Also a Champion of Justice
"Oh, oh, oh~!" Shirou and the other knights led the applause.
Ms. Komatsu, a wealthy businesswoman with a beaming smile, felt incredibly proud, surrounded by a group of handsome men singing her a birthday song. She felt a little giddy and couldn't contain herself.
As a wealthy and talented modern woman, what she wants most is to wear more beautiful clothes than other women, wear more dazzling jewelry than other women, and hold a more handsome man than other women in her arms!
Now she has everything, and six of them at that! What a fantastic birthday!
On second thought, she waved her hand dramatically and shouted, "Golden Waterfall Champagne Tower! Open it up!!"
"Oh, thank you!" Seeing that someone was willing to treat them, the women around finally smiled again.
"Shirou, thank you! You've been a huge help, I almost messed up." From an angle where no one could see him, Bedivere gave Shirou a respectful salute with his palm raised.
"No, no, I was just lucky," Shirou said, waving his hand.
It was really just good luck. Before Kai pushed him out of the lounge, Shirou's phone rang once, and the large screen of his smartphone displayed the schedule reminders for the day recorded in his notepad.
Shirou opened his phone and saw a densely packed line of text in the notepad, half of which had already been confirmed. Now, in the center of the screen, an important message was highlighted in bold red font:
Today is Ms. Komatsu's birthday.
The club ranked 18th in annual spending; the CEO of an interior design company, with an annual income of...
The next line below is a plan for dealing with this matter; the cake-making section is already checked off and marked as being placed in the kitchen freezer.
Shirou read through the notes on his phone, and his memories gradually returned. He realized that he had made preparations for the wealthy businesswoman from the very beginning.
Because every knight in the Knights of the Round Table adheres to the code of chivalry and is proud and arrogant. Although each of them is the best embodiment of the word "Britain dashing knight," they would never abandon their principles to please women.
With the demeanor of a charming gentleman, he greets every guest who comes to the club with integrity, friendliness, and equality. He is both a friend who listens to the guests' inner troubles and a knight who protects their hearts.
They are the most dignified and gentlemanly male host, so this club has never done anything too outrageous, such as being harassed by female hooligans or subjected to vulgar p-laying with wire brushes.
From the outset, this club was designed to exclude nouveau riche women who only sought to make deals, and specifically cater to cultured, privileged women who enjoyed socializing with higher-quality, ideal men.
Like the famous courtesans of ancient times who sold their art but not their bodies, they played music, painted, and composed poems with scholars and literati.
In the end, it wasn't too hard to accept.
Incidentally, although I hate to admit it, he lost his memory but possessed the qualities of Magecraft. After being taken in by Merlin, he not only became male host with the Knights of the Round Table, but also became a disciple of the Magus of Flowers.
He also embarked on the same path as Merlin, practicing Magecraft with the characteristics of nightmare illusions, a path of no return. Through the Yin-Yang replenishment technique personally taught by the Britain Sword Saint, his magical power is continuously increasing at a speed that belongs to no genius.
His previous attribute was Sword, his ability was Projection, and his special move was Inherent Domain: Unlimited Blade Works. Now, his attribute is Sword, and his abilities are Projection, Charm, and Draw Sword Thrust...
Everything was already set in stone. Merlin's Forty-Eight Techniques had been etched into his soul through practice, indelible for eternity. Even if he wanted to change it, it would be too late for regrets.
Just then, a young woman walked over with a smile, interrupting Shirou's thoughts.
"This is really delicious, Shirou! If you ever quit being male host, you could open a cake shop and it would be a huge hit. I'd be a regular customer!" The young woman, a self-proclaimed foodie, had no time for restraint. Holding a small plate and a fork, she was happily devouring a large slice of cake. If she ate too slowly, someone else would snatch it all!
Shirou's cake was only a medium-sized, one-tier cake, because the Knights of the Round Table Club was not a large establishment, with only about a dozen customers. Some people only took a small, symbolic slice, a portion that could be eaten in two bites, just to show their appreciation.
The people who frequent this club are all wealthy and influential, well-traveled and knowledgeable. They are regulars at restaurants specializing in kaiseki cuisine, God of Sushi, God of Tempura. Naturally, they also frequent renowned restaurants abroad with Michelin three-star chefs.
Nevertheless, they had to admit that Shirou's cakes were indeed delicious. However, most people could only take a small bite in order to maintain their figure. As a strong woman who had fought her way out of a discriminatory world, her self-control in the face of temptation was naturally stronger than that of others.
