Chapter 247

The hill of swords, a red figure...

Rin woke up from yet another dream she had countless times, opening her eyes to see Archer, arms crossed, sitting in front of her with a smug expression.

She looked down at her securely tied body and sighed. Surprisingly, she didn't seem overly shocked by this situation.

"It seems you're not surprised at all. What, did you expect this to happen?"

"The moment I saw Emiya using projection magic for the first time, I knew this would happen."

"As expected of Rin."

Archer laughed lightly, his praise tinged with a hint of sarcasm.

"You know..."

Rin, feeling a bit upset, wanted to scold him, but after opening her mouth, she ultimately decided not to say anything. She sighed again and turned her face away to hide her discomfort.

Seeing Rin stay silent, Archer stood up slowly and headed towards the door, not forgetting to give a reminder.

"Don't worry. Once I kill Emiya Shirou, you'll be fine. You're just a means to threaten..."

"Shinji, right?"

Rin cut in, staring straight at Archer's back, then chuckled, "Sorry, but I know him well. He won't just sit quietly because of something like this. No... if anything, his actions aren't motivated by that! Instead, it's because of Emiya..."

"I know."

This unexpected "I know" from Archer stunned Rin, as she could feel a deep sense of envy in his words.

With that, Archer left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Damn it!"

Only then did Rin lower her head, gritting her teeth and cursing quietly.

...

Under the vast starry sky, Shirou sat quietly in his "home" backyard, his head bowed as he pondered something.

He had learned the truth from his other self—the one who had walked a path opposite to "justice" for the sake of just one person without regret.

Shirou didn't know if the path chosen was wrong, feeling only a deep sense of powerlessness.

If he had to choose between the world and Miyu, what would he do?

Shirou didn't know, only that he couldn't bear to abandon the small, innocent figure. He couldn't abandon this world either.

Thinking this, Shirou recalled the red figure who stood in opposition to him. Although he didn't want to admit it, that was what he would look like if he realized his ideals.

He was standing against his own ideals?

Did I betray my ideals?

"Shirou, look, look!"

Illya's footsteps and voice pulled Shirou out of his thoughts. He turned to see Illya in her pajamas, which had a tail and bells, bouncing over to him.

Illya hopped over to Shirou, showing off her cute pajamas.

"Ta-da! Cute, right? These pajamas were lent to me by the other Shirou!"

"Yeah... very cute."

Shirou smiled warmly.

Noticing the mix of complexity and struggle in Shirou's smile, Illya's playful expression softened.

"It's okay, Shirou."

Her small hand gently patted Shirou's head.

"No matter what you do or what choices you make, I'll always be on your side."

Hearing this, Shirou was stunned, his mind going blank as Illya's words washed over him.

"On my... side?"

"Yes."

Illya nodded and gave a soft smile.

"Because whether you choose to protect someone important at the expense of the world or choose justice for the majority, neither is wrong. Even I know that."

Seeing the smiling silver-haired girl who clearly expressed her unwavering support, Shirou felt his worries begin to fade.

That's right, both sides are correct, neither is wrong.

There was no point in thinking about which side was right; his (heroic giant's) choice wasn't wrong, and his (Archer's) choice wasn't wrong either.

If that's the case...

Thinking this, Shirou clenched his fists and stood up, his expression becoming serious.

"Alright! Let's strategize. If neither side is wrong, then I'll fight for both! There must be a way to save both Miyu and the world!"

Seeing Shirou's naïve declaration, Illya didn't bother saying the world couldn't be saved. Even if she did, it wouldn't change anything.

Shirou's wish to make everyone happy wherever he could see had never changed.

And... hee hee!

It was Illya who restored Shirou's spirits!

Saber was useless except for eating!

Shirou will choose me in the end!

As Illya was imagining a future where Shirou treated her as the heroic giant did Miyu and was internally giving herself a thumbs up, a man wearing an invisibility cloak standing in the snowy backyard smiled and turned away.

If one looked closely, they would see that Shinji was holding a large-caliber bullet...

...

The location of the Einzbern castle was no longer in the crater, but finding the exact location wasn't difficult for Shinji. After all, there was a live broadcast in the crevices of the world.

Creak—

After finding Rin in a room on the second floor, Shinji quietly opened the door and slowly closed it. But he was immediately pinned against the door, a cold blade pressed to his throat!

"Don't move!"

The moment she sensed someone coming, Rin had prepared herself, waiting for this moment!

Glancing at the mercury sword against his neck, Shinji sighed, "I guessed you'd do something stupid, and sure enough..."

Hearing Shinji's voice, Rin was stunned. Only then did she realize it was Matou Shinji before her!

"You... what are you doing here?"

"Of course, I'm here to stop you from doing something stupid. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come."

Released, Shinji shrugged and glanced around the room. Seeing the wooden chair and the ropes on the floor, he couldn't help but marvel at the perfect timeline convergence.

"You came at the right time. Let's move together..."

"Don't be silly. Everyone here is a hero of justice. I don't want to fight them."

Shinji waved his hand dismissively and then used a shadow clone transformation technique, turning the clone into Rin to take her place.

Seeing Shinji's trick, Rin was shocked, her mouth forming an O as she trembled, pointing dumbly at her tied-up "self."

"Alright, let it take your place. Let's go."

With that, Shinji grabbed Rin's wrist and, without waiting for her to speak, they disappeared from the room.

A few minutes later, Angelica, sensing something amiss, opened the door and, seeing Rin still tied up, left the room and closed the door.

At the same time, materializing from spirit form, Archer leaned against the hallway wall, arms crossed, and casually asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Angelica coldly replied, then stopped to glance at Archer.

"What is your true purpose?"

"At least it doesn't conflict with yours."

Hearing Archer's answer, Angelica asked no more and walked away.

...

When Rin came to her senses, she found herself not in the original bedroom but in a lavish reception room with walls adorned with various precious gems!

Seeing the sparkling, magic-rich gems, Rin momentarily lost her thoughts, almost drooling.

"Hey, hey, wipe that drool."

Shinji, letting go of Rin, couldn't help but comment, seeing her suddenly dazed by the sight of the gems.

"Don't underestimate me! Just a few gems aren't enough to buy me!"

"I wasn't planning to give them to you..." Shinji retorted, heading to a corner of the room, "Besides, these gems aren't mine."

"I... see..."

Feeling a bit regretful, Rin glanced around and noticed two other people who didn't seem easy to deal with.

"Big brother, my castle isn't like a love hotel..."

Young Gilgamesh scratched his head, smiling awkwardly.

"Who's a couple with him!"

Rin snapped, her face reddening with anger.

"I just thought such a big castle would be troublesome without a temporary maid."

Taking a soda from the fridge, Shinji spoke nonchalantly.

"What did you say?!"

Rin exploded with anger. Matou Shinji was as annoying as ever, wanting her to be his maid—what a dream!

"Maid, huh? That makes sense. How about a trial period of three gold coins a day?"

Seeing the smiling young Gilgamesh and the shining gold coins in his hand, Rin was genuinely tempted.

But remembering her noble heritage as the heir of the Tohsaka family, she couldn't face her ancestors if she became a maid.

So, when young Gilgamesh raised the wage to two gold coins an hour, Rin made a decision that went against her ancestral teachings!