Fate: How About a New Savior?

Once something becomes a habit, stopping can feel strangely uncomfortable—even if that habit is grueling training that feels like hell.

So when Tenkei Shiomi realized his master was nowhere near their usual training grounds, he thought he could sneak in some rest. But with nothing to do, he quickly found himself unexpectedly bored.

This was the Realm of the Dead—there was nothing to kill time with.

No records, no books, no objects.

Without training, there wasn't even anyone to talk to.

After zoning out on the castle wall for a long time, staring into the endless wastelands and mountains, Shiomi finally got up, bored out of his mind, and went to look for his master.

That said, the castle was big, but not exactly full of mysteries. All it took was a brief sensing of the surrounding mana to figure out where his master was.

It led him to a garden. Or rather, a grove might be the better word.

Ever since Shiomi had planted the first tree, a corner of the castle had slowly turned into this grove. Aside from that one tree, the others were all fruitless.

The reason wasn't complicated—Scáthach had warned him not to grow too many fruit-bearing trees. Shiomi didn't understand the reasoning, but since his master said so, he complied.

"Master? You're here, right? If you can hear me, say something."

Shiomi walked through the grass-covered grove, calling out at a normal volume.

He noticed the grass had grown past his ankles. Instinctively, he wondered if it was time to trim it, or maybe use Magecraft to suppress its growth. What had started out as a small experiment had, over time, become a proper grove. In this cold, gray land of death, it added a small splash of life.

"Don't be so loud."

As he reached the first tree he had cultivated, a lazy, teasing voice came from above.

"I'm not so old that I can't hear you."

Shiomi had already spotted her after his last call. A pair of dark purple metal boots lay under the tree.

Scáthach's.

Looking up, he saw her sitting on a thick branch midway up the tree, holding an apple she'd already eaten halfway through, lazily gazing toward the far side of the castle.

"It's not like you, Master, to skip supervising my training," Shiomi said, leaning against the tree, half-joking.

"Taking a break once in a while isn't a bad thing. If all you remember about this place someday is endless suffering, even I wouldn't feel good about it."

Scáthach smiled as she spoke.

Shiomi shook his head.

"Too late for that."

"Is that so? Then nothing can be done."

She added, "Just rest for now. With your current skill level, you don't need to train day and night anymore."

"So, does that mean I'm almost ready to graduate?" Shiomi asked.

"You wish. When you actually manage to defeat me, we'll talk about that," Scáthach replied with a condition that was practically impossible.

Shiomi felt a chill down his spine. But since time here stretched endlessly, he didn't really care how long it took.

"And here I thought you weren't interested in food," Shiomi said, glancing at her taking bite after bite of the apple. "Not like you need it anyway."

Maybe because the tree had been nourished by magic, it never had a full flowering season. It was always full of fruit.

"How could I pass on something my disciple worked so hard to grow?" Scáthach said nonchalantly. "Besides, this tree's still drawing mana from you. In a way, these fruits are like your flesh and blood. Seems worth a taste."

Shiomi's expression darkened.

"…That sounds so wrong."

"Not going to eat any?"

"I was planning to, but after what you just said, I'm kind of not in the mood anymore."

Shiomi rubbed the back of his neck, feeling oddly conflicted.

The grove could only exist because he acted as a conduit—channeling the mana of the Land of Shadows through his Magic Circuits and turning it into nourishment for the plants.

He had always thought of it as a form of irrigation. But after what his master said, the whole thing just felt weird now.

"What master would treat his disciple's flesh as food? Are you some devil from hell...?" Shiomi muttered, unable to hold back a complaint.

Scáthach smiled and responded cheerfully, "Don't take it so seriously. Just think of it as your master's not-so-funny joke."

"So, what exactly are you doing here?" Shiomi asked.

"Just resting," Scáthach replied.

"I mean, why are you sitting in a tree? Isn't the grass more comfortable?" he asked again.

"If you're so curious, why not climb up and see for yourself?" Scáthach patted the branch beside her. "The view from up here isn't bad."

Without hesitation, Shiomi accepted her invitation. He jumped up and landed next to her on the branch.

In truth, the view from the treetop wasn't much better than from the castle walls. With other trees partially blocking the sightline, most of what he could see was the Magecraft-grown grove below.

"...Uh... isn't this pretty much the same?" Shiomi said, unable to understand the appeal. It was somewhat pleasant to look at, sure, but was it really worth skipping training for?

"You stupid disciple." Scáthach leaned back against the trunk, holding an almost-finished apple core in one hand. "You've cultivated life in a barren place like this. As your master, I can't help but feel proud. It's no surprise you don't get it."

Shiomi gave her a sidelong glance. "So when did I go from just a disciple to a 'beloved disciple'? Is this a sign that my training's about to get even worse?"

"Just saying it isn't enough for you to understand?" Scáthach smiled and waved the apple stem in front of his face.

Before Shiomi could make sense of her action, she casually flicked the apple core away. It landed clearly on a patch of grass not far off.

"I'm not your pet," Shiomi said, twitching at the corner of his mouth.

Scáthach let out a tired-sounding sigh. "Just watch."

"Huh?"

Shiomi turned to look at the apple core.

He noticed that the Mana around it suddenly surged. It looked like it was dissolving, and before long, the core vanished into the grass.

This was the first time Shiomi had seen that happen. He'd grown the fruit and often tossed the cores into the grass as fertilizer, but he'd never actually watched what happened afterward.

"What on earth is this..." he murmured, covering his face and staring at the spot where the apple core had disappeared.

...

(90 Chapters Ahead)

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