Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

The King of Heroes easily fell into the trap—no, it should be said that he knew it was a trap set by Kirei Kotomine but stepped into it without a second thought—this is the composure of a king.

"Before my highest-ranking 'all-seeing eye,' no truth can hide."

Don't misunderstand Kirei, what I'm looking at isn't just the future of all things—

Predicting the past from the future is also incredibly easy.

Having said that, the Hero King narrowed his deep red eyes and looked up into the void.

He planned to peek into the past of the boy Amamiya Shirou by observing the future, however—

"……Well."

The King of Heroes frowned unhappily: "...Just like last time."

"Archer, what exactly did you see?" Kirei Kotomine asked curiously.

"The kid's future is shrouded in some invisible barrier."

Gilgamesh said, "It was the same when the brats were fighting Caster before."

When I try to peek into his future, a "wall of light" that I cannot cross or interfere with will appear before me.

"...So that's how it is. It was the witch who did it."

The King of Heroes gave a noncommittal scoff and then continued drinking his red wine.

"Forget it, that guy will appear before me in the near future, trembling with fear as he accepts my judgment... Let bygones be bygones for his unromantic prying into the past!"

Kirei Kotomine: So you can't see it after all this time?

The man asked curiously, "Archer, since you can't see Shirou Amamiya's future..."

It's not that I can't see it! It's that I don't want to see it!

The King of Heroes sternly corrected him: "It's easy to foresee a brat's future, but that takes away the fun, the so-called 'pleasure,' do you understand, Kirei?"

Pleasant...

Kirei Kotomine recalled his previous conversation with Archer.

The two began to discuss what constitutes pleasure.

Archer said that since Kirei Kotomine has no desire for the Holy Grail, wouldn't it be better to simply pursue happiness?

Kirei Kotomine stated that it was a depraved and unjust act, but Archer disagreed.

At this moment, the man finally realized that he had always regarded the pursuit of pleasure as a sin.

The King of Heroes seems to have learned the painful truth that has been troubling him, an answer that Kirei Kotomine would never have dared to even imagine.

No, the more I think about it, the less clueless I become.

He shook his heavy head and changed the subject, saying, "So, Archer, you don't know all of Amamiya Shirou's background either."

If that's the case, why do you call him a fake (Faker)?

You seemed to have said something like, "As the true king, one must deliver a judgment against the false king."

"Hmm? I just thought that based on my feelings, and I said those things based on my feelings too."

The King of Heroes took a sip of red wine: "The little brat's soul has presumptuously displayed the aura of a king before me, so it is only natural for me to make the judgment."

"……what?"

Kirei Kotomine was momentarily dumbfounded.

Archer said, "Feelings are enough; thinking will never lead to a conclusion."

Kirei, especially a hopeless fool like yourself, try surrendering yourself to your feelings occasionally.

With these meaningful words, the hero-king Gilgamesh downed the wine in his glass, stood up from the sofa, and walked out of the room with a satisfied smile.

In an instant, the opulence of the room vanished, and Kirei's room returned to its original monotonous and dull atmosphere.

Finally able to be alone in peace, Kirei reflected on his conversations with the King of Heroes up to this point.

The reason why Gilgamesh is attracted to Shirou Amamiya—

Those who participate in this Holy Grail War, whether Servants or Mages, all harbor some strong long-cherished desire.

Only that self-willed king was not pursuing the Holy Grail, but rather because he despised those who were fighting for treasures behind his back.

Perhaps Shirou Amamiya, like him, has absolutely no interest in the Holy Grail itself.

In this respect, Kirei Kotomine is similar to the other two—he still doesn't know the reason for joining the war.

Perhaps deep down, without even realizing it himself, he also longed for the miracle of the Holy Grail, but certainly not the "pleasure" that Archer spoke of.

Kirei Kotomine has devoted over thirty years of his life to his belief in pursuing the truth, a commitment that will never change.

The person who truly knows the answer is not Archer; it must be someone else.

Amamiya Shirou.

A thought suddenly crossed Kirei Kotomine's mind: just like his direct conversation with Archer, what if he could also face that boy directly—

Suddenly, a sharp pain made Kirei Kotomine bend over.

"!?"

He saw the Command Seals appear on the back of his hand, which was burning with pain.

After being used on Assassin once, the remaining two Command Seals reappeared, with the same shape and size as before.

"How can this be--"

Kirei Kotomine was speechless: He had clearly lost his Servant, yet a new Command Seal had appeared.

