Chapter 103: Lefiya – Between Ais and Me, Emiya, Who Do You Prefer?
Without waking the other members of the Hestia Familia, Shirou quietly left the cramped basement early in the morning and headed toward the place he had agreed to meet the Sword Princess Ais — the outer wall of Orario. Yesterday, he and Ais had arranged to meet so that she could witness the "Sword Demon."
Of course, that so-called Sword Demon was none other than Shirou himself. Just like before, he planned to wear a cloak and a mask to conceal his identity and interact with Ais as the Sword Demon.
Since he had gotten up early — even before the sky began to brighten — Shirou walked at a leisurely pace, thinking that even if he took his time, he wouldn't be late.
"Come to think of it, should we consider moving the Familia's base?" As Shirou walked along the road toward the city wall, he couldn't help but think about relocating the Hestia Familia's base.
Actually, Lili had previously brought up this idea, but both Hestia, Shirou, and Bell had subconsciously avoided the topic. After all, that cramped basement held many memories for the Hestia Familia — even for Shirou, it symbolized a great deal.
Moving out of it was not something one could do without reluctance.
But the Hestia Familia couldn't continue living in such a small basement forever. If they wanted to grow stronger as a Familia, they would eventually need a grander, more fitting base.
Now that the Hestia Familia had no financial issues at all, just a little effort from Shirou or Bell would easily allow them to acquire a more spacious base.
Still, the idea of moving away made even Shirou feel somewhat emotional.
"Maybe we can try expanding the basement, buy the whole church, and use it as our base."
Walking down the road, Shirou suddenly came up with a decent idea. He quickly jotted it down, planning to share it later with Hestia and the others. Surely no one would oppose it.
Just as Shirou was feeling pleased with himself over this good idea, he realized he had already arrived at the base of Orario's outer wall. Even though he had walked so slowly, the sky was still pitch-black, with only a faint glimmer of light appearing on the horizon.
"Did I arrive a bit too early?"
As Shirou pondered that, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure atop the city wall. The figure stood like a statue, as if it had been waiting there for a long time — to the point where one might even suspect they'd stayed there all night.
"No way…"
Shirou was dumbfounded and rushed up to the top of the wall. Sure enough, he saw a blonde girl standing there, eyes closed in meditation.
Though her clean clothes suggested she hadn't stayed there all night, her posture and the way she seemed to blend with the surroundings implied she'd been waiting far longer than he had expected. She was being a bit too serious.
Shirou was moved by the thought, then adjusted his appearance slightly to ensure his identity wouldn't be discovered, and walked forward with large strides.
As he got within about 100 meters of Ais, the blonde Sword Princess suddenly opened her meditating eyes, her gaze sharp as a blade locking onto him.
"You're the Sword Demon?"
"Yes."
Having already prepared for this moment, the air between them immediately grew silent.
The reason for such seriousness was obvious — both clearly understood the purpose of this meeting.
This wasn't some friendly rendezvous or matchmaking event, but a duel between two swordsmen to express their will and show their strength through the blade.
Thus, the moment they met, they entered combat mode. No need for words — only their swords would do the talking.
But something puzzled Ais: even though they had agreed to a duel, the Sword Demon hadn't drawn his sword from start to finish, nor had he used that strange magic to conjure weapons.
She couldn't help but tilt her head and ask, "You're not going to draw your sword?"
"No need," Shirou replied, shaking his head, allowing Ais to draw her weapon first.
Ais assumed Shirou was planning to use that peculiar magic to summon a weapon during the battle. So, without hesitation, her eyes flashed with competitive spirit as she charged toward him.
Clap!
As a level 6 adventurer, Ais's greatest strength was her speed — nearly undetectable to the human eye.
Like lightning across the wall, she reached Shirou in the blink of an eye.
Naturally, Shirou had long anticipated the speed that far surpassed normal humans. Having observed her moves long ago, he dodged just before her attack landed.
Ais wouldn't let him escape so easily. She suddenly swung her weapon at a tricky angle, aiming at Shirou!
