I'm Back...

Awkward.

Very awkward.

The atmosphere was painfully awkward.

After Kiritsugu, Alice, and the others left, only Xia and Artoria remained on the balcony, standing together in silence.

The tea on the table still gave off a little warmth in the freezing snow, but faced with the silence between Xia and Artoria, it could only helplessly cool.

Xia stood straight beside the table, seeming perfectly composed and calm. In reality, he was so nervous that his palms were slick with sweat.

What do I do? What do I do? What should I say? What can I do to warm things up?! And why is Artoria just as silent as I am?!

Gulp. Xia tugged at his collar and swallowed.

He quietly turned his head and glanced at Artoria from the corner of his eye, only to find her looking around just as helplessly.

Just as Artoria's wandering gaze met Xia's "sneaky" one—

"Ahahaha!! No, it's not like that! I wasn't looking at you. I was looking at this table~ Ah, what a refined work of art~! Ahahaha!! Ahahahahaha...!!!" Like a thief caught red-handed, Xia laughed foolishly and scratched his head, then pretended to lean down and carefully admire this "artistic" bargain.

What an idiot...

"Ah, yes! It really is a table of 'great value'! We must admire it carefully!" Artoria answered unexpectedly. As if trying to cover something up, she spoke nervously, then bent down too, intending to "admire" the table of "great value" alongside Xia!

What a pair of idiots...

The dining table was already quite small, and both heroic spirits were exceptionally agile.

So when they both bent down quickly at the same time, this happened...

With a thump,

Artoria's forehead made intimate, unimpeded contact with Xia's head.

They both straightened up at nearly the same speed, then crouched off to the side, clutching their injured heads and grimacing in pain...

The collision between Artoria and Xia was like two race cars crashing head-on at high speed. It was a disaster for both of them...

"Ugh...!" Artoria clutched her forehead and crouched to one side, letting out a pained, restrained groan.

Hearing Artoria's pained groan, Xia—who was crouched on the other side, hurting just as badly—immediately forgot his own pain and hurried to her side to see whether she was seriously injured.

Xia finally managed to move Artoria's small hand away from the painful spot. He saw a blood-red mark on her formerly pristine forehead, making it look terribly frightening. (It was actually quite ordinary; Xia's imagination was just running wild.)

Looking at the blood-red mark, then at Artoria's pained expression—

Should I kill myself to atone for this...?

There was nothing else he could do...

"Phew~ phew~ Blow on it~ Pain, pain, go away~ Whoosh~ Hurry up and go away~" Forcing a smile, Xia tried to comfort Artoria while gently blowing on the red mark again and again. He used the same words his mother had always used to comfort him when he was little and got hurt.

When Artoria first heard Xia's reassurance, she nearly burst out laughing.

Is he treating me like a child? Hehe...

She was just about to lift her head and tell Xia that it didn't hurt so much anymore when she happened to see the worry and concern filling his dark eyes. His handsome, determined brows had drawn tightly together, and his face was full of anxiety that he was trying not to show.

Xia...?

Seeing Xia's worried expression, enjoying his clumsy but sincere comfort, and feeling his warm hand gently smoothing her golden hair,

Artoria swallowed the words that had been on the tip of her tongue.

Instead, she slowly closed her green eyes and wrapped her arms around her knees. Crouched there, she smiled softly, savoring the peace and warmth of the moment...

This familiar feeling, this sense of ease, this feeling of being able to rely on someone... It feels so wonderful...

After a while, Xia saw that the swelling on Artoria's forehead was gradually going down and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He casually wiped the sweat from his forehead, then smiled and was about to tell Artoria that she was all right.

But at some point, the golden-haired girl who had been kneeling had climbed into his arms. She clutched his robe tightly and was fast asleep, a peaceful, gentle smile on her face...

Xia was slightly taken aback when he saw this, but gradually calmed down.

He wrapped both arms firmly around the girl, savoring the tenderness and reassurance he had dreamed of ever since his countless cycles of reincarnation began.

Holding her, loving her, thinking of her.

Countless lifetimes of reincarnation, countless lifetimes of longing, countless lifetimes of struggle and bloodshed.

Now, at last, he had received the greatest reward he could ever ask for...

At last, at last, he had her again...

My Goddess...

I crossed the gates of time and swam across a rotten sea.

My spirit was shattered, my body brought to the brink of collapse time and again...

But—

No matter what hardships and disasters stood in my way, no matter what divine beings tried to stop me along the path,

I would overcome every obstacle! I would wager the one and only soul within me! I would make it to your side!

"Have you come back...? Xia." Her soft, dreamlike murmur. Her small hand clutching his robe. A tear of longing fell onto the cold ground.

The young man's pupils contracted slightly as he gazed down at the person in his arms, astonishment on his face.

When he realized it was only something she'd murmured in her dream, he lowered his head, a little disappointed.

But—

His arms tightened around the person in his embrace once more.

He listened to the howling gale that had suddenly risen outside the balcony.

He watched the white snowflakes fall from the sky, settling into this world of white.

"Yes, I'm back..."

ZERO was only a side story.

The real theme is the Fifth Holy Grail War~

...Votes are welcome!