, Hachiman brought his index finger to his lips and gave out his orders.

"Keep quiet. Just let them leave."

Seconds that felt like hours passed by as the beasts continued their search for any possible intruders only for them to give up and eventually return to their den.

Hachiman made sure that the sound of their cries became distant before he took a peek.

It was only after he determined that the coast was clear did he breathe out a sigh of relief.

With his mind cut off from that tension, he was finally able to notice the compromising position he was in with his Servant/s.

"So despite how I look, Master sees me as a woman after all…"

"I wouldn't recommend doing such an act in a place like this but if this is what Master wants then…"

Came the reactions of both Mary and Anne respectively as they averted their gazes and tried to hide their blushing faces which could still be seen clearly even with the lack of a light source.

In his rush to hide the colorful hair of the female pirate pair so that they can avoid the monsters, he ended up unconsciously using his own body as a cover.

In other words currently, Hachiman Hikigaya was on top of not one, but two gorgeous women.

It was the kind of scenario that was impossible even in the cynic's own delusions.

Amidst his instincts being stimulated by the submissive act of the two ladies and his embarrassment affecting his mental capacity, Humanity's Last Master managed to force out one order.

"For now," Hachiman raised both of his hands simultaneously as if surrendering. "How about we go outside first?"

…

By the time the trio managed to return to the same entrance they used earlier, it was already dusk.

Given the highs and lows they experienced during today's cave exploration, they decided to take a short break for now before they returned to the base.

"I'm impressed you still have enough self-control even in that kind of situation," a smile with a hard-to-discern meaning graced Anne Bonny's face. "As expected of Master."

"I'm not sure if you're praising me or mocking me at all," Hachiman retorted while scratching his head.

"Believe me when I say that Anne is genuinely praising you, Master," Mary Read approached Hachiman and patted his back. "Though we'd be lying to ourselves if we said that our self-confidence wasn't hit because of that incident."

"What are you two talking about? You both look plenty good on your swimsuits."

The sudden praise stunned the two pirates. Between the two, it was Anne who managed to recover he composure first.

"Ara, surprise attacks like that aren't allowed, Master. Look at how red Mary has become," Anne teased both her Master and Partner at the same time.

Her efforts at lightening the mood gave Hachiman the window to properly apologize.

"Sorry, while it was all an accident, that was completely my bad," Hachiman's apologetic expression then went back to the neutral look he always has when he goes into work mode. "I just didn't want to take any risks. We didn't know the enemy's actual numbers after all."

"It's alright, Master. We forgive you. Rather, I should be the one apologizing as despite my gun not being that useful in closed environments like the cave, I still insisted on coming to that kind of place."

"Don't be like that, Anne. It was my fault for carelessly letting my killing intent out."

The pirate pair reminded Hachiman Hikigaya way too much of his inseparable former clubmates that it was becoming a little painful.

"Let's leave it at that for now. The most important thing is that we all managed to get out safely, right?"

"Yes."

"With that, tomorrow's cave exploration will have to be cancelled," before either of the two could say another word to object, Hachiman continued his announcement. "We'll bring everyone along tomorrow and eradicate all the monsters in that den," Hachiman then smiled like a scheming villain. "Save your frustrations then. We'll definitely get those guys."

"Understood, Master!" the two answered in unison in an obviously better mood than before.

"When that's over, we can go back to cave spelunking once again."

If Mary and Anne weren't already elated earlier, they sure are now.

"Alright! Maybe we can find some treasure during the exploration too!"

"Master, if you allow me to shoot, I'll be sure to make quick work on all of those fiends."

The fervor they showed every time they mention treasure intrigued Hachiman to the point that he couldn't stop himself from asking the two a question.

"Is finding treasure really that important to you two?"

"What kind of question is that Master?"

"Of course it is! We're pirates after all!"

Mary tilted her head in confusion while Anne answered her Master's inquiry with shimmering red eyes akin to rubies.

"In that case," Hachiman's lips twisted into a cryptic smile as he spoke. "Mary/Anne, a storm ravaged your ship and injured your counterpart in the process. The only way to save your life is with a small boat which could only carry two people or just one person and a treasure chest, what would you do?"

The answer that he expected came simultaneously from the two girls.

"Of course, I'll take Anne/Mary with me!"

The two then blushed after hearing their respective answers.

"So you two already had something more important than treasure then there should be no reason for this obsession of treasure hunting anymore, right?"

It took a short while before the two pirates discerned the intentions behind their Master's words.

The first one to answer was Mary. "I'm not really sure but I guess if I have to put a reason to it," her gaze moved from her Master back to her partner. "Then it's because looking for treasure with Anne is fun."

From her side, Anne was sporting a genuinely happy smile.

"I feel the same way as well, Mary."

The two held hands and shared a smile. Though no words were conveyed at all during that exchange, even Hachiman could tell that several things were confirmed just from those two actions alone.

Being left out in this manner was also something he experienced a lot in the Service Club as well, not like he minded it so much. After all, the bond that these two shared with each other was far stronger than his current relationship with either of them.

"Now it's our turn to ask you a question, Master," Anne smiled impishly.

"We'll give you the same scenario you gave us but instead of a treasure chest and one person," Mary's smile on the other hand was similar to a hunter who cornered her prey.

"Fufu. You're going to pick between the two of us," Anne added in a little wink. "Oh and we're both unconscious so we can't influence your decision whatsoever and don't worry, there'll be no hard feelings."

For a moment there, Hachiman Hikigaya almost thought that he became the main character of a teen romantic comedy. If such a thing happened though, he was sure it was going to end up as wrong as he expected.

If that was the case, this would ordinarily be the climax and answering this question would decide which girl the protagonist would be together with in the end.

Regrettably though, the realist and the logician in Hachiman Hikigaya's core was not going to let him so easily forget his role as Humanity's Last Master.

At the same time, it also reminded him that the two girls in front of him are his Servants.

As such, there was one obvious answer to this so-called dilemma.

"Easy. I'll use one of my Command Spells and save you both," Hachiman Hikigaya stated in his usual no-nonsense tone.

Alternatively, he could also choose to save the two of them and sacrifice his own self in the process but since the odds are high that these two would react very similarly to those clubmates of his, he kept that thought buried to himself.

To both Mary and Anne, that response was akin to being splashed with a bucket of ice-cold water.

"Eh?"

"Huh?!"

While the two were still stunned, the cynic took the opportunity to make a run for it.

"Now then, it's about time for us to head back. We still have to conduct a strategy meeting for tomorrow after all. I'll be going ahead."

Having snapped out of their trance the female pirate pair immediately gave chase.

"Hey, come back here Master! That's cheating!"

"It's like you're two-timing with us! Well, I might be a little okay with that but still!"

---

Interlude IV – Love Is Blind

*splash*

*splash*

*drop*

The tiny pebble finally sunk after it bounced on the lake's surface two times.

The overlapping ripples that resulted from the contact of the rock to the water felt like a metaphor of Hachiman Hikigaya's current situation.

If the entire lake was like Solomon and the pebble represented Humanity's Last Master, then those ripples that disturbed the lake's equilibrium could be likened to the act in which Hachiman fixed one Singularity after another.

As accurate of a representation as that was, Hachiman absolutely abhorred it.

After all, if this image is to be followed then it would mean that everything that Hachiman had done so far is all for naught because no matter how large of a disturbance each landing that the stone makes, the lake returns to its previous state of stillness eventually.

Hachiman shook his head to rid himself of such a depressive thought.

The tranquility offered by this lake which was surrounded by trees on all sides was a good change of pace compared to the bright and lively beach.

Though he was enrolled to a high school situated close to the seaside, if he had to pick between a beach and a lake then he was definitely more in his element on the latter as the silence offered by the place resonated more with his nature as a loner.

Unfortunately because of the same silence and the lack of things to do, he couldn't stop his head from involuntarily thinking of the negative scenario from earlier.

Just when he was about to throw another pebble along with all the gloomy thoughts swirling on his head…

"Master, do you perhaps dislike the beach?" the question came from the elegant Japanese maiden who led him to this secret place, Kiyohime.

"Hmm? What gave you that idea?" the sudden inquiry made Hachiman drop the pebble on his hands.

"Well, you don't seem to be playing around as much as the others so I thought…"

Hachiman noticed a trace of worry on the girl's face as she continued speaking.

"Ah, is that why you brought me to this nearby lake?"

"Yes, as nice as the beach is, you would be bored of it eventually if you kept looking at the same scenery every day," Kiyohime expressed her opinion openly before taking it back in panic. "Ah, did I do something unnecessary perhaps?"

"Not at all. I'm very thankful for your consideration, Kiyohime-san," Hachiman cast a distant look at the center of the lake. "The vibe of the beach is fun and all but there are some things that you can appreciate exactly because you went to someplace different," his gaze then went back to his Servant. "Besides, I kinda like the quietness of the place."

Those words that Hachiman matter-of-factly said turned Kiyohime red to her ears and even made her eyes become a little watery.

"Is Master saying that he's completely okay wherever he goes as long as this Kiyohime is with you?" as impossible as it sounded, she became even redder than earlier. "If you say something like that to me then…"

"What even lead you to that kind of conclusion?" Hachiman grumbled while massaging his temple.

"Isn't it only natural that the wife is able to understand more than what their husband says?" the timbre of her voice changed ever so slightly while saying the word wife.

"Husband and Wife, huh?" Hachiman sighed before going into a state of deep contemplative thought.

"Master?"

His Servant's call fell into deaf ears as Hachiman continued to immerse himself in his thoughts.

With each second that he took, Hachiman's expression slowly but surely warped into a grimace.

He should've had nothing to complain about the current status quo as any man alive would kill to have a cute girl like Kiyohime fawn over him but when his gaze landed at those yellow eyes of hers which were clouded by her own delusions, he couldn't ignore his true sentiments anymore.

He wouldn't be able to call himself Hachiman Hikigaya if he let things stagnate. If he did, how was he any different from that blond bastard back in Sobu?

The fact that the color of Kiyohime's eyes reminded him so much of his two blond acquaintances was not making this situation any easier for him.

Ah, why is this the only way I can do things?

He thought to himself while mentally preparing for the worst as what he was about to do next was going to either make or break their relationship moving forward.

"Kiyohime-san, can I ask you something?"

"That's?!" given the fact that the two were alone and the current mood between them, Kiyohime's delusions led her to one singular scenario. "Are you finally going to propose to me?"

Hachiman coldly ignored her words in favor of asking a quintessential question about Kiyohime's entire existence.

"Would you prefer the cruel truth or a kind lie?" the lifeless eyes of the cynic locked on to the clouded eyes of the romantic.

To Kiyohime, the sudden inquiry in response to her passionate proclamation of her love was like a slap to her face.

Even with her virtually boundless patience with all other matters except for lies, it didn't stop her from feeling a little bit displeased.

"What kind of question is that, Master?" Kiyohime's eyes sharpened like that of a snake. "You know full well of how I hate lies already. The answer could only be the truth."

"I see," Hachiman nodded while making an expression that looked like he swallowed a bitter pill. "Knowing you, of course you would pick this option."

"Master, just what do you mean by these words?"

