Chapter 9: Leave!

Beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi.

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-Emerald Inn-

-Evening-

After a few hours of cooking and serving the customers, closing time had finally come. Normally people would beg for more food near the end, but with a threat of Archer banning them from the inn, quickly made them change their mind.

"Have a nice day, Archer-sama. I'll be going back to the forge and finishing up on some of my pending wares. These new additions to the village have brought in new business opportunities for me, hahahahahaha!" Jint's personality was a contagious one, but before it slowly tapered off and gave a slight scowl to the new group that entered the town. "Though I do wish that I could just… 'test' my weapons on those Kuroinu bastards." He whispered that last part, being conscious to not be overheard by the still present Maia, who was lazily looking at her nails, cleaning it of grime, while the Mayor had dozed off at some point and Brynn remained as vigilant to her surroundings, but she looked like she was getting tired of waiting as well.

"Stay wary of that woman, Archer-sama. Any former member of the Kuroinu is a rotten scum of society. I may respect her status as a Princess Knight… but I still can't bring myself to trust her completely, not when she still supports them." With his part said, the blacksmith left the Inn giving the Archer and Alice a last wave. And so, the last customer had finally left the establishment.

"Well?" Maia spoke, jolting the mayor awake, and Brynn looked to sit up straighter. "Think we can have the talk ya promised me."

"One second, I need to do one last thing." Taking off his apron, Archer went back into the kitchen to give Alice his next instructions.

"You want me to leave?" The girl was confused at his request.

"This is a private matter concerning my presence and actions. Your inclusion is not required and would only hinder the talk. You'll just be inviting trouble for yourself. Leave the talking to me and go get some rest." He had patted her head, much to the young girl's frustration. "I am in no danger here, so don't do anything stupid like last time and create more headaches for me, okay?"

"You treat me like a burden…" She muttered, not happy with his decision, giving him a pout.

"Because you are." Archer didn't bother holding back his words, he was never a fan of beating around the bush… when it wasn't convenient for him that is. "You're a headache, a chore, and a terrible cook who might poison someone in the future at some point if I didn't intervene. But you're my problem, so just stay put somewhere and don't cause a scene."

Pa!

Alice once again kicked his legs full force, but immediately regretted it as she felt like she broke her foot instead! "Are you made of steel or something you ass!?"

"It's complicated." The smirk on his face seemed to just to piss her off.

"What?"

"Nothing, just an inside joke." Not wanting to bring up the matter around his Reality Marble and its effect on his body—how would you explain to someone the Idea of once having the ability to heal all kinds of wounds with tiny swords? Not to mention the added benefit of possibly dying if it got out of control. Well, not that it would happen this time around, he no longer had Avalon inside his body.

Avalon

The Everdistant Utopia, a scabbard that once held the majestic holy sword, Excalibur. A sheath that he used to hold inside him, but which in the past, after losing his way, the sheath lost its meaning and thus returned to the World. Sometimes, stray thoughts of how Saber would react, if she learned of his life passed through his mind. Maybe the King of Knights would sympathize with him? Be disgusted by his choices? He couldn't know, after all, he didn't really have the time to find out during the Grail War. Though she was as stubborn as that fool, her resolve wouldn't change.

"Don't ask any more questions and go to your room, Maia is waiting for me."

If there was one thing he hoped to bring back from his past self would be the original scabbard of the King of Knights. Though he wouldn't be able to use it and only wield a fraction of a fraction of its full capabilities, the Noble Phantasm was still considered to be one of the strongest defensive weapons in existence.

"Alright…" She reluctantly agreed and packed up to leave. "Archer…"

"Hm?"

"Don't do anything stupid, like I would."

He scoffed, though he didn't correct her. She was right to some extent. He wasn't the fool he used to be in the past. Going up blindly at the slightest call for help. Blinded by his foolish desire to help and desire to save everyone. Even including his recent incident concluding saving Brynn and her Knights comrades. If his attack back then hadn't been enough, or that there was more than he was willing to risk, then no matter what his consciousness was telling him—he would have left the village to burn. But then again, unlike his past self, it was not his actions of saving someone that might doom him; but rather his sarcastic attitude and silver tongue.

Better yet, another part of him back then was prepared to blow up the village instead, killing everyone with a quick death, so that the women wouldn't go through the depraved torture at the hands of the Orc and the men wouldn't be eaten or just mentally tortured.

