Rinshōkan Misaya had changed. This was the recent feeling of all the Spearmanship club members. Their instructor, who was usually as stern as a stone, had actually started to dress up in the past few days.
She certainly looked beautiful. However, the members felt it was somewhat unbelievable. After all, their usual Teacher Misaya wasn't the type of girl who would meticulously dress up.
Among themselves, they couldn't help but discuss it:
"Hey, hey! Do you know why the old lady started primping herself recently?!" one asked.
"Not just that! Her tone of voice isn't as strict as before... it's like she's deliberately holding back," another observed.
"Exactly! It's so strange! What's going on?!" a third exclaimed.
"Hmm... do you think it could be because of that new Teacher Ian?" a fourth wondered.
"Huh? Now that you mention it, it seems so! Before that teacher came, Teacher Misaya would never do something like this!" someone agreed.
"Hmph... does the old lady like him?!" a student questioned.
"Don't even say it, it's actually possible!" another mused.
Thump, thump!
The sound of a wooden spear hitting the floor echoed. Rinshōkan Misaya, the Spearmanship club instructor, appeared at the doorway. Then, in a very restrained tone, completely different from her usual manner, she spoke to everyone present.
"Everyone!" she called out. "Hurry up and start practicing~"
"..."
"..."
Although the members seemed unaccustomed to her overly gentle voice, Misaya was still Misaya. After she finished speaking, no one present dared to say more; instead, they began to practice.
However, at this very moment, Scathach's mind was not on these students at all. A few days ago, after deciding to use her "femininity" to get Ian to agree, Scathach immediately began to deploy her plan.
The first thing to do, naturally, was to change her usual stern way of speaking. A serious tone was hardly "feminine." Speaking softly and gently, as she was doing now, was the correct way to present herself.
Of course, for Scathach, doing this was quite uncomfortable. After all, as the Queen of the Land of Shadows, she rarely used such a tone. The reason was simple: she needed to establish her authority, and being amiable with everyone wouldn't achieve that. Her current behavior was merely a temporary expedient born out of necessity.
A New Look
After confirming the change in her speaking style, Scathach quickly noticed another thing: her attire.
Before Ian appeared, in order to better demonstrate the details of spearmanship to the students of the Spearmanship club, Scathach had always chosen relatively loose clothing. On one hand, it was for convenience. On the other hand, it was to make Scathach more comfortable when demonstrating her Sōjutsu.
But these clothes had a common drawback: they sacrificed aesthetics for functionality. This, of course, was unacceptable to Scathach now. She felt that only by making her clothes more appealing could she make Ian notice her faster.
And so, the combination of Scathach's two ideas led to her current presentation: speaking softly and dressing beautifully. Scathach felt this was the most perfect way to display herself.
Incidentally, to give Ian a fresh feeling, Scathach would change into her clothes early and arrive at the Spearmanship club practice area alone. That's right. Although this man lived with her, he didn't know what she would be wearing today.
This way, she thought, he would surely discover that she was actually much more charming than he had imagined, wouldn't he?
Ready, Scathach began to wait for Ian.
Finally, Ian, who was responsible for cleaning the residence after Scathach left and disposing of the trash, appeared. He quickly noticed that Scathach's clothes were completely different from yesterday, the day before, and the day before that. The man's expression once again showed a clear change.
And for Scathach, this was exactly what she wanted to see. She moved closer to Ian and, feigning ignorance, asked, "Do I look good?"
"..."
The man's brow furrowed slightly, but in the end, he nodded and said, "Yes, you look good."
However, just as Scathach wanted to ask something further, Ian spoke first.
"Um," he began, "dressed like this, it might be a bit inconvenient for you to teach them. I'll take over today."
A Misguided Effort
It must be said, Ian's learning ability was indeed very strong. Even after only a few days of simple training by Scathach, he had already mastered a certain level of spearmanship. While certainly still far from Scathach's level, he had no problem temporarily posing as a teacher and instructing the students.
But Scathach knew she didn't need this right now! What she wanted to see was his surprise and astonishment at her refreshed appearance, not a nonchalant remark.
