The Path Of The Heart 03 (Patreon)

"So, what do you think should be our next move Takao?" Currently I'm at her place of residence with Saber and Musashi. My courtesan turned concubine is currently sitting on my lap.

She blushes. "You're asking me...?" I had wondered how she would react upon regaining consciousness, and so far it seems like she really did become my woman. Which is probably good for everyone, considering that she's definitely pregnant.

I nod. "Yes, you're a more experienced master than me. Besides, a man should trust on the mother of his children." And she's definitely pregnant. Sure, technically I have no way of confirming it...

But a follower of the path of the heart just knows these things.

She looks down, a small smile on her face. "W-well... We should probably collect some information. Do you know any of the other Masters, Lord Iori...?" I suppose the gathering of knowledge is never a waste of time.

Musashi sighs. "I can't believe you're being so lovey dovey with him Master..." Even as she says that, she's hugging my arm. "Show some pride, will ya?" Please stop trying to uncorrupt my concubine.

Takao sputters. "I-It cannot be helped! This man has... taken me. He has also shown quite the prowess in battle, and as such it's own my best interests to follow him for now." Tsun. "And besides, you are all over him, Berserker!"

Musashi blushes. "That's different! He's not some nobody to me, he's my s-, my lover! And I'm carrying his son, like guaranteed!" She pales. "I really am gonna have to abandon the sword for a while, I have a damn brat growing inside of me!"

During that time you will definitely realize you were born to be a cute concubine and not a swordswoman! Though it is true that if this Grail War goes for long enough, you will become a true noncombatant.

Saber interjects. "Yeah, yeah, you two fell for a man in the stupidest possible way and all. So can we go back to strategizing? Is there anything else we should know Takao Dayu?" Stop being the straight m-, woman.

Takao Dayu clears her throat. "Y-yes, of course. We must also talk about our bases of operation Lord Iori. Territories are quite important in this war..." I see, and I essentially own two at this point.

I smile, I'm making progress. "Got it. By the way, the information I have concerns this woman named Yui Shousetsu." Her first name is Shousetsu, but Yui is certainly easier to say.

When I make her mine I will probably just call her cumdumo though. "Her servant is Rider, a woman dressed in heavy armor. We also encountered Lancer, a foreign woman who controls fire... She's a mega virgin, I could tell." She won't be one forever though.

Yet again I have made Takao Dayu blush. "You certainly have a way with words Lord Iori!"

Saber frowns. "And with a pussy too, apparently. You two instantly became domesticated, huh?" Wanna see my skills?

While Takao is at a loss for words, Musashi interjects. "N-now... let's not talk about that! Ah... I came when being fucked by my son... his child growns inside of me." She then shakes her head. "But right now we should be talking about Yui Shousetsu!"

Takao Dayu nods. "Yes... we have much to discuss about her. For example, I used to believe she was actually a man..." You lack my vison. "Nonetheless, please investigate her more, Lord Iori."

"Will do."



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"Gramps... I will be honest with you, I'm completely lost now." Saber and I have spent yesterday and today investigating Yui Shousetsu so that I may teach her the thouch of a man. And also so I can win the war.

Eventually this lead us to here... Ueno, though we are actually just passing through. Nonetheless the method we used to reach here involved leylines, and to be honest at this point I'm lost.

Swordsmanship is my calling after all.

Gramps sighs. "Ugh... If you don't understand, I'll give you a more detailed explanation later. For now however we must connect to the leyline, and fast, before we attract monsters to this peaceful place." I see.

We start walking towards our goal, with Gramps' guidance of course. But Saber eventually speaks up. "Hey Gramps, I'm surprised you're okay with Iori's... activities." There's nothing wrong with pursuing the path.

Gramps pouts. "I wouldn't say I'm okay with it... But Iori and Kaya are happy, so I suppose it's alright. And hey, Iori actually takes his magecraft studies seriously nowadays!" That's because magecraft can be useful in the path.

It aids me in battle, it lets me make sure there are never any witnesses, and it helps with sex. So while magecraft is not my calling, it's definitely something I will keep putting time and effort into.

Saber scratches her cheek. "The love of a grandfather surpasses it all huh... Even when the problem is that his grandchildren love each other a bit too much." You can never love someone too much.

I sent Gramps a smile. "Thank you for the support." And received one in return. "Speaking of surprises Saber, I'm surprised you didn't run off on your own to explore the city or something." That sounds like her.

She blushes. "Well, I sorta wanted too... but I can't leave you unwatched." Is she... worried about me? "You might attack some poor child while I'm gone after all." Your opinion of me is that low...?

