Anya's voice was faint, carrying a hint of confusion.
"If Anya doesn't like adventuring, then it's okay not to do it."
Emiya looked at her and said seriously, "Anya, whether you're an adventurer or not, we won't abandon you."
Anya slightly raised her head, her cat ears lightly trembling, uncertainty flickering in her eyes, "Shirou..."
Being an adventurer, in the end, was just a career choice. If Anya didn't want to continue being one, then changing careers wasn't a big deal.
As for strength and talent… these were never decisive factors in whether one should adventure or not.
Even objectively speaking, if Anya stopped being an adventurer, it might waste her talent, but Emiya didn't care about that.
"Anya, do you want to become an adventurer?", Emiya asked softly.
A trace of unease and panic flashed in the catgirl's eyes. She lowered her head, voice filled with confusion, "I... I don't know..."
This question, Anya had never seriously thought about it.
She had originally wanted to become an adventurer because she wanted to keep up with her brother.
Later on, she joined Emiya's party to follow them, to not be left behind.
"Or rather, why did you want to become an adventurer?", Emiya continued asking.
Anya's gaze wavered slightly. She nervously pressed her lips together, voice soft as a mosquito's buzz, "I wanted... to keep up with everyone..."
Emiya gently raised his hand and softly stroked Anya's hair, "If that's the case, Anya, then it's okay not to be an adventurer. Whether it's me or Syr and the others, we won't abandon you just because you stop being an adventurer."
Anya lowered her head. She opened her mouth to speak, but didn't know how to express herself.
Emiya continued, his voice gentle, "Everyone likes you. It has nothing to do with level or strength. It's because, Anya, you're our family."
Tears welled up in Anya's eyes. She softly asked, "Shirou, do you also like cats..."
"Mm, I like them, as family," Emiya said.
A trace of hope flashed in Anya's eyes. She asked, somewhat uncertain, "Then Shirou, can you raise a cat...?"
Without hesitation, Emiya replied, "Of course. Anya, whether or not you continue being an adventurer, I can take care of you."
Honestly speaking, from a financial perspective, Emiya could easily afford to raise dozens of catgirls like Anya without pressure.
Anya lowered her head, her cheeks turning bright red. After a moment of silence, she spoke softly.
"Cat... still wants to continue being an adventurer. Cat wants... to go on adventures with everyone," She continued, "But, Shirou, cat isn't sure... if she can hold on."
"So, if one day... cat really can't continue anymore, Shirou, will you become cat's owner?", Anya softly said.
Emiya replied, "Mm, I promise you."
Anya suddenly pounced forward, hugging Emiya tightly. A familiar smile reappeared on her face, her ears happily trembling.

"Shirou is the best, nya!", She snuggled her head against Emiya's shoulder like a spoiled child, her tail wagging joyfully.
Hearing that familiar energetic catchphrase again, Emiya relaxed, showing a warm smile.
He gently patted Anya's back, comforting the girl.
"Don't worry, Anya, you don't need to worry about [Goddess's Chariot]... I will become stronger than him."
"It won't take long."
———
At the same time, outside of Anya's room—
"So, what are they saying? Their voices are too quiet, I can't hear a thing," Syr whispered, complaining.
Beside her, catgirl Chloe had her ear pressed firmly to the door, listening with full focus.
When she heard certain words, however, her brows furrowed, showing a confused expression.
"I heard the word 'owner'?", She spoke with a puzzled look.
The girls exchanged glances.
Emiya, Anya, and the word "owner", such a combination instantly made them think of, "Emiya is going to be Anya's owner."
Immediately, suggestive and unclear images began surfacing in their minds.
"You cheating little cat!", In Ryuu's mind, various indecent scenes pieced themselves together.
The girl's cheeks turned slightly red, anger rising in her eyes. Without hesitation, she burst through the door.
As the door suddenly swung open, Emiya and Anya froze in place, still in a hugging pose, while Ryuu stood in the doorway, her gaze sharp like a blade.
"Anya, you shameless little cheating cat!", Ryuu pounced forward, while Anya let out a "nya" and dodged clumsily.
Lunoire peeked in and, seeing the scene, couldn't help but sigh, "Ah, this kind of development... feels rather expected."
Chloe pouted and grumbled in disappointment, "So boring. Where's the collar? What about the cat teaser stick?"
Syr also walked in from the side, looked at Emiya, and shook her head helplessly, sighing, "Shirou, you greedy man."
"No, you've got it all wrong, nya...", Anya panicked completely, blurting out, "Nya! Shirou, if cat's legs get broken, you have to take care of me."
Chaos erupted all at once.
Until Mama Mia heard the commotion and arrived, first beating up Ryuu for damaging the building, then giving the noisy catgirls and human girls a solid thrashing, things finally calmed down.
———
Emiya and the girls were hiding in the courtyard, eating ice cream together. Just now, he had already explained everything clearly.
Lunoire shook her head, "What, so that's all it was? I thought you two were secretly doing something in the room. How disappointing."
