An Archer's Promise Chapter 79: An Assistant? (Patreon)

Beta read by Gamercrusher55 and Shigiya

So... LIME WARNING! Also long 12k words chapter.

Next update is Toloveru

.

.

.

- -Fullstar-

Despite what others might think, it hadn't been that long in the grand scheme of things since he got to meet and deal with the Dark Queen and her subordinate. Their initial involvement was anything but pleasant, for even if he had saved Olga’s life, he had equally taken her as his prisoner, so in her eyes, he was just bringing her back on course to her death or a fate worse than it. Of course, afterwards, so many things had happened that had put such an outcome on hold.

They had pushed through one ordeal after another, from dealing with the late Beardsley’s schemes, her escapade to save Chloe, and then the Shiroinu, just to name a few. Instead of meeting the death everyone expected, she received a brief sanctuary from the very foes she’d spent nearly a thousand years trying to destroy. He was not naive enough to think she did so without having plans to return to power or potentially take an opportunity to backstab Celestine. That was why he stayed close, both guarding her and preventing her from slipping back into the Dark Queen she once was — in the worst case ready to cut her down if necessary.

In that time, he came to learn more about that woman, the feared ruler of the Dark Lands. Under different circumstances, she would have been his target. Yet after two months at her side, he found her surprisingly… normal — though far too haughty most times despite her circumstances; one of the few in this world who actually was.

He could only count on one hand the normal people here like that.

That was his overall impression: everyone in this world carried some oddity, and while she had her own, they were mild compared to the rest. Even her monstrous acts — unforgivable as they were — had roots he could understand. She had been driven by the relentless abuses inflicted on the Dark Elves, a people treated as property and violated worse than cattle. Her hatred was born from that injustice, and her war was the desperate answer of someone who chose bloodshed over watching her people be stripped of their dignity once again.

He supposed he should have expected this. War was never as simple as righteous versus wicked; people only pretended it was. Olga made that clear. Her atrocities remained unforgivable, and the number of those slain, violated, or tortured under her command would always justify the many who demanded her death.

He wasn’t a saint, a judge, or any kind of enforcer of the law of these lands. And he of all people would be the last person to ever have a semblance of a right to pass final judgement.

She was proud, always had been. For eight centuries she’d warred against humanity—a dark elf clinging to vengeance like armor, her ego swelling beyond the reach of her dwindling power. Monsters answered her call once, but now even Vault dared to rise against her, and the things she’d unleashed slipped further from her grasp with every passing decade. In truth, she’d been losing ground for ages. But the Dark Queen pressed on, stubbornness hardening her resolve even as the world shifted beneath her feet. Her duty was practically a chain now; she clung to it while her people, once loyal, turned upon her and all the while, hatred hollowed her out, driving her into performing the very nightmares she claimed to despise. She couldn’t let go. She couldn’t see there might have been another way, one that wasn’t paved with corpses and betrayal. Not that he could claim to be any different.

In truth, he didn’t dislike Olga, despite her numerous atrocious actions she’d done before he arrived, after all hating someone in general is just not in his usual nature. While there were several reasons to kill her, it was not because he desired it or anything like that, it was just that she wasn’t his target, simple as that. At some point, he just felt pity for the woman more than anything else. Saving the two Dark Elves from the Kuroinu, in a way, was just him testing the waters in trying a different approach, seeing if they could make a different choice at the end of all this before he left. When he surprisingly stayed, he decided it would be best to see if they can help him by aiding him to finish taking out the rest of his apparent targets that decided to not show up for the siege for whatever reason. In the end he used his promise as an anchor for his actions, which conveniently ended up working in his favor—he could already imagine Rin’s smirk telling him how she was right in the end.

Regardless, he came to understand more beyond her hatred… She was more prideful than even his previous estimates, down to the core, more so than anyone else. All of this just further raised his disbelief at her present actions and the ‘reward’ she chose for him that was in front of his eye’s right this instant.

This was the absolutely last thing he awaited from her of all people.

These thoughts kept brimming in his head as he could feel the sensation of her lips pressed against his own linger longer, her actions bold enough to catch him off guard at first, even more so since they were carried out with an unmistakably inexperienced touch from someone who definitely had never kissed anyone in the past. The way she initiated the intimate gesture, joined by the sudden closeness of their bodies, and to her slightly uncoordinated movement.

All of it told him she was indeed an amateur, someone who might have just offered him her very first kiss, his mind went back to that moment in Feoh when she most likely had done so. He drew in a small breath when she finally pulled back her lips, creating a small but noticeable distance between them. He tried to speak up once the moment loosened its hold on him. “Olga, this…” However even though her name slipped past his lips, the rest of his thoughts still stalled from what happened leaving him briefly speechless as he tried to assemble something coherent.

“Was that disappointing?” she said with a confidence that felt almost out of place from her actions, especially as she placed a firm hand on his chest and pushed him down onto the sofa. He let himself fall back, still staring at the silky, wavy dark-haired elf woman standing over him, her sultry amber eyes staring at him as if they were on fire… his mind could only try to catch up to whatever she believed was happening right now.

“Disappointment is not the word I would choose. I am surprised, that is all.”

“You are surprised that I am willing to give myself to you, even after what happened between us back at Feoh.” She tilted her head slightly, raising an eyebrow as if expecting him to protest, and he immediately recalled that moment before he went to Beardsley’s trial. Archer had to admit that having those memories surface again felt awkward, especially considering everything that had unfolded afterwards with the blonde woman. His kiss with Olga at that moment was more of a spur-of-the-moment reaction, a challenge against her flirtation.

At least, that was what he wanted to believe.

“Do you think of me as a loose woman who would only ever dare kiss another when there was no rhyme or reason to it?” she asked, her tone dry enough to suggest she already anticipated his answer.

“I am already having a hard time just imagining you giving a human a polite handshake without killing them on the spot for believing that they could dare lay a hand on you. Which actually is the same thing you threatened to do to me before, despite the fact that doing it saved your life,” he replied equally as dry as her tone. The remark earned a surprisingly genuine chuckle from her, one that softened her expression for a brief moment.

“You are not wrong. No human is allowed, or even permitted to dream, of touching a single strand of my hair without suffering the consequences. It would be no different than smearing excrement on a piece of painting, tainting its beauty forever.”

“How humble of you. Yet here we are,” he said, watching her carefully. Not mentioning it out loud, but what was happening right now did kind of contradict what she had just mentioned. Not denying his claim, the woman proceeded to approach him while taking off the last remaining piece of her armour, her lavender purple vambrace boots and greaves falling to the floor, showing her completely naked body to him. It was the first time Emiya had ever laid eyes on it in its full splendor, and it completely took his breath away.

He took it all in as it was illuminated by the fireplace's soft bright and warm colored light.

Olga’s tan flesh resembled his own, her skin tone reminding him of someone who spent too much time under the sun as their skin got slowly darker, it was as if she had spent her life bathing under the sun of a western frontier’s desert, he guessed the Dark Land’s had a similar environment. The hue of it reminded him of spices and minerals that were pulled from the earth… it was as if she herself came from the very earth, a being of nature given human form.

The coloration of her light brownish-red skin reminded him of delicious smooth exotic light chocolate that one had never tasted before. Her complexion despite all the scuffles she had been through was clean without a single scratch or bruise. She most likely due to her using a spell to heal such wounds before they festered into such; It was pure and pristine.

Her long black hair was even more luscious and beautiful then it always was, the firelight making its texture glow with a shiny silverish-gray like sheen. Its long length and volume stood out like a crown; smooth, silky, wavy, and vibrant all at once. Her hair’s deep dark color of ebony struck him with its beauty exactly like the thunder in its dark night sky. It traveled down to her feet covering the backside of her body causing it to contrast with her light dark skin, further amplifying her body’s silhouette in the firelight as her hair acted as a dark canvas to it.

Her body was unearthly amazing, making it stand out as one of the most beautiful women he'd ever laid eyes on. Her hourglass figure would drive any man insane as her curvy figure seemed to go on to no end making her look like the winner of a beauty contest, a top of the line beauty model. Even though he had already seen it before with those skimpy clothes of hers it still shocked him how her waist was so thin in comparison to her large breasts and hips. The latter were still so wide and supple making him wonder how soft they would feel on him. He’d already seen her chest, but that didn’t change their impact on him, they had to be one of the largest pairs he’d seen, and they didn’t just have size to go with them, but he could tell they were incredibly firm too, not sagging even an inch as her dusky pink nipples stared straight at him.

And then there was her face.

A single sultry pointed and gem-like amber eye continued to stare at him while her raven hair covered her other, further augmenting her appeal making her look more exotic. Her red lushish lips seemed so luscious and small, as they continued to glow in the red hue from the fire. Her beauty was top-tier and combined with the aura she carried herself so regal and dominant, it was as if he was staring at something forbidden, yet her presence alone demanded that he had permission to do so.

Pure captivation coursed through his being, not able to think of anything until his brain rebooted. She was that much of a pure beauty.

He continued staring at her without saying anything, while Olga’s skin continued gaining a whisky-reddish colored tint to it. She dared not say anything lest she flee from embarrassment, as she stood in front of the silver-haired man on the sofa, who wouldn’t stop gazing at her bare entire being. In that brief period they did nothing but steel themselves enough to recover.

