Fate: How About a New Savior?

Artoria Pendragon had none of the experience her teacher Merlin or her foster brother Kay had when it came to interactions between men and women.

She had once had a wife named Gawainvere, but that had only ever been in name.

So when it came to her feelings toward Tenkei Shiomi—what she truly thought of him—Artoria herself wasn't entirely sure.

The rejection of her invitation had sparked a brief moment of anger, but that had faded over time. Eventually, she had come to understand his reasons and, from the bottom of her heart, agreed with them.

Maybe, if Shiomi had accepted from the start, she would've been the one to feel uncertain instead—seeing him as no more than a pretty ornament, something meant to be carried to the end like a decorative vase.

When they parted ways at the top of the tower, she was fully aware of all she had done at the Sixth Singularity—how much trouble she had caused him, how excessive her actions had been.

And yet, he had never truly resented her—not as the Lion King. He had only wanted to awaken the human heart still within her.

In that final moment, she had tried to apologize to a man in the only way she knew how.

She had no experience living as an ordinary person. So, drawing from what little she'd heard, she chose what she thought was the best way to express her regret—only to misjudge what was appropriate.

A kiss, meant as an apology, had gone far beyond what it should have.

But even a wrong action can lead to the right result.

Just like now. What should have been a simple act to replenish mana instead allowed her to feel the warmth pressing against her lips—and the emotion behind it.

"You look a little more spirited now," Shiomi said as he helped her sit up. "So this method really is more effective, huh?"

"Master, you're... even someone as inexperienced as I am can tell—you're far too skilled with women..." Artoria placed a hand on his chest, trying to regain some ground with her words.

"Well, considering we're technically married, that does make me your brother-in-law in a sense."

The moment he said it, that last word sent a forbidden jolt through his brain, and his breath caught, quickening involuntarily.

"So please stop teasing me like this. I do have my pride," Artoria said, lowering her gaze, doing her best to suppress the embarrassment threatening to rise.

At times like this, whether Morgan was truly her blood relative didn't matter anymore.

She had feelings for her Master—for Tenkei Shiomi—that she'd never consciously recognized before. The closer she was to him, the more they stirred, unsettling her heart.

"I didn't mean to tease you," Shiomi said seriously. "It's just... lately I've felt this pressure. From Morgan, from my master, and now from you... It feels like I'm far too favored by women."

"And you still want to bring up other women at a time like this?" Artoria muttered, a touch of annoyance in her voice. She guessed this might be jealousy.

How strange... to think that one day she would feel envy.

Not as a king. Not as a knight.

But as a woman.

"If I don't say it out loud, can I really pretend nothing's happening—and just ignore it?" Shiomi leaned forward, resting his forehead gently against hers, then chuckled softly. "You're burning up. Your forehead's so warm it feels like a fever."

"...Mm..."

In retaliation, Artoria gripped the hand draped over her shoulder. Shiomi said nothing.

"It might sound a little bold, but relax—just leave everything to me," he said, wrapping his arms around her and carefully lowering her into the carriage, where soft bedding had been laid out.

The moonlight of the Age of Gods streamed in through the carriage's open front, falling across Artoria's fair skin like a thin, unmeltable layer of frost.

Her body wasn't as hot as her forehead. Beneath those slender, graceful arms lay firm, unyielding muscle—strong, but not at all stiff.

Her power didn't come solely from her physical strength—it was drawn from the mana released by the dragon factor within her.

So when she embraced him, even though Shiomi was taller, it felt like she was enveloping him in a gentle warmth, like being wrapped in heated water.

Then she became suddenly aware of their skin touching. The carriage was small, and the two of them had been pressed tightly together all this time.

Strangely, it was only when something stirred in her heart that the brushing of hair and skin took on meaning. Everything stemmed from the emotions rising deep within.

Artoria tried shifting to the side. It didn't help.

Their souls remained intertwined. Every pulse of their magic circuits was vividly clear.

Her slight retreat only heightened their sensitivity. Her senses—sight, sound, touch—sharpened with unnatural clarity, as if she could grasp the entire world in her hands.

She could hear the cicadas and birds singing across the Mesopotamian plains, even through the distance.

The footfalls of wild beasts crossing the earth. The murmur of the river flowing nearby.

And even the sound of the wind gliding over sweat-slick skin—the subtle, illusory sound of heat dispersing into the night.

"Oh... I thought I'd take a little longer in the river, but you're already finished?"

Scáthach's voice rang out suddenly. Shiomi could only wipe his face as he turned to see his teacher, barefoot, stepping lightly across the damp riverside mud toward him.

"Can we not say things like that out loud?" he said, exasperated.

Artoria lay quietly inside the carriage, eyes closed, her breathing ragged in a way that suggested distress—but it was obvious she had fully replenished her mana and would be back to normal soon.

One of her hands was still clasped tightly around Shiomi's, trembling slightly without her realizing it.

"I have to check," Scáthach said as she slipped into his arms. "I need to know if my beloved student still has enough mana left for me after such a fierce battle."

Having just bathed in the river, her body was cool in the night breeze—cool, and captivating.

"Uh... I think I should be okay, assuming you don't need any mana," Shiomi replied. "Besides, you only used your Noble Phantasm once, right? That didn't take much at all."

Of course, he was only teasing.

Even though Uruk offered the most luxurious accommodations of this era, it wasn't really their space—somehow, it still felt too formal, too constrained.

That's why they'd decided to take full advantage of this outing.

Why Scáthach had chosen to camp here, by the riverbank in the wetlands, even though they could've made it back to Uruk by morning.

"You mean I'm disqualified because I didn't use up enough mana?"

"I never said that," Shiomi said, holding her tightly.

"It's alright now, isn't it?"

"Huh?"

"I mean... about you collapsing this afternoon."

"Aren't you going to ask what happened? It felt strange, but I have a vague idea what it was."

"There's no need to rush," Scáthach said softly. "Just take your time. The night's still long."

"Then let's talk until morning, Master—just like we did back in the Land of Shadows."

Whether they ended up sharing a meal... or whether he had become the main course—Shiomi couldn't quite remember when he looked back on it later.