Chapter 45

Short Chapter today, a bit tired.

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Artoria Pendragon POV.

I kissed him.

The image continued to overtake all my thoughts.

It was only on the cheek, but it was a kiss nonetheless. Was he put off by my forwardness? Do men dislike women who take the initiative? Rin Told me that it was a common occurrence at the end of one of these 'dates'.

What do I do now? Do I request for further courtship? No, that isn't the correct word any longer. Dating, becoming one's girlfriend, there are different steps in this era.

I was unsure of how to proceed; do I wait for him….do I wish to continue this 'dating'? My heart was beating rapidly, but I was unsure of myself.

Is this even the proper path to take? I am technically a fleeting existence, though with Wilhelm or Zelretch present, I do not doubt their means to keep me anchored. Even still….

He said that he likes me.

Never have I had a man confess affection for me…..and I would be lying if I said it did not make me happy.

"Saber!" I turned around to see Rin enter the room, I was too lost in my own thoughts to even notice her. "Girl, you better spill all the details."

"We had a lovely time." I stated plainly.

"Yeah, no. I need more than that." Rin replied. "Where did you go, what did you do? Did he wear protection?"

"RIN!" I shouted uncontrollably; I could feel my face heating up.

"Fine, but spill everything, start from the beginning." She smirked.

"He took me to a fair over in the colonies."

"All the way over in America? What kind of fair?"

"They were dressed up in attire reminiscent of my era." I explained, without getting into the details.

"Oh, one of those!" She exclaimed. "How was it, did you have fun?"

I suppose such a thing is common knowledge then? The Holy Grail deposited memories unto me of the era, but there simply too many details it did not fill in. It would have been most embarrassing thinking an automobile was some type of beast had the information been less available.

"It was, amusing to see them act out their parts." I smiled. "And yes, it was an enjoyable evening." I had not had such an enjoyable time in many years.

"Well, what did you do?"

"They had a stable prepared for their patrons to ride horses." I explained. "We…..shared a horse together, he sat behind me." There was nothing wrong with two people riding together on a horse.

Rin's lips curled up, giving me a look that I knew all too well. "Ohoh, did his hands roam?" She made a lewd grabbing motion with her hands.

"Rin." I let out an indignant complaint. Truly Rin's perversions come out in private. "He was a perfect gentleman."

"Boring, so he didn't take advantage of you?" She said a bit more seriously, perhaps with some concern.

"No, his hands never attempted to molest me." I noticed her concerns and I did not want her to think incorrectly.

"Good, otherwise I would cut off his D—"

"Rin." I huffed.

"Only one date and you're already so attached~" She laughed. "So, what else did you do?"

"We merely partook in the facilities." I stated. "There were many activities, we even competed in axe throwing."

"Did you throw him off with how competitive you get?"

"I am not competitive." I said evenly. "I merely have a healthy interest in winning." I am not overly competitive, regardless of what Rin, Kay, Sir Ector...and especially Merlin, have said.

"Uh huh." Rin looked unconvinced.

"If I were as competitive as you say, then I should have held a grudge for losing, even if he did cheat." He had escaped my ire with his gift. Thankfully I had managed to hide my bounty before Rin had seen, less her unceasing teasing continue.

"Did you wager anything, maybe a steamy night in a hotel somewhere?" Rin wiggled her eyebrows.

"We did no such thing!" I crossed my arms. "He merely…."

"What?"

"….It is unimportant." said quietly. The thoughts on some of the outfits Rin made me try on, I would die of embarrassment if I were to wear them in public.

"Look at you, going all red!" Rin laughed. "It must have been something good."

Rin's relentless teasing. I should have expected it to make a comeback at this moment.

"So what are your plans? One and done or are you thinking of being his girlfriend?" She asked, her tones becoming a bit more sincere. "He doesn't seem like a bad guy, even if I have trouble coping with his…. race, I don't want to judge him based on that. I'm sure you can judge him better than I can."

