Hearing Irisviel's words, Shirou's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
This woman… is she serious?
"Ah, sorry… just forget I said that."
Irisviel quickly realized how inappropriate it sounded and hurriedly took it back.
Honestly, what was I thinking…
I'm supposed to go take part in the Holy Grail War with Saber.
How could I even think about dragging such an adorable child into a battle where Servants kill each other?
Irisviel scolded herself inwardly.
But it's not entirely my fault, right? If anyone's to blame, it's this boy in front of me. He's just far too lovable.
The red-haired boy before her perfectly matched every image Irisviel had ever imagined of her own child.
If it were a cute girl, she would want her to be a little spoiled.
If it were a cute boy, she would want him to be sensible and well-behaved.
Ah… I really want to take this child home with me.
But Saber would definitely scold me… ugh…
Irisviel frowned slightly, biting her lip.
Meanwhile, Shirou had finished his hamburger and was wiping his lips with a napkin.
McDonald's cheeseburger… not bad at all.
Even though he disliked modern fast-food culture, good food was still good food. He had to admit it had its merits in terms of flavor. No wonder it had spread all over the world.
Hmm… maybe tomorrow night I should try making this country's famous home-style dish, hamburger steak?
Fuji-nee mentioned before that she wanted to eat it.
No, wait. Now's not the time to be thinking about cooking, Shirou Amamiya.
Shirou had already heard about the Einzbern family from Makiri.
In short, they were an extremely wealthy and ancient family living in seclusion somewhere in Western Europe.
When it came to alchemy, especially homunculus creation, they were unquestionably number one in the world. But they were not particularly skilled in combat-oriented Magecraft.
In the previous Holy Grail War, they had been the first to be eliminated, bringing disgrace to the Three Founding Families.
Makiri had lamented the Einzbern family's current decline while reminiscing about the past glory of the "Saintess of the Winter," which Shirou found unbearably cringeworthy.
In any case, she should be an artificial lifeform created by the Einzbern family.
According to Makiri, homunculi are not born naturally, but are dolls created through Magecraft.
"???"
A puzzled look appeared on Shirou's face.
Through his Mystic Eyes of the End, the homunculus before him shared a certain similarity in origin with the humans of the Fairy Kingdom.
Could that really be true…
The humans of Fairy Kingdom Britain… are they actually not "normal" humans?
No wonder they only live to around thirty and cannot reproduce. They're homunculi.
Even after returning to Proper Human History, Shirou had unexpectedly uncovered a fragment of the truth behind the otherworldly Britain.
"Shinji-kun, is something wrong? You've been staring at my face for a while now."
Irisviel asked curiously.
"Oh, sorry."
Shirou lowered his head with a feigned shyness and whispered, "Big sister, you're so pretty. Just like a princess from a fairy tale."
"Hehe, Shinji-kun is very cute too~"
Resting her cheek on one hand, Irisviel sighed in distress.
"I really want to carry you off and take you home…"
Shirou rolled his eyes.
You said the quiet part out loud, homunculus.
He was not used to that kind of enthusiasm, though he could not really say he disliked it either.
She was the same type as Fuji-nee in a completely different sense, the kind of person Shirou found hard to deal with.
"!"
Irisviel's smile suddenly froze. Her expression shifted slightly, and she raised her slender, beautiful fingers to just below her ear.
Seeing that, Shirou came to a conclusion.
She is talking to her Servant.
According to the information he had gotten from Assassin, the Einzbern Servant should be Saber.
…The finest Servant, huh.
To be honest, this was the best possible chance to kill Irisviel.
Shirou's original plan had been to plant a tracker and a listening device on her, and he had already accomplished that just now.
But now that he had confirmed Saber was not hiding nearby in Spirit Form, Shirou felt confident enough to go one step further.
To kill her outright.
Should I do it, Shirou?
Right now? Here?
But there are too many witnesses…
My identity as a Master would be exposed to Tokiomi Tohsaka. I might even get branded with "seriously violating the rules by starting a fight in the city center in broad daylight" and face harsh punishment from the Church. It is simply not worth it.
At that moment, Irisviel placed her hand over the back of Shirou's hand.
Lady Avalon had applied an illusion to Shirou's modified Command Spells. Although they could not escape detection Magecraft, they normally could not be seen with the naked eye. And yet Irisviel was openly exposing the Command Spells on the back of her hand without the slightest concern.
Her sense of caution toward the war was practically nonexistent. Could she really survive to the very end like this?
Or was this the norm?
Was this so-called war really just child's play?
Holding Shirou's hand, Irisviel said, "Shinji-kun, my friend is coming over in a moment.
She seems a little upset, so when she gets here, I hope you…"
"Big sister, I need to use the bathroom."
"Ah… okay."
Shirou pulled his hand back and walked toward the restroom in the fast-food restaurant, quickly disappearing into the crowd.
Irisviel…
Next time we meet, remember to bring your Servant.
...
...
"Irisviel!!!"
The beautiful young knight in black burst into the fast-food restaurant, literally bristling with rage.
"I'm sorry, Saber."
Pressing her palms together, Irisviel apologized in the most sincere tone she could manage.
"I'm really sorry. I won't go off on my own again."
Saber had been furious a moment ago, but the instant she saw her Master's face, all that anger helplessly vanished.
"…Just this once."
"Hehehe, Saber is so nice~"
Ignoring the looks from everyone around them, Irisviel threw herself at Saber in a hug, and Saber let out a sigh.
To be fair, this was not entirely Irisviel's fault.
Willfulness was a princess's privilege. Failing to keep proper watch over her was the real failure of Saber as her knight.
With a stern expression, Saber said, "From now on, I will keep an even closer eye on you and not leave your side for a single step. Prepare yourself, Irisviel."
"Ehh how could you~~"
Irisviel drooped her head with a miserable look, but her expression soon brightened again.
"Oh right, Saber! Listen, I just met an especially cute boy!!"
...
...
"It's a good thing you didn't kill that woman. You almost did something you could never take back."
On the way home, after Shirou told the yellow duck about what had happened today, it suddenly said that.
What?
Shirou was utterly confused.
Makiri gave a smug little hum.
"Kid, don't tell me you've not already realized it."
Shirou froze for a moment, then nodded without changing expression.
"...…Yes, I realized it."