"I'm just trying to grant you what you asked for," Hachiman closed his eyes and in the next second, his face became reminiscent to a man who was planning to march straight into a battlefield. "Kiyohime-san," the already lifeless eyes of the loner became even crueler. "I am not Anchin-san."

"Eh?"

The world may have already ended because of the King of Mages' plans but for Kiyohime, her world may have only begun crashing down upon hearing that statement.

The convenient delusion that she projected for herself began to manifest small little cracks.

"But that's..!" ripples of emotion disturbed the clouded yellow irises of Kiyohime as she tried to make a protest but to no avail.

Hachiman shook his head before Kiyohime could continue saying anything else. "Kiyohime-san, it's time to open your eyes properly. I'm going to say it as many times as it takes until you get it properly," this time, he made sure to hold her shoulders so that she couldn't try and look away from the truth. "I am not Anchin-san."

Tears came pouring out of Kiyohime's eyes as Hachiman did an act that was very close to denying the very foundation of her existence.

More and more cracks appeared on her vision. It reached the point where she wasn't able to recognize which is which anymore.

"Master…" the girl who dedicated her entire existence to love looked as devastated as a wilting flower. "Why are you doing something cruel?"

Looking at her anguished expression was as painful as driving a stake towards his own heart but Hachiman remained steadfast and conveyed his intentions as best as he could.

Sooner or later, she'll discover the false scenario that she fabricated for herself anyways.

Rather than be the kind angel that played along with her, he'd rather be the wicked devil that burned it all into ashes.

It didn't matter if she ended up hating him afterwards.

For both of their sakes, this was the best course of action.

And by some cruel twist of fate, rather than saving the world or fighting for the sake of an entire race, this fell more in line with Hachiman Hikigaya's specialty.

"It's because I'm the same as you Kiyohime-san. I despise lies too," Hachiman leaned closer towards the distraught girl so that she could get a better look at his eyes and the sincerity of his intentions. "That's why I want to free you from this lie that you've unintentionally put together."

"Eh? Me? Lie? There's no…"

"There's no way? It seems like you still don't get it so allow me to reiterate," Hachiman preemptively held Kiyohime's hands to prevent her from using them to cover her ears. "I am not Anchin-san."

Ah, I see…

The painful truth as Hachiman put it was finally laid bare in front of her.

…I was a liar too.

The sound of countless broken glass rang out on Kiyohime's head and the illusion she used to avert her eyes from reality shattered.

Reflected on her now clear yellow irises were not the gentle features of the monk Anchin anymore but was the harsh yet equally as kind face of her one and only Master, Hachiman Hikigaya.

"In that case," one last tear trickled down Kiyohime's cheek. "May I be given the honor of knowing my Master's name?"

After noticing the change of Kiyohime's irises, Hachiman was able to relax himself a little bit.

"Ever since I was born I've been called Hachiman Hikigaya. I've never been this guy named Anchin ever," sensing that the overall mood has improved a bit, Hachiman chose to adapt a more lighthearted countenance. "By any chance, do I even resemble him in any way, shape or form?"

"No, not at all," a melancholic smile graced Kiyohime's facial features. "Anchin-sama is Anchin-sama. Master is Master."

"Mm, that's exactly it. It's good that you finally understand, Kiyohime-san," Hachiman released Kiyohime's hands and turned his gaze back towards the direction of the lake.

"I'm very sorry for causing you so much trouble, Master," despite losing so much of her composure earlier, Kiyohime was still able to sincerely bow with the greatest of ease. "Henceforth, this Kiyohime of yours will devote her entire being to serving you."

Hachiman shook his head gently. "You don't have to go that far. I was just doing all that to satisfy my selfishness rather, I should be the one apologizing to you instead," a small tinge of regret crossed his expression. "It's okay to be devoted to love but please make sure not to confuse reality."

That brief moment was not missed by Kiyohime. "If you don't mind me asking, Master. Why did you insist on doing something like that?"

"Seeing your current situation reminded me so much of someone that I wasn't able to help in the past, mainly because the person in question wasn't really aware that they needed any help in the first place," Hachiman exhaled a sigh with a faint hope that all of his self-loathing was expelled from that singular gesture, as unlikely as that may be. "You can think of it as me trying to indirectly atone for my inaction at that time so like I said earlier, it's just nothing more than self-satisfaction."

Though Kiyohime looked like she was paying full attention, a few choice phrases among her Master's statements were something she put more emphasis on.

"By the way, Master," Hachiman involuntarily felt chills before Kiyohime even finished talking. "Was that someone you know a woman, perhaps?"

The cynic smiled wryly. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

"Yes, but we're just classmates, nothing more, nothing less."

"I see. But even then that's… Ah!"

Before Kiyohime could completely snap however, her foot slipped and she was unable to maintain her balance, making her fall down.

Luckily, Hachiman was close enough to catch her.

"Be careful. Even if you're a Servant, it's not like you'll get away with just a scratch from a fall like that," Hachiman said while leaning close to Kiyohime's face and with his hands both supporting her body.

"I apologize, Master," Kiyohime forced out while reigning in her embarrassment. "It seems I was much more tired than I initially thought," after being supported by her Master back to her standing position, she then resolved herself to make a bold request. "Master, I know it's a bit forward of me but may I borrow your shoulder for a while?"

Under normal circumstances, Hachiman would've been warier but after everything that he did to her earlier, he thought it was only proper to entertain a few of her wishes for now.

"Sure," he sat down on a log situated not too far from the lake and let Kiyohime take her position beside him.

After a few seconds later, Hachiman felt the sensation of additional weight on his left shoulder, the texture of skin much smoother than his, fragrance that was borderline hypnotic as well as the erratic rhythm of Kiyohime's own heartbeat.

"When I open my eyes later, will you still be here, Master?"

Hachiman tried his best to make the most reassuring smile he could.

"Yeah. Of course, I will."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Fufufu. If you break your promise, I'm going to turn into a Dragon and chase you until the ends of the Earth, okay?" the playful giggle did not match Kiyohime's blatant threat at all however having heard scarier things come out from her mouth already Hachiman was completely unfazed by it.

He even had enough composure to reply with a joke. "If that time ever comes, I'll be sure to not hide underneath a bell."

Kiyohime smiled in amusement though given their positioning, Hachiman was unable to see it. "Yeah, that won't be a good idea, Master. After all, I might just burn the bell… Along… With… You."

In the next second, the girl that lived for love began her journey to the realm of dreams while letting out very peaceful breaths.

Rather than a puppet who had its strings cut off she was more akin to a toy robot which lost all the power on its batteries.

Disregarding the frightening declaration that she dropped just before going to sleep, it cannot be questioned that Kiyohime is indeed a cute girl.

While he did plan on praising her some time during their stay on this island, because the girl was too high-strung already and with the multitude of things he needed to clear up with her, he could never find the right opportunity to do so…

Until now, that is.

"You look really cute on your swimsuit, Kiyohime-san."

Hachiman whispered while letting his left hand stroke the silky hair of Kiyohime.

Whether or not she heard him was a different story altogether, though if one managed to take a closer look at her sleeping figure and spot the obscure smile on her face, the answer would then become obvious.

---

Interlude V – The Insecurities Of A Knight Who Can Only Destroy

The sea.

It's most likely the number one place anyone would suggest if you asked them where they would like to have a vacation.

Such a sentiment is understandable after all, depending on what kind of beach you're at; the number of fun things you could do is virtually countless.

That being said, falling from a surfboard and potentially drowning on the seawater is definitely not something that can be called fun.

"Kuh! Not good!"

That cry came from Hachiman Hikigaya who lost his balance and crashed down on the sea at an awkward position.

In contrast to him who was struggling to get his bearings back, a woman with her blonde hair tied into a ponytail went past him as if she was gliding on the waves.

"You really suck at this Master," a smug Mordred commented on the figure of Hachiman who has fallen for the umpteenth time on his surfboard.

"Oh get off my case! You already know that I'm still a beginner at this." Hachiman bitterly responded before pulling his body back to his surfboard.

The fact that this Treacherous Knight was making fun of him while keeping perfect balance of her own body on the board irritated him further.

As he pulled himself out of the water, he noticed that Mordred was now casting a distant glance towards the island that they've been staying on for quite some time now, as if she was looking for something, or rather someone.

Knowing her, there was only one possible answer for whoever that someone is.

"No one's on the shore, you know," Hachiman cast a know-it-all smile as he teased the female knight.

"What do you mean by that, Master?!" despite getting caught red-handed, Mordred still pretended to play dumb even though she herself knew it wasn't going to work.

"Whatever you want it to mean," Hachiman shrugged while still maintaining his smile.

Though he would be the first to admit at how bad he was at this surfing thing, his stubborn nature wasn't one to just give up like that.

If it was, then nevermind six Singularities, he wouldn't have been able to fix a single one.

Unfortunately, even if one's spirit was willing, sometimes nature itself denies man the opportunity.

"The sea is relaxing…" Mordred noted just when her Master was about to guide his board towards the direction of the waves once again.

Even a beginner like Hachiman noticed that the force in the current has indeed waned.

Chalking it all up to his bad luck, the cynic had no other choice but to give up for today.

"Hey, Mordred-san."

The Servant in question however didn't answer her Master's call right away.

Concerned, Hachiman frantically looked around him to check where she was, assuming she somehow got abducted or something, only for him to find out that his paranoia was completely off the mark.

Though it was Hachiman who missed his chance to redeem himself today with how many times he messed up while surfing, it was actually Mordred who looked more depressed between the two as she kept her gaze on the now still ocean.

Finally noticing that Hachiman's eyes were on her, Mordred discarded her gloomy visage in favor of a jollier expression.

"Ah, Master. Did you need me for something?"

Anyone could tell that the smile plastered on her face was fake but Hachiman decided not to point it out for now.

"Not really. I was just thinking that it's a pity that I couldn't see Mordred-san's cool surfing figure anymore."

"Cool, huh. Well, I guess that description pretty much fits me to a T," mumbled Mordred while smiling to herself.

"Hey, Mordred-san," the Master however, completely failed to notice his Servant's feelings of elation. "I was planning on taking a break near the shore. Would you like to join me?"

…

Untainted.

That was the singular word that fully described the beach of this unnamed island.

Even the prettiest beaches of Earth never reached this level of tidiness as one way or another; humans have always found a way to desecrate it, whether intentional or not.

Because of this, the sand around the beach was very fine.

In other words, it was the best type of sand for building sandcastles.

And by that, it means that Hachiman was trying to build a sandcastle while Mordred was trying to make a… Whatever it is you call that pile of sand next to her.

As a side note, the buckets and small shovels were constructed by Scathach's rune arts. Don't worry about it.

"You really suck at this, Mordred-san."

The tables have instantly turned from the surfing earlier with Hachiman wearing a self-satisfied expression and Mordred being the one to feel bitter.

"How did you even get so good at doing this in the first place, Master?" Mordred grumbled while aimlessly poking the sand with her shovel.

"The reason I became good at it is because my imouto wanted to see one so I had to learn how to do it," Hachiman answered in an uncharacteristically proud tone.

"That's it?" the Saber of Red asked in disbelief.

"Yes, that's it. An Onii-chan doesn't need any other reason."

"Master, you're being a little gross," Mordred reeled back in disgust.

