Chapter 177 - 67.2

The next moment, they were back home, in their living room, and the little sprite proceeded to embrace him.

"That was fantastic, Shirou!" She beamed up at him, as adorable as adorable could be. "I really enjoyed myself!"

"You know, I think I enjoyed myself too." He admitted, gently hugging her back.

It wasn't often that he'd had fun during his outings as Rakurai. Sure, he'd felt triumphant, or satisfied, or sometimes even relieved when he'd been in the nick of time to save a life, but he'd never really enjoyed himself. Not when the stakes were so high.

But this time he had. The arson and chaos and bullying the police had been strangely fun.

It gave him mixed feelings. It seemed that, the closer he got to being a proper Hero, who fought crime all over the world with overwhelming power and efficiency, the further he got from being a proper Hero of Justice, who was calm and peaceful and loved serenity more than anything else.

For now, it wasn't an enormous problem, since he was still helping people, but it did bear consideration. If things ever got to the point that he would start hurting people for no other reason than that he enjoyed it, it would be time to lock himself up until he'd managed to fix the destructive impulses.

But for now, he patted Illya's head again and accompanied her back into the Emiya-estate, looking on as she sped off to brag to Sella and Leysritt.

She'd earned a little bragging. If nothing else, they'd utterly annihilated the largest smuggling ring in the country with just the two of them.

Not bad for a single night of work.

"Welcome, everyone. I am glad you could all make it."

Rocco Belfeban, the head of the Department of Summoning, which was a branch belonging to the Department of Spiritual Evocation, smiled kindly at the people gathered before him in his office, almost like a stereotypical loving grandpa at a merry family-gathering.

It wasn't a smile that belonged in the Clocktower, and on this occasion, it was even more horribly out of place than it would usually be. For one, none of the people present liked him, and for two, the general mood between his guests was far too cold and hostile for this to be merry in any way.

There was no friendship here, no brotherhood or sisterhood. There was no common ground or even shared characteristics. There were seven of them, three male and four female, and they were almost nothing alike.

Different races, different nationalities, different heights, different outfits. Name a physical property or trait and it was different between them.

With one exception.

They were all warriors.

From Kairi Sisigou, standing at the ready with his trademark grenades and shotgun, to the mysterious black-haired man with glasses and the meanest smile imaginable, to even the nerdy-looking woman who refused to lift her eyes from her book. They were all extremely dangerous and experienced warriors, which was in fact the condition they'd been selected by.

Naturally, with so many radically different warrior types packed together, none of them felt at ease. The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife, as they eyed each other with suspicion, caution, or, in one single case, excitement. A single wrong move might set off a bloodbath, and no one, not even Rocco himself, knew who would come out the victor.

Though that might be a good thing. Unfortunately, several of these individuals were the sort of people who'd pick a fight for the fun of it, and the only thing holding them back from doing exactly that, right here, right now, was the uncertainty of victory, not knowing whether they could win a possible confrontation with the other six.

These people might be brutal, cold, callous, greedy, and cruel, but they were not suicidal. They had that much going for them at least.

The same couldn't be said for Rocco however. He was a weak and lazy Magus, with defences that were in no way capable of even slowing down the warriors before him. The fact that he sat there, at his desk, smirking at them bold as brass, suggested he might in fact have a death wish.

He didn't of course. Yes, he was more than aware of the fact that he was a sitting duck, but he knew how to handle situations like these. He remained cool as a cucumber, showing none of his anxiety on his face, knowing that confidence and brazenness were better shields than anything else he could muster with his feeble strength.

So he kept on smiling without fear, which was made significantly easier by the comforting knowledge that his real body wasn't actually in the office to begin with.

Checking one last time that all his countermeasures were in place, Rocco cleared his throat in the classic way of asking for everyone's attention. He'd kept his guests waiting for long enough.

"Welcome." He repeated, using his natural voice and refraining from putting on any airs, as his guests would see through any act immediately. "Let me start by thanking you all for responding to my invitation so promptly. I shall not waste your time in turn. I am happy to inform you that my initial reports were correct. The Fifth Holy Grail War will start in less than six months from now, as I predicted."

In all fairness, he'd gotten that number from Waver, not from his own calculations or informants, but that was just a minor detail.

He paused for a moment, giving his audience a chance to respond or ask questions, but they remained silent, only eyeing each other to size up the competition.

"Now, undoubtedly, you are all eager to participate. That is why the seven of you came here in the first place."

Rocco had actually sent out eleven invitations in total, but four had been resolutely refused or even ignored altogether. That he had ended up with seven candidates in the end was amusing, but nothing more than pure coincidence.

"I must ask you however to refrain from killing each other just yet. As of this moment, we do not know how many candidates from the Clocktower will be selected for this war. It might be as few as one, but also as many as three. I would hate for the latter to occur, only for me to be left with only one of you, because you were too eager to kill each other."

Looking around the group, Rocco saw that most of them were perfectly fine with not killing anyone yet, but there were two who looked very disappointed and would thus have to be watched closely.

"I have also taken the liberty of arranging a few Catalysts for you, to Summon certain, highly qualified Servants. Should one or several of you be chosen to participate in the War, feel no compunction about using them." He offered generously, before waving a hand in a dismissive motion. "Do not feel obliged to accept though. You are free to use your own Catalyst, or perhaps no Catalyst at all."

Summoning without a Catalyst would almost definitely result in weaker Servants, decreasing the Master's chances of winning, but that was fine. Rocco didn't actually care who would win and who would lose. Whether it was one of his picks, one of the founding families, or a total outsider was all the same to him. All he wanted was for the Grail War to be long and eventful.

"That is all I wanted to tell you now. I will call on you again when the six months are over. At that point, I will be able to confidently tell you how many participants the Clocktower needs in order to fill the roster. Then the fighting between you can begin."

The tension rose sharply again, and there were a lot of challenging stares being thrown to and from as these potential candidates flexed their metaphorical muscles at each other, as if hoping that some of the others would give up as a result.

Except for the book-loving woman that was. She still didn't look up from her book at all, as if she was completely confident in her chances of victory.

That certainly took some guts. Rocco was almost impressed.

"Let me reiterate in case some of you forgot. We are talking about the Holy Grail here, a mythical relic of almost unfathomable power. It can fulfil every wish imaginable, including those of yours. Truly, a prize worth fighting for."

He actually didn't know the motives of any of these warriors, why they were willing to risk their lives in a mad war for a tiny chance of obtaining the ultimate prize, but he clearly recognised the greed in them all, the greed for power, love, purpose, and even the Root of Akasha. These people were fighting for something, and Rocco was going to enjoy their struggle.

But he should probably stop fanning the flames now before they started fighting in his office. That would give such a terrible mess.

"If you want, you can take a look at the available Catalysts, perhaps pick one already if they strike your fancy, but otherwise, you are dismissed."

Five of the seven left immediately, apparently not at all interested in the artefacts he'd spent so much time and money on obtaining, while the remaining two made for said artefacts, browsing through them with great interest.

Hopefully, they'd find something to their tastes, and despite their rudeness, Rocco wished the other five much luck as well. Whether with his Catalysts or without, he just wanted them to Summon strong and capable Servants, who would fight a good war between them.

Rocco Belfeban was an old man, and he lacked any means of prolonging his life past its natural limit. If he wanted to see a Grail War, a proper one, before he died, it would have to be the Fifth.

He'd been too young for the Third, had stupidly missed the Fourth, but the Fifth would definitely be his. Not his to win of course, he wasn't even going to participate, but his to observe.

Slaughter and mayhem awaited, the glorious battles between heroes of old, and Rocco Belfeban wanted to witness every last second of it.

"Greetings. I am Oscar Sanchez, Executor of the Burial Agency."

Caren Ortensia blinked in slight confusion at the tall, robed fellow who'd just come walking into her church. She'd just been reading a delightful manga about a young evil queen taking several noble ladies from her kingdom to her castle and subjecting them to all sorts of erotic humiliations, but one glance at the newcomer told her that her reading would have to wait for a while.

A pity, but Caren was nothing if not adaptable.

"Welcome then, Oscar, to Fuyuki." She said with a beaming smile, closing her book and putting it into her bag with one smooth motion.

She wasn't ashamed of her choice of literature, as God wouldn't have delivered the manga unto her if He didn't want her to read it, but Oscar looked like the stuffy sort, who wouldn't appreciate the finer things in life.

