"Here, a little reward."
Caren sat down on a pew in the Chapel and handed Shirou a can of coffee.
"Thanks."
Back when he worked part-time for Touko, Shirou had once picked up the habit of drinking coffee, but lately, he had not had any in a long while.
More than half the women at home were die-hard black tea loyalists, so Shirou had been forced by circumstance to go without coffee and green tea for quite some time.
"So, what's the job this time?"
The acting priest of this church, Caren Hortensia, smiled with doll-like elegance.
"We've got a big order♡"
Shirou took a sip of coffee, nodded, and said, "Yeah, I could tell from the money-grubbing gleam in your eyes."
Half a year had passed since Shirou became an assistant of Fuyuki Church.
During those six months, he had accompanied Caren on several Agent jobs as her helper.
Shirou would defeat the evil magi the Church considered thorns in its side on Caren's behalf, while Caren sold Shirou internal Church information and concealed the existence of Fuyuki's Greater Grail.
It was exactly what one would call a tacit "take and give" relationship.
"A big order, huh… I'm impressed you managed to get that kind of inside information. Where did you hear it from?"
"Well, various channels."
Caren's intelligence network was highly developed.
Perhaps it was thanks to her connection with the "Burial Agency," but she always managed to obtain the latest firsthand information.
Shirou had long known that not every job Caren entrusted to him came from Church orders. Some were mercenary jobs that only paid money.
But Shirou did not mind. He was not the type to care much about money in the first place.
The people he eliminated were indeed threats to society. For Shirou, knowing that was enough.
"So, what's the target this time?"
"A Dead Apostle."
Caren made no attempt to hide that this was a mission handed down by the Church.
"So they've finally shown up… Dead Apostles."
The jobs so far had all been small fry.
It seemed the Church had finally acknowledged the abilities of Shirou and Caren as a pair, and had entrusted them with a truly important mission.
Shirou crossed his legs on the church pew, sipping coffee as he opened the mission file Caren had given him.
"This time's target… Found it."
His name was Odd Vorzak.
The previous head of the Vorzak family. In life, he had been a magus once known as the "Demonic Bee User."
The reason it was "in life" was because that man had long since cast aside his human identity and turned himself completely into a Dead Apostle through Magecraft research.
Odd Vorzak's familiars were a type of insect he had personally modified, the "Demonic Bees."
These "Demonic Bees" were extremely mobile and aggressive, and could turn ordinary humans they attacked into ghouls, making them highly contagious.
Although his attack method was efficient, the aftermath was often gruesome and difficult to clean up.
Because his familiars were unusual, and because his attack methods were inhumane, reckless, and contrary to the magus principle of "secrecy," Odd Vorzak was infamous among magi.
It was said that he had once caused an entire town to collapse into ruin. Because of that, both the Mage's Association and the Holy Church wanted him dead as soon as possible.
"The last incident he caused was 15 years ago, and the last time he appeared was seven years ago…"
Shirou glanced through the file, then frowned and said, "Tch. Isn't the Holy Church a little too inefficient?"
Caren said, "It cannot be helped. After all, Odd Vorzak has not been as active as he was in the past since 15 years ago.
He was always a very cautious man, and he possesses such convenient Magecraft. If he seriously wants to hide, there is simply nothing anyone can do."
According to Caren, the notorious "Demonic Bee User" had already gone clean more than a decade ago.
He had changed his appearance, created a false identity, disguised himself as an ordinary civilian, and vanished for several years.
"That makes sense. If he can train bees into familiars, then every movement in the city he lives in is practically under his control.
…So how did you manage to catch the trail of someone like that?"
After Shirou asked, Caren fell silent for some reason.
He could sense a slight disturbance from the silver-haired girl.
She paused for a full two seconds before returning to her usual composed expression.
"It seems that even a madman who abandoned his human identity, even a Dead Apostle who replaced every circuit in his body…
Still cannot resist the powerful pull of blood ties."
Caren said sarcastically, "The reason Odd Vorzak's whereabouts were exposed after several decades is that he recently returned to his family home, to see his newborn granddaughter."
Shirou: "..."
"Although Odd Vorzak is a brilliant magus, he is ultimately not a Dead Apostle with a long history.
