Author's note: Okay, when I was writing this, DW released Caster Arturia from LB6. However, it doesn't make sense, because if they went by that logic, then shouldn't Muramasa, who appeared in both Shimosa and LB5, be released already? What is DW thinking? Give us our Muramasa already! Anyways, for those who were asking if she'll arrive, she will in a future chapter.

"Shirou! Is the food ready?" Ritsuka asked.

"Almost. Just give it a few more minutes master," Shirou replied.

"Okay."

Shirou then went back to the campfire along with the pot of stew he had been cooking earlier. Right now, it was nighttime and Shirou oversaw cooking duty while Ritsuka watched the stew cook itself. Meanwhile, Lancer Arturia Alter and Mashu oversaw gathering firewood and anything else edible to eat.

Ritsuka looked at the stew in wonder. "Wow. Even in the forest here, Shirou can cook up a meal...and he can trace not only weapons, but household items as well..."

"Is there something wrong master?"

"Hm? Ah, it's nothing."

"Okay then," Shirou said as he focused back to the stew. "Wonder how the others are doing?"

Meanwhile, Mashu was kind of struggling as she was carrying small logs of wood. "Wonder if this is enough..." she thought. She then went up to Lancer Arturia Alter, who was holding her share of the wood. "Is this enough?"

"Hm...that should be enough at least," Lancer Arturia Alter replied. "Anyways, let's hurry back to the campsite where Shirou and master are."

"Y-Yes!"

Lancer Arturia Alter and Mashu then went to the campsite where Shirou and Ritsuka were. As they arrived, they smelled the scent of the stew Shirou was cooking.

And it smelled good. Lancer Arturia Alter was drooling a tiny bit before Ritsuka got her attention.

"You got the wood everyone?" Ritsuka asked.

"Yes!" Mashu said.

"Y-Yeah..." Lancer Arturia Alter said.

"Great. Then put it in the fire where Shirou's at."

Lancer Arturia Alter and Mashu then went over where Shirou was and placed the wood into the fire. As they did that, the flames grew a bit, making them move back a bit.

"Okay. Now all that's left to do is to wait for the stew to boil and everything will be done..." Shirou thought as he looked at the pot.

As Shirou was staring at the pot, Ritsuka, Mashu, and Lancer Arturia Alter were chatting with each other.

"Still though, even in the woods, Shirou-san sure knows what to cook with what ingredients there are in the woods," Mashu said.

"Yeah. And the fact that he even traced the pot, bowls, and utensils for us to use. Shirou is quite thoughtful," Ritsuka said.

"You can say that again. Although can Shirou hurry up with the food? I'm getting hungry from the aroma itself..." Lancer Arturia Alter said with a hint of moaning.

Ritsuka chuckled. "Just wait Lancer Alter, Shirou said he'll be done within a few more minutes."

"Okay master..."

Meanwhile Shirou was watching the stew, and it was done. "Everyone, the stew is ready!" he said.

Soon, everyone went over to where Shirou was, especially Lancer Arturia Alter. Shirou then gave everyone a bowl and a spoon for each person to use. Then he brought out a ladle he traced earlier and scooped up some of the stew that was in the pot and handed them out to everyone.

Soon, everyone started to eat the stew Shirou made, and everyone enjoyed it.

"Delicious! This is good Shirou-san!" Mashu said.

"Yeah! Even in the woods, you can cook up a meal like this!" Ritsuka said as he took a sip of his stew.

"As expected from my scabbard and queen," Lancer Arturia Alter said with pride as she eagerly finished her bowl of stew. "More Shirou," she said as he held up her empty bowl to Shirou.

"Yes, yes..." he said as he grabbed Lancer Arturia Alter's empty bowl and used his ladle to pour more stew into her bowl. "Here you go."

"Thanks Shirou," she said as she began eating her stew again.

"Seriously though, did you have experience cooking in the woods before Shirou-san?" Mashu asked.

"Yeah. A few times actually," Shirou replied.

"Really? How so?" Ritsuka.

"Well, during my travels, there were times where there wasn't a place to stay by, so I had to do things the old-fashioned way."

"Was it hard?"