The weapon in Ais's hand was a prototype forged by Shirou himself.
Though it had no special effects, its quality and durability far surpassed other weapons of its class.
From the completely unblemished blade, it was clear that Ais had regularly maintained it, keeping it in top condition. As a result, it displayed an unprecedented sharpness when wielded.
Faced with Ais's attack, Shirou remained calm. Still not drawing or projecting a weapon, he gracefully dodged Ais's slash. As she was airborne and unable to dodge, he rotated his center of gravity and landed a spinning kick squarely to Ais's cheek.
Even though Ais blocked with her sword at the last second, Shirou's strength sent her flying, tumbling across the ground.
The skirmish ended in a flash. Ais dazedly got up from the ground. She seemed utterly shocked by what had just happened, tilting her head in confusion, as though trying to understand what had occurred.
That seemingly plain spinning kick from the Sword Demon was so precise and perfect that even a level 6 like Ais couldn't guard against it.
She found it hard to believe a human could perform such a move.
Of course, that move wasn't of human origin.
If Ais had seen Shirou's previous duel with Kali, she would've realized that his attack just now perfectly mimicked one of Kali's techniques.
By imitating the martial arts used by the War God Kali in the coliseum, Shirou suppressed Ais.
For Shirou, mimicking an opponent had always been a habitual tactic — one he often executed instinctively in battle, without consciously trying to learn.
"What's wrong? Not going to continue?"
Shirou smiled at Ais, as if looking at a childish kid.
Even though they were similar in age, the battlefields they had experienced were on entirely different levels. Shirou had every reason to look down on her.
"I will make you draw your sword!"
Ais bit her lip.
Now she understood: Shirou hadn't refrained from drawing his sword because he didn't want to — he simply didn't deem it necessary when fighting her.
His attitude clearly said: Even barehanded, I can beat you.
That notion enraged Ais, who already had a strong competitive spirit, adding a flush of irritation to her face.
"Awaken!"
Suddenly, arcs of magical energy surged around Ais's body. Blue light flowed across her form as a gust of wind erupted from thin air.
"This is… magic?"
"Yes."
Ais nodded.
This was the magic she had mastered — "Ariel" (Wind Spirit Rush). Its effect was to shroud her body in raging wind, enhancing her attack, defense, speed, and even granting short-range flight — an incredibly powerful spell.
Because of its overwhelming force, Ais rarely used it in human-on-human combat.
But this time, because of the intense pressure Shirou brought, Ais had no choice but to go all out, determined to earn the Sword Demon's recognition.
At the very least, she had to force the Sword Demon to draw his sword!
Boom!
With another dash, Ais's speed nearly doubled under the spell's boost. She became a rampaging gale, instantly reaching Shirou.
When she swung her sword again, the violent winds wrapped around the blade, further enhancing its destructive power.
Shirou was no stranger to this type of move.
In the past, during his battle against the Ainsworth family, he fought a summoner who used the Artoria card. The Heroic Spirit Artoria possessed a Noble Phantasm called Invisible Air, which was very similar to Ais's magic.
Because of this, Shirou could fully predict the Sword Princess's movements.
He took a step back and dodged Ais's sword with just the right amount of movement.
Then he extended his right hand and murmured softly:
"Trace On!"
Shirou didn't project any particularly special Noble Phantasm—not even Kanshou and Bakuya. He simply projected a very ordinary longsword.
Gripping the sword with both hands like a novice swordsman, he swung it and thrust toward Ais.
Seeing this, a trace of displeasure flashed in Ais's eyes.
She felt that her opponent was looking down on her too much.
After activating Ariel, her combat power was already considered excellent even among Level 6s.
The raging wind not only boosted her speed but also acted as a defense, capable of blocking enemy attacks.
Therefore, Ais completely ignored Shirou's thrust and continued to swing her weapon, intending to use this opportunity to further suppress him.
But Ais's assumption was quickly proven wrong.
Though Shirou had only delivered a very ordinary thrust, and she hadn't sensed any overwhelming power from his weapon, the blade effortlessly pierced through the wind barrier and reached Ais, resting against her neck.
