Chef's Kiss Ch. 27 (Fate/Grand Order) (Patreon)

A/N: Ritsuka's perspective~

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“Come! Allow me to introduce you all to your fellow Generals!”

Someone else in Ritsuka Fujimaru’s position might have been fuming at this point at being sidelined by Shirou Emiya. After all, she was the last REAL Master of Chaldea. And yet, both in the First Singularity and now here in the Second, Shirou had rather swiftly taken center stage and wound up occupying the attention of both their allies and their enemies.

… But Ritsuka didn’t mind that truth be told. She didn’t mind that one bit. Not only did she quite enjoy having sex with Shirou, she also very much enjoyed his food. But more than anything… she enjoyed not being the center of attention. It was bad enough the scant few hours that she was humanity’s last hope. Having the entirety of humankind’s survival resting solely on her shoulders had been both exhausting AND terrifying.

Then, Shirou and Rin had stepped up to the plate. And now Sakura had joined them as well. It wasn’t just Ritsuka and Mash against the world anymore. They had four Masters and multiple Servants and it was all just so relieving that Ritsuka really couldn’t bring herself to be upset. What was she going to do? Cry because Shirou had lifted that massive weight off her shoulders? Kick and scream because he was constantly pulling people into his orbit via his heroic demeanor or super chef capabilities?

No, all of that was ridiculous. Ritsuka was perfectly happy fading into the background and simply being another part of things. She was supremely content in her current role, where she was just one of the team and her and Mash could fight alongside Shirou, Rin, Sakura, and their Servants without having to worry about doing it all.

… She just wished Mash felt the same way.

“Senpai! You should say something! You can’t just keep letting that… that man walk all over you like this!”

Right. So that ‘someone else’ Ritsuka had been talking about before actually wasn’t theoretical. Though to be fair, Mash didn’t necessarily seem to want to be in Ritsuka’s position. She just wanted Ritsuka herself to want to be more of a leader. Ritsuka didn’t know when Mash had developed this strange dislike for Shirou, but her darling demiservant was becoming progressively more and more nasty… almost like she thought she had to defend Ritsuka from Shirou or something.

… Surely Mash knew the two of them were already sleeping together, right? There was no way that the Shielder thought that she was successfully keeping them apart or something like that. Ritsuka could kind of sort of see a world in which Mash saw Shirou as an unrepentant horndog who bedded every single woman he saw without a care for their feelings or desires. That couldn’t be further from the truth, but she could still see it.

However, she couldn’t see a world where Mash truly didn’t know that she and Shirou were already in a relationship. Though… to be fair, it had been a little while since Ritsuka had effectively been ‘jumped in’ to the harem by the others, she supposed. Things had just been so busy that she hadn’t gotten another chance to fuck Shirou yet. But she had gotten more than a few chances to eat his food, and really… that was just as good.

All things considered, Ritsuka DID want to get some alone time with her fellow red head at some point. Maybe she’d even invite Mash along… but no, that sounded like a bad idea. Mash’s dislike for Shirou might ruin the moment. So really, Ritsuka needed to find a way to get some one-on-one time with him. Only, how would she get Mash to leave her side long enough for that to happen? The demiservant had been attached to her like a limpet ever since the First Singularity…

“These two are the Generals of the Gaul Expedition! General Boudica and General Spartacus! Ah, but don’t worry too much over Spartacus… only Boudica can understand him, hah! Still, he’s a capable warrior and a leader among men to be sure! Oi! Boudica! Spartacus!”

Ritsuka blushes as they’re brought before fellow Generals and she lays eyes on a very beautiful, very voluptuous woman. General Boudica almost seems to radiate a motherly warmth as she turns to gaze upon all of them, even though she’s clad in armor and has a sword sheathed at her side. Spartacus, meanwhile, is a hulking man wearing the armor of a gladiator rather than a legionnaire, curiously enough.

“Ah, and who are these, Nero?”

If Nero is put off by Boudica not calling her Emperor, the blonde swordswoman doesn’t show it. Beaming like a child showing off her new friends to her mother, Nero sweeps an arm across their assembled number.