"It was a little bit at first. Over time though, I got used to it," Shirou replied as took a sip of his own bowl of stew. "It wasn't hard finding ingredients or starting up camp if that's what you were talking about."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Anyways, you want some more?"

"Y-Yes!"

"I-I want some more too!" Masu said as she held up her bowl.

"So do I," Lancer Arturia Alter said as she held up her bowl again.

Shirou let out a small sigh. "On it."

It was late in the night and Shirou was tending to the campfire while Ritsuka and Mashu were asleep. Lancer Arturia Alter was on watch in case if some enemies tried to ambush them. As Shirou was tending to the campfire, he looked up towards the night sky, seeing the multiple stars in the black sky.

"Tonight seems to be pretty. And there's a full moon too...reminds me of those days during my travels..."

As Shirou was tending to the fire, Lancer Arturia Alter came back. "Shirou."

"Hm? Arturia?"

"Call me Lancer Alter in this case. I don't want you to get confused with my counterparts."

"I see. Are there any enemies over there?"

"None at the moment."

"Okay. Guess it's my turn to keep watch then..." Shirou said as he proceeded to move from his spot. However, before he was able to, Lancer Arturia Alter stopped him from getting up by sitting next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Lancer Alter?"

"Stay. You've done enough for a bit. You deserve a break."

"But-"

"No buts Shirou. Or else I'll get mad."

Not wanting to make Lancer Arturia Alter mad, Shirou complied to her demands and sat down on the floor again. For a moment, nothing happened between the two as they were stargazing at the night sky, looking at the tiny stars. One of Lancer Arturia Alter's hands was on top of Shirou's hand to make sure he doesn't escape from her sight.

As they were stargazing, Lancer Arturia Alter broke the silence. "It looks pretty from over here huh?"

"Yeah. Reminds me of the travels I went through."

"Really?"

"Yeah. There were some days like this where I wouldn't be able to get some sleep in the woods and would look at the night sky like this to pass the time."

"I see...hey Shirou, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well...during your travels, did you spend every night like this?"

"Well...most of the time yes. Most of time during my travels, I would end in a forest or somewhere like that would just camp out over there. Food and water were not an issue as I mentioned earlier as there were animals and fish I could eat. There were some cases where I would find a nearby town and stay at what inn or hotel they offered."

"Is that so? Were you alone during your travels?"

Shirou let out a sigh. "Yeah. Always. I did make some friends though, but they didn't come with me...and there were a lot of enemies I had to face..."

For a moment, Lancer Arturia Alter didn't say anything upon hearing this. She just looked at the stars while processing the information she just received in her head. "Shirou, all this time...you've been traveling alone...for many years...and fighting any enemy that crossed your path..."

"Lancer Alter, is there something wrong?" Shirou asked.

"No. I'm just...thinking about something," Lancer Arturia Alter said.

"Okay..."

And the two resumed stargazing. During this moment, Lancer Arturia Alter's hand never let go of Shirou's hand. Eventually, Shirou was getting tired.

"Well, it's getting late..."

"You're right. Shall we turn in for the night?"

"Good idea. I'll try to find something for-" Shirou said but was cut off.

In an instant, Lancer Arturia Alter grabbed Shirou and gave him a hug, smothering him right between her ample breasts.

"L-Lancer Alter?" Shirou muffled with a blush on his face.

"Shirou. You deserve this reward. For many years, you endured yourself on this trip by yourself, dealing with the pain it gave you. For that, I give you this embrace."

"L-Lancer Alter..."

"For now, just go to sleep please. That is a direct order from your king."

Shirou sighed, knowing that there was no way getting out from her embrace and the sleep that was coming to him. "All right." Closing his eyes, Shirou fell asleep, his face on Lancer Arturia Alter's breasts.

Lancer Arturia Alter smiled. "Good boy," she said as her hands went to Shirou's head and started playing with his hair while holding it at the same time. "Good night Shirou."

"Good night...Arturia..." Shirou muttered in his sleep.

Lancer Arturia Alter didn't bother correcting him at that moment. Seeing Shirou sleeping put a smile on her face.

And that is what she wanted.

