Continuing where we left off...
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Ritsuka's view.....
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After Jalena left and our "alliance" was formed, the festival that Bronya was planning to hold began peacefully.
Early in the day, Stelle, March 7th, and BB decided to have breakfast at a restaurant in the city and I took the opportunity to tell the girls everything that happened yesterday and this morning.
Obviously I had to tell them about what happened in my room, about me now being Jalena's "fiancé" and that she is technically the owner of Jarilo-VI as well.
The girls' reaction was exactly how I expected them to react.
*Bam!*
The sound of BB slamming both hands on the table echoes throughout the restaurant, drawing everyone's attention, but she doesn't care if people are watching us.
"You are what to her?!" BB shouted, furious.
"Why did you think it was a good idea for you to accept this deal, Senpai?! And why didn't you include me in this recent meeting? I could easily deal with that damn snake and make it taste its own poison without any consequences!" BB's eyes, which had turned red, showing her anger.
"And the playboy womanizer knight strikes again...." March 7th is no longer surprised to hear my problems with women.
"You really are shameless, Ritsuka..." Stella's direct words poke at my heart.
💭 I really should summon Emiya one of these days, that way I can use him as bait instead of me attracting girls. Hmm... Not a bad idea.
I keep this idea in my mind to use it at the right time. At the same time, I see that I have to calm down a certain AI kohai of mine before her possessive side takes over.
"Okay. I could have included you in that meeting, I admit that was my mistake. Now about my relationship with Topaz, that was just me wanting to confirm certain things that ended up causing her to officially become my girlfriend." My face turns a little red admitting the last part of my explanation.
"Wow. I didn't expect you to admit that." March 7th looks at me, being a little surprised.
"I learned that being direct in situations like this avoids a lot of misunderstandings in the future. Anyway. The problem now is that I have to tell Bronya and Seele about this, especially Bronya who is also my girlfriend." I reveal to the girls about my relationship with Bronya.
Of course, the one person who didn't like knowing this was BB who is gradually getting more and more irritated.
"Damn that skill of yours that you got from Archer. I thought I could monopolize you since there are no other Servants getting in the way, but it seems that won't be the case." BB stares at me with a dry expression.
💭 I better change the subject before BB goes into her sadistic Yandere mode.
"By the way. Have you guys told Welt and Himeko what happened here?" I quickly change the subject to get some control of the situation.
"Yes. We told them everything yesterday. Speaking of them, Mr. Welt said that the Astral Express is ready for us to leave for our next destination." March 7th passes this information to me, which leaves me a little surprised.
💭 Are we ready to leave? Well then, I'll have to do a double date with Seele and Bronya.... A double date... I think the best place to do it would be... The Simulated Universe!
"Well... This is going to be a little embarrassing. But can we postpone our departure for a day? I made a promise that I would spend time with Bronya and Seele." I let out a nervous laugh, knowing completely how shameless I am being.
Fou: Fou! (Special translation: You better start this Harem process before any other servants are summoned, brother.)
"Wow, he actually admitted it without a shred of shame. I'm impressed." Stelle looks at me with an expression of surprise and respect.
"Of course you made that kind of promise. You wouldn't be the Senpai I know if you didn't." BB lets out a resigned sigh as she says this, but she soon has a sadistic smile on her face.
"Don't think I've forgiven you yet, Senpai. You can be sure that you'll pay the consequences for your actions." BB says this with a smile that seems angelic and innocent, but I know very well the malice hidden behind that smile.
"Just a question out of curiosity. Where do you plan to take the two of you on this date?" BB asks this question and I feel a chill when I hear her question.
"I'm thinking of using the Simulated Universe to take them to one of the places I remember from my adventures in Chaldea." The moment I tell my plan to BB for a brief moment I see her expression change from "innocent" to a "sadistic Yandere" smile for a second.
"Ah! That's a great idea, Senpai! I completely support this plan. You can leave it to your beloved BB-chan! I'll prepare the best date you've ever been on!" BB says getting one hundred percent excited and in the corner of my mind I know she's planning something dark.
💭I just hope it's not Hawaii Summer 2.0 or that other chaotic summer event that Morgan created out of pure jealousy. I swear that incident would have been avoided if she had just told me directly that she wanted to spend time with me alone. Why do girls have to be so complicated when it comes to communication?
