This is the second chapter of today's update!

Chapter 38: Preparation, Part 2

"Ack!"

Motoyasu fell to the ground for the seventeenth time in just an hour, courtesy of the bamboo sword in EMIYA's hands.

After Captain Fargus portaled Naofumi's team, as well as Fohl, Wyndia, and Yuki, away for their training, a little later than expected because Tersia and Farrie were so insistent in making sure Keel got properly dressed in clothes that somewhat fit her newly developed body, Motoyasu turned toward EMIYA.

"So… should we start our own training now?"

EMIYA nodded. He led Motoyasu to the room he had found the other day when checking out the house. It was pretty large for a room, just like a dojo, but didn't have the equipment usually seen in one.

"Uh… shouldn't we just go outside?" Motoyasu asked confusedly when he saw where the Sword Hero was leading him to. "You know, in case we need to use skills or something…"

"There's no need for skills."

The words of the Sword Hero made Motoyasu blink. "Huh?"

"What you're lacking right now is not sheer power, or skills that you can throw out haphazardly on the battlefield, but actual combat experience," said EMIYA bluntly. "You are supposed to be a spearman, so what you need to improve is your speed, your stamina, your flexibility and reflex, in order to take down as many enemies as you can without getting killed in the process, not brute strength so that you can act like a tank and charge headfirst into the enemy rank. That is Naofumi's job, not yours."

"But there's no way we can do that in a day!"

EMIYA nodded as Motoyasu blurted out the obvious. "You're completely correct. And that is why our training today aims to somewhat hone your sense of combat, to prepare you for a fight."

The Sword Hero drew the Legendary Sword, which immediately took the form of a weirdly decorated bamboo shinai. For some reason, Motoyasu could feel some kind of evil aura leaking out of it, which sent chill into his spine.

"Sh-shirou-san… isn't that… a cursed weapon?" he stammered in fear.

"You can say that," the Sword Hero's eyes suddenly hardened. "And what you need to do is to try to defend yourself against all of my attacks. You may dodge, use your spear to block them, or any other way you can think of except for using a skill."

Motoyasu's eyes widened. "Hey, wait, I don't know—"

Then he felt himself flew across the room when the blade of the shinai struck him on the face.

"Get up!" he heard EMIYA's sharp voice above him. "Stand up! You're not trying, you're not making an effort, you're leaving yourself full of holes for me to attack!"

Motoyasu pushed himself up again, his heart thumping against his chest cage as though he had just run ten kilometers nonstop. The strikes were so fast he couldn't even see them coming, and even though his stats and the sword's property didn't allow him to take any damage, they still hurt as hell whenever the shinai touched his body. He gritted his teeth.

"I – am – making – an – effort!"

"I already told you to use your instinct to predict how and where I'm going to strike you! If you can't do it, you will continue to get hit!"

"But it is too difficult!" complained Motoyasu. "You could have given me a hint!"

"Then you will find yourself the prime target for everything on the battlefield!" said EMIYA brutally. "An enemy who's planning to kill you is not going to let you know what they're going to do. One single stray arrow, a stray bullet, or even an innocent swing of a sword next to you could take your life. If you let your mind wander around and neglect to pay attention to every small detail around you, you're going to die the first minute you step foot onto the battlefield!"

"You say those big words, but can you even do something like that?!" Motoyasu shot back in annoyance. EMIYA's eyes narrowed, and he stood straight up. He pointed his sword at Motoyasu.

"Then how about you try attacking me?"

Welt, who was standing at the corner of the room to watch the spar, facepalmed. "Oh boy… here we go again…"

"Don't underestimate me!" Motoyasu snarled. He leapt forward and swung the Legendary Spear, now having the form of a wooden stick EMIYA had given him for training purpose, in a wide arc, aiming at the other Hero's side with a speed and power enough to dislocate someone's shoulder if it hit. However, the Sword Hero slapped the attack away with an almost lazy flick of his arm.

"Damn you… Chaos Thrust!" the Spear Hero snarled and launched his skill at EMIYA, enemy or ally be damned. This was the fastest skill in his arsenal; there's no way the other Hero would be able to stop it without a shield…!

EMIYA's eyes gleamed dangerously. And, to Motoyasu's horror, the Sword Hero matched each strike of Chaos Thrust with a strike of his own. The Spear lashed out, again and again and again, but the only thing it managed to meet was the bamboo blade of the shinai, which effectively stopped all the strikes before they could even touch the Sword Hero's body. Before Motoyasu could understand anything, the shinai had lashed out again and struck him in the chin, knocking him backward to the ground once more.