Cruel, but merciful at the same time. There was no question of moral or consciousness being his actions, nothing but cold logical reasoning. There were times when in order to truly save someone, death would be the only answer.

He had done similar things before, and Emiya knew that such measures would be chosen once again in the future. Ever since he was able to use large amounts of Prana above what he was capable as a human, Archer soon began feeling the invisible sensation of Alaya's chains still bonding him to the Counter Force. It was both reassuring and horrifying… it grounded him to reality rather than let him drown in a fake reality. It was a constant reminder that he wasn't as free as he hoped to be, her shadow still loomed over him.

That is why he needed to treat this… 'vacation' as just another job and not get hopes up.

"Enough of such dark thoughts, I have a Princess Knight to talk to."

{Break}

After taking care of the affairs of the Inn, Archer joined Maia and her group who were patiently waiting for him in the now-empty hall.

There was another person present, a blonde-haired girl. From her bikini armor and nearly nude body on display, Archer rolled his eyes and guessed this was most likely one of Maia's Knights. And if by the glare she was sending him, there was zero chance for him to have a peaceful conversation with her.

"Your name?" Yup, as he predicted. Not even any kind of greeting or even a simple smile—she just immediately started questioning like he was a criminal on trial… which wasn't completely false. He did go to jail, got accused of a crime he didn't commit and then labeled as the mastermind terrorist leader.

"Archer." His voice clip and to the point. He didn't say Emiya, as there was no way he would just reveal everything about himself so easily to some strangers. It was personal information that very few had the qualifications to know, while others just found out by themselves.

"True name or made up?" The Knight questioned, giving a scrutinizing glare with a sneer clear in her tone.

"A bit of both… I abandoned my previous identity."

"Reasons?" She tried to dig further, "Were you a criminal? A dark mage? From which country are you from?" She started sending a barrage of questions, looking ready to pull her blade on the man.

"Criminal? Depends really, I went around helping people… at least that's what I thought I was doing. Guess that not everyone agreed with me back then, noticing that they weren't happy with my actions." He was betrayed, sent to be hanged for crimes he did not commit, and just became the scapegoat. People always doubted those who helped without asking anything in return, willing to risk his life for a random stranger over the smallest matter—it was through because of that they became weary of him. Certainly, he must have some hidden agenda, was what they would suspect. And it was this suspicion that grew into hatred and accusation.

"I'm from a country called Japan, the prefecture I used to live in was Fuyuki." He answered truthfully, not bothering to lie since they would never be able to trace him to a non-existent country that didn't exist here. He also didn't mention he was from another world, that would be just stupid and would have him thrown on the gallows faster than he can trace his weapons. "I doubt you've heard of it, it's quite an obscure place. Really out of the boonies."

Not to mention he didn't know if this woman possessed a truth scanning magical device of any sort. Whether such objects or spells existed in this world or not was not a risk he was willing to take. So half the truth would suffice.

Apparently, the girl stopped listening to him halfway through and even brought out her sword, "Aha! So you agree to be a lawbreaker, I should have you arrested right this instan—"

"—Mary," Maia interjected with a stern voice, cutting the wind of the half-naked woman.

"Y-yes, Maia-sama?" Hearing the rather displeased tone of her superior, Mary temporarily brought down her sword.

"Are you trying to cause trouble?"

Most likely.

"Maia-sama, I'm just trying to assess whether or not this man is trustworthy or not. We can't have a ruffian and potential ruthless murder by our side… it would put your life in danger."

'Fair enough.' Killing the Kuroinu was his goal so yeah… she wasn't wrong.

"Archer destroyed the invading army of the Dark Queen herself." Brynn decides to help him out a bit. Her comment wasn't

"This could all be a ploy to have us trust him!" Mary argued, her fire reigniting "We can't be sure if his intentions were pure or not. He could be planning to lower our guard before killing us!" Wow, that was indeed what he would have done if Maia was part of the mercenary group. But then again, sniping them from afar was a better alternative.

Archer kept his mouth shut and didn't object to any of her claims, he waited and observed how Maia would handle this situation. Brynn looked extremely conflicted.

"Mary, under whose authority did you serve before being assigned to me?" Maia asked, her voice neutral and eyes focused on the knight.

"Eh? U-um, I served her highness, Alicia Arcturus, and took the role as her personal guard and logistics manager by her side."

