Night fell low.

The stars blinked their solitary eyes.

The East Village, hidden in a corner of the mountains, seemed abandoned by the world in the darkness.

Only a few wisps of smoke drifting from the thatch roofs still told that people lived here.

Soon, the villagers gathered on the open ground in the center of the village.

Thick logs of firewood were stacked in the middle of the clearing.

Shirou, carrying wood, said with a troubled look, "So they really are holding a feast."

"Haha! I told you, how could it be a joke."

Arash laughed happily behind him, then said, "Don't mind Hassan of the Cursed Arm's dislike of you. Actually, when he heard you beat three Knights of the Round Table, made a ruckus in the Holy Capital, and saved many mountain folk, he was so delighted he said he had to give you a hug."

"You're saying he said he'd hug me?"

Recalling how the man had looked at him like he'd seen a natural enemy, Shirou was deeply skeptical.

"Besides, it was Fujimaru Ritsuka who saved the mountain folk, not me."

"Hug who? Emiya-senpai! Add me in."

Hearing her name, Fujimaru Ritsuka popped up from who-knows-where, holding a pottery jar for wine.

"Don't run off, Fujimaru."

Da Vinci stuck her head out of a thatch hut, "Come help."

"I know!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka answered solemnly, asking, "Are we hugging or not?"

"No way I'm hugging!"

Hassan of the Cursed Arm grumbled as he emerged, "If I'd known the red-haired hungry ghost was this fellow, I wouldn't have said that."

"So, hug or not?"

The girl-next-door vibe was embodied perfectly by Mash.

She hugged two thick logs.

Shirou carried only one.

Faced with unavoidable questioning, Hassan of the Cursed Arm could only shake his head frantically, "Damn it, I, Hassan of the Cursed Arm… do I have to believe this once every half year now?"

"Not hugging?", Fujimaru Ritsuka left with regret.

On her way, Roman snickered quietly into the comms, ["Pretty frequent, huh, once every half year must be common for that Assassin, right?"]

"Idiot!", Hassan snorted, but didn't chase after her, adding, "Half a year from now he won't even know if he's dead or alive!"

"Forget it, I can't believe I got this excited."

Hassan recovered his composure and asked, "Red… stranger traveler, state your name!"

He'd meant to use a fiercer tone, and when he met Shirou's threatening gaze he chickened out.

'You didn't tell him?', Shirou asked Arash with that look.

Arash set down the log first, put his hands on his hips and laughed, "Names are better given by the person themself, right?"

Hearing that, Shirou nodded, dropped the wood and said, "Shirou, Emiya Shirou… and once you know the name, don't get it wrong."

That half-smile, half-not attitude made even Hassan of the Cursed Arm shiver.

After the firewood was laid out.

When the first flame leapt atop the dry wood, the darkness was instantly torn open.

Villagers' cheers followed close behind.

They then began preparing the food.

Needless to say, everyone was captivated by Shirou's almost artistic technique.

In about an hour, the cleaned game was being roasted.

Soon, the mouth-watering aroma wafted out, making long-empty-stomached villagers swallow.

"Emiya-senpai, so you're good at cooking too!", Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes sparkled; any earlier reluctance about the monsters was gone.

"A bit," Shirou answered as he looked at the ingredients turning over the fire.

When the rich meat scent spread, the simple feast began.

———

"Uuu!"

After one bite Mash couldn't help but press her slender legs together.

"Fou~"

Fou jumped onto Shirou's shoulder.

"Here, this one's for you."

Shirou slid a piece of meat over.

"Delicious!"

Arash, who basically didn't need to eat, hardly stopped once he started.

Bedivere sighed, "Mr. Shirou, you truly are all-purpose."

"Normally, if anyone's versatile, it's Da Vinci who's the real versatile genius."

At least Shirou couldn't refine water.

No system to ask about that.

'System, I'm asking you something?'

"Sigh~ if only this happiness could last every day!"

Not paying attention to the system's reply, Shirou's gaze was drawn to the conversation among the village's men nearby.

At first their tone was indeed happy, but then it turned…

"Don't think too much."

Unshakable sorrow surfaced, "Since the desert and the Lion King's constant judgments appeared, the land can no longer grow grain."

"Monsters run rampant, countless of our people have been plundered and killed."

"The Lion King and those Knights of the Round Table have occupied the places of faith we relied on, doing acts like some devilish evil."

"If things keep going like this, once the mountain monsters are all killed off, how are we supposed to survive?"

"You're overthinking it!"

The villagers joked bitterly, "Deep pits appeared on the land, mountains were leveled, the desert scorched a thousand li, eternal storms shrouding the sky."

"Even the stars hanging high above have been robbed of their light. This era has already been destroyed by that Lion King-demon."

"As long as we're alive, we must face the ever-present possibility of judgment falling from the Holy Capital."

"Rather than thinking about whether there's enough food, think about what the mountain elders said, can we even live to see half of next year?"

"..."

"Soft! This meat is so tender!"

Mash bit into the monster Bedivere had hunted and couldn't help making a cute sound, "But Emiya-senpai's cooking smells so good!"

"Want another plate if it's tasty?"

Proud that his hunted game was well-received, Bedivere said proudly.

"Look, here's an important part where you can only get one."

"Look, what a big eyeball!"

"!"

A monster with only one eyeball.

For a moment, delicious food and visceral reactions began to clash.

Even though the need for food dominated, Mash didn't hesitate and bowed her head, "Sorry, please forgive me, I must decline with all my strength!"

'Meat is one thing!'

'Eye-balls, absolutely not!'

———

After a long time of neither speaking nor eating, Shirou stood up.

He smiled faintly, "Excuse me, may I take some food out? Don't worry, I won't mess anything up, and I won't reveal the village."

"That's not a problem."

Hassan said, "But it's late, still deep in the mountains,how do you plan to go out, Lord Emiya?"

The Imperial Belt appeared, the crystal card slid into the slot.

"Emperor's Steed!"

With a majestic mechanical voice, a war dragon streaked down from the sky like a meteor.

["Indeed, no matter how many times I see it, it still feels incredible."]

Roman exclaimed, ["Whether myth, legend, history, or fairy tale, nothing ever recorded info about this Noble Phantasm."]

"Don't think about it, Romani."

Da Vinci said, "No doubt it was made by a very skilled magus."

["Made by a magus?"]

Roman was surprised.

"That's right."

Da Vinci said, "Specifically it should be made by alchemy, but… alchemy shouldn't reach this level, let alone mutate into a Noble Phantasm…"

["How does it compare to that silver arm?"]

"Hard to judge."

["Got it, both more clever than your mechanical arm, right?"]

"Mm."

"Mm?"

Da Vinci realized and protested: "What are you saying? Even a genius like me still has chances if I try hard!"

["Haha… haha!"]

Roman laughed awkwardly.

Olga Marie had other matters to handle.

She couldn't stay guarding this one spot forever.

Da Vinci didn't let it go,"Don't answer so flippantly, if we're talking about saving humanity, if you don't even have the resolve to make things like that, how can you—"

["True enough."]

Roman nodded without thinking much.

As for belief, sometimes you can't just look at attitude, you have to look at deeds.

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