Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

"Um."

Lady Avalon's voice echoed in Shirou's mind.

This is a magic trick called "voice-reading," which can be used for communication between master and servant.

Although the seven magicians and Servants have not yet been assembled, the prelude to the Holy Grail War has already begun.

Crows, rats, sparrows... even kittens and puppies, any small animal on the street could be an enemy's familiar spy.

Shirou must be extra careful when he talks to Lady Avalon outside.

"It's so quiet. I thought you'd have some kind of reaction... while I was doing 'that'."

After a brief silence—

"Yes, because I made a promise with Master that I wouldn't interrupt."

To be honest, I was startled too...

Master looks so cute on the outside, yet he can do "that kind of thing" without batting an eye.

Ms. Avalon began in a very relaxed tone, "That...is it a living dead?"

What happened to Shirou after he was taken to the apartment by the serial killer?

Of course, he stabbed Ryunosuke Uryu to death.

But the story doesn't end there—

In the modern era of pan-human history, there are three major departments collectively known as the Magic Association.

The central hub of modern magic is, in fact, equivalent to the association's own clock tower.

The sanctuary of alchemists, the cradle of pessimists, the Atlas Academy.

And the Wandering Sea, the most mysterious organization that worships divine magic, especially focusing on the modification of the human body and flesh.

Among the many studies on the Wandering Sea, one is considered the supreme miracle—rebirth after death.

That's exactly what Shirou did.

After stabbing Ryunosuke Uryu to death, Shirou discovers in the investigation room that the murderer's purpose in coming to Fuyuki was also for the Holy Grail War.

Shirou gained a new understanding of the diversity of magicians. No, he wasn't a magician at all.

Although it would be good to just let this social scum die, the boy suddenly had a whim.

Shirou magically altered Ryunosuke Uryu's corpse, turning him into a living dead.

Generally speaking, it takes a considerable amount of time for a Living Dead to utilize the brain of a ghostly being...

However, during his long years in Britain, Shirou learned a great deal of techniques in this area from the witch in order to extend the limits of his physical existence.

If expressed in terms of a Servant's skill, it would be "human body modification," a skill similar to "self-modification."

Rebirth after death, a pseudo-resurrection.

With his superb "human modification" skills, Shirou managed to keep death away from Ryunosuke Uryu for a short time, and even preserved a small fragment of his last memories.

Since it wasn't a true resurrection, we can't expect him to retain normal logical thinking abilities, which is a bit of a shame.

But that's enough.

It was enough for Ryunosuke Uryu—no, this thing that used to be Ryunosuke Uryu—to summon Servants and participate in the Holy Grail War.

As for when he will discover the truth about his death, Shirou doesn't know and is very curious.

Big brother, you call yourself an artist obsessed with death, and you believe you have an extraordinary ability to distinguish between the real and the fake in death...

Surely they wouldn't be completely unaware of whether they live or die until the very end?

That's absolutely hilarious.

After a long silence, Ms. Avalon asked, "Why do such a thing?"

"It's fine if you leave it alone, the Holy Grail will choose a new Master, why do you insist on..."

Shirou said seriously, "Are you accusing me, Sister Avalon? Are you criticizing me for desecrating a corpse?"

Ms. Avalon said, "No, I didn't mean that at all..."

Shirou said, "If Ryunosuke Uryu can really summon a Servant, then we've essentially secured a victory in advance."

On the other hand—he is a rare experimental subject, and I want to use him to collect test data.

Humans in the Fairy Kingdom have a lifespan of only 30 years, while humans in the Pan-Human History can easily live to be over 80 years old.

Although Shirou had already conducted many experiments on himself in his previous life, he did not consider himself to be an ordinary person.

Now that we have a serial killer, Shirou won't feel guilty at all using the corpse of this scumbag for research.

"Just in case he continues to commit evil and kill indiscriminately, we temporarily removed the organ in his brain responsible for emotions and behavior, I think it's called the prefrontal cortex..."

But if he continues to do bad things, there's nothing I can do. Scientific progress always comes with sacrifices.

"Ryunosuke Uryu, I'm sorry, but you'll be my observation subject. Make the most of your abilities in the Holy Grail War."

Shirou spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, while Ms. Avalon pursed her lips beside him.

"W-I see... Really, how could I possibly blame Master!"

Ms. Avalon flashed her signature beautiful smile.

"Or rather, next time something this interesting happens, let me get involved too!"

