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Chapter 318: Chapter 289

I looked towards the person at the front, Artoria smiled back at me as she went back to what she had been doing.

Her practice sword swung down, and the hundreds of people, lined up in rows, followed suit, swinging their swords to match her. The group shouted with each swing, sweat dripping down the faces of everyone present. I could only imagine how long they had been going for.

Even Artoria looked like she was getting a bit of a workout.

I could honestly stare at her swinging her sword all day.

It wasn\'t just her either.

I noticed Arthur walking around, fixing forms, giving tips. He would often stop, and give examples, engaging with other people.

The mood around the Pendragon family was certainly different than before.

Even the Castle was mostly repaired at this point. You couldn\'t tell that it was damaged on the surface anymore and there was a certain brightness to the people themselves.

"Everyone, stop." Artoria spoke, her words not particularly loud, but they carried an authority that forced everyone to comply. The hundreds of people had their arms drop to their sides, panted breaths followed. "You may take a fifteen minute break. Once that is finished, you will break off into pairs and spar. The winner will face against another winner until a victor is chosen. And I shall reward the final victor with a weapon from the armory."

Cheer range out, an excited glint in everyone\'s eyes.

I had forgotten that she had confiscated their armory.

She watched them all scramble to the side where some maids and elderly were handing out water before turning and walking towards me.

A beautiful smile adorned her face as our eyes met. That focused and attentive look she had before disappeared, and she visibly relaxed. "Wilhelm."

It was moments like this that made me realize how lucky I was. For such an amazing woman to call out my name with such an affectionate tone. "Your Highness." I gave a mock bow, earning an adorable giggle from her.

"Have you come to get a report for Yasaka?" She walked up, leaning against me. She apparently didn\'t care that her people were shooting us glances and whispering to each other.

I wondered if they knew the truth about her or they were just charmed into following her based on what happened before?

"A report?" I blinked at her words. "No?"

Artoria furrowed her brow. "Oh, then why did –"

"Because I wanted to see you." I poked her forehead. The adorable girl could be really oblivious sometimes when it comes to things like this. That faint blush on her cheeks always made me feel good as well. "But what\'s this about a report?"

"I have been coordinating my new.....forces with Yasaka." Artoria settled down. "Many here have heard what has happened in Youkai Territory, and they are aware of where I live. Thus, many have volunteered, and suggested I officially ask for volunteers among the clan." She gestured around us. "This is the result. I have gathered roughly a thousand members who wish to aid us."

That\'s not an insubstantial amount and any extra help was greatly appreciated. "And you\'ve started training them, I presume based on what just happened."

"Indeed, I have started the basics of building them into a proper army. They all have experience fighting as individuals or small groups, but they have never fought in such large formations." Artoria nodded.

"And you\'re okay with doing this?" I was a little hesitant to get on board with the idea, considering how reluctant she was to accept the Pendragon Family as a whole.

"I admit I was unsure when it first happened. Perhaps I initially forced myself out of duty. However, I have....enjoyed myself the last few days since we have started."

"It must be nostalgic."

"Yes." Artoria smiled faintly. "I look at them and remember my old Knights. There remains a weight of responsibility, but I do not feel it as suffocating as it once was."

It\'s an environment she thrived in. She was a leader, through and through. She no longer was needed to wear a crown, and she had people to support her, so I guess she felt comfortable taking a role of leadership again.

"Are we you well, Wilhelm?" Artoria asked. "Izanami informed me of what happened. She assured us that you were fine, however, you appear.....tired."

"Scared me, I\'m not going to lie. That Dragon God is frightening, but Meridia handled it. And yeah, I guess I\'m a little tired. Haven\'t really gotten any rest or relaxation.....beyond an hour or so I spent with Meridia."

Been running around a lot recently, feels like things just keep happening. One things after another.

"How is Venelana?"

I was a little surprised she asked that to be honest. While Artoria hadn\'t thus far expressed distaste, it was something she took a \'wait and watch\' approach to. "She is doing well, I\'ve been talking. She\'s mostly relieved that her daughter and the others are safe."