Now that the shock factor had somewhat lessened, he had to admit she was indeed a beauty on par with Celestine. Despite his complicated feelings toward that so-called Goddess Reborn, he could not deny her striking presence, and the same held for Olga. Where the blonde elf carried warmth like a soft mantle, the one before him was more akin to a rose, lovely to behold yet carrying a quiet warning that one would bleed if they approached carelessly.

She moved without hesitation, slowly climbing into his lap and settling herself comfortably on his lap. She slipped her arms around his neck, her body leaning forward with the sensation of her bare, soft mounds pressing against him. The narrowing distance between their faces made the room feel smaller.

“I do not see anything about you that is human,” she said quietly, her warm breath tickling his ear. All the while, the golden earrings on her long elven ears rang faintly with each movement of her head. “Your face, physique, and your infuriating mannerism could pass for one, but a human you are not.”

He smirked, “You just have not met a human like me yet.”

“Still as infuriating and confounding as always, obviously and hopefully, I will not meet another one like you. You alone are already a handful; I don't want to lose my future kingdom once again. To lose centuries of history in mere hours to another like you is something I would rather prefer to avoid.”

“If I remember correctly, you had already lost that castle by the time I interfered in that throne room.”

“At least the Kuroinu would have taken control of the place and left me something to reconquer in the future.”

Finding that idea a bit funny, Archer commented without missing a beat, “There would be no reconquering if you were to be chained in the deepest part of a dungeon. A bit of gratitude is even just a little bit appreciated for the effort of saving you and your charge.”

“Hmph… I… I would have found a way.”

She did not, in fact, sound confident about it herself, so rather than being offended or even angered, he allowed himself a brief chuckle, his expression softening as he looked at her more closely. “Are you sure you should be saying that to the one who saved your life multiple times? I might reconsider doing so next time you eventually find yourself in trouble.”

“...”

Her fingers traced the contour of his jaw as her eyes gazed into him so deeply that he could practically feel the emotions exuding from within her. Strangely enough, unable to see any hesitation, anything that would have given him a hint that maybe she was pushing herself to do this as a means to compensate him, in the only way she believed he would have wanted. No, all he found was amber-orange eyes, as clear and tranquil as a quiet lake. Not a single ripple of doubt within them, which just served to confuse him even further.

Had their relationship gone so far that she would become like this?

Archer found it difficult to accept such a change in her, especially considering that not long ago, the same woman had been quietly weighing the most efficient way to dispose of him or at least impose some form of control over him. He could not even say she had been impulsive. Those earlier calculations had not come from someone who simply leapt at the first opportunity. Yet now she touched his lips as if the earlier long hostility had vanished entirely.

"Do not forget I also saved your life several times," she whispered into his ear, her fingers lightly tracing the curve of his jaw. Her voice still sounded the same as before, though now there was a faint undertone of sensuality threading through it. The man wondered if she and Mistiora shared some natural talent for stirring a man's nerves with nothing more than words and a pretty face… not to even mention her suggestive actions when this was supposedly her first time with another man. He could not decide whether she was doing it intentionally or if this was simply how she was without noticing the effect on him she caused.

"Oh? Pray tell, was this when you saved me from that fall from earlier?" he said. "Which, I might add, I could have, just like you, handled on my own."

"Well, there was that time I granted you every blessing in the book when we were dealing with those Lycans," she replied instantly, pinching his face with a small frown on her face. The memory returned to him in an instant. For in that instant when he’d received her enchantments he had felt something comparable to inhabiting his old Servant body, even if the sensation fell short of the true parameters he once possessed. He would not deny that she had contributed back then. Even if he could have changed the outcome without her, she had helped. If anything, that was the moment he knew she had to be kept close.

"Is that not the reason you want me at your side?" she continued, having figured out what he never told her. "So that when you face the Beast again, I will be there to serve as your precious little blessing dispenser."

"You do not sound opposed to the idea," he remarked.

She smiled in a way that carried a slow-burning confidence. "It is unusual. Had this been in the past, I would have refused without a moment of hesitation. I would never have allowed myself to be used in that way as nothing more than just a backup support for someone else. But now, I no longer mind. In fact, I find myself curious as to how much I can push my blessings without needing to fear you just exploding on the spot from too much mana. I am looking forward to it. For you to use me as your heart desires."

Her double entendre did not go unnoticed.

Archer smiled nervously, “Sounds to me like you are the one looking forward to using me instead.”

“You're just imagining things.” She stepped closer once more and pressed her lips against his ending their conversation. At first, it mirrored their earlier kiss, simple and chaste, then she attempted something more bold. Using her teeth, she tugged at his lower lip with clumsy eagerness, trying to imitate what she had only recently started learning. Her movements were truly inexperienced, though unlike Alicia, who was uncertain of what she was doing, Olga did everything with confidence, which made it harder for him to keep up. Also, somehow she kept getting better by the second, to be honest, he was not even surprised anymore, he just guessed Olga was as fast a learner in this department, as she was in magic.

After a moment of consideration, he decided it would be rude to refuse her and responded in turn, opening his mouth and connecting their lips, his sudden action threw her off a little before she adjusted. Guiding her slowly without overwhelming her, Archer let her find a rhythm at her own pace. He tasted her mouth, finding faint traces of alcohol and fruit on her tongue; a lingering sweetness that contrasted strangely with her reputation. Despite her history, the power she once wielded, as well as the confidence she currently displayed there was a faint fragility in the way her hands settled on him, as though the Dark Elf before him had been stripped of every throne and mantle she had ever worn until now; she resembled just a nervous maiden testing her first true kiss.

“Hn~!”

A soft sound escaped her throat, both half a moan and half a breath. Her eyes narrowed slightly, likely realizing how easily his movements were beginning to take the lead, making her lose whatever control she had on him bit by bit. It oddly didn’t surprise him only in the sense that he expected nothing less from her. Pride had been carved into every part of Olga. She would never surrender quietly or step aside.

Her will flared full force as her eyes focused, sharp and unyielding. She surged forward — a sudden, forceful shift in the balance of power. Her tongue collided with his, pressing against it with a new ferocity, the contact hard and unrelenting. She mimicked his earlier motions, but now there was a raw, almost combative energy behind every movement; her lips sealed tightly closing his, her jaw flexing, a challenge in every twist and push of her mouth. It was clear she meant to turn the tables, to reclaim the upper hand entirely, and perhaps provoke him into surrendering some equally embarrassing reaction, just as she had been compelled to moments before.

He found her efforts unexpectedly charming. It stirred a faint urge to tease the woman who now tried so fiercely to reclaim control. His hands traced her waist and slipped just enough to land a playful pinch on her supple butt, feeling her soft ass.

"Mnn!" Her voice broke into a startled sound far more delicate than she intended. The woman jerked back slightly, her body reacting before her mind caught up. A faint blush of frustration crossed her features as she glared at him, and Archer fought hard not to smirk.

Her pride drove her to retaliate.

Instead of pulling away, she leaned back in and bit down on his lower lip with surprising force. “Ouch!” Pain shot through him, and he muttered something sharp under his breath. Olga smiled in triumph, satisfied that she managed to wring a genuine reaction from him while she still held him close. Sinking deeper into his lap, she relaxed her body, into his hard and warm frame. The feeling of the Dark Elf making herself comfortable on his lap, made the man feel his body heat rise up in partnership with hers as he felt her soft flesh caress his body, her nipple’s grinding on him as they teased him. All he could think about was further continuing the conversation in order to occupy his mind with something else as he pulled away.

“You still have to answer me how, despite hating humans, you are still going this far. Whatever you feel you owe me, you know I’m not the kind of man who would demand something like this, so why?” he said, only to get a dry look from her and an eye roll from the woman.

“And I still can't understand why you keep insisting that you're a human despite the both of us knowing that you're anything but a human. Maybe at some point in the past you were one, but something tells me that is no longer the case.”

He observed her closely for a reaction as he pondered his following words, before huffing in amusement, “If it will finally put your mind at ease, then yes, I was born a human, my soul is still that of a human, and so is this body.” It was not a lie, so he saw no point in fighting it. He waited to see her response to the knowledge that she was on a human’s lap.

“I have noticed you have a bad habit of omitting important details when talking about yourself. You’re attempting to speak the truth while concealing certain facts.” Of course, she saw right through his answer. They stared into each other’s eyes before he continued.

“Would the word Heroic Spirit or Counter Guardian even mean anything to you?”

“... Aside from the Spirit part, everything else does not give me much to work with since you also are not a spirit. Then again, your actions certainly are quite heroic in the eyes of many.”

“Then what would that make me in your opinion?”

“To be honest with you,” The words slipped out of her, trailing as her hand drifted up his body, fingers brushing the fabric covering his chest. For just a flash, sparks crackled between her fingertips and himself and before Archer could even register what was happening, the neat black dress shirt he’d chosen in place of his usual armor was split open, fatally undone, leaving his sculpted chest completely bare and exposed to her gaze. She looked him over, lips curving in something like satisfaction.

“I have long since stopped caring about what you are anymore. Human, demon, elf, or some mutt mixture between them; with the way things have gone up to this point, does it even matter? At the end of the day, none of it changes who you are.” Her hand lingered, nails lightly scraping his skin, her eyes steady and sharp. “You’re just Archer. That’s enough for me. More than enough, honestly.” She snorted, as if even voicing it out loud was a relief. “You’re so much of a constant headache that I don’t have the time or energy to overthink it anymore. So from now on, I’m just going to experience you for myself as we go forward. That should be the best way.”

“...”

