Sorry, Handsome Guy / Grandpa's Gil ...

At that moment, a young man wearing a hat pushed open the door and walked in. He took off his hat, revealing a languid, artistic air and the face of a Trojan uncle with a beard.

"Welcome... It's you." Shirou, recognizing the visitor, spoke casually, a stark contrast to his previous tone.

"Hey, Shirou, don't be so cold. Even I, your uncle, would be hurt by it," the mustachioed foreign man said, leaning against the bar.

"Please have some. Speak your mind, drink this and then go home. Don't bother me while I'm doing business, and don't try to take advantage of my customers." Shirou poured a cup of freshly brewed coffee and handed it to the disheveled, handsome middle-aged man.

His current persona is that of a gentle, artistic older man, but in reality, he's just a homeless, womanizing, and gigolo. Today he might be flirting with a white-collar worker leaving get off work on the east side of the street, and tomorrow he might be chatting with a mature woman who owns a clothing store on the west side of the street. He's also open to married women who are lonely and empty while their husbands are away on business trips.

Given Shirou's personality, he wouldn't get along with such a womanizing scumbag.

Although, in Hector's words, these are all just his character settings, his character settings. Because he is very gentle, he would not reject any woman.

Chapter 507 Sorry, Handsome Guy

"Haha, what a passionate young man! I'm just here to inform you..." Hector casually accepted the coffee and drank it. Then he looked up, a serious expression on his face, and said, "... the borders are starting to shrink again."

"Hmm, I knew it. Where was it found?" Shirou recalled the strange phenomenon he had witnessed involving Brynhildr.

Hector finished his coffee and said with a smile, "I was thinking of holding an exhibition of forgeries, maybe selling a few Mona Lisa paintings, but this morning I discovered that the agreed-upon museum has vanished. Well, to be precise, it's reached a place beyond my reach."

"I'll go investigate. Shouldn't you stay and meet with Jeanne d'Arc?" Shirou nodded, then looked at the man who had stood up and asked.

The middle-aged man put on his artsy-looking long hat and said nonchalantly, "Well, she'll probably be angry if she sees me. Although we're parting ways, I've done everything I wanted to do in these past few years. After all, I've been able to date beautiful ladies every day, so even if I disappear one day, I won't have any regrets."

"If you don't want to upset Jeanne d'Arc, I think it would be better if you were more loyal and devoted," Shirou suggested.

"No, no, that's just how she portrayed me as a heartless guy." As he was leaving, Hector peeked out from under his hat, glanced at Shirou, and said with a nonchalant smile:

"But... we don't want to see her sad. It'll be up to you then, buddy. The coffee's great, see you later."

The wind chimes by the door swayed as the man walked out of the cafe, and then the door closed.

Shirou watched him leave without saying anything or finding any words of comfort. This was something the silver-haired girl understood from the very beginning when she decided to create this world.

Imitation Heroic Spirits, an existence that only managed to move around in this Small Town thanks to the magic of the Holy Grail and the remaining scattered power of the world. Although it has an appearance and Spirit Origin Servant that are almost identical to the highly famous Servant.

But inside are new souls with completely different personalities. The silver-haired girl's intentional or unintentional desires, and the Holy Grail through the Third Magic, allow them to be born in distinct states.

But a fake is still a fake. Once the balance of this world is broken, or the immense magical power of the Holy Grail is lost, everything will come to an end.

Like a fragile bubble, it could burst and vanish with the slightest breeze, leaving nothing behind.

But at the same time, she is also a silver-haired girl who wholeheartedly acknowledges the companions, and even family, whom she created with her own hands...

In the past, the silver-haired girl who obtained the Holy Grail never forgot these people. So, in this world, when she discovered that she could borrow the power of the world from Shirou.

The silver-haired girl made her choice. She didn't alter the world for her own desires, but rather to allow her companions to live within it. She created this small, albeit somewhat cramped, world, providing new identities—or rather, settings—for her former Servant and all Servants who wished to experience life in the present. She crafted an ideal paradise for them.

Like the Shinjuku Demon Realm before it, this sealed space holds a strong attraction for certain spirits. Like the Phantasmal Spirit of the Shinjuku Demon Realm, this place is also suitable for the activities of Imitation Heroic Spirits or Servant from other abnormal Servant systems.

Artificial Servant from the electronic world, like Lilith and Lip, have their own physical defects, but once they arrive here, due to the world's power distribution settings, they can also obtain human bodies.

