The Youth's swordsmanship teacher had been the blonde King of Knights. Though he had taken up a martial path like Red A's, specializing in close combat with dual blades, sparring with the girl back then had benefited him immensely.
The secret to martial arts practice was to treat every swing of the blade as a life-or-death battle and give it one's all in earnest.
Now, every time he swung down his weapon, he was debating his own inner will.
Since Hikigaya Shirou had been reborn into this peaceful world, more than ten years had passed. He was a second-year high school student at Huameng International School. There was no Fuyuki City here; the place where he lived had become Chiba. His family was comfortably middle-class, both parents worked, and he had an adorable younger sister by his side. He had never felt dissatisfied with his current life.
This world was entirely different from his previous life. There was no magecraft, no Holy Grail, no war. World peace had truly been achieved. It was practically like a slice-of-life series from a light novel or anime—almost exactly the world he had once dreamed of.
In this world, Hikigaya Shirou had found salvation. Here, he experienced the warmth of family that he had failed to experience in his previous life. He had grown up happily under his family's care, and his younger sister Komachi understood him, accepting both his stubborn personality and his flaws.
His family in this world had changed him greatly, both in his beliefs and his way of thinking. Somewhere deep down, he possessed a quiet confidence.
If he had not encountered that fire in his previous life, he surely would have lived an ordinary, happy life with his family and the younger sister he had had in that world.
If that had happened, perhaps none of what followed would ever have happened...
In his previous life, as Shirou Emiya, the King of Heroes had called him a "fake."
Indeed, Shirou Emiya had all kinds of personality issues. He could even be called warped. Perhaps it was because he had been the only one to survive that childhood inferno. He always felt that it was too selfish for only him to remain alive. He had to do something to be worthy of those who had died in his place.
Shirou Emiya had wanted everyone he saw before him to be happy. Even if they were strangers, he would put them before himself. No matter who asked him for something, as long as it was within his power, he would accept.
Relying on the wish he had borrowed from his deceased adoptive father, Kiritsugu—the wish to become an Ally of Justice—he had fought for it his entire life.
Looking back now, Kiritsugu had never spoken about himself, so even now, Shirou still did not know what Kiritsugu had been feeling at the time.
When he saw the empty, agonized expression on Kiritsugu's face as he lay dying, full of regret, he had blurted out that he would fulfill Kiritsugu's ideal of becoming an Ally of Justice in his place.
After hearing those words, Kiritsugu seemed to relax and quietly passed away.
Had he felt at ease because he knew his adopted son would not follow in his old footsteps?
Or had he found his original resolve again in his adopted son and received salvation?
Or perhaps, because his adopted son had acknowledged all that he had done in his life, he had finally let go.
Shirou Emiya did not know. He had merely chosen afterward to follow Kiritsugu and become an Ally of Justice who saved the world, just like him.
But all of that had truly been Shirou Emiya's own choice. At first, that ideal had indeed been borrowed from Kiritsugu, but later, his ideal had surpassed Kiritsugu Emiya's.
Just as Kiritsugu had never taught him the correct way to train in magecraft, yet he had still become a capable magus through his own efforts.
Unlike Kiritsugu, who had wanted to save the many even if it meant sacrificing the few.
Shirou Emiya simply could not stand by when people before his eyes encountered misfortune.
For that, he had abandoned the lover at the Clock Tower to whom he had originally promised his life, and rejected the pleas of the gentle, considerate underclassman who had waited for him all along in Touki.
He had traveled across the world, resolving all manner of incidents and saving batch after batch of people.
The last time had been when a nuclear power plant suffered its worst possible accident: a core meltdown. Even if it did not explode, the release of radioactive substances alone would kill everyone near the plant within two days.
Everyone else had chosen to flee, but Shirou Emiya had chosen to move forward. His protective suit had been burned away by electrical currents. He could only barely keep his body moving through reinforcement magecraft. Reaching the control rods had already been his limit, but he had no way to solve the problem of the radioactive materials.
During that time, Shirou Emiya had prayed in his heart to countless mysterious existences—the Counter Force, miracles of every kind, gods and Buddhas alike—but nothing changed.
The Counter Force had once appeared before him, yet for some reason it suddenly vanished again. It had not accepted the contract he had been prepared to agree to, trading himself for the lives of a hundred people.
In the end, Shirou Emiya had relied on his own willpower. At the cost of exhausting all his life force, he completed the Mystic Eyes of Analysis, cast his magecraft, resolved the core meltdown, prevented the release of radioactive substances, and then quietly died.