"You will refer to me as Father Oscar." He corrected her sternly.

"Father." She adjusted again, never once losing her smile. "Your coming here is a surprise, though of course not an unwelcome one. What brings you here, so far away from the Holy See?"

"I have come to take charge of the city's faithful, as the head of the local church." He replied, looking around said church with a judgemental and disapproving expression. "The Burial Agency thought it wise to dispatch me here."

"You're to be the head of this church?" Caren blinked, more than a little surprised.

"I am."

"But I am the head of this church. Are… Are you here to replace me?"

"Most certainly. Such is the will of the Cardinals."

"But why?"

"Because of the Chalice of our Lord." He replied, lowering his voice as if that would make more of an impression on her. "And the coming war to claim it."

"You speak of the Fifth Holy Grail War?"

"I do indeed. A monumental occasion that will shape the future of our religion. Our moment to finally reclaim what is ours."

"What is ours?" Caren cocked her head to the side, giving him a weird look. "You are aware that the Grail they are going to fight over is just a forgery, right? It is not the real thing."

"Y-Yes, I know." For some reason, he frowned at her in disapproval in response to her well-intended warning. "But even so, the very name that the Magi have chosen for their ritual means our involvement has been decreed by God. Our Lord saw fit to send me to oversee it."

"So, you're to be the Overseer then?"

"I am. I shall be the official Overseer of the War, and you shall assist me in my work."

"Ah…" Caren found it hard not to be at least a little disappointed to hear that. Of course, she had never assumed that the Burial Agency would ever entrust her with the task of overseeing the Fifth Holy Grail War by herself. She was not sufficiently combat-capable to control or kill rogue Magi, and her charisma and presence were nothing compared to her father. That other Executors or Exorcists would be sent to help her manage the Grail War was unavoidable and probably also the wisest course of action.

Still, she'd hoped that any such reinforcements would be placed under her purview. She was the official caretaker and head of the church of Fuyuki after all, making it her city as far as the Burial Agency was concerned. She knew the lay of the land, she knew the people, and most importantly, she'd built some serious rapport with at least half of the War's contestants.

And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that she at least knew that this Grail War would be a lost cause from the start, with the creature that was hiding within, biding its time to destroy the world.

But no, Caren had just been demoted instead, rather abruptly, and placed under someone else's command. It wasn't something she would have cared about normally, her only concern being her loyalty and devotion to the Lord, but on this occasion, she found that it rankled slightly.

As Overseer, she could have been useful to Shirou. Now, not so much.

"I expect a full debriefing soon." Oscar continued, not even noticing how Caren's smile became ever more strained. "I want to know everything about this city. Spare no detail, especially not on the Sorcerer."

"You want a debriefing right now? I didn't prepare anything of the sort though."

"Didn't you hear me? I specifically said that I expect it soon, not now." Oscar rolled his eyes, in a way that Ayako and Rin would never have let him get away with. "You provincial hicks really do find it difficult to listen. You can go and prepare that debriefing after we're done here, and I will prepare tomorrow's morning sermon."

"Sermon?" Caren blinked, stilling slightly.

"Yes, a sermon." Oscar frowned at her. "What? Don't tell me you didn't manage to convert anyone in this city to the proper faith. Will I be talking to an empty church tomorrow?"

"We do get visitors. A few dozen every morning, more on Sundays." Caren replied, lifting a finger as she prepared to say more, before lowering it again when she decided her words would probably fall on deaf ears.

"A few dozen? It's a decent start I suppose. About as much as one can expect from a woman." Far from mellowing out, Oscar only got harsher. "Now that I am here though, we can get started properly on converting these heathens. Soon, this church will burst at the seams."

"Right, sure..." Caren nodded, though she very much doubted that.

The Japanese were notoriously hard to convert. Those few dozen people she'd managed to tempt to the church were mainly lonely old people with very little else to do. She offered them a place to stay, a place where they could socialise, play games, drink tea, and eat biscuits. That, more than anything, had drawn them in. It sure worked far better than just trying to tell them about Jesus Christ on the streets.

In the modern age, people weren't interested anymore in such direct conversion. If you wanted to tempt them into Christianity, you'd do far better to create a sense of community, charity, and loyalty. That was what kept them coming back, time and again. Only once you'd secured their time and attention, you could start dropping Christ's name every so often.

Oscar didn't look like he understood that at all however. Most likely, he'd start preaching about Christ and God right away tomorrow, unaware of the fact that the people he was preaching to would ignore him completely in favour of their card games and their biscuits.

It promised to be a glorious spectacle, one that Caren wasn't going to miss.

Oh, and if he thought she was going to tell him anything about Shirou except for the absolute basics, he was sorely mistaken.

"Make sure you wear your official church robes as well." Oscar added, casting another look of disapproval at her lounge outfit. "It is clear that the standards of this church have fallen since you took over. I intend to put this right. From now on, there shall be proper sermons, proper apparel, and proper behaviour. No excuses."

"As you say, Father." Caren agreed blithely, resolving to put itching powder into his robes tonight. She'd see how great his dedication to proper behaviour would be when every inch of his body would scream out to be scratched. "Is there anything else you require of me?"

"Just that debriefing. I want to know everything there is to know about this place. All the Magi and their weaknesses."

"Weaknesses?"

"In case we have to kill them." Oscar explained, unknowingly further souring Caren's impression of him. "I was tasked with ensuring the Grail War is completed without incident. Since Magi are involved, it is likely that this task will require lethal violence."

He wasn't wrong, as Magi were by nature immensely bull-headed and respected nothing but strength, but even so, the idea of this priest trying to kill her friends caused Caren's fingers to flex, as if they wanted to claw his eyes out.

"I have secured their cooperation-" She began, intentionally avoiding any word that had something to do with friendship or mutual respect, but she wasn't allowed to finish.

"I do not care what you think to have achieved here, Ortensia. Just follow my orders."

"Do you have a problem with me, Father?" Caren usually didn't care much about what others thought of her, floating through life without attachments, but Oscar's hostility was so evident she couldn't help but ask. The fact that he'd never asked for her name but had still known who she was right from the start also intrigued her slightly.

"I was told about you, Caren Ortensia. I know all about your tendencies and your corrupting influence." Oscar finally deigned to look her into her eyes. "I will have none of it. I will bring the Fifty Holy Grail War to a good end, despite the Magi, despite the Servants, and despite you."

"You are approaching the situation with great hostility." Caren completely understood that he was on his guard around her. She had only herself to blame for her bad reputation at the Burial Agency. However, he also seemed to be hostile in general, and far ruder than he needed to be. "The Holy Grail War is dangerous. Making a few friends, even among Magi, would not be a bad idea."

"Nonsense. I need no friends." Oscar dismissed the suggestion out of hand. "God's will shall prevail me. I am His greatest warrior, one He wishes to keep around. With Him on my side, victory is all but assured."

And with that final remark, that wild, jaw-dropping claim, he marched towards the back of the church, where the presbytery was located.

Caren kept on smiling her angelic smile as Oscar walked away, before said smile morphed into a grimace when the doors of the church closed behind him.

Only then did she allow her jaw to drop in abject surprise and horror.

A fool! They'd sent a foolish blowhard to take her place. One who literally thought he was God's gift to mankind.

For a few moments, Caren was honestly baffled that the Cardinals, who were intelligent and rational men despite their often-advanced age, would send someone like that to Fuyuki, before she realised their likely intent.

Just like the Cardinals, Caren was painfully aware of the fact that no Overseer had ever lived to see the end of the Grail War. It was something she had been fretting about herself, though Shirou's assurance of protection soothed her fears slightly.

But the Cardinals were unaware of said promise, and with the Overseer fatality rate being a hundred percent, they'd decided to send someone… disposable, to take the position. Someone who would not be missed.

Honestly, Caren felt almost flattered that they apparently considered Oscar to be worth less than her.

Granted, the Cardinals probably saw her as perfectly disposable too, and had only sent Oscar because they needed someone on the position who could fight, but right now, she chose to believe the best possible interpretation of events.

She did however feel some sympathy for Oscar, who hadn't chosen to be born this way, and she resolved to genuinely pray for his survival and do her best to prevent him from getting killed. She was a follower of the Lord, who preached mercy and salvation for all, not just for the people whom she liked.

Caren very much doubted she'd succeed though. Oscar had that most damning of sins, one that let her know that he was doomed to fail from the start.

