Shirou slowly cast the Healing Spell, regretting that he hadn't devoted more effort to healing magecraft while in Britain.
At that moment, the boy noticed Hundred-Faced Hassan's right hand—tightly gripping the transmitter Shirou had given her.
"Delusional Illusions (Zabaniya)" was undoubtedly an extremely useful Noble Phantasm in the Holy Grail War.
By merely summoning one Servant, its user could obtain the skills, abilities, and thoughts of eighty-eight people, along with eighty-eight people's capacity for action.
However, Hundred-Faced Hassan had one fatal weakness: since each persona was an independent individual, they could not communicate telepathically after splitting apart.
As a result, Assassin's big sister had been unable to ask the other Hassans for help after being attacked, nor could she inform them of what had happened.
At the brink of death, she had used the last bit of her strength to send Shirou a distress signal.
"We're leaving."
Shirou finished casting the Healing Spell and spoke to Lady Avalon through telepathy.
The huge hole in Hundred-Faced Hassan's chest had already disappeared. Although she still hadn't regained consciousness, her life was no longer in danger.
Fortunately, the enemy's marksmanship had been precise enough to leave Hundred-Faced Hassan's Spirit Core intact. Otherwise, even Morgan couldn't have saved her.
"How do you plan to leave?"
Lady Avalon asked. She didn't believe the enemy would simply let Shirou go.
Shirou, however, was hoping that the enemy would let him go.
"Openly."
Shirou carried the unconscious Hundred-Faced Hassan on his back, then began retreating as boldly and naturally as possible.
Just as he had expected, the extremely cautious enemy did not launch an attack from the shadows.
In the darkness.
A man gazed into the distance with deep, chaotic pupils, watching the red-haired boy carrying Assassin until that small, staggering figure completely vanished from the open harbor grounds.
"..."
He slowly lowered the Walther Sniper Rifle.
On the way to the inn, Hundred-Faced Hassan woke up.
"Oh, Assassin's big sister. Did you sleep well?"
"What am I... Ugh!"
"It'd be better if you didn't move around. My Healing Spell isn't very sophisticated. In the end, I only pieced your shattered flesh back together, but at least I managed to save your life."
"Shirou... you really came?"
Hundred-Faced Hassan was utterly astonished that the red-haired boy had actually rushed over and saved her life. She even wondered if she was dreaming.
After spending several seconds accepting reality, she spoke. "To be honest, I never thought you'd come."
"I suppose it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Actually, I'm starting to regret it too."
"Did something happen?"
Shirou explained the situation to Hundred-Faced Hassan in full.
They were now being watched by an extremely dangerous enemy whose identity was completely unknown.
Shirou tried to construct a profile of the enemy based on what he had witnessed that night—
He was an assassin among assassins, possessed extremely high-level sniping skills and the Mystic Eyes of Petrification technique, excelled at every kind of assassination method, including ambushes, and was even proficient in both firearms and magecraft.
Furthermore, the enemy was probably very familiar with the rules of the Holy Grail War.
He was cautious and cold-blooded, willing to do anything to achieve his goals.
The things Saber and Lancer regarded as supreme dignity and glory were probably worthless to him.
Killing was his way of existing.
Although the number of people who had died by his hand was likely beyond counting, he did not kill indiscriminately. Instead, he continued killing in pursuit of some ultimate goal.
Such a person had intervened in the Holy Grail War to accomplish a certain objective.
After hearing Shirou's description, Hundred-Faced Hassan was left dumbfounded.
"No, you only faced each other briefly in the darkness, didn't you? You don't even know where he's hiding, do you?"
Shirou nodded. "Yeah, but how should I put it... I just have that feeling.
"It feels as though I've known this person for a very long time."
"But you don't know where he's hiding or what he looks like," Hundred-Faced Hassan teased.
"That doesn't count coming from an Assassin who nearly got killed!" Shirou shot back relentlessly.
Hundred-Faced Hassan's expression turned solemn. "To be ambushed by an enemy during a mission... without a doubt, this is the greatest humiliation of my life."
She clenched her fists. I will remember tonight's blood debt. I will repay it twofold in the future.
Otherwise, even if she returned to the Heroic Spirit Throne, she would have no face with which to meet the successive leaders and that great personage.
She would also have failed that genius girl who had bitterly lost to her in the election for leader.
"I don't plan to tell my Master about tonight."
