The battle had come to a temporary halt.
On the late-night street, Shirou and Manaka were the only ones still standing.
Shirou had destroyed every last one of the priceless stone and bronze golems, while the Homunculi unit had been completely incapacitated.
First, their axes, spears, and bows were destroyed. Then they were knocked down in a single strike, and now every one of them lay on the ground, unable to move.
So this is a Servant's Spirit Origin...
Shirou could not help but marvel. Even manifested in the body of an eighteen-year-old, before her prime, she was still far stronger than he himself was.
Thanks, Super Artoria I've never met! Your account is amazing!
Just as the boy was losing himself in the surge of power that did not belong to him.
"Saber, you're not hurt, are you?"
A girl's voice rang out, full of concern.
A shadow of worry crossed Manaka Sajyou's fairy-like, adorable face, and in that instant, even the stars overhead seemed to lose their shine.
The girl murmured, "I knew it. Letting you fight was a mistake... If Saber got hurt, I'd be so heartbroken I couldn't go on living."
Hey, hey.
Master? Manaka? Aika? Lady Sajyou?
Can't you see? I took down every enemy without a scratch!
Manaka Sajyou nodded with a troubled expression. "Yes, I know. Saber doesn't need me to worry about you. No matter what kind of enemy you face, you won't lose... but still..."
"Please have a little more faith in me, Manaka."
Shirou spoke with a serious expression.
Now that he thought about it, there was a reason Shirou had barged into Yggdmillennia's territory so recklessly tonight.
Yesterday, Manaka Sajyou had proposed a strategy to him.
Trifas had been under the Yggdmillennia clan's control for nearly a thousand years. Taking it by frontal assault would be extremely difficult.
"So we can actually use a much more efficient method."
Manaka Sajyou placed extra emphasis on the word "efficient."
All they had to do was cause a disturbance in the city, she said.
Manaka Sajyou knew a kind of Magecraft that could transform humans into ghouls.
Through modified familiars, the "Dead Apostle Bees," she would spread a highly contagious toxin throughout the city.
If they could successfully throw Trifas into chaos, the Yggdmillennia Magi hiding in the castle would not be able to sit still.
"..."
Shirou was speechless.
The girl spoke so casually, as if she were talking about tonight's dinner, that the boy was utterly shaken.
And as she explained the plan, her expression was innocent and carefree.
No, it looked more like she was waiting for him to praise her.
Shirou drew in a sharp breath.
For a moment, Manaka Sajyou's face overlapped with the face of someone he knew.
A powerful sense of responsibility welled up inside Shirou.
If he did not do something...
After thinking it over briefly, he opened his mouth with careful caution.
"Manaka, the method you described is definitely very 'efficient.'"
"Right? Saber thinks so too, doesn't she?"
Manaka narrowed her eyes happily.
"Yes. But we can't do that."
Shirou said what had to be said, his expression grave.
He tried to explain the proper way for a person to act, as gently as if he were teaching a child.
"It's wrong... I don't want you to do something so cruel."
Shirou remembered how he had once, very tactfully, taught Fujino that "killing people is wrong."
But this topic was on an entirely different level.
Was this "murder"?
This was "anti-human."
The girl tilted her head slightly, her platinum-blonde hair swaying with the motion.
"Saber really is kind."
"Manaka."
"But it's all right. Saber doesn't need to worry about me."
Manaka's expression was just as serious. "As long as it's for you, I'm willing to do anything."
She had not listened at all.
His words were not getting through at all.
Shirou had admonished her in all seriousness, but the two of them were simply not on the same wavelength.
What was he supposed to do?
Shirou had a feeling.
Even if he sternly scolded her and said, "Killing people is wrong!" Manaka would just answer, "Why?"
Their values were completely different.
What exactly could he do to bring her back onto the right path?
Or should he simply leave it alone, since admonishing one's Master was never a Servant's duty to begin with?
"..."
Shirou forced down the frustration rising in his chest, gritted his teeth, and spoke.
"In that case, Manaka, please don't do things that would make me dislike you."
"..."
Manaka Sajyou's smile froze.
"Saber... do you hate me?"
"No. But I really hate what you were talking about just now."
"I understand."
Manaka Sajyou seemed about to say something, then stopped and lightly bit her lip.
And so.
To prove to his Master that he could handle the Holy Grail War, Shirou brought her into Trifas.
He displayed overwhelming combat power and thought that would put Manaka at ease, but instead, the girl only seemed even more worried.
So in the end, had everything he had done been meaningless?
"Hehe. I was joking just now."
Manaka Sajyou suddenly looked at him and spoke.
