Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

In the doctrines of the Church of Christ, evil spirits, demons, and dead apostles are regarded as "things that should not exist in the world" and are enemies that must be eliminated and purified.

Although they had no evil intentions, the androids still fit the Church's definition of heresy.

God's love is limited to humans conceived naturally through the union of men and women, and does not include magical creations such as artificial beings.

Even among magicians, many believe that androids do not have souls and are merely machines with human appearances.

As a devout believer, Kotomine Risei also deeply despises androids.

In the past, due to work-related reasons, he had to suppress his resentment and work with the Einzbern family.

But now that his identity has been exposed, there's no need to worry about so much anymore.

"How pathetic, forced to fight against your own will... Let me end your sinful life."

Kotomine Risei's five fingers gripped Lyselette's head like iron claws and lifted her up.

……

……

When Shirou snapped out of his daze, he found himself being held in the arms of a silver-haired woman, running wildly toward the forest.

"Sera? What are you doing? Put me down... Waaah!"

Shirou was interrupted halfway through his sentence by a sharp pain in his right shoulder.

He looked closely and found that his entire right arm had turned red, his elbow was broken, and his shoulder was ulcerated beyond recognition.

"Do you need my help with treatment?"

Ms. Avalon's voice came through.

"No, there's no time to stop and receive your treatment right now."

Shirou recalled what had happened a few seconds earlier—

Suddenly appearing in the middle of the road, Kotomine Risei launched an attack on the unsuspecting Sera.

Shirou, who reacted in time, rushed over and saved Sera, but in the process, his entire arm was destroyed.

Although it was just a hasty parry, and Shirou hadn't had time to make full preparations, Kotomine Risei smashed his 8-year-old arm with just one punch.

Then, Shirou's magic circuits activated on their own to heal his body, releasing intense heat and pain during the process. Combined with the exhaustion from the depletion of his magic power, he was momentarily dazed for a few seconds.

For some reason, Sera picked up Shirou and ran towards the castle without looking back.

Shirou stared at his right arm, which was slowly healing, and couldn't help but gasp.

Is Kotomine Risei really human?

If such a punch were to land on an unsuspecting human body... let alone a human, even a Servant would likely be seriously injured.

No, Kotomine Risei is still human.

No matter how much that body is forged and tempered, with muscles honed to the point of being as hard as steel, it is still within the realm of humanity.

The problem lies in his technique... It seems he is knowledgeable in some kind of martial art.

Furthermore, their skill level is extremely high; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they've reached a state of near perfection.

Shirou recalled the anecdotes about the Third Holy Grail War that Zouken Matou had once told him.

Followers fighting hand-to-hand... So it wasn't just a legend after all.

In some ways, Kotomine Rizashi is similar to Shirou without activating the "Royal Command Spell"—both are typical glass cannons, only capable of dealing damage as servants.

The red-haired boy shook his head, clearing his mind of distractions, and looked at the android maid who had grabbed him and was running away.

"Sera, what are you doing? Why are you running away? Where is Lizzielet?"

Serra answered without even panting as he maintained a speed of nearly 70 kilometers per hour.

“Lysellet is holding back the enemy; I’m going to take you back to Mrs. Irisviel now.”

"Huh? Why? If Liselle is fighting, we should hurry and help her."

Shirou had previously experienced the terrifying strength of Einzbern's top bust, but he did not believe that Kotomine Ri was an enemy that could be defeated by sheer physical strength.

Leaving Lizzie there would likely be disastrous for her.

"The lady instructed us to protect your safety and escort you back to the castle as our top priority."

As she said this, Sera glanced at the red-haired boy with a resentful look.

Compared to Lysérit, who lacked emotional expression, Sera's expressions were always very rich.

"I don't understand, why did you save me back then?"

Shirou paused for a moment, then said, "Huh? Because I sensed the killing intent emanating from Kotomine Risei at that time..."

That's not what I meant!

Sera let out a low growl, unable to control her emotions, and gradually stopped running.

She looked down at Shirou's face and said through gritted teeth, "Please don't do anything unnecessary."

Mr. Shirou, your actions have greatly embarrassed me. If Madam knew that you were seriously injured while protecting me, I…

Shirou rolled his eyes and interrupted her: "In your heart, what kind of mean and heartless mistress is Irisviel?"

She wouldn't be angry with you over something like that; at most, she'd worry excessively, but Irisviel would never think there was anything wrong with what I did.

Sera was not convinced: "The lady is very kind, but that gentleness does not mean she is right."

Liselette and I are just artificial life forms. As long as resources and time are invested, it is no problem to reproduce as many as we want.

But the lady is different; she carries the weight of Einzbern's 2000-year-old aspirations, and you are a special person to her—

If anything happens to you, your wife will inevitably be affected, and then I, who caused all of this, will be an irredeemable sinner.

Shirou pondered, "I see. If I die, Sera will feel guilty."

The silver-haired android said earnestly, "That's right, now you should understand..."

"That's better than dying, isn't it?"

Shirou said, "Between letting Sera blame herself and letting Sera die, I choose the former."

Sera was speechless; this boy really didn't understand anything.

She asked in a deep voice, "You were almost killed, weren't you?"

To risk one's own safety for a mere android... what's the point of doing something like that?

Shirou tilted his head and said, "To be honest, I didn't think about it... or rather, it was an instinctive action."

I couldn't accept someone I knew dying in front of me, so without thinking too much, my body acted first...

I don't understand how you androids are produced, but in my opinion, Sera is Sera, and you can't just replace her.

If Sera were to die, even if it weren't a big deal, I would still feel a little sad.

Is this answer acceptable? Ugh, you're such a pain."

Sera remained silent for a long time.

Then she pursed her lips and murmured tremulously, "Mr. Shirou, you... are really troublesome."

"……ha."

Upon hearing this, the red-haired boy in her arms smiled.

"Seeing Sera, who is usually so arrogant, about to cry makes me feel full of energy."

Shirou jumped down from the silver-haired android maid's arms and grabbed Sera's wrist with his only intact left hand.

"Okay, let's go back. We can't just leave Lizzie there, can we?"

"Ah."

Sera was grabbed by the wrist by Shirou and ran back the way she came.

She silently watched the boy's retreating figure.

Gazing at the tiny back of the human child, the android felt something strange for the first time.

It is indescribable and elusive.

Even Sera herself didn't know what the throbbing in her heart was, only that it was a feeling that she absolutely couldn't let her wife know.

She said in a voice only she could hear, "Thank you for saving me, Shirou."

————————————————————

Volume 1, Chapter 83: Shirou: Am I really a genius?

"Let her go, your target is me, isn't it?"

Just as Kotomine Riki was about to crush the android maid's head, a voice rang out.

"…………!"

The old priest turned his head and saw that the person he most wanted to see at that moment was standing there: Shirou Amamiya.

Standing next to the red-haired boy was another android who had almost been killed by Kirei Kotomine earlier.

Just as he was about to vent his anger on Liselle, who had stayed behind to cover their retreat, Kotomine Risaki was surprised to find that they had returned. He opened his squinty eyes in astonishment.

"I didn't expect you to actually come back. You barely escaped with your life... Was it all for this artificial life form?"

"That's right, put her down."

Shirou repeated in a threatening tone, "Otherwise, I'll run away to a place you'll never find, and your actions in the Holy Grail War will soon be known to the world."

"..."

After a brief silence, Kotomine Risei swung his right arm and threw Lyselette onto the road a few meters away. Sera immediately ran over and used healing magic.

"Sera, why... take Shirou with you, run away..."

Liselle looked confused and spoke in a weak, intermittent voice, while Sera shook her head firmly.

"We won't abandon you," she whispered, squeezing her sister's hand.

"Kotomine Risei."

The old priest, with his full head of white hair and bulging muscles, spoke with the composure of a victor.

"Although I am a little late in greeting you, I am the one who is overseeing this war, so please give me your guidance."

Shirou said, "You think you can be considered a supervisor? You can't even see the word 'fair' in 'fairness'."

They even injured my daughter; this isn't something that can be resolved with just an apology.

"...!"

Kotomine Risa felt the oppressive aura emanating from Shirou, and he gasped and immediately jumped back a large step.

Previously, he had only heard rumors about Shirou Amamiya from his allies, but now that he had met him in person, he immediately realized that this 8-year-old child possessed extraordinary power.

Shirou scoffed, "After their actions were exposed, they rushed over in a fit of rage to silence me..."

That's why I hate religious people; they're either crazy or hypocrites. Aren't there any normal people among them?

"……snort."

Kotomine Riki was revealing an even more obvious killing intent.

No one can question his faith; Shirou's sweeping criticism of the church as a whole has crossed his line.

However, he quickly regained his composure and said, "If anyone is breaking the rules, it's you who broke them first."

"Oh?"

Kotomine Risei said, "Amemiya Shirou, you summoned a Servant who violated the rules during this Holy Grail War."

I have remained acquiescing about this until now.

However, your actions in the Holy Grail War can no longer be ignored by me.

Shirou said speechlessly, "I don't remember doing anything wrong during the summoning ritual."

Kotomine Ryougi gazed at him with his slender eyes and said, word by word, "If I'm not mistaken, you've fused with your Servant, haven't you?"