Late at night, in the darkness of Shirou's room, Siduri suddenly "attacked" him without warning.
"Let me become a mother... Sow your seed in me, and let me bear your child..."
The Head Priestess of Uruk, whom Shirou had always respected like an older sister, suddenly said something that sounded downright indecent.
First things first, he needed to calm down.
Shirou helped her over to the bed, and the two sat down with a gap of about ten centimeters between them.
Moonlight streamed through the window and fell across Siduri's body, outlining the mature curves of her figure.
Compared to the dazzling goddesses or the youthful girls of Chaldea, Siduri always wore conservative, austere priestly robes, and even kept her face hidden behind a black veil.
Perhaps because of that, Shirou had never been particularly conscious of her as a woman.
But Siduri was a woman too...
Over the past six months, Shirou had seen her true face beneath the black veil a handful of times.
She was not quite as striking as Ishtar or Quetzalcoatl, but she was unquestionably beautiful. The thought that she would spend her entire life preserving her chastity and serving the goddess seemed almost like a waste.
"..."
Perhaps noticing his gaze, Siduri lowered her eyelashes.
Shirou hurriedly looked away and asked, "So what exactly is going on? Is this some prank by Gil or Merlin?"
"No."
Siduri shook her head and began to explain.
Only five hundred people remained in Uruk.
With so few survivors, preserving their culture was already difficult. Maintaining a viable population was even harder.
As the Head Priestess of Uruk, Siduri believed it was her duty to do whatever she could to slow the kingdom's demographic decline.
"The conclusion I reached was... to introduce the genes of an outsider..."
Siduri spoke in a voice filled with embarrassment. "I will be the one to preserve the bloodline of Uruk's hero... Shirou-sama, here in this era, and pass it on to future generations..."
"......"
Shirou was speechless.
If this had come from anyone other than the diligent, responsible Siduri, he would already have rebuked them for saying something so absurd.
But precisely because Siduri loved Uruk more than anyone, she was willing to break the rules imposed upon a priestess and sacrifice both her body and her future for the sake of preventing her homeland's decline.
"I understand."
Shirou took a deep breath. "I understand how much Siduri-san cares about Uruk."
"Then..."
The Head Priestess swallowed nervously.
Shirou continued, "But Siduri-san doesn't have to go this far.
Giving up your entire future just to revive the country...
Spending the rest of your life raising a child born from one night with a man you don't even love would be far too cruel."
Siduri's reply was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
"......That... isn't true at all."
"What?"
"I... um... I do feel somewhat guilty toward Ishtar-sama, but..."
Siduri's cheeks flushed as she stammered, "I've always... had special feelings for Shirou-sama...
There isn't a woman in Uruk who doesn't admire you...
If I could bear your child, I would consider it a tremendous honor...
I would cherish the child you gave me as my greatest pride... Ugh!"
"Huh...?"
Shirou had never expected her to say anything like that.
Seeing the boy at a complete loss, Siduri asked somewhat dejectedly, "Shirou-sama... you still don't want to?"
"It's not that."
Shirou scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"If possible, I'd like to repay Siduri-san for looking after me all these past six months, but..."
"But?"
Siduri stared at Shirou's face, while he fell silent.
His hesitation led her to the wrong conclusion.
"I understand. Shirou-sama is a boy pursued by goddesses, after all...
I know very well that I'm not attractive enough to catch your eye... but I'll do my best!"
Do your best?
How exactly?
Just as Shirou was about to ask, Siduri reached for the buttons on her priestly robe.
One by one, the buttons came undone, revealing what she wore underneath.
Shirou stared. "Siduri-san, that's..."
Siduri gave him a radiant smile. "Hehe. I specially borrowed this from a brothel for tonight...
It's the traditional attire worn by Uruk's sacred prostitutes."
Beneath her conservative priestly robes was silk lingerie combining the design of a swimsuit with the style of a dancer's costume.
Her healthy, wheat-colored skin and mature figure matched the provocative courtesan outfit perfectly, making it difficult to look away.
"Um... what do you think, Shirou-sama? Did it perhaps make you feel... even just a little more interested?"
Siduri asked quietly.
Shirou drew in a sharp breath, then nodded.
"Yeah. It's pretty sexy... as expected of Siduri-san."
"Ugh!"
She lowered her head in embarrassment and stared at her legs.
"I've never been with a man before, so Shirou-sama... could you guide me tonight?"
Shirou fell silent.
