Central Plaza, Orario—Divine Moon Festival stage.
At this exact moment, the air was saturated with a single emotion:
"Collective, absolute confusion."
In the lingering afterglow of the blue pillar of light, the moon goddess Artemis—radiant in white divine vestments and unreasonably beautiful—was hugging Shirou Emiya tightly.
Her cheek pressed to his chest. Her clear eyes shimmered with the kind of millennium-spanning longing that could only be described as violently one-sided.
"Finally… I found you, my Orion."
That line hit like a Level 9 wide-area spell.
It nuked Shirou's brain.
It crit the blue-ribbon goddess in the audience.
And it turned a certain blonde Sword Princess's fried potato ball into powder.
"…Um, Goddess-sama?" Shirou raised both hands, frozen solid. "I'm sorry to interrupt this moving reunion, but I'm really not Orion. I'm Emiya Shirou. I'm a blacksmith, part-time cook, and—occasionally—a 'hero of justice' when my schedule hates me."
"No, you are," Artemis said, lifting her head with the pure stubbornness of a natural-born airhead. "This soul color… this pure light… it can't be wrong. You're the Orion I've been searching for."
And then, like she was confirming ownership, she rubbed her cheek against his chest again.
Shirou's HP (Shame) plummeted.
The blue ribbon goddess detonates
"LET—GO—OF—HIM!!!"
A glass-shattering scream ripped the stage apart.
Hestia launched like an angry bird and slammed onto the platform. She grabbed Artemis by the shoulder, trying to peel the "divine sticky note" off Shirou.
"ARTEMIS! What are you doing?! That's my—my reserved captain! Not your Orion!"
"Hestia?" Artemis tilted her head. She didn't release him—she hugged tighter. "Long time no see. But Orion is Orion. This spear chose him. That is fate."
"What fate?! This is Hermes's scam!" Hestia pointed at the culprit—Hermes—who was whistling and looking at the sky like innocence had a face.
"And aren't you one of the 'three virgin goddesses'? You're supposed to be 'absolutely not dating'! What is this shameless hugging?!"
"Because it's Orion, it's fine," Artemis replied, serene and lethal. "Orion is special. I want to stay with him… always. (Physically.)"
Hestia took 10,000 emotional damage on the spot.
Shirou finally found air to speak. "Can… can someone let me breathe? If a goddess keeps hugging me like this, my social life will die instantly."
"Oh, sorry." Artemis released him—then immediately grabbed his sleeve like a child afraid he'd vanish.
Her expression turned serious. A flicker of divine authority spread over the stage—quiet, heavy, unmistakable.
"Emiya Shirou… no, Orion."
"I have something I must ask of you."
"…Ask me?" Shirou blinked.
Artemis pointed at the spear in his hand—
Orion's Arrow.
"Please… kill me."
Ten minutes later: Hermes Familia's VIP meeting room
"So this is… an 'assassinate a god' quest?"
Shirou sat on a sofa with a cup of tea, wearing the exact expression of a man reading an absurd contract clause.
Across from him, Artemis sat straight-backed and calm.
Between them, Hestia wedged herself like a territorial hen.
Hermes stood to the side with a weary smile, laying everything out.
"To be accurate," Hermes said, unfolding a map, "it's a request to slay the monster that has devoured the goddess."
His finger tapped a northern region outside Orario:
Elsois Ruins.
"Deep within that ruin," Hermes continued, "an ancient beast was sealed—Antares."
"Artemis left her divinity—her power and her very existence—there to bind it. What stands before you now is only a projection formed from residual divine power… a 'thought-body' shaped by longing."
Shirou looked at Artemis.
To ordinary eyes she was flawless.
But under Mind's Eye (True), her existence trembled—like a candle in wind, like something already halfway erased.
"Antares is using my power to break the seal," Artemis said quietly. "If it fully awakens, it will be a catastrophe worse than the Black Dragon. Its arrows can blanket an entire continent. No one would survive."
"The only thing that can kill it," she said, "is that spear."
She pointed to Orion's Arrow.
"And the only one who can wield it… is the 'hero' it chooses."
Shirou pointed at himself. "So… me."
Hermes nodded. "We tried every strong adventurer in Orario. Only you could draw it out. Emiya Shirou—you're the only option."
Shirou sighed. "So I'm the 'Chosen Tool' in a classic RPG plot."
He wanted to complain.
He wanted to throw the spear back at Hermes's face.
But Artemis's eyes—sad, hopeful, unbearably sincere—
A "hero of justice" simply couldn't reject that.
"I understand." Shirou set his tea down. His gaze sharpened. "I'm not Orion, and I'm not interested in being some grand savior… but if it's killing a monster and saving a goddess, I'll take the job."
"Really?!" Artemis's face lit up—then she lunged forward again. "Thank you! Orion! I knew you would! I love you the most!"