"Are you planning on using the Simulated Universe as a date spot? Are you sure Herta will allow it? I'm sure she's still mad at you about you using her money to pay off Jarilo-VI's debts." Stelle looks at me with a raised eyebrow, curious as to how I'm going to talk to Herta about this idea of mine.
"Well technically I don't need Herta's permission if I want to use the Simulated Universe, but if she gets mad it won't be a problem. Herta being mad is the least of my worries." I say this in a casual tone without a hint of concern.
💭 Of course, Herta being angry could end up becoming irritating in the future, but my real concern is for Bronya and Seele.
"I kind of hope that Madam Herta gets mad at you, at least you learn not to be a playboy." March 7th said, being irritated and I decided to joke with her a little.
"Is it just me or am I sensing a little jealousy coming from you, March 7th? Don't worry, my dear crystal lady. Because it is my duty as your black knight to ensure that you always have beautiful memories in which your beautiful smile always shines like the stars and that no darkness comes to corrupt it." I say this using every chivalric teaching I learned from the knights of the round table.
Fou: Fou! Fo! (Special translation: This smells like those goofy Knights. Only they would talk like that in front of a young girl like March 7th. You're lucky Mash, Morgan and the Artorias aren't here, bro.)
Obviously I did it with a gentle smile and a slight bow even though I was sitting on the chair. What happened was a shower of reactions in sequence, March 7th got super red and almost dropped her drink, Stelle had a dry expression staring at me coldly and BB created a purple hammer and used it to hit me on top of my head.
"Shut up, Ritsuka! I'm not jealous at all! Who would be jealous of a playboy like you?!" March said that even though her face was still red.
"March. You're going to end up breaking your glass." Stelle comments seeing how tightly March is holding her glass.
"Senpai, you have a lot of nerve flirting with another girl in front of me. Should I bring Meltryllis here?" The moment BB mentioned Meltryllis' name, I immediately felt an immense sense of fear.
"No! Anything but her!" I said this expressing my utter dread at the idea of bringing Meltryllis here.
It's not that I'm afraid of Meltryllis per se, quite the opposite, I love her very much for many reasons. However, out of all the servants I've gotten intimate with, Meltryllis is the most jealous and possessive, surpassing even BB at times.
💭 Forget Herta! If Meltryllis shows up, I'll be drained for days, although the situation could get worse now that I'm a Heroic Spirit... Shit!
"Wow, his face is even turning white. Who is this Meltryllis that can scare Ritsuka like that?" Stelle asked curiously.
"A rebellious girl who doesn't know how to share, and she's also very stubborn." BB said, unable to help but poke one of her creations a little.
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Some time later...
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After my breakfast I text Bronya and Seele to meet me in my room where we can talk without anyone wanting to disturb us.
Obviously I told them both everything that happened yesterday, as well as my relationship with Jalena.
And as I feared, their initial reaction was not at all pleasant.
"Bronya. You should really talk to him because I don't want to hit him without at least hearing his excuse." Seele answers looking at me with the same expression Jeanne Alter has when she's angry with me.
💭At least she didn't start shooting. That's already a victory in my book.
"Okay. Ritsuka, although I'm very grateful that you managed to solve Belobog's debt problem, in addition to securing ways to help with our reconstruction. However, that doesn't exempt you from hiding this secret from us. I already imagined that you have a certain charm for other women, but I didn't expect you to get involved with them knowing our situation." Bronya's tone is calm, but I can tell that she's containing her emotions.
"I admit that I have a... Bad habit of getting involved with other girls. However, I'm not the kind of person who chases girls selfishly. If there's a person I know who needs help, I'll do my best to help, no matter if that person is a man or a woman. And it's just that most of my adventures I end up getting romantically involved with a girl, even though I have no romantic intentions with her." I say this giving an explanation to the girls.
"So what you're saying is that you ends up attracting other girls without you realizing it?" Seele asks this question with her arms crossed.
"Yes. Most of the time I only realize the problem when it's too late. But even if I accept having another person I like in my life, I'll do my best to make sure that this relationship of ours doesn't go bad." I say this with a serious expression in front of the girls.
