Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Ye Sizhen patted the dust off the hem of her skirt and spoke with a tense face.

"I wasn't completely unharmed either; you killed the child..."

"……what."

Rin Tohsaka noticed that the doll that Ye Sizhen had been holding so tenderly in her arms had disappeared.

Was he used as a scapegoat in the previous attack?

This practice is practically like the magic of a witch from mythical times, surpassing "that" of modern magic...

“It’s a ‘privilege’,” Ye Sizhen explained coldly.

"Privilege... 'Thought Keyprint'!?"

The most widespread mind magic on the continent separated by the sea is constituted by the "mind disk," a pseudo-artificial source.

That was a ceremonial garment created by mysterious sages from the East to merge with this planet in pursuit of the ultimate goal of magicians: "the Root."

The super-large ceremonial costume that blends seamlessly with the Earth is called the "Thought Plate".

Deep within the "Thought Plate" lies an extremely secret space known as the "Privileged Realm".

If we compare the "Thought Bank" to a large library open to all citizens, then the "Privileged Area" is a VIP zone reserved for academicians.

In the instant he was subjected to the gem magic, Ye Sizhen interfered with and manipulated the privileged domain within the artificial root (thought disk) that was fused with the Earth.

Modern magic, which relies on deceiving the world to induce extraordinary phenomena, is utterly insignificant compared to this.

This is the kind of thought magic from the Age of Gods that is now only permitted to be used by the immortals of the "Mountain Court".

Why is it that Ye Sizhen, who is just a student at Spiral Pavilion, can use immortal techniques?

Rin Tohsaka will never know the answer to this question.

"You're really causing trouble for others, Ms. Tohsaka."

Ye Sizhen's slender fingers touched her forehead, and Rin Tohsaka's pupils dilated slightly.

"You'd better behave yourself until I've dealt with Shirou Amamiya—"

Accompanied by an electric-like numbing pain, Rin Tohsaka's thoughts were cut off, and she completely lost consciousness.

The girl's body fell and was enveloped by a dark shadow before sinking into the concrete ground.

Seconds later, she was teleported to the temporary prison (magic workshop) set up by Ye Sizhen in the outskirts of Fuyuki.

"…………"

Ye Sizhen let out a long breath, and the rise and fall of her pert and proud chest gradually subsided.

Failed.

Her consumption far exceeded expectations.

I never expected that the little girl from the Tohsaka family would be such a formidable opponent.

This is Fuyuki; Ye Sizhen has gained a new understanding of this seemingly peaceful city.

No wonder even the genius monarch Kenneth of the Clock Tower was defeated here.

"But I'm different..."

Ye Sizhen wiped the red glaze left on her lips by handkerchief.

"Shirou Amamiya, I must... Waaah!?"

The woman in the cheongsam felt a tightness in her chest and swayed unnaturally.

She looked down in disbelief and saw bright red blood spreading along the spider lily tattoo on her chest.

Rin Tohsaka's final Gem Flash has only now revealed its true power.

Has my heart been damaged?

Tsk! Although it's driven by my immature self, it's still a "thought keyprint" no matter what.

The privileges of immortals—have actually been broken through head-on!?

Ye Sizhen bit her pale lips, activated her healing magic, and staggered into the night.

But she hadn't gone far when she could no longer hold on and sat down against a street lamp.

No, the healing spells can't keep up with the spread of destruction, if my Mystic Code is still intact...

Ye Sizhen possessed numerous costumes based on dolls, but they were all left in the workshop; otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state tonight.

"What if..."

Ye Sizhen gazed at the foreign starry sky and pouted her full lips, now stained red with blood.

"This attack could really kill Hercules..."

These were her last thoughts before she lost consciousness.

……

……

"........."

Looking at the scene before him, Shirou couldn't help but begin to question the meaning of life.

He had only taken Sakura back to the Matou family home and then, on a whim, went for a run at night. Why did he run into something like this?

Under the streetlights, a stunningly beautiful and sexy woman in a blue cheongsam, exuding a dangerous aura, sat quietly, her chest and lips stained with blood.

No matter how you look at it, this woman looks very ominous, and she even has tattoos... Waaah.

Could she be the head of some yakuza organization... a colleague of the Ryougi family and the Fujimura group!?

Although I didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble, my conscience of helping others ultimately prevailed.

"Um... Ni Hao? Do you need any help?"

Shirou nudged her shoulder, but received no reply.

After much deliberation, Shirou knelt down in front of the woman, leaned her against his back, and carried her on his back as they began their journey home.