"Can it. You wouldn't understand even if I explain."

The two went back to playing with the sand after that exchange though that calm didn't last very long.

"Ah, no good. As usual, I'm only good at destroying things."

As Hachiman felt like there was more to this sulking of hers than the fact that Mordred could not even build a stable base, he stopped working with his hands and focused on pacifying his Servant.

"Now don't say that. I didn't go that far."

"It's true. After all, I even destroyed the very kingdom that my Father tried so hard to protect."

The instant he heard those words, Hachiman struck his forehead so hard with his palm that even Mordred was a bit startled with the sound it made.

"Hey, Master. What are you doing? Are you okay?" the so-called destroyer asked her Master's condition in a concerned voice.

"Ah, no worries. I just remembered something stupid that I did in the past."

And by past, he meant just recently.

Originally, he was going to teach Mordred how to build sandcastles as thanks for giving him tips on how to surf. The teasing thing was only done in order to make it easier to open up the topic to the Knight of Treachery.

Unfortunately, he forgot to make one hard-to-miss analogy.

Sandcastles = Real Castles.

And for Mordred who was once a Knight of the Round Table, when you talk about castles in front of her, the first one that pops out of her head is none other than Camelot itself.

Combined with the fact that Mordred was perhaps as bad at this as Hachiman was in surfing, then he has truly messed up with regards to his choice of activity.

The forlorn stare that the female knight locked onto the foundation of what was supposed to be her sandcastle compelled Hachiman to say a few words to her.

"The power to destroy is not something inherently Evil," the words flowed out of Hachiman's mouth before he even had a chance to properly go through them.

"Master, you're not just saying that to me because of the current situation, right?" Mordred was not even trying to hide her suspicion when she said those words.

"I won't blame you for thinking like that but it's true," Hachiman decided to alter his approach a little bit. "You're free to consider what I'm about to say next as just me thinking out loud if you'd like."

"Do as you please," the Knight of Treachery answered indifferently to make it seem like she wasn't interested but the fact that she didn't straight-out leave meant she was willing to hear the rest of what her Master wanted to say.

"Not everything born from Creation is Good, in fact, because of the duality of us human beings oftentimes we end up making a lot of Evil things as well. There are even cases in history where an invention made for the purpose of improving the general wellbeing of others was distorted into an instrument of mass murder instead."

"Where are you going with this, Master?"

"I'm saying that if Destruction is used in a manner that it eradicates only the Evil aspect then you can't describe it as a bad power anymore, right?"

"If you put it that way then I guess so."

Mordred tried to hide her embarrassment by averting her gaze but her slightly blushing cheeks betrayed her efforts. That being said, Hachiman was tactful enough to not point that out.

"Mordred-san, do you remember what Chaldea's mission is?"

"Isn't it to save the world?"

"That's more like the end result rather than the objective."

Hearing the roundabout answer from Hachiman made Mordred pout. "Master stop trying to overcomplicate things, you know I'm not good with that."

Hachiman raised both of his hands to stop his Servant from acting violent. "My bad, my bad, so give me a little time to explain," he coughed a few times to clear his voice. "Saving the world is the eventual outcome when Chaldea accomplishes our mission, which is currently none other than," the nature of the smile that Humanity's Last Master made at this instance was closer to that of a villain rather than a hero. "To beat Solomon into a pulp."

The famed Knight of Treachery smiled in a similar manner as her Master.

"Now that's what I'm talking about, Master. Plain and simple."

"Yeah and for that sake," Hachiman pointed his index finger towards the Heroic Spirit derived from Arthurian Legends. "Your power is needed, Knight-san who is only good at destroying things."

The blush on Mordred's face became even more apparent.

"I understand," she then oriented her body towards Hachiman's direction and kneeled to him in a similar manner as a knight would when making a pledge to his Lord. "This sword of mine, I wield for none other than for the sake of your goals, Master."

Since telling Mordred that such extravagant gestures were wasted on him would be akin to spitting on her resolve, Hachiman chose to say only one line.

"Thank you, Mordred-san."

Now that her personal insecurities have been settled, Hachiman Hikigaya could now focus on finishing his sandcastle and effectively calling it a day…

Or so he thought…

"I wish Father ever said something similar to me before."

Without a doubt, Mordred's biggest concern will always be about her relationship with that King of Knights.

Since this was at its essence, a family feud, Hachiman did not want to meddle as much as possible but should this prove to be a hindrance in the coming fight against Solomon then he will not hesitate to butt in even if it he had to use up a Command Spell in the process.

For the time being however, he chose to give some encouragement to the Servant beside him.

"You know, I've had issues with my parents too."

"Really?! You?!" Mordred's eyes bulged in surprise from the sudden revelation.

Hachiman sympathized with the elation that the blonde felt upon discovering a kindred spirit.

"Yes, though it's nowhere near as bad as an experience as you went through," the loner began to reminisce his lost days as an ordinary human. "In my case, I was completely ignored. Aside from providing me with the basic necessities, my parents left me alone to confront problems such as bullying and depression."

Because of the increased mental fortitude he developed after confronting several Singularities already, Hachiman was now able to look back to his past in a cold, rational manner true to his title as a Monster of Logic. He would've surely broken down into tears if he did such a thing a few months ago.

"Then, when you reached your breaking point, Master," a hint of concern was evident on the green eyes of Mordred. It was a look you wouldn't expect from someone dubbed as the Knight of Treachery. "What did you do?"

If it was anyone else who asked such a question, he would have chosen to not answer it entirely but exactly because it was someone who can relate to him in a way, Hachiman Hikigaya chose to open up a little bit though he decided against telling her the whole truth.

"Would you believe me if I said I ran away from home and before I knew it, I suddenly ended up being Humanity's Last Master?"

Mordred took a short while to think about her response before saying anything. When she finally did speak, she was grinning from ear to ear.

"If that's what really happened then I don't think it's an entirely bad thing."

"Now why would you say that?"

"Well, if you didn't do such a thing, we wouldn't be fighting here together now. Am I wrong?"

The statement that Mordred dropped matter-of-factly made Hachiman speechless for a few seconds before he eventually went into a laughing fit.

"Hahahahaha! You say some really good things sometimes, Mordred-san."

"Hey, Master. Are you making a fool out of me?" Mordred's eyes sharpened in irritation.

"Not at all, in fact I'm even complimenting you," Hachiman wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes. "As thanks, please allow me to borrow your words," this time it was his turn to cast a glance of concern towards his Servant. "Your rebellion may have resulted in countless deaths but if you didn't resolve yourself into doing that act, this meeting of ours as well as with all the other Servants may not have happened. Think of it as one of the necessary ingredients you need to make a delicious meal, with the meal symbolizing not just our meeting but also with all the other Servants and staff from Chaldea."

This time it was Mordred's turn to be speechless for a few seconds before she ended up nodding and smiling.

"Thank you, Master."

There were a lot of things she wanted to say but ultimately, what only came out of her mouth were these two words.

"Hmm? For what, exactly?"

"For a lot of things really, thank you."

"I see," though the number of words they shared was few, for some reason Hachiman completely understood her Servant's intentions. Was this what it was like for two people to be in complete sync? "But you've done a lot of things for me as well so I guess we're pretty much even, Mordred-san."

With this, Hachiman concluded that the two of them should now be up for the ultimate challenge.

"Well then, now that your mood seems to be a little bit better," Hachiman smiled mischievously. "How about we go ahead and establish a friendly conversation with your Father?"

"There's no way I can do something like that!" Mordred instantly protested. "At least not right now."

Seeing her kitten-like behavior made him want to tease her more.

"You obviously want to talk to her already but you're still avoiding her like the plague."

"You're one to talk, Master! Aren't you trying to avoid someone else as well?" Mordred retorted with furiously blushing cheeks.

The one she was talking about was none other than a certain green-haired Japanese maiden.

"Touché, Mordred-san. Touché," but Hachiman was able to formulate a comeback for himself in the next second. "Unlike you however, I'm avoiding that someone more for their sake rather than my own."

"I'll definitely have the courage to face her again one day. When that time comes," Mordred cast her expectant eyes towards Hachiman. "Can you be there with me, Master?"

It was ironic how she was basically asking the help of a stranger to face her parents when it's usually the other way around but cynic as he is; Hachiman Hikigaya was not going to ruin this good atmosphere they had going.

Had he been a few years older however, the scenario on his head would be far more different and he might even have some difficulty accepting this request but because that's not the case, he could easily say yes.

"Why not? I also have a few things I want to say to her as well."

At the exact instant that they made that agreement, a large wave from the supposedly still ocean came crashing down the shore thereby mercilessly ravishing the site of the two sandcastles that Hachiman and Mordred made.

Needless to say, the two castles were no more, much to the disappointment of the duo.

The one time that Mordred didn't mind if the waves relaxed, they go ahead and do something like this. To say she was frustrated would be an understatement. As for the Master beside her however, he was wearing a composed smile.

"You don't have to worry too much," Hachiman gathered both of their tools and positioned them right beside each other. "The beauty about sandcastles is that even though they are easily destroyed, you can just build a better one afterwards," he quickly proved his point by already finishing the base in breakneck speed. "How about we work together this time around? I'll show you the ropes."

At this instant, the smile that Mordred showed was the brightest smile he's ever seen the girl make.

"Sure. You can leave all the destroying to me, Master!"

---

Interlude VI – The Choices That A King Must Make

The tropical island that was developed so much just before the members from Chaldea left has degraded into something akin to a wasteland after a time period of around 2000 years.

The culprits were none other than those demon boars who can now disguise themselves as Shadow Servants.

As some sort of exercise from the Servants, the task of cleaning up the nearby enemies is decided based on a rotating schedule.

Today's extermination crew is composed of none other than the Master, Hachiman Hikigaya and the King of Knights in her lovely bikini, Artoria Pendragon…

At least, that was what was supposed to happen.

Instead, the pair was now stuck inside one of the hidden ruins in the wasteland whose switch they inadvertently triggered while they were fighting their enemies.

Welcome To The Boar Piglet Dungeon.

A signboard whose lettering was done completely using neon lights appeared in front of the Master-Servant pair.

Despite the flashiness of the sign however, Artoria and her Master had their attention on the door that lead them inside.

"It's no good. It's not opening," Hachiman commented after breathing heavily.

"Step aside, Master," Artoria said while having the nozzle of her water gun pointed right at said door.

"Right."

Artoria waited for her Master to be right behind her before firing.

*shoot*

The jet of water she released however was barely able to pierce a few centimeters deep into the door.

"It didn't work?!"

"Forget it. Guess we don't have much of a choice but to find another exit."

It was only at this point did Hachiman notice the flamboyant welcome sign.

"What the heck is this?"

"Should I unleash my Noble Phantasm and demolish the entire place?"

"You better not," Hachiman's tone became a little stern. "We're going to be buried alive if you do something like that." Hachiman then made a brief inspection of the room they were currently on. "Something seems to be powering the entire place so it might be worth to explore it so that we can bring back some resources."

"I understand. I'll follow your orders, Master," Artoria finally lowered her gun at this point.

…

Although it was called a dungeon, the entire facility felt more like an obstacle course.

No, it was more appropriate to call it an annoyance course.