And the Sword Hero didn't even have to use his right hand in the process.

"How in the world… did you do that…?!" the Spear Hero choked out in utter astonishment and disbelief.

"That skill might be fast, but no matter how fast it is, it still takes a moment of preparation before you launch each strike in order to gather enough power and momentum to deal significant damage to the target," explained EMIYA in a bored tone. "I only need to use that short moment to deduce how you would attack, where you would strike, and how much strength you're going to put into it, then strike back as you launch the strike, that's all."

Motoyasu gaped. "It… There's no way it could be that simple!"

"Oh, trust me, knowing about it is something, and actually putting it into action is a completely different matter," Welt grumbled. He had crossed the room and was now looking at Motoyasu with eyes full of pity. "Even we can't completely fathom it, after a month training with him. But sensei can do it, so there's no reason for us to say that it's impossible."

Motoyasu looked at the archer in horror. "A month?! Like this? Everyday?!"

"What do you think?" Welt raised an eyebrow.

Motoyasu looked downcast. "Then… how am I supposed to…?"

EMIYA rolled his eyes. "You are a Cardinal Hero, chosen by the Legendary Spear. That Spear should have enhanced your physical strength, agility and everything else a lot; basically, you're supposed to be much stronger than a normal person in terms of physical abilities. You must find a way to use that to your advantage. Now…"

He threw a leather pouch of water at Motoyasu. The Spear Hero caught it with both hands, a little bit startled.

"I can help you get stronger. However, it is only possible if you have the will to do it. If you don't want to try it by yourself… no matter what I do, it's not going to work. And if you want to do that… you have to stop telling yourself that you cannot do it. Use what you're good at to your advantage."

I… can do it…? But… how?

It's easy to say that he could do it. But no matter how much Motoyasu thought about it, it was impossible. He wasn't a genius fighter or anything like that; he hadn't even had any experience fighting when he was in his world. If anything, he was just a jock whose only thing he could consider himself "good" at was playing baseball.

How could that help him in a fight?

Wait a second…

Looking at how the opponent moves… using a small opening before the move is launched to deduce how and where the attack would land…

Where did he hear that before?

He suddenly stood up from the ground. "Let's try again, Shirou-san! I think I figured out something!"

EMIYA raised an eyebrow at the sudden enthusiasm of the Spear Hero, but complied anyway. He also stood up and brandished Torashinai again as Motoyasu lowered his body, holding the wooden Spear with both of his hands.

His posture has somewhat changed…

The attack was launched again. And just like before, Motoyasu couldn't see the shinai moving at all. But…

His arm is moving upward. His shoulder is rising. The strike is coming from above… It is an overhand throw!

He threw both his hands up and raised the Legendary Spear horizontally above him.

Then…

"Ack!"

He dropped his Spear, again, as EMIYA's shinai struck his right shoulder. He staggered backward and fell flat on his butt as the Spear reappeared in his hand. But this time, unlike before, EMIYA's face bore a genuine curious interest.

"What was that?"

Motoyasu blinked. "Uh…"

"You've just tried to do something, haven't you?"

The Spear Hero scratched his head in embarrassment. "Well, I… you know, I kinda feel that what you said… it sounded just like… trying to figure out the pitches when you stand in the batting box, you know? When you play baseball? And I... well, I thought, maybe I could try doing it… like that?"

Then he suddenly looked downcast. "Obviously it didn't work…"

What he didn't expect was EMIYA looking at him with a satisfied, if not victorious smirk. "What?"

"Now you've gotten somewhere," the grin didn't leave the Sword Hero's face. "Try it again."

Motoyasu was even more confused. "But… it didn't work."

"That was just one try," said EMIYA curtly. "When you think of something, you should follow it until the end, don't you think? Now, stand up and we'll try again."

Motoyasu gulped.

The Spear Hero collapsed on the ground like a puppet having its strings suddenly cut off.

It's been an hour since Motoyasu figured out that little trick. And indeed, it helped him improve… somewhat. During the hour, he had managed to block EMIYA's attacks twice.

Not that it helped him much, though. Even though he could stop two strikes from the Sword Hero, he still got beaten up like a piece of rag. And that was when the Sword Hero deliberately slowed down his attacks. When he decided to ramp it up a notch… yeah, Motoyasu didn't stand a single chance.