"Do you believe she would be against coming to meet?" Artoria asked.

"...I think she\'d be thrilled to meet you and everyone else."

"Good." Artoria nodded. "I shall speak with the others and arrange things."

Huh, she was taking the initiative? I guess she left a good impression on Artoria for their first, rather abrupt and chaotic, meeting.

"Speaking of, I just remembered. Do you still have that \'Excalibur\' that was left?"

"I do still retain that weapon." Artoria frowned. "I have sought to destroy it many times, but in each instance, I hesitated and ultimately stopped." With that she withdrew said weapon, and held it infront of her.

I felt the Holy Aura as my own Aura flared up in response, an instinctual reaction, even if I was used to wielding the True Longinus at this point. "It\'s not a bad sword."

"No. I believe anyone would be happy to wield it. I find its origin distasteful, but the sword itself is not at fault for the reforger\'s preconceptions. Tis a different sword than mine, and I question if I have the right to destroy it. It is a legacy of my other self, my alternate, and I do not know how to handle it."

"Why do you have to make a decision now?" I replied with a shrug. "Keep it, if you change your mind, it\'s always there to be destroyed at your leisure. Just be certain that this is what you want to do."

"Your words are true. I suppose I merely feel my heart heavy when I think about how this sword was broken." She sighed, putting the sword away.

"It\'s kinda funny." I slid my hand down, my fingers interlocking with hers. She shifted slightly, but also squeezed my hand happily once she realized what I was doing. "You remember the story I told you? About how I got my memories back?"

"Yes." Artoria giggled. "It was a memorable occasion."

"The one who held that sword, he was the one who stabbed me."

That made her stiffen and stare at me. "Are you sure?"

"Yup, noticed it after the fighting ended."

".....you did not mention this previously." She frowned. "Are you well?"

"Honestly, it barely even phased me. Of course if he was sitting infront of me, I would have lopped off his head. But seeing his dead body.....I felt very little. I Guess.....it seemed so insignificant now. A little Maniacal Priest that meant absolutely nothing. I don\'t even know his name, and I don\'t\' care to learn it."

"You have changed much since we have first met." Artoria said quietly.

"Oh? What was I like when we first met? Was it for the better?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You were an arrogant boy. Admittedly, you were charming, and it was easy to get swept up with your words."

"You forgot handsome."

"Hush you." She puffed up cutely. "But you turned into a wonderful man."

"I lied a little. I guess I do feel something slightly from that priest. Maybe a tad grateful. If it wasn\'t for him, I wouldn\'t have met any so many people I care about. I wouldn\'t have met you."

"....and I see you still can say such things to rile my heart up so easily." She turned away. "I am very happy to be your girlfriend, and I have not once regretted the decision."

So cute.

"Do you have any other engagements?"

"I have nothing planned, no."

"Hmm, come with me then, I will go report to Yasaka. I believe it will be beneficial for you to hear everything along with her as well."

That\'s true, I wanted to make sure I\'m caught up on what\'s going on.

"Do you need to finish up, or...?"

"No." She shook her head. "Agravain." She called out, her voice carrying a little outwards.

A man perked up, and I almost didn\'t recognize him. Besides not wearing the same armor, and instead in something more suited for training, he looked healthy. "My King." He came running over, kneeling down infront of Artoria.

"Rise, Sir Agravain." And Artoria seemed accustomed to his behavior at this point.

"Lord Schweinorg." He bowed his head towards me.

"Lord Schweinorg?" I tilt my head. "While I do get called that in some places, I didn\'t expect that here."

"How else should I address you, my Lord, when you have such a relationship with my king?" He questioned.

"Fair." I shrugged and I turned towards Artoria. "Does he...?"

"I told him my true identity." She confirmed. "I believe he is trustworthy enough know atleast that much."

"That must have been an awkward conversation."

"....It was." Artoria turned a little red in embarrassment.

Agravain coughed awkwardly. "What can I do for you, my King?"

"I will be returning to Kyoto. Watch over the training, Arthur is proficient enough to lead the remaining exercises."

