Chapter 125: I'll Definitely Make You Fall in Love with Me, Shirou!
Lefiya's words caused Shirou's brain to freeze on the spot. He never expected her to say something like that.
Truth be told, Shirou had a vague feeling that Lefiya might have a crush on him. After all, he wasn't so inexperienced that he couldn't recognize the heart of a young girl.
But he didn't believe Lefiya's feelings were entirely appropriate—let alone something he could accept outright.
From Shirou's point of view, Lefiya was just momentarily infatuated.
She had experienced so little in life, and at such a young and innocent age, it was easy for her to develop unrealistic expectations toward someone of the opposite sex.
So, no matter what, Shirou knew he had to reject Lefiya.
But, as the saying goes, falling in love is easy—turning someone down is like climbing a mountain, especially when it's a young girl's confession.
Even someone as experienced as Shirou found himself at a loss facing a situation like this.
In the end, he could only start by explaining the situation with Wiene.
"Let me explain, Lefiya," Shirou took a deep breath and looked at the red-faced elven girl. "Wiene and I aren't in the kind of relationship you're imagining. She calls me 'dad,' but it's due to certain circumstances—we're not actually father and daughter."
By explaining things first, Shirou managed to pull Lefiya out of the "I'm willing to be the concubine" mindset.
"Huh? You're not actually father and daughter?" Lefiya was stunned. "So Wiene is just your adopted daughter? Which means… you don't have a wife yet?"
"Well, that's basically how it is," Shirou nodded in agreement with Lefiya's understanding.
"I see… I see now…"
Hearing Shirou's response, Lefiya froze.
Just as Shirou thought she might calm down a bit, Lefiya's expression suddenly turned radiant.
She exclaimed with great excitement, "So I still have a chance! That means if I work hard enough, I might actually become your real wife—this is amazing!"
"…What do you mean amazing?!"
Shirou was dumbfounded.
He absolutely didn't expect her to go off in such a bizarre direction.
On the other side, Lefiya had already completely immersed herself in the fantasy of a maiden's love.
She was so excited, she started daydreaming, and resolved to turn her fantasy into reality through sheer effort.
Seeing Lefiya so lost in her delusions, Shirou had no idea how to cut her off, and could only let her be—for now.
To Shirou, Lefiya's feelings were likely just a fleeting crush.
Once they returned to the Familia and she had time to cool down, everything would go back to normal.
Probably… hopefully.
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At the Loki Familia's Base
The luxurious hall, which looked like a castle, was in an unusually lively state.
After successfully conquering the man-made dungeon and safely returning, the entire Loki Familia had gathered for a celebratory feast.
Except for Riveria and Finn—who had gone to report the operation's results to Loki—the rest of the members were enjoying the afterglow of a great battle in the main hall.
"It's really great that everyone only got minor injuries, and even Lady Riveria was rescued," said Alicia, the magician of Loki Familia.
"Yeah, and we owe it all to Emiya," Tiona replied cheerfully, her hands behind her head.
"At this point, we have to admit that man really is something special," added her sister, Tione. "Now I understand why Lady Loki went all out trying to recruit him into our Familia."
"But for Emiya to join us, that depends on whether this idiot Bete can beat that Bell guy from the Hestia Familia in a duel," Tiona looked at Bete with a grin. "If this idiot loses, not only will Emiya not join us, but Lady Loki might even end up owing the other side a favor—one of us might have to go to the Hestia Familia instead."
"Hmph. There's no way I'd lose that duel," Bete replied confidently, which was rare for him.
From this, it was clear that even Bete now greatly acknowledged Shirou and was willing to have him join the Loki Familia.
"Is that so?" Ais suddenly spoke. "But I heard that Bell Cranel from the Hestia Familia recently leveled up to Level 3. At this rate, it might not even take five years—he could reach Level 6 in just a year or two and surpass Bete."
"What?!"