Even though Torashinai could not deal actual damage, the strikes still hurt as hell. His whole body was screaming in pain by now.

"You're just… enjoying it… aren't you…?" he said between heavy breaths. "This is just… torturing… not… training…"

"If you think this is enough training, you won't be able to withstand even a part of what I've been through," EMIYA said dryly. He crouched down and cast a simple healing spell on Motoyasu, and the pain subsided. The Spear Hero groaned and pushed himself up.

The two Heroes sat next to each other in silence as Motoyasu took gulps after gulps of water from the pouch EMIYA gave him. Besides the two Heroes, there was no one else in the room; Welt had left with the girls to the city market to buy some supplies for their incoming journey.

Then suddenly, the Spear Hero said.

"What made you so strong? I mean, I know you were a warrior even in your world, but… you're just different. You're too strong for a normal person, I say. Maybe in your world, magic is real or something, I don't know, but… there must still be a reason, right? This world has magic too, but no one I've ever met seems to be as strong as you, I say. You went through this kind of training as if it were just daily routine. Did you have a… drive, or something like that? A determination to do something?"

When EMIYA raised an eyebrow at him at the strangely specific question, he hastily added. "Superhero movies in my world usually have that kind of plot, I say."

Superhero, huh…

EMIYA sighed. He had never shared his story with anyone before, but the Spear Hero's guess was somehow spot on.

Had he still been the EMIYA who hated his past and wanted to do anything to erase himself from existence, he would have been pissed off at what Motoyasu had just said. But now…

"A wish."

It's obvious that Motoyasu didn't expect that answer. "Huh?"

"Everything started… from a selfish wish of a broken, stupid man," EMIYA continued with a sigh. "The wish to save everyone. The wish to make everyone happy."

He had never shared his story with anyone before. But why was he sharing it, right now? Why were the words jumping out of his mouth right now? To Motoyasu, of all people?

Maybe because Motoyasu sounded very earnest, maybe because he could hear the desire to become strong at all costs in the Spear Hero's voice and needed to stop it before anything could go wrong. He didn't know. The words just rose to his lips naturally and easily, without effort.

And that only made Motoyasu more confused. He knew the Sword Hero didn't like him to show off as a hero, but to think that he thought a wish to save people was selfish and broken…

"That man… was my father," the Sword Hero looked up the ceiling. "My adopted father, in fact. He saved my life. He gave me a new life, after a terrible catastrophe destroyed everything around me, everything that I had. His dream… at that time, I thought it was the most beautiful dream. And I…"

His voice turned bitter. "I admired him. I wanted to become like him because he looked so happy when he saved me. I wanted to make his dream come true. I took up that selfish dream after he died. I decided that I would become a hero who would save everyone. I forced myself to become stronger, so that I would have the power to save everyone. What a fool I was."

"But how can saving people be selfish and stupid?!" The words blurted out of Motoyasu's mouth before he could stop them. "If people are in trouble, helping them is a good thing! Didn't you tell me that I should try helping people who're in need?"

EMIYA looked at Motoyasu. "Yes. There's nothing wrong with helping people. However, saving everyone is impossible. EVERYONE. There would always be people you cannot save, no matter what you do. Sometimes, you, the one who goes to save those people, won't be able to do anything but look at them dying in front of you. Sometimes, you would even be the one who has to take the lives of the people you're supposed to be saving."

Motoyasu grimaced. "Well, yeah… but it's something unavoidable, isn't it? A person isn't a god! There's no way we can expect ourselves to be able to do everything!"

EMIYA chuckled bitterly. "Yeah, I know. I didn't understand that, however… or rather… I didn't want to understand that. At first. I kept training, kept pushing myself past whatever limits I had. I kept rushing into battles, trying to save everyone I saw while killing as many people as I was supposed to save. I didn't even care about what could happen to me. I didn't even care about how I could lose my own life. And it went on and on and on…

"I was scared. I hated what I became. I hated what my ideal turned me into. But I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. I just kept clinging on that immature ideal, until I couldn't anymore. In the end… I ended up on the gallows as a murderer, not as a hero."

He chuckled again. Things were actually more complicated than that, but he figured it would be better not to tell Motoyasu about how he nearly killed himself before his younger self managed to make him realize the beauty of his dream.

"So that's why…" Motoyasu mumbled. So the Sword Hero was also summoned to this place before he died. Just like him and Itsuki.

