Shirou's Return From the Fae Kingdom

Shirou was greatly startled, inwardly feeling a sense of lingering fear.

If Hundred-Faced Hassan hadn't told him, he wouldn't have even known that Lady Avalon was already under close surveillance by the enemy.

If he were to later claim that his Servant was an Extra class, he would definitely be targeted first by the Tohsaka faction!

Also, it was fortunate that he had been suspicious of the Fuyuki Church from the very beginning. Even after obtaining his Command Spells and summoning a Servant, he hadn't reported there for instructions.

His plan to feign an alliance with the Tohsaka Family and then betray him later using Assassin was also abandoned.

Shirou had now become a thorn in Tokiomi Tohsaka's side.

That night, he stayed in Assassin's hotel room until almost dawn before hastily leaving.

Assassin returned to Kirei Kotomine's side, continuing her infiltration and intelligence gathering, occasionally providing Shirou with important information.

Shirou, in turn, promised her that he would help look after the unattended Loli Hassan while she was busy with her work.

Thus, a delicate cooperative relationship was established.

As he was leaving, Shirou asked Hundred-Faced Hassan for a white bone mask and a set of black robes.

"Haaa~~~ Master, you'd be much more lethal with your face showing~ especially to girls~"

Lady Avalon said.

The Holy Grail War officially began. The first thing Shirou thought of was to have Sister Fujiwara return to the Fujimura Group to take shelter for a while.

However, when he made this request, it was met with a firm refusal from his guardian.

"Do you need me to use Suggestion Magic?" Lady Avalon asked with a chuckle.

There's no way I'd use that! Shirou refused without thinking.

This was the one red line he absolutely could not cross.

Suggestion Magic was just too useful in daily life.

It was like a drug or gambling addiction; once you became dependent, there was no turning back.

To avoid deviating too far from his path as a human, Shirou had decided not to use Suggestion Magic on Sister Fujiwara.

There was no other choice but to continue strengthening the defenses of the Amamiya Residence. It wouldn't hurt, and Shirou himself would benefit.

For this, new Magic materials would need to be prepared.

The strategic resources available at the shopping district were too limited.

Over the past decade, Miyama Town had gradually fallen behind the times, with large shopping malls and hotels opening in the bustling Shinto district.

Shirou went to Shinto with Makiri today for some shopping. As for Lady Avalon—

After the intelligence exchange with Assassin last night, Shirou's trust in her had risen slightly.

Lady Avalon did not belong to the seven major classes and could not even be detected by the Church's supervisors. All the information she claimed had been verified.

Shirou entrusted the important task of guarding the house to Lady Avalon.

"Mhm. Leave it to me, Master! While I can't help you build a Workshop, I can definitely guard the house!

This is my specialty, I won't even let a single Caster get in!"

Lady Avalon declared, hands on her hips.

She claimed that although she was the sister of the great sage Merlin, an omnipotent Age of Gods Magus, she was not skilled in "Territory Creation."

"You see, I'm a free-spirited traveling flower, and my motto is not to stay in one place for too long.

Since I have absolutely no experience in building Workshops, I'll leave that to you, little Master~?"

Although her tone and attitude felt completely fake... this time, it seemed she wasn't lying.

Shirou took the train to the bustling commercial district of Shinto.

Lady Avalon was probably watching him through her crystal ball right now.

If he were to encounter danger, she should be able to grasp the situation immediately.

"Although I won't help you fight at all, ehe~☆"

Shirou pictured the face of the frivolous female Magus in his mind.

No one expects you to fight, but at the very least, do the basic reinforcement and support Magic properly.

Shirou sighed, thinking.

He had truly summoned a weak, irresponsible, and shameless nameless Servant from the roadside.

And because of her, he had made an enemy of Tokiomi...

Ah, Sakura had already made an enemy of him back then, so that's fine.

Whatever, regretting it now was meaningless.

Since this was the result of compatible summoning, he could only try to accept her.

Speaking of which...

Shirou remembered that Lady Avalon had said something when she appeared, didn't she?

"I messed up, I didn't expect I wouldn't be able to refuse the summoning..."

Was that what she said at the time?

It wasn't that she responded to the summoning voluntarily, but that he had forcibly summoned her?

The summoning of Heroic Spirits in the Holy Grail War followed the principle of voluntary participation.

Only when the Heroic Spirit actively accepted the summoning could they manifest as a Servant.

In other words—

Lady Avalon actually wanted to refuse his summoning at the time, but failed? Why?

Shirou grew more confused the more he thought about it, shaking his head.

He decided to look at the street scene in the distance instead.

Just then, a pair of figures caught Shirou's attention.

A silver-haired woman in a pure white fur coat was strolling down the street, accompanied by a blonde youth in a black suit.

"That must be the Einzbern's artificial life form, and beside her is... her bodyguard, the Yakuza Clone?!?"

