032, His Future Was That Awesome?

The icy aura spread through the night. Shirou Emiya struggled to suppress the fear in his heart, turned around, and faced Rimuru head-on—

"Oh? You're not running?"

"Against Archer, turning my back on you and running would be the stupidest decision, wouldn't it?" Still, Shirou Emiya said gravely, "Well, anyway, if you want to fight, I'll oblige. I may only be a half-baked Magician, but I'm still a Magician..."

"...You really do talk big, considering you were still learning how to practice magecraft today... Still, it seems you really have grown quite a bit lately. At least..."

"You know you can't run when facing me. That's rather interesting." Rimuru chuckled softly. The cold night wind swept across his cheeks, making the long hair behind him sway. "Actually, I'm rather conflicted."

He spread his hands. "To be honest, I don't want to disobey Rin's orders and kill you, but I can't break my promise either..."

"A promise...?"

"Yes, a promise..." Icy, crystalline mist slowly condensed around Rimuru, gradually blurring his figure as the temperature in the air dropped once more...

But just then—

"Rimuru!!" Rin's clear cry suddenly rang out from afar. As Rimuru froze slightly, Shirou Emiya was astonished to discover that the bone-piercing chill in the air vanished without a trace in an instant.

Rin Tohsaka hurried over to Rimuru's side. Exhausted, she grabbed his sleeve, bent over, and panted, "Idiot... idiot! Didn't I... didn't I tell you not to... not to act on your own?"

"...Rin, I just thought it would be too dangerous for Emiya to go back alone."

"?! Do you take me for an idiot, Rimuru?!"

She angrily shook Rimuru's arm, then straightened up with one hand on her hip. "Or do I really look that easy to fool?"

She took a deep breath and