It wasn't his arrogance or rudeness. Not his lacking empathy and questionable faith. It wasn't even his seeming tendency to make enemies rather than friends wherever he went.

No, what would bring Oscar down was his inflated sense of self-worth. He believed himself to be irreplaceable, and it was exactly that kind of person who would be the first to fall.

Perhaps he'd snap out of it at some point, perhaps a taste of real battle would make him realise how fragile his life was, but the way he was now, not even Caren's utmost efforts would be able to save him.

A tragedy, and that wasn't even mentioning the possible consequences that his rash action could have on the Grail War as a whole. She better warn Shirou that a fool had come to take charge as Overseer.

But that was something for later. For now, Caren went back to her manga, retrieving it from her bag and taking up position at the back of the church, where she couldn't easily be seen.

The spanking scene with the evil queen and the most defiant noble lady was reaching a climax, and Caren was going to take her time enjoying every word, picture, and page.

Shirou's family had grown considerably over the past few years.

Not too long ago, he'd only had Taiga, and to a lesser extent, Old Man Raiga. Sure, Sakura had already been a dear friend, but a friend only, no more. He'd barely spoken two words to Rin, had not even known of Ayako's existence, Illya had only been Kiritsugu's lost daughter, and Lorelei had, at the very most, been some distant spectre at the other end of the world.

Now though, they were his beloved family, all of them. Through fate and circumstances, they had found their way to him, or he to them, and he genuinely couldn't imagine a life without them anymore.

Not bad, for a boy whose life-long dream had been to destroy himself in the pursuit of justice.

That was not to say however that everything was perfect. There was one clear downside about having such a large family, and that was the fact that it was nearly impossible to get them all around the dinner table at the same time.

They had work, research, other responsibilities, friends, enemies, and many more things getting in the way. Most days, at least one person was missing, usually Lorelei, and it wasn't rare for it to be two or more.

A bit disappointing, but apparently not unusual for large families with members who all had their own busy lives. In fact, one might say that it was inevitable, and thus, Shirou had made his peace with it, deciding to just be glad with what he could get.

But today was different. Today, he'd managed to gather the entire family, to celebrate a very special event.

Taiga's birthday.

Naturally, Shirou had gone all out to mark the occasion, preparing a meal worthy of such a festive day. Four full courses, with all of Taiga's favourites, served on silver platters and in crystal glasses, on an ebony table covered by a red velvet cloth.

Enchanted instruments were playing celebratory music by themselves, ribbons and garlands were hanging from every inch of the ceiling, and brightly coloured balloons were bouncing in every direction without rhyme or reason.

Yes, he was turning it into a spectacle, an evening to remember, and he felt absolutely no shame about doing so.

He didn't even care that old man Raiga and Issei were present as well. It had long been an open secret that he was a wizard, and neither of the two batted an eye at the obviously magical stuff happening all around them. They merely accepted it and carried on with their conversations, which Shirou was very glad about. If they hadn't been able to accept it, he couldn't have invited them, and that would have been an awful shame.

Old man Raiga was Taiga's grandfather, and thus belonged on her birthday party every bit as much as the birthday cake, while Issei was also a friend of hers and of Shirou's, and thus could hardly not be invited either.

There had been some concern that Lorelei, also invited, would disapprove of the presence of two mundane people at such an obviously magical celebration, but she'd chosen to look away and condone it, taking away even that final potential issue. Frankly, it had almost been harder to clear Lorelei's busy schedule enough for her to be able to take the whole evening off than to have her accept Issei and Raiga.

Though still not half as hard, unfortunately, as convincing the final guest to attend.

Tohsaka Aoi, Sakura and Rin's mother.

She might not have much of a bond with Taiga, but she was family of Shirou's girlfriends, and thus, she was welcome as far as Taiga was concerned. Shirou had cooked enough food for a whole army, enough that everyone could eat their fill without worry, so the more, the merrier.

However, Aoi herself had been… less than enthusiastic, about the party. Still dealing with the aftereffects of her comatose state and the loss of her husband, she'd retreated to her room at the Tohsaka-manor and barely exited it, spending her days sleeping and thinking of what had once been.

She did treat Sakura and Rin normally, like her daughters who had suddenly grown up, but it was nevertheless clear that she was not well, and that the road to recovery would be a long one.

Said road would never end however if she stayed cooped up in her room forever, so her daughters had practically dragged her to the party, in an effort to get out of her shell and make her see that her life wasn't over yet.

Now, everybody was here, at the Emiya-estate, and that meant it was time to feast like never before.

"Aah! This really is the best!" Taiga was over the moon with the party, and especially with all the food that had been prepared just for her, more so even than with the gifts she'd received earlier that day. She'd always been a gourmand, a connoisseur of good food, and the dishes that Shirou was serving now were hitting all the right spots. "I never want to stop eating!"

"Do be careful with your stomach, Sensei." Sakura tried to slow the tiger down, but she was only marginally successful. One could not place a wild beast in front of a juicy steak and expect it to keep its calm.

"Have some more potatoes." Caren was doing the opposite, egging the tiger on to see how much she could eat in one sitting, and she was being much more successful than the plum-haired girl. "Woah! I don't know how you're doing this, miss Fujimura! You're eating enough food to feed a whole family with for a week!"

"Would you like some fish, mother?" Meanwhile, Rin was focussed fully on Aoi, trying to make sure the woman was as comfortable as could be. The black-haired girl was handling the older woman like she was made of glass, as if worried that the slightest upset would shatter her into pieces, something that Aoi did not fail to notice.

"I have hands too, Rin." She smiled, softly stroking her daughter's hair. "Thank you, but you don't have to look after me all evening. You should make merry with your friends."

"I'll do that later." Rin countered, not moving an inch. She might be a stubborn, overly focused, and sometimes self-centred girl, but she was also fiercely loyal, especially to her family. She wasn't going to go anywhere until her mother was perfectly satisfied.

"-And that is how Shirou turned me into a human." At the other end of the table, Illya was regaling Lorelei with the tale of how she'd become a 'real girl', so to speak. She boasted of grand rituals, ancient Magic, and divine power, with such pride that one would think it her own achievement.

"So he altered the very threads of reality in order to change a Homunculus into his actual sister?" Lorelei needed a moment to process that, taking a bite of her salmon and chewing thoughtfully for a handful of seconds, before she swallowed. "The very concept beggars belief."

"Hehe." Illya puffed up her chest in pride, before giving Lorelei a crooked grin. "Maybe he should be called the Greatest Magus of the Modern Age instead of you, no?"

It was a bit of needling, from a little imp who liked to poke fun at big and important people.

"Such a case can certainly be argued for." Lorelei seemingly took it at face value however. "My own accomplishments in the field of Magecraft pale in comparison to his."

"Ah, no, I wasn't being serious." Seeing that Lorelei was actually and sincerely going along with the suggestion, and knowing that Shirou would hate receiving such a title, Illya hastily backtracked. "He is a Demigod anyway, so you can't actually call him a Magus!"

"The definition is not that stringent. Whether he be a Sorcerer or a Demigod, he can still call himself a Magus if he is capable of Magecraft." Lorelei pointed out, and she was, of course, right.

"Even so!" Illya protested vehemently, missing the flash of amusement in the brunette's eyes and unaware that she was now the one being needled.

The dinner wasn't all fun and games though. There was also work that needed to be done, such as cooking, serving, and washing the dishes. The very facets that made a dinner in the first place.

Since he was the one who had arranged the party, as well as being the owner of the house, Shirou gladly took care of it all. He cooked, he served the meals, and he took the dishes away again when people were finished, stacking them up in the kitchen. He lacked the time right now to clean them, so he'd save that for after dinner was over.

Sella and Leysritt weren't about to let him do all the work by himself though. They had retained their instincts to serve even into their newfound humanity, not to mention they had their honour as maids driving them forward. As soon as they'd realised that Shirou couldn't handle everything by himself, they came to his aid.

Sella washed while Leysritt dried, working with practiced efficiency, and what's more, they soon received even more help from Ayako.

"I've got some more dishes!" The brunette came running into the kitchen with more dirty plates, which she handed off to Sella. "Shirou, you got any more sausages? Caren and Rin haven't had any yet."

"Coming right up." Although he had tried at first to refuse the girls' help, Shirou was now very glad to have them with him, and not just because they took care of a part of the physical work.

