At the entrance of a tent far from the soldiers' camp, Merlin sat there, looking unusually helpless.
Ana and Fou sat beside him.
Unlike Merlin, who stared blankly into the distance, the girl and the beast kept stealing glances at him, their attention never straying for long.
They were watching him.
More precisely, they were watching Merlin's Clairvoyance.
And the reason was simple.
The tent next to them.
Footsteps sounded.
Three young girls walked out of the tent, their faces still flushed.
Right after them, Emiya Shirou and Little Rimuru stepped out as well, both wearing calm expressions.
Just moments ago, Shuna, Ritsuka, and Mash had completed the update of their God's Grace.
Emiya Shirou glanced at the paper in his hand and nodded repeatedly.
Judging from the recorded progress of their basic abilities, all three had grown smoothly.
Very smoothly.
"Congratulations, Shuna. From today onward, you're a Level 2 adventurer."
Between her experiences in the Campione world and the constant tempering at the Absolute Demonic Front, Shuna's basic attributes had continued to rise.
Even without a skill that accelerated potential development, her growth speed could still be called rapid.
After all, her foundation had already been strong.
"Is that so? I don't really feel any different."
Shuna spread her hands and turned around, clearly unable to sense any change in herself.
"The increase has already seeped into your bones. Over the next few days, you'll need time to adapt before you fully master it."
After handing Shuna the paper that recorded her basic stats, Emiya Shirou shifted his gaze to Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"Mash's growth rate is also extremely fast. At this pace, there's hope you'll soon break through and reach the stage of sublimation."
After offering Mash a few words of encouragement, Emiya Shirou looked directly at Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"As for Ritsuka, although your basic values have increased quite a bit, there's still no feeling that really makes one's eyes light up."
"It's probably because of the combat environment."
At those words, Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled wryly.
"That's right. Those demonic beasts are good opponents for Mash and the others, but they're just too much for me."
"Forget training in the middle of a demonic beast horde. I don't think I could even kill a single one."
Thinking back on her experiences over this period, Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but feel a little dejected.
When she first arrived, she had fully intended to train seriously.
Reality had other ideas.
She couldn't beat the demonic beasts at all.
So her training had turned into drills with ordinary soldiers.
Or lessons under Merlin.
And whenever actual combat happened, her role was limited to firing arrows from the rear.
Thanks to her previous training at Chaldea, even if her archery hadn't reached a transcendent level, it was still sharp and reliable.
That alone had earned her a reputation as a skilled sharpshooter within the army.
But trust from others didn't change one thing.
It didn't satisfy her desire to grow stronger.
Hearing her words, Merlin-who had already wandered over the moment Emiya Shirou and the others exited the tent-let out a sigh and spoke up as well.
"I've thought about reinforcing Fujimaru Ritsuka's body with strengthening magic so she could join the battle more directly."
"But there are simply too many demonic beasts outside. Any reinforcement I apply gets consumed almost immediately."
Merlin's eyes carried genuine distress.
There was no helping it.
The number of demonic beasts was overwhelming.
He could attach powerful defensive magic to Fujimaru Ritsuka, but doing that would defeat the purpose of training.
Under that level of protection, those demonic beasts wouldn't even be able to touch her.
She would only be attacking unilaterally.
At that point, how would that be any different from hitting sandbags back in the city?
Sensing the shared frustration of both Fujimaru Ritsuka and Merlin, Emiya Shirou couldn't help but laugh.
"I accounted for that a long time ago."
"That's why I prepared something special for you."
He raised one hand slightly.
A neatly folded suit of armor floated above his palm.
"This is an armament I forged for you, using Siegfried's Noble Phantasm, 'Armor of Fafnir,' as a prototype."
"Once you acknowledge it with your blood, it will adjust itself into the form that best fits your body."
"This armor can grow alongside you. It offers a certain level of defense, and it also carries special properties."
"It can nullify any attack below D-rank."
Seeing the surprise on Fujimaru Ritsuka's face, Emiya Shirou waved his hand.
The armor drifted forward and stopped right in front of her.
Startled, Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly reached out and caught it, holding it tightly against her chest.
She stared at the armor in her arms, her eyes shining with excitement.
Emiya Shirou simply smiled and continued.
"As a prototype, Siegfried's 'Armor of Fafnir' can nullify any attack below B-rank."
"This one is naturally far inferior to the original."
"But as long as you continue to grow, surpassing the prototype is only a matter of time."
"So?"
"Are you satisfied?"
"Satisfied? I'm more than satisfied!"
Hugging the armor, Fujimaru Ritsuka bounced excitedly on the spot.
"Satisfied?"
"You're getting ahead of yourself."
As he spoke, Emiya Shirou waved his hand again.
A crimson long spear appeared in his grasp.
The moment it manifested, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt a faint but unmistakable aura of flames radiating from it.
"The prototype for this spear is Karna's weapon, 'Vasavi Shakti.'"
"It can transform into other weapon forms and convert your magical energy directly into flames."
"Of course, it's also a growth-type weapon."
"The number of forms it can transform into, and the quality of the flames, might not meet your expectations right now."
"But its future potential is unquestionable."
With trembling hands, Fujimaru Ritsuka accepted the spear.
At this point, she was too overwhelmed to even find the right words.
These things were simply too precious.
"Senpai Shirou... were you making all of these in the forging room the whole time?"
"Of course."
Emiya Shirou extended his hand and naturally rested it on Fujimaru Ritsuka's head.
"Since I engraved the God's Grace onto you, you're a member of the Loki Familia."
"And the Loki Familia has always treated its members as family."
"As the only senior you can rely on right now, it's only natural that I think these things through for you."
Listening to his words, both Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash found their eyes growing wet.
"Thank you... Senpai."
"Alright. From here on out, work hard."
After patting Fujimaru Ritsuka on the shoulder, Emiya Shirou turned his gaze toward Mash, whose eyes were already brimming with tears.
"Don't start crying yet, Mash."
"Catch this."
He flicked his wrist.
A treasured sword, neatly sheathed in its scabbard, flew through the air toward her.
"Eh?"
Mash hurriedly caught it, staring down at the weapon in confusion before looking back at Emiya Shirou.
"This one's for you."
"I'm not about to leave you out."
"You inherited Galahad's abilities, and your combat techniques already form a complete system."
"I thought about it for a long time before deciding on the prototype for your weapon."
"The sword and its scabbard are modeled after the weapons Galahad was most familiar with."
"Excalibur."
"And Avalon."
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