If it was for Jack, Reika Rikudou was willing to do anything. Flattering a boy younger than herself was naturally no problem at all.
"Let's do something fun, Shirou-kun♡"
As the woman moved closer to Shirou, she let the coat draped over her shoulders slip down.
Reika Rikudou understood her own charm perfectly well.
Born into a wealthy family, she had the natural air of a young lady and the refined upbringing that came with it, giving her a distinctive allure even among prostitutes.
Countless men had been obsessed with her, and not a single man who passed her on the street could resist turning back for another look.
Reika Rikudou had never felt much about that, nor had she ever considered using her value more effectively.
Before meeting Jack, she had simply drifted through life.
But after becoming Jack's mother, every day felt like a miracle.
She had sworn to use everything she had to help her, to save her.
Of course, that included her own body.
Reika Rikudou did everything she could to act seductive, twisting her body as she pressed herself against Shirou and reached toward his crotch.
Unfortunately, her advance had no effect at all.
A single look was enough to tell.
Reika Rikudou had seen far too many men's blatant, hungry, vulgar gazes. That was why she understood.
He was completely different.
The look in Shirou's eyes was one of pity and grief, and it shook Reika Rikudou so deeply that she was left speechless.
This boy... is a good person...
"Please don't do this."
The boy caught the woman by the wrist.
Seeing that her seduction had failed, Reika Rikudou cried out in a trembling voice, "Please, spare me and Jack...!"
"No."
Shirou calmly shook his head.
"I see... Then there's no helping it..."
For an instant, Reika Rikudou's expression filled with despair.
But in the next moment, as if her face had changed entirely, she suddenly gave a bewitching smile.
"Shirou-kun, you must be a good person loved by everyone...
But I'm sorry. I don't hate you, but if you stand in our way, I have no choice but to ask you to die.
I'll remember you forever. You were the first man who ever treated me kindly♡"
Shirou frowned. "...What are you talking about?"
Reika Rikudou said softly, "Thanks to you listening to me, that child has come back."
The next instant, a terrible chill pierced through Shirou's body.
He saw a pitch-black meat cleaver protruding from his chest.
"Ugh...!?"
"Don't bully Mom! You were going to do something awful to Mom? Someone like you should die... Die, die, die, die, die, die!!"
After the blade that had pierced his heart with perfect accuracy was pulled out, the red-haired boy fell from the sofa.
Emerging from the shadows, Assassin, Jack the Ripper, straddled him and brought the weapon in her left hand down again and again on the defenseless Shirou.
Again and again, over and over.
A great amount of blood soaked the sofa deep crimson, turning the walls of the room into a bloody graffiti.
The nearly half-naked girl herself was drenched head to toe in the blood that sprayed back on her, yet she still did not stop bringing down the dagger in her left hand.
Not only that, each time she bathed in the warm blood, a dazed expression surfaced on her face. With eyes so bewitching they were almost intoxicating, she dismembered Shirou's body like a toy, leaving it in pieces.
Finally, when Shirou's body had been completely broken down to the point that it could be placed on a supermarket shelf, she seemed satisfied at last and turned to pounce on the green-haired woman beside her.
"Mom! Are you okay!? This person didn't do anything awful to you, did he!?"
"Mm, I'm fine, Jack. Mom isn't hurt anywhere, don't worry. Thank you for coming to save me."
Reika Rikudou gently stroked Jack the Ripper's head while casting a sympathetic look at Shirou, who had been reduced to chunks of meat on the floor.
If he had not been willing to listen to her, her stalling tactic never would have worked.
Shirou-kun was probably the first truly good person she had ever killed, the first person to treat her with genuine kindness and concern.
But she had still killed him.
She had killed to obtain the Holy Grail, killed to protect herself, and most of all, killed for her daughter.
If it was for Jack, she would become a demon without hesitation, even if it meant falling into hell after death and suffering endless torment.
"Thank goodness! Mom is safe~!"
Jack the Ripper hugged Reika Rikudou around the waist.
"Sorry, Mom. We were late. That armored lady was so annoying."
"You fought another Servant...? Wait, Jack!"
Only then did Reika Rikudou notice that Jack the Ripper's right arm was injured.
The wound from the slash was so deep that bone was visible, and the muscle fibers were torn apart.
For an ordinary person, that arm would certainly be ruined. No wonder Jack had only attacked with her left hand just now.
"It hurts, Mom..."
Reika Rikudou's face turned pale, and she hurriedly tried to find the first-aid kit, but soon realized there was no point.
