In the castle corridor, Leticia, Atalanta Alter, and Fiore exchanged glances, then nodded in silent agreement.
Just as they were about to press their ears to the door and eavesdrop on the two people inside,
"Bang!"
Semiramis shoved the door open and stormed out, her face flushed with anger.
"!"
The three of them immediately stepped aside to clear the way.
"Wait! Assassin!"
Shirou chased after her, but the Queen of Assyria had already walked off without looking back.
"Ah, well... Did I say something wrong?"
The red-haired boy watched Semiramis's retreating figure and sighed helplessly.
"Hm? When did you three get here?"
Shirou turned around and noticed the three of them hiding by the corner.
"Master! What did you do to Miss Assassin?" Leticia asked curiously. "Why does she look so angry?"
Fiore said, "Really, you need to be gentler with women, Saber-san."
Atalanta said, "Good. That troublesome woman is finally gone."
What is going on... Why do these three look so happy...?
Shirou then explained to them what had happened in the room.
"Semiramis asked why I saved her last night and demanded that I tell her the truth, so I told her honestly.
'Your eyes look a lot like my wife from my past life'... It seems that line hit a nerve.
Sigh, thinking about it now, that really was a terrible thing to say. It sounds incredibly ominous."
The three of them turned pale. ".........And then?"
"Semiramis said she would handle supplying my Mana from now on, then stormed out of the room right after that."
Shirou scratched his cheek, looking a little embarrassed. "So... did I mess up?"
"..."
Leticia, Atalanta, and Fiore showed expressions colder than he had ever seen before.
"We don't know. Please think about it yourself."
...
...
Because he was always causing trouble, Shirou had been added to the list of people forbidden from entering the infirmary. Even so, that was not enough to stop him.
Taking advantage of the brief gap while the Homunculi were changing shifts, Shirou slipped inside.
"...Manaka."
It was as if time and space around her had come to a halt. The sleeping Manaka's beauty had not faded in the slightest.
Shirou sat quietly by the bedside and tidied the girl's slightly disheveled hair.
Although he had already lost his wish while participating in the Holy Grail War, if he could still obtain the Holy Grail now, Shirou wished for Manaka to wake up.
After making his final farewell before the decisive battle, the boy rose from the bedside.
That was when "that" on the nightstand caught Shirou's eye.
"No way... is that a bento?"
The unbelievable sight made Shirou blink again and again.
Food that should not exist.
A meal that could not possibly be here.
The Yggdmillennia clan living in the castle were all Europeans, and the Homunculi working here had never learned how to make Japanese cuisine.
In this castle, there were only two people who could make something like a bento.
One was Shirou. As for the other,
He turned to look at the sleeping beauty on the hospital bed.
"Manaka, did you make this for me?"
It should have been absolutely impossible, yet the ironclad truth was sitting right before his eyes.
A certain conviction welled up in Shirou's heart. Murmuring to himself, he opened the bento box.
Inside were sandwiches and rice balls.
Manaka seemed to treat sandwiches as a traditional British dish that had existed in Britannia 1,500 years ago, and she had always been very enthusiastic about feeding them to Shirou.
The toast was lightly browned on both sides, with grilled chicken wrapped in lettuce and tomato tucked between the slices.
Shirou picked one up and took a big bite.
Mm. It was definitely that familiar taste.
"It's good... no, it feels even better than before."
With his mouth full of sandwich, Shirou turned his gaze toward the rice balls.
"Your skills have improved, Manaka."
After being shocked by Shirou's cooking, Manaka had thrown herself into Spartan-style training ever since. Had she finally reached this level?
In other words,
The Princess of The Root could easily transcend even time and space.
This was the food that "Manaka Sajyou from the Future" had placed in Shirou's hands.
The girl's Awakening was drawing near.
...
...
And so, humanity's final day arrived beneath gentle sunlight.
As the sun rose, Shirou and his companions left the castle they had grown so used to living in.
Unlike the previous decisive battle, the participants this time were not only Heroic Spirits, but also the surviving Magi and Homunculi.
If they failed, they were dead either way, so they might as well increase their fighting strength as much as possible. That was what Gordes and Toole had said.
Of course, the main reason the Magi and Homunculi could be counted as combatants at all was thanks to a certain someone.
Semiramis had provided everyone with magical enhancements.
"Oh, you look way stronger than that useless Caster."
"Who dost thou think I am? And besides... do not compare me to that man."
The women from the remnants of the "Red" faction were cheerfully badmouthing Shakespeare again today. Just how unpopular was he?
