Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

During those six months, he participated in several proxy missions as Karen's assistant.

Shirou takes Kallen's place in fighting an evil magician whom the church considers a thorn in its side, while Kallen betrays information about the church to Shirou, concealing the existence of the Greater Grail in Fuyuki.

It is precisely the tacit understanding of "take and give".

"A big order... I'm amazed you managed to get that inside information. Where did you hear it from?"

"Well, through various channels."

Karen's intelligence network is very sophisticated.

Perhaps it was because of her connection with the "burial agency" that she was always able to get the latest first-hand information.

Shirou already knew that the jobs Karen asked him to do were not all instructions from the church; some of them were mercenary jobs with only monetary rewards.

However, Shirou didn't care; he wasn't the kind of person who cared about money anyway.

Those he killed were indeed threats to society, and that was enough for Shirou to know.

"So, what is the goal this time?"

"They're Dead Apostles."

Karen made no secret of the fact that this was a mission assigned by the church.

"So it has finally appeared... Dead Apostle."

So far, all my work has been small-scale.

It seems the church has finally recognized Shirou and Kallen's abilities and entrusted them with a truly important mission.

Shirou sat on a church bench with his legs crossed, sipping coffee while flipping through the mission documents Karen had given him.

"This time, the target... has been found."

His name is Ode Bolzac.

The former head of the Polzak family was a magician once known as the "Magic Bee Master"—

The reason it is described as "before death" is because that guy had long since abandoned his human identity and completely turned himself into a Dead Apostle through magic research.

Od Bolzac's familiar is an insect he modified himself—the "Dead Apostle Bee".

These "Dead Apostle Bees" are highly mobile and aggressive, and can turn attacked normal people into ghouls, possessing a strong ability to spread.

While his attack method is highly efficient, the scenes are often extremely brutal and difficult to clean up afterward.

Because of the unusual familiars he used and the extremely inhumane and reckless way they attacked, which contradicted the magicians' principle of "secrecy," Od Bolzac was infamous among magicians.

It is said that a town was completely destroyed because of him, so both the Magic Association and the Holy Church wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"The last time he caused an accident was fifteen years ago, and then the last time this guy appeared was seven years ago..."

Shirou glanced at the documents, then frowned and said, "Tsk, isn't the Church of Christ's efficiency a bit too low?"

Karen said, "There's nothing we can do about it. After all, Ode Bolzak hasn't been as active as he used to be since fifteen years ago."

He's always been a very cautious guy, and with such convenient magic, there's simply no way to catch him if you want to hide your abilities properly.

According to Karen, the infamous "Demon Bee Master" retired from his life of crime more than a decade ago.

He changed his appearance, created a false identity to disguise himself as an ordinary citizen, and has disappeared for several years.

"That's not surprising. If you could train bees to be familiars, you could have complete control over the entire city."

"...So, how did you manage to catch that guy by the tail?"

After Shirou asked that question, Kallen fell silent for some reason.

You can sense the slight wavering of the silver-haired girl.

She paused for a full two seconds before regaining her usual calm expression.

"It seems that even a madman who has abandoned his human identity, even a Dead Apostle who has completely replaced all the circuits in his body..."

There's no way to resist the powerful attraction of bloodlines.

Karen said sarcastically, "The reason why Od Bolzak's whereabouts were exposed after decades is because he recently went back to his family home to see his newborn granddaughter."

Shirou: "…………"

"Although Od Polzak was a brilliant magician, he was ultimately not a Dead Apostle with a long history."

He can only create the lowest level of ghouls; if he wants to create familiars, he can only do so by killing his own blood relatives.

Od Bolzac's son doesn't have much talent for magic, so maybe that guy is betting on his granddaughter.

Although Kallen said that, Shirou didn't think so.

A magician's talent cannot be discerned in infancy.

Even the Root Child, Sajō Aika, didn't start to show her talent until she was seven or eight years old.

So, did that cautious, wicked Dead Apostle risk being discovered by the association and the church just to see his newborn granddaughter?

The idea that vampires also have human hearts... is even more absurd.

"In any case, thanks to Haruli Polzak, we have now re-tracked the 'Magic Bee Messenger'."

Karen smiled and said what seemed to be the name of Od Bolzac's granddaughter.

……

……

"The enemy is a vicious ruthless gang with tens of thousands of lives on their hands. Is now the time to learn?"

