IBHJ 1320

"Shirou... Shirou..."

The gentle voice calling his name finally broke through his thoughts. Shirou blinked and focused on the purple-haired woman sitting across from him. A warm smile spread across his face. "What is it, Skadi?"

They sat in a cozy couple-themed café where soft laughter drifted from nearby tables, creating an intimate atmosphere despite the public setting.

"Where did you go just now?" Skadi asked, her wine-red eyes meeting his, reflecting his face like mirrors.

"Nowhere really. Just thinking."

"I called your name eighteen times," Skadi said with a soft laugh, her expression gentle. "Are you worried Mordred won't fit in at school?"

"Ah... I should know by now I can't hide anything from you." He laughed softly, running his hand through his hair.

Skadi's expression softened as she watched his awkward smile. "It's been half a year since the war ended. I never thought we'd come back to this city. Fuyuki..." Her gaze drifted to the window beside them.

Outside, a light spring rain fell, casting a dreamy haze over everything. Still, the city skyline stood clear against the gray sky, people hurrying along the sidewalks below with umbrellas bobbing like colorful mushrooms.

She turned back to him with a wistful smile. "Though I guess we should call it New Fuyuki now."

He nodded, his attention briefly caught by the massive LED screen on the commercial building across the plaza. The news headline scrolled across it:

[Thanks to the efforts of Chaldea members, our world has been saved.]

"It's already been half a year," he sighed.

The farewell to the Eternal Kingdom was now six months in the past, yet in his dreams, it still felt like yesterday.

After the Eternal Empire's disappearance, Alaya left Mana Ryougi's body, humanity was restored, and all who had vanished came back. Everything seemed to reset to how it was before the "Council" destroyed everything back in 2012.

But things weren't exactly the same. The surface world's leaders could no longer hide the truth about the hidden world. People discovered magecraft existed, along with the "Council." With no other choice, world leaders revealed everything about "Chaldea," presenting it as humanity's savior and satisfying the public's curiosity about the hidden realm.

But none of that mattered much to Shirou anymore. Once humanity was restored, he immediately stepped away from Chaldea and headed back to Fuyuki City with his family. He reunited with his parents and made Fuyuki his home once again. He even asked Waver and Kayneth to use their connections to clear up his residency issues, then enrolled Mordred—who was eager to learn about the modern world—in school.

"If these people walking by knew the true savior of humanity was sitting right here, that'd be quite a scene," she said with a playful smile.

"Stop teasing me," he shot her a helpless look, then asked, "Aren't you heading back north soon?"

"My goodness. I've barely been here and you're already trying to send me away?" Skadi looked at him with a hint of grievance in her expression.

He shook his head. "Please don't learn from Scathach or my sneaky, dark-hearted sister."

"Then who should I learn from?" Skadi asked with interest.

"You don't need to copy anyone. What I love the most is just Skadi being Skadi," he replied with a warm smile. No way was he falling into that trap.

"You're getting craftier by the day, Shirou," she said, hiding her elegant laugh behind her hand.

Just then, the waiter finally arrived with their order.

"Here's your coffee."

"Thanks," he said automatically. When he glanced up at the server's face, his eyes widened. "Wait—are you Pandora?"

"The very same," Pandora replied, dressed in a sleek black maid uniform. She looked at him with gentle eyes. "You only now noticed me, Eter... oh, I mean, Mr. Shirou."

"I thought you were playing magical girl at that old man's place. How'd you end up waiting tables here?" he asked, tilting his head curiously.

"He said I was past my expiration date and kicked me out," Pandora explained. "So I came to Miyu for help. This is her shop, and I'm just lending a hand with the work now."

"Shelf life expired..." He took in Pandora standing before him—her graceful posture, her curvy figure more voluptuous than Scathach and second only to a fully matured Artie. Those long legs in black stockings looked especially eye-catching.

He could just imagine that lolicon pervert losing his mind. The old man had probably come up with some excuse like "you're too old now, you can't wear the sacred magical girl costume anymore" to push Pandora out the door.

"I need to take care of something, so I'll head out now. But since I ran into you both, this is for you." Pandora handed him a red envelope.

