"Ah..."
The moment Shirou saw the blonde girl, his brain suddenly stopped functioning. He froze in place, stunned.
Was it because of the girl's beauty?
Or was it something else entirely?
Whatever the reason, his heart began to pound wildly, and he couldn't quite put into words what he was feeling.
"Are you alright?"
Seeing him caught in a daze, the blonde girl tilted her head in puzzlement and waved at him.
"Did the journey from the Inner Sea of the Stars tire you out too much? —— Would you like me to use a spell to help you recover?"
"Ah, no need... Wait a minute—Inner Sea of the Stars? What is that?"
The mention of the word magic snapped Shirou out of his daze, grounding his thoughts.
But the unfamiliar term he had just heard still left him feeling... uneasy.
Even though he had learned much about magic from his adoptive father Kiritsugu, he had never once heard of this so-called Inner Sea of the Stars.
"You don't know about the Inner Sea of the Stars?"
The blonde girl's eyes widened in disbelief.
"But aren't you from—... Wait, you really don't know? You weren't lying at all? Did I make a mistake from the very beginning?"
She had intended to ask more, but instead, she used her innate power—Fairy Eyes—to confirm Shirou's truthfulness.
——Fairy Eyes: the magical eyes that fairies are born with. They can see through any lie, hear the inner voice of the speaker, and unveil the truth behind their words.
——Though most fairies in Britain had lost this power over time, Morgan, as a fairy from the Inner Sea of the Stars, still retained the purest form of the Fairy Eyes.
Through them, Morgan heard Shirou's genuine confusion and realized—he truly knew nothing of the Inner Sea. He had never come from there.
"Sigh... I overthought things. I'm sorry."
The joy she had felt at the possibility of meeting someone from her homeland vanished in an instant, replaced by a quiet sigh of disappointment.
But her emotional shift only deepened Shirou's confusion. He didn't even know the name of this mysterious blonde girl.
More importantly... where exactly was he?
Who had brought him here, and why?
And if he had disappeared without a trace—how worried would Fujimura-san and Sakura be right now?
"Ugh... seriously, just where am I?"
Overwhelmed by questions and concerns, Shirou sighed as well.
He began forming his words carefully and turned to the blonde girl, preparing to ask her directly.
He had no choice.
In this ornate, luxurious room, she was the only one present—and therefore, the only one who could provide any answers.
His thoughts and questions were picked up again by Morgan, through the feedback from her Fairy Eyes.
Although she still felt a tinge of disappointment, Morgan, raised in a world filled with love and kindness, was a cheerful, optimistic, and gentle soul.
So, she quickly composed herself—and replied with a warm smile.
"Magus from afar, welcome to Britain.
This is a beautiful island, where fairies and humans live in harmony, where prosperity flourishes.
It is a perfect land, like something out of a fairy tale."
She introduced this land to Shirou, her words laced with pride and affection.
Though she had only ever lived in Orkney, Morgan believed with all her heart that the other regions of Britain were just as wonderful—filled with fairies who, like her kin, loved freedom, guarded love and the future, and lived with kindness.
....
Morgan explained the situation of Britain to Shirou in terms that were easy to understand.
And at the end, she didn't forget to introduce herself as well.
"My name is Morgan. You can also call me Viviane. I am the Witch of the Rain Clan."
Thus concluded her self-introduction.
But Shirou, having listened to the whole explanation, simply lowered his head—his thoughts overwhelmed by the flood of information Morgan had given him.
Although he wasn't exactly a top student, he did know a few things about Britain—particularly the most famous figure in British legend: King Arthur.
In the Britain he knew, Arthur was the chosen king who ruled the island. Under his reign, Britain repelled its enemies and gained peace. He became known as the King of Knights.
But that peace did not last. Morgan, jealous that Arthur had become king, plotted against him. She used her own illegitimate child with Arthur —Mordred—and, while Arthur was campaigning in Rome, Mordred rebelled and declared herself the new king.
Arthur hurried home, and the two fought a bloody final battle. In the end, they both perished. Britain fell into ruin, and Morgan, the one held responsible for it all, vanished from the world without a trace.