He remembered what the Sword Hero told him before the Wave, in the tavern. He remembered how the Sword Hero told him not to try to be a hero. He had thought it was just some wisecrack coming from an old guy who thought he knew better than him, but he had never thought those words came from the man's personal experience.

He might not have wanted to act as a hero to make people recognize him like Motoyasu had done, but Shirou-san had also been someone who spent all his life trying to save people at all cost, by all methods possible. And he was horrified when he realized what that kind of action did to him, and to other people around him. He didn't want anyone to follow his footsteps.

It's not like Motoyasu completely believed the other Hero in front of him, though. That story was so absurd, so unreal. So… inhumane. He doubted that anyone who wasn't utterly insane would have that way of thinking; well, who in the world would put the sake of others above even his own life?

And yet, somehow, he could imagine the man in front of him actually doing it, without a doubt.

And if that is actually what being a Hero means… does he want to be a Hero anymore?

Motoyasu suddenly stood up. He grabbed the Legendary Spear and looked at EMIYA.

"Let's continue!"

The Sword Hero raised an eyebrow. "Enthusiastic much, aren't you?"

Motoyasu nodded. "Yeah. Maybe I won't ever be as good a Hero as you are, but at least I don't want to be a burden to everyone anymore, I say! I want to protect other people, using my strength, using what I have! Please."

EMIYA stared at the Spear Hero. Then, he chuckled lightly and stood up, grabbing his sword. The two Heroes slipped back into their stances, ready to continue the training…

…before the entrance to the room burst open, and the three members of Team EMIYA rushed into the room.

"Sensei! We have problem!"

A flash of light exploded at the center of the room. It eventually faded away, revealing Naofumi's party: Wyndia, Fohl, Yuki, and Captain Fargus. Everyone looked tired but happy, and they all looked much stronger than before.

Captain Fargus slapped Naofumi's back. "You did well, kid. Not much experience you have there, but you have potential. Keep it up and you will become a force that would put fear in the hearts of even the bravest army."

Naofumi glared at the pirate captain. "I don't want to do that, though. And I can't attack, remember?"

The captain grinned. "Perhaps. But who said that a shielder cannot be fearsome? You have more in you than what your class shows you. What you need to do is to believe in what you can do, and do what you do best."

Naofumi rolled his eyes. "You sound just like Shirou-san."

Before Captain Fargus could answer, the entrance to the room had burst open, and the aforementioned Hero marched into the room. He stomped toward the pirate captain and held a parchment up at his face.

"Capt'. What the hell does this mean?"

The pirate captain raised an eyebrow. He took the parchment from the Sword Hero's hand and started reading its contents. His eyes darkened and his eyebrows scrunched up with each word he read.

"What the hell is this?!"

BY ORDER OF

THE MERCHANT COUNCIL OF ZELTOBLE

All men from 18 to 60 who have citizenship of Zeltoble are ordered to active duty as a member of the country's National Guard. They are to report to the Conscription Station within their living vicinity within five days for duty. Anyone who…

"I've never heard anything about this!" the captain said grimly. He didn't need to read the whole thing to understand what was going on. "That bastard…"

Then he brandished the Seven Star Axe, which had taken the form of the axe he used for the portal skill. "I'm going to see Bentley. He'd better have a good explanation about this, or else…"

EMIYA nodded. "I'm going with you. We need to stop this before things escalate too far."

Arthur Bentley didn't even show a hint of surprise when the two Heroes barged into his office.

"I've expected that you would come, Sir Sword Hero," he said pleasantly with a smile.

Fargus marched toward the desk where the Head Merchant of Zeltoble was sitting at. He slammed his hands on the desk and snarled.

"Explain yourself, Arthur. What the hell do you think you're doing? Why didn't you tell me anything before you did something like that?!"

The Head Merchant didn't answer him directly. He opened a drawer below the desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Read this letter."

EMIYA picked up the "letter". His eyes darkened when he realized the content written on it.

To all leaders of the great five nations,

The insurgents who call themselves the Sword, Spear and Shield Heroes have just committed an atrocity. Since they were summoned to this world, they have done nothing but bringing pain and misery anywhere they stepped foot at. And recently, they have just tried to murder His Holiness, the Pope of the Church of the Three Heroes, right within the Great Cathedral.

Those insurgents are not Heroes. They are simply villains who stole the power of the Legendary Weapons and use them for their evil deeds. They are the embodiments of evil itself.

The Church of the Three Heroes and Melromarc considers those three villains and those who support them our number one enemies. We strongly suggest anyone who know about them turn them over to Melromarc for them to face justice.

