Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Once one faction is wiped out, the remaining members of that faction will fight each other to determine the sole true victor.

This approach was far too inefficient in the eyes of the rare genius, Ayaka Sajō.

"The heroic spirits who disappeared in despair, yet could not become fuel for the Holy Grail... are truly pitiful."

Therefore, Ayaka Sajō rewrote the Holy Grail War—

She wanted to make the death of every heroic spirit meaningful.

In other words.

Sajō Aika is offering fourteen heroic spirits, including two Rulers, as a sacrifice for the Greater Grail.

In the end, only her beloved Saber and the Assassin who was willing to submit to her remained.

In this way, the amount of willpower that can be obtained is twice the original amount.

To be able to achieve more—or "greater desires".

Even Semiramis's wish for "eternal life and eternal domination" pales in comparison to the sheer scale of that power of will.

Semiramis believed that Sajou Aika's plan was feasible.

If it's this girl, it's not impossible for her to expand the Holy Grail's functions.

But what she didn't understand was why Aigo would choose her.

Semiramis's wish is very simple and will not conflict with Aiyo's thoughts.

As the de facto No. 2 of the "Red" faction, Semiramis can easily deal with her subordinate Servants and can also stab her Master in the heart from behind when he is not paying attention.

These are all important reasons, but there must be something else that is decisive...

Why choose Assassin?

The girl tilted her head cutely, as if the question was unbelievably simple.

"Hmm~ because Assassin is very similar to me?"

"What?" The Empress clicked her tongue in astonishment.

She knew perfectly well that the girl before her was something that had the appearance of a cute little girl—

She is regarded as a mother figure by the children of Tiamat.

As if sensing Semiramis's confusion, Aika smiled innocently.

"I think Assassin and I are kindred spirits, huh? Hehe."

"...I am different from you."

Sajou Aika covered her mouth in surprise: "Oh dear... If I've made you angry, please let me apologize."

Semiramis spoke in a low voice, her voice filled with disgust.

"I will never be like you... so easily infatuated with a man...!"

"……what."

Upon hearing Assassin mention her and Shirou, Aika looked extremely embarrassed.

It was a feeling of pride and happiness, tinged with the shy blush unique to a girl in her first love—

Semiramis simply couldn't understand it.

An empress who only sees men as tools and stepping stones could never understand this feeling.

For love, for romance.

The girl, who transcends all things on earth and the stars in the sky, so willfully entrusted herself to the boy she had known for less than a month.

Those fawning expressions and gestures towards men only made Semiramis feel ridiculous, pathetic, and miserable.

He could easily obtain everything, control everything, and take everything away—

Sajō Aika, however, chose to give up everything for a certain man.

"Don't talk nonsense."

I will prove to you that I am different from you.

Semiramis clutched her long black dress, her teeth sinking into her full lips.

Laetitia seems to have recently adapted to the time difference between Eastern and Western Europe and is now able to get enough sleep, even if she only sleeps for five hours a day.

Jeanne d'Arc woke up at breakfast time and had breakfast with Shirou and Aika.

Today's breakfast was prepared by Aige as always, and it was very, very, very delicious.

The saint devoured the meal with gratitude.

During a casual chat at the dinner table, Jeanne learned that Shirou's cooking skills were even better than Aika's.

Huh? How could such a thing possibly happen!

Although I don't believe it, I really want to try Artorius's cooking if I could!

Joan of Arc shook her head and slapped her cheek with her hand.

"Altoris!"

"What's wrong?"

Shirou sat at the dining table reading the newspaper, which reported on the recent monster attack in Tulipas.

As for the truth about the monster, needless to say, it's a ghoul.

Although the vampire who started it all was eliminated last night, it seems that some of the ghouls he transformed are still hiding in the town.

Joan of Arc glanced at the newspaper and said, "Are you free during the day today?"

"Nothing else."

Shirou found it a little strange: They were clearly in an inn, so why was Ruler dressed in casual clothes so early in the morning? Where are your pajamas?