Of course, that explained everything. Maia should have been suspected as much, noticing her attitude around the males. All Knights from the seven kingdoms were assigned to the different Shields by either the church officials, Celestine or Claudia. Unless they were sworn to one of the Shields, every Knight would be transferred to different kingdoms as a rotation. This was a rule set up so that the alliance would hold on stronger without relying on the reputation of Shields and Celestine herself.

"Alright, Brynn… take commander Mary and our dear Mayor back to our camp. I'll join you shortly, and if any of you dares to defy or resist my orders in the slightest—I'll have you demoted to the role of latrine cleaner for the men's quarters back in Ken. Your status and former affiliation be damned, Alicia and Claudia could start a war for all I care." Maia knew of Alicia's dislike of men. She hoped that her own forces would have a different outlook and they did, but she just so happened to have gotten a one that had a hateboner as well.

Mary wanted to protest but stopped herself when she saw the Queen of Mercenaries' infamous glare, one that promised a hell of a week if she tried to disobey right now.

Mary and the rest left the room leaving Maia all alone with Archer.

"…"

"We finally get to have some alone time~" She began flirting once again with Archer who looked to be just about done with this woman.

"Hahahaha! I'm just joking there, stud. Why are you all that serious? Chill out a bit… you don't have a stick up your butt, do ya?"

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"You don't have much control over your knights, do you?" Choosing to ignore her flirting, Archer started the conversation with a subtle insult.

He couldn't help let a bit of his frustration out.

"You noticed? Nothing I could do about that right now." Maia sighed, ignoring the jab that Archer gave. "How much do you know about me?"

Finally, the time to gather the information he needed had come.

"Maia, last name unknown, a former member of the Kuroinu and the seventh Princess Knight. Your past is a mystery aside from joining Vaults' side during your early years. Strong dual sword fighter with a knack for using your surroundings to your advantage while not being above using dirty tactics. You gained your position as a Princess Knight by both invading and securing the lost fortress—Pran—near the southern borders of the Dark Queen's domain. It was then you made contact with Claudia Levantine who brought you to meet the Goddess Reborn to be appointed as one of the Shields. Have I missed something?"

Maia was taken aback by the wealth of information Archer had on her. Granted these were public information and none of this was something hidden or considered secret. But still, for a stranger who admitted to being a foreigner of Eostia—he certainly knew a lot.

"I… wasn't expecting that. How and why do you know so much about me? Was Mary correct for once and you're a potential enemy? I really don't want a battle to erupt in the middle of this place?" Though her words seemed hostile, she still looked at Archer with a casual smile and confident look.

'She doesn't think she'd lose even if I was an enemy.'

No matter, he'll keep up the act for now.

"It's because I am a traveler that I know all of this information. And as a Magus, knowledge is important." Dropping a hard leather book he found from the church's main library, he displayed the contents to her. "Being of a different culture and background, it would be idiotic for me to not inform myself of your country's customs and history. I didn't need to go far, this book here is the source of all of my current knowledge. So if I got anything wrong, don't blame me for the misinformation."

Maia casually browsed through the pages, "Interesting, I knew the church had these shared all around the seven kingdoms. Glad to see they didn't fuck up my biography." She smirked at her own words, still skimming the pages.

Pop!

Before quickly closing the book, and throwing it away like garbage.

"But it did miss some personal details on my life."

There it is.

"First of all, I don't have a last name, which as you've guessed, shows off my humble beginnings as a peasant." Archer agreed, her current disposition doesn't exactly match the rest of the Princesses noble upbringing. "I grew up in the slums of Ken, wearing nothing but dirty rags and stealing food and money just to survive the day. It was when I reached a more mature age and began using a broken sword to protect myself in my journey as a newbie mercenary that I was noticed by Vault, who trained me into the woman I am today." A beautiful smile bloomed on her face, showing Archer the infatuation she had with that man.

'Pity. '

"The thing is, due to my origins that commanding the Knights have become a bit of a pain in the ass. They look down on me but are too scared to show it. Some get funny ideas and disobey my orders or take their sweet time executing them during emergencies. That is one of the many reasons why the majority of my army forces compromised themselves of adventurers and mercenaries—giving me the moniker of Queen of Mercenaries. Though I do feel that Vault would be the King if that were the case."

"Vault?" Said Archer, acting as if it was the first time he had heard the name, wanting to see if he could needle some more information on his target.

"You don't know him?" That made Maia look at him as if he lived under a rock for the entirety of his life.

