"We?" Scathach pondered for nearly two seconds, still unable to grasp the meaning of this term. "Ian, what do you mean?"
"Scathach... I've gathered the remaining Servants," Ian explained. "If you can join us too—" Ian's gaze fell upon Scathach, full of sincerity. "The probability of defeating that Caster will definitely be higher."
"What?!" Scathach stopped Ian abruptly. "Wait a minute! You mean—you've gathered all the Servants except Lancer and Caster?"
"To be precise, we should also exclude Assassin—he's already been killed by Caster," the man added.
"This..." Scathach looked incredulously at the man lying on her lap. "So you mean Archer, Rider, and Berserker are already on your side?"
"Yes, Scathach," Ian nodded. "You're right. That's the situation now."
"..." Scathach felt even more disbelief. But then, she thought, with this man, nothing was impossible. After all, he had even forced his way through defensive magecraft that shouldn't have been breached, hadn't he?
"So—" The Queen of the Land of Shadows looked at the man before her, her eyes filled with a hint of anticipation. "You want to take me to meet them?"
"If you want to interpret it that way... it's not wrong," Ian said, not intending to deny Scathach's statement. "At least—we need to clear up the previous misunderstanding, right?"
"..." Realizing that the man genuinely intended to cover up her past mistake for her, Scathach felt a warmth spread within her. "Alright, I understand. Just give me a moment."
"...Okay," Ian nodded. "I'll wait for you."
A few minutes later. Looking at Scathach, Ian froze for a moment. "No. Why did you change into these clothes?" Just as Ian was surprised, Scathach had shed her usual loose clothing, which she wore for ease of spear training. In its place was a more form-fitting, casual outfit that better accentuated her graceful figure.
"What's wrong?" Scathach looked at the clothes she was wearing, a little worried. "Do I... look bad in this?"
"No, no, no," Ian immediately denied the idea. "How could you look bad? It's just that I haven't seen you in this outfit before."
"Nonsense," Scathach poked Ian's nose. "You clearly saw these clothes in the closet—but you only remembered me without clothes, didn't you? If you begged me—maybe I could even show you now." Knowing that she and Ian were more than just friends, Scathach actually relaxed quite a bit. Her words held a playful tone directed solely at him.
But Ian wasn't shy because of Scathach's teasing. "That's fine," he said. "If there's a chance next time, let me admire that sight again. After all, your figure is indeed excellent." This time, Scathach's offense failed, and Ian had turned the tables on her. The Queen of the Land of Shadows blushed instantly. She turned her face away: "You... don't you get shy from my words?"
"How could I not?" Ian smiled faintly. "It's just that—there are always more important things that need to be done first, right?"
"..." Scathach felt her heart gently touched. She suddenly realized how she had developed feelings for this man in the first place. That's right. It was this attitude of settling on a principle and then relentlessly pursuing that direction until success. In a sense, it was very similar to her own original intention.
"I see," Scathach linked her arm with Ian's. "Then let's go."
"..." The man thought for a moment, then finally tacitly approved Scathach's action. "Then let's go back to the Kendo Club first."
"Okay."
[You and Scathach returned to the Kendo Club.]
[It was not yet dismissal time, and there were still many students here at the Kendo Club.]
[And because of Atalante, there were quite a few Archery Club members among them—they were all fans of the little cat-girl's exquisite archery skills.]
"..." Seeing Ian and Scathach appear together, Atalante immediately told the students around her, "You all practice on your own for a bit! I'm going to find Teacher Ian!" This hurried demeanor only increased the students' enthusiasm for gossip. After all, the relationship between Ian and Teacher Misaya was already quite intimate, and now there was also Teacher A who was very concerned about him. How could they not gossip?
"Hey, hey! Did you see it today? Teacher Ian carried Teacher Misaya for a long time!"
"Of course I saw it! Is this a rekindling after a breakup?"
"Hard to say... but looking at them arm-in-arm, their relationship must be even better now!"
Atalante didn't pay attention to the students' rumors. She just wanted to figure out what was going on between Ian and the Master named Misaya.
"Ma... Teacher Ian." The little cat-girl looked at her Master, then at Misaya, who looked considerably more radiant in her casual clothes, her expression confused and puzzled. "What's going on here..."
Ian glanced at the gossiping students nearby, realizing this wasn't the right place. "Let's talk somewhere else."
[The three of you went outside the dojo—this was a place where students couldn't bother you.]
[You told Atalante the truth.]
[This Archer was shocked.]
"This..." Atalante looked at Scathach, her cat tail standing on end. "Are you saying Caster not only killed Assassin, but also Lancer?"
"Yes," Scathach nodded. "Although I really don't want to admit this defeat—that's indeed the situation. Caster and their Master's power is probably stronger than any of us imagined."
"..." Atalante's cat ears drooped. She didn't have many desires regarding this Holy Grail War. It would naturally be best if her Master, Rin Tohsaka, could achieve victory. But—if Ian could win, she could also accept that. But now, a Caster far superior in strength to other Servants had suddenly appeared. Both Rin's and Ian's chances of winning would be greatly diminished.
"What should we do?" the little cat-girl couldn't help but ask.