"I will have it done." He bowed his head.

"Very well. Let us depart." Artoria looked towards me. And I nodded and created a new portal for us to walk through.

[***]

"Oh Wilhelm and Artoria." Yasaka perked up from her desk, and she wasn\'t alone.

Perched upon a chair next to her was a young woman – a Youkai, a cat of some variety with two tails.

"Nya~ This is him?"

"It is." Yasaka nodded. "Wilhelm, Artoria, meet the wanted criminal – Kuroka."

"Pardon?" Artoria questioned, and I followed her thoughts.

"Well, by Devil standards." Yasaka snorted. "She\'s a \'Stray Devil\' and all that nonsense. Killed her \'King\' because the man was experimenting on her and was going to do the same to her sister."

Huh, I didn\'t even notice her being a Devil. Her youkai aspect seemed completely dominant over her devil power.

"Are the Devils going to kick up a fuss?"

"It\'s entirely possible." Yasaka nodded.

"Good, fuck them."

"Exactly how I feel. She\'s one of only a couple Nekoshou in existence. An extremely rare variant of Nekomata, being inherently much more powerful than the latter. At her age, she\'s already an Ultimate Class." Yasaka continued to explain.

"Nekomata? I do not believe I\'m overly familiar." Artoria furrowed her brow.

"They mostly live over at the old man\'s branch whereas I have most of the Kitsune. Our two species tend to butt heads often, so it ended up this way." Yasaka replied. "But she came over and asked to join up with my faction. Apparently she was somewhat associated with the Hero Faction."

"Nyah, I didn\'t help them with the attack. I was busy at the time." She quickly explained.

"I do not believe you would allow anyone involved to so easily join you, so I will not question it further." Artoria said plainly.

"If you trust her enough, I have nothing to say." I shared Artoria\'s sentiments. And another Ultimate Class added to her ranks would be very helpful right now. And as Yasaka said, this girl appeared relatively young. No older than twenty, I would say, probably younger.

"Good, I just wanted to introduce you as it\'s likely you\'ll be seeing her a lot. She has an outstanding mastery of many fields, such as Senjutsu, Youjutus, Touki, and even Magic. Part of her duties involve training others."

"Huh, that\'s interesting. How does –"

"Wanna make babies?" Kuroka suddenly blurted out, staring right at me.

"....."

"Dammit Kuroka." Yasaka facepalmed.

"Nyaaaaaaah." The Cat Girl let out a surprised cry as Yasaka grabbed one of her tails.

"Get out of here, you horny cat. You know what you\'re supposed to be doing right now." She dragged the Cat Youkai out of the room, literally tossing her outside before shutting the door.

"That just happened." I said absentmindedly.

"Ignore her." Yasaka sighed.

".....is that normal behavior for her species?" Artoria asked in confusion.

"Somewhat." Yasaka groaned. "Nekomata go into a mating season, but Kuroka expressed a strong desire to find a strong male to mate with. Her species take on the characteristics of whoever they have children with."

Artoria just blinked, shaking her head.

"As interesting as that is, I don\'t think I will be asking for elaboration."

"I believe that\'s a smart decision." Yasaka smiled lightly. "Now, what can I do for you both?"

"Wanted to check in, see how everything is going." I replied.

"Hmm. Well, your project has been agreed upon by the Elders. We\'ve started setting aside the resources you\'ll need and are scoping out locations to step them up."

"Good, I can start on that once everything\'s ready. I feel pretty confident in those for the worse case."

"I agree. One of our biggest flaws is how big our population is in relative size to our readily available combatants."

"Speaking of combatants, I have a final tally." Artoria spoke up.

"Wonderful, how many do you have?" Yasaka perked up instantly.

"We have 790 Knights or various combat specialists. And a remaining 240 Magic users of various degree." Artoria informed her.

"That many Magic users too?" I asked.

"Yes, they were training somewhere else." Artoria sounded rather proud. "Le Fay is very talented and has taken it upon herself to further teach them, even if many are beyond her years."

