Chapter 48: The Calamity of Women-5-
Kuriyama Sho.
In the past, he was a Master who operated in another world's Chaldea under the name Fujimaru Ritsuka.
Even back then, he had the "Calamity of Women" trait.
He was one of those figures who stood at the pinnacle of this calamity, acknowledged by many others who shared the same fate.
The "Calamity of Women" trait could be something one is born with, like Diarmuid's innate or acquired curse or blessing, or it could be due to one's constitution.
It could also be something called fate, or the person themselves could just be the type that naturally attracts women.
The latter case is what you could call the Emiya type.
And you could say that Sho was an extreme version of that Emiya type.
He was the type to stir up a woman's calamity through pure human relationships, with no intention or ulterior motives of his own.
They are often called the protagonist type from a romantic comedy.
At the very least, most of those protagonists are either oblivious or have at least one person they like.
Of course, there are many who aren't like that and are reasonably perceptive. Sho was this very type.
He didn't have special feelings for any one person, but he was perceptive. One could say this type was perfectly optimized for the "Calamity of Women."
However, there was a clear difference between the previous Chaldea and the current Sho.
Before, the position of his lover was vacant for a long time, and the competition was fierce.
Now, there is one.
Fujimaru Ritsuka.
A girl who shares the same name Sho used in the previous Chaldea. She was anything but ordinary.
Any normal Heroic Spirit could sense to some degree that Ritsuka was an extraordinary being.
Furthermore, her obsession with Sho was also far from ordinary. It was an obsession that even Kiyohime, the originator of obsession, would consider unusual.
She was a woman with an obsession so significant that Kiyohime considered her a rival.
However, unlike the others, her possessiveness seemed relatively less intense. She was tolerant of him spending time with other women.
Of course, most of the time, she had to be involved, and while she actually welcomed the harem growing, she had a strong conviction that the position of the official wife had to be hers and hers alone.
“Her true identity is a mystery.”
“She feels like a divine being, right?”
Atalante and Jeanne were discussing Ritsuka while drinking tea.
For Jeanne, who had even been in a relationship with Sho alongside her, she couldn't comprehend what the girl truly wanted.
“A divine being, huh. I’ve seen so many of those that I’m starting to get used to it.”
“It’s clear there’s something different about her. But at the very least, she isn’t a detriment to the Master. Even Ms. Kiyohime says it’s fine for now.”
“I can only hope that she remains on the Master’s side forever.”
They believed Ritsuka held some great secret, but they didn't try to dig into it. If she was on Sho's side, there was no point in poking the bear and potentially souring their relationship.
Whether she would continue to side with Sho or not... that was a source of anxiety.
“So, how was it?”
“Huh? What was?”
“The Master. Was he really... that amazing?”
Jeanne blushed at Atalante's question. Seeing her reaction, it seemed that, as befitting someone with the "Calamity of Women," he was quite incredible as a man.
“Tsk. To think a so-called Holy Maiden would give her virginity to the Master before me.”
“Ahem. But, aren't you... not a virgin?”
“It's like a matter of mind, body, and soul. My current body is a virgin.”
“Eh?”
“Hmm? Ah, have I never told you? It's true that I was with Hippomenes. But Heroic Spirits are originally summoned in their prime. My state at that time was at the moment of my downfall, just before I was cursed and turned into a beast. My prime was my entire heroic era, but the peak of that was the footrace at the very end. This body I have now is from that time. Of course, my ears and tail are remnants of the curse, so they're ingrained into my very being.”
Atalante was defeated in the footrace because her attention was stolen by the golden apples. Because of this, she became Hippomenes's wife. However, the golden apples he used to distract her were a gift from Aphrodite.
After winning the race and marrying Atalante, he forgot to offer a sacrifice of thanks to Aphrodite. Enraged, she caused the couple to become aroused as they passed by the temple of the goddess Cybele.
As a result, they committed the sacrilege of having sex in the temple and were cursed, turned into lions. That was Atalante's end. In a way, she met a tragic end because of Hippomenes.
The fact that she was abandoned by Artemis for no longer being a virgin was just the icing on the cake. After all, Artemis was the kind of goddess who would kick out even Callisto, a victim of her own father Zeus's rape, simply for not being a virgin anymore. And yet, she was such a hypocrite that she sang songs about wanting to give her own virginity to Orion, so Atalante was essentially cast aside despite the circumstances.
