Chaldea is a strange place where heroic spirits from all across history gather to protect the world. Master Ritsuka Fujimaru wakes up one morning to find their pillow missing, the cafeteria transformed into a battlefield, and Dr. Roman cheerfully announcing that there's absolutely nothing scheduled for the day.
A free day. Finally.
Except it really, really isn't.
Artoria Pendragon shows up with a deadly serious expression to request that Ritsuka 'guard the cake.' Emiya starts cooking lunch fo
A Lively Day at Chaldea - The Knight King and the Great Cake Operation! Defend the Refrigerator at All Costs
No pillow.
That alone was enough to ruin Fujimaru Ritsuka's day off from the very start.
They tried rolling up a towel. Not enough height. They tried layering a shirt. It fell apart. They'd been repeating this since last night, and before they knew it, it was already 10 AM. The back of their neck ached with a dull throb. Caught in that half-asleep, half-awake haze, Ritsuka finally dragged themselves out of bed.
"Well... there's no point staying in my room anyway."
Stepping into the hallway was half a mood change, half pure resignation. The main corridor of Chaldea—the 200-meter passage running east-west through the first floor, with its white walls and blue lighting—was quieter than usual. Maybe the Servants had moved their commotion to the cafeteria.
Outside the window was pure white. A blizzard. In this facility built on a snowy mountain in the Arctic, 300 kilometers from the nearest human settlement, nobody was surprised by that view anymore. Ritsuka had long since gotten used to it. Used to it, yes—but it still made them feel a little distant every time they saw it.
Walking in a daze, they heard footsteps echoing down the corridor.
The scrape of metal. Armor.
Among all the Servants at Chaldea, there was really only one who walked the halls in full armor. Ritsuka tensed up just slightly. The source of those footsteps came into view the very next moment.
Brilliant golden hair. Clear blue eyes. A dignified stance at 165 centimeters. Saber-class Servant, Altria Pendragon—the Knight King whose name was carved into the legends of Britain. Her expression held an unusual gravity.
Something in Ritsuka's chest went taut.
(This is... her serious face.)
Among the Servants, Altria was particularly earnest about everything. She valued fairness above all else, and when it came to competition, she gave it her all. If she was wearing that face in the hallway—
Ritsuka felt like they'd left all their drowsiness somewhere behind them. They straightened their spine. An emergency singularity? Or something at the facility?
Altria stopped in front of Ritsuka.
"Master. Perfect timing."
"What? What's wrong?"
"I have a favor to ask. It's rather urgent."
Altria grabbed Ritsuka's arm and pulled them into a corner of the hallway. She positioned them both against the wall and quickly scanned the surroundings. The movement was almost like that of a spy.
"Um, Altria?"
"Lower your voice. I don't want to be overheard."
Ritsuka switched to a whisper. They had no idea what was happening, but Altria's seriousness was genuine. This was absolutely not her joking face.
"Today, the cafeteria refrigerator contains a limited-edition strawberry shortcake that's only restocked once a month."
"...Yeah?"
"Chaldea's purchasing department specially orders it from outside the Arctic. One whole cake is worth approximately 15,000 yen. I was planning to eat it this afternoon. However—"
Altria's brow furrowed slightly.
"Due to last night's commotion in the cafeteria, the refrigerator's location became known throughout the facility. According to reports, multiple Servants are claiming they have the right to eat it first... that's apparently the situation."
Ritsuka paused for a moment.
"...Um."
"I cannot die until I've eaten that cake."
When the Knight King tells you she can't die, it's genuinely terrifying.
"I need you to protect it, Master. The refrigerator. Just until I return."
Ritsuka was about to refuse. They opened their mouth. "No, but today's my day off—" they started to say, and then Altria's blue eyes hit them head-on.
Why is the Knight King's gaze always so perfectly straight?
"...Understood. I'll protect it."
They'd answered before they realized it.
"Thank you, Master. Please carry out this task fairly."
Altria said nothing more and vanished briskly down the corridor. Left behind, Ritsuka muttered quietly, "Fairly... what does that even mean?" and trudged toward the cafeteria.
—The cafeteria refrigerator was on the east side of the first floor. By morning, cleanup should be done and it should be quiet.
It should have been quiet.
When they opened the door, it was indeed somewhat quiet. The table that had been overturned last night had been righted, and the spoons from the ceiling were gone. The staff must have worked hard. Really, they felt terrible about it.
Ritsuka stood directly in front of the refrigerator. A white commercial-grade refrigerator. A sign on the door read: "Do not touch personal food items." Ritsuka had no idea who wrote it, but they'd never seen it actually followed.
"...Well, I'll figure something out."
They muttered and clasped their hands behind their back. Guard stance.
The first Servant showed up in five minutes.
"Hey, Master. Working hard this morning, huh?"
A familiar voice. Ritsuka smiled pleasantly while not moving a single millimeter from in front of the refrigerator.
"Could you let me through just there? I'm thirsty. Just need to grab some water."
"The water's on that shelf over there."
"...Ah, right. Yeah, that's true."
The first wave retreated without a fuss.
Ten minutes later, the second one arrived. This one came with much more confidence.
"My tongue is the finest in all of human history. It is my duty to verify quality. Be grateful and step aside."
"The quality is fine. Already verified."
"Who verified it?"