If she reported what had happened to the Tohsaka faction, Shirou's existence would be exposed.
Shirou nodded. "Yeah. That's what I was thinking too."
Hundred-Faced Hassan said, "But will things be all right on your end? Should I send a few 'mes' over to guard you?"
"No. For now, the fewer people who know about our relationship, the better. It would be bad if Kirei Kotomine noticed something was wrong."
"I understand. Be careful, then."
The female assassin paused, then turned her face away as though embarrassed.
"And... thanks for tonight.
"Because of me, you ended up exposing your identity to the enemy too...
"Guh. I will make up for today's failure in the future."
"I saved you to gain your trust. This is the result of my own choice, so don't feel too guilty.
"And besides... if Assassin's big sister died, taking care of that child by myself would be way too hard."
Hundred-Faced Hassan sneered. "I knew that was the reason."
"But it really is bad that my identity was exposed. Staying hidden in the dark was supposed to be my only advantage."
They still didn't even know which faction the enemy belonged to, while the enemy had already memorized Shirou's face.
There couldn't be a worse situation than this, Shirou complained.
"Is that so..."
Hundred-Faced Hassan wore a puzzled expression as she looked at the boy and murmured, "But... Shirou, you look pretty happy..."
"What?"
Shirou reached up and touched his cheek, surprised to discover that the corners of his mouth really had lifted.
...Am I enjoying this?
Volume One 049 Morgan: It definitely isn't me, right?
By the time he delivered Hundred-Faced Hassan to the inn, the warehouse district battle had already ended.
Shirou returned home.
As soon as he arrived, Lady Avalon ended her spirit form.
Contrary to her usual behavior, she remained silent, walked to the corner, and sat down hugging her knees. A gloomy air hung around her entire body.
Is she upset because I couldn't go find Saber?
Shirou ignored her and took the crystal ball beside her instead.
Lady Avalon's crystal ball came with recording and playback functions. Even if he missed the live broadcast, he could watch it afterward.
That was a tremendous help.
He adjusted it to the warehouse district battle that night.
Although the crystal ball's view was from a distance, there was no mistaking the blonde hair, blue eyes, and Holy Sword of the Stars in the darkness.
"Morgan, is that you...?"
Shirou began to wonder: if she really was Morgan, why had she descended into this world?
Servants who could be summoned, just like magi, all possessed wishes without exception.
Morgan's wish...
Shirou knew it well. In Morgan's heart, nothing was more important than Britain.
But she should have already obtained Britain.
He remembered Makiri saying, "There is no concept of time on the Throne, and the Heroic Spirits who can be summoned aren't necessarily the great heroes from history."
Could the Saber who had appeared now not be Morgan from the era of "Savior Ash," but Morgan from the future?
No wonder she uses an armament—the sheath—that I don't recognize. But that Holy Sword is undoubtedly... and her fighting style is still hers.
He would confirm these questions when he met Saber. There was no point in overthinking them now.
Shirou patted his cheeks and continued watching the rest of the warehouse district battle.
Rider and Archer appeared one after another.
Lancer withdrew under his Master's orders.
The scene then became a chaotic battle between Saber, Rider, and Lancer.
The extraordinary golden Heroic Spirit went without saying, but Rider was also a top-tier Servant.
"I am King of Conquerors Iskandar," he proclaimed.
Alexander the Great of the Kingdom of Macedon—
He was a renowned historical figure whose name even Shirou knew well.
But Saber did not fall behind in the slightest, even when facing such a powerful opponent.
Huh? King of Knights? What the hell?
Why was Rider calling Saber the King of Knights?
Are you people blind?
Or was King Arthur female in this world?
He hurriedly opened the reference book beside him. It contained a portrait of King Arthur—a bearded middle-aged man.
"..."
Shirou felt ashamed that he had actually believed King of Conquerors for even a moment.
"How could he call such a delicate and lovely girl King Arthur... Was the world really once nearly conquered by an idiot like that?"
In the end, the golden Archer seemed to receive instructions from his Master and withdrew early, looking extremely displeased.
Then came King of Conquerors, who had thoroughly disrupted Saber's battle.
"King of Knights, then let us meet again for now. The next time we meet, let me properly experience that blood-pumping sensation."
Leaving behind those self-important words, the bold Rider clamped the unconscious boy Master under one arm, flicked the reins of his chariot, and vanished into the distant night sky.
Before you continue