“These are my newest Generals and Commanders! Warriors like you and Spartacus one and all, they have committed to fighting the tyranny of the United Roman Empire just as we all have! With their power and yours combined, I’m sure we’ll crush the enemy lines here in Gaul in no time!”

Nero slaps a closed fist into an open palm to punctuate her confident speech… only to then swoon a moment later, groaning as she places a hand against her forehead.

“G-guh… migraine!”

Everyone looks on in concern, though Ritsuka can’t help noticing Boudica and Spartacus look the least concerned. Perhaps out of familiarity? Either way, Shirou steps forward to place his hand on Nero’s shoulder.

“Are you alright, Nero?”

“Yes, yes… ah, I’m fine. Well, no. I’m not fine. But there’s nothing to be done about it. I’ve suffered from these splitting headaches all my life and I suspect I shall continue to for the rest of my days. Hm… though I do think I shall lie down. Please Boudica, brief your fellow Generals on the situation at hand for me, would you?”

With that, Nero waves off even Shirou’s concern and makes her way to a nearby opulent tent. Ritsuka is a little surprised that the Roman Emperor doesn’t bring Shirou with her to ‘comfort her’. But then, that just goes to show the severity of these migraines, she supposes. Shirou looks after Nero’s back for a moment with a frown, but before he can do anything, Dr. Roman’s voice slips into all of their ears.

“Do be careful, everyone. Those two in front of you must be Stray Servants, just like we encountered back in Orleans. Thankfully, they seem to be on our side… or at least aligned AGAINST our enemies. It’s good to see we can sometimes count on allies when we enter Singularities, but you should still tread carefully… Heroic Spirits can be capricious creatures. Ah… present company not included, of course!”

Ritsuka resists the urge to giggle at that, even as Dr. Roman hastily backpedals to try not to piss off the many Servants on their payroll. Well, they aren’t getting paid so maybe payroll isn’t the right word. Either way, with Nero gone, Boudica gives them all a soft, warm smile.

“The enemy has been scouting our lines for some time now. Perhaps we can wet our blades upon their scouting parties and get to know each other a bit better that way, hm?”

To Ritsuka’s mild surprise, Saber is the one who speaks up at that, stepping forward with an interesting look on her face.

“I would be happy to fight alongside you Boudica, Queen of Britannia.”

Boudica looks surprised by that for a moment, before letting out a soft laugh.

“Oh? You wear Nero’s face… and yet, somehow you remind me of my Briton kin. Curious. But alas, I am but a former Queen now… shall we?”

Her recalcitrance to speak for the moment obvious, everyone exchanges glances before finally nodding. And so, together the ten of them all make their way back out of camp. With Boudica and Spartacus leading the way, they hunt down enemy scouting parties for the next several hours, until the sun actually begins to slowly set on the horizon.

There’s a part of Ritsuka that worries this might be some kind of ambush or something. But even if it was, Boudica and Spartacus make only two Servants and they have four on their side. Well, three and a half given Mash’s demiservant status, but even still. Four Masters and their Servants is no small force!

In the end though, there’s no trick or trap. They fight and they cut down the enemies, making sure most of the United Roman Empire’s scouts don’t make it back to report on the reinforcements that have arrived at the Gaul Camp. And then they return to said camp to have dinner, which Shirou happily takes over making without a second thought.

Nero still doesn’t appear from her tent though, and so it’s them with Boudica and Spartacus around the campfire, talking. Boudica’s eyes light up when she first tastes Shirou’s cooking, and Spartacus lets out an inhuman groan as thought he’s having a religious experience… but after a moment, the former Queen of Britannia’s face becomes more serious and she looks at all of them for a moment before sighing.

“After today, I recognize your power… and I know you recognize mine as well. Spartacus and I… we are Servants. I have materialized as a Rider Servant in this time period, finding myself in a time just after I’d perished in my own history.”

She pauses briefly, hesitating for a moment before continuing.

“… At first I believed my summoning was an opportunity. An opportunity to take revenge against Nero and the Romans for their conquest of Britannia. And yet… when I arrived, it was to find that Nero was not the conqueror, not the aggressor, but the victim. Her and all of the people of Rome were being overrun by the United Roman Empire.”

