After becoming a woman, Irisviel was noticeably more radiant, though Saber and the others couldn't see any real difference.
After all, none of them had been through that kind of experience yet.
That morning, after breakfast at the hotel, Shichen took everyone out to buy tents at the mall.
He was planning a multi-day camping trip out in the wild.
When he explained the plan, Ilya and Sakura lit up with excitement, and even Irisviel agreed enthusiastically.
Frieren, however, wasn't having it—she only wanted to bury herself in a soft bed all day, having completely embraced a life of lazy decadence.
It was just as well this world's subcultures hadn't fully developed yet—if he took her to the main world, she'd be unstoppable.
Shichen wasn't even sure he'd be able to drag her away again.
Saber, like Frieren, was a little hesitant. "Shichen, are we just ignoring the Holy Grail War? Rider and Archer are still out there."
"It's fine," Shichen assured her. "Those two are easy to deal with, and isn't it better to let them fight each other first? We can enjoy life a bit in the meantime."
"Enjoy life…"
"You're my Servant now. You listen to me, or I'll just use a Command Seal."
"…Here we go again." Saber sighed helplessly.
"What? You'd rather I use the other way?"
"The… other way—n-no thanks!" Saber quickly realized where his eyes were drifting—to her lips—and knew exactly what he meant. Yesterday her head had been full of that kind of thing, and she'd even dreamed about it last night. She couldn't let herself get pulled in again.
"Saber, why's your face so red?" Irisviel suddenly asked, noticing her odd behavior.
"Eh? I-is it? Must be the heating in here… Let's just pick a tent. I think Shichen's right," Saber blurted, then rushed off.
"How suspicious." Irisviel's lips curved into a knowing smile as she glanced at Shichen.
"Suspicious? What's suspicious?" he asked, feigning confusion.
"Hmph~ You definitely did something to Saber."
"Why? Are you jealous?" he teased, stepping in to pull her close.
"Not really." She shook her head with a smile.
"Really?" He didn't quite believe her.
"Why would I lie to you?" she said, playfully tapping his chest.
"Then why bring it up?"
"I just wanted to know what you did to her."
"Nothing much—just made sure she stopped thinking about Lancelot."
"So what exactly did you do to make her so flustered?"
"Why don't you guess?"
"I'm not guessing… Still, I hope she can stay like this. This is how she's meant to be." Irisviel's voice softened. She really did care for Saber.
"Yeah. She's fulfilled her duties as a king. Now it's time for her to just be a normal woman," Shichen agreed.
"Then I'll leave her to you."
"Consider it done."
"Daddy! Daddy! Stop flirting with Mommy and come see the tent me and Sakura picked!" Ilya suddenly ran over, cutting between them.
"We weren't flirting…" Irisviel said quickly, a little embarrassed by her daughter's teasing.
"Pfft~ You were hugging. That's totally flirting," Ilya pouted.
"Alright, alright. Let's go," Shichen said, giving Irisviel a helpless look before letting Ilya drag him away.
Irisviel just shook her head and smiled, heading toward Saber instead.
In the end, they picked four tents. Three would've been enough, but Ilya and Sakura wanted their own. Shichen hadn't expected that, but it worked out—now they wouldn't be sleeping in his tent, which meant he could spend the night alone with Irisviel.
Buying the tents was only the first step. Camping meant stocking up on a lot of gear—for sleeping, cooking, eating… the works. They didn't even check out of the hotel since Irisviel had more than enough money to not care.
Once all the equipment was bought, it was time for food.
Technically, the best option would've been to grab supplies from the castle—they had the most luxurious, freshest ingredients—but camping was about the experience, so they stuck to the mall.
Food picking was left to Ilya, Sakura, and Saber—the three biggest food lovers.
Frieren was more focused on one thing: cola.
Saber and the girls didn't waste any time—every single thing they picked was meat. Different cuts, different types—no vegetables at all. Clearly, they were planning a full-on meat-fest.
In the end, Shichen stepped in and added a bunch of vegetables himself. A good meal needed balance—just like certain other things in life, you couldn't just jump straight to the main event; you needed some build-up, a little foreplay, to make it truly enjoyable.
Vegetables were the foreplay to meat—without them, the meat lacked soul.
With everything bought, Shichen led everyone out to a grassy clearing he'd scouted earlier.
No people in sight—just open wilderness. Still, he put up a barrier just in case.
"Alright, we'll be camping here for the next few days."
"Yay!"
Ilya and Sakura grabbed each other's hands and ran laughing through the grass.
"Let's get the tents up," Shichen said, glancing at Saber.
Irisviel and Frieren, of course, were hopeless at that sort of thing.
"Got it." Saber picked one and got to work.
With the Holy Grail's implanted modern knowledge, even though she'd never touched a tent before, she instinctively knew how to assemble it as soon as she handled the parts.
"I want to put one up too~" Irisviel said, pouting cutely.
"Hm? You know how?" Shichen asked in surprise.
"I can just read the manual."
"By the time you finish reading it, Saber and I will be done with all of them."
"Oh? Underestimating me, are you? Let me try one~" she insisted, clinging to his arm and shaking it.
"Shichen, just let her try," Saber spoke up.
"…Alright, fine. One."
"Yay!" Irisviel gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running off with the manual.
Shichen touched his cheek, surprised she'd done that—then noticed a certain someone watching. He looked over.
Saber quickly turned away.
Shichen smirked, strolling over to stand silently at her side, looking off into the distance.
She couldn't ignore his presence. Her hands stilled, but he didn't say anything—just stayed there.
"…What are you doing?" she asked nervously.
"Nothing."
"Then why are you standing next to me instead of putting up a tent?"
"No rush. We've got plenty of time."
"Better to finish early and rest," she said with a hint of exasperation.
"Oh? So you're really looking forward to camping?"
"I've never been camping before, but from the way you talk, it sounds fun," Saber admitted.
"Not thinking about the Holy Grail War?"
"Thinking about it won't change anything. I still have to listen to you."
"That's the spirit."
He reached over and ruffled her hair. "You're my Servant. You follow my lead."
"We're just allies," she stressed.
"You said yourself we're friends now."
"E-even if we're friends, that doesn't mean I belong to you."
"Really? I've got three Command Seals—if I wanted, I could order you to do anything."
"…W-what would you make me do?" she asked cautiously.
"Relax, I'm not like that."
"Oh, and by the way—were you just sneaking glances at me?" he added suddenly.
"I-I wasn't!" Saber denied instantly.
"I saw you clear as day." He leaned in, his breath brushing her pale ear.
"…!" She flinched, pulling her shoulders in.
Shichen took the chance to give her a quick kiss on the cheek before casually walking back to set up his own tent, acting like nothing had happened.
Saber froze, hand to her face, staring at him blankly.
He didn't even look her way—completely focused on the tent.
…He kissed me again.
It wasn't on the lips this time, but her heart was still pounding, her thoughts scattering. She couldn't seem to calm down.
Thankfully, her hands could work independently from her heart—one kept hammering away in her chest, the other kept assembling pieces she barely recognized.
She didn't dare look at him again. What if he tried to kiss her once more?
At least no one else had seen it.
In the quiet of the wild, the only sounds—besides Saber's own heartbeat—were Ilya and Sakura's happy laughter echoing through the open field.