Chapter 152
To say I was currently irritated at the moment was an understatement. No, I was very fucking annoyed to be put lightly.
"I will not stand beside Morgan... She destroyed everything I held dear, and I would have rather had abdicated my throne to Mordred without getting the chance to teach them the responsibilities of the task before I allow that witch to watch my back." Artoria snarled with Excalibur Morgan glowing ominously across the room where she left it on a table.
"Look... This Morgan is like you, in that she is obviously from a different timeline and has nothing to do with the nonsense the Morgan from your timeline did." I threw my hands up in frustration as I continued. "Hell in her timeline you never even became king, you instead became a powerful wizard under the teachings of Merlin and the fairy king Oberon... Artoria all of human history is hanging on us getting through all the singularities and literally saving humanity."
I stared at Atoria Alter dead in the face as she contemplated the reality of the threat we were facing as well as the fact that the Morgan I summoned wasn't the witch that hounded her in life. "Artoria I am not the greatest of men, but I love humanity and if I can save it, I will do 'anything' in order to make sure the species isn't destroyed wherever I am." Left unsaid was that if Artoria was going to possibly sabotage humanity's chance at survival I had no problem... Removing outlying problems.
I may be a world hopping, womanizing, treasure hoarder, but I have made sure to leave each world in a far better shape than before I came, and I have no plans about changing that status quo.
"Fine..." She sighed shaking her obviously angry at the whole situation but was wise enough to look at the bigger picture. "I will give her a chance. But the moment she attempts to ensnare you or me with sorcery then I shall take her head."
I took her words as the best option I was going to get on such short notice especially with how this was an Alter of a servant which basically were all only a step away from being dropped into the Berserker class with their neurosis's...
"Well in that case, I shall leave you here to your thoughts. I have to go speak with the director, should she be awake." I said using Olga as an excuse as the room descended into an awkward silence and I knew with Morgan being summoned that it was going to be an uphill battle to earn Artorias's true friendship.
Morgan on the other hand was a Berserker class Servant and will inevitably latch onto me though that came with a small caveat... She hates her Master/Husband having other Berserker's.
Which other than Raikou or Kiyohime, I didnt particularly care for the other Berserker's so I didnt count that as much of a loss as I wouldn't be able to satisfy Raikou's mommy fetish having already grown into a warrior, and Kiyohime being a total yandere who killed her own lover in life by mentally snapping so hard she transformed from a simple inn working girl to a dragon and cooked him alive as the poor bastard hid inside a bell.
I began walking down the halls of Chaldea and as I approached the VIP area where my quarter's as well as the late A team used to stay resided along with where Fujimaru and Mash were now staying, I saw Mash standing awkwardly in the hall facing my door obviously considering whether she should knock.
"Hey Mash. Can I help you with something?" I asked gently as Mash squeaked in fright seeing me walk up behind and surprise her with how engrossed she was in staring listlessly at my door.
"Jake! Uhm, can I talk to you for a bit in private." Mash muttered and I almost cooed at how adorable she was acting as I saw her rubbing the toes of her feet in the ground and didnt make eye contact.
"Of course, Mash. Just come on into my room for a bit." I said gently and patted her shoulder as I passed by her, and my door automatically opened with a hissing noise.
"I will need to check on Olga in a bit so I am afraid we cannot have a sleepover, but I am sure Fujimaru would enjoy that." I said teasing Mash who blushed at my intuition of her spending the night with me. However, she did look a bit excited at the thought of getting to know her Master better.
"Yes Jake, I will go ask Fujimaru after we are done talking." Mash replied firmly nodding and I could only imagine the cute scene of Mash knocking on Fujimaru's door in her pj's holding a pillow and asking if she could sleep with her.
I sat down in the nice leather chair snagged out of the room of Requirement and even firmly told Hestia that this was my 'Man's Chair' and if it were in our space ring I would tan her hide, and across from Mash who gingerly sat on the uncomfortable bed that Chaldea provided all the Master's.
"So, Mash how can I help you." I said simply as I sighed with relaxation sinking into the well-padded seat.
Even here in Chaldea I knew I had work to do as I needed to kill or heal the previous A team that was supposed to be taking care of the Singularities. The threat of the 'Alien God' using them as puppets to create the Lost-Belts was too high of a risk and I had no interest in spending literal years here in Chaldea handholding the suicidal lemming that was Fujimaru and saving this already doomed timeline.
"Jake, I wanted to know if you could train me to protect Fujimaru... The Servant's you both summon for good reason don't take me all that seriously, but I want to be strong and protect my Master!" Mash shouted and I could see how distraught she was with how she clenched her hands on her stocking clad knees.
I sighed and ran my hand over my face as I nodded already accepting the chore of kicking Mash around in the exercise room that was already warded to hell in back by Da Vinci to survive spars between Servants.
"Mash I have no problems coaching you in combat but for one you should go to Artoria as she fought with the owner of your shield when they were both alive, and most importantly you need to keep in mind that you are Fujimaru's shield, not her sword. Keep her alive and either myself or the other Servant's will defeat all who cross our path." I said taking Mash's soft uncalloused hands within my own.
"Mash you are literally an outlier in the servant class system being a Shielder, so take advantage of your abilities and protect Fujimaru to your utmost as Humanity may very well depend on your standing firm between attacks to your master."
Mash gently nodded squeezing my hands with her own before she extracted her hands from mine and stood up with a smile. "Thank you for the talk, Jake. I am going back to Fujimaru and telling her how I feel!" I couldn't help but blink at the thought that I could have possibly pushed Mash to 'confess' or something to Fujimaru.
I mentally shrugged at the drama that may unfold, I then popped open a soda and took out some snacks and sighed at the lack of a TV as I ate my comfort food in relative silence before I stood up and put my chair away as I walked out of my room and towards Olga's room to make my next move and determine whether I need to deal with the A team.