The group took cars to Henri Coandă International Airport, the closest airport to Trifas.
On the way there, Fiore told the Heroic Spirits that they could change into their battle attire.
The airport had been fully reserved by Yggdmillennia a week ago, and civilian flights had been suspended. It was now being jointly used by the Yggdmillennia Clan and the Mage's Association for the war against Metatron.
"When did you get so friendly with the people from the Association?"
Shirou asked in surprise, but Fiore shook her head.
The one who had brought Yggdmillennia and the Mage's Association back together was not her. The person who had communicated behind the scenes and secured their cooperation was the new head of the Forvedge family.
"Caules?"
Fiore nodded with satisfaction. "He really has grown a lot. Now I can finally relax.
By the way, Saber, what is that?"
The girl looked curiously at Shirou's waist. In the place where his sword should have been, a metal sphere was hanging instead.
"This? It's actually a relic of the 'Black' Berserker..."
During the previous decisive battle, while Shirou and the others were locked in fierce combat with the "Red" faction, Astolfo had gotten lost in the Sky Garden.
And while wandering around, this was what he had picked up.
"Bridal Chest," a part of the warhammer embedded in the heart of Berserker Frankenstein.
Astolfo had thought that since Shirou had been closest to Frankenstein, it would be best to leave it in his care.
In the battle against the Angelic Host, it probably would not have a chance to be useful.
The Savior's treasury had no shortage of weapons far older and far more powerful than this.
Even so, carrying it made Shirou feel warm, as if he were wrapped in some kind of light.
All right...!
She may be an adopted daughter I only met recently, but I'll fight while carrying the ashes of my dead daughter with me!
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the airport.
There was almost no one inside. No taxis waiting outside, no travelers, not even security guards... not a single person in sight.
Only at the airport entrance stood men in black suits, not ordinary guards, positioned there like sentinels.
Out on the tarmac were the ten Boeing 747 passenger planes Fiore had purchased.
The funds to reserve the entire airport came from Fiore, while the ten secondhand passenger planes were part of Darnic's estate.
Once everything was ready, everyone boarded the planes piloted by golems.
As for the personnel arrangement, Shirou and Leticia would ride together.
They were the core of the operation, the group meant to reach the highest point under everyone else's cover and confront Metatron himself.
Before their final parting, Shirou let Atalanta crawl into his arms and act spoiled for quite a while, which earned him no small number of cold looks from Leticia and the others.
But it could not be helped. If he did not agree to it, Atalanta would lose motivation.
This was a necessary sacrifice to save the world!
"Is that so? I rather feel thou art enjoying it."
Semiramis said coldly as she dragged Atalanta away from Shirou. The two of them would be riding the same plane shortly.
"Saber-sama."
"Daddy!"
A woman's voice called out to Shirou, and a small figure threw herself onto his back from behind.
When did I get another daughter!?
Shirou turned around in confusion, then froze on the spot.
"How can this be... You two are..."
Reika Rikudou and the "Black" Assassin, the mother and daughter who should already have left the stage, had appeared before him.
Shirou stared in shock. "Didn't I send you to Finland?"
With a smile, Reika Rikudou explained everything that had happened after she and Jack the Ripper left Romania, arrived in Finland, and came under the protection of the Edelfelt family.
"I work at the mansion now, and I live there together with Jack."
As she said that, Reika Rikudou lifted the hem of her black-and-white maid dress and spun gracefully in front of Shirou.
"What do you think of this outfit, Saber-sama?"
"Mm... It suits you very well."
"Wow! Daddy's blushing!"
The silver-haired little girl Assassin clinging to Shirou's back shouted in delight.
"D-Don't talk nonsense."
Shirou cleared his throat, then asked, "Since you two have already... finally managed to settle down, why did you come back!?"
Reika Rikudou's expression turned serious. "Because the young lady... the Edelfelt family has also decided to join the war."
"So Luvia made you come?"
Shirou frowned at that.
He did not know this world's Luvia, but the girl he knew would never drag a mother and daughter who had escaped the vortex of war back into that mire.
"That's not it. You've misunderstood."
Reika Rikudou said, "Young Lady Luvia never asked us to take part in the war. Jack and I decided to come here ourselves.
To be honest, I don't think the extinction of humanity has anything to do with me. Has the world really fallen so low that it needs someone like me to save it?
But if I can help you, I would gladly offer up this life.
Saber-sama, perhaps you no longer remember, but I once told you, 'I will repay this debt someday.'"
"Please take care of me! Daddy!"
Jack the Ripper rubbed her soft little cheek against Shirou's face.