The extra cake ended up in the mouths of foodies like the young women. Seeing them enjoying their cake made Shirou happy too.
As for the young woman's suggestion...
"That's great! Since you like it, I'll bake a cake for you on the 15th of next month, Miss Miho's birthday." Shirou said with a friendly smile like a boy next door.
"Eh~! You're kidding! How do you know my birthday?" The young woman covered her mouth in surprise and looked at Shirou with disbelief.
"Of course, every member who joins the club is an important member of our Round Table family. I just wanted to celebrate with my family." Shirou said with a light laugh, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Really? What about me? What's my birthday?" The friend next to the young woman raised her hand and pointed to herself repeatedly.
"Miss Xiang, it's November 11th, right? If you're free that day, please be sure to come to the club. I'll be waiting for you," Shirou said with a friendly and sincere smile.
"Wow! You got it right! You're amazing! Shirou, thank you so much." The girl was surprised and deeply moved; she hadn't expected someone like him to be so popular.
Whether it's the top male host in the club or the popular live streamers on the Chinese online platform, they are the most approachable and down-to-earth celebrities. They were school beauties and heartthrobs in school, and in the company, they are high-and-mighty beauties surrounded by elites every day. Wherever they go, they are popular kings who are praised by a lot of people.
These are the kind of outstanding individuals that ordinary people could never even dream of meeting, people who would never even look at you if you tried to fawn over them. Now, however, they are thanking you in a gentle voice and even expressing their meticulous care.
That feeling of being pumped up like you've been injected with adrenaline, that sense of accomplishment from being recognized and thanked by a celebrity in front of everyone, that satisfaction of having your vanity fulfilled—these are experiences you can't have in your daily life.
"Yes... I will definitely come that day! Rain or shine!" the two girls replied in unison.
"If it rains, I'll drive to pick you up," Shirou said with a friendly smile.
"Mmm~~~!" The two girls replied in soft, whiny voices, as if they were drunk.
Tonight, two more people have completely succumbed!
Merlin, who had been hiding behind the scenes, leisurely sipped a glass of wine in the darkness, a knowing smile on his face. Indeed, the so-called Knights of the Round Table were a bunch of terrible guys: foolish, rigid, and sharp-tongued. Each of them had their own fatal flaws, despite their various strengths.
If they are left to fend for themselves, although they will each have a skill and will certainly not starve, and may even achieve some success, they will definitely not accomplish anything great.
Even he would find it difficult to integrate the power of these guys.
But with Shirou, everything changed.
"Cheers!" Merlin raised his glass in the darkness.
For his wise decision.
Chapter 421 is also a messenger of justice.
The universe is incredibly vast, and humanity has not yet perceived its end. Perhaps we can only observe less than one percent of it; everything is unknown.
If you were to look at the sun, the Earth would appear as a blue sphere revolving around you, completing a full rotation every year and returning to its starting point.
This sphere rotates and moves at regular intervals, its surface covered with intricate patterns. A country is merely a dot, and the distance between cities is imperceptible. The idea of seeing the Great Wall from space is nothing more than an idealized artistic creation. Shinjuku? Shibuya? What are those? Enclosed within that sphere, they are nothing more than tiny protrusions.
Humanity can only explore within limited areas. Even though we can now travel beyond Earth, the journey through the universe is one we can never finish in a lifetime.
Finding a person here is like finding an ant blown away by a strong wind on Earth—it's really not easy.
It's either fate or opportunity; there's no such thing as a coincidence with such slim chance. There are only miracles accomplished under the drive of various mysterious forces.
Merlin soared through the universe in his dream, relying on the bond of having once summoned and merged with Shirou, and with the help of various connections, he finally found Shirou was drifting in a corner of the universe, after several years.
At that time, Shirou was in a void, a gray-black space devoid of anything, isolated from time, in a completely still space. The boy lay there asleep in mid-air, floating motionless, seemingly never to change.
But he is also omnipresent. He is constantly with the drifters in the universe. Sometimes he is invisible to everyone, and sometimes he appears in some corner of the universe at the same time.
Merlin managed to extract a part of Shirou, revive him, and give him a new life.
However, due to the problems of that time, Shirou lost his past memories, becoming like a blank sheet of paper.
So Merlin took Shirou under his wing, caring for and training him. As fellow kings, Merlin and the Round Table members would help Shirou out of both courtesy and reason. In addition, Shirou himself had a good personality and many virtues, and he was quickly accepted by everyone as a new member of the family.
