Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

Meanwhile.

"Is this something that happened before?" Rin Tohsaka's cheeks flushed.

In the video, she stood in the corridor, watching him jump high on the playground.

Thump thump~

Suddenly, Rin realized her heart was racing uncontrollably.

No, no, how could I possibly have feelings for him!

Her face felt as hot as if it were on fire, yet her eyes remained glued to the figure jumping high in the video.

That fool, knowing full well he could never match the strength of a powerful magus, had never given up.

Like an idiot, he trained every day, never stopping regardless of the weather.

Though he complained of boredom, he watched him work out every day, and her attention on him only grew...

Damn Alaya, this old thief, hadn't he just exposed her interest in him from the very beginning?

Earlier, in "The Oldest King," the goddess Ishtar, who looked just like her.

This had caused Rin, already popular in Fuyuki Magecraft Academy, to gain even more fame, as countless people regarded her as the reincarnation of a goddess experiencing human life, which made her a magical prodigy.

Now, she had seen herself appear in this side story!

Damn Alaya!

No, no, a lady must remember the teachings of the Tohsaka family.

Rin Tohsaka forced herself to maintain an elegant and composed smile, while secretly preparing a little voodoo doll for Alaya, stabbing it with needles in her mind.

The strangest thing was.

In reality, she had also stood in the corridor, watching that otaku Souma jump high, and it seemed somewhat similar!

Could the two really be connected?

Could she truly be the reincarnation of Ishtar, willing to abandon her divine form to become human in search of him?

Just then.

Rin saw a purple-haired girl standing on the same corridor in the video.

It was her sister, Sakura Matou!

This made Rin look at her sister with a complex expression.

Sure enough, Sakura had also been paying attention to him.

Thinking back, in "The Vow in the Snow," Sakura had sweetly called him "senpai" and boldly confessed her feelings to him.

Hesitation leads to defeat.

Decisiveness leads to giving up!

In that timeline, Shirou had not accepted her, stepping onto the battlefield alone to end the brutal Holy Grail War in one night.

As an older sister, she should have guided her sister, but matters like this...

No, why am I thinking about this?

Rin's blush became increasingly difficult to hide.

She shook her head, feeling that the way he jumped had some sort of charm that amplified his appeal several times over!

"Senpai is so cool!" Sakura exclaimed, her face flushed, unabashedly revealing her infatuation.

Earlier, in "The Vow in the Snow," his incredibly strong will had led to a final counterattack.

With a single sword strike, he had severed the King of Heroes' elbow, defeating her completely.

The whole scene was explosive!

So handsome it left her dazed!

Sakura wiped the drool that had slipped from the corner of her mouth and murmured while watching Rin in the video, "Sister really wants to be with senpai!"

Since childhood, she had idolized her all-powerful sister, following her like a little puppy every day.

Imitating her clothing, hairstyle, and accessories.

Her sister was just too exceptional.

Like a little sun in front of her, so outstanding that no matter how hard she tried, she could never catch up.

Family, teachers, classmates—everyone praised her endlessly.

She had completely become the green leaf that complemented her sister.

She should have turned to jealousy.

Yet under her sister's gentle care, she could only bury it deep in her heart.

Sakura sighed silently, "Sigh, sister, I still haven't stepped out of your shadow; even the person I like is just like you…"

"Hey, that person watching from afar seems to be Grandpa Matou Zouken?"

Rin suddenly pointed at the screen in surprise.

Upon closer inspection, they could see someone standing on the balcony of a tall building outside the school, quietly watching the playground with a cane.

It was indeed the head of the Matou family, Matou Zouken!

"It really is him!" Sakura also spotted the figure, her face filled with astonishment.

He was also paying attention to him?

When she had just been adopted into the Matou family, that kind and gentle old man had suddenly passed away for reasons unknown.

It was an utterly incomprehensible and strange occurrence.

As if some mysterious force had struck, eliminating the immensely powerful head of the Matou family on the spot!

What had happened?

What had that kind and gentle old man done to provoke someone?

The onlookers began to pull out magnifying glasses to investigate—

-[Whoa, that little dot is the head of the thousand-year-old magical family, Matou Zouken!]

-[Goodness, the heir of the prestigious magus family, the Edelfelt family, Luviagelita, is also watching from the bridge?]

-[The one dressed as a nun seems to be Caren Hortensia!]

-[That person standing on the streetlamp observing is actually the King of Heroes!]