Volume 1, Chapter 041: Chased by a Strange Woman

On the bustling streets of Shinto, a beautiful sight that would never normally be seen appeared.

The Master and Servant of the Saber team—

Irisviel and Artoria appeared boldly in the street.

While there were no shortage of fashionable beauties in such a bustling district, they were utterly insignificant compared to the two who had appeared now.

Irisviel wore a pure white coat adorned with snow fox fur on her upper body, outlining her voluptuous and graceful curves. Her lower half was a pair of knee-high boots, boldly displaying her round and slender legs. The overall impression was one of transcendent, otherworldly nobility.

And Artoria, beside her, exuded a different kind of dignified heroism compared to the pure white artificial princess.

Her black suit, paired with a tie and shirt, made Saber look like an impeccable young man.

Her flowing blonde hair and fair skin, her emerald green eyes and delicate lips – the young girl's meticulously neat features exuded a gender-transcending androgynous beauty.

Standing together, the Master and Servant looked like a princess and knight who had stepped out of a painting, drawing envious glances from the surrounding passersby.

"Irisviel, aren't we a bit too conspicuous?"

Saber was somewhat displeased with the current situation. From the airport to the city, the attention they received had not diminished.

Irisviel, feeling the enthusiastic gazes of the passersby, was equally confused. "That's strange, I specifically chose attire that conforms to modern social norms...

Did I fail to disguise myself as a low-key tourist?"

As a princess of an isolated artificial race, her understanding of common sense was far removed from actual common sense.

The outfit Irisviel had so carefully chosen was anything but low-key. Coupled with their inherently un-ignorable appearances and auras, they were destined to be the center of attention wherever they went.

"Never mind, it's not Irisviel's fault. If anyone's to blame, it's me for not being able to materialize."

Saber sighed. Irisviel frowned slightly.

"Is that so? I, on the other hand, am quite happy. Thanks to you being unable to materialize, I can travel like this with Saber alone.

Once we're dressed in modern clothes, no one will recognize you as a Servant."

Nearly a year of being together had made Saber acutely aware that Irisviel was a Master with a remarkably relaxed attitude.

Being unable to materialize should have been a serious flaw, and she wouldn't have been surprised if her Master had scolded her for it. Yet, Irisviel was delighted, treating Saber like a dress-up doll with great enthusiasm every day.

Compared to the grand aspirations of the Einzberns, she seemed to enjoy the Holy Grail War more, viewing the Far Eastern ritual as a pleasant trip.

This was understandable. Compared to Irisviel from F/Z, she had no family experience, nor did she bear the responsibilities of a mother and wife.

Even compared to Illyasviel from F/SN, she hadn't experienced a childhood that plummeted from heaven to hell like Sasuke's (voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama?).

Saber often wondered: Did Irisviel truly desire the Holy Grail?

She had once said she wanted a child, but that was a wish that didn't necessarily require the Holy Grail to be fulfilled.

As the most advanced artificial human, Irisviel herself possessed the ability to reproduce.

In other words, she had no reason to obtain the Holy Grail.

No, what was I thinking...

Saber certainly didn't look down on Irisviel. On the contrary, she was genuinely grateful that this person had become her Master.

Irisviel was the culmination of two thousand years of Einzbern technology. As a Magus, her performance was undeniable.

The strongest Master—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say so.

However, she also had too many shortcomings.

Her overly innocent and carefree nature, her even more naive personality—she would make up for them herself... as her knight.

"Irisviel, you must have seen enough for today. We should probably head back..."

The Knight approached the fitting room area and was surprised to find that the Princess, who had been trying on clothes there moments ago, had vanished.

Saber's scalp went numb: ...I lost the Master!?

At the fast-food restaurant, Shirou silently munched on his hamburger.

Sitting opposite him was a woman who watched him eat, a gentle smile on her face.

"Hehe, don't rush, eat slowly. The good stuff won't run away... Here, have some soda too."

Shirou grunted and took the cola from the woman's hand, continuing to wolf down his food while observing her out of the corner of his eye.

Doll-like perfect features and fair skin, lustrous, elegant silver hair, and crimson eyes like burning embers.

All her outward characteristics indicated that she was a woman from the founding Einzbern family.

Shirou had recognized her with her striking silver hair from afar on the street, but at the time, she had been accompanied by a blonde bodyguard in a black suit.

Although he couldn't see her face clearly from so far away, Shirou could tell just from the young man's silhouette and gait:

He was an unfathomably profound and peerless expert.

Was he a yakuza hired by the Einzberns?

There wasn't a single flaw to be found on his entire body!

He had initially thought the Fujimura Group represented the average standard of yakuza in this world, but he never expected such a master to exist overseas!

To avoid revealing himself, Shirou had tracked them from hundreds of meters away all morning, finally finding an opportunity.