"This is a good start. I\'ve also officially opened up recruitment, as has Nurarihyon. The official announcement of War already went out some days ago, and we let the dust settle first, but we\'re fully preparing now."

"I haven\'t asked before, but what do your troops look like? I don\'t think I\'ve ever seen a standing army."

"We technically don\'t have one, not like how the Devils or some other factions do." Yasaka pursed her lips. "As you know we aren\'t the biggest faction around, and we were mostly protected by association of the Shinto Gods, so we did not need to be as prepared for warfare as others do."

"And then the Fae decided to crap all over that."

"It\'s unfortunate, but that\'s where we are at. The Shinto Gods won\'t make a move unless something of equivalence intrudes – again." Yasaka sounded irritated. "And that\'s not to say we don\'t have options. As I said we technically don\'t have a standing army, not that we decidedly don\'t have one. We had our own troops during the Great War and we still keep up on some things. But you can think of it as something like a reserve force."

"How many could you call upon right away, without an active recruitment?"

"Twenty Thousand if I was to be generous." Yasaka stated. "Maybe a quarter of that matched from Nurarihyon\'s end, but his are usually stronger in a one on one comparison."

That\'s right, Yasaka usually had more civilians that were non-combatants under her care.

"It is a tidy force. However....." Artoria looked contemplative. "Is it sizeable enough to face the foe we face?"

"I can\'t for sure say yes, but I believe once we finish our recruitment, it should suffice. Wars in our.....hidden side of the world aren\'t like the ones most humans fight. We don\'t throw millions of our own at each other. Individual strength plays much too great a role, Magic and other supernatural abilities warp the battlefield completely."

Artoria was clearly pondering some things before she spoke again. "Yes, I recall many times that Merlin never engaged in battle with his Magic. He often said things such that him bringing to force his Magic would in turn cause opponents to match it, thus changing the shape of battle completely."

"Did you not just release your Noble Phantasm on the enemy Army to win?"

"D-do you think that is how I defeated all my enemies!?" Artoria looked surprised, and a hint embarrassed. "Mayhaps on one or two occasions. But my Blade was not something to use for every circumstance. Merlin made sure that I understood the significance of what my sword represented."

"You would think that most would surrender, knowing that you possessed a giant laser sword that could decimate their armies if you desired."

"...not all my foes were the brightest." She sounded amused. "But truly, it was not to be abused, and it was known that I only used it under the most dire of circumstances. Never against a foe we could match by mundane means."

That made sense.

I\'m fairly sure the World wouldn\'t allow her to own a True Noble Phantasm after the Age of Gods ended if she used it so flippantly. Especially one that was birthed in the inner sea of the Planet.

"I\'m not experienced in this kind of thing. I can fight, I can duel, and I don\'t mind facing even Gods in battle. But I\'ve never fought a real war before, I don\'t really know quite what I\'m doing. So, I can\'t really comment on that aspect. However, I have been preparing a few things myself."

"Oh? You tend to come up with some good ideas and they\'ve always been beneficial." Yasaka looked interested. "What have you thought up this time?"

"I talked with Medea, had her get started on a project. With her Item creation ability, and helping her set up a Workshop, we can start mass producing something I thought would be helpful. To start off, I\'m assuming that the majority of Youkai prefer closer combat?"

"Unfortunately, it is a weakness that we possess. The majority of my people, and even Nurarihyon\'s, are specialized in close quarters fighting." Yasaka nodded.

"So, I had the idea of creating disposable Mystic Codes – wands. Basically, they\'re good for a few uses before they run dry, but on the other side, they\'re very light, easy to carry, and require very little traing to use."

"That.....would solve some problems." Yasaka tapped her chin. "How strong would the spells be?"

"Still working that out. But assume an average Fireball in quality across equivalent schools of magic. But it wouldn\'t stop there. I was thinking, maybe, a set of three. An offensive one, a defensive one – like a basic Warding spell. And finally, a Healing one with a basic healing spell attached. Although, It would be nowhere as potent as a health Potion....."

"That sounds marvelous." Yasaka\'s eyes sparkled. "And they\'re simple to use?"

