Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Shirou frowned and closed his eyelids tightly.

It's the weekend, so since I don't have classes at school, I'll just sleep in a little longer...

Shirou felt so sleepy that if he fell asleep right now, he might never wake up again, but he was so sleepy that he didn't care if he did.

"So let me continue sleeping..."

"—Wake up quickly."

My cheeks are burning.

A female voice kept calling out to Shirou.

"—Wake up."

Shirou completely ignored the voice, but the female voice continued to repeat it to him.

Whenever the sound is heard, the consciousness that is about to fall into slumber is forcibly awakened.

Shirou gradually became angry at being woken up just as he was about to fall asleep.

"When are you going to stop slapping me...!"

He grabbed the wrist of the person who had been slapping him across the face since the beginning.

"Hmm... so you're finally awake?"

Shirou sat up, still grumpy from waking up, and finally got a clear look at the face of the woman who had disturbed his sweet dreams.

Her dreamy silver hair refracts rainbow luster, and her beauty is so stunning it seems unreal.

Her slender, undulating figure evokes the image of a fairy by a lake; this woman—

"Uh... teacher...?"

As it turned out, the person kneeling next to Shirou was none other than himself.

It was Ms. Avalon, who had run away from home two years ago and had been missing ever since.

Good evening, my Arthur~?

Volume 5, Page 236: Pile Drivers from Yue Heavy Industry

"Teacher! Are you still alive!?"

"How rude of me! Even if humanity is wiped out and the world is destroyed, I'll still stubbornly cling to life!"

The silver-haired female magician said with a proud expression.

Shirou had no idea what she was so proud of.

"Never mind, compared to this..."

"What do you mean by 'compared to this'?"

“Where is this place!?”

Shirou turned his head and looked around, finding himself and Lady Avalon in a peaceful plain blooming with colorful flowers.

The only thing blocking your view is the forest in the distance. Even if you turn around and look at the entire sky, all you see is the equally divided earth and blue sky.

There are no fences, houses, city walls, or castles built by people here, and things like countries don't exist.

The air is filled with the sunshine of spring and the scent of summer, and the endless blooming flowers stretch to the horizon.

Everything here is so peaceful, so peaceful that it seems as if the concept of time doesn't even exist.

Shirou was shocked: This is the inner side of the planet, the "paradise" of the Star Inner Sea... an ideal world!?

The so-called inner side of a planet is actually another spacetime (dimension) that has the same coordinate axis as the surface world, but is completely different from it.

The fairy realm, untouched by the ever-repeating decline and extinction of the human world, is a foreign land that, despite being intertwined with human history, remains completely detached from it.

"Property Marble" - that is the ultimate magic that materializes the landscape of a magician's mind, and although it only lasts for a moment, it can cover reality.

The inner sea of ​​the star can also be understood as "the inherent boundary that the planet itself continuously maintains," that is, the "heart" of the planet.

Simply put, it's "Earth's dream".

"Where the heart is" is not a single place; it manifests differently depending on the planet's attitude.

For example, "the heart that is adjacent to human society" or "the heart that wants to offer opinions to human society".

The fairy realm of Avalon symbolizes a planet that "does not want to associate with the human world," a world that leans towards nature.

Shirou immediately realized that he must have accidentally broken the fabric of physics during his Noble Phantasm battle with the "Red" Lancer, and then fallen here.

“That’s right, your guess is completely correct, Shirou.”

Don't try to read my mind!

"Hehe, because it's all written on their faces..."

Ignoring the cheerful female magician, Shirou continued muttering to himself, "No, even if my battle with Karna was indeed intense..."

Surely it's not so bad that it directly tears open a hole in the physical laws (Texture Rule)?

If the surface of a planet is this fragile, then wouldn't that mean...?

Ms. Avalon said, "Don't worry, the passage between the surface and the inside of the planet will be opened, and it's not entirely your doing... I also did some tampering from the inside."

So it turns out it was you who did this!

"Hmm~ Now you understand how capable they are, right?"

"I wasn't praising you. Hah... what on earth is this all about..."

