"Irisviel, please use your Command Spell on me."
Saber suddenly looked toward the direction where the monster had disappeared and spoke urgently.
What's wrong, Saber?
Irisviel was about to ask, but after seeing the look on Saber's face, she resolutely began charging her Command Spell.
Irisviel is the ultimate Homunculus, created and enhanced by the Einzbern family to serve as the strongest Master in the Holy Grail War. Within that snow-white, voluptuous form, every inch of flesh is engraved with Command Spells, far exceeding the three that ordinary Masters possess.
Not even the Ruler-class in parallel worlds, nor the Church Overseers who control the leftover Command Spells from past Holy Grail Wars, could match the number of Command Spells Irisviel holds.
But this didn't mean she could use them recklessly. On the contrary, she had to exercise extreme caution. On the surface, she only had three Command Spells. Using a fourth would effectively declare herself a cheater, officially making her the public enemy of both the Church and all other Masters.
So even with a double-digit number of Command Spells, Irisviel had to choose carefully when to use them.
But,
Her face, neck, and the backs of her hands… one by one, gleaming crimson marks appeared on the silver-haired Homunculus's skin.
Irisviel didn't hesitate at all. From the moment she set foot on this island, she had resolved to trust Saber completely.
"I'll support you with a Command Spell, Saber. What should I do?"
"Fly."
Saber blurted out, "Give me the command to 'fly.'"
"Alright, I understand."
Saber sheathed her sword, lowered her stance, and infused her entire body with Mana.
At the same moment, Irisviel unleashed her Command Spell: "Fly, Saber!!!!"
"————————!"
In an instant, the calm of the late night was torn apart by a hurricane-like force. A flash bright enough to sear the eyes accompanied Saber as she shot into the night sky like a silver meteor.
"…Yikes!"
The shockwave from Saber's disappearance was so intense that Irisviel cried out in surprise and pressed a hand against her hair.
The Command Spell's instruction was "Flight." Multiplying Artoria's immense Mana with the vast Mana stored in the Command Spell, and channeling it through the command, produced this effect. A "leap" that instantaneously erased tens of kilometers of space.
The Saber who had been standing on solid ground moments ago now hovered thousands of meters above, thousands of meters away.
"..."
Saber scanned the surroundings nervously, as if searching for someone. She wasn't placing blind faith in her instinct. The Instinct of Dragonkind wasn't infallible, but, Artoria wanted to believe in the bond she shared with that person. She wanted to prove that the emotions and thrills she felt fighting alongside him tonight were real.
And amidst the stars, Artoria finally saw the figure she had been seeking.
"Shirou————!!"
Saber repeatedly used "Mana Burst" in midair, flying forward to tightly embrace the boy plummeting at breakneck speed.
"Ugh, that was rough… Saber."
The red-haired boy grimaced in pain in the arms of the King of Knights. Being caught by Saber, armored and radiating Mana, was hardly pleasant, Shirou felt as though a 200-ton truck had collided with him head-on.
"S-sorry! I should've been more careful."
Saber apologized, "I got carried away when I saw you, Shirou, and didn't consider my strength…"
"It's fine. That's just Saber's style," Shirou teased, squinting one eye.
"What kind of image do I have in your mind exactly?"
Saber pouted briefly before adopting a serious expression. "If we're talking about it, you've got a problem too, Shirou. What were you thinking, That's way too dangerous! What if I hadn't sensed your distress?"
Shirou answered seriously, "I hadn't considered that."
He actually had. Lady Avalon was overreacting, shouting that he'd be crushed, but even if Shirou had done nothing, he wouldn't have died.
The reason was simple: mass.
An adult falling from three or four stories might die, but a cat falling from dozens of stories would only suffer internal injuries and might take a long time to die from internal bleeding.
Children survive falls from ten stories because their weight is so low. Even ants can't die from falls, no matter how high. Fuji-nee's textbook explained this simply: Newton's Second Law, F = M × A.
The force Shirou would feel upon hitting the ground depended on his mass. At 20 kilograms, combined with the toughened body developed from a year of training, he'd be fine. At most, his butt might ache a little.
"I never thought about it… um!"
Saber's mouth hung open. You'll catch me, I never thought any other possibility, Shirou's eyes seemed to say.
