"Then at least stay for dinner!"
Taiga Fujimura said it with an earnest look on her face.
With her gripping his wrist so tightly, Shirou could not refuse even if he wanted to.
He let out a sigh.
"Just asking, but is there even anything to eat at home?"
"Nope."
Taiga Fujimura replied proudly, "If Shirou hadn't shown up, I was just going to get by on instant noodles tonight."
Looks like I'm making dinner myself tonight, Shirou thought.
"You're a girl in the prime of youth, so eat a proper meal already."
Taiga Fujimura blinked her big eyes.
"Mhm, that's one more reason Shirou has to come back~"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
The red-haired boy sighed, left the living room, went into the kitchen, and put on an apron.
...
...
Night fell once more.
Irisviel stood by the castle window, gazing toward the outer edge of the Einzbern forest while also sensing the reactions within the bounded field.
It was already seven in the evening. Why was Shirou still not back?
Normally, he should have returned to the castle by now, finished dinner, and gone out on patrol with Irisviel and Saber.
Could something have happened to that child?
Irisviel worried to herself, Shirou is still an eight-year-old child who hasn't even weaned yet! What if some strange woman lured him away?
The more the silver-haired homunculus thought about it, the more uneasy she became. Covering her mouth, she muttered, "I've heard this country has evil forces called the yakuza. Shirou is so cute. What if he got taken by the yakuza..."
"Shirou is very strong. If you're going to worry about anyone, you should worry about the yakuza's safety, not Shirou's."
Saber pointed out that with Shirou's strength, no one could threaten his safety, but Irisviel still could not stop worrying.
For the first time in her nine years of life, the homunculus was experiencing what it felt like for a mother to wait for her child to come home.
Unfortunately, no matter how long Irisviel kept looking, Shirou never appeared.
Instead, what emerged at the far end of the night sky was a streak of purple lightning.
By this point in the Holy Grail War, Irisviel was already used to that divine thunder. It was Rider's mount.
"...Ugh!"
Along with the thunder growing louder as it approached, Irisviel felt the Magic Circuits inside her body let out a scream.
It was a chain reaction caused by the destruction of the bounded field in the Einzbern forest.
Ever since the battle with Caster, the great bounded field had finally been rebuilt with much effort. Now, under the trampling iron hooves of the King of Conquerors, it was once again effortlessly destroyed.
"He's actually... trying to break through head-on?"
Overwhelmed by the burden on her Magic Circuits, Irisviel dropped into a crouch. At that moment, a slender but firm hand supported her shoulder and helped her up.
The moment Saber sensed something was wrong, she had rushed to Irisviel's side like a gust of wind.
"Are you all right, Irisviel?"
The silver-haired homunculus shook her head.
"I'm fine. It was just a little unexpected.
The enemy is Rider. I didn't think he would attack at a time like this. For a moment, I even thought Shirou had come back..."
"Shirou would not be this rough," Saber said.
"You're right. Hehe."
By now, Artoria had already woven her pale silver armor from magical energy.
"I'm going out to see what's happening. Irisviel, come with me."
On the night Caster invaded before, Irisviel had also gone along and ended up becoming a burden to Saber.
But in truth, they had no better option. Rather than leaving her Master alone in the castle, staying by the King of Knights' side was the safest place.
Matching Irisviel's pace, the two hurried through the castle toward the central courtyard surrounding the high-ceilinged hall. They would most likely encounter the enemy there after he broke through the main gate.
Irisviel recalled the Noble Phantasm [Gordius Wheel] that she had seen on the first night of the Holy Grail War at the warehouse district.
The divine bull chariot wrapped in Zeus's thunder. If that Noble Phantasm were fully unleashed, then it was no wonder the bounded field anchor points set up throughout the forest had been torn out by the roots.
Because of the nature of the chariot, it was classified as an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, but in terms of sheer destructive power alone... it might even be stronger than most Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasms.
Irisviel's expression turned grave.
With Shirou absent, she and Saber had to protect this castle.
And why was that?
Because this was the place where she and Shirou would live from now on.
"Hey, King of Knights! I came all this way to see you, so why aren't you hurrying up and coming out already?"
As expected of Rider, famed for possessing the greatest mobility among the seven Servants, it had taken him only a few short minutes to invade the forest and reach the castle's main gate.
From far away, Irisviel and Saber could already hear the King of Conquerors' rough, booming voice.
"Oh, Saber. I heard you had yourselves a castle, so I came to take a look. But this castle really is shabby, isn't it?"
When Saber and Irisviel came rushing over in anger, Rider stood atop his chariot with the attitude of a man acting like the host instead of the guest.
