Shirou's Return from the Fae Kingdom

Shirou Returns from the Fae Kingdom

Author: Sirius

Synopsis: Shirou, who unified Britain and established the Fae Kingdom, has returned to Japan in 1993.

"Fuyuki, what a peaceful city..."

Shirou thought he could live out the rest of his days in peace, but then he encountered a familiar figure he hadn't expected.

"Morgan!! When did you get here?"

The blonde girl: "First, some lunatic mistook me for Joan of Arc, and now this... How can anyone possibly confuse me with the Queen? I'm King Arthur!"

Shirou: "Hahaha, if you're King Arthur, then who am I?"

Volume 1, Chapter 001: Shirou Amamiya

Let me tell you the story of a boy.

The story of a boy who yearned for justice more than anyone, and because of it, was more cruel than anyone.

That boy's dream was simple.

He always prayed in his heart to establish an ideal land free from conflict.

At first, it was just a dream borrowed from someone else.

At the tender age of seven, he drifted to a distant, unfamiliar world.

He was discovered, deceived, and captured... eventually becoming a human slave to the native Fae.

For years after, the boy endured humiliation and abuse.

At the end of his despair and misery, he was rescued by a girl known as a witch.

The boy was kept by the witch of the Land of Rain and became her first companion.

When did he start wanting to fulfill her dream?

Perhaps it was to repay the life-saving debt.

Perhaps he was drawn to her beauty.

Or perhaps, the boy's reason was the same as the witch's – he simply wanted a "place to belong."

A boy with no place to belong.

A witch with no place to belong.

The two took action to create an ideal homeland that belonged only to them.

On this land, wars between kin and unknown calamities had raged for six thousand years.

They eliminated calamities, they mediated disputes.

However, every time they achieved results, they were treated as a nuisance and ostracized.

In the beginning, it was just the two of them licking each other's wounds.

Later, they met trustworthy companions, and even the stubborn witch gradually learned to be more diplomatic.

Over the years, the two overcame countless victories and defeats, setbacks and betrayals, arguments and reconciliations.

In the process, they realized their enemies were not just the calamities, but also the Fae they wished to protect.

The boy and the witch, without a word, became cruel and merciless, and their methods escalated.

They defeated all calamities, suppressed all opposition, and conquered all clans.

Finally, their dream was realized.

Yet, just as they unified the islands and clans, established a capital and order, and their ideal land was within reach--

The boy realized his lifespan was nearing its end.

Unlike the Fae or the witch, he was a human with a short lifespan.

The boy had been extending his life with magic, surviving for three thousand years through means like hibernation and physical modification, but he had forgotten that he was, after all, a human soul.

He had forgotten that this world would ultimately have no place for him.

In Year 1 of the Queen's Reign, the boy met his end on the eve of his coronation.

His tombstone read:

"The Magician from a Foreign Land, Son of Orkney, Fae Knight Arthur, Ancestor King of Britain, Husband of Queen Morgan--

The Nameless King rests here.

He was once King, and shall be King upon his return."

"Haa... haa... haa... haa...!"

Shirou Amamiya sat up from the wooden bed, panting heavily.

The space that greeted his eyes was bright and white.

This is the coffin-like Prydwen that Morgan specially made for me. It's so spacious... Wait! Shouldn't I be dead already!?

Shirou looked around in confusion, his heart filled with shock.

What am I doing here? Is this still the Fae Kingdom?

The scene before him felt strangely familiar.

This is the orphanage I used to live in!

Did I come back?

Back to Fuyuki from Britain!?

He looked down at his own body.

Thin, small, slender, frail.

He looked up at his reflection in the glass.

His often-teased baby face had now become the face of a real child.

Could it be that I not only returned to Fuyuki, but my body has also reverted to a 7-year-old state?

How could this be...

Could it be that everything that just happened was just a dream?

That girl named "Morgan," that other world called "Britain"... they don't exist?

Wild speculation was pointless.

Shirou had learned one thing from his long pilgrimage: only practice leads to conclusions.

He closed his eyes, concentrated, and felt for the circuits hidden within his body.

Shirou softly chanted a spell.

"----"

Instantly, a fluorescent green light filled the entire room.

When the light faded, a luxurious-looking golden short sword appeared in Shirou's palm.

"...It wasn't a dream."

The boy stared blankly at the demonic sword Cruadin in his hand.

This was the sword of one of his companions in the Fae Kingdom, the sage Grim.

Being able to successfully project this demonic sword proved that his journey was real, not a dream or an illusion.

Thinking of this, Shirou felt tears welling up.

"Speaking of which, an orphanage..."

Shirou Amamiya was an orphan.

He had lost his parents at a very young age and was currently waiting to be adopted by a kind uncle at the orphanage.

Although he looked like a 7-year-old boy on the outside, the soul residing within him was already ancient.

"I'm already an old man, it feels wrong to keep freeloading here... Farewell."

Shirou thought this and stealthily slipped out of the room.

As expected of a child's body, so light.

Although his strength and magic were less than a tenth of his peak, his agility hadn't changed at all, and in fact, it was even slightly better.

"This level of security is nothing compared to the 'Garden' I used to stay in."

The red-haired boy moved unnoticed, silently traversing the corridor.

Just then, a caregiver appeared ahead.

If I'm discovered, I might be sent back to my room... No big deal.

Instead of hiding, Shirou quickened his pace and followed.

He stayed close behind the caregiver.

The distance between them was less than 10cm, Shirou boldly and meticulously sticking to him.

There was a time when, in order to quickly quell a war in a certain territory, Shirou had mastered numerous techniques that terrified his enemies.

Mimicry, infiltration, lockpicking, interrogation, sneak attacks, assassination, sniping, poisoning, explosives...

Despite being a knight, he used any means necessary, without any regard for knightly dignity. He was disgracefully called the "Fae Slayer," becoming a red nightmare that loomed over Britain.

"Hm...?"

Although Shirou made no sound or movement, perhaps it was intuition, the caregiver suddenly turned around!

Of course, she saw nothing.

If it were Shirou from before, he would have skillfully dodged with an almost gymnastic maneuver and then triumphantly declared, "Easy peasy."

However, the current Shirou was only seven years old, and the two were so close that he was precisely in her blind spot.

"An illusion...?"

The caregiver, who had seen nothing, muttered and moved on.

Without much effort, Shirou easily escaped the children's welfare facility.

"A blue sky..."

The boy tilted his head back dazedly.

Accustomed to the twilight sky of the Fae Kingdom, it was only now that he remembered he had once lived under a blue sky.

This was the most surprising thing for Shirou Amamiya since his return.

PS1: New author, new book, please collect.

PS2: Not a native of this world, perhaps some strange impurities have crept in...?

Volume 1, Chapter 002: Not a Hero of Justice

After bowing deeply to the welfare facility that, while he had no strong feelings about it, had raised him for several years, Shirou Amamiya resolutely walked towards the streets of Fuyuki.

On the tidy streets, vehicles flowed ceaselessly. Along the roadsides, pedestrians in clean clothes hurried along with indifferent expressions, as if an invisible, thick barrier separated each person from the next.

Looking at the scene before him, Shirou felt no emotion of returning to his hometown. Instead, his heart was filled with a strong sense of alienation.