Syr said with some dissatisfaction, "By the way, Shirou, don't spoil her too much either. Anya, if you don't want to be an adventurer, come back and work as a waitress. Don't think about freeloading without doing anything."
Anya murmured in a small voice, "How could this be... Cat was planning to be a rice bug who eats and drinks for free in the future..."
Only Ryuu still looked at Anya warily.
Emiya explained that the reason he made such a promise was only to put Anya at ease, the so-called "owner" was just another way of saying "friend."
"If it really comes to it, I'll invest some money and let Anya open a shop," That's what Emiya said.
It sounded reasonable, but even so, the elven girl's heart still remained a little vigilant.
After all, even Ryuu herself had to admit, Anya really was cute.
At that moment, Chloe suddenly cut in, her tone filled with frustration, "By the way, that bastard Allen from [Goddess's Chariot] is really too much. Shirou, when your level goes up, you must teach him a good lesson, nya!"
Lunoire nodded, "With Shirou's strength, once he reaches Lv.5, Allen will definitely be no match for him."
She still remembered, when she was a high-ranking Lv.4 adventurer, she was defeated head-on by Emiya, who had just leveled up to Lv.3.
That battle's memory was still vivid in her mind.
And in the adventures that followed, Emiya continued to grow at an astonishing speed.
"At Shirou's current growth rate, it should be soon, right?", Lunoire said, a little envious.
Emiya nodded and calmly responded, "Mm, it really is soon. I'm already ready to level up to Lv.4."
Anya, upon hearing this, nodded, "Yeah, nya. Shirou is already Lv.4— wait, Lv.4? For real?"
The catgirl, realizing what she just heard, cried out in shock, clearly stunned by the news.
Emiya explained, "Yes, it's already time to level up. I confirmed it yesterday when I went to see Goddess Hephaestus to update my status. But I haven't decided which development ability to choose, so I haven't leveled up yet."
Lunoire and Chloe were both shocked to hear the news.
"So Shirou's about to catch up to us?"
"Shirou only leveled up less than three months ago, and he's already at Lv.4..."
"Counting it up, Shirou went from becoming an adventurer to reaching Lv.4 in less than nine months, that's incredible...", Anya was the most shaken. She clearly remembered sparring with Emiya in the beginning.
At that time, Shirou was just a Lv.1 rookie, weak in stats, but his eyes were filled with determination. His daily improvements were visible to the eye.
But now, Shirou had already transformed into a powerful adventurer. If he got serious, he could easily defeat her, his former "teacher."
And once he completed his level up, in a same-level battle, she would definitely be beaten until she "meowed."
'He's grown so much,' Anya looked at Emiya's now more robust physique and unconsciously swallowed a gulp of saliva.
She was increasingly aware that Shirou's changes were not just in strength, he'd become a much more mature person as well.
'I have to work even harder!'
The three still Lv.4 girls exchanged glances and made a silent resolution in their hearts.
———
"Shirou, have you decided which development ability you're going to choose?", The goddess asked seriously.
This time, Emiya's upgrade from Lv.3 to Lv.4 came after he had already accumulated enough "heroic deeds" to meet the upgrade conditions.
However, he and the goddess were not satisfied with average stats and always sought perfection, unwilling to rush into leveling.
Only recently, after experiencing battles with Tione, the fallen spirit, and Allen, did his stats finally reach an ideal level. Even though he only exchanged a few moves with Allen, those high-difficulty clashes were enough to break through his bottleneck.
Upon returning from the dungeon, Emiya had already met the upgrade conditions, but faced with two new development abilities, he couldn't help but hesitate.
This time, Emiya had several known development abilities to choose from, including [Swordsman], [Archer], [Brawler], [Mage], and [Healing].
However, beyond those known ones, there were also two entirely new, never-before-obtained development abilities: [Domination] and [Fate]. [T/N: Hehe, boye~]
"What does the goddess think?", Emiya asked for the goddess's opinion.
"These two development abilities don't have any existing explanations or analyses," Hephaestus replied, "I specifically checked the records. No adventurer has ever obtained these two abilities before. So, we can only guess their effects based on their names."
She turned her gaze to Emiya, saw him deep in thought, and continued, "[Domination] could perhaps relate to power or leadership. It might increase your suppressive power in battle, or boost your control and intimidation over enemies."
Enhancing mental intimidation over enemies, increasing suppression against intimidated targets, that might be its effect.
The source of this development ability might be related to Emiya's overwhelming battles against the Amazons.
The goddess paused slightly, her tone uncertain, "As for [Fate]... this name is just too abstract. There's no clear hint, so it's hard to predict its effect."
"Maybe it relates to foresight, or influences luck in battle? It could even involve something deeper..."
Choosing between [Domination] and [Fate], that much was clear.
Unique development abilities were usually more powerful than ordinary ones.
Emiya thought for a moment, "I've decided. I'll choose [Domination]."
Goddess Hephaestus looked at Emiya seriously and asked, "Why choose that one?"
Emiya scratched his head and smiled a little awkwardly, "How should I put it... maybe it's just intuition. I feel like if I choose [Fate] now, something bad might happen..."
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