"!?"
Facing a sensation so close to death, sweat beaded densely on Ais's forehead.
But more than the looming threat of death, what truly concerned her was—why had the Sword Demon's attack broken through her Ariel and hit her?
"Why?"
Ais stared at the Sword Demon in front of her, silently conveying her doubt through her gaze.
"Because you rely too much on that magic."
Shirou replied calmly.
In his previous battle with the War Goddess Kali, he had used an arrow to directly hit her despite her wind barrier, piercing her shoulder.
Though he had used a bow that time, the principle behind techniques was shared across all weapons.
If he could pierce through Kali's storm defense with arrows, naturally he could see through and break Ais's wind barrier created by Ariel with a sword.
"I rely too much on magic?" Ais did not understand Shirou's meaning and looked at him in confusion.
"After activating Ariel, you completely forgot about attacking and defending with your sword, didn't you?" Shirou looked at her. "We are swordsmen. At the end of the day, we fight with swords. Magic is just a support tool. If you rely too much on tools and neglect the sword's own power, you've reversed the roles."
"..."
Hearing Shirou's words, Ais was stunned.
She hadn't expected someone to point out her weakness so directly. Realizing her problem, she fell into deep thought.
"I understand. I won't use magic anymore."
"Uh... that's not what I meant..."
Shirou didn't expect her to be so blunt.
Upon realizing her overreliance on magic, she chose to completely stop using it.
Ais, meanwhile, looked at Shirou with fiery determination. Although she didn't know his true identity, she still asked seriously:
"So... would you be willing to be my master, Sword Demon-sama?"
"You want me to be your master?"
"Yes. I've never received proper swordsmanship training. Everything I know I learned through fighting monsters," Ais said earnestly. "I used to think that was enough to defeat enemies, but you made me realize how ignorant I truly am. That's why I want to become your disciple and learn real swordsmanship!"
Shirou was completely caught off guard by this sudden development and didn't know how to respond.
Seeing his hesitation, Ais quickly added:
"Do you think I'm not sincere enough? Don't worry—I won't be your disciple for free. If there's anything you need me to do, just say the word! Even if you treat me like a servant, I'm fine with that!"
"No need for that!"
Faced with Ais's overly earnest demeanor, Shirou sighed.
Although he'd had a feeling before, now he fully realized just how naïve Ais truly was.
To willingly take someone as her master despite not knowing their identity—and who might even be an enemy—only the Sword Princess could do something like that.
Under normal circumstances, Shirou would've refused.
But since he was now allied with the Loki Familia, helping Ais grow stronger could be useful in fighting the Evilus faction later on.
After some thought, he reluctantly nodded and said:
"Fine. I'll teach you swordsmanship."
"Thank you, Master Sword Demon!"
The famous Level 6 Sword Princess calling him Master—if anyone found out, it would surely cause a huge commotion in Orario.
Shirou felt awkward, but he tried to suppress his emotions.
"But I have one condition: you cannot tell anyone about our relationship."
"...Alright."
Ais seemed a bit reluctant to not be able to call herself the Sword Demon's disciple openly, but in the end, she nodded.
Thus, the master-disciple relationship between the two was officially established.
Shirou began formally training Ais.
Of course, "training" was a bit of a stretch—Ais was already quite strong.
What Shirou did was spar with her so she could realize her own shortcomings through actual combat.
And without magic, the gap between Ais and Shirou became evident.
Shirou barely used any sword techniques—just physical combat alone was enough to overwhelm her. At one point, he even accidentally knocked Ais off the city wall.
Even with her Level 6 physique, Ais couldn't withstand it. After a harsh embrace with the stone pavement, she fainted from exhaustion.
Since Shirou didn't know any healing techniques, he could only quietly take care of her and wait for her to wake up.
During this time, Shirou noticed something unusual—a stream of golden light flowed through Ais's body, just like the golden blood he had seen in Welf.
"Ais also has Spirit Essence?"
Shirou was surprised.
Spirit Essence was extremely rare in this world. He didn't expect to find two people with it in Orario.
