In the world of Type-Moon, it all begins with becoming Morgan's husband!

"Alice, I think you must have heard the legend of King Arthur, right?"

"This one……"

Irisviel rested her fingers on her chin, looking as if she was deep in thought.

"I remember her as a female knight who fought in the name of the king for a long time, but in the end she handed over the throne to her sister."

"As for what exactly caused this outcome, there is still no definitive conclusion."

“Yes.” Kiritsugu Emiya nodded. “Irisviel, you’re right.”

"so--"

"That's why I don't want to perform this summoning."

“I don’t think she, as a woman, can give me a good enough chance of winning.”

"Besides, if it's a knight..."

"Ok?"

Irisviel tilted her head slightly, seemingly waiting for her husband to finish his sentence.

But Kiritsugu Emiya didn't continue speaking; instead, he stopped abruptly and returned to his original point.

"In short, I don't really want to perform this summoning."

"Alice, do you understand what I mean?"

“I understand,” Irisviel replied to her husband, though she looked quite troubled.

"but--"

"Kiritsugu, we don't have time to prepare a second relic now."

"..."

Emiya Kiritsugu looked at his wife and knew she wasn't talking nonsense.

She wouldn't lie about something like this.

He thought for a while and seemed to have come up with a solution that could satisfy both sides.

"I understand."

“In that case… Alice, I think we might be able to do this.”

"Oh?"

Irisviel looked up at Kiritsugu Emiya, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"What method is it?"

Kiritsugu Emiya's gaze once again fell on the knight's armor on the table.

"Since summoning is inevitable—why don't you become the acting Master?"

"Thus……"

"This way, the relics you prepared in advance won't be wasted, and I won't have to rack my brains to figure out how to get along with this Servant."

"Huh?!" Irisviel pointed at herself, looking somewhat surprised.

Do you believe I can do something like this?

“Of course I believe you.” Kiritsugu Emiya rarely smiled. “This kind of thing should be a piece of cake for you.”

"Besides -"

The man's mind replayed the scene of when he first arrived at the castle.

"If you had a Servant to keep you company in my place, you wouldn't be so lonely, would you?"

"Mmm?" Irisviel made a cute sound from her throat.

"When you put it that way, it actually sounds pretty good."

"All right--!"

Irisviel placed her hands on her hips, exuding confidence.

"Let me become this acting Master!"

"Yes, if you're willing."

After reaching a superficial agreement with Irisviel.

Despite harboring countless grievances in his heart, Kiritsugu Emiya still began this Servant summoning.

In another basement of the German castle.

An extremely complex summoning circle was faintly shimmering with blue light.

Kiritsugu Emiya placed the knight's armor he was holding inside it, then looked at Irisviel beside him and said softly.

"Alice, I'm going to start."

“Mm-hmm~” Irisviel nodded. “Let’s begin then.”

"..."

Kiritsugu Emiya looked at the summoning circle before him, his mind filled with complex emotions—if he could, he would never want to summon King Arthur.

But the current situation forces him to do so.

I just hope I'm not as resistant to her as I imagine.

Emiya Kiritsugu pondered this, then reached out and began his Servant summoning.

however--

The man underestimated the incompatibility between himself and Artoria.

As the summoning circle began to flash, Kiritsugu Emiya felt a strong sense of rejection emanating from his body.

That was a resistance that came from the heart and could not be ignored.

This made Kiritsugu Emiya feel intensely uncomfortable and nauseous.

So once the Servant was basically finalized and confirmed to be by his side, Kiritsugu Emiya simply picked up his clothes and left the basement without a word.

"Coming at the call."

"Tell me, are you my Master?"

Hearing that voice, Irisviel became a little nervous.

Although she had agreed to be Kiritsugu Emiya's acting Master, she didn't know if he would accept her.

As the sound faded, the figure of the follower was revealed in the basement.

But it was Irisviel who exclaimed in surprise first.

"Wow--!"

"So young!"

What appeared before Irisviel was not the legendary valiant female knight in heavy armor, but a young girl in the prime of her youth.

The beautiful white dress she wore was both elegant and practical, perfectly showcasing the beauty of her age.

This is Artoria, the wielder of the knight's armor, the former queen of Britain.

Upon hearing Irisviel's exclamation, she instinctively took a few steps back, then realized that it seemed somewhat impolite, and added.

"Please do not do this."

"This is the first time we've met."

"Oh, I see~"

Upon hearing Artoria's "warning," Irisviel immediately began to straighten her clothes.

"Cough cough."

"Hello, I am Irisviel von Einzbern."

"For your convenience, you can call me Alice, just like Kiritsugu."

"..."

Although she seemed a little confused, Artoria nodded politely in response to the courteous greeting.

"Hello, I am Artoria Pendragon."

"It might be a bit presumptuous of me to say this now, but Miss Alice, you're not my Master, are you?"

"You knew it!"

Irisviel clasped her hands together, looking very happy.

"Indeed, I am not your Master."

"but--"

"The person who summoned you, my husband Kiritsugu Emiya, has given me absolute authority."

"So? Do you want me to call him back to prove this to you?"

"..."

Artoria shook her head.

"Since you've said that, and you've also appeared at the summoning site... I believe you're not lying to me."

"Besides, since Master doesn't want to see me, there's no need to force him to do so."

"I see." Irisviel smiled calmly.

She seemed to quite enjoy the feeling of being trusted by someone other than her husband.

“Then—” Irisviel extended her hand, “shall we work together well from now on?”

"Ah."

Artoria grasped Irisviel's outstretched hand, completing the formal confirmation of her agency.