After bringing Shirou to the door of a room, Archer immediately dematerialized and disappeared.
"Seriously..."
Watching him vanish, Shirou scratched his ear slightly.
How had he never realized before that Archer was such a nag?
No, that was not quite right.
Why had Archer suddenly started nagging him in the first place?
Shirou did not spend much time dwelling on the question, because the loud crash coming from inside the room made him realize that things within were probably not going well.
Originally, he had intended to open the door and check on the situation himself.
However, before he could push the door open, it was opened from the inside first.
"You are Emiya... Shirou, correct? Please come in. The two of them have been waiting for quite some time."
The person who opened the door was a woman dressed in what looked like a maid outfit.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Shirou felt that when she said the name "Shirou," she sounded as though she were gritting her teeth.
"That is me... I will go in first."
Shirou had wanted to ask about it, but another loud crash from inside forced him to abandon the subject and enter immediately.
Hopefully Rin and Illya had not started fighting.
With only Archer and one-and-a-half magus, there was absolutely no chance of defeating Berserker.
After entering, Shirou finally saw what was happening inside the room.
Rin sat alone on one side of a table.
Across from her sat Illya, leisurely drinking tea with a relaxed expression, while a maid standing behind her appeared to be spacing out.
On the tabletop in front of Rin were two fist-sized cracks.
Shirou could more or less guess what had caused the earlier crashing noises.
It was certainly very much in character for Rin.
"Phew... Shirou, you are awake? Hurry up and explain the situation! She refuses to listen to a single thing I say!"
The moment she saw Shirou enter, Rin visibly relaxed.
She shifted slightly to the side and motioned for him to sit down.
"...Alright."
Looking at Rin, who seemed ready to punch the table again at any moment, Shirou reluctantly accepted the task.
From what Rin had said, it was obvious that their conversation had not gone very well.
Or rather...
It was more accurate to say that Rin had been talking nonstop while Illya ignored everything she said.
That, too, sounded very much like Illya.
"Um—"
After sitting opposite Illya, Shirou was about to explain why they had come when Illya immediately interrupted him.
"I already know about your intention to form an alliance and what happened in the forest, so there is no need to explain all that. Just tell me what happened when you encountered that black ghost."
As she spoke, she signaled for the maid behind her to serve Shirou tea and snacks.
Seeing the treatment Shirou received, Rin's fists immediately clenched.
Shirou could practically hear the cracking sounds.
He quickly pushed the tea and snacks in front of him over to Rin and honestly recounted everything that had happened.
"That is roughly what happened before I lost consciousness. After coming into contact with that shadow..."
He hesitated briefly.
"...It is hard to describe, but I saw a lot of very unpleasant things."
After giving a simple summary of the events, Shirou also described the visions he had experienced while unconscious.
Partly it was to warn the two of them about the shadow.
Partly it was because he suspected those visions might be connected to the ghost's true identity.
That was why he brought it up specifically.
Now that Saber was gone, they had lost their strongest combat asset.
Missing even the smallest piece of information could easily lead to defeat or death.
"I understand."
After listening to Shirou's explanation, Illya did not say much.
She simply sat quietly, lost in thought.
The two maids behind her remained dutifully at their posts.
"I can consider the alliance."
After thinking for a while, Illya suddenly looked at Shirou.
"But your Saber has already been eliminated, has she not? Even so, do you still intend to involve yourself in the Holy Grail War?"
"Leaving that thing in Fuyuki would cause too many problems."
Shirou had only just discussed this exact topic with Archer.
This time, he answered immediately without hesitation.
"Is that so?"
Narrowing her eyes, Illya carefully examined him.
After confirming that he was speaking sincerely, she nodded inwardly.
Although she disliked the mindset that led Shirou to think this way, she remembered how he had thrown himself forward to protect Rin without regard for his own safety.
With that in mind, she decisively chose to overlook the issue.
"I understand your reasoning."
She paused briefly.
"But I should warn you in advance. Even if you join us, Shirou, you probably will not be of much help."
"There will be opportunities."
Shirou replied without hesitation.
The moment Illya said that, both Shirou and Rin understood her meaning.
