Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

The two met Irisviel in the drawing room deep inside the castle.

The silver-haired android blushed inexplicably upon seeing Shirou and even glanced at his lower body.

"Shirou, you've come at the perfect time."

Then she put her hands on her hips, as if encouraging herself, and went on a fierce attack—

Today, Irisviel is more like a queen than a princess, exuding a certain confidence.

Let me just get straight to the point.

Shirou, I hope you will form an alliance with me. Please convey my request to your Master.

Shirou was speechless: ...Isn't this a bit too blunt?

Moreover, she treated Shirou as a Servant.

But that's understandable. Shirou's performance last night was beyond what a magician could achieve, so it's normal for him to be considered one of the Seventh Servant.

Shirou thought for a moment and said, "I'm sorry, Irisviel, I can't form an alliance with you."

“…………Huh?”

Irisviel was very surprised to be rejected by Shirou.

"Why! Didn't you save me time and time again last night in an attempt to form an alliance with me?"

Shirou shook his head: "Of course not."

"Sigh... How could this be? After Shirou said that, I feel both happy and disappointed... Ugh."

She stumbled back onto the sofa, her confident aura vanishing the moment she'd exuded because of Shirou's words.

"Could you explain why you don't accept the alliance? Is there something about me and Irisviel that you find objectionable, Shirou?"

Saber spoke on behalf of her frustrated Master, asking a question that was also her own source of confusion.

There was nothing to complain about.

However, he has already allied with the Assassin.

Even if we want to form another alliance with Saber, we should first explain the situation to them.

However, I've already hooked up with the "dead" Assassin without her Master's knowledge—I can't tell anyone that.

Shirou noticed that Saber was staring intently at him: "If you have any complaints, please speak up. Don't worry about my feelings."

Shirou: "..."

I need to find an excuse to get out of this, otherwise she definitely won't let it go.

Just then, the transmitter in Shirou's pocket vibrated.

"Excuse me, Saber, I need to use the restroom."

Saber yelled, "Hey! Wait, Shirou! Don't run away!"

Irisviel pouted her lips in a plaintive manner: "Waaah... Shirou doesn't want to form an alliance with me..."

Shirou dashed into the toilet.

The voice of Assassin came from the other end of the transmitter.

"Shirou, you should not go back to your home for the time being."

"Why?"

Shirou didn't come home last night, and Fuji is probably already sharpening her knife and waiting. If I don't go back soon, I'm really doomed!

Assassin lowered his voice and said, "My Master was acting strangely this morning."

Although Kirei Kotomine has no interest in the Holy Grail, his abilities far exceed my expectations.

I suspect he has discovered that "we" always miss a certain area when searching Fukayama-cho.

This morning he ordered us to search the area near your house.

Don't worry, I'll figure something out over there, but you shouldn't show your face in the area for now.

"Understood, thank you for the information, Assassin."

Bai Mao Hassan was silent for a moment, then asked.

"Speaking of which, Shirou... were you the one who killed the Sea Demon last night?"

"Yes."

"You answered so quickly! You're not going to hide anything at all!"

"Because there's no need to hide it from Assassin."

"You little devil..."

Assassin sighed, then whispered, "Thank you."

Thank you for believing me—that's probably what I meant.

……

……

After ending his call with Assassin, Shirou left the restroom.

He stopped as he passed by the sink.

Knowing he would be meeting Saber later, Shirou decided to tidy himself up.

"...Ah?"

Shirou looked at himself in the mirror and was surprised to find a strand of white hair in his bangs.

It wasn't there yesterday.

Has the side effects of the "Dead Count Shapeshifter" finally manifested?

……

……

We returned to the reception room.

"so slow!"

Saber looked unhappy.

"Shirou, can you now tell me your reasons for not wanting to form an alliance with us?"

Although she herself didn't mean it that way, people who don't know her would definitely think it was a verbal threat.

Shirou said, "After careful consideration, I have decided to form an alliance with you, on the condition that I stay in Einzbern for a few days."

"...?"

Saber was stunned.

Shirou has nowhere to go back to now and can only temporarily live under someone else's roof.

Since that's the case, let's form an alliance with Saber and the others—that's the conclusion he came to after thinking it over.

"Uh, Shirou, I didn't mean to threaten you just now."

Just as Artoria was about to explain, the voice of the resurrected Irisviel came from behind her.

"Really? That's wonderful! Shirou, I'm so happy! You can stay as long as you like, please treat this place as your own home!"

Irisviel rushed over and hugged the red-haired boy.

After calming her down, Shirou said he needed to call home first.

Irisviel still remembered Shinji's character design: "Ah, is this a relative's house where we're staying?"

Shirou glanced back at her: "That was a lie."

"Bad boy!" she pouted angrily.

"But it's true that I'm an orphan without parents, I'm not lying to you."

"!"

Irisviel clenched her fists upon hearing this.

Shirou first called Fujiwara, lying that he would be staying at the Matou house for a few days.

Then he called the Matou family and asked them to cooperate with his statement.

"Sakura? Let Uncle Tsuruno answer the phone."

"Um, Shirou-nii-san, I think I heard a woman's voice next to you..."

"No, it's the weather forecast presenter who asked Uncle Tsuruno to answer the phone."

Having settled things at home, Shirou followed and sat down at a table.

Now that we've formed an alliance, there's no need to keep it a secret any longer.

"I am a Master, not a Servant."

However, unlike the typical master-servant relationship, as the master, I am the one responsible for the battle.

"Wait……!"

Saber stood up in surprise: "So, Shirou was fighting last night with the power given to him by a Servant?"

Shirou nodded and said, "You could say that. It was thanks to her magic enhancements and modifications that I was able to unleash that power."

This was an agreement between us: I would be in charge of the fighting, while she would provide support from the shadows.

And regarding my Servant status, I cannot say that, nor can I let you see her—”

"Do not make jokes!!"

“Saber…?”

Irisviel looked at Artoria in surprise.

"Let the Master be at the front line, while the Servants hide in the safe zone behind—"

Shirou, what on earth is your Servant thinking? It's utterly incomprehensible!

Saber was outraged by Shirou's plight, her voice trembling as she cried out, "Let me see her! I have something to complain to her about!"

Shirou refused, saying, "...There's no way around it."

"Shirou...!"

Saber clenched her fists, her eyes gleaming as she stared intently at the red-haired boy, seemingly trying to force him to reveal his Servant.

"That's enough, Saber. Don't make things too difficult for Shirou."

Irisviel stepped between the two: "This is a decision Shirou and his Servant made; it's not something we outsiders should interfere with."

Saber turned her anger on her Master: "Does Irisviel think this is acceptable? Don't you love Shirou the most?"

Sending such a child to the battlefield, this Servant is definitely not a kind person!

Shirou, please arrange for me to meet her…

I think it's fine.

Irisviel interrupted Saber: "Because you'll understand once you see Shirou's performance last night."

That's a level that can't be reached through the magical enhancement of a Servant, right?

Even a layman like me can feel how much effort Shirou has put into swordsmanship.

And how pleasant it must have been for you two to fight side by side last night...

Saber, don't you know this best?

"But--"

"If fighting is Shirou's purpose—then as a mother, I don't think we should take away our child's purpose so easily."

Irisviel probably thought she had delivered a very touching line, and winked at the red-haired boy as she spoke.

"When did I become your child?" Shirou thought to himself.

Irisviel said, "Saber, why are you so agitated today? This is so unlike you."