Fate: I Will Eventually Become the Hero of Justice

"By the way, Assassin..." Looking into Shirou's fiery eyes, Saber hesitated for a moment, but in the end didn't ask what she really wanted to know. Instead she probed, "What kind of person was Mordred's mother?"

She was having trouble accepting a version of herself who did what Morgan le Fay did.

"Artoria..." he smiled gently. "Someone who finds it easy to hurt herself."

Saber: "?"

She just looked puzzled.

Seeing her expression, he added, "I can't describe her. If you get the chance to meet, try understanding her yourself."

She nodded.

If they really did meet, she would definitely interrogate that "her" thoroughly - why would she ever do something so disgusting?

While they talked, Mordred chatted with Sisigou behind them, coming to understand Shirou's goals.

Chaldea...the connection points...

Mordred was a bit surprised there was a hidden agenda beneath this Holy Grail War.

Of course, she wasn't surprised it had a hidden side.

From her first meeting with Kotomine, she'd sensed this war concealed some things. She just always assumed the hidden side was Kotomine.

"Oh right," Sisigou said, "Eternal King said if we get the Holy Grail in the end, he'd give it to us."

Hearing this, Mordred reflexively yelled like a cat getting its tail stepped on, "Who needs him to give it to us!"

Shirou glanced back at her. "Mordred, don't randomly recognize people when you meet the others later."

"Huh?" she frowned.

"Many people resemble Artoria a lot," he explained. "Don't mistake the wrong person."

"You mean Jeanne d'Arc? Hmph, do you think I'm blind?" she scoffed.

"Of course not."

Shirou also couldn't explain it well. He couldn't just say 'your mom has a generic face', could he?

"Anyway, just don't randomly recognize people," he reiterated.

"Hmph."

She hmphed dismissively. What was he taking her for?

Would she really mix up Jeanne and her own mother?

Even if he looked down on her, there should be a limit, right?

Hmph. Ridiculous!

Shirou brought them to the crowded city square.

Packed with people, it looked like a sea of human heads from afar. No wonder everywhere else was so empty - everyone had squeezed in here.

Before he located Mash and the others, Mash had already sensed them through their contract.

"Mr. Fujimaru!" she called out, waving from the crowd's edge.

Hearing her voice, he glanced over and saw Mash. He nodded, leading the others to join her.

After greeting everyone, Shirou introduced Mordred and Sisigou to Mash and Gray.

Seeing Gray, Mordred was shocked.

This had to be a joke! Why did she look exactly like her?

No, almost exactly the same.

But of course, Mordred didn't look shocked at all.

She just smiled faintly. After all, if she looked shocked, Eternal King would definitely ridicule her, right?

He'd been watching her face the whole time. He must have wanted to see her make a fool of herself!

So she concealed her shock behind a smile.

Meanwhile, Gray was also very surprised, though for a different reason. She wasn't shocked by Mordred's resemblance to her current self, but because she had met the daughter of the King of Knights!

Unable to restrain herself, Gray anxiously asked Mordred, "Excuse me, Your Highness, do you have a Master yet? If not, would you consider me?"

Mordred: "?"

She just looked puzzled. What kind of person was this?

Sisigou coughed. "Sorry miss, I'm her Master."

"She already has a Master..." Gray sighed disappointedly.

Then her eyes lit up. "But wait, I have summoning catalysts with me! I could summon another Servant...so sir, would you be willing to trade Servants with me?"

Sisigou Kairi: "????"

He just stared blankly. 

Without a word, he edged away from Gray, feeling like she could be a serious problem.

Shirou looked at Mash strangely. "Weren't you all going to look for Jeanne?"

"Yes," Mash nodded. "But Miss Jeanne is very busy now, so we couldn't see her."

"Busy with what?"

She raised her hand, pointing to the distant city square. "Preparing to debate with someone."

He glanced over. With a Servant's vision, he saw a solemn group of followers warming up in the square, as if about to fight a fierce battle.

His gaze swept around a few more times. Not seeing Nero, he asked in puzzlement, "Where's Nero?"

"Her Highness Nero seemed to have found something fun, so she left on her own," Gray answered, not looking away.

Her eyes shone brightly as she stared at Mordred and Saber. That gaze was like a middle-aged, greasy, old driver seeing fresh, budding young ladies.

Mordred felt extremely creeped out, while Saber frowned in displeasure.

Just then, cheers erupted from the crowd:

"Saint! Saint!"

"Witch, get lost!"

The crowd in the square immediately split into two factions, loudly shouting curses at each other.

Glancing over, he saw Jeanne had appeared.

She waved, inciting roars like tidal waves from one side, while the other booed angrily.

He noticed many of the crowd were followers from the cult of the Red Caster's Master.

Truly befitting a famous saint, she had quickly swayed others' followers to her side.

Jeanne and a group of original fanatics were now confronting each other in the square.

But it was just a war of words - whoever spat curses more aggressively, reasonably, and eloquently would win.

And in that arena, Jeanne held the real advantage over the cult fanatics, because the Holy Church and worship of God had prevailed in Western Europe for too long.

Of course, the crucial thing was...

Jeanne's skill in religious combat was just too strong!

In the past, Shirou could never have imagined Jeanne's mouth could be so venomous and eloquent.

It seemed her heart was normally too kind and gentle to get angry.

But when faced with religious issues...

Well, she simply transformed into a Super Saiyan.

Not a single person could withstand her!

And it made sense - though a hero shaped by her times, for Jeanne to have raised an army so young amidst the grand Hundred Years War, making even Gilles de Rais zealously follow her, she must have had great capability.

If she was mediocre without ability, how could she have left her mark in history?

After listening for a while, Shirou grew bored. He had no interest in religious debates.

Glancing over, he saw Mordred also looked bored.

"Weren't you happily messing with religion before? What, you don't actually have interest yourself?" he asked.

Mordred rolled her eyes.

Wasn't that normal? She had died because of it back then. How could she be interested?

Shirou realized he'd misspoken, but he really didn't know how to talk to Mordred.

Recalling his own parents, he reached out and patted his thigh. "Come, Mordred."

"What for?" She looked at him strangely.

He pointed at his thigh. "Sit on daddy's lap."

Her mouth twitched. "You pervert! So interested in my young body?"

She shrank back like a startled hamster.

Shirou's expression turned distressed.

He didn't say anything wrong, did he?

Having your child sit in your lap, comforting them while talking - wasn't that good for bonding?

Could he have made a mistake?

He fell into distress.

This was his first time being someone's father, he really had no experience.

Shaking his head, he dismissed the thoughts.

Instead he turned to Gray, asking about the connection points.

And seeing his attention focus on Gray, Mordred felt a pang of indescribable emotion again.

She only knew the feeling made her a little uncomfortable.

Perhaps...deep down, she still wanted Shirou to talk to her instead.

But it was also fine that he didn't. She actually felt much more relaxed this way.

Mordred sidled up to Saber, who was studying her notes, and peeked over.

Saber's expression turned troubled. "What is it now?"

"Let's look together. It's a good chance for me to review. What's wrong? Not willing to share? If you're not then forget it, I won't say you're stingy,"

Saber sighed and moved the notes closer so Mordred could see.

...

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