"Oh... This grilled fish is absolutely delicious. Did you use a fermented seasoning? Never in my life have I tasted fish this good! And the lamb is wonderful too!"
"Well? Shirou is remarkably talented, isn't he? He is my disciple, after all!"
"Please wait, Ushiwakamaru-sama. This will not do. Tonight is Amamiya-sama's welcome party."
"Ah, my apologies... Just let me have one more small bite."
"It's fine. If the food suits your tastes, then all my effort was worthwhile. Please, eat as much as you like."
"Really? Then I won't hold back. Itadakimasu! Gulp, gulp, gulp... Gah!"
"Merlin! You've done nothing but drink this entire time! And since when was I your disciple?"
Lively voices had been echoing through the Heroic Spirit dormitory in Uruk ever since nightfall.
While Shirou was familiarizing himself with the local ingredients and preparing dinner, the dormitory's other two residents returned.
They were the Servants summoned by King Gilgamesh after Merlin.
Their presence helped explain how Uruk had managed to withstand the Magical Beast army's relentless assaults for several months.
One of the Servants was a black-haired girl dressed as a warrior. She was tall and slender, wore a revealing outfit, and her youthful face possessed a strikingly gallant air.
She was Rider, Minamoto no Yoshitsune, better known as Ushiwakamaru.
In terms of fame, she was one of the most renowned figures in Japanese history. Shirou had heard the stories portraying her as a beautiful young man, but he had never expected her to truly be a girl.
Just like Artoria...
As for her Spirit Origin, perhaps it was similar to Artoria before she became king, back when she was still training as a Knight.
Ushiwakamaru sat at the dining table, showering Shirou's cooking with praise while devouring it at an astonishing pace. If she had possessed a tail, it would surely have been wagging furiously. She was just like an adorable large dog.
The other Servant was a giant man dressed as a warrior monk.
He was Lancer, Musashibou Benkei, retainer to Minamoto no Yoshitsune. His legend was likewise familiar to anyone raised in Japan.
Once the timing seemed right, Siduri rose with her cup in hand.
"Well then... To celebrate Shirou-sama's arrival in Uruk, let us hold a small welcome feast."
"Is everyone ready? Then... cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers! Gulp, gulp, gulp!"
Merlin drained his ale in one go and sighed with satisfaction.
"Ah, delicious! It tastes even better after a full day of hard work!"
"Labor truly is the finest accompaniment to alcohol! I live for this one cup!"
"Merlin-dono, all you did this afternoon was loiter near the Shrine of the Priestesses and flirt with women. I have already received complaints," Siduri said coldly.
"Wow! Tonight's dinner was incredible. Shirou-dono, were you perhaps a chef in life?"
"No. I'm not a Servant."
Shirou explained to Ushiwakamaru that Merlin had forcibly dragged him into this era.
"Guh... So that is what happened? Is that not a crime? It is utterly unforgivable!"
"Merlin-dono, sit here in seiza, turn your back to me, and lower your head. I shall personally act as your second!"
The young warrior cried out enthusiastically as she placed a hand on the sword at her waist.
"Hey... Is she going to be all right?" Shirou asked quietly.
Musashibou Benkei looked troubled. "This is bad. Ushiwakamaru-sama's tolerance and behavior when drunk can only be described as disastrous. We must stop them at once..."
"No, I think it'll be fine."
Shirou stopped Musashibou Benkei.
After that, the legendary great Magus Merlin performed a magic trick in which his head separated from his body and flew around the room.
"Guh... That is the banquet trick this humble monk has practiced day and night. Benkei was beaten to it by the narrowest of margins...!"
Musashibou Benkei looked devastated.
Apparently, he too had practiced a similar feat that involved surviving decapitation.
"Was tonight's food not to your liking?"
Shirou had noticed that, unlike his overexcited master, Musashibou Benkei had barely eaten.
"No, that is not the case. As you can see, this humble monk still follows the path of ascetic discipline, so meat is somewhat..."
"Ah, I understand. That was careless of me."
Shirou occasionally visited Ryuudou Temple, where the monks had no reservations about eating meat.
