If what lingered here was called "post-battle aftermath," then Orario's idea of aftermath was basically a full-blown family drama explosion.
The air was saturated with a volatile substance known as a love-triangle battlefield—high enough concentration that even a dense light-novel protagonist would sense impending doom.
"Um… Ais?"
Emiya Shirou lay on a stretcher—again.Yes, as the story's certified stretcher regular, he had returned to his natural habitat.
Beside him walked a blonde girl with her head lowered, radiating a golden pressure field labeled: LOW ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE.
Ais said nothing.
She simply kept walking—while her hand tightly gripped Shirou's left hand with enough force to reconfirm ownership via bone fracture.
Her silent gaze screamed:
This feeding machine is mine. Touch it and die.
"Hmph! Emiya-sama is a huge idiot!"
On the other side, Liliruca marched forward with a backpack stuffed to bursting with "loot" (mostly stripped from Jura—because a supporter never leaves empty-handed).
She glared at Shirou like he'd just committed financial fraud.
"You said we were here to rescue someone, and you came back covered in injuries again!"
"And you received another woman's gift!"
"That bow was obviously expensive!"
"That's a love token, right?! It's absolutely one, isn't it?!"
"Are you trying to unlock the achievement 'Harem King'?!"
"It's not a love token!" Shirou cried, voice cracking."It's a warranty return gift! I'm a blacksmith—it was a product demo!"
His physical injuries were already healing under Pseudo-Avalon and high-grade potions, but this—
This psychological torture was the real lethal damage.
"All right, all right—heroes, calm down."
A squad of adventurers in uniform approached.
At the lead was the manager of Floor 18, the de facto mayor of Rivira:
Bors—a bulky man who looked like a bandit chief, but was actually a frighteningly sharp opportunist. The type of NPC who maxed out "read the room" and "ride the wind" to Level 999.
"Mr. Emiya," Bors said, wiping cold sweat while staring at Jura—who was tied up like a dead dog being dragged behind them.
"This time… we really owe you. If that lunatic had fully released that 'Destroyer' thing, Rivira would've been wiped out. You're our lifesaver. We almost all typed 'GG' in real life!"
Shirou smiled—though the pain twisted it a bit.
"I killed a monster and cleaned out a criminal. That guy was a Guild wanted target, right? Big bounty?"
"Absolutely!" Bors thumped his chest."We'll hand him to the Guild. Not a single valis less—straight into Loki Familia's account. We'll only charge a tiny service fee."
"Also…"
He leaned closer like a street vendor selling illegal DVDs and shoved a small pouch into Shirou's hand.
"This was in Jura's hideout. No clue what it is, but it feels like an SSR drop. Consider it a thank-you gift."
Shirou opened it.
Inside lay a strange, eye-shaped gemstone emitting an eerie blue glow.
His pupils tightened.
Structural Analysis triggered instantly. Data flooded his mind.
[Orb of Daedalus]
Material: Ultra-pure Orichalcum + unknown biological eye tissue (living)
Properties: Key / Mana Amplifier / Indestructible
Notes: The only credential for accessing the "Labyrinth," and the final puzzle piece to Orario's underground secret.
"…So it finally shows itself."
Shirou closed his fist around the gem.
The real key to opening Knossos.
With this, Loki Familia could stop reacting and start hunting.
It was the feeling of finally looting the universal key in a hidden map—one that opens the final boss room.
"Thanks, Bors," Shirou said quietly, eyes deepening. "This is more valuable than any bounty."
When Shirou placed the blue "eye" on the table, Finn's thumb stopped twitching.
That was the signal: his instincts had locked on.
"This is it," Finn said, gaze sharp."Daedalus' legacy. The key to Knossos. That fool Jura carried it around like he was delivering it to us."
Gareth cracked his knuckles, beard practically vibrating.
"Now we can move in and out of that damned place freely. Last time Dix played us like fools—this time I'm bringing men and tearing his nest down."
"Don't rush," Riveria cut in, the team's cooling system and brain in one."Knossos is complex, full of traps designed specifically for adventurers. Charging in unprepared means repeating the same mistake—like sending a line of headless brothers into a cave one after another."
Then her gaze turned to Shirou, carrying worry like a stern mother:
"And Emiya's condition needs adjustment. Your body has recovered, but your magic circuits are overloaded. In the near term, you cannot use 'nuclear' output again."
"Your body is not a disposable item."
"I understand," Shirou said, touching his chest.
After these consecutive hard fights, his weakness had become brutally clear.
He could burst. He could punch above his level.
But his endurance and structural durability were still fragile.
Without Reinforcement, he couldn't even tank a clean Level 3 hit.
A glass cannon—through and through.
