Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

It's a great pity that Shirou, who grew up in an orphanage, doesn't have a birthday.

He subtly inquired of Sakura, "What do you two talk about when you get together lately?"

The child's face changed drastically, and he stammered, almost bursting into tears under Shirou's persistent questioning.

This can't go on like this...

Shirou gazed at the sky, now dyed red by the setting sun, and sighed helplessly.

Sakura didn't leave school with Ayako today because she had a date with her.

I'm a little reluctant to go back so early...

Shirou walked along the riverbank with his hands behind his head, encountering junior high and elementary school students who had just finished school.

Perhaps because he told many lies when describing the Holy Grail War in Romania, Shirou felt uneasy about his family due to a strong sense of guilt, which led him to have wild thoughts.

Putting aside Tohsaka, there's no need for me to doubt Alice and the others.

No matter what happens, they will always be on my side.

Absolutely, that's what family is all about.

and so--

When you get back today, ask them carefully what exactly happened.

After figuring it out, Shirou felt exceptionally relieved.

Just then, he heard a faint melody.

At first, he thought he had misheard, but when Shirou followed the sound, he realized that he had not misheard.

Is it a piano?

No, it's not a piano.

It was a hundred times more magnificent than the piano, which is hailed as the king of instruments, and its melodious tunes filled the entire city, solemn yet delicate.

Shirou quickened his pace without realizing it.

He walked for a full five minutes before finally arriving at the birthplace of the melody—the Fuyuki Church.

The mountain church, which had been closed since the Fourth Holy Grail War, reopened during Shirou's absence.

Oh, I see. It's a pipe organ.

Shirou had heard about it in school music class; it was an enormous musical instrument built on a building.

The church itself is a huge and intricate musical instrument; one could say it is a completed world.

Shirou listened to the exquisitely crafted sound, like glass, and opened the church door.

The sunlight streaming in through the skylight was so bright it made my vision blurry.

An empty chapel, devoid of any people.

there.

A girl of similar age is playing "The Lord's Loving Heart".

A young girl dressed in a nun's habit sat upright in front of a small keyboard, her long eyelashes slightly lowered, her gaze focused on her hands.

Her face was stern and deathly pale, as if it didn't exist in reality, and so beautiful that it was impossible to take one's eyes off her.

Her silver curly hair was melted by the setting sun into a crystal-clear amber.

"------"

Perhaps she was too engrossed in the performance to notice Shirou, because her playing remained perfectly precise and flawless.

The girl played a hymn to the gods, her delicate and clear notes like raindrops at the end of winter, filling every corner of the air.

Shirou originally planned to walk straight over, but changed his mind at the last minute.

He sat in the last row of the bench and became the girl's only listener.

The piece being played is Mozart's Requiem, the world's most famous hymn, which even Shirou often hears.

The technique was neither particularly outstanding nor did it express the performer's passion; there was nothing particularly noteworthy about it.

The gentle melody touched Shirou's heart in an incredibly profound way.

A sense of fantasy, of a dream, captivated him, and he slowly closed his eyes—

But the music suddenly stopped.

Shirou opened his eyes again.

The silver-haired girl stopped playing the piano and glared at him with a very stern look.

The orchestral hallucinations and the lingering notes of the organ, even the noise of the city disappeared, making Shirou instantly believe that the end of the world (Dies irae) had really arrived.

As the girl closed the organ lid and stood up, the organ disappeared from the chapel.

To be honest, this chapel didn't originally have that magnificent pipe organ.

It must have been something she brought in.

The fact that he was able to bring in such a colossal object and then make it disappear already makes him more mysterious than most magicians in the world.

"Welcome, Shirou Amamiya."

The girl revealed a seductive smile that seemed out of place for her age.

“My name is Karen Aldesia, hehe... It’s nice to meet you, but I hope you’ll take care of me from now on.”

Shirou later learned that she was a nun sent by the church, and the new administrator of the church after nearly ten years.

Its purpose is to investigate the Holy Grail that has been observed again in Fuyuki.