He can only create the lowest-level ghouls. If he wants to create kin, he has no choice but to target his own blood relatives.
Odd Vorzak's son has little talent for Magecraft, so perhaps that man has placed his hopes on his granddaughter."
Although Caren said that, Shirou did not think so.
A magus's talent could not be seen when they were still an infant.
Even Manaka Sajyou, the Child of The Root, only began to show signs of it around the age of seven or eight.
So that cautious, evil Dead Apostle had risked being discovered by the Association and the Church simply to see his newborn granddaughter?
The thought that vampires had human hearts was even more absurd.
"In any case, thanks to Halri Vorzak, we have now traced the 'Demonic Bee User' again."
Caren said the name, apparently Odd Vorzak's granddaughter, with a smile.
...
"Our enemy is a vicious Dead Apostle with tens of thousands of lives on his hands. Is this really the time to study?"
Under Caren's urging and moral pressure, Shirou finally submitted an application to take a one-month leave of absence from school.
Naturally, such a sudden request meant Shirou was thoroughly interrogated by Fuji-nee and Issei.
When Shirou said he was leaving Japan, Fuji-nee seemed to think he had been deceived by some woman overseas.
"I get it. It's that girl named Luvia with the huge chest, right?"
"No, this has nothing to do with Luvia."
"What? Shirou has another girlfriend overseas!?"
"Luvia and I aren't like that…"
In the end, Irisviel helped him smooth things over and cover up the lie, and Shirou finally managed to get through that hurdle.
Thanks, Iri.
As for the other side.
Issei Ryuudou: "I understand. It's Tohsaka, isn't it?"
Shirou: "Yes."
Issei seemed to interpret Shirou's leave of absence as a conspiracy by Rin Tohsaka, the Demon of Homurahara.
"Wait for me, Amamiya! This time, I will definitely defeat her and restore justice for you!"
After saying that, he rushed out of the student council room and ran toward Rin Tohsaka's classroom.
Sorry, Tohsaka-san.
With everything ready, Shirou and Caren booked their flights out of Japan.
"Wait a moment, Shirou."
On the night before his departure, someone who had become a member of the Amamiya residence half a year earlier called out to Shirou.
"What is it, Justeaze-sama?"
After all, she was the ancestor of Irisviel and Illya. Even though she was now his familiar, Shirou had decided to speak to her politely.
"I will accompany you," Justeaze said expressionlessly.
"That won't do. If it were somewhere near Fuyuki, that would be one thing, but this time I'm going overseas… If someone with ulterior motives learns of your existence, things will get bad."
The returned Third Magician, the resurrected "Saintess of the Winter."
It would be best if as few people as possible knew of Justeaze's existence.
Over the past ten years, Shirou had come to understand the truth behind the saying that possessing a precious treasure brings trouble.
"I knew you would say that."
Justeaze's brows furrowed slightly, and displeasure appeared on her face.
She raised her pale, lotus-like arm, smoothed down a long lock of silver hair, and handed it to Shirou.
"Take this with you."
"What is this…?"
"It is equivalent to a part of me. It may prove useful at some point."
"Mm, then I'll accept it gratefully."
Shirou took the silver hair from Justeaze's hand.
He had intended to put it in his pocket, but the silver hair moved as if alive, sliding along Shirou's fingers and arm before finally entering his body through his chest.
"…What just happened?"
Shirou stared at his own chest in confusion.
He had stored things like a sword sheath there before, but this lock of hair felt different.
This feeling… was as if someone's consciousness had entered his body.
"Isn't a familiar supposed to become one in body and mind with its Ma… Master like this?"
Justeaze said.
Her cheeks flushed faintly, and she even shyly turned her face aside, unable to look Shirou in the eye.
For the first time in her thousand years of life, the beautiful doll gathered the courage to call a 16-year-old human boy "Master."
How would Shirou… think of it?
Would he hate it?
After all, she was a boring woman.
She was not young and charming like Irisviel, nor was she innocent and adorable like Illyasviel.
Sella and Leysritt were serious and hardworking girls as well. Compared to them, she could not even take care of herself properly. She was the greatest burden in this household.
