Emiya Residence.
The next morning, after a familiar but thicker breakfast, when I was planning to lie back on the couch and watch some TV series in the embrace of a soft pillow, someone came to see me.
- "You could have had tea at your place, tomato-san," I said, throwing my head back.
- "I could have, but I chose to do it here instead."
- "Oh, you decided to spice things up a bit? Come back when you learn the difference between idiocy and common sense," I said and even though I couldn't see her face, I'm sure her eyebrow twitched.
- "Ara, did you go to that very manga store again? Ask me and I'd share," I heard Akeno's teasing voice that came with her.
- "It was just once, Akeno! Also, we definitely have different tastes."
- "I'm sure I have a couple of 'vanilla' issues," Akeno giggled.
- "With the teacher-student genre?"
- "What's wrong with that?"
- "Really!" Merlin, who was also in the room, joined in, "There's nothing wrong with enjoying such beautiful creations of human fantasy! Especially those that involve a lot of boo…"
- "Fou," I said calmly, and the next moment a tiny foot of white sloth flew into the Camelot mage's face, knocking him into the nearest wall, previously reinforced by my magic, "Get to the point. Why are you here, aside from..."
BOOM
I was interrupted by a loud explosion coming from the basement. There, the third and final guest was currently having fun with Mo-chan, who had the day off today. And considering her character, attitude, and current job, she definitely didn't hold back in her punches and probably almost decked the dumb skillful pervert.
- "...Except for that," I finished, glancing at Akeno and Rias and then seeing their obviously concerned faces.
- "I've come to ask you a favor," Rias said.
- "Oh? You too?" I raised an eyebrow, to which I received a nod of my head, "Well, you really showed yourself well during the game. So, I'm listening."
- "I want you to coach us."
- "Huh? I'm sorry, what?"
- "You heard me perfectly well, and it's you, not the Servants," Rias added, and Akeno nodded in agreement.
- "Stupid decision," I grinned, "Yes, I know a little about magic, but not about fighting. It's either total annihilation or stroking a fluffy puppy."
And it really is. I don't have some arcane tactics that put me a few moves ahead of my opponent, but overwhelming power. If the opponent withstood the attack, it was worth trivial to reinforce it and try again. Of course, I could slightly change some or other properties of spells, but the essence remained the same.
Opponents of my caliber simply did not exist, so as a typical protagonist with blood on his body to overcome their limits. And there was no need for that.
- "What about that game?" Akeno asked, "What you showed is almost impossible to pull off even for a prodigy in magic."
- "Almost, and that's why this favor is declined," I emphasized, then turned my head, "But I can provide you with Servants, two of them."
- "And you won't change your mind?" Rias tried to insist.
- "If you and the others are half as strong as Sirzechs? No problem."
- "Then I'll..."
- "Heh. And here I thought you'd gotten rid of your idiocy. I guess I was wrong," I rolled my eyes, and Rias lowered her head in shame, "I realize you're not used to settling for less, you're an aristocrat after all, but even less can cover your needs, and my offer is Merlin and Mordred."
After a short consideration, I came to the conclusion that these two were exactly what I needed. Merlin was good at both close combat, ranged, and support, and had experience in mentoring, but a bad temper for it. Mo-chan, on the other hand, would be busy propping up Caster, and her style of fighting, based on strength and offense, suited the realities of this world well, since most opponents preferred to just rush forward.
Of course, I had originally planned to give them a trainer in the form of a Servant or even a specialized one, but I preferred to stick with the ones I already had. Archer, Medusa, and even Gil was all suitable, but the duo of Merlin and Mo-chan was the most suitable.
- "I'm all for it!" Merlin exclaimed animatedly, bloodied.
- "Fou," I repeated, and Caster met a familiar fate, "And this is not a bargain, but a final offer. It's either that or leave."
- "We... agree," Rias said, glancing at Akeno.
- "Good."
A few seconds later, footsteps were heard from down in the basement, and then Mo-chan, in casual clothes, joined us, tossing the unconscious and badly beaten Issei like a sack of potatoes right at Rias's feet. This caused him to open his eyes abruptly, and upon seeing Rias, he rushed over to her.
- "President, is it really you, or am I already dead?!" he shouted with tears in his eyes, and Rias started stroking his head affectionately, "Forgive me for being so weak even after training with old man Tannin! That flat wench just wiped the floor with me, and..."
- "Who are you calling a 'girl', you little shit!?!" Mo-chan growled naturally, "You want to die?!"
- "Sir Mordred, he didn't mean it!" Ddraig said as a gauntlet appeared, "Partner, think before you speak! You realized that she gets angry every time the feminine gender is used to her!"
- "Huh?! Say that again, you useless lizard!" Mo-chan switched to Ddraig after materializing Clarent.
- "I beg your pardon?!"
- "Won't she kill us?" Rias asked sternly.
- "Huh? What are you talking about?" Mo-chan didn't understand.
- "Mo-chan," I began, standing behind her and placing a hand on her unruly blond hair, "In the life of every human being, including homunculi, there come moments when..."
- "Fuck you!" she exclaimed and tried to blow my head off, but her body was immediately braided by my chains, immobilizing her but keeping her upright.
- "Well, well, well, you can't do that to your father."
- "You're not my father!"
- "Should I call Morgan?" I smiled, to which Mo-chan immediately flinched and fell silent, "Where was I staying? Ah, yes. There come moments in everyone's life, including homunculus, when they pull out a lucky card. And that card is yours."
- "What?"
- "Now you can quit your job, stop holding back your rage and your blade, and start training the retinue of demons before you. Sure, you'll get paid for it, and you can't kill them, but everything else? As much as you like," I said as I stroked her head, and in response she turned her head sharply in my direction and looked at me wide-eyed.
- "Really! I can beat the crap out of them and get paid for it!"
I grinned, seeing her enthusiastic face.
She hadn't worked at the café long enough, and I guess her resentment wasn't accumulating in small drops, but oceans of it. And even beating up Issei didn't give her nearly enough satisfaction. Though, if one remembered the kind of visitors that came there, it was not surprising. If it weren't for my restrictions and Artoria's position, she'd hardly not blow the heads off any customers who looked at her the wrong way.
- "You use bad words too often. I guess working in the service industry has a bad effect on your vocabulary and mental state," I shook my head, "But yeah, that's right."
- "No problem! We can start now!" Mo-chan exclaimed happily, her eyes lighting up, and I had already removed the chains holding her down.
- "Then again, won't she kill us?" Rias repeated her question.
- "Not kill-almost kill. I've trained green rookies in my father's service before, so I know what to do," Mo-chan nodded to herself, "After my training, they would rush into battle without fear, and won many battles because of it."
- "Only one, actually," Merlin said casually, "And after that, they immediately asked to be transferred to another squad. I wonder why?"
Mo-chan froze at those words, and her eyes flashed with unpleasant memories that were clear even without magic. She gritted her teeth and clenched her Clarent hard, slowly transferring her gaze to Merlin.
- "Come here, you bloody wizard! No one asked you!" Shouted the red Mo-chan and rushed after the fleeing Merlin.
Watching this, I grinned, Rias and Akeno were really worried, and Fou was nodding and cheering Mo-chan on. I wonder if there was anyone in principle that Merlin hadn't managed to piss off that he knew personally. I'm guessing no. Definitely.
-0-
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