"Then we analyze the key," Finn decided."With Haruhime's intel and this, we'll map Knossos. Total assault… in three days."
"Three?" Several faces shifted in surprise.
Finn's eyes sharpened like an eagle.
"Yes. Speed wins wars. Dark Faction just lost Dix and Jura. They're unstable. We hit before they recover."
"A Rosh—fast attack."
"Understood!"
Everyone felt the weight of it.
This wouldn't be a raid.
It would be a reckoning.
Shirou collapsed onto the bed like someone who had been unplugged from life.
"…Finally. Rest."
"Thank you for your hard work, Shirou-sama."
Haruhime appeared beside the bed with warm tea and a healing smile, her tail swaying gently.
"Would you like a massage? I'm not very skilled, but… I will do my best."
"No, no, no—" Shirou panicked and scooted back like a pure-hearted boy.If Ais or Lili saw this, the room would turn into a Second Holy Grail War.
Just then—
Lili entered holding a letter.
Her face looked like she was carrying a timed explosive.
"Emiya-sama…" Lili's voice shook. "This… is worse than debt collectors."
"It was delivered just now by a grey-haired girl in a maid outfit. She said it must be handed to you personally."
"A maid outfit… grey hair…?" Shirou froze.
Syr?
He took the envelope.
It was made of the highest-grade parchment, carrying a rose fragrance so intoxicating it felt like it could seep into the lungs.
The wax seal was not the Hostess of Fertility.
It was the profile of a goddess, surrounded by thorned roses and blades.
Freya Familia.
Shirou's heart skipped.
That terrible premonition—
It had solidified.
He broke the seal.
Inside was a single card, elegant handwriting flowing like honey mixed with blood.
To my beloved Emiya Shirou (Senji Muramasa),
Congratulations. You passed the "trial" of the lower depths and completed yet another "heroic rescue" on the eighteenth floor.Your radiance is now something I cannot look away from.That soul-color blooming from despair… is exquisitely delicious.
Tomorrow evening, I will host a banquet at Folkvangr.
As Orario's newest Level 3—and as the "raw gem" I anticipate most—you will attend.
P.S. This is not a request. It is an order.If you do not come… I will have Ottar "invite" you.Or I may personally visit Twilight Manor and take you away.
—Freya(who loves you… and wants to devour you)
Shirou stared at the card like it weighed a thousand pounds.
This wasn't an invitation.
This was a banquet ticket to an execution stage—with a "show up or your life becomes everyone's problem" clause.
Lili swallowed hard, face drained of color.
"Freya Familia… the strongest Familia in Orario… the army of the beauty goddess…"
"They say once she sets her eyes on a man, no one escapes…"
"Yeah," Shirou said with a bitter smile, placing the card on the desk.
"…Looks like I've been targeted by the worst possible 'big shot.'"
From the Floor 37 incident, Syr's hints, and now this—Freya's net had tightened.
This was a hunt, and he was the prey.
"What do we do?" Lili asked desperately. "Tell Finn? Or… run? Leave Orario?"
"Running won't work." Shirou shook his head.
In Orario, no one could hide from Freya's Eyes.
She could see the brilliance of a soul. As long as your spirit still shone, she could find you.
And if two top-tier Familias went to war because of him—
That was the last thing he wanted.
"So we face it," Shirou said, standing. His eyes hardened, like a man walking toward the gallows with his spine unbroken.
"I'll go."
"Emiya-sama!"
"Relax, Lili." Shirou patted her head and forced a smile. "It's just dinner."
"I'm not a soft persimmon. If she tries to eat me—she'd better be ready to break her teeth."
But even as he said it, he knew:
Tomorrow's banquet was more dangerous than any labyrinth.
Because this time he wasn't facing monsters or conspiracies.
He was facing a god's love—
Heavy enough to suffocate, to warp, to destroy.
Freya stood before a massive window overlooking Twilight Manor, swirling red wine like blood.
"Did he receive it?" she asked lazily, voice soft and alluring.
"Yes, Goddess," a voice answered from the shadows.
Ottar bowed his head."The letter was delivered. The grey-haired girl… seemed pleased."
"Good."
Freya's smile bloomed—beautiful enough to ruin men.
"Prepare everything, Ottar."
"Tomorrow night, I want all of Orario to understand…"
Her hand lifted, fingers curling slowly toward the distant lights of Twilight Manor as though closing around a throat.
"The soul named Emiya Shirou…"
"Is my prey."
"No one will take him."
"Not Loki."
"Not that little hearth goddess."
"Not anyone."
The wind changed.
Before the Knossos assault even began—
a war of "ownership" was already opening at the summit of the city.
A war named Love.
And the cruelest war was always the one fought with love.
....
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