If he still did nothing after hearing that much, Shirou would have to start wondering whether something was wrong with him.
"Eek~♡"
The boy grabbed Siduri by the shoulders and pushed her onto the bed.
"Shirou-sama... let me take care of you first..."
"That's not necessary. Besides, we can do that at the end."
"At the end... Ah, you mean cleaning blowjob afterward, right? I'll do my best!"
Where had she even learned words like that?
Siduri seemed convinced that, because she served the goddess Ishtar, she must naturally be talented at pleasing men.
Unfortunately, according to Shirou's experience, being serviced by a completely inexperienced girl was rarely especially pleasant.
There was admittedly a certain charm in watching someone clumsily but affectionately try her best for him, but tonight they were truly short on time.
Only a few hours remained until dawn.
This was Shirou's final commission in Uruk, a request from Siduri-san, who had taken care of him all this time.
He had to fulfill it properly.
Shirou parted the long, slender legs wrapped in black stockings, which still offered the slightest trace of resistance.
...
...
Eight o'clock the next morning.
Everyone gathered in the Audience Hall of the Divine Tower.
Mash looked around and noticed that one of the Divine Tower's usual fixtures was missing.
"Siduri-san isn't here this morning?"
"She's taking the morning off... Hmph. Slacking off on the very last day. How disgraceful."
Gilgamesh spoke with an irritated expression.
Of course, he had already received word that Shirou had taken Siduri to the northern Cedar Forest to deal with Huwawa, so he naturally assumed that Siduri's absence was simply because the previous night's excursion had exhausted her.
Even the King of Heroes, who boasted of omniscience and omnipotence, could never have imagined that until just a short while ago, the Head Priestess of Uruk had still been pinned beneath a young man.
"All of you should be well rested by now, correct? Then let this King announce the results of last night's investigation. Look!"
Gilgamesh snapped his fingers, and a three-dimensional image appeared in the hall.
"Oh my. A full-body image of the Goddess Tiamat's dragon form? This is very well done. How did you make it?"
Quetzalcoatl asked curiously.
Dr. Roman explained that he and Uruk's priests had worked through the night to complete it together.
Hearing that, Shirou felt a little guilty.
Sorry, everyone at the Sacrificial Grounds...
While all of you were working overtime through the night, your superior was earnestly studying techniques for pleasing a man.
No... this could technically be considered working hard for Uruk's future too, right?
There were many ways to work for one's homeland. The Head Priestess was simply using the part of herself that was a woman to help save Uruk.
Although by the end, she seemed to have completely forgotten her original goal of becoming a mother and simply lost herself in pleasure...
Gilgamesh continued.
"Between last night and dawn, we received several reports from surviving academies along the coastline."
'The Goddess Tiamat is walking across the seawater.' 'She appears unable to control her own weight.'
'This is merely a hypothesis, but her legs seem far too slender to support such a massive body.'
'Perhaps the Goddess Tiamat can only walk upon seawater.' That was the final report.
Both this King and Chaldea agree with that hypothesis.
Otherwise, there would be little reason for her to erode the land in that manner."
"So what does that mean?" Ritsuka blinked.
"It means that the black mud eroding the land is essentially a set of rails being laid so the Goddess Tiamat can come ashore," Gilgamesh explained.
A man from thirty-seven hundred years ago had just used a modern metaphor for a twenty-first-century high school girl.
Romani Archaman spoke excitedly. "So even if we can't kill the Goddess Tiamat on the surface, as long as we can eliminate that black mud, we can temporarily stop her advance!"
And so, their target for the day changed from the Goddess Tiamat herself to the black mud.
Chaldea called that black mud the Chaos Tide and was urgently analyzing a method to restore it to ordinary seawater.
If they finished in time, they could delay the Goddess Tiamat's arrival in Uruk.
Unfortunately, the latest report from that morning indicated that the Goddess Tiamat would reach Uruk sooner than originally predicted.
"I'll buy us some time."
"Quetzalcoatl!"
Everyone turned around.
The Sun Goddess wore her usual bright smile.
"I can't clear away the entire ocean, but if it's only the area around the Goddess Tiamat after she makes landfall, then my Noble Phantasm can manage it.
I'll use Piedra Del Sol to evaporate all the mud beneath the Goddess Tiamat's feet."
After that, they put together a simple strategy.
Everyone would escort Quetzalcoatl as she approached the Goddess Tiamat.
