Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 891 - : The Two Strange Women

The voice asking the question was low and masculine in tone, but it was still clearly a female voice.

The response was soft and delicate, with a touch of girlish tenderness. Without a doubt, this was the voice of the woman Shinji and the others had been following earlier. The former voice likely belonged to the experienced individual who was covering for her, and the apartment's bounded field was probably her handiwork.

The two mysterious women inside the room were unaware that someone was eavesdropping and continued their conversation.

"Did you go there again?"

"Yes."

"I knew it. You came back later today than yesterday. Did that boy return?"

"No."

The delicate voice carried a hint of disappointment.

"I just wanted to see more of his home and the city he lives in."

"You're so adorably foolish."

The low voice sighed.

"But you know, right? We're no longer human. We can't interact with him as we did before."

"Yes, I know."

The delicate voice took on a forlorn tone.

"I just want to quietly catch a glimpse of him like this. I won't let him know of my existence."

"Your attitude leaves me speechless. How did I not realize before that brat had such a strong charm? Not only did he marry such a beautiful wife, but he also had a foolish woman like you willing to sacrifice for him. I've heard he might have other women too—Is this the same cold and ruthless brat I once knew?"

"No, that's just a facade. His heart isn't like that."

"How can you be so humorless? Living like this must be exhausting. I kind of understand that brat's mindset—cold on the outside, but deep down, he's a naive idealist. I always thought he'd drown in his ideals, but surprisingly, he got married and even had a beautiful daughter. Speaking of which, his wife and daughter aren't all that different from us. Maybe the gap between us isn't as wide as we think."

"Perhaps... He might not reject us, but it's impossible to go back to how things were. No human could tolerate being looked at as food by us, and I can't stand looking at him that way either."

"There you go again. I was just talking. Even if we disregard the gap between humans and vampires, that person won't allow us to mess things up. This city isn't simple; several places give me a sense of danger, and even hiding inside the bounded field doesn't stop me from feeling watched. If our issues cause that person's plan to fail, we'd be ungrateful for the second chance at life they've given us."

"I know, I know."

The delicate voice grew weaker.

"As long as you know."

The low voice softened.

"It's about time to feed. I'll go get the blood bags. Even though you said what you did, the fact that you refuse to drink directly from humans and rely on blood bags shows you still have a shred of hope, doesn't it?"

"Aren't you the same? He's the only family we have left."

"Yes, he is."

"..."

"..."

The room fell silent once more. Kirie, in her intangible form, quietly exited the room and rejoined her companions.

"Hey, Shinji, what should we do next? Should we capture them?"

Kirie asked.

"Why, do you want to capture them?"

Shinji countered. He had just communicated with Kirie through his mental power, instructing her to leave.

"No."

Kirie shook her head.

"They don't seem like the kind of vampires who see humans as food or inferior beings."

"Just like there are good and bad humans, the same goes for vampires. Although they are few, there are indeed some vampires who choose to live in the shadows of humanity and coexist peacefully. The most distinguishing feature of this group is that they don't drink blood directly or create familiars. They satisfy their need for blood through blood packs, hospitals, or blood donation centers. When encountering such harmless vampires, most magi or Executors from the Church turn a blind eye, except for those extreme individuals who advocate for the extermination of all vampires."

"So that's why you're not capturing them?"

Kirie asked after hearing Shinji's explanation.

"That's just a secondary reason. The primary reason is that these two women are likely connected to Kiritsugu Emiya, and their relationship might be significant. Since Kiritsugu hasn't returned yet, it's not wise for me to act rashly."

This was Shinji's greatest concern. Over the years, his cooperation with Kiritsugu had been smooth, and he needed to continue this partnership in the upcoming Holy Grail War. Although he was curious about the identity of the master the two women mentioned and what they planned to do in Fuyuki, Shinji decided to hold back for now. He didn't want to risk damaging his relationship with Kiritsugu and potentially affecting the outcome of the Holy Grail War.

Shinji was also extremely curious about the identities of the two women. Based on his knowledge of Kiritsugu, all his relatives, except those living at the Emiya residence, were dead. Among those who had died, there was indeed someone who had turned into a vampire, but only one, not two.

That person's name was Shirley, a girl from a small island in the Philippines, who was Kiritsugu's childhood friend and first love. She became a ghoul (the stage before becoming a Dead Apostle) after secretly drinking an incomplete potion made by Kiritsugu's father. This incident attracted the attention of the Church's Executors and the Mage's Association Enforcers, leading to the island being engulfed in flames. None of the island's residents survived, except for Kiritsugu, who was taken away by his foster mother.

As a side note, the leader of the Enforcers at that time was Cornelius Alba, who later assisted Souren Araya in Misaki Town in 1998 and dared to call Touko Aozaki, Dirty Red, breaking taboos. He was beaten up by Touko, had his arm twisted off by Fujino, severely injured by Sakura, and finally had his head blown off by Kiritsugu—thus avenging his childhood grudge.

Shinji didn't believe that Shirley, a mere ghoul, could have escaped the slaughter by the Enforcers and Executors. Even if she had, it wouldn't explain the identity of the other woman. It seemed he would have to wait until Kiritsugu returned to get the answers. Shinji's understanding of Kiritsugu was ultimately based on the few plot points from his previous life, which were insufficient to cover the entirety of Kiritsugu's past. Perhaps something else had happened during a time Shinji wasn't aware of. After all, Kiritsugu's luck with women wasn't much worse than Shinji's.

Before leaving, Kirie asked again, "Are we just going to leave them alone?"

"Of course not."

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Shinji shook his head.

"Out of respect for Kiritsugu, I can refrain from capturing them for now, but that doesn't mean I'll let them roam the city freely. Who should we assign to monitor them?"

"I'll do it. My eyes are well-suited for this kind of work," Fujino volunteered.

"No, if you do that, the pressure on Kirie to monitor the control center alone would be too great. Let me think... Got it, would you mind helping out?"

Shinji, who had been deep in thought with his arms crossed, suddenly looked up and smiled slightly at a nearby utility pole, where a faint trace of a vibrant purple was barely visible.