That had been the ending the Youth experienced in his previous life, and he had never regretted it.
Then heaven gave him an opportunity, allowing him to be reborn in this new world and choose a new way of living.
This world was so peaceful that even violent incidents were almost nonexistent. The police only had to catch perverts and thieves, so naturally, there was no need for him to uphold justice.
As Hikigaya Shirou, both his body and mind had been reborn. He had become very different from the Shirou Emiya he once was.
Now, he had the warmth of his parents, Komachi's understanding, and the bonds of friends. He still hoped to make those around him happy, but he had also decided to seek his own "genuine thing."
"Morning, Brother!" Komachi's cheerful voice came from above. Shirou looked up to see the upstairs window pushed open, an adorable girl leaning out and grinning as she waved at him.
"Oh! Good morning!" The Youth put away his wooden sword and rested it over his shoulder, smiling at his younger sister upstairs.
Everyone Was Playing FGO
After finishing his training and putting away the wooden sword, it was already six-thirty in the morning. After wiping his face and washing his hands, Shirou began preparing breakfast. He made six servings of rice, including lunchboxes for himself and Komachi.
Because their mother was busy with work, the children of the Higashiya family had made their own lunchboxes ever since middle school. It used to be Shirou alone, but now he and Komachi took turns. This week happened to be his turn.
Shirou was washing the rice when Komachi, having finished getting ready, came over with a grin that showed her little canine teeth.
"Move aside!" Komachi stuck out her rear, jumped, and bumped into Shirou, squeezing her Brother farther in.
Knocked back two steps, Shirou gave his younger sister an annoyed look. "You don't have to help. It was my turn to cook anyway."
"I'm not helping! Komachi just wants to make breakfast with Brother. Leave the washing vegetables to me! That earned lots of Komachi points just now!" Komachi winked at the Youth and laughed happily.
"Is that so? Then I'll leave the washing and cutting preparations to you. In that case, I'll show you what I can really do." Shirou readily agreed, pulling himself together to make a high-quality breakfast worthy of his younger sister's help.
"Okay! Leave it to me!" Komachi efficiently rinsed all the vegetables clean, put the cherry tomatoes in a bowl, and skillfully sliced the cucumbers into evenly thick pieces that would surely be crisp when bitten.
"You've gotten better and better at cooking." Shirou watched her and nodded approvingly.
"Hehe, that's because Brother is such a good teacher. Of course, Komachi the disciple is also a super genius! The teacher praised me in cooking class." Komachi said with a proud smile.
Komachi truly had a talent for cooking. A year ago, Shirou had still been teaching her everything. Now, for quite a few dishes, her skill had caught up to his. The only reason his cooking remained better was the wealth of experience he had accumulated traveling the world in his previous life.
With the siblings working together, breakfast and their lunchboxes were smoothly completed, with a good balance of meat and vegetables to provide both protein and vitamins.
"Taste test! Komachi helped too!" Saying that, Komachi reached into Shirou's lunchbox, grabbed a little octopus sausage, stuffed it into her mouth, and flashed a grin like a mischievous little cat.
"Good morning, Komachi, Shirou." At that moment, their parents came out of their room, yawning.
"Good morning, Mother! Good morning, Father."
By the time the two adults had finished washing up and sat at the table, breakfast had already been laid out.
"Here." Shirou handed the bowls of rice he had served to his parents.
"Thanks, Shirou. The stew you made last night was delicious. We make you prepare your own lunch every day, and now we even trouble you to make breakfast for us. You've worked hard. The two of us could eat breakfast outside, you know." Hachiman's mother looked at her unusually mature son as she spoke.
"It's nothing. Making enough for two people or four is basically the same. No matter how rushed we are, breakfast tastes better at home, right?" Shirou answered as if it were obvious.
Komachi smiled and added, "That's right, Mother. You work hard, so leave these little things to us. Brother only has these few good points left, anyway. Also, Komachi made the cherry tomatoes and cucumbers, so make sure to eat plenty."
"Mm, thank you, Komachi." Hachiman's mother replied happily.
As expected of Komachi. While winning over their mother, she did not forget to show herself off. Perhaps that was why Shirou worked himself to the bone while his allowance was only half his younger sister's.
Hachiman's mother looked at her son with some concern. "Shirou, although you have your own strengths and help me a great deal with housework, as a boy, it would be better if you had some hobbies and went out with friends more often."
