Author's Notes:

So before this chapter starts a few quick things. I'm dropping the chapter naming thing I mentioned in the last chapters notes cus it just wasn't working for me. I will still have some chapters be in the HGW and others after it, with jumps around in the specific points of those two settings. For example this short chapter will be taking place not too long after the war's end.

The chapter is a really small one, that is because I have a bunch of stuff on my plate in general but I am also working on a bigger story connected to this fic. Same setting, same universe, just not as slice of life oriented as this work... kinda. And since I don't want to leave you guys with absolutely nothing in the meantime, I will try to squeeze out these small updates whenever I can.

Anyways, hope you enjoy the new chapter. Please do leave any comments or reviews you may have.

Have a good one.

"So why exactly did you drag us all the way out in the middle of nowhere?" Jeanne asked, clearly unhappy. "Couldn't we do this back home?"

"If this were any ordinary test, I would. But this is a reality marble we are talking about!" Rin, equally frustrated, explained as they all walked through a forest a good distance from Fuyuki. "If so much as a peep gets out about it, Shirou will have the entire magic association on top of him!"

That made Jeanne back off a bit. "Are these reality marbles really that big of a deal?"

"Yes. They are incredibly rare and most of those who possess them aren't even human exactly. So a mere third rate mage having one would definitely earn a sealing designation." Rin calmed down as well as she explained.

"So that means we won't have anyone's help with it either, right?" Shirou asked.

"Yeah, letting anyone other than the three of us know about it is simply too risky."

After that, the rest of their walk was spent in silence. Once they found a clearing, Rin set up a bounded field as a precaution. "Okay, that should be all, are you two ready?"

Shirou and Jeanne nodded. Shirou on his own does not have the mana pool to sustain Unlimited Blade Works, but Jeanne has more than enough for the both of them. Tapping into the link they established after her reincarnation, Shirou began his chant.

"I am the bone of my sword.

Steel is my body and fire is my blood.

I have created over a thousand blades.

Unaware of loss,

Nor aware of gain.

Withstood pain to create weapons, waiting for one's arrival.

I have no regrets. This is the only path.

My whole life was Unlimited Blade Works."

In a burst of life, the three of them were transported into Shirou's inner world. Rin's eyes were wide in wonder. Shirou's reality marble was so vastly different from Archer's.

The skies were clear and instead of a hill, it was a vast wasteland. It was still covered in swords however, that part hadn't changed as expected. Getting her bearings back, Rin turned to Shirou and Jeanne. "How are you two handling the mana usage? Any exhaustion?"

"All good here." Jeanne said as she looked around. She didn't really have a chance to take a look at it the last time. Fighting history's oldest hero wasn't exactly a task that allowed time for sightseeing.

Rin nodded and moved on to inspect the swords stabbed into the ground, checking the quality of the projections compared to her observations outside of the reality marble. In the meantime, Jeanne and Shirou were free to do whatever. As such Jeanne decided to just walk around the place, having nothing better to do.

"I'm still baffled at how far you pushed projection, Shirou. I can hardly tell these things aren't the real deal." Rin mentioned offhandedly during her inspection.

"Oh, thanks." Shirou accepted her comment a bit bashfully. "So, how much longer will we stay here?"

"Hm? Oh, not much longer, we are basically done already." Rin answered his question as she got up. "I just need to get a gauge on how long you and Jeanne can keep up your reality marble and we can go."

"So… you dragged us all the way out here just to go back after a few minutes?" Shirou deadpanned, now finding himself agreeing with Jeanne's frustration.

Rin groaned at that. "I already told you…" But before she could continue, Shirou stopped.

"I know, I know. But still…" He sighed in exasperation.

But quickly after that, both of their attention was grabbed by a loud but short laugh from the former servant. "Hey, guys! Look at what I found!" Jeanne called out to them while waving with some object in her hand.

Said object being a… severed arm. "What the… Jeanne, where did you get that?" Shirou asked her in bewilderment.

"It was just lying around." Jeanne answered as she approached them.

"Why would a random arm just be lying around in Shirou's reality marble?!" Rin asked, the situation pushing her patience to its limit.

"This isn't any random arm, Rin." Jeanne had a cheeky grin as she waved the arm casually.

"Wait… Oh!" Shirou's eyes widened in recognition.

Rin's head kept snapping between the two of them in confusion. "Wha-..."

But before she could ask them what significance the arm could have, "Damn you mongrels. I am the oldest king and a big dumb asshole. Blah blah blah." Jeanne imitated their former adversary in a mocking tone.

"..." Rin had to process that for a quick second before, "Wait?! That's goldy's arm?! You two cut it off?!"

"Yep! Well, Shirou cut it off to be more specific." Jeanne confirmed.

"Uhh, yeah, I did." Shirou confirmed as well, if a bit awkwardly.

"I… Ughhh!" Rin, finally reaching her limit, decided to drop that topic immediately for the sake of her own sanity. "Let's just get out of here already. Jeanne, how are you holding up on your mana reserves?"

"All fine here, boss. This thing is not exactly low maintenance but I got more than enough to keep this thing running as well as kick some ass myself." Jeanne boasted, putting down the severed arm of the King of Heroes.

"Hmm, I see. Well that is to be expected. I could hold it up for a good while even when he had to go all out against Gilgamesh. And I also had to keep you powered." Rin pointed out as she struck the pose that Jeanne and Shirou have come to refer to as the 'professor Tohsaka pose'.

"Well then, that means we are done here. Shirou, if you would." Rin concluded. And with a nod, Shirou closed his reality marble and they were back in the real world.

"Umm, what are we gonna do with… that?" Shirou pointed at the arm in Jeanne's grip. And he got his answer with Jeanne simply throwing it into the air and then burning it to ash.

"Done." She said as she dusted off her hands. With their business concluded, they started making their way back home.

Omake:

Within Chaldea's cafeteria, a glass was broken by the shaking grip of one of the many servants residing within it.

"Gil?" Enkidu angled their head in a confused manner as they looked at their best friend. "Is everything alright?"

"I do not know… I have suddenly been filled with a sudden irritation that I do not know the cause of." Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, answered with a deep frown as he started cleaning his fist from his now spilled drink.