Urged on by Karen and under moral pressure, Shirou finally submitted a one-month leave of absence application to the school.

With such a sudden application for leave of absence, Shirou was naturally subjected to a lot of interrogation by Fujiwara and Kazunari.

When Shirou said he was leaving Japan, Fujiwara seemed to think he had been deceived by a woman overseas.

"I know, it's that girl named Luvia with the big breasts, right?"

"No, this has nothing to do with Luvia."

"What? Shirou has another girlfriend abroad!?"

"Luvia and I aren't in that kind of relationship..."

In the end, it was Irisviel who helped him out and covered up the lie, allowing Shirou to finally get through this ordeal.

Thank you, Alice.

As for the other side——

Ryudou Kazunari: "I know, it's Tohsaka, right?"

Shirou: "Yes."

Kazunari seems to view Shirou's leave of absence from school as a conspiracy by Rin Tohsaka, the devil of Homurahara.

"Wait for me, Amamiya! I'll definitely beat that guy this time and get you justice!"

After saying that, he rushed out of the student council room and ran towards Rin Tohsaka's classroom.

Sorry, Tohsaka-san.

With everything prepared, Shirou and Karen booked their plane tickets to leave Japan.

"Wait a moment, Shirou."

On the eve of his departure, someone who had become a member of the Amemiya residence six months prior called out to Shirou.

"What's wrong, Lady Justisa?"

After all, the other party was the ancestor of Irisviel and Illya, and even though she was now his familiar, Shirou decided to use honorifics.

“I want to come along too,” Yustissa said expressionlessly.

“That won’t do. If it were near Fuyuki, it would be fine, but this time we’re going abroad… It would be terrible if someone with ulterior motives found out about your existence.”

The Third Magician Returns, the Resurrected "Winter Saintess".

It's best to keep Yustissa's existence as unknown as possible.

Over the past decade, Shirou has come to a profound understanding of the meaning of the saying "possessing a treasure is a crime."

"I knew you would say that."

Yustisa frowned slightly, her face showing displeasure.

She raised her slender, lotus-root-like arm and handed a long lock of silver hair to Shirou.

"Take this with you."

"this is……?"

"It's like a clone of me; it might come in handy sometime."

"Well, I'll accept it with gratitude."

Shirou took the silver hair from Justeza.

He had intended to put it in his pocket, but the silver hair seemed to have a life of its own, sliding along Shirou's fingers and arm, and finally entering his body through his chest.

"……What happened?"

Shirou stared blankly at his chest.

Although sword sheaths and similar items had been stuffed there before, that lock of hair felt different.

This feeling... is like someone's consciousness entering your body.

"Isn't the so-called familiar supposed to be one with its master... its master, like this?"

"It is Yustisa," Yustisa said.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she even turned her face away shyly, not daring to meet Shirou's gaze.

The beautiful doll, who has lived for thousands of years, mustered up the courage for the first time to call a 16-year-old human boy "master".

What will Shirou think?

Will you hate it?

After all, she was a boring woman.

She wasn't as young and charming as Irisviel, nor as innocent and endearing as Illyasviel.

Sera and Lizzie are also hardworking and earnest children. In comparison, I can't even take care of myself and am the biggest burden on this family.

Ah... Only after truly winning someone's heart do I realize that feelings are such a complicated thing.

Just as Yustissa was inexplicably falling into some kind of self-deprecating negative emotion, a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"........."

The "Winter Saintess" raised her emotionless face.

Shirou smiled at her: "That's true. As Lady Justisa's master, I can't just die like that."

Please also convey this message to everyone: I will definitely return safely.

"Yes, be careful on the road, master."

As Yustissa said this, she reached out and stroked the boy's red hair.

Amamiya Shirou.

He is both his master and, like Irisviel and the others, his child.

At the same time, he is also the man who transformed himself from a doll into a human.

……

……

On the way to their destination, Shirou obtained further information from Karen.

Shirou was somewhat bothered by what Kallen had once said: "The target once caused the collapse of a town."

If we disregard the battle with Vlad III, this is Shirou's first time hunting a Dead Apostle, so it's best to be cautious.

"Dead Apostle Bees" are a type of bee that has been magically modified and is somewhat aggressive. When a person or other creature is stung by one, it will turn into a ghoul controlled by Od, who is a Dead Apostle.

The Bolzac family was originally skilled in using "bee magic".