She had accepted their proposal for an alliance.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been something worth celebrating.
However, with Saber having fallen during the operation, the overall strength of their group had not actually improved very much.
On top of that, they now had an extraordinarily powerful and troublesome enemy to deal with.
That only made the entire situation even more complicated.
The discussion regarding the alliance did not last very long.
After a brief exchange between Illya and Rin, the two quickly determined what their highest priority should be going forward.
As for Shirou...
He could not understand most of what they were talking about.
All he could do was sit quietly to the side, sipping tea, occasionally being dragged into the conversation as ammunition for one side to use against the other.
Throughout the entire process, Shirou maintained a neutral stance.
Although, personally, he was slightly more inclined to support Illya, who looked younger.
Was it not normal to be considerate toward children?
However, after glancing at the two dents in the table, Shirou ultimately decided to follow the advice Archer had given him earlier and keep his mouth shut for the entire discussion.
The conversation between the two girls lasted quite a while.
Combined with the time Shirou had spent unconscious, the sky outside had already begun to darken.
At Illya's invitation, Shirou, Rin, and Archer would be staying at Einzbern Castle for dinner and the night.
Archer had recovered somewhat, but he was still not in good enough condition to directly oppose the ghost.
Rather than forcing the issue, they decided to abandon any operations for the night and let him focus on restoring his mana.
During that time, the three of them would investigate the true identity of the black ghost.
Well...
Strictly speaking, it would be Rin and Illya doing the investigating.
Shirou possessed virtually no knowledge of magecraft.
The only advantage he had over the two girls was that he had personally taken a direct hit from the thing and seen a number of horrifying visions.
Still, because of that information, the scope of their investigation had been narrowed considerably.
...Probably.
Staring at a pile of books nearly taller than himself, Shirou desperately tried to recall exactly what he had seen in those visions, hoping to lessen the burden on the two girls.
However, taking responsibility came at a cost.
"Urgh—! Blegh—!"
Covering his mouth, Shirou rushed toward the bathroom once again.
This left behind a completely unsurprised Illya and Rin.
As well as everyone outside who could hear the sounds of him vomiting.
"Shirou is really trying his hardest to help... That is the fourth time he has run to the bathroom to throw up, is it not?"
Watching Shirou repeatedly force himself to remember, break out into cold sweat, and then sprint to the bathroom, Talulah could not help commenting.
"Technically, he only vomited three times. The third time was just dry heaving. This time he actually threw up the snacks he ate earlier."
Blaze helpfully added.
She could tell the difference between vomiting and dry heaving.
After all, she had experienced both herself after drinking too much.
"That is not something that needed clarification!"
Amiya and Frostnova simultaneously grabbed the tails of the two commentators, stopping them from dragging the discussion completely off-topic.
To be fair, Blaze was the sort of person who enjoyed jokes and banter.
Making remarks like that was perfectly normal for her.
As for Talulah...
She simply admired Shirou's determination but did not want to say it outright.
Because this kind of behavior was not something that should be encouraged.
At least, judging from Shirou's memories, they had already witnessed countless examples of him pushing himself too far.
Still, given the current circumstances...
It was difficult to criticize him.
With the situation so urgent, making this choice was understandable.
At the same time, she did not feel comfortable praising him for it either.
As a result, what came out of her mouth was a complaint instead.
Even so, several people had noticed the reactions of the three girls.
One had to admit that Shirou seemed far calmer now.
It was as though he had grown considerably less impulsive in a very short period of time.
And the reason was obvious.
Saber.
Especially under immense pressure.
Shirou had no choice but to mature.
Combined with Archer's deliberate efforts to accelerate that growth, Shirou had already become noticeably less impulsive than before without even realizing it.
Otherwise, after what had happened earlier, he probably would have managed to make Illya even angrier.
Speaking of Illya, Amiya felt that something was not quite right.
The change in Illya's attitude during the discussion about whether Shirou would continue participating in the Holy Grail War was difficult to understand.
Now that everyone in the memory was busy with their own tasks, Amiya quietly took the opportunity to ask Illya herself.
"Oh, that?"
Illya shrugged.