Bronya and Seele were silent for a few seconds until Seele answers.
"Hmpf. We'll see... You say that now, but I'm sure you won't be able to sustain a relationship with more than one girl." Seele said, not believing my words.
Fou: Fou... (Special translation: How naive... This poor girl doesn't know who she's underestimating. Ritsuka didn't receive carnal experience training from Medb for nothing.)
Bronya was silent for a moment, thinking about the words she's going to say.
"You say you have a date planned for the two of us, right? Then let's use this opportunity to get to know you better." Bronya said, maintaining her composure.
I let out a sigh of relief seeing that the hardest part of the mission passed without any disaster.
"Speaking of that date. Where are you going to take us? Belobog isn't a very big city to go on a tour." Seele said, not having much faith in my date plan.
"Well. The place where we're going to have our date will be where I work as Assistant Director. Since we don't have time to waste, I'd better explain it to you when we get there." I say this with a smile on my face and Fou climbs on my shoulder already knowing what I'm going to do.
Bronya and Seele see me getting up from my chair and I stand in front of the two of them with both of my hands extended to them.
"What are you doing? Why are you extending your hands to us?" Seele answers finding my action strange.
"I need you to hold my hands so I can take you to the Space Station. Bronya knows what I'm talking about. Since you don't have a spaceship yet, the only way for you to be somewhere else in space is using my powers." I answer the girls and Seele is still confused.
"Wait a minute. Can you travel in space alone?" Bronya asks being surprised and I let out a light laugh.
"One of the privileges of being an Emanator. Anyway. Trust me on this. You just need to hold my hands, close your eyes and I'll teleport us to the Space Station." I look at the girls with a gentle smile.
Bronya and Seele were indecisive for a few seconds until at the same time they both hold my hands.
Right after that I use my powers and teleport us to the Space Station.
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Herta's Office.
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In the blink of an eye, Bronya, Seele and I arrived at Herta's office where the Simulated Universe is waiting for us.
I told the girls that they could open their eyes and their reaction was as expected.
"Wow. Look at the technology in this place..." Seele comments, being impressed by the appearance of Herta's office.
"This place is a thousand times superior to what Belobog's technology can offer. So this is the Space Station?" Bronya said this looking at me after admiring the place.
"It's just a part of the place. The Space Station is much bigger both inside and out." I answer Bronya's question.
However, at the same time, I feel a familiar presence entering the office and I immediately know who the person is.
"Hmpf. You have a lot of nerve coming back here, Assistant. You use my money, let that annoying AI steal my Simulated Universe and on top of that you brought two little girls with you. Maybe I need to remind you who you work for." Herta said entering her office using one of her thousands of puppets.
But the moment Seele and Bronya saw Herta for the first time, I didn't expect Seele's reaction to be something that would take me by surprise.
"Ritsuka. Who is this brat? A lost child?" Seele said this, pointing at Herta without any respect.
Ritsuka/Herta/Bronya:...
The moment Seele said these words, I was silent and quite impressed.
💭Wow... I didn't expect that coming from you, Seele. I can't say I didn't like it.
"What did you say..." Before Herta could explode the puppet in anger, I interrupted the conversation.
"Bronya, Seele. That... Old-Ahem! I mean. This girl who's talking to you is my boss, Herta." I answered, standing next to Herta with one more on top of her hair, purposely provoking her.
Bronya and Seele only had an identical reaction to each other.
Bronya/Seele:What? She's your boss?!
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To be continued...
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A/N: I didn't expect Lancer to be in the Collab Event, but at least he's an NPC. I don't have much confidence that he'll be in any Banner in the future.
What will be a real shock to me is if he's not the first Servant to fall in the story. Lancer isn't Lancer if he's not the first to fall.
Two more things. I'm going to try to write short chapters from now on. Because long chapters tire me out and make me lazier (which is a bad habit to have).
The last thing is that I intend to create a volume exclusively for the Collab event.
The reason for this is that it will be impossible for this story to reach Penacony before the event. Fair warning. This volume will have spoilers of certain things that are about to happen, I'll try to avoid them as much as I can, but I won't be able to hide everything. So keep that in mind when you read the volume.