Thanks to Ms. Avalon, Shirou not only lost all sleepiness, but also completely lost his tension.

Utopia...

Shirou turned his gaze to the distant forest.

Although both are within the Star Sea, this place is not the same "dream" as my "Fairy Realm"...

Although it's not the same one, Shirou still has a very special feeling about it.

Now that I've calmed down, I feel a strong sense of nostalgia...

"Is it because of me?"

"You're overthinking it, absolutely not."

Shirou denied it without thinking, and Ms. Avalon pouted resentfully.

"By the way, why is the teacher here?"

The silver-haired succubus said with a matter-of-fact expression, "Because I'm the Flower Magician from Paradise!"

Shirou frowned and said, "You're Merlin from 'Our World,' aren't you?"

"It's Merlin's sister!"

"Whatever... Teacher, even if you were to appear, shouldn't you be in Avalon, the world we live in? Why are you here?"

Under Shirou's sharp gaze, Ms. Avalon turned her face away awkwardly.

"Well, this is actually a trade secret—even my most beloved disciple can't tell you?"

"My trust in the teacher has dropped another level."

"Ugh... How could this happen? Never mind, listen to me instead!"

Ms. Avalon suppressed her frivolous expression.

"Shirou, you don't seem to realize it yet... You're already dead."

"Varied--"

Upon hearing her words, Shirou seemed to suddenly remember what had happened, and an unimaginable memory of excruciating pain swept over his entire body.

When the passage between the planet's surface and interior was opened, he was uncontrollably sucked into it due to the pressure difference.

This also led to the forced interruption of the "Sword of Excalibur," which was originally locked in a stalemate with "O Sun, submit to death."

The balance that had been maintained was thus broken, and the firepower of the God-Slaying Spear could no longer be stopped, completely devouring Shirou's body.

In other words, that is to say—

"Shirou, your physical body has already been destroyed on the surface of the world. Only your soul has entered this ideal land."

"Are you kidding me?!"

……

……

"Okay, okay, don't be angry~ Didn't I already apologize to you?"

Ms. Avalon knelt behind Shirou and tugged at his arm.

I don't know how much time passed after that.

Since the inner sea of ​​the stars has no concept of time, human perception of this aspect becomes blurred.

Shirou stared blankly at the blue sky and the grassland, his mind completely blank.

Fujii, Alice, Illya, Liz, Sera, Sakura, Shinji, everyone...

The faces of his relatives and friends flashed through the boy's mind like a revolving lantern.

Am I... unable to go back?

Shirou's physical body has been destroyed; now only his soul remains.

This means that even if the passage between the inside and outside of the planet is reopened, he will no longer be able to return to the ground.

Am I supposed to stay in this place until the end of the world?

This ideal world has neither Morgan nor Artoria, nor even the internet...

"It's not like there's absolutely no entertainment or leisure. There are live broadcasts to watch! Want to witness the fall of the Roman Empire?"

"Teacher, please shut up."

"sorry."

Shirou sighed, then stood up.

In short, there's no point in worrying unnecessarily.

"Shirou, what are you doing?"

"I need to find a way to be flesh."

I've already made a promise to Ilya (one-sided), that I'll get to her no matter what, so how can I stand still here?

Isn't it just "materializing the soul"?

This mere third method? Watch me master it all in three years through self-study!!

Shirou hadn't taken two steps when a voice came from behind him.

"Why not rely more on your role as a Grand Caster candidate's teacher?"

"…………"

Shirou turned his head and saw the beautiful female magician squinting one eye, looking quite smug.

"Do you have a solution, teacher?"

He rushed forward and grasped at this straw.

"It hurts... Calm down, Shirou."

Shirou released his fingers from Lady Avalon's soft shoulder.

"There is actually a way for you to be reborn into flesh."

Ms. Avalon said, "Shirou, I am partly responsible for how you turned out, so I will take full responsibility."

You should be 100% responsible for the entire accident, right?

Although that's what he thought in his heart, Shirou said with an ingratiating expression, "Oh... as expected of my most respected teacher, the great sage of Paradise, Merlin!"

"She's Merlin's sister."