Actually, This Is My First Time

The sunlight was just right, and the clean, transparent glass perfectly cast the warm, bright glow of daytime onto the tabletop, leaving a clear gray shadow from the juice glass.

The young woman who appeared in the name of Archer, with a slightly melancholic mood, wondered why she had manifested. "Who am I, where am I, what am I doing?" These three philosophical questions struck her heart. Then, in her distraction, she used the small fork that came with the fruit tart to pick up the fruit piece by piece and put it in her mouth.

She was supposed to be driven by a far-sighted Master, engaging in espionage, sniping Masters, and achieving astonishing results. But because of Tsukahara Meiji's power... sigh...

Of course, Archer wasn't blaming him, nor did she intend to betray him; she simply held a longing.

Sunlight poured onto the young woman's beautiful face, creating a clear dividing line that only further accentuated her delicate softness. The simple white tracksuit, paired with her exquisite features, exuded a minimalist aesthetic.

This fully proved the obvious lie spread by clothing merchants: beautiful people look good in anything.

Especially the man opposite her, who clearly exuded an aura of nervousness and unreliability. In contrast, everyone felt Archer's appearance was even more stunning.

This was the power of contrast. A single rose might not seem particularly beautiful, but next to a patch of withered weeds, its vibrant, full bloom would give a sense of hope and vitality.

Archer remained calm and composed in the face of the attention focused on her. In a way, this was her weapon. With her astonishing beauty, she could subtly promote herself to high-ranking officials and influential figures. Moreover, being the center of attention was her goal, so this was even better. Archer naturally didn't find it bothersome.

"Master, are you finished eating?"

Watching her Master absentmindedly suck on his straw while staring intently at her without saying a word, Archer showed a helpless expression. Her expression perfectly embodied the Chinese idiom "unprovoked disaster." Having no choice, she had to speak up to remind her Master to snap out of his reverie.

(It's fine if it's others, but Master, you should at least try harder! Is it really okay to be mesmerized by your own Servant?)

"Ah, ahhh!"

Hearing her call him, Tsukahara Meiji finally came to his senses. He quickly sucked on his straw a few more times, as if to cover up his daze. The cold drink spread a refreshing clarity throughout his mouth, giving him a slight sense of sobriety.

It was obvious he had been staring blankly.

"S-sorry! Ahaha."

"That's why I didn't want to show my face... Masters who are men..."

Archer complained in a low voice, popping the last blueberry into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed the rest of her sentence along with the blueberry, then signaled for the waiter and ordered another fruit tart.

"Speaking of which... Master, why were you so insistent on me materializing and changing clothes?"

Seeing that no one was nearby, Archer deliberately lowered her voice and asked.

Regarding the matter of changing clothes, Archer had devised a rather meticulous operational plan from a strategic perspective. However, Tsukahara Meiji clearly had no such intentions.

Still, this only fueled Archer's curiosity. For what reason was he so determined to have her change her clothes?

According to Karl, their funds were not abundant, so why waste money in a place like this? Archer found it utterly incomprehensible.

Hearing her question, a blush of embarrassment quickly spread across Tsukahara Meiji's face, further solidifying Archer's feeling: Men...

"Ahaha... Actually... I, this is my first time..."

The blushing boy explained haltingly.

"Whether it's... the Holy Grail War, or Servants or familiars... I, I'm using them for the first time. Ahaha... So, I'm not very good at communicating with spiritual bodies."

"Oh, I see."

Archer nodded. Her Master wasn't a proper Master, and the flow of magic was pitifully scarce, causing Archer's overall abilities to hover between D and E. The Master's lack of magical power was most directly reflected in the Servant's stats.

With such magical skill, he could probably only be considered an amateur. If he hadn't summoned familiars before, it was understandable that he wasn't good at communicating with spiritual bodies.

"Besides... Rob... Archer also feels that it would be more natural to act with a physical body, right? Even Servants were human in life, right? It's always better to be human."

"Huh?"

This novel viewpoint made Archer raise an eyebrow, finding it quite interesting.

While waiting for the next fruit tart, she propped her chin with one hand, letting her long, soft brown hair, which had a sweet aroma like chocolate, cascade onto her white tracksuit. Just this simple action caused almost all the men in the shop to gasp, their hearts skipping a beat!

She formed a smile, whether bitter or teasing, and said, "Servants are just tools, coincidentally possessing human forms. There's no need to care so much..."