A climbing obstacle that drizzles you with oil and becomes steeper the higher you go…

A jungle-gym like attraction where the parts you were supposed to hold on to suddenly vibrate…

A pit of rubber balls where some of them are actually fragile balloons that contained flour…

A pool that had slime on it instead of water…

None of the things in there were lethal but they sure were more than enough to cause a migraine.

After going through around a dozen of such gimmicks, both Hachiman and Artoria were slimy, oily, sticky, gooey and everything else in-between.

Thankfully with the assistance of Artoria's water gun, the two were at least able to clean up.

They did however ended up being soaked but that was way better than whatever their previous state was.

"Those piglets really made something unnecessary," Artoria grumbled as she tinkered with her water gun.

"You got that right," concurred Hachiman who was equally as pissed. "For some reason, I'm in the mood to eat some roast boar piglet when we get back."

"What a coincidence, Master. Me too. I'll even contribute for the preparation by chopping them with my Excalibur," as if resonating with its wielder's desires, the Strongest Holy Sword gleamed.

"Now now, you shouldn't use your legendary weapon for such a task," though he sounded calm, Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes were burning with the flames of fury. "We should use an old and rusty knife instead. That way we can prolong the piglets' suffering and hear even more of their screams."

Even Artoria grimaced after hearing that one. "You're surprisingly sadistic, Master."

"Heh, anyone would turn into one if they were subjected to what just happened to us."

The two then continue their advance into the deeper recesses of the facility while fully expecting the worst.

Even with such a mindset however, they were still taken by surprise when they saw the things lurking on the place where the last attraction should be mounted.

"Those are..!"

"Demon boars, huh…"

Luckily, because of how the dungeon is structured, Artoria and her Master were situated on a higher floor while the enemies were scattered around the lower corridor.

In other words, they were currently at a vantage point where they could accurately see the enemy's numbers.

Had it been the other way around then they might've fallen victim to a surprise attack.

"There are a dozen of small demon boars and one large one who seems to act as their boss," Hachiman began to make a few estimations on his head. "Artoria-san give it to me straight, can you take them all down?"

Unlike the one at the cave where he went with Mary and Anne, this place has sufficient lighting, the enemy's numbers can be accurately measured and the risk of a structural collapse was significantly lower so choosing to fight was a valid option to take.

Furthermore, these boars were also guarding the exit so retreating was never an alternative.

"Of course I could. Worry not, I can simply draw out more strength by taking out my frustration of the boar piglets onto these demon boars instead."

"Well then, Artoria-san. Our plan is simple," the villain-like smile that Hachiman involuntarily makes whenever he's cooking up plans was plastered on his face once again. "Just think of this as Water Blitz and that giant boar over there is your main target and you have to kill it as fast as possible. Understood?"

"Yeah. That sound easy enough." There was not a shred of doubt laced in the King of Knights' voice. "I'm heading out, Master."

"Yeah. You take care now, Artoria-san," Hachiman nonchalantly responded.

In the next second, Artoria jumped from above and landed right in the middle of the enemy's den.

The moment she made contact with the ground, she immediately dashed straight towards the big demonic boar while invoking both her Summer Splash (Mana Burst) and Beach Flower (Charisma) skill. Though they have been slightly altered after her Spirit Origin was adjusted, it doesn't change the fact that these two are still powerful enhancement skills.

"Grrrrrr!"

The big demon boar roared upon seeing the intruder who was hell-bent on killing him.

Despite his slightly late reaction, the demon boars around him still responded rather swiftly and moved to the front to protect their leader.

"Too slow!"

Artoria used both the water gun and Holy Sword in her hands to tear through the barricade rather easily.

In no time at all, four boars were quickly eviscerated.

"Grrrrrr!"

Seeing that his underlings were not enough to hold his enemy back, the large boar withdrew its head and began reinforcing his already tough hide with its magic power.

It instinctively knew that if it was able to hold back this assault for a few seconds and have the other boars slowly surround her, they would have the advantage in this fight by virtue of having more numbers.

"Master, it's putting up a barrier!" Artoria reported while firing a couple of shots towards the large boar and using her sword to fend off the approaching smaller ones.

"Don't worry about that and just hit it with your Noble Phantasm!" Hachiman then added another order in panic. "But adjust your output such that it's only enough to take him out!"

"Understood. I'll do exactly that!" Artoria then fixed the Holy Sword onto the water gun and begun gathering most of her magic power onto the combined weapon. "Oh light that illuminates the world, manifest your radiance upon the waves, Excalibur Vivianne!"

A water beam much denser and more powerful than any of Artoria's regular shots was launched from the water gun.

At that timing, Hachiman Hikigaya also released the magic power that he had been channeling. The swimming trunks that he wore also happened to be its own Mystic Code and with it was its own series of spells.

"Pierce through, Deadly Trident!"

It was a type of Magecraft that applies a disturbance effect on the flow of magic power of a targeted area, thereby disrupting the spell applied to it.

In other words, when this spell is employed against any kind of defensive Magecraft, the latter gets negated.

As such, the hide that the large demon boar was relying on was now only as hard as steel at best.

It was now something a Holy Sword could easily cut.

"Grrrrr?!"

As the large boar was banking on its defensive capabilities too much, it was vanquished instantly after that was dispelled by Hachiman.

Because of this, the invoked Noble Phantasm still had more than enough juice to deal with the rest of the enemies.

"Haaaaaaaa!"

Artoria then condensed the beam into a blade and used it to cut around the encirclement that the rest of the boars were trying to create, thereby annihilating them all in one fell swoop.

At the exact timing that she went through her reserves, the last demon boar was also sliced into half.

After seeing that the coast was clear, Hachiman Hikigaya promptly descended using the stairs in order to check his Servant's condition.

"Good work, Artoria-san. Even in your swimsuit, I guess the fact that you're the Gallant King of Knights doesn't change, huh?"

"Gallant, you say? Well, that should be enough to count as praise, I guess."

Hachiman became a little intrigued at the mumbling figure of his Servant.

"Did you say something, Artoria-san?"

"It's nothing, Master. I was just noting how it was a more thrilling battle than usual."

"It really is, wasn't it?" the clueless Master concurred which made the Servant beside him sigh in mild disappointment.

The two walked side-by-side in a much better mood than when they first entered the dungeon because of the afterglow of the victory.

As if reacting to their elation, the lights and machinery around the room flickered into life.

Congratulations for clearing the dungeon!

A banner fell from the ceiling along with confetti and the simultaneous bursts from multiple party poppers. A victory anthem also kept playing in the background that Hachiman recognized to have been ripped off from one of the most famous RPG franchises ever along with the looping sound effects of several people showering their applause and cheers.

Though it was only him and Artoria present on this room, Hachiman really felt like he was being congratulated while standing on a stage.

How all these were still able to function after the demon boars occupied this place for who knows how long was beyond Hachiman. He'd spare himself the headache from thinking about it.

"It looks like those piglets aren't too bad after all. Right, Master?"

Before Hachiman could offer his agreement, the message on the congratulatory banner was suddenly altered.

We will now be guiding you to the exit. Please come again next time.

As soon as he finished reading that line, a trap door opened from where they stood and the Master-Servant pair was taken for one last irritating gimmick before they can bid good riddance to the entire facility.

Truly enraged, Hachiman Hikigaya unleashed his inner Gilgamesh and yelled.

"Curse you, boar piglets!"

…

The trap door led the two to a long waterslide with twists and turns akin to that of a roller coaster.

While that would've been normally enjoyable for both Hachiman Hikigaya and Artoria Pendragon who didn't mind extreme rides, because this was something constructed by the boar piglets, they just had to add other elements in order to make it funnier.

During the slide, you were subjected to either a shower of slime or a round of flour-filled balloons. Not to mention the water from the waterslide itself was also some kind of goo. In other words, the exit condensed the entire facility experience into one last ride.

By the time the two were outside, they leaned on each other's backs for support while panting as they were way too fatigued to be standing up.

"We're… Finally… Out…" Hachiman muttered in between his breaths.

"Master… I'm asking permission to exterminate… The piglets after we take care… Of all the demon boars," the King of Knights was far too tired to display even half of her actual indignation.

"Granted…" the Master answered without any delay.

After the two finally regained their breath, they cleaned themselves up using Artoria's water gun once again.

Although the escapade to the boar piglets' hidden attraction was completely unplanned, it was at least able to mentally wear down the usually more guarded Artoria Pendragon.

As such, for the sake of having a deeper understanding of his Servant, Hachiman decided to make an uncharacteristic move by asking a rather personal question.

"Artoria-san, what does being the King of Britain mean to you?"

"What kind of question is that, Master?" a faint light of doubt was on Artoria's eyes but it hasn't quite reached the point where she was overly suspicious of her Master.

"Just trying to make conversation to fill in the silence," Hachiman then feigned a calm smile. "It's okay if you do not want to answer."

"No, it's quite fine. It was just a little sudden is all," Artoria cleared her throat before continuing. "A King is someone who guides her subjects, listens to their worries and protects them from all kinds of threats."

"Would you say that you did a good job at being one?"

Artoria shook her head in doubt. "I can't say for sure but I'd like to think that I did."

"Then," Hachiman finally decided to ask the question he wanted to ask the most. "If Artoria-san had the liberty to choose who would be the next King, are you going to let your child inherit the throne?"

The Former King of Britain smiled magnanimously as she gave her answer.

…

Though the island has become very close to the modern era that Hachiman Hikigaya was used to living in, it still has not reached the point where the artificial lights on the city overpowered the illumination brought forth by the stars in the sky.

As such, it was still possible to see those celestial bodies of light even from the room where Hachiman stayed at.

Even though the lights on his room were off, the eyes of Humanity's Last Master were still wide open.

That was because he was unable to get his head out of the answer that came out of Artoria Pendragon's Mouth.

"The next King of Britain should be one who possesses the true caliber to become a King. So long as they possess this trait whether or not they have my blood doesn't matter," the overly stiff expression of Artoria then relaxed. "That would be my input as the country's previous ruler however if I am allowed to indulge in the selfishness of a parent…" Hachiman felt a whirlpool of emotions as he recalled word-per-word the latter part of the King of Knights' statement. "…Then I would like nothing more than for my child to be completely uninvolved with the throne and just live a normal life."

His whole understanding of her story was shattered into a million pieces.

While there were indeed a couple of inconsistencies and details that didn't make any sense with her legend just like the stories of the other Heroic Spirits, the answer that came from the mouth of Artoria herself was the clincher.

Hachiman Hikigaya would even go so far as to say that this revelation gave him a bigger shock than when he found out that King Arthur was actually a woman.

Though Hachiman was drawing blanks at the moment, he at least knew who he was going to ask next.

After all, according to the famed Knights of the Round Table themselves, if there was something fishy going on at Camelot, then there was always one person that you should suspect first.

"Now how much did you really have a hand in this, oh Court Mage and Special Advisor of King Arthur?"

Though because said individual was nowhere near the vicinity, there was no one who could answer Hachiman's probing question…

But that didn't mean that he wasn't heard.

From a distant tower in the middle of a flowery garden, a white-haired observer smiled before moving the staff in his hand as if he was tracing a few shapes in the air.

