Outer forest of the Elsois Ruins.
When the massive wyvern finally lowered itself into a clearing between the trees, the sun had already sunk behind the horizon. Only a smear of violet-red remained in the sky, like the world was reluctant to let the day go.
The moment her feet hit the ground, Hestia clutched a tree trunk and made a sound no goddess should ever make.
"I'm done… I'm dragon-sick… my stomach is staging a coup…"
"Are you alright, Lady Hestia?" Lili asked. It was her first wyvern ride too, but as a seasoned supporter, she had the constitution of someone who'd eaten hardship for breakfast.
"Hmph. Pathetic." Artemis hopped down lightly, not even wrinkling her skirt. She glanced at Hestia with the familiar contempt of a best friend. "You can't handle this little bit of flying? You've gotten too comfortable in the Lower World."
"S-Shut up…" Hestia groaned weakly. "I'm… a brain worker…"
"Alright, alright—everyone take five." Shirou Emiya jumped down and, without thinking, caught Ais as she stepped off last.
"Thank you." Ais's cheeks tinted faintly. She didn't need the help, of course—but...this was a 'hero' privilege.
"Let's camp here tonight." Shirou scanned the surroundings. The mana density was moderate, monster presence was low, and the terrain was defensible.
In other words: a perfect spot for field cooking.
"Camping?!" Hestia instantly resurrected, eyes sparkling. "So that means… Shirou-kun is cooking?!"
"Obviously." Shirou rolled up his sleeves and smiled the kind of smile ingredients learned to fear. "If we're traveling, we're not eating rations. That's an insult to the word 'adventure.'"
"Trace."
Mana flowed—not for battle, but for—
Projected: Multi-purpose grill rack
Projected: Steel stew pot
Projected: Auto-rotating roast spit
Hermes, assigned to gathering firewood, stared at the absurdly high-end cookware that had appeared out of thin air.
"Hey, hey, Emiya—are you really using your mana like this? Mages would cry."
"Proper tools make proper work," Shirou said calmly as he processed the game he'd hunted on the way in: forest boar and horned deer. His knife work was so clean it bordered on sorcery—every slice uniform, every cut deliberate.
"Tonight's menu is: Special wild-meat skewers and rich mushroom stew."
"WOOOO!" came the chorus—three girls and one goddess, all sounding equally sincere.
Sizzle—!
The instant the marinated meat hit the grill, fat dripped onto the coals with a sound that could qualify as a hymn. The aroma—meat, smoke, and Orario spices—spread through the trees like an irresistible spell.
"So… good…" Ais crouched beside the grill, golden eyes locked onto the browning skewers. If a monster popped out right now to interrupt dinner, it would be reduced to atoms by pure wrath.
"Is it ready yet, Orion?" Artemis drifted closer too, nose twitching with unladylike interest. "This is my first time smelling something like this… is this Lower World food?"
"One minute." Shirou sprinkled cumin and chili flakes. "This step is… soul infusion."
"Alright—eat up!"
The moment the words left Shirou's mouth, the clearing turned into a tactical nightmare.
"This one's mine!""Hestia, you've already eaten two!""I'm a goddess! I need divine fuel!""I'M ALSO A GODDESS—and I'm Orion's goddess!"
Watching two goddesses nearly come to blows over grilled meat, while Ais quietly activated a Wind-enhanced acceleration technique to outpace them, and Lili exploited her smaller size to slip into blind spots—
Shirou (grill operator) and Hermes (alcohol distribution) exchanged a look.
A shared, wordless male understanding:
This is peace.Terrifying, loud, delicious peace.
Hermes took a sip and looked up at the moon.
"If only this peace could last forever."
Shirou flipped a skewer and stared into the embers, eyes deep.
"It will—once we solve that 'problem.'"
Everyone else crawled into tents—projected tents, naturally—full of food and warmth.
Everyone, except two.
Shirou sat by the fire's last glow.
Across from him, Artemis hugged her knees and watched him quietly.
"Can't sleep?" Shirou asked.
