An Archer's Promise

Chapter 26: Night activity

Beta read by Shigiya, Fluffy Slayer and DOOMRAIDER.

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Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Sigh

"She’s persistent, I’ll give her that."

After he politely, in his opinion, declined her advances, Maia kept pounding the wall separating them for the last hour as a way to annoy him for his rejection.

A very childlike behavior on her end that wasn’t surprising. She rarely acted mature or responsible since they first met, always having this child-like aspect in her personality.

Archer wouldn't lie and say that he wasn't physically attracted to the Princess Knight, she possessed a charm and body which would leave many men in awe. A part of him did wonder if growing out her hair would suit her look better, but that’s probably because he had a thing for women with long hair. They also became quite close recently, always spending time together, including taking a bath together—even though that last part was kind of forced by Maia.

There was also the fact that she accidently had an up close inspection of his junk… yeah, he preferred not thinking about it too much.

After all of this and her constant flirting, was he adamant to not accept her offer? He wasn't a prude virgin. He did get into a relationship with a girl or two back in his world before he accepted Ayala’s offer. But they never lasted for long, largely his fault due to his previous habits of going beyond to help others.

He realized that there was no point in ending up with Maia, already knowing that it would not last long. He couldn't deny his attraction to her, in both the physical and emotional side of things—though the latter was a very small part of it. They barely spent enough time to forge a strong bond, but Maia was actively trying to build one, desperately so in fact.

She didn't want him to leave.

"I could give her the satisfaction for a single night, but that will only cause her more harm than good in the long run. I don’t think that she even realizes that she is trying to make a romantic relationship with me, instead of her usual one-night stand."

And no matter what, he just couldn't give her that life.

He sighed.

"Time for some sleep," he said, ignoring Maia's constant banging on the wall, assuming she would get tired of it at one point and being correct an hour later. Archer closed his eyes, feeling the familiar sensation of fatigue and drowsiness wash over him.

That night, he dreamed of a familiar world covered in dense black fog, with rusted giant cogs falling out of the sky on a desolate land filled with countless swords that were planted in the ground, used as grave markers for the lives he had taken, the mistakes he had made. Their sheer uncountable number and variety being a constant reminder of all of the battles and decisions he had taken in the past.

Weapons from legendary figures all across time and space, Noble Phantasms holding a well of power far beyond anything he has seen in this world so far. Even Kanshou and Byakuya would be considered to rank beyond anything the Princess Knights wielded. Did that mean that there were no such weapons in this world that could rival his? No, most likely there would be such a weapon somewhere—he just never came across it, fortunately. In a world with such a high concentration and abundant source of Magical Energy, he was just surprised that he hadn't seen anything that impressive to begin with, but he should be prepared to deal with it when the time came.