Dxd: Ink and Summoning

Artoria was surprised to see him after hearing someone knock on her door.

"Ahm? " She seemed surprised, probably because I rarely came looking for her while she was in her room.

"Hello, Artoria. I just wanted to talk for a bit." Artoria motioned for me to enter her room, then closed and locked the door.

It's odd to see her so agitated when I just came in for a chat; she didn't even notice that we were sitting on the side of her bed. 

She appears to be contemplating how she should act in this kind of situation.

And I just stood there, giving her space to think while wondering what Scathach could have said to Artoria to make her this way.

… 

Aeria was aware. No matter which way she looks at it, lies and deception have a price, and perhaps this was in some ways the price she, and her others, had to pay

None of them, including the King, the tyrant, the Pathless, the Goddess, and the Mage, had a partner or actually cared about such things

And what about the Rider, Ruler, and Archer? She is currently too embarrassed to bring them up

Seriously, why is she using a bunny suit? 

She knew the reasoning but it still was too much for her to accept…

Thus, Artoria finds herself in the extremely rare circumstances where all of her memories from the other "paths" are of no use to her, so she had to ask for help from someone else

All Scathach did was allow her to be open to such inquiries and let her know that she does have her own charm

She is willing to give it a shot even though she is unsure if Ahm is the best choice or even her final one

Why so? Because she has nothing to lose, as Scathach mused, and Ahm has been nothing but gentle and welcoming to her

Regarding him... Artoria noticed that both of them had been sitting around doing nothing for a while. He also appears to be lost in his own thoughts.

"I'm sorry, but I'm unsure of how to handle this whole situation or… my own appeal for the matter given that…" I lack in some... places when compared to "the others", but she saved that last part.

Yes, She could become her "grown up" version but it wouldn't feel like her.

But when he said, "I wasn't here to talk about that..."

"Eh? " Her face took on a cute pink hue after realizing that her mind was wandering in the wrong way, Artoria had to resist the urge to cover her own face.

Why is it so difficult? She now was sure that most battles were way easier than this.

"But now that you mention it... you don't have to doubt yourself so much. If I hadn't known you beforehand, I might have misunderstood you when I entered the room" he said reassuringly, before switching to a teasing tone towards the end.

"What does that mean? " What could have been misunderstood? Artoria thought to herself.

His grin widened as he pointed toward the door and began to explain. " You invited me into your room and then closed the door while we were alone... "

"T-That was...Force of habit, I guess. " In her dazed state, she suddenly realized what she had done she only had to glance below to see that both were seated on her bed 

Wait, then what about her clothes… 

Oh no… she couldn't help but to look at the other side and hoped that by some miracle her blushing cheeks wouldn't be too noticeable.

'Is your fault Mordred!' Artoria screamed in her head.

She couldn't help it, Artoria wanted to do something for her son so she followed the Tyrant's lead and decided to wear shorts to match hers, causing Artoria to expose her legs. 

The poor Cub had no idea that she was being blamed for this.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. " She spoke more out of reflex than anything else, she knew that she wasn't to blame and by his cheeky smile, he didn't either, causing Artoria to sigh lightly, ending the slight panic she was feeling.

Why is she behaving like this? She was aware that the clothes on the other girls were more attractive than her own.

It would be like comparing Excalibur with an iron sword to compare her clothing to Scathach's, who is constantly trying to appeal to his tastes.

It felt so weird to her, getting so worked up over something so trivial, but she also kind of liked it.

Scathach was correct; new things can be interesting.

"I know, that's why I didn't take you seriously. " When Artoria heard what he had to say, a strange urge to fight back came over her.

Not treating her with respect... It was clear to her why she didn't like the sound of it: it was coming from the others.

Because Rhongomyniad and Lancer seem too much like her, Artoria decided to accept them and integrate with them.

Those two, unlike the majority of the others, represented different options rather than an entirely different path

She hardly ever used her lance because Merlin had warned her that Rhongomyniad wasn't meant to be used by mortals, and she could see why after considering her Goddess self.

Although the assimilation caused a little issue…

When Rhongomyniad assimilated, it became a problem because Artoria developed a liking for... Victory. She had long forgotten the healthy sense of competition and the need to prove herself.

That's why Artoria found herself saying those words to win after giving it some thought. "Then it would be better if you began treating me seriously moving forward. " She noticed his shocked expression and smiled victoriously.

When was the last time she felt like this?

