"I'm going to die? What does that mean?" Shirou asked.
"..."
Rita Rozay-en did not answer his question directly.
She turned her elegant profile toward the window, her crimson gaze falling upon the scenery outside.
Plains and forests swept past beneath the late-night starlight, peaceful and still enough to soothe the heart.
After a long silence, Rita Rozay-en parted her vivid red lips.
"I am an artist."
The corner of Shirou's mouth twitched. What was she suddenly talking about?
Rita Rozay-en continued, "Every noble form of beauty in this world worthy of being called art is something I adore. Whether it is a natural creation born from the planet, an artificial work crafted by human hands, or even an 'accident' brought about by mutation, each is an irreplaceable treasure to me."
"Right…"
"People often claim that only art faithful to its creator's original spirit can be considered true art, but that is merely the shallow opinion of ordinary people. Even if the original ideal has been distorted, even if an 'authentic piece' has fallen into becoming a 'forgery'… Art remains art. As long as it is sufficiently beautiful and noble, it is the truth that I, Rita Rozay-en, pursue."
The beautiful woman surrounded by roses narrowed her eyes.
Her tone made it clear that her definition of art was entirely her own and would never be swayed by outside opinion.
Unlike Magecraft, art possessed no inherent practical value.
Then who was qualified to determine the quality and worth of art?
Generally, such things were decided either by the opinion of the majority or by the judgment of recognized authorities.
Rita Rozay-en regarded whatever she personally found beautiful as the highest form of art, without allowing anyone else's will to influence her.
Shirou found that somewhat surprising.
Since she was a great vampire who had lived for more than five hundred years, he had assumed she would be far more conservative and devoted to tradition.
However… Rita Rozay-en's sense of beauty aligned with Shirou's in certain respects, particularly in their views on authentic pieces and forgeries.
Had she not been a vampire, Shirou might even have become close friends with her, spending their time discussing and appreciating antiques together.
"Art is beautiful."
Rita Rozay-en's mysterious, deep-crimson eyes shone beneath the night sky.
"All art in this world deserves to be collected and protected by those capable of appreciating it. It was with that conviction that I established the Mystic Eyes auction."
Shirou replied sarcastically, "So that's why you forcibly take other people's Mystic Eyes, only to sell them at auction instead of keeping them for yourself?"
She had not created the auction to flaunt her power as an Ancestor. Rita Rozay-en genuinely loved Mystic Eyes as works of art and wanted them to belong to those who truly understood their value.
Rather than taking offense at Shirou's sarcasm, Rita Rozay-en smiled.
"Money may be vulgar, but it is quite useful for measuring the weight of a person's love."
"So a poor man like me isn't worthy of loving art?"
"..."
"Hey, say something… Don't look away!"
Rita Rozay-en cleared her throat.
"I am an artist."
"I know."
"So if a precious work of art were to fall into the hands of some vulgar fool incapable of appreciating it, or worse, be destroyed… That is the one thing I cannot tolerate."
As she spoke, quiet anger radiated from her voluptuous figure.
Shirou nodded. "I understand your reasoning. In other words, you don't want me to die here, right?"
"Mm. You understand quickly," the woman of roses replied calmly.
The moving Rail Zeppelin was apparently about to become involved in a major disaster, and she had come specifically to warn him.
That meant the threat was so severe that even one of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, beings who were practically gods or laws of nature unto themselves, was unable to stop it.
"Who is the enemy?" Shirou asked.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you."
"It's not that you don't want to. You're unable to, aren't you?"
"That is part of the pact. I cannot break it," Rita Rozay-en said.
"Now that you understand, please leave at once, Shirou Amamiya-sama. If you wait any longer…"
"What will happen to everyone aboard if I leave?" Shirou asked.
Rita Rozay-en had neither stopped the train nor warned the other passengers. Instead, she had summoned Shirou alone in the middle of the night. That bothered him.
"..."
Rita Rozay-en fell silent.
"I see. That's what I thought… They won't stop just because I leave, will they?" Shirou said. "In that case, I'm afraid I can't do as you ask."
The rose vampire sighed.