He wouldn't have spotted by himself that Caren and Rin hadn't had any sausages yet for instance, too preoccupied with managing two dozen pots and pans at the same time, so having Ayako run reconnaissance and play the part of host was extremely convenient, invaluable even.

He wouldn't go as far as to say that they were a well-oiled machine, but they sure did work well together. Well enough to compensate for any and all mistakes made. Barely anyone even noticed the glasses and bowls that sometimes ended up in pieces on the ground, to name an example.

Minor problems in the kitchen aside though, the birthday party was more successful than he'd dared hope in advance. Everyone seemed to be getting along, from Taiga and Lorelei to Aoi and Caren, and that meant they were all having fun too.

No one had any complaints about the food, least of all the birthday-girl, nor about any of his other preparations. They laughed and smiled to various degrees, got to know each other, and generally managed to create a warm and homely atmosphere between them.

Exactly how Shirou liked it.

Eventually, after he'd served dessert, they all moved towards the living room, where he'd prepared numerous seats and sofas. He served a few snacks and drinks, but nothing too fancy this time, and before long, he and his temporary assistants were free to mingle with the others again.

Shirou talked to Aoi and Sella about the problems of managing large houses with few people, congratulated Taiga again with her birthday, which got him another enthusiastic hug, laughed with Illya and Caren about the jokes they were making, helped Sakura drag Leysritt away from the few alcoholic beverages present, and eventually ended up in conversation with Rin and Lorelei about Magecraft-related business.

"Naturally, now that we are romantically involved, our lessons can continue indefinitely." Lorelei promised Rin. She had been informed at the start of her relationship with Shirou that his girlfriends all had romantic relationships between themselves as well, and with the immensely flexibility and adaptability that he'd come to expect of her, had acclimatised in an instant. "It would be best however for such lessons to be conducted here, out of sight from other Magi. Otherwise, many others would continue petitioning me to accept them as my apprentices as well."

"Right, I imagine you had to deal with a lot of that after you accepted Rin." Shirou winced in sympathy, easily able to imagine just how many Magi would flock at the chance of learning from the Greatest Magus of the Modern Age.

"Quite." Lorelei confirmed, her lips tightening a bit, showing that it had honestly been a real bother to deal with all those requests.

"That's fine with me." Rin quickly assured her teacher. "I do still want to go to the Clocktower again, to carve out a place for myself, but for now, I'm fine with staying here."

"Good."

"But what are you going to do about Luvia?" Shirou suddenly asked, purposefully springing it on the black-haired girl out of the blue.

"…Luvia?" Rin only needed a fraction of a second to recompose herself, but a fraction was still a fraction, no matter how small, so he saw how she flinched. "What about her?"

"Are you going to make up with her any time soon?"

"…"

His question was apparently more difficult than he'd anticipated. Frankly, Shirou had expected Rin to bite off his head the moment he even mentioned the Edelfelt-girl, but instead, she was hesitating, looking a bit lost.

Well, if Shirou hadn't already been sure that Rin was conflicted about the way her last interaction with Luvia had ended, he would have been absolutely certain now. Evidently, they'd become even better friends over the short period they'd know each other than he had realised.

"Should I leave you be?" Lorelei offered, seeing that this was rapidly becoming a sensitive conversation.

"Please do." Shirou gratefully accepted the offer, and the brunette walked away, joining a discussion between Caren and Ayako about how long a skirt had to be in order to still be counted as appropriate in a school setting.

"We already talked about this." The brief interlude had given Rin the opportunity to recompose herself and raise her defences. "I did like Luvia as a person, but the fact remains that she is a member of a family of blackmailers. More than that, she is the heir, implying she is the worst of them. Not to mention she sent mercenaries to spy on me, and our families are embroiled in a cold war. A friendship between us is impossible."

"As impossible as a romance between a Barthomeloi and an alien?" Shirou asked, giving her a warm smile. "As impossible as you and Sakura reconciliating again? The world is full of strange things, Rin, and nothing, absolutely nothing, is set in stone. Someone like you, someone strong, smart, and stubborn, can do whatever she wants, even if society might frown upon it."

"Don't give me that mind over matter stuff." Rin scoffed, but judging from the way her expression brightened a little, his words had their intended effect. "Alright, I admit that I don't really care about that old feud between the Tohsaka and the Edelfelt anymore. Compared to all the other stuff we're dealing with, it seems rather petty to continue squabbling over who married whom over a century ago. If I could, I'd make peace with them in an instant."

"But?" Shirou prompted her, knowing she wasn't done yet.

"But they are evil! It's not just a rumour that they blackmail everyone they come across, you know. Objective sources have confirmed that they are ruthless, opportunistic, and cannot be trusted to keep their word unless they directly profit from keeping it."

"So, basically, they are your typical First-Rate Magi?" Shirou pointed out, foregoing nuance for the moment.

First-Rate Magi were supposed to be cold and ruthless after all, bordering on outright evil. It was in fact one of their defining traits, one of the first things one thought about when Magi were mentioned. More than that, it seemed to be a point of pride for many of them.

Millieune Carillon, to name an example of a true First-Rate Magus, was definitely very ruthless, even if they'd been polite to Shirou and Lorelei, while Reines was clearly an opportunistic sort, and Shirou wouldn't trust lord Trambellio and lady Valualeta, the heads of the Democratic Faction, as far as Caren could throw them.

Even so, he got along fairly well with most of them.

"The Edelfelt are worse than the standard, Shirou, and you know it."

It was also true however that the Edelfelt went rather far in their immorality, to the point that they were an actual danger to anyone who interacted with them in any way. They seemed to make evil acts a priority, rather than something that was sometimes unavoidable.

"Alright, but even then, I don't believe Luvia is as evil as you think. You got along with her quite well after all. You wouldn't have built such a quick friendship with a vile person."

"That might be so, but I am hardly the best judge of character around." Rin pointed out. "Or have you forgotten that I completely missed you being a Magus for more than five years?"

"That's different. You just weren't looking back then. It is hardly realistic for you to be watching every inhabitant of Fuyuki all the time in case one of them might be a secret Magus."

"Wrong. I was very much looking at you. For years even. I was just distracted by your stupidly kind eyes, your infuriatingly handsome face, and that physique of yours that I very much wanted to have in my bed." Rin spoke bluntly, rather taking him aback, though in a good way. "Similarly, it is entirely possible that Luvia is evil, but that I just missed it because I was distracted by that wonderful, smug smile, that silken hair, and that delightful, jiggling bubble butt of hers."

"Well, if it helps, when I met her, I didn't see any real evil in her either."

"Yes, but you are weak to bubble butts too, Shirou."

"That is true." He could only admit it, knowing that Rin was completely correct. "But that is why I want you to see her one more time. Now that you know who she is, what she has done in the past, you should be able to make an objective judgement of her."

"It's not that easy!"

"Why not? I understand that your judgement can be… compromised, sometimes, but you shouldn't underestimate yourself." Shirou argued, feeling she was putting herself down too much there. "Have some faith in yourself, Rin."

"Hngh."

"It's either that, or you'll have to live forever with the fact that your last conversation ended so badly."

"Kch."

"Just think about it."

Having said enough for now, Shirou gave Rin a moment alone, to decide what she wanted to do, and he soon found himself talking to Lorelei again.

"So you truly wish to become a Hero of Justice?" The brunette asked, looking a bit more interested now than she did before, when they'd barely known each other. "An interesting ambition."

"I suppose." Interesting was too general a word to really comment on, so Shirou kept his reply vague.

"Challenging too, for many different reasons. For one, much of the world is not interested in your kind of justice."

The Moonlit World was an obvious example of what she was talking about, a place where horrible acts were seen as a matter of course rather than something to put a stop to, but the mundane world was hardly a bastion of goodness either, with genital mutilation being very much legal and accepted in large parts of the world, as were marital rape, forced sterilisation, honour killings, and many other deplorable acts.

"I know, but I decided long ago not to care about what other people want. I want to stop people from suffering, from crying, and I will do whatever it takes to make that happen, even if I have to trample all over culture, heritage, tradition, and even entire civilisations. If a system is broken, I will tear it down."

"That would make you a tyrant."

"But a benevolent one." Shirou let out a sigh, having had this discussion several times before already with various people. "But this is all hypothetical. It isn't as if I have the power to change the world on my own. I'd already be glad if I manage to change my direct surroundings into a better place."

