Shinji Matou At Your Service

Shinji's voice was gentle, and his smile was radiant, but the more he acted like this, the more terrified Astolfo felt.

Astolfo's behavior might be erratic, but this kind of erratic nature wasn't entirely without its perks.

Astolfo's Skill: Evaporation of Reason - Rank D

Rationality has evaporated, and he can't keep any secrets. Revealing the true names and weaknesses of allies, forgetting important things, etc., have all become curses. This skill also includes "intuition," allowing him to sense the most suitable developments for himself in battle to some extent.

In other words, this skill trades rational analysis for extraordinary intuition, giving Astolfo the ability to see through appearances and grasp the essence to some degree.

At this moment, in Astolfo's perception, the assassin in front of him was no longer a person but a terrifying beast, and he was the prey in its sights.

"Ugh... Assassin is so scary." Astolfo shivered, sensing the danger.

Seeing Astolfo's frightened expression, Shinji felt a bit embarrassed.

Astolfo, it's one thing if you wear women's clothes to save your good buddy, the mad paladin Roland, but why has your entire spirit become feminized?

You've faced countless enemies in your adventurous life.

In your final battle, you fought fearlessly against fifty thousand Saxons with just a few dozen men. So why are you trembling before me, an unknown assassin?

Where is your knightly spirit? Where is the honor of Emperor Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins?

Okay, let's set that aside. Just explain to me why your trembling looks more pitiful than a genuinely cute girl. Even a macho guy like me almost felt bent.

To resist Astolfo's unorthodox charm, Shinji began recalling all the beautiful women he had encountered in his life.

Shishou, Sakura, Justeaze, Fujino, Touko, Kirie, Lorelei, Fiore, Reika, Artoria... lend me your strength. I absolutely won't succumb to this trap.

With this thought, Shinji immediately resisted Astolfo's unorthodox allure. Of course, this little distraction caused the dark aura emanating from Shinji to gradually fade, and the room's atmosphere quickly returned to peace.

Casually picking up a bottle of drink from the coffee table, Shinji asked, "So, what's going on? Why are you in my room? And who's the one occupying my bed? This must be your doing again, Trap-kun."

"Um, I'm called Astolfo, not Trap-kun," Astolfo weakly protested.

Are you kidding me? A pure man, a real tough guy, using 'I/Atashi'? And you're even softer than my Sakura-chan. How can real cute girls compete with your act?

Come on, ladies, bless me once more. I promise to stay far away from this guy in the future to avoid any issues.

"I say you're called Trap-kun, so you're Trap-kun! No more arguing!"

Shinji glared fiercely at Astolfo, who instantly cowered.

"Trap-kun it is, why so fierce?"

"Why so fierce? This is my room, right? You entered without my permission; this behavior is called trespassing. In any era, I could just cut you down for this. If I invaded your room, you'd be angry too, right?"

"No, no, I wouldn't be angry at all." Astolfo shook his head, his pink braids flying in the air, exuding femininity. "You want to invade my room? Welcome, welcome. Just make sure to come when my master is looking for me. I won't lock the door."

"Poof—"

Shinji spat out his drink, taking a good while to calm down.

"You, this guy—oh, I almost forgot, your Master is a black magus. These groups usually have some psychological issues. Has she been doing a lot of weird things to you?"

"Yeah, yeah. How did you know? You're amazing." Astolfo nodded vigorously, stars practically sparkling in his eyes. "So, you must come to save me."

"Stop using that Trap-style adoration on me." Shinji pushed Astolfo's head away, which had gotten too close. "Deal with your own Master yourself. I don't like that woman named Celenike. She reeks of blood, and I might not be able to resist cutting her down. That would cause a big mess."

"How can you be like this?" Astolfo deflated like a punctured balloon, collapsing onto the floor.

I say, girl—no, boy—no, let's stick with Trap-kun. Trap-kun, you're wearing a short skirt. Sitting in that pigeon-toed position, doesn't a certain part of you hurt? Just looking at it makes me ache.

Forget it. This kind of pseudo-girl can't be understood with common sense. It's better to classify them under a special category within the order of Primates, suborder Haplorhini, infraorder Simiiformes, superfamily Hominoidea, family Hominidae, subfamily Homininae, tribe Hominini, genus Homo, species Homo sapiens.

"Alright, enough with the pointless stuff. You still haven't told me why you're in my room. Who is that person?"

"That's a homunculus I picked up in the hallway. Caster is looking for him for some reason, and your room seemed the best place to hide him, so—"

"—Rider, if you explain it like that, Assassin won't understand. Let me do it."

Chiron, who had been silently reading and sitting on a chair, interrupted Astolfo's chaotic explanation. In his view, Assassin was probably already confused.

Shinji wasn't confused at all. He understood perfectly what had happened and even guessed why they had hidden someone in his room. He just asked to avoid suspicion.

Chiron's explanation matched Shinji's suspicions exactly.

Sieg escaped, encountered Astolfo, and was brought to Chiron's room for treatment.

Unlike in the novel, Chiron's Master had been switched from Fiore to Caules. Fiore, having difficulty walking, would call Chiron over for anything, making his room a safe place since no one would enter. Caules, on the other hand, had a strong curiosity and frequently visited Chiron's room, asking questions, sometimes up to ten times a day. Their relationship was gradually evolving from Master-Servant to teacher-student.

In this situation, Chiron's room was no longer safe. Though Chiron knew Caules would keep the secret and even offer help if asked, Chiron, both as a teacher and a Servant, didn't want to put Caules in a difficult position. So, he suggested hiding Sieg in Shinji's room. As neighbors, Chiron knew Shinji rarely used his room and it was unlikely to be disturbed.

Of course, with Chiron's decorum, he wouldn't commit an intrusion like this. