Auram was starting to feel that the girls he'd been meeting lately were underestimating him.
"Any wish will do." "Any reward will do."
'…How could you just toss out lines like that? What do you all take me for? I'm a Hero, not a monk.'
'One day, I hope you won't regret such grand declarations!'
"Fine, I'll go along."
Either way, this was a deal with no apparent downside for him, so Auram had no reason to refuse Arcueid.
To show good faith, he even gave her a free ride back to her temporary residence.
"This is the place, we've arrived."
It was a stylish, high-grade hotel in southern Shinto.
"You know, I actually booked a room at the Hyatt—the most luxurious hotel in all of Fuyuki—but someone reserved the entire building, so I ended up here instead."
"Ha, something like that happened?"
Auram chuckled. He didn't say it out loud, but he could already guess who she meant.
Good grief, the Clock Tower's big shots really did live large.
Even a True Ancestor could only sigh at the power of modern capital.
After agreeing to exchange intel if either uncovered Dead Apostle activity, Auram drove off once more. His instincts still pulled him back toward the port.
By now, though, the sky had shifted colors without him noticing. Orange light spilled across the dashboard, the outlines of city and horizon blurring as night drew near.
Pedestrians had thinned, cars on the road scarcer still. Just one old car sped along in the next lane, carrying what looked like two men heading out to fish.
And then, suddenly, Auram felt something was off.
"Sato, I checked beforehand. Look at today's calm winds and perfect pressure—tonight's fishing will be our best haul yet!"
"Ha! You always say that. Last time, we went home empty."
"No, no, don't slander me! I even prepared a secret bait this time—those little fish will line up to bite!"
"Tsk, tsk, fine, I'll believe you again."
...
"Sato, actually, tonight doesn't feel so great for fishing… Maybe let's skip it."
"Yeah, I just remembered, I promised my wife I'd help with the kids' homework."
"Heading home?"
"Heading home."
At the same moment Auram sensed the wrongness, the old car beside him suddenly swerved in a U-turn.
The air thickened with a cloying weight. For a moment, even the streetlights along the roadside blurred.
A bounded field!
Though it didn't affect him much, to ordinary people it was like a constant whisper: "Do not enter," "Turn back."
So the port was indeed seeing action tonight.
Realizing this, Auram floored the gas.
…
Even five kilometers out, Auram could already feel violent magical collisions.
By the time he parked his cab and drew near the source, two figures were clashing—one red, one blue.
The blue figure he recognized immediately: Artoria, Lancer.
Perhaps because the port terrain didn't suit horseback, Artoria fought on foot, long spear wrapped in the Invisible Air, stirring whirlwinds with each strike.
Not far away, Irisviel stood with fists clenched, nervously watching the battle.
So Lady Iri had drawn enemy attention right away. Or perhaps, true to her knightly spirit, she had chosen to face them head-on.
In the original, the opponent who dueled Artoria at the port was supposed to be Diarmuid Ua Duibhne of the Fianna. However, the one trading blows with her now could not be Diarmuid.
It was a young woman wielding a long naginata.
Her upper body was clad in an outfit resembling a kyudo uniform, simple adornments outlining her graceful figure. Her hakama pants below were loose yet sharp, with puzzling cutouts perhaps meant for mobility.
Her skin was pale, her features doll-like. From a high silver ponytail burned crimson eyes, bright and fiery, a striking contrast to her otherwise refined aura.
'Holy crap… Brush-Bro turned into a silver-haired, red-eyed beauty?!'
No wonder they say silver-haired girls are kryptonite for Chinese audiences. Even Auram had to admit, after all his otherworldly adventures, he couldn't escape that fated weakness buried in his DNA.
Yes, he knew her.
Even if he'd only skimmed Nasuverse lore, this was one character he recognized well.
Tomoe Gozen, the girl warrior of the Genpei War, concubine of Kiso Yoshinaka. In the Nasuverse canon, she even bore oni blood, a hybrid of human and demon.
Though wait… white hair, red eyes, beautiful wife? Wasn't this exactly the same setup as Irisviel?
Auram was no stranger to the world. Did they think tossing another girl with the same archetype would fool him twice?
...
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