"Hard to say. My emotions were rather unstable during that period. Maybe I just happened to be in a good mood and agreed to it."
For such a minor question concerning herself, Illya casually brushed it aside.
"...I see. Understood."
Amiya knew perfectly well that this was not the real answer.
However, since Illya clearly did not wish to elaborate, she chose not to press the issue.
It was only a personal curiosity of hers.
Whether she learned the truth or not would not change much.
What mattered more was recording the changes in Shirou's state of mind.
It was obvious that Shirou had already begun to change.
The transformation might not seem particularly dramatic yet, but...
There would almost certainly be more experiences ahead that forced him to change further.
From the memories she had seen, combined with what Illya had revealed about the hidden threats and disasters lurking within the Holy Grail War, nearly everything seemed overwhelmingly unfavorable for Shirou and his companions.
The thought of Shirou eventually having to fight Saber...
Of him and Rin being forced to kill people they cared about...
Left Amiya with an uncomfortable heaviness in her chest.
Yet there was nothing she could do to change any of it.
These were Shirou's memories.
Which meant these events had already happened.
They were fixed realities that Shirou had personally lived through.
The only thing she could do...
Was remember them.
That was one of the primary reasons Illya had allowed them to witness all of this.
Being forced to live in an unfamiliar world while having a home you wished to return to but never could was not a pleasant experience.
Many people aboard Rhodes Island carried similar burdens.
But compared to Shirou, they were still fortunate.
Most of them could at least gather news about their hometowns or people they once knew.
Shirou, on the other hand, had been completely severed from his past.
There was no way to learn anything about it.
And no possibility of ever meeting anyone from that world again.
Would that not be far too lonely?
Just imagining herself in Shirou's position was enough for Amiya to feel a sense of isolation creeping in.
Even if those memories were not pleasant for the person who experienced them, perhaps one day Shirou would want someone to talk to about them.
At the very least, when that day came, having people who understood everything by his side might not be such a bad thing.
"Do not put all the pressure on yourselves. You are always saying that Shirou takes things too far, but you are not much better, are you?"
As the mastermind who had brought Amiya and the others here in the first place, Illya could more or less sense the changes in their state of mind.
Especially the little donkey..no, little rabbit in front of her.
Taking on responsibilities that should not have belonged to someone her age had made Amiya mature far beyond her years.
From that perspective, she seemed at least somewhat... similar to Shirou.
Still, Illya did not know what Amiya had gone through in the past, so she could not make a proper judgment.
What she did know was that, unlike Shirou, Amiya had many people around her.
Sigh.
Thinking about it that way made Illya a little worried about Shirou's social life.
Living with a group of girls who liked drinking and throwing parties...
Surely one day they would end up leading him astray, right?
Although, judging by the current situation, it actually seemed as if the four of them were the ones living healthier lifestyles now.
They could not even drink without first getting Shirou's approval.
Looking at it that way...
Perhaps it was Penguin Logistics that had been influenced instead.
"Dr. Kal'tsit has already warned me about that, so please do not worry."
Amiya was well aware of the issue herself.
That was why Rhodes Island continuously provided psychological support courses and counseling arrangements.
In fact, those measures had been specifically arranged by Dr. Kal'tsit.
If Shirou were officially a Rhodes Island operator, he would probably be required to attend those classes every week.
"Dr. Kal'tsit, huh..."
Illya rested her chin on her hand.
"That woman is incredibly calculating. A few carefully chosen words were all it took for her to lure Shirou away."
Now that there was some free time and the important events had already been explained, Illya finally had a chance to chat about other topics.
For example, Dr. Kal'tsit.
She always used things Shirou wanted to do as bait, tempting him into taking the hook and signing unequal agreements...
Come to think of it, that sounded strangely familiar.
Had something similar not happened to Archer as well?
As far as Illya was concerned, Shirou simply had terrible luck when it came to superiors.
Whether in the present or the future, he always seemed to end up working under people who were less than trustworthy.
"Ahaha... Dr. Kal'tsit is actually a very good person."
Faced with Illya's complaint, which was overflowing with resentment, Amiya could only respond with an awkward laugh.