"Eh, you..." she started.
"I'm going over now," Ian said before Misaya could finish, and he was already walking towards where the students were practicing.
Watching his retreating back, Scathach realized that his earlier compliment seemed to be just a polite remark. He... didn't like this? Scathach felt like she had been severely hit. But the Queen of the Land of Shadows wouldn't give up so easily. If this approach couldn't move him, then she would take another approach!
[You taught alone for the entire morning.]
[But you had no major complaints about this—after all, your identity was originally one of the Spearmanship club instructors.]
[However, you felt that Scathach's reaction was very unusual.]
[You realized there was an issue with how you handled things that day.]
[You needed another opportunity to resolve the matter.]
It was noon. This was the break time for the Spearmanship club members. Since Homurahara Academy was on holiday, the school cafeteria, of course, wouldn't be open. But being an old club, the students already had experience in handling this. They quickly took out their pre-prepared bento boxes and began to enjoy them in small groups.
And this was what Scathach considered another opportunity! She had also prepared a bento! However, as the Queen of the Land of Shadows, such matters didn't require Scathach's personal attention. And after gaining the curse of immortality, cooking became even more meaningless to her. After all, if everything she ate would eventually be converted into magical energy, then why bother with such troublesome efforts and waste time?
So, Scathach's bento was bought. To be more precise, it was something bought from an outside convenience store and slightly "processed." The specific action involved "super-doubling" it in every sense of the word. More rice balls, more fried shrimp, more vegetables. After all, if making one bento could show femininity, then making a double-portion bento would surely show twice the femininity, wouldn't it? The wisdom of the Demonic Realm was fully displayed at this moment.
Full of confidence, Scathach waved to Ian on the other side of the training ground. "Ian, come here for a moment!" she called out.
Although Scathach's voice wasn't loud, for the Spearmanship club members who had already heard the rumors, this small stir was quite significant. Everyone's gaze collectively focused on Ian.
"..."
The man didn't hesitate, immediately stood up, and walked towards where the other instructor was.
"Misaya, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing!" Scathach took out her special instructor's bento from behind her back. "Let's eat together!" she said.
Before Ian could answer, or rather, Scathach had no intention of giving him a chance to refuse. The Queen of the Land of Shadows immediately clapped open her cat-shaped lunchbox. And upon seeing the rather unsightly food inside, due to being overpacked, Ian gave an awkward laugh.
"Misaya," he said, "isn't it a bit too much?"
"How could that be?" Scathach was bewildered. "I arranged it so beautifully!" she exclaimed.
"You combined two bentos into one; they must have been squashed and collided on the way here, so it ended up like this," he explained.
"Oh, I see," Scathach's expression became embarrassed. "Then," the Queen asked cautiously, looking at the unsightly scene, "do you still want some?"
"..."
Ian glanced at the surrounding Spearmanship club members and found that they were all looking over, observing their teacher's girlfriend's loving bento gesture. After a moment of thought, he smiled and replied, "Yes, of course, I want some. It's Misaya's bento, how could I not want it?"
Scathach, overjoyed, quickly nodded. "Then I'll feed you!" she said.
"Okay," he agreed.
The Queen of the Land of Shadows used her chopsticks to pick out the items that could barely maintain their original shape and brought them to Ian's mouth. This scene naturally served as the best corroboration for the earlier rumors. All the Spearmanship club members confirmed one thing at this moment—that the old lady was indeed with this new teacher named Ian. This was a gratifying outcome. After all, which student wouldn't want to see their beloved invincible old lady find a good partner?
[The atmosphere in the afternoon became much livelier due to the bento incident.]
[All the students seemed very happy.]
[Time flew by quickly.]
[Before long, the training came to an end.]
Dusk, at the Spearmanship training dojo.
"Then, I'll leave the cleaning here to you today," Ian said to the students in front of him.
"Mm~"
Looking at Ian and Scathach's clasped hands, the leading student showed an expression that said, "I completely understand."