"I did."
"To verify with the Master's tongue is presumptuous. Compared to my tongue—"
"It's fine!"
"...Hmph."
The second wave also retreated. But Ritsuka's legs were already starting to tingle. Standing in one place like this was deceptively exhausting.
The third wave was philosophical.
"Food only has meaning when eaten. Food that cannot be eaten has no reason to exist. To eat now is to affirm its very existence."
"Altria will eat it this afternoon."
"But what if the cake spoils before then?"
"It's a commercial refrigerator. It won't spoil."
"..."
"Thank you very much."
Ritsuka bowed with a smile. The Servant left muttering, "A logical Master indeed."
That's when things got serious.
Once the Servants realized they couldn't succeed alone, they started coming in twos and threes, chatting casually. The problem was that the conversation naturally drifted toward the refrigerator.
While a Servant on the right engaged Ritsuka in conversation—"So about what happened yesterday—" another would try to slip around to the left side of the refrigerator.
"Wait! I can see the back too!"
"You were watching?"
"I was watching."
Ritsuka tried spreading their arms to cover the refrigerator, but a normal human's arm span wasn't nearly enough to cover the whole thing. It was physically impossible. Knowing that, Ritsuka still repeated lateral movements and blocks.
Their legs started shaking.
When a group of three showed up, Ritsuka knew they were approaching their limit. One Servant talking to them from the front, another approaching from the left, a third testing from the right asking "Are you watching?" A human body was only one.
"That's enough!"
They shouted, and with their last bit of strength, planted themselves in front of the refrigerator in a wide stance. All three Servants looked slightly surprised.
Then—footsteps echoed from the cafeteria entrance.
Heavy footsteps. The sound of armor.
Altria Pendragon stood in the cafeteria doorway.
Her blue eyes slowly swept across Ritsuka, slumped in front of the refrigerator, surrounded by three Servants.
One second of silence.
Altria, without a word, placed her hand on the hilt of the holy sword at her waist.
She didn't draw it. Just that.
But—in that instant, the air in the room changed.
The Knight King's true intent. That presence filled the entire space. The Servants were superhuman beings. Ordinary weapons couldn't harm them. But the killing intent of a fellow Servant going all out was a different matter entirely.
"...Oh, come to think of it—"
"Just remembered something I need to do—"
"I'm... not actually hungry—"
The three naturally, but with surprising speed, left the cafeteria. Once the last one turned the corner, Ritsuka collapsed where they stood.
On their knees, hands on the floor, breathing heavily.
"...You've done well, Master."
Altria stood before Ritsuka. Her hand left the sword's hilt, and at first glance, she was back to her usual dignified Knight King self.
"I protected it..."
"I was watching. You protected it well."
Altria opened the refrigerator. The box she pulled out contained a strawberry shortcake with white cream and glistening strawberries—the monthly limited edition, exactly as it should be.
Ritsuka watched from the floor as Altria began cutting with practiced precision. It was impressive work. For a Knight King, she was surprisingly skilled at this sort of thing.
She placed one slice on a plate for herself—and then cut another piece, just a small bite, and set it in front of Ritsuka, still sitting on the floor.
"Your reward. Fairly."
Ritsuka paused for a moment, then put the bite in their mouth.
It was sweet.
The exhaustion, the relief, the satisfaction of actually having done their job—it all mixed together into something that was, for today, genuinely delicious.
"Why am I eating the cake I was protecting?"
They couldn't help but laugh. Altria's gaze stayed on her own plate, but her mouth softened just slightly.
"...That's fair, isn't it?"
"I suppose it is."
The two of them ate their cake in silence in the empty cafeteria. Outside, the blizzard continued. Sounds drifted from the corridor beyond, but that didn't matter now.
Once they'd finished, Ritsuka finally managed to stand. Their legs still trembled slightly.
"Well, I'm going back to my room to rest now."
"Thank you for your hard work, Master."
As Ritsuka headed for the exit, a paper on the wall caught their eye.
A different paper from the one they'd seen in the hallway this morning. Someone must have posted it today. On white paper, in careful handwriting, it read:
【Chaldea Goodwill Grand Sports Festival • Competition Program (Draft) Now Posted! Comments and Requests Welcome—Please Contact the Master!】
Below it, several sheets of paper were pinned up. Pole toppling, treasure hunt relay, all-hands relay race—competition ideas filled every inch. Every single one already had "Master Executive Committee Chair" printed on it.
Ritsuka stared at that paper for three seconds.
"...Why am I the contact person?"
They dragged their battered body back into the hallway, completely drained. Their room was on the second floor. If they could just climb the stairs, they could finally lie down.
Around the corner, they stopped.
Several Servants were lying on the hallway floor. They looked like they'd been blasted out of the training ground—the simulation room in the basement—sprawled out in starfish positions on the white corridor.
"...Are you all okay?"
"No problem. Scáthach's lesson was a bit—"
"A bit? This is way more than a bit."
Something was still rumbling from deeper in the hallway. Scáthach's instruction was apparently still in full swing.
Ritsuka stepped over the sprawled Servants and looked ahead again.
Their room was still there. The pillow was still missing. Their neck still hurt. But today, they'd had a bite of cake.
Well, I'll figure something out—Ritsuka muttered quietly to themselves and started walking again.
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