Ah… Only after truly gaining a human heart did she understand that emotions were such troublesome things.
Just as Justeaze was inexplicably sinking into a certain negative spiral of self-deprecation, a hand rested on her shoulder.
"..."
The "Saintess of the Winter" raised her emotionless face.
Shirou smiled at her. "You're right. As Justeaze-sama's Master, I can't just go and die so easily.
Please tell everyone that for me too. I'll definitely come back safely."
"All right. Take care on your journey, Master."
As Justeaze said that, she reached out and stroked the boy's red hair.
Shirou Amamiya.
He was her Master, and like Irisviel and the others, he was also her child.
At the same time, he was the man who had turned her from a doll into a human.
...
...
On the way to their destination, Shirou got more detailed information from Caren.
Shirou had been bothered by something Caren had mentioned before: "The target once caused an entire town to collapse."
Leaving aside his battle with Vlad III, this was also Shirou's first proper Dead Apostle hunt, so it was best to be as cautious as possible.
"Demonic Bees" were bees altered through Magecraft. They were aggressive to a certain extent, and any human or creature stung by one would become a ghoul controlled by Odd Vorzak, who had turned into a Dead Apostle.
The Vorzak family had originally been skilled in "Bee Magecraft."
Bee Magecraft itself had nothing to do with Dead Apostle research. That was an independent line of study pursued by Odd Vorzak's generation.
He used the Demonic Bees to increase the number of ghouls under his control, and the town he once stayed in had been completely destroyed because those Demonic Bees ran amok.
"What a pain in the neck," Shirou muttered with a frown.
"Isn't he? After all, he's been running from both the Church and the Association for over a decade.
I hear bounty hunters are after him too… His head must be worth a fortune, don't you think? ♡"
The nun's eyes glittered at the scent of money.
She made no attempt to hide her naked greed from Shirou.
Eventually, Shirou and Caren arrived at a small town in southern France.
"Honestly, I heard Odd Vorzak had been living quietly in Paris all these years.
But it seems he realized his whereabouts had been exposed, so he moved from Paris to this backwater a few days ago."
Caren was deeply disappointed that she could not go shopping in Paris and use Shirou as her personal bag carrier while she was at it.
For Shirou, though, this was good news.
After all, their opponent was a vampire capable of controlling insects. If they fought in a major city, Shirou would have to hold back at every turn.
If they handled things poorly, the tragedy from before might repeat itself in Paris. And then the death toll would not stop at the tens of thousands.
Incidentally, Shirou was not wearing his Agent's robes on this mission, and Caren was not wearing her nun's habit either.
To avoid alerting the enemy, the two of them were dressed like a couple sightseeing in France.
"Why a couple? Wouldn't pretending to be siblings work better?"
Shirou glanced at the silver-haired nun clinging to his arm.
Caren answered with a faint smile. "Do you think anyone would believe we're actually related by blood?"
There was a trace of mockery in her voice, but Shirou really had no way to argue.
Although Caren Hortensia was only fifteen, she was already someone who drew countless eyes on the street.
Her pale amber eyes were paired with waist-length, light-colored waves of hair. Though her frame was slender, she had the full, rounded softness characteristic of people of Latin descent.
In a few more years, Caren would surely grow into a beauty overflowing with exotic charm, to the point that any man who saw her would think it was far too much of a waste for her to devote her life to the Church.
"With someone as outstanding as me standing beside shabby Shirou, no one would ever believe we share the same blood, would they?"
So declared the sharp-tongued angel.
Shirou protested bitterly, "Guh… Then pretending to be a couple makes sense?"
Caren propped her chin in her hand and murmured, "Hmm, you have a point. My standards couldn't possibly be that low…
In that case, Shirou, how about playing the role of my slave?"
"Absolutely not!"
"I'll make time to play fetch with you."
"I'm not even a slave anymore. I've already been downgraded to a dog!"
Caren said, "Don't worry. Shirou may look like this, but you give off the impression that you're very good at playing around with women, so no one should doubt our relationship."
Shirou sighed helplessly. "Just how far do you have to drag me down before you're satisfied…?"
"Hehe, don't worry. I'm a very patient woman.
