Shirou's Return from the Fae Kingdom

Slipping into the brief gap between the homunculus and the boy in the suit, Shirou appeared before her.

Shirou grabbed the hem of the woman's fur coat, looked up at her, and said, "I'm hungry."

Then, upon seeing Shirou's face, this woman inexplicably wore an expression as if sensing some kind of destiny, covered her mouth, and her delicate body trembled uncontrollably.

...What's going on!?

Shirou was utterly bewildered: Although Lady Avalon often told me I had a "tendency to attract trouble with women" and would become a public enemy of women when I grew up... I'm only 8 years old? I haven't even grown up yet!

Afterward, he was led to a nearby fast-food restaurant.

Irisviel cupped her cheeks, gazing dreamily at the red-haired boy eating a hamburger.

Although she felt uneasy about not reporting her actions to Saber, the Holy Grail War hadn't started yet, and it was broad daylight, so it should be fine to be apart for a while.

What's more, if an emergency situation arose, they could communicate via telepathy or summon Saber using Command Spells.

The willful Einzbern princess thought: Although I'm very, very happy with Saber, it's nice to sneak out alone once in a while.

Alright, putting Saber aside for now, the focus is on this child~

"Little boy, what's your name?"

"My name is Shinji."

"Shinji-kun, where are your parents?"

Shirou put down the hamburger in his hand, fell silent for a moment, and then spoke.

"I don't have parents."

"Ah..."

Irisviel's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth in surprise.

She quickly apologized, "...I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Shirou shook his head. "It's okay. You're a good person for treating me to a hamburger. Thank you, big sister."

Looking at the sincere expression on the red-haired boy's face, Irisviel felt a warmth spread through her heart.

What a sensible, good child...?

"Your parents are gone, so where do you usually live?"

"I live with my relatives."

"Shinji-kun, are your relatives good to you?"

"Not really. My sister drinks my milk every morning without asking."

Shirou said in a wronged tone.

"She also often badmouths me in front of my best friends."

This... this is too pathetic!

Irisviel's eyes reddened slightly, and she bit her lip as she tentatively asked, "In that case, do you want to come with Mom... come with me?"

Volume 1, Chapter 042: Woman, You Have Successfully Captured My Attention

Hearing Irisviel's words, Shirou's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

This woman... does she mean that seriously!?

"Ah, I'm sorry... Please disregard what I just said."

Irisviel also realized something was wrong and quickly retracted her statement.

Honestly, what was I thinking...

I'm supposed to participate in the Holy Grail War with Saber, aren't I?

How can I involve such a cute child in the battle between Servants?

Irisviel blamed herself in her heart.

But it's not entirely my fault, is it? If anyone's to blame, it's this boy in front of me who's just too incredibly adorable.

This red-haired boy before her perfectly matched all of Irisviel's fantasies for her own child--

If it were a cute girl, she'd want her to be a little willful.

If it were a cute boy, she'd want him to be a little sensible.

Oh dear! I really want to take this child home!

But Saber would definitely scold me, sob sob...

Irisviel's delicate brows furrowed, and she bit her lip.

Meanwhile.

Shirou finished his hamburger and was wiping his lips with a paper napkin.

McDonald's cheeseburger... it's quite tasty.

While he really disliked the modern food culture known as fast food, good food was still good food. He had to admit that this stuff had its merits in terms of taste, and it wasn't surprising that it had become popular worldwide.

Hmm, should he try challenging Japan's famous home-style dish, hamburger steak, tomorrow night?

Sister Fujiwara had said she wanted to eat it before.

No! Now is not the time to be thinking about cooking, Shirou Amamiya!

Shirou had already heard the explanation about the Einzbern Family from Makiri.

In short, they were an ultra-rich, ultra-ancient family living in seclusion in Western Europe.

When it came to alchemy, especially artificial human technology, they were world-class with no rivals. However, they weren't skilled in magical combat.

They were the first to be eliminated in the last Holy Grail War, bringing shame to the three founding families.