They gave Shirou a new home, and Shirou supported the whole family through his diligent studies. He was truly a good boy.
During the years that Shirou lost his memory, he shared all his past experiences with him, and now Shirou can be said to have surpassed his teacher in some aspects.
Merlin certainly couldn't remember the birthdays of all the guests. Although he did have a good memory, this kind of thing actually required genuine sincerity. If you weren't truly considering others' feelings, and were just pretending, you'd eventually be exposed.
In the entire Kabukicho district of Shinjuku, Shirou is the only person who remembers the birthdays of all his regular customers, cooks for them personally, genuinely cares for them, and celebrates their birthdays. This is probably true for the whole of Tokyo, and even the whole of Japan.
The so-called Hero of Justice uphold the creed of 'one for all!', Shirou is absolutely impeccable in this regard. Even though his profession is male host, he still adheres to his life choice of wanting to make the people around him happy.
His sincerity was not in vain. Although it was very inappropriate in such a place of pretense, the more so, the more people longed for sincerity. Shirou's actions were not understood at first, but gradually he gained more and more recognition and eventually became the recognized top courtesan.
However, he has now regained his past memories, although he vaguely senses that things are not so simple. His current state does not seem to be a case of time travel; he is different from Shirou, who died in the annihilation bombardment by the Cosmic Emperor Gil.
"Excuse me, I'll be back in a moment." To find out what was going on, Shirou declined the invitation from the woman beside him and went alone to the dimly lit corner where the Magus of Flowers was drinking alone.
The handsome man with long silver hair remained seated, quietly sipping his wine, his thoughts unreadable.
"Merlin, I've regained my memories. How are you going to explain this?" Shirou walked up to Merlin, arms crossed, and demanded an explanation.
"Is that so, Shirou? Then it's time for us to take action and save this street," Merlin said confidently.
"Make a move?" Shirou looked at the silver-haired man with a puzzled expression, feeling that he was trying to fool him again, but when it came to the word "save," Shirou felt that he needed to listen to him finish.
"Yes, you've always wanted to be Hero of Justice, so now it's your turn to shine." Merlin raised his glass and gestured.
"What do you want to do?" Shirou asked warily, looking at the man with a bad reputation and a history of various criminal records.
"There's a mastermind behind this street, organizing some very dark crimes," Merlin said mysteriously, lowering his voice.
"The mastermind behind this?!" Shirou exclaimed in surprise.
"Originally, I wanted to tell you after you finished your Magecraft training. But now that you have regained your memories, there is no need to delay any longer," Merlin said, feigning an air of profound mystery.
A year after Shirou was brought to this world by Merlin, an absolute villain suddenly arrived and took control of the entire dark world of Shinjuku.
To be honest, this place wasn't exactly clean to begin with; all sorts of businesses had infiltrated it, making it a serious problem that was stagnant yet persistent.
There are over a hundred organized crime companies here, each owning most of the properties in the area and using them to engage in various kinds of work. These range from talent scouts who lure young women into becoming entertainers on the street, or photographers who look for ordinary people with good looks and physical attributes to shoot with, to online lending companies, managers who distribute flyers for promotion, and debt collection experts who provide after-sales service.
Kabukicho, Tokyo's Nightless, has been a place of diverse people and complex interpersonal relationships since ancient times.
The legalization of the sex industry has spawned all sorts of clubs with various themes, including robot and horror-themed bars that put on wildly exciting shows every night.
From beverage shops where active female high school students accompany customers for meals and conversations, to the recent surge in women-to-women home care services.
The adult toy shops on the street also offer discounts specifically for tourists; with a passport, visitors can get a 15% discount on select items.
However, this opening up has also brought with it the fact that those three things have been inseparable since ancient times.
If you want to gamble, you certainly don't carry that much cash with you, so you'll need a money lender to provide a loan.
If you lose a bet and don't have the money to pay, then debt collectors will come to the rescue.
If you win the gamble and become rich, you need to show off, so you need places to spend your money.
People seek sensory stimulation and the release of desires, and the more numb they become, the stronger their need for these stimuli becomes. Once someone becomes involved with one of these, they are not far from the other two.
Some people enjoy the thrill of having beautiful women in their arms, their blood boiling with lust; others crave the excitement of high-stakes gambles, risking their entire fortunes in a game of luck and intellect; still others crave the exhilarating sensations of their sensory system. When people become addicted to these stimulating things, they will spontaneously seek out new things and various new thrills as soon as they feel a little bored.
