"Master... Master..."
"Master!!"
"...Ah."
Shirou answered absentmindedly as he jolted awake from the distant memories of the Island of Twilight..
Almost by reflex, he turned toward the window and saw that it was already getting dark. He was sitting alone on a bus parked at the final stop.
"Honestly, Master, what are you spacing out for?"
Lady Avalon spoke in an eerie, drawn-out tone.
"Pull yourself together. If the other Masters saw you looking like that, I'd be totally embarrassed~"
"Shouldn't you be worrying about my life before you worry about being embarrassed?"
"Hehe. I just can't picture Master getting taken out."
"What exactly am I supposed to be in your mind?"
Shirou got off the bus and stretched deeply.
Then he looked thoughtfully at the moon in the night sky and murmured,
"Hey... Avalon-nee-san."
"What?"
"Do you really exist?"
"Huh? What kind of stupid question is that? Good grief, did this kid bang his head while nodding off on the bus? How tragic..."
"I was just thinking. No one but me knows you exist, right?"
Lady Avalon had never shown herself to anyone other than Shirou.
Even when she released her Spirit Form, other people, like Taiga Fujimura, still could not see her.
According to Lady Avalon, that was due to top-tier A+ Illusion Arts, and for a while Shirou had accepted that explanation.
But thinking back on it now, was that really true?
Was the reason no one else could see her really because she was using Illusion Arts?
"Th-that's because I have circumstances I can't talk about. I can't just show myself whenever I want..."
"Could it be that you're just something I imagined?"
Cutting her off, Shirou voiced the thought that had been sitting in his heart.
"Your appearance, your scent, even the feel of you to the touch...all of that could be explained as nothing more than neural signals created by my brain. So how exactly am I supposed to prove that you really exist?"
"What are you even talking about? How could I possibly be fake? Have you forgotten who cast Reinforcement Magecraft on you?
Without me, do you think you could have done all that? Do you think you could have fought Servants?"
Faced with the female Magus's challenge, the red-haired boy stared into the empty space beside him and said,
"Because this is my dream, I can be as strong as I want, right?"
"...Huh??"
While riding the bus just now, Shirou had dreamed of the past.
The sky of Britain, the land, the trees, the flowers, his former companions, even the sensation of the Blade of Chaos cutting into a fairy's hand...all of it had felt utterly real.
And when he woke up, Shirou realized something he had never considered before.
When he first returned to this world, he had used Projection Magecraft to confirm that his experiences in the Fairy Kingdom had been real and not a dream.
But what if he had gotten it backward?
Flip the chessboard over.
Maybe... this world, Fuyuki, was the dream.
Everything here.
Miyama Town and Shinto, the Holy Grail War and the Heroic Spirits... maybe all of it was just Shirou's dying fantasy.
"..."
The female Magus fell silent.
A few seconds later, she revealed her true form.
An unmatched beauty wrapped in vivid flowers, like the very embodiment of a fleeting illusion itself. Anyone should have had their eyes stolen by her.
And yet the passersby hurrying past Shirou did not spare Lady Avalon a single glance.
Even if there was no one else here who knew of the Holy Grail War, Lady Avalon was still honoring her promise to Shirou and allowing only him to perceive her existence.
"I really do exist, Master."
For once, Lady Avalon wore a serious expression.
"Master's perception and Master's memories are all real.
Just like how I'm obviously an extremely suspicious woman, and yet Master still chose to trust me.
So follow your heart, and believe in what you believe in."
"Yeah. You're right."
Shirou let out a long breath.
"Hehe, so Master's figured it out? You look a little more presentable now."
"No. I just feel a lot better after saying what was on my mind."
Lady Avalon sullenly returned to Spirit Form.
"Tch... and here I thought I'd actually managed to convince Master."
"Me being convinced by you... even if the world were ending, that still wouldn't happen."
Shirou said,
"Alright. Enough hesitation. Time to start preparing for battle again.
Now that I know the truth of the Holy Grail War, it's about time I thought seriously about how to deal with it.
As expected, I can't accept Kiritsugu Emiya's ideal.
Sacrificing one person to save more people. I don't want to do that."
The smile of the red-haired fairy who had been offered up as a sacrifice rose in the boy's mind, and he spoke solemnly.