‘Wow…’ Where on one hand, there was someone so obsessed with an identity, with a name once attached to him an innumerable amount of years ago, that she clung on to it in denial. That her idea of the boy she had seen in her visions was still within him, somewhere deep down, if at least within her reach. And on the opposite end here stood someone who had slaughtered and led millions into a despairing life, who had stood opposed to the other one in immense prideful action now saying the complete opposite. That she would accept him as is, and just go along with it, and see what happens.

He wasn’t sure how to truly feel about it; he couldn’t tell whether he should be smiling, teasing, or even dismissing her words. But before one of those could leave his mouth, his very being reacted to it on instinct; those words had brought out from him a genuine smile, something that could be described as the closest thing to gratitude he had ever shown to her. He could not hide it from her, as well as the words that exited as seamlessly from his mouth to the former queen.

“Thank you.”

Olga went ramrod at his response, for that answer had completely gone out of her entire calculations, throwing the woman off. She could only stare at him as he saw her own look of innocence as her face went crimson red. For what felt like an eternity, the woman finally closed her eyes and laughed loudly.

“Heh… being thankful because I refuse to look deeper into your disgusting self, any more than I already have, what is wrong with that moronic head of yours?” Her raven-black hair covered her face, making her expression impossible to discern. You definitely are a weird one, and for the record, to me that makes you even less human.” Gaze lowered, she moved her hands caressing his pecks and abs until they reached beneath the waist of his black pants and underwear. Leaving his lap, she descended till she was at eye sight of it, before giving it the same treatment as his shirt, removing it with a single flick of her hand, revealing his pained member ‘front and center’ to the woman who, for just a brief moment, froze on the spot at the sight, taking her first close sight of it in full. Luckily she had seen more than enough of them in her life, to be able to gather herself. Glad that her face at this angle was still hidden since she would never let him notice her reaction. She steeled herself, relaxing a bit as she noted how it was slowly rising.

“Is that all you have to say?”

…She shrugged, “Maybe, for now, but we'll see later on if my opinion changes as we go forth.”

It took him a while to gather himself, but every second he had done that was spent by Olga in the same way, too; she was slowly recovering, too, from what had just happened, whether it was from the surprise, maybe even fear, or just the rush that came from having him so entirely and openly at her mercy. As it dawned on her how vulnerable he was letting himself be around her, her face which had been hidden slowly revealed itself as she raised her head.

She didn’t stop smiling, not even for a moment.

He could see that smile now as it sent a shiver down his spine. He struggled to process what she had done to his clothes, to him, and what would follow after. Even as he stared at her, dazed and unable to move, she just looked right back up at him with a smile that was a vivid mix of emotions; kind of uncertain, kind of wild, but definitely real. Somehow, staring at that smile stirred something in him, as he shook himself back to his senses, reminding him of what was really happening right now. And then, before he even had the chance to say anything or do anything, Olga was already back to his now erect member like she’d been waiting for it the whole time, taking it in as if nothing had happened.

“Maybe you were right. It looks like parts of you still act just like those pathetic humans when they see a Dark Elf willing to give herself to them. But with this beastly thing in front of me, maybe you also have some Orc blood in you to boast such an endowment; that would explain the arrogance you show to me.”

Appreciating her attempt at looking so calm, despite knowing differently, Archer decided to put what she was doing on hold and deal with it the same way he dealt with Alicia.“You do not need to force yourself if you feel like you need to do this, due to you having some responsibilities towards me—Ah!” A gasp escaped his lips for the first time, as Olga wasted no time grabbing onto his warm member with a slight scowl on her face upon hearing his words.

“Are we not already done with that subject? I'll keep repeating myself until it gets through your thick skull. I can assure you it would have to be more than a mere ‘Thank you’ to compel me to do something like this. Whether this started from obligation, desire, reward, or what other excuse you come too, you would have me stop now that I’ve gone so far. I can assure you that I would pay back such humiliation in full if you continue this course.” Her hold tightened hard for an instant, forcing a painful groan out of Archer, before she lessened her grip. “Now enough of your inane prattle, or I'll decide this to be a punishment instead.”

Olga’s hand wrapped around him, her touch both hesitant and determined as she felt the heat pulsing from it, the feel of the skin’s texture on her hands, and the pulsing of the blood as it pooled down there. She stared at his length, width, and girth, a mixture of curiosity and calculation in her eyes, as she took in every detail of it from its feel to its appearance. “For a human, it's... truly substantial.”

“Thanks, I think.” Archer managed, a wry smile touching his lips, as Olga continued her examination.

“Ghh!” Her grip tightened, cutting off his attempt at speech; she was already committed, intent on learning every nuance of his body, her fingers tracing the ridged veins that pulsed like blue lightning beneath his flushed skin. Up and down her hand moved, slow at first; a deliberate, almost clinical rhythm as if she were still testing the boundaries of what he liked best. But as she looked up to his face, watching his expression twist at her action’s, confidence took root. Feeling assured in what moved him, her grip sure and steady now began to explore more fearlessly, her movements growing bolder.

His hips jerked, betraying him despite the discipline he tried to maintain. He gasped—a low, rough sound—as her thumb smeared over the sensitive pink crown, gathering the bead of clear fluid that had welled up there and smearing over his sensitive tip.

"I see… so then if that’s how you react… then… like this?" she asked, voice dipping into a whisper, each syllable a brush of hot breath against his cock, causing him to shiver. "That face you’re making… I haven’t seen it before. But I can’t say I mind."

“Just like that, keep going,” he breathed, having a hard time keeping a neutral face with how quickly her hand moved. Unable to think properly as she played with him, he just said what was on his mind. In response, her rhythm quickened, the slide of her palm growing slicker with each pass, until she stopped as a passing idea came to her mind.

“...Y-You’re surpassingly good for someone who has never done this…”

She smirked, “Were you expecting a terrible experience? How unwise of you~!” She even had a teasing tone that sounded completely new to her, something he had never heard come out of the woman's mouth before.

“Ahhh,” Her tongue slipped out, a trail of saliva glistening downwards to her hand as she brought it down to him, now having a much easier time to stroke him. “Ahh!” The coldness of the saliva made him shiver a bit, as her movements became sleeker than before. The sounds they let out began filling the room, the soft rustle upon the sofa, the wet slap of skin, their mingled breathing. He felt the tension coiling in his groin, a familiar heat rising fast.

“O-Olga…!”

But she already figured that out, her other hand coming up to join the first. Working him in tandem with both, creating a twisting, stroking motion that was both maddening and exquisite.

Her dark breasts, freed from their confines, swayed and jiggled with the effort, nipples tight and flushed. She raised herself upwards, never stopping her motion, bringing herself back to eye level with him, leaning into his face, so he could see her beautiful face, her breath hot against his neck. The sight alone, her hands against his skin, the intent focused on her face, the way her tongue still peeked from between her lips to glide against his skin as she licked his cheek.

All of this pushed him to his limit.

She seemed to sense it, her other hand coming up to cup his sac, sending a surge of energy coursing through Archer’s body. She used her fingers, gently kneading them in her hands, providing extra stimulation. The added sensation was electric, shooting through him like lightning.

“Argh!” Another grunt escaped his mouth, a strangled cry on his lips as he spilled over her fingers in hot thick ropes that also painted their chests. It poured out like a fountain sprinkler, causing her supple chest to now be covered in a stark white that contrasted against her dark tan skin.

For a moment, there was only the sound of their ragged breaths. Then, slowly, Olga lifted her hand. “So this is what you filled those women with… It’s so hot and thick, and also very sticky. If I remember correctly from the content of the books, one should…” She regarded the milky fluid coating her fingers with an analytical gaze, and before he could question what she meant about those ‘books’, much to Archer's surprise, she ended up bringing them to her lips. Her tongue hesitatingly moved out as she licked it, tasting it tentatively, slowly as a thoughtful expression crossed her face, before scooping up more and drinking it.

“Salty,” she murmured, more to herself than to him. “A bit bitter, but not as overall terrible as I was expecting. I had thought I would retch at the sight, though still, it is not a proper meal. It appears to give off a unique scent.”

He remained frozen in place, almost speechless at what he was seeing. Every action from her today kept bringing one surprise after the other. To the point, he wasn’t even sure if she was the same Olga from just an hour ago, and not Mistiora in a disguise.

Before he could formulate a response, she was shifting again, positioning herself over him in a different way. Getting on her knees, resting them on the fur rug as her black hair pooled at her feet, she positioned herself between his legs. Her breasts were heavy, and her erect dusky nipples were now on full display and positioned as the center pieces of her next action — pressed against either side of his still-hard cock. Archer was shocked speechless at the sight, though he wasn’t the only one unprepared, as it seems she herself wasn’t mentally prepared for what she was doing as well.

“I-I will say that this is my first time as well. I’ve always been co-confident in my chest, and I know that to you men enjoy these, they are an object of desire for you to do all sorts of things with. Mine are quite on the l-larger side, and fr-from what I’ve seen, you certainly appreciate those types. My chest may not be as big as Celestine b-but they are more than enough for this…”

Was she being serious? Why the sudden shyness after what had occurred just a few seconds ago? Perhaps the alcohol really did a number on her mind considering what she was now doing.

Yet he could not complain, for her soft, dark tan skin was melding on him, in a stark contrast against the flushed, tan flesh of his arousal. She sandwiched him between them; the pressure she pushed onto him gave him a delicious friction. And as soon as she did so, all his mind knew was warmth, softness, bliss, and ecstasy.

Her nervousness at the provocative display only further attracted him to her, increasing her attractiveness and vulnerability.