Shortly after that, a breeze mixed with the scents of multiple flowers entered Hachiman Hikigaya's room and in the next instant, Humanity's Last Master was sent into the world of dreams.

---

Interlude VII – Vive La Summer! Vive La Marie!

"La La La La La La Laaaa~ La La La La La La~ La La La La La La Laaa~ La La La La La La La~ La La La La Laaaa~ La La La La Laaaa~ La La La La La La La Laaa~ La La La La La~ La La La La La~ La La La La Laaaa~"

At an ungodly hour at night, in a currently unmanned construction site where you would expect to hear the rumble of heavy machinery and the sounds of metal hitting metal, a pleasant melody can be heard coming from the place instead.

Had this been back in Chiba, then perhaps Hachiman Hikigaya would not be brave enough to trespass on such a site but because this place was none other than the city that the boar piglets constructed with their very own hands, or rather, hooves, he didn't have such reservations.

As eerie as it was to hear a beautiful singing voice in a place supposed to be void of people like this one, if you understand the origin of such a sound, then suddenly it's not as scary anymore.

The fact that the knees of Humanity's Last Master was shaking as he explored will be tactfully omitted however.

"So you were here, Marie-san. I was looking everywhere for you. It's already so late, you know?" Hachiman Hikigaya said in relief as he approached his Servant.

In the middle of an area where bags of cement were piled, barrels of gasoline were stowed and steels beams were arranged, a lone figure wearing a red dress, no, swimsuit and holding on to a blue beach ball can be seen curiously examining all the materials while unconsciously singing a tune as if she was on a trance.

Among the Heroic Spirits who accompanied him from Chaldea, the only one who had such a peculiar behavior was none other than Marie Antoinette.

"Ah, Master! Good evening," the former Queen of France greeted after she awakened from her daze. "Sorry, I was just having so much fun looking around that I didn't notice the time," she added while blushing in embarrassment.

"What are you even doing out here? Even for a Servant, there are quite a lot of stuff here that's dangerous if you're not careful," Hachiman nagged like a parent or a school teacher.

"I was just curious," Marie answered without feeling a shred of guilt. "After all, I've never seen how a building is made before. Isn't it amazing how these small things could turn into something huge like that tower?"

He was supposed to reprimand her more.

No, he definitely should reprimand her more.

However, seeing the sparkle in Marie's blue eyes made him unable to do so.

Hachiman Hikigaya's weakness against little girls struck again.

It was a good thing that the Enemy of Humanity happened to be Solomon because if they could somehow take the form of a little girl, then the world would have certainly been doomed.

"How about we just come back here tomorrow morning and see the boar piglets themselves in action?"

"Oh? Can we really do something like that?" as absurd as it sounds, the sparkle on Marie's eyes shined even brighter to the point that Hachiman couldn't even look her straight in the eye anymore.

"We'll have to ask permission from them first but since it's a request from you, Marie-san, I doubt they'll ever refuse."

"Yay!" Marie threw her hands up in the air, along with the beach ball she held. She caught the ball after it fell before skipping towards her Master until she was around arm's reach. "I can't wait for tomorrow! Thank you, Master," the mood around Marie then turned a little somber. "I wonder, is it really okay for me to be having so much fun?"

While it might seem like the change in Marie's emotions was rather abrupt, it did not come as that much of a surprise to Hachiman Hikigaya and he owed it all to the Queen of France's skill at singing.

The song she sang earlier may not have contained any lyrics but Marie made up with it using not only her lovely singing voice but also her emotions.

For Hachiman who was quite sensitive to negative sentiments, he could instantly tell that a little anxiety was mixed in between the jovial tone of Marie's song. Whether that was on purpose or not however was still something he needed to find out.

"Is there something on your mind?" Hachiman threw that question as he sat on a nearby bench intended for the site's workers. He patted the space beside him and urged his Servant to sit as well.

Marie accepted Hachiman's offer and sat down before speaking her mind. Unlike the usual smile on her face, her current visage was a lot more wistful.

"I'm nowhere near as powerful as a Servant like the others. Whether it's in Chaldea or on this island, all I did was play around while everyone else always did something to help Master out. I don't think I've been useful to you at all. Even then…" Marie's grip on her beach ball strengthened. "…Master is still very kind to me," although tears threatened to fall from Marie's eyes, she still managed to retain her smile. "Sometimes, I can't help but feel like it will still be okay even if I'm not here…"

Instead of consoling Marie directly, Hachiman directed his gaze on the construction materials around them as he began to speak.

"Marie-san, every single item here is necessary to make a building," he raised his index finger as emphasis. "If there is even one part missing, then whatever it is that they plan on making here will easily collapse," Hachiman's expression then lightened as he turned his gaze back towards Marie. "It's just like us in Chaldea. I need each and every one of you in the final battle against Solomon to even stand a chance against him. If even one of you is missing, then humanity's annihilation is all but guaranteed."

His words were still not able to convince the former Queen of France.

"But unlike the others, my strength is severely lacking..!"

Without warning, Hachiman wiped away the tears that fell from Marie's eyes using his fingers.

"Even then, Marie-san still answered my call and became my Servant," Hachiman tried to make the sincerest smile he could. "I've been thinking about it for quite some time now but when Masters summon Heroic Spirits, unless special circumstances are involved, they always manifest in their peak form, allowing them to fight at their best potential," the nature of his smile then became similar to that of a child who thought of a brand new prank. "Now what does that mean for Marie-san who should have, as far as I'm aware of, zero combat experience?"

"I don't know," Marie now hugged the beach ball she held. "Just like Master said, I've never fought before in my previous life."

"You're wrong, Marie-san. You've fought before. In fact, even from an early age up until your eventual demise, you were constantly fighting."

"Are you sure you're not making some kind of mistake, Master?" rather than sad, Marie sounded more doubtful instead.

"Nope, I'm completely sure. After all, when I said that you were fighting during your past life, I never said that it involved the use of weapons. You were using something even more powerful," Hachiman then pointed his finger towards Marie's face. "It was your smile."

"I was fighting..? With my smile..?"

"That's right," Hachiman nodded before he began to explain. "For the sake of the country and the people you love, you kept smiling even in the face of your own death. If that's not what you call fighting, then I don't know what is," he then lowered his head such that he was on the same eye level as Marie. "That's why, there is no need for Marie-san to compare or imitate what the other Heroic Spirits, she should just fight like how she used to fight in the past," he wiped away the last remnant of tears on the young Queen's face. "And that is by giving her best smile," he then retreated his face back and away from Marie's personal space. "You were most likely summoned in this current form of yours because this should be around the time of your life where you well and truly decided to smile for your people."

While she certainly wasn't sad anymore, that didn't mean that Marie has completely overcome her doubts.

"Are you sure that will even be of any help to you, Master?"

"What are you talking about? Of course it will!" Hachiman immediately answered. "With Marie-san's smile, Chaldea is invincible!"

"Pfft! Hahaha! You're over-exaggerating, Master!" the trademark smile of the Queen of Lilies finally reappeared on Marie's face. "Thank you, Master. This pleasant feeling of being relied upon, I would not have been able to experience it without you!"

Hachiman acknowledged his Servant's gratitude with a nod. "Now that that's settled," his expression suddenly tensed. "As your Master, I have a very important task for you, Marie Antoinette-san."

"Yes! I am at your service, Master!" the Servant in question answered in high spirits.

"I'm really sorry but I have no other choice but to make you take up a much heavier responsibility than what you had in your past," all the tenseness in Hachiman's expression then vanished and was replaced with a carefree smile. "Please continue smiling not just for the sake of France this time, but also the whole world," his smile now transformed into a full-blown grin. "For that cause, I hereby command you to have fun and play around as much you want!"

"Is that really okay?" Marie's clear blue eyes couldn't quite contain her excitement.

"So long as we don't become a bother to anyone else, every human has the right to just follow what their heart desires. That includes you, Marie-san," he then placed his hand on his Servant's head and met her on eye level once again. "But Marie-san is only human so if it ever becomes too much for you to bear, please don't hesitate to come and talk to me once again. I'll always hear you out."

"I understand, Master. Thank you very much for your concern," Marie stood up and then curtsied in front of Hachiman. "Just like you ordered, I'll always strive to keep on smiling."

"Please do. After all aside from me, there would be at least three people back at Chaldea who would be able to give it everything they've got after seeing your radiant smile."

"Is Master talking about d'Eon, Amadeus and Sanson?" Marie enumerated the names of the people that Hachiman implied, to which he nodded in confirmation. "Fufufu, I would be really glad if that's the case."

The two enjoyed a brief silence after that exchange, merely appreciating the company of their counterpart in this space which felt like it was all reserved just for them for tonight.

After a short while of fiddling around with the beach ball on her hand, Marie decided to break the silence.

"Umm… Master, can I make a request?"

"Sure. So long as it's within my scope of ability then I don't mind at all," in truth, there was no way he could bring himself to turn down any of Marie Antoinette's requests but she didn't need to know that.

"In that case," in response to Hachiman's inquiry, Marie extended her left hand towards her Master before speaking. "Since it's already this late and it's dangerous to wander at this hour by my lonesome, can I ask Master to kindly act as my escort on the way back?"

Having had to deal with Servants who came from different timelines, Hachiman followed one of Da Vinci's early suggestions to look up and familiarize himself with some gestures that they may find flattering or offensive back in their time. Dealing with the nobility from Europe-aligned Heroic Spirits was one of the topics that he brushed up on a lot.

Though he still had some questions about why she made this request in particular, Hachiman's body moved automatically before he could properly comprehend his actions. He brought his left hand to his chest and bowed such that his upper body was parallel to the ground. "It would be my pleasure," but instead of grabbing Marie's hand directly, Hachiman chose to place his right hand on his hip instead. "Then, if I may be so bold."

"Ara, I didn't know Master was such a gentleman," Marie elegantly giggled as she put her hand on the arm of Hachiman. "By the way Master, do I look good in my swimsuit?"

"Of course. Needless to say, Marie-san looks cute in whatever it is she decides to wear," Hachiman delivered his thoughts in a matter-of-fact manner.

"Thank you, Master but it's a bit embarrassing if you say it so honestly like that," though she responded in that fashion, by no means was Marie dissatisfied with the praise she received from her one and only Master. In fact she was so happy that she might even end up… Oh. "Ara, there's something stuck on this side of your hair, Master. Do you mind leaning a bit so I can get it for you?"

Since it was the honest Marie Antoinette's request, Hachiman Hikigaya did not bother thinking too deeply about it.

"Sure. Thanks in advance."

"Chu!"

However what Marie touched was not her Master's hair but was his cheek instead and what made contact was not her hand but was her…

"Did you just?!" the surprise attack turned Hachiman as red as a strawberry.

…Lips.

"Fufufu. Is it okay for me to do something like this too, Master?" the blue eyes of the supposedly innocent Marie Antoinette sparkled with playfulness.

Understanding that there was nothing he could say or do that would stop this Queen from doing more things like this in the future, Humanity's Last Master could only concede.

"As long as it makes you smile, then why not?" Hachiman awkwardly scratched the back of his head with his vacant hand before inadvertently directing his gaze towards anywhere else but the girl hooked to his arm. "But for the sake of my fragile heart, please not too often."

"Fufufu, I'll try to keep that in mind."