The Loki Familia members couldn't stay calm after hearing that Bell had leveled up to Level 3 in just a few months.
They never imagined an adventurer could level up so absurdly fast—it was practically inhuman.
While everyone was shocked and analyzing how Bell could've leveled up at such a monstrous speed, Tiona suddenly noticed Lefiya sitting quietly in a corner, acting strangely.
"Lefiya, why are you spacing out so much? You've been like this since we got back from the man-made dungeon. Did you suffer any aftereffects from the battle?"
Tiona asked with concern as she took a sip of water.
But Lefiya didn't respond, as if she hadn't heard at all.
After a long pause, she finally came back to her senses and asked, "Tiona, do you know how to make a man fall in love with you?"
"PFFFF!!!"
Tiona immediately spat out the water in her mouth.
Cough cough cough! "I almost choked to death! What kind of embarrassing way would that be to die?! Also—what the heck are you talking about, Lefiya?!"
Tiona looked at Lefiya with a disbelieving expression.
But Lefiya gently picked up her cup, and as if lost in a dream, murmured to herself: "Starting today, I, Lefiya, will give it everything I've got. I'll definitely make him fall in love with me!"
"Hey—hey, everyone! I think Lefiya's lost her mind!"
Tiona couldn't help shouting, her face completely dumbfounded.
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Hestia Familia
"Achoo!"
Just as Shirou returned to the Familia and began recounting the events of the man-made dungeon to everyone, he suddenly sneezed uncontrollably.
"Papa! Tissue!"
Having spent so long in the human world, Wiene was already getting the hang of human speech. Her intelligence had also developed rapidly—now she was like a child of seven or eight.
So the moment Shirou sneezed, she immediately handed him a tissue.
Her thoughtful gesture made Shirou reach out and pat her head. "Thanks, Wiene."
"Hehehe~"
Wiene smiled brightly as she snuggled into Shirou's arms.
"Ah, so nice... I wish I could snuggle into Lord Emiya's arms too…" came a jealous voice from nearby—Liliruca.
"Exactly!" Hestia chimed in. "Even I, your goddess, haven't gotten to hug Shirou much! So unfair!"
"Actually, me too…" To Shirou's surprise, Bell chimed in softly from the side.
Shirou looked helplessly at the members of the Familia.
As complicated emotions stirred in his heart, he ultimately chose not to tell them the truth about Orario that Thanatos had revealed to him.
The matters involved were far too numerous and tangled, and it was impossible to discern what was true and what was false.
Rather than share vague and unclear information and potentially drag his Familia members into unnecessary danger, it was better to say nothing for now.
He decided to first investigate and gather reliable intelligence within Orario, and only once he had something concrete, would he reveal everything to the others.
With that decision made, Shirou quietly savored this brief moment of peace.
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The Next Morning
As always, Shirou woke up early and headed straight for the city walls.
Before setting off, he donned the "Sword Demon" disguise, just as he had done before.
Once he confirmed that his appearance wouldn't be recognized, he climbed up to the top of the wall.
There, as usual, awaited the Sword Princess—Ais Wallenstein.
The two had made a pact: Ais would receive combat training from the Sword Demon. That's why they met every morning.
Originally, Shirou planned to immediately engage in battle as before, using cold and decisive combat techniques to hone Ais's strength.
However, before he could begin, Ais spoke first: "Sword Demon, your real identity is actually Emiya, isn't it?"
"...You figured it out?"
"In the man-made dungeon, you used your sword techniques in front of me. Even though you tried to hide your combat style, I've been with you long enough to notice."
"I see…"
Shirou didn't expect Ais to figure it out based purely on instinct. He had to admit her talent was the real deal.
So he no longer attempted to hide it. He straightforwardly removed his mask and faced her with his true appearance.
"I didn't mean to hide it from you intentionally, but this matter really isn't suitable for public knowledge. I hope you can also help me keep it a secret."
"Also?"