It was back then right after pulling the sword…

Back then she felt the need to prove herself, and she did with her own youthful eagerness and effort to be accepted because she thought that everyone's allegiance was solely to Caliburn and that they were subject to a selected king, nothing else.

Maybe the sword was just a part of the reason why they followed her…

In any case, what was it that you wanted to discuss? Artoria questioned without giving him a chance to respond.

Ahm was brought back by the question, and he quickly asked "Oh. I was wondering if you needed anything or if you had any plans."

"Camelot…" only one thing came to mind 'It's too early to make decisions about its future', Artoria thought as she shook her head.

As for the rest.

The only thing she cares about the most is F- *Ahem*

Mordred and Food….

The Mordred here is delicious, and Food was happy as long as she was near Artoria so there was no problem there; the only thing she was missing was... "I suppose I could say that I'm... bored? I haven't had a chance to test my newfound strength."

This world had many factions with many enemies, but for the same reason it was difficult to find foes strong enough

She wants to avoid damaging the delicate balance between the various factions as much as she can, the cost of fighting them can be too high.

Even if she only hurt them, that would mean that a portion of the territory they oversee had been compromised, making many of its residents vulnerable due to her own selfish desires.

"You want to… fight ? He surely didn't expect her to respond in this way.

"Indeed and no. I'm not referring to spars." She knew what she was doing when assimilating and she would bear the consequences.

Thinking about this problem, both remained silent until… 

Ahm had an idea…

"My lovely King. I might have a terrible idea... Perhaps you'd like to hear it? "Ahm offered, acting as one of her subjects .

Artoria was intrigued and chose to partake "Oh? Please explain, how could this "terrible" idea possibly solve my issue?" Inquiring further to confirm, she wondered what this "terrible" idea might be.

He laughed "You've probably heard about our intruder. My solution would also solve the issue of how to deal with it..."

But before he could say anything, a presence entered the room and sat against one of the pieces of furniture.

Artoria welcomed the newcomer as soon as she saw her. "Scathach," and Scathach responded with a silent nod.

Seems like Ahm called the rest while he was thinking.

"I'm curious, how do you intend to handle her?" Shishou was wearing black stockings, which she knew I liked, so she crossed her legs as she asked the question...

She is only lacking the glasses and a ruler for the whole teacher's look…

Looking at their interaction made Artoria feel a little complicated; she didn't like Scathach's winning smile, even though she knew it wasn't malicious.

*Cough* "Ahem. Like I told you, Artoria is.. bored so... What if we delivered the rat, personally.? " Ahm suggested 

Scathach smiled and gave her sincere opinion "That's gotta be the worst idea i've ever heard "

And Artoria nodded, also giving her opinion "So it would seem"

The three of them agreed on the same thing, but... Scathach's bloodlust matched Artoria's battlelust, revealing what they truly thought about this.

Fighting a pantheon is stupid, but if they used the girl... getting something reasonable as compensation will be quite simple...

*Crack*

A loud sound of wood breaking was heard, it seemed like someone else also felt Artoria's battlelust.

"Father! Are you gonna fight!? " 

"Wait, wasn't the door locke- Oh. I see…" Thankfully it repairs on its own thanks to my power or else…

"Oops? I didn't realize it was closed… who makes such shitty doors anyway… " The doors are made of [Ink], but their durability is still that of regular wood, which is far from sufficient for such an eager son, it seems.

"You said the same thing last time… Mordred. " Artoria continued after Mordred, used to her son doings

 

"My bad… " Mordred could only apologize under her Father's gaze.

"You know Ahm, I'm starting to understand why you said Mordred was a Berserker instead of a Saber… "

"Come on Father! Look, it's already fixed!" She retorted while pointing at the door that was fixing itself.

Artoria simply ordered Mordred, "Mordred… go with the rest and wait for us " So we can have time to prepare.

Mordred was about to leave to do as she was told "Yes Fath- " but she noticed something in Artoria's words and turned back at… us.

Her eyes tried to say a lot of things as they looked repeatedly at me, at Artoria and then at the locked door without saying anything.

"Now! " But Artoria's solemn voice made Mordred run faster than even the most dangerous beast or fiercest warrior would.

Mordred should have stayed to see Artoria's completely red face, the laughing Ahm, and the smiling Scathach who decided to reappear in the room.

"It's not funny you two… now I need to explain it to her " But she could help but to smile, this is the first time Mordred makes such a funny face. 

She also reminded herself to not lock herself in a room with a… male.

Unless…