"In this case……"

The blonde girl turned her slightly flushed cheeks away and casually invited her:

"Shall we go to the city together during the day to clear out the ghouls?"

"You see...it would be dangerous to leave them unattended, wouldn't it?"

——This is a lie.

Ruler possesses the power of "revelation," allowing her to sense the location of lower-level monsters lurking in towns.

With her strength, dealing with a few lone ghouls would be a piece of cake.

The reason I invited Shirou was actually because of my guilt from last night.

Jeanne d'Arc formulated a flawed strategy, leading to Shirou engaging Lancer in battle once again.

Joan of Arc felt she should give him some compensation.

So I thought of taking Yoshiro out shopping during the day to let him relax after the continuous battles...

That is, dating.

----------------

Volume 5, Chapter 232: A Day with the Saint

"Huh? Go to the city to kill the ghouls?"

Upon hearing Jeanne's invitation, whose cheeks were slightly flushed, Shirou wore an expression of reluctance.

He was certainly concerned about the situation in the city and did not want to see the citizens attacked by monsters.

But, there must be a better option than having the Heroic Spirits use their daytime rest time to eliminate the ghouls, right?

For example, hand it over to the Holy Church, which is specifically responsible for monster extermination.

Aside from the place with the suspicious white-haired man, aren't there several other churches in Romania?

The community center, which is disguised as a public service center, is actually inhabited by priests who are monsters capable of demolishing buildings with their bare hands... I know that!

"How about contacting the church?" Shirou asked.

Jeanne said, "Actually... after learning about Amakusa Shiro's identity, I had already tried to contact the Church."

Shirou asked curiously, "Oh? What did they say?"

"The church already knew that the supervisors they had sent were out of control, and they decided to take a wait-and-see approach for the time being."

“...useless thing.”

"Don't say that!"

Joan of Arc puffed out her cheeks cutely and said angrily, "The Church also has its own difficulties."

Intervening at this point would only lead to a more chaotic situation.

Although Amakusa Shiro is not officially recognized as a saint, he does belong to the Holy Church.

This could potentially escalate into a civil war between the same organizations.

Moreover, they also seem to have some disagreements with the Magic Association, ultimately...

The church believed there was no need to be overly fixated on the false Holy Grail; it was merely a magical artifact created by magicians.

Joan of Arc sighed: "From the perspective of the Holy Church, it is truly regrettable that Amakusa Shiro is so obsessed with the so-called omnipotent wish-granting machine. As a comrade, he is really regrettable."

"...So that's it."

"Yeah! That's it!"

Joan of Arc leaned closer and continued her attack: "So, how about it? Will you come with me to wipe out the ghouls?"

I think you could wipe out the entire ghoul race in Europe by yourself...

Shirou was about to speak—

"Just go with her, Saber."

Shirou and Jeanne turned around and saw Aika walking out of the kitchen while taking off her apron.

"Is everything alright?" Shirou asked.

The girl nodded, her expression serious, and said, "Yes, these past few days, Saber has been protecting me at the inn during the day and going out to fight at night..."

You must be quite tired, right? I'll go out and relax today.

"No... I'm not going out to relax! I have serious business to attend to!"

Joan of Arc hurriedly explained.

Huh?

huh?

Strange?

Why did Aika agree to my date with Altoris so easily?

Joan of Arc's original idea was to invite Aika and the three of them go out together... but she didn't seem to have that intention at all.

Did I misunderstand? Did she not actually have those feelings for Altoris?

Joan of Arc was puzzled, and at that moment Shirou stood up and said something.

“Since it’s the Master’s order, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s go, Ruler.”

"Mmm...mmm...!"

Jeanne looked at Sajou Aika with suspicion.

"Take care on your journey!"

Aika walked up to Shirou and reached out to straighten his disheveled collar—

That heartwarming scene made Joan of Arc imagine herself as a wife seeing her husband off to work.