[FMMIKA] Chapter 309: A Loli?

"Is it really irrelevant? That's not necessarily true."

Scathach's final words carried a profound meaning.

"..."

Hearing her words, Artorius couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed.

He wanted to ask her again, whether she knew something he didn't, or if she was secretly taking some actions behind his back.

Regardless, Artorius felt he should know more.

But before that.

"Umm..."

At the same time, Mash and Ritsuka were curious about the mysterious conversation between Artorius and the unexpectedly attractive elder sister who had suddenly appeared with him.

"Your Majesty...?" Mash called Artorius while approaching him.

"Ahh, right, you two are here, Mash, Ritsuka."

As he got interrupted, Artorius decided to temporarily hold off on further inquiries. He would deal with those questions when he had more time alone with his teacher.

So, he put on a gentle smile, greeted Mash and Ritsuka, and began introducing them to Scathach.

"This is Mash, a very cute and obedient child. Our relationship is as strong as mine with Galahad."

Artorius first introduced Mash, who had completely taken on the form of Galahad. He used Galahad as a comparison.

Unfortunately, Scathach seemed to have a slightly different focus than Artorius expected.

"You... don't spare even Galahad?"

"..."

Artorius was silent for a few seconds, ultimately deciding not to explain anything. Instead, he began introducing another girl.

"This is Fujimaru Ritsuka. Now, let's check out that palace—I mean, the temple Mash mentioned. Since Teacher mentioned it, I'm curious about that temple too."

"Wait a minute! Why did you use so many adjectives when introducing Mash and just brush over me?! Am I not important to you? Am I not your most important subordinate? You should also introduce these things to this weirdly dressed aunt with a creepy aura!"

Probably because she was too angry and didn't know who Scathach was, Gudako, in her almost suicidal manner, uttered a series of forbidden words.

"As you can see, her personality is as you see. See, I don't need to introduce too much, right?" Artorius spoke to Scathach while glancing at Ritsuka with a pitiful gaze.

"Yeah, indeed no need to introduce too much." Scathach responded with her mouth curled into a very gentle but spine-chilling smile, making Artorius shudder. "This child, how about leaving her education to me for a while? She's an important piece to you, but she's too weak. I have to teach her how to defend herself."

"Then, I leave it to you, Teacher."

Artorius had no psychological burden about betraying Ritsuka to Scathach. As for the consequences, well, she's Gudako, she's quite resilient, probably won't die, and might even develop some special skills under Scathach's guidance.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her." Scathach said while smiling gently.

"My condolences, Senpai." Mash said while closing her eyes.

"What?!" Seeing them planning for her future as if nothing was wrong, Ritsuka naturally protested loudly. "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! What about my personal will?!"

"That doesn't matter. I don't care about that—well, where's the temple anyway?"

With those words, Artorius walked towards the Greek temple that was still shining without bothering with Ritsuka's impending misery.

"We tried various methods with Senpai to enter the temple, but all failed." Mash said while shaking her head. "There's a strong bounded field outside the temple."

"A bounded field, huh..." Scathach muttered while looking ahead.

Artorius subconsciously looked at his teacher. Despite her outward appearance, Scathach was not just a powerful female warrior; she was also a powerful mage and a goddess.

"Give it a shot, Artorius." Scathach suggested but with a twist.

"What? But..." Artorius wanted to emphasize that he had pretty much forgotten everything she had taught him.

'She probably wants me to mess up with me, teach me a lesson, and remind me to keep studying magecraft in the future.' He thought bitterly as he looked at Scathach's smiling expression. 'Well, whatever, I'll go along with what she suggests, even if I'm not too thrilled about it.'

Not entirely willing, Artorius proceeded. He worked hard, combining his knowledge of magecraft that he still remembered, to break the bounded field.

This kind of magecraft was fine against ordinary bounded fields, but against divine ones, especially those created by gods—

"Hmm? Success?"

To everyone's surprise, including Scathach, Artorius had indeed successfully dispelled the bounded field.

"This..." Artorius was confused.

"Keep going." Scathach spoke calmly when he looked at her. "This place is indeed prepared for you, Artorius."

"Prepared for me?"

"I'm not sure. I just have a feeling."

Scathach crossed her arms below her ample breasts and began to explain.

"What you desire, your ambitions, can't be achieved with just 'compiling new human history. Your future is destined to be connected to everything divine. If you really want to create a 'completely your own' world. After all, the 'Age of Gods' is also a part of history."

"..."

"Is that so..."

Listening to Scathach, Artorius fell silent for a moment. But his steps forward remained resolute.

"Your Majesty, this place might be dangerous, so maybe we should—"

"No need, Mash." He interrupted and rejected Mash's suggestion firmly, and then reassured her. "Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just a small test, completely trivial compared to what I have been through and experienced—truly insignificant."

The next moment, Artorius unsheathed his sword and swiftly cut a charging minotaur that suddenly appeared in half.

"Just like this."

He turned to Mash, flashing a radiant smile.

The minotaur's blood splattered on his face, adding a touch of majesty to the Dragon Emperor. Mash couldn't help but be captivated, and even Ritsuka couldn't resist an impressed "Ohh!".

"You all..." Suddenly, from the dark corridor ahead, came a somewhat timid voice. "Killed a little calf."

"After the minotaur, is it Medusa next?" Hearing the voice, Artorius spoke calmly. "Famous Greek monster combo, maybe? Let me guess, next is a Cyclops or a Centaur?"

Using magecraft to conjure light and illuminate the dark corridor, Ritsuka gradually saw the newcomer.

"A loli..." Ritsuka said speechlessly and then glanced at Artorius. "You got it all wrong."

"That's not necessarily true." Artorius responded with a calm tone.