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*****
"Mr. Maple, may I ask—just what exactly are you?"
Before Emiya Shirou could respond, Tohsaka Rin stepped forward and fixed her gaze on George.
"I'm not as easy to fool as Shirou. I don't believe a tree that's been around for ten years suddenly turned into a magus—especially one this powerful."
She trusted Shirou wasn't lying, but he was a complete outsider to the world of magecraft—easily fooled by a few tricks.
Someone who wants Shirou's Command Seals and aims to become a Master? There was no way she wouldn't suspect something.
Following Rin's sharp question, everyone turned to George.
They all wanted to know: this mysterious magician who effortlessly defeated Lancer—was he actually the Maple Tree they'd heard of? Why was he here? What was his purpose?
George simply blinked.
"I am indeed a maple tree right now. But not just a maple tree. As for why I became one—that's my secret."
Unlike in previous worlds, he didn't bother fabricating lies when people questioned his identity or abilities.
No fanciful tales about a god teaching him magic, or a shapeshifting ritual gone wrong, or lessons from some ancient wizard.
After learning the basics of this world, he decided he no longer needed excuses.
Why should he explain where he came from, whom he learned from, or why his magic is strange? If he doesn't want to say it, he simply won't. It's that simple.
He was himself—his own kind of firework.
Seeing that he refused to reveal his identity, Tohsaka Rin's expression hardened.
This mysterious "Mr. Maple"—was he friend or foe? Was he after Shirou's Command Seals? Or did he have some other hidden goal?
"With that attitude, it's hard for us to trust you."
"But I don't seem to need your trust."
George smiled calmly as he sipped his tea, entirely unfazed by the wariness in Rin's eyes.
"Um… Rin, everyone has their own secrets. If Mr. Maple doesn't want to say, he must have his reasons.
I believe he isn't a bad person. If not for him just now, that Lancer would've killed me twice already."
Sensing the rising tension in the living room, Shirou hurried to smooth things over.
"You—honestly. I'm just trying to help you. But if you don't care, then I care even less."
Rin folded her arms in irritation when she saw Shirou actually defend George.
But after a moment's thought, she remembered: this was exactly who Shirou was—always putting others first, always helping people.
That was one of the reasons she'd always held a certain fondness for him.
"Forget it. Maybe keeping this naïve amateur out of the war is for the best. With his personality, he'd never last long on the battlefield anyway.
And Sakura would definitely be heartbroken."
"Mr. Maple, I'm willing to give you my Command Seals. But you have to promise—if you win the Holy Grail War in the end, you can't use the Grail to make an evil wish."
Shirou thought it over carefully and spoke to George with a bit of innocent seriousness.
He was a good person, not a fool. If George intended to use the Grail for evil, he would never hand over the seals.
George chuckled softly at that.
"Honestly, I have plenty of ways to take your Command Seals by force. But I'm not so shameless."
He lifted his teacup and took a sip.
"So you don't need to worry about me using the Grail for anything wicked. I'm someone with principles."
Seeing the odd looks on Rin, the swordswoman, and Archer's faces didn't surprise him.
Yes, he had defeated Lancer—but every Heroic Spirit possessed their own pride, their own Noble Phantasms. Until they actually fought, none of them believed they would lose for sure.
So besides Shirou, the other three all scoffed inwardly at his words.
If George really tried to take Shirou's Command Seals by force, first the swordswoman—his contracted Servant—would strike.
Then Rin, as his classmate, would intervene. And Archer, bound by her command, wouldn't stand idle.
In other words, George would be facing one magus and two Heroic Spirits simultaneously.
In this era, a magus capable of stopping two Heroic Spirits at once through raw power? No one had ever heard of such a thing.
"You don't believe me?"
George lightly tapped the tabletop with a finger.
"Time—Stop."
A wave of temporal power swept through the entire living room. Everyone except George froze in place.
At his level, a single time spell was enough to deal with most foes.
Unless the foe was at a Father-God tier, someone with sheer power that could forcibly shatter temporal restraints.
Otherwise, anyone without deep research into time magic would be immobilized in an instant, helpless before him.
The people before him were far from that realm.
Most Heroic Spirits weren't overwhelmingly powerful by themselves—their true strength came from the Noble Phantasms bestowed upon them through myth and legend.
Take Lancer, for example. In terms of physical strength and fighting skill, in the Marvel universe he'd barely qualify at Earth-level—and he might not even beat Thor.
Cu Chulainn was half-human, half-divine, but Thor was a true god.
Yet Lancer's Noble Phantasm could unleash causal attacks—something even George hadn't done.
So against time magic, neither Heroic Spirit could break free. Both were caught instantly.
One was a swordswoman, the other an archer—neither specialized in magecraft, let alone time magecraft.
If the Caster-class Servant were present, maybe there'd be a glimmer of hope.
As for Shirou and Rin—one a novice, the other from a magus family but still young—their actual combat prowess among magi wasn't considered strong.
Expecting them to break temporal bindings was pure fantasy.
Snap!
With a crisp snap of his fingers, Rin and the swordswoman instantly swapped clothing.
Snap!
Another snap—and Shirou and the white-haired Archer swapped outfits as well.
"These two do look alike."
The clothing exchange between Rin and the swordswoman created a drastic contrast—almost comical.
One slender and flat-chested, the other well-endowed; one in a Japanese schoolgirl's black stockings and short skirt, the other in a noble medieval gown.
But swapping Shirou and the white-haired Archer didn't cause much change at first glance.
He hadn't noticed before, but now that he looked closely, their features were almost identical except for hair style and color.
Especially their faces—one younger and softer, the other mature and stern.
"Interesting."
George drew a small fragment of soul from each for comparison, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
He discovered their soul essence was exactly the same.
(End of this chapter)