Yes, his nature still gives me pause. I do not judge him on his family, one cannot control the circumstances of their birth, but knowing he is born of those from hell is still an odd thought to consider. I have believed in my own instinct for my entire life, it has yet to fail me and so far, Wilhelm has been nothing but sincere.

I also believe that the Wizard-Marshall would not allow a dangerous individual so much access to his home

"I….do not know." I said honestly. "I have never considered a romantic pursuit in my life, much less this second one I have been gifted with. I was not aware I had any appeal as a woman until he thoroughly crushed that thought."

"I've been telling you this for years!" Rin threw her arms up. "But noooo, all it takes is one cute guy to tell you you're pretty and suddenly you're all hunky dory!" She sighed, slumping her shoulders. "Do you want something like this? Something more than just a friend?"

"I….would not be against it." I said quietly. "He has many attributes that I find attractive in a partner. He is objectively…handsome." I focused as to not blush infront of Rin less she tease me again. "I enjoyed spending time with him, and learning the few things he has shared. But I still don't know much about him…"

Indeed, we did not delve much into our pasts, merely enjoying our time together.

"Then go on more dates, spend more time with him. You don't have to get engaged or anything like that."

Is it truly that simple?

Mayhaps I am simply over thinking everything.

****

Wilhelm POV

It had been a bit over a day since my date with Artoria. I haven't seen either her or Rin in this time, merely helping the old man set things up and run some errands.

"Hey, Old Man." I walked up towards Zelretch; he was standing over a table full of materials.

"Perfect, I was going to contact you soon." He didn't even look up. "I believe I have made a breakthrough; we should be up and running very soon."

I took a look around this abandoned courtyard, one of Zelretch's properties somewhere in the world he purchased many centuries ago. A nice spot for some experiments and one of his 'safe houses' that litter the planet.

The Staff of Magnus was floating in the center of a Ritual Circle on the ground, filled with many materials, most of which I recognized at a glance. Some would require actual inspection to ascertain their properties.

"Curious, you replaced the Blessed Iron with Ebony." I looked over the Ritual site, mentally tracing the spell's intent.

"Well spotted. I realized that I would need to recalibrate several mechanisms with the addition of your materials, otherwise it would have taken much too long to find something more suitable." He stepped next to me. "If you look towards the center, you would notice I inversed the flow, instead of the magical energy flowing where the Blessed Iron should have been, instead, this Ebony is acting as a 'Dam' to redirect it to the other corners."

"Yes, you did similar things with Orichalcum, and is that a paste made from Deathbell, Troll's Fat, and Fire Salts?" I admired his work.

"Indeed, you brought back some interesting stuff." He gave a small smile. "If Rin ever does head over there, I'm going to have to give her an assignment to bring back a large portion of ingredients." He chuckled, though I could tell he was not kidding.

"Remind me to show you their Enchanting system, I think you will find it particularly intriguing." I blinked, almost forgetting an important bit. "I almost forgot." I withdrew several soul stones, bigger than I have used in the past. "These should help stabilize the portal's initial actualization."

"Fascinating." He held one up to his eye. "I would very much like to investigate these at a later time."

I could understand, a foreign 'system' was always something fun to discover. "Soul Stones are rather interesting; I wouldn't mind looking over any notes if you research the subject."

"That is a fair trade if you provide me with suitable resources." Zelretch nodded.

Equivalent exchange, one of the driving forces in the magical community. It was the reason Rin even made it into Zelretch's eye in the first place. Her ancestor did him a small favor so he gave the man a little something to work on for future generations.

Speaking of a certain magus. "You want to grab Rin to help us with the finishing touches? It would be a good hands-on experience."

"If you wouldn't mind." He asked sincerely.

"Of course." I simply smiled, watching him disappear into a porta.

Almost time, everything is here and ready.

Next stop, the Land of Shadows.

***

I did manage to get a chapter out today, even if its a little shorter than the norm.

Anyways, same shit as always, if you want 5 chapters ahead, check out Pat reon.com/Astoryforone.