Shirou's Return from the Fae Kingdom

But--the secret rules of the Holy Grail War have been broken.

"Unbelievable... Caster could actually control such a monster?"

Irisviel's voice was laced with unconcealed fear.

Shirou shook his head, "No, 'control' isn't the right word. It was simply summoned by that Grimoire.

To put it simply, a very small rift to another world was opened earlier, but now, due to the intervention of three Command Spells, the Grimoire has greatly expanded that rift."

"What... what will this monster do next?" Irisviel asked, stunned.

"There's only one thing it can do. Think about why Caster used children as sacrifices."

Saber and Irisviel's faces turned deathly pale.

Shirou said in a flat tone, "Caster invited these monsters to this world under the guise of a feast. There's only one thing it's going to do next.

A monster of this scale wouldn't need even a full night to devour an entire city."

--The Sea Monster was summoned to this world not for battle, but purely for consumption.

As if to prove the young man's deduction correct, the fully formed Sea Monster ignored Shirou and the others, who were closer, and began to move away from the forest towards the densely populated urban area.

"..."

Artoria's clenched fists trembled. She absolutely could not allow such a monster to run rampant in a city where people lived.

In her anger, the young woman regained her composure.

That Sea Monster was indeed terrifying, far beyond modern society's understanding. However, in Britain, where the aura of the Age of Gods still lingered, Artoria had fought monsters of similar size before.

With her "anti-city Noble Phantasm," she could completely destroy the Sea Monster in one blow.

But the problem was the Sea Monster's current position, directly behind Miyama Town.

The Sea Monster's immense size forced Saber to spread the range of her Noble Phantasm's attack as much as possible. However, doing so might inadvertently involve the innocent civilians behind it.

Saber needed someone to cooperate with her to first lure the monster away from Miyama Town.

And at this scene, there was only one person who could do it.

After a brief silence, Saber turned to the red-haired youth she had just accused of having ill intentions.

"I--"

"My name is Shirou."

Shirou met Saber's gaze and stated his name.

"Huh! Didn't you say your name was Shinji!"

"Iris, please be quiet for now."

"Ah, yes. Sorry."

Irisviel obediently covered her mouth with her hands.

"Shirou..."

Saber softly repeated the name with a subtle expression, then lowered her head.

"I am truly sorry about earlier. I doubted your intentions without understanding the situation."

Shirou asked, "Have you finally calmed down?"

Saber replied, "Yes."

"Good. Then you don't need to apologize."

Shirou nodded with satisfaction, responding with a calm expression.

Saber had mistaken him for a wrongdoer earlier.

But she couldn't be entirely blamed for that.

After all, Shirou himself had almost mistaken Saber for someone else at first.

Besides, when he first approached Irisviel, he had indeed harbored malicious intent, even murderous thoughts.

So, this could be considered even then.

"You don't intend to hold my previous offense against me?"

Saber asked in surprise.

Shirou's attitude of indifference, even when slandered, made the young woman admire his magnanimity while also feeling an indescribable shame from the bottom of her heart.

Artoria thought, this must be what they call judging a gentleman by a villain's standards.

Although it was for the sake of protecting her Master, what I did was truly... terrible.

We were comrades who had our backs to each other just a few minutes ago, and it was all because of a small misunderstanding...

With my fickle and indecisive nature as a king, it's no wonder I ended up with such a tragic fate in the end.

"..."

Suddenly, a nightmare from the past flashed before Artoria's eyes.

That was the despairing end-scene she had been shown by the magus on the appointed day, the day she drew that sword when she was fifteen.

A battlefield at dusk on a hill of swords, a never-ending river of blood and corpses.

More than ten years after drawing that sword, the magus's prophecy had finally become reality.

Former comrades turned into sworn enemies, the unified kingdom fell apart.

And the root cause of all these disasters was the inability to understand the human heart--

"King Arthur shouldn't be making that kind of face."

Shirou interrupted the girl's painful reminiscence.

Saber froze the moment she looked up.

Although he was the face of a boy who was only eight years old, for some reason Artoria's mind-- conjured up his appearance ten years later.

Artoria recalled the beautiful, dark aurora that occupied her mind and thought quietly:

He... Shirou might just be the 'ideal king' she had always dreamed of.

Volume 1, Chapter 058 Iris: When are you two going to let me have grandchildren? (7000)

"!"

Saber, who had abruptly snapped back from her inner turmoil, then dazedly gazed at Shirou Amamiya's face again.

"Expressions of hesitation and confusion don't suit a king, at least not in front of others."

Shirou stared into her emerald eyes and retorted, "Am I wrong?"

"...No."

Artoria stared blankly at the red-haired youth before her, momentarily at a loss for words.

This youth's appearance was so young, yet his eyes were filled with piercing insight.

Under that gaze, Saber felt as if her armor and inner clothing had been stripped away, her entire being laid bare to the boy.

It was precisely because he saw through her that he could say such a thing--

"A king should not show hesitation and confusion in front of others."

This was also Saber's code of conduct during her life.

Now, as Irisviel's Servant pursuing the Holy Grail, her spirit was more inclined towards being a 'knight' than a 'king'.

That was why she had momentarily forgotten her own resolve as a king.

In the end, it was Shirou who reminded her of something she herself had forgotten.

Artoria thought wistfully, this child seems to know everything about her.

Even though--

During her life, she had never been understood by anyone.

The comrades who fought alongside her didn't know her gender.

Her sister and son, bound by blood, turned against her.

The magus who guided her down this path didn't understand human emotions.

From beginning to end, Artoria was alone.

But now.

For the first time, Artoria felt she had someone who understood her.

Her gaze flickered back and forth between the red-haired youth and the black holy sword.

Even searching every corner of her memory, she had no recollection of Shirou.

She was certain that they were indeed meeting for the first time today.

Although his identity remained highly suspicious, however--

The courage and encouragement surging in the maiden's chest now was by no means false.

Artoria said seriously, "I'm sorry for showing you such an embarrassing side."

"Are you alright now, Saber?"

Shirou's question was somewhat redundant--

The hesitation and confusion on Saber's face had long since vanished, replaced by her usual sternness and confidence.

Her expression firm, she nodded, "Thank you, thanks to your encouragement, I'm much better now.

Next, I will wash away my previous mistakes and the damage to your reputation with my performance.

Shirou, could you please put aside our past grievances for a moment and fight alongside me again?"

"Ah, I'm also looking forward to fighting alongside you again, Saber."

This was the truth.

Even though she wasn't Morgan, Shirou didn't feel discouraged; instead, he felt much more relaxed.

Now he could wholeheartedly throw himself back into the Holy Grail War.

And…

To say Shirou wasn't attracted to Saber at all would be a lie.

It had nothing to do with her face.

That night's silver figure and golden sword flash, even after many days, still held a place in Shirou's heart.

The me of Pan-Human History (Arthur)…

I thought I was a man among men, a knight among knights, but I never expected to be such a beautiful and dignified young girl.

Shirou's heart was filled with mixed emotions.

At this moment, the silver-haired android, left in the cold by the passionate pair, opened her mouth sourly.

"Saber has a look on her face like she wants to eat Shirou."

"...What!"

Artoria's cheeks instantly flushed red. "Please don't say things that can be easily misunderstood, Irisviel!"

"Saber's face is so red~ You think Shirou is cute too, don't you?"

"He is indeed cute... but! That's a different matter entirely!"

Shirou quietly watched Saber being teased by her Master, his stern expression softening slightly.

"Oh my... is my Master captivated by Miss Saber?"

Shirou took a deep breath. "Avalon, big sister, you were planning to mislead me into thinking Saber was Morgan, weren't you?"