At five o'clock in the morning, Shinji woke up on the dot.
Last night, he had watched that traditional dance video meticulously multiple times, compiling nearly a hundred points for improvement—like the waist not twisting perfectly, missing about 0.5 degrees, or the angle of the hips being off by roughly one degree.
After sending all these points to Sakura, insisting that she correct them seriously, Shinji finally put down his phone, which had run out of battery after all his guidance, and went to sleep.
Opening his eyes without much reluctance to leave the bed, Shinji got up, put on his workout clothes, greeted the petite yet voracious young Saber, and went out for his morning exercise.
The fresh morning air and the summer that had finally quieted down after a noisy night made Shinji feel great as he stepped out of the house.
This uneventful daily life was the best!
Standing at the doorstep, Shinji stretched and did a set of chest expansions, enjoying the tranquility of a normal day as he warmed up for his run.
"It's as peaceful as ever."
With this thought, Shinji began his run.
However...
Just a few steps in, Shinji suddenly stopped, a puzzled look flashing across his face. He rubbed his forehead, deep in thought.
"Wait, isn't something off?"
Shinji pondered deeply.
The usual morning, the usual exercise routine.
The usual wait for his Servant to show up for breakfast...
Everything seemed normal, except for his sister and his other Servant being away on a trip. What was it that felt off?
At that moment, young Saber, dressed in a cute summer outfit, opened the door and walked out. Seeing Shinji standing silently at the door, she asked.
"Shinji, what's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing. I just have a slight feeling of something being... off."
"Off?" Young Saber frowned, concerned. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, it's just that I..."
Before finishing his sentence, Shinji finally realized something and froze in place. A few seconds later, he turned back, expressionless, looking at the little Saber.
Did he... have a Servant like this?
It seemed so.
In his memory, before the Holy Grail War started, he had summoned Saber under Rin's instigation. However, due to an incomplete summoning, Saber had become a child.
She could only revert to her normal form during full-power battles. Despite her small size, she had a huge appetite, eating enough in one meal to last him two days.
Though he had tricked her during the Holy Grail War, she didn't hold a grudge and stayed, waiting for answers from him.
"Wait a minute!"
Shinji interrupted his own thoughts, rubbing his temples.
"No, this memory... Is it real? If it is, why do I also remember not summoning a Servant? This is too strange. What is..."
"Shinji, what's going on?" Young Saber asked.
"It's nothing."
Shinji shook his head, then looked south toward the mountains a few kilometers away.
If his guess was right, the culprit causing his memories to be in disarray was...
Probably the red demon living there!
...
In front of the Tohsaka residence.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Feeling the situation was quite troublesome, Shinji didn't even bother with the doorbell, opting to pound on the door instead.
"Shinji, isn't this a bit rude?"
Young Saber, munching on meat buns bought on the way, spoke while eating.
"No, it's perfectly fine! That guy must have done something stupid yesterday!"
As soon as Shinji finished speaking, the door was flung open by a grumpy, pajama-clad Rin!
She immediately hit him with a magically enhanced shoulder slam.
"Thud thud thud! You're so noisy, idiot!"
Sent flying several meters, Shinji got up, looking at the yawning, eye-rubbing Rin with a strange expression.
"Good morning, Rin," Young Saber greeted.
"Oh, it's Saber-chan. Good morning," Rin replied, retreating back inside. "If there's nothing else, I'm going back to bed. I was up all night studying the Jewel Sword..."
"Wait!" Shinji raised his hand to stop her, then rushed forward. "Hey, Tohsaka! Didn't I tell you not to mess with that ring? Do you know what kind of trouble your Jewel Sword has caused me?"
"How do you know I set the ring into the unfinished Jewel Sword?" Rin was surprised.
"How?" Shinji's eye twitched, pointing at Young Saber. "Because it gave me another Servant, that's how!"
"Huh? Another Servant? What are you talking about?"
Rin looked utterly confused.
"Yeah, Shinji, what are you talking about? You've been acting strange since this morning. What's going on?"
Young Saber also looked puzzled and concerned.
"In short," Shinji finally unclenched his fists, rubbing his forehead with a sigh, "we need to talk alone, Tohsaka."
...
The smart Shinji had figured out the reason as soon as he noticed something was off.
There could be no other reason than the Jewel Sword causing all the possibilities in this city to manifest!
Of course, just the Jewel Sword incident from FHA causing all possibilities in this city to merge shouldn't have affected Shinji.
Shinji knew that even if this world had many parallel worlds, his existence was unique! Other Matou Shinjis were fundamentally different from him or resembled the original character more!
The only reason he could be affected was because his storage ring, part of his system, was added to the Jewel Sword!
Only something within his own system could affect him!
This didn't mean that in some parallel world of this world he actually summoned a young Saber.