"I told Medea they need to be extremely simple because the users wouldn\'t have basically any magical know-how."

"That sounds like a very significant resource to add." Artoria commented. "It would open up more tactical options in battle and prevent many more deaths as a result."

"How many can she make?" Yasaka asked.

"I don\'t know yet, she\'s producing some prototypes right now. How many do you think we need?"

"That\'s hard to say. We need to see how they work in practice, but assuming we get a set for every one of my soldiers, and having spares...Well, I expected atleast to double the amount of recruits before long. So, possible around fifty thousand?"

And that\'s just an initial amount, the production would need to continue throughout the duration of the war. But that\'s still something to consider after we had all the details settled.

"Fifty thousand, huh?"

"Is that too much? I can\'t imagine that is an easy number to reach."

"Not as unobtainable as you might think. I believe the biggest hurdle is the manpower in their creation." Though, getting my hands on around Five Thousand Petty Soul gems would be a challenge.... "Let\'s put that on hold right now and wait for Medea to finish. Might have something else coming out in the form of Siege Weapons, but that\'s still on the drawing board."

"Some of the best news I\'ve received in several days. And how goes your attempts to reach into their realms?" Yasaka turned a little serious and even Artoria looked at me intently.

"It\'s....slow going." I admitted. "It doesn\'t seem to be a place that wants to be found, as strange as that is to say. I think the concepts inherently woven into its laws make it resistance to being found the way I\'m trying to do. I may need to take a look at Avalon or something equivalent...but I feel pretty confident that I can do it in about a month, give or take a week or two."

Well, if I got stuck further on I\'d reach out to Gramps and see what he suggested.

"If you require Avalon, it is here at your request." Artoria said immediately.

I gave her a nod of thanks, always so ready to help.

Avalon wasn\'t merely a defensive Noble Phantasm, nor the Sheath of Excalibur, it was literally a connection to its Namesake. To invoke it was to envelop yourself in the untouchable realm.

"Make it four months." Yasaka propped her head up.

"Pardon?"

"If anyone asks, it will be alteast four months before we can march."

"Are you worried that they\'ll be impatient?"

"Mmm." Yasaka nodded. "The elders that advise me, they don\'t\' wield inconsequential power. While I am undoubtably their leader, and they are loyal to me, they do have their own pride and desires. They was almost unanimous in support for the war, but there are varying degrees of difference in thought on how to proceed. Suffice to say, several of them are waiting for the soonest opportunity to fight."

"I know the type. They think only with their fists, forgoing logistics and strategy." Artoria sighed. "It is better that they do not know the details."

"I\'ll trust your judgement."

"It should be enough time to whip them into shape too." Yasaka smiled. "Not to mention, we are still lacking supplies in other areas."

"Are you still going to be trading with Jarl Balgruuf?"

"Without a doubt. Even with the dip in certain resources, the money we gain more than makes up for it. Enough that we can start sourcing a substantial amount from other places and still be in the green."

That\'s good at least.

"Some of them are going to be civilian recruits, are you sure that\'s enough time?" I questioned.

"You\'re thinking as humans. We\'re Youkai, we are more prone to conflicts and battle in general – with few exceptions. While most of my people are peaceful, they still have potential that can be drawn out to become powerhouses in their own right. A thorough training over a few months will be enough to get them ready to fight at a minimum."

An instinct inherent in the many species? An interesting thing to consider.

"That gives us more time to prepare, I suppose. I\'ll head over to the Yggdmillennia family and tell them to increase their production on potions. I\'ll also head over to Remnant, pick up more dust and other things. Dust bombs in mass? Maybe whatever else I can get my hands on. I could also –"

"Wilhelm." Artoria put a hand on my leg. "Calm yourself, you have been running around in the past several days without pause."

"That\'s not.....entirely true. I\'ve just been doing some work here or there. I even took a break to see Meridia."

"An hour, you told me. And that was after you were beset upon by a God while you were spending time with Izanami." Artoria frowned. "You went into your workshop for a few days, then immediately worked on something else. Then Venelana was attacked, and you rushed over. You had not even taken a rest after that event and continued to work even as you went over to Skyrim. I believe you should take a rest now."