The Church of the Three Heroes is merciful. We do not want bloodshed. We do not want the death of innocent people. Turn those fakes in and peace would be maintained.

The sheet of paper crumpled into a ball in EMIYA's hand. This wasn't just a letter; this was a declaration. An ultimatum. The threat laced within those words were clear: if anyone dares take the Heroes' side, they're going to suffer.

This letter wasn't meant for any country at all. It was meant for him, and the other Heroes. They didn't care how much collateral damage there would be even if the whole world went to war because of this.

He had underestimated that crazy, bloodthirsty excuse of a Pope too much.

No, overestimating would be the more correct word. He had expected the corrupted Pope to at least have a sane mind and keep everything within Melromarc first, at least until the Heroes were exposed. However, he just hadn't expected that the bastard would end up declaring war on the whole world that easily. That Legendary Weapon Replica and the army he had just acquired seemed to have made him drunk with power. It's entirely possible that he was now thinking of himself as a god.

"So," Lord Bentley looked into EMIYA's eyes. "Did you actually do it?"

EMIYA calmly received the look without even flinching. He pondered for a while, then answered.

"What if I did? Are you planning to turn us over?"

Lord Bentley laughed. A cold, calculating laughter. "And what good would that do to us? To the citizens of Zeltoble, you are the Hero. Our Hero. You are always welcome in this land. And we're always ready to be on your side, even if we have to sacrifice our lives."

And of course, someone like EMIYA wouldn't miss that tone.

"You're just looking forward to a war, aren't you?"

Lord Bentley looked offended. "Now why do you think we would want that, Sir Sword Hero? We're merchants, not idiots. We're not going to throw ourselves into a war if we aren't directly pulled into it. However, we have our pride, and we know exactly who we need to put our trust in. Also, those who call themselves the Church of the Three Heroes are threatening us. We cannot sit there and wait for them to come at us without any preparation."

Then he "hmph"ed. "Besides, it's not like Zeltoble is the only country who is preparing for war. Our information network shows that Siltvelt is mobilizing all of their military force. They've been preparing for a total war against Melromarc for years, and their opportunity has finally come. And Faubley is also mobilizing their troops to the border. If Siltvelt starts their attack, they're going to join in, in the name of helping Melromarc, their ally, drive back the invaders, too."

He shook his head. "But I can assure you, Sir Sword Hero, Zeltoble is not going to join that war if they don't start attacking us first. We've just been through a devastating Wave and don't have the manpower and financial support to throw ourselves into a big war by now. We're not going to attack, I can assure you of that. But we need to be ready in case worse comes to worst. Joining a war like that isn't going to benefit Zeltoble in any way."

Fargus snorted. "Besides a big market for Zeltoble to reap benefit from selling supplies and weapons to both sides, hm?"

The Head Merchant threw a glare at him.

EMIYA gritted his teeth. It was obvious that the Church's coup was just an excuse. Those countries had been eager to start a war for a long time. They only cared about how much benefit, financially and politically, they could get from it. But he couldn't find any reason to retort. What the Head Merchant had just said was completely true; the Church was now threatening the peace of the whole world. It made sense that the other countries needed to muster their strength to protect themselves.

Was there really no way to stop a world war now?

No. He can't let this happen. This is not the matter of clearing their names anymore. This is about saving the world from being destroyed by the hands of greedy bastards and evil tyrants.

There's still time. Queen Mirellia is in Siltvelt right now, and she's definitely trying her best to stop the Siltvelt army. Probably. She would be if she knew how to be a country's leader. There was nothing he could do but trust her now and hope for the best.

He turned toward Captain Fargus. "We need to go now."

When the two Heroes walked out of the room, they could still hear Arthur Bentley's voice from behind their back.

"I'm really sorry, Sir Sword Hero, but as the leader of this country, I have to put the benefit of my country above everything else."

The atmosphere of the room was heavy and choking as EMIYA brought the news back.

"So there's no choice for us but to go back to Melromarc as soon as possible, huh…" Naofumi gritted his teeth.

EMIYA nodded. "Yeah. And when we're back there, we need to reveal ourselves, too. We need to keep the war within the border of Melromarc for as long as possible."

"That is going to throw every single one of our plans off the rail," Eclair noted bitterly. "They're trying to lure us out, you know that."

"Yeah," the Sword Hero nodded. "And I have to say that this time they have succeeded."

No one could utter a word to retort this ominous statement.

