IBHJ Chapter 934

He looked down at Mordred in his arms, almost instantly letting go of her. Then he turned his head slightly, coughed dryly, and put on a serious, dignified expression.

"What's wrong, Mama?" she looked at him in confusion. He had been holding her just fine a moment ago, so why the sudden change in attitude?

Shirou turned his head slightly, sneaking a glance at the man behind Mordred. A massive headache was building. Why does she always catch me at the worst possible times? he groaned inwardly.

Yes, not he, but she. The man had black hair and black eyes, clad in silver dragon armor. Shirou would have to be blind not to recognize his own body.

He was currently piloting Artoria, so the person in his body was obviously...

This was the source of his headache. She had witnessed yet his another embarrassing moment! And knowing her, she'd probably add this to her so-called "book of wisdom," hidden God knows where.

No. That's not a book of wisdom. For Shirou, it was the Encyclopedia of Embarrassing Moments.

Yes, the name of this person, a woman trapped within a male body, was...

"Shirou? Why are you here?" Morrigan looked at the person named Shirou, who was actually Artoria, in surprise. "I sent you so many messages earlier, why didn't you respond?"

"Ah... about that. I'm sorry, sis. I'm actually in this game world too," Artoria, controlling Shirou's body, scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

Hearing this, she was stunned.

"Earlier, when I was grabbing a bite in the cafeteria, a hand suddenly shot out of the screen, grabbed my sleeve, and pulled me in..." she explained embarrassedly.

So that's why her character, "My Daughter is Super Cute," had been acting so strangely, bumping into walls and spouting gibberish. Artoria had been dragged into the Connection Point, leaving her game character to run around aimlessly.

But even though she was using a game character, she hadn't been affected by Merlin's female character's gender swap. It seemed that in this game, your real-life gender determined your in-game gender, not your character choice.

Which meant that once Merlin discovered his carefully nurtured female character had been turned into a dude by this little troublemaker, there was no telling how much he'd cry. A gamer-raging Merlin would be quite a sight for sore eyes. But since the troublemaker was his daughter, Artoria, he'd probably have to swallow his rage and put on a fake, crying smile. Just the thought of it brought a smile to Shirou's face.

"You actually went inside the game..." Morrigan's tone was laced with a hint of bitterness.

Because, if she thought about it, aside from the "third wheels" Illya and Altera, wasn't this basically a family outing?

Ugh... this is...! Damn it!!

She took a deep breath, struggling to regain her composure.

"Alright, let's get our things together and get out of Zaun. It's not safe here anymore," Shirou suggested.

Illya tilted her head curiously. "But hasn't Heaven's Corpse already been defeated?"

"Yes, but the real danger isn't Heaven's Corpse. It's people."

Once the threat of Heaven's Corpse was gone, everyone's attention, including Gilgamesh and Enkidu's, would shift to his god brain. To maintain the initiative, he absolutely couldn't hand it over, which meant a major showdown was inevitable.

As for those adventurers being grateful enough to help him fight against Gilgamesh and Enkidu? While it was possible, it was highly unlikely. Most people wouldn't risk their necks for him. Why? Because at the end of the day, people are driven by self-interest, not morality or emotions. Sure, there were women as devoted and perhaps loyal as Artoria, but most people considered themselves clever and acted in their own best interests.

"But Aqua's still at the inn..." Illya fretted, then brightened. "Oh! Artoria-neesan, you can summon Aqua, and then we can escape!"

At the sound of Illya calling her 'neesan,' Artoria instinctively lifted her head to reply, but then remembered her current identity and quickly clamped her mouth shut.

Instinct really is a scary thing, Shirou thought.

"We could," he said. "But if Aqua's at the inn, we might as well head there."

"Huh? Why?" Illya asked. Logically, summoning Aqua and making a quick getaway seemed like the best option.

"We haven't collected the quest reward yet, have we?" he said with a smile.

He was talking about the emergency quest issued by the Vampire King.

Illya's eyes widened in understanding.

"It's just a shame we didn't get the god fragment..." he sighed. It had been so close, yet he'd had to let it go. But if he had to choose again, he'd make the same decision.

"God fragment?" Artoria looked confused, then pulled an arm out of her [Inventory] and asked, "Is it this?"

[God's Right Hand (1/8)

Quality: ???

Effect: ???

Binding: None]

"Huh? Huuuh???"

He stared at the God's Right Hand in her hand, dumbfounded. Artoria had a God Fragment too? No, should he say Merlin had a God Fragment?

"I don't remember Merlin's account having this item. Where did you get it, Shirou?" Morrigan questioned, her eyebrows furrowed.

"This? I'm not sure either. When I first entered the game world, I found myself in a cave with a woman napping on a throne. But instinctively, I felt that woman was terrifying. Then I sensed a passage behind her that could lead out, so I guided the body to leave through it. As I was leaving, this thing automatically appeared in my [Inventory]." Artoria explained, a sheepish smile on her face.

Is this what Luck A means? I'm completely speechless! Shirou was flabbergasted.

Wait, so did this mean the real reason Heaven's Corpse chased them to Zaun was because Artoria had taken the God Fragment beforehand?

And Tiamat, the guardian, was actually napping... As expected of the mother goddess of Mesopotamia.

But living up to her reputation, Artoria effortlessly stole from both a UO and Tiamat. Truly worthy of the title of the strongest opportunist!

Holding the God's Right Hand, even though he was the final victor, he somehow felt the illusion of being utterly defeated.

Ah, complete defeat. He, Tiamat, and Gilgamesh had been battling wits and courage, but in the end, Artoria stole the prize.

But this way, Gilgamesh, who ended up empty-handed, must be making quite an entertaining expression right now. Shirou couldn't help but look forward to seeing it.

Although Artoria's arrival at this connection point, and even more so her direct acquisition of the God Fragment, was unexpected, now was not the time for chatting. They had to submit the mission and get out of Zaun before Gilgamesh returned.

Meanwhile...

At the inn, there wasn't an adventurer in sight. Enkidu's raid team was still making its way back from the floating island, and Gilgamesh was nowhere to be found. As for the other adventurers, they'd been caught off guard by the debris and massive boulders raining down from the floating island and were fleeing Zaun in a chaotic panic. No one expected Shirou to return to the inn.

"Master."

As soon as he entered, Aqua, sitting cross-legged, greeted him. The blond innkeeper was brewing tea for Aqua, creating a rather serene atmosphere.

"Please give me a cup as well," Shirou said as he sat down, addressing the innkeeper.

"Certainly."

The innkeeper poured tea for everyone.

He picked up a cup and took a sip.

"Artoria-neesan, now's not the time for tea!" Illya urged. "Let's quickly submit the mission and get out of here before Gilgamesh comes back."

She already knew that One King was Gilgamesh, and she was among those who understood his personality best. If the God Brain was the key to everything, then before they obtained the qualification for the Holy Land at Lv9, Gilgamesh would take it from them by force.