"I don't think so!"

Tsukahara Meiji suddenly raised his voice. Fortunately, this kind of dessert shop was always a gathering place for couples, and the low murmur of conversations created a noisy background. Tsukahara Meiji's voice wasn't abrupt because he didn't make any particular movements—like banging on the table—so he didn't attract much attention.

"..."

This surge of strong emotion startled Archer. The look of astonishment quickly faded into one of interest, and she gestured with her eyes for him to continue.

"If you were just a tool, fine. But you're clearly human, aren't you? If you become a spiritual body, wouldn't that be equivalent to refusing to communicate with the outside world, with reality? Wouldn't that be giving up on yourself..."

In Tsukahara Meiji's heart, the venom of "loneliness" suddenly erupted, flowing through his veins and making him surge with a restless impulse.

He was eating, but Archer could only maintain a spiritual body form that went unnoticed, and because of her magical power issues, she couldn't act freely...

Others might not know, but he knew best.

Despite being in a bustling city, surrounded by everything lively and colorful, he felt like he was in a colorless, colorless, even non-existent black and white...

Contrast, and at the same time, the most cruel thing.

If Archer became a spiritual body, it would mean that Archer would also have to act alone in a world where no one could notice her.

Others might not know, but as a street magician, fallen to a state worse than a beggar, he knew all too well the pain of that experience.

No matter how much he forced a smile or comforted himself, that deeply ingrained loneliness would drive him mad with suffering.

If what Archer said was true, then Robin Hood wasn't alone. He should have summoned one of the Robin Hoods using the oak branches, so why was it specifically this Archer?

Perhaps it was compatibility?

He, like Archer, was someone who had been consumed by loneliness. The more lively the surroundings, the more piercingly his own loneliness hurt. So…

Even if it was just for this Holy Grail War.

Even if it made espionage incredibly difficult…

Even if it would cause a series of problems…

But…

Tsukahara Meiji strongly did not want to see anyone else endure the pain of loneliness that he had suffered.

He would help Karl, partly because Karl had saved him…

And partly because he knew Karl was also a lonely person.

If even lonely people didn't comfort each other, then those whose real lives were exceptionally fulfilling would care even less.

It was Karl who extended a hand to Tsukahara Meiji in his most painful moments.

He knew better than anyone how warm that hand reaching out to him had been.

Therefore, he wanted to become that kind of warm person.

When Karl needed help, he reached out his hand.

And now, he had keenly noticed that the girl bearing the cold name of Archer was also lonely.

So, he reached out his hand again. Just as Karl had saved him back then.

Perhaps it was presumptuous, perhaps it was just wishful thinking, or perhaps Archer didn't feel that way at all…

But this was Tsukahara Meiji's own feeling.

One should not stand idly by when it came to lonely people.

His words were fragmented, his sentences lacked logical coherence, he was simply conveying what was on his mind, calmly, trivially, chaotically, yet sincerely, to the girl in front of him.

"—I think… having a physical form is the first step. That's the first step to building communication. Maybe this is just my one-sided assumption… but, please. Try to maintain your materialized form as much as possible."

His Master lowered her head.

Despite being the Master, she lowered her head.

Archer sighed and couldn't help but say, "How foolish, to treat a Servant, a tool, as a human being."

(However… this feeling isn't unpleasant. In fact, the members of Robin Hood, even though everyone was determined to abandon their own names, there was still one person who would always call everyone by their respective names. As if he wanted to be the only one who remembered everyone's names. Even if they themselves forgot, he would always remember.)

(That person was "Robin Hood." That is to say… the original Robin Hood. You could call him the prototype, or you could call him the initiator. The legendary Earl of Huntington…)

"Heh… well, since it's your command as Master, I will obey. And you don't need to feel any unnecessary guilt, because there are operational plans for materialized forms as well. In terms of results, it's actually more convenient for our patrols and investigations once materialized."

"Ehehe…"

Hearing that his highly individualistic proposal had coincidentally had the effect of "facilitating patrols," Tsukahara Meiji gave an awkward smile.

"But, thank you."

Archer smiled slightly, a smile that could topple kingdoms.

(To treat a Servant… to treat us Robin Hood members as independent individuals… what a kind, yet worry-inducing Master.)

"Mhm."

"By the way, Master, at times like this, the correct approach is to pretend you didn't hear clearly and ask, 'What did you just say?'"

"Eh—?!"