Japanese Buddhism might evoke the image of monks eating meat, drinking alcohol, marrying, and having children, but that had only become common after the nineteenth century.
As a monk from the Heian period nearly a thousand years ago, Musashibou Benkei still adhered strictly to the relevant precepts.
"As a warrior defending Uruk, you still need to replenish your Mana through food... In that case, why not try this?"
Shirou placed a plate of sweets in front of Musashibou Benkei, who looked puzzled.
"What is this?"
"Yōkan. It was originally a dish from the continent, a meat jelly made by simmering lamb and lamb liver. After Buddhism was introduced to Japan, monks adapted it into a vegetarian confection served with tea."
"I see. In that case... even this humble monk may partake. Then I shall accept your kindness."
Musashibou Benkei nodded in relief and began eating, occasionally letting out sounds of surprise.
"Oh? Benkei, have you finally learned to appreciate Shirou-dono's cooking?"
"Indeed, it is exceptionally delicious. I can now somewhat understand why Ushiwakamaru-sama, whose sense of taste is every bit as poor as her tolerance for alcohol, reacted so strongly."
"What did you say!?"
After giving Musashibou Benkei a thorough scolding, Ushiwakamaru came over and sat beside Shirou.
"Thank you very much for tonight's hospitality. I was rude earlier, so please allow me to introduce myself properly."
"I am Ushiwakamaru, appointed by the King as Commander of the Heroic Spirits."
"Like Merlin, I am a Servant summoned by that King and bound to him by contract."
"Yes, Merlin and Siduri-san have already told me a little about the situation. May I ask you a few questions?"
The girl nodded. "Of course."
Shirou asked how many Heroic Spirits had been summoned. The answer was eight in total, including Merlin.
Merlin had been the first.
After realizing that Merlin did not seem particularly useful, King Gilgamesh summoned another seven Servants.
"Although we have already lost nearly half of them," Ushiwakamaru said dejectedly.
Apparently, it had all begun when the useless Merlin "accidentally" let slip the existence of the Holy Grail War.
Upon hearing about it, Gilgamesh had declared, "Then this King shall summon another seven."
The reason he had yet to take the field personally was that he still had not recovered the Mana expended during the Summoning Ritual.
Moreover, not even the oldest King of Heroes could supply enough Mana to sustain eight Servants.
Therefore, while Ushiwakamaru and the others had used the King's Mana to form their Spirit Origins, they were responsible for maintaining themselves afterward.
They had to eat and sleep like humans in order to generate Mana on their own. In other words, they had been given physical bodies.
Servants incarnating into physical bodies.
In Shirou's era, that was a miracle bordering on Magic.
Yet in Mesopotamia, where divine energy still remained, it was not considered especially extraordinary.
"I heard that before summoning us, the King did not even know what the enemy was."
Ushiwakamaru continued, "Cities in the north were attacked by Magical Beasts, strange phenomena appeared throughout the land, and the city of Kutha was destroyed overnight."
"At that time, King Gilgamesh said he had 'seen' the future. He saw a future in which Uruk vanished and was swallowed by hell."
"Yes, that must have been Gilgamesh's Clairvoyance. That explains why he's pushing himself so hard."
"To prepare for every possible crisis, he needed not one Heroic Spirit, but several."
Ushiwakamaru beamed. "Exactly! As expected of Merlin-dono's disciple. What remarkable powers of analysis!"
The corner of Shirou's mouth twitched. "Sorry... I can't feel happy about praise that sounds so much like an insult."
...
The next morning, Shirou decided to go out and work.
Although he had only come to this era because he had fallen into a certain Magus of Flowers' trap, he held nothing against the people of Uruk.
Since he had accepted the lodging they provided, he ought to repay them through honest work. Otherwise, he would end up no better than his teacher.
Incidentally, Merlin had reluctantly departed Uruk early that morning and set out in search of the Tablet of Destinies.
Siduri suggested that Shirou first accept commissions from Uruk's citizens to familiarize himself with the local customs before deciding what to do next, but Shirou politely declined.