For some reason, Saber's cheeks flushed.
"I-I see… I'm glad you think that way—no, I don't mind it… But this is still way too reckless! This is about your life, Shirou! Idiot! Don't ever do that again! Hey, Shirou! Are you even listening to me?"
Artoria looked down, displeased, only to find the red-haired boy had already fallen asleep in her arms. Exhausted from the battle and soothed by Saber's presence, he had simply drifted off.
"......"
Artoria stared blankly at his peaceful, serene, childlike face. Only in moments like this did he seem his age, Saber thought to herself.
…
…
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick…
The relentless ticking of the clock echoed through the silent night.
Shirou opened his eyes and realized he was lying in his own tatami room.
What… happened?
Did Saber and Irisviel bring me back?
He tried to think, but his mind felt clouded and sluggish. Could this be a side effect of the "Dead Count Shapeshifter"? He wasn't sure, but something felt off.
In the absolute silence of the night, his senses seemed unusually sharp. Touch, sight, smell, hearing.
"Tick, tick, tick…"
Shirou suddenly heard the soft sound of a door opening, followed by light footsteps.
Who could it be? An enemy?
He tried to push himself up to face whoever it was, but found he couldn't move.
This wasn't the same paralysis he had felt after defeating the Sea Demon. His arms and legs were fine, his body could move, but his mind simply refused.
As he struggled,
"Good evening, Shirou."
"Huh?"
Seeing the figure clearly, the red-haired boy couldn't help but exclaim, "S… Saber!?"
"It's me. I came to see you."
Into the tatami room stepped a beautiful girl with golden hair and emerald eyes, kneeling gracefully beside his bed.
Shirou couldn't be mistaken. It wasn't Morgan. It wasn't Jeanne. It was Saber.
Yet she was completely different from the imposing, silver-armored King of Knights he had seen earlier that day. She wore only a daring, sexy strappy dress.
Her bare, snow-white shoulders and delicate arms looked almost too fragile to wield the Holy Sword. Her gently curving chest and slim waist, narrow enough to encircle with one hand, seemed to radiate an intoxicating, subtle allure. The long, perfectly shaped legs extending from beneath the hem of her dress glimmered seductively in the darkness.
"…Why is Saber here?"
Shirou felt his throat dry up instantly and quickly averted his gaze from the blonde girl's chest.
"Hm? Because I wanted to see you, Shirou, so I came over," Saber said, tilting her head slightly.
Could the King of Knights really make such a cute, girl-like gesture?
Shirou swallowed hard. "That's not what I meant! Do you even know what time it is? It's already two-thirty in the morning!
And this is my house. My room, right? How do you even know where I live, Saber? I'm calling the police..."
"The answer is simple."
A smile spread across Saber's beautiful face.
"Because this is a dream."
"Huh? A dream?"
Saber nodded.
"Yes, this is Shirou's dream, so..."
As she said that, the blonde girl moved closer to the futon where Shirou lay.
At first, she shuffled forward on her knees alone, but before long she was using both hands and feet, her posture somehow both sultry and enticing.
Her luscious expression, those damp eyes, that teasing tone. No matter how he looked at it, she was clearly trying to seduce him.
Shirou thought, This is a dream? What kind of dream feels this real? I can even smell Saber's perfume!
And of course, when Shirou tried to crawl out from under the blankets, he couldn't.
It wasn't that his body wouldn't let him. It was that his mind refused.
In a dream, people cannot act by their own will.
"Nope, Shirou, you can't just move around however you like, okay? You fought all night, so be a good boy and rest."
Shirou watched Artoria stick out her tongue and lick her lips.
"So all you have to do is lie there, Shirou... Tonight, let me do the moving."
"M-move? Move what?"
"Oh, honestly... Do you really want a girl to say something like that out loud? You're so mean."
Shirou: "???"
Artoria's cheeks were flushed as she gave him a shy yet seductive smile.
"You did so well tonight, Shirou.
Thanks to you, the children made it through safely. Irisviel, me, and everyone in Fuyuki, we were all protected by you.
So, as a reward for working so hard... let me [take care of♡] you."
"Take care...?"
Shirou stared at her with his mouth half open, his Servant's wicked grin flashing through his mind.