Komachi began complaining as well. "Komachi is worried too. Brother doesn't have any hobbies, and his life is as regular as some stubborn old man's. If there isn't a girl around to keep an eye on him, it feels like he'll turn gray-haired before long. He clearly has a decent face, a good head, and good reflexes. What a waste."
"Didn't I already agree to play FGO with you?" Shirou retorted unhappily. "And I do have some friends at school, more or less. I'm even the captain of the Kyudo Club. Why do you see me as such a hopeless case? Isn't that prejudice?"
"If you don't show off your strengths, no one will know about them. Komachi only knows your inner virtues so well because she's lived with Brother for more than ten years."
"Is that so?" Shirou did not really understand.
"Seriously! And it's because Brother is so outstanding but still doesn't have a girlfriend that Komachi is anxious! If Brother had been picked up from a park, that would be perfect. Komachi would have personally claimed him by now!" Komachi said, bringing her palms together with exaggerated force.
"That's true. Shirou may be worrying as a son, but if he became our family's son-in-law, I feel like the whole family would be very happy." Mother agreed with a look of approval, wondering why such an excellent candidate had come out of her own womb. Who exactly did he take after?
"Hold it! Father won't approve! Even if Shirou really is the ideal candidate, Father absolutely won't accept it!" Upon hearing his precious daughter's words, Hachiman's father slapped the table and shouted excitedly. As a seasoned daughter devotee, he would not yield an inch, not even to his biological son.
"Wait! Why does this have to turn into a discussion of how it would be nice if I weren't biologically related to you?" Shirou complained. Besides, if they were not related, he would have married Komachi the moment she turned sixteen without needing them to say anything!
"That's exactly why Brother can never make any progress with the older sisters at school." Komachi said mockingly.
Taking the opportunity to show himself off before his daughter, Hachiman's father said, "Ahaha, Komachi, forget about stubborn, old-fashioned Shirou. Let Father play games with you instead. That Fate whatever gogogo game—I downloaded it too."
"No. Father is an adult, so you only need to work properly and support the family." Komachi declined with a smile.
Worthy of Komachi, second in the household hierarchy. She did not spare anyone with her words. Yes, as the head of the Higashiya family, Father's only value was probably being called to the store by phone on his days off to pay for his daughter's purchases.
For some reason, Shirou suddenly felt a sorrowful sense of kinship.
Thinking about it from that angle, he suddenly became curious what Servant Hachiman's father had pulled on his first roll would be. Would it be the muscular man shouting, "Tell me, are you an oppressor?" Or some knight despised by his daughter?
After breakfast, the family headed off in their respective directions. Those who needed to go to school went to school, and those who needed to work went to work.
After parting with his family, Hikigaya Shirou walked to school alone. Though the school was somewhat far away, it was just right for exercising, so he chose to walk.
The pedestrians around him were all playing on their phones, tapping the screens now and then. Yes, they were all playing FGO, the mobile game that had suddenly appeared a year ago and quickly become wildly popular. Even now, it continued to captivate many people, including elementary school children.
On the streets, on buses, and in the subway, there were countless people playing that game.
Office workers played it on their commute, then thoroughly squeezed their spare moments at the company for more time, never resting for a second. Their expressions made them look like Warriors, as though they were struggling desperately for some kind of faith.
At that moment, every pedestrian by the roadside was tapping away at a phone. Shirou, carrying his schoolbag and walking straight ahead, instead became the odd one out.
But he still did not really understand what was so interesting about the game everyone was obsessed with, even though it let you roll for Saber...
When Shirou arrived at the school's Kyudo Club and pushed the door, he found it still locked.
"Seriously, these guys are way too lazy." Shirou complained helplessly.
It seemed that, because of Shizuka Hiratsuka's instructions yesterday, the other members had simply decided not to come for morning practice at all.
This International High School was a prestigious school focused on advancing to higher education. Most students joined clubs only for attendance and credits. Although its Kyudo Club was considered famous even in Tokyo, it was really only strong in individual competitions. Every year, the school specially recruited a group of athletic students to win honors for it.
Shirou had defended the national kyudo championship ever since his first year of middle school. Now, on the condition that he serve as captain of the school's Kyudo Club, he had entered this school as a specially recruited student. All tuition was waived, he received a lunch subsidy and a monthly scholarship, and he would receive extra rewards if he won competitions.