It was beyond coincidence.
Much later, Ais finally regained consciousness.
Seeing the Sword Demon beside her, she instinctively raised her guard—then remembered their master-disciple relationship and relaxed.
"Thank you for today, Master. May I continue training with you in the future?"
"Sure, if I have the time."
"Thank you!"
Hearing Shirou's reply, Ais beamed with joy.
She clenched her little fist, but winced from the pain of her injuries.
Not wanting her Familia members to notice anything was wrong, she quickly took her leave to find a healer.
Shirou also didn't waste time and prepared to leave the city wall.
But just as he was about to go down, he unexpectedly spotted a girl with orange hair tied in a side ponytail squatting in a corner—an elf.
It was Lefiya from the Loki Familia. She had apparently been here for a while, silently observing from the shadows.
Having witnessed everything that had happened, she now murmured to herself, as if guessing Shirou's identity:
"You... you must be Emiya, right?"
Faced with Lefiya's direct question, Shirou knew he couldn't hide it anymore.
He sighed and removed his mask, speaking slowly:
"Don't tell anyone about this."
Seeing Shirou's face beneath the mask, Lefiya fell silent.
She seemed both shocked by the truth and yet oddly unsurprised.
After all, she had once personally witnessed Shirou shoot an arrow through a mutated plant, and had suspected he was the Sword Demon ever since.
Now, knowing Emiya was the Sword Demon didn't surprise her. What really caught her attention was Shirou's relationship with Ais.
Thinking about how the two had acted like master and disciple, Lefiya felt an unexplainable turmoil in her heart.
In the end, she blurted out:
"I won't tell anyone—but I have a condition!"
"Condition?"
"The condition is... you teach me swordsmanship too!"
Lefiya surprised even herself with what she said.
Whether it was jealousy or possessiveness, that odd emotion turned into an uncontrollable desire and spilled out through her words.
"You want to learn swordsmanship from me?" Shirou couldn't help but laugh. "Do you hear yourself? You're a mage—why would you learn swordsmanship?"
"B-but you're teaching Ais-senpai swordsmanship!"
"And what does that have to do with you?"
"..."
Faced with that direct question, Lefiya froze. She didn't even know the answer herself.
Flustered, her eyes turned red, and tears began to fall inexplicably.
"...?"
Shirou was startled by her crying and quickly patted her head.
"Alright, alright, I'll teach you. Don't cry."
"?"
Hearing Shirou's agreement, Lefiya's mood instantly brightened.
Her tears vanished as if they'd never been there.
Shirou sighed at how unpredictable she was and then said:
"I can teach you, but rather than swordsmanship, I think you're more suited for archery. With your magic, your arrows might have special effects."
"Archery?"
Lefiya recalled the time Shirou shot an arrow through the mutated plant and asked excitedly:
"Can I learn that arrow technique you used back then? The one that was like... 'Pseudo-Spiral Sword' or something?"
"Nope. That one's probably impossible to learn no matter what."
"Ugh..."
Seeing Lefiya pout in dissatisfaction, Shirou chuckled.
"Anyway, I'll teach you archery. That should be good enough, right?"
"Yes! Yes!"
Thrilled at the chance to learn from Shirou, Lefiya's face lit up.
Shirou didn't understand why she was so happy, but didn't dwell on it.
He quickly projected a bow and arrows and began teaching her the basics of archery.
To his surprise, Lefiya showed real talent—perhaps due to the elves' natural hunting instincts.
In no time, she mastered the fundamentals and even picked up some advanced techniques.
"Impressive. You're quite talented," Shirou said, watching Lefiya hit a target dozens of meters away.
For a beginner, it was an outstanding performance.
Lefiya beamed at his praise and, in her excitement, asked with a smile:
"Hehehe... Emiya, between me and Ais-senpai, who do you like more?"
"...???"
Shirou was stunned by the unexpected question.
Lefiya herself instantly regretted asking it.
Her face turned red as an apple, and her brain went into meltdown—white steam practically rising from her head. She was completely frozen.