"But you do have the power to change the world." Lorelei narrowed her eyes at him, giving him a look that suggested she thought he was being foolish. It was a look he was very used to. "You will soon be the only god left in the world. Your word will be law. You can end civilisations at will, reshape landscapes and borders as easily as I would draw lines on a map, and none will be able to hide their misdeeds from your gaze. Reality will be yours to shape as you please. Use it. Use that power."

"That really would make me a tyrant. Perhaps the greatest tyrant ever."

"But a benevolent one." Lorelei turned his words against him.

"…"

Intellectually, Shirou knew that she was right. At the moment, he was just a Demigod, putting him at roughly the same level of power as Zelretch at his peak, though their power was expressed differently of course, but if he continued growing, and he would, according to Mjolnir, he would one day reach actual godhood.

When that happened, he could literally do anything he set his mind to.

For now though, he had chosen not to think about that too much. He couldn't imagine what having so much power would be like, making it impossible to plan ahead, so he'd adopted a stance of crossing that bridge when he got to it.

But perhaps he did need to think about it while he was still mainly human. According to Mjolnir, Thor had been very human-like in his thoughts and reasoning even while at the height of his power, but the gods from Shirou's own world were famously not. It was entirely possible he would lose his humanity one day, and to be honest, that scared him.

Though it helped that Mjolnir immediately reassured him that Asgardians never lost their 'humanity', remaining the same flawed, emotional, and wonderfully human-like beings even when they had the power to casually toss galaxies from one side of the universe to the other.

"Something tells me fixing the world won't be as easy as just throwing lots of power at it."

"It most certainly won't be." Lorelei agreed immediately. "You can tear down bad systems, eliminate everyone you perceive to be a threat to justice, but from the ashes, something new will have to be built, and humans must do that themselves. You can only help."

"And how would I do that?"

"You will need powerful and influential allies, who act on your behalf." The brunette must have expected the question, for she had an immediate answer ready. "Naturally, you can count me as one of them. Lord El-Melloi too, I imagine, and perhaps even most of the world-leaders."

"What? Why would they help me?"

"Because you have the power to give their countries rain or drought, and to stop or create earthquakes and hurricanes. You hold the world in the palm of your hand, and sensible people will know it is better to be with you than against you."

"That's too tyrannical, even for me!"

"You will also need money, a lot of it." She ignored his protests and carried on with her list. "Ever since humanity decided to live in cities, perhaps even since we came down from the trees, it has valued resources above all. In our day and age, these tangible resources have been replaced by money. With enough of it, you can change the world even without divine power."

"So, basically, you're telling me that I need to get really, really rich." Shirou lifted an eyebrow, and the other came up too when Lorelei nodded. "I… may have something in mind for that."

"I wish you the best of luck with it."

By now, Shirou had realised that Lorelei wasn't mocking him, or challenging his idea of becoming a Hero of Justice. On the contrary, she was trying to help him, in her own, heavy-handed way.

It was a very sweet gesture of her, and though he didn't really know yet what to think of her advice, he kissed her on the cheek in response.

The way she stilled, looking entirely taken aback by the small gesture, as if she'd never experienced it before, was both cute and sad. Shirou resolved to do things like that for her more often, mainly because she seemed to like it.

They concluded the discussion there though. The redhead had a lot to think about, and Lorelei had said all she wanted to say for now.

Shirou made another few rounds through the dining room, speaking with all the guests and making sure everyone was feeling welcome and comfortable, before the evening began nearing its end.

It was a normal Thursday after all. They all had work or school the next day, so they had to go to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour.

He sent Lorelei back to London with the Bifrost, with a promise to visit her again soon. Ayako returned home to her parents, while Rin and Sakura brought Aoi back to the Tohsaka-manor. Issei was picked up by his motorcycle-riding mother, and Illya went straight to her room.

Which gave Shirou a moment alone with Taiga.

"Shirou, that was the singular best party I've ever, everhad." She enthusiastically thumped him on the back, with such strength that it would have hurt if he hadn't been a Demigod. "You're a marvel! The best little brother ever! Oh, and congratulations on bagging another beautiful girl."

"Thank you, but Lorelei is an adult, so you should call her a woman."

"Nah, she's a girl. Definitely." Taiga waved away his suggestion, before giving him a serious look. "That was a pretty severe talk you were having with her earlier. Care to tell me what that was about?"

"We were talking about my dream."

"The Hero of Justice-one?"

"Yes. She was… Well, I suppose she was giving me a reality check."

"Good. You do need one of those sometimes." Taiga nodded approvingly. "She seems like a keeper, Shirou, just like your other girls. Be nice to them, you hear?"

"That goes without saying."

"Good boy."

Luviagelita Edelfelt was sitting in one of the Clocktower's many cafeterias in the early morning, eating biscuits and pondering life's mysteries and difficulties while not paying much attention to her surroundings, when she was suddenly interrupted by a newcomer.

"Excuse me? Is this chair still free?"

"It most certainly is." Trying by reflex to cover up the fact that she hadn't been paying attention, Luvia hastily put on a practiced smile, before it promptly fell when she saw just who was standing in front of her. "You?!"

"Me." Tohsaka Rin confirmed, pulling the chair back and sitting down at Luvia's table, bold as brass. "We need to talk."

Normally, Luvia was the sort of person who always managed to stay on top of things. After many years of rigorous training, there were few things left that could honestly surprise her, and even when she encountered those few things, she could usually feign confidence well enough as she regained her bearings. She knew better than to show any sort of weakness in front of others.

This time though, all that training and experience failed her, and she couldn't even pretend to stay cool, gaping at the black-haired girl like an idiot as her mind remained painfully blank of anything but confusion.

For starters, she didn't understand why her butler Auguste had even allowed Rin anywhere near the table. He knew she was an enemy now. He should have stopped her long before Luvia even got wind of her presence, or failing that, he should have at least informed her of the impending visitor.

He hadn't though, and when she glanced over at him, seeing how he pretended to be completely absorbed in a magazine, she knew that had been entirely on purpose.

She was so going to have words with him later. What kind of words that would be depended entirely on how this conversation would go.

"Y-You… I don't…"

Unfortunately, Luvia had already ended up on the backfoot as far as the conversation was concerned. Surprised, unprepared, and not certain in general how she should approach the Tohsaka-girl now, someone who was supposed to be her enemy but had become a fast friend instead, she certainly didn't have as many witty replies ready as she'd like. She had been ambushed and was already three-zero behind.

A quick look around showed that the True Magician Shirou Emiya was nowhere to be seen though, as far as Luvia could make out, which was a relief. If he'd been here, she might have actually considered just running away.

"There really is no need to panic." Rin, or rather, Tohsaka, spotted her confusion and concern, further showing that Luvia's self-control had completely eroded, but rather than taking advantage, she chose to look elsewhere, as if the ceiling had become particularly interesting over the past few moments.

Luvia had no idea what kind of ploy that was supposed to be, why Tohsaka wasn't pushing on ahead and taking advantage of the confusion, but if her opponent was willing to yield ground so easily, she wasn't going to refuse.

Panic was reigned in quickly, and the blonde readied herself for a counter offensive. Conversations with enemies were battlefields in their own right, and losing was not an option.

As Luvia had no idea what was going on however, she chose to play it safe. In a situation like this, where you found yourself on the backfoot, the best thing to do was to ask questions, questions, and more questions, and say as little as possible yourself. Fortunately, Ri- Tohsaka had given her a good opening for the first question she could ask.

"We need to talk? Talk about what?" She asked, perfectly matching the other girl's tone and expression. Serious, but not actively hostile.

"Our… relationship." Ri- Tohsaka forced the word out of her mouth as if it were a particularly bitter taste, showing no compunction about openly displaying her emotions, something that really wouldn't have flown in the Edelfelt-manor. Whether that was a sign of weakness or strength was unclear however. "I don't think I can conclude my time at the Clocktower in any satisfactory manner if I don't settle matters with you."

"Settle matters?" Luvia once more asked for clarification, partially to keep Tohsaka talking and partially because she was honestly curious. "Do you wish to finish our battle?"

"Huh? No. What is there to finish? I won that one, fair and square." Tohsaka huffed, stiffening a bit.

"I remember it as more of a draw."

"Your memory is obviously lacking. Victory was mine."

"I remember very clearly that neither of us managed to beat the other."

"I had you on the ground!"