"There are so many trees in the yard that getting in and out is a real nuisance. I almost got lost before reaching the gate.
I already cut down some of them for you, so you should be properly grateful. The view is much better now."
Saber frowned slightly, clearly displeased.
"Rider, what are you doing here? Have you come to start a battle?"
"Hahahaha, wasn't it the two of you who invited me here?"
As he said that, Rider flicked a letter held between two fingers, sending it down at Saber and Irisviel's feet.
Saber picked up the envelope warily and opened it. The moment she looked inside, she was struck speechless.
Irisviel leaned over to look as well, and she too could only stare with her mouth half open.
The letter Rider had thrown over clearly stated that the elderly Mackenzie couple, who had provided Rider and his Master with a base, had been kidnapped.
If those two elderly people are to live, then come obediently to Einzbern Castle as instructed.
At first glance, it was a remarkably despicable challenge letter.
Just as Irisviel and Saber looked at each other in confusion, a small figure peeked out from behind the red-haired giant.
Waver Velvet kept half his body hidden behind the King of Conquerors as he glared up at Saber and her Master.
He took a deep breath, then shouted with all the courage he could muster, "Give my grandpa and grandma back!"
"What is written in that letter has nothing to do with us. We did not kidnap your grandparents, and we know nothing about it."
Irisviel answered seriously, but Waver was not about to accept that explanation so easily.
"Y-you're still pretending! You're the only ones who know where my base is! If it wasn't you, then who else could it be?!"
By Waver's logic, the concealment bounded field he had set up around the Mackenzie house was perfect. There was no way anyone else could have discovered it.
If someone had committed this crime, then it had to be the Einzbern, the only ones who knew where his base was and had visited it before.
Irisviel frowned when she heard that.
"Rider's Master, to be honest... your bounded field techniques are quite poor.
A concealment bounded field of that level can, at best, fool ordinary people. Anyone with even a little knowledge of Magecraft would be able to notice the flaws."
"...Ugh!"
Waver's face turned pale at her words.
"D-don't spout nonsense! My base has never been discovered before now! Other than by you people!"
In fact, Irisviel's conclusion was correct.
The reason no one had found Waver all this time was, on the one hand, because lofty Magi like Kayneth simply did not believe any Magus would be reduced to hiding out in an ordinary house. On the other hand, Shirou had secretly arranged things so that Assassin would not report Waver's location to Kirei Kotomine.
Saber spoke with a tense expression.
"We said it has nothing to do with us, and that means it has nothing to do with us. This is an obvious attempt to sow discord between us. None of us would do something so disgraceful."
"There is... of course there is!"
Waver loudly declared the answer he had come up with.
"Shinji... that's right, Shinji-kun must be the one who did it!"
"?"
Irisviel and Saber both froze for a moment.
Shirou did it? He kidnapped those two elderly people?
Master and Servant exchanged a glance. At the exact same time, both thought, there is no way our Shirou would do something that despicable... uh, probably not?
In an instant, Irisviel and Saber both remembered the night they formed an alliance with Shirou.
While discussing their strategy for the days ahead, the red-haired boy had pulled out a thick stack of photographs from his pocket.
"Shirou, what are these?"
Irisviel looked over them curiously. They were candid photos, taken from hidden angles, of a beautiful woman and a young girl.
"I took these while infiltrating the Zenjou house. They're Tokiomi Tohsaka's wife, Aoi Tohsaka, whom he sent back to her parents' home, and his daughter, Rin Tohsaka."
"Um... and may I ask why you're showing these photos to Saber and me?"
Irisviel looked awkward, while Saber's face was already beginning to pale. Shirou continued speaking.
"Based on what I've observed, although Tokiomi Tohsaka sees himself as the ideal Magus, that man still retains human familial affection deep down.
There's no need to mention his wife, but his daughter Rin Tohsaka is even more important. He sees her as the heir to his Magecraft legacy and knowledge, a treasure more precious than anything else to him.
I think they could make excellent bait, so we can use that mother and daughter to lure Tokiomi Tohsaka into a trap.
What do you think?"
"Shirou, wait..."
Saber rose from the sofa, and Shirou noticed that her clenched hand was trembling slightly.
"That sort of thing is a little too..."
Irisviel raised a hand, stopping Saber from saying any more.
She walked over to Shirou and gently pulled him into her arms.
"Irisviel?"
She said nothing. She did not scold him, nor did she encourage him. She simply stroked the boy's hair softly.
"Shirou, you do not need to do this kind of thing anymore. Saber and I will support you from now on.