"I've thought it through. Bringing victory to Saber is important, but if you ended up hating me, Saber... that would hurt too."
Not "the loss would outweigh the gain," nor "defeating the purpose." It would simply hurt.
That meant that in Manaka's heart, "devoting herself to Shirou" still took priority over "not wanting Shirou to hate her."
But... it was progress, in its own way.
Shirou froze for a moment, then checked, "Do you really understand?"
"Mm."
"Thank you, Manaka," Shirou said.
Manaka Sajyou leaned in front of him and asked curiously, "Saber... why do you look like you're about to cry?"
"Idiot. I'm not crying."
Shirou turned his face away.
Before this, he had never imagined that successfully correcting a girl's mistake could feel so rewarding.
"Time to go."
"Ah... Saber♡"
Shirou wrapped an arm around the girl's waist and evacuated Trifas before the Servants of the "Black" faction arrived.
...
...
"That said, even an anomaly should have its limits, shouldn't it?"
On a flight from France to Bucharest, the capital of Romania, a blonde girl with an elaborate braid rested her chin in one hand and gazed out at the sea of clouds beyond the window.
She was the Ruler of this Holy Grail War. Jeanne d'Arc had finally manifested on earth.
However, whether because this was the largest Holy Grail War in history and had caused some unexpected abnormality, or for some other reason...
Ruler had not been summoned like an ordinary Servant. Instead, she had taken possession of a seventeen-year-old French girl attending a Catholic school.
The consciousness of the Holy Maiden Jeanne d'Arc had entered the body of the girl Léticia and manifested as Ruler.
Rather than so-called split personalities, it was closer to two personalities merging into one. Jeanne d'Arc had even inherited most of the girl's memories.
Perhaps because Léticia was deeply emotional and devout in her faith, she had accepted the Holy Maiden dwelling inside her completely.
Running into a major accident before her mission had even begun left Jeanne d'Arc faintly uneasy.
Of course, the huge chunk of iron she was currently riding in, this thing called an "airplane," made her rather uneasy as well.
After spending several hours praying that the plane would not crash, Jeanne d'Arc began sorting through the information she had.
The two sides in conflict were the Clock Tower and the Yggdmillennia clan, a war fought by the fourteen Servants they commanded.
The aftershock of a clash between just two Servants could leave the surrounding buildings in ruins. Once it became a seven-on-seven war, merely imagining the scale of destruction was enough to make her feel deeply troubled.
Perhaps that was why she had manifested as Ruler?
Because the scale was too large, the Greater Grail had summoned her out of concern that some accident might occur along the way...?
She was not certain. It was still too early to draw conclusions.
More than that, however, there was one matter that weighed heavily on Jeanne d'Arc's mind.
While investigating the "Black" faction, she had discovered that one Servant's Class was not quite right.
It was not one of the seven traditional Classes of the Holy Grail War, but a special Class, an Extra Class, the same as her own Ruler.
Even if it could deceive a Master's eyes, it could not deceive Ruler, who stood as part of the underlying logic of the Holy Grail War.
As for that Class, Jeanne d'Arc had received no further information from the Greater Grail.
The Holy Maiden's fine brows drew together slightly. How exactly was she supposed to understand it?
English was not Jeanne d'Arc's native language, so it was somewhat difficult for her to grasp.
Guardian?
Administrator?
No, it should be... Keeper?
In the end, Jeanne d'Arc still could not figure out what kind of Class Keeper was, what abilities it possessed, or why it had appeared in this Great Holy Grail War.
But there was one thing Jeanne d'Arc could be sure of.
This Servant, whose True Name even she could not perceive, was someone she had to prioritize making contact with.
"...Thank goodness the plane didn't crash."
Including the time spent on transfers, waiting, and hitching rides, Jeanne d'Arc had spent nearly two days before finally drawing close to her destination, Sighișoara.
This was Keeper's current location, and also the stronghold of the "Red" faction.
On the way, she noticed a dozen or so pigeons that seemed to be Magus familiars following her, so she glared fiercely back at them.
...
The "Red" Assassin was immediately puzzled when she noticed that, after entering Romania, Ruler was heading straight in their direction.
No matter what, Ruler absolutely could not be allowed to make contact with Shirou at this point, or their plan would be exposed.
But that was not much of a problem. The "Red" faction had intended to have Ruler removed from the battlefield from the very beginning.
Since she had entered their territory, she had practically delivered herself to their doorstep.
Thus, Assassin contacted Lancer, informed him of Ruler's movements, and once again issued the order to eliminate her.
