Faced with that kind of enthusiasm, Shane actually found it hard to cope.
He could only keep a polite but slightly distant smile, nodding and offering the occasional reply.
"Dad! Where did you run off to? I've been looking everywhere!"
Just then, a crisp, bell-like little girl's voice rang out from the other end of the corridor.
A child in an ornate princess dress, with emerald-green hair pinned up neatly, came hopping toward King Toma like a little bird. Behind her followed a knight, wearing a helpless smile.
The little girl threw her arms around Toma's arm and shook it sweetly. "Father, do you know what I just saw in the garden? Five super, super bright shooting stars—whoosh!—they streaked past from that direction!"
She pointed roughly toward where the Eclipse Gate was, her face full of thrilled excitement at having discovered something new.
"Your Majesty." The accompanying knight bowed.
"Oh? Is that so, my Hisui-chan?" Toma fondly patted his daughter's hair. "Seeing a shooting star is a sign of good luck. Did you remember to make a wish?"
"Ah!" Princess Hisui let out a short yelp, then stuck her tongue out in embarrassment, giggling. "I got too excited and totally forgot to make a wish!"
So this was the princess of Fiore.
Standing to the side, Shane quietly observed the father–daughter exchange.
Hisui's innocent report neatly confirmed that the five streaks of light really had flown off into the distance, which made Shane even more concerned about what consequences the Eclipse Gate incident might have.
He'd ask Layla about it later.
For now, he mainly wanted to figure out what the Lancer card could do.
"Your Majesty, Princess," Shane spoke up at the right moment, his tone calm. "I won't take up more of your time. That magic just now left me a bit tired—I'd like to return to my room and rest."
Toma's attention was already back on his daughter. He didn't insist on keeping Shane, only warmly instructed a servant to guide him.
Shane gave Princess Hisui and the knight a small nod, then followed the servant toward the prepared guest room.
Back in the room Toma had arranged for him, Shane locked the door behind him, cutting off the scattered noise outside.
"Noble Phantasms are the crystallization of a Heroic Spirit's legend… the biggest clue…"
He muttered seriously, repeating a truth he'd already verified twice.
Whether it was Arash's Crimson Greatbow or Senji Muramasa's "armory" that held countless blades, the form and abilities had always been tightly tied to their lives.
So this Lancer's Noble Phantasm had to hide clues to the true name as well.
He didn't hesitate. With a thought, the dark-gold class card appeared in his hand.
"Lancer."
As he silently invoked it, the card scattered into points of light that gathered and shaped themselves between his hands.
A moment later, Shane felt his hands grow heavy—two strange weapons had formed in his grip.
They looked a bit like hiltless swords: short and broad blades, with an integrated guard beneath that was cleverly designed to allow a firm two-handed hold.
Given the wielder's class, Shane decided to call them "spears," for now.
The bodies were a pale blue, with flowing gold lines accenting key junctions, giving them a distinctive, almost elegant beauty.
He swung them a few times through the air.
The wind-splitting sound was low and sharp.
The shapes were odd, but the feel was perfect—no awkwardness at all. Instead, he could clearly sense a condensed, powerful force feeding back from the weapons.
Shane wasn't surprised.
Every time he manifested a Noble Phantasm, the class card also poured a portion of the Heroic Spirit's usage experience into him.
The real question was what abilities these weapons carried.
He closed his eyes and focused, feeling them out.
Not long after, Shane snapped his eyes open, brows tightly knit.
"No matter what kind of abnormal mental state you're in, you can still perform all your combat techniques perfectly… that's it?"
He couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice.
Objectively, it wasn't a weak ability—simple and strong.
Staying at peak technical performance under any condition meant confusion, fear, enchantment, and other mental interference wouldn't blunt your skill. Any warrior would dream of that.
Compared to Arash's initial Arrow Creation, it even looked better on paper.
But Shane's situation was special.
He could only use one class card at a time—no stacking.
In any truly high-stakes fight, he would prioritize a card that could be fully "True Name Released," which meant he couldn't simultaneously maintain the Lancer's "clarity" state anyway.
So compared to an ability that was straightforward and plain, what he really valued was a Noble Phantasm's "specialness" and "versatility."
Muramasa's armory was the perfect example—its huge weapon stock let him manifest whatever fit the situation, and from the moment he got it, it practically replaced Arash's bow in everyday use.
But these twin "spears"… right now, they seemed to do little beyond preventing a drop in combat performance.
More importantly, aside from telling him the Heroic Spirit was highly skilled and strong-willed, Shane couldn't see any real clue to the true name.
And heroes who fit that description? There were dozens in legend.
"This isn't right…" Shane muttered. "A fourth-layer summon nearly killed me with the first vision—there's no way the Noble Phantasm is this 'thin.'"
He steadied himself and probed the twin weapons again, more carefully.
Time passed.
Then his expression froze—confusion twisting into something genuinely strange.
"Wait… there really is more?"
He whispered in disbelief.
He'd only kept digging out of stubbornness, but he actually found something.
Deep inside the weapons, he sensed a "lock."
As if the current form wasn't their complete form.
"Don't tell me… they can undergo some kind of… 'second release'?"
The thought was completely outside his understanding.
From everything he'd seen, before the true name was confirmed, a Noble Phantasm should only appear in a base form with base abilities.
So why did this Lancer's Noble Phantasm hide a deeper change even without true-name identification?
"Is this what's special about a fourth-layer Heroic Spirit?"
Shane couldn't help but complain in his head.
"Why make it so complicated? Would it really break some fundamental law to just tell me the name?"
But complaining aside, he acted without hesitation.
He gathered his focus, guiding his magic power to "touch" that hidden lock.
Humm—
The twin weapons trembled slightly. The gold lines on the pale-blue bodies lit with a faint glow—only to dim instantly and return to normal.
A clear sense of resistance pushed back.
Shane's brows knitted again. It didn't feel like there was a special condition to trigger the second release.
More like… the weapons had only just been manifested, and he hadn't "synced" with them enough yet.
Their connection wasn't strong enough to reach that locked layer.
"So it needs time…" Shane sighed.
And he had no idea what would change once it unlocked.
Looks like there was no rushing this.
He dismissed the twin weapons, letting them fold back into the class card and sink into his body. Then he turned toward the bed—soft-looking and inviting—ready to finally give his overworked brain a break.
Just then—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A crisp, restrained knock sounded, breaking the room's silence.
At this hour? Who could it be?
Shane paused.
King Toma should be enjoying time with his daughter, and palace servants wouldn't normally disturb him without an order.
Frowning, Shane went to the door and pulled it open.
Outside stood two people.