Morning in Orario.
For once, sunlight pierced the thin mist and spilled over the Babel Tower that stabbed straight into the sky.
"Hah… finally out."
Shirou Emiya took a long breath—air that smelled of damp earth and, more importantly, breakfast-stall grease—and felt his soul reattach to his body.
Sure, Floor 39's "Safe Zone" had airflow too, but that mixture of monster stench and glowing-moss mildew was basically an assault on the nose.
"Surface air really is the best," Lili sighed, stretching wide. Even her enormous backpack—stuffed with deep-floor drops worth a fortune—looked lighter.
"We… we're back!" Tiona burst out the Babel Tower doors and yelled at the sky like she'd just won a championship.
Behind them, Loki Familia's expedition force poured out in a long, battered column. Everyone was wounded, armor cracked, faces exhausted—
Yet the pressure coming off them, that tempered-by-death aura, snapped the entire plaza into silence.
"Is that… Loki Familia?"
"They're back? How long were they down there—half a month?"
"Look at them… don't tell me they really reached Floor 50…"
People stopped. Adventurers and civilians alike stared with open reverence.
Finn, walking at the front, carried fatigue on his face—but his famous thumb was steady as ever. He raised his spear and smiled with calm confidence.
"Mission complete," Finn said. His voice wasn't loud, yet a magic amplification carried it across the square. "Floor 59… we couldn't fully clear it, but we opened the road."
The crowd exploded.
Cheers, clapping, whistles—heroic triumph roaring into the sky. A great victory, a rare moment where humanity could look at the Dungeon and say, we pushed it back.
"Tch. Finn's still a show-off," Bete muttered, acting annoyed—while sticking his chest out higher than anyone.
"Emiya, what is it?" Ais noticed Shirou lowering his head, thinking.
"Nothing," Shirou said, lifting his gaze with a resigned smile. "Just thinking… we're going to get dragged into another banquet by certain people."
He nodded toward the side.
Hestia was there, waving her trademark blue ribbon like a spring-loaded toy. "Shirou-kun—!! You're back!! I missed you so much (and your cooking)!!"
"…See?" Shirou sighed—yet his eyes were warm.
That was Orario: dangerous, scheming, chaotic… but full of smoke, laughter, and a stubborn sense of home.
Three days later
The expedition's exhaustion slowly melted away under divine liquor and ridiculous amounts of food. Loki Familia finally got a proper break.
And today just happened to be Orario's annual grand festival—
The Divine Moon Festival (Elegia).
A celebration to honor the moon goddess, to pray for harvest and safety. Streets were draped in silver and gold. Stalls lined every road. Bards sang in the plazas. Gods and mortals mixed freely, soaked in the same noise and joy.
"Waaah! So much good food!"
Shirou held a skewer of grilled squid—didn't even get to bite it before Haruhime dragged him off.
Today Haruhime wasn't in her stiff shrine maiden outfit. She wore a pink yukata-style dress, fan in hand, fox ears twitching with excitement.
"S-Shirou-sama! Over there—fried potato balls! Festival-limited 'Moon-Viewing Potato Balls!'" Her eyes sparkled like she'd found treasure.
"Haruhime," Shirou said, half-laughing, "we had lunch like an hour ago."
"But… but it's limited!" she pouted, poking her fingers together. "And Lady Ais is already lining up…"
Shirou followed her finger.
Sure enough: Ais was in the long queue, impossibly noticeable even in a crowd. She was also holding onto a thoroughly miserable Bete—clearly functioning as the wallet.
"Honestly…" Shirou shook his head, pulling out his money. "Fine. My treat today. We're celebrating that we survived."
"Yay! Shirou-sama is the best!"
Moon-Viewing Potato Balls
"Here, Ais." Shirou handed her a warm paper bag.
"Thank you." Ais took it, and her face softened in that special way that only appeared around food—and, lately, around Shirou too.
Today she wore a white dress instead of armor. Less Sword Princess, more quiet neighborhood girl.
"Emiya," she said after a bite, eyes half-closing in bliss. "This… is good. There's egg yolk inside."
"That's what 'moon-viewing' means," Shirou said, taking a bite himself. "Not bad. Batter's a bit thick though—if the heat were higher it'd crisp better."
Ais blinked. "You're analyzing it again."
"Occupational habit."
A suspicious flyer
Lili—currently dressed in a squirrel mascot suit, apparently working part-time for money—squeezed in with a pamphlet.
"Mr. Emiya! Have you heard about the Divine Moon Festival's main event?"
"Main event?"
"At the central plaza!" Lili pointed toward the Babel Tower. "Hermes Familia is hosting something huge: 'Find the Chosen Hero!'"
"Apparently, if you can pull the spear from the crystal, you get a luxury prize!"
Lili's eyes turned into coins. "The prize is—a world travel voucher! And—'a special date fully sponsored by Hermes Familia'!"
