"Wah!!!"
Shirou hurriedly pulled his hand back and jumped away.
Lady Avalon wore a sly grin. "Oh dear, what a shame. We could've kept going, you know."
"As if that was going to happen!" Shirou shouted, his face burning red.
Taiga Fujimura leaned closer, puzzled. "Shirou, who are you talking to?"
Just as he thought… she couldn't see anything.
There was clearly a breathtaking beauty standing right there, practically surrounded by blooming, colorful flowers, yet Fuji-nee saw nothing at all.
There was no doubt about it, Lady Avalon was using some kind of ability.
A skill… no, Magecraft?
It was on a completely different level from Shirou's suggestion Magecraft.
Whether it would work on enemy Maguses or Servants was unclear, but it was more than enough to fool an ordinary person like Fuji-nee.
Which, unfortunately, made things much harder for Shirou.
In other words, Lady Avalon could now freely wander around the house in broad daylight.
At breakfast, Taiga Fujimura asked while sipping her miso soup:
"What's up with Shirou today? He's been sneaking glances at empty space this whole time."
"Hehe, Master, so you've been secretly staring at me this whole time?"
Lady Avalon's first morning at the Amamiya residence felt like pure hell for Shirou.
Was this how things were going to be until the Holy Grail War ended?
Shirou let out a despairing sigh.
But then again…
She really is soft… and smells nice…
...
...
Private Homurahara Academy, Elementary Division, the back row of an empty classroom.
"We will now begin the first Holy Grail War strategy meeting."
As soon as Shirou made the announcement, the silver-haired beauty sitting across from him clapped enthusiastically.
"Clap, clap, clap…"
In her materialized state, Lady Avalon applauded with a cheerful smile, then leaned forward to address the other advisor of the Amamiya faction.
"Makiri-san, why aren't you clapping?"
Toy Little Yellow Duck: Do I look like I'm capable of clapping?
Shirou raised a hand to signal for silence, then began summarizing the current situation as the meeting's host.
First, although our side has entered the war, we don't have a Servant capable of fighting.
"Sorry about that~♡" Lady Avalon winked playfully.
Although she couldn't fight directly, she could provide Shirou with extremely powerful support and enhancement.
Her enhancement could even allow Shirou, whose body was still that of a child, to contend with Servants for a short period. However, it wasn't a perfect solution, and the side effects were severe.
Moreover, once the Master is defeated, everything is lost. So unless absolutely necessary, he must never engage a Servant in direct combat…
"Hold on."
The yellow duck interrupted Shirou.
He had caught something off in what was just said.
Makiri asked in a suspicious tone, "Kid, what exactly is this 'enhancement' she's talking about? And what are the side effects?"
"…Well."
Shirou glanced at the Command Spell on the back of his right hand.
"Hey! Kid! What's going on with your Command Spell?!"
Makiri shouted. It was the first time he had shown such agitation since losing his physical body.
The Command Spell on Shirou Amamiya's hand had changed from its original form.
Its color had also shifted from bright red to a dark, ominous black-red.
Just what was going on…?
"Let me explain."
Lady Avalon stepped in front of Shirou, smoothed her skirt, crouched down, and gently took his right hand.
"I've reworked Master's Command Spells using Magecraft. Master can now use them to enhance himself."
"Not the Servant, but the Magus himself? That's impossible!"
Makiri, the very creator of the Command Spells, roared in disbelief. Lady Avalon, however, remained completely unfazed.
"I've also embedded a preset program within the Command Spells.
To maximize the efficiency of the Mana Block, I configured them with a single activation effect.
Specifically—
For three minutes, Master's body will rapidly develop into its state ten years from now, at age eighteen."
"Wh…!"
Lady Avalon tilted her head playfully.
"Rather than 'growth,' wouldn't 'transformation' be more accurate?
Once the 180 seconds are up, Master will revert back to his current child form.
Ta-da! I've named this mechanism 'Dead Count Shapeshifter.'
Just as the name suggests, the side effect is that each use of a Command Spell brings Master closer to death.
That said, I personally prefer how Master looks right now. So cute~♡"
"Your opinion doesn't matter."
Shirou brushed away her hand as she pinched his cheek.
"..."
Meanwhile, Makiri had fallen completely silent.
Despite having lost both body and soul, he felt as if cold sweat were soaking his back, a chill creeping deep into his bones.
He was utterly shaken by the sheer, overwhelming talent of the Magus before him.
She had only just been summoned last night, yet in a single night she had bypassed the Holy Grail's system, unraveled the mechanism of the Command Spells, and even completely reconstructed them.
Such a feat required Magecraft approaching the divine.
Could she be a Magus from the Age of Gods?
No… even that wouldn't be enough.
To reach this level… she could be called something on the level of a Grand…
"Kid, do you really think this is okay?"
Admiration and fear were one thing.
But at the same time, Makiri sensed a deep, unsettling malice behind what she had done.
"Hm? It's fine."
Shirou tilted his head innocently.
"Even if it's only three minutes, being able to enhance myself enough to fight a Servant is more than enough."
"That's not the point!"
The little yellow duck snapped angrily.
"This isn't some cost-free advantage. At its core, it's a loan.
Forcing your body to grow into what it would be ten years from now using Mana is the same as borrowing against the future!
This isn't a blessing, it's a curse. It will only drag you further toward ruin and decline."
"But isn't that what a 'miracle' is?"
Shirou said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The most powerful and incomprehensible Magecraft he knew was Morgan's Rayshifting.
A miracle that stepped into the domain of True Magic.
With a single motion of a staff, it could send an enemy from the present into the past.
True time travel.
It sounded wonderful, but in essence, it was nothing more than forcing the burden of the present onto the past.
What Shirou was about to do was no different.
"There are no free 'miracles' in this world. As long as I can accept the cost, that's enough. I have no objections."
Shirou spoke calmly, rationally, yet the content of his words was nothing short of madness.
Makiri was left speechless.
Even the Five True Magics couldn't eliminate entropy out of nothing.
But understanding that and accepting it so easily were two entirely different things.
This kid…
"I do not approve of this plan," Makiri said coldly.
Shirou looked at him, puzzled. "What's wrong with you today, Makiri? You're acting strange."
"Hehe, Master, here's the thing."
Lady Avalon leaned in close to Shirou's ear and whispered cheerfully.
"Because someone as perfect, brilliant, and beautiful as me has appeared, Makiri-san feels like he's lost his role and is sulking."
"Is that so, old man?"
"That's not it!"
"Oh, don't be shy, Makiri-san."
"I said it's not!"
The little yellow duck huffed.
"In any case, our priority right now should be forming alliances. We need to find suitable partners and face the remaining enemies together, not send the kid out to fight them."
Shirou nodded. "That may be true, but who would want to ally with us?"
Lady Avalon smiled brightly.
"Hehe, I think there will be plenty of girls willing to ally with Master."
Shirou frowned in confusion. "Why?"
The silver-haired beauty covered her lips, leaving only a meaningful, captivating smile.
"You may still be young, but the signs of your 'trouble with women' are already starting to show, my adorable little Master."
...
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