"I'm Merlin's sister, the Flower Magician from Paradise. Giving you some pointers in this area shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay," Shirou readily agreed.

"It's a deal, Master!"

Ms. Avalon said with great confidence, but for some reason her eyes looked somewhat lonely.

Their owner was anything but "ordinary," something they clearly knew all along...

but.

When Ms. Avalon saw him smiling broadly again while handling a corpse, she felt a deep sadness.

……

……

"Master! Master! Finally, a magician has started to make a move!"

Two evenings later, Ms. Avalon excitedly opened the door to the Japanese-style room.

Hey! Knock on the door!

Shirou angrily turned off the TV.

“I already know Master’s interests perfectly well.”

Ms. Avalon covered her mouth and laughed. When she burst in, a magical girl anime with a lot of exposure was playing on the TV.

Shirou said with a straight face, "I only watch this anime so I have something to talk about with my friends. I'm not interested in it myself."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Ms. Avalon sat down in front of Shirou, her long, beautiful legs, encased in pantyhose and stockings, stretched across the tatami mat, attracting much attention.

Shirou turned his gaze: "What are you doing here?"

"Of course I'm here to report on the investigation."

Upon arrival, Ms. Avalon stated that reconnaissance and surveillance were her areas of expertise and took over this part of the work very forcefully.

Shirou was actually quite curious: Would a stunningly beautiful woman like her, as delicate as a flower, use creatures like bats, rats, and crows as familiars?

No matter how she was asked, Lady Avalon remained tight-lipped about the type of familiar she used, saying, "That's a girl's secret?"

Well, as long as she does her job properly, that's fine.

Ms. Avalon spread out her long, slender fingers, and a crystal ball appeared in her palm.

Accompanied by a dazzling white light—

A scene appeared inside the crystal ball, showing a luxurious mansion standing tall in the silent night.

"The Tohsaka family's mansion?"

--------

Volume 1, Chapter 35: The Most Suitable Ally

"correct."

Ms. Avalon proudly explained, "This is a live broadcast."

Shirou looked at the crystal ball.

There are two riders in the picture.

One of them was a man in black whose hand had been pierced by a spear and whose entire body was pinned to the ground.

On the other side stands the golden shadow, proudly perched atop the Tohsaka family mansion.

The golden figure exuded a terrifying sense of oppression, even making the stars in the sky seem dim.

"The one lying on the ground, that must be Assassin, right? I heard the skeletal mask is Assassin's symbol."

He actually planned to assassinate the careless Master of the Tohsaka family before the ceremony fully began... Too bad his plan was exposed.

Ms. Avalon explained from the side, while Shirou remained silent, only staring at the crystal ball and asking.

"How many factions are monitoring the area?"

"Uh?"

Ms. Avalon was taken aback by the question.

Shouldn't we be more concerned about the two Servants in the scene? Who cares who the audience is?

She answered honestly, "Besides us, there are three other companies."

"Three families?"

Shirou didn't think that Ryunosuke Uryu would send a familiar to monitor him.

In other words, if Ryunosuke Uryu successfully summons a Servant, then almost all the participants will be present tonight.

"Has the Einzbern family arrived in Japan yet?"

Ms. Avalon shrugged and brought the topic back on track.

"Assassin's Master is too reckless! He actually thought of assassinating the head of the Tohsaka family!"

"This isn't recklessness, it's stupidity," Shirou calmly commented.

"Does it mean they have some kind of grudge against the Tohsaka family?" Mrs. Avalon pondered, stroking her delicate chin.

"……strangeness."

"what happened?"

"Big sister Avalon, don't you think Assassin's presence is too weak?"

The Flower Magician stammered, "No, even if you say that, if an Assassin's presence is too strong, it'll be very troublesome, right? How can you infiltrate and assassinate then..."

"Is that so? But something about this Assassin just doesn't feel right."

Shirou thought to himself: The principle of the Holy Grail War is to replenish one's power by absorbing the souls of defeated Servants.

Each Servant's soul is comparable to the living sacrifice of tens of thousands of people, which is why this effect can be achieved, and even the passage to the Root can be opened.

But—is the soul of this Assassin a little thin right now?

Ms. Avalon crawled up to the crystal ball on her hands and feet and stared at it for a while.

Ah, this is...

"What did you see?"

The silver-haired female magician quickly waved her hands: "N-no!"