“Now if I recall correctly from Celestine's collection… this is how it should work,” she said, her voice once more husky, seeming to get her nerve back. She began to move, sliding her breasts up and down his shaft, causing him to moan at every motion. The sight was intoxicating, the dark peaks of her nipples brushing against him with every pass, further stimulating him.

It was obvious what effect she had on him, as she could see it written all over his face. “Men really do enjoy this, don’t they?” A sly cheshire grin formed on her face as Olga relished having him under her control.

Archer didn’t respond as she kept moving her chest. It was as if he was sandwiched between two warm memory foam pillows that were molding to his shape and memorizing it. The softness and firmness ground on his shaft, stimulating him at every turn. The endorphins being pumped into his brain were making it hard for him to focus.

Further spurred on by his reaction she leaned forward, lowering her head and then… “Mmm~!” Her lips, swollen from their earlier kiss, parted to take the head of his cock into her mouth. The wet heat of her tongue swirling around his sensitive tip made him gasp, as the pleasure went to a whole other level, his hands grabbing into the sofa’s fur lining beneath him. She sucked gently, cheeks hollowing, her gaze locked with his as she continued the rhythm with her breasts.

The dual sensations, the soft slide of her breasts and the hot suction of her mouth, were overwhelming. He felt himself hurtling toward the edge again, embarrassingly fast. His hips thrust upward seeking more of it, and she accommodated him, taking him in a little deeper, her movements becoming bolder, more confident.

“Olga…” he groaned, her name. To her credit she managed to hear him even over the sound of their skin against skin in par with her slurping motion’s..

Her only response was to double her efforts, her movements becoming a blur of slick, sloppy motion that was unsynchronized. Going on and on in her foreplay with him, as she kept getting closer and closer to the inevitable result of her actions. Throughout it all she never stopped being elated at his reactions.

She wanted this. She wanted all of it.

“A-ah!” With a final, shuddering cry, he grabbed her soft head, feeling her smooth hair as he held it close, spilling himself into her waiting mouth. He could feel it pool out of her stuffed mouth and onto her chest, body, and the floor as his mind went blank. She, in turn, drank him down, her throat working as she swallowed every last drop, her tongue still swirling around him, coaxing out every bit of pleasure until he was utterly spent.

They didn’t leave their position for a while, as Archer just sat there enjoying the feeling of Olga servicing him.

Afterwards, she released him slowly, a string of saliva connecting her lips to his softened length for a moment before breaking. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, a triumphant, messy grin on her face. Her chest heaved, her breasts glistening with a mixture of sweat and the semen he had just coated them in. She took a moment to watch his face painted with pleasure, taking it in as a luxury. Her smile only increased at the sight, growing wider and wider.

“T-There,” she whispered with a crimson hue on her face. “Not even the prior two harlots you've been with had made you reach your limit this quickly.”

Even until now, she was still thinking about those two!?

“Is everything a competition to you?” He asked helplessly and tiredly. His exhausted state only further spurred Olga, giving him his answer in the form of her shifting her position again, removing her stained chest from his member causing Archer to shift as he felt the cold air instead of the prior warmth. She moved to get on top of him with her now wet womanhood glistening under the fire’s light while the tip of his spent dick rubbed against it. Each motion made her shiver, embracing his head as if to support herself, she showed a grin he could not see and whispered close to his ears once more.

“Of course, I am your Queen after all. Nothing… no one can stand above me, either in combat or in carnal delights. Not even Celestine, and unfortunately for her, I am now several steps ahead.” Her hands went to touch the spot right above her nether lips, as a glowing mark appeared on her skin, which drew his attention. It was made with two circles, and had a line squiggle through it. It took only a few seconds for him to realize what it was, as he felt the concentrated magical energy and recognized its purpose.

“A protection measure?”

“Yes,” she answered, her hand grabbing onto his cock and bringing it closer to her sensitive folds, moving up and down on it, allowing both of their most intimate parts to rub against one another. Her outer folds continued caressing his shaft as more of her juices leaked out of it with each drag. The friction of her grind work already returned him to a new life, as his lower region once more got harder. “The last measure and my most desperate barrier. Had something happened to me when Vault had succeeded, and you were not there, then I would have cast it. At least then I would have been able to take out a few humans before losing myself to whatever torture he had in mind.”

“Trying to kill me already?” He asked with amusement while also being a bit cautious about that protective measure now. As if to prove her point, she slid his manhood at the entrance, where even applying a bit of force to enter proved to be impossible as an invisible force pushed him away. In the end, his dick would just slide off to once more tease her folds or clit. “Doesn’t seem so.”

“Let's see which is which, shall we. Are you willing to risk your life and find out about the results yourself?” She said, genuinely making it hard to figure out if she was being serious or not. So instead, he met her challenge head-on, pulling her close enough to feel her breasts press against his skin, kissing her neck, as he rubbed himself against her, his hands roaming up and down her thighs, their bodies burning against each other with excitement.

“A-ahhh… Aaaaah… Aaaaaahhhhh.”

“Hmph… Haaah! Hnaaaaaah.”

They entered into a rhythm of peppering each other’s bodies with kisses as they entangled themselves within each other. They moved lower slowly, never once stopping as they kept holding each other close. They laid themselves down on the fur rug, rubbing against each other in pleasure. The warm light of the fire cascading over their bodies as they rolled on the carpet. “For you to become this vulnerable from just my touch; it’s intoxicating. To have the one who destroyed the Kuroinu, my castle, and my army, to have him now at the mercy of his Queen… It’s indescribable."

Archer felt compelled not to let her keep being so arrogant, and went on the assault; his hands explored her body, grabbing her waist, her back, her ass, and her breasts. No part wasn’t touched as he continued to feel her smooth, warm skin, and as they tumbled on the floor, he could feel her silky, long black hair tangling around him. Moving to her chest, he toyed with them, pinching her nipples, biting them, and pulling on them just enough to make her shudder and squeal. And each touch he made, made her moan even more and grip him harder, one hand grabbing her ass, as the other pulled his head in closer, tugging on his hair.

Yet that was not all as she wasn’t idle, continuing her campaign to dominate him. Soon after her hands roamed his body’s every corner, tracing his muscles and memorizing the landscape of his form. Her nails raked lightly down his back, sending shivers through him. The fire painted them in shades of amber and shadow, their bodies a study in contrasts, his lean, sturdy frame against her softer, fuller curves.

He could feel the heat building between her legs, a molten core that mirrored the fire in the hearth. His erection, now fully recovered and aching with need, pressed insistently against her. The barrier was still infuriatingly there. It was like trying to walk through a wall of solid air that, without using an anti-magecraft item to destroy it, would be impossible to breach. Each failed attempt to enter her only heightened the friction, the slick slide of her folds against the sensitive underside of his shaft.

“Olga,” he growled against her skin, while she kept nipping at his shoulder. “This is… maddening.”

“T-That’s the point,” she gasped, her hips bucking against him. “I need you to want me. I want you to be desperate for me.” She arched her back, pressing her breasts more firmly against his chest, the hardened nipples a delicious point of pressure against his skin. “Don’t you want to be inside me? Don’t you want to feel me around you, squeezing you, milking you dry?”

Her words were a potent drug, pushing him closer to the brink, his body demanding to take this beautiful dark elf, yet he held back, not wanting to play completely into her hand. He could feel the tell-tale tingle at the base of his spine, the coiling tension in his groin. He was going to cum again, just from this frustrating, exquisite torture.

With a final, desperate surge of effort, he thrust against her, not trying to penetrate, but simply seeking maximum friction. He ground himself against her slick heat, the head of his cock rubbing her clit in a frantic rhythm.

And it was working. The second his cockhead started grinding on her clit in just the right way, Olga let out a shrill, wild scream, her legs shaking as she lost her mind on the spot, moaning and gritting her teeth closed to stop herself from letting out any sounds of her enjoyment. Her nails dug into his back, raking down hard enough to leave red lines. Her hips bucked along with his, chasing every last drop of friction, every single ounce of pleasure she could wring from his desperate, throbbing cock. Her juices were now pouring out, soaking his shaft and making a mess, the room filled with the sloppy, obscene sound of his cock sliding over and over against her soaked folds with the added effect of his balls smacking her ass.

“Archer!” she cried out, her body tensing, her nails digging into his shoulders. “Yes! Just like that. JUST LIKE THAT!”

He felt her spasm around him, her legs wrapping around his hips tightly. Unable to hold back the effects of his own ministrations on her, her body, for the first time in a long time, came. Her orgasm ripped through her as she clung to him, her cries echoing in the quiet room. The sight of her coming undone, the feel of her wet heat wrapped around him, was the final push he needed.

With a guttural groan, he came as well, synching with her last spasms, his seed pulsing out in hot, long, thick ropes, coating her stomach, her breasts, her thighs, and some of it even got in her long black hair making it stick in places. It painted her skin, a pearly sheen that made her look like some goddess of fertility and lust.

He collapsed against her, his body spent, his mind a blissful blank. For a long moment, they lay there, just breathing, the only sounds were now the crackling of the fire, their panting, and the pounding of their own hearts.

When he finally found the strength to lift his head, he looked at her. She was a mess, her body covered in his cum, her hair a tangled halo around her head, her lips swollen and bruised from their kisses. She was, he thought, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

She met his gaze as well, a slow frown forming across her face, flushed and proud. “I-I win…” she whispered, her voice still husky and throaty, and her mind now a mess from her mix of pleasure, sanity, and a whirlpool of other emotions. Yet she still did not sound satisfied with the current outcome; Just Archer looking at her in this state had already reignited his desire and returned himself to full mast. For her, the fact that his cock remained standing and also that he did not beg for anything showed that his will was also still standing. In other words, in her eyes, he had narrowly escaped submitting to her, which frustrated her and the feeling of domination she was relishing now felt lukewarm.

She could feel it; she had been so close, just a step further, and he would have been in the palm of her hand. She attempted to move as she once did, but found her body moving slightly sluggish from exhaustion. “N-No… I can still do it. L-Let’s go again.”

Archer, who had been able to recover thanks to the brief period of Olga’s exhaustion, was able to momentarily clear his mind from Olga’s seduction. Yet seeing her struggle as she moved her seductive body for one more round drove him to be the one to initiate this time. “That was incredible, still it will take more than that to make me pledge myself to you,” teased the man, hand squeezing her soft, supple ass to elicit another short yelp, while another grabbed one of her breasts. “You still have a ways to go.”

In the end, Olga’s inexperience had been the reason for her loss of the upper hand, and the advantage now belonged to Archer.

“Why you…!”

However, Olga refused to let it end like this. In reality, the truth was that Olga really was one step further from making Archer submit to her sexually, a fact that did not escape the man.

The former Dark Queen fumed, her pride not letting her let things end like this. She thought to herself how she could push him to the end, even in her exhausted state.

In truth, she herself wasn’t fully aware of what she was doing, all she knew was she didn’t want this to end just yet, had she not been immersed in this and taken a step back, she never would have considered this.

“Damn it! just one more step… one more step. I’ll have to risk it.”

Her hands traveled right below her navel, touching the mark as a faint light slowly starting to emit from it. Looking at her action, he could feel the magical energy she was emitting and the effect it was having on the seal. In that moment, it really dawned on him that she was being serious.

“Is this truly about giving me a reward, Olga?” He asked, seeing her hazy eyes grow more clouded with lust as the Dark Elf bit into her lips, while his dick pressed against her entrance, pushing against it as the prior invisible force slowly grew quite weaker.

“I… I don't know.” She whispered, admitting to herself that even she didn’t fully understand what she was doing. Already, parts of the mark started to fade right before his eyes as she went on with it. “Perhaps I really am just being too selfish, or maybe this is all the influence of the alcohol.” That last part he knew had to be a lie.

“Olga, I feel like you’ve already done more than enough for me to feel like I’ve been rewarded. This was an unforgettable experience. You definitely had me under your spell… so please, if it’s about your pride then…”

“No… it’s not just that… I…”

Archer felt ramrock still as Olga tried to force words that even she didn’t fully understand out. He could feel her shaking like a leaf in his arms…”

“If it’s you… then…”

BAM!

The sound of something crashing and breaking startled both of them out of their moment, as in the corner of their eyes, they both looked at a door to spot Mistiora standing in the middle of it, frozen in place just like them. Her eyes widened with pure disbelief as she stared at him on top of her naked sister, completely covered in his white hot load. Archer from the corner of his eye found the prior look of lust in Olga's eyes had vanished entirely and was now replaced with what could only be described as terror and pure nervousness.

Nothing but silence stretched on between the three; until a string of words finally came out of Mistiora’s mouth.

“Y-You… You're erasing the mark, O-Olga? For him?”

The entire atmosphere from earlier had completely collapsed.

{Break}

(Next morning)

After the events of the previous night Archer felt more energized than he could ever have expected, as if a surge of energy was welling within him. Although the feeling came with a quiet awareness that things would now turn a bit awkward between him and the Dark Elf sisters.

Best to be careful.

Mistiora had managed to follow him for a while before the alcohol finally caught up to her and she began to wobble, prompting him to attempt to help her out, only to be met with a scorching glare that made him hold his ground. Neither of them spoke during the walk back, and he could not tell if she was angry with him, confused, or simply tired. No, all she did was stare at him so intensely that he started to wonder if she was contemplating firing an actual spell at him.

It was awkward during the walk, since the girl still kept her thoughts to herself and he just waited for her to lose consciousness and carry her back. He could hear her mutter several things on their way back that barely made sense, accusing him for many things followed by asking questions of what his intentions were amongst many others.

‘Why Olga…’

Those were the words that kept being repeated till they had reached the palace, she had reached her limit and passed out, and even when he placed her back in bed.

Truthfully, he really did not know how to answer the woman.

Silence was the only thing he could give. For even if he had an answer, she would not remember it.

After that, in the morning he decided it would be best to keep some distance from the both for the day till things cooled down, at least long enough to avoid drawing attention or raising any bad suspicions, the last thing he wanted was another interrogation. Taking Mistiora back was the only exception, as she had to return with him to the palace, whether they both liked it or not.

Archer pushed those thoughts aside and tried to focus on the errands ahead of him — First he started his day with a cold shower to remove any residual impulses from last night. With the sounds of birds chirping and the sunlight filling the room, Archer walked out of the bath with a towel on his head. Those distracting thoughts, now mostly gone and any lingering sensation long since extinguished.

While standing near the window and using his magecraft to call forth his usual gear back since most clothes provided by the palace were… a bit too extravagant, the man did not fail to notice a pair of eyes that kept staring into the back of his head for the next half hour. Like a pressurized carpenter gun drilling through his skull. So he turned to look at the girl, who despite having her own room, was now sleeping in his own.

‘Strange, I'm pretty sure I saw her sleeping in the other room yesterday after placing Mistiora. She must have snuck here after I went to sleep without me noticing. I'm not sure if I should be impressed or worried with how her sneaking has improved.’

Staring back with a puzzled expression.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Where did you go last night?" Radomira asked. Her tone carried suspicion so intense that Archer felt like a student caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing by his teacher. It was odd how she managed to make the simple question feel like the start of an interrogation.

"I went to check on Olga and make sure she did not get herself into trouble. I had to bring that dancer girl out with me so those two could finally meet and have their reunion. She had been searching for Olga for centuries. You know how much they missed each other right, so the sooner, the better." He saw no reason to hide it, especially since Radomira already knew pieces of Olga's past and was sharp enough to understand the rest.

"Was that all?"

"Well, we had a bit to drink to celebrate. Chloe got too drunk and could not walk on her own, and neither could Mistiora, which is why I had to carry her back."

"No wonder she’s been puking since this morning," the Tiefling muttered, remembering the sounds of retching coming from the bathroom before she snapped her attention back to him. She grabbed his collar and shook him with surprising strength. "But that is not what I am talking about! That smell on you and that look of ‘someone that did something they shouldn’t but don’t regret’ face of yours. You did it again, didn’t you?"

Her voice shot up louder than in her first confrontation, filled with frustration and anger mixing in a way that embarrassed Archer and left him unsure why she was reacting so strongly. He raised both hands to calm her.

"Radomira, it’s not what you're thinking. Things just happened, but I’m telling you it didn’t go as far as you believe. It wasn’t like that time with Alicia, and nothing serious happened."

Whatever more he planned to say stopped when she grabbed him by the collar and shouted at him again.

"Who’s the actual Tiefling here, huh? Is it you, or is it me? I’m supposed to be the one with the ridiculous horny powers that make people all hot and bothered, right? And yet! And yet — I haven’t even tried to kiss you, not even once, while everyone else has been throwing themselves at you! Yo-You! You’ve gone and had three, maybe four, wild sex filled encounters, and not just with one person, but with all sorts of women, and all in less than a single month! Hnnn-ah! It’s so unfair!

"O-Oi! What are you even saying? This is not a competition, and you shouldn’t be talking like that. You’re still quite young and have plenty of time for that stuff much, much later."

"Exactly what part of me is young!?" She crossed her arms under her chest as she puffed them out to him; the motion lifted her bust enough that the fabric of her v-cut dress strained from the extra pressure that was added, making it pop under her cloak. As ridiculous as it sounded, Archer was starting to think she kept growing taller both in height and… in other areas, too. He wondered if he had just fed her too much good food or if Tieflings simply grew unpredictably in general. Though from experience, he knew that telling any girl to control her eating would in most cases earn him a scolding, so he decided to keep that thought to himself.

"See? You can’t even answer me. Now that I’ve got this body, I’m much more endowed and mature than all the other girls you’ve seen till now, well, except maybe Celestine. But that is not fair since she is a goddess."

"As I said, this is not a competition. Archer told her. "Stop comparing yourself to some fixed idea of adulthood. You've still got time to grow and figure yourself out."

Radomira's hair bristled. "Archer... I'm more grown up than you think. Don't call me a child." He didn't notice her irritation and kept trying to explain himself.

“Also, for the record, whatever vibe you seem to think I’m giving off, that was just Olga's idea of rewarding me for bringing back Mistiora. We didn’t do that thing we talked about yesterday, and I doubt Olga, and I would do something like that so easily again."

Radomira felt something snap inside her as she scoffed and opened her palm. A cloud of purple gas formed instantly before she threw it at his face. “Gaaah!!!” She then stomped out of the room with loud, deliberate steps that echoed in the hall.

"Cough, cough. What was that for?"

"It’s nothing, not like it will even affect you, given you don’t need that to go around sleeping with everyone." She shouted the words back at him as she left to go to the bathroom to look for Mistiora, who from the sounds of it, was still emptying her stomach. Just like she said, the concentration of the aphrodisiac she spoke of was hardly strong enough to trouble him. It was a faint ripple that brushed against him for only a moment, giving him a slight floral sensation, before vanishing just as quickly. It’s completely insignificant compared to the concentration she had once struggled with when she had no control over her own power. Even without him circulating his magical energy, whatever effect it carried would have clung to him for only a few seconds before fading completely.