"Call me Artemis." Her silver hair shimmered in the moonlight. "Gods don't need sleep. And… I want to look at you a little longer."
Shirou rubbed the back of his neck. "About the whole 'Orion' thing…"
"You don't like it?" Her eyes dimmed, sudden and small—like an abandoned puppy.
"It's not that." Shirou exhaled. "It's just… I'm not him. I'm Emiya Shirou. A normal human."
"I know," Artemis whispered. "The real Orion… is already gone."
She looked up at the sky, at the constellation that bore his name.
"It's… a very sad story.""I… killed him with my own hands."
"…What?" Shirou's brows lifted.
"I was deceived—by a god's scheme." Her voice was steady, but the regret inside it was endless. "I shot an arrow through the chest of the one I loved. For the sake of 'purity' and 'oaths,' I lost the only person who truly understood me."
"After that, I swore never to love again.""Until… the spear chose you."
Artemis stood and approached. Her hand rose, touching Shirou's cheek.
Cold—like moonlight.
"Your soul is similar to his.""Pure. Stubborn. And… foolishly self-sacrificing."
"So when the spear chose you, I knew…"
Her eyes glistened. A tear slipped down, catching the firelight like crystal.
"This time… I don't want to miss it.""Even if…""Even if the end is still death."
Shirou didn't answer immediately.
Because he could feel it—this wasn't flirtation, and it wasn't a game. It was a grief that had survived a millennium.
Then he spoke.
"I won't let you die."
He reached out and held her hand. His amber eyes burned with a simple, stubborn fire.
"I'm not Orion. But I have my own oath.""As a 'hero of justice,' I will not let tragedy repeat itself."
He pointed north, toward the ruins where the air tasted faintly wrong.
"That thing—Antares.""I'll use my sword… no." He tightened his grip on Orion's Arrow. "I'll use your spear, and I'll blow it out of the sky."
"And I'll bring you back.""Whole."
Artemis froze, staring at him.
He was only human. He knew what waited. And yet he said it like it was obvious—like the world owed him a chance to make it right.
Then she laughed softly—light, beautiful, heartbreaking.
"…You really are my Orion."
She leaned down and kissed his forehead.
Not desire.
Blessing.A moon goddess's highest favor.
"Thank you, Emiya Shirou.""Tonight's moonlight… is beautiful."
"Crack."
A branch snapped in the bushes.
"Who's there?" Shirou and Artemis turned at once.
Three heads, stacked like a totem pole, froze behind the shrubbery:
Bottom: Hestia.Middle: Lili.Top: Ais.
They waved stiffly, caught red-handed.
"W-We were just… going to the bathroom," Hestia said, eyes darting."Purely passing by," Lili added, hiding a notebook behind her back."…Moon-gazing," Ais said with a perfectly blank face, pointing at the sky.
Shirou covered his face.
So they were listening the whole time.
Somewhere in the branches above, Hermes dropped down with a wine bottle like a man arriving exactly when trouble becomes entertaining.
"Since everyone's awake," he said cheerfully, "how about a pajama party to discuss tomorrow's operation plan?"
"Denied!" everyone shouted in perfect unison.
Despite the chaos, the night ended warm.
Everyone slept well.
Everyone, except Shirou.
He touched the spot on his forehead, then looked at Orion's Arrow resting beside him.
"God-slaying, huh…"
In his mind, an image surfaced—an ancient scorpion-like calamity, a beast that had swallowed divinity.
"If it were the old me… I couldn't do it."
But now—
Unlimited Blade Works.Level boosting support.And a spear made to pierce the stars.
Shirou closed his eyes, breathing in the last scent of smoke and grilled spices.
"Antares."
Dawn broke. The first light filtered through the trees.
The party packed up and began moving toward the Elsois Ruins—toward the final step of this absurd, tragic, ridiculous "vacation."
And somewhere ahead, in stone and darkness, a god-devouring monster waited to be taught a very human lesson:
This time, the story doesn't end the same way.
....
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