Shirou was walking back towards his room, exhausted as he was done with his duties for today. "Phew...today was exhausting...at least I'll be able to get some sleep today..."

Eventually, Shirou made it to his room. The doors automatically opened, and he went inside...

Only to see Lancer Arturia kneeling on his bed in seiza form.

"A-Arturia?" Shirou stammered, not expecting her in his room like this.

"Shirou. Come over here for a moment," Lancer Arturia said.

"Okay...but why?"

"Just do it."

Still confused with what was going on, Shirou then went over to his bed and sat next to her.

"Okay...now put your head where my lap is," she said while petting her lap.

Shirou blushed when he heard that. "R-Really?"

"Yes."

Shirou had an embarrassed look on his face but followed Lancer Arturia's order. He then laid his head down onto Lancer Arturia's lap. When he did that, he felt an extreme rush of blushing flowing through his face as his head was touching her lap. His mind was in a jumble as he felt her soft lap on the side of his head. Meanwhile, Lancer Arturia was playing with his hair.

"Shirou's hair is so soft...I want to continue playing with it forever..."

"W-What do I do in this situation?! I mean, I don't want to make her sad by leaving her, and it does feel nice and soft here...wait! What am I thinking?! That's something I shouldn't be thinking about right now!"

As Lancer Arturia was playing with his hair, she asked Shirou a question.

"Hey Shirou, can I ask you something?"

Shirou was snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing Lancer Arturia's thoughts and asked, "What?"

"How are you feeling today?"

"Hm? Well...fine I guess..." Shirou muttered.

"Are you sure? Don't you lie to me, I can see through it," Lancer Arturia said with a hint of worry in her voice.

Shirou sighed, now knowing he can't lie to her whenever she gives off that tone.

"Well, to be honest...it feels like every day has got even crazier after that day."

"You mean when you unleashed Tsumugari Muramasa on Archer Gilgamesh that day?"

"Yeah. Now these days, I literally get challenged by nearly every servant because apparently, word spread throughout of Chaldea that the King of Heroes was defeated and humiliated by my noble phantasms. It didn't even help that word about me cutting his arm during the process made the excitement go even further."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Not only that, but there were servants who had a grudge against him were congratulating me and were asking me for a quick look at Tsumugari Muramasa. In fact, you want to know what some servants called it?"

"What?"

""The god-killer blade." That's what they called it. And it doesn't even end there. Some other servants called it, "The one thing that EA can't beat," or "The one treasure that Gilgamesh doesn't possess," or "The blade that put the arrogant King of Heroes in his place.""

Lancer Arturia giggled at the names Tsumugari Muramasa has received since its debut. "Well, sounds like the King of Heroes won't be happy about those names."

"You can say that again," Shirou said as he thought about his reactions towards those names. "Anyways, Tsumugari Muramasa wasn't the only one that earned a few names. You want to know what some servants tell me?"

"What?"

"They tell me I'm a better version of Gilgamesh. Can you believe that?"

"Well...I can."

"How so?"

"Shirou, you can summon weapons out of nowhere like he does. However, unlike that arrogant King of Heroes over there, you aren't arrogant. You're humble, you show kindness to everyone, and you help everyone around in Chaldea. Plus, you're a good cook."

Shirou was surprised with the reasons that Lancer Arturia just said.

"Shirou? Are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm just not used to hearing praise like this before."

"You don't like it?"

"N-No. I'm just not used to it. That's all."

"I see."

For a moment, there was silence between the two as Lancer Arturia continued playing with Shirou's hair as his head was still on Lancer Arturia's lap. The two remined undisturbed as they were enjoying their quiet time together.

"Is there anything else you want to talk about Shirou?"

"Well...something weird happened to me earlier."

Arturia was slightly worried when she heard that. "What happened? Were you hit with something?"

"Well...I had a weird proposition from a servant earlier..." he said as his mind went back to what happened a few hours ago...

(A few hours ago...)

Shirou was walking down in the hallways of Chaldea, minding his own business. As he did, he came across a pair he sort of recognized.

Waver Velvet and Alexander, the King of Conquerors.