However, such a paradise can only sustain a small part of the land. For ordinary people, everything here is commonplace in their eyes. But for the Servant, the difference between the town and the outside world is clearly visible.

This place is like being covered by a glass dome, centered on the academy's small hill, extending outwards to several surrounding towns with a radius of tens of kilometers. If it goes beyond this range, the magic that is active cannot be maintained.

Now, this distance is slowly shrinking, and it's now only within a radius of less than ten kilometers. At the same time, the magical power of the Imitation Heroic Spirits has become unstable, and sometimes they suddenly disappear.

Whether it was Shirou, the other Imitation Heroic Spirits, or the silver-haired girl, they all knew that this was a harbinger, a signal of the changes that were about to happen in this world.

Shirou changed his clothes, closed the café door, turned the sign to "Closed," and headed towards the place Hector had mentioned where the art exhibition was being held. When he arrived, he indeed saw the boundary line of the magical shield imprinted on the ground.

Previously, this boundary line clearly encompassed the building. But now it extends more than a meter away from the building's corners, indicating that the transparent boundary line has shrunk considerably.

This magical shield was transparent and colorless, and had no effect on ordinary people. People on the roadside walked through it freely.

Shirou stepped over the transparent barrier and observed the changes around him, but he couldn't find any human factors. Everything seemed to be a natural phenomenon of the shrinking area caused by the depletion of the magic power that maintained the small world.

As Shirou stepped inside again, he saw a man looking around ahead who accidentally bumped half of his body into a roadside telephone pole.

The man involuntarily lowered his head to apologize, but he immediately straightened his chest as if by reflex and said...

"I'm sorry... no, there's nothing to apologize for! Even if I bumped into someone, I was the one who got bumped into. It's because I'm not physically fit. I'm absolutely not at fault!"

La la la...

The utility pole that was hit was dented, with a dent about the width of a shoulder, and several pieces of debris fell from it.

"No! Your body is on par with a high-ranking dragon, no ordinary human can compare to you." Shirou retorted to the handsome long-haired man who was not at all apologetic.

"Ah, Manager Shirou. You're here to investigate too?" Siegfried turned around, saw Shirou, and greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, Siegfried, didn't you see me coming from over there?" Shirou asked.

"Yes, the area outside this small world is a dark, insurmountable wall for us," Siegfried said, shaking his head.

Chapter 508 Grandfather Gil

For Shirou, it was just a transparent, colorless boundary line, something he could easily cross, like any passerby. But for the Imitation Heroic Spirits, it was like an insurmountable chasm, seemingly impossible to cross.

At the entrance of the building where Hector had mentioned wanting to hold an art exhibition, there was no sign of any promotion or commotion; the calm and tranquility was chilling and unsettling.

For the people there, the promise with Hector might have become a mere illusion, a dream. Once they left the area beyond that border, the dream would end.

"Manager Shirou, did you make any interesting discoveries while you were out there?" Siegfried asked Shirou.

"No... this is just a natural phenomenon caused by the shrinking of space after magic power is depleted," Shirou said, shaking his head.

"Is that so? Is that so? That's only natural. We were already mentally prepared." Siegfried said with a hint of helplessness, but also as if he didn't want Shirou to worry, so he showed a relieved smile. He really is a good person.

Without warning or external interference, everything happened suddenly and irreversibly. Like a sudden natural disaster, it struck silently and invisibly, bringing immense suffering to humankind.

Siegfried and his companions, however, knew this was the outcome, yet they were powerless to prevent or stop it—and that was the most painful part.

The two talked as they walked, heading into the town, and soon arrived in front of a shop.

Above the shop door hangs a raised signboard with an imprint of a cup and a Gallic rooster. The wooden doors and windows, along with the iron decorations, give it the style of a French Black Tea House.

Every day in the afternoon, the French in Paris will unanimously put down their work, come to Black Tea House, find a seat, order some pastries and tea, and leisurely spend half an hour enjoying afternoon tea.

This is Black Tea House with an exotic atmosphere, opened in accordance with French tea culture.

"Please come in and have a seat," Siegfried said to Shirou as he stood in front of the Black Tea House.

"Ah, so this is also where you guys operate. You worked at the shop owned by Bluebeard Caster." Shirou looked at the shop and suddenly realized.

"Yes, after all, that person held genuine love for our Jeanne d'Arc, and it would be fair to call him 'father.' He was like a grandfather to us."