"Siduri-san, I'm not as versatile as you think. Fighting is still what I do best."
"Oh? You seem quite confident in your martial skill, Shirou-sama."
They happened to run into Ushiwakamaru and her retainer as the pair were heading out to work.
Shirou said, "I know a little about swordsmanship as well."
"Hmm. You are rather confident, aren't you? In that case, why not accompany us for the day?"
Ushiwakamaru turned to the Head Priestess.
"Siduri-sama, I shall borrow Shirou-dono."
"Wait! Shirou-sama only arrived in Uruk yesterday..."
"Siduri-san, please let me go with them."
"Even Shirou-sama is asking me..."
In the end, Siduri agreed to let Shirou accompany Ushiwakamaru and the others outside the city to hunt Magical Beasts.
Ushiwakamaru and Musashibou Benkei were responsible for eliminating the Magical Beasts occupying the outskirts of Uruk and the nearby trade routes.
Other Heroic Spirits had been assigned by the King to command Babylonia's Monster Front at the Northern Wall.
They were King Leonidas I of Sparta and Tomoe Gozen, a female warrior who, like Ushiwakamaru, came from the Heian period.
Of all the summoned Heroic Spirits, King Leonidas was the most skilled at leading soldiers. Naturally, he was the ideal choice to train and command Uruk's troops.
As for Tomoe Gozen, she had been stationed there simply because she and Ushiwakamaru had carried a grudge against each other since their lifetimes, making it impossible for them to work together.
"Um, just to be sure... What gender is King Leonidas?"
"He is male, of course. Why would there be any doubt, Shirou-dono?"
Shirou let out a sigh of relief.
If even that half-naked, muscular king turned out to be a woman, he would never be able to trust his history teacher again.
Ushiwakamaru and the others had already spent three months in Uruk, so they were thoroughly familiar with the surrounding terrain.
Before noon, they discovered a stronghold that a group of Magical Beasts had established not long ago.
Shirou's group concealed themselves in the grass and observed the creatures.
They were enormous golden lions with crimson manes, each one nearly the size of a rhinoceros. Powerful Mana radiated from their bodies, marking them unmistakably as Magical Beasts.
"There are no remains of food nearby either. So these creatures truly have no need to eat?"
Shirou recalled what he had heard before. The Magical Beasts did not attack humans for food. They killed simply for the sake of killing.
"The Goddess of Demonic Beasts'... wrath..."
"Shirou-dono, where is your weapon?"
Ushiwakamaru had already drawn her sword, while Musashibou Benkei gripped his naginata firmly in both hands. Shirou alone stood empty-handed.
Ushiwakamaru had heard that swordsmen from peaceful eras often wore simple clothes, but Shirou did not even carry a sword at his waist. How did he intend to fight?
"I'm going in. I'll leave the support to you two."
"Huh? Wait..."
Before Ushiwakamaru could stop him, Shirou had already stepped out of the grass.
Observing with his eyes alone was not enough. The only way to gain a painful, visceral understanding of an enemy was through battle.
"▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄—!!"
The horde of Magical Beasts noticed Shirou and unleashed a chorus of roars.
More than twenty of them turned at once, bared their fangs, and charged.
Ushiwakamaru and Musashibou Benkei tensed. Even they rarely faced so many Magical Beasts at once.
Ushiwakamaru lowered her stance and channeled Mana into both legs, while Musashibou Benkei shouted and assumed a Nio stance.
This would be a difficult battle.
Master and retainer reached the same conclusion at once.
However...
What they witnessed next was the Magical Beast horde being slaughtered one-sidedly.
"Trace On."
As Shirou raised one arm, countless weapons overflowing with Mana formed in empty space and descended like shooting stars.
"What..."
Caught completely off guard, the Magical Beasts were mercilessly pierced by the unending rain of weapons, their agonized cries echoing across the field.
A single sword was not enough to kill a Magical Beast.
In that case, he would overwhelm them with sheer numbers.
More blades were projected, becoming an explosive downpour of iron and glass.
This era stood at the very end of the Age of Gods. Although the Divine Spirits had already become natural phenomena, the atmosphere still contained dense True Ether.