I think... Saber and I must be here so that Shirou will no longer need to do things like this when he does not want to."
"..."
Shirou said nothing.
He understood that Irisviel meant more than just support in battle as allies. She meant support for his heart as well.
Although Irisviel did not know what Shirou had been through, as a pure homunculus designed to serve as a vessel for Heroic Spirit souls, she could still sense it. The boy's sensitive soul was covered in wounds.
Even knowing it was probably futile, she still wished she could heal that wounded boy.
"I understand. Sorry... I said something that upset you."
"Shirou... I didn't mean..."
Shirou stepped out of Irisviel's embrace and calmly gathered the photos one by one as he explained,
"To begin with, I never thought this plan had a very high chance of succeeding.
The Zenjou family is a Magus Family with deep roots too, and Assassin was probably protecting that mother and daughter from the shadows.
Dragging unrelated people into the Holy Grail War could even bring punishment from the Holy Church. All in all, it just wasn't worth it."
Shirou lit the photographs with Magecraft and burned them away.
"This was actually a test for the two of you.
If you had accepted that proposal, then I would have had to rethink the alliance I made with you."
"Honestly, testing me and Saber like that...!"
Irisviel puffed out her soft pink lips in annoyance.
...
...
"See?! I told you so! It had to be Shinji-kun! Where is he right now?! Hand him over!"
Waver was absolutely convinced that Shirou had kidnapped the Mackenzie couple. After all, he himself had once been thoroughly played by Shirou.
Artoria answered coldly, "That is a baseless and malicious accusation. That child would never do such a thing."
Although she had wavered for only an instant, after thinking it through, Saber still believed it was impossible.
Shirou was someone she had acknowledged. She believed that the boy she knew would never commit something as despicable as kidnapping the elderly.
At the very least, he would not do something like that behind her back.
Saber spoke in a reproachful tone.
"Rider, do you truly believe that child did this?
A king who conquered half the world should not be so shallow in his judgment of people."
"That is what they say... so what are you going to do, boy?"
Iskandar gave no clear opinion. He merely turned and looked at the Master hiding behind him.
"We fight! We have to fight! Unless they hand over Shinji-kun, I won't let this end tonight!"
Waver was full of pent-up frustration.
In truth, he had already realized that this was most likely a scheme by the Tokiomi Tohsaka faction. But what did realizing that actually change?
The elderly couple who had cared for him like a real grandson had been abducted because he was not capable enough, and there was nothing he could do about it.
If I were as calm, decisive, and strong as Shinji-kun, would I have been able to protect the people around me?
That's right, he had not forgotten.
After coming to Japan, he had met a boy just like himself, someone without the legacy of a great family behind him.
Shinji-kun. Even though he was only a first-generation Magus, he had defeated Lord El-Melloi, the genius of the Clock Tower.
He was someone to admire, someone to look up to.
Shinji-kun was exactly Waver's ideal self, the self he could never become.
Finding the missing Mackenzie couple was only one reason he had come here today. The other was to settle things once and for all.
Shinji-kun, if I'm right... then you must be watching this from somewhere right now.
Then keep your eyes wide open and watch!
I'm not some clown who only knows how to hide behind Rider!
I will win.
I will prove my strength.
And then... I will fight you for the Holy Grail in the end!
Waver clenched his right fist and shouted,
"With a Command Spell, I order you... Rider! Defeat Saber with everything you've got!"
"What a reckless Command Spell."
The King of Conquerors tightened his grip on the chariot reins, a faint smile curling at his lips.
"But... I suppose it does show a little manliness, boy."
...
...
"...Tch."
Hidden in the woods, Hassan of the Hundred Faces clicked her tongue in irritation.
Following Shirou's orders, she had infiltrated the Einzbern forest, only to run straight into Rider's invasion. So she reported the situation to the boy, who was temporarily tied up elsewhere.
[No matter how you look at it, this has Kirei Kotomine written all over it.]
[I think so too, but what will your lovely allies think? Will they believe you?]
[...]
Shirou fell silent, but soon Saber's rebuttal to Rider's Master came through.
[Well now, looks like everyone trusts me,] Shirou said proudly.
Assassin snorted.
[Hmph, you little brat who specializes in deceiving women.]
Shirou replied in an innocent tone, [When have I ever deceived any girls? I'm not the one who kidnapped them in the first place.]
[Your very existence is deception!] Hassan of the Hundred Faces shot back indignantly.
If the King of Knights and her Master dared to decide that Shirou was the one who had kidnapped those old people, then they had no right to remain his allies...
In that case, I'll gladly take Shirou for myself, the female Assassin thought.