An Archer's Promise

An Archer's Promise Chapter 56: Lust?

Beta read by Shigiya, Paragon of Awesomeness and Fluffy Slayer.

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-Feoh-

There were many things he expected for his first meeting with Kaguya, including fear, anger or suspicion, all of which he expected to witness on her face. Much like his stance regarding Alicia, Archer did not hold a favorable opinion of this Princess Knight, given the outcomes of his interactions with her colleagues — excluding Claudia, who had only seen him once for a few seconds. 

Maia gave him clues about the woman's personality, or perhaps the absence thereof. A person of equal status to Claudia, regarded as Celestine's advisor for Church related matters. As far as how  Kaguya’s worship of a different deity worked, he hadn't invested much effort in exploring that aspect. Nonetheless, Olga had described this maiden from the Far East as akin to something of a glorified messenger. And to that fact, what deeply troubled him were the signs that unmistakably portrayed her as a potentially dangerous individual, armed with significant political influence and formidable magical powers, all while deftly playing both sides for an unknown agenda. 

Her blessing remained a closely guarded secret, known only to  Celestine. Adding to the enigma was her expertise in magic and talisman creation, which provided a way for Maia to store her mana during her first fight against Archer. While he did consider the possibility of her crafting a similar item with Magical Energy that could seamlessly harmonize with his body, the magic system here was very different, both in practice and physical manifestation. These people lacked magic circuits, relying instead on cores as elucidated in the  few books he managed to get his hands on. 

Taking the last bite of his apple, he discarded the core, and then proceeded to wash his face before heading to the garden for his meeting with Kaguya. To say he felt at ease about meeting this so-called 'priestess' or more aptly, a sock-puppet, for a self-proclaimed bug deity would be a blatant lie.

Was he bitter about the whole situation? Undoubtedly. He wasn’t one to be plagued by conflict when it came to his feelings. Every time he contemplated Kaguya’s situation, it evoked memories of Matou Sakura's plight, drawing a horrible parallel between the two, both having been infested with insects. The mental image was a thorn from a bygone time that resurfaced with a vengeance. 

'The security in the outer area is notably lax,' observed the Counter Guardian, as a priestess greeted him with a small amount of respect before heading off to another location. A few came to view the closer he got.

Regardless, he remained vigilant. Moving past the priestesses, he consciously refrained from mentally categorizing them as cultists, although the journey to the gazebo only served to exacerbate his irritation. 

These people weren't trustworthy in the least, especially after learning about the kind of deity they worshiped and their bug-related practices. Just the thought of each priestess harboring a worm or some other insect within their bodies left a bitter taste in his mouth. Did they all carry the progeny of their self-proclaimed god bug within them? Were they active participants, or hapless victims? Regardless of the circumstances, they had all become nothing more than puppets in service of a parasitic entity, one that he wouldn't have any qualms exterminating. Yet, Archer couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought that no matter how much distance he put between himself and certain aspects of his past, were or even the numbness he acquired during his time as a Counter Guardian — some things proved stubbornly resistant to the passage of time. 

As he walked towards the main meeting area, Emiya noticed a conspicuous absence of Knights in the area. Instead, what lay before him were various women dressed in extremely revealing priestess garbs, probably  waiting for his arrival. Although tempted to rebuke them on their attire, he opted to remain silent in the end. This world seemed to be afflicted with a questionable fashion ideology and a few words from him wouldn't change anything. And by now, he had already grown accustomed to their strange perverted tastes.