"Whether it's Irisviel or six billion people, I want to save them all... is that too greedy?"
Lady Avalon answered in a gentle voice,
"It is very greedy, but that's exactly like Master.
Don't worry. No matter what kind of hell lies ahead, this time I'll stay with you to the very end."
"This time?"
"Please don't worry about the details... Master."
"Yeah."
Ahead of Shirou stood a large Japanese-style mansion, easily comparable in scale to the Amamiya residence.
Of course, that was not the important part. The important part was the man and the little girl standing at the entrance.
The gentlemanly-looking man was crouched down slightly, one hand resting on the little girl's head.
The young girl let that large hand stroke her hair, but there was no joy or happiness on her face. Instead, she simply looked up at the man with dark, shining eyes.
There was not the slightest trace of unease or confusion in them. Only boundless reverence and trust.
The sight of Tokiomi Tohsaka interacting with Rin Tohsaka left Shirou stunned.
Because in Shirou's mind, Tokiomi Tohsaka was the kind of cold Magus who would never pour much emotion into his children, the kind of stern father who would never stroke his daughter's hair.
Just then.
"...Ah!!!"
Rin Tohsaka's eyes met Shirou's.
"..."
Following his daughter's gaze, Tokiomi Tohsaka also quickly noticed the red-haired boy.
And so, under the most awkward possible circumstances, the two Magi of the Holy Grail War ran into each other.
An enemy attack on the Zenjou family...!?
A flash of panic crossed Tokiomi Tohsaka's eyes. But with Rin standing right beside him, he immediately summoned a Mystic Code into his hand, a staff set with a massive ruby.
The Magus awkwardly shielded his daughter behind him. He even considered using a precious Command Spell to call Archer over, but quickly dismissed the idea.
No, this was just a chance encounter.
The man put away his Mystic Code and regained his elegant bearing and composure.
"You are... Shirou-kun, the one staying with the Matou family," he said in greeting.
Shirou pointed at him and shouted in exaggerated shock, "Ah, it's the mountain-dwelling old man!"
"Who are you calling a mountain-dwelling old man!!!"
Rin Tohsaka stormed over with her hands on her hips.
"Amamiya! Don't you dare insult my father!"
"There she is! The violent twin-tailed girl from the mountain!"
"Who are you calling violent, you idiottttttttt~!!"
"Rin...!?"
Tokiomi Tohsaka stared in shock.
Since when had his daughter known Shirou Amamiya?
No, they were the same age, so it was not strange for them to know each other, was it?
Ah... so that was it.
Watching Rin and Shirou bicker, Tokiomi suddenly understood.
He realized just how negligent he had been as a father, knowing absolutely nothing about his daughter's life.
At the same time, he had also failed badly as a Magus participating in the Holy Grail War.
He had racked his brain trying to gather information on Shirou, but his thinking had stayed entirely on the Magecraft side. It had never even occurred to him to understand the other boy's personal relationships.
So this was the true source of the unease that had been swirling in his heart since last night.
I probably will not win this Holy Grail War in the end.
The Tokiomi Tohsaka who had been so confident, almost arrogant, right after summoning Archer was nowhere to be seen now.
"Father...?"
Rin blinked as Tokiomi Tohsaka walked toward her with a grave expression.
As the former head of the family, a man about to walk toward his death, there was only one thing he still had to say to the noble heir of the Tohsaka Family.
"Rin, the Holy Grail will appear someday, and obtaining it is the duty of the Tohsaka Family.
More importantly, for a Magus, it is an unavoidable path."
"I understand, Father."
The girl nodded without hesitation, and the look in her eyes filled Tokiomi with pride.
Not even when he had inherited the position of family head had he felt such a full, profound sense of honor.
Then Tokiomi Tohsaka turned to Shirou.
"This is an unreasonable request, Shirou-kun.
If something happens to me... I leave Rin and Sakura in your care."
"F-Father! What are you saying?!"
Rin Tohsaka's eyes widened, trembling in disbelief.
She could not believe those words had come from her father.
Her perfect, great, elegant father had said something so discouraging... this could not be real.
As if fleeing from reality itself, the girl ran into the house.
Watching his daughter's retreating back, Tokiomi Tohsaka let out a sigh.
He gave Shirou a small nod and turned to leave.
"Tokiomi-san, there's something I want to tell you."
