Taking advantage of the brief separation between the Artificial Lifeform and the young man in the suit, Shirou deliberately appeared in front of her.
Shirou tugged on the hem of the woman's fur coat, looked up at her, and said, "I'm hungry."
The moment the woman saw Shirou's face, she inexplicably revealed an expression as if she had sensed some kind of destiny. She covered her mouth, her delicate body trembling nonstop.
...What was going on!?
Shirou was utterly bewildered. Although Lady Avalon often said that he had the "face of a man plagued by women" and would become the enemy of women everywhere once he grew up... he was only eight years old! Hadn't he not grown up yet?
Afterward, she pulled him to a nearby fast-food restaurant.
Irisviel cupped her cheeks, gazing dreamily at the red-haired boy as he ate his hamburger.
Although she felt somewhat guilty about not reporting her actions to Saber, the Holy Grail War had not started yet, and it was broad daylight. Surely being separated for a little while wouldn't cause any problems.
Besides, if an emergency arose, they could communicate through telepathy, or she could summon Saber with a Command Spell.
The willful princess of the Einzbern Family thought: Being with Saber is really, really fun, but sneaking out alone once in a while isn't bad either.
All right, let's put Saber aside for now. The important thing now is this child~
"Little boy, what's your name?"
"My name is Shinji."
"Shinji-kun, where are your parents?"
Shirou lowered the hamburger in his hand, fell silent for a moment, and then spoke.
"I don't have any parents."
"Ah..."
Irisviel's beautiful eyes widened, and she covered her mouth in surprise.
She hurriedly apologized. "...I'm sorry. I didn't know."
Shirou shook his head. "It's all right. You're willing to buy me a hamburger, so you're a good person. Thank you, big sister."
Looking at the sincere expression on the red-haired boy's face, Irisviel felt warm inside.
What a well-behaved good child...
"Since your parents are gone, where do you usually live?"
"At a relative's house."
"Shinji-kun, are your relatives kind to you?"
"Not really. My little sister drinks my share of milk every morning without asking."
Shirou spoke in a wounded tone.
"She also often criticizes me in front of my best friend."
Th-this was too pitiful!
Irisviel's eyes reddened slightly. She pressed her lips together and tentatively asked, "In that case, would you like to come with mo... with your big sister?"
Volume One 042 Woman, You've Successfully Caught My Attention
At Irisviel's words, Shirou's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
This woman... was she serious when she said that!?
"Ah, I'm sorry... Just pretend I never said that."
Irisviel also realized that something was wrong and hurriedly took back what she had said.
Good grief, what was I thinking...?
I'm going to participate in the Holy Grail War with Saber, aren't I?
How could I let such a cute child get caught up in a battle between Servants?
Irisviel reproached herself inwardly.
But you can't blame me entirely, can you? If anyone's to blame, it's this boy in front of me for being just a little too lovable.
The red-haired boy before her perfectly matched all of Irisviel's fantasies about her own child—
If it were a cute girl, she hoped the child would be a little more willful.
If it were a cute boy, she hoped he would be a little more well-behaved.
Ah, ah! I really want to take this child home!
But Saber would definitely scold me. Wah...
Irisviel's brows drew together slightly as she bit her lip.
Meanwhile.
Shirou had finished his hamburger and was wiping his lips with a napkin.
A McDonald's cheeseburger... It's pretty tasty.
Although he detested the modern dietary culture known as fast food, tasty food was tasty food. He had to admit that this thing had considerable merits in terms of flavor. No wonder it had become popular throughout the world.
Hmm. Should I try challenging this country's—Japan's—famous home-style dish tomorrow night: hamburg steak?
Sister Fujiwara had said she wanted to eat it.
No! This isn't the time to be thinking about cooking, Shirou Amamiya!
Shirou had already heard an explanation of the Einzbern Family from Makiri.
In short, they were an extremely wealthy, extremely ancient family that lived in seclusion somewhere in Western Europe.
When it came to alchemy, especially Artificial Lifeform technology, they could be called the undisputed best in the world. However, they were not adept at magical combat.
They had been the first to drop out of the previous Holy Grail War, thoroughly disgracing the Three Founding Families.