---------------

Volume 4, Chapter 178: She's wearing nothing underneath her cheongsam.

As Shirou climbed the familiar slope in front of his house, Ye Sizhen, who was clinging to his back, regained a little consciousness.

My head and body felt incredibly heavy.

Unable to organize normal thoughts, not knowing who they are, where they are, let alone remembering what happened.

I think I just had a nightmare.

The feeling was like being trapped in concrete and then thrown into the deep sea; the suffocation and the fall made it hard for her to breathe.

However, when Ye Sizhen woke up from her nightmare—

That overwhelming discomfort disappeared.

My chest was still in excruciating pain, and my hands and feet were still numb as if frozen.

However, she felt a sense of security she had never felt before.

It was as warm and bright as the sun, and as nostalgic as one's hometown.

Ye Sizhen felt as if she were enveloped by an indescribable tenderness.

It was then that she finally realized she seemed to be lying on someone's back.

The sense of security I now cherish is probably all thanks to this person.

He should be a man...

Ye Sizhen wasn't very confident. Although she had no experience being carried by a man, she felt that by a man's standards, this back was a bit too small.

Although it was small, it was incredibly spacious and sturdy, giving me a great sense of security.

Ye Sizhen thought happily: If I were here, I wouldn't have to worry about having nightmares anymore.

"Whoa... It's Sera... Is she still at the door at this hour?"

The man (?) who was carrying Ye Sizhen spoke.

"Let me look, it should be here... I've got it!"

Shirou took out the amulet he had borrowed from Aozaki Touko from his pocket.

This is a Mystic Code that has an effect similar to a barrier that keeps people away. As long as you hold it in your hand and don't make a sound or take any action, you can completely eliminate your own presence.

Shirou was not trying to hide himself. He stuffed the amulet into the woman's right hand on his back and clenched his fingers tightly.

I always felt that explaining the origins of women to Irisviel and the others would be troublesome and would cause unnecessary worry.

After much deliberation, Shirou decided to secretly take the injured woman back to his room, heal her, and then ask her to leave.

"..."

In a daze, Ye Sizhen felt her hand being grasped.

His hands... are about the same size as mine.

The fingers are thin and long, and the palms near the base of the fingers are a bit rough. Is this because of manual labor?

After equipping the woman he had rescued with amulets, Shirou walked toward Sera.

"Shirou, welcome back."

"Oh, nothing happened at home while I was away, right?"

"Nothing's wrong... Madam is looking for you."

"Okay, I understand... I'll go back to my room first, it might take a little while."

Sera blinked. "Is something the matter?"

Shirou forced a smile and said, "It's nothing... Just let Iris wait a little while! I'll be right there!"

“Okay, I understand.” Sera nodded and disappeared into the courtyard.

Shirou breathed a sigh of relief.

Since becoming pregnant, Irisviel has moved from the tatami room to the guest room so that Sera and Lizziele can take care of her.

As a result, the room next to Shirou's became empty.

If Irisviel were still living next door, she wouldn't dare hide the injured woman in her room; she would definitely be discovered.

As expected of a tool made by a Grand Doll Master, the invisibility charm worked perfectly.

Shirou carried Ye Sizhen on his back and returned to his room without anyone noticing.

The woman was removed from his back and gently placed on the tatami mat.

Actually, Shirou had already given her the bare minimum of emergency treatment while they were outside.

The situation was really bad at the time; if it hadn't been dealt with, someone might have died on his back, and then it would have been unpredictable.

Shirou poured himself a glass of water to quench his thirst and began to examine the woman lying in his room.

She's close to thirty, about the same age as Aoko and Arisu, or slightly younger.

This is the answer given by "The Eye of the End".

The magician's appearance is meaningless; judging by her looks alone, she's probably only in her early twenties.

She had shoulder-length black hair, and her delicate features exuded a cool and aloof charm.

The woman wore a gorgeous blue off-shoulder cheongsam, which exuded both sexiness and elegance, perfectly highlighting her pear-shaped figure. The slit in the skirt revealed two long, fair legs.

Actually, there's something even more eye-catching than a cheongsam: the tattoo that extends from the collarbone all the way up to the full breasts.

Shirou had seen this pattern on Fujino's kimono; it's called Manjusaka.

In Buddhism, it is also known as the "flower of the other shore" because it grows on the path to the underworld and guides people to the afterlife.

"Hmm... Are you awake?"

Shirou noticed that the woman seemed to still retain a trace of consciousness.