Rustle! Rustle!
"Are there more of them in the gang?"
Mash hadn't expected this bandit to have subordinates, and that they would watch their boss get beaten without making a sound; she froze for a second before asking, "Should we chase them, Master?"
"No need. Around the Holy City, they know the area better than we do, even if we chased, we wouldn't catch them," Da Vinci said.
["Indeed."]
Roman's comm reconnected, ["His words are truly unsettling."]
["No matter how unsettling, we have to find out."]
Olga Marie commanded, ["Mash, you must stay right at Ritsuka's side and protect her."]
"Yes, Director!"
["Da Vinci."]
"Oh~ the great genius is here."
Da Vinci responded warmly.
["We can't offer much practical help from here, so your all-purpose genius skills are crucial. When necessary, your judgment takes priority."]
"Understood!"
Da Vinci winked: "Leave it to me, the great genius."
"No time to waste, let's move out."
Fujimaru Ritsuka said.
["Everyone be careful."]
Roman gave final instructions, ["Use your cloaks to hide your silhouettes; don't stand out too much."]
Right now, their outfits were indeed conspicuous.
"Got it," Mash replied.
———
As they drew nearer to the main gate of the Holy City, Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly thought aloud, "By the way, did you notice that merchant looked at me weirdly? And that red-haired devil or whatever, it's hard not to notice him."
"Weird?", Da Vinci thought, then remembered, "Seems like he was a bit afraid."
"No," Mash said simply and earnestly, "I think it was more than 'a bit', terrified. Not at all like someone who first met a senpai."
"You make me sound like a red-haired devil or something," Ritsuka grumbled.
"Shh!", Da Vinci warned.
Ritsuka and Mash immediately quieted, drew their cloaks lower, and informed Roman, "We managed to sneak in… but we're a bit far away."
Indeed, they'd arrived too late. With over a thousand people crowding near the main gate, they were squeezed to the outskirts.
The farthest spot, in fact.
Roman's tone turned grave, ["…You probably noticed, but I must warn you: there are unusually strong magical signatures nearby, the density is quite high!"]
"Mash?", Ritsuka looked at her searchingly.
Mash nodded seriously, "That's right, they've surrounded us in an orderly way."
["Can you visually confirm?"]
Olga Marie furrowed her brow and thought quickly.
"Fufu~"
At this tense moment, Fou suddenly sensed something, leapt off Ritsuka's shoulder and darted into the refugee area.
"Fou—"
Ritsuka had just wanted to call Fou back but was stopped by Mash, "Don't make a sound, senpai. Look…"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Uniform footsteps, countless armored knights with long swords surrounded the refugees.
They'd encircled them, including Ritsuka and the others.
"This is…"
Ritsuka exclaimed in surprise, "Are they protecting the refugees?"
"Hard to say!", Da Vinci observed for a moment, then fixed her gaze.
"Fuu~"
A four-legged beast stepped on someone's shoulder.
Shirou didn't even need to look back to know who it was, "You came too, huh."
He reached up and stroked the creature's chin, "Are Ritsuka and the others okay?"
"Fuu~"
"You've grown a lot, personality unchanged? That's good."
'Keeping one's original heart is truly hard.'
"Uh… benefactor?", The woman didn't know who he was speaking to.
'Could it be that a cat suddenly appeared on his shoulder…?'
"Big brother?", Rushd gave a somewhat curious look too.
Shirou didn't answer.
All his attention was fixed on one broad-shouldered, tall, sunny-handsome young man.
There was no doubt: this man was a knight among knights, a strong among the strong.
Among all the men present, he was also exceptionally handsome.
When he appeared, day and night's absurd alternation ceased; the twinkling night sky vanished.
In its place: sunlight as if it were always noon, shining on the land.
Even among the Round Table Knights, he stood out as one of the elites.

Gawain, the Sun Knight.
"Is that the Nocturnal Protection…?"
By the blessing granted from the Lion King, whenever Gawain goes to battle it is always noon.
Once you experience it, you feel why claiming invincibility under the sun is no joke.
Just talking about it might not convey the feeling.
If a Master could see his stat sheet, you'd see how absurd Gawain's attributes really are.
Strength jumps from a normal B+ up to A+.
Endurance becomes EX.
Agility is also A+.
Resistance to light-attribute or sun-related Noble Phantasms is increased.
The power of his holy sword rises, with added burning…
'What p*rversion!'
And that's not even Gawain's limit.
In the Moon Cell Holy Grail War, with Leonardo Bistario Harvey as his Master, Strength reached A++, Agility A++, Stamina: EX, Mana: A++, Even Luck A++.
'Is this a human?'
'How did Nero even beat this monster back then?'
Shirou really wanted to throw a question mark into the air.
"Huh? Did I just wake up from a nap?"
Ritsuka blinked, a little dazed, and asked vaguely, "Why is it suddenly daytime?"
"It's not an illusion!"
Mash said solemnly, "What on earth just happened?"
Uninformed refugees stirred, "…What… what's going on?"
"Without realizing it, the sun has risen…"
"It must be a miracle, right?"
While the refugees were astonished, Gawain was already standing at the city gate, speaking in a warm voice, "Please remain calm. This is a miracle brought by the Lion King, a blessing from our Lord, called 'Receiving the Blessing of the Sun.'"
'You're awfully thorough with that explanation.'
Shirou, petting Fou in his lap, mentally snarked.
Nearby a voice excitedly cried out, "It's Sir Gawain, the Round Table Knight Sir Gawain!"
"His appearance means the Holy Selection is about to begin, we can enter the Holy City at once!"
'Too bad, that's not a good thing.'
Shirou warned Fou to be careful as he already placed his hand beneath to open his magical circuits.
'System, be careful not to be discovered.'
["What a terrifying Servant response."]
Roman looked at the displayed magical density and said, ["They're only receiving refugees, do they need such powerful Servants to guard them?"]
["Da Vinci?"]
Olga Marie noticed Da Vinci's expression was very off.
Though everything was urgent, Da Vinci had been stunned for a long time before recovering.
She had roughly understood the essence of the Holy Selection, and that was why she was shocked to the point of disbelief.
"This is terrible, how could something like this happen!"
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