"There's nothing we can do right now," Ian admitted his predicament. "So I need to take Scathach back—to discuss with Viviane and the others what our next moves should be. Atalante, I'm entrusting you with guarding Rin and Sakura, as well as scouting the surrounding area."
"..." Although she wanted to do more, Atalante knew that given the current situation, completing this task would be a significant achievement. She nodded, agreeing: "I understand. Master, you can go without worry!"
Bidding farewell, they left Homurahara Academy Private School. Scathach and Ian headed towards the Tohsaka residence where Viviane was. On the way, the Queen of the Land of Shadows couldn't help but ask, "Ian, why does Archer call you Master?"
"...It's complicated to explain," Ian said, frowning.
"Oh, so you just like it, right?" Scathach summarized. "Then—Master?"
"..." The man didn't know how to respond for a moment, and Scathach laughed. "Hmm—? Did I finally find a moment when you're flustered?"
"Scathach, don't make such jokes," Ian said, a little helplessly. "Now's not the time."
"I know now's not the time," the Queen of the Land of Shadows said softly, linking her arm with Ian's. "But I just hope you don't tense up so much—Caster isn't an enemy you have to face alone."
"...You're right."
[You and Scathach returned to the Tohsaka family residence.]
[You encountered an unexpected situation.]
Click, the door opened. As soon as he entered, Ian saw Viviane sitting on the sofa, clutching her hand and constantly blowing on it. Her hair was messy, her clothes were disheveled, and she looked quite disheveled.
"Viviane, what's wrong with you?" Hearing the familiar voice, Viviane turned her head and immediately saw Ian. However—the moment their eyes met, Viviane instantly avoided his gaze. She didn't even notice another woman standing beside Ian; she simply got up and walked further inside, looking as if she was afraid to see him.
Seeing this, not just Ian, but even Scathach felt that something was amiss. "What's wrong?" Scathach whispered. "Did I make her dislike me?"
"No," Ian shook his head. "If that were truly the case... I think she would be facing you with a very angry attitude right now."
"..." Scathach couldn't deny that. She remembered that her Gáe Bolg Alternative was originally meant to pierce this woman. It was only because of Ian that it ended up being a sharp weapon aimed at him.
"Then why is she acting like this?" Scathach mumbled. "If it were me, I'd be very happy to see you, wouldn't I?"
"..." Ian didn't know how to answer that question for a moment. And just then, Artoria, muttering something, walked out from the side.
"Sister, you..." The girl stopped mid-sentence. Because she saw Ian, and she saw Scathach.
"..." Artoria's expression became incredibly complex. Ian was someone she wanted to see; but this person named Misaya was not! Realizing that she might have formed some kind of misunderstanding, the man immediately explained.
"Lily," he said gently. "Don't get agitated first—Scathach isn't here to cause trouble. She's our ally now."
"Ally?" Artoria asked, surprised.
[You told Artoria the full story.]
[You prevented a misunderstanding from happening.]
[But like Atalante, Artoria also seemed very surprised.]
"Lancer... was defeated by Caster?" Artoria gasped. Unlike Archer Atalante's theoretical assessment, she, as Rider, had actually fought Lancer. The girl could confirm that, under normal circumstances, his martial arts would have made a big splash in this Holy Grail War. But—he was actually defeated directly now? No. More accurately, both the Master and he were defeated together? If that were the case, the unidentified Caster's strength would probably have to be raised several notches higher.
"Yes," Scathach said, recalling the scene, a bit helplessly. "Caster might know how to counter any Servant. At least at that time... I couldn't find a suitable way to retaliate." Scathach still felt a bit unconvinced in her heart. After all, as the Queen of the Land of Shadows, she really didn't want to lose to others. But—the opponent's preparations were simply too thorough. Scathach could assert that Caster's preparations were more extensive than her own in the past decade!
"So—" Ian looked at Artoria before him, gently stroking her head. "I need to discuss these things with Viviane immediately. But why did she run away as soon as she saw me?"
"Eh, this..." Artoria's expression became a little awkward. "I think sister probably feels too embarrassed to face you, perhaps?"
"Embarrassed to face me?" The man frowned slightly. "What's there to be embarrassed about?"
"Because—" Artoria looked back in the direction she came from. And it led to the kitchen. "Sister just tried to cook—and ended up burning her hand. Perhaps... she felt that since she couldn't even do something like that, she couldn't face you."
"..." Upon hearing these words, Ian immediately spoke. "You two chat for a bit. I'll go check on Viviane." Without waiting for Scathach and Artoria to respond, Ian walked directly deeper into the residence, finally arriving at a room door. It was the smallest and furthest room in the residence—she probably thought she wasn't worthy of a better one. The door wasn't closed. Ian gently pushed it open.
He saw Viviane sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing the burned spot on her hand, occasionally shedding a few tears. It was clear that she felt very wronged, but had nowhere to vent it. Seeing Ian enter, Viviane panicked. She hid her hand and stammered, "What are you doing here...?"
"..." Ian didn't speak. Instead, he sat down beside Viviane and took her hidden hand. The man gently blew on it, speaking softly: "Don't force yourself. If you can't cook... wouldn't it be fine if I just cooked when I got back?"
"Ian, I..." Viviane was about to explain something, but Ian stopped her directly. "Don't say anything. Let's go for a walk tonight, just the two of us. Viviane, I have some things I want to talk to you about."