In the evening, Emiya gently knocked on Tione's door.
"Tione, are you awake?", He asked in a low voice.
There was no response from inside the room, and Emiya gently placed the tray he was holding on the floor beside the door.
As repayment for enjoying the girls' cooking at noon, Emiya used the leftover ingredients they had purchased to make seafood fried rice.
During dinner, everyone ate with great appetite. Especially the catgirl Aki, who ate three large bowls in a row, and in the end, her belly was bulging from being too full.
Emiya lingered briefly at the door. Seeing that there was still no movement inside, he prepared to turn and leave.
Just as he was about to step away, the door gently opened.
Wearing the same as usual, undergarment-like attire, Tione stood at the doorway, her gaze revealing some hesitation and helplessness.
"Shirou…", She lowered her head, her voice very light, as if she was pondering something.
Emiya turned around and paused slightly, ready to give her time to speak.
But at that moment—
Guu~
A growling stomach sound broke the brief silence. Tione's belly rumbled without any warning, causing her pretty face to flush red instantly.
Emiya couldn't help but laugh, his smile carrying both gentleness and a hint of teasing.
Seeing this, Tione pursed her lips with some embarrassment.
Emiya picked up the tray from the floor and gently said, "Let's go in. I brought your food over."
Tione nodded and slightly turned her body to make way. Emiya then walked into the room.
The solid wood door slowly closed behind him.
A few seconds later, several heads peeked out stealthily from the hallway not far away.
Ais looked worried, "There won't be any trouble, right?"
Alicia frowned and whispered, "Should… be fine, right? Besides, Tione can't beat Shirou anyway."
Ais tilted her head, "Hm? Why would Tione fight with Master?"
Alicia froze for a moment, realizing she misunderstood Ais's meaning, and quickly explained a bit awkwardly, "Eh… no, it's not that. I just mean… I was thinking, Shirou will help her recover, yeah, that's all."
Tiona, on the other hand, was staring off in that direction in a daze, murmuring softly, "Sister."
———
Emiya gently closed the door, and when he turned back, he saw Tione already kneeling on the bed, hands placed on her knees, head bowed deeply.
She looked a bit uneasy, her eyes avoiding Emiya's gaze.
"Sorry, Shirou, for troubling you," The Amazon girl said softly.
Emiya sat down on the chair beside the bed, looking at her gently: "So, Tione, why did you go looking for Argana?"
Tione's fingers tightly gripped the bed sheet, "I wanted to settle things with her."
Her gaze shifted toward the window, seemingly tracing back past memories.
"Originally… I thought I could win, but unexpectedly, she had already leveled up."
Tione smiled bitterly and shook her head.
Outside Orario, without powerful monsters from the dungeon, obtaining the feat required for leveling up is extremely difficult.
The Kali Familia's method was deadly battles between same-level female warriors, with the dead becoming the feat for the victor.
Because the four Lv.5s of the War Nation were all still alive, Tione subconsciously believed that Argana hadn't leveled up yet.
"It was also to prove myself, and, to take revenge, I suppose."
Tione smiled sorrowfully and spoke the truth.
"What kind of relationship do you and Argana have?", Emiya asked.
Tione was silent for a moment, then finally said, "In the past… I was once a member of the Kali Familia."
This point, Emiya actually already knew, he just didn't know much about her past.
Tione and Tiona had never truly spoken of those old days, so even within the Loki Familia, no one knew the details.
The Amazon girl took a deep breath, as if making a certain decision, and finally began to slowly recount that long-buried memory.
The Hiryute sisters were born on the isolated island of the War Nation, Telskyura, a place regarded as the sacred land of Amazon warrior women.
Even before the arrival of the goddess Kali, the land of warrior women had long practiced a ritual called mutual slaughter.
In Telskyura, only "true warriors" were revered.
In the sacred land of female warriors, overwhelming strength was justice, was truth. The strong would be praised, gaining status and fame.
Conversely, the weak who were defeated without even the honor of dying in battle would become the labor force supporting the country and the strong.
Accompanied by bloodshed, combat was the only path to becoming a [True Warrior], a tradition passed down since ancient times.
And in the era of gods, the goddess Kali who appeared in the country also loved combat.
From birth, Tione and her twin sister Tiona were categorized into the upper class of the War Nation, female warriors.
Her earliest memory was the burning heat on her back, and the crying sound she couldn't tell whether it was from herself or her sister.
Before learning to speak, they first learned how to kill monsters.
By using the [Falna] to awaken their potential power, then being thrown in front of young monsters for their first baptism. This process turned toddlers who had just learned to stand into warriors.
In fact, what Tione held onto when she became sensible was not her mother's hand, but a blade nearly as tall as herself.
Tione had never felt pain from the forced years of battle, not even a sliver of doubt.
If you don't kill the monster charging at you, then you're the one who dies. That kind of logic was extremely simple, even instinctual.
Moreover, she was an Amazon. Perhaps due to racial nature, Tione truly felt excitement in battle, her blood boiling because of it.
However, all of that began to change when she was forced to fight against other Amazon girls.
Even though the way blood splashed was the same as in fights with monsters, the blood of her own kin appeared especially glaring.
Watching the opponent's pupils gradually lose their light, Tione felt a strong suffocating sensation.
She won again and again in the arena, but the sensation of hitting flesh, the feeling of slicing through bones, remained in her hands. The screams and shrieks during life-taking moments continued to bite at her ears even after the battles ended.
"My sister and I were the only survivors among the girls who lived together at that time. We killed the companions we had depended on for so long and survived, and then, we leveled up," Tione spoke, her voice especially heavy.
Seludas, Tione still remembered that name even now.
She was only two or three years older than Tione, like an older sister, generous and gentle in personality.
Not only Tione, but the other girls, even Tiona, all relied on her.
They lived in the same stone house. Every time Tione returned from battle, Seludas would always smile and say to her, "You're back."
In that cold, prison-like stone room, she was the strongest one, always waiting inside to greet Tione and the others upon their return.
She treated Tione's injuries. Her methods were rough, but there was a gentleness in them.
Tione often snuggled beside her, squeezing in together with her and the other girls to sleep. That warmth of skin touching became Tione's deepest comfort.
In that isolated, endless struggle-filled world, Seludas' face and warmth became the only harbor for Tione's heart.
She was Tione's beloved, like a real sister, even allowing Tione to find a shadow of motherly love in her.
And killing Seludas made Tione, for the first time, form a sense of right and wrong, and first made her understand the pain of loss.
From that moment, everything about the Telskyura and the Amazons became a never-ending curse to Tione.
"After that, my sister and I became students of high-ranking warriors," Tione continued speaking.
Tiona's teacher was Bache, Tione's was Argana.
On her sister's side, her relationship with Bache seemed decent. In fact, Tiona received special favor from the goddess Kali.
But Tione, who had become self-destructive and grown to hate the Telskyura and Amazons, upon meeting the "true warrior" Argana, was faced with a true hell.
Argana Kalif, the top candidate to become the leader reigning supreme in the Telskyura.
Training with this Amazon, whose essence was closer to the goddess Kali than anyone else, could only be described as miserable.
In the midst of burning pain and hazy consciousness, in Tione's eyes, the female warrior before her seemed to symbolize the Telskyura itself, representing the country's customs that forced her to kill her sister Seludas.
"Then, life just continued like that for a long time, until the day Tiona and I grew up enough to begin truly fighting," Tione paused for a moment, revealing a bitter smile.
"That idiot Tiona, at that moment, she actually said to the goddess Kali, 'Kali, I don't want to fight Tione, I want to leave this country with her.'"
"In the end, the goddess actually let us go."
At first, Tione even resented Tiona because of that.
What did all the years until now amount to? What did all the suffering up to today mean? Just one smile from that foolish little sister was enough to be set free?
After leaving the Telskyura, the Amazon sisters wandered various lands, eventually arriving in Orario, joining the Loki Familia, and due to various reasons, began to change.
In the end, time healed everything.
But now, after seeing Argana again, those past nightmares once more caught up to Tione.
"I understand."
Emiya nodded, his tone calm.
A trace of anxiety appeared in Tione's eyes. She said in a low voice, "Shirou, don't fight Argana, don't fight that lunatic…"
Emiya interrupted Tione's words, "I'm stronger than her."
At that moment, Tione was stunned. She looked up at him, those golden eyes made her feel as if her heart was being gripped by an invisible hand, her breathing turned rapid, and all her words got stuck in her throat, unable to come out.
"Tione, I'm stronger than you, and stronger than Tiona. Today I sparred with her. The one who won, was me."
"Berylnice and Elna too, I'm stronger than them. Even if the two of them teamed up, they still wouldn't be my match."
"Argana or Bache, I'm stronger than them as well."
These words, like a declaration, echoed in the room.
This man, he was stronger than any Amazon warrior.
Unless the legendary Lv.9 [Empress] was reborn, otherwise, no one could challenge that statement.
"That's all I wanted to tell you," Emiya looked at Tione, "The rest, seven days later, please witness it on the battlefield."
The method of communicating with Amazon warriors, Emiya was already very familiar with it.
Words could not truly communicate feelings. Only through battle could one truly connect.
———
"So, sis, why did you go looking for Argana? You obviously hate her," After Emiya left, Tiona opened the door and asked bluntly.
Tione lowered her head, was silent for a moment, and finally spoke, "I didn't want to drag Shirou, or other companions from the Loki Familia into this."
"Argana and the others are coming for us. If we don't personally put an end to it, they'll keep clinging on endlessly."
"They might even go after our companions, using that to force us into compromise. So I thought, might as well strike first and take her down…"
Listening to her sister's determined words, Tiona was speechless for a moment, only lowering her gaze, as if pondering something.
After a short while, she suddenly raised her head, her eyes showing a trace of helplessness and awkwardness, scratching her cheek.
"No, sis, the entire Kali Familia already said that the reason they came this time is because of the [Amazon's Owner]. In other words, they came for Shirou. They're not really interested in you… or us."
Tione looked utterly confused, "What?"
"Yeah… Berylnice and Elna, Argana and Bache, and even the goddess Kali, they all said it very clearly at the time. Loki was there too," Tiona explained.
Gods can see through the lies of children in the lower world, and as the "God of Lies," Loki's judgment is even sharper, so sharp that even lies from other gods rarely fool her.
The Kali Familia's goal really wasn't Tione or Tiona. It was for the [Amazon's Owner], Emiya Shirou.
Before his level ascension, it might have been hard to say, but now that Argana and Bache are Lv.6, they truly have little interest in Lv.5 Tione and Tiona.
Argana: 'Lv.5? That's absurd. Don't try to cling for attention. Really not interested.'
Tione opened her mouth wide, looking like she couldn't believe it, "So… that means…"
"Sis, you were being way too self-absorbed," Tiona mercilessly delivered the final blow.
Tione lowered her head. After a moment, she said in a low voice: "…Forget it."
"What?", Tiona tilted her head.
"Everything I just told you, forget it. ALL. OF. IT!"
"No way~ I'm definitely going to tell everyone!"
Tiona cheerfully shouted, "Shirou, sis actually—"
A throwing knife brushed past the girl's cheek.
For the first time in a long while, Tione felt a serious murderous intent toward her sister.
"AHHH! MURDER!", Tiona yelled and turned to flee.
Tione chased after her in anger. The noise of the two filled the corridor.
"STOP RIGHT THERE, TIONA!", She shouted furiously.
And the Amazon girl being chased joyfully ran all around the inn.
