Please Play FGO With Me

The boy's sword instructor was that King of Knights, a blonde girl. Although he ended up specializing in close-quarters combat with dual blades like Red A, his sparring sessions with the girl back then had benefited him greatly.

The secret to martial arts practice lies in treating every swing of the blade as if it were a life-or-death struggle, giving it your all with absolute seriousness.

Now, every time he swung his weapon, it was like a debate with his own inner will.

It had been over ten years since Hikigaya Shirou was reborn into this peaceful world. He was a second-year high school student at Huameng International School. There was no Fuyuki City here; where he lived was now Chiba. His family was middle-class, both parents were busy with work, and he had a lovely sister to keep him company. He felt no dissatisfaction with his current life.

This world was completely different from his previous life. There was no Magecraft, no Holy Grail, no wars. True world peace had been achieved. It was almost like a slice-of-life anime from a light novel, practically his ideal world.

In this world, Hikigaya Shirou found salvation. Here, he experienced the warmth of family affection he never had in his past life, growing up happily under his family's care. His sister, Komachi, understood and tolerated his stubborn personality and flaws.

His family in this world had changed him in many ways, both his beliefs and his thoughts. He possessed a sense of confidence that felt almost predestined.

If he hadn't experienced that fire in his previous life, he surely would have lived a normal, happy life with his family and his sister in that world.

If that had happened, perhaps none of the subsequent events would have occurred...

In his past life, as Shirou Emiya, he was called a 'fake' by the King of Heroes.

It was true that as Shirou Emiya, he had various personality issues, even arguably twisted. Perhaps it was because he was the only survivor of that childhood fire; he always felt it was too unfair that only he was alive and that he had to do something to be worthy of those who had died for him.

Shirou Emiya wanted to bring happiness to everyone he saw, even strangers. He would always put others before himself, and no matter who asked for something, if he could do it, he would accept.

Relying on the wish borrowed from his deceased adoptive father, Kiritsugu, the wish to become an Ally of Justice, he strived his entire life.

Looking back now, Kiritsugu never spoke about himself, so even now, Shirou still didn't understand what Kiritsugu's feelings were at the time.

When he saw Kiritsugu's expression of regret, emptiness, and pain as he was dying, Shirou casually said he would fulfill his ideal of being an Ally of Justice for him.

Upon hearing this, Kiritsugu seemed to relax and died peacefully.

Perhaps it was because he knew his adopted son wouldn't follow his old path and felt at ease.

Or perhaps, by seeing his adopted son, he rediscovered his own original intentions and found redemption.

Or maybe, because of the things he had done in his life, he received his adopted son's acknowledgment and found release.

Shirou Emiya didn't know. He only chose to follow Kiritsugu later and become an Ally of Justice who saved the world like him.

But these were all choices made by Shirou Emiya himself. While the ideal was indeed borrowed from Kiritsugu at first, his own ideal eventually surpassed Shirou Kiritsugu's.

Just like how Kiritsugu didn't teach him the correct methods for Magecraft training, he still became a decent Mage through his own efforts.

Unlike Kiritsugu's idea of saving the many by sacrificing the few.

Shirou Emiya simply couldn't stand by and watch those suffering misfortune before him.

To that end, he even abandoned the lover he was supposed to marry, who was studying at the Clock Tower, and refused the entreaties of the virtuous and considerate junior who had been waiting for him in Touki.

He traveled the world, resolving various incidents and saving countless people.

The last time was when the most severe accident occurred at a nuclear power plant. A meltdown; even if it didn't explode, the release of radioactive materials alone would have killed everyone near the plant within two days.

Everyone else chose to flee, but Shirou Emiya chose to move forward. His protective suit was burned off by electric currents, and he could only maintain his physical actions with Magecraft reinforcement. Reaching the control rod was his limit, but the problem of radioactive materials couldn't be solved.

During this time, Shirou Emiya prayed in his heart to countless mysterious beings, whether it was the Counter Force, other miracles, or all the gods in heaven and earth, but nothing changed.

The Counter Force appeared before him, but for some reason, it suddenly disappeared. It did not accept the contract he was prepared to make, exchanging his life for that of a hundred people.

Shirou Emiya ultimately used his willpower, at the cost of exhausting all his life force, to complete the analysis of his Mystic Eyes, cast Magecraft, solve the meltdown problem, prevent the release of radioactive materials, and then quietly died.

This was the ending the boy experienced in his previous life, and he had no regrets.

Then, heaven gave him a chance, allowing him to be reborn into this new world and choose a new way of life.

This world was so peaceful that even violent incidents were almost nonexistent. The police's job was merely to catch perverts and thieves, so naturally, he didn't need to uphold justice.

As Hikigaya Shirou, both his body and mind were reborn. He was already very different from his time as Shirou Emiya.

Now, he had the warmth of his parents and the understanding of Komachi, along with the bonds of friendship. He still wished to bring happiness to those around him, but he also decided to seek his own 'true self.'

"Good morning! Big bro!" Komachi's cheerful voice came from above. Shirou looked up. The window on the second floor was pushed open, and the cute girl was peeking out, waving at the boy with a smile.