Little Yellow Duck lamented the Einzberns' current decline, reminiscing about the past glory of the "Saint of Winter," which made Shirou feel incredibly nauseous.

In short, she was likely an artificial life form from the Einzberns.

According to Makiri's explanation, artificial humans were not naturally produced but rather dolls created through Magic—

"???"

Shirou wore a confused expression.

To his "Limit Mage's Eye," the artificial human before him shared a certain degree of similarity in Origin with the humans of the Fae Kingdom.

No way...

Were the humans of the Fae Kingdom of Britain... not "ordinary" humans after all?

No wonder they could only live to 30 and had no reproductive ability! They were artificial humans!

He hadn't expected that after returning to Pan-Human History, Shirou would still be able to uncover a corner of the truth about the world of the other Britain.

"Shinji-kun, what's wrong? You've been staring at Sister's face since a while ago," Irisviel asked curiously.

"Ah, sorry."

Shirou pretended to be shy and lowered his head, saying softly, "Sister is so beautiful, like a princess from a fairy tale."

"Hehe, Shinji-kun is also very cute~"

Irisviel propped her cheek with her hand, lamenting, "I really wish I could just whisk you away home..."

Shirou rolled his eyes: You just said what you were thinking out loud, artificial human.

He felt a little unaccustomed to the woman's enthusiasm, but he couldn't say he disliked it.

She was, on another level from Sister Fujiwara, the type of person Shirou found difficult to handle.

"!"

Irisviel's smile suddenly froze, her expression changing slightly as she placed her slender, beautiful fingers below her ear.

Shirou saw this and a guess formed in his mind.

--She was communicating with her Servant.

Based on the information obtained from Assassin, the Einzberns' Servant should be Saber.

...The finest Servant.

To be honest, now was the best time to eliminate Irisviel.

Shirou's original plan was to plant a tracker and a bug on her, which he had just accomplished.

But since he had confirmed that Saber wasn't hiding nearby in Spiritualization form, Shirou was confident enough to go further—to eliminate her directly.

Should I do it, Shirou?

Now? Here?

But there were too many witnesses...

My Master identity would be exposed to Tokiomi Tohsaka, and I'd even be branded as "fighting in the city center during the day, a serious violation of the rules," facing severe sanctions from the Church. It would be far too detrimental.

At this moment, Irisviel placed her hand on Shirou's hand.

Shirou's modified Command Spells, having been enchanted by Lady Avalon, couldn't be seen with the naked eye normally, though they couldn't escape detection Magic. Yet, she was exposing the Command Spells on her hand without any hesitation.

Her vigilance towards the war was practically zero. Could she really survive until the end like this?

Or was this the norm, and this so-called war was just child's play?

Irisviel held Shirou's hand and said, "Shinji-kun, my friend will be here shortly.

She seems a little angry, so I hope when she arrives..."

"Sister, I need to go to the restroom."

"Ah... Okay."

Shirou withdrew his hand and walked towards the fast-food restaurant's restroom, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

Irisviel...

Next time we meet, remember to bring your Servant.

"Irisviel!!!"

A handsome young man in black, a knight, appeared in the fast-food restaurant, literally fuming with rage.

"I'm sorry, Saber."

Irisviel clasped her hands together and apologized in the most sincere tone she could muster, "I'm truly sorry, I'll never act on my own again."

Saber was initially full of anger, but upon seeing his Master's face, his rage inexplicably dissipated.

"...This is the last time."

"Hehehe, Saber, you're so kind~"

Irisviel hugged him without regard for the stares of others, and Saber sighed.

If he had to say, he couldn't entirely blame Irisviel for this.

Willfulness was a princess's privilege, and failing to keep a proper watch on her was his own dereliction of duty as a knight.

Saber's expression turned serious. "From now on, I will keep a closer eye on you than ever before. Be prepared, Irisviel."

"Aww, why is it like this~~~"

Irisviel drooped her head with a tearful expression, but her mood quickly brightened again.

"Oh, right, Saber! Listen to me, I just met a really cute boy!!"