Whether it was because the food was too tempting or because the shock had been too great, once Iroha Isshiki's train of thought got going, she became completely unrestrained in what she said. She had utterly forgotten that she was actually at the bottom of the hierarchy here, though Shirou-senpai had never intended to act like a senpai around her.
"This is so good! The mildly spicy chicken with the gravy goes so well with rice. If this keeps up, I'm going to get a little belly! It's all your fault! Hmph!" Yuihama tasted the dish and immediately wore a blissful, satisfied expression before raising her little fist and giving Youth a light punch.
"No, even if your belly gets bigger, you can't blame me, can you?" Shirou retorted after being hit. These girls ate the meals he cooked without feeling the slightest gratitude. So the idea that boys who were good at cooking would be popular really was just a lie invented by lazy women who did not want to cook, wasn't it?
Lost in the food, Iroha blurted out everything on her mind.
"Mm, it's so good. I feel healed. The strict Yukino-senpai today was just like my father. She's super scary when she gets angry."
"Pfft..." Shirou nearly burst out laughing at that.
"..." The black-haired girl shot him a warning look.
"Here, if it's good, eat more." Shirou silently gave the girl a thumbs-up, held back his laughter, and put a piece of chicken into Iroha's bowl as a reward.
"Mm, thank you. Shirou-senpai, feeding me like this... you're just like my mother." Completely intoxicated by the food, Iroha offered her sincere thanks from the bottom of her heart.
"..." Shirou dejectedly picked the meat he had put in Iroha's bowl back into his own.
"Pfft... Hahaha..." This time, Yukino covered her mouth and laughed. Trying her best not to make a sound, her body trembled as she suppressed her laughter.
"I think I understand a little now why dozens of girls signed a petition to make you embarrass yourself, Iroha-chan," Yuihama said thoughtfully from the side.
After that, the boys and girls began preparing, discussing strategies for tomorrow's negotiations with the business high school.
The following afternoon, when they gathered in the meeting room again, Shirou carried a stack of documents directly to the other student council president's seat.
Bang!
The thick pile of documents made the desk in front of him wobble.
Amid his stunned gaze, Shirou gave him a friendly smile.
Refusing Empty Talk
"Um... what are these?" the student council president asked with a dry laugh.
"Ah, these are the proposals based on the preliminary plans you provided yesterday, as well as all the ideas mentioned earlier. I organized them a little and turned them into plans according to the budget. These are the options after making some trade-offs. Please discuss them and choose one," Shirou said with a smile.
"Hahaha, but we might come up with more ideas later, so there's no need to rush. Let's brainstorm and think of a solution together," the student council president said, waving both hands.
"No. Even if there are new ideas, the budget is already insufficient. Please finish reading these plans first, then bring up any new suggestions," Yukino said without yielding an inch.
"We can all think of a way around the budget issue together. That's the whole reason we're holding this meeting," the student council president repeated his worn-out line.
Shirou then turned to praise one of the business high school student council officers sitting nearby. "By the way, you! I still remember how impressive your understanding of jazz was when you suggested it yesterday."
"Ahahaha, thank you." The man scratched his head after being praised. Had he said that? He usually listened to jazz because it made him look sophisticated, so that was why he had brought it up. Maybe he had casually said something like that at the time. Thinking so, he gladly accepted Shirou's praise.
"No, wasn't it rock that someone talked about? I think I was the one who commented when I brought up rock?" the man beside him said.
"I don't remember, but if it's about the K-On! band, I know a lot," another man said.
"Ah, now that you mention it, the comments I heard were about rock and K-On!. No one mentioned jazz. I remembered wrong just now. Sorry, there are simply too many suggestions now, and I can't keep track of them anymore. So it's about time we wrapped things up, right?" Shirou said with a smile.
"Ah... yeah, I suppose so." The man who had suggested jazz answered with an embarrassed smile.
"That's true. There are a lot of things I can't remember clearly either," the rock guy said. He was also getting tired of this endless meeting game.
In truth, everyone knew this could not continue. At first, the atmosphere had been cheerful, nobody had raised objections, and they had decided to speak freely. By now, though, no one could bring themselves to deny a decision everyone had made together.
At that moment, Yukino's gaze swept over to Iroha, the student council president from the same school.
Startled by the glare, Iroha immediately stood up and declared, "Yes! I think this would be better too!"
"Our side suggests cutting things down a little. It's already written in these project plans. If we invite a band, then we should give up on the symphony orchestra. If we invite the symphony orchestra, then the other music programs also have to be reduced. We need to use the budget reasonably."
"Since everyone says so, shall we do that?" Shirou asked as he looked at the other student council president.
"Then choose a satisfactory plan first, and afterward decide what to add and what to remove. Any other issues?" Yukino asked.
"Ah... no, I understand." Stared at by the friendly gazes of the two of them, the student council president could only nod. For some reason, though, he always felt completely outmatched in front of these two. Everything they said made sense, and he had no way to refute them.
After all, everyone had agreed. He had originally only been the meeting moderator, constantly accepting suggestions and summarizing them. Things had turned out this way precisely because there had been no strong decision-maker. Everyone had proposed their own ideas, then happily agreed together.
