Chapter 17

Kuoh Academy.

Evening.

I sat on the bench I had created on the field behind the academy and waited for Sona and her entourage.

The new contract with Sirzechs had come out quite agreeable. On my side, it covered all the residents of the Emiya Residence, and on his side, all the members of the remaining seventy-two Pillars.

Which once again reminded Goetia of the losses of the local demons in the Great War. He commented on it with just one word: pathetic.

Well, I can't blame Goetia for thinking that way.

The Seventy-two Pillars were intended to be equal to Heaven. Yes, there were losses on both sides, but Goetia is annoyed by the very fact that more than half of the original demons and their families were lost.

The Beast I demons such as Morax, Foras, that is, who died out in this world, only shrugged, calling their local counterparts... pathetic, something Goetia agreed with Goetia on. They reasoned that every original demon knows how to act in any given situation. Of course, that includes escaping from the battlefield if circumstances warrant it.

- Master, why do you want me to be the one to train them? - came the voice of Emiya standing next to me. - Can't I have my own things to do?

- What other business could you have, Shirou-kun? - I fake surprised, and then made an understanding face. - Don't tell me you picked some poor girl to expand your harem? I could tell Artoria everything, you know?

- 'Your joke is outdated, Master,' Emiya shrugged. - 'Think of something else.

- Оh? So you've already added someone and haven't told the others about it? I see. You're a real man, Archer. - I grinned, to which I received a twitchy smile from Emiya.

Suddenly, our attention was caught by the sound of footsteps heading our way. I turned my head in the direction of the noise and saw Sona's entourage with her at the head. They looked a bit tired though. Especially Saji who had large bags under his eyes.

Was it from the paperwork? I doubt it. There was something else going on. Maybe Hundred Faces knows something about it? I'll ask her later.

- I apologize for being late, Romani-sensei. There was more work than I expected,'' Sona said as soon as she reached us and pointed at Emiya. - Who is that man?

- He will be training you. You can call him Shir....

- Archer," Emiya interrupted me with a frown on his face.

- Uh-huh. Archer. But you can still call him Shir-.

- Just Archer. That's enough," he interrupted me once more and threw a look of annoyance in my direction.

- Romani-sensei, can you tell us about Mr... Archer? - Reya asked, looking at Emiya.

- He has quite an extensive background in the use of various weapons and strategies. And as you can tell from his nickname, he's a very skilled marksman," I explained in a measured tone. - In addition, I advise you to allocate some land two or three kilometers square. By the way, that's Archer's aiming range.

- T-three kilometers?! - Sona shrieked. - He's a human, right?! With a strange magic signature, but still human! Not even demons are capable of such a feat.

The reaction of her entourage was the same. Each of them began to stare at Emiya, who had managed to adopt a haughty look.

- But that's really true," I shrugged. - In short, good luck with your training. You'll need it.

- What do you mean, Sensei? - A confused Saji asked.

- You'll find out. Now, if you'll excuse me. My day today has been... tedious.

- If you consider a couple of conversations and lying on the couch tedious, then I feel sorry for you, Master," Emiya said snidely.

- I can't help it. And you seem to have forgotten how your remarks turned out," I smiled VERY sweetly, turning toward him.

- Well, let's get acquainted," he shuddered and turned sharply to Sonya and her entourage.

Heh. Is he a masochist? I think he is.

- In that case, I bid you farewell," I waved goodbye, "Have a good workout.

And with those words I headed home. Time to get some rest.

-0-

An unknown place.

Two days later.

These couple days I've just been relaxing, using the Ophis or Tiamat as a pillow.

And by the way, I did manage to find out about the golden boy's adventures. As it turns out, he and Enkidu stumbled upon the Heroes faction. And now he's regularly harassing them. As long as they're not dead, though, I don't care.

I also wondered how I could get around Alaya's rules. From what she said, I realized that the canon was already ruined by my mere presence. I mean, I don't have to worry too much about major plot arcs like Kokabiel and the Hero Faction. I just need them to happen, and it doesn't matter what order they happen in. And at the same time, leave Issei to only defeat those he defeated in canon personally, i.e. Riser and Trihexa.

I have questions about something, though. How much can I PERSONALLY intervene?

Touch of Heaven is able to manipulate a soul, and it doesn't matter whose it is. So, in theory, I could copy Issei's soul signature and overlay it with my own. This would fool the world into thinking there are two protagonists. But that one and the other belong to him. But again, this is only in theory. Besides, I don't know what that would do for me. I'm not really attracted to the idea of being a pervert.

Plus, I've had some thoughts on the Trihexa case itself.

Since she merged with Beast VI, she can therefore be split. And that can be done by Grandfather's Noble Phantasm.

Grandfather, or King Hassan, was granted Great Servant status because of the very wide range of actions of his Noble Phantasm.

"Azrael: The Angel Who Announces Death" is based on the use of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception that Grandfather possesses, and thus on seeing the very concept of Death in every being, organic or not. Consequently, he could theoretically "kill" the connection between Trihexa and Beast VI. Or "kill" the Beast itself in her body.

But these are all theories, and I'll have to test them somehow.

On the morning of the fourth day since the start of Issei's training, I teleported to the clearing from which I had dispatched him.

Scanning the forest, I managed to find his moving signature deep in the woods, followed by four more. Well, I guess it was worth a look.

In the next instant, I appeared on one of the thick branches of the nearest tree and watched. And what can I say, he's definitely making progress.

-0-

Issei ran and dodged arrows and knives flying at him. As he ran around another case, he dodged a scarlet spear aimed at his head.

- Hey! You almost killed me, damn it! That would have been the sixth time! - Issei shouted to the shadowy Servant.

- Stay focused, partner! - He heard Ddraig's voice in his head. - To the left!

Issei didn't even turn his head, but ducked instantly. In the next nanosecond, an arrow whizzed over his head and pierced through a small rock.

In these three days, Issei had learned many things under the onslaught of circumstance, but most importantly, he had learned to trust the dragon in his gauntlet. A deep bond built on mutual support had become manna from heaven for him. Ddraig's feelings were much sharper and broader. Issei took advantage of that.

In the first two days, he "almost" died four times. All because he was either asking stupid questions in response to Ddraig's warnings, or checking to see if what he was saying was correct. A second's delay, and he was already in the clearing where he started.

On the third day, Issei grew stronger, his reaction speed increased, and his body began to react instinctively to danger without a brain command. Of course, he didn't realize it himself.

He didn't even notice that the shadow Servants had become stronger. He could not distinguish their faces, nor their eye or hair color. Each Shadow Servant was covered by a thick layer of dark haze. And the only thing he noticed was their now-distinct weapons.

In an instant, Issei could see a female silhouette with cat ears and a tail, and after staring for a millisecond, he took an arrow to the knee, falling to the ground.

- Partner! - shrieked Ddraig.

And in the next moment, Issei saw a spear pointed at his chest.

- The road of adventure used to lead me too, heh," he grinned aloud and closed his eyes, waiting to be sent to the respawn.

When the spear almost reached him, he heard a voice with a hint of amusement.

- Skyrim? You're a man of culture, pervert-kun," the voice said, and a snap of fingers was heard.

And when Issei opened his eyes and looked around, he found himself on a lawn next to a Japanese-style house.

Looking up, he saw a smirking sensei, who was clearly having fun studying him.

- Good job, pervert-kun," Romani-sensei said with a chuckle. - "At this rate, I'll change your nickname from 'pervert' to 'skillful pervert'."

That was the last thing Issei saw as he passed out from exhaustion the next moment.

And thus, the three days of agonizing... training was over.

-0-

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