"?"
Shirou froze for a moment. Fiore's expression was serious. She did not look like she was joking.
"Even if you say you want to form a contract with me... Manaka is still here."
"Yes. Although you no longer need to transfer Mana to Manaka, in your current state... how much longer can you maintain your manifestation? Even if you can last for one week, do you truly think you can fight Metatron while effectively having no Master to supply you with Mana?"
"..."
Shirou wanted to argue, but gave up.
Fiore was right. He was already facing an overwhelmingly powerful enemy he had no chance of defeating, yet on top of that, he had no Mana supply. Simply maintaining his manifestation was already a heavy burden.
Fiore was the acting head of Yggdmillennia, as well as the clan's most outstanding Magus.
No matter how one looked at it, Shirou ought to form a contract with her.
But...
Becoming Fiore's Servant would mean Shirou had to sever his contract with Manaka.
Shirou was still Manaka's Servant.
In that near-certain-death situation, the causal line between Shirou and Manaka had somehow miraculously remained intact.
Manaka could no longer provide Shirou with any support.
Even if she woke up again, her Magic Circuits had already been burned away by the Hydra venom. Manaka Sajyou had lost her function as a Master and as a Magus.
Even so, Shirou did not want to change Masters so easily.
After a moment of silence, the red-haired boy said, "I can't betray Manaka."
"You consider that a betrayal?"
"Yeah."
He remembered the conversation he had with her not long ago.
…
"My Master is Manaka. No matter what happens... I won't betray you."
"Why bring this up all of a sudden?"
"So even if Manaka doesn't have Command Spells, my stance won't change... Please tell me the truth."
"Pfft... haha, you've got it wrong... Saber... pfft, it isn't what you're thinking... hahaha... Of course I have Command Spells. If you don't believe me, I'll show you, Saber. Look, Saber... this is proof that I'm your Master. Sorry for making you worry, Saber. I should have shown you this sooner. I didn't mean to hide it from you... but if possible, I don't want to use them."
"Why?"
"Because these were born from a miracle... the bond between you and me."
At the time, Manaka had said that with an intoxicated expression.
"I absolutely won't use the Command Spells. I don't want to lose even a single stroke. Because right now, this is the only definite connection I have with you."
And at the time, Shirou had answered her like this.
"I understand."
"Huh?"
"If Manaka doesn't want the Command Spells to disappear, then I'll respect your wishes."
…
"I see. The bond between you and Manaka is even deeper than I imagined, Saber-san... I'm sorry. What I said just now was terribly insensitive."
Fiore bowed her head deeply, and Shirou quickly spoke up.
"I'm glad you understand, but please don't take it to heart. I'm the one who... even when humanity is about to go extinct, I'm still clinging to this pointless stubbornness."
The young head of Yggdmillennia shook her head with firm eyes. "That isn't pointless at all. Not in the slightest. It is precisely the proof of Saber-san's noble soul... To be honest, I'm deeply moved."
She really is a good girl, Shirou thought.
Among the Yggdmillennia clan, Fiore was the only one who did not fit in with the others.
Caules might usually look the way he did, but he also had the calm side of a Magus.
Only she still retained an excessive amount of humanity.
Shirou's "Mystic Eyes of the End" saw through Fiore's heart.
It was not quite the same as innocence, or kindness, or anything of the sort.
Because she was so determined to walk the path of a Magus, even when her heart screamed, she simply ignored it.
All because she had decided that such feelings were unbecoming of a Magus.
Precisely because Fiore was an excellent Magus, she could suppress those emotions and act like a Magus.
However, that was nothing more than the logic of a Magus driving her actions, a judgment handed down by the program written into her mind.
Even after growing up in a Magus family, Fiore still possessed a moral sense that exceeded that of ordinary people.
Hurting or killing others was not permissible. Deceiving or inciting others was equally unforgivable.
Of course, Magi only killed when there was no other choice.
But in other words, "when there was no other choice," a Magus would naturally consider killing.
No matter how inadequate a Magus might be, they should have already prepared themselves to cast aside law and morality when such a situation arose.
Shirou did not think Fiore was suited to be the head of Yggdmillennia. To put it more harshly, she was not suited to being a Magus at all.
For now, she was still all right because she had not experienced too much. But if things continued like this... one day, her heart would surely break.
If Chiron were still here, what would he do...? Shirou wondered.
Fiore was not his Master, so he had no reason to interfere in her world, but...
"Saber-san?"
When he came back to himself, he found Fiore staring at his face.
"Honestly! Please don't zone out in the middle of a conversation. That's terribly rude."
"Sorry, sorry... haha."
"So it really is because your Mana is low and your concentration is slipping?"
"That's part of it, I guess." Shirou nodded.
After his Mana supply was cut off, the most immediate thing Shirou felt was that his vision had grown murky and his consciousness had become unfocused.
This is bad... Maybe tomorrow I should go to the forest to find Atalanta and hunt rabbits with her.
Recovering Mana through eating alone was far too inefficient.
For a Servant, who was a spiritual body, the most efficient way to replenish Mana was "Spirit Eater," meaning the absorption of a living being's life force.
For evil Servants, there were even more efficient methods, such as draining ordinary people of their life force, vital energy, blood, and the like, or more simply... killing them outright.
Fiore took a sip of coffee and said thoughtfully, "In that case, I have a proposal... Let me supply Saber-san with Mana. This is the only thing I can do for you."
"I already told you, I don't plan to form a contract with anyone else..."
Shirou suddenly noticed that Fiore's cheeks had gone bright red for some reason.
"...?"
"Even without becoming Master and Servant... there are still other ways to supply Mana, aren't there?"
"W-Wait a second..."
Alarm bells rang in Shirou's mind. An ominous premonition and several unpleasant memories rose up in his head.
The girl's cheeks were flushed, and she did not dare meet Shirou's eyes. She only stared at the floor and spoke in a faint voice.
"I-I know that saying something like this all of a sudden must trouble you, Saber-san... Actually, I feel the same way. I haven't prepared myself for it either... b-but..."
Shirou: "..."
"Ugh... yes, this is also my duty as acting head. If doing something like this can save the clan, no... if it can save all of humanity...!"
Fiore seemed to have finally made up her mind. She raised her face, now filled with determination.
Then she slowly placed her hand on the button of her uniform.
So it really turned into this kind of development after all, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Shirou held Fiore's hand down.
"Saber-san? P-Please, let me do it myself..."
The girl pleaded in embarrassment.
Her hands moved quickly. The white uniform of Yggdmillennia had already been opened, revealing pale skin beneath it and a pink bra full of girlish charm.
"Wait, that's not what this is! Why are you suddenly taking off your clothes!? Put them back on!"
"Huh? Saber-san, you don't like it when clothes are taken off?"
Fiore gave him an extremely complicated look.
"How did you even understand it that way!? What is going on inside your head!?"
"W-Why must I be scolded by Saber-san!?"
Fiore puffed out her cheeks, her delicate face full of grievance and dissatisfaction. Shirou was just as speechless.
"...Is there really no other way?"
"What other way do you mean? Saber-san, can you actually drink blood?"
"No."
"See... then this really is the only way!"
Fiore reached for her front buttons again, and Shirou held her wrist firmly.
It was true that, excluding the option of absorbing life force, exchanging bodily fluids was the most effective way for a man and woman to replenish Mana.
But why was it...
Shirou could not shake the feeling that this woman was now strangely eager and fired up.
"T-That's not true! I'm just being forced into a panic by the circumstances! E-Eager and fired up... Saber-san, that is such an awful thing to say! Ugh... I demand that you correct yourself!"
Fiore defended herself angrily, but her flushed, lovely cheeks were not convincing at all.
"I only want to be useful to Saber-san... That really is all!"
"Calm down, Fiore."
Shirou said this as he released her wrist.
"S-Sorry..."
Before Shirou's "Charisma," Fiore regained a little of her composure.
Then she lowered her head in shame.
"Actually, I hid something from you. There is something else I wanted to ask of you."
"I knew it."
Shirou sighed. "For a moment there, I almost thought Fiore was the kind of girl who looks pure on the outside but is actually very repressed."
"R-Repressed? That's not true at all... Please watch your wording!"
"So what is it?"
Although he asked, Shirou had already guessed.
Now that the Great Holy Grail War had ended, there was only one thing Fiore could ask of him.
The girl lowered her head and looked at her legs, which had no sensation at all. "Please help me complete the surgery to transfer my Magic Crest to Caules."
He knew it.
The reason Fiore could not walk was precisely because the Magic Circuits in her legs had deteriorated and become abnormal.
To heal her legs, the Magic Circuits in them had to be removed. That meant she had already decided to give up the path of Magecraft.
"It's no problem for me to help, but..."
Shirou asked, "Have you already discussed this with Caules?"
"Actually, he was the one who brought it up first. He told me to think carefully about what kind of life I want to live from now on."
"Caules did...?"
That was a little unexpected for Shirou.
"Right? Surprising, isn't it? Still, no matter what, he's the little brother I'm proud of."
Fiore looked pleased, but her expression soon turned sad.
"Actually, I invited him too... I asked if he wanted to give up the path of Magecraft and run away from Yggdmillennia with his big sister."
"What did he say?"
"He turned me down cold."
Fiore gave a lonely smile. "'I'm fine either way, really. But if you're going to that side, Sis, then it's better for me to stay here.'"