This was the version of the story Shirou had always known about King Arthur.
But the story Morgan had just told him... did not align with it at all.
In his world, Britain was a land of humans—aside from the Lady of the Lake who granted Arthur the sacred sword, there were no other fairies.
Yet in this world, there existed an abundance of fairies.
That, in itself, wasn't too big a problem.
If what the blonde girl said was true, then Shirou had been transported to another world—a different version of Britain, one where the dominant beings were fairies instead of humans.
What bothered Shirou more, however, was the name she had used:
"Morgan..."
As he looked at the girl's delicate, graceful face, Shirou found it difficult to associate her with the infamous Morgan of legend—the cruel, manipulative, lustful witch of the Arthurian tales.
Of course... maybe it was just a coincidence.
"It could just be the same name," Shirou reassured himself. After all, the name Morgan wasn't uncommon in the West.
"Phew... My head's spinning after all that, but at least now I have a general grasp of my situation. I still don't know how I ended up in this world... But hey, this is definitely better than being kidnapped."
Now that he understood what had happened, Shirou didn't fall into despair. After all, he was a magus—his mind wasn't so fragile.
If he had been sent to another world, then there must be a way back. And with the help of Britain's fairies, that task shouldn't be impossible.
Though there were differences in strength among fairies, those powerful enough were no different from true Magi, capable of performing miracles.
"My name is Shirou. Emiya Shirou. Thank you for explaining everything to me— Being alone in a place like this without knowing anything would've been a nightmare."
Now that his mind was clearer, Shirou introduced himself and extended his right hand.
"Hm? — Is this some kind of foreign custom? A handshake to express gratitude... Hmm... I see. That's not a bad tradition at all."
Morgan tilted her head in brief confusion, but quickly understood and extended her hand in return.
As he saw her pale, delicate hand reaching toward him, Shirou suddenly felt a strange nervousness.
He didn't know where it came from—but he kept that uneasy feeling to himself.
And then, they shook hands.
But just as their hands parted, a red mark on the back of Shirou's hand suddenly began to glow with a blinding light.
"This is... Wait—have we formed a contract?!"
Morgan was startled by the phenomenon. What should have been a simple handshake now lingered—her gaze fixed on the glowing sigil, and finally, she spoke her conclusion after carefully observing it.
"A contract?"
The word made Shirou raise an eyebrow. He more or less understood what Morgan meant.
Just as human society relied on written agreements to maintain trust, maguses, being inherently selfish, often established contracts among themselves.
Parchments imbued with magical seals carried binding power—any magus who signed such a contract would be unable to break it.
Should they violate the terms, the curse placed upon them would activate—an unbreakable curse, one that would persist even beyond death, clinging to the soul.
—This was something Kiritsugu had taught Shirou.
Though, Kiritsugu also warned: magic contracts are not absolute—never fully trust another magus just because a contract exists.
"Ah... it's not that kind of contract," Morgan quickly clarified. "If anything, what we've formed is more like a pass."
"Pass?"
"Based on my analysis, this 'pass' is simply a magical connection between you and me... a two-way channel. We can both transfer mana to one another freely, using our own will."
Seeing Shirou's confusion, Morgan immediately explained further.
If it had been a suspicious contract with hidden conditions, she would've been worried. But after analyzing it herself and finding it was merely a mutual mana link, she was relieved.
Though her mana wasn't especially abundant among fairies, compared to the meager magical energy Shirou could access, her reserves were already massive.
What intrigued Morgan more than the contract, however, was the magical knowledge sealed inside the mark.
"Shirou, I even found magic related to world-crossing embedded in that mark... it's incredible! I've never seen spells like this, not even in the Orkney library!"
Her voice trembled with excitement as she spoke.
Her curiosity toward unknown magecraft burned bright—especially the theories of space and time hidden within the mark. It felt as if her understanding had been elevated to an entirely new level, and new ideas for spells flooded her mind.
As for his name, Morgan had no issue calling him "Shirou" directly.
