Chapter 470

"Thank goodness! You're finally awake! I was worried something was wrong... You're such a worrying child."

A stern female voice, tinged with joy, came from directly above Shirou.

What appeared before the boy was Tomoe Gozen's exquisite face—

Seeing that he had woken up, the silver-haired, red-eyed female warrior finally relaxed her tense brows, let out a long breath, and smiled as she looked down at Shirou.

In other words, this soft and delicate touch is...

Shirou realized that the back of his head was resting on Tomoe Gozen's thigh.

"What am I doing...?" Shirou asked, changing the subject.

Tomoe Gozen explained, "After you killed the Kitabir the Sage, you suddenly collapsed to the ground and fell into a coma that I couldn't wake up. I thought you were cursed or poisoned."

"It must be due to overuse of the Mystic Eyes just now."

Tomoe Gozen nodded thoughtfully. "Mystic Eyes... I see. Please don't force yourself."

This was the first time she had ever heard of Mystic Eyes that could suppress Magical Beast approaching the level of a god.

"That's true, I'll be more careful in the future... but it doesn't seem to be Miss Ba's place to say that yet."

Shirou wore a mocking expression—just a short while ago, this woman had planned to destroy her own Spirit Origin and perish together with her enemy.

"Ugh...!"

Tomoe Gozen's cheeks flushed red, first revealing an expression of utter humiliation, then she glared angrily at Shirou.

"Just kidding, just kidding."

Only after Shirou said that did she finally regain her composure.

After that, Shirou introduced himself to Tomoe Gozen.

"Shirou... I see. So he is a child brought to this era by Lord Merlin."

Eh... I've heard rumors about you even in the Northern Wall, but I never expected it to be a kid like this.

He's so young, yet he possesses such powerful abilities.

Even so, venturing alone behind hundreds of thousands of Magical Beast was still far too reckless and impulsive...

"After I return to Uruk, I will definitely protest to King Gilgamesh and Lord Merlin!"

"Speaking of which..."

Shirou had been wondering from the very beginning why Tomoe Gozen referred to him as a child.

He's almost seventeen. Even disregarding the fact that in ancient Japan, the age of twelve was considered adulthood, he's no longer considered a child even in modern times.

Just as I was about to ask a question, Tomoe Gozen smiled and said...

"If I'm not mistaken, Shirou's mother should be deceased by now, right?"

"Um?"

Shirou looked surprised.

Although Irisviel refers to herself as "Mom," Shirou sees her more as his most important relative and family member.

If we consider Irisviel as our mother—

Well, although I do have those feelings for her to some extent, it would be very bad from an ethical standpoint... sigh

How did Miss Ba find out about this?

"That..."

Tomoe Gozen spoke up somewhat embarrassedly.

"Because when you fainted just now, you kept murmuring 'Mother' in your sleep, and also..."

Shirou followed the female warrior's gaze and found that he and she were actually holding hands tightly.

"Oh! I'm sorry!"

Shirou quickly released Tomoe Gozen's hand, only to find the other looking disappointed.

"I'm sorry, this is actually a misunderstanding..."

Shirou never imagined that when he was being affectionate with the Creator Goddess in his dream, he would do something similar to Tomoe Gozen in reality.

--Is this the downside of light sleep? Ultimately, it's all Merlin's fault!

Tomoe Gozen gazed at the boy lying on her lap in a daze with her deep red eyes, and suddenly spoke.

"If Shirou really wishes to... treat me as your mother, then... it's not impossible."

The silver-haired, red-eyed mixed-race widow smoothed her silver hair to hide her embarrassment, while waiting for Shirou's reply with incredibly expectant eyes.

It seems a very serious misunderstanding has occurred.

--

Volume 7: Chapter 306 He became the new master of Ba; Kingu was betrayed again!

"Lord Shirou, I saw Goddess Tiamat... in my dream...?"

To clear up the misunderstanding, Shirou explained to Tomoe Gozen how he had seen Goddess Tiamat after he had lost consciousness.

He had originally planned to report this to Gilgamesh after returning to Uruk, so it didn't matter if he told her in advance.

Tomoe Gozen, resting her delicate chin on her hand, murmured to herself, "Goddess Tiamat— "

This is the Goddess of Demonic Beasts now resides in the north, and is addressed as Mother by hundreds of thousands of Magical Beasts and the Kitabir the Sage.

That goddess actually entered Shirou's dream...