"NO HUGGING! NO BODY CONTACT!" Hestia panicked and tried to pry her off. "Shirou-kun! You're really going?! That's outside Orario! It's dangerous!"
"It's fine," Shirou said with a gentle smile. "Watching tragedy happen and doing nothing… that's the thing I can't do."
Hestia stared at him, defeated by his terminal good-guy syndrome.
Then she slammed her hands on her hips.
"Then I'm going too!"
"…Huh?" Everyone blinked.
"I'm not letting Shirou-kun travel with this—this shameless goddess!" Hestia declared, righteous and extremely jealous. "I'm going to monitor you! Yes! Protect your chastity!"
A cold voice at the door
"I'm going too."
The voice was calm, sharp—like a blade drawn slowly.
Ais Wallenstein stepped in.
Still wearing her white dress, still holding a bag of fried potato balls—
but her eyes were more dangerous than her sword.
"Ais?" Shirou said, genuinely surprised.
"I'm going." She walked to his side and, without hesitation, hooked her arm around his.
The exact spot Hestia had been aiming for.
"I'm… your guard."
Hermes watched the scene unfold and smiled like a man witnessing a disaster he personally scheduled.
"…This is getting lively," he murmured. "Unlimited, the Sword Princess, two goddesses… this isn't a hunting party. It's a war-zone sightseeing tour."
A small figure popped out from behind Ais.
"And me! I'm going too!" Lili said, backpack already strapped on. "Mr. Emiya's… wallet—no, Mr. Emiya's logistics must be managed by Lili!"
Shirou stood up, looking at the chaotic, reliable group around him. Something hot and brave rose in his chest.
"Alright."
"Destination: Elsois Ruins."
"Mission: slay Antares, save the goddess."
"And… while we're at it, a 'travel-on-a-whim' trip."
Twilight Manor: Loki's room
"So… you want leave?" Loki sat cross-legged on the couch, playing with Hermes's "hush money" (rare divine liquor), watching Shirou with narrowed eyes.
"Yes," Shirou said. "About a week. I'll be back as soon as it's done."
"Tch. Hermes really thinks he can borrow my kids whenever he wants." Loki clicked her tongue—but didn't seem truly angry.
"Go on. You're on break after the expedition anyway. But—"
She leaned in, red eyes gleaming.
"Remember this, Emiya. You're Loki Familia. Wherever you go, whatever god you run into—don't embarrass me."
Then she pointed at Orion's Arrow.
"And don't rely on that spear too much. It's an artifact, sure—
but your Unlimited Blade Works is your real weapon."
"Yes." Shirou nodded seriously. "Understood."
"And one more thing!" Loki's expression flipped into full gossip mode. "Ais-chan is going too, right? Hehehe… lonely wilderness, 'just the two of you'—(even with extra lamps)—you know what I mean?"
"I DON'T!" Shirou fled.
Next morning: North Gate of Orario
A massive flying dragon—provided by Hermes Familia—was crouched on the ground, ready to depart.
"Waaah! A dragon!" Hestia ran around it in circles. "It's my first time riding one! Will we fall?!"
"Relax," Asfi—Hermes Familia's captain, known as the "Universal One"—said, adjusting her glasses with a tired face. "With me piloting, you won't. Though I would like to throw a certain god off, hypothetically."
"Alright, everyone up—uh… on dragon!" Hermes shouted.
Shirou helped Lili and Hestia onto the dragon's back, then turned to Ais.
Today Ais had changed into her combat light armor. Her Despair Sword was polished bright.
"Ready?" Shirou asked.
Ais nodded, then—quietly—reached out and tugged the corner of his shirt.
"…What is it?"
"Nothing." She looked away toward the sky, voice small. "Just… traveling with you feels… nice."
Shirou paused, then smiled softly. He reached back and took her hand.
"Yeah."
"Me too."
"HEY!" Hestia yelled from the dragon's back. "Stop firing flashbangs and get up here! And ARTEMIS! You're NOT allowed to sit next to Shirou-kun! That's MY seat!"
"Orion's side is my special seat~" Artemis sang sweetly.
"YOU THIEF CAT!"
In the middle of shouting, dragging, and divine jealousy, the dragon spread its wings and rose into the clouds, heading north.
Wind roared past Shirou's ears.
Orario shrank beneath them.
And with the spear in his grip—and the strange weight of a goddess's fate on his shoulders—Shirou felt the familiar pull of a new mission begin.
A new enemy.
A new tragedy to avert.
And, apparently… another day of being forced into the role of "Super Bear."
He tightened his hold on Orion's Arrow, eyes sharp.
"Wait for me, Antares," he murmured.
"Whether you're a calamity, a myth, or a monster…"
"…I'm coming to end it."
....
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