"Irisviel, is this really okay?" Artoria asked as she looked at Irisviel, who was pulling her along and casually wandering the streets.
For Irisviel, shopping was a very luxurious thing. Walking out of the castle and strolling around freely was a first for her. So to her, everything outside was fresh and new.
"Huh, Saber—wasn't this something you agreed to?"
Let's roll the time back to the car three hours earlier.
"I'm sorry. I exist only as a Holy Grail vessel, so this is the first time I've ever seen the outside world... Saber, I guess I got a little too excited." Inside the car, Irisviel apologized to Artoria and told her some things about herself.
But after hearing Irisviel's explanation, Artoria wavered.
The car pulled over to the side and stopped. Artoria opened the door for Irisviel.
"For me as well, walking on this street is a first." She took off the black gloves in her hands and extended her right hand to Irisviel. "Isn't a knight's duty precisely to escort?"
The King invited Irisviel to go shopping together.
But the King overlooked one thing... Irisviel wasn't like her. For women, shopping is a very fun competitive activity.
And now the King was a bit regretful.
"Huh, Saber, look over there—he's holding that little girl's hand. She's so pretty." Following where Irisviel pointed, Artoria looked that way.
A handsome man in white was holding the hand of a delicate, doll-like cute girl as they sat on a wicker chair by the roadside. The man held snacks in his hand and kept feeding the girl beside him with a loving expression, as if watching her eat was the happiest thing in the world to him.
"She's as cute as my Illya." Irisviel clasped her hands together, tilted her head, and smiled brightly.
"Irisviel, it's not really good to stare at them like that," Artoria said softly, tugging Irisviel's sleeve.
"Hm? Ahoge King? How am I running into those two here?" Meruem sensed their gaze, lifted his head, and saw them not far away, thinking to himself. Today he had finally carved out time to stay with Sakura, and he didn't expect to run into two key figures of the FZ storyline by sheer coincidence.
"Ah, Saber—we got noticed. What do we do? Should we go say hello?" Though it was phrased as a question, it was obvious Irisviel intended to go greet them.
"Wait... Irisviel. They're not an ordinary person." Artoria wasn't an ordinary person—she was a heroic spirit. And Meruem hadn't really hidden his presence either. Even if Artoria couldn't necessarily tell that Meruem was a heroic spirit, she could definitely judge that Meruem was not simple.
"Huh? Could he be like you, Saber?"
"Uh... not exactly."
"Then that settles it. Come on, Saber—let's go say hello~" Irisviel didn't even know what was up with her today. In any case, when she saw Sakura, a sense of closeness inexplicably arose in her heart, making her want to get close to her.
Maybe it was because, across countless FATE storylines, the two of them had both served as Holy Grail vessels.
The conversation between the two sides was very pleasant, and none of the imagined conflict occurred. Meruem held no ill will toward Irisviel and the ahoge King, so unless it was necessary, he didn't want to clash with them.
Instead, because of Sakura, everyone chatted happily. What pleasantly surprised Meruem even more was that in front of Irisviel, Sakura didn't show fear or nervousness—she actually seemed very close to her. That made Meruem feel both relieved and, at the same time, a little jealous.
And Irisviel invited the two of them to shop together. Along the way, the atmosphere among them was very harmonious.
Except for the ahoge King... Artoria was secretly on guard against Meruem the whole time. Because her instincts told her the man in front of her was extremely strong. Never underestimate a king's intuition.
"Ah, I didn't realize it's already so late. Looks like we'll have to part ways here. I had a wonderful time today—meeting Mr. Meru and little Sakura. Then until next time~ I hope we'll get to see each other again."
As the sun set, Irisviel bid them farewell.
Only, as they were leaving, Meruem looked at them meaningfully and said, "We'll see each other again very soon."
Connected to the eastern side of the seaside park was a warehouse district. This area also included harbor facilities, separating the new city from the industrial zone farther east. At night there was almost no one here. Under the dim streetlights, the emptiness felt even more pronounced. Unmanned cranes stood in neat rows along the shore, looking like gigantic dinosaur fossils, making people feel uneasy.
But as a place for a duel between Servants, it couldn't be more suitable.
And by coincidence, there was a Servant here, openly releasing hostility and displaying a Servant's presence toward the surroundings.
Irisviel and Artoria strode in head-on like heroes. Drawn by the other party's aura, Artoria came here together with Irisviel.
"Good. After walking all over the city all day, every last one of them was like a turtle hiding in its shell. The only fierce warrior to respond to me is you." From dozens of meters away, a man carrying two long spears appeared before them.
One of the Three Knight Classes, Lancer: Diarmuid.
The ahoge King and Diarmuid were both heroes, both warriors of the battlefield. For them to meet here, a battle was inevitable—when two brave warriors meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins.
"Ah—" When Irisviel saw Diarmuid's face, her heart tightened. But fortunately, as a homunculus, she had some resistance to charm magecraft.
"Charm magecraft? Don't you think it's rather despicable to use that sort of magic on a lady?" As a Saber-class Servant, Artoria had extraordinary resistance to mana. What's more, she carried the blood of the Red Dragon—dragons' resistance to mana was even more exceptional.
She even possessed the ability to resist a single Command Spell.
The Witch's Beauty Mark: one of Diarmuid's abilities. But this ability could be considered the source of all Diarmuid's misfortune. If he could choose, Diarmuid would never want such an ability.
"So they've started fighting? Interesting." Meruem's figure appeared high above in the sky, looking down at everything below as he spoke.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.
Every 5 reviews = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.