"40, 30, 20… to the boundary plane of ordinary space!"
"Triton engines, numbers two to four, shut down! Restore cruising speed to normal!"
"It's coming. Everyone brace for impact! The Britannia Lostbelt… no, ahead of us is the sky above Britannia!"
As the darkness peeled away, the Storm Border's portholes revealed the whitened planet and an unchanging azure sky.
Looking at that sky, Shiomi realized he had grown unaccustomed to it, even for a brief moment.
In Fairy Britain, for six thousand years, aside from the rare days of heavy clouds, the sky had always been a dreamlike twilight.
He walked slowly through the ship's passageway, stepped onto the deck, and gazed out at the pale, snowless surface of the planet.
There was no longer any difference between sea and land—no matter how far one looked, everything appeared the same.
"Though we confirmed this countless times in the Wandering Sea, this is the first time seeing it with my own eyes." Scáthach came to stand beside him. "The end of the Britannia Lostbelt was an exception. We still have other Lostbelts ahead of us."
"But with Master and everyone else here, we'll be fine." Shiomi looked down at his own hands. "But while none of you knew, I did something like what the Crypter did… Do you think I can be forgiven?"
"What a strange thing to say. No one has blamed you, especially since you've already done everything you could to make amends." Scáthach shook her head.
The matter was complicated if examined closely, yet Shiomi had done what he should. Whatever others thought, Scáthach felt she could understand and forgive him.
"Is that so?" Shiomi clenched his fists, lifting his gaze and reaffirming his determination. "I must resolve the planetary Whitening of the World."
Scáthach gave a faint smile and nodded silently.
"Thank you, Master. For coming all the way here just to comfort me," Shiomi said.
"With your personality, even if no one else minded, you'd still blame yourself," Scáthach took his hand. "Come on. Don't act like some old man."
Shiomi squeezed her hand in return and turned toward her, a trace of melancholy in his expression. "I lived six thousand years in Fairy Britain. At this point, I really am a disciple older than my master."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
Scáthach could see the changes in him, as well as the parts that hadn't changed at all. That alone was enough.
"Indeed… having a younger master doesn't sound bad either." Shiomi smiled with pressed lips, his hand brushing her cheek as he leaned in for a kiss.
To Scáthach, it had only been a few months, but to him, six millennia had passed. Shiomi couldn't help wanting to confirm what was on the verge of fading into memory.
Scáthach quietly lifted her face, waiting—
Until Morgan's voice cut through the moment.
"After finally settling all this, the first thing you think of is sneaking off, Scáthach?"
She had barely recovered enough to walk, leaning on Artoria Pendragon as she stepped onto the deck.
"This…" Shiomi grew awkward and quickly shifted the topic, taking over from Artoria to support her. "What about you? Have your overloaded Magic Circuits cooled down? When we were fighting Oberon on the deck, you suddenly spoke directly into my mind to help me read his movements. You nearly scared me to death."
Morgan leaned into him, yet shot a triumphant glare at Scáthach and Artoria. "It was only distinguishing truth from falsehood. That little pain was nothing."
"Hm…" Shiomi finally felt relieved.
"But anyway, I was married to my husband for six thousand years. None of you can compare." Morgan wrapped her arms around his waist.
Artoria tapped her chin. "But you were separated for two thousand of those years because of the war."
"Ugh…" Morgan was struck speechless by the single line.
"This is my first time seeing someone wage endless wars just to torment her subjects," Scáthach rubbed her temples. "But from what the King of Knights told me about my disciple's past… it's understandable."
"Yet in the end, the Lostbelt still destroyed Britannia." Shiomi let out a quiet sigh. "I thought I could free Britannia from being a pruned event—let it rejoin Proper Human History one day."
"Impossible… The fairies on that island could never coexist with humans," Morgan muttered.
Shiomi held her tighter. "But you can never return to that homeland anymore… The only place left is the Inner Sea of the Planet."
"Where my heart finds peace is my home," Morgan whispered in his arms.
A moment later, Shiomi found himself embraced by his master and Artoria as well, the three of them closing around him.
He had only meant to step onto the deck for some fresh air.
Yet now, he didn't feel cold at all.
"Well, in the room it's one thing… but out here, what if everyone—"
Before he could finish, the door to the deck suddenly swung open. Scáthach and Artoria immediately loosened their hold on him and stepped aside.
Only Morgan stayed nestled in his arms, clearly not planning to move.
From the hatch emerged the companions who had escaped Antarctic Chaldea with him. Following behind the running Sakura and Caren, the rest approached Shiomi quickly.
Seeing this, Morgan finally—reluctantly—let go, allowing Artoria to support her as she stepped aside to make room for the two children.
With a thump, Sakura and Caren crashed into Shiomi's embrace, burying their faces in his chest without a word, their shoulders trembling.
He had disappeared in front of everyone for three whole months without a single message, completely out of contact. When they finally found him again, he was in a prolonged, unresponsive sleep.
Everyone in Chaldea had been terrified. Sakura and Caren even more so.
"There, there. Crying like this at your age? You're letting everyone see you like this," Shiomi coaxed gently.
His words had the opposite effect—Sakura and Caren burst into even louder sobs.
"Anyway, even if we still don't fully understand what happened with Britannia or the Lostbelt, the fact that our teacher has returned safely is already the greatest relief." Olga Marie clearly wanted to rush over as well, but her pride wouldn't allow it. She forced herself to remain composed as she delivered her welcoming remark.
Romani rubbed the back of his neck. "As you've seen, Earth is in serious trouble. Honestly, without you, we wouldn't feel nearly as confident about the challenges ahead."
"Even without me, everyone would definitely—" Shiomi began, shaking his head modestly.
But he knew they didn't want to hear that. And he knew exactly what he should say.
Gently stroking Sakura and Caren's hair, he smiled with absolute certainty.
"Sorry for making everyone worry for so long. I'm back."
...
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