Assassin could only heal wounds through Mana, and Reika Rikudou, a complete amateur, could not use Magecraft.
Left with no other choice, Reika Rikudou took out a clean handkerchief and bandaged the wound. Beyond that, there was nothing more she could do.
"Does it still hurt?"
The woman asked anxiously. The girl shook her head in reply, smiling as if to tell her not to worry.
"Mm... It's all right now. Mom, we're hungry."
"I know. Give me a moment. I was delayed earlier, so I'll make you a late-night snack right now... Huh?"
Reika Rikudou froze.
To her astonishment, the corpse scattered across the floor, the blood splashed over Jack's body, and all the blood sprayed throughout the room had transformed into fading blue feathers.
"Oh? If you're having a late-night snack next, can I join you?"
Reika Rikudou whipped around and saw the red-haired boy standing in the corner of the room.
"How is that possible...!?"
"Oh, this thing never gets any use all year round, so I've always wondered what such an old relic was good for.
Turns out, what it's good at is getting killed as a scapegoat."
As if protesting the boy's words, a chirping sound came from somewhere.
It was that very scapegoat, singing an off-key version of Who Killed Cock Robin?
"Lost Robin Rondo: Killing of the Robin."
It was something similar to the fairy-tale familiar possessed by Alice Kuonji, and as part of Shirou's Spirit Origin, it had manifested as one of his Noble Phantasms, a mysterious blue bird.
Most likely, it had some connection to this world's King Arthur or Morgan le Fay, which was why it had ultimately become one of his Noble Phantasms.
Shirou had never heard of any Arthurian story involving a robin, but another hero from British legend, Robin Hood, seemed to have a similar tale.
He wondered whether this plump bird following him around was the same one as Robin Hood's, or even the one Alice had.
This blue robin's ability was to take damage in its master's place, once per battle.
Because it was not a Noble Phantasm with particularly high Mystery, the amount of damage it could absorb was limited. It could not really be relied on during a Noble Phantasm battle, but it was very suitable for teasing little girls.
"Chirp! (I'm not only useful for that!)"
The robin protested loudly, then vanished completely.
"Ugh! Maria the Ripp."
"It's already too late."
The woman and the girl froze in place as if time had stopped at Shirou's sudden appearance, but the girl reacted first, leaping up in an attempt to release her Noble Phantasm.
But Shirou was even faster than Jack the Ripper, who was an Assassin. A longsword fired from behind him pierced the girl's shoulder and pinned her firmly to the wall.
"Uwah!?"
"Jack!? Let go of Jack! No!"
"Mom!?"
Jack the Ripper struggled desperately, but she had already been injured in her battle with the "Red" Saber and was short on Mana. It took tremendous effort before she finally broke free.
Just as the girl was about to fight Shirou with everything she had, light from Projection Magecraft flashed, and a short blade appeared in the boy's hand, pressing against Reika Rikudou's throat.
If he pushed it forward even half an inch, this woman would spray blood just like the illusion from before.
"Stop!! Don't hurt Mom!! Please!! Please, I'm begging you!! Don't kill our Mom...!"
"Jack...!"
The woman screamed herself hoarse. "Jack! Don't worry about me. At least you have to escape. No matter what, I'll get you out of here!"
"No, no! We won't leave Mom behind! We'll definitely think of something!"
"Stop being stubborn. Don't you have a wish you want to fulfill? Hurry and go. Don't worry about me! It's only natural for parents to protect their children!"
"B-but... but...! The piano... Didn't you promise you'd play the piano for us again...? Mom...!"
"Jack! Run!"
Shirou sighed.
"What touching mother-daughter love. If you'd acted like this from the start, things would've been easier. You really made me worry."
He moved the short blade away from the woman's neck and turned around.
The woman looked confused at first, but the moment she saw Shirou walking toward Jack, her face changed and she screamed.
"W-wait... No! If you're going to kill someone, kill me instead! Shirou-sama!"
"It's all my fault! I ordered that child to attack you... Please, don't hurt her. I'm sorry."
Shirou raised the short sword high as if he had not heard the woman at all.
And Jack the Ripper, as though realizing that her mother would survive safely as long as she was gone, stood still without resisting.
Then...
"Nooooooooooooo! Jack!"
Without mercy, Shirou swung the short sword down at the silver-haired little girl.
The woman's piercing wail echoed through the room late into the night.
"Good. With this, the brat's connection to the Holy Grail has been severed."
Shirou pulled the projected short blade, Rule Breaker, out of the girl's flat chest.
There was no spray of blood as one might expect. Instead, a fluctuation of Mana spread out, one even Reika Rikudou, who had no Magecraft training at all, could feel.