"You truly are exactly as Touko described…"
"Touko?"
Shirou had not expected to hear that name from her.
She raised an eyebrow. "You didn't actually think Touko and I were mortal enemies, did you?"
"Aren't you?"
"I already told you. I am an artist who loves every form of art," Rita Rozay-en said indignantly.
"Ah… I see."
"There are very few brilliant artists in this world as gifted as Touko."
Shirou nodded in agreement.
"Shirou-sama, this is your final chance…"
Shirou cut her off. "No. That subject is closed. I'm not getting off the train."
The petals and Mana drifting around Rita Rozay-en began to tremble.
"In that case, I have no choice but to force you…"
"Stop. We aren't enemies."
"..."
"Anyway, thank you for the warning."
The red-haired boy took the invitation from inside his clothes and waved it lightly.
"Since I went to the trouble of accepting your invitation, let me enjoy myself until the very end, Manager."
Rita Rozay-en silently watched the boy's retreating back.
"Oh, right."
Shirou looked back.
"I should also thank you for appreciating forgeries."
The woman of roses curled her alluring lips into a smile.
"That goes without saying."
...
"The Rail Zeppelin has deviated from its designated route."
"At its current trajectory, it will enter the territory of the Child of Einnashe in thirty minutes."
On the morning of the third day, Shirou and the others were awakened by the cold voice of the announcement.
The following broadcast explained what it meant for the train to have deviated from its designated route.
"We apologize for the inconvenience. Until the auction begins, all passengers are requested to ensure their own safety."
"...What?"
His roommates, Rin Tohsaka and Luviagelita, turned pale and stared with wide eyes.
Shirou remained calm. He had already been warned the previous night.
Still, Rin and Luvia's reactions seemed unusually intense.
"By the way, what exactly is the Child of Einnashe…"
Clatter! The carriage lurched violently.
Sitting on the bed, Rin Tohsaka's expression changed as she pointed out the window.
"That's…"
Snow was falling outside.
At first, it was only a light flurry, but within seconds it transformed into a raging blizzard.
Like the breath of some distant white deity, the wind and snow continued to intensify. Before long, nothing outside could be seen at all.
Was this the influence of the Child of Einnashe mentioned in the announcement?
There was no possibility that the warning had been mistaken. The situation was clearly deteriorating rapidly.
"The announcement told us to stay in our rooms. What do you two think?" Luvia asked, looking to the others for their opinions.
Did that even need to be said?
The three exchanged knowing smiles.
After leaving their guest room, Shirou and the others headed toward the carriage containing the lounge.
The train had already come to a complete stop.
Through the blizzard outside the windows, they could just make out that the train was now surrounded by a forest.
Along the way, they passed many rooms protected by spells and Barriers. It appeared that most of the guests had chosen to follow the conductor's advice and fortify themselves inside their rooms.
However, some people had refused to remain hidden.
Reines, Olga Marie, Yvette, and a handful of Magi Shirou did not recognize had gathered in the lounge.
Lord Eulyphis locked himself inside his room… Well, that certainly suits the old man…
We're a little short on high-level combat power, Shirou thought.
"Wow, Shirou-sama is here too! We're saved!"
A bright, energetic female voice swept away the oppressive atmosphere in the carriage.
Shirou walked over to the pink-haired girl. "Yvette, go back to your room."
"Hey! Don't treat me like a child! I came here to help too!"
Yvette darted behind Olga Marie, poked her head out, and tilted it curiously.
"Hmm? Is Shirou-sama hiding something?"
"..."
"Hehehe. Behold the Mystic Eyes of Emotion Perception, which sees everything and leaves you trembling in shock! You can't hide anything from me!"
After proudly declaring that, Yvette lifted her star-shaped eye patch.
Beneath it was not a beautiful eyeball, but a processed gemstone. A polished piece of green malachite glittered beneath the eye patch.
"!"
Rin Tohsaka and Luvia swallowed hard.
As members of gemstone lineages, they understood what an extraordinary treasure the girl's Mystic Eye was.
This was the rumored craft of the Lehrman family, the technique of polishing gemstones into Mystic Eyes…
"Fine. This group will do. Let's assess the situation."
