Knock, knock, knock.
At six o'clock the next morning, Leticia knocked on Shirou's door as they had agreed the night before.
"Master~ Master Artorius~ Are you awake yet?"
After she called out, a commotion came from the other side of the door.
The sound of clothes being put on, bare feet running across the floor, and wheels scraping against the ground.
Leticia: "?"
About five minutes later, the door opened.
"Ah, Master! Honestly, you finally opened the door... Fiore-san?"
"G-Good morning, Leticia-san..."
For some reason, the acting head of the Yggdmillennia clan was in Shirou's room.
Her cheeks were flushed, her clothes and hair were slightly disheveled, and when her eyes met Leticia's, she awkwardly looked away.
"..."
Fiore-san seemed to have gained a more mature, sensual air than before.
Leticia had been born into a devout Catholic family and had attended a boarding church school for girls since middle school, so she knew almost nothing about matters between men and women. Even so, the moment she saw the scene before her, she understood.
"You two... last night..."
Shirou said, "Fiore came to discuss our plans from here on out last night, and we ended up talking rather late. I didn't feel comfortable letting her go back alone, so I let her stay overnight."
Leticia: "No, no, no. This is Yggdmillennia's castle, right? What exactly were you worried about?"
Fiore: "Ugh...!"
Shirou: "There was that vampire attack before, wasn't there?"
Leticia: "How long ago was that!?"
"Um... I think I should be heading back now. Saber-san, I'll be counting on you for this afternoon's surgery."
Fiore said this in a mixture of shame and frustration.
Shirou nodded. "Yeah, leave it to me. You should also tell Caules and make sure he's ready."
"I understand. Then, excuse me."
Fiore nodded to Leticia, then quickly left.
"...Master."
Leticia shot Shirou a look of contempt.
"What?"
"You didn't threaten Fiore-san with something and force her to offer herself to you, did you?"
"Of course not. Don't talk nonsense."
"Really? Hmph... suspicious."
Leticia pouted.
Still, she knew that was absolutely impossible.
Although yesterday had been the first time she had spoken with Shirou face-to-face, throughout the time she spent inside the Holy Maiden's body, the girl had always been watching him.
So she knew very well that Shirou was an upright person. He would never threaten a woman into doing something like that.
And she also understood that, most likely, Fiore had been the one to show Shirou her vulnerable side... which was how things had ended up this way.
A frail, intellectual beauty like Fiore could probably win a man's sympathy and affection very easily...
Thinking about that made Leticia feel especially indignant.
The Holy Maiden was the one who had always stayed by his side and fought beside him.
And yet, the moment the Holy Maiden disappeared, he slept with another woman? He really was the worst!
"...What are you so angry about?"
"I'm not angry."
Leticia stormed down the long corridor in a huff, with Shirou following behind her.
They were heading to the courtyard to continue yesterday's Magecraft training.
"See? You're definitely angry."
"Saber-san, you don't understand anything!"
The more Leticia thought about it, the more annoyed she became. She felt it was unfair to the Holy Maiden.
Did Saber even know how deeply Ruler cared for him?
Surely he was not completely oblivious, was he?
Did this blockheaded man only understand a woman's feelings if she threw herself into his arms and offered herself to him?
...
After the morning Magecraft lesson ended, Shirou brought Leticia back to the castle to perform the Magic Crest transfer surgery for the Forvedge siblings.
Fiore intended to give up the path of Magecraft, and Caules would become the heir to the Forvedge family in her place.
In that case, a large proportion of the Magic Crest had to be transplanted.
At least half. Ideally, seventy percent.
Of course, the cost and risk were considerable.
Fiore's Mana would be greatly reduced because her Magic Crest would be halved, and Caules, who had just received the transplant, would not be able to use it smoothly right away.
Normally, transplanting a Magic Crest was something that should begin in childhood, with the Crest moved piece by piece over more than a dozen surgeries. Fortunately, Caules had undergone physical adjustments since childhood as Fiore's spare, allowing him to receive a complete transplant at any time depending on the situation.
The siblings lay on separate beds, and Fiore said, "I'm counting on you, Saber-san."
"Leave it to me."
"Um... Saber-san, may I whisper something to you?"
Confused, Shirou came to Fiore's side and bent down, bringing his ear close.
The girl whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Even if I can no longer replenish your Mana from now on, may I still come to you when I feel lonely at night?"
Shirou: "..."
Fiore gave him a shy, mischievous smile.
Shirou nodded. "Yeah. If it's you, Fiore, you're welcome anytime."
"Thank you. Now I can relax♡"
"Ahem."
Leticia, acting as Shirou's assistant, interrupted their suggestive eye contact with a dry cough.
"Now then, please begin synchronizing," Shirou said in a low voice.
Half an hour later, the surgery was over.
There had been some complications along the way, but it had been completed successfully.