———
At night, Goddess Loki and the Familia members conducting investigations in the port city finally returned to the inn.
Riveria came up to them, "Did you find any useful clues?"
Loki, while eating seafood fried rice made by Emiya, answered, "A bit of progress, I guess, but nothing too effective. We found the ship that was attacked by the man-eating flower, confirming that the incident really happened."
"Also, we found a few surviving crew members. They all mentioned seeing something like a disgusting long monster, which sounds a lot like the man-eating flower you guys mentioned."
The human girl Line stood to the side and added, "As for the waterways, the blockade between the port city and the Dungeon City is indeed very thorough. We didn't find any secret passage."
She paused briefly, "At that time, the monster poaching group we discovered probably used some secret entrance in the city to transport the monsters. How exactly they did it is still unclear."
At this moment, Lefiya also joined the conversation, speaking with some frustration, "The fishermen from the Njord Familia seem like good people. They were friendly and willing to offer some clues and help. But in contrast, the attitude of the Guild branch here is really terrible."
As a rarely hot-tempered elf, Lefiya almost never gets angry, but the behavior of the port city's Guild branch this time was so excessive, it even ignited her temper.
The Guild branch here seemed long used to throwing their weight around locally, with an arrogance that was hard to endure. The branch officials always took a high-and-mighty attitude when speaking to people, as if they were the superiors of every Familia.
When the Loki Familia members visited, the head of the branch rudely began by scolding them, questioning why they had brought such a large group into the port city, and stating that their arrival was only creating trouble for the Guild.
Next, this rude official, with confidence from who knows where, directly gave them an order to expel the Kali Familia.
If Tione, who has a fierce temper, had been present, she probably wouldn't have bothered listening to this person and would've just punched him straight to the floor.
"That Guild branch chief, Rubato, I feel like he's not a good person," Lefiya said angrily.
Emiya nodded thoughtfully, "I see, Rubato, huh. Got it."
Lefiya froze for a moment and quickly waved her hands, "Eh, um, that was just something I said in anger. He might not actually be a bad person…"
But Loki rarely agreed with Emiya, "I actually think Lefiya's intuition might be right. Let's make the Guild branch one of our key investigation targets next."
Originally, in the goddess's view, the Adventurers' Guild had already been somewhat suspicious.
Elfy also participated in today's investigation. The human girl reported in a helpless tone, "And the Murdock family refused to negotiate with us completely. But I suppose that's normal, considering we clashed with them not long ago."
The Murdock family had considerable influence in the port city. They controlled many of the port's operations.
Originally, these local powers already held a wary attitude toward Familias from the Dungeon City, and the previous unpleasantness with the Loki Familia only deepened their distrust.
Elfy did her best to communicate with them, but their attitude was very cold, even outright rejecting them at the door.
———
After a day of investigation, the Loki Familia members had to admit that the intel provided by God Dionysus was indeed real. But digging deeper into it was proving far more difficult than expected.
What made it worse was that they just had to run into the Kali Familia at such a critical moment. Those Amazons directly tied down the Loki Familia's ability to act.
Emiya and the others had no choice but to devote time to special training, which reduced the manpower available for investigation and significantly lowered their efficiency.
"What's the Kali Familia's purpose?"
Riveria asked, "Will it be a problem?"
"Mm, I went to meet that shorty goddess again today. It's confirmed, no schemes, they just came because of the rumors about the [Amazon's Owner] and wanted to do a bit of sightseeing in the port city."
Loki opened a bottle of locally made orange-flavored rum and said, "Even if we didn't run into them here, they would've shown up in Dungeon City eventually to find Emiya."
Running into them early in the port city was actually more convenient.
Still, even knowing the Kali Familia didn't have other schemes, they couldn't afford to let their guard down.
After all, two Lv.6s and two Lv.5s, having such a powerful faction roaming around the port city was simply too hard to ignore.
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