"Oh! Good morning!" The boy put down his wooden sword, resting it on his shoulder, and smiled at his sister upstairs.

With the siblings working together, breakfast and bento boxes were successfully prepared, balancing protein and vitamin intake with a good mix of meat and vegetables.

"Taste test, Komachi helped too!" Komachi said, grabbing a sausage octopus from Shirou's bento box and popping it into her mouth with a mischievous smile like a little cat burglar.

"Good morning~! Komachi, Shirou." At that moment, their parents also yawned and came out of their rooms.

"Good morning, Mom! Good morning, Dad."

After the two adults finished washing up and sat down at the dining table, breakfast was already laid out.

"Here." Shirou handed the prepared rice to his parents.

"Thanks, Shirou. Last night's stew was delicious. We appreciate you making our breakfast too, since you're already making your own bento every day. We could have just eaten out, you know." Shirou's mother said, looking at her mature-for-his-age son.

"It's no trouble. Making two servings is basically the same as making four. No matter how rushed I am, breakfast tastes better at home," Shirou replied as a matter of course.

Komachi chimed in with a smile, "Yeah, Mom, work is tough. Just leave this little thing to us. This is about the only good thing about my brother, after all. The cherry tomatoes and cucumbers were made by Komachi, so be sure to eat them!"

"Mhm, thank you, Komachi," Shirou's mother agreed happily.

Just as expected of Komachi, pleasing Mom while also showing off a bit. This might be why Shirou, despite doing all the work, only gets half the allowance his sister does.

Shirou's mother looked at her son with some concern. "Shirou, while you have your strengths and help me a lot with housework, it's better for a boy to have his own interests and go out with friends more."

Komachi chimed in with her own complaint, "Komachi is worried too! Brother has no hobbies and his life is as regimented as an old man's. If there's no girl around to keep an eye on him, I feel like he'll go gray prematurely. He has a good face, a good head, and good skills, it's such a waste."

"Didn't I already promise to play FGO with you?" Shirou retorted, annoyed. "Besides, I do have some friends at school, and I'm the captain of the Kyudo Club. Why do you guys see me as so pathetic? That's prejudice, isn't it?"

"If you don't show your strengths, no one will know about them. Komachi knows your inner qualities so clearly because we've lived together for over ten years."

"Is that so?" Shirou didn't quite understand.

"Honestly! And it's precisely because Brother is so excellent but still doesn't have a girlfriend that Komachi is anxious! If Brother were someone we found abandoned in a park, Komachi would marry him herself right now!" Komachi declared, clapping her hands together as if to emphasize her point.

"Indeed. Shirou, while he's a worry as a son, if he were to become our son-in-law, I feel our family would become very happy," his mother added, nodding in agreement. Why did such an ideal candidate have to come from my own womb? Who does he take after?

"Hold on! Dad won't agree! Even if Shirou is the most ideal candidate, Dad will never approve!" Shirou's father exclaimed excitedly, slamming the table. As a devoted doting father, he wouldn't back down even for his own son.

"Wait! Why do we have to bring up the topic of 'what if I wasn't born to you'?" Shirou complained. And if I wasn't born to you, you wouldn't have to say it; Komachi would have been my wife the day she turned sixteen!

"Exactly, that's why Brother can never make any breakthroughs with the older girls at school," Komachi taunted.

Shirou's father seized the opportunity to show off in front of his daughter. "Haha, Komachi, forget about this stubborn old man Shirou. Let Dad play games with you. That Fate Go Go Go thing, I've actually downloaded it too."

"No! Dad is an adult. You just need to work hard and support the family," Komachi replied with a smile, refusing.

Truly the second-highest-ranking person in the family, Komachi speaks without holding back. Yes, as the head of the Higashiya family, his only value is being called to the store on holidays to pay for his daughter's purchases.

For some reason, Shirou suddenly felt a sense of pity for his father, like a rabbit mourning another's misfortune.

Thinking about it from this perspective, I'm suddenly curious about what kind of Heroic Spirit Shirou's father will get in his first summon. Will it be the muscular man shouting, "Tell me, are you the oppressor?" or a certain knight disliked by his daughter?

After finishing breakfast, the family members went their separate ways – school for the students, work for the adults.

Hikigaya Shirou parted ways with his family and walked to school alone. Although the school was a bit far, he considered it good exercise and chose to walk.

The pedestrians around him were all engrossed in their phones, tapping away occasionally. Yes, they were all playing the game Fatego, a mobile game that had suddenly appeared a year ago and quickly become incredibly popular. It continued to captivate many, even elementary school children.

On the streets, on buses, on subways, countless people were playing this game.

Office workers played during their commute and then squeezed in every spare moment at work, never idle. Their expressions were like those of warriors, as if they were fighting desperately for some kind of faith.

At this moment, there wasn't a single pedestrian by the roadside who wasn't tapping on their phone. Instead, Shirou, carrying his school bag and walking straight ahead, seemed like an anomaly.

Yet, this game that everyone was enthusiastic about, he still didn't quite understand its appeal. Although you could summon Saber...

