Apology

Haruki entered the house to find Sakura dozing off on the couch.

'Did she not sleep? Was she too excited?'

He could imagine her staring at the ceiling, giggling to herself. Archer came down the stairs at that moment.

"Do you have the key to Rin's room?"

Haruki glanced at the clock ticking towards 8 o'clock. "I'll wake her up. Can you watch Lancer?"

"That guy is annoying," Arch groaned.

"Just keep an eye so he won't do anything reckless."

"I'll help him." Archer sighed.

Haruki walked upstairs to his room and grabbed a blanket. He draped it over Sakura before he returned to his mother's room. The door opened itself, and his mother's whispers caressed his ears.

"She was calling for her father during sleep. Such a sweet little girl."

"Kaa-san."

"Have fun~."

Haruki shook his head and walked inside. Rin was curled up on the bed. His eyes were drawn to her tight black stockings leading to the white skin peeking from under her black mini skirt.

"What a beautiful mess she is. No wonder the community called her Thiccsaka."

The alarm clock chirped at that time. Rin's face twitched as her hand fumbled out of her grasp and pounded the poor clock.

"Shut up."

She became content after silencing the alarm and pulled up the blanket, going back to sleep with a smile.

'She is hopeless in the morning.'

Haruki gently put a hand on her shoulder and jerked her. Rin woke up with a gasp as though she had seen a nightmare. Her unblinking eyes stared at him in a daze before she frowned with an unsightly irritation.

"We have school."

"School is a waste of time for us," she chirped and clutched the blanket.

Haruki snatched the blanket from her. "We're going."

She glared at him for a moment before she fell backward. "Let me sleep," she groaned and turned over, burying her face in the pillow.

"Shinji will put his plan to work today. Do you want to sit here while the students are getting their souls sucked out of their bodies?"

Haruki tossed the blanket on her back and walked out of the room. Rin sluggishly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"That spineless coward…" she cursed Shinji. "Why did it have to be today?!"

***

Sakura woke up by the time Haruki and Medea set all the dishes on the dining table.

"Senpai, let me." Sakura hurriedly helped him while muttering an apology.

"Couldn't sleep last night?"

Sakura tugged at her red ribbon as she spoke, "I slept on the couch."

'She is lying,' Haruki thought. She had a habit of touching her ribbon whenever she lied. Still, he didn't push her further and enjoyed a quiet breakfast.

"I'll be going now. Come to the school with Rin."

Sakura tried to stop him, but he silenced her with a kiss on her lips. While she was blushing, he snuck in another kiss and left his house. He told Lancer to come to school with Archer later.

"Haruki-sama, you are terribly affectionate with that girl?" Medea asked as he followed Semiramis's directions.

'You should know it by now, Medea.'

An awkward silence followed as though Medea digested his words.

"...I do. It's painful that I can't monopolize your affection..."

Haruki sighed at her distress.

'You already knew I had feelings for Kaa-san and Sakura.'

"I did… it's still astonishing, Haruki-sama. I'm conflicted between happiness and misery. For me to have this chance at all makes me extremely happy…"

'What's there to be sad about?'

"That I have to share this happiness with another woman!"

'Do you hate Kaa-san?'

"No… maybe her approach is a little off-putting, but she accepted me despite my shortcomings."

'Do you hate Sakura?'

"How could someone hate that girl? I feel as if I lived a bright and cheerful life compared to hers… Truthfully speaking, I envy her willpower. If I was half courageous like her, I'd have gained the power to kill gods."

'You still want to kill Aphrodite?'

"Yes. I'll kill every god of love if I could. They make me sick to my stomach."

'Some are not that bad,' he recalled Kama who manifested as a pseudo-servant in Sakura's body. 'We'll kill Aphrodite someday.'

He also wanted to explore the Reverse Side of the World for its mysteries. He might be powerful enough to tackle a Divine Spirit or two by then.

"Killing gods… You'll have to upgrade my vessel, Haruki-sama."

He'd have to find a better body for her. Her current body completely restricted her growth, which could only grow with his semen or through eating human souls. Haruki didn't care if she chose the latter option, but the reward wasn't worth the lives. An entire city might not be enough to upgrade one parameter rank.

"We just have to do that every day…" she mumbled.

Haruki shuffled through the Foreigner's District of Miyama Town, where the Tohsaka and Matou's mansions were located. Semiramis indeed robbed a foreigner's mansion, one that reeked of luxury from every brick of its exterior.

Haruki hopped over the metal fence.

Semiramis, standing at the mansion's door in the distance, waved her hand. "My master~."

The door behind Semiramis opened, and Artoria walked out and waved her hand with an awkward smile. "Master."

Haruki stopped before Artoria and crossed his arms on his chest. "Can you explain why you left me hanging yesterday?"

Artoria lowered her head. "I apologize for everything. It was my fault for not following Caster."

She owned up to her mistake.

"Let's say Caster didn't make it in time, and I died as a result. What would you have done?"

"But Master, you have Command Spells for any emergency…" Artoria reasoned. "I also became a bit greedy to finish Berserker."

'She got greedy?'

Haruki blinked his eyes at her confession. Out of all people, he hadn't expected her to get heated to rush through the war.

'How do I punish her when she looks so apologetic?'

He shook his head. "Don't do it ever again." His tone unintentionally became colder as he spoke. "We're supposed to look out for each other."

"It won't," Artoria said and placed a hand on her chest. "I take that pledge as your sword."

"My master, don't be so harsh on her." Semiramis rubbed Artoria's head. "She is aware of her failure."

Artoria brushed off Semiramis's hand. "Are we going to kill that Magus today?"

"We will. How will you come with me though?" Haruki asked as he stared at Artoria's armor. "Not the best cosplay for school."

Artoria tilted her head in confusion. "Should I change?"

"I can hide her master," Semiramis suggested with a grin. "Or would you prefer to see Artoria in girly clothes?"

"Well, why not? She looks pretty cute in normal clothes."

Especially in the white dress Rin lent to Artoria in the anime.

Semiramis narrowed her eyes. "How do you know that?"

Haruki kept a calm expression under Semiramis's probing gaze. "I have seen her photo from ten years ago. She used a completely different look back then."

Artoria nodded at his words. She had taken a distinct appearance from Irisviel's suggestion.

"Hooo~, I also want to see it now," Semiramis said. "Where is our lovely witch?"

"Who are you calling a witch?" Medea materialized immediately. "You whore empress."

Semiramis threw a blank stare at Medea, not expecting her to follow Haruki this time. "You were called a backstabbing witch by the masses. I fear you have seduced my master to do evil things."

Medea's mana flowed out in her anger, stunning both Artoria and Semiramis.

"W-Wait, Caster. How did your magical energy increase? Did you feast on human souls?"

Medea snorted. "I won't stoop to that level."

"Then how?" Semiramis was dying to know the answer. "My master, what did she do?"

Haruki assumed a faint smile. "It's a family secret."

"Mou~, I'm not your family?" she playfully asked.

"You are not. Besides, what will you do after getting strong? Do you prefer to rule with might or your wits?"

Semiramis gave an angry frown, which quickly vanished. "It doesn't hurt to get strong… I don't want to run like a coward again."

"Weak," Medea scoffed. "I can blow you away in an instant if I wanted to."

"Oh my. The witch is feeling jealous of our good relationship, Master."

"You little empress."

Medea finally lost her patience and engaged in a fight with Semiramis. Pulling at each other's hair, clawing each other's faces, even ripping apart dresses—it was a catfight more entertaining than a real battle.

'No time to waste.'

Haruki sighed and took Artoria's hand. "I'll help you with clothes."

Artoria nodded her head as she glanced at the hand clasping hers. Through the gauntlet, she could feel his hand.