Shirou called out to stop the Magus.
...
...
Though he felt a little sorry toward the old man, Kiritsugu Emiya, Shirou still decided to tell Tokiomi Tohsaka everything he knew.
What pushed him to make that choice was the sight from earlier, the father gently stroking his daughter's hair.
Shirou realized that Tokiomi Tohsaka was also a flesh and blood father and husband.
A man like that was someone worth cooperating with, someone worth trying to win over.
It took Shirou half an hour to explain the truth of the Holy Grail War as he had heard it from Kiritsugu Emiya.
The Greater Grail had already been tainted in the previous great war.
What was about to manifest in Fuyuki was neither an omnipotent wish-granting machine nor a path to the Root, but an apocalypse device capable of destroying the world.
Of course, he left out the fact that killing Irisviel would make clearing everything easy. That was Shirou's own small selfishness.
"How... can that be possible..."
Tokiomi Tohsaka looked utterly disbelieving.
That reaction was only natural. Shirou had been just as shocked when he first heard it from Kiritsugu.
But there were no contradictions in the theory that the Holy Grail had been corrupted. No matter how desperately Tokiomi Tohsaka tried to find a flaw, he found nothing.
"So... you want me to abandon the Holy Grail War?"
"That's right."
Shirou nodded.
"It really helps that you understand so quickly."
"..."
The composure vanished from Tokiomi Tohsaka's face.
This man had been raised from birth to strive for victory in the Fourth Holy Grail War and wager everything he had on it.
You could say that the first forty-plus years of his life had all been for the sake of allowing the Greater Grail to manifest through the hands of Tohsaka, and reaching the long-desired swirl of the Root.
And now he was being told that the first half of his life had all been meaningless?
Tokiomi Tohsaka broke.
In the end, like a culprit from The Kindaichi Case Files, he stood there in the dusk and roared,
"Where's your proof? Show me your proof!"
"You already know this is the truth."
Shirou's expression was cold.
"No... no, it isn't! This is not the truth!"
Tokiomi Tohsaka staggered back several steps.
"I understand now. You're actually afraid of Archer!
You know you can't defeat Archer, so you made up this ridiculous lie to make me give up on the Holy Grail!"
So it was a waste of effort after all...
Shirou shook his head. As expected, persuading him had never been likely.
"Fine. Then pretend I never said any of that."
"I would have done that even if you had not said it!"
Tokiomi Tohsaka ground his teeth.
"The next time we meet, we'll be enemies," Shirou said.
Tokiomi Tohsaka replied, "Yes. For Rin's sake, I will plead with King Gilgamesh to spare your life.
Shirou-kun, I hope you will stop doing things that recklessly provoke the King."
Shirou gave no answer. He really could not get along with Tokiomi Tohsaka.
Then something suddenly occurred to him.
If you refuse to work with me, then don't blame me for wrecking your peace of mind.
A faint curve appeared at the corner of Shirou's lips.
"Hey, Tokiomi-san, don't you care at all about how Sakura is doing right now?"
"?"
Not understanding why Shirou had suddenly brought up Sakura Matou, Tokiomi Tohsaka answered suspiciously,
"Sakura is already a daughter of the Matou family. Her current situation is not something I can inquire into as I please."
"Hmph. You really are a cold-blooded father."
Shirou sneered.
"She clearly carries your blood, and she is clearly your daughter's little sister, yet you can say without shame that she is no longer your daughter."
The veins on Tokiomi Tohsaka's forehead twitched as he retorted,
"I do not expect you to understand. I sent Sakura to the Matou family so she could find happiness."
"Happiness?"
The mockery on the boy's face deepened.
That expression irritated Tokiomi Tohsaka, but at the same time it gave rise to something strange in him, along with a dark premonition.
"Sakura... what happened to Sakura? If you have something to say, then say it!" the man demanded anxiously.
Shirou pulled a square device out of his pocket.
Even Tokiomi Tohsaka, who looked down on modern civilization, knew that it was a voice recorder.
With a cruel look on his face, Shirou pressed the switch.
Then a young girl's voice rang out, one Tokiomi Tohsaka knew all too well.
"G-Grandfather, where is this place... what are these bugs?"
The fear and unease in Sakura Matou's voice struck Tokiomi Tohsaka like a bullet to the chest.