To her, it felt natural—perhaps even a sign of trust.
"Is that so..."
Shirou, whose knowledge of magecraft was still shallow, couldn't fully grasp why she was so ecstatic. But within her words, he caught something important:
"World-crossing magic... does that mean I could go back to my world?"
Naturally, this caught Shirou's attention.
He didn't want Fujimura-san or Sakura to worry about his sudden disappearance.
"Mhm! If I can fully decipher the mark, I'm confident I could send you back." Morgan nodded with a proud smile. Her confidence was rooted in her own magical talent. "But ... Shirou, how did you even get this spear-shaped mark in the first place?"
Given the complexity of the magical theory inside, even Morgan—with all her talent—had only managed to decipher a small portion. It was only natural that she would be curious about its origin.
"How I got it... hmm, sorry. It appeared so suddenly," Shirou answered helplessly. He looked at the red spear-like sigil on the back of his hand, but couldn't recall how it got there. "If I had to guess, maybe it's related to that night I was working at the Copenhagen bar..."
"A bar?"
"Yeah. I thought I was hallucinating from overwork, but in hindsight... it must be connected to that."
Then, Shirou recounted his strange encounter with the mysterious woman at the bar. Morgan listened attentively, eyes narrowing in thought.
"I've never met this mysterious woman you described... but somehow, I have a feeling I might know her. Could she also be... a fairy from the Inner Sea of the Stars?"
Trusting her instincts, Morgan pondered the woman's identity. But with so little information, she couldn't reach a conclusion.
It couldn't be helped. Morgan didn't have many memories of the Inner Sea of the Stars. All she knew was its general existence—and the mission she had been given from it.
Though, deep in her heart, Morgan didn't fully agree with the mission. She had always been searching for a way to fulfill it while also reaching a happy ending.
"Well... no point overthinking it. Anyway, Shirou, just relax for now."
Her naturally cheerful nature bubbled up again. Morgan smiled brightly.
"Thanks to your arrival, I think I finally have an excuse to ask my mother for permission to leave the palace! It's so boring being stuck in here all the time!"
Morgan's identity was extremely special, and as a result, she rarely got the chance to venture outside. And since it rained for most of the year in Orkney, she spent most of her life confined within the palace.
So now, with Shirou's appearance, Morgan was seriously considering going on a journey— not a holy pilgrimage, but a real adventure. That distinction mattered to her.
"Ugh... now that you mention it, I really do feel exhausted."
Just hearing her say that made Shirou's fatigue resurface. He had only planned to do a bit of magecraft training before bed, but instead, he ended up transported to another world.
Though he had been unconscious for a while, the mental weariness from that day had not disappeared so easily.
But then, Shirou suddenly realized something.
They were still holding hands.
Even though his mind had calmed down, his body reacted instinctively. Their handshake—which had started as a gesture of gratitude—had continued this whole time, due to the anomaly of the sigil.
And it wasn't just Shirou. Morgan noticed it too.
A faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
To be honest, this was the first time she had ever been in such close contact with a boy.
Though the other fairies in the palace played with her, they always showed her respectful distance, recognizing her as the princess of the Rain Clan.
There was even one fairy who was originally meant to hold that title— Morgan felt helpless about it, but she understood their intentions weren't malicious, so she couldn't bring herself to blame them.
"U-um..."
Morgan's voice grew quieter—shy and uncertain. For her, this was already a surprisingly intimate experience.
"Ah—yeah, I guess we should let go now.
Sorry, it was supposed to end earlier."
Shirou, realizing the awkwardness, quickly pulled himself together and responded.
"Mhm... then let's end the handshake, Shirou."
Morgan whispered, eyes lowered toward her toes. She didn't want him to see her blushing face.
Both of them had the same thought, and so—
the handshake of gratitude finally came to an end.
They withdrew their hands.
But their emotions... were far from settled.
"Say, Shirou, if you're tired, then just—
...Shirou?! What's wrong?!"
Morgan had only just managed to calm her flustered heart when she looked up— only to see that Shirou's expression had suddenly twisted in pain.