Ritsuka would use a Command Spell to boost Quetzalcoatl, who would then unleash her Noble Phantasm to halt Mother's advance.
"Trying to deal with all the Laḫmu flying around while getting right beneath Mother... that's completely reckless."
Ishtar stared at them in disbelief. "And while Quetzalcoatl is activating her Noble Phantasm, Fujimaru will have to stay there the whole time too, right?"
"That's exactly right~! Super dangerous~!"
"All right! Let's go, Quetzalcoatl!"
Ritsuka, however, was full of determination.
Gilgamesh also approved of the operation.
"All soldiers, return to your posts! Use Melammu Dingir to provide cover for Fujimaru!
Only the King will remain within the Divine Tower! No matter what happens, none of you are permitted to leave the city walls!"
This bastard...
Shirou frowned slightly.
So much for "return to this King once the matter is settled. I'll graciously listen to your victory report to pass the time"...
He could tell that Gilgamesh had already prepared himself to die. The King clearly intended to use himself as bait for the enemy.
Even so, Shirou could not immediately think of a better alternative.
At that moment, someone tugged at his sleeve.
"Ana? What's wrong?"
The girl took Shirou by the hand and led him into a secluded corner of the Divine Tower, away from everyone else.
"We're about to leave."
Shirou distractedly watched Gilgamesh climb to the observation deck.
The King of Uruk had already begun his final speech, saying things like, "This is the true battle of farewell to the gods! Offer your lives to this King!"
Ana looked down at the back of Shirou's hand.
"Yeah, I know. Shirou, I want you to use your Command Spells on me."
After contracting with Ana, a red mark symbolizing his status as a Master had appeared on the back of Shirou's hand.
Normally, a contract between Shirou and Ana should have been impossible.
Without a Summoning Array, how had they managed to form one?
Part of the reason was Ana's advance preparation.
But the more important reason was the Goddess Gorgon's Blood Fort.
Gorgon and Ana had originally been the same existence, Medusa.
That meant the Blood Fort was also Ana's temple.
That was why they had been able to establish a Master-Servant contract there.
The purple-haired girl looked up at her Master.
"Shirou, use the Command Spells on me... Make me become Gorgon.
If you use all three Command Spells at once, something like that should be possible, right?"
"Ana... you..."
"I want to help everyone. I want to protect Uruk... I want to atone for what I've done."
A fierce determination burned in the girl's jewel-colored eyes.
"Shirou, I want more power."
"But if you do that..."
Shirou hesitated.
"If you turn into Gorgon, the citizens of Uruk you love so much might hate you... Are you really okay with that?"
Ana smiled softly.
"They won't. Everyone is kind.
Even if my appearance changes...
I'm sure they'll recognize me and treat me just as kindly as before."
"Ana, you really have changed... All right. I understand."
Shirou decided to honor Ana's resolve.
...
...
The group boarded their mounts, the pterosaurs that would carry them toward the final battlefield.
Although Shirou could now fly freely under his own power, this time he chose to stay beside Ana and ride the same pterosaur as her.
After two hours of flight, the enormous figure of the Goddess Tiamat entered their field of vision.
At the same time, the battle against the Laḫmu began.
Their numbers were staggering.
Even though Shirou and the others had learned how to fight them during the previous day's battles, they still struggled badly.
"Hey, haven't the Laḫmu gotten stronger? They feel stronger than me now!"
"Sorry to say it, Jaguar Warrior, but you're not imagining things! The Laḫmu really have gotten stronger!"
Dr. Roman quickly explained.
"It isn't just a change in appearance. Even their internal Magic Circuits have been reinforced...
Damn it! In just one night, they evolved into a higher-order form of life...!"
They had already been ultimate mass-produced monsters whose performance surpassed ordinary Magical Beasts, and now they had evolution built in too.
In a science fiction movie, that would be final boss material.
"If only this were a science fiction movie..."
Ritsuka picked up on Shirou's comment.
"In science fiction movies, the queen of a swarm is usually pretty weak, right?
You just blow up the fragile queen that can't fight, humanity wins, and then the credits start rolling."
"True. Too bad the mother we're dealing with is the strongest one of all."
Shirou looked toward the Goddess Tiamat standing upon the sea.
There was something he could not tell the others.
From that gigantic dragon body, Shirou could feel a profound loneliness and sadness.
"Set Mother free, Shirou."
Ana, sitting in the boy's arms, tightly held his hand.
"Yeah. Let's go, Ana!"
***
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