I sigh. "Why would I attack a child...? I may technically be a ronin, but I'm not the sort who enjoys senseless violence..." For some reason I recently incredulous look. "I'm serious. I enjoy growing stronger, but I wouldn't obtain experience from fighting a child."

Saber pouts. "I don't mean attacks a child in a violent manner..." She looks down, now seemingly embarrassed. "I'm just afraid you will... you know... push them down and then have your way with them." What is she...

Wait, there's no way she actually thinks I would do that! "I would never turn a poor child into a concubine. The path of the heart disapproves of such actions." And so do I.

Saber raises an eyebrow. "Really...? You aren't lying, right Iori?"

Gramps seems curious too. "Um... It's rare to ever see your so-called path of the heart having any regulations at all." Why are people suddenly acting like I'm a dastardly villain?

Honestly, the nerve... "Of course the path of the heart has rules, any swordmanship school does. Furthermore, I chose this path so that I could grow without showering Edo in blood." Now I'm just showering a few woman in seed.

"And... well, my Teacher wasn't exactly a moral man, but I can tell what's right from wrong. I would never hurt a child, be it physically or... physically. So you need not worry Saber, explore to your hearts content." Actually maybe she shouldn't.

It would be bad if she ran off for no reason, specially since we are technically dealing with a time important matter right now. I can't let the trail leading to Shousetsu grow cold, or I'll get scolded.

Saber tilts her head. "Well, while I do sorta believe you... I'm still gonna keep following you, sorry Iori." Ah, the problem solved itself without my imput, how lucky.

"After all, even if you don't attack a child, it would still be bad if you attacked a random woman." Ugh... Well, I can't deny her point, even if it's not like I go for any random woman in the street. Quality above quantity.

"Let's just keep going. Please continue on guiding us, Gramps." The book nods, and we continue our journey.

Eventually however, Saber raises a hand. "Iori, a Servant." Immediately my body tenses up. This may prove troublesome... Good. Be it a cute legendary heroine, or a mighty legendary hero... Both are useful for growing my blade.

My hand slowly goes to the hilt of my sword. "Where...?" I'm scanning the shops around us, but I see nothing particularly strange. An Assassin perhaps...? No, Saber wouldn't have felt him either.

Saber then points at a crowd. "There...! It's coming from there!" I see... This is bad...? Or maybe good...? I doubt anyone would start a fight with so many people around after all.

I nod. "Gramps, please hide." As usual he enters inside of my clothing without any word. It would be bad if normal people saw him. "Let's check on the servant, but do not do anything crazy, Saber."

Saber glares at me. "Why are we suddenly acting like I'm the weird one here...?" You almost destroyed half of Asakusa with your Noble Phantasm. It's only natural I would be wary when we encounter a possible enemy.

As we get closer to the crowd, we start to hear voices, they sound excited. "O-oh...! She's so cute...! So pretty! This is the perfect woman!"

"Miss are you really okay living here!? Let me... let me take you home...!"

"Do you need anything? Food? Clothing? I'll give you anything, so please follow me... Yeah, I'll fill you up if you follow me!"

My eye twitches. "I would be worried if this was a normal woman." Thankfully a Servant should be able to defend herself. "Still, I almost feel like calling some samurai here. Do these men have no common sense?"

Saber glares at me. "Are you of all people saying that..." She then shakes her head. "Right, it's not rape if it's with a concubine, right?" Ah, she's finally learning. Even if she's saying that with a mocking tone.

I smile. "Indeed. Anyhow, let's check it out, it's probably quite the beautiful Servant. Maybe some legendary seductress." Well, maybe not. Most Servants are insanely beautiful, their legend doesn't matter.

Saber's rolls eyes. "Just don't take your penis out." She walks into the crowd. "Oh, she's a beauty for sure!" So even Saber admits it? Yeah, there's no way I could miss this, even if we don't have time to waste.

As I follow her the first thing I see a tail. I mutter. "A fox... That cannot be good." Only a few fox related legends come to mind, all are terrifying even for me. As soon as I see the rest of her though... "Some kid?" What a disappointment.

I suppose not every hero is an adult with a sexy body, but the whole seductress thing raised my hopes a bit.

Saber has stars in her eyes. "What are you talking about!? She's clearly not a child...!" I wonder, is Saber inflicted with some illusion? "She's of marriageable age I would say!" And now I remember you're from the past.

