The brilliance spilling across the starry sky gradually dimmed.

Shirou pulled his hand back.

Then slowly walked back under the darkened night sky to Hundred Faces Hassan, "No problem, right?"

"No problem."

Snapping out of her daze, Hundred Faces Hassan said with gratitude, "Thank you for saving this village. May I ask who you are?"

"Senpai!"

"Emiya-senpai!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka came running over, panting hard, this time really panicked.

Her cute little face even carried a trace of worry, "You're okay, right? Are you hurt anywhere? Let me see."

As she spoke, she was about to put her hands on him up and down.

Shirou quietly dodged, raising his hand to shield himself, "No need to worry. The Knights of the Round Table are all humble and just knights."

"After realizing the mistake she had made, she was filled with regret, and decided to commit suicide on the spot, so I luckily won."

Above Hundred Faces Hassan's injured head popped a big question mark.

Arash, who had rushed over: "…"

"Hundred Faces, how's the situation in the village?"

That was Cursed Arm Hassan, one step behind, asking.

But Hundred Faces Hassan didn't answer right away. Instead she widened her eyes, staring at Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, "It's you!"

"You are…"

Fujimaru Ritsuka was first confused, but after clearly seeing Hundred Faces Hassan, she too widened her eyes, "It's you? The Assassin we met in the desert?"

"So you all know each other?"

Cursed Arm Hassan scratched his head with an honest look, "That makes it easier to talk then. Hundred Faces, these are our temporary new comrades."

"Hmph!"

Hundred Faces Hassan coldly snorted, her gaze hostile, "Comrades? Are you muddle-headed, Cursed Arm? They are Knights of the Round Table?"

"No, um, we're not Knights of the Round Table."

Cold sweat forming on her forehead, Fujimaru Ritsuka gave a forced smile to explain.

At the same time she stuck out her tongue at Shirou, "Big trouble, Emiya-senpai, things seem a little bad!"

"If it's just a misunderstanding, then explaining should be fine."

Shirou reassured.

He knew Fujimaru Ritsuka and Hundred Faces Hassan had a little friction back in the desert.

Just show some sincerity.

Anyway, with Fujimaru Ritsuka's charm, the outcome probably wouldn't be a problem… right?

"First, let's check the state of the village, how about it?"

Even without Shirou saying so, Hundred Faces Hassan already planned to do that.

So she only gave a cold snort, without refusing.

As for the friction between Fujimaru Ritsuka and Hundred Faces Hassan, it happened back when they had just been transported into the desert.

Lost in the storm and sand, Fujimaru Ritsuka happened to run into Hundred Faces Hassan, who was kidnapping Nitocris with her people.

Out of her sense of justice, she had Mash and Da Vinci join her to punish Hundred Faces Hassan harshly.

They beat her so badly she fled in disgrace.

And they rescued Nitocris.

Because of that, they were able to receive from the Pharaoh information about the Holy Capital, as well as food and other support.

"…"

"In short, I refuse to cooperate with them!"

Even though Fujimaru Ritsuka tried her best to explain, Hundred Faces Hassan still removed her skull mask to intimidate, "You've seen the state of the village. It's a complete wreck."

"We don't have any food to offer them. More importantly, I cannot trust the Knights of the Round Table who have killed our comrades?"

"How could this be?"

Cursed Arm Hassan groaned with a headache, "Though Hundred Faces does hold grudges, she should be someone who knows how to separate matters clearly… Your joining her should have been completely beneficial, no harm at all."

"So what exactly did you do?"

"Uh…"

Facing Cursed Arm Hassan's earnest, honest gaze, Fujimaru Ritsuka guiltily turned her eyes away, "It's just… back in the desert there was a teeny tiny little thing, really just a little?"

Her slender fingers pinched to show a fingertip's width.

But Fujimaru Ritsuka's flimsy tone was hardly convincing.

Hundred Faces Hassan clenched her teeth in anger:

"Yeah, a teeny tiny thing. You forced me to reveal my true face, made me suffer plenty, and even ruined the long-prepared kidnapping of Nitocris."

"That sure was a tiny little thing!"

Her sinister tone made Fujimaru Ritsuka break into a cold sweat.

"Sorry, but if it happened again I'd still do the same. After all, kidnapping people is just wrong no matter how you look at it?"

On this point, Fujimaru Ritsuka would never back down.

"In short," Hundred Faces Hassan said bitterly, "Because of you, I almost have no face to see First Hassan anymore… I might even be punished for this."

"No! I will be punished!"

Thinking of this, Hundred Faces Hassan declared firmly, "So, I will absolutely never fight alongside them!"

"…"

"Ahhh geez!"

Cursed Arm Hassan scratched his head, "This is bad. She even went so far as to take off her mask to threaten… Honestly, are you two our nemesis?"

Shirou had shamed her before First Hassan.

Fujimaru had shamed Hundred Faces before First Hassan.

'What kind of twin siblings are you two supposed to be?'

"Forget it!"

Cursed Arm Hassan gave up thinking, half-amused, "Now Hundred Faces is the same as I was before. Convincing her will be hard."

"But, didn't Cursed Arm back then listen to reason?"

If Mash remembered right, as soon as Fujimaru explained, Cursed Arm Hassan accepted it.

"Haha."

Arash chuckled, "Don't forget, Cursed Arm only accepted because Shirou beat him up."

"So that's how it was!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly understood, looking at Hundred Faces, "Mash!"

"Understood!"

Mash nodded, "You want to fight, right?"

"You all!?"

Hundred Faces Hassan's brain short-circuited like blown fuses.

'Wait, what?'

"How did talking suddenly jump to fighting?'

'And besides, I'm an injured person, AN INJURED PERSON!'

"Enough," Shirou sighed helplessly, "This isn't something to joke about, Fujimaru. She's still wounded."

"That's right, I'm still wounded."

Hundred Faces Hassan nearly shed tears of gratitude toward Shirou.

'An angel! Saved me twice.'

And yet…

"At least wait until she's healed."

Shirou stroked his chin, giving his suggestion.

Hundred Faces Hassan: "?"

'Are you serious?'

"Ahem… Let's put this aside for now."

She quickly changed the subject, "Cursed Arm, how's that matter going?"

"That matter, huh."

Cursed Arm sighed, "No progress at all. If it keeps like this, we can only wait for death."

"It's gotten that bad?"

Hundred Faces Hassan frowned, "Normally, though she's still immature, she earned the title of 'Old Man of the Mountain' through countless trials. She shouldn't break under torture."

"But I heard one of the Round Table knights is extremely skilled in torture, so…"

"If the plan is revealed, then truly we'll only have one road, death!"

Hundred Faces Hassan worried aloud.

"That's indeed troublesome."

Cursed Arm Hassan said, "We need someone stronger than us, who can easily defeat the Round Table knights, can act alone, and is even willing to help us!"

"What foolish words, where could such a—"

At this point, Hundred Faces Hassan stopped. Her eyes turned toward Shirou.

Not just her, the others too.

Shirou, suddenly under everyone's gaze: "…"

Stronger than them. Able to easily defeat the Knights of the Round Table. Can move alone. Helps others willingly.

"…This really is—"

Cursed Arm Hassan said, "Sir Shirou, what do you think?"

"Me?"

"Of course, standing and watching."

Shirou answered with utmost seriousness.

"…"

'That… makes sense.'

So much sense that everyone felt like their ears had been chopped up as fish food and fed to a fish head with peppers.

"…So that's it, pretending to joke seriously doesn't work for you all?"

Shirou, increasingly system-like, pondered.

Fujimaru Ritsuka covered her face to confirm, "That was a joke?"

"I believe it was a joke."

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