In the morning, Artoria Lily opened her eyes and sat up. Full of energy, she hopped out of bed and changed into the loungewear Sella had prepared for her—a simple hoodie and long pants that suited her perfectly.
Winter had already arrived here, but the villa was wrapped in one of Shichen's barrier fields, so it was comfortably warm inside.
After getting a feel for how convenient modern clothes were, Lily couldn't wait any longer and hurried out of her room. She didn't want to wait for Shichen to come wake her up.
Being summoned for the first time—and having a flood of "modern knowledge" settled into her mind—made her want to see everything with her own eyes.
"Good morning, Rin."
Right after stepping into the hall, Lily ran into Tohsaka Rin, who happened to be out as well, and greeted her brightly.
"Ah, Lily. Good morning… just call me Rin." Rin replied, looking like she hadn't slept enough.
"Okay. Did you not sleep well last night, Rin?" Lily asked curiously.
"Yeah…" Rin nodded.
There was just too much to process yesterday. And in an unfamiliar environment, she'd only managed to fall asleep very late—her thoughts running in circles.
She'd had her life planned out, but Shichen's sudden appearance had thrown everything into chaos, leaving her unsure of what to do next.
She'd always been on her own. She'd never really experienced being looked after like this—let alone in a household this… overwhelming.
The one person who had tried to watch over her back then hadn't been in a position to do much, and in the end Rin had still had to rely on herself.
"Do you want to go back to sleep a little longer?" Lily asked, genuinely concerned.
"No… I still have school, and honestly—being here makes it hard to sleep anyway."
"So you're new to Master's home too, like me?" Lily tilted her head.
"Yeah."
"What kind of person is Master, really?" Lily asked.
"Aren't you already familiar with him from yesterday?" Rin looked at her.
It was natural for a Servant to want to understand their Master. The better they knew each other, the better they could face the Grail War together.
But this Grail War already felt… wrong in more ways than one.
"That wasn't really 'knowing' him. I want to know what he's like day-to-day." Lily's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"…I'm not sure I can help much. I haven't known him for very long either." Rin admitted after thinking about it—realizing her actual understanding of him was still surprisingly limited.
"Then what kind of person do you think he is?" Lily pressed.
"Him? Honestly… kind of like a kid." Rin said with a sigh.
Even though Rin understood why Shichen had become her Servant—because he knew she didn't want them to be enemies—the whole thing still felt like a bizarre prank.
Only someone with a childlike streak would pull something like that.
No normal adult man would think, "Sure, I'll just become your Servant."
"Men stay boys forever" really wasn't a lie.
"Like a kid… Got it." Lily nodded as if she'd learned something important.
"Don't take my impression as gospel. The best way is to observe him yourself—spend time with him." Rin advised.
"Mm. I understand. Thank you, Rin." Lily smiled brightly.
"…You really are different from the other Artoria." Rin couldn't help but remark as she looked at Lily's youthful, lively presence.
Even though Rin had only just met her, the Artoria she'd seen yesterday felt mature and serious.
Compared to Lily, it was night and day.
"Me and Onee-chan? Of course we're different. She's lived through so much. I'm just setting out." Lily said casually.
"Just setting out?"
"Yeah. I've only just begun my journey—traveling the lands, still full of hope and dreams. I'm not 'complete' yet."
"I see… Still, isn't it kind of strange to talk about yourself like that?" Rin asked with a complicated expression.
"Ahaha… it is. But that's just how Heroic Spirits are."
"Still—Heroic Spirits are supposed to know their whole lives, right? If you know your future… how can you keep this mindset?"
"I know it, but it feels like memories forced into my head—like they're not truly mine. Those events…" Lily paused. "They don't feel real."
"So it doesn't affect you?"
"No." Lily smiled and shook her head. "I'm me. Even if I'm Arthur, I'm still a girl who believes in tomorrow. That won't change."
"…That's impressive," Rin murmured, honestly a little amazed.
"Impressive?" Lily blinked.
"If I knew my future, there's no way I could act like nothing happened." Rin said quietly.
"Maybe that's what it means to be a Heroic Spirit." Lily answered, not entirely sure herself.
