Although not many interesting things happened during their time in Camelot, everyone lived a fulfilling life.
Ever since Gawain and Lancelot were temporarily called to council by Arthur that day, Britain suddenly shifted from a state of calm to a tense state of war preparedness.
According to the news brought back by Artoria, a group of pirates from the north had been frequently raiding the coastal towns in the northeast, and these pirates always managed to accurately evade the encirclement and suppression by the local garrison. This situation caught the attention of Bedivere, who was on patrol, and subsequently drew Arthur's attention.
Having traveled to multiple worlds with Ethan and read countless history books and similar novels and essays, Arthur sensed the presence of a conspiracy. He would not be like muddle-headed monarchs who turned a blind eye to such anomalies. With grand ambitions, Arthur possessed ample drive, and he had gathered a large number of talented individuals under his command who could also sense the unusual nature of this incident.
To resolve this trouble decisively and cleanly, Arthur directly mobilized the Imperial Guard stationed in Camelot. Some might think this reaction was exaggerated, that a force capable of sweeping across the world would enter a state of war preparedness just for a group of pirates.
But Arthur did not think it was exaggerated at all. He intended to use strong measures to eliminate all schemes and conspiracies in their infancy, along with the people who wanted to play such games.
Because of this matter, Arthur visited much less frequently during this period. Ethan simply gave these young people supplementary lessons on various basic magic knowledge, especially Shirou, the designated chef. In addition to basic magic, Ethan also required him to study various cuisines.
This younger version of Shirou was more proficient in their native cuisine, while Ethan's team members leaned toward Western styles, so Shirou needed to learn more types of dishes.
Shirou felt bewildered, but he had a great interest in cooking, so he did not feel much dissatisfaction or resistance. Moreover, Ethan had only made this request and was not personally teaching him how to cook. He mostly had to study on his own.
What was truly being taught was still knowledge related to magic. After receiving instruction from Illya, Shirou had already corrected his original incorrect method of mana circulation.
Subsequently, Ethan taught new basic theories, and he began practicing new basic abilities, specifically targeting the two magecrafts of Reinforcement and Projection, which could now be fully referred to as magic, for specialized practice.
"Excuse me!"
Rin, who was also sitting below and listening to the lesson, raised her hand high, as if afraid Ethan would not see her.
"You don't need to raise it so high. You're not that far from me."
"I want to know what that magic school is like."
Rin's talent was excellent, and she would later enter the Clock Tower for further study and be taken as a disciple by Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, one of the few remaining magicians of the era.
The technique of casting magic without relying on the Root was not too difficult for someone as talented as Rin.
For people like Rin and Illya, who were inherently talented and had practiced magecraft for many years, accumulating considerable magic power within their bodies, mastering magic again would not take much time as long as they knew the correct method.
Although Shirou had learned the incorrect way to use magic power, because his previous method was ineffective, years of practice had still taught him how to channel magic power and he had a decent amount stored, though by magecraft standards his reserves were on the low side.
However, having it is having it, so apart from having a bit less magic power, Shirou's learning speed was not slow.
Because everyone was learning quickly, and Arthur had his own matters to attend to, Artoria also would not want to go back in a short time because she was with Arthur. Especially with a rebellion looming in Britain, she wanted to see how Arthur would handle it.
"That is a world with a completely different magic system. I haven't truly come into contact with the magic there, so I cannot give you a clear answer. As for the school, it should be a very interesting place."
"Should be?"
Rin looked at Ethan with suspicion. In her impression, this deity who had initially appeared as a Berserker was not very reliable.
She even suspected Ethan was playing some kind of prank, but no matter how she thought about it, why would he prank them? Was this his personal preference? Could this guy be the god of pranks?
She noticed that he seemed to care a lot about Shirou. During the lessons these past few days, she could feel that everything was being done to improve Shirou's strength.
It was simply a bonus that she and Sakura could sit here and learn together.
I've been underestimated.
Turning her head to look at Emiya, who was standing nearby with his eyes closed, she felt it was not unreasonable for him to value Shirou. After all, Shirou had the chance to become a Heroic Spirit.