After receiving the note delivered by the familiar pigeon, the "Red" Lancer set up an ambush at the road leading into the city.
Ruler would certainly pass through here after entering the city. All he had to do was attack when the moment came.
Karna was a warrior in the purest sense. He did not think about whether the orders he received were good or bad, nor did he deliberately consider how those orders would change the situation.
For him, what mattered most was obeying his Master's commands.
Even so, he still felt some confusion over the act of killing a neutral Ruler.
Although he would obey the order regardless.
When the blonde girl who was his target appeared and spoke to him, Lancer launched his attack without hesitation.
The Divine Spear erupted with an unbelievable surge of Mana, leaving even Ruler stunned.
In raw parameters alone, the "Red" Lancer should rank second among the fourteen Servants, surpassed only by the "Black" Lancer with his home-field advantage.
But this Noble Phantasm...
Lancer had no intention of fighting a proper duel. He meant to release the True Name of his Noble Phantasm immediately.
He intended to kill her, and he truly had the power to do it.
Before Jeanne d'Arc could exercise her Ruler's Privilege, she would be reduced to a stain of rust on the Divine Spear.
Ruler changed her outfit in an instant, her body clad in dignified silver armor.
Just as Jeanne d'Arc was about to release her own Noble Phantasm.
A storm of swords and spears rained down from the night sky.
"Huh?"
For an instant, Jeanne d'Arc doubted her own eyes.
Along with distortions in space and a gale overflowing with Mana, dozens, even hundreds, of blades shot forth and attacked Lancer.
They certainly could not compare to the Divine Spear in Lancer's hand, but the Mana gathered from over a hundred Noble Phantasms was still staggering.
An ordinary Servant would undoubtedly have been obliterated by that volley, without so much as a scrap remaining.
But a great hero of Indian mythology would not be thrown into confusion by that level of attack.
With extreme composure, he swung his spear and cut down several long swords, then leaped away and landed back on the ground.
"You are..."
The "Red" Lancer murmured in a cold voice, looking toward the red-haired boy who had appeared in front of him.
Jeanne d'Arc was just as shocked.
Although she had been focused on intercepting Lancer, she had failed to notice a third party approaching at all.
"...A Servant of the 'Black' faction?" Karna asked.
The red-haired boy facing him nodded silently.
"Then your objective should be the same as mine. You are after Ruler."
Shirou shook his head violently.
"No, no, no. You can tell just by looking, can't you? I just happened to be passing by!"
He showed the two of them the paper bag he was holding, filled with bread, macaroni, fruit, and some seasonings.
He had just finished buying the ingredients he would need tomorrow from the supermarket on the next street.
"So he is... Keeper."
Jeanne d'Arc was somewhat surprised, because Shirou looked exactly like a harmless young boy. If no one said otherwise, she would not even have associated him with a Servant.
"Are you trying to win Ruler over?" Karna asked, staring at Shirou.
"Please, can you listen when people talk?"
Shirou was utterly speechless. Why was it that everyone he had met since arriving in this world refused to listen properly?
The "Red" Lancer said without changing expression, "If you do not intend to win her over, then why did you stop me just now?"
That question left Shirou stumped.
"Uh, it was just instinct..."
Because he saw a young girl being attacked, he instinctively intervened.
In other words, it was a conditioned reflex.
After all, even if Shirou had not encountered situations like tonight's dozens of times, he had at least encountered them more than ten times.
Was he cursed in this regard or something?
Did girls in mortal danger always appear in front of him?
No, there was something even stranger than that.
Shirou was not the sort of Knight who would help someone simply because she was a woman.
The only people he helped were the "weak."
And yet, even though he could clearly sense that Ruler was a powerful Servant, he had still instinctively treated her like an ordinary girl and protected her.
From Ruler, Shirou sensed the presence of a powerless seventeen-year-old girl... Why?
"I'm sorry."
Holding the paper bag of groceries, Shirou bowed deeply to Lancer in apology.
"I was meddling just now. Please don't take it to heart."
"What?"
Shirou said, "You're planning to kill Ruler, right? I won't get in your way anymore. Please continue."
Karna: "..."
Jeanne d'Arc: "..."
"Well then, I'll be taking my leave. Please forget that little accident just now."
With that, Shirou turned to make a quick getaway.
He had only gone out to buy groceries. He had no desire to get dragged into unnecessary trouble.
"Wait right there!!!"
Jeanne d'Arc shouted and stopped him.
The Holy Maiden of France complained with an angry look on her face.
"If you decide to protect someone, then protect them all the way through! Don't give up halfway!"
***
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***