From the smile that she made at the end, Hachiman was unsure if Marie really meant what she said or not.

---

Interlude VIII – A Saintess Without Her Staff Is… Arguably Scarier

On one completely normal day in the absolutely abnormal city constructed with the assistance of the boar piglets, Hachiman Hikigaya stumbled upon a shadowboxing Saint Martha while going about his daily jog, a habit of his that he developed in lieu of his Shishou's training program.

As someone blessed with the privilege to enroll in the more prestigious schools around his neighborhood, his encounter with delinquents and street fights were null as Chiba by itself is a relatively peaceful prefecture.

That being said, if he had to put a word to describe how he felt while looking at Saint Martha throwing multiple punches barely visible to the naked eye, charmed is what he would most likely say.

Though it may be considered uncharacteristic of him to do so, Hachiman Hikigaya did what any other ordinary person would when they see something that catches their eye…

Of course, it was to approach them.

"If you don't mind, Martha-san, can we go a round?" the words that came out of his mouth however did not coincide with the thoughts swirling on his head.

At least, initially, until you figure out that what caught Hachiman's eye was not exactly Martha's looks but her technique instead.

In other words, all the Celtic-esque Training that he's been drilled with for these past few weeks has partially brainwashed this cynical young man into a workout freak.

Only the future can say whether that is a good thing or not.

"Huh?!" even the one known as the Goddess of the Iron Fist lost all her concentration when she heard such an unexpected set of words to come out from her Master's mouth.

Despite all the denials from her side, Ruler Class Servant Saint Martha still ended up accompanying her Master to a clearing in-between the sea and the city.

This particular area was selected not just because of its distance but also because it's the only spacious flat land composed mostly of rock instead of sand.

After all, if they were going to spar, it was easier to deliver more strength on a more stable foundation.

"First it was that samurai and now it's you, Master. Seriously, what kind of person do you take me for?"

"Martha-san, you're not really convincing anyone when you're shuffling to and fro like that."

The retort from her Master made Martha consciously stop herself from making any movements.

"Is this another part of your training regimen from Scathach-san?" Saint Martha asked while crossing both of her arms.

"Not necessarily but Martha-san is free to consider it like that if you want," Hachiman responded while doing a few stretches.

"Master, exactly what are you trying to achieve by doing all this training?" the look on the Saintess' eyes said one thing. If he wasn't able to get an answer that satisfied her then there was no way he was going to get her cooperation.

The only way he can do at this moment was to show his sincerity.

"I want to reduce the burden on all the Servants from having to protect me all the time."

The fact that it was such a selfless answer impressed Martha but that was not enough to make her give in.

"Master, it's one of the duties of us Servants to protect you or are you saying you find our protection inadequate?" for some reason the cold glare of this saint reminded him so much of a certain Ice Queen despite how different they were in… A particular area in the body. Was it the voice perhaps?

"Perish the thought, Martha-san!" Hachiman immediately answered. "If it were not for everyone's help, I would not be here now. I was just thinking that the enemies are only going to get stronger and stronger from now on. Regardless of how powerful my Servants are, if I continue being as inadequate as I currently am, then there's an obvious weak link in our formation," Hachiman's eyes were then filled with the light of determination. "There's no way our opponents won't take advantage of such a fact," the mood of his expression then mellowed down a bit. "Besides, between a Master who relies solely on the abilities of his Servants over one who actually puts in the effort, I think it's clear which one will earn more respect from a Heroic Spirit, no?"

At this, Saint Martha was already around 95% convinced but there was no way she was going to say that out loud. The only thing that was really stopping her from saying yes was…

"While that's admirable and all, trying to punch my Master doesn't seem like something a Servant should do."

…Personal issues.

In that case, he decided to switch his objective from persuasion into provocation.

"Well, if Martha-san is unable to accept this reason then would something selfish like saying that I just want to brag to those piglets that I can dodge one of the Goddess of the Iron Fist's punch work?"

At the exact moment that Hachiman finished saying those words…

*whoosh*

…A gust of wind as fast as a bullet went past his cheek.

Next to that surprise appearance of Solomon back in the Fourth Singularity, it was probably the event where Hachiman Hikigaya felt like he was closest to losing his life.

The source was of course, none other than the Holy Maiden Martha herself.

Beads of sweat ran down Hachiman's forehead as he realized just how little of an adjustment his Servant had to make in order for that punch to actually connect.

Note to self, never anger Martha-san.

Though that was probably true with every Servant summoned to Chaldea.

"Call me that again and the next one won't miss," Martha threatened before realizing on the next second what she just did and panicked. "Wait, what am I doing?! Are you okay, Master?"

"Ahahaha," Hachiman forced out an awkward laugh to try to hide the fact that he was trembling a little. "Seems like Martha-san is finally motivated. If I can consistently respond to Martha-san's punches then it's safe to say that I can avoid around 70% of attacks that will be aimed towards me."

"Aren't you making an estimation error there?"

"Ah, you're right," Hachiman took back his words almost instantly. "It should be around 80%."

"Hah, nevermind that," Martha massaged her temple in an attempt to alleviate her headache. "Let's stop this. I think what Master needs is someone willing to listen to his troubles. If you don't mind, I would like to elect myself for that role."

Now that even Operation: Provocation didn't work as well, all Hachiman Hikigaya had left in the tank was his stubbornness.

"Martha-san, please."

Unexpectedly…

"Ah, mou! Suit yourself, Master! Don't blame me if you get hurt," Martha warned in half-frustration and half-resignation.

…His last-ditch attempt worked.

"I'll be in your care, Martha-san."

The two fighters then bowed before going for their respective stances.

…

The result in the showdown between the woman whose fists were as fast as lightning and the young man who's only seriously trained very recently was obvious.

"Thank you very much for your guidance, Martha-san," a Hachiman Hikigaya who was panting for breath said while sitting on the ground.

Though the match was really only to see if Hachiman could dodge any of Martha's blows thus, leaving him completely uninjured, he'd be lying to himself if he didn't feel like he lost a portion of his lifespan just from the few exchanges they had.

Literally and figuratively, the Goddess of the Iron Fist really wasn't pulling any punches.

"I'm sure if it's you, Master, you'll get the hang of it soon."

Martha remarked while taking a sitting position beside him, an act that caught Hachiman completely off-guard but he still tried his best to keep his calm.

"If Martha-san is the one saying that then the future seems bright," Hachiman managed to smile amidst his fatigue.

"It's a pity though…" the saint who sat beside her Master sighed.

"What is?"

"Well, this current form of mine is only possible because its summer, once we go back to Chaldea, I wouldn't be able to act in this manner anymore," the Holy Maiden's expression became wistful. "I would've loved to see you properly dodge my fists at least once."

"Eh? Is there really an issue with that?"

"Of course there is. After all this form is, in more ways than one, inappropriate," a tinge of resignation could be felt on Martha's words.

"I see."

To Hachiman's ears, rather than convince him, it felt more like Martha was trying to convince herself instead.

Though it was a part of it, what Saint Martha was talking about is not just the fact that she's on a swimsuit on this summoning.

It was an issue of fitting in with your identity.

It was a problem that was common in the modern school setting, especially in high schools but such a thing was already a big issue even dating back to the time when Saint Martha lived her life on Earth.

"While we were sparring, Martha-san was smiling."

The words that Hachiman matter-of-factly dropped greatly flustered the Holy Maiden.

"Eh?! Was I?!"

"Yes, it was a beautiful smile too. Ah, I'm not trying to say that your usual smile in your Rider form isn't beautiful as well; it's just that this one felt a little different. It was like you were really enjoying yourself.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, Master," the Saintess of the Shore put up her resistance but if her blushing cheeks were any indication, a very slight chink on her armor has been created.

Alright, I can do this.

A flowchart composed of his appropriate statements and Martha's possible responses manifested on his thoughts. Amidst those countless possibilities, Hachiman picked a route that will lead him to his most desired result in the span of just a few seconds.

"Being a saint is just one aspect of you, Martha-san. You're also a human and humans like us need to release steam from time to time."

"E-E-Even if you technically have a point, using my bare fists like this is a bit…" Martha looked away in embarrassment but that didn't stop Hachiman from pushing in for the attack.

"At its essence, isn't Martha-san's religion all about the constant fight between Good and Evil? So in my opinion, I think fighting with your fists is synonymous to singing his praises," Hachiman delivered such an outrageous proclamation without an obvious change in his expression.

"That's..!"

The fact that she couldn't even make an argument signified that Hachiman was very closely approaching his goal.

One more push then…

"Once we get back to Chaldea, if Martha-san is…Hmm…" Hachiman took a few seconds to delicately sugarcoat his next set of words. "Itching to move her body a little bit, then please tell me beforehand, I'll gladly be your partner anytime. It will be our little secret."

In his attempt to not say terms that involved fighting and the like, the meaning of Hachiman's offer distorted into something completely different.

"Is this sexual harassment?" Martha covered her chest and backed away from Hachiman. "Even if it's you, Master, I won't forgive you for doing such a sleazy act!"

Finally realizing the blunder he committed, the usually stoic Hachiman Hikigaya instantly went red up to his ears.

"Wait, it's a misunderstanding! I only said it in that manner because I thought Martha-san disliked the use of words like sparring and such!"

Hachiman frantically tried to defend himself in panic but upon seeing the giggling figure of the Perfect Saint, he relaxed.

"Fufufu. I got you!" Martha mischievously smiled. It was the first time Hachiman saw her make an expression like this and he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to see it again. "That's what you get for messing with adults."

As a slight payback, the cynic, or in this case it was more appropriate to call him a heretic, decided to tease the saintess back.

"Is acting in such a petty manner something a saint should do?"

"Of course not," Martha shook her head while maintaining a calm smile. "But just like Master said, before I became a saint, I was a human and it's just in my nature to be like this."

"I see. I'm glad we came to an understanding."

"This is for the purpose of saving the rest of Humanity, right?" Martha's eyes locked on to her Master to check him for even the smallest signs of him lying but Hachiman showed his sincerity through answering immediately.

"Of course," the usually lifeless orbs of Hachiman Hikigaya became filled with resolve. "That's my role as Humanity's Last Master after all."

With that, the Saintess of the Shore finally gave in.

"Then there is no reason for me to refuse such a request," Martha abruptly stood up and directed her gaze towards her Master. "Regardless of whatever form I may take, as long as you continue on this path to the salvation of our world, then this Servant of yours will always be there to help you," for a brief moment the current figure of Martha overlapped with that of her Rider form which had both her robe and staff. "That alone will not change."

Following the Holy Maiden's actions, Hachiman decided to stand up as well and meet her eyes with his own.

"Thank you, Martha-san. It looks like I'll be relying on you more and more in the future."

"I won't disappoint you, Master."

The two sealed the deal with a handshake.

A gentle sea breeze then flew by and took their attention as if comforting the two who were drenched in sweat from their sparring session for a job well done.

Hachiman closed his eyes and fully immersed himself with the caress of the wind.

Upon opening his onyx orbs in the next second however, he was treated to the first rays of dawn coming from the sunrise.

Oh…

For a brief moment, he almost forgot to breathe.

This however was not caused by view offered by the sunrise, as majestic as that was no, it was because of none other than Saint Martha herself.