Caules had no real attachment to Magecraft. He had simply been going along with Fiore, but he had no regrets about it.
His life had always been like that, as if he were wandering without direction. He was half-hearted as a human and half-hearted as a Magus. But if someone like him could help shape his sister's life, then that was fine too.
"He really is a good little brother," Shirou said with feeling. His opinion of Caules had changed somewhat.
Fiore nodded. "Compared to him, I've been such an irresponsible older sister. Ever since we were children, I always thought of myself as his 'protector,' but in the end... I was the weak one. I was the one being protected."
The girl raised her tearful eyes. "Saber-san, in your eyes, I must be a terrible, shameless older sister."
"That's not right. When it comes to family, there's no need to keep track of who gives and who gains."
Shirou had family of his own, so he understood.
If even family members had to nitpick over who had given more and who had benefited more, then they were not truly family. They were only acquaintances who happened to live together and share blood.
"Besides, I think you're amazing too, Fiore."
"Huh?" The girl blinked.
"You've already made up your mind and chosen the path you'll take from now on, haven't you?"
Shirou said, "You lived as a Magus for twenty years, and now you're going to cast aside everything you've built up until today... I think that takes remarkable resolve."
Fiore had also lost many important things.
Her pride as a Magus, her skills, her talent, her life.
That was only natural.
Even so, Fiore still wished for a different life. She still yearned to become an ordinary human.
It was not a matter of right or wrong. It was a decision filled with regret.
Perhaps on some night in the future, Fiore would look back and wonder whether giving up the path of Magecraft had truly been the right choice.
But... if she did not take her own feelings seriously now, she would surely regret it for the rest of her life.
"Thank you, Saber-san... I feel much better after talking with you."
Fiore would walk a different path, and her only close relative would walk another path of his own.
"But I suppose I'll still feel lonely."
Her younger brother was moving forward along the path she had once walked, without looking back, pressing straight ahead.
If she herself still could not fully let go and occasionally glanced back at the road she had left behind, she would feel disappointment, and also relief.
That was fine.
Of course she could not let go so easily.
Of course she would think she had made a mistake.
However, the choice itself was not wrong. All that remained was an endless longing for what she had abandoned.
Fiore looked at the red-haired boy and said with a teasing smile, "I feel like I won't be able to sleep even if I go back to my room now... It's all Saber-san's fault for making me drink so much coffee. Maybe I'll just stay in your room tonight and not go back."
"Sure."
"...Huh?"
Fiore's pupils slowly widened.
Her cheeks, which had finally cooled down, began to burn again all at once.
"W-Wait a second... what did you just say?"
Shirou stood up from the side of the bed and walked toward Fiore's wheelchair.
If he simply sent her back like this, even Shirou himself would feel uneasy.
He could not see such a lonely expression and pretend it did not bother him.
She would have nightmares...
"Fiore, stay in my room tonight."
"Ah, all right. I'll be in your care... N-No, wait!"
Before Fiore could say anything else, Shirou lifted her out of her wheelchair.
"!"
It was the first time the girl had ever felt a man's arms around her.
It was completely different from how he looked.
He seemed no different from an ordinary boy, but once their skin touched, she could clearly feel the firm lines of muscle beneath his body.
As expected of a Saber who had fought through countless battles. His arms could not even be compared to her younger brother's slender ones...
Fiore blushed hard. "W-Wait... Saber-san... I'm not mentally prepared yet..."
"Don't worry. Leave everything to me from here on."
"Huh? B-But..."
"You don't want to? Then I'll take you back."
As he said that, Shirou began carrying Fiore back, only for her to tightly grab his collar.
"..."
Fiore's cheeks burned, and she bit her lip.
She curled her slender yet feminine body as tightly as she could in Shirou's arms and murmured.
"Um... please, Saber-san... let me stay..."
"Your voice is too quiet. I can't hear you."
"...Ngh!"
Fiore looked up at him resentfully and saw a hint of sadism in the red-haired boy's eyes.
Now she finally understood. Saber was not some flawless saint who was infinitely gentle and considerate toward women, and she understood... the fate that awaited her next.
I'm going to be...
Even so, she still...
Fiore swallowed and softly pleaded.
"Please, Saber-san... even if it's only for tonight, let me forget everything."
"Well, since you put it that way."
"...Ah!"
Shirou roughly tossed Fiore onto the bed and swiftly removed his outer clothes.
"This is a Spiritual Descent spell formula that will temporarily restore sensation to your legs."
"Huh? R-Really! That's amazing..."
"Don't move. Wrap your legs around my waist."
"O-Okay♡"
"Um, Saber-san, please be gentle. It's my first time...♡"
Although Fiore pleaded desperately in Shirou's ear, she did not understand that words like those would only make him more excited.
"Ngh... eek!"
The strength of a man made her forget her worries for a short while.