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

There is magic involved.

Moreover, it's a special magic designed specifically for Servants.

Ian discovered that his limbs seemed to be invaded by some indescribable substance.

He was certain that if he hadn't gained powerful magic resistance because of his Saber class, he would probably be lying here right now.

Ian quickly deduced that this was some kind of defensive measure set up by Misaya.

Generally speaking, in this situation, you should absolutely not force your way in.

but--

There's no time to worry about that now; I need to get there as soon as possible.

The man took a deep breath, then, enduring the pain, walked toward his destination.

step;

Two steps;

Three steps;

Ian finally arrived at the door—but at the same time, he could feel that his consciousness was becoming somewhat confused.

To put it rationally, it's like being trapped in some indescribable realm, where one's thinking is constantly being destroyed.

Ian used all his strength to put Misaya on the sofa, while he lay down beside her, panting heavily.

In a daze, the man's consciousness gradually faded away.

I don't know how much time passed.

Ian felt someone gently stroking his head.

He opened his eyes and saw Misaya, who had recovered.

And he was lying on her lap.

Seeing Ian wake up, Misaya's eyes showed a hint of emotion, but her expression became increasingly guilty.

“Mishaya, are you alright now?” Ian asked.

"Mm." Misaya nodded.

"Before I left here, I specially set up healing magic, and now it comes in handy."

"As expected."

"I believe you made the right decision—even though it was so dangerous, you still brought me back here."

"but--"

"Those defensive spells must have been quite painful for you."

"It's nothing," Ian smiled calmly. "As long as you're not dead, everything's fine, right?"

"..."

Upon hearing the man's unintentional words, Scáthach's eyes instantly welled up with tears.

She recalled the night she had her disciple and follower Lancer Cú Chulainn ambush and kill Rider.

At the moment his Gae Bolg Alternative pierced Ian's body.

Instead of checking his injuries, Scáthach chose to make a pointless escape.

This is a cowardly act.

The Queen of the Land of Shadows always felt deep regret whenever she thought about it.

"I'm sorry." Scáthach finally had a chance to apologize.

"That day..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ian pressed his hand against her lips.

"It's over."

"It's passed."

The man looked at her and spoke in the gentlest of voices:

"Misayo."

"How about turning the pages like in a book?"

Ian's words of forgiveness completely shattered the Queen of the Shadow Kingdom's defenses at that moment.

She could no longer contain her grief and began to weep uncontrollably in front of him.

The man didn't stop Misaya; he just silently stayed by her side as she cried.

He knew this was the only way she could vent her emotions at that moment.

In that case——

Let's just wait quietly.

Time passed slowly, and Misaya always managed to completely release her emotions and return to calm.

She wiped her eyes and then tried to straighten her posture.

"I'm sorry, Ian."

I lost my composure.

“It’s not a loss of composure.” The man accepted it all. “It’s just an emotional expression that every girl would have.”

"You too, Misaya."

"..."

Upon hearing Ian's words, Scáthach's cheeks flushed slightly.

Clearly, the Queen of the Shadow Kingdom was genuinely pleased to hear Ian refer to her as a "girl" rather than an "old woman."

only--

She felt she still needed to maintain a certain level of composure on the surface.

"is it?"

"Then it seems... I haven't done enough in this area."

"Let's discuss these things another time," Ian said, temporarily ending the topic.

"Misayo."

"Although this may make you a little uncomfortable—I still want to know exactly what caused you to become that way."

"Can you tell me about it?"

If Ian's previous impression of Scáthach was "a very good gunplay teacher," then...

After being pierced through the body by her gun, the impression became "a very powerful Master".

That's right.

As Saber, Ian genuinely acknowledges the strength of the Lancer group.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have made the assessment in front of Sakura Tohsaka that "this can be seen as two Lancers fighting at the same time."

only--

Faced with Ian's question, Misaya gave an unexpected answer.

She looked at him, sighed, and announced something.

"Ian."

"I... have lost the right to compete for the Holy Grail."

"My Lancer has been defeated by Caster."

"what?"

[In the following section, Misaya recounts her experiences during this time.]

[This includes the entire process of facing Caster and being defeated in the end.]

This is a situation you never expected.

"This……"

Ian could hardly believe what he had just heard.

"Misayo...you mean, you and your Lancer were completely helpless against Caster?"

“Simply saying you have no way to defend yourself is not enough to accurately express it,” Misaya explained.

"The other side made very thorough preparations."

"Quite sufficient?"

“Yes.” Misaya nodded. “Caster’s Master seems to have a lot of information—he must have been preparing for this Holy Grail War for a long time.”

"That was a trap specifically designed to target me and Lancer."

"Caster also performed it flawlessly."

"Lancer sacrificed himself there to cover my retreat."

"..."

Ian largely agreed with Misaya's statement.

After all that has happened, they still don't know Caster's true identity or weaknesses.

This level of hidden skill is something even Assassin would be ashamed of.

"That--"

Ian's tone became cautious, as he worried that his next words might touch a nerve with Misaya.

"Misayo... this still doesn't explain why you want to come back here, does it?"

"..."