"Looks like… I came back late?"
The Shogun crouched beside the young girl. Unlike her usual coldness, perhaps due to having grown familiar with her, she now spoke with a hint of teasing in her tone.
"Hah…"
Fiore finally let out a breath of relief, collapsing weakly onto the floor. Her white-stockinged legs, beneath the hem of her black dress, bent slightly, tracing the perfect curve of her thighs beneath her skirt. Her graceful form in that crawling posture was almost too alluring—like a helpless little rabbit, waiting to be taken.
[Your gaze…]
Hearing the pointed reminder in her mind, she instinctively withdrew her gaze, then realized and inwardly muttered a faint complaint…
[Shogun… since when have you become so… lovestruck?]
Ei's tone carried some bewilderment.
'Could you not mind such trivial matters?'
[Your gaze was improper. That's why I said it.]
Ei sighed helplessly. After all, she had been seeing from the Shogun's perspective just now. And why was her focus on the girl's legs?
'…I was only checking whether she was injured.'
The Shogun closed her eyes slightly, answering matter-of-factly.
[She fell on her upper body. Why check her legs for injury?]
Ei asked, confused.
'The legs are also important. They cannot be neglected.'
[Sounds reasonable, but really it's just sophistry.]
'I was not—'
[Enough… let's leave it at that. I've no wish to argue further.]
"Shogun? What's wrong?"
Fiore, still lying on the ground, asked softly, puzzled. Her blue eyes glimmered like crystals.
"Nothing… shall I help you up?"
The Shogun came back to herself, looked at her, and asked.
"Eh? Uh… yes."
Fiore's face flushed briefly before she nodded gently like a timid kitten. The Shogun easily lifted her up in a princess carry.
Held in the Shogun's arms, Fiore's face reddened further. Instinctively, her arms clung tighter around the woman's slender frame. Warmth spread from the Shogun's body into her own.
It was strange… though the Shogun was a puppet, she carried the warmth of a living person. Even her heart beat with life, without any trace of a machine's coldness.
What flustered her most was the Shogun's alluring chest pressed so close before her eyes—soft skin and fullness within reach, making her blush as she struggled not to rest her head there.
The Shogun gently set her down again onto her wheelchair in the corner. To the Shogun, it was nothing. But for Fiore, it left her lingering in the moment… if only it had lasted longer. Yet she was not selfish; obediently, she released her hold and settled properly into her chair.
"…Thank you, Shogun."
"It was nothing but a small effort."
The Shogun turned to the window, gazing at the receding airborne garden with a slight frown.
"What is that thing?"
"Mm… it should be a defensive Noble Phantasm belonging to one of the Red Servants."
Fiore wheeled herself closer, joining her at the window. Together they looked at the shattered fortress below, bathed in moonlight, and the great floating citadel drifting away above.
With the Greater Grail in their hands, that fortress seemed almost smug, flaunting its victory before them all.
"Why would they attack here?"
The Shogun turned to meet Fiore's eyes.
"…Because of the Greater Grail."
Fiore answered, then noticing the Shogun's slight confusion, she smiled faintly and patiently explained.
"The Greater Grail is a vast source of magical energy, the key to ultimate victory. At first, it belonged to us, the Black Faction. That gave us the advantage, placing us above the Red Faction, who could only react passively. However…"
Here, Fiore paused briefly.
"They understood their situation. So they devised a plan to seize it amidst the war, thus turning the tables in their favor."
The Shogun finished her thought for her.
"Yes, exactly as you say. Their strategy outmaneuvered ours. We had considered that they might attempt to take the Greater Grail, but not in such a direct way… truly, the world is unpredictable."
Fiore gave a bitter smile.
The room lay in darkness. Only the window, bathed in moonlight, illuminated them. The Shogun and Fiore stood together in that silver glow, their figures brushed in a faint sheen.
"Ah… right…"
Fiore suddenly remembered something, turning to the Shogun with gratitude.
"Thank you, Shogun… for defeating Red Saber."