"The image of a treasure and bank vault comes into my mind, but from your words, this Vault is a person's name. I'm afraid I didn't have the time to continue my research, I was busy."

"Hahaha!" Maia burst out laughing. "Haaaa, I can't wait to tell him about the treasure thing! Yup, Vault, he's the leader of the Kuroinu mercenary group, which I'm sure you're already familiar with."

"I have." Jint certainly had a… colorful way to describe them. "But only the bare minimum."

"Well, they are good people." He doubted it. "Willing to risk their lives for the innocent. Having no knightly training they still face orcs and demons for the betterment of Eostia and its people."

'Yeah, if that was the case the Alaya would like to have a word with you. It's like saying Giles de Rais is an excellent child caretaker.' Archer thought sarcastically.

"Vault being the leader of the group is a great man to follow. His effort alone pushed back the Dark Queen's forces and gave us a period of victory we haven't experienced in a long ass time. He's a great fighter and a master swordsman, able to crush his enemies with a single swipe of his greatsword." This woman was just worshiping the man at this point, as it was getting painful to watch.

This woman was too biased in her view of the Kuroinu and its leader. It was very likely that everything she said now and will say later on will not help him in the slightest. So there was only a single option left…

'To try a bit of a hands-on approach.'

"What do you want from me?" He immediately cut into the matter at hand—his ability to use magecraft and her plans involving him. "You are here for what happened to the demon army."

"You got it, honey. Since you are a foreigner of distant lands who's read up on Eostia's history and ongoing battle with the Dark Queen, providing us with a bit of firepower wouldn't be an issue, in my opinion. From Brynn's story, you appear to be quite the accomplished wizard—"

"—Magus." Archer corrected, his response being more of an instinctive response so as to not be mistaken for beings in the leagues of Zeltrech and Blue. Those people were nothing short of monsters, even gods and even some Beasts pale in comparison to them.

"What?"

"I'm… a Magus, not a wizard." Seeing Maia's confused face, Archer nearly facepalmed and remembered how the magical system differed here. "At my place, those who practice magecraft and the art of using prana for spells and thaumaturgy." Artificial reenactment of Mystery, which is ordinarily possible only by inhuman beings. But that applied to the level of technological advancement the civilization has experienced. If people hadn't discovered flying, then in a way, flying would be considered a lesser sorcery.

"People who are called Wizards are associated with performing feats of magic beyond our understanding, something that cannot be replicated by modern science. So that is why, I prefer you don't call me a wizard, it feels both weird and wrong."

"Uh… yeah," Maia looked absolutely lost by Archer's words and explanation. "Magus, mage, wizard, prana, mana or whatever else you are, I don't care. If you can blow things up then that's that, don't complicate things. So, are you willing to join Kuroinu to defeat Olga and her force?"

"No." He was a jerk, that was an indisputable fact. But even at his worst, he had some lines he would never cross. If the situation demanded then he would just swallow his good conscience and join the group—but he didn't need to as he still had loads of options available to him to complete the mission.

"I knew you would agree! After all, who would declin—wait WHAT!?" Maia expected him to immediately accept her proposal. The idea of someone not accepting an invitation to the Kuroinu was considered impossible for her! "Why!?"

"Though I'm grateful for the offer, I still have some personal matters to attend to. I can't waste my time playing the role of a mercenary when I have other plans to accomplish." Like killing Vault first and foremost.

This of course displeased her. "How could you in good conscience turn down the offer to join or offer a helping hand to the group who will put an end to the Dark Queen's rule? To fight for the world, to save everyone from a bleak fate!?" Something much worse apparently, according to Alaya.

And also because…

"I don't care."

"Excuse me?"

"The very idea that you would compare this threat on a worldly scale already shows me how you have no idea of what's truly going on. Or most likely, you just hope that your actions of adding a powerful member to the Kuroinu would please a certain someone, am I right?"

Maia's face twitched and she chose to avoid his gaze, giving him the answer he needed.

"I was right on the mark, wasn't I? I won't deny that you may have a desire to free the world from its current war torn state, but this desire is completely overshadowed by the need of a love-struck immature girl who seeks nothing more than to gain the attention and validation of her crush. A crush who will most likely cause more harm to the world than this so-called Dark Queen; a scum."

That made her snap.

Bam!

"How dare you!?"

Incensed by his words Maia threw the table separating them to the side—a feat of slightly enhanced strength in Archer's opinion—taking out her twin swords, she lunged at him in fury.

Clang!