Shirou caught the unconscious Jack the Ripper in his arms and said:
"From now on, you have nothing to do with the Holy Grail War.
Even Ruler has no reason to attack you now."
"...Huh?"
Reika Rikudou's eyes widened in disbelief.
...
"The hamburger steak is ready."
Wearing an apron, Shirou came out of the kitchen carrying two plates.
At the dining table sat Reika Rikudou, who looked completely at a loss, and Jack the Ripper, who was still wary of Shirou.
Although the girl's face was full of hostility, her expression softened the moment she saw her favorite food placed on the table.
Her slender throat moved slightly. She was clearly swallowing.
"Mom..."
Jack the Ripper looked at Reika Rikudou with pitiful eyes. "Can we eat?"
The woman hesitantly glanced at Shirou, then bit her lip.
Because Jack the Ripper could not use her right hand, Reika cut the hamburger steak into small pieces with a fork and fed them to Assassin one by one.
The girl asking for hamburger steak opened her mouth like a hungry little bird waiting to be fed. She seemed to have forgotten the injury to her right hand, and a smile from the heart spread across her face.
"Is it good?"
"Mm...!"
Seeing Jack smiling so happily, Reika Rikudou tried a bite herself, partly as if testing for poison.
Oh no...
Why is this better than mine!?
"Is something wrong, Reika-san?" Shirou asked.
"N-no... Nothing!"
The woman hurriedly covered her mouth, hiding the shock in her heart.
"It really is delicious. Isn't that wonderful, Jack...? Right, what do you say at a time like this?"
"Um... thank you?"
Jack the Ripper turned toward Shirou and said earnestly, "Thank you, big brother!"
Shirou reached out and stroked her hair.
The girl had lost her initial resistance and instead showed a very happy expression.
After that, Jack the Ripper even went so far as to sit on Shirou's lap.
Reika Rikudou was very surprised. She had not expected Jack to become attached to anyone other than herself.
It felt a little strange... No, that's not it. I'm definitely not worried that little Jack is being stolen from me!
"You're very good at taking care of children, Shirou-kun," Reika Rikudou said with a nervous smile.
"Hm? Well... I suppose so?"
Shirou explained while feeding the girl.
"I have a little sister about Jack's age waiting for me back home.
But she's much more willful than Jack. I suppose she's the one who trained me to take care of children.
Ah, I wonder if Illya is eating properly..."
The boy's words filled Reika Rikudou with a powerful sense of guilt.
Until ten minutes ago, she had been willing to sacrifice Shirou's life for her own happiness with Jack.
If she had done that, another girl like Jack, another girl like Reika Rikudou when she was young, would have been hurt.
"I'm sorry..."
After temporarily sending Jack away, Reika Rikudou bit her lip and bowed deeply, full of remorse.
"And, um, thank you."
"It's still too early to thank me."
Shirou cut off the woman's thanks.
"Although I cut Jack the Ripper's connection to the Holy Grail, no.
Precisely because I cut that connection, Jack doesn't have much time left to 'live.'
The Greater Grail has stopped supplying her with Mana. I think she'll only last until tomorrow afternoon at most."
"How can that be...!"
Reika Rikudou dropped to her knees with a thud and clutched the boy's arm tightly.
"Please! Please save Jack the Ripper, Shirou-kun!"
"The one who can save Jack isn't me. It's you."
Shirou looked down at her with a grave expression.
...
Tonight's battle ended in a draw between the "Red" Saber and the "Black" Archer.
In an accidental street battle, Mordred had underestimated her opponent because he was an Archer, only to discover that he was also skilled in close combat.
Chiron used a strange martial art, Pankration, to throw Mordred around until she was dizzy. However, as the Rebel Knight, the girl did not suffer much real damage from it.
Just as she finally found her rhythm again and prepared for a furious counterattack, Chiron began to retreat.
This sent Mordred into a rage.
If Archer had not jumped in and interfered at the start, she would have already taken down Jack the Ripper.
And before she even had time to teach Archer a lesson, he ran away again!
Although Mordred felt furious and humiliated, she forced herself to endure it.
After checking in with Kairi Sisigou and confirming each other's condition, they prepared to wrap things up and return to Trifas.
Just as the Magus was about to steal a car for the drive back, Mordred noticed bloodstains on the ground.
"What's this...?"
The blonde girl followed the scattered bloodstains on the ground and looked up toward the alley ahead. Then she stuck out her tongue and licked her lips.
"You won't get away this time, Assassin."