2:00 PM, on the streets of Lungmen.
"Seriously… the people of Guard Department are being a bit too much, are they not?"
Carrying several large bags in his hands, Shirou walked along the streets of Lungmen, heading back toward the dormitory for the first time in a while.
The reason it had been a while was because ever since he started his newbie work at the Guard Department, he had been commuting with Penguin Logistics every day.
As for why he got off work early today… the Guard Department had insisted on it, citing "tradition" that he leave early. They said that the first time someone encountered a situation like that during a mission, they would be given a short break.
So everyone more or less stuffed some snacks and biscuits into his hands, then pushed him out of the Guard Department.
Still, Shirou felt they were exaggerating. It was not such a big deal…
Well, perhaps it was. Watching a life fade away right in front of you would weigh on anyone's mind.
But Shirou had seen it many times before.
Whether it was his childhood experiences or the things in his memories, any one of those was far more severe than this.
Still, since he had already been pushed out, he could only comply.
Especially since Chen's expression at the time had been quite intimidating. Shirou feared that if he refused, she might drag him into an endless hell of work.
So he chose to leave.
After walking for quite a while, Shirou finally returned to the dormitory.
He first took a large tray and poured all the candy and biscuits given by the Guard Department onto it, then placed it on the table in the living room.
Everything was individually wrapped, so he was not worried about them going bad.
He decided to treat them as snacks for Penguin Logistics over the next few days. He could not finish them all by himself anyway.
He then took off his Guard Department uniform jacket and set it aside. After sending a message to Texas and the others that he had gotten off work early, Shirou leaned back onto the sofa and looked upward.
The spinning ceiling fan and the slightly glaring light above entered his vision.
Gently closing his eyes, Shirou thought about what had happened today.
Even though he said it did not matter, the image of the man staring at him before dying still surfaced when he closed his eyes.
After all, he had witnessed it firsthand and directly borne the man's malice.
But having seen so much before, Shirou did not feel particularly distressed by it.
It was just that the man's face would likely linger in his memory for quite some time. After all, through his actions and his death, that man had conveyed just how harsh the lives of the Infected were on this land.
As for the one behind all of this, the one controlling those people…
That was not something Shirou needed to concern himself with. He was just a cook who also worked part-time as a Guard Department officer. The ones who truly needed to worry about such matters were the higher-ups and Wei Yenwu, the Governor of Lungmen.
Although he felt anger toward that person and wished he could unleash a Caladbolg and follow it with a Broken Phantasm, the unfortunate truth was that he did not know who that person was.
Most of the evidence pointed toward the Deathless Black Snake, but he did not know what that person looked like, nor where they were.
Naturally, there was no way to strike them down. Otherwise, he might have even forced himself to bring out a golden sword just to deal a blow.
He was genuinely angry at that individual.
Whether it was deceiving those Infected, or sending information about him to Wei Yenwu and deliberately linking the two to stir suspicion, all of it had caused Shirou quite a bit of trouble.
Of course, what angered him more was the former.
After thinking for a long while, Shirou still could not reach any conclusion.
And with the morning's battle and the heavy use of magical energy, he now felt drowsy.
After all, he had been so busy that he had wolfed down lunch and immediately returned to work, with no time to rest.
Now, reclining on the soft sofa in the dormitory, his mind gradually emptied.
"…."
In his haze, Shirou felt his consciousness slowly sinking.
Then, when he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a frozen, snow-covered land.
"Where is this?"
Reaching out to touch the falling snowflakes, Shirou did not feel the slightest bit of cold.
Not only was he not wearing a coat, he was standing there in just a short-sleeved shirt, yet he felt no chill at all.
There was not even any sensation.
"This is the northern tundra of Ursus."
From behind, Shirou heard a familiar yet somewhat irritating voice.
"Archer? Is that you? Why are you here?"
He did not even need to turn around to know who it was.
He had suspected it for a long time, only lacking confirmation.
"There is residual magical energy of mine within the Holy Shroud. Originally, it was nothing more than unconscious remnants, but you came into contact with the portion of 'my' power that remains in this world. That is why I can appear like this now."
Standing behind Shirou, Archer looked at the distance, calmly speaking.
Just as he said, what remained here was only a fragment of magical residue combined with a trace of lingering consciousness. He could not interfere with the outside world, nor could he even truly perceive it.