Volume 6, Chapter 262: The Winter Saintess Has Joined the Einzbern Family (Donburi)

"As you can see, this is a long-abandoned house, but I will do my best to entertain you."

The girl who called herself Karen paused for a moment, as if trying to find a topic to talk about.

"Indeed... By the way, if you're thirsty, I can prepare a drink for you."

Shirou frowned: "I appreciate the thought, but I didn't come here specifically for tea."

"...Is that so? Because I don't know any other ways to welcome you. Please let me know if you need anything."

I had a strange feeling that she was a little shy.

This woman... although she said "welcome" with a calm and composed expression, could this be her first time receiving guests?

Thinking about it carefully, Shirou has been back for so many days, and he wouldn't have planned to go near the church if he hadn't heard the music today.

Karen interrupted Shirou's thoughts: "Then, let's start with a greeting."

"I already know you are the victor of the Fourth Holy Grail War, so there's no need for you to reveal your origins."

The moment she uttered those words, the air in the chapel seemed to tighten.

Shirou's languid expression vanished, replaced by a look of wariness and distrust in his eyes.

After the Fourth Holy Grail War, he took great care to maintain secrecy, precisely to prevent a Fifth Holy Grail War from occurring.

Today, only a very small number of people know the inside story of that ceremony.

The Kenneths... no, if it's the church...

"What is your relationship with Father Kotomine Risei?" Shirou asked.

"oops……"

Karen looked very surprised.

After all, she had come prepared and had done thorough research on the young man before her:

It's like randomly selecting a lucky shop owner or housewife near the shopping street, and using suggestive magic... cough cough, using the Lord's teachings to inquire about Amamiya Shirou's character.

Conclusion: He is a kind, warm-hearted, and honest young man.

However, judging from his ability to instantly recognize his relationship with Kotomine Risei, he is quite different from the honest boy others perceive him to be.

"Hey, answer my question."

"Well, Father Lizheng is my mentor."

"Is that really all?"

"...!!"

Karen's shoulders trembled slightly.

Shirou's keen senses sent a chill down the girl's spine.

So that's how it was... This is what defeated that guy...

Great!

Because he was a boy around my age, I didn't take him seriously and thought I could handle him easily. However...

Everything Karen Oldesia tried to hide, the truth, could not escape his eyes.

Before his gaze, I was clearly no different from a naked body with no cover whatsoever!

Just as the girl felt her breathing become difficult—the pressure suddenly disappeared.

Shirou withdrew his gaze from the girl and spoke in a gentler tone.

"...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's just that some things have happened recently that have made me a bit neurotic."

Karen glared resentfully at the red-haired boy, took a few seconds to compose herself, and then spoke.

“I am the successor representative of this church.”

"So young?"

“Originally, I was not at the level to be appointed to manage the church, but this time the church has been entrusted to me for a limited time.”

I am fully aware of my own limitations—I was sent to this town as an intern by the church to conduct an investigation.

Shirou said, "Hey... has the church really run out of people to this extent?"

Karen said, “The so-called ‘suitable for the job’ means that I am indeed a nun, but it is precisely because I am suitable that I was sent here.”

My task was to investigate the Holy Grail, which had been observed once again.

"...What?" Shirou wondered if he was hallucinating.

Karen repeated, "Investigate the Holy Grail that has been observed again."

According to Father Risho's report, the Holy Grail, which was completely destroyed in the Fourth Holy Grail War, has now reappeared in Fuyuki.

My job is to personally verify the actual situation of the Holy Grail…

"impossible."

"Excuse me?"

Shirou raised his voice: "I personally dismantled the Holy Grail, I watched it crumble with my own eyes, it's absolutely impossible for it to still exist."

"………………I understand now, can I let go?"

Shirou quickly released Kallen's wrist; he had accidentally hit her because he was emotional.

"But it is an indisputable fact that the Greater Grail was observed."

"so……"

"If you are truly innocent, there is no reason why you cannot accept the church's oversight work, is there?"

“Okay…can you take your hand away now?” Shirou said.

The silver-haired girl suddenly approached without warning and cupped his face in her hands.

"Alright, I'll forgive you."

Karen swung her hands down and stepped back to create distance.