Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

It's already 7 p.m., why hasn't Shirou come back yet?

Normally, Shirou should have returned to the castle by this time, finished dinner, and gone on patrol with Irisviel and Saber.

Could something have happened to that child?

Irisviel thought worriedly: Shirou is still an 8-year-old child who hasn't been weaned yet! What if he gets kidnapped by a strange woman?

The silver-haired android grew increasingly uneasy, covering its mouth and muttering, "I've heard that this country has an evil force called the Yakuza. Shirou is so cute, could he have been... taken advantage of by the Yakuza..."

"Shirou is very strong. If we're going to worry about anyone, we should be worried about the safety of the yakuza, not Shirou himself."

Saber said that with Shirou's strength, no one could threaten his safety, but Irisviel was still worried.

The 9-year-old android experienced for the first time the feeling of a mother waiting for her child to return.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Irisviel longed for him, Shirou never appeared.

Instead, purple lightning appeared from the horizon.

As the Holy Grail War progressed, Irisviel had become accustomed to the imposing Thunderclap, which was Rider's vehicle.

"……Well!"

As the thunder grew louder and louder, Irisviel felt the magic circuits within her body groaning in anguish.

That was a chain reaction caused by the destruction of the barrier of the Einzbern Forest.

Since the battle with Caster, the great barrier that had been painstakingly rebuilt was once again easily destroyed under the iron hooves of the Conqueror King.

"So... they actually intend to break through head-on?"

Irisviel crouched down due to the strain of the magic circuits, when a slender yet strong wrist lifted her shoulders.

Upon noticing the anomaly, Saber immediately rushed to her side like a whirlwind.

"Are you alright, Irisviel?"

The silver-haired android shook his head and said, "It's nothing, it's just a little unexpected."

The enemy is Rider. I never expected him to attack at a time like this. For a moment, I even thought it was Shirou who had returned…

“Shirou wouldn’t be that rough,” Saber said.

"That's true, haha."

Artoria had already finished weaving the Azure Silver Armor with her magic: "I'm going out to check the situation. Irisviel, you come with me."

Although Irisviel became a burden to Saber because she went along on the night of Caster's invasion.

However, they didn't really have a better solution. Rather than leaving their Master alone in the castle, staying by the side of the King of Knights was the safest option.

Matching Irisviel's speed, the two quickly traversed the castle, their destination the atrium surrounding the high-ceilinged hall, where they expected to encounter the enemies who had breached the main entrance.

Irisviel reminisces about the first night of the Holy Grail War when she witnessed the Noble Phantasm "Wheel of Divine Might" in the warehouse district.

The divine bull chariot wrapped in Zeus's thunder—if that Noble Phantasm were fully unleashed, it's no wonder that the barrier base set up in the forest would be uprooted.

Although it is defined as an anti-army Noble Phantasm due to the characteristics of the chariot, in terms of power alone... it may be stronger than most anti-city Noble Phantasms.

Irisviel's expression turned serious.

With Shirou away, it is up to him and Saber to protect this castle.

If you ask why—it's because this is where she and Shirou will live from now on.

"Hey, Knight King! I've come all this way to find you, why aren't you out yet?"

As expected of Rider, who is known for his superior mobility among the Seven Knights, it only took him a few minutes to go from invading the forest to arriving at the main gate of the castle.

Irisviel and Saber could hear the Conqueror King's rough and bold voice from afar.

“Oh, Saber. I heard you own a castle, so I came to see—but this castle is rather shabby, isn’t it?”

Facing the furious Saber and her servant rushing over, Rider stood atop the chariot, adopting an attitude of usurping the host's place.

"There are so many trees in the courtyard, it's really inconvenient to get in and out. I almost got lost before I reached the city gate."

I've already cut down some of the trees for you, so you should thank me properly; the view is much better now.

Saber frowned slightly, and said unhappily, "Rider, what are you doing here? Are you here to start a war?"

"Haha, wasn't it you who invited Yu here?"

With that, Rider pinched a letter between two fingers and tossed it to Saber and Irisviel's feet.

Saber cautiously picked up the envelope, opened it, and was instantly dumbfounded.

Irisviel leaned closer to take a look, her mouth half-open in a speechless expression.

The letter Rider threw at him stated that the elderly Mackenzie couple, who provided a base for Rider and his Master, had been kidnapped.

If you want those two old people to live, you'd better come to Einzbern Castle and keep your appointment—

This appears to be a rather despicable challenge.

Just as Irisviel and Saber were looking at each other in bewilderment, a small figure peeked out from behind the red-haired giant.

Waver Wilvet hid half his body behind the Conqueror King while glaring up at Saber and her servant.

He took a deep breath, then mustered his courage and shouted, "Give me back my grandparents!"

“The contents of this letter have nothing to do with us. We did not kidnap your grandparents and we know nothing about it.”

Irisviel stated seriously, but Weber would not easily accept her statement.

"Still...still pretending to be stupid! Only you guys know the location of my base! If it's not you, then who is it!"

According to Weber's logic, the concealment barrier he set up near McKenzie's house was so perfect that it was impossible for anyone else to discover it.

