As Shirou's words fell, the air seemed to instantly solidify, sinking into an awkward silence.
The only sounds left were the faint breeze of the late night, and the crisp noise of Eriyi beside him chewing on a crepe—the collision of rosy lips and white teeth against slices of cheese and crispy pastry crust, sounding unusually clear in the quiet night.
"Charlotte?"
Thinking she hadn't heard him, Shirou slightly raised his voice, testing the waters again. His gaze carefully examined this "online friend" he had never met before.
From appearance alone, she was almost exactly as he had imagined. The photos she had sent before—Shirou thought they might have been retouched—but to his surprise, the real person was nearly identical to the pictures.
Charlotte was young, dressed in layered navy vest and blazer over a short skirt, topped with a beret. The Tweed Run-style outfit made her look like a young British lady on an outing, but her petite build made her resemble a delicate porcelain doll even more.
Hearing Shirou's question, Charlotte finally snapped out of the blow from her apparent failed summoning. Her cheeks flushed red from Shirou and Eriyi's intense stares. "I heard you, I heard you! I'm just busy right now, okay? Can't you be patient?"
Her tone was tinged with embarrassment and anger, hiding a hint of guilt—afraid her awkward mistake would be exposed by the friend she was meeting in person for the first time.
Silence returned, broken only by the rustling of the night wind through the treetops.
Charlotte's slightly trembling fingers pointed at the empty summoning circle. The bright red Command Seal on the back of her hand and the vacant summoning array seemed to silently mock her failure.
Through the Command Seal, she carefully sensed a void channel devouring her mana. No mistake—she had definitely succeeded in summoning earlier. She simply hadn't found the Servant yet. Just needed a little more time…
Of course, Shirou had to speak again: "You've manifested your Command Seal, right? So you just performed a summoning, didn't you?"
Damn "God Slayer," if you already know, why say it out loud!?
"So where's your Servant?"
I'm looking for them! What's your rush!?
"The message you sent me—didn't it mean you wanted to test my skills? So now you've sent your Servant away in spirit form and plan to fight me alone?"
Hey, hey, hey! You're someone who can kill a Dragon King head-on, and you want to fight me one-on-one? Have you no shame!?
Charlotte swallowed back the retort boiling inside her, letting it turn into silent grumbling. Still so young, she could be the "keyboard warrior" online, but faced with someone in person, she instantly went mute.
Wait… spirit form… herself…
Charlotte blinked, suddenly realizing something. She murmured into the air, "Direct possession of the Master… that's allowed in the Holy Grail War, right? Sima—"
Before she could finish, a deep laugh seemed to echo behind her. "Little girl, you may be young, but you're far more interesting than those fools from the Cao family."
The voice didn't seem to spread through the wind, but resounded only in her mind. "Contract complete. The Holy Grail War doesn't require rules, little girl."
Charlotte felt the Servant's power surge into her limbs and bones. Even her magic circuits, honed through study at the Clock Tower, swelled and strengthened—their efficiency and precision vastly improved from before.
At the same time, the Servant's information became clear… Rider, Sima Yi.
Thinking of her Servant's past, she replied silently in her heart, "No need to follow the rules. After all, history is written by the victors, right, Sima Zhongda?"
"No—history is not written by the victors, but by those who survive to the end," the voice of Emperor Jin Xuan held deep meaning. "I've lent you my power. Now think carefully about how to survive the Holy Grail War."
Survive…?
The sudden gain of such overwhelming power filled Charlotte with joy, as if the whole world was now under her control. Yet that final sentence from Sima Yi lingered in her mind like a fine thorn.
A sudden gust arose, carrying a chill unfitting for midsummer. It swirled up fallen leaves from the ground, whispering in the dark.
"Hm?"
Bored of watching Charlotte "space out," Shirou suddenly raised his head, sensing something.
Above, the clouds closed in like a great fanged maw, slowly swallowing the faint silver moon. The deepening darkness swept over the empty field like a flood of ink, engulfing everything.
"Wow! Shirou, I've got my Servant's power now! This isn't spirit form—it's really a human body wielding a Servant's strength. Hmph, you've never seen this before, have you—"
Charlotte still didn't understand Sima Yi's warning, but the sudden surge of pseudo-Servant power made her giddy. Her fear toward Shirou faded, replaced by confidence.
Feeling the power surging within her, she guessed her physical abilities alone were now dozens of times stronger than before—not to mention her Servant skills, Noble Phantasm, and greatly enhanced magic.
She hadn't yet tested it, but under this blessing, she believed she could face Shirou evenly.
"…Shirou?"
To her disappointment, her smug display failed to provoke any interest. Shirou only narrowed his eyes, scanning the surroundings cautiously… while the red-haired girl Eriyi remained innocently chewing her crepe, like a little sister, utterly unconcerned.
Eriyi blinked her clear eyes, noticing Charlotte's gaze. Instead of awe, surprise, or fear, she simply offered the extra crepe in her hands.
Though silent, her meaning was clear—Want one?
Seriously? You're both unbelievable! I'm as strong as a Servant now, which is definitely abnormal, and you can't even act a little afraid!?
Charlotte sighed inwardly, feeling her bragging was wasted on these unnervingly calm "siblings." She didn't realize Shirou fully understood the concept of a pseudo-Servant, while Eriyi simply didn't.
"Shirou, you—"
"Listen, Charlotte. Close your eyes and listen carefully. The wind sounds wrong."
"Huh?"
Startled, Charlotte's heightened Servant senses finally picked up the strangeness. She at last understood the hidden warning in Sima Yi's words. She and Eriyi obediently shut their eyes.
The wind through branches grew sharper. Overhead, air currents howled. Leaves and petals rustled as they were lifted into the air, composing a haunting nocturne.
In Shirou's hand, sparks flared—the crisp sizzle of flame filled the air. In moments, he had forged a strange longsword.
"Don't be deceived by your eyes. Ninety percent of what we perceive comes from sight, so it's easy to be fooled by appearances, ignoring what hearing and other senses tell us."
Shirou didn't close his eyes. His "mind's eye" acted like an internal analyzer, dissecting every anomaly and assembling them into a precise, expansive perception of the true world—stripped of all illusions.
He raised the sword, gripping the hilt tightly. From the darkness came terrible slithering and howls. The creeping shadows swarmed from all directions, their cold aura seeping into the bones of any passerby.
Charlotte instantly shifted from her relaxed stance, grabbing her suitcase and unlocking the corner latches. Her alchemical creation—the Third Generation Mercury AI—was ready to deploy.
Eriyi, meanwhile, kept eating her crepe, tapping her toes in rhythm, as if playing along to the wind's eerie song.
Charlotte stared into the writhing dark, uncertain if the world had truly changed, or if she'd stumbled into Nibelungen. She asked, "What is that?"
Shirou didn't answer her, instead speaking to Eriyi: "Got more?"
"Huh?"
While Charlotte was still confused, Eriyi understood immediately, handing over the last two pieces of crepe. Shirou swallowed them in two quick bites.
Feeling the warmth in his stomach, Shirou finally raised his sword, eyes sharp as he gazed into the dark.
Ding ding ding—!
His blade swept down, releasing a flash of white sword energy that shattered the incoming barrage of hidden weapons.
Then, the creeping shadows became clear—warriors shrouded in black aura, their faces hidden, yet all clearly skilled and deadly.
"Shadow Servants!?"
(End of Chapter)
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