It was morning. When we all came out, the building vanished as BB retrieved it.
And so, we were all gathered at the campsite.
"We're a couple, starting today♡"
"Ahaha…."
I announced that Ritsuka and I were a couple.
"Congratulations!"
Leonidas clapped and congratulated us, while Mash, standing beside him, had a knowing smile on her face for some reason.
"I had a feeling this would happen. I heard you, after all. As a goddess of motherhood, I give you my blessing."
On top of that, we received a blessing from Parvati, the goddess of motherhood. A case like this must be extremely rare in history.
"There's a saying, you know: 'A hero is a lover of women.'"
"Is that really what you should be saying right now?"
"Unfortunately, Master, you seem to have the face of one who is destined for trouble with women. The Flying General had Lady Cao and Diaochan in addition to his wife, Lady Yan."
"This is why humans are the way they are. You should have a pure love, like Lord Xiang Yu."
Chen Gong, who apparently knows a bit of face-reading, judged that I had the look of someone destined for trouble with women. This isn't going to be easy.
And Yu Miaoyi's words didn't quite resonate, considering she married a robot, or more accurately, an AI.
Speaking of AI, BB's face automatically comes to mind.
"I don't, really get it. But, congratulations?"
Asterios, in his innocence, didn't quite understand but clapped for us anyway. Seeing such a pure face is reassuring.
"Ahaha, congratulations."
Jeanne gave a somewhat awkward smile. I have a feeling she might have heard the noises last night.
[Tch.]
[Congratulations, Senpai~ Are you ready for an affair with your kouhai?]
[Wow, declaring your intention to cheat on the very first day?]
"This is too dramatic."
"As long as I'm the main wife, I'm okay with a harem."
Ritsuka was saying things just like Kiyohime. Most people think Kiyohime, being a yandere, would never forgive cheating, but as a person from an older time, she's surprisingly tolerant on that front. She says that as long as you love her and make her your primary wife, she'll understand if you take several concubines. I guess that makes sense for someone from a thousand years ago.
Ritsuka's mindset seemed to be exactly like that.
"Hmph, birds of a feather flock together."
"Once you meet our Master, you'll learn what a real man is. It's pathetic, knowing you're destined to be stolen away soon."
And from a corner, we heard insults. It was Atalante and Martha. Well, I've heard their crude insults so many times in the last timeline that I'm used to them by now.
"Let's just ignore them and eat, shall we?"
I thought BB would send ingredients for breakfast, but apparently, the meal had already been prepared during the night.
It was wyvern meat.
Some was smoked, and some was being grilled now. At the same time, they'd used a rapid dehydrator sent by BB to make jerky.
And what BB sent now were toast bread and candles made of cheese.
[Toast is a must for breakfast. Be generous with the wyvern meat and cheese.]
How thoughtful. Using the tools she sent along, we sliced the meat and placed it on the well-toasted bread. Then we scooped up the nicely melted cheese and put it on top.
Candles made of cheese, what a novel idea.
I put another slice of bread on top and took a bite. It was definitely delicious. The wyvern meat was said to be tough, but when sliced thin, dried, and then ground up, it was tender.
The wyvern jerky was also quite good on its own.
"*Chew*. Hmm, looks like there's going to be a lot left over. Is it okay if I give some to them?"
I said, concerned that a lot of meat would be left, looking at the two in the corner.
"Do you have to?"
"Ahaha, it's better than letting it go to waste, right?"
Ritsuka's reaction was quite skeptical, but she eventually nodded as if she had no choice.
[You're so merciful it's a problem. I suppose this can also be considered an act of wasting food.]
What are you, a food waste processor?
I brought the toast, meat, and cheese to them. Jeanne helped me, and we untied only their hands to let them eat.
"Are you trying to win us over with this?"
"To think you'd try to placate us with mere food. Your intelligence is questionable."
"Lady Martha. You've gone too far. Is it wrong to share food with a hungry neighbor?"
"Anyone can see your intentions aren't pure, right? Jeanne, once you meet our Master, you'll understand too. You'll see what a worthless man he is."
I get yelled at even when I give them food. Jeanne made a dark expression and then pulled me into a hug.
"My Master is a wonderful person! Don't you dare insult my little brother!"
I wasn't sure if this was okay, but my face was buried in her large chest. For a moment, I couldn't breathe. They're definitely bigger than Ritsuka's.
Fortunately, she let go before I suffocated.
"Let's go back."
Jeanne looked genuinely dejected, as if she were truly disappointed in Martha. It must be shocking to see a senior saint, and a disciple of Jesus at that, acting like this.
I patted her on the back and returned to my seat.
"You seem to be getting along quite well with Jeanne, huh?"
"...I wasn't cheating."
"I didn't say you were, did I?"
*Sigh*. I can see my future of being henpecked by Ritsuka.
A few minutes later, as we continued our meal, Yu Miaoyi walked over to me, chewing on some wyvern jerky.
"Hey, kouhai."
"What is it, Senpai?"
"It's about them."
She pointed to Atalante and Martha, who were eating toast in the corner.
"What about them?"
"Isn't there a saying about not bothering a dog while it's eating?"
They reacted irritably to just being pointed at. They've always had fiery tempers, but now it just seems so negative. I wonder if it's because they're corrupted.
They were originally good people, and I liked them too.
"What about them?"
She's not going to ask when I'm going to kill them, is she? Of course, in the end, I do see them only as materials for the Rejection of Malice.
"How about you make a contract with them?"
"Huh?"
A contract? With them?
"Yeah. Well, it's nothing special. You could use a Command Spell to force them to spill information. And who knows? They might show a change like that one."
Yu Miaoyi said, gesturing towards Jeanne with her chin. Jeanne, who had changed through a contract.
A Servant changes... through a contract?
"Under certain conditions, they might become like me."
Like her. Not an immortal. She must be talking about my Servant. The Servant I used in the game. I see, so the reason Jeanne became so insistent on being his 'older sister' was because of a change of that magnitude.
That happens if I make a contract? Why? What do Yu Miaoyi and Jeanne even have in common?
Could it be... Bond Level?
"Hah? Are you suggesting we make a contract with a man like that?"
"How humiliating. You intend to force us into a new contract? Your methods are so petty and pathetic."
Seriously, do I deserve to be insulted this much for that? It doesn't hurt my feelings, but I can't get used to this reaction.
Bond Level. The common thing between Yu Miaoyi and Jeanne is that they were both Bond 10 or higher.
I didn't use Asterios much, so I only got him to 5. Parvati also had too many replacements, so she was only at 6. Leonidas and Chen Gong boasted incredible performance, but they didn't fit my combat style, so while I used them a lot, they weren't my mainstays, so they were around Bond 8 or 9.
Still, that's pretty high since I used them for a long time.
If Bond 10 or higher is the condition, then it should work for Atalante, right?
What if, by forming a contract with Atalante, a change occurs, just like with Jeanne?
"Are you going to do it, Sho?"
Ritsuka came over and asked. Re-contracting with Atalante. Will that really bring her back to normal?
In the past, Ritsuka and Atalante must have had an amicable relationship.
And besides, I liked Atalante as a person too. Of course, she was just a character, but I was fond of her. If I have the power to bring back these corrupted people...
Should I... try it?