At first, he had thought that any problem could be solved in such a united atmosphere. By the time he noticed the problem, it was already too late. Although he was the one moderating the meeting, he was not the one making the final call. Even if the event failed, it would be everyone's shared mistake. But if someone spoke up, it would become one person opposing everyone else, so nobody would do it.
So now, even though they had wanted to hold a pet show, it had somehow turned into a zoo. Perhaps the current situation was for the best...
After reaching an agreement with the business high school, the meeting finally got back on track. The student council members on the other side, dissatisfied with having only elementary school students, had even wanted to suggest adding kindergarteners. Shirou and Yukino joined forces to reject that proposal.
"Senpai and Yukino-senpai are amazing!" Iroha Isshiki exclaimed in admiration.
The business high school student council president, whom she had not known how to deal with, had seemed like a child who could only imitate adult speech patterns in front of those two.
"Although I don't really understand what Shirou and Yukino are talking about, it'll definitely be fine if we leave it to them," Yuihama said proudly with a smile after hearing Iroha's admiration.
"Hm..." Iroha Isshiki looked the boy and girl over, but seeing how well they worked together made her feel a little unwilling to accept it.
The girl silently watched as Youth spoke eloquently with the student council president, steadily forcing him back until he had no choice but to compromise.
As for that, Shirou had actually cheated. With Magic Eyes capable of analyzing even divine artifacts, analyzing these things was simply too easy for him.
"Mm... So in senpai's eyes, do I look like a child being lectured by her parents too?"
Thinking that, the girl could not help feeling a little depressed, but she quickly recovered and shook her head hard.
Iroha Isshiki decided to resist. Even if I'm the junior, I'm still the student council president, right? Just because you got to know Shirou-senpai before I did doesn't mean I have to back down!
Iroha Isshiki longed to change. She wanted to rely on her own strength to defeat the strict father... No! To earn Yukino-senpai's approval! But she still wanted to defeat her!
That's right! Yukino-senpai might be the perfect beauty, but only the student council president was the strongest!!!
That's right! Old Man Munehisa's sword might be the perfect One, but only Niten Ichi-ryū, which pursued "Zero (No Void)," was the strongest!!!
Without the girl realizing it, her feelings resonated with a certain Servant. The FGO system on her phone flashed, and the golden frame of a silver-pink haired woman brightened from darkness.
Xiao Da at the front seemed to sense something. She slipped into Iroha Isshiki's phone and saw a Servant compatible with the girl. Although their compatibility was still only at 10%, given time, she would surely shine brilliantly. Perhaps it represented some kind of hope.
"We found a new companion! Shirou..." Xiao Da cried happily, wanting so badly to notify the others.
Just then, a muffled boom suddenly sounded outside the meeting room!
Shirou turned toward the sound. He felt the surrounding air stagnate, making even breathing somewhat heavy. It seemed as though the world had been torn open, and some dangerous creature was about to emerge from it. This time was different. The feeling of the other space was more sinister than ever before.
Black Mud Heroic Spirit Holy Grail
Shirou, Yukino, and Yuihama exchanged glances, then rushed out.
The moment monsters from another world were sensed invading, the world consciousness's defensive mechanism deployed a protective wall of other space, shielding the real world behind a barrier.
A humanoid made of huge stones stood more than ten meters tall, like a tower. It was a Ruin Guard enlarged several times over, and due to mutation, every mineral in its body had become diamond. It raised its right foot high and violently kicked the wall of other space.
The real world also rang out with a muffled sound like thunder.
Behind the Ruin Guard was a huge hollow leading here from another world, from which countless wing-blade insects flew out.
"Bellerophon!"
A comet—a black comet trailing a long tail—fell from the sky. Within the black light, a man riding a black Pegasus continuously used his Noble Phantasm to batter the defensive mechanism of the world's other space. Under the repeated impacts of the black comet, cracks began appearing across the protective barrier's surface.
The real world within the inner wall of the other space shook once more.
"Ah! An earthquake?" The elementary school students inside screamed.
"This is bad! There are still a lot of children here," Yukino cried in alarm.
"Leave it to me!"
Shirou performed a Possession Summon, having Merlin possess him, and used an illusion at maximum magical output. He imagined an ordinary, peaceful daily life, then transformed the space into that impression. The building where the children were was concealed within that space, and the children inside were given suggestions to stay calm, relax, and not go outside. They only felt that everything was no different from usual and could no longer sense the tremors outside.
"Huh? It stopped shaking? Was that just my imagination? That's weird. You all felt the shaking just now too, right?" the girl who had screamed earlier asked in confusion.
"Mm... Maybe we did, maybe we didn't?" The girls looked at one another, each seeming uncertain.
"Looks like it was just our imagination. Let's keep going."
"Mm."
And so, the elementary school girls continued working on what they had been doing.
Under the effects of the illusion, the people nearby relaxed and continued going about their tasks inside the building.
Then, at that moment.
Boom!!! The black comet finally shattered through the barrier. A black-skinned man riding a black Pegasus floated into the present world, glaring ahead as he let out a furious roar.
