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

Shirou listened to that familiar, cheeky voice on the other end of the line, and for a moment he wondered if he should just snap back with, "Who are you again? Wrong number, hanging up!" and cut her off cold.

But remembering Ugly Gozen's earlier warning, he restrained himself, waited a second, and answered in a way that gave her a little face:

"I'll press 1. Transfer me to a human operator."

Then he tapped the button.

"Shirou, are you picking a fight? I'm a living person, not some mercury AI!"

Charlotte's pouty voice rang through, clearly annoyed.

"Milady, you always have a new trick up your sleeve. Now you've even changed your opening act into something this bizarre?"

"I'm not a comedy character! What are you saying? If you keep this up, there's no way we can have a proper conversation!" she snapped back, feigning anger.

"Then stop fooling around and just get to the point."

Shirou crouched down, packing up the Noble Phantasms he needed. The metallic ring of blades sliding into scabbards and the rasp of zippers mixed in with the sound of rain.

He still hadn't forgotten the strange light he'd seen from the mountains. If he was going to investigate, he needed to be prepared.

"It's like this. Ever since leaving that bizarre mirror Tokyo, I've been researching its entrances and exits. I've basically confirmed that the whole thing is hidden underground."

Charlotte's words startled him. Ah, right. She hadn't been with him the second time he entered. She didn't know what had happened there.

"You know, after my mercury AI got boosted with Servant-class power, its performance and growth potential skyrocketed!" Charlotte's voice brimmed with excitement. "So this time, I used geological drilling tech to release my mercury AI into underground rivers, letting them trace the water networks to the source!"

Shirou gave a dry, perfectly timed response, praising her as the prodigy of the Clock Tower for thinking of such a clever idea. But who exactly had she roped into such endless drilling work?

Charlotte laughed proudly. "You'll never guess, Shirou. He even promised not to charge me!"

"No charge? What, does he want a kidney instead?"

"Of course not!" she puffed her cheeks like a pufferfish. "Stop underestimating me! The partner is none other than Minamoto no Raishō!"

"…He didn't charge you? Sure, he's rich, but your face works that well?"

"Humph! I promised to give his little brother a new arm. Easy!" Charlotte declared, full of confidence.

Ever since her alchemy had surged after gaining Servant-class power, crafting a prosthetic that could function like a real limb felt trivial to her.

"His little brother… I think I know who that is."

Shirou smacked his forehead. How convenient. He'd just delivered Minamoto no Sanetomo into Raishō's hands, and now Charlotte was making deals with them.

It made sense though. She was still new to Tokyo, with few connections. Teaming up with a local like Raishō was the obvious choice.

"…Hmph." Charlotte gave a small dissatisfied hum. Why did Shirou already seem to know everything? If he knew it all, what was the point of her bragging?

"So, Milady, do you even have experience making prosthetics?"

"No!" she said, her voice a little too defiant.

"…What?" Shirou wiped nonexistent sweat. "Are you sure you're not about to botch it? What if you make things worse?"

"What's there to be afraid of? At worst, he's still disabled! Besides, don't underestimate my closed-door training these past days!"

She clenched her fists. "My mercury AI's precision is off the charts! Forget prosthetics—if I have enough data, I could simulate entire human beings!"

Shirou understood the point—her AI was like a supercomputer, capable of perfect data simulations.

"But it still needs something to model off, right?"

"So what if it does?"

Shirou lifted a long case—the one holding Odin's arm. "If you used this as the base, wouldn't that make things easier? I happen to have one ready."

Raishō's brother was said to be even stronger than Raishō in swordsmanship. Losing an arm was a shame. With Odin's arm remade into a prosthetic, his combat ability might not just return, but even grow.

"…You have one ready?"

Charlotte nearly choked. Everyone had their own arms, but who would just chop one off to hand it over?

"Relax. Not mine. It's an enemy's. I don't want to keep it, but destroying it outright feels like a waste. Better to put it to use."

Shirou remembered how Watanabe no Tsuna had once severed Ibaraki-dōji's demon arm, only to have it stolen back later.

Tch. He'd better make sure Odin couldn't try the same trick. Using it now was the safest bet.

"By the way, Milady, your workshop's in Tokyo too, right? Did you notice that strange light from the mountains today?"

"Light? No idea. My defenses didn't trigger any alarms."

"Hard to explain over the phone. Let's meet in person."

After ending the call, Shirou packed up, told Nono he was heading out, and set off with Ugly Gozen for the rendezvous point—where trouble in the Holy Grail War always seemed to brew.

The Genji Heavy Industries Tower.

——

"Didn't they say the Minamoto clan were big-time locals? Why does their headquarters look so deserted?"

When Charlotte arrived, she was dressed to the nines: a Victorian dress, beret, dainty boots, handbag in hand, her mercury maid holding an umbrella at her side.

Truly the picture of a young lady.

Shirou sighed inwardly. Her obsession with theatrics was hopeless. Thank goodness he wasn't like that. Otherwise, Ugly Gozen would've materialized just to terrify her with sheer presence.

"This place? A few Servant battles tore it apart. Genji Heavy Industries evacuated the civilians and declared it a quarantine zone."

Shirou shook his head, sparing a thought for the gangsters who still had to work here daily. Imagine commuting into this desolate ghost town every day, staring at rows of abandoned houses on the way home.

Inside a Snake-Eight Families medical lab, they met the Minamoto brothers and Uesugi Yue.

Sanetomo had woken up. He was a timid, polite boy, with none of the ferocity of Kazama Ruri's demon persona.

Shirou realized he'd misunderstood Yue earlier. The one stronger than Raishō was Ruri, not Sanetomo.

Without Ruri's awakened power, Sanetomo was just a frail boy, grateful to reunite with his family but worried he'd only drag them down.

So when Shirou suggested grafting Odin's arm into a prosthetic, Sanetomo was the first to agree.

"Sanetomo, are you sure?" Yue asked solemnly. "The arm's strength is unknown. It may not even work."

Sanetomo nodded. "I'm sure. I've always hidden behind my brother. This time, I want to be the one standing in front."

He bowed to Shirou. "If I can help in the coming battles, I'll do it."

Shirou and Charlotte exchanged a glance. With the patient's consent, it was time to act.

When Charlotte learned the material was none other than Odin's arm, she gasped. "Wow, thanks to Odin the tycoon for donating this! Shirou, I have to admit—you've got more pull than I do!"

Shirou ignored her banter and pulled out his arsenal of glowing tools and blacksmith's gear.

"…Wait. We're making an arm, not a sword!" Charlotte cried.

"What's the difference? If we're going all out with Odin's arm, let's make it count. I'll even embed a conceptual weapon into it."

Shirou's wrist flared with fire.

They worked from morning until near dusk. Ugly Gozen kept watch on the mountains, but nothing happened there.

"Try moving it."

Sanetomo looked down at his gleaming silver arm, hesitant. It looked more like an art piece than a prosthetic.

But once it activated, he felt it—raw power surged through him. Deep in his blood, something resonated.

The Silver Arm shone brilliantly, erupting with dazzling light.

(End of Chapter)

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