"Sister~" Mordred, having heard the news, ran over to Gareth as quickly as possible. "I've been waiting for you to come to Chaldea!"
Facing the overjoyed Mordred, Gareth first gave a friendly smile but quickly became worried, as if she had something on her mind. Even a fool like Mordred wouldn't completely fail to understand her sister's reaction. She quickly asked, "Sister Gareth, what's wrong... did I say something wrong?"
Facing her sister's question, Gareth hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth. "Mordred. I... I almost had intercourse with Father just now."
"What?!" Mordred was stunned. After making sure she hadn't misheard her sister Gareth, she continued, "Sister! Don't joke about something like that—how could Father be willing to have intercourse with you? He... he's not that kind of person!"
"I know Father isn't that kind of person," Gareth argued for Ian. "But—the situation this time was a little special."
For the next few minutes, Gareth told her sister exactly what had happened. And, of course, she also described in detail the feelings she had experienced during the intimate contact with their father. After all, in Gareth's eyes, her sister was a trustworthy confidante.
"Eh?!" Mordred's cheeks flushed. She had unintentionally witnessed her father having intercourse with other girls in Chaldea. But that was a special case, after all. This was the first time Mordred had heard a detailed and serious explanation from a person involved. And because the narrator was Gareth, the credibility of the description instantly increased by several levels.
"Is that really true?" she asked. "Just from a kiss with Father, you completely lost control, Sister?"
"Something like that," Gareth said, scratching her face. "Mordred. You know that I've never been in a relationship in Britain—and now, the first person's lips I've ever kissed are Father's. That feeling just won't go away. I... I haven't fallen in love with Father, have I?"
"Eh, eh, eh!" Mordred became even more anxious. "Sister, you can't do that—! If the First and Second Wives find out, they'll be very angry!"
"But I don't want to be like this either!" Gareth was at a loss. Her mind even replayed the image of almost sitting on her father's ○-stick in the infirmary, and she felt dizzy.
"..." Seeing her sister's confused look, Mordred knew this wasn't the time to stand by. She looked around to confirm that no one else was there, then grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her aside. "Sister. Actually... maybe this isn't your problem, but Father's!"
"Father's problem?" Gareth blinked her beautiful green eyes, unable to understand what she meant. "How could such an amazing person like Father have a problem? Mordred, are you kidding me?"
"Of course I'm not kidding about this—!" Mordred said, looking anxious. "It's precisely because Father is so amazing that he has this problem! He... has too much charisma for girls!"
When Mordred said this, Gareth understood. "I see," the girl nodded. "You mean that because Father's charisma for girls is too strong, that's why I feel this way about him?"
"Exactly, exactly!" Mordred put her hands on her hips and nodded repeatedly, looking very satisfied with her sister's understanding. "That's exactly what I mean!"
"Then that really does explain my problem!" Gareth clapped her hands, but she quickly realized another issue. "Wait a minute... that doesn't seem right?! If Father really has this ability, then why weren't you affected? And how do you know about this, Mordred?"
In the face of her sister Gareth's barrage of questions, Mordred wasn't flustered at all. Because she had already thought about these things. "Sister Gareth. I think it's because I have the 'Magic Resistance' that Father mentioned before, so I wasn't affected. As for how I know about this—" Mordred took Gareth's hand. "Sister, if you come with me to find others, you'll find out."
"...Alright," Gareth nodded. "I haven't had a tour of this place yet, anyway."
The Cat-Like Master
Ten minutes later, the British sisters were walking down a corridor in Chaldea. "I see," Gareth said, having learned about Chaldea's current situation from Mordred. "You are facing such a troublesome problem... no wonder Ritsuka Fujimaru summoned me."
"Yes," Mordred sighed. "But from the looks of it, the situation is actually more complicated than we had anticipated. I guess... it's going to take a long time to fix all the Singularities."
Seeing her sister looking a little down, Gareth patted her on the shoulder and encouraged her. "It's okay. This time, we have Father leading us—we can definitely do it."
"...You're right," Mordred said, patting her cheeks and cheering up again. "With Father here, we can definitely do it!"
"Exactly!"
Just as the two sisters were getting their spirits back, Mash's figure appeared in front of them. Mordred and Gareth exchanged glances, then came to a consensus and approached the pink-haired girl together.
"Mash—!"
"Mash."
"Eh?" Completely surprised that someone was calling her at that moment, Mash turned around and saw the two British sisters holding hands. Mordred was already someone she found difficult to face, not to mention Gareth, who had just watched her sit on Ian's ○-stick and serve him.
"H-hello," Mash said, adjusting her glasses, looking a little guilty. "Is there something you need?"
"Don't be so nervous!" Mordred said breezily. "We just have a few questions for you—!"
"Questions for me?" Mash was a bit surprised. "But I have to go prepare a nutritious meal for Ritsuka as Dr. Romani instructed—you know she's not in a good state right now, right?"
"Eh? This..." Mordred's eyes darted around, and she had a new idea. "Then we'll come with you to do it! That way, we can ask questions without interrupting your work!"
"Exactly, exactly!" Gareth agreed. "If you need help with anything, it's much better for three people to do it than one, isn't it?"
"Well..." Seeing Mordred and Gareth in such perfect sync, Mash hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Please follow me."
So, the three of them went to Chaldea's kitchen. Speaking of the kitchen, Chaldea didn't actually have a dedicated space for this kind of thing. As the front line of magical research, Chaldea had plenty of funding and could process food through special means. Cooking was a hobby for only a small number of Master candidates. However, all of this was before the explosion. Now, the kitchen Mash was referring to was actually a separate space created by "producing" some kitchenware with Da Vinci's Noble Phantasm, Universal Man. To become a great bride, the pink-haired girl often came here to practice her cooking skills.
"So—what did you want to ask?" Mash asked while preparing the ingredients.
"..."
"..."
Mordred and Gareth looked at each other and once again came to an agreement.
"Well—Mash," Mordred said, moving closer to Mash and helping her with the work. "I remember you told me that you really like my Master, right?"
"Eh?!" Upon hearing Mordred's question, Mash almost dropped the knife in her hand. But remembering the happy experiences of the past few days and her previous promise to Mordred, she quickly nodded. "Yes, I like him very much. So—I will do my best to fulfill my responsibilities as his girlfriend!"
As she said this, Mash looked very happy, as if this was the entire meaning of her life. And this was exactly the reaction Mordred was looking for. After Mash had finished expressing her loyalty to Ian, the last Knight of the Round Table leaned close to her sister, Gareth, and revealed a look of enlightenment.
"See—I told you Father's charisma for girls is terrifying! He can even make someone express something so embarrassing directly!"
"..." Gareth didn't immediately agree with Mordred's statement. She moved closer to Mash and continued to ask, "Then—how does Fa... Ian feel about you? Does he also acknowledge you as his girlfriend?"
"Eh, that." Mash thought for a moment, then nodded. "Mm... Senpai said I am his girlfriend—and that will never change, no matter what." At this point, the girl looked a little shy. "So when I found out that Senpai needed to ○ a lot inside one of Ritsuka's Servants... I was a little excited. Please forgive my rudeness back then."
"Uh—" Gareth didn't expect Mash to so casually use a word like "○" in her speech. This was something she could never do.
"Is there anything else?" Mash asked cautiously.
"No, that's all!" Gareth waved her hands repeatedly. "Mash, since this is for the Master... I'll help you! "
"Mm, thank you, Gareth."
The Harem Report
Ten minutes later, Mordred looked at the nutritious meal Mash had prepared, and her throat constricted slightly. "That looks so delicious—!"
"Does it?" Mash, who had been praised, looked very happy, then took out two smaller portions. "I made two extra—these are for you."
"Eh, you're so nice!" Mordred was overjoyed. At the same time, Gareth was also happy. But compared to her sister's carefree personality, she had a few more reservations.
"Well—will this really not affect you? If I'm not mistaken... the stock of ingredients of this quality in Chaldea shouldn't be very much, right?" The girl wasn't just guessing. Unlike Mordred, who had the favor of the two British kings and had to stay in Camelot, Gareth preferred to work among the common people. So, rather than just the superficial word "delicious," she could see the information hidden behind it. For example—Gareth could tell that this food had been stored for a while, but it was very well-preserved. This meant it must have been carefully stored somewhere and was what you would call a "vintage item."
"It's okay~" Mash smiled slightly. "These are just some things I saved that I hadn't eaten. Isn't it better to give them to you and Ritsuka as a nutritional supplement before they go bad?"
"..." Hearing this, Gareth felt a deeper respect for Mash's thoughtfulness—she realized that this was a very kind girl who also loved her father very much. The British knight chose to repay the kindness in another way.
"Then—Mordred and I will deliver it for you! That way... you won't have to make a round trip!"
"Exactly!" Mordred nodded. "Mash, we'll deliver it for you—you go rest! You must have been through a lot today, right?"
"Eh?" Mash's face flushed at this, and it seemed she was reminded of something. But she eventually nodded. "Then I'll leave it to you."
A few minutes later, in Ritsuka Fujimaru's room, 048. Mordred and Gareth stood outside the door. Through the slightly ajar door, their father, Ian, was holding the food Mash had prepared as instructed by Dr. Romani, carefully feeding it spoon by spoon to Ritsuka Fujimaru, who was lying in bed. The man's expression was very serious.
"Father... really cares about her," Gareth said, looking at her father at that moment.
"He does," Mordred nodded. "That's why I said Father has a special charisma for girls."
"But if that's the case—" Gareth said, looking at her sister. "Isn't it more like Father attracted them with his charisma?"
"Eh, well..." Mordred couldn't immediately refute that.
At that moment, the two of them felt a hand on their shoulders at the same time.
"Are you watching your Father?"
"Eh?" Gareth and Mordred both looked behind them, and then they saw Tamamo-no-Mae. "How did you know I was his..." Before Gareth could finish, Tamamo-no-Mae gently covered her mouth.
"Shh—" The fox demon made a gesture of extreme seductiveness to be quiet. "Let's talk somewhere else. This one... I will tell you more about Father."