"Caules, are you all right? You didn't just take seventy percent. You took eighty percent of Fiore's Magic Crest. The one having the Crest removed is probably feeling relieved, but it should be painful for you."
"...I'm fine. It's nothing serious."
In truth, it hurt. His whole body hurt so badly that he was close to breaking down. But when Caules thought of how long his sister had endured that pain, he could not help putting on a brave front.
"Caules Forvedge Yggdmillennia, you're impressive. And of course, as your older sister, Fiore, you are too."
Fiore, helped upright by Leticia, shook her head and smiled weakly.
"No, that isn't true. Please praise Caules now. He's the little brother I'm most proud of."
And so, Fiore the Magus died.
But for Fiore the ordinary human, the path she had chosen had only just begun.
"That's hard to say. The more likely outcome is that all of humanity will be wiped out in five days."
Caules said this with a joking expression.
But Fiore shook her head firmly. "That won't happen."
"Why?"
Fiore looked at Shirou. "Because we humans still have a Savior, don't we?"
...
If they wanted to face Metatron and her army of angels in a decisive battle, they first had to gather every bit of strength available.
The four "Red" Heroic Spirits who had survived the Great Holy Grail War were Mordred, Atalanta, Achilles, and Semiramis.
Uniting the strength of those four was essential.
After night fell on the second day, Shirou decided to take Leticia with him, leave the castle, and search for them.
Through Yggdmillennia's informants, they learned that the "Red" Archer, Atalanta, was currently active in the forest, while the "Red" Rider, Achilles, spent every night passing time in the town's tavern.
Shirou decided to look for Achilles first.
Following the clues, they found Rider drowning his sorrows in a small tavern in Trifas.
Incidentally, according to local law, Leticia was already old enough to drink, though she had never once had alcohol before.
"Don't get too excited," Shirou reminded her quietly.
"I'm not excited."
Leticia held Shirou's hand and kept looking around, glancing left and right.
Because of the strange phenomena happening all over the world, the entire globe had fallen into a certain degree of doomsday panic. The town's nightlife was several times livelier than usual, and the cramped tavern was packed with people trying to drink themselves into oblivion.
"Hehehe, entering a tavern late at night with a man... If the school found out, I'd definitely be expelled..."
Servants, by nature, were similar to the products of Shirou's "Projection Magecraft." They were not actual existences, but "records" downloaded from the Throne of Heroes.
That was why Servants could not grow stronger through battle, nor would they decline. They were history that already existed.
But that did not mean Servants had no feelings of their own. They too had the same joys, anger, sorrow, and pleasure as ordinary people.
So it was hardly strange for them to rely on alcohol when faced with setbacks and hardship.
"The glory of the great hero of Troy is going to be ruined at this rate."
Shirou sat down beside Achilles and ordered a beer from the bar.
Achilles looked up at Shirou and the girl behind him, then muttered impatiently, "Get lost."
"Don't be like that. We're all Heroic Spirits chosen by the Holy Grail to manifest in this era. It's a rare chance... shouldn't we get along?"
"You're annoying. The Great Holy Grail War is already over, so I can do whatever I want, can't I?"
Shirou took a sip of beer. "The Holy Grail War may be over, but it seems our mission here on earth still hasn't ended. Otherwise, how do you explain why neither you nor I have been called back to the Throne of Heroes?"
"Who knows. Either way, there's nothing left for you or me to do. Let whatever happens happen."
Achilles's response was cold.
He had completely lost his former heroic spirit. His handsome face was filled with exhaustion and weariness.
Shirou had heard what happened from Fiore, so he understood why Achilles had become like this.
His honorable duel with Chiron had been interrupted by Manaka, and Chiron had died while protecting him.
Achilles had betrayed the vow he had made in life, never to flee the battlefield, all for the sake of defeating Manaka.
Only to discover that there was no one left for him to take revenge on.
Manaka had predicted Metatron's existence from the very beginning, which was why she had secretly gathered Heroic Spirits.
Her methods were despicable, but there was nothing wrong with her intentions.
And now, that same Manaka Sajyou was half-dead herself. Achilles could no longer understand why he had abandoned his teacher and fled alone in the first place.
If he had known this would happen, he might as well have fought and died alongside Chiron back then.
To die on the battlefield as a warrior.
To remain, as a warrior, in the brightest and most glorious moment of his life.
That was Achilles's creed.
The second life he had longed for was certainly not this miserable existence, clinging to life like this.
"Hah... how stupid."
Shirou drained the beer in his glass in one gulp.
Achilles's eyes widened. "What did you just say?"
The red-haired boy curled his lips into a mocking smile. "Sorry, sorry. If I caused a misunderstanding, allow me to apologize sincerely. I wasn't talking about you. I meant the 'Black' Archer really was a complete fool. To think he threw away his life protecting a student like you. Seems the reputation of the centaur sage was overblown too..."
"BAM!"
Achilles swung his fist and sent Shirou flying like a cannonball, smashing him into the wall before he finally stopped.