"I was about to counterattack!" Luvia did honestly remember that she'd been knocked out for a short while by the black-haired girl, but that wasn't the same as being beaten. "Just a minute more and I would have had you."

"Oh, you conniving…! That's it! You and me, right here, right now!" Tohsaka snarled, slamming her fist down on the table.

"Gladly, miss gorilla! I'll show you how things are-!"

"Ahem!"

The sound of Auguste clearing his throat knocked the girls out of their frenzy, and they froze, realising simultaneously that they'd been about to do something rather unwise.

Luvia almost blushed when her bodyguard gave her a dry look, and really had to hide her cheeks with her hands when she realised that she'd completely messed up her strategy. Rather than just asking questions, she'd eagerly engaged Tohsaka, starting up another one of their spats without a moment of hesitation.

It was extremely sloppy of her, and Luvia couldn't help but wonder just why it was so easy to drop her guard around the black-haired girl, why she kept stumbling from one blunder into the next.

Her saving grace was that Tohsaka also seemed caught off guard, looking just as embarrassed as Luvia felt.

It took a moment, but eventually, they managed to compose themselves once more, trying to return to business without any more clumsy stumbles like that.

"Ahem, so, as I was saying, our relationship." Tohsaka then continued bravely, pretending the almost-fight had never happened. "We are supposed to be enemies, Tohsaka and Edelfelt, pitted against each other, but I don't find myself particularly motivated to fight you or plot your demise."

"Oh?" It was another sign of weakness from the black-haired girl, a frank admission of being unwilling to fight, yet somehow, Luvia couldn't think of any way to take advantage of that.

"I mean, you're still evil. You're an Edelfelt, meaning you are a blackmailing, two-faced, backstabbing opportunist without honour or loyalty, but even so, I can't seem to bring myself to hate you. I don't want to continue our feud."

"You sure have many insults ready for someone who claims to want to end a feud." Luvia noted, unable to suppress a hint of fire in her voice. She wouldn't have cared if those insults came from someone else, but when they came from Tohsaka, they stung fiercely. "I would tell you to watch your tongue lest you lose it, but I cannot make good on such threats when you have a Sorcerer watching your back."

"Indeed you can't." Tohsaka agreed blithely, without an ounce of shame. "I would tell him to stay out of it, as this is my fight, but I fear he would not pay my words any heed should you try to cut out my tongue. He listens well, but not that well."

"I see. So you truly bandy about insults while relying on another's strength to shield you." Luvia hissed, frustrated by her own powerlessness. "I had not taken you for a craven."

"You were insulted?" Tohsaka blinked in apparent surprise, further irritating Luvia.

"Of course!"

"Then I apologise." Tohsaka spoke quickly but sincerely, though her confusion did not wane. "But do you deny anything that I just said?"

"We do have honour." Luvia could live with being considered opportunistic and grasping, but she did not want Tohsaka to deny that she had honour. "Our own."

"Honour does not work like that. You cannot set your own definition and claim to abide by it."

"And who are you to judge?!" Realising she was getting too heated again, Luvia forcibly calmed herself down, though her teeth remained gritted despite her best efforts. "Everything you just accused us of are traits that a Magus is supposed to possess. Backstabbing, opportunistic, and two-faced are supposed to be compliments in the Moonlit World, not insults. Yet because we are better at it than most, we are reviled for it."

Luvia's buried frustrations were coming to the surface now, the hypocrisy of the Magus Association that so grated on her, causing her to snap and hiss where cold pleasantries would have been best.

Yet her harsh words seemed to have their desired effect.

Tohsaka stilled, before she let out a sigh, nodding slowly in understanding.

"You are not the first person to tell me that, nor are you wrong." She admitted. "In a way, you do embody some of the values that a first-rate Magus is supposed to espouse."

"Indeed!"

"Though in another way, you most certainly do not." Tohsaka held up a hand, stopping Luvia from blowing up at her again. "First-rate Magi plot, blackmail, and murder in order to achieve a specific goal. Their actions, reprehensible as they might be, have a clear purpose, motivated by a drive to achieve said goal. In the Moonlit World, having a proper goal can excuse a lot of bad behaviour. The Edelfelt however just seem to commit crimes for the fun of it. It has been decades since you last made a meaningful contribution to the field of Magecraft, and you barely seem to be chasing after the Root at all. Any resources taken by you feel like they are being wasted. Do not forget, even in the Moonlit World, the greedy, hoarding dragon is still the evil character in the tales of old."

Now it was Luvia's turn to pause, as she had to consider what her rival had just said.

She was, unfortunately and infuriatingly, not wrong. It had indeed been a long time since the Edelfelt had made a positive contribution to the Moonlit World.

Even Luvia herself had seen it long ago, the way in which the Edelfelt-family squandered their potential on petty infighting. They were strong and proud, cunning and ruthless, yet in the end, they amounted to very little when the chips were down.

In their rush to rise up, they'd put the cart before the horse. They had mastered Magecraft to become powerful, rather than becoming powerful to master Magecraft.

"…You have given me food for thought." She eventually replied. "I… I do aim to change the Edelfelt family, from within."

"I am glad to hear that. Also, I must say you are taking this better than I thought." Tohsaka remarked lightly, relaxing a bit. "I suppose it's good to know that I didn't completely misread you, despite your distracting physical attributes."

Luvia almost asked what she meant by that, but thought better of it at the last moment. The last thing she wanted right now was to have to listen to Tohsaka's opinion of her appearance. Any more casual insults and she would not be held responsible for her actions.

Except she would be held responsible, by the Sorcerer, and being gruesomely murdered was not on Luvia's to-do list today.

"We have strayed quite far from our original topic though." Tohsaka concluded, seemingly blind to Luvia's turmoil. "As I said before, I no longer see any point in continuing our feud. It is a waste of time and resources when I'd just as soon not be enemies with you. I'm sure we can work something out together that does not involve total annihilation of one or both sides."

"Something?"

"Something like a pact of non-aggression, or at least a promise that you won't cause trouble for me if I don't cause any for you." Tohsaka explained. "I'm not saying we should all become the best of friends all of a sudden, but at the very least, let's stop this cold war."

"Why?"

What Tohsaka proposed did not sound bad. In fact, Luvia would be glad to have one fewer enemy to worry about. However, she still could not figure out the other girl's game.

"Having one fewer enemy to worry about would be most convenient." Tohsaka parroted Luvia's earlier considerations, before she rubbed the back of her head for a moment, letting out a short bark of laughter. "Shirou's been nagging at me too, telling me to go find you and figure something out. I must have been more impacted by our short-lived friendship than I thought, if I've been behaving sufficiently annoying for him to get on my case like that."

"I… see." Luvia almost hoped she was just joking there, because her sanity might not survive if she wasn't. "But what if I don't want to work something out? Our families have been feuding for a reason, and that reason is not defunct merely because we happened to get along for a while."

"Oh, that's fine too." Tohsaka assured her, remarkably calm at the suggestion. "Knowing we are definitely enemies is better than not being sure. That way, I can start preparing for war as soon as this conversation is over."

"…" Luvia had to struggle not to look like she'd swallowed a lemon. Under normal circumstances, a hot war with the Tohsaka rather than a cold one would have been challenging, but not all that big a problem for the Edelfelt, with their greater wealth and numerous allies. With a True Magician on the other side however, they could not afford such enmity. "…What else do you suggest?"

"A truce, temporary if need be, to negotiate a peace deal. Let us bury the hatchet and put an end to our feud once and for all."

"It will be difficult to reach a proper agreement when you are negotiating from such a position of strength." Luvia pointed out. Again, she was not necessarily against peace, or at least a ceasefire, but honest negotiations could not be held when one side was so much more powerful than the other.

"Well, there is not much I can do about that, now can I?" Tohsaka scoffed, her voice carrying the bite of sarcasm. "I'm sorry, but Shirou is my fiancé, and he will stay my fiancé. If you don't like it, tough."

It was the harshest the black-haired girl had been so far, showing clearly that she was very attached to the True Magician. As such, Luvia tried another avenue.

"Will you at least promise that any deal we might make will not be completely one-sided in your favour?"

"Sure. If I want a lasting peace, I'll have to give some ground as well. I expected as much, and I resolved myself well before I initiated this conversation."

"Good." If Tohsaka kept her word on that, Luvia's negotiating position within the family would be much stronger. "I will pass on your proposal to the head of the family. It is she who will decide whether to accept it or not."

