Shirou had just agreed when he changed his mind and immediately regretted it.
However, it was already too late. The sound of a plate falling to the floor came from the kitchen.
Right after that came a girl's scream and a boy's sobs.
"This household can't function without me..."
Shirou sighed and got up to head for the kitchen.
By the time the Matou siblings left, it was almost nine at night.
Still uneasy, Shirou called the Matou Family. Kariya Matou was the one who answered.
"Sister Fujiwara should be heading home too. Should I call the Fujimura Group?"
"What are you talking about, Shirou?"
Taiga Fujimura lay there like a tiger from the zoo that had lost its wildness, propping up her chin with one hand as she watched television.
"This is my home."
"Hello, is this the Fujimura Group? I'm..."
"No calling! Aaaaaah!"
Taiga Fujimura rushed over and hung up the phone.
Shirou sighed and put the phone back in its place. "Sister Fujiwara, are you really planning to live here?"
"From today onward, I'm Shirou's guardian."
She solemnly declared it again, then pouted and looked at the boy pitifully. "...Is that not okay?"
Shirou sighed. "All right, I understand."
Once Sister Fujiwara made up her mind, there was no point struggling no matter how hard he tried. He gave up decisively.
"Yay!!!"
Taiga Fujimura raised both hands to celebrate her victory.
Once her excitement had passed, the ponytailed girl placed both hands on Shirou's shoulders.
"All right, it's about time we took a bath."
As she spoke, Taiga Fujimura pushed the boy toward the bathroom.
"Don't push me."
"Shirou, the bathwater should be ready by now, right?"
"Yeah, I heated it before dinner."
"Good."
Shirou was forcibly pushed into the bathroom, and then—Taiga Fujimura suddenly began taking off her clothes.
"Huh...?"
Shirou blinked, utterly confused by what was happening before him.
As always, Taiga Fujimura moved with astonishing speed. In just a few motions, she had removed her shirt and uniform skirt.
Her healthy, well-trained body, without a trace of excess fat, was exposed to the air.
"...Wait."
Shirou's cheeks rapidly heated up. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
To be honest, Shirou had never regarded Sister Fujiwara as a woman before, but now...
Her slender waist, long, delicate limbs, firm, rounded hips, and already well-developed...
It was not a body filled with mature feminine charm, but one like a flower bud yet to bloom, overflowing with youthful vitality.
Shirou's face flushed and his heart raced. He was entranced, completely unable to look away.
Come to think of it, Sister Fujiwara had always been a beautiful girl. Even with that personality, she was very popular at school.
"The water temperature is just right... Hm?"
Taiga Fujimura, bending over with her back to the boy as she reached a hand into the tub, noticed his gaze.
"What is it, Shirou... Huh? Why haven't you taken your clothes off yet!? Go rinse off first. The bathwater's going to get cold."
"It's not that..."
Shirou took half a step back.
He had finally remembered that, in the eyes of others, he was only an elementary school student.
No... Even if he was an elementary school student, would a normal middle-school girl take a bath with a boy?
Right! I forgot...
Sister Fujiwara wasn't normal at all!
"Do you want me to help you undress? Honestly, you're so troublesome."
The ponytailed girl, clad only in her underwear, shook her alluringly slender legs and walked over openly.
"I-I'll go out first... You wash first, Sister Fujiwara! Call me when you're done!"
Shirou fled in a panic.
But just as he stepped out of the bathroom and was about to regain his freedom, a strong hand landed on his shoulder.
"S-Sister Fujiwara...?"
"Pff, pff, pff. Shirou, honestly, are you embarrassed?"
Taiga Fujimura covered her mouth and snickered. "Oh my, I suppose that's only natural. After all, I'm an ultra~mega~charming peerless beauty~"
"L-Let go of me! Sister Fujiwara! Let me out!"
"Don't even think about escaping!"
"Ugh... Ah!"
Taiga Fujimura used some sort of fighting technique she had probably learned from a television variety show, employing her weight to pin Shirou to the floor until he could not move at all.
His clothes were forcibly stripped off.
He was dragged in front of the shower and rinsed clean.
With an utterly hopeless expression on his face, Shirou climbed into the bathtub alongside Taiga Fujimura.
Shirou Amamiya could stake his character on this: his insomnia last night had absolutely nothing to do with Taiga Fujimura's body.
Although being pressed tightly against a healthy, vibrant middle-school girl in a cramped bathtub had indeed been too stimulating, it was still not enough to shake Shirou's resilient character.
The main reason Shirou had been unable to sleep was the bedding.
Back at the Matou Family, Shirou had slept in a soft, luxurious Western-style bed.
Now he had switched to a Japanese futon spread over tatami mats, so he was merely a little unaccustomed to it at first.
"That's right. That's exactly how it is."
After convincing himself of that with a clear conscience, Shirou decided to get up.
He threw off the covers and then—saw a shocking sight.
It wasn't a wet dream... What are you thinking?
Of course, it wasn't morning wood either!
The red-haired boy saw a deep crimson mark appear on the back of his right hand.
This was probably the Command Spell he had heard about.
—Shirou Amamiya had been chosen by the Holy Grail as a Master in the Fourth Holy Grail War.
Volume One 026: Everyone Knows Saber Is the Strongest
"Why was I chosen as a Master in the Holy Grail War?"
Shirou was perplexed.
He had neither a wish he wanted to convey to the Holy Grail nor any intention of entering that damp- and densely-sounding whatever vortex.
Yet the Command Spell on the back of his hand proclaimed the undeniable fact that he had been chosen by the Holy Grail.
Shirou took out Little Yellow Duck. "Hey, Makiri, wake up. Something's happened."
An unpleasant, sticky sound rang out in the Japanese-style room.
"Though it came a little late, just as expected... I knew you would be chosen by the Holy Grail.
As the creator of the Command Spells, I have declared it so. Naturally, there can be no mistake."
What are you so smug about? Shirou said unhappily, "What's going on? Didn't you say only those who held a wish would be chosen?"
The toy Little Yellow Duck sneered. "Kukuku... Boy, do you truly not understand?"
"Stop acting mysterious and tell me!" Shirou kicked Little Yellow Duck.
"Even with the Eye at the End, which can see through all things, you still cannot see your own self? How ironic."
Makiri spoke unhurriedly. "You do have a wish to entrust to the Holy Grail. You simply haven't realized it yet.
Anyone... No, even a nonhuman monster, so long as it still possesses flesh and blood, will inevitably have desires.
No one can escape that rule. You are no exception, boy."
"..."
Shirou narrowed his eyes in silence.
I have a wish?
That was impossible.
The existence known as "Shirou Amamiya"—his goal, his ideals, his convictions...
Everything that could be called a wish had already been fulfilled on the day the Fae Kingdom was established.
After enduring countless hardships and battles,
he had changed from naive to cold, from gentle to cruel, from moderate to extreme.
At the end of his long journey, Shirou had realized his original ideal.
Although he had been unable to witness the prosperous and peaceful eternal kingdom of Britain with his own eyes, Shirou felt no regret—
He still had the finest, most outstanding successor.
Morgan.
The witch who had fought beside him, the savior, the Paradise Fae.
Shirou trusted her deeply.
If it were Morgan, she would certainly be able to inherit his aspirations... No.
She would certainly become a king greater than him.
During the conquest of Britain, Shirou had gradually become too extreme in the latter stages.
He had used absolute power to suppress those enemies who refused to submit, spreading terror so that the fairies would fear him and submit to his rule.
But after peace was restored, that terrifying power was no longer necessary.
With the death of the tyrant, Fae Knight Arthur, as its turning point, Britain would welcome an entirely new system.
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