Gasps and screams rang through the tavern one after another, Leticia's voice mixed among them.
"Saber-san!!"
Part of the panicking crowd fled outside, while the rest of the patrons stayed behind to shout and watch the spectacle.
Achilles walked over, grabbed Shirou by the collar, and hauled him up. His eyes were bloodshot and overflowing with murderous intent.
"Saber! Take back what you just said. I won't allow you to insult my teacher!"
"I refuse."
"BAM!"
Shirou's entire body was punched into the wall.
"Whoa. That was vicious."
The red-haired boy crawled out of the rubble and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
Achilles's punch had only caused a slight surface wound.
Because no Mana had been poured into the fist. He, like Shirou, was now a Servant without a Master.
"Do you want to die, Saber? I'll say it again. Take back your insult to my teacher!"
Achilles said through gritted teeth.
He no longer wanted to fight anyone. But if someone kept insulting Chiron right in front of him...
"The one insulting Chiron isn't me. It's you, isn't it, Rider?"
"What..."
"The pathetic state you're in right now is the greatest insult to Archer!!"
Shirou suddenly lunged forward and knocked Achilles to the ground while he was caught off guard.
"You bastard..."
Rider struggled to get up, but Shirou stepped on his chest, then straddled him directly.
"Some great hero of Troy you are. Don't make me laugh... What part of you looks like a hero?"
His fist rose and fell.
"You... ngh!"
"Die. Die. Die! Your staying in this world only stains that man's name!"
He kept punching. Kept bringing his fist down.
"What's wrong? Weren't you going to avenge your teacher? So that was all talk after all!"
"I... ugh!"
Shirou's fist slammed heavily into Achilles's face, leaving him unable to argue back. All he could do was cry out.
"All that talk about being a fallback, but you're just scared, aren't you? You think you can't win against a monster like that!"
"So even the invincible hero is afraid of failure! Hm~~~ go to hell and apologize to Archer!"
"...!"
Every punch the red-haired boy threw seemed to pierce the earth itself, sending up a roar like an earthquake.
Normally, if a human took punches like these, it would not be strange for their head to burst apart. Even so...
Achilles merely bled from his nose and mouth. That was all.
"Andreias Amarantos."
Only attacks from heroes possessing "Divinity," or attacks from "Divine Constructs," could cause Achilles real damage.
"..."
The tavern patrons, who had been cheering at first, were stunned by the sight before them and gradually fell silent.
The late-night tavern became as quiet as a library. Not even whispers remained. Only the repeated sound of fists striking a face echoed through the room.
Shirou did not stop until both of his arms had gone completely numb.
The moment he stood up, Achilles struggled up from the floor and sat upright.
Although his face was so swollen and bruised that he was nearly unrecognizable, he had not actually taken much damage.
What a cheating skill, Shirou thought angrily.
"...Want to keep going?"
Shirou looked down at Achilles from above and delivered a cool line like Kaoru Hanayama.
Rider shook his head in dejection. "That's enough... Thank you, Saber."
You're thanking someone after getting beaten up. Are you a masochist or something?
Well, judging by his skill, "Andreias Amarantos," he did seem to have that tendency.
"You were right to call me out. The way I am now is the greatest insult to Archer."
Achilles murmured, "Saber, thanks to you, I finally woke up... If I give up now, then Archer really will have died for nothing. I absolutely shouldn't stop here."
Shirou gave him a deep look. It seemed he was fine now.
"Let's go."
"Ah, yes!"
Leticia followed Shirou out of the tavern.
"Why didn't you stop me just now?" Shirou asked unhappily.
"Huh? Was I supposed to stop you?" Leticia tilted her head adorably.
In Shirou's original plan, when he was beating Achilles senseless, Leticia was supposed to rush up and stop him.
Instead, she had done nothing at all. She just watched helplessly, causing Shirou to keep punching until both hands went numb, so he had no choice but to stop on his own.
"You should have told me that in advance!"
Leticia pouted. "I accidentally got absorbed in watching. Master Artorius looked incredibly cool tonight."
"Hm, is that so?"
"Yes, yes!"
Leticia looked excited. It was the first time Shirou had seen such an expression on her face.
"The clash of fists between men, a duel where both sides stake their convictions on the line. I was so moved~"
"What exactly did you imagine? There was nothing like that at all. I just didn't like how he looked, so I beat him up."
Shirou felt that something about Leticia's expression was off.
Right, she reminded him a little of Irisviel.
That woman would occasionally stare at his and Shinji's interactions with a strange look in her eyes, giving Shirou chills down the back of his neck...
"Please don't awaken anything strange, Leticia."
"What are you talking about, Master Artorius!"
The girl laughed brightly.
Not long after Shirou and Leticia left the tavern, a bewitching female figure emerged from the darkness.
Semiramis stared at the red-haired boy's back from afar with cold golden eyes.