"Hey~"
In the dimly lit room, a small red-haired boy lay sprawled on the soft carpet, arms and legs stretched out, staring blankly at the ceiling. His young face carried a mix of emotions far too complicated for someone his age.
Shirou Muramasa — Six years old this year, and only recently had he awakened the memories of his past life. It was then he realized exactly what kind of world he had landed in.
Japanese surnames are quite different; they often carry a certain meaning — perhaps tied to identity, location, or belief — with location-based surnames being the most common. Examples include Nishimura, Kawashita, Kimura, and so on.
As for Muramasa, it's one of Japan's most well-known surnames. Why? Because of the infamous "Muramasa Demon Blade," a name that appears in countless anime, novels, and games.
The Muramasa family is famed as the greatest swordsmiths in Japanese history.
The given name Shirou isn't especially common in Japan.
On their own, "Muramasa Shirou" would simply be a somewhat rare name.
But Shirou Muramasa had one more striking feature — bright red hair.
As everyone knows, in the real world, natural red hair is rare, found mostly in parts of Europe.
Combine the name Muramasa Shirou with bright red hair, and it's obvious: he had traveled through time and space to become a Partner of Justice.
And not just anywhere — this was the Fourth Holy Grail War. Or rather… for someone like Shirou Muramasa, it was the timeline before the infamous gas explosion.
Having only watched the anime, Shirou didn't know whether tomorrow or the explosion would come first in this city called Fuyuki.
As a fan of Fate/Zero, he had always imagined joining the Fourth Holy Grail War and saving Sakura Matou from the twisted fate of being adopted by the Matou family.
But reality was cruel — he was just an ordinary six-year-old child: weak, pitiful, and helpless.
What should I do?
"The best option is to leave Fuyuki City, hide somewhere for a few years, and grow stronger."
"But you're just a six-year-old orphan. No means of self-defense. No survival skills. Unless absolutely necessary, fleeing is too risky."
Shirou also had doubts about his "orphan" status. From what he knew, he would lose his parents after the Fourth Holy Grail War, at which point Kiritsugu Emiya would adopt him.
Is this… a parallel world?
"There's nothing I can do. Besides, I'm a time traveler. Every action I take could trigger a butterfly effect. And there's no guarantee I'll survive the fire caused by the 'evil of this world' when the War ends."
"Damn it! Why do other transmigrators get cheat abilities, but I don't? At least give me a system!"
Shirou pouted bitterly. The timing of his arrival was awful — he was in danger, yet completely powerless.
Honestly, he doubted he could do better than the original "righteous partners" in this world.
"Host, the Second Dimension Heroic Spirit Summoning System is at your service. How may I assist you?"
"???"
Shirou's young face froze, his mind struggling to process the calm, mechanical voice echoing inside his head.
A system?! I actually have one?! How did I not know about this?!
"Host, the Second Dimension Heroic Spirit Summoning System has been bound to you for 54,148 hours, 34 minutes, and 15 seconds."
Shirou quickly did the math. "…That's… over six years. So it's been bound to me since I was born?"
"Yes," the system confirmed.
"Then why didn't you appear before?"
"The host made no effort to actively awaken the system."
"How was I supposed to know you existed if you didn't tell me?!"
"The system did notify the host… 54,148 hours, 34 minutes, and 25 seconds ago."
Shirou stared blankly. "At that time, I was a baby! I didn't even have my past life memories yet!"
"The Second Dimension Heroic Spirit Summoning System is at your service. You currently have one free chance to summon a 2D Heroic Spirit. Would you like to use it?"
"What exactly does this system do?"
"This is a system customized for your current world. It is compatible with the most complete and detailed power systems of this reality. You may use it to summon any named character from across all 2D works as your servant."
"…Any named character?"
"Yes. Any character from an anime, comic, or game — as long as they have an official name."
Shirou's eyes narrowed. That range wasn't small. And if he was going to survive, he needed someone powerful.
Immediately, countless characters flashed through his mind — Goku, Saitama, Naruto, Luffy, Aizen…
Of course, only characters from top-tier shōnen series could offer the greatest help.
"…Only one summon?"
"Yes. For now, the host has only one draw."
"How do I get more?"
"By completing system-issued tasks."
"And my current task?"
"To win the Fourth Holy Grail War. Completion will reward you with an additional draw."
Shirou almost swore out loud. If I had the ability to win the Holy Grail War, why would I even need this stupid system?!
Right now, he wasn't even qualified to participate — the only realistic outcome was dying as collateral damage.
"Fine, whatever. Just summon something already."
"Drawing in progress… Congratulations! The host has summoned the 2D Heroic Spirit — Doraemon."
"…What?"
Shirou froze. "System, repeat that."
"Drawing in progress… Congratulations! The host has summoned the 2D Heroic Spirit — Doraemon."
Doraemon. Fat, blue Doraemon.
Shirou was stunned speechless.
In his previous life, as a kid raised under the heavy influence of the "Penguin Empire," he had long since stopped trusting so-called "random draws."
This is insane… Normally, a "new host" gets some middle-of-the-road starter — not too good, not too bad.
But summoning Doraemon right off the bat?! Even online novels wouldn't dare write something this ridiculous!