At most, when Shirou was extremely fatigued, he could draw his consciousness into this place.
But he did not have much to say to him, so he had never taken the initiative to do so.
Although their relationship had eased somewhat, there was still a certain degree of mutual dislike between them.
After all, a version of oneself at the end of one's ideals denying the very ideals he had upheld all along, no one would feel goodwill toward such a person.
By the same logic, watching one's immature past self doing foolish things and wanting to strangle him out of existence was also quite understandable.
If not for the fog in here growing increasingly dense, he would not have pulled Emiya Shirou's consciousness here to speak with him.
The thickening fog likely meant that the other was beginning to doubt himself.
That was normal. Any normal person, upon witnessing the plight of the Infected, would begin to question everything.
Especially Shirou… or rather, both of them. Neither of them could simply ignore such things.
As for him, it did not matter. Having seen enough, one could quickly grow accustomed to many things.
But this one was different, he lacked his memories and even though he had seen the experiences of himself from parallel worlds, that was still only observation not something he had personally lived through.
If merely seeing such things were enough to grow, then he would never have ended up walking the path of a Guardian.
Many things could only be understood by experiencing them firsthand.
"Your magical energy… Ursus… was it at Reunion?"
With that hint, Shirou roughly figured out where Archer had once been.
After all, he had only been to Ursus once, where he had come into contact with Reunion.
It must have been Alina. At the time, he had felt that something about her was drawing him in, and it was likely something that contained the magical energy that belonged to Archer.
"Hmph. Your brain has gotten sharper. That is good. If it were the old you, I would have wasted all my remaining magical energy just talking to you."
Seeing Shirou quickly reach the conclusion, Archer let out a faint snort.
He now understood very clearly that the Shirou before him would walk a different path from his own.
After all, their environments were different—one could even say their worlds themselves were different.
If it were the old Shirou, even if he explained everything plainly, the other might not have understood.
But in this world, perhaps having a partner of justice was not such a bad thing.
"…You are talking about yourself too, right?"
Hearing that, Shirou smirked slightly and shot back.
They were both Emiya Shirou and neither had the right to talk down to the other.
"Heh. You know what I mean."
Archer gave a faint, dismissive laugh, unfazed by the retort.
"I will not argue with you. Why am I here?"
Knowing he could not win in words, Shirou changed the topic.
Why was he here? And the scene before him, was it a fragment of Archer's memories?
After all, in his own memories, he had never seen someone so tall, clad in heavy armor and carrying a massive shield.
That person was probably the largest individual he had ever seen.
"It is nothing. Your mind is unsettled, your thoughts are in disarray, so you ended up here."
Archer did not mention that he had pulled Shirou in. Instead, he placed the cause on Shirou himself.
He was only a remnant. Though a trace of magical energy sustained his existence, Shirou did not need him to live properly in this world.
At the very least, before fading, he had already shown Emiya Shirou's path to his companions. Even if those memories would be forgotten upon waking, they would still leave some subtle influence.
What he needed to do was already done. There was no need to keep acting like a caretaker.
"…I see?"
Hearing Archer's explanation, Shirou did not doubt it much.
After all, he had indeed been troubled by certain thoughts earlier.
Still, something felt slightly off. Was this guy misleading him again?
"Whatever it is you are facing, just hold onto your own beliefs. There is no need to doubt yourself."
Looking at the Shirou before him who was far more mature than the one in his memories, Archer spoke.
This time, he had no intention of stopping him, nor was there any need to.
Because the one before him was no longer someone with hollow ideals. He already held the key in his hand and he only needed to open the door himself.
"Hold onto my beliefs?"
Shirou was somewhat surprised.
The one who least wanted him to walk that path… was now encouraging him to move forward?
Was he dreaming?
Yes, he was dreaming. It was just a bit too real.
At the very least, that sharp tongue of his was as biting as ever.
"As long as you believe your path is correct, then it will be. And right now, you already have some idea in mind, you just have not acted on it yet, have you?"
With a light wave of Archer's right hand, the frozen landscape disappeared.
In its place, a figure in combat attire appeared before Shirou.
The moment he saw it, he understood, this was a scene from before Archer's death.
His skin darkened from magical backlash, his hair turned silver-white, yet there was still a trace of innocence left on his face.
The difference between him and the current Archer was like night and day.
