He Tore Through The Holy Grail War, And You Still Call Him A Dragon?

After giving Nono's example, Shirou used human society's knowledge as leverage to criticize Melusine's unreliable behavior today, scolding the little dragon thoroughly.

The little dragon nodded repeatedly, though who knew how much she actually absorbed. At the end, she muttered, "Um… I like warm body heat. About today's flying ride, Shirou, could you take me again when you're free?"

When Melusine said this, her face carried a suspiciously playful smile, her dragon tail quietly swaying behind her.

Shirou didn't think much of it. Melusine always spoke straightforwardly, and he assumed she meant finding another time for her to take him into the sky. He nodded, "No problem."

Before finally returning to his room and sinking into baby-like sleep, Shirou recalled once more the experience of he and Melusine breaking into that space rift Odin had opened…

That kind of one-of-a-kind experience was undoubtedly precious. Though a Reality Marble was essentially a mental landscape, when it eroded the world, it was also corrected by reality. To sustain its activation, it required massive mana consumption.

As he lay on his bed with his eyes closed, he couldn't help replaying it over and over, carefully analyzing and simulating his own Unlimited Blade Works inner world…

Perhaps the study of Unlimited Blade Works was too mentally draining. After some time, Shirou's focus drifted.

The memories circling his mind eventually morphed into Melusine, flashing back to their daytime match against Odin and his Sleipnir. He remembered Melusine proudly straightening her back, easily defeating the eight-legged Pegasus, while Odin fell from the skies furious and one-armed, after losing his beloved mount.

And then, without noticing, he fell asleep.

In his dream, Shirou was at home, calling Melusine to help… fixing engineering devices with a vise, adjusting torque, meshing gears…

Much later, he groggily opened his eyes, the dream already fading.

He squinted. The damp, warm light spread through the outside world, while the white noise of raindrops pattered continuously outside. Had he been woken by the rain?

Gradually waking in his futon, Shirou's sluggish thoughts resumed. He suddenly felt a bit heavy, and hot—so hot he was sweating, and something moved faintly beneath the covers.

"What the…"

Glancing down, he saw the blanket intact. He reflexively pulled out his arm, intending to lift the futon to let the heat escape.

When he did—silver hair spilled messily, delicate dragon curves filling the rest of the space. The weight of a dragon body pressed on him, her breathing brushing against the fabric…

What—Melusine hadn't gone back to her own room? She had crawled into his bed?

So last night hadn't been just a dream… it was real!?

"Melusine, wake up. Open your eyes. It's me, Shirou."

Shirou's drowsiness vanished instantly. With some effort, he pried Melusine off him while trying to rouse her, but she slept like a dead pig.

As expected, she didn't respond, instead curling her dragon tail tightly around his thigh.

"Damn it, you can't be woken?!" Shirou had just moved her legs when he had to fight with her mischievous tail, feeling utterly overwhelmed.

It wasn't that he hated Melusine being in his bed. The problem was the approaching footsteps outside the room.

Living together so long, he could recognize them without even using "Mind's Eye." As expected…

Bang!

Nono burst in.

"Wake up, my Shirou hero! The white hole and bright tomorrow await you! Why are you up so late today? I already made you breakfast! Oh, and I can't find Melusine anywhere, who knows where she's gone to sleep…"

Nono marched in familiarly, ignoring Shirou's frozen expression, moving to tidy his bed.

"Wait—"

"Hm? Hiding something under the covers?" She reached, but Shirou stopped her, prompting her suspicious question:

"Don't tell me you've got some kind of inappropriate stash down there? Don't worry, I won't laugh or spread it around. Besides, if you had those kinds of needs, you could've told me. We could… work something out together."

"Pft—work something out together? Care to translate that?"

Nono muttered vaguely, "Work it out… just means the two of us working together. Nothing hard to understand, right?"

She sat at the bedside, cheeks puffed like a pufferfish.

What kind of girl bluntly pushes a guy down like that? Shirou, your blockhead thinking is hopeless.

Nono sulkily shifted, pinning part of the blanket down.

Suddenly, something beneath the covers pressed upward with vigor.