Her swords were stopped by two other swords, black and white married swords blocked her attack while in a crossed position. Sparks flew from the contact and to Maia's surprise, she failed to push the man back! She also noticed the blades, even in her enraged state she couldn't be slightly enchanted by their beauty. With craftsmanship she had never seen in all of Eostia and even from Luu-Luu's own work.

She returned to her senses when she sensed her feet sliding backwards as she kept trying to overpower him.

'Impossible! He can match my enhanced strength!?'

This shock soon turned into horror as the man slowly pushed her back with greater strength! His calm and collected voice rang in her ear.

"The army of demons that showed up in the village couldn't have gone through without a proper team of scouts surveying the lands in between. They were too numerous and noisy to go under the radar like that—which only means one thing. This was your fault, wasn't it? You either neglected your duties or…" His haunting yet captivating gray-colored eyes locked onto hers. Making Maia feel like she was rendered completely naked in front of him, her secrets, dreams, and desires all laid bare in front of him. "...You let them pass so that you could furthermore prove your worth and get rewarded by dear old Vault."

His words made her heart waver in denial.

No!

"You wanted to use the fame gained from this fight to garner his attention."

"Shut up!"

She could never do that!

But…

'What if Vault knew that I took out an entire army on my own? Would he be impressed and form an interest?' Betraying thoughts of 'what if…' began forming inside her head. Archer's words already planted the seed of doubt inside her mind.

No! Maia fiercely shook her head, this guy was messing with her!

She pushed back, calling more of her strength to regain her footing. Her veins bulged as she was back on equal footing with Archer. Though the latter didn't look like he was exerting as much effort as her. His cooky-looking smirk was really grinding her gears. She now wanted to punch that handsome face rather than have some fun with him in the sheets!

"My duty is to the safety of my people! I won't let a stranger like you question and stain my name!" She squashed those thoughts to oblivion, once again remembering her vows and promises she made before becoming a Princess Knight. To always protect the weak and vulnerable, because she used to be one, she understood their pain better than most people.

"I may not be perfect, I did make many mistakes and underestimated Olga's forces that caused a lot of deaths and pain. But I would never risk my people's life over my own personal interests and gains!" She broke the stalemate and retreated backward, her muscles aching from the exertion of her enhanced strength.

"Maia-sama!"

Their short fight attracted the people outside. Who burst inside the Inn swords drawn and ready to cut Archer down. But they were stopped soon after. Mary was at the front, followed by Brynn and a few other Knights. "I knew you were nothing but a criminal scum like the rest of them!"

"Stop!" She shouted, using her bare hand to grab hold of the incoming blade, her glare not leaving Archer, who just continued to give her that infurationing cocky smile. "You think we need you? That you're worth something? Wrong! Our forces will defeat the Dark Queen all by themselves, with or without your aid." She called for her men to be ready and to be ready to leave at dawn. Not even ordering anyone to apprehend Archer and just leaving him alone. He saw how Maia's hand was slightly bleeding from her previous action, too bad she didn't stay for longer so that he could analyze whether she possessed any form of quick regeneration from her blessing.

Mary was at first shaken on how her attack was stopped by Maia and blood on the floor. "B-but what about the crimina—"

"I will seriously cut off your tongue if you speak back to me again!!!!" This time, Maia's twin blades were pointed right at Mary's throat.

"Forgive me!" She grew frightened and bowed apologetically, never seeing her princess so angry before.

The Queen of Mercenaries sheathed her slightly damaged twin blades back to their scabbards and stormed off; not before emparting her last words to Archer.

"It was a mistake to have come for you. I'm leaving first thing tomorrow and you will as well, I don't want to see you anywhere near my territory ever again!" With those parting words, she and everyone left the Inn, leaving Archer all alone.

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"Now, I have a suitable excuse to leave." Closing and opening his fists, Archer got a good feel of Maia's strength back there. She wasn't anything near servant level, thank god for that, or else he would have been thrown away back then. Barely twice the strength of a peak strength human, which was something he could handle with his level of [Reinforcement].

Most importantly, "She won't hound me to join her group. And now, I can track her group from afar and follow the Kuroinu back to their leader's general location." He was an archer despite what others might say of his way of fighting, so tracking was one of his strong points.

Dismissing his blades, Archer knew what to do next.

"It's time to pack up."

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu and Fate are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter.

And don't worry, this won't be the last time you see Maia, she's a major character in the story, just like the rest of the Shields.