"What a cool entrance! So this is what a Servant is like?"
The moment Saber appeared, Exusiai felt that the timing and style of her entrance were unbelievably cool. It hit every one of her preferences.
"It is definitely cool, but that voice sounds really familiar..."
Unlike Exusiai, Blaze focused on something else. She felt as though she had heard that voice somewhere before.
"It is Operator Siege, Miss Vina. Amiya brought Shirou to meet her before. We were just standing a bit far away at the time."
Rosmontis, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke.
Her silence was simply because she was carefully observing everything happening before her and trying to commit it all to memory. Since she had neither a notebook nor a terminal here, she could only rely on herself.
Although she could always ask Amiya or Blaze about the details afterward, she felt that important things were better remembered personally.
After hearing Rosmontis' explanation, Blaze immediately looked enlightened and rubbed Rosmontis' head in thanks.
Rosmontis had long become accustomed to Blaze taking little advantages like this and did not particularly mind.
By then, the battlefield had shifted from the warehouse to the courtyard, where Lancer had unleashed his Noble Phantasm and wounded Saber.
"Causality... what now? I do not get any of it."
Croissant scratched her head, completely unable to follow the Servants' conversation.
"As long as Lancer releases his Noble Phantasm and throws the spear in his hand, it is guaranteed to pierce the enemy's heart."
Illya gave a simple explanation. After all, she was the only one who truly understood the details, and that was also why she had appeared here.
Everyone found the effect of that weapon terrifying, but after remembering the mushroom cloud Shirou had thrown before, it somehow no longer seemed that outrageous.
While Illya was explaining, Lancer had already withdrawn, and Saber was busy explaining the Holy Grail War to Shirou.
However, it was obvious that Shirou heard the words without truly understanding them. He had not yet entered the proper mindset.
Soon afterward, Saber seemed to sense something. Carrying her sword, she leapt over the wall, while Shirou hurried toward the front gate.
Everyone's viewpoint followed them and eventually saw the crimson figure crossing blades with Saber.
"Wow... if nobody had told me, I really would never think they are the same person!"
Neither Penguin Logistics nor the Rhodes Island operators had ever actually met Archer in person before. They carefully examined the man wielding the black-and-white twin blades.
Generally speaking, without someone specifically pointing it out, it would be hard to imagine that he, Shirou, and Nameless were the same person. Yet now that they already knew, they could still find certain similarities.
As for the differences in hair, eyes, and skin, Illya had already explained that those changes were caused by Shirou's magecraft.
Magecraft truly was amazing.
"The important thing is how tall he is! I heard Nameless is just as tall. Does that mean Shirou still has plenty of room to grow?"
Exusiai's attention was focused on something entirely different.
She had not cared much about height before, but after Penguin Logistics acquired the traitor known as Shirou, who had originally been about the same height as her before suddenly shooting upward, she had become particularly conscious of the issue.
Although she stopped caring once Shirou's head rose above her halo, she happened to remember it again.
He looked nearly one hundred and ninety centimeters tall, almost as tall as Chief Hoshiguma!
"...As expected of you."
Texas could only sigh in exasperation after hearing Exusiai's remarks.
Was height really the thing they should be focusing on right now?
Then again, it was exactly the kind of thing Exusiai would say.
Having accepted that fact, Texas decided to temporarily block out Exusiai's chatter. She was genuinely interested in what was happening.
Not only because it concerned Shirou's past, but because she quite liked the direction things were taking.
Seven famous heroes from history being summoned sounded incredibly exciting. It was much more interesting than the movies Croissant usually brought.
If there was one problem, though...
"It feels like the current Shirou... how should I put this? He actually used a precious Command Seal to stop his Servant from attacking the enemy."
Talulah, who had already immersed herself in the situation, clearly had some complaints after seeing Shirou use a Command Seal to prevent Saber from attacking Archer and the others.
From their perspective as observers, they knew that Archer's Master had helped Shirou before. But the current Shirou had no idea. If the enemy had seized that opportunity and attacked, he would probably have been eliminated on the spot.
"Now that you mention it, that is true. But at this stage, Shirou is just a high school student with a few unusual abilities. Being immature is perfectly normal."
Blaze agreed with Talulah's opinion, but she felt that Shirou's actions were understandable.
After all, an ordinary person thrown into something like this might have already given up thinking altogether and been unable even to stand.
Compared to that, the current Shirou was already doing fairly well.
If she had to grade him, though, he was probably still below the passing line.
And perhaps it was only her imagination, but Blaze felt that the red-clad Archer's gaze toward Shirou was somewhat strange.
It was almost like the look Doctor Kal'tsit gave when she was trying to figure out how to hang Blaze from the bridge ceiling.
Although somehow, that comparison did not seem entirely right.
Blaze was unable to come up with a suitable way to describe it and ultimately decided to set the matter aside.
In any case, once they finished watching these memories, they would probably understand. If not, they could always ask Shirou himself later.
"You are right. My standards were simply too high."
After hearing Blaze's words, Talulah reflected for a moment and realized that she had indeed been expecting too much.
Compared to Ursus, or even Lungmen, this place was remarkably peaceful. It was perfectly normal for someone here to lack combat experience.
Without using magecraft, the current Shirou's fighting ability was probably only enough to keep brawling until the street thugs lost interest in fighting him. If he used magecraft, he might perform somewhat better, but since it was unstable, it was not worth considering.
"Shirou really was innocent during this period."
Listening to the others, Illya could not help but sigh at just how naive Shirou had been back then.
Even she found it difficult to watch, but it was precisely because of that innocence that she gradually developed a different impression of him, eventually leading to their brief cooperation.
Those days had indeed been rather comfortable, but after that...
"Illya, are you alright?"
Before Illya could continue reminiscing, Amiya interrupted her thoughts.
She had noticed that Illya's emotions seemed somewhat off just now, which was why she called out to her.
"I am fine. As for what happens next... let me think. It should almost be time for my entrance, right?"
Coming back to her senses, Illya gently nodded to Amiya and began recalling when she had first appeared.
Strictly speaking, she had shown up even earlier than this, but she had skipped over that part herself.
Still, it did not matter.
Because from this point onward, it was her and Berserker's time to shine!