He looked in the direction she had stormed off to — he released a long sigh. The man could not bring himself to argue with her because, in a way, he understood the anger behind her retreat. Was the girl afraid he would forget about her? It would not be unusual for someone of her life’s temporal age to fall into that kind of fear. He was the one who lacked the experience to guide her through it properly. A moment like this always called up the image of a familiar brown-haired English teacher from his memories. Despite her oddities and her relentless persistence, Taiga knew how to push the young Shirou Emiya onward whenever he would be in a bad mood. He wondered how he could do it.

"Trouble in paradise?" a voice asked behind him.

Archer turned and found Kaguya standing exactly where Radomira had been moments earlier. Her expression carried a glimmer of amusement that she did not bother to hide.

"It is not like that between us. I am her guardian. You should know that."

"Well, she certainly does not look at you that way."

"And you should mind your own business," he replied, louder than before. He knew why the priestess had said it. He had seen the changes in the girl since her transformation. It would be foolish to pretend he had not noticed. Yet he also knew that her physical shifts came with a whirlwind of confusion she had not yet sorted out. She would need time to understand herself again, and pushing her in one direction or another would only harm her.

"Unfortunately for you, keeping you alive and making sure you continue to work with Lady Celestine is very much my business," Kaguya said.

"We are not going to get anywhere by trading words like this. Tell me how Maia is," Archer said, redirecting the conversation. Along with helping Kaguya investigate the matter involving the so-called Cult of the Insect God that had descended into Fullstar, he had asked her to check on Maia as well. While the girl appeared stable and even showed early signs of recovery, he preferred a professional opinion. The answer he received, while not ideal, eased his concerns more than he expected.

"She is not in any life-threatening danger," Kaguya said. "It turns out the attack had been laced with a kind of poison. The dosage was too low to cause a deadly wound or any serious infection, so a healing spell dispersed most of it. What little remained in her system seems to have been effective against her, weakening her more than we initially believed. She simply needs time to recover."

"Poison, huh?" Archer repeated. The word felt out of place. "Were Leona's group using something like that?" He tried to recall the mercenaries’ weapons. They were regular fighters who relied on straightforward blades and standard gear. Even the daggers thrown by their leader during their skirmish had carried no unusual coating. The men he fought in the camp had nothing of the sort either. "Did you not interrogate the prisoners? Did you find anything that could help with an antidote to speed up her recovery?"

"We did question them," Kaguya replied. "They have not been cooperative. They claimed ignorance at every turn. Even if they had offered answers, I doubt I would trust them. I prefer to depend on my own people to examine her and provide proper care. You do not need to worry. I have looked after the Princess Knights for years. I know how to tend to them when it becomes necessary."

“Yet the moment I appear, many of them end up either getting injured or influenced by some kind of drug they have consumed.” The smile on the priestess’s face widened, although her eyes grew sharper with a faint edge of annoyance. “That is because I would consider you a bad omen overall. They were not getting nearly as many injuries and issues before you arrived.”

“Oh, what a convenient excuse. Are you sure you are not just saying that because you want to hide your inefficiency?”

“And would you like me to remind you who is the only one capable of facilitating your journey back to Feoh through a not so simple teleportation spell without forcing you to walk the entire distance and waste days getting there?”

Sparks continued to fly as one gazed at the other, each throwing barbs at one another.

“Something tells me that helping you deal with this matter will also burn through several days.” He replied without breaking his gaze from the priestess. She stepped forward with calm steps yet she also carried a quiet fury in her eyes. The way she stared at him made it clear she wanted to roast him where he stood. Unlike Alicia in the beginning, this woman understood how to hold herself together and remain courteous.

“You are free to not aid me in this matter, ‘Sir’ Archer. As a guest of the goddess, I cannot force you to do anything. Instead, I will offer you something I am certain you will appreciate. I am willing to send you and your group back to Feoh without requiring any further assistance from you. This cult is not as powerful as people like you seem to imagine, and at the end of the day, they are enemies I wish to face with my own hands. Now that the goddess Celestine is here to support us, with the Crown of FullStar also prepared to intervene, not much would be lost by your absence.”

This time, it was his turn to narrow his eyes. She had a point. There was no obligation for him to help.

“...”

As if! It was his job to hunt down the group that brought a Beast here in the first place and make sure they couldn’t enact another tragedy. It was literally in his job description as a Counter Guardian.

Well, at most to take care of threats that could summon them, he usually left actually fighting them to the Grand Servants and the Humanity of the time.

Also, the thought of simply walking away from this entire situation refused to sit well with him. Still it seemed that Kaguya was pretty insistent on her being the one to take care of it, so he thought he should at least throw her a bone. “Maybe I will take your offer up only after Maia wakes up. I do not feel safe leaving her here. Nor do I feel safe letting the people from Feoh check on her after what happened back there. Furthermore, you’ll have to convince me you really got this handled, otherwise I will interfere.”

Kaguya remained silent for a few seconds as she looked at him, before smiling gently. “But of course. It will be a pleasure to have you on our side once more, Sir Archer.” She spoke while he walked past her toward his room's exit. He could hear her footsteps behind him and her voice dropping to a whisper. “You really cannot help yourself when it comes to aiding those in need, can you? My goddess was right about you after all.”

His eye twitched, and he fought back the urge to retort immediately. “I will quote Maia here, but I would rather you shove that up your ass. Though knowing you, it might count as a blessing for your god.”

“Oh my, such classy words. They certainly sound like something Maia would say.”

“Guess she just rubbed off on me more than I thought.”

“She does have that effect on others.”

After that they said nothing else, merely walking through the castle till they came to the entrance. He stepped outside with Kaguya guiding him toward a carriage she had prepared. He entered with Kaguya following behind, both of them sitting on opposite sides of the other, followed soon by the horses beginning to move.

While the carriage began to leave, he looked out into the distance, where he noticed Radomira dragging Mistiora towards a nearby maze garden.

“If you are worried about her, then rest assured. I have fortified this entire area with the Queen's permission. Nothing, not even a fly, can get in without being detected.”

“I am not worried. She can protect herself now, unlike before.” He worried more for himself since the likelihood of the girl planning some revenge and dragging Mistiora along to play along as her accomplice was high. Or maybe he was just overthinking things… Anyways, the man shook his head.

…

(A half hour later)

Soon, the horses pulled them toward the center of the bustling kingdom, where he could see people of a variety of races all living peacefully as they went about their ordinary day. Crossing his arms, he once more continued his prior discussion with Kaguya after a brief respite to look at the kingdom, “So what is your plan?”

“As you may recall, there was a small gift left behind by the Insect God Cult at our doorstep not that long ago. They left behind quite a number of their little souvenirs inside the late priestess.”

“Yes I am aware of that.” The memories of those insects lingered in his mind and made his stomach tighten with disgust. “What about them?”

“Well, those insects aren’t your ordinary creatures. Even the most useless ones share a single trait. They are mystically labeled and linked together with a mark that Shamuhaza uses to control them all.”

“You don't mean their God?”

"Kind of. The god of the cult also has a type of middleman through whom it speaks to every follower; its apostle and priest. One could say that both the god and Shamuhaza share a direct link to the swarm. They cannot be separated without killing the insects involved."

"So all of them are basically familiars belonging to one person." He muttered the thought while a comparison rose in his mind. Great, it just kept getting more similar to Zouken, whom he had the unfortunate misfortune of dealing with several times during the Holy Grail War. The more he learned about this mess, the more uncomfortable similarities appeared and piled up.

He was already mentally preparing for stomach churning sights.

"Not exactly similar to a familiar. Those creatures do not possess any proper magical function. They are simply beings that were branded and formed a connection. They are no different from containers meant to carry eggs, so they can implant the very same branding method into victims and produce more. They are born with only one command etched into them. That command can never be changed or altered, not even by its owner."

The way she explained it was processed by Archer. He took a moment to collect his thoughts on the insects and the way the cult was structured. Eventually arriving at Kaguya’s opinion on the subject, he rethought her intentions and what she was planning to attempt, arriving at a probable conclusion.

"You did not discard those insects. Am I right?"

"Yes. That is correct."

Archer paused as he stared into Kaguya’s eyes, her expression as neutral as always.

"So either you have a disgusting habit of collecting things that came out from those who once served you, or you intend to use them to help us locate our perpetrator." He expected the small jab to be noticed. Archer was not trying to sow conflict between them. He only wanted to observe how she reacted. Even now, something about her unsettled him deep in his core. Being near her kept his mind alert in a way that was hard to explain, not the same kind of sensation as Celestine. It was not fear for his own life. It was the simple fact that this woman was nearly impossible to read.

"As expected of Sir Archer. You managed to estimate correctly."

"And judging by how long this method of locating them has taken, along with the fact that you asked for my help, I assume no one in your temple is capable of tracking the use of these insects. Otherwise, this would have been handled long ago."

It seemed simple from his perspective. Use the link the marked insects had to reach out and locate others like them through the connection. Then either remove the label or eliminate the ones with it, all in one fell swoop to let the whole system collapse. Sadly for some reason they couldn't, which is why they turned to him.

This time, the woman let out a quiet sigh that felt heavier than her usual controlled tone. "You have no idea how true that is. This dilemma has haunted us for centuries. If we could reverse the brand on the insects without killing them and thus make them useless, then the cult of the insect god would have faded into history. They would not even be a footnote in our records."

"Then what makes you think I can change that? I can try if you insist, but tracking isn’t really my specialty when it involves insects so small and spread out. Especially when it involves… magic that does not fall within anything I am familiar with. You're more of an expert in this field than me."

Kaguya hummed, "You say that even though you managed to track down the Kuroinu and Vault all the way to Olga's castle before the attack began. You were most likely already positioned there, waiting for them to capture the Dark Queen so you could eliminate them all in one place. Not even the Dark Queen herself knew where those mercenaries were located, yet somehow you knew beforehand."

"I was given the information of the danger when I arrived here and was sent to act on it. Still when I came here I still needed to locate them, though the Kuroinu’s battle with Olga’s forces made them stand out enough to at least give me a general idea of where to look for info. I did not just discover their exact time and location on my own, you know.”

“…”

“I’m not proud of how I got some of the other extra intel, but once I had it, I just kept following the bread crumbs straight to the castle. It’s not that hard to find, as it was originally their goal in the first place, so all I had to do was wait for them to come to me. Word of mouth on their actions from various sources played a part and helped me reach the castle before they arrived there. That was the whole story."

"So can your god not do the same with the insect cult? I imagine they do not appreciate the idea of the insect god gaining any influence."

"You are right," he agreed at once, which drew a brief look of surprise from Kaguya, as if she had prepared herself for another long retort. He knew trying to explain the nature of the Counter Force to her would serve no purpose. It was easier to let her call it whatever she wanted. "As long as the majority of human lives across the world are threatened, then it becomes my responsibility to confront that danger. The existence of the Beast is tied directly to that insect god you mentioned. That alone is reason enough for its immediate termination.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah if left to their own devices they may strengthen the Beast further, or worse even, they could summon another one. The last thing I want is a second one appearing, because even if there were a hundred copies of me running around, this world would still be finished.” He gave her a small, bittersweet smile. The truth was that the world was already hanging by a thread with just a single Beast wandering freely. Their only saving grace was the specific weakness they could exploit, and even that single advantage could vanish in an instant if they continued to play politics. If they lost that advantage, nothing would remain for him to rely on except the faint hope that Alaya would send a Grand Servant fast enough to intervene. “However right now the connection is shaky so for now it’s only me."

"I am glad that at least on this point we see things the same way. Still, do not worry. I did not bring you here solely so you would help track that creature. What I want is to use that particular skill of yours as a skilled traveler and capable warrior; the one you demonstrated when you carried the Dark Queen from her castle all the way back to the capital without dying, and when you rescued several of the other Princess Knights. I am hiring you as a protector, a bodyguard who will keep the person responsible for tracking this individual safe."

“Must be someone skilled…so then is that where we’re going?”

“Correct…In fact we’ve already arrived there?”

The carriage slowed and came to a stop. They stepped out together, and he realized they had halted in front of a massive structure that looked almost large enough to rival half the palace. From the outside, it resembled an isolated building left untouched by most daily activity, with only a handful of people entering and leaving. Nearly all of them wore matching outfits that included long dark purple robes and tall pointed hats. It only took one look for him to understand that this was no ordinary library.

"Don't tell me this is some sort of Mage Association headquarters?" he asked.

"Close. This is a mage school located in Fullstar with connections to passing guilds, this kingdom, and even Kimia’s Order of Sorcery which is the world’s largest magical organization. This building in front of you is a library restricted to the students and a few others authorized by the headmistress. Because we have written permission from the Queen herself, we can enter freely." Kaguya gestured for him to follow, so he did, climbing the steps with her and stepping into the vast interior.

His eyes opened wider as soon as they crossed through the door. The inside was far larger than anything the outer walls suggested. The opening hallway opened up to a massive library, where in the center was a stairway to descending floors that went on for a while underneath, with floors near the walls with an abundance of books. Books flapped overhead like restless birds. Candles drifted from shelf to shelf while small characters shimmered around their edges. Students moved constantly between floors and platforms, some walking, others floating, a few vanishing only to reappear on distant walkways. There was an entrance above the roof where some individuals floated in and out.

"Impressed? Do not be. This is nothing compared to the library owned by Lady Celestine," Kaguya said with clear pride slipping into her tone.

"I cannot judge or compare anything when I have never seen her place yet," he replied.

"You only need to ask her. Something tells me she would love to show it to you."

"I know." Considering her recent behavior, he suspected that almost anything he requested would be granted without a second thought. Even so, he would not deny that he was curious. If this enormous structure was considered unimpressive, then Celestine’s library had to be genuinely enormous. "So where is our mysterious tracker?" he asked.

Students continued wandering around them without sparing either of them so much as a proper glance. One or two looked directly at them, only to sneer before moving on.

"Something tells me we are not very welcome here," he muttered.

"Strange, we agreed to meet that person at the entrance around this time. Please hold on a second, I will go search for her. If you want to use some time productively, you are more than welcome to grab something to read." She barely left him room for a reply before turning away, her steps echoing briefly as she disappeared into the maze-like halls and left him standing alone in a place he barely understood.

"I suppose a few minutes will not hurt." He muttered the words to himself while moving toward a quieter corner where no one would bother glancing at him. The shelves nearby rose far above his head, twice his height at least, and stretched into several rows that formed an orderly forest of books. Each shelf was packed with countless volumes arranged so tightly that the whole place felt like a library built by someone who valued knowledge more than space or comfort. He noticed there were no ladders anywhere, not even tucked away between aisles, and that strange absence made him look up out of curiosity. A handful of books drifted high in the air as if weightless, gliding near the ceiling like lazy birds. He wondered if there was some spell that let people call them down, though he had no intention of trying anything that elaborate just to pass time.

Archer reached for the nearest book directly in front of him. It was thick, covered in worn red fabric, and had a faint smell of dust and age that clung to his fingertips once he opened it. The title written inside greeted him like a slap. "How to Achieve Immortality in Ten Easy Steps. Guaranteed Method. Written by Grand Mage Rodrigue."

"Seriously?" Whatever mystique this place had offered him a moment earlier quietly collapsed under the weight of that ridiculous title. "Hold on, it could just be a flashy name. Achieving immortality in ten steps sounds ridiculous, but would not hurt to examine at least." He wondered if this world held genuine methods to overcome mortality, he knew the elves and dwarves had long life spans, but packaging such a thing like a beginner's guide for it made the entire claim difficult to take seriously.

Ten pages in, his faint hope of finding something worthwhile died out faster than a candle dumped in cold water. "The first ten pages alone talk about how this guy was born under a unique phenomenon and how the stars served as a sign that he was special. Then he goes on and on about the meaning of his name for the rest of the section." It became clearer with every paragraph that the entire work served no purpose other than to praise its author. Not a single step of the promised method appeared. Not a phrase about immortality. Just exaggerated tales about this so-called sage and how kings and queens from distant lands supposedly traveled to witness his brilliance. Archer suspected half of it was fabricated, and the other half was probably stretched beyond recognition.

"Awawaaa! U-Um, excuse me, coming through… waah!" A startled voice cracked through the silence, followed immediately by the heavy thud of someone hitting the floor at his side. Several books were scattered across the ground in a clumsy sprawl. Archer closed the useless volume in his hand and lowered it, his attention shifting to the mess at his feet. Another book had landed close to his boot, its cover more interesting than the one he had been holding. The title caught his eye instantly, as it was something he knew about. "The Philosopher's Stone Legend."

Not just that one, but this particular name appeared in nearly every book scattered around him, each one circling back to the same stone mentioned in their titles. At the center of the chaos lay a girl sprawled on the floor with her face pressed to the ground and an open book draped over her head like a flimsy shield. A soft, miserable groan slipped out of her, the sound carrying enough discomfort to make Archer pause. Feeling mildly bad that she had taken the brunt of the fall, he shifted closer and started lifting a few of the heavier volumes that had landed on her. As he moved them aside, he found himself staring at a long waterfall of pink hair spilling outward in a tangled curtain that practically surrounded her. The girl slowly pushed herself up while rubbing her nose with a trembling hand.

"Uuuuh… I-Is it broken? It hurts…" Her voice was so faint it nearly vanished between each syllable, and her eyes gleamed with unshed tears as if the pain alone was enough to make her cry again. Unlike the other students in this strange place, she wore no pointed hat and no purple robe. Instead, she had on a simple large beige dress, plain and familiar, the kind of garment that did nothing to reveal whether she was a noble’s daughter or someone from a family with no title at all. The simplicity of it made her stand out even more among the others wandering the aisles, who spared her only a passing glance before moving on, some like before sneering at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, extending his hand. The gesture startled her so sharply she flinched back with a squeak, looking from his face to his hand several times before she finally accepted it with a cautious grip. He helped her back to her feet, trying not to make the fall feel any more embarrassing than it already was.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to disturb you! Please don't report me to the librarian! The exams are almost here, and I don't want to lose my chance to get accepted here!" she burst out, her panic rising so quickly it seemed to overwhelm her all at once. She dropped to her knees without warning and clutched the edge of his shroud, tears now running down her cheeks while a thin line of snot crept toward her upper lip. The look was not pleasant, and she seemed painfully aware of it, yet her desperation overpowered her pride.