As Little Yellow Duck lamented the Einzbern Family's decline while reminiscing about the former glory of something called the "Winter Saintess," she had made Shirou's skin crawl.
In any case, she should be an Artificial Lifeform of the Einzbern Family.
According to Makiri's explanation, Artificial Lifeforms were not naturally born, but rather dolls created through magecraft—
"???"
Shirou wore a puzzled expression.
In the eyes of his "Ultimate Magic Eye," the Artificial Lifeform before him bore a certain degree of similarity in origin to the humans of the Fae Kingdom.
Seriously...?
The humans of Fae Kingdom Britain... weren't actually "ordinary" humans?
No wonder they could only live to the age of thirty and were incapable of reproducing! They were Artificial Lifeforms!
Shirou had not expected that, after returning to Pan-Human History, he would still be able to uncover a glimpse of the truth behind the world of Britain in another realm.
"Shinji-kun, is something wrong? You've been staring at big sister's face this whole time," Irisviel asked curiously.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
Shirou lowered his head as if embarrassed and said softly, "Big sister, you're so beautiful. You look just like a princess from a fairy tale."
"Hehe, Shinji-kun, you're cute too~"
Irisviel propped her cheek up with one hand and said plaintively, "I really want to kidnap you and take you home..."
Shirou rolled his eyes. You said that out loud, you Artificial Lifeform.
The woman's enthusiasm made him somewhat uncomfortable, but he couldn't exactly say he disliked it.
She was the kind of person who left Shirou at a loss, much like Sister Fujiwara, though in an entirely different way.
"!"
Irisviel's smile suddenly froze, and her expression shifted slightly. She placed her slender, beautiful fingers below her ear.
Shirou noticed it and formed a guess.
—She was talking to her Servant.
Judging from the intelligence Assassin had obtained, the Einzbern Servant should be Saber.
...The finest Servant, huh.
To be honest, this should be the best opportunity to kill Irisviel.
Shirou's original plan had been to install a tracker and a wiretap on her, and he had already accomplished that objective.
But now that he had confirmed Saber was not hiding nearby in spirit form, Shirou was confident he could go one step further—kill her outright.
Should I do it, Shirou?
Now? Here?
But there were simply too many witnesses...
His identity as a Master would be exposed to Tokiomi Tohsaka. He might even be accused of "starting a battle in the city center during the day and seriously violating the rules," then subjected to severe punishment by the Church. It would be far too great a loss.
At that moment, Irisviel placed her hand over the back of Shirou's.
Lady Avalon had used an illusion to conceal the modified Command Spell on Shirou. Although it could not evade detection magecraft, it normally could not be seen with the naked eye. Yet Irisviel was openly displaying the Command Spell on the back of her hand without the slightest concern.
Her vigilance toward the war was practically nonexistent. Would she really be able to survive until the end like this?
Or was this the norm? Was this so-called war just a game of house?
Irisviel held Shirou's hand and said, "Shinji-kun, my friend is coming over later.
She seems to be a little angry, so I hope that when she arrives..."
"Big sister, I need to use the bathroom."
"Ah... All right."
Shirou withdrew his hand and headed toward the fast-food restaurant's restroom. He soon disappeared into the crowd.
Irisviel...
Next time we meet, remember to bring your Servant.
"Irisviel!!!"
A handsome young knight in Black Robe appeared in the fast-food restaurant, his hair literally standing on end with rage.
"I'm sorry, Saber."
Irisviel clasped her hands together and apologized in the most sincere tone she could manage. "I'm really sorry. I'll never act on my own again."
Saber had been fuming, but after seeing her Master's face, the anger throughout her body helplessly dissipated.
"...Don't let it happen again."
"Hehehe, Saber, you're the best~"
Irisviel hugged her without the slightest regard for the eyes of those around them, and Saber sighed.
That said, Irisviel could not be blamed entirely for this.
Willfulness was a princess's privilege. As her knight, failing to keep a proper eye on her was Saber's own dereliction of duty.
Saber said sternly, "From now on, I'll keep my eyes on you every step of the way. Prepare yourself, Irisviel."
"Ehh~ Why~~~"
Irisviel lowered her lovely head with a miserable expression, but her face soon brightened again.
"Oh, right, Saber! Listen, I met an especially cute boy just now!!"
Before you continue