The first rays of dawn all seemed to shine on Martha's figure making it seem like it transcends the boundaries of physical desire and it is simply the epitome of beauty. When the wind made contact with her hair, it all swayed gracefully to a tune that couldn't be perceived by the human ears.

The word picturesque must have been coined for such a scene but Hachiman was more than willing to argue that describing her in that manner may even be an understatement.

Such an image reminded Hachiman Hikigaya of one fact.

In more ways than one, Saint Martha was truly a beautiful person.

"Is something wrong, Master?" Saint Martha asked while she brushed a strand of her purple hair to the back of her ear, as if she didn't look alluring enough already.

"Not really. I was just thinking that Martha-san looks really good in her swimsuit," an earnest smile accompanied the cynic's face while he gave his honest praise.

After a few seconds of letting her Master's statement sink in, the Saintess of the Shore's face instantly became crimson.

"Kyaaaa!"

A punch that was thrown several degrees faster than when the two had a spar earlier came flying towards Hachiman's face.

Naturally, since he was unable to dodge the slower variants there was no way he was evading this one as well.

*smack*

Humanity's Last Master had one last thought before he well and truly lost his consciousness.

Ah, a flustered Martha-san is cute too. Worth.

After that, his body fell flat on the ground with a loud thud, much to the Goddess of the Iron Fist's horror.

"Ah, Master! Hang in there!"

---

Interlude IX – The One Instant The Shishou Let Her Guard Down

"Still training even at this hour?" Scathach threw out that inquiry after revealing herself in front of her disciple.

Said disciple just happened to have completed another push-up repetition as she was asking.

"I couldn't sleep so when I began to think about the best way to spend my extra time, I ended up working out before I knew it," Hachiman Hikigaya reasoned as he stood up.

Hearing that from the mouth of her own disciple made Scathach chuckle. "Haha. It's good that you're devoted in your training but your mind won't last if you don't unwind from time-to-time. The night is a time for resting. If you strain your body too much, you might not be able to move properly come morning."

"Well, I was also thinking that if I tire myself out, my body will become exhausted eventually, thereby forcing it to seek rest."

Scathach massaged her temple in an attempt to abate her headache. The fact that she was partly to blame for her current Master's mindset wasn't doing her any favors.

"While that is indeed one way to make yourself sleepier, I wouldn't call such a forceful method either healthy or sustainable. Instead of leading your body to a state of exhaustion, you should guide it towards a state of relaxation instead," an interesting idea then popped out of Scathach's head. "Since it's a rare occasion, how about joining me for a cup of tea, Master?"

…

Because it wasn't often that his Shishou would invite him for tea and he couldn't outright refuse her in the first place, Hachiman decided to entertain her whim at the moment.

When doing so, never in his wildest imaginations would he have ever thought that he will be brought into her very own personal room.

Perhaps it was as expected of her but not only was the place kept extremely clean but there were also no unnecessary things anywhere.

The only aspect of this room that showcased the owner's individuality would be the assortment of little red lances that was set aside on the corner.

"Here you go," Scathach handed a teacup to her fish-eyed disciple.

"Thanks, Shishou," Hachiman said before receiving the cup and giving it a sip. "It's good."

"I'm glad you liked it," Scathach smiled as she filled in her own cup. "By the way, we're not in training so I permit you to use my name instead."

"Is that really okay?" the doubt laced on his voice was obvious, likely thinking this entire exchange was a test of some sorts.

"Why not? We're in vacation after all," Scathach nonchalantly replied before taking a sip from her own cup. "Now then, how about I try and hear out your concerns?"

"Concerns?"

"You couldn't sleep right? Knowing you Master, you're probably overthinking about something. It's a bad habit of yours. I can see it clearly written all over your face."

"Am I really that obvious?"

"I'm afraid so," Scathach nodded almost instantaneously, prompting a sigh to come from Hachiman's side. "Feel free to think of this as your very own counselling session."

Hachiman's eyes widened in realization. "Is that why Scathach-san led me to your room instead?"

"Well, you don't want the others to hear about your worries, right?" a slight upward curve could be noticed on Scathach's lips before she covered it up by taking another sip of her tea.

"Thank you very much for your consideration, Shishou."

"Like I said, it's fine to just call me Scathach," a smile reminiscent to a concerned teacher adorned the Celtic woman's face. "So, are you willing to tell me anything?"

"I'm not really sure if it's something I should share though," Hachiman scratched his head and looked away prompting a sigh of exasperation from his Servant.

"I see," the sound of her teacup making contact with the saucer was much louder than it was supposed to be. "If that's how you wanna play it, then good luck trying to get out of my room."

"Wait, Scathach-san! That's a little..!" Hachiman stood up in panic and exclaimed while blushing.

"A little? What, Master?" a rare mischievous smile was on Scathach's face.

Combining that with their current situation of being alone on one room and her tantalizing attire was more than enough to make Hachiman concede.

"I get it, it's my loss. I'll talk, okay?!"

Scathach nodded after confirming her victory. "I apologize for having to take such forceful measures but you need to understand that we Servants care about our Master about as much as you care about us. That is doubly true for me who also considers you a disciple."

"I already know that without you telling me, Scathach-san," Hachiman's onyx orbs gazed at whatever image was reflected on the surface of his tea. "I just didn't want to trouble anyone."

Scathach's expression warped into a look of disapproval. "You are someone entrusted with the fate of the whole world. You are carrying the heaviest burden among all the members of Chaldea, no, perhaps in the entire history of mankind. Despite Rayshifting into the perfect place to unwind, you are just focusing on either training or solving the other Servants' problems instead," Scathach coughed in an attempt to hide the vague blushing of her cheeks. "Well, I will say that I am partly to blame for the first case but seriously, you don't have to keep taking in more baggage than you already have."

"Ah, so Scathach-san has heard all about that, I see. Sorry, I couldn't just bring myself to ignore it," a light of firm resolve flickered on the normally dead eyes of Hachiman Hikigaya. "I thought that since the load I'm carrying is already pretty heavy, adding a few more wouldn't change it so much."

Another searing headache came Scathach's way. "So you're also one suicidal pupil, huh." It was a trait she expected this Master of hers to possess but even she didn't foresee how unaware he was of this fact. "Then think about this way, you've successfully summoned several Servants already. At the rate you're going, you'd likely summon countless more in the near future. If you are able to share a little bit of your burden to them then slowly but surely, the weight on your shoulders should significantly lessen too, no?"

Both the Monster of Logic and the Monster of Self-Consciousness were stumped at Scathach's reasoning.

"I really can't win against you after all, Scathach-san."

"Of course, I'm your Shishou after all."

The two shared a short laugh afterwards.

"Allow me to change my approach, Master. I'm going to try and guess what you're worried about exactly," the look of confidence in Scathach's face as she declared all that made Hachiman feel nervous. "It's about what I said regarding this island's origins, right?"

The vague twitch of her Master was not missed by Scathach's sharp eyes.

"Well, if you already know that much then I guess there's no use hiding things from you anymore," Hachiman sighed but it was not like he was too frustrated about his secret being found out rather, it was more like he was relieved that he could finally talk about it instead. "Scathach-san, this place is isolated from Humanity's timeline, right?"

"Yes, somehow and someway it just sort of happened. Sorry, but even though I was technically the ruler of those lands even I can't give you any specifics except that it's nothing short of a miracle."

"It's fine. I just want to know if what I have in mind is feasible or not," amidst the darkness, the eyes of the Master whose seen multiple worlds gleamed a desperate light. "If the rest of the Servants and Chaldea's staff are transported here, do you think we'll be all able to live here together for as long as we want while completely avoiding Solomon's grasp?"

Upon hearing such an outrageous statement come from Humanity's Last Master, the Queen of the Land of Shadows finally understood why he found it so difficult to share.

The fact that he was able to come out and speak his mind to her of all people shows just how much he trusted her.

Meeting that expectation was also one of the many duties of a Servant.

"It's hard to say for sure. In the first place, we're still not aware of the mechanism at which it'll be carried out. For all we know it might not matter where Humanity hides, they'll be exterminated regardless," the Witch of Dun Scaith delivered her conclusion without a change in her tone.

"I see," Hachiman took Scathach's input quite well. In the first place, he has always been more of a pessimist and a realist so a part of him already expected that there was no easy way out from the impending final battle for the future of humanity.

"Are you planning on giving up?" the Shishou teased her disciple knowing full well he wouldn't take the bait.

"Is that really something to say to Humanity's Last Master?" Hachiman awkwardly scratched his cheek and answered. "To be honest, I'm not really sure if I feel that way. It's more like a back-up plan in case I mess up," the cynical young man once again locked her gaze on whatever was reflected on the surface of his tea.

"Isn't the solution easy then? Just don't fail. You're training with me to ensure that won't happen, right?"

"I guess so," a more authentic smile was displayed by Hachiman this time around before it turned into a yawn a few seconds later.

Seeing this, Scathach was convinced that she was finally able to do something for this troublesome disciple of hers.

"I'm sure you still have more worries on your head but let's leave it at that for today. It's already late. There are still a lot of things for us to do tomorrow."

"Yeah," Hachiman stood up from his seat and then bowed. "Thank you for tonight, Scathach-san. I didn't know I needed a pep talk this badly until it happened."

"What? It's no big deal. Like I said earlier, aside from being your Servant I'm also your Shishou. Feel free to come to me again for problems like these in the future."

Hachiman saw a smile very reminiscent to a certain Sensei of his back in high school who was the first one outside of his family to ever reach out to him appear on his Servant's face, making him feel like it was only proper that he confided about his most latest worry on this Heroic Spirit in particular.

"With that, can Scathach-san please dispel whatever it was you used to lock me in this room?"

"Ah, about that," his Shishou grinned. "It was all a lie. I knew you wouldn't have listened to me if I didn't say it otherwise."

Yep, those two teachers resembled each other much more than he originally thought.

"It's a bit frustrating that I can't really argue with that one."

Helpless, Hachiman could only chuckle.

"Before you leave, allow this Shishou of yours to give you a warning," she coughed twice in what looked like an act to clear her throat but it was actually to hide the slight reddening of her cheeks. "Now I know it was not your intention but for the sake of the future, Master, you should really learn to choose your words more properly from here on out."

"Eh? Did I say something inappropriate?" the charcoal black eyes of Hachiman Hikigaya widened in surprise.

"As I suspected, you really were completely clueless about it, huh?" Scathach sighed before massaging her temple in an attempt to sooth her headache. "It's that… What you just said earlier could be taken by others as a marriage proposal of sorts."

"Seriously?!"

"Seriously," Scathach nodded matter-of-factly. "Can you imagine if you said something like that to Tamamo no Mae or Kiyohime?"

He immediately felt chills after hearing that advice. If he wasn't careful, he might end up being unable to sleep once again because of paranoia.

"Right, I'm sorry I'll be more careful in the future."

"As you should," Scathach then escorted her guest to the exit of the room. "Good night, Master."

"Good night, Scathach-san," after taking just three steps outside of the Queen of the Land of Shadows' personal quarters, Hachiman Hikigaya turned around to face his Servant once again.

"What's wrong, Master? Did you forget something?"