In fact, even if he had enough self-control, others still pushed him, pulled him in that direction, and led him to develop in that direction.
Once someone is perceived as a fool with too much money, they'll immediately be surrounded by a group of people trying to scam you. Just because they don't rip you off doesn't mean they're good to you. Then, like meat attracting flies, they'll draw all those who want to make a quick buck.
Having discussed the underworld, let's move on to the legitimate world. Here you'll find geisha favored by high-ranking officials and literati. These are well-bred young ladies who have received training from a young age, mastering tea ceremony, flower arrangement, Tea Ceremony, chess, calligraphy, and painting. They operate on a semi-closed, high-membership system, exclusively for locals, refusing entry to foreign guests. Without a personal guide, they cannot be entertained even with money.
Originally, this special neighborhood had been thriving thanks to the established customs and subtle workings of its past.
But now! This street has also welcomed a dark king. On the surface, he is a mathematics professor at a prestigious university, but in reality, he is the biggest criminal who has emerged this year and is currently making waves internationally.
This new ruler has managed everything in an orderly manner, and it's difficult to see any problems on the surface; in fact, it's been cleaner.
The emergence of the ruler further consolidated the various shops that had previously been operating independently and in disarray, and they worked together under cover to rake in money.
However, each of these crimes was a perfect crime, with no flaws to be found, and all the previous reasoning and investigation seemed to have been in vain.
For a time, the police couldn't find any valid evidence, and without rescue, they couldn't handle the situation. Therefore, the new ruler could remain at large.
"As far as I know, he's recently started aggressively expanding his territory. If it weren't for his wariness of our Knights of the Round Table, most other male host clubs would have already been acquired by him at bargain prices."
"Um... could it be that the other person is a suspicious Bearded Uncle?" Shirou raised an eyebrow and asked Merlin.
"Oh yeah! So it really is the guy you know, Shirou? He's a pretty high-IQ criminal, you know." Merlin said with a smile.
"Hahahaha!!! Spallanzani! Exactly!!!" The familiar, suspicious laughter of an older man surfaced in Shirou's mind.
"Why is he here?... And in Shinjuku no less?!" Shirou exclaimed, covering his face in exasperation.
"This world is one where Servant are more likely to be born, which is why I was able to bring everyone here," Merlin explained, shrugging.
"Although we don't want to do it, we really need to stop him." After hearing Merlin's summary, Shirou, as someone who had personally experienced the Demon Realm, clearly understood how terrifying the other party was, and just what kind of villain this Napoleon of Crime was.
"By the way, Merlin, I have another question," Shirou said.
"Is it a problem with yourself? You seem to be feeling alright now, but there's still a sense of unease. However, this is quite normal, since your current physical body is actually closer to the body formed by the spiritual particles of the Chaldea Master when they were transferred to the Singularity," Merlin said.
Merlin looked at Shirou and said, "Right now, you are actually searching for your own point of convergence, just like when the King participated in the Holy Grail War. You must choose your own destiny."
During the Battle of Camlann, Artoria felt endless regret and thus entered into a contract with the Counter Force, offering to become a Guardian in exchange for seeking the Holy Grail.
Before her wish was fulfilled, the Counter Force froze her time at the moment before her death.
However, later, Artoria experienced the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, from being bewildered and passive in the Fourth Holy Grail War to making decisive decisions in the Fifth Holy Grail War. She accepted her fate and the destiny of the destruction of the ancient kingdom of England.
The Counter Force was thus automatically released, and her time began to flow again at that moment, ultimately leading to the convergence of the world. As long as Bedivere returned the Holy Sword to the Saintess of the Lake, King Arthur's life would come to an end.
This period is etched into the fabric of Human Order; as long as it exists within a universe of the same foundation, all parallel worlds of Artoria will come to an end in this manner.
The King of Knights, having resolved her inner conflicts, will die and become Servant. All stages of her life, her emotional journey, and her actions in the Holy Grail War will be recorded by the world and infused into the Throne of Heroes. She will appear in various forms as Servant of different natures when summoned.
Shirou's current situation is very similar to Artoria's back then. He is also facing a problem: he is drifting in the void of the universe, a chaotic flow of spacetime that connects countless worlds, yet is outside of those worlds.
He will wake up countless times, awakened by countless people in different ways, and then, as a spiritual being with a physical body, live for a period of time in each of his respective worlds. Only when a certain trigger is reached can he end this experience and make the only choice according to his true feelings.