During the battle, Fiore had been terrified the entire time in her room… afraid that in the end only Mordred would return. But fortunately, that was not the case. It was the Shogun who prevailed. Truly, her Shogun was incredible.
"This is my duty. Why speak of hardship?"
The Shogun shook her head. Since she had already formed a contract with Fiore, there was no need to consider such things. Guiding her Master to the final victory—that was her responsibility.
"Hehe… to be your Master is the greatest honor of my life."
Fiore smiled sweetly, raising her hand to touch the crest upon the back of her hand, pressing it against her chest as though confessing her heart to the woman before her.
"Hah… meeting you here must also be fate. This experience is a precious one for me. I should thank you as well—for allowing me to blend into this strange and wondrous era."
The Shogun responded in kind. It was not only courtesy; she truly meant those words. Fiore was her first friend in this otherworld, an irreplaceable existence.
"Hehe… this is my duty. There's no need to thank me, Shogun."
Fiore repeated her words from earlier, smiling shyly. The Shogun, too, revealed a faint, nearly imperceptible smile.
"Sister!"
At that moment, Caules' voice entered the room. The boy ran in, panting, to Fiore's side.
"…Caules?"
Fiore turned toward her younger brother. No doubt it was the earlier tremors in the castle that had brought him here.
The Shogun did not interrupt the siblings, instead leaning quietly against the window, watching the broken world outside.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Caules asked in a panic.
"I'm fine… what about you?"
As an elder sister, she naturally worried for her brother. But when she noticed the blood at the corner of his mouth—
"You're injured! How did this happen?"
Even though he had stayed inside the castle, he was hurt? Was it from the earlier shaking?
"No… I…"
For a moment, Caules didn't know how to explain, like a child caught doing something wrong.
"…So that's it… you had Berserker…"
Seeing his hesitation, Fiore instantly understood. Her voice lowered with regret.
In this war, not only had Red suffered losses, but the Black Faction as well. Caules' Servant—Frankenstein—had sacrificed herself. She had unleashed her self-destructive Noble Phantasm, hoping to perish together with Red Saber. But her opponent had been too strong and survived. Fortunately, the Shogun had slain that Saber, fulfilling the regret Frankenstein left behind.
"I'm sorry… Sister, I was too immature. I lost my Servant."
Caules clenched his fists tightly, guilt eating away at him.
"…No… this is war. You've already done well, Caules. And this isn't only your responsibility—it was our entire side's failure to plan thoroughly."
As his elder sister, there was no way Fiore would ever blame her own brother. For her, such a thought was impossible. In fact, she was only thankful that her younger brother was still alive.
"Sister—"
"Fiore!"
Just as Caules was about to speak further, another man rushed in from the doorway—Gordes, Chiron's Master.
"Uncle Gordes, I'm so glad to see you safe."
Fiore breathed a sigh of relief. So he had also survived.
"Ah… what just happened?"
Gordes, still shaken, entered Fiore's chamber, his voice unsettled.
"The Greater Grail was taken by the Red Faction."
"So it really was that?! Damn it! Those bastards!"
"I didn't expect it to come to this either… for them to march in so brazenly."
Fiore propped her chin with one hand, speaking bitterly. The secrecy of the war was already broken, but this was simply outrageous. It was as if the rules meant nothing to them—even though they were all magi of the Association.
"Fiore… what should we do? We can't reach the teacher."
At that moment, Roche entered the room as well, turning to the girl who now seemed to be everyone's pillar. After all, she was the future head of the family.
"Roche… what of the workshop?"
"Ah… it's gone. Completely collapsed. The automatons too."
"..." ×N
A heavy silence fell over them all.
"And the others?"
This time, it was the Shogun who spoke, turning toward them. By "others," she meant the Servants—Vlad, Chiron, and Avicebron. From earlier until now, she had been unable to sense their presences at all.
The others looked at her blankly, apparently unaware of their whereabouts. Only Fiore answered,
"They, along with Uncle Darnic, have already infiltrated the Red Faction's fortress to take back the Greater Grail."