When Shirou arrived at the school's Kyudo Club, he found the door still locked.

"Really, these guys are too lazy," Shirou complained helplessly.

It seemed that because of Teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka's instructions yesterday, the other members had decided not to even come for morning practice.

This international high school was a key school focused on college admissions. Most students joined clubs and activities simply for attendance records and credits. Although the Kyudo Club here was considered prestigious in Tokyo, its strength was mainly in individual competitions. The school annually recruited a batch of students with athletic specialties to compete for the school's honor.

Shirou had been the national Kyudo competition champion since his first year of junior high. Now, as the captain of the school's Kyudo Club, he was admitted as a special student, exempt from all tuition fees, provided with a lunch subsidy, and received a monthly scholarship. There were even additional rewards for winning competitions.

Besides being a hobby, his role in the Kyudo Club also had aspects of a job. In fact, besides the Kyudo Club, he had joined another club, and that was where his main focus was. However, with competitions approaching, he made time to practice here every day.

Given his skill level, as long as he didn't encounter someone with a once-in-a-century martial arts lineage or a member of a secret organization emerging, he basically had no chance of losing.

Shirou rummaged through his backpack for the key. Even though it was just him, a promise was a promise. Without innate talent, he had no other choice but to practice day in and day out if he wanted to achieve anything.

Besides, Mash should be coming over soon.

Chapter 07: The Reason for Playing FGO

After Shirou took out the key and opened the door, he changed into his Kyudo uniform and practiced alone for a while. Feeling a bit unmotivated, he sat cross-legged in the Kyudo club room. Bored, he opened his phone screen, wondering what was so great about this game. Although you could summon Saber...

On the left side of the screen, a pale pink-haired girl in a purple tight-fitting suit, holding a large shield, appeared. She looked inexplicably familiar. Although the girls in the game were flat characters and she wasn't wearing glasses, he felt an uncanny resemblance, as if he had just met her yesterday. How could she be so similar to a certain junior student he knew? Especially her aura, and...

Seeing the cute little figure that could talk and move, his fingers couldn't help but want to touch the girl's face. However, his hand slipped and landed on a ball of marshmallows. Even though he only touched the smooth screen.

"Senpai is the worst!" At some point, Mash had appeared behind Shirou and witnessed this scene. She was both embarrassed and angry, her cheeks flushed.

"Mash, this is a misunderstanding. Besides, it's normal for a healthy high school boy to have such impulses," Shirou said casually, turning off his phone screen to explain.

"Senpai really is the worst!" Mash said, turning her head away in embarrassment and anger.

"Could you say that again?" Shirou asked, holding up a finger. Being scolded by the girl's cute voice felt strangely addictive.

"Senpai..." Mash looked at him, flustered. Her senpai, while usually a good-natured and serious person, could be a bit mischievous with those he was close to. It wasn't exactly an unpleasant trait, though.

Mash shook her head and said earnestly, "That's enough! Let's stop with the jokes! I'm going to get really angry if you don't! We have important matters to discuss."

"Important matters?" Shirou looked in confusion at his underclassman who had suddenly become so serious.

Mash took a deep breath and looked at him earnestly. "Since Senpai has accepted this game, I should tell you the truth. Senpai, remember how many times I've talked to you about inviting you to become an Ally of Justice?"

"Yeah," Shirou nodded, recalling the pink-haired girl approaching him directly during the sports competition outside of school. Three months ago, she had suddenly transferred here and joined the Kyudo Club. The girl was clearly not good at lying, yet she was so persistent about this one thing.

"Everything I said is true," Mash stated seriously, tapping her phone to play a video.

"What is going on?" Shirou's eyes changed as he watched the video.

The video showed monsters that clearly belonged in a game, yet the scenes were incredibly realistic. Some of the locations were in city streets, while others were inside abandoned buildings.

There were recordings of a pink-haired girl wielding a shield larger than herself, smashing it against a monster, or blocking its charge. The girl fought various monsters until they were defeated and disappeared into black smoke.

Mash began to explain the situation to her senpai. In reality, these monsters, like her, were from another world.

After saving Human Order in Chaldea, Mash and Gudako stood on a snowy mountain, gazing at the azure sky. On the night Da Vinci made contact with the outside Mage's Association, the world underwent another inexplicable change.

Contact with the outside world was once again severed, and the Spiritron of the Heroic Spirits residing in Chaldea became unstable. Some were losing combat ability, and some were even disappearing. Strangely, Fou seemed to have regained his advanced intelligence and stabilized.

Various Magecraft-related facilities in Chaldea also experienced numerous problems.

Observations from the Near Future Observation Lens - Sheba showed that the world depicted by the Pseudo-Earth Environment Model - Compounding had undergone a massive change. Outside Magecraft was gradually disappearing, Earth's mana was on the verge of depletion, and Magecraft would face extinction in the near future, becoming dust in history.

The Spirit Calculation Device - Trismegistus became unstable, making Spiritron Transfer difficult.

The connection between the Heroic Spirit Summoning System - Fate and the Hall of Heroes also weakened, making it difficult to increase combat power without establishing a new summoning mechanism.