"So what are we going to do? We're not going to meet up with the Queen anymore?"

EMIYA shook his head. "We still follow the old plan. We need the Queen's support more than ever now. However, we cannot continue with the strategy we've thought of before… at least after we meet up with her. Akari isn't here now; there is no way we can contact her at the moment. We need to meet up with her first to consider the change of tactics. If we don't do that… there's no telling how many people would have to die."

Choking silence filled the air again. Then, Motoyasu shook his head.

"That is an inhumanely mad plan, I say. Crazy. It's no different from throwing ourselves into the hand of death."

That was the same thing EMIYA once told everyone. And ironically, right now his plan was to do the exact same thing.

But did they even have any other choice?

The entrance to the room opened, and Captain Fargus walked into the room.

"The three carriages you require are ready, Brother Sword," he said. "You sure you don't need anything else?"

"That's all I need, Capt'," EMIYA nodded. "Thanks for your help. Everyone, get ready to leave in an hour. We can't waste any more time."

When the others left the room to prepare, the pirate captain patted the Sword Hero's arm. "Sorry that it's everything Zeltoble could do for you now, Brother. But keep contact, okay? If I don't hear anything from you guys in a month, I will personally go to Melromarc to give that bastard Pope a lesson."

EMIYA chuckled. "Thanks for the offer. I'll try my best to prevent you from doing so."

Captain Fargus grinned. "Oh, and someone else actually want to give you assistance, too."

EMIYA blinked. He looked over Fargus' shoulder, toward the entrance he had just come in from.

Larsazusa was walking into the room with a cheerful smile on her face. Behind her, there was another beautiful woman that EMIYA had never met before. She looked a bit older than Larsazusa herself, and her long, black hair and pearly, somewhat pale skin reminded him a little bit of Glass, but her sapphire eyes were way more lively and cheerful, in a rather motherly way to boot. The rather skimpy clothes she was wearing right now – well, it wouldn't be improper to call them a set of bikini with fauld - couldn't hide the fact that the skin on her arms and legs were black, almost as if they were wrapped in rubber. She was obviously a demi-human. And behind her, there was a large harpoon strapped to her back.

"Heya, Shi-kun! Why did you come to Zeltoble for help and not even give me a call?" the panda woman bounced into the room and engulfed the Sword Hero in a hug with a cheerful smile.

"First off, don't call me that," EMIYA wrinkled his nose at the nickname. "And we didn't have much time here; we've just arrived here yesterday, so… How the hell do you know that we're here, anyway? Who is that behind you?"

The panda woman grinned at the direction of her fellow. "Oh, she is…"

"Oh, hey, it's Nadia-san!" From behind EMIYA, Fohl's surprised voice suddenly rose. The hakuko boy had just entered the room with Atla on his back after finishing his preparation. "Master, she is Nadia-san! She's someone I knew from the time I fought as a gladiator! She's very strong and kind! I think we can trust her!"

"Nadia is one of the strongest fighters and mercenaries in Zeltoble," Fargus explained. "She was only here for a few months, and yet she had made a big name in this land for herself. I happened to see her when I went find Larsazusa, so I took the liberty to hire her service for you, Brother Sword. Consider this the only assistance I could do to you."

EMIYA turned in curiosity toward the woman, now known as Nadia. "So, Nadia-san, right? You know Fohl?"

The woman smiled. "I saw him fighting in the Grand Stadium every now and then. I even saw him fight in the underground colosseums a few times. The boy has a lot of potential in him, I must say. You must have been taking care of him well, Mister Emiya Shirou, the legendary Champion who defeated even the strongest man in the world… am I wrong?" she ended up with a rather flirtatious smile.

"Hey, don't go all flirty-flirty with Shi-kun, nee-sama!" Larsazusa complained next to her.

"Shirou-sama, we're ready!"

Everyone turned toward the other side of the room, where Naofumi and his team had just entered from. They had all geared up and were ready to depart.

"Who do you have there with you, Shirou-san?" Naofumi looked at the newcomers warily. "I've never seen them before…"

His words were cut short as the backpack in Raphtalia's hand hit the ground with a loud "thud". A shocked and surprised expression could be seen clearly on the raccoon girl's face, and her eyes were glued on the long-haired woman. Not only her, but Keel's face also bore the exact same bewildered expression.

For a few seconds, everyone just stared at each other in silence. Then, without a warning, the two girls of Team Naofumi rushed forward and engulfed the woman in a tearful hug.

"SADEENA-NEESAN!"