He accepted it with a curious look. "What's this?"

"A wedding invitation."

He blinked. "Shirou... ah, no. Has Emiya set a date with Angelica already?"

She nodded.

"Great, we'll definitely be there..." A thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he quickly added, "Wait, do we need to give a cash gift? If so, I'm not going."

"Shirou!" Skadi gave him an exasperated look.

He let out a heavy sigh. "You have to understand my situation, Skadi. I'm pretty broke these days..."

"But Artie has plenty of money. You could ask her."

"How could I do that? That's her money, not mine."

Just thinking about it made him feel a bit down.

In 2004, after he left, Artie had settled into modern life and opened a cake shop. The business grew steadily and by 2012, right before humanity's erasure, it had become a famous global chain. When Shirou first returned and discovered this, he was absolutely floored. Was this the power of [Golden Rule] and [Charisma] at work in the modern world?

"She actually achieved my old dream, and now I can barely look her in the eye," he sighed. "If only I could find a mountain of gold somewhere."

Pandora's lips curved into a gentle smile. "No need to look so worried. Emiya-niisan said having your blessing is enough—no cash gift necessary."

"That's fantastic!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

Pandora gave them one last smile before walking away.

Skadi watched her retreating figure and said thoughtfully, "I always thought she would stay at Chaldea. I didn't expect her to leave as well."

"It was bound to happen eventually," he said with a knowing smile.

After everything settled down, Chaldea might have been showcased as humanity's savior, but it was inevitably going to be absorbed by the powers that be. All contracts with Heroic Spirits were terminated, sending them back to where they came from, while those who valued their privacy had already departed before the takeover began.

People like Emiya, Miyu, and Pandora had moved on. In truth, aside from those who had no alternatives, Shirou and others had joined Chaldea solely to save humanity. With that mission accomplished, there was really no reason to stick around. Now only the administrative staff and those who'd accepted the new terms remained at Chaldea—people like Waver.

As he chatted with Skadi, Shirou glanced at his watch. "Time to pick up Mordred. But why is this rain still coming down?" He looked toward the window with concern.

Almost as if responding to his words, the dark clouds blanketing the sky suddenly parted. Warm sunlight broke through, bathing the earth below in golden light. The rain stopped completely as the sun emerged.

"Well, that saves me the cost of buying an umbrella."

"You could have just used magecraft," Skadi said with a playful smile. She tapped near her eyes. "Don't forget to put on those glasses Morgan gave you."

He nodded, fishing a pair of black-framed glasses from his pocket and sliding them on.

Ever since his [Savior of Mortal] ability awakened, his eyes had grown brighter, and with [Evil Flower]'s power to absorb darkness, they were now even more captivating than Diarmuid's love spot. To avoid unnecessary complications, he'd asked Morrigan to create these special glasses with a built-in shielding effect.

Shirou and Skadi left the cafe together, heading toward the elementary school in the city center.

"I used to walk this same road to school when I was little," he told her with a nostalgic smile. "It's completely different now."

"Screech—"

A shrill cry cut through the air as a massive shadow swept overhead. A giant bird wrapped in crackling lightning soared across the sky.

She glanced up briefly. "These mutated creatures have been showing up more frequently lately."

"Ah, yes, new species…" he sighed.

After humanity's liberation, something had changed—maybe it was the Ideal King's synchronization with history, or perhaps the particle transformation during the finale of the Apocalypse. Whatever the cause, creatures from across history had begun to mutate. Some grew into massive beasts, others transformed into strange creatures, and some resembled alien life forms straight out of science fiction movies.

The biological system that had evolved over countless ages was completely overturned after humanity's liberation. A new biological historical framework was beginning to take shape.

"Land of Steel..." he murmured.

"What Land of Steel?" Skadi asked, looking confused.

"Nothing, just thinking out loud." He shook his head dismissively.

While most people remained clueless about the source of these mutations, Shirou knew the truth. It was something he deliberately avoided discussing. With the Heroic Spirits gone and Chaldea now under different control, humanity might face even greater challenges in the days ahead. The thought weighed heavily on his mind.