"Only she? You get no say?"

"The other members of the family can make proposals and share opinions, but yes, the head ultimately decides what course we shall take." Of course, the actual truth was more nuanced than that, as the head of the Edelfelt understood that they had to use their authority sparingly, lest they create a coalition against themselves, but that was none of Tohsaka's business. As far as outsiders were concerned, the head's power was absolute.

"Well, do try to convince her that peace is in her best interest too, and yours. You are strong, confident, decisive, and you don't nag too much, like my fiancé. It would be an awful shame if I had to kill you."

"As if you could without your fiancé holding your hand." Luvia sniped.

"Is that seriously coming from a girl who doesn't go anywhere without her babysitter?"

The curt glance from Auguste was deftly ignored.

"Gorilla."

"Cow."

It was still fun, trading barbs with Tohsaka, and for a moment, Luvia indulged in the banality of it all.

All good things had to end though, and after the blonde promised to bring the peace offer to the head of the Edelfelt, the girls parted again.

It had certainly not been the most productive conversation ever, but even so, both girls felt a coil in their stomachs relaxing at last, a tightening that had been there since their falling out, which was now coming undone.

Their discussion had been awkward and fairly unpleasant, but that pain was like pulling out a hook. Now that it was out…

Well, let's just say that Rin was very grateful for Shirou's nagging after all.

Shirou was aware that he might seem like a rather frivolous sort of person at first glance. A dreamy, idealistic sort, without much substance to him.

Dreams of becoming a Hero of Justice were supposed to be left behind in childhood after all, next to naïve and childish views of righteousness and tendencies to doggedly believe that good would prevail over bad in the end. To hold on to those notions generally wasn't a testament to the holder's maturity.

The redhead liked to think he was an exception though. He was actually a fairly practical and responsible sort, quite mature for his age, though he was aware that saying that paradoxically made him sound less mature.

He had a job, he was running a household of eight people with little trouble, he did well at school, being the favourite of many teachers, and he even had his own house and his driver's license.

Okay, not an official driver's license, but he had the required skill and a very convincing forged license, which was essentially the same.

The only thing about him that was idealistic and dreamy was his dream of becoming a Hero of Justice, and even there, he did try to be as serious and practical as he could be.

It was his actual, life-long dream after all. Not just a flight of fancy. A child might have grand visions of becoming a hero one day, in the far-flung and ill-defined future, but Shirou had put in the actual work from the moment his body could bear it. Ever since being saved from the fire, his life had been spent on preparations and training in order to get stronger.

Because in the end, to become a Hero of Justice, he needed strength, or better put, he needed power.

Lorelei had reminded him of that fact, and she was completely correct. The first thing any hero needed was power. Lots and lots of it. Enough power to defeat bad guys, lay waste to whole armies, make people listen to them, travel the world at will, and just make a difference in general.

To gather so much power was utterly impossible for a human though, which Shirou had realised by the time he was around ten years old. The Modern Age didn't allow for such phantastic feats, with its lacking Mystery, not to mention its guns and tanks and bombs and missiles and drones and what not, all of which would end his ambitions of becoming a one-man-army very quickly.

Even the most powerful Magus in existence, which he certainly wasn't, didn't come close to such ridiculous levels of might.

Still, Shirou's dream of becoming a Hero of Justice was unbroken, and across various timelines, different Shirous had found different solutions to their lack of power.

In one timeline, where he'd never been granted Mjolnir, had never been trained by Kiritsugu, and never had to deal with the Grail War, he became a solicitor, a lawyer, staunchly defending people from an overreaching state and helping the downtrodden to claim what should have been rightfully theirs.

In another world, without Mjolnir and without training, but with Grail War, he became a third-rate Magus doing everything he could to help others in whatever way was possible, using the meagre amount of power he possessed in an ill-advised attempt to become a one-man-army after all. He fought without end, even going as far as to sell his Soul to a higher power in pursuit of more justice, falling into the same trap as his father before him.

In yet another timeline, without Mjolnir but with both training and Grail War, things were more nebulous. He still wasn't as powerful as a hero ought to be, but with some luck, he could be made to see that, and he adjusted his goals to better fit his capabilities. A better end basically, for himself if not for others.

Very different paths, but with one similarity. Ultimately, Shirou Emiya always strived to become the best person he could be, the finest Hero of Justice, who saved the largest number of people possible, despite his almost crippling lack of power.

And Rin. Rin was also a constant throughout all timelines for some reason.

But things were different for this Shirou.

He had the Grail War, he had training, and most important of all, he had Mjolnir. He had power in spades, power that other Shirous could barely imagine, and for him, the apex of their dream was not out of reach.

He did have the power to defeat bad guys, lay waste to whole armies, and force humanity onto a better path. More than that, he had the might and ability needed to subdue even natural disasters and diseases, which killed hundreds of thousands of people every year, making millions cry in despair and grief.

For now, he was but a pale shadow of Thor, but it wouldn't be long now until he could truly become the god of Fertility and Hope, and then, droughts, famines, earthquakes, and hurricanes would be a thing of the past.

Shirou Emiya did not dream small after all.

Truly, power was not something he lacked anymore, and so, he could turn his attention to other matters.

Lorelei had made another good point during Taiga's birthday party, namely that he could remove as many hurdles from humanity's path as possible, but that in the end, it was still the humans themselves who would have to build a better life out of it all.

He couldn't do that for them. He could lead a horse to water, but he couldn't make it drink.

Humans were notoriously fickle however, and they had often proven that they remained capable of great evil even when they had everything their hearts desired. He couldn't very well leave them to it on their own.

A solid, equal society would have to be built, with protections for everyone, and since Shirou was but one man, or god, without any form of omnipotence, he needed help with building such a society.

He needed allies.

He had that one covered though, at least in large part. He was on fairly good terms with the Magus Association, got along with the Burial Agency, and he had many powerful friends, including but not limited to Lorelei, Waver, Lady Montmorency, Arcueid, Zelretch, and perhaps even Nasu. He also had his girls providing support at home, and if necessary, the power to force others, mainly world leaders, to do as he said.

Lorelei's suggestion to beat them into submission with droughts and hurricanes had been brutal, but sadly, entirely too realistic.

Tyrannical, but sometimes necessary.

In any case, he had allies aplenty, so he moved on to the third point on his list, which was also his main focus today.

Money.

There was no denying that money made the world go round. As Rin so often said, it was the lynchpin upon which the entirety of current human society rested. Even normal humans without a smidge of Mystical power could change the world easily, provided they had enough cash to throw around.

Now, Shirou wasn't poor. Kiritsugu had left him a lot of money, and he'd earned even more recently by selling a few spare Mystic Codes at the Clocktower. Right now, he possessed about two billion English pounds worth of money, which was roughly equal to three-hundred-and-sixty billion yen, three billion euros or three-and-a-half billion American dollars. A veritable fortune.

But it wasn't enough, and it wasn't sufficiently legal for him to make an actual difference with.

Yes, thanks to the interesting and creative ways of accounting that the Clocktower had mastered over the years, he was free to spend his money in basically whatever way he wanted without having to fear a visit from the police or the taxman, but that defence wouldn't hold up if he started to do consequential and public things with it.

Buying a house or a yacht was one thing, but if he were, for instance, to donate a billion dollars to the UN's World Food Programme, which was something he'd seriously considered, people would definitely start to wonder where that money was coming from.

It wasn't enough either. To solve world hunger, the UN would need more than six billion dollars per year, to say nothing of dealing with the diseases and natural disasters that Shirou couldn't yet solve. A trillion dollars sounded more accurate at that point.

When looking at a global scale, Shirou's three billion dollars suddenly became but a drop in the bucket. A drop he couldn't even give away without raising an awful lot of eyebrows and attracting the sort of attention he didn't want.

Sure, he could still give it away if he were to use financial constructs and middlemen, but that seemed like an awful lot of trouble when he had a much better plan.

The solution to most money troubles was simply to earn more money, and that was exactly what Shirou was going to do now.

He'd gone into the Vault, intending to take gems and Mystic Codes to sell, but the Vault, sensing his desire to make billions upon billions of dollars rather than 'mere' millions, had presented a different solution.

Towards the end of his life, Thor had become a bit of a magpie, hoarding everything he could get his hands on, particularly objects and items that had sentimental value. Every possession of his old friends had been carefully stored and preserved, in order to keep their memory alive, and that included thousands if not tens-of-thousands of inventions made by someone called Tony Stark.

