"Da Vinci, exactly how many times have I had to step in for schoolyard bullying now?"
Baobhan Sith walked further into the alley, having hypnotized the five delinquents and sent them home. By the time they got back, they'd remember nothing about the bullying.
"That makes eight times! And of those, six involved you rescuing young girls. So, Master, you've been a 'hero to the maiden' at least six times~~ Seems like you're a natural at playing the hero."
Baobhan Sith was used to Da Vinci's teasing by now.
"Eight incidents of bullying, seven cases of unwanted advances, two gang fights, one drug deal, and even a couple doing it in public… Are Japan's alleys really this chaotic?"
Seriously, what was wrong with that couple? If they didn't want a hotel, fine, but they could at least have gone to the woods!
Not that she was on some sudden crusade to clean up crime or play hero. She was long past idolizing heroes.
Her frequent visits to these shadowy corners were because such places tended to attract the kinds of things she was actually looking for.
"Ah, there it is. You really made me search for you," she murmured, rounding a corner to finally find her target.
Even in the dim light, she could clearly see the mass of shadows.
"Groooan… Grooooan…"
"Can't even speak? Not surprising. If you had a shred of intelligence, you wouldn't stay in a filthy, stinking place like this when there's a nice café just next door."
A cursed spirit without lower limbs or eyes was drawn toward Baobhan Sith, attracted by the life radiating from her, its predatory instincts compelling it forward.
But it misjudged who was the hunter and who was the prey.
Ignoring its guttural growls, Baobhan Sith wasted no time. One clean slash, and the spirit was gone.
"Master, maybe you should rest a bit. That was the thirty-seventh spirit you've dealt with today."
"Is it that many already?"
Baobhan Sith stepped out from the dark alley, blinking in the blinding sunlight.
"…Then I really can't stop. With cursed spirits appearing so frequently, it's not just for Suguru and his juniors, but for those regular people who'd be killed by these things. For every spirit I take down, maybe I'm saving someone from tragedy."
Da Vinci's expression softened as she listened to Baobhan Sith's murmurings.
There was something she'd never told her Master.
When most people fused with a Heroic Spirit's essence, they were often assimilated by it, gradually transforming to resemble the spirit itself.
But Baobhan Sith—or, rather, Fenhuan Yu—was different.
She had the potential to be a hero.
Not in terms of strength or accomplishments, but something deeper, an intrinsic quality within Fenhuan Yu's very existence.
"Some people are simply destined to become heroes."
Fenhuan Yu was like Shirou Emiya, an ordinary high school student with no knowledge of magic, who led a peaceful life, cooking well and gentle to everyone. There was nothing remarkable about him.
Yet in countless parallel worlds, many different versions of Shirou became Heroic Spirits.
Heroic Spirit Emiya, who inherited Kiritsugu's ideals; the unfeeling Emiya Alter, who renounced his humanity; the Giant Hero who conquered the Holy Grail War for his sister alone…
Shirou Emiya possessed a trait similar to many ancient heroes, a quality that, in his mundane life, went unnoticed, undiscovered.
Fenhuan Yu was the same. Her world was too peaceful.
She'd lived in a place without magic, with no parallel worlds to speak of. Perhaps in another timeline, Phoenix Feather would have been recorded in the Throne of Heroes, waiting to be summoned to the aid of others.
A trait akin to that of the ancient heroes allowed her to maintain her sense of self even while using someone else's spirit essence, shaping her path rather than letting the spirit reshape her.
"Da Vinci dear, where to next?"
"Hold on, hold on, I'm analyzing. Seeing you work so hard, Master, I'd feel guilty taking it easy!"
A bright red dot popped up on the holographic map, prompting Baobhan Sith to perk up and head to the next location.
"A shrine?"
When she arrived, Baobhan Sith was surprised.
After all, who would think a shrine—a place so revered—could spawn a cursed spirit?
"It's not that strange. Japan's line between deities and monsters has always been blurry. Since ancient times, there've been cases where ghosts were worshipped as gods." Da Vinci explained in that tone only Baobhan Sith could hear. "And this shrine looks abandoned. Probably been slated for demolition, maybe to build something new."
"A cursed spirit site that people want to redevelop? Or maybe someone noticed something off here, which is why work hasn't started."
"In that case, it's likely that someone's already died here, Master."
"Exactly, which means…" Baobhan Sith frowned, "I can't ignore this."
"Didn't think you would." Da Vinci chuckled knowingly. "I'll keep support ready as always."
"Oh, where's Mash?"
"To better distinguish between the sorcerers' cursed energy and the spirits, and to expand the detection range, Mash and I upgraded the equipment last night. I sent her off to bed afterward. She finally doesn't have to fight on the frontlines—why can't she take it easy, like Chaldea's Romani?"
Da Vinci sighed in exasperation.
"Honestly, Da Vinci, I'd be worried if Mash ever did start acting like Dr. Roman."
"…You're right. That guy really was a jerk. Pulled one noble act and bailed irresponsibly."
"…"
Baobhan Sith fell silent.
She remembered that white-coated man with the weary yet gentle smile, always looking like he'd let anyone push him around.
At the Final Singularity, she'd seen him in a different light. He had returned as a divine agent, a watcher for humanity, a bearer of godly insight.
But in the end, his familiar smile in the light reminded her that he was still the same doctor she'd known.
He wasn't the all-knowing, all-powerful King Solomon. He was just an ordinary man, a man struggling against an inevitable despair with all his might.
"…Da Vinci dear."
Baobhan Sith spoke suddenly.
"If I keep traveling, going from world to world… do you think I might see the doctor again?"
"All I can say is that it's not impossible."
"I see…"
The sunlight today seemed especially brilliant.
Baobhan Sith lifted her head, raising a fist toward the blazing sun.
"Well, it looks like I have one more reason to keep going—to sit with the doctor again and share another strawberry cake."
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T/N: hehe da-vinci chan (gudako blushing)