"Sniff… I have some money I can give you! For your silence, please, I only wanted to look at the book you were reading and ask if you were done! I didn’t mean to bother you, but I tripped! If you want more money, please wait a few days. I’m going to get paid soon, and then I can pay you back with that!" She rambled without pause, speaking faster and faster until the situation no longer resembled anything close to reality. In the span of a breath, she had somehow transformed what should have been a simple mishap into something that sounded like an elaborate extortion scheme if either of them had spectacular acting skills. Several students who had been peeking over their books now stared openly, their suspicion shifting into something harder and colder.

"Hold on, hold on. Just… Slow down for a minute. You’re making it worse. I’m not going to ask you for money." He raised his hands slightly as he spoke, hoping to calm her down before anyone else decided to involve the guards or the librarian.

"Not money? Then…" Her voice faded as her eyes widened with sudden realization. The color drained from her face until she looked nearly translucent. She covered her very large and ample chest that was mostly hidden by her dress with both her hands and slowly backed away. "Please, anything but that? I’m still a virgin! I don’t want to be sold like a prostitute and used as a toy just to repa… hmm? You’re not that bad looking~… m-maybe just a bi—ouch!"

The spine of the book he tapped against her head had silenced her immediately. He made sure it was done gently, but the message was clear enough. Any more of her wild assumptions and the librarian might call the guards without a second thought.

"I’m not angry. I don’t care that you disturbed me, since you didn’t actually disturb me at all. I was only worried that you were hurt and needed help. Nothing more, nothing less." He spoke slowly to make sure every word reached her properly, then he handed her one of the books she had been carrying along with the one he had been reading. "I was about to put this back anyway since it didn’t have anything useful for me. So take it. You wanted it, right?"

"Really? You won’t blackmail me and shake me for the little money I have?" she asked, wiping the tears that were on her face with her sleeve while eyeing him with lingering suspicion.

He lifted an eyebrow. "What kind of environment is this for you to expect something like that? Shouldn’t you tell the headmistress if the students here are bullying you? Besides, I’m not even a student. You have even less reason to be afraid of me."

She looked down, shoulders slumping as her earlier panic drained into a softer sadness. Her eyes welled again, tears threatening to fall for the third time.

"I can’t do that since I’m not even an official student yet. I have to pass the exam first before I’m promoted to a real mage. Right now, I’m only an assistant in training for a cadet mage."

An assistant in training was nothing unusual, and he remembered that the Clocktower ran on a similar structure where magi from old families often traveled with retainers who learned beside them. He assumed this pink-haired girl was something like that. “For someone who is not even a mage yet, you are certainly interested in reading about something massive like the Philosopher’s Stone of all things,” he said, trying to nudge the conversation away from whatever fear or suspicion she had built up about him and hoping it might finally pull her out of her tears.

He was stunned to find a Philosopher’s Stone here, a legendary creation of Paracelsus von Hohenheim that shaped the magecraft of his world and was famed for its impossible requirements and miraculous abilities. He recalled only fragments, but enough to know its value: a photonic crystal born from purified magical energy, capable of acting as an infinite supercomputer, storing anything from mana to souls, granting false immortality, healing all illness, and even rumored to potentially restore a Dead Apostle to humanity. It could bypass equivalent exchange and drastically amplify an alchemist’s power in ways his own magecraft could only mimic. Despite all his travels and studies, he still didn’t fully understand its workings.

Though he doubted both stones would be similar outside of the name, immortality, and energy reserve part.

“Are you also curious about the famous Philosopher Stone!?” she asked excitedly, her question shaking Archer out of his deep thought, as he stared at her sudden shift in tone. Her mood flipped so suddenly that he wondered if this was how she behaved normally. Her eyes brightened with an eager sparkle, and excitement spread across her face like a switch had been thrown. It looks like his staring at the book had given her the impression of him being a fellow fan of the subject as well. He answered her enthusiasm with a relaxed grin.

“If you mean something like a highly advanced supercomputer that can analyze magical energy and help its user recreate certain patterns or properties on command, then yes, I suppose I have some idea.”

The pink-haired young woman tilted her head. “What is a supercomputer?”

He waved a hand with no real intention of explaining the concept in depth. “Just something from my homeland, think of it like an incredibly smart brain that works with you to improve and help with your tasks you normally couldn’t do on your own. Though based on your reaction, I suppose that is not what your Philosopher’s Stone actually is.”

She nodded and raised an index finger, shifting into a more serious expression as if reciting something she had studied for years. “Yes, I feel the Philosopher Stone is actually a crystal that holds a massive abundant amount of mana.” Archer raised his eyebrow, wondering if there were actually similarities with the stone in this world and his world, or if this girl was actually smart enough to arrive at that conclusion on her own. “It is so condensed that most believe it should be impossible to contain without going critical and exploding on the spot. But it is not only a reservoir of energy that can remain stable. It can also use that near-infinite supply of power to benefit its users in several ways. It can enhance spells, strengthen the body, and most importantly if what I recall from past recorded experiments is true…grant a version of immortality!”

The moment she spoke the last part, her voice softened into something filled with longing. She stared at the book he had handed her earlier and touched the title with her fingertips as a frustrated look crept across her face. “I am hoping to research the subject properly and write a thesis paper that will be strong enough to impress one of the grand mages who teach at the academy. If I can do that, then maybe they will take me in as their apprentice.”

“Oh? That is quite the task you have chosen for yourself. With such an impressive-sounding item, is it even possible to create or recreate it? There’s a chance it’s only a legend?” he asked.

“It is real!” she said, slapping the nearby table hard enough that he flinched slightly at the sudden burst of energy. “And it has been recreated several times. One of the most recent cases was done by someone in Kimia, and another one that I admire greatly, someone I wish to study under in the future. But she does not visit this academy often, so I am hoping to become a proper mage first. If I succeed, I might one day learn under her tutelage and recreate the stone myself and finally reach true immortality.”

At least she was the first person he had met in this world who reminded him of a type of Magus from his own world. The pursuit of immortality appeared just as common here as it was amongst many in the Clocktower. The way she spoke made it obvious that her passion ran deep and that she would go to great lengths to accomplish her goal. It echoed the same determination the magi back home carried in their lifelong chase for the Root.

“You really do love magic like this, don’t you?”

“Yes, I love it! There is just so much good that one can do with it and there is still a lot about it that we haven’t discovered! It is the building blocks of so many mysteries and wonders, doesn’t it just excite you!”

“I see. I hope it works out for you.”

“Thank you very much!” She paused before asking him a question. “The way you described The Philosopher’s Stone, as this supercomputer. You called it a brain. Does that mean you think it can actually help a mage with the actual formulas and magic circles, like easing the burden on them. If that’s the case it’s a completely new idea that can revolutionize what we know about it. You’ve got to tell me more.” She was practically shaking in place at the excitement of delving into her magecraft studies with her fellow researchers.

It was kind of cute.

“Well, I cannot help you much in that field, but I can at least wish you good luck. Maybe the next time we meet, you will have already found a method to recreate that stone. Alright see ya!” he said. He meant it sincerely and turned to head toward another aisle, expecting their discussion to end here.

Before he took more than a step further, he noticed Kaguya in front of him, hurrying toward him at a brisk pace. Her expression was flustered, and a thin line of sweat ran down her temples, showing that she had been running around the academy in search of their tracker. She looked mad despite her emotionless face, so he braced himself instinctively, expecting to be yelled at for a reason he could not yet guess. She did yell, but her words were not aimed at him. Instead, she focused entirely on the girl beside him.

“Miss Flamel! Where have you been all this time? I have been searching for you everywhere, and you did not even wait for us at our agreed location! Are you trying to go back on our deal?”

The girl immediately started to panic. “S-Sorry! I got too pulled in by some of the content of my research, and I completely forgot about the time! Please, it was my mistake, I promise it will not happen again! Please do not abandon me, I need the money!” Her voice trembled, and the tears arrived right on schedule.

Archer, however, had already pieced together the situation. He pointed a finger toward the young woman who, according to Kaguya, was not even a fully recognized mage apprentice. “This is the person you said could track down a group that you and Celestine have failed to locate for several centuries?”

Kaguya nodded without hesitation. “I understand your doubts, given the impression she is giving right now, but I assure you she is reliable and she shows genuine promise. Oh, and in case you have not been introduced properly, this is Lady Astrid Flamel. She is an assistant of a friend of mine and will soon be a recognized mage once she succeeds in her exams. Lady Astrid, this is Sir Archer. He will be the one keeping you safe while you track down the person we discussed.”

“Eh?” Astrid snapped her head toward him, staring at him as though he had just transformed into someone entirely different. “You were not a student?”

“I literally told you that. Hah.” He rubbed his forehead, wondering if this partnership was a mistake and whether Kaguya knew what she was doing. Still, if the priestess was confident, he could at least try to give the girl a fair chance.

“H-Hello! My name is Astrid Flamel! I will be in your care from now on, Sir Arche—oou!” She bowed deeply while reintroducing herself despite Kaguya having already done so. On top of all that, forgetting the table she’d slammed her hand on existed, she collided face-first with the wooden edge and dropped to the floor in a heap before she could finish her sentence. With a bit of blood coming out of her nose.

She definitely broke it now.

“...”

“...”

Both the Counter Guardian and the priestess stared down at the unconscious girl with a dry, flat expression that held no real surprise anymore.

“I am having doubts,” he said plainly, before moving to help the girl up, carrying her in a bridal style to a nearby chair.

“I cannot blame you, Sir Archer. I am feeling the same way, I am afraid.”