That man had apparently been an absolute genius, on a level that no one in Shirou's own world had ever been able to match, and what's more, he had been a benevolent genius, creating many inventions that could improve the world.

The Vault, being strangely sapient sometimes, had looked through those inventions, and selected two, which it had presented to Shirou as the solution to all his current problems.

A chip-making machine, which made microchips for smartphones and computers and the like, as well as a synthesiser that could produce the perfect cure for HIV and AIDS.

Shirou was no expert on either technology or medicine, so he didn't really comprehend the value of such items, but he trusted the Vault's judgement and took the machines rather than the gems he'd originally come for. Both were the size of large refrigerators, and weighed more than a full-grown elephant, but that was no problem for him.

Once back home with the machines, he'd grabbed both his laptop, to do some internet searches, and Ayako, the most modern and technically savvy of his girlfriends, to do some research.

Time to find out how much money could be made.

"Wow, this machine has a timeline for microchips across history." Ayako had taken to the research with gusto, and was now carefully pressing buttons on the chip-machine, sharing whatever pieces of information she discovered. "It can create microchips from the year 2000 on the Western calendar, which are old news for us, but also microchips that won't be invented until 2300."

"That far into the future?" Shirou was impressed, leaving his laptop alone for the moment to go and look over her shoulder. "That should definitely be worth something, right?"

"No, I don't think so." Ayako shook her head however, still fiddling with the buttons. "That's so modern and high-tech I don't think we'll be able to do anything with it. As if you're giving a smartphone to an ancient Samurai. It's cool, but ultimately worthless."

"That's a good point." Shirou did not dare touch the machine while the brunette was working on it, so instead, he placed his hands on her hips. "Perhaps we should look at something a little closer to our own time then."

"Right now, it's 2015 according to the Western calendar." Ayako began pressing buttons with more confidence, as she came to understand the workings of the machine better with every passing moment. "Let's see what microchips from the year 2025 look like."

A few more buttons were pressed, and then the machine hummed for a moment, before a microchip was spat out, right into the brunette's hands.

It certainly looked very fancy, despite being smaller than a nail, but neither Ayako nor Shirou really knew what they should be looking for.

"Cool." The brunette succinctly summed up the entirety of their current knowledge, lifting the chip up to the light to better study it. "I have no idea how this works."

"Nor do I." Shirou had to admit, pulling the brunette into his chest as he also studied the chip, softly squeezing her hips as he moved his thumbs towards her rear.

"Uh, Shirou, that's rather distracting."

"I'm sure it is." The redhead smiled, but he didn't stop. He continued softly caressing her as he narrowed his eyes at the microchip, using every bit of his Clairvoyance to try and make sense of it. "I can sort of see how it is supposed to function, with its little switches and circuits, but I'll have to see a current chip too to make a fair comparison."

"Your laptop should have one. It's modern, isn't it?" Ayako pointed at his computer, trying bravely to ignore his ministrations.

"I bought it only a few months ago, and it was the best on the market." Shirou had spared no expense when replacing his old laptop, since he had money to burn anyway. He looked at the device, using his Clairvoyance to gaze past the plastic casing and straight towards the microchip. "Ah, there it is, and… Yes, the chip you're holding really is far better."

Shirou did not need an in-depth knowledge on how microchips worked to see that the one they'd just produced was superior in any and every way. Just vastly better, to the point where the very comparison seemed unfair.

"Good to know. Then it should be worth quite a sum." Ayako was hardly an expert on technology either, but she was well-read and studiously followed the news, both national and global, so she knew that smartphones and computers were already vital to current society and were only becoming more so every year. A ten-year jump in advancement should be worth several billion dollars, probably. "Now how about we test the other machine?"

"Let's do that." Shirou let go of her, but not before swiftly unzipping her skirt and letting it fall down to her ankles.

"Shirou!" Ayako started at her sudden undressing, but then rolled her eyes at him, before walking over to the second machine, leaving her skirt where it was.

This one was supposed to be able to cure HIV and AIDS, and they didn't have to be experts on virology or medicine to know how groundbreaking that was. Even despite the advancements made, HIV still claimed over one million lives every year, and infected ten million more. A cure would definitely relieve countless people from immense suffering.

The operating system appeared to be the same as the chip machine, for Ayako immediately started pressing various buttons, and it wasn't long before it produced a small vial filled with a bright pink liquid.

"Huh, interesting colour." She remarked, taking the vial. "Pretty cute though."

"I agree." Shirou nodded.

"Don't agree with me when you're looking at my butt rather than the vial."

"Your underwear is pink too."

"T-That… S-Sakura gave them to me." Ayako blushed, also pink, at his casual remark about her current underwear. "W-Will you just focus already?!"

"Of course." Shirou turned towards the vial properly, leaning in to study it closely. "From what I can make out, it does exactly what it promises. It's a single dose, to completely cure a single person's HIV."

"Then you really can save millions of lives with this." Ayako grinned, holding the vial like it was a newborn baby. She might not have dreams of becoming a Hero of Justice, but she was a good person, who also hated the suffering brought about by diseases. Hence, this cure excited her very much, far more so than the microchip. "Let's start selling it as soon as possible."

"No." But Shirou refused, drawing a confused blink from the brunette. "We can sell the microchips, to big companies with money to spare, but I'd much rather just give away the cure."

"Ah, I get you." Ayako could definitely get behind that, placing the vial on the table for now, next to the chip they'd produced. "So, you're going to be starting a company soon? To start distributing them?"

"First, I'll have to familiarise myself with chip technology and virology. I'm going to have to explain where these inventions came from, and the only explanation I can think of is that I developed them myself." He already had the reputation, at least in Fuyuki, of a clever young man, so he should be able to capitalise on that. It would definitely stretch the limit of what people would believe, that he had created these amazing inventions all by himself, but it was a better explanation than having obtained them from the actual future. Truth was stranger than fiction sometimes. "Naturally, I'll credit you as well, for all your help."

"I pressed a few buttons." Ayako shook her head with a laugh. "You're the one who is going to have to learn multiple years' worth of knowledge in a veritable instant."

"Fortunately, Demigods have an unfair advantage over the rest of the world." Shirou smiled, which got him a playful punch from the brunette. "With some effort, I can learn what I need to know in a month, then I'll need another month to set up the company, and then we start helping people and earning money."

"And earn money we will. Microchips really are big business. I think you might even be able to earn that six billion dollars you need to solve world hunger before the year is over."

"I hope so." Shirou smiled a wistful smile. "I really hope so."

"Anyway, we are just about done for now with the initial research. How about we celebrate a little?" Ayako proposed, rather in the mood for some cake.

"Excellent idea." Shirou was after a different kind of cake though, and he stepped closer again, taking the waistband of Ayako's pink panties and pulling them down to her ankles, before he grabbed her hips again as he went down on his knees.

"Really?! What is with you today?" Ayako was beyond the point of embarrassment, only giving him a questioning frown. "You haven't been able to keep your hands off me since we started. Does futuristic technology make you horny or something?"

"Not technology, but perhaps victory does." Shirou had still been looking her in the eyes, but now, his gaze lowered, until he was looking at her womanhood. It was beautiful, and covered in a light sheen that showed that, despite her protestations, Ayako was very much in the mood for some action as well.

Though perhaps that had been clear enough already when she made not the merest effort to stop him at any point.

"Victory makes you horny? Is that a male thing?" The brunette huffed, spreading her legs a bit more to give him a better view.

"I cannot speak for all men. Only for myself." The redhead muttered a reply, bringing his face closer to her crotch, softly blowing on it and making her quiver in poorly-hidden excitement.

"O-Oh well, I suppose that's just how it is then. What do you want to do?"

But Shirou had spoken enough. Rather than replying, he fully leaned in and kissed her between her legs.

"A-Ah?! Ngh, o-oh, that is…! Gyeh?" He'd never done such a thing before, and Ayako was taken completely aback at first, but she adjusted very quickly, placing her hands on his head to keep him place. "O-Oh, t-that feels r-really good!"

He showered her womanhood with kisses, from the little nub just above the damp lips to the vagina itself, and when he introduced his tongue as well, the brunette became weak at the knees.

He held her up though, and it wasn't long before Ayako reached a wonderful climax.

Though that didn't mean she was anywhere near done.

Safe to say, any further research would have to wait for a while.