Her greatest achievement was being favored by a certain goddess and being possessed by a goddess?
The day's learning and simple practice sessions were over. This time, everyone did not disperse. They had been living here for quite some time, and Artoria had clearly stated yesterday that she would accompany Arthur on the expedition.
No one knew exactly how long it would take, as the situation was completely unclear.
Arthur was leaving Camelot, and Ethan was not planning to stay here any longer either.
He had brought Artoria to meet Arthur to see if she could resolve her inner turmoil. Now that she seemed to have many things she wanted to know, he would let her stay and pick her up next time.
To Ethan's surprise, yet not entirely unexpectedly, Shirou decided to stay after considering for a while.
"Are you staying in Camelot to wait for Artoria?"
"No, I will go with her."
"Are you planning to go to the battlefield to train yourself?"
Shirou's face was a little pale. He had thought he might very well go to the battlefield. Even if he did not have to fight, seeing real war scenes from a distance was still not easy for a high school student who had lived a peaceful life.
But he still chose to stay.
Looking at Shirou's determined expression, Ethan did not offer much advice, just nodded to indicate he understood.
Originally, he wanted to say a few words of caution, but then he thought that saying things like be careful was meaningless. With Britain's strength and Shirou's situation, it was impossible to encounter danger.
Even if there was a conspiracy, and the enemy's plan was strong enough to infiltrate Arthur's side to carry out an assassination, they probably could not deal with Artoria, who was far stronger than humans and disguised as a guard knight. Even if Shirou's strength was not great, he still had the ability to protect himself when facing ordinary people.
Moreover, Lancelot, the top expert of the Round Table, was also on this expedition, and Shirou, who would definitely be with Arthur, would be very safe. He really could not think of anything to say.
On the other hand, Illya, acting like an older sister, lectured Shirou to practice magic well and not let his strength stagnate before she returned.
"In that case, I will punish you properly on Kiritsugu's behalf."
After Shirou decided to stay, the others also made their decisions.
Sakura also chose to stay. The reason was simple: because Shirou was here. She was very worried about him staying for Artoria, so after struggling for a while, she also chose to remain in Britain.
Although her own strength was not top-tier, she had Medusa, a Servant, which further increased Shirou's safety.
As for why these two were willing to stay, it was because Ethan had told them when they arrived that no matter how long they stayed here, when he sent them back to their original world, only a few days would have passed at most.
So they did not have to worry about playing outside for many years and finding everything changed when they returned.
Rin was originally a little hesitant when she heard that Shirou was going to stay, but after hearing that Sakura was staying, she became even more determined in her own plan.
She wanted to follow Ethan to that magic school to experience another type of mystery, even if it meant being separated from everyone.
"Anyway, Emiya is with me."
"Rin, I cannot stay with you this time. I have to go back to my own world."
Originally, becoming a Servant and participating in this Holy Grail War unexpectedly gave Emiya a special opportunity: to kill himself, or rather, to prevent himself from walking down that painful path of justice.
Unexpectedly, the development of events completely exceeded expectations. This timeline became stranger and stranger. He could only be certain that this Shirou would not walk the path he had taken, and he could not be sure of anything else.
In this situation, there was no point in him staying, so he decided to go back and continue his work: protecting the existence of humanity.
"You're leaving?"
"I should have left when the Holy Grail was completely destroyed."
Emiya had stayed this long because of Shirou. Now that he was certain this Shirou had nothing to do with him, he was no longer willing to stay.
Rin knew that Emiya could not stay with her forever, but she did not expect the separation to come so suddenly, which made her, who had just gotten used to his presence, a little uncomfortable.
However, she still smiled and said goodbye to Emiya, and thanked him for taking care of her during this time.
Ethan watched the two say goodbye, thinking they would never see each other again, and shook his head speechlessly, telling Emiya something that surprised him.
"What do you mean I don't have to go back to that place where there's nothing?"
"It means exactly what it says. It's a reward from the new boss for an excellent employee..."
(To be continued.)