"I brought Bailu with me. Are you still planning to make a move? Be careful not to hurt the Dragon Girl. You'd be the one heartbroken then, Miss Jingliu."
Hearing Shirou Emiya's teasing, Bailu looked utterly confused. She had never met this eyepatch-wearing woman before, so why did the person who had brought her here say that if she got hurt, this woman would be heartbroken?
And...
Why was it that,
despite never having met her...
she felt a sense of familiarity?
"Blade and I—he used to be called Ying Xing—worked together for a while."
"I'm also currently working with Dan Heng, who used to be called Dan Feng."
"Recently, Jing Yuan and I became sworn brothers, and Bailu decided I was her good friend."
"Miss Jingliu, can you guess who's missing?"
The woman whose consciousness already lingered along the Mara-struck boundary could not help feeling anger rise within her at those words. The Cloud-Piercer Five were undoubtedly the most precious part of her memories, the warmest days of her life. And now...
A man had suddenly appeared and claimed that he had gathered Dan Feng, Ying Xing, Jing Yuan, and Bai Heng once more...
"You wish to take my place, little brother?"
"Marrying you and taking you along would be more like it, Sister Jingliu."
Shirou Emiya answered with a smile. This Sword Master was not someone who could be persuaded with a few words. Rather than lowering himself to beg, he might as well provoke her first, then cross swords with her.
"Little brother, do you know how old I am now?"
"Eighteen hundred? No problem. Back where I come from, beautiful young ladies who are thousands of years old are everywhere. Eighteen hundred isn't old at all."
"...Oh? Is your homeland also a place blessed by Abundance?"