Ais clearly had already intended to help Shirou keep the secret—that's why she had waited until now to bring it up.
But she seemed confused as to why Shirou used the word "also," not realizing that someone else already knew about his true identity as the Sword Demon.
Shirou didn't explain further. Instead, he asked Ais to wait with him on the city wall for a moment.
Not long after, a certain single-ponytailed elf girl came running up from below.
Lefiya had originally planned to wait until Shirou and Ais finished their sword training, just like before, and then have Shirou teach her archery one-on-one.
But she never expected that she would run into both Shirou and Ais at the same time.
"Due to some circumstances, Ais found out that I'm the Sword Demon," Shirou said bluntly. "So, to save time, from now on the two of you will train together."
"Eh?!"
Shirou's words left Lefiya completely shocked.
Not only was she devastated that her "exclusive date time" had disappeared, the bigger shock was that Ais also knew Shirou's secret.
'Why was it exposed?! That was supposed to be a secret only I knew!!'
Lefiya looked like she was about to cry.
Losing the shared secret she had with Shirou seemed to hit her harder than anything else. Her little face was filled with frustration and helplessness.
On the other hand, when Ais learned she would be training together with Lefiya, her expression faltered ever so slightly—she clearly would have preferred to spend time alone with Shirou.
Of course, because Ais was naturally expressionless, Shirou didn't notice her subtle change in mood.
Determined not to waste time, Shirou began earnestly training both of them—swordsmanship for Ais and archery for Lefiya.
During the training, Shirou was also thinking about his next move: investigating the existence of "Ouranos."
Because the god Ouranos held such a high position, ordinary people couldn't even dream of approaching someone on that level.
Thus, the only feasible method was to approach either Loki or Freya and ask one of the highest-ranking deities in the pro-order faction to help investigate.
But doing so would undoubtedly draw those two gods into the storm surrounding this matter.
Ideally, Shirou wanted all the danger and hatred from the god Ouranos to be focused on him alone.
As he was pondering, he suddenly noticed a familiar head peeking over the edge of the city wall.
The blue-haired Xenos dragon girl—Wiene—had once again tracked Shirou by scent and come to find him during training.
"Papa!"
Wiene seemed more attached to Shirou than ever. Without wasting even a second, she threw herself into his arms.
"Papa?"
Lefiya had already witnessed something like this before, so she kept her composure.
But Ais, clearly seeing this for the first time, wore an expression of visible confusion.
To avoid a repeat of the previous misunderstanding, Shirou immediately explained that Wiene was his adopted daughter.
"Huh? So she's a child you adopted, Emiya?"
Ais, while initially tense upon seeing Wiene, quickly warmed up to the little one when she noticed how cute she was. Smiling, she reached out and gently patted Wiene's head.
Even though Ais was a stranger, perhaps due to her naturally calming aura, Wiene didn't reject her. Instead, she snuggled into Ais's touch.
Watching Ais and Wiene interact like a mother and daughter, Lefiya suddenly grew anxious.
She hurried over and asked Wiene, "C-Can I pet you too?"
But Lefiya's overly eager demeanor seemed to frighten Wiene. Her instincts were sharper than most, and she was easily startled by emotional intensity.
"P-Papa…"
Scared, Wiene dove straight into Shirou's arms, showing no intention of approaching Lefiya.
"…Why…"
Lefiya looked like she was about to burst into tears.
She never imagined she would be so disliked by a child—especially when Ais had instantly won Wiene's affection. The contrast was painfully sharp.
In that moment, Lefiya felt an overwhelming sense of crisis. She looked at Ais with a gaze filled with an unexpected sense of rivalry.
Even though Ais was the senior she admired and respected more than anyone, once love entered the picture, all those feelings were pushed aside.
From that moment, Lefiya silently declared Ais to be her greatest romantic rival, and resolved that she would defeat her—no matter what— and win Shirou's affection first.
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