Three years ago, the man felt completely bewildered when he received the Command Seals, but now, he seems to understand why he was chosen by the Holy Grail again.

……

……

"Shirou!?!?"

As evening fell, when Fujimura Taiga returned home from school and saw the red-haired boy standing in front of the Amamiya residence, he instinctively covered his mouth.

Shirou turned around and waved stiffly: "Yo, Fuji-nee...long time no see."

Before he could finish speaking, Fujimura Taiga rushed over and hugged him.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot! Shirou, you big idiot! You just disappeared without a word, without a trace, what are you thinking!"

Even if we ask the Matou family, they say they don't know anything. Even if we mobilize the Fujimura group to search, they have absolutely no trace of you!

Fujimura Taiga burst into tears while pounding Shirou's back.

"Do you know how worried I was! I thought I'd never... see him again... Waaaaaah!!"

Shirou hugged her waist apologetically: "...I'm sorry, I made you worry."

After that, it took Shirou about ten minutes to finally calm the girl down.

The two entered the house.

Shirou sat down on the tatami mat, while Fujimura Taiga went to make tea.

Looking around, he realized that even when he wasn't living there, the furniture in the room hadn't accumulated much dust.

It must have been Fujii and Sakura who cleaned it.

Three minutes later, Fujimura Taiga reappeared in the tatami room with two cups of green tea. After handing one cup to Shirou, she sat down directly in front of him.

Shirou blew on the steaming teacup and started the conversation: "...Fujimura-nee, you didn't go back to the Fujimura group."

"How could I possibly leave? What if Shirou comes back one day and finds that no one is left? Wouldn't he be very sad?"

The boy was sweating profusely: "I...I see..."

"Shirou, where have you been all this time?"

The girl in the sailor uniform stared intently at the boy, as if worried that he would disappear again if she wasn't careful.

"Yes, a few things have happened these past few days."

"whats the matter?"

"Well... I can't say."

"Shirou!"

Fujimura Taiga grabbed Shirou's wrist.

As expected of the "Tiger of Fuyuki," Shirou thought that if she got serious, she might be able to wield a bamboo-cutting sword.

"Answer me, Shirou, what exactly happened?"

Fujimura Taiga questioned him with an extremely serious expression.

Shirou forced a smile: "Fujii-nee, please don't worry, I'm very safe now. I have very capable people protecting me."

There are only a few days left. I will definitely come back after everything is completely over.

"What do you mean by that? Are you leaving later?"

Shirou nodded emphatically: "But I promise you, I will come back safely..."

"Shirou."

Fujimura Taiga stared straight into the boy's eyes and asked, "...Can I believe what you say?"

"Ah."

"..."

Fujimura Taiga's expression turned somewhat sad for a moment, but he nodded in the end.

"Since Shirou doesn't want to talk about it, I won't force him... But Shirou, you'll be staying tonight, right?"

"No, I'll stay for a little while and then leave."

Shirou said, "I was just passing by today and thought I'd stop by."

Because the Tohsaka faction has shifted its strategy from "gathering intelligence" to "preparing for the final battle," Shirou can freely enter and leave the Amamiya residence without worrying about being discovered by his familiars' spies—this is a secondary reason.

I missed Fujii so much that I took a long detour to come here... The real reason is something Shirou could never say, even if he died.

Although he was scolded severely, he still felt: it's so good to come back.

Shirou reaffirmed that he was fighting to protect this home (his refuge).

------------

Volume 1, Chapter 80: You little devil who only knows how to deceive women!

"Then at least stay for dinner!"

Fujimura Yamato said with a sincere expression.

She grabbed his wrist tightly, and Shirou couldn't refuse even if he wanted to.

He sighed: "May I ask if there's anything to eat at home?"

"No."

Fujimura Taiga said smugly, "If Shirou hadn't come, I was planning to make do with instant noodles tonight."

It seems I'll have to prepare dinner myself tonight, Shirou thought to himself.

"You're a pretty high school girl, at least eat properly."

Fujimura Taiga blinked her big eyes: "Yeah, yeah, Shirou has another reason to come back~"

"Yes Yes Yes."

The red-haired boy sighed, left the living room, went to the kitchen, and put on an apron.

……

……

Night fell again.

Irisviel stood at the castle window, gazing at the outskirts of the Einzbern Forest while sensing the reactions within the barrier.