"Teacher Ian, Teacher Misaya," the student said, "leave the dojo cleaning to us! You two just go on your date with peace of mind!"
Hearing this, Scathach immediately blushed; it was the first time she had felt this kind of blessing for a romantic relationship from others. Ian's expression remained much the same as before.
"Okay, I understand," he replied.
The two walked out of the dojo under the students' gaze. On campus, Ian walked aimlessly with Scathach's hand in his, along the snow-covered path. From time to time, students would encounter them, and after seeing their clasped hands, they would quickly leave, saying, "Hello, teachers, goodbye, teachers."
Scathach felt her heart pounding. She hadn't expected her plan to go so smoothly—just a few back-and-forths and she had successfully held his hand.
She knew it! How could she not be feminine?!
Thinking this, Scathach instantly felt much more confident and found the courage to speak.
"Ian / Misaya."
They both looked at each other almost simultaneously. Scathach, deeply moved, felt a bit embarrassed and gave the initiative to Ian.
"You go first," she said.
"..." Ian was silent for a moment, then nodded. However, his next words were somewhat cruel.
Ian said, "Misaya, can you... go back to your original self?"
"What?" Scathach looked at the man holding her hand beside her, confused. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.
"Hmm..." Ian looked at her. "Misaya, if I'm not mistaken, you made these changes especially for me, didn't you? But... I think your previous self was your true self."
"..."
Scathach became a little anxious. "But you were clearly very satisfied today, weren't you?!" she pressed.
"No," Ian said with a bitter smile. "I wasn't satisfied at all. It's just that... I didn't want you to lose face in front of the students. So please forgive me for pretending to be satisfied... I'm sorry."
"..."
Scathach understood. He hadn't changed his mind because of her actions over the past few days. He had only chosen this seemingly accepting approach to save her face. This was the true reality.
"I mean," Scathach said, lowering her head, "am I so useless... that you don't feel anything at all?"
"Of course not," Ian said, putting Scathach's hand into his pocket, afraid she would get cold. "It's just that I have reasons why I cannot be your Holy Grail War partner. This isn't your fault. Perhaps... if I had met you earlier, I would have agreed?"
"Really?" Scathach looked up, a little warmth entering her eyes. "Don't lie to me," she warned him.
"Really," Ian smiled slightly. "Misaya, your original self already attracted me—'Ten Years Unbeaten' isn't just an empty title."
Scathach blushed, but at the same time, she realized her failure. No, not a complete failure yet! Scathach tightened her grip on his hand in his pocket.
"Then, in that case," she said, "you have to compensate me!"
"Compensate you?" he asked.
"That's right," Scathach linked her arm through his. "You made me do so many things, and it all came to nothing. It's fine if you don't become my Holy Grail War partner."
"But you must continue to maintain this relationship with me in front of those students—no, inside my residence too!" she demanded.
"...I'll try my best," he conceded.
"I have more demands!" Scathach drew out her voice, acting uncharacteristically playful. "The things in the bathroom must continue too."
"Wait, let's just leave that out!" he protested.
"No! You owe me this!" she declared.
"If you don't agree," Scathach pulled Ian closer, her face flushed and shy. She stood on her tiptoes and left a kiss on his cheek, carrying the scent of winter. "I'll go tell everyone right now that you're a heartless scoundrel and that you can't return to the Spearmanship club!"
"You..."
Scathach and Ian looked at each other, subtle emotions flickering in their eyes. Especially Scathach. She knew this wouldn't lead to any real outcome. But, she simply couldn't refuse his companionship. At least... let herself have one beautiful winter memory, she thought.
"Ian," she said.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Never mind, it's nothing," she replied.
Snowflakes fell. Scathach leaned against Ian's shoulder, a look of attachment on her face. The two continued to walk forward in the winter campus, like a true couple.
In the distance, a blue light shot up into the sky.
[You, preoccupied with taking care of Scathach, did not notice that blue light.]
[It was the moment the Fifth Holy Grail War entered a new chapter.]
[Vivian's summoning circle had activated.]
[At this very moment, she was summoning her own Servant!]