Wait, wait a minute, so you mean you weren't just acting like a mother being affectionate with Ba?

Hmm.

Shirou nodded vigorously.

Even if Irisviel is unreliable, he wouldn't seek maternal instincts in a woman he's just met... a goddess would be an exception.

"Ugh...!"

Tomoe Gozen looked extremely regretful, then immediately felt incredibly ashamed of her own presumptuousness.

"I'm sorry for causing you any unnecessary misunderstanding," Shirou said.

"No, no, no, I should be the one apologizing... I'm sure I've caused you some trouble, haven't I?" Tomoe Gozen said.

"No, that's not true. I should be thanking Miss Tomoe Gozen for taking care of me after I passed out."

"That's to be expected. If it weren't for Shirou defeating the Scorpion Man, I would have perished along with it by now."

Shirou and Tomoe Gozen exchanged pleasantries; although the atmosphere was still slightly awkward, it was much better than before.

"Furthermore, Tomoe Gozen truly has a motherly quality..."

"Hey! Are you serious?"

The silver-haired widowed female warrior's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "In that case! Let it be limited to this era, and let Tomoe become Shirou's..."

"No, then forget it."

Shirou politely declined, Tomoe Gozen lowered her head in disappointment.

"Now that the commander of the Magical Beast has been defeated, it's about time we headed back."

This is the rear of hundreds of thousands of Magical Beasts; lingering here would likely be dangerous.

Shirou reached out his hand to Tomoe Gozen, but the latter convulsed.

"How I look now..."

In the battle against the Scorpion Man, Tomoe Gozen pushed her Oni bloodline to its limit, even permanently altering her imposing appearance.

Her beautiful long silver hair was dyed a light pink, and there were even scattered sparks around it.

Two large, bright red chitinous horns extended from her forehead.

Even his deep red eyes had vertical pupils like a snake.

The current Tomoe Gozen, no matter how you look at it, has strayed far from being human and has become a true demon.

"Shirou, please go back alone."

"Huh? What about Tomoe Gozen?"

"I will stay here and do everything in my power to destroy the Magical Beast."

The female warrior said resolutely, "My body has already turned into firewood, so all I can do is burn."

Burn, burn, burn more and more—until everything is burned away.

As she said this, a dazed smile appeared on her face.

It seems that the demonic seed has affected not only her body, but also her mind to some extent.

"Miss Tomoe Gozen became like this to protect Uruk, so there's no need to worry about it."

Shirou noticed that Tomoe Gozen was very resistant to his demon bloodline.

Although we don't know exactly what she experienced before her death, the fact that there are no records of her being a demon suggests that she probably kept her identity a secret all along.

Tomoe Gozen shook her head. "Even if you say that..."

"Whether you're a soldier on the Demonic Beast Front or a citizen of Uruk, no one will be afraid or disgusted by your appearance."

I can guarantee that, and--"

The boy scratched the back of his head and looked away shyly.

Even now, Tomoe Gozen is still very beautiful.

Shirou said awkwardly, Tomoe Gozen stared blankly for a moment—

Perhaps her self-loathing had subsided slightly, for she revealed a gentle smile.

Thank you very much for your compliment.

"Alright, since you've said so, Shirou, I'll believe you this once and for all."

"That's great--"

"There's something I hope Shirou will grant Tomoe's request."

What is it?

The female warrior placed her hand on her ample bosom and spoke solemnly.

"The women of the Kiso Clan are dead. The one standing here now is a demon whose life was saved by Shirou."

If you are willing to rely on the power of demons to protect humanity, then let me accompany you.

However—if one day in the future I lose control of my reason and completely succumb to demonic nature, I hope you will personally behead me.

Shirou, would you like to make a promise with me?

"..."

I see.

Tomoe Gozen couldn't believe herself; she felt that her existence would one day harm the people of Uruk.

However, Tomoe Gozen was willing to believe in Shirou —or more accurately, in Shirou's power to defeat the Kitabir the Sage.

If Shirou is willing to be her limiter, she wouldn't mind continuing to wield her blade as an oni.

Shirou said, "I understand. I promise you, Tomoe Gozen."

If you become a true demon or demon, I will stop you.

However, I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening until then.

"Thank you."

The widowed female warrior smiled with relief.

She excitedly grabbed Shirou's wrist and took a step forward.

"Then let's go back, Master! Everyone is still waiting for us!"

"Hmm, okay... wait, Master?"