"Shirou! Be careful, this Servant is too abnormal!" Xiao Da flew out from the phone and shouted.
Shirou opened his Magic Eyes and observed the black Servant.
He was a hero from Greece, the son of Zeus, a man beloved by the gods. Unlike Heracles or Achilles, he was not famous for martial prowess. Instead, he had used the many Noble Phantasms gifted by the gods to slay the rampaging immortal monster Gorgon and save countless lives.
Yet this Servant, at this very moment, had been tainted by black mud. Nothing remained in his eyes but hatred, and in his hand was the Noble Phantasm "Bellerophon (Alter)."
His body had already been corrupted into Chaotic Evil. After being eroded by black mud, the Servant's abilities had changed to a certain degree. Combined with the Holy Grail's amplification, the reins Noble Phantasm that had originally only enhanced his mount, Pegasus, had now become a Noble Phantasm capable of summoning and commanding large numbers of Monsters.
"Ha!" Yuihama charged out with a shout, immediately performing a Possession Summon and transforming into Suzuka Gozen. She leaped from behind and slashed down at the black Servant.
"Hmph!" The black Pegasus was incredibly fast. It dodged the girl's attack and disappeared into the hollow in the barrier.
"Did he run?" Yuihama landed on the ground, gripping her sword as she frowned.
"This is bad! They're out! The monsters are about to enter the real world! There are over a hundred magical energy readings, and one of them has an enormous amount of magical energy!" Red dots continuously appeared on the phone's screen as Xiao Da cried out in panic.
"What?" Shirou cried.
With a boom, a huge diamond foot kicked through the barrier, which had already been cracked by the comet. The diamond giant, dozens of meters tall, crawled out from there and officially entered the real world.
This was the first time monsters had appeared somewhere inhabited by people.
At that moment, the world's second defensive mechanism secretly activated. The world, which had originally rejected all mystery, changed the instant the monsters invaded reality. It became far easier for every human and Servant to establish a connection.
After the black Servant Perseus issued an order, swarms of wing-blade insects poured out through the cracks in the other space, surging toward the building.
"Don't even think about it!" Yukino, who had been guarding the entrance, took out her phone and prepared to summon Ushiwakamaru for battle. No matter what, she would never allow the children inside to be harmed!
"I absolutely will not let children be harmed!" A voice echoed from the void into Yukino's heart.
At that moment, another character responded, its golden frame shining with light.
"I understand!" Yukino tapped it without hesitation.
This time, it was not the girl summoning a Servant for possession. Rather, the Servant in Chaldea sensed through the system that children here were in danger. Her wish aligned with the girl's, and she sincerely lent all of her power to the girl.
Possession Summon Compatibility: 100% Archer-class Servant: Atalanta
A cool girl with feline ears appeared within a pillar of light. Wearing a green dress, with a tail extending beneath her skirt, she stood proudly and stared ahead.
Yukino performed a backflip and leaped high onto the building's balcony, looking down at the swarming insects below. She did not consider these monsters worth her attention at all. With one hundred percent compatibility, and with Atalanta entrusting all her power to her, this was no longer as simple as summoning a Servant. It seemed that when the souls of a human and Servant merged, some kind of sublimation had taken place. At that moment, the girl felt she had reached the realm of the Age of Gods, possessing the peak strength of the Greek hero Atalanta.
"Shirou!" Yukino called out, directly raising her bow and drawing it into a full moon.
"I know!" Shirou immediately understood what she meant. He raised his wand and enhanced her as much as possible, then used Reinforcement Magic, one of the only two forms of magecraft he excelled at. After receiving Merlin's experience, it had reached Rank B!
"As long as I'm here, I will never let any monster pass through!" Yukino raised the Bow of Heaven, bestowed by the goddess Artemis. The anti-army Noble Phantasm had already completed three hundred percent charging the moment of Servant possession. A streak of light shot into the sky—Phoibos Catastrophe.
The girl prayed to the sun god Apollo and the moon goddess Artemis. A hundred arrows of light rained down from the heavens, piercing every wing-blade insect. The remaining light arrows all fell upon the diamond Ruin Guard's head, striking its massive body again and again.
"I'm not done yet!" Yukino shouted, drawing the Bow of Heaven to its limit. In that instant, the arrow's power rose to Rank A. She aimed at the giant's head and fired repeatedly!
The fired arrows exploded like missiles. Boom! Boom! Boom!
Caught between attacks from the sky and the front, the diamond giant's head shattered. It was swallowed by the arrows of light, turning into black dust and vanishing.
"That was amazing, Yukino!" Yuihama praised.
"Well done, Yukino." Seeing that the monster threatening this world had finally been destroyed, Shirou praised the black-haired girl.
"Die!!!"
Without any warning, the black Servant who had entered the black hollow earlier emerged from within the other space. The black man wore a strange cloak and suddenly appeared behind Shirou, raising a scythe-like sword toward Shirou's neck.
"Ha! Indra's Thunderbolt!!!"
The thunderbolt crackling with electric arcs became a bolt of lightning, striking black Perseus and blasting him away.
Before you continue