Besides being an interest, the Kyudo Club also had the nature of a job for him. In fact, apart from the Kyudo Club, he had joined another club. That one was more his real home ground, but with a competition approaching, he made time to practice here every day.
With his ability, unless he encountered some once-in-a-century inheritor of ancient martial arts or a member of a mysterious organization coming out of seclusion, there was basically no chance of losing.
Shirou rummaged through his backpack for the key. Even though he was alone, an agreement was an agreement. Without talent, he had no other choice if he wanted to achieve anything besides practicing day after day.
Besides, Mash should be arriving soon.
The Reason to Play FGO
After Shirou took out the key and opened the door, he changed into his kyudo uniform and practiced alone for a while. Somehow, he could not get himself worked up, so he sat cross-legged inside the Kyudo Club room. Bored, he opened his phone screen and wondered what was so good about this game, even though it let you roll for Saber.
On the left side of the screen was a light pink-haired girl in a purple bodysuit, holding a massive shield. She looked inexplicably familiar. The girl in the game was only a two-dimensional character and was not wearing glasses.
Yet she felt so familiar, as if he had met her only yesterday. How could she resemble a certain underclassman beside him so much? Especially that temperament, and...
Seeing that adorable little person who could talk and move, his finger could not help wanting to touch her face. But his hand slipped and landed on that pair of marshmallows instead, though all he touched was the smooth screen.
"Senior, you're the worst!" At some point, Mash had come to stand behind Shirou and witnessed the scene. She was now embarrassed and angry, her cheeks flushed red.
"Mash, this is really a misunderstanding. Besides, healthy Male High School Students all have urges like this sometimes, right?" Shirou casually turned off his phone screen and explained.
"Senior, you're the worst after all!" Mash turned her head away in embarrassment and anger.
"Please say that one more time." Shirou raised a finger in request. Being scolded in the girl's adorable voice somehow sounded rather addictive.
"Senior..." Mash glared at the Youth in embarrassment and anger. Although this Senior was usually a goody-two-shoes who looked very serious, he was somewhat mischievous around people he knew well. Still, she did not exactly dislike that.
Mash shook her head and said seriously, "Enough! Stop joking around! Otherwise, I really will get angry. We have important business to discuss."
"Important business?" Shirou looked at his underclassman in confusion as she suddenly became so serious.
Mash took a deep breath and looked at the Youth with great seriousness. "Since Senior has accepted this game, I should tell you the truth. Senior, do you remember that I told you many times about inviting you to become an Ally of Justice?"
"Mm." Shirou nodded, remembering the scene when the pink-haired girl had approached him directly during an interschool athletic competition. Three months ago, she had suddenly transferred here and joined the Kyudo Club. The girl clearly was not good at lying, but she had been unusually persistent about this one matter.
"Everything I said was true." Mash spoke seriously and tapped her phone to play a video.
"What is this?" Shirou's expression changed as he watched it.
The footage showed monsters that clearly seemed like they should only exist in games, yet the scenes were incomparably real. Some locations were city streets, while others were inside abandoned buildings.
A pink-haired girl wielded a shield larger than herself, smashing it into a monster or blocking its charge. The footage showed the girl fighting different monsters, until they were defeated and dissolved into black smoke.
Mash began explaining the reason behind it. In truth, those monsters, like her, came from another world.
After Chaldea had saved humanity, Mash and Gudako stood atop a snowy mountain and gazed at the blue sky. Then, on the night Da Vinci had established contact with the outside Mage's Association, an unknown anomaly occurred in the world once more.
Contact with the outside was cut off again, and the Saint Graphs of the Servants living in Chaldea became unstable. Some lost part of their combat ability, while others vanished from existence entirely. Strangely, Fou instead seemed to have regained higher intelligence and settled down.
Chaldea's various magecraft-related facilities also developed all kinds of problems.
Through the observations of the Near Future Observation Lens - Sheba, the world displayed by the pseudo-Earth environment model, Chaldeas, had undergone enormous changes. Magecraft-related things in the outside world were gradually disappearing, Earth's magical energy was on the verge of depletion, and magecraft would soon face extinction, becoming dust in history.
The Spiritron Calculation Device - Trismegistus became unstable, making Spiritron Transfer difficult.
The connection between the Servant summoning system, Fate, and the Hall of Heroes also grew faint. Before a new summoning mechanism could be established, increasing their combat strength would become difficult.
Before you continue