With both hands in his pockets, Shirou lifted his head and looked up at the sky.
His eyes reflected faint points of light.
For his past self, there had only ever been conviction.
But conviction alone was never enough.
Power was still necessary.
After Shirou gave his answer, no one spoke.
Not Tiona and Tione, who had been watching the exchange with interest.
Not even Ais, who had been the one to ask the question.
The five of them continued walking down the street in silence.
At the very back of the group, Ais looked at Shirou's back.
For some reason, she felt like she was seeing herself.
People burdened with something.
People with goals they had to reach.
"Conviction..."
Ais repeated the word quietly in her heart.
She asked herself whether her own conviction was truly as firm as the one carried by the person walking ahead of her.
At the front, Tiona and Tione led the way.
Even as they walked, they kept an eye on the two behind them through their peripheral vision.
The reason they had invited Shirou out today wasn't just curiosity.
More importantly, Ais had questions she wanted to ask him.
They both knew parts of Ais's past.
If this could help her, they were more than willing to make the effort.
What they hadn't expected-
Was that the new member of their Familia wasn't simple either.
This guy might be trouble too.
What a headache.
The group's destination was a forging Familia in Orario.
The Gobniu Familia.
While they couldn't compare to the Hephaestus Familia in scale, the performance of their weapons was on the same level.
Many elite-grade weapons used by the Loki Familia were forged here.
Ais's Despair Sword was one of Gobniu Familia's proud works.
And there was also Tiona's Olga.
A massive twin blade.
Later corroded by monsters.
Valued at 120 million Valis.
Standing off to the side, Shirou watched as Tiona, Tione, and Ais spoke with the Gobniu Familia's blacksmiths.
With nothing to do, he turned to Lefiya.
"I heard that Riveria thinks very highly of you," Shirou said casually. "You're a powerful sorceress, right?"
"Not at all!"
Hearing the question, Lefiya immediately recalled how fear had made her fail her chant during the expedition.
Her mood sank.
After telling Shirou what had happened, she lowered her head.
"I'm really terrible... If it were Emiya-san, you'd definitely do better than me."
"Indeed."
Shirou crossed his arms and nodded calmly.
The Lefiya in front of him visibly wilted.
Realizing his mistake, Shirou quickly followed up.
"I'm joking. Don't take it seriously."
It didn't help.
Lefiya looked completely lifeless.
If Tiona and the others saw her like this later, he'd definitely be accused of bullying a comrade.
That wouldn't end well.
I need to fix this.
Looking at Lefiya squatting on the ground and staring blankly at the floor, Shirou reached out and pulled her up.
"Speaking of which," he said, "I'm LV.2 now."
"But I don't have anyone to explore the Dungeon with yet."
He looked at her.
"Lefiya, would you like to team up with me?"
"Eh...? Me...?"
Lefiya's face flushed instantly.
Part of it was the invitation.
The rest was Shirou's hand holding her arm.
In this world, elves only allowed people they acknowledged to touch them.
Otherwise, they would feel strong repulsion.
Yet-
Looking at Shirou's hand, Lefiya realized something.
She didn't feel repulsed at all.
Do I... not dislike Emiya-san touching me?
Her mind froze.
Seeing her staring off into space, Shirou waved his free hand in front of her face.
"Lefiya. Lefiya. Lefiya."
"Yes!"
She snapped back immediately.
"Well?" Shirou asked. "Will you accept my invitation?"
"Yes!"
The words came out before her brain caught up.
Eh?
What did I just say?!
Lefiya stood there completely stunned.
She hadn't processed anything.
She had just agreed.
"All right," Shirou said with a nod. "Then I'll need to prepare properly when I get back today."
No, no, no!
Don't prepare!
Regret flooded Lefiya instantly.
But looking at Shirou's smiling face, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
"...Yes."
Ah.
I've resigned myself.
So be it.
Emiya-san is strong anyway. I probably won't drag him down.
Seeing her agree, Shirou felt satisfied.
This was a sorceress.
And as everyone knew, mages were a high-value profession.
A powerful mage could change the tide of battle.
Lefiya was still inexperienced.
But she was Riveria's chosen successor.
Orario's strongest sorceress.
Her potential was unquestionably top-tier.
Her poor performance during the expedition was due to facing enemies that were simply too strong, leaving her unable to adapt.
In the middle floors-
Or even the lower floors-
She was still a strategic weapon.
How to use her properly would be up to him.
As Shirou was already thinking about tomorrow's arrangements, Ais, Tiona, and Tione came back out.
"How was it?"
"Everything went smoothly," Tiona replied. "One day of maintenance. We can pick it up tomorrow."
Looking at the darkening sky, Tione thought for a moment.
"There's an expedition celebration party tonight at the Hostess of Fertility."
"Why don't we go straight there?"
"Or take a stroll first, then head over."
"Sounds good."
Everyone nodded.
-
"So Lefiya will be teaming up with Shirou tomorrow?"
Riveria set her cup down and looked at Lefiya beside her, her expression gentle but concerned.
They were at the Hostess of Fertility.
A tavern Loki loved.
Every time the Loki Familia returned from an expedition, their celebration was held here.
This time was no exception.
The tavern was lively.
Members of the Loki Familia drank and ate freely, loudly boasting about their achievements.
Laughter filled the air.
The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.
After several rounds of drinks, the large gathering naturally broke into smaller groups.
Conversations grew quieter.
Riveria sat beside Lefiya.
"That's good," she said. "Although Shirou has only just joined, he's steady."
"His decision to go to the Seventeenth Floor looked dangerous, but he understood his limits."
"He plans carefully."
"With him, you may experience things you normally wouldn't."
"Yes."
Lefiya nodded.
Her gaze drifted to another table.
Shirou was sitting there, talking with Ais and Tiona.
For some reason-
He felt reliable.
"Is this the famous 'Magic Sword Archer'?"
"...Magic Sword Archer?"
Shirou looked at the grey-haired waitress in front of him, confused.
"That's what everyone's calling you."
"An archer whose attacks are comparable to magic swords."
She smiled.
"Doesn't it fit?"
Magic Sword Archer.
It sounded like something along the lines of a "Nuclear Sword Immortal."
Not bad.
"...Surprisingly, I don't dislike it."
Shirou nodded in satisfaction.
Then he looked at the girl and smiled.
"May I ask your name?"
"Syr Flova."
"Syr..."
Shirou repeated it softly, then chuckled.
"That's a nice name."
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter