"What I put on there was definitely the Golden Fleece, wasn't it? That catalyst should only have summoned Medea, right?"
At Roland's question, Medea raised her head and said earnestly, "But I am Medea. My body may still be that of a young girl, but my future legend really has been superimposed on me. Honestly, it's troubling for me, too. I only graduated from my teacher's tutelage yesterday, and suddenly I acquired memories of the future and had that awful reputation thrust on me."
She knew what sort of tragedy her personality would bring about. Her memories as a young girl made her unconsciously yearn for a romance that began with a matchmaking date, but her future memories warned her never to give her love away.
Once she offered her love, all she received in return might very well be betrayal.
The overlap of two legends gave Medea experience as well as two entirely different Noble Phantasms, but it also left her with a conflicted mind.
Unable to trust others yet yearning for romance, she was quite avoidant in this state of mind. She had no interest in things like the Holy Grail and only wanted to take things one step at a time.
If her Master could accept her, she would see what happened next. If her Master could not, she would simply terminate their contract and wait to disappear once her magical energy ran out.
"How did it turn out like this? How was this even possible?"
It was not that Roland failed to understand the situation. After all, he had once gotten into the game called FGO, and she had appeared in a younger form in the Sea of the End Singularity as well.
What he could not understand was how this had happened.
"If we really must find a reason, it could only be you yourself, Master."
Medea paused, a captivating smile appearing on her beautiful face.
"By modern standards, Master, there's something distinctly out of place about you. Whether it's your magical energy, your soul, or that unobservable sense of abnormality, I'd say you're destined to summon only abnormal individuals."
Roland quickly recalled the ability Shendu had granted him that he had overlooked.
"Innately noble status?"
Roland smiled noncommittally. "Well, never mind. The result isn't much different anyway."
Watching the surprise and delight on Roland's face, Medea felt a sweet, soothing warmth fill her hollow heart.
Even if the Witch of Betrayal really was one possible future for me, right now I'm still just the innocent Medea. I should be allowed to choose to love, shouldn't I?
Even if the future was unpredictable and the past followed her like a shadow, the delight and trust the man before her felt toward someone branded a betrayer were real. That was enough.
Suddenly, Roland felt a small hand give his trouser leg a hard tug.
Sakura Matou clung to Roland's leg with all four limbs like a koala, staring fixedly up at him with reproachful eyes. Her little face was full of jealousy, like a long-suffering wife who had caught her husband out carousing.
Roland reached down and stroked Sakura Matou's head.
"All right, Sakura. We're done for today. Go to bed."
"No..."
Though very precocious, Sakura Matou was still unfamiliar with many things and could not understand Medea's feelings. Even so, she instinctively sensed something was wrong.
"It's all right, Master." Medea smiled and crouched slightly, addressing Sakura Matou. "Your name is Sakura, isn't it? Let's get along from now on."
Hehe. My body might still be a young girl's, but with my memories of the future, I'm far ahead of the competition when it comes to being a good wife.
Sakura Matou puffed out her cheeks and pouted. Taking advantage of the moment Medea moved away, she climbed into Roland's arms like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
"Sakura, be good..."
Roland only stroked Sakura Matou's head gently. Her actions when he had contracted with Shendu earlier had made him lower his guard around her considerably. He had already been indulgent because of what she had suffered, and his attitude had softened even further.
"Sleep together..."
Sakura Matou buried her face in Roland's clothes and spoke in a muffled voice.
"What?"
"I want to sleep with Lord Roland. Sakura's scared to be alone."
"Just this once, then."
Seeing how clingy Sakura Matou was, Roland sighed.
"I'll take Sakura upstairs to rest, then. Come to think of it, setting up a workshop is what Caster does best, right? I'll leave tonight to you, then."
"Yes, Master."
Medea agreed aloud while silently following behind Roland.
"Why are you following me?"
"Because your room is the center of this base, isn't it, Master? Using that location as the anchor for the barrier will produce better results."
"Really?"
"Of course. I may be a mere Caster, but I do know a thing or two about magecraft."
Medea proudly thrust out her already developing figure. The perfect globes and slender waist formed a continuous line, tracing alluring curves.
Roland gave Medea a dubious look. His room was hardly an anchor point rich in magical energy, but since this was the wisdom of a Divine Era Magus from another world, surely she could not be wrong?
Roland had not intended to do anything else anyway. After settling Sakura Matou in, he sat beside her to keep her company. Though she was still a little reluctant, it was very late, and she had been through a great deal that day. Once she lay on the soft bed and smelled Roland's familiar scent, her tense body soon relaxed, and before long, she began mumbling in her sleep.
Looking at the girl's sleeping face and Roland beside her, Medea suddenly fell quiet. Only when Roland looked over at her again did she hurriedly wave the staff in her hand.
"Since concealment will be our priority from now on, Master, I'll first set up a barrier to hide our magical energy. Its range is somewhat limited, but its concealment is first-rate. Even a Heroic Spirit won't notice anything unusual from outside unless they personally step into this base."
Once she entered familiar territory, Medea immediately found her rhythm again. "An inexperienced magus like you, Master, wouldn't even realize you were under the barrier's surveillance."
"Is... that so?"
Puzzled, Roland watched the invisible lines crisscrossing, flowing, and moving through the air, and instinctively reached out.
Why does this barrier feel so tangible to me? Almost as if I could touch it.
Before his hand could touch the barrier, a pink arm, somewhere between illusion and reality, emerged from his fingertips and seized the invisible barrier first, with perfect precision.
-The bomb has been planted.
That was what the sensation from his soul told him. Almost instinctively, Roland pressed his thumb down.
The next instant, without any indication that anything had broken, every line of magical energy throughout the barrier vanished, as though none of them had ever existed.
"My barrier is gone! There wasn't even a warning that it had been broken or breached..."
Medea, who had been concentrating on setting up a second, stronger barrier, suddenly cried out and looked anxiously toward Roland.
"Master, has an enemy broken in?"
"No. Strictly speaking..." Roland replied in an equally puzzled voice and summoned his Stand.
"I suppose you'd call this a Stand attack?"
The usual request for votes! There'll be an extra update at midnight tonight! I can't believe some readers are still torn between young Caster and motherly Caster. A mature adult would obviously take both.
Thanks to Cayde6 for the 500-point tip!