"Hm?" Nono reacted quickly, hand diving in. She pulled out a wriggling dragon tail, then flipped the futon—revealing Melusine asleep, blissfully unaware.

Shirou froze. When Nono's hand first reached in, he thought she was about to do something to him, and had reflexively pulled back—leaving Melusine exposed instead.

"Why is she in your bed again?" Nono's earlier fluster instantly turned into icy rage.

This scene felt familiar—Melusine had done something like this before.

"This… just an accident." Knowing he couldn't bluff, Shirou still tried to manage his expression, waving Nono down.

"You know how Melusine sees human houses as 'nests'? To her, it's all the same. Bed, floor—doesn't matter."

Nono coldly watched like she was seeing some second-rate palace-intrigue schemer trying to bluff his way through.

"Are you kidding? Since I scolded her back in China, she hasn't done this again. And she won't sleep on the floor, she says it's too cold."

At that moment, Melusine finally stirred from the chill air as the blanket had been thrown back. She stretched lazily, mumbling, "So hot with mana… I'm stuffed…"

"?"

Nono blinked, her expression breaking. "Huh? Huh? HUH??"

————

Ten minutes later, the three sat around the dining table for a trial. Nono, as chief judge, grilled Shirou and Melusine endlessly.

Shirou insisted he'd only dreamed, sticking to the "I know nothing" defense.

Melusine, meanwhile, showed no guilt, calmly answering:

"I'm a dragon. Being drawn to body heat at night is normal."

"I'm a dragon. Clinging to the strong is normal."

"I'm a dragon. Hating the loneliness in my blood is normal."

Nono slammed the table, eyebrows flaring.

"'I'm a dragon' isn't a universal excuse! Stop dodging! Tell me exactly what you two did last night!"

Bang.

A sound came from the door. The three froze, turning.

There was Sami, the little helper, peeking in.

"Wow, looks like you senpai are busy. I was gonna cook and bring some to my idiot brother, but maybe not the best time. I'll just go—bye!"

"No, wait! You came at the perfect time." Shirou's eyes lit up. If not now, when?

"Sami, forget cooking for now. I want to talk with you alone. Let's step aside."

Before Nono could react, Shirou bolted out with Sami…

She only gave him a glare, since they had agreed he would eventually talk to Sami and probe her.

————

In the courtyard, the rain still poured like silver needles. The downpour was a harsh trial for drought-loving plants.

Perhaps a reflection of reality.

For the island nation's people, surviving the calamities caused by the return of "gods" was an equally harsh trial.

Shirou and Sami sat under the eaves. "This rain's been ridiculous. Sami, doesn't going to Tokyo every day bother you?"

Opening with weather talk—classic awkward small talk.

"Eh, so you do care?" Sami laughed, ponytail swaying. "I thought you forgot me, too busy drowning in another girl's embrace at night."

Shirou rubbed his forehead. "You mean the dining room scene? Don't. That mess happened out of nowhere. I was exhausted from training, just crashed, and by the time I realized, it was morning…"

Sami's jaw dropped.

"Whoa, so you two really went that far? I thought you and Nono would end up together, but this—this is like… pre-dating cheating!"

"Hey! That's way off. And honestly, Melusine might understand knowledge, but not human views on love or marriage."

Shirou sighed. "You know the truth of this world. So let me be blunt. Though we said Melusine was Nono's French cousin—she isn't."

He looked straight into her bright eyes.

"She's a dragon. A remnant of the age of myths. Do you understand?"

"Dragon?" Sami acted surprised.

"Yes. Hard to believe, right? And the reason I warned you Tokyo was dangerous is because of the Holy Grail War. Accidents, deaths—it's all from battles between Servants, dragons, and other beings."

"Worse, with the revival of gods, even greater calamities are coming. I can't imagine the goal of whoever started this ritual.

"But the weaker you are, the greater the danger. That's the truth you probably don't know…"

At that moment, one of the masterminds herself, Sami, covered her face to hide her expression.

Can't laugh. Laughing would ruin the atmosphere…

(End of Chapter)

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