Whether my lover is a womanizer skilled at toying with women, a bastard who resorts to domestic violence at the drop of a hat, a pervert with twisted sexual tastes, or an Oedipus who lusts after his stepmother…
Even if you're that hopeless, I'll embrace and accept you with all my love, without reservation~"
"None of that has anything to do with me!"
"Really? Not even a little?"
Caren stared straight at Shirou, and he guiltily turned his head away.
After taking a taxi from the airport, then walking for roughly half a day, the two arrived at their destination town before nightfall.
Nearly ten thousand people lived in the town. It had a church, and because it was near a scenic area, there were as many as three inns.
Before leaving Japan, Caren had already reserved two rooms at one of the family-run inns.
They could have sought help from the local church, of course, but Shirou and Caren decided against it because they believed that would risk exposing themselves.
Odd Vorzak might have already planted Demonic Bee spies inside the church.
It was six in the evening.
They decided to rest on the first night, then survey the town during the day before making a strategy.
Finding a hidden Dead Apostle among ten thousand people without alerting the enemy was no easy task.
After putting away their luggage, Shirou and Caren met in the hallway, then went to dinner together.
"Are you Chinese? Or Japanese? I wonder if the food here will suit your tastes."
"Oh, it's fine, really. I grew up in Southern Europe.
My boyfriend did too. I've already trained him to be used to the local cuisine."
Caren played along smoothly, showing a beautiful smile so dreamlike it seemed unreal.
Anyone who did not know her would surely mistake her for a pure and innocent angel. Only Shirou knew the venomous woman hidden beneath that goddess-like appearance.
The woman who ran the inn was a middle-aged lady of around fifty, with a mild and gentle air about her.
She had grown up in a rural town far from any city, which was likely how she had developed such a simple, unpretentious personality.
Both Shirou and Caren were very satisfied with dinner that night.
"Here, please enjoy some after-dinner tea."
"Thank you."
"Are the two of you here on vacation?"
After the old woman asked that, Caren glared at Shirou and complained.
"I wanted to go shopping in Paris, but my boyfriend insisted on visiting the church in this town…
Really, what's there to see in a countryside church like this? It's not as if Notre-Dame de Paris isn't far more impressive."
"You two are very close," the old woman said with a smile.
At that, Caren happily hugged Shirou's arm. "Hehe, you can tell? He and I have been childhood sweethea… ngh?"
Halfway through her delighted performance, the silver-haired nun suddenly swayed and collapsed.
"Caren?"
Shirou tried to grab her shoulder, only to feel as if his body no longer belonged to him either.
"What is…"
As he fell, he looked at the old woman from the inn. Her wrinkled face was utterly expressionless, so cold she hardly seemed human.
This woman… so that's how it is…
Just before losing consciousness, Shirou thought: Looks like I've hooked a big one this time.
...
...
How long had passed?
When Shirou opened his eyes, he found himself in a dark, airtight room.
He did not panic, instead calmly checking his surroundings.
The windows had been sealed tight, leaving only a narrow gap through which dim starlight spilled in.
Not a basement…
Shirou twisted his hands, which had been bound behind his back. His entire body had been stripped bare, leaving him with only a pair of briefs.
Beside him lay the sharp-tongued nun, likewise stripped without the slightest mercy.
Caren had not woken up yet. She lay half-naked on the floor.
It did not seem appropriate to keep admiring the girl's underwear like this, so Shirou looked away.
"Tch. It's only been a few minutes… This is the first time I've met someone who woke up this fast."
A cold female voice rang out in the pitch-black room.
Shirou looked up and saw a tall young woman.
She had well-proportioned features, light blue hair cut short and neat, and carried a sharp, dignified air.
Her deep black leather coat hung open at the front, which only made her striking figure stand out even more.
The fair-skinned woman held a cigarette between her lips and looked down at Shirou with an icy expression.
"Hey, brat."
"What's your name?"
Before she could speak, Shirou asked first.
The woman whose captive had seized the initiative frowned. Did this kid not understand his position?
Strangely, however, when he stared at her with those golden eyes, the woman found herself unable to ignore his question.
Though it made her extremely uncomfortable, she still gave her name.
"Natalia… Natalia Kaminski."