"I\'m fine, It\'s not like I\'m doing anything strenuous. I\'ll –"

"I will help you relax." Artoria said sternly, glancing at Yasaka as she turned a little pink. "I have asked Yasaka to assist me."

Yasaka got up from her chair, walking around the desk towards us. "I\'m just helping out, Artoria is the one in control~"

"Huh?" I blinked.

"Wilhelm.....remove your trousers." Artoria turned a rather bright red, yet still maintained eye contact with me.

It took me a moment, but I realized what she wanted. And I would happily do as she asked, because they suddenly got a lot tighter.

[***]

Non-Canon Omake

[***]

Sona POV

"What a mess."

"Yeah, it\'s going to take awhile to fix everything." Rias sighed, kicking a large piece of rubble to the side.

"It might be easier just to bulldoze the land and start over instead of trying to rebuild."

"Do you really want to start over like that?" She tilt her head. "I mean.....yeah we\'ve talked about adding or removing some things, but its feel.....weird."

"Like moving homes."

"Yeah...."

"What can we do? 90% of the buildings are thoroughly demolished. There\'s massive craters and gouges taken out of the ground." I gestured towards a large hole where the Dragon landed. "And don\'t even get me started on what happened on the other side of the school."

"Ugh, I know. It\'s just, I\'m feeling really sentimental right now. I had so many fond memories all over here and I feel like I\'m just abandoning them if we rebuild.

I honestly felt the same way.

How much effort did I put into this place? From the coordinating the staff to my liking, to arranging the overall décor of the courtyards. Every small detail was meticulously planned, tested, or otherwise chosen mostly by me.

It was supposed to be a sort of test before I building my Rating Games school in the future.

Maybe that\'s why I felt so bad about it....

"Oh hey, the Student Council Building is standing, practically intact." Rias covered the top of her eyes, blocking the sun as she pointed over to the side. "Lucky...my club building was the first to explode."

Huh, it is standing.

Not much worse for wear, actually. Maybe we could build around it? A sort of memorial and acknowledgement for what once stood here?

A beacon of my pride.

Even after everything that happened, my office still stood tall.

Maybe –

I froze.

A familiar portal opened up right next to said building.

A familiar person walked out.

Red hair, immaculately dressed, and oddly enough, a Rabbit on his head.

He apparently saw me too, because we locked eyes and a grin slowly grew on his face as his head slowly turned towards the Student Council Building.

Wait, did his rabbit just make a rude gesture towards me?

But I didn\'t dwell on it.

My eyes widened as I realized what he was going to do.

"Don\'t you---"

Boooooom.

"Sona!?" Rias suddenly shouted, my attention suddenly snapped to her sudden shout next to my ear. I caught her turning towards me, completely unaware of what happened. "How unlucky, did it actually just collapse now? It must have been damaged on the inside."

"B-but –"

"Oh well, I guess we\'ll build everything from the beginning."

"He.....d-did you see that!?"

"Uh....yeah? The building just fell down."

"No!" I exclaimed. "Shimoda, he just blew up my building!"

"....Sona, what are you talking about?"

"He was right there! He just appeared and blew up my building!"

"Sona, there was no one there."

"You weren\'t looking!"

"I looked away for like a second. Are you telling me – for some reason – my Nephew appeared, blew up that building, and then left without saying a word? For what reason?"

"I-I don\'t know! He just did it! And his rabbit flipped me off!"

"....Sona, you\'re sounding ridiculous."

"IT happened!"

"Okay Sona, why don\'t we go home. I\'ll get us something nice to eat. You\'ve probably been under a lot of stress."

"Rias, I\'m not crazy! I saw it happen, just now!"

".....alright, I\'m calling Serafall."

"He did it to get back at me, I know it!"

"Sure, sure. Let\'s go sit down in the shade over here...."

"I\'ll have my revenge, mark my words! Shimoda, you hear that! I\'ll get you back!"

[***]

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