"Waver-sensei?"

"Hey kid, is this the person who beat the King of Heroes and possesses two noble phantasms in which one of them is a realty marble and the other surpasses the King of Heroes' greatest treasure?" Alexander asked.

"Yeah."

"And his name is Emiya Shirou?"

"Yeah."

Upon hearing this, Alexander proceeded to take a closer look at Shirou, examining him from all sides.

"W-What?" Shirou asked.

Alexander grinned. "My name is Alexander! The King of Conquerors! Emiya Shirou! Upon hearing your victory against the King of Heroes from my former master, I have made a proposition for you! Will you join my army?"

Shirou was baffled upon hearing this. "What?"

(Back to the present...)

"And that's what happened," Shirou said as he explained the story to Lancer Arturia.

Lancer Arturia was surprised at the Shirou just told her. "So let me get this straight. Alexander, the King of Conquerors, wanted you to join his army?"

"Yes."

"And what did you say?"

"Well, I turned down his offer."

"I see. Were there any offers like that later on?"

"Well, there was one earlier before that. What happened was that one day, I was dragged into a room filled with Japanese servants and had a party over there. It was then that one of them named Hijikata Toshizou gave me a Shinsengumi outfit as a gift and made me an honorary member of the Shinsengumi."

"Really? What happened next?"

"Luckily, Okita managed to be there and told me not to worry about it. She told me he does that to anyone doing good in Chaldea, especially swordsmen."

"I see...Shirou, let me ask you one question that I really want to ask you today."

"Sure. Go ahead."

Lancer Arturia took a deep breath before saying her question. "You haven't used Tsumugari Muramasa today, haven't you?"

Shirou was silent for a bit before saying his answer. "No, I haven't. Why?"

Lancer Arturia sighed in relief upon hearing no as his answer. "Good. That noble phantasm scares me and my counterparts you know. If possible...we hope that you don't use Tsumugari Muramasa ever again."

Shirou let out a small sigh and asked, "You're worried about what Sengo Muramasa said earlier?"

"Yes. When he said that he used it and died afterwards, the thought of you meeting the same fate as him...me and my counterparts don't even want to think about that. While were a little bit relieved that the side effect of Tsumugari Muramasa when you use it is a complete drain of mana. But even then, the complete drain mana still worries me and my counterparts."

"Arturia..."

"Shirou, please promise all of us that you won't use Tsumugari Muramasa. At least limit the usage of it. Please."

Shirou thought about what Lancer Arturia said and replied, "Okay. I'll limit the use of Tsumugari Muramasa to only in dire situations. In fact, that's what I've been doing ever since I've obtained it."

Lancer Arturia smiled. "Good. That's all I need to hear." She then continued to play with Shirou's hair. As she did, Shirou eventually fell asleep on her lap as time passed by. Noticing this, Lancer Arturia gently moved his body so that she can see Shirou's face. She smiled upon seeing his sleeping face, looking peacefully. "Shirou..."

It was then that a servant came into the room.

"Hey Shirou! Are you busy? Mom needs some help...with something..." Irisviel said as she stopped saying anything upon seeing Lancer Arturia giving Shirou a lap pillow. "Ah...oh..."

Lancer Arturia placed a finger on her lips. "Shh. Shirou's sleeping right now. Please don't disturb him."

Irisviel smiled upon hearing this and said, "Got it! But first, let me take pictures of this!" She then grabbed a smartphone out of nowhere and took multiple pictures of the event. "See you!" she whispered when she was done and left Shirou's room.

Lancer Arturia sighed and resumed looking at Shirou's sleeping face. As she did, she noticed it was getting late already. "Oh dear, it's already this late..." She then gently moved Shirou off her lap and placed him on his bed. As she covered him with the bed sheets, she noticed that she was getting tired too.

Knowing this, she made a decision despite her drowsiness.

She went under the bed sheets and held Shirou in her arms, her ample breasts touching his back and her hands touching his chest. As she was holding him, she felt the warmness of his body, making her even more drowsy. Eventually, she couldn't stay awake any longer and closed her eyes.

"Good night Shirou. Sweet dreams."

And she fell asleep.