"Well, something like that," Hachiman scratched his cheek awkwardly before continuing. "I think Scathach-san should be already aware of it but I think I'll try saying it anyways," even at the darkness of the night, Hachiman Hikigaya's blushing cheeks could be seen as clear as day. "Scathach-san looks really beautiful on her swimsuit."

"…"

The mouth of Ireland's Teacher of Heroes formed an o in surprise.

"That's all. Please excuse me," Humanity's Last Master immediately bolted away after dropping those words.

The Queen of the Land of Shadows was stuck in that state for a couple of seconds. It was only when her Master was out of her line of sight did she snap out of her trance.

"And he has the gall to call the other girls dangerous when he goes ahead and does something like this after I just blatantly warned him. Seriously, that disciple of mine."

Scathach complained before turning herself in for the night. Despite her words however, the smile on her face easily gave away the fact that she was not as unhappy as she sounded.

---

Interlude X – The Master's (Potentially Last) Birthday Party Went As Wrong As He Expected

Courtesy of his Shishou's orders, a lone Hachiman Hikigaya was tasked to find several hidden items scattered all around the island.

Since they were able to clean up all the demon boars on the island, it was relatively safe for him to wander on his own now.

He was only instructed to return when he's managed to get all the items or when it turns to dusk.

A reward was waiting for him in the former scenario while a corresponding punishment has been prepared for the latter.

However, the entire thing was rigged from the start and it was nothing more than a wild goose chase in order to buy time for the Servants to work on certain preparations. As such, there was no way for Hachiman to realistically complete the task.

When dusk came, a tired Hachiman Hikigaya returned to the base while dreading whatever it was the near future had for him.

"Master, are you ready for your punishment?" knowing full well of the end result without the need to confirm it herself, Scathach wore a sadistic smile as she asked that.

"Yes, Shishou." Humanity's Last Master resigned himself to his fate.

"Good. Then close your eyes and follow me," Scathach grabbed his arm after giving that instruction. "No peeking now."

"Understood."

Unbeknownst to Hachiman however, the nature of his Shishou's smile changed into one of playfulness rather than sadism after they began their walk back to the city.

Seconds that felt like hours passed by as Hachiman was tormented not only with the darkness from not seeing anything but also with the eerie silence of his surroundings.

Is this the punishment already? No no, knowing Shishou it should be something more horrible than this.

"Master, are you perhaps thinking of something rude about me?"

"Of course not," Hachiman immediately denied such a claim.

"Now, now, please be a bit more patient. We're almost there."

He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be more excited or scared after hearing that.

True to Scathach's words, the Master-Servant pair really did arrive at their destination shortly afterwards.

"Alright, you can open your eyes now, Master."

Hachiman Hikigaya had not much of a choice but to follow his guide's advice.

Before he could even completely open his eyes however…

"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Master!"

He was overwhelmed with countless cheers, bright confetti, loud music, flickering lights, and even fireworks were being launched from the background (don't ask).

As a loner, there was nothing he dreaded more than a huge gathering of people who all collectively wanted to make some deafening noise and engage in pointless merrymaking.

So this is my punishment...Oh the horror! Wait, what?

Hachiman had to blink twice in order to confirm if he was seeing or hearing things right.

"Umm, what's going on?"

The confused expression on their Master's face became copied and pasted on all the other Servants.

"Ara, don't tell me you forgot the day of your own birth, Master," everyone's sentiments was voiced out by Marie Antoinette.

"Now that you mention it," Hachiman brought a hand to his chin and began mentally estimating today's actual date. "Oh yeah, today is my birthday, huh?"

"I can't believe he actually forgot it," Mordred pointed out while facepalming.

"Now now, let's cut Master some slack. The past few days have been quite hectic after all," Anne Bonny addressed everyone while smiling.

"Alright, Master, time for you to come up front and give a few words to everyone!" Tamamo no Mae pushed Hachiman from behind and led him to a nearby flight of stairs that headed for the stage

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Is this really even necessary?!" Hachiman tried to protest but to no avail.

"Of course it is. You're today's guest of honor after all," everyone else nodded to Artoria's statement.

After being goaded by his Servants, Hachiman Hikigaya was now standing in front of a crowd composed of both his Servants and the island's resident boar piglets.

All the noise immediately dissipated upon witnessing his figure take the stage.

The pressure that those Demon God Pillars applied to him was nothing in the face of all the expectant eyes locked onto him currently.

Without him noticing, a glass filled with juice was also thrust upon his hands.

Perhaps his true punishment all this time was to speak in front of so many people.

Understanding that there was no way around this anymore, Hachiman decided that he might as well get things over with.

After taking a deep breath, Humanity's Last Master brought the microphone close to his mouth.

"Thank you for joining me for today's occasion. I'm sorry but because of the suddenness, I can't think of anything too smart or witty to say. I was however sure that I wanted to, at the very least, express my gratitude to all my Servants who have supported me to get this far and you boar piglets for indulging our stay on this island. Without the cooperation of these two factions, I doubt this celebration would even be possible in the first place," Hachiman then raised the hand which held the cup of juice towards the crowd. "Well then, I won't hold you up any longer. It's about time we get this party started. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" the crowd answered in unison before another set of cheers, applause, music and fireworks was unleashed.

It was by far the most vigorous partying that Hachiman Hikigaya had ever witnessed in his entire life.

It was ironic that if it weren't for the world nearing its end, Hachiman Hikigaya would not have appreciated the celebration of his own birth.

A birthday party as lively as this one would've been unimaginable for him in the past, no, perhaps if he learned to open up to others more back at school this was a possibility but that was nothing more than a what-if scenario.

"Have some drinks, yup!"

"It's our special blend, yup!"

"I'm on cloud nine, yup!"

A group of boar piglets can be seen constantly distributing drinks to all of the guests.

Perhaps it was because of the mood of the event but no one was the least bit skeptical as they brought the glasses to their mouths, even Hachiman was guilty of such negligence himself during the earlier toast.

It didn't even take an hour to pass by before several commotions began to pop out across the venue.

On one table, a particularly heated argument was occurring between Father and Son.

"Master called me cool, you know? I bet he didn't say anything to you!"

"Excuse me, Master called me gallant. In other words, this is my win!"

From a short distance away from the two, in the buffet table to be exact, one other Servant dubbed as the Beast of Summer was causing unparalleled mayhem on her own.

"Yahoooo! The food is sooo gooood! I've been holding back for too long that it completely backfired!"

On another table, another duo of Servants was creating their own clamor, though the nature of their bickering was far more different than the family of knights.

"I like you more Anne!"

"No, I'm the one who likes you more Mary!"

Yet another Servant was also high-strung as she gathered a group of boar piglets around her and began sharing stories of the past that she usually didn't like talking about.

"And then when he let his guard down, I socked him right on his face!"

The stage itself was also not excused as a certain Queen hailing from France decided to take it for herself along with her own piglet followers.

"Now, everyone! Sing with me!"

Surprisingly, the quietest among them ended up being Kiyohime who was out cold after drinking one glass.

"Master..! Don't..!"

Whether or not her dreams were as quiet would be a different story altogether.

Regardless, there was only one most likely source of all this chaos.

"Hey! What did you guys put on those drinks?!"

Hachiman yelled at the closest trio of piglets who were holding on to their own set of serving trays.

"It's all the good stuff, yup!"

"Brings out your true self, yup!"

"Love and Peace, yup!"

As usual, nothing too useful came out of their mouths.

"Senpai! Senpai!"

"Mash! You didn't drink anything, right?"

The redness of her cheeks and her unstable walking however served more than enough as an answer.

"Hehehe. You called me cute, right? Can you please call me cute again, Senpai?"

Were Mash's last words before she fainted.

It was a good thing that Hachiman was close enough to catch her.

With everything looking like an absolute train wreck of a situation, Humanity's Last Master turned towards his last Servant.

"Shishou! Shouldn't we do something here?!"

Scathach alternated her gaze to her Master and his other Servants before giving a relaxed smile. "Isn't it fine?"

Yep, she's out of it too.

Given how out-of-hand things already are, he could only do one thing…

"Well, I suppose this isn't too bad once in a while…"

If you can't beat them, join them.

With that, Hachiman Hikigaya took two glasses from the tray of the closest boar piglet and downed them consecutively.

That was the last clear memory he had of that day.

---

Author's Note:

Sorry Platonic 2 readers but I did say that I'll adjust if special circumstances arise and if I didn't make any mistake this will be up exactly on Hachiman's birthday so this is something like a tribute chapter for that.

I vividly recall not being able to update a chapter on the same day last year and I don't wanna wallow in the same regret this year so I tried my best to finish this as soon as I can.

This is the first time I strictly made a deadline for myself and I can't say I really like it. Oh well, I guess there is a first time for everything.

Anyways, I hope I was able to do justice on the heroines you like and/or swayed your hearts on the heroines that you disliked or just simply ignored.

The soonest I'll be able to update this again should be around a month as I want to finish the current arc of Platonic 2 first as I haven't been there for a really really long while now so I want to prioritize it for the time being.

We'll be back on the usual counselling setting on the next chapter and the three that I've somehow conceptualized are: (Artoria X Mordred, Karna X Arjuna, Gorgon Sisters). I'll base what I'll prioritize on the one that you guys want to read more. Naturally, the one who gets the most votes will be featured on the next and the second and third will follow respectively. Although this might ruin the surprise for you guys but I just thought it would be nice to get a better grip of the preferences of all my readers.

As always, if you ever have any suggestions on which Servant/s you want to be featured next, feel free to write them on your review, I'll be sure to take that into consideration for the coming chapters.

Now with that out of the way, time to get on to the reviews from the previous chapter.

The Black Kraven: Thank you the compliment. I'm really happy you enjoyed it.

IsekaiFanBoi: Yep, that was exactly what I was aiming for. I'm glad it resonated with you.

Soulbow109: Ah, it seems you're already on to something with the little tidbit I left in the second chapter. Well, I think it would be really fun if that actually happened at least. As for your suggestion, the knights will be written soon but the queen will have to wait.

Glodenboy1: Here's another one. Enjoy.

Steppe14: I'll dedicate one for Arash soon. I promise.

memoryofvirtual: Sorry to disappoint but yeah having more Pseudo-Servants at the moment will probably make the fic too chaotic and I don't think I have the current skillset to manage that well enough.

Raijinmaru: He already made a previous cameo though so I kinda wanna bench him for now. Eh, how about Scathach? Now listen, I never said there was never going to be any bias. Hahahaha.

Rorschach Vene: Ah, a fellow Herc appreciator. Cheers. You can never go wrong with the guy who just refuses to stay down.

Marshal Hind: Thanks for the support. I'm hoping you read this one as well.

A Reverse Weeb: Now if I am not mistaken, this should be one cliffhanger down. As for the other one, yeah, don't worry about it. I'm glad the change of pace was appreciated, I was really afraid that it might turn some people off. The Onis will definitely have a dedicated chapter as well, just not any time soon.

To everyone else who takes the time to read this fic, a huge thank you to all of you as well.

That's it for this chapter.

I hope we meet again in the next one or in another story of mine.

Reviews, follows and faves are all very much appreciated.

Until next time...

May everyone's good wishes and realities intersect.

Morii Hikikko