Shirou was left speechless. "..."
Somehow, on this Holy Grail journey, he felt as though he had gained the trust and help of many people.
No matter what, he would stop Metatron and protect this world. Shirou made that vow in his heart.
"Speaking of which, I heard Saber-san is recruiting a large number of mistresses..."
Reika Rikudou suddenly leaned in close, and Shirou caught a pleasant fragrance from her.
"Wh... what? Who said that? Why don't I know about it?"
Reika Rikudou whispered by his ear, "The rumor is spreading like wildfire among the Homunculi. They say that if they perform well today, they might be chosen by Saber-sama and become one of the lucky girls allowed to serve you at night...
Hehe... I'll do my best too, so please watch me closely, Saber-sama♡"
After saying that, Reika Rikudou took Assassin by the hand and walked away.
"Bye-bye~ Daddy~"
Shirou stood there dumbfounded and waved goodbye to Jack the Ripper.
Who the hell started that rumor!?
...
...
"All right, Master, let's get going too!"
"Yeah... Leticia, let's go."
Shirou boarded the plane together with the girl. The spacious cabin was completely empty.
Leticia excitedly said she wanted to go see what the golem that could fly a plane looked like, while Shirou casually found a seat and sat down.
A little while later, the girl returned from the cockpit.
She happily reported that there was a huge golem that looked a lot like a spider sitting in the pilot's seat.
"You didn't mess with any buttons, did you?"
"I wouldn't do that."
The girl muttered as she sat down beside Shirou, still looking around curiously.
"You can't calm down, can you? This isn't your first time on a plane, is it?"
"Mm-hm. Last time, I was with the Holy Maiden!"
Shirou drew his gaze back from the window and looked at Leticia.
Since Jeanne's Spirit Origin had already been extracted from her body, she was naturally wearing casual clothes instead of protective armor.
Her body was far too well-developed for a high school student, and it was now covered only by thin fabric. Was she really going to fight the strongest angel like this?
"M-Master... what are you looking at?"
Leticia noticed Shirou's gaze, her cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. She placed her hands on her thighs and shifted her shoulders uneasily.
Shirou thought for a moment and said, "Equipment for you to use in battle."
"Ooh!"
The girl's eyes lit up at once.
Under Leticia's breathless stare, Shirou chanted an incantation and projected a sword with a strange design.
From its long golden hilt to its broad crimson blade, the sword clearly did not match the usual style of a weapon. It was far removed from any traditional sword.
But no Heroic Spirit would ever underestimate it.
After all, its design easily called to mind a certain arch-rival of Shirou's from the Fourth Holy Grail War, the favored sword of the oldest King of Heroes.
"M-Master... could this be...!!"
Leticia felt the intense sacred aura coming from the sword and could not help widening her eyes.
Shirou nodded and explained it to the girl.
"The divine sword that guards the Garden of Eden, the 'Whirling Flaming Sword.'"
According to the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament, after God expelled Adam and Eve, He stationed the Cherubim at the east of Eden and placed this sword there to guard the path to the Tree of Life, forbidding humanity from ever returning to the Garden.
This sword symbolizes the divine authority of protection and judgment, and is one of the most famous weapons in Catholicism.
Legend says it is a divine sword that combines offense and defense. It floats in the air, rotates, and continuously releases flames in every direction.
In other words, it was an autonomous weapon, perfectly suited for Leticia to use in self-defense.
"W-Wow...!"
Deeply moved, Leticia accepted the golden divine sword from Shirou's hands.
"This is the weapon used by Methuselah and Noah... sniff... It's incredible! I definitely won't let you down, Master!"
Hugging the sword to her chest, the girl asked earnestly, "Are you giving me this sword because you want me to save the world, just like Noah?"
No, you're overthinking it.
When Methuselah and Noah were mentioned, most people would think of the Great Flood that destroyed the world.
But that grandfather and grandson were also the longest-lived humans in the Bible. Methuselah lived for 969 years, and Noah lived for 950.
"What... So all you expect from me is to live a little longer?"
The girl pouted in disappointment.
"Also, the longest-lived human wasn't Methuselah or Noah. It was Ahasuerus.
The Wandering Jew... It's a super famous French novel, you know. Have you heard of it, Master? Do you want to borrow my copy?"
"No, I'm not interested in Jewish history."
Shirou placed his hand on the girl's head and roughly ruffled her hair. "As long as you survive, that's enough."
"Yes, Master... I'll do my best to stay alive."
With Shirou patting her head, Leticia narrowed her eyes and showed an expression of pure happiness.