Chapter 25: Heroic Spirit and the Service Club
The fox-eared girl held the boy's hand, walking down the street.
They arrived at a bustling shopping plaza. Because they were in an invisible alternate dimension, a passerby suddenly walked right through them, which felt rather eerie.
"Unpleasant fights and arguments—those always happen when you're trying to date someone.
Let's put ex-boyfriends aside for now.
Shirou! You're my stand-in boyfriend for today, so come on and give me a proper rehearsal date! Next time, I want to go on a real date with a bonded Master." The fox-eared girl smiled as she spoke.
"I mean, I can do that, but… in this state, there's not much we can actually do, right?" Shirou replied.
Just walking around, unable to touch anything, wouldn't that be boring? And with him, no less. If it were someone more fun or interesting, they might at least be able to chat and make her laugh.
"Ah… well, we can't touch things in the real world, but we can watch a movie for free… If I scan with my Mystic Eyes, I might be able to project the 3D film myself."
"No way. If we're talking about sneaking into someone's house for a bit of thrill, that's different. But watching a movie? You've got to line up, pick the tickets, and share the same bucket of popcorn for it to feel right," Suzuka Gozen said.
"No, sneaking into people's houses isn't okay either," Shirou shot her down.
"Actually, enjoying things in the outside world is possible—as long as we don't break this world's rules. I'm really good at transformation magic. Since we helped the people of this world take care of monsters, a few 'offerings' should be fine, right?" Suzuka Gozen said with a sly grin.
Right now, the boy and girl were technically in a pocket dimension on the edge of the world. Everything they saw looked identical to the real world, but there was actually a protective membrane separating them from it.
The monsters had tried to break through this membrane to enter the real world.
Heroic Spirits summoned through possession could move within this membrane-space, and ordinary people couldn't see them.
With the right techniques, and using their host body as a medium, they could interact with real-world objects—as long as they didn't get caught.
"Ah! That! I remember seeing this in her memories—I want to try it! Shirou, let's go!" The fox-eared girl dragged Shirou across the road.
Ahead of them, four young girls were gathered at a crêpe stand, chatting while holding their freshly bought crêpes.
Among them, a blonde girl with a big red ribbon in her hair was the most excited, waving around her untouched crêpe.
"A perfect opening!" Suzuka Gozen instantly used her transformation technique, turned invisible, phased into the real world, snatched the crêpe in her mouth, gobbled it up, and then returned to spirit form, snickering.
"So sweet~! This is the kind of crêpe JKs like, huh? I feel like my girl power just leveled up again," the fox-eared girl beamed as she savored the treat.
"Haa…" Shirou finally understood why people had called this celestial princess a thief in her past.
Right now, she'd qualify as a thief JK—a slightly dangerous presence.
"So anyway," the blonde girl said excitedly, "I mean, Illya as a magical girl is amazing, but Helena-chan is super cute too! Nursery Rhyme has that awesome vibe too.
FGO's magical girls are really something. They're all just as adorable as Mirakuru!"
As she brought the crêpe to her lips for a bite, she bit into nothing. Looking down, she found only the wrapper left in her hands.
"Huh? Where's my crêpe?" Kyoko Toshinou, the blonde girl, cried out in shock.
"You probably ate it yourself," muttered the black-haired girl next to her.
"No way! It didn't taste sweet at all! Chinatsu-chan! You're the culprit, aren't you?!" Kyoko pointed an accusatory finger at the red-haired girl beside her.
"I didn't do it, Kyoko-chan! Why would you falsely accuse me, Akari?" Akari Akaza responded tearfully.
Kyoko adjusted imaginary glasses and declared with a voice of reason, "Who else in this world could sneak up behind me without me noticing? You've clearly mastered presence concealment without any training. Did an FGO Assassin jump out of your phone or something?!"
"I don't have any crazy skills like that!" Akari huffed indignantly.
"In that case, I'm taking your crêpe!" Kyoko suddenly took a huge bite out of Akari's crêpe.
"My strawberry crêpe!" the girl cried, heartbroken, staring at the barely-eaten dessert now reduced to less than a quarter.
Her body gradually faded from shock.
Shirou quietly took note of the red-haired girl's hair buns that looked like they could launch off, silently thinking, Sorry, girl… If we ever meet again, I'll treat you to another one.
After that, the celestial princess continued dragging Shirou around wherever she felt like going.
Shirou had initially been worried about what effects their presence might have on this world. After all, this world seemed hostile toward mysterious phenomena.
If they stirred up trouble, the very tools meant to fight invading monsters might be turned against Heroic Spirits instead.
But now, it seemed that since their bodies were native to this world and their souls were fused with Heroic Spirits, they were about two-thirds human and only one-third Heroic Spirit.
After all, he'd used magic in this world through his Mystic Eyes before without causing any problems. As long as he didn't do anything destructive, it seemed he wouldn't be rejected.
After enjoying sweets favored by JKs, Suzuka Gozen dragged Shirou to an arcade.
The girl swiped a few game tokens and started playing.
The nearby arcade staff, seeing a machine running on its own with no one there, rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
Thinking they'd seen a ghost, they walked over. But by then, Shirou and the girl had quickly slipped away, leaving the staff confused and blaming it on a faulty machine.
They reached a cold drinks shop next, but just as Suzuka tried to repeat her stunt, Shirou pulled her away.
Next, she wanted to check out a clothing store—one that JKs would go to.
"Shirou, let's check out this shop next. So many pretty clothes!" the fox-eared girl said, pulling him toward it.
"Hey! Suzuka, that's a lingerie store!" Shirou stopped in his tracks, calling out to her.
"It's fine. No one can see us anyway. Oooh! So this is the legendary 'decisive panties'!" Suzuka Gozen shook off his hand and ran in, marveling at the colorful lace on display.
"No, in some ways, the fact that no one can see us makes it worse," Shirou muttered.
Looking at all the vivid colors inside, he hesitated—should he really go in?
At that moment, the voice of the Heroic Spirit within him—"Professor George"—echoed in his mind.
"Shirou, as a gentleman, I consider youthful romance to be admirable. I've even received a stallion from a witch in the past as a gift. But lewd behavior is unacceptable."
"I won't do anything indecent," Shirou replied.
Just being invisible inside a lingerie store was already a bit too much stimulation for the body of a hormone-driven high school boy.
Professor George nodded approvingly. "That's good. A man's charm lies in a strong body that can serve women and a resolute spirit.
Make her feel comfortable and happy during the day, and only at night—when emotions are mutual—should anything more happen naturally."
"Professor George, you sure know a lot…" Shirou said, nodding with admiration.
Since going in felt too awkward, Shirou stood outside, chatting with Professor George in his mind.
As a famous hero, George had a wealth of life experience.
Shirou figured this was a good chance to ask how the professor had once won over a witch's heart, and how he rode the stallion she gave him to rescue a princess from a dragon's lair.