Chapter 859

This was her first encounter with him.

This was the first time Shirou and Morgan saved each other.

"... Ugh."

When Shirou opened his eyes, he found himself lying down, covered with a blanket.

Looking around, I realized I was inside a tent.

Why am I here, thinking about this place?

"Ah, that's great. She's finally awake."

A young girl entered the tent.

She appears to be about ten years older than Shirou and is a beautiful young girl.

A white dress and a blue skirt, with a large black ribbon pinned to her chest.

She had a refined appearance, beautiful blue eyes, and gorgeous blonde hair tied with the same black ribbon.

The girl with a relieved expression was so beautiful that you wanted to keep looking at her.

Shirou stared at her blankly, momentarily forgetting to breathe.

"Are you alright?" the girl asked, puzzled.

"... Ah, um. It's nothing."

Shirou felt his cheeks burning hot.

"I remember now, thank you, big sister, for saving me."

Do you remember?

"Yeah, I don't remember anything after that, about being saved by the older sister."

"... Yeah."

It seems this child doesn't remember me crying so hard.

Morgan thought awkwardly, then breathed a sigh of relief and said...

"Although I saved you, you seem to have collapsed due to malnutrition and exhaustion."

Since he had already helped, Morgan decided to see it through and took care of the collapsed Shirou.

"Is that so? Thank you, thank you."

The boy's awkward way of thanking her was very cute to the girl.

"Um... big sister, what's wrong?"

No, it's nothing, it's nothing.

She coughed lightly.

So, let's start over. She temporarily changed the subject.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Morgan."

She gave her name.

"May I tell you your name, young man? It's a pleasure to meet you."

Shirou had no reason not to answer the question posed by Morgan, the beautiful young woman who was also his benefactor.

"My name is Shirou... I'm not from here, I'm from Fuyuki City... Fuyuki City, Japan."

"..."

A flicker of surprise crossed Morgan's eyes for a moment, but she remained silent.

"Really? Your name is Shirou? Nice to meet you."

"So, there are no fairies in the country you live in..."

"It's in the fairy tale book..."

That means there isn't one.

"Ah, um... yes, no."

After that, Morgan asked Shirou a few more questions.

Although it was hard to believe, Shirou wasn't lying; everything he said was true.

This child drifted to the Fae Kingdom from the Pan-Human History.

In fact, Morgan had a considerable understanding of Pan-Human History, but it was not based on his own personal experience.

In order to avoid confusing Shirou, she decided to pretend that she knew nothing.

"In your knowledge, there is also the country of Britain..."

"It's England, isn't it? I know."

Morgan pondered this intelligence.

Based on the information the boy gave him, he was indeed—

"So, you really do come from Pan-Human History..."

"Pan-Human History? I don't really understand..."

Morgan interrupted the boy.

It's better to state some harsh truths clearly from the beginning.

"I'm sorry, you probably won't be able to go back to Pan-Human History."

"I see..."

To Morgan's surprise, the 7-year-old boy remained remarkably calm.

I thought he would break down and despair, but he seemed to accept the fact quickly.

"Aren't you sad? You won't see your mom, dad, brothers, or sisters anymore?" Morgan asked.

In Britain, fairies would imitate humans and build fairy homes.

The girl once possessed a fairy who was essentially her father, mother, and sister.

The rain fairies who once treated her with kindness are all gone now...

As Morgan became sentimental, the boy spoke up, "I don't know who my parents are."

"Huh, what does this mean? Uh, wait a minute..."

Morgan realized something and was about to tell the boy that he didn't have to force himself to say it when—

Shirou calmly revealed the fact that he was an orphan in his original world.

"----"

Morgan was stunned and speechless for a moment.

This child... is just like me...

Morgan, Paradise Fae, did not have real parents.

Moreover, her experience of drifting from Paradise to Earth is similar to Shirou's experience of drifting from Pan-Human History to Britain.

How much suffering has this child endured so far?

Compared to him, the hardships I endured on my journey were nothing.

Despite suffering so many injuries and being so young, he still maintains his individuality.

If it were me, I wouldn't necessarily despair, but I'd probably be disillusioned with life.

No... no matter how strong this child is, there must be a limit.

Morgan asked, sensing a certain mission.

What do you plan to do next?

The boy did not answer immediately.

Morgan knew perfectly well that human children could not survive alone in this cruel world, yet he still brought up this topic.

"I have no idea..."

Shirou gave a response befitting his age.

"I don't know what to do, and I don't know what I want to do."

The boy's helpless appearance pained and saddened Morgan, who had asked the question.

That's understandable.

After all, he had come to a strange world, and there was no way he could ever go back.

Morgan shared her thoughts.

"In that case... I'll take you to a human settlement, and I'll arrange for you to be accepted by the people there."

Morgan didn't say those words aloud.

This was clearly the best arrangement for Shirou, yet it was the first thing the girl ruled out of her mind.

She kept convincing herself that human settlements were not safe, and the people there might not treat an outsider child kindly. He might become a slave again and suffer even crueler treatment.

But Morgan knew very well that these were just excuses.

The girl made a suggestion that secretly harbored some personal motives.

"In that case... Shirou, will you be following me from now on?"

Why would someone offer such obviously unrealistic advice?

The answer is all too obvious: because Shirou was the first person to say "thank you" to him.

Morgan wanted more of his gratitude, his thanks, that is to say --

She imagined treating Shirou like the fairies on earth treat humans, keeping him by her side as a toy, a pet, or a slave.

Morgan's breathing became erratic.

A subtle, dark emotion began to sprout and surge within the girl's heart.

She was like a witch, uttering spells that no child could refuse.

"... Shirou, I'll be your 'place of refuge'."

This is a lie.

It was Morgan himself who truly wanted a "place to belong".

"...!"

The moment he heard those words, Shirou's eyes lit up.

But he immediately looked troubled.

Won't this cause you trouble?

He said something unexpected out of remorse.

Morgan's Fae Eyes told him that this was not a lie.

Even though she was the one who worked the hardest, she still cared about others. This kind of personality was incredibly precious to Morgan in the Fae Kingdom.

No, you don't need to worry about it.

That's why she couldn't leave Shirou behind.

The blonde girl stood up and reached out her hand to the red-haired boy.

"Nice to meet you, Shirou."