Fate: I Will Eventually Become the Hero of Justice

Although Heracles had lost one of his lives, and Arjuna had withstood his own Noble Phantasm without compromising his fighting ability, the battle was over from the moment Shirou blasted Rhongomyniad's light cannon in front of Vlad.

However, the outcome surpassed everyone's expectations.

Speculating on the direction of the battle, it would inevitably end with either Shirou defeating Vlad, Arjuna and the others, or Vlad and the rest ganging up on and killing Shirou.

But no one expected that the one who truly decided the winner and loser of this battle turned out to be Mash, whom everyone had ignored!

A Master meant to be protected by the Servants had instead decided the fate of the battle!

To be honest, even Shirou had not anticipated this result.

He had only wanted to draw out Mash's potential, to force her to unleash Galahad's Noble Phantasm. He never imagined she would deflect both Arjuna and Vlad's attacks back at them, even counter-killing Heracles.

Such accomplishments were truly beyond anyone's expectations!

The projection of Camelot was also incredibly shocking.

The pure white castle, resembling the idealized vision of a perfect nation that mankind yearns for, involuntarily stunned all who saw it.

Among them, Saber was influenced the most.

As King Arthur, she naturally saw through the truth of this white castle.

Camelot.

She knew the projected city was not her Camelot, but the capital of the Eternal Kingdom.

Yet the difference was too vast!

In terms of scale and grandeur alone, it was beyond comparison.

The names engraved on the walls were never present in her own city.

Most importantly...

That will.

The firm resolve, materialized into a blessing, was truly astonishing!

What did it signify?

It signified the intentions of the people!

So how could the King who built this city be so dearly loved by his people?

—You're a king who doesn't understand people's hearts.

Recalling this evaluation and the disappointed, hateful looks from her people, Saber tightly clenched her fists.

Why?

Why was there such an immense gap between two King Arthurs?

Saber pursed her lips, her heart filled with shock at the eternal kingdom as well as loneliness over her own inadequacies.

Mash had exhausted her strength and fainted. Shirou carried her princess-style, gazing at her peaceful, sleeping face.

"Scree——"

The cry of a hippogriff sounded as Astolfo, riding his mount, flew back like a streaking meteor.

True to reputation, he had left crying but returned brimming with excitement, asking, "Who won? Tell me, who won?"

Looking every bit the gossip-loving audience member hungry for the latest drama.

Shirou gave him a smile. "I won."

Hearing this, Astolfo's eyes widened. He looked at him incredulously. "Really, Shirou? You were up against Lancer and three others!"

"If it was just me, I definitely would have lost. So I have to thank my Master as well." Shirou held up the fainted Mash in his arms, smiling.

Astolfo's eyes widened, filled with confusion.

"Rooooaaarrrr——!!!!"

At this time, the revived Heracles let out a deafening roar to the heavens. He was about to charge at Shirou, but was stopped with a wave of Vlad's hand.

Vlad glanced at Astolfo before fixing his gaze intensely on Shirou. "No wonder you eliminated Rider first. I have fallen for your scheme!"

"That's right," Shirou nodded slightly with a smile. "Astolfo's presence would have been very troublesome for me."

"Huhhhh? Are you guys talking about me?" Astolfo pointed at himself quizzically.

No one answered, but those who understood the effects of Astolfo's Noble Phantasm now understood that Vlad had fallen into Shirou's scheme.

How powerful was Mash's [Castle of Distant Ideals]?

Absurdly so!

Yet Astolfo was her bane.

At first glance, he looked an utterly trash Heroic Spirit.

But this was just in terms of firepower. Carefully studying this guy's Noble Phantasms, one would discover...

This guy isn't a knight at all, but a super overpowered crowd controller!

Possessing an array of causal-level control Noble Phantasms. Whether the hard control of [Down with a Touch!], the fear-inducing [Magic Flute That Calls Panic], or even the near-invincible dimension-jumping [Otherworldly Phantom Horse]...

Careful analysis revealed...this was a professional troll!

It was a pity his Master didn't use him well. And as most judged Heroic Spirits by firepower, none discovered the brokenness of Astolfo's skills. But Shirou saw through it.

So the first thing he did was squeeze Astolfo out.

With a troll like him on the field, tanky reflect-damage Servants like Mash wouldn't be able to do anything!

And his occasional harassment of Shirou would be more than enough to cause headaches. Most importantly, his Hippogriff's dimension-jumping was impossible to catch.

It was how Astolfo had earlier caught Achilles unawares, sending him and his chariot crashing embarrassingly.

So that goes to say, any Heroic Spirit that has entered the Throne, isn't going to be any simple pushover.

When it comes down to it, the Holy Grail War is just like playing League of Legends, DOTA 2 or other MOBAs. There aren't any particularly weak Heroic Spirits, only incompetent Masters.

Astolfo didn't really understand all the twists and turns, but he felt like Shirou and Vlad were praising him. He couldn't help straightening his back and chest, feeling extremely smug as if he had turned into a peacock, his nose practically growing out.

Vlad looked at Shirou. "I'm no sore loser. A bet is a bet - I'll assist with the connection points. But you should remember your bargaining chip."

"Of course," he nodded. "I always keep my word."

Vlad nodded.

The matter of Beast was too important, and through this battle, Shirou had obtained the Black Faction's assistance.

Vlad invited Shirou back into the Millennium Fortress to share his intelligence.

Naturally, he wouldn't decline.

Returning to the Castle, the circumstances were somewhat different now.

Although it wasn't a death match, he had indeed bested Vlad and his three followers, pulling the Black Faction over to his side.

That is to say, Shirou had now replaced Vlad as the leader.

He first brought the fainted Mash to a room where he gently tucked the unconscious girl into bed, letting her rest properly.

Jeanne followed by his side. She really couldn't resist asking: "Your Majesty, why did you insist that Mash had to be put on the battlefield? Even though the end results were good, wasn't doing that... a little too dangerous? We're all dead already, but she is... still alive!"

He looked at her gently. "Kindness is good, caring for others is also good. But Jeanne, I hope you can understand that protection isn't good for everyone."

"What do you mean?" she frowned.

"Do you know of the Harpy Eagle that lives on the Amazon river plains?"

She shook her head.

"From a young age, these creatures have to undergo cruel flight training under their mother. The mother eagle brings their eaglets to high places, either treetops or cliff edges, then pushes them off, forcing them to try to take flight."

She pictured the scene with a look of concern.

He continued "Some cowardly eaglets get battered to death from the repeated slamming. But the ones that overcome their fears will spread their wings and take flight. For people who harbor ambitions to become stronger, the more protection given to them, the crueller it actually is in holding them down."

She sank into contemplation, while he had already turned to leave.

"Oh right," Jeanne recalled something and asked her host: "Laeticia, do you know where the Amazon plains are?"

"I don't know... sorry Miss Jeanne, I'm bad at geography." Laeticia apologized.

"Then what about the Harpy Eagle?" Jeanne asked again.

"I, I don't know about that either... sorry Miss Jeanne, biology isn't my forte."

Jeanne asked quizzically: "Aren't you a modern high schooler?"

"B, but even as a high schooler, it's not like I know everything right? I have classmates who can't even recognize all the neighborhoods around us."

Jeanne said in a mystified tone: "But then how does His Majesty know all this?"

"Yeah, it's so strange. He can solve math questions so easily, yet knows all sorts of strange things I don't get either." Laeticia mused. "His depth of knowledge is incredible. No wonder everyone listens to him without any problems, completely unlike Miss Jeanne."

Hearing this, Jeanne felt like she had been shot through the heart with an arrow and whimpered.

I'm so useless...

...

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