The Emiya residence.
Half a minute later, Rea-chan noticed the guests, placed cups of tea and snacks in front of them, and then stood behind me. At the same time, Grandpa, who was currently in ghost form, returned home, announced his presence to me, and prepared to intervene if necessary. I...
- "Let's begin, Mr. Archaman," Hermes said politely and raised his right hand, where a sealed envelope appeared, which he then handed to me. "This is an official invitation to Mount Olympus for an audience with my father. Please take a look."
I pulled the envelope toward me and, opening it, quickly scanned its contents, which contained nothing unexpected. However, besides me, Hercules and Medusa were also invited.
Heh. Zeus can't wait to claim his rights to my servants, even if they don't particularly want that themselves. However, I was planning to visit there anyway, if only for Hercules, so everything was fine.
- "You have a beautiful home, Mr. Archaman," Hermes complimented him.
- "I can feel the love that reigns in this house," Aphrodite added, "It's so pure and soft that I even feel envious when I sense it all. Won't you share your secret?"
- "And the mana in this house... Hecate would drown in her own saliva if she were here," Hermes said again and took a sip of tea. "I see you've read the invitation. Our father is not known for his patience, and I would advise you to arrive as soon as possible."
- "Oh?" I smiled and put the invitation back in the envelope. "Is that a threat?"
- "Friendly advice," Hermes corrected me.
- "Same thing," I shrugged. "And it's rather strange that Olympus sent not one god here, but two. Are you and a couple of Servants really worth it?"
- "You must understand, Mr. Archaman, that the opportunity to see his long-dead son, one of the most beloved and distinguished figures in all of Greek history, means a great deal to my father. As for the second Servant, Poseidon and Athena took an interest in her for obvious reasons," replied Hermes.
- "And he sent Aphrodite to seduce me, huh?" I rolled my eyes, the goddess of love smiled charmingly, and Hermes nodded, without hiding anything or feeling embarrassed.
- "If you wish, she can keep you company in any form. And, as you can see, she is not at all opposed to the idea."
I rolled my eyes again.
Zeus wants to bribe me with Aphrodite? Interesting, interesting. Apparently, a very obvious thought flashed through his paranoid mind: since I was able to summon Hercules and Medusa, I could summon other Greek servants as well. And since most of them respect and revere the gods of Olympus, Zeus would instantly gain a significant increase in power.
And what better way to bind me to himself than with Aphrodite or someone else from Zeus's entourage? Besides, I'm sure he'd be willing to offer someone else just to get what he wants. Even Hestia, who took a vow of virginity and celibacy.
In any case, I could start annoying them right now, but then the Greeks would become my problem, not mine. And Hercules would definitely be against it. Besides, the conversation was quite calm and decent. However, I can still scare them, can't I?
- "Alright, we'll arrive at Olympus the day after tomorrow. I sensed a teleportation circle on the invitation, so I won't ask how or what."
- "Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Archaman," said Hermes, rising from the sofa.
- "One moment," I smiled, attracting their attention.
- "Yes?"
- "I would like you to convey a message to Zeus and the others."
- "I'm listening."
There was a snap of fingers in the living room, and in the next second, Hermes and Aphrodite flinched. Their eyes widened instantly, cold sweat broke out on their skin, and their bodies tensed from a certain aura.
They quickly turned around to find Grandpa standing two meters away, his eyes burning with blue light, staring at them.
- "Pagans," Grandpa said, and a feeling of death spread through the room.
- "W-what is that aura...?" Aphrodite asked in a trembling voice.
- "The aura of Death, surpassing Hades... It's as if Death itself has appeared before me..." muttered Hermes, slowly looking at me with an extremely serious expression, trying to hide his tension. "How are we to understand this, Mr. Archaman?"
- "Tell the gods of Olympus that we have come as guests, not as defendants or hostages," I said, crossing my fingers in front of me. "And therefore, I expect to be treated accordingly. Is that clear?"
While Aphrodite still couldn't take her eyes off Grandpa, clearly frightened by his presence, I could almost hear the wheels turning in Hermes' head as his eyes darted between me and the Assassin Class Servant.
My message was as clear as could be. Any unprovoked aggression on the part of the Greeks would lead to very unpleasant consequences. And it would not be us who would suffer, but them.