I do my best to control my temper, Saber doesn't know what she's talking about. "Look, Saber... Let's just say that in this time, she's a bit too young to have so many men begging for... for that." Maybe if they were young men too, but this place is filled with balding retired Samurai.

It's as my Teacher used to say, the youngest pussies attract the most rotted of dicks, stick with mature women.

And speaking of my Teacher, in this situation he would have probably just shaked his head and walked away. I however, pursue the path of peace as well, and so I must intervene.

I raise my voice. "You men should be ashamed of yourselves!" Thankfully I'm loud enough that I get the attention of the entire crowd. "Do you all have nothing better to do than bother such a young lady!?"

I know she's a Servant who can probably defend herself, but it still doesn't sit right with me to see a child being harassed... I mean, I will be a father one day, and I know I wouldn't want my children to go through this.

To my surprise the first person to respond is the fox Servant. "Erm... Don't worry Mister Samurai... I'm totally fine! These men just want to help me!" Her voice is quite cute... but also filled with naivete.

Still, she has ralled her army. "Y-yeah, shut samurai! We weren't doing nothing illegal! And no one here had bad intentions." Great, now the crowd is officially against me, but I was expecting this anyways.

Another man, clearly drunk raises a hand. "Yeah, I wasn't planning on taking her to my house and rapin' her!" Amazing.

Saber whispers on my ear. "Iori, we really need to go. I can feel monsters approaching the area..." They probably have been drawn out by this whole leyline business. This is becoming more and more annoying.

I whisper back. "Take Gramps and go deal with them while I deal with this." I simply cannot overlook this, these people need a lesson taught to them, with violence if necessary.

Saber slowly nods "Okay, you should be able to deal with a normal mob." She leaves after that, Gramps stealthily following her. Which means it's not me and the enemy, no other distractions.

I draw my sword, and shout again to regain their attention. "If you all won't leave with words, then I'm willing to force the matter with steel!" Many insults come my way, and many swords are drawn as a result.

The Servant seems horrified. "W-wait, let's not fight here...!" But it's too late, the brawl has already started.

Still, even as I easily destroy the mob, I never kill a single one. Murder would both be wrong in a moral standpoint, and in a tactical standpoint, since I don't need the Shogunate coming after me. Actually, murder in this case may be right in a moral standpoint.

Before long it's over, I sheathe my sword. "I finished before Saber, huh..." It's not surprising of course, monsters are much more powerful. Still, I do feel a sense of pride, for my swordsmanship has indeed raised after the recent additions to my harem.

I look at the fox woman, but instead of seeing a horrified expression... I see a blushing young girl. "Lord Samurai~...!" I received a title upgrade!? Not killing anyone paid off in the end.

I bow a little. "My apologies, but these men were dangerous, and I couldn't stand to watch you get hurt." Mentally of course. She's a Servant so no men here could touch her... Maybe she could even defeat me.

She swoons. "O-oh...! Thank you Lord Samurai...!" She then shyly looks down. "M-may I ask for your name...?" Um...? Could it be that I'm making a favourable impression on her? That sure is nice.

Having extra allies could only be good. "My name is Iori Miyamoto. A Master of this war... Though my Servant is away at the moment." I probably shouldn't tell her, but I have a feeling she's not an enemy.

She covers her face. "You're participating on the war...!? Well... My name Is Tamamo Aria, but you can just call me Aria!" She gave away her name with zero hesitation!? "I'm a Rogue Rider..." As I suspected.

I nod. "It's nice to meet you... But please do try to stay out of trouble. I'll come dashing in to rescue you if necessary, but I can only move so fast." I'm definitely aiming for an alliance right now.

Takao Dayu made sure I understood how important territories are, so having the Rogue of Ueno on our side would be a tremendous benefit.

She cups her cheeks. "H-how dreamy... Ah, Lord Iori~..." She then takes a deep breath. "M-may I ask something of you, Lord Iori?" Even I am surprised with how well negotiations are going...

I nod yet again. "Ask me anything. I won't reject you no matter what." Though maybe I'm giving her too much control over this negotiation. Surely she won't ask for anything too outrageous.

She smiles. "Great, thank you Lord Iori... The truth is that I was here awaiting for something good... and my wish was granted. Now I wish for something beautiful... But to be honest I don't know what it is..."

I scratch my chin. "I see, that is troublesome indeed." For me of course. How the hell am I supposed to recruit her when she's not giving any clear terms...?

I take a good look at her, trying to perhaps find a clue... And when I gaze into her eyes, I finally understand. "Ah, it's love. The beautiful thing you're looking for is love." How adorable, the little girl wants a little lover.