It was just a possibility of this world, brought into reality due to the Jewel Sword's malfunction!
And his memory got a little scrambled.
In Rin's bedroom.
After a private discussion, Rin understood his point, rubbing her chin as she analyzed, "So, because of the Jewel Sword imbued with power from your system, all possibilities are manifesting in this city."
"Yes, exactly," Shinji nodded.
"But I don't feel anything unusual, and the unfinished Jewel Sword hasn't gone berserk. It's just sitting quietly in the basement."
"That's because you haven't noticed!" Shinji wanted her to realize it herself, so he asked seriously, "Tohsaka, tell me, which Servant does Emiya have?"
Rin looked at him like he was joking and answered without hesitation, "Of course, it's Saber..."
She paused, her expression blank as she realized the inconsistency.
"Right? Now, two possibilities are simultaneously occurring in this city, like reality and a dream both appearing in reality."
"Wait, even if that's true, it doesn't mean it's my Jewel Sword causing it. It could be something else."
"No, the only thing that could affect me this way is something from my system. That ring is part of my system! Understand?"
...
In the Tohsaka basement.
Looking at the Jewel Sword, which was neither completed nor unfinished, Shinji sighed.
The ring was no longer visible on the sword, proving it had completely fused with it!
Due to the ring's unknown properties, the incomplete Jewel Sword didn't go berserk but underwent a subtle chemical reaction, completing itself.
But it was different from the original Jewel Sword!
"It seems the fusion with an unknown system caused a subtle reaction. The berserk phase already happened, but since it's a different system from your magic, you didn't notice."
"You felt it?" Rin asked, puzzled.
Shinji rubbed his forehead. "Yes, I can still sense some residual spatial laws."
"Can it be fixed?"
"Not yet. My cultivation isn't there yet. I can only sense my system's spatial laws."
"So, what do we do?" Rin asked again.
"How should I know? This is your responsibility! Give me the sword, I'm going to smash it!"
"No way!" Rin instantly hugged the special Jewel Sword protectively, "I won't let you harm it!"
This new and enhanced "New Jewel Sword" was too precious for Rin to let Shinji destroy.
"Besides, even if you destroy it, it might not fix the current strange situation, right?" Rin added.
"That may be, but I still find it annoying! Give it to me, I'm smashing it!"
"Dream on!"
...
In the living room, seeing young Saber—a possibility brought about by the combination of parallel world magic technology and the spatial laws of the sword—Shinji finally calmed down.
After all, Rin was determined to protect the New Jewel Sword with her life. With Archer ready to fight him at Rin's command, destroying it was impossible.
Moreover, even if he did destroy it, it might not resolve the twisted situation.
More importantly, having an adorable little Saber... cough, cough! More importantly, the sudden addition of this alternative memory was too vivid!
Summoning young Saber, participating in the Holy Grail War together—it all felt like a firsthand experience!
"Shinji, why are you staring at me?"
Young Saber tilted her head, her clear, sweet voice snapping Shinji out of his thoughts.
"No, it's just that..."
He covered his face, silently finishing his thought: I feel like I've cuckolded someone!
Of course, in this suddenly loaded memory, Shinji hadn't done anything truly unfaithful. During the Holy Grail War, young Saber's mana replenishment was from candy.
He treated her like a cute mascot, without any ulterior motives, just occasionally patting her head and teasing her, like now...
!
Young Saber jumped up, her cute face full of anger after Shinji playfully flicked her hair.
"Shinji! I told you not to touch my hair! This is the third time!"
"Dinner will be whatever you want, no limits."
"You think that's enough? This is a symbol of my honor! Even if you're my Master, I can't forgive you!"
"Tomorrow night too, whatever you want."
"Uh..." Saber was momentarily speechless, then looked at Shinji seriously, "Alright, because you're a different Master, some actions can be forgiven if you apologize properly..."
"Ah, sorry." Shinji apologized, patting young Saber's head again.
Saber's face darkened, remaining silent for several seconds.
Just when Shinji thought the matter was over, Saber suddenly transformed, growing into the Saber who belonged to Shirou!
"Even if you're my Master, I won't forgive you! Shinji!"
"Three days of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all your favorites!"
"Uh..."
With her sword raised, Saber paused just a centimeter from Shinji's face.
"The King... accepts your apology!"
Seeing Saber awkwardly force out her acceptance, Rin silently thought: It seems the King of Knights isn't so strict after all...
...
On the way home, Shinji's feelings were mixed—partly intrigued, partly disturbed by the vividness of the newly integrated memory.
It was a confusing mix.
Seeing young Saber enjoying a lollipop while thinking about breakfast, Shinji decided to accept this new reality.
"Saber, let's go to the market. You decide what we eat."
"Alright!"
Saber nodded seriously, her eyes shining.