If anyone committed this crime, it could only be Einzbern, who knew the location of his hideout and had visited him before.

Irisviel frowned upon hearing this and said, "Rider's Master, to be honest... your barrier technology is extremely poor."

That level of concealment can only protect ordinary people at best; anyone with even a little magical knowledge can spot its flaws.

"...Woo!"

Weber's face turned pale upon hearing this: "Don't, don't talk nonsense! My base has never been discovered until now! Except for you guys!"

In fact, Irisviel's conclusion was correct.

The reason Waver's whereabouts were not found was twofold: firstly, the high-ranking figures like Kenneth Tohsaka did not believe that a magician would be so destitute as to occupy an ordinary house; secondly, Shirou secretly made arrangements for him, instructing Assassin not to inform Kirei Kotomine.

Saber, her face tense, said, "We said it has nothing to do with us, and that means it has nothing to do with us. This is clearly an attempt to sow discord. None of us would do something so shady."

"Yes...of course there is!"

Weber shouted out his answer: "Shinji... that's right, it must have been Shinji-kun!"

"?"

Irisviel and Saber were stunned.

Did Shirou do it? Did he kidnap the two elderly people?

The master and servant exchanged a glance, thinking in unison: How could my Shirou possibly do such a despicable thing... uh, probably not?

Irisviel and Saber instantly recalled the night they formed their alliance with Shirou—

When formulating future strategic plans, the red-haired boy pulled a thick stack of photos out of his pocket.

"Shirou, what is this?"

Irisviel observed the photographs with curiosity; they were photos of beautiful women and young girls taken from a hidden angle.

"These are photos I took after sneaking into the Zenjo family home. They are Tohsaka Aoi, Tohsaka's wife, and Tohsaka Rin, who were sent back to Tohsaka's family home by Tohsaka Tokiomi."

"Um... excuse me, what is your purpose in showing me and Saber these photos?"

Irisviel looked embarrassed, Saber's face began to turn pale, and Shirou continued.

"Based on my observation, although Tokiomi Tohsaka considers himself a model of magicians, he still retains human affection deep in his heart."

His wife goes without saying, and his daughter, Rin Tohsaka, is regarded by him as the heir to his magical legacy and knowledge, and is his treasure that is more important than anything else.

I thought they could be good bait, so I used the mother and daughter to lure Tokiomi Tohsaka into the trap.

"What do you guys think?"

"Shirou, wait a minute..."

Saber stood up from the sofa, and Shirou noticed that her clenched hands were trembling slightly.

"This approach is a bit too much..."

Irisviel raised her hand to stop Saber from continuing.

She walked to Shirou's side and gently embraced the boy.

"Irisviel?"

She didn't say anything, neither scolding nor encouraging, but simply gently stroked the boy's hair.

"Shirou no longer needs to do such things. Saber and I will support you from now on."

I think... Saber and I must have appeared here so that Shirou wouldn't have to do these unwilling things anymore.

"..."

Shirou remained silent.

He understood that Irisviel's words meant not only to provide combat support as an ally, but also to offer emotional support.

Although she didn't know what Shirou had gone through, Irisviel, as a pure homunculus designed to contain the souls of Heroic Spirits, could still sense the boy's wounded and sensitive soul.

Even knowing it was futile, she still hoped she could heal the wounded boy.

"I understand. I'm sorry... I said something that made you feel uncomfortable."

"Shirou... I'm not..."

Shirou left Irisviel's embrace and began folding up the photos one by one, while calmly explaining.

"I didn't think this plan had a high success rate to begin with."

The Zenjo family is also a powerful and established magical family, and Assassin is likely protecting the mother and daughter in secret.

Involving innocent people in the Holy Grail War could lead to punishment from the Church... In short, it's a very unwise deal.

Shirou used magic to set the photo on fire: "This was actually a test for the two of you."

If you accept this proposal, I will have to reconsider the alliance we have made.”

"Honestly, they actually tested me and Saber...!"

Irisviel pouted her pink lips angrily.

……

……

"See? I told you so! It must have been Shinji! Where is he now? Hand him over!"

Waver insisted that Shirou had kidnapped the Mackenzie couple, after all, he was a victim who had been completely fooled by Shirou.

Artoria said coldly, "That child wouldn't do something like making baseless, malicious accusations."

Although she wavered for only a moment, after careful consideration, Saber still believed it was impossible.

Shirou was someone she respected; she believed that the boy in her heart would never do something as despicable as kidnapping an old man.

At least, they won't hide such things from me.

Saber said in a reproachful tone, "Rider, do you also think that the child did it?"

A king who has conquered half the world surely wouldn't have such a shallow understanding of people.

"That's what they say... So what are you going to do, kid?"

Iskandar remained noncommittal, simply turning to look at his Master who was hiding behind him.

"War! War is imperative! Unless Shinji is handed over, we will not rest until tonight!"

Weber was holding back his anger.

He actually sensed that this was probably a conspiracy by Tohsaka's camp, but what could he do even if he knew?

The elderly couple who treated him like their own grandson were kidnapped because of their lack of ability, and he was powerless to do anything about it.