Lady Avalon, damn you...!
"Wait, Saber! I get it now!"
Shirou pushed away the blonde girl as she tried to press herself on top of him.
"I understand how you feel...
But! Even if you want to do something, you can't!"
That was right.
Even if an adult soul was inside it, his body still wasn't in any condition for that. That was still far off.
And this wasn't Shirou bragging, either. It had already been a year since he returned from the Fairy Kingdom, and he still hadn't once gotten hard.
"Is that so?"
Artoria frowned slightly, then lowered her gaze.
"You know, lying is a bad habit."
"Hm?"
Shirou followed her line of sight downward.
No way...
W-where did that Rhongomyniad come from?
I don't know any bad girl like you! Don't drop anchor, aaaaaaaaaaah!
"...Don't worry, Shirou."
Artoria pushed the panicking boy back down, stroked his cheek, and spoke with a dangerously seductive smile.
"Leave it to me, Shirou.
Even I know how to please a man♡"
And with that, she gently activated her [Riding] skill.
...
…
Blinding sunlight filtered through the curtains and spilled into a room in Winter Castle.
Cheerful birdsong drifted in from outside the window.
Even though Fuyuki City had just gone through the most dangerous day since its founding, morning had still come as usual.
"Mmgh~~~"
Rubbing her heavy eyes, Irisviel woke in the luxurious bed.
Perhaps because the Lesser Grail had absorbed the soul of the first defeated Servant, she felt more exhausted than ever when she woke that morning.
If absorbing just one Servant was already this taxing, then the thought of having to absorb six more made Irisviel a little uneasy.
At times like this, she ought to reward herself and relax a little.
Thankfully, she had prepared in advance.
Her gaze fell on the "body pillow" under the covers, and she promptly pulled it into her arms.
"Hehe, Shirou's sleeping face is so cute~"
The one sharing a bed with the silver-haired Homunculus was none other than Shirou Amamiya.
After the battle late last night, Irisviel and Saber had brought Shirou, who had completely run out of both stamina and Mana, back to Einzbern Castle.
Then Irisviel had sent Saber off to rest, and while keeping it from her, secretly kept Shirou in her own room.
If Saber found out, there was no telling how angry she would be. Still, as long as she never found out, it would be fine, Irisviel thought.
Last night, Shirou had saved her twice in a row.
Once from the monster, and once when facing Lancer.
If that child had not stepped in so bravely, she probably would not even be alive now.
Just thinking about that made Irisviel especially happy.
She and Shirou really were connected by fate somehow. She wanted him to stay by her side forever.
Quietly, Irisviel made up her mind.
Once it was daytime, she would ask Shirou to form an alliance with her no matter what.
No matter how unreasonable his demands might be, she would agree to them, as long as he was willing to become her ally.
Yes. That was what she would do.
Just then, Irisviel's delicate brows drew together slightly. It felt like she had noticed something.
Under the blanket, against her thigh, there seemed to be something warm...
She reached inside and touched it, only to find some kind of liquid that still held warmth, enough to coat her hand.
"What is this?"
Irisviel brought it closer and sniffed it, catching a scent that was unusually rich and strangely distinctive.
It definitely could not be called pleasant, but...
For some reason, she just could not stop.
With her lovely brows still faintly furrowed, she kept sniffing, and then, as if under a spell,
Irisviel licked her palm.
The moment it touched her tongue, a jolt ran through her body.
"......Mm!"
As soon as she swallowed, a woman's instinct told her at once what it was, and where it had come from.
This was the legendary... a man's...!
Irisviel's cheeks flushed bright red.
She never would have thought Shirou already... You really could not tell at all...
She buried half her face in the blanket and stared shyly at the red-haired boy in front of her.
"Irisviel, you really are a terribly sinful woman..."
After that, it took her about five minutes to calm herself down and finally accept the fact that Shirou had already "grown up."
Then she wasted another five minutes admiring his unbearably cute sleeping face before finally getting out of bed to fetch a handkerchief.
"Ugh, it's all sticky... it's already started to dry, so it's hard to wipe off..."
In the end, she had no choice but to clean it with Magecraft.
While she was at it, she used Magecraft to clean Shirou up too.