Shirou froze.
Pulling a weapon from a crystal?
This was the most aggressively familiar premise he'd heard in weeks.
"It's the discount version of 'sword in the stone,'" Shirou muttered. "Except it's a spear."
Ais swallowed her last potato ball and wiped her mouth. "Sounds interesting. Go?"
"If Ais wants to see it…" Shirou shrugged. "Sure. Let's watch the chaos."
Central Plaza: Orion's Arrow
The plaza was packed.
A massive stage had been erected. At its center stood a huge crystal glowing faintly blue.
And embedded within it—
A spear, old-fashioned in design, yet carrying a strangely holy presence.
Orion's Arrow.
"Come one, come all! Don't miss your chance!"
A god in a feathered hat and traveler's outfit stood on stage, shouting into an amplification magic stone.
Hermes. Of course.
"Humans, dwarves, beastmen! Level 1 or Level 6, it doesn't matter!" Hermes announced grandly. "If you pull this spear, you're the hero chosen by the goddess!"
"Win the goddess's favor! Gain the artifact! And claim the prize! Doesn't your heart race?!"
The crowd surged with excitement.
"I'll do it!" A tall, two-meter brute climbed up—Ganesha Familia, Level 4. He grabbed the spear, muscles bulging, veins popping, face going purple.
He pulled like his life depended on it.
The spear didn't move.
Not even a millimeter.
"Next!" Hermes waved cheerfully.
More challengers tried—some even from Freya Familia.
All failed.
"This is impossible!"
"Did you glue it?!"
"This is a scam!"
Boos started rising.
Hermes sighed dramatically. "Ah, so Orario's men are all weak, huh…"
But his eyes weren't on the angry crowd.
He was searching.
And then his gaze locked onto the red-haired boy at the edge.
"Oh? Well, well—if it isn't our celebrity!"
Hermes hopped off the stage and slung an arm around Shirou's shoulders like they were old drinking buddies.
"Yo! 'Senji Muramasa'! Emiya Shirou!"
"Hermes," Shirou said flatly, pushing him away. "What do you want?"
"Don't be cold." Hermes pointed at the spear. "Try it. You might like it."
"No." Shirou refused immediately. "I'm a sword guy. Not interested in spears."
Hermes leaned in, lowering his voice. "I heard what you did on Floor 37. That 'light cannon'… this spear might have a connection to you."
Then Hermes glanced at Ais and Haruhime and grinned like a menace. "And if you pull it out, you can travel the world with cute girls. That's a man's romance, right?"
Shirou went silent.
He didn't care about travel vouchers.
But the spear—
Ever since he'd stepped closer, his magic circuits had been faintly vibrating. He wasn't even using Structural Analysis, yet instinct screamed:
There was an intent inside that weapon.
Cold. Pure. Sad.
Ais tugged Shirou's sleeve. "Emiya. Try?"
Shirou exhaled. "Fine. After-meal exercise."
He stepped onto the stage.
All eyes instantly snapped to him.
"It's the 'Unlimited' guy!"
"He's the one who nuked a boss!"
"If anyone can do it…"
Shirou stopped before the crystal.
The spear didn't feel oppressive like a typical divine artifact. Instead it carried a quiet chill—
Like moonlight.
"Trace Off."
He didn't reinforce his body. Didn't strengthen his grip.
He simply placed his right hand around the spear's shaft.
Not to conquer it with force.
But to understand it.
Are you… waiting for someone? Shirou asked silently.
The spear answered.
"VMMMM—!!"
A blinding blue pillar erupted from the spear and blasted straight into the sky.
The crystal cracked with a sharp, clean sound.
Crack.
In front of everyone—
The spear that countless strong men couldn't budge…
Slid out as if it had decided on its own.
Shirou stared at it in his hand.
"…I didn't even pull."
"SUCCESS!!" Hermes screamed, practically vibrating. "A hero is born!"
The light faded.
And a beautiful, translucent figure appeared before Shirou.
Silver hair like moonlight. A white dress. A longbow slung behind her back.
A goddess.
Artemis.
She floated gently, eyes clear and heartbreakingly soft.
"At last… I've found you."
She smiled the kind of smile that hurt to look at.
"My… Orion."
Shirou's brain completely blanked.
"…Huh?"
Orion?
Who?
I'm Shirou Emiya!
And why did pulling a spear summon a goddess?!
Also—why is she looking at me like I'm a tragic romance lead?!
Down below, Ais's potato ball slipped from her hand and hit the ground with a soft plop.
Her fingers tightened around her sword hilt without thinking.
"That goddess…" Ais murmured, eyes narrowing.
Haruhime, standing beside her, spoke with the blunt clarity of a fox who had seen too many romances collapse.
"…That's an enemy."
The festival's laughter and music continued.
But for Shirou Emiya, a new journey—one tied to myth, stars, and something painfully inevitable—had just begun.
....
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