This Atalante, as a Heroic Spirit, manifested not from the time of her tragic end, but from the time of the footrace when she still shone brightly. It was, after all, her most famous anecdote.
“So when you talk about mind, body, and soul, you mean you remember the experience of intercourse itself?”
“It was done as a beast, anyway. My body was human, but my mind had become that of an animal in heat due to the goddess's curse. Moreover, it was just lust, not an act to bear children. Neither I nor Hippomenes wanted to do it that way. Well, it was a loveless marriage to begin with. I only did it to fulfill my duty. I have no intention of continuing that marital relationship now, after death.”
Surprisingly, there aren't many cases where a married couple from their lifetime continues that relationship after becoming Heroic Spirits.
Of course, there are those who do, like Sigurd and Brynhildr, Siegfried and Kriemhild, or Yu Miaoyi and Xiang Yu, but there are many who don't.
A prime example would be Jason and Medea, who became bitter enemies. There are plenty of failed marriages, like the strange one between King Arthur and Guinevere.
Or there might be cases where they were fine in life, but their relationship soured after death due to each other's actions.
For example, Emperor Gaozu of Han would surely cut all ties with his empress, Empress Lü (Empress Gao), if he knew what she did after his death.
In this way, due to various factors, there are quite a few married couples who are strangers, or worse than strangers, as Heroic Spirits.
As for Atalante and Hippomenes, Atalante, at least, could not look upon him favorably.
“I gave my heart to the Master a long time ago. As a Heroic Spirit, and as a woman. My body and soul are all his.”
“I see. For you, the Chaste Huntress, to give your virginity to the Master. Then does that mean I'll become your sister-in-law in the future?”
“……We’re not related by blood.”
Sister-in-law. The term for the sister of one's husband.
Jeanne, calling herself Sho's older sister, was already considering Atalante her future sister-in-law (as in, brother's wife).
“We have a bond thicker than blood!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
To be treated as a sister-in-law by Jeanne if she gets together with Sho. Just imagining it was already exhausting. But to give up on Sho for a reason like this would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?
“I’m dreading the day more family-claimants show up.”
Atalante was already feeling overwhelmed at the thought of having to call mother-claimants like Raikou or Tiamat "mother-in-law" in the future.
“Oh my, then what number sister-in-law am I, who called him 'husband' first? Or am I the sister-in-law?”
Just then, a wild Kiyohime appeared.
“Hmm, let's see. I'll have to discuss this with my little brother! For now, the first would have to be Ms. Ritsuka, I suppose.”
“Oh my, then I'll have to appeal to my husband a lot more. It seems I’m scheduled to go to his bedroom tonight, you know. From the looks of it, Ms. Mash is also officially aiming for tonight. I'll have to prepare a big dinner.”
“If there's a lot of delicious food, I’m all for it!”
“One is driven by lust, and the other by appetite.”
Atalante sighed and shook her head at the two of them.
Meanwhile, with the other female Servants of Chaldea.
“This is delicious, this 'modern food'.”
“Hah, this just puts me in a bad mood. Don't you agree!?”
“That's the thirtieth minute you’ve been complaining, Lady Yu Miaoyi.”
In the dining hall, Yu Miaoyi was drinking, with Chen Gong caught next to her against his will. And then there was Jeanne Alter, who was nibbling on modern food and enjoying her life in Chaldea.
Currently, excluding Mash, she was the only one of the Servants who was Ritsuka's.
As the Dragon Witch, she was special for being a Ruler, and Sho wanted her to support Ritsuka as her Servant, so he didn't form a contract with her.
If he did, she would be replaced by Sho's Avenger, Jeanne Alter. That's why Sho decided to keep a separate, independent Dragon Witch.
Although she had the disadvantage of being a Servant from this world, Sho had sexually touched her, so he judged that she was unlikely to be corrupted and betray them.
And at that same time, Sho.
“Now for powerlifting squats!”
“This is 30kg, right!?”
“Excluding the bar’s weight!”
“Aargh!”
Sho, who was just starting to build muscle, was exercising with a relatively light weight.
“You can do it, Sho~”
Next to him, Ritsuka was cheering him on in a cheerleader outfit. Of course, he was so exhausted that he didn't even notice her.
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Hello! We have caught up with the original author, so chapters will be released as the author himself publishes them.
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