She sputters. "L-Lord I-Iori...?"

So I continue. "Don't panic. It's normal. Love is the strongest and most beautiful thing in the world after all." And also the best training method. "Still, this is something which I cannot provide you, at least not the type you're looking for."

She suddenly grabs on my sleeve. "B-but Lord Iori... Why can't you provide me this love..." Oh boy... "Yes, in our short talk you have enlightened me! My heart burns as bright as if I was the legendary Kiyohime!" That's not a good sign!

"Besides, I can tell you're an expert when it comes to love, Lord Iori. So surely you could... could guide a young girl such as me? I promise I'll try my best to learn." Well, I wouldn't mind mentoring someone.

But it's clear that she's looking for something more. "Sorry Aria, but you are... far too young for me. Find a village boy instead, become friends with him. Perhaps something will come from that." Though maybe a Servant shouldn't be associating with a normal human.

Also, Teacher once said childhood friend romances were dangerous for someone who lives in a town filled with old men. He never elaborated on the why though...

She pouts. "But..."

And so I smile and pat her on the head. "No buts. And don't worry, I know you will find love easily, you have a good eye after all, noticing that I'm an expert on such matters." I grin. "I have many lovers after all... So if you ever need some advice, come to me." Ah, I have found a little pupil.

Though... I don't think I have enough experience to teach someone the path of the heart yet. And Aria is also quite young, so matters such as these should probably only be taught to her once she grows old.

Aria's eyes become a bit scary... Did I say something wrong? "Ah, so Lord Iori is gonna go around frolicking with other women just after he revealed the meaning of my existance to me?" Oh, I get it.

She's jealous, how cute. It's so cute that it makes me laugh. And that just makes her even angrier... "My apologies, a man shouldn't mock a woman like this. Still, I promise that there is a young man in this village who you will get along with and furthermore..."

"Even if there isn't, love isn't something that should be rushed. Love is just a little extra, it's not life itself, and so life can be meaningful without it." Which is why I only make someone my concubine when I particularly like them.

Aria kicks the dust the ground. "Are you sure about that Lord Iori...? Do you really not have space for an extra wife...?" I nod. Besides, I don't even take wives. "okaaaay then." Really?

An awkward smile appears on my face. "Really? I'm forgiven then?" Rejecting a woman is a heavy sin after all, no matter how justified the rejection... Okay, maybe it's not a sin sometimes.

Her eyes are still empty for some reason. "Suuure... I mean, I'm just a Tamamo. I'm not known to overreact when it comes to love or anything." I breathe a sigh of relief. Somehow I got through this.

Still... Tamamo huh? Like Tamamo-No-Mae? Well, she is Aria, but with a similar name and a fox motif... There's no way it's just a coincidence. I will do some studying later with Gramps so I can learn more about her.

"Iori! I'm back!" So Saber finally finished up with the monsters... I turn around to greet her, but then...

I feel something impact with my head. Everything goes black.



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"What are you doing?" I summon my sword. I feel no killing intent from the Servant, and she could have definitely killed him if she wanted to just now... But she did also just hit my Master with a rock.

And Gramps seems worried too. "Iori! Save him before it's too late, Saber!" That's what I'm planning on doing! Though I don't know how I'll approach the enemy servant with executing her...

Speaking of her, she drops the rock she's holding, the one she hit Iori with. "I... I don't mean to cause Lord Iori any harm!" Oh?

I raise an eyebrow. "You cracked a rock against his skull, that looked pretty harmful. So tell me, what are your plans, Fox Woman?" Every Japanese knows you should never, ever trust one of those!

She blushes and looks down. "I... um... erm..." And then a weird smirk appears on her face, showing fang. "I wanna... rape him?" She says as if it's a question.

My sword disappears. "Okay then." He need a taste of his own medicine. Even Gramps thinks that, considering he too isn't lifting a single finger to save Iori. Not that he has any fingers.

Aria tilts her head. "I-it's okay...?" I nod. "Um... Alright then." And following that she starts dragging Iori's body with her superior strength. "To our love nest we go...! I guess...?" She could do it over here. Now that would truly be poetic justice.

Karma even.



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AN: Iori needs a hero...!

That aside, as you can see I sorta skipped a bunch of... filler I guess. Like Iori investigating Shousetsu. If this Omake ever gets a part 4 I will probably keep doing this too.

Omakes are things that naturally don't get as much attention as a full fic, so I want to exclusively show the more... important parts. That probably means people who haven't played Samurai Remnant will be super confused, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.