Boudica smiles softly.

“Believe me when I say this… I do not fight for Nero. Neither does Spartacus. And the Emperor does not know about our true nature either.”

There’s silence for a moment at that, until Shirou suddenly speaks up.

“… If you don’t fight for Nero, why are you on our side exactly?”

Here, Boudica’s smile becomes slightly bitter.

“It is simply our nature, I suppose. The United Empire is the greater of the two evils. In this, Spartacus and I are in agreement. He sees the enemy as a legion of oppressors… something he fought against with all his might in his original life. Meanwhile… I see the people of Nero’s Rome and I see people in need of protection. My innate protective nature will not allow me to stand aside and let innocent people be harmed.”

Boudica frowns.

“I will never forgive Nero or Rome. I cannot. But… I must fight by her side, not for Nero’s sake, but for the people’s sake.”

Well that was some heavy conversation to be having over dinner. Still, Ritsuka is glad Boudica was willing to be honest with them. And she can tell the others are too. Rin in particular looks like she’s already assessing Boudica and Spartacus in the event that the two Servants turn on them. Sakura, meanwhile, seems to actually be sympathetic to Boudica’s tale.

Shirou though… Shirou looks a little troubled. Perhaps because he didn’t realize or just didn’t fully accept that Nero had a past outside of this Singularity. She wasn’t always the little guy facing down a much larger aggressor. In fact, that was never who the real Nero in the real history was supposed to be.

“That is why… I must demand that you choose two among your number to face Spartacus and I in combat.”

Wait, what? A ripple of surprise goes through the assembled group, while Boudica suddenly looks sharp as a blade and serious as the dead.

“You might have considerable numbers, but those numbers mean nothing if none of you are strong enough for the battles ahead. If you think you can beat the emperor that rules Gaul… then you should be able to best Spartacus and I in a duel. Only once you’ve done so will I be confident that you are worthy of following into battle.”

Well shit. This just took a sudden left turn, didn’t it? Ritsuka sweeps her gaze over the others and finds them all surprisingly conflicted. She would have expected Saber, Shirou’s Servant, to jump at the chance… but she actually looks reluctant to fight Boudica. Is that… hero worship or something? Shirou, likewise, doesn’t seem too excited by the idea of a fight.

Rin and Ereshkigal, meanwhile, have both adopted the same thinking pose and same frown on their identical faces. Neither would be particularly happy if she mentioned it, but they actually look incredibly similar in this moment… but then to be fair, Ereshkigal IS inhabiting another version of her Summoner.

Finally, Sakura is looking from Boudica to Shirou and Saber, clearly expecting the duo to take up this challenge just like Ritsuka did. It’s only then, as she sits there, that Ritsuka realizes Sakura is going to soon figure out that neither Shirou nor Saber are going to step up. And when she does… well, Sakura will probably step up instead.

For a moment, Ritsuka imagines it. Sakura. Her Servant Medusa. All the shadows and tentacles. She doesn’t doubt that they could probably beat Boudica and Spartacus… but in what way?

“Mash and I will fight the two of you!”

Ritsuka’s mouth gets ahead of her mind, but once she says the words it’s not like she can take them back. Still, she does blush a little bit when everyone else looks her way. Mash in particular looks shocked… and then immensely pleased. Probably because the demiservant thinks Ritsuka is finally asserting herself as the ‘rightful’ leader of the party again.

It’s not like that though. This is just a better option then having Sakura and Medusa represent them. Sure, Ritsuka and Mash might lose… but by the time they do, Shirou and Saber would probably get their acts together and step in to give a better showing or something.

Though… there’s also the chance that Ritsuka and Mash win. The bond between Master and Servant, even demiservant, can’t be discounted. Boudica and Spartacus might be tough, but they’re Stray Servants without Masters, meaning they just aren’t as tough.

“Hm… alright then, the four of us shall fight and we shall see just what you’re made of.”

Ritsuka suddenly wonders if maybe she should demand… extra concessions for this duel. Is she super confident of her and Mash’s victory? Maybe not, but if they won… well, they should get something extra right? Specifically from Boudica. Maybe Ritsuka has found her way back into Shirou’s bed, in fact…