"I will try it, but the 'idea' you mentioned… what is it?"
Shirou did not understand what Archer intended by showing him this scene, but he still responded to what had been said.
As for his "idea"… how would he know? Cooking, cleaning, and taking care of Penguin Logistics and the Guard Department every day?
Or conquering all of Lungmen with his cooking?
"Figure it out yourself. That is your problem."
Archer said this not because he did not know, but because even if he did, he would not give this guy any hints.
Everyone had to walk their own path, after all.
He had already gone through it once. There was no reason to let this one take a shortcut.
"Ha… I knew it."
Even before asking, Shirou had already guessed the answer.
He did not press further and instead continued watching this scene from Archer's memories.
He could more or less understand Archer's intent now. It was probably meant as reassurance.
Who would have thought that he would one day be comforted by that Archer.
"If there is nothing else, you should leave. I hope you will not come here again. After this, I will fall into slumber."
Noticing that Shirou looked better, Archer began to usher him away.
Bringing him here had not been without cost. It consumed what little magical energy Archer still had. Once it ran out, he would truly disappear.
He could not vanish just yet. At the very least, he needed to confirm that this guy would not go down the wrong path.
"I do not have control over that."
Shirou shrugged at Archer's words.
Before Archer could respond, he continued, "By the way… do you know why we ended up here?"
"…No. But it is probably related to the Holy Grail. With that amount of magical energy, anything could happen."
After a brief pause, Archer answered.
He did not know for certain, but the Holy Grail was the most likely cause.
"The Holy Grail… I do not remember anything."
Shirou tried to recall what had happened before arriving here, but no matter how hard he thought, nothing came to mind.
"You should go now. Even if you treat this as a dream, remember one thing, you are no longer living in Fuyuki City on Earth, but on the land of Terra."
With that, Archer forcefully pushed Shirou away.
"What!?"
Caught off guard, Shirou lost his footing and was shoved out.
A powerful sensation of weightlessness followed.
It felt as though he was falling rapidly.
Looking upward, even though he could not see Archer, Shirou still shouted:
"You bastard!"
—
In reality, Shirou suddenly sat up, shouting at the same time.
The sensation of falling had already vanished, replaced by the familiar circular light above him… no, not a light…it was Exusiai's halo.
"You scared me! Were you having a nightmare?"
Startled by his sudden outburst, Exusiai patted her chest and asked.
"…I suppose you could call it a nightmare."
Realizing he had been lying down, Shirou sat up and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I knew it. When I got back, you looked a bit pale, so I let you lie down."
Exusiai nodded as if it all made sense.
Good thing she had the foresight.
"Thanks."
Seeing her expression, Shirou knew she wanted to hear that.
Though if he added an apple pie, she would probably be even happier.
However… when he woke up earlier, that angle had felt a bit strange?
Just as Shirou grew suspicious, Exusiai stood up and patted her legs, muttering to herself:
"Ah, my legs are numb. I knew those things on TV are not reliable."
Hearing that and seeing her rubbing her thighs, Shirou's expression shifted from confusion to shock, then to panic, and finally to awkwardness.
"Do not worry about it. You just happened to be lying where I was sitting. I was playing games."
Noticing his changing expression, Exusiai said with a mischievous grin.
She really had been playing games, but she could have easily given him a pillow and sat somewhere else.
It was just that she suddenly remembered those scenes on TV where someone rests on another's lap, and decided to try it.
Now she had tried it and her legs had gone numb.
Still, seeing Shirou's reaction made it worthwhile, in a way.
"I see…"
Still groggy from waking up, Shirou did not think too deeply about the flaws in her explanation and simply nodded.
Between just waking up and everything that had happened, his mind was still overwhelmed.
Exusiai had been the final straw that completely short-circuited him.
"Of course! Now hurry up and cook. Texas is upstairs brushing her tail so she would not disturb your sleep."
"Got it… I will check what is in the fridge."
With that, Shirou did not dwell on it further and began thinking about what to prepare for dinner.
There should still be plenty of ingredients left, even without shopping today.
"…Phew, that worked."
Watching Shirou head into the kitchen without asking further questions, Exusiai finally let out a sigh of relief.
After seeing his reaction earlier, she realized her actions might have been a bit… questionable.
Not exactly ideal for either of them.
Luckily, she managed to smooth it over.