"Yeah… maybe."
Lily smiled. "I feel like I've gotten closer to you already."
"Closer? There's no real point in getting close to me." Rin said bluntly.
"You can't say that. You're Master's Master, right? We'll fight side by side."
"T-that…"
"And…" Lily leaned in a little and said, as if stating something obvious, "I think Master likes you. You might become one of his partners someday."
"…Huh? Shichen—likes me?" Rin froze.
"Yeah." Lily nodded.
"No way." Rin refused on instinct.
"I'm not completely sure," Lily admitted, "but I really can feel Master's intentions."
"This kind of thing…"
"Don't worry about what I said. Just spend time with him. Let things happen naturally."
"'Naturally'… That guy has more than one partner." Rin muttered, cheeks faintly warm.
"Does that bother you?" Lily asked honestly. "If two people like each other, isn't being together enough?"
"Your era and ours aren't the same."
"Oh right—this era is one husband, one wife." Lily nodded thoughtfully. "Then Master really is something."
Rin: "..."
"I'm going to go meet Master's other partners. See you later, Rin." Lily said, then took off without hesitation.
Rin watched her go, not following. Lily could march right up and introduce herself—Rin didn't have that kind of footing. Besides, she'd see everyone at breakfast anyway.
…
"Ah~ Isn't that Lily? Up this early?"
Lily first ran into Irisviel, who had just stepped out of her room.
"Good morning, Irisviel." Lily greeted.
"Good morning~" Irisviel replied warmly.
"Irisviel, where's Master? Is he not up yet?" Lily instinctively peeked past Irisviel toward the room.
It was easy to spot the large, soft bed inside—but she didn't see Shichen. Only Illya was still sleeping.
"Shichen? He didn't sleep with me last night~" Irisviel said with a smile and a shake of her head.
"Huh? Really…?" Lily blinked.
"Haha, don't overthink it. Shichen and I are fine."
"Okay." Lily exhaled in relief.
"You know, Shichen has a lot of partners," Irisviel continued, still smiling. "Last night he was with someone else."
"I see… Someone I haven't met yet?"
"Mmm… the only one here you haven't met is Frieren. But he wasn't with her last night."
"Frieren…" Lily repeated quietly, memorizing the name. If she met someone unfamiliar, that must be her.
Since she was one of Master's partners, Lily figured it was important to get along with her.
"Then who was Master with?" Lily asked, curiosity winning out.
"I don't think anyone you met yesterday counted as a 'partner,' did they?"
"Go see for yourself~" Irisviel said with a mischievous grin, pointing at a room down the hall. "That room. I promise you'll be surprised."
"Is it okay? Won't Master get mad?" Lily asked, staring at the closed door.
"He won't. Shichen wouldn't get mad at you."
"Huh? Why?" Lily turned back.
"Because you're Artoria too." Irisviel giggled and hugged her.
Even with the same general build, Lily somehow felt even smaller and more delicate in Irisviel's arms.
"Irisviel…" Lily stiffened a little, not used to that level of affection.
"Hehe~ Go on. Don't miss your chance. If they wake up, you won't get to see anything." Irisviel released her and gave her a gentle push.
Lily found herself standing at the door.
She glanced back at Irisviel—only to see her waving cheerfully as she walked away.
…This feels suspicious.
Lily remembered Artoria saying Irisviel had a bit of a mischievous streak.
Is she setting me up?
Even so, Lily's curiosity was stronger than her caution.
She also had a faint, almost unthinkable suspicion from last night.
To confirm what she was afraid might be true, she needed courage.
Lily took a breath, reached for the handle, and opened the door.
The scene inside—just as she'd feared—was immediately clear.
Her eyes went wide. Her mouth fell open. Even though it matched the guess in her heart, she still couldn't quite believe it.
"Hm? Is that Illya?"
The door opening woke Shichen as well. He lifted his gaze—and saw a small figure standing rigid in the doorway, wearing the exact same face as the person beside him… only much younger-looking.
"Lily?" Shichen stared, stunned.
"…Lily?" Artoria snapped awake too.