Shirou naturally took command of everyone present. Although he held the lowest social standing among them, no one objected.
Even the proud Olga Marie stared at him with sparkling, expectant eyes.
"What is the Child of Einnashe?"
The atmosphere around them changed the moment Shirou asked.
"Einnashe…" Olga Marie began.
"As the name suggests, it is a forest capable of thought and predation. It originated when the corpse of the Seventh of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, a Dead Apostle who had once been a Magus, was consumed by bloodsucking plants after his death, resulting in a mutation. The forest replaced its former master as a new Ancestor. It is a bloodthirsty forest bordering on a Phantasmal Species."
Even a bloodsucking plant could become an Ancestor?
Shirou was somewhat speechless, although he had secretly met a vampire young lady who resembled a carnivorous flower only the previous night.
"The interior of Einnashe is a separate space resembling a Reality Marble. According to legend, once every few centuries, a crimson fruit ripens on the great tree at the center of the forest. That fruit is the reason humans are drawn to the demonic forest. An unreliable legend claims that whoever eats it will obtain eternal life."
"Einnashe appears approximately once every fifty years. It attacks the humans who gather there and uses the enormous amount of Mana it collects to ripen the fruit deep within the forest. During its last manifestation, Einnashe was destroyed by an assassin dispatched by the Church and recovered as a Principle."
"What? So it's already been destroyed?"
Shirou asked, "Then is the Child of Einnashe a remnant that survived because they failed to wipe it out completely?"
Olga Marie shook her head.
"They say that fully ripened fruit often drips blood. Some of those drops become seeds and lie dormant underground for a time before choosing an evolutionary path different from the parent organism. The Child of Einnashe is the ultimate form of those Crimson Seeds. It appears this particular child chose ice and snow."
Shirou was beginning to understand how the rumor that the fruit granted immortality had originated.
At the same time, he had gained a rough understanding of their current situation.
"I've heard that Dead Apostles normally divide territories among themselves and rarely interfere with one another. However, the manager of this Rail Zeppelin seems to have vanished from public view long ago, and the Child of Einnashe is not under anyone's control. It wouldn't be strange for the two to encounter each other."
A chance encounter?
Shirou frowned.
That wasn't what had happened. Someone had arranged this deliberately, and they were after him.
The group began discussing how to escape from the Child of Einnashe.
According to the conductor, the train could begin moving again as soon as they located a Ley Line.
"The train stopped because it lost track of the Ley Lines. That must be an effect of the forest's Magecraft. If we search for the main Ley Line on foot and establish several markers, escaping the forest shouldn't be too difficult."
"Establishing markers… It should work in theory, but that means entering a man-eating forest in the middle of a blizzard."
"Well? Is anyone here willing to assist Shirou and me?"
Luvia placed her hands on her hips and looked fearlessly around the group.
Her commanding presence resembled that of a queen facing an army at her gates. Even Shirou had to admit that she looked dazzling and magnificent…
But when did she decide I was going with her!?
"I'll go too!"
Yvette immediately raised her hand, and Rin Tohsaka refused to be outdone.
"I'll remain aboard the train and await your triumphant return," Reines said with a smile.
"Olga Marie-sama should remain aboard as well. We could never bear the responsibility if anything happened to the heir of the Department of Astromancy."
"..."
Although Olga Marie looked displeased, she did not object. She represented more than herself. A conservative approach like Lord Eulyphis's was considered the proper conduct for a Lord.
Yvette looked at the contemplative red-haired boy.
"Well then, Shirou-sama, we should set out…"
"No. Establishing coordinates alone won't be enough."
Shirou shook his head.
"We need to destroy the Child of Einnashe as quickly as possible."
"Do we truly need to go that far?"
Luvia knew that Shirou could never ignore someone in need, and she deeply loved that part of him. Still, was it really necessary to risk the lives of everyone aboard just to fight a bloodsucking monster blocking their path?
"We have no choice… Prepare yourselves as though we're going to war."
With those words, Shirou pulled open the heavy carriage door and stepped into the Child of Einnashe.
***
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