"So if someone could throw a planet, they'd be an Archer?" Nicholas moved his eyes along with the very human movements of a Rider Class Saint in a navy tank top and white trousers swerving from side to side, her hands in a traditional boxing stance.
Taking an abrupt step forward, Martha unleashed a devastating hook right into his face and quickly retracted it when he raised his forearm to defend, using the opportunity to smash a fist into his guts, "I think so, yes. That's more than enough qualification."
"Metal." A barely noticeable satisfied smile crept onto his lips as he shrugged off the hit like it hadn't even touched him when by all the laws of nature, a point blank hit from a servant should've given him some very unpleasant memories if it didn't outright give him a new asshole, "What if someone rode a ton of dicks?"
Martha deadpanned at him and then slightly grit her teeth, "Oi, what's with that casual use of vulgar language?! Is this how I've taught you to behave?!"
"You're really letting yourself go, huh?" Nicholas smirked slightly, clenching his fist and punching into his servant's guard, making her skid back across the floor with bruised forearms, "What happened to the Miss Elegant?"
She still kept it when around others but in casual settings, like their current spar, without any audience or others, she settled into a blunt, simple and elderly sibling-like mood.
Nicholas could only take that as her being comfortable enough to be herself around him and had no qualms, if it wasn't obvious enough from his continuous harassment of Lev Lainur Flauros, he liked people who were straightforward with themselves and others.
"W...Well, it's not often that I meet someone who prefers a... simple village girl... to a gentle Saint." She spoke in an uncharacteristic small voice, slightly averting her gaze, "I... I mean it's not my fault! People just keep expecting things from you! It gets too muc-..."
And it cost her.
A gloved fist smashed into her chin the second her guard was down, tossing her body into the air.
"...Oh shit."
And Nicholas only then realised that their 'spar' was on hold.
"Was this one of those serious moments?" He asked, calmly taking a step back and preparing for a brutal onslaught, "Should I apologise?"
"Nah, it's cool. You just keep being the way you are." The Rider winced and slowly sat up, holding her aching jaw, "Damn, how hard can you actually hit? I'm a servant! You're supposed to be human, aren't you?"
Nicholas' hair stood up on end as he involuntarily put up his hands, "Why are you using Mana Burst if it's cool?" Actually, was that the shadow of a dragon behind her?
Neat.
"It's alright, I would never hurt you..." Martha smiled elegantly, speaking with all the grace expected of a Saint that spent time in company of the founder of her own religion, the grace of a saviour of the people, "...too much."
-
That day, Chaldea shook and quaked in response to massive collisions that caused untold destruction in the frozen continent of Antarctica when the force was directed outside the defensive bounded fields of the security organisation.
-
Olga stared at the Master and Servant duo who were sitting across from her, gazes averted to either side, for the umpteenth time since their arrival.
"You destroyed the training room."
"It was an avalanche."
Martha stared at Nicholas with slightly wide eyes before nodding in tacit understanding, "Last I checked, we were in a frozen land far larger than any single nation, natural disasters should be a common occurrence."
"Yeah yeah, it's Antarctica. There's totally gonna be avalanches every once in a while." Nicholas nodded quickly, "You should have countermeasures."
Martha nodded so professionally, an unknowing man would believe her words without a second thought, "Indeed, one would expect an organisation with the pinnacle of man's technology to have contingencies against environmental factors."
"Nearly a dozen of my staff are in the medical ward..." Olga deadpanned, rising from her seat and crossing her arms, accusingly staring at the perpetrators of innumerable incidents, "They got injured trying to tell you to stop."
"I do not recall any onlookers."
"Respectfully your honour, shut the fuck up. You weren't even there."
"On God." Martha nodded, not realising the cultural significance of her words.
Olga slammed her hand down on the table, a vein popping out on her forehead, "No legal system works like that!" She pointed at them, "The report say, and I quote, 'They started throwing around furniture and exercise equipment.'"
Realisation crossed the duo's eyes, and Martha recalled a certain 'squelch' she'd heard somewhere during their altercation but Olga didn't give them any respite, she pointed at Martha, "I expected more decorum from the sister of Lazarus!"
Flinching, Martha averted her gaze with an embarrassed blush, "I...I might have gotten carried away." She was drawn out of her state by Nicholas discreetly nudging her with his elbow and giving her a small, reassuring nod.
"And you! I thought you said you would try to keep it under control... Nicholas, you promised me."
Martha stared at Olga gobsmacked and then at her Master, then at the Director again, and then at Nicholas.
... What the hell was this difference in tone?!?
Nicholas didn't answer immediately, instead, he chose to stare into her golden eyes in silence and for the first two seconds, Martha thought he was thinking. The third, the Director of an organisation responsible for mankind's preservation flinched, a blush crept onto her fair skin and she started fidgeting with her fingers, trying to look anywhere but at her Master.
"Olga..."
"W-What?"
"Has anyone told you you might be the cutest thing that walked on this planet?" Martha was astounded that he could say something so blunt and vulgar with a straight face, but well, it didn't matter.
There was no way this was going to work.
"W-Wha? Y...You can't just say things like that!" Olga Marie Animusphere squirmed and pointed a trembling finger at Nicholas, face crimson, "Y-You're just trying to g... get out of this with words!"
"H-Hmph!" She crossed her hands under her chest and turned her to the side.
He only shrugged in response, "I just said the truth."
At that point, Martha saw something she'd never seen before in her whole life.
"Aw..."
The pale haired woman seemed to short circuit, her features a deep shade of red, and then she just tuned out everything.
Martha turned to her Master with dead eyes, "Has she never been praised?"
"Daddy issues, no recognition and never praised." It was sort of cute actually, "But it's kinda strange cause she works harder than anybody I know and IS a genius... kind of an asshole sometimes but hey, aren't we all?" Nicholas pointed at the door, slowly getting out of his chair, unaware that the distracted woman had caught those words... only to flush further and be left unable to put together a coherent sentence.
And so, Nicholas once more defeated Chaldea's Director.
"I can hear her heart from here." Martha commented, following behind a Nicholas that was eager to find his next adventure, "You think it's alright to play with someone like that?"
"...I'd never do that. There was this one time she shouted at me so much, she fainted... It's strangely easy to fluster her if you forget she could throw you out to -80 degrees... or toss you into a star, or that she's your boss."
That day, Martha realised her Master might be a deeply disturbed individual.
-
How do you like it so far?
Also, someone gave me a 1 star review cause there was no fisting... No, not no punching, no fisting and I hope to GOD that brother is trolling.
P.S: This is not an SI, cause I think SIs is kinda... well, you know, you know... no disrespect on those that write em but you know... they kinda *****
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You can find up to 7 chapters ahead at patre0n.com/Bleap
Actually 7, I know, I can't believe it either.
Only problem is I was trying to have 9 by today but well, I kinda cut my hand and got fussed over so much, I didn't get no time.