As a result, Shirou could draw out far more power from his Projection Magecraft than he ever could in the modern era.
For the Magical Beasts, it was a kind of battle they had never encountered before.
They quickly realized that Shirou was the source of the calamity and charged toward him through the rain of swords.
Ushiwakamaru and Musashibou Benkei reacted at once, taking position in front of Shirou and cutting down every straggler that broke through.
The battle they had expected to last at least an hour ended in under five minutes.
"You truly are astonishing, Shirou-dono."
Ushiwakamaru recalled Shirou's claim that morning that he "knew a little about swordsmanship."
What did any of this have to do with swordsmanship!?
Musashibou Benkei spoke thoughtfully.
"I see. Shirou-dono fights in much the same manner as King Gilgamesh."
"Understood. From this day onward, this humble monk shall protect you as well."
A significant misunderstanding seemed to have taken root. Shirou had apparently been mistaken for someone who could do nothing but throw weapons around indiscriminately.
Being compared to that arrogant king who squandered his talent and neglected his training was deeply troubling.
Still... whatever. It did not really matter.
"Then let's head to the next location."
And so, Shirou continued accompanying Ushiwakamaru and the others as they searched for more concentrations of Magical Beasts near Uruk.
…
Her silky black hair danced freely in the wind.
The woman standing in the heavens possessed exquisitely sculpted features, while her alluring figure was adorned with glittering jewels and precious ornaments.
She radiated a charm that far surpassed anything human, poised somewhere between demonic allure and Divinity.
With deep crimson eyes, the woman gazed down upon all creation, a bewitching smile on her lips.
She was the Goddess Ishtar.
The Mistress of Heaven was once again surveying the Garden (world) that belonged to her alone.
"Ah, there it is! Found it!"
The goddess had set her sights on a farm on the outskirts of Uruk.
Although most of the residents outside the city had already fled within its walls, this farm remained operational. After all, it was responsible for supplying meat to both the city and the Northern Wall.
A dozen or so Uruk soldiers were stationed around the farm each day.
But how could so few men possibly stand against the tyrannical Mistress of Heaven?
King Gilgamesh really has gone senile, the goddess thought gleefully.
Just look. Several Magical Beasts in the distance were quietly surrounding the farm without anyone noticing.
That simply would not do.
This land, this farm, even the power of life and death over its humans. All of it rightfully belonged to the goddess.
The corners of her lips curled upward as she scattered five gems around herself, forming a levitating gem array.
Divine Mana poured from her body and became beams of light that flowed between the gems, reflecting back and forth as they released a dazzling, scorching radiance.
Each gem corresponded to one of the five elements of Magecraft.
It was a talent belonging to the body of the young girl the goddess had possessed. The ability to wield all five elements simultaneously marked her as a true prodigy.
Thus, the Mana beams formed by the five-colored gems and infused with all five elements were about to descend upon the Magical Beasts charging into the farm.
But just as the goddess smiled smugly at the indiscriminate bombardment she was about to unleash...
"?"
A rain of blades descended from the sky and slaughtered every Magical Beast on the ground.
Sharp and swift.
It lacked the splendor of Gem Magecraft infused with Ishtar's authority, but it was far more efficient and much safer.
"......"
The goddess Ishtar's face instantly went pale at the sight.
She had already planned to extort money from the farm owners once she had dealt with the Magical Beasts... No, she meant seize their property.
"W-who was that?! Who dares ruin my plans?!"
Goddess Ishtar's expression turned vicious as she glared at the figures who had appeared on the farm.
Sensing their Mana, she singled out the culprit who had snatched the prey from her grasp among the three suspects.
"Unforgivable! I'll make you pay. I'll make you suffer worse than death itself... Huh?"
Ishtar stared blankly at the human boy.
He had a well-trained physique, a calm and composed air, and slightly childish features that could hardly be called conventionally handsome, but...
Whoa! H-he's so handsome♡ He's really handsome♡ He's exactly my type♡♡♡
The goddess could hear her heart pounding wildly out of control.