- "Of course. That was our plan, Mr. Archaman," Hermes finally said, taking Aphrodite by the hand and bringing her to her senses.
- "See you soon."
- "Of course," I said and waved goodbye. "Have a safe trip."
With that, they slowly made their way to the exit, passing Grandpa, who kept his eyes on them, as did they. A few seconds later, their signatures disappeared from the city, and I smiled, took a sip of coffee, and looked toward the exit to the backyard.
- "How about a little rest, Heracles?"
-0-
The surroundings of Kuoh.
Late in the evening, when everyone returned from work, I went with them to the hot springs not far from the city. It was a decent hotel, which I had booked just for us for a couple of days, since tomorrow was Sunday, a day off.
Of course, the springs were separated by a partition into male and female sections, and now I was soaking in the hot water, along with the others, except for the Assassins, who had decided to stay in the city.
- "Arrrr," Hercules growled, hovering next to me and giving me a disapproving look.
- "You know yourself that it had to be done. The Greeks understand power better than anyone, and I demonstrated it," I said with my eyes closed. "And given our circumstances, it will only be beneficial, as your father's interest will grow even more."
- "Arrr."
- "Perhaps, but what will be, will be, as they say."
- "Olympus, huh?" Archer joined in from nearby. "That's definitely going to be a brawl, considering your temper, Master."
- "For God's sake," I grinned. "So that's what you think of me? You're breaking my heart."
- "Nevertheless, Queen Shirou is right," Merlin said, and Archer's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Something colorful and noisy will definitely come out of all this."
- "Vali and I have been watching the Greeks a bit, and I think it makes sense. They simply don't know how to control their desires," Arthur added.
- "You're worrying too much," I dismissed. "I'm not going to transfer the plot of a slasher game with a bald protagonist into real life.
That is, unless they force me to, of course.
- "Very reassuring," Archer remarked sarcastically.
- "Under any circumstances, he is our Master," Artoria's voice came from behind the partition. "And we, as Servants, must obey him."
- "Thanks, Artoria."
- "And no matter how irresponsible, unbearable, and annoying a child he may be, I doubt even his conscience would allow him to do such a thing," she finished, followed by the giggles and snickers of Medusa, Runeas, and Enkidu from the same place.
Archer smirked, Fou, Merlin, and Lancelot nodded, Heracles thought for a moment, and Arthur refrained.
- "If there's a fight, call me, Master. These kids are useless," added Mo-chan.
- "Hmm... My servants are so-so, with a few exceptions," I rolled my eyes, then noticed something. "Wait. Where's Gil? Didn't he come with us?"
- "He..." Archer was about to answer when we heard the golden boy's voice from THE OTHER SIDE of the partition.
- "The gods are pests! They only pollute my garden with their presence and think they can ignore the king's punishment! You dog, why don't you..." Gil began to rant, when we heard a hard thud, followed by the sound of a body falling onto the stone floor of the hot springs.
"King of Heroes! How dare you enter the women's quarters?!" exclaimed an indignant Artoria. "And why are you naked! Cover yourself!"
- "Hmm... Not bad," said Runeas.
- "D... Don't look!" I heard Le Fay's embarrassed voice, causing Arthur's eyes to fill with blood and his head to turn toward the partition.
- "My dear Artoria, I am the king, there are no rules for me. Why should I hide my perfect body?" Gil declared, whereupon Archer repeated Arthur's actions, Merlin began to laugh, and Lancelot made an extremely indignant expression. "If Enkidu is here, then of course I will be here too!"
- "Insolence!" exclaimed Artoria, and then I felt that she had summoned Excalibur. Archer, Arthur, and Lancelot also materialized their weapons and were already preparing to rush to the other side.
- "Do you want to fight? Challenge the king?" asked Gil, clearly provoked, and jumped onto the roof, still naked. A stone tablet appeared in his hand, and behind him were golden portals with staffs protruding from them. "Well, then, entertain me!"
And at that moment, a battle on the scale of the Servants began, albeit naked ones. There were explosions, debris from buildings, trees, and rocks flew in all directions, covered with cuts and black spots from the explosions, accompanied by the laughter of the golden boy. Well, I covered myself with a closed field and dove into the water.
Apparently, I had not booked the entire hotel for nothing, asking the owner to leave. I would have to restore everything before she returned, as it would be impolite not to. Right.
-0-
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