"Ah, but my girls have all kicked him out. They even said he's not allowed to go anywhere within three kilometers of the school." Shirou sighed, thinking of that eccentric Caster. Even such a crazy guy still kept his promise to Jeanne d'Arc.

At the time, Gil opened a waiter-and-wait Black Tea House as if it were a curse, hoping to compete with Shirou's café. However, as an unwanted father, he was driven out of the Small Town three kilometers away by the blonde and silver-haired girls. So, Shirou had never noticed the changes here.

"Yes, I can assure you that he hasn't done anything evil in this world. After all, his greatest wish has already been fulfilled. Of course... if his personality weren't so extreme, that would be even better," Siegfried said with a helpless expression.

"Hmm?" Shirou looked at Siegfried with suspicion, feeling that there was something more to the fake Great Hero's words than met the eye, as if there was some hidden story behind them.

"Anyway, come in." Siegfried opened the door and invited Shirou in.

"Hohoho, you're finally back, Zieg!" A strange, hoarse laugh, like that of an old witch, suddenly came from inside, and a huge blue shadow came towards them.

"I'm back, Mama-san," Siegfried, who led the way in, replied to the newcomer.

"Huh?" Shirou exclaimed in surprise, because the Magecraft he saw when he went in was now dressed as a hostess at a Shinjuku host club. His eerie blue skin was now covered with blush on both cheeks, and his large, fish-like mouth was painted with heavy lipstick. However, his huge fish eyes remained unchanged. He seemed even more terrifying than before.

At that moment, Gilles de Rais also saw Shirou, and angrily yelled, pulling out a handkerchief with his long, thick arm and biting it, saying, "Ruru ruru ruru...! Emiya--! Why! Why are you here, you bastard?"

"So... what does this have to do with your current outfit?" Shirou asked, puzzled.

"Even if Jeanne d'Arc doesn't acknowledge me as their father, I'll just add my softer side and become their mother!" Gilles de Rais spread his arms, bulging his dead fish eyes, and said with unparalleled fanaticism.

"No, no, you're even scarier now," Shirou said.

Normally, if any one of the three Jeanne d'Arc were walking down the street with their classmates and suddenly saw a transvestite madam, nearly 2 meters tall, wearing high heels and heavy makeup, approaching them and greeting them warmly, they would surely be terrified and turn away.

Even Saint Joan of Arc wouldn't be able to properly introduce these people to her classmates then.

Hmm... thinking about it this way, Gilles de Rais's outfit... seems really pathetic.

Shirou looked at Gil, the transvestite madam, and covered his face in sorrow.

"Rumble!!! Emiya--! You man who lives with three Jeanne d'Arc at the same time, making them jealous and sleepless every night, heretic! Evil creature! Just wait! Soon I will surpass you and take everything that belongs to you! Whether it's running the teahouse or your motherly tolerance! Then my beloved Saintess! My Jeanne d'Arc! They will all return to my side!" Gilles de Rais looked at Shirou and said with a strange laugh, like a villain in a horror movie.

"Gilles de Rais, I suggest you change your current attire first..." Shirou advised.

"What are you talking about! I've received compliments on my current outfit. There's this guy named Ryunosuke whose taste is way better than yours!" Gil said, looking at Shirou with disbelief.

That being said, this guy's tastes are very different from those of ordinary humans. Perhaps only someone known as a psychopathic killer, someone who uses human skin as a form of artistic expression, could have anything in common with him.

Shirou felt that the guy named Ryunosuke was probably quite suspicious, so he decided it was best to call the police first.

Chapter 509 Gil's Black Tea House

Faced with Gilles de Rais, who was hostile to him, Shirou realized that no matter how he tried to persuade him, it was all in vain.

"Well, Shirou- nii, let Mama-san decide for you. Although I initially felt it was a bit inappropriate, as long as he doesn't leave the bar and only works in the kitchen, the shop is receiving unanimous praise, and business is booming." At this moment, the handsome boy with long red hair and a braid walked over, patted Shirou on the shoulder, and advised him.

"Do you think it's okay to just let him be like this?" Shirou turned to look at the handsome young man who would one day travel across Eurasia and Africa.

"Because I'm currently playing the role of a well-behaved younger brother, hehe~!" The handsome Alexander winked playfully.

He studied under Aristotle and was one of the most brilliant strategists in the West at the time. He was not only a brave warrior but also an outstanding military strategist and diplomat. If he hadn't died young and hadn't had time to reclaim power, his generals might have become too powerful.

