Chapter 35 Thanks for the Invite, Everyone is Saber
A golden figure revealed himself.
It was the King of Heroes—no, it was someone Shirou didn't recognize.
He was a young, blonde man clad in armor that looked like a theatrical costume.
The golden armor and golden hair momentarily reminded Shirou of the King of Heroes, but their temperaments were worlds apart. Red strands were mixed into his blonde hair; his height, features, and bearing could only be described as handsome, yet his eyes conversely leaked the aura of a wild beast.
The armored attire and the red-streaked blonde hair complemented each other, appearing unique yet perfectly harmonious, devoid of any sense of gaudy luxury.
An aura carried by the wind reached them. The pressure of a massive amount of magical energy. A clear gold that blended into the sunlight.
Before this "existence" could permeate his very core, Shirou's circuits began running at full speed, forcibly sweeping all other colors aside. As if asserting his own "existence" in return, Shirou released his own aura. His surging magical energy caused the atmosphere to hum, pressing back against the stranger. The man's eyes widened slightly.
—A Servant.
One of the members of those "records of the boundary" that Shirou had declined to become via a single click stood there with a fearless smile, appraising Shirou and Saber. Accordingly, Shirou met his gaze head-on.
Shirou had instinctively moved to shield Saber. He knew Saber was stronger than he was, so this action wasn't born of logic, but of instinct.
Through a strange, silent understanding, both sides remained quiet, leaving only the trembling air to circulate between them. This man, approaching with a smile...
"He's a Servant, right...?" Shirou murmured in confusion. After all, the guy seemed a bit too cheerful.
Just as the moment of this strange encounter threatened to stretch into eternity, a voice hurriedly broke the silence, cutting between the two parties:
"Wait, Saber!?"
A short-haired girl with glasses ran out, arriving a beat late. It looked like a scene where a certain red-haired boy from the past had suddenly barged in.
Huh?
Hearing a name called out that applied to the person behind him, Shirou blinked.
'Saber? Calling Artoria?'
No, wait. Is it the Class?
The girl's voice was full of concern as she looked toward the blonde Heroic Spirit. For a moment, Shirou had the illusion that he was looking at his own past naivety.
'He's Saber? Then who's the one next to me?'
Suddenly, it clicked in Shirou's head.
According to the data he had looked up that morning, there was indeed one Saber slot in the False Holy Grail War. While other classes in this False War had two representatives, Saber was unique—this Heroic Spirit of unknown name was supposed to be the only Saber in this conflict.
However, once he ran into Shirou's group, he was no longer unique.
Artoria beside him: "Please call me Saber."
The strange person in front: "Hello, I'm also Saber~ Did you call for me?"
'Everyone is a Saber?'
The terminology was a mess, turning into a disaster zone the likes of which Shirou hadn't contemplated in ten years.
Saber (Artoria) also noticed the anomaly, exchanging a look with the golden swordsman. Actually, it was Artoria who noticed; Shirou hadn't uttered the word "Saber" yet, so the golden swordsman hadn't picked up on anything.
While she was busy having a staring contest with the golden swordsman, Shirou glanced at the girl with glasses.
'Miss, do you realize you just leaked a serious amount of intel?'
Her bewildered look reminded Shirou of himself at the start of the Fifth Holy Grail War.
He could finally empathize with the hardships Rin had gone through.
Come to think of it, just as one calls a mountain a mountain, Shirou had always called Artoria "Saber." In that regard, he had no right to criticize the girl.
Reflecting on his own lack of maturity, Shirou felt an odd sense of kinship with this bespectacled girl.
"Why are you looking at me with such a warm gaze?"
Not understanding anything, the girl took a step back and turned to her Saber with a confused expression. "Is it really okay?"
The golden swordsman smiled at her and responded steadily, "Rest assured, Ayaka. As I said before, they aren't from the police station."
Saber vs. Saber; a former Saber Master vs. a current Saber Master. The chaotic nature of the scene made it extremely difficult for Shirou to keep a straight face.
'...Give me a break.'
The golden swordsman smiled brightly. "As she said, my name is Saber. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"..."
The heat in his words was genuine. However, there was likely a hint of probing beneath the surface. Shirou held his ground, and as expected, the man continued:
"The two of you seemed a bit shaken by my name just now. Can I assume—that the two of you are participants in the Holy Grail War?"
Yes, he had played his hand openly.
The confusion caused by the name earlier clearly hadn't escaped the eyes of a Heroic Spirit. "Saber" could tell their reaction was off, he just didn't understand the punchline of the joke.
'More than just participants. We're shaken because our house also has a Blue Saber, you Golden Sword-Soldier!'
Thinking this, Shirou let out a breath. He glossed over the key issue and answered on Artoria's behalf:
"A while ago, a woman in a black robe also asked me, 'Are you a participant in the Holy Grail War?' And then she attacked me."
'So please don't ask me that question if you don't want to escalate this into a conflict.'
Shirou sent this signal to the golden swordsman. He didn't explicitly say they were participants, nor did he say they weren't; he only revealed an unimportant fact, mimicking the Heroic Spirit's airtight negotiation style.
Shirou wanted to avoid a meaningless battle.
Even though "Saber" was one of the Servants of the False Holy Grail War, Shirou didn't actually need to punch every Servant in the face. He wasn't a child; being good at fighting wasn't something to be proud of. If they could resolve things with words while standing still, negotiation was better.
However, things often go off the rails right at the moment of success. Shirou listened speechlessly as the golden swordsman said something he couldn't have predicted in a hundred simulations:
"...A woman in a black robe? Wait, are you... it fits. What a coincidence! I was just wondering who possessed such sword skills. To think it was you. Just for this, coming into this alley was worth it!"
He suddenly faced Shirou, his curiosity blossoming into intense joy. The golden swordsman expressed his delight as excitedly as a child, causing even the girl named Ayaka to widen her eyes.
He had just flatly admitted it: he happened to know that "woman in a black robe."
Shirou asked, his lip twitching, "Assassin—the Zealot—what is she to you?"
Referring to Shirou's former enemy, the Servant he had clashed with.
The Sword Heroic Spirit curled his lips upward and said with surging interest, "If I must answer, I suppose you could say we've fought together."
...Shit. The visitor was not friendly.
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