-[That blue-haired, red-eyed figure holding a magical spear seems to be the Celtic mythological hero, Cú Chulainn?]

On the streets of Fuyuki.

Mr. Gilgamesh, transformed into an ordinary enthusiastic citizen, watched the video with great interest: "Oh, this king is also watching him jump high?"

This side story was not just interesting.

That guy clearly had an EX-level charisma—

No, wait, a beauty couldn't attract so many men's attention.

In other words, was this a servant-level beauty?

"My dear friend, it seems the trouble you've stirred up is far more than I imagined. Could it be that even Qin Shi Huang and the Greek gods are involved with you?"

Gilgamesh's crimson eyes grew increasingly intrigued by that scoundrel friend.

At the end of "The Oldest King," it seemed he had walked down another path.

Could it be that in that route, there was also a shadow of him?

At that moment, a voice called out from nearby: "Fresh little yellow croakers, salmon, don't miss out as you pass by!"

It was a tall, sunny man with long blue hair, skillfully selling fish with an apron tied around his waist.

Gilgamesh stopped, slightly surprised, and asked, "The illustrious Son of Light from Celtic mythology is selling fish here?"

Under the "Sha Naqba Imuru," the so-called Rune Magecraft disguise held no secrets from him.

He could see through the true identity of the person at a glance.

Gilgamesh found it increasingly amusing.

Fuyuki City was indeed a special place, where even heroic spirits were willing to be ordinary fishmongers.

"Oh, you're the King of Heroes?"

Cú Chulainn frowned at him.

Being able to see through his powerful disguise at a glance, and given that he was in Fuyuki City, guessing his identity was quite simple.

"Ha, no need to be nervous; I harbor no ill will towards you," Gilgamesh smiled.

Heroic spirits, by nature, stood at the pinnacle of the world, with power, wealth, and status at their fingertips.

But now, this man was actually willing to give up everything to live here as an ordinary person.

What an interesting fellow.

"If you mean no harm, then don't talk to me. I'm just an ordinary fishmonger," Cu Chulainn replied calmly.

After ten years of killing fish, his heart had grown as cold as his blade. The King of Heroes' taunts meant nothing to him.

Gilgamesh watched him with amusement. "You appeared in the previous video. Do you really have no intention of becoming a great hero in the eyes of the people?"

"...Getting killed by you counts as appearing? Getting killed by Emiya the Hero counts as appearing?"

Cu Chulainn nearly couldn't stop himself from drawing his spear.

Whether it was Unlimited Blade Works or Vow in the Snow, he'd only played supporting roles—fighting to the death against this bastard of a tax-evading freak.

Dying over and over again—have you no humanity?

"Good luck to you."

Gilgamesh barely suppressed his laughter.

It was so tragic that he could hardly keep from bursting out laughing.

"Get lost!"

Cu Chulainn rolled his eyes, completely done with the conversation.

He'd died in both previous videos, each death more miserable than the last.

The only time he survived was in a side story where he was just a minor character watching Emiya the Hero do high jumps—better not to appear at all!

...

The further the side story went, the more confused people became—

-[Just how many people are watching Emiya the Hero jump?]

-[Not just the sisters Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou, but even the King of Heroes and Cu Chulainn are there!]

-[Feels like Alaya is the ultimate Emiya fan. She was smitten with him from the start, going all out to make him her worker!]

-[666! The prophet upstairs—time to eliminate you!]

...

"Just how many people has this guy pissed off?"

Illya felt her scalp tingle as she watched the side story, where everyone was staring at the figure doing high jumps.

Men and women, young and old—all of them were watching him. How terrifying!

If his identity were fully exposed, countless people would come looking for him, making it impossible for her to even get close.

"No, I can't let Miyu and Souma meet. If they recognize each other, it'll be trouble!" Illya secretly resolved.

Given the terrifying bond between those two, if they met, they might confirm his identity instantly—and then she'd be completely sidelined!

She pointed into the distance and said to her cute best friend beside her, "Stay right here. I'll go buy you some orange juice."

"Okay."

Miyu nodded obediently, hugging a red ball as she stood in place.

While she was lost in thought, the ball slipped from her hands and rolled down the slope.

Miyu hurriedly chased after it.

Then—

An ordinary-looking young man stretched out his foot to stop the rolling ball.

He bent down, picked it up, and handed it to her with a smile. "Here, hold onto it."

"Mm, thank you."

Miyu reached out to take it but suddenly froze, staring at him. Tears welled up in her eyes as she blurted out, "B-Big Brother?"

***

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