After all, many of the generals who divided his inheritance and held absolute power were his childhood sweethearts and classmates. The strongest of the soldiers he had personally promoted was his teacher.

And now this person is saying he'll let Gil run rampant? Can't he produce anyone even the Conqueror King couldn't use?

"Alright, alright, Gil, we have guests coming, hurry back to the kitchen." The handsome young man Alexander pushed Gilles de Rais's mother towards the inner kitchen of the Black Tea House.

No... it seems they just found it troublesome and relegated Gilles de Rais to the back to handle logistics.

"But... is this really okay?" Shirou looked at Gilles de Rais, who had completely gone berserk and turned into a madam. Gildre's appearance, which was already good enough to be a monster in a tokusatsu movie, was now covered in lipstick and blush, making him even more terrifying in some ways.

"Hmm..." Siegfried turned his head away and agreed.

Even if someone like that is kept in the kitchen, is that really enough?

Don't you consider him like a grandmother... no, a grandfather?

At that moment, the door was pushed open, and the people who walked in were not customers, but two men who were employees of the store.

"What? Isn't this the coffee shop manager? Here to check the enemy situation? Sure, let's get this going." The black-haired, brown-skinned Persian Great Hero laughed heartily and greeted them.

"No, I'm just a guest." Shirou waved his hand and said. If he hadn't run into Siegfried today, he wouldn't have come in. In his memory, this shop was still just something he had glanced at once when he passed by.

"Hmph, since you're here, where are the girls?" The handsome, dark-skinned man with curly hair, wearing glasses and a blue and white striped suit vest, exuded a cool and aloof charm. He was none other than Arjuna, the Great Hero from Indian epic. As he spoke, he surveyed his surroundings, but unfortunately, he didn't find any girls.

"I'm coming alone this time," Shirou said.

However, according to the setting of this world, they should both be handsome guys from arts and sciences departments. They are good at a certain subject, and then they give the female protagonist personal tutoring. Then, accidentally, they hold hands or kiss each other because their faces are too close. This kind of development is a common trope in female-oriented dating games.

"Is that so? Then just find somewhere to sit down. There are already customers coming over, so don't interfere with our business. We'll bring you some delicious tea and snacks later." After saying this with his sharp tongue, Arjuna walked directly towards the staff's room inside.

"Ah, he means he'll treat you well later, so don't rush off. Let's go inside and change into our uniforms, see you later." Arash smiled and waved, then followed him inside.

"Hmm..." Shirou didn't care what others said, but he was increasingly confused about the nature of this shop.

That being said, excluding Gilles de Rais, who's dressed as a madam, the staff at this shop includes a group of well-behaved and adorable younger brothers, arrogant and handsome guys who never apologize, and handsome guys with excellent shooting skills who are both arts and science majors.

Then the door was pushed open, and this time, real customers entered the store.

"Oh, little brother Alex, you came all this way today!"

"Yes, I knew Sister Alice would be coming, so I rushed over as soon as school was over." The handsome young man smiled brightly and went to greet her.

"Huh? Really? You didn't skip school, did you?"

"Is it not okay if I skip school for my sister?" The handsome young man looked at the woman with pitiful eyes.

"No... I'm so happy!!"

"Yes, I mean well too!"

"But skipping school is no good, you know. Even if your Elder Sister gets here first, she'll definitely wait for you. So be careful, and it's okay to come slowly."

"Yeah, I know! Sister~!" The handsome young man wrapped his arms around the young lady's neck, revealing a 'winner' expression from an angle that no one but Shirou could see.

To compete with Shirou's coffee shop, this place seems to have put in a lot of effort. Besides providing food, they also offer companionship and conversation services, which is arguably their main source of income. After all, no matter how hard they try, they can't compete with Shirou's shop when it comes to food.

One by one, other guests arrived after work. They were mostly women between twenty-five and thirty, and they seemed to be regulars. The Servant, dressed in various gorgeous and dashing outfits, went up to greet and entertain the familiar guests.

They moved back and forth in the kitchen, chatting methodically with each female customer and recommending the teas in the shop.

Shirou flipped open the menu on the table and exclaimed in surprise, "So expensive!"

The drinks and snacks inside were two or even three times the price of those in his shop. However, what puzzled Shirou even more was that he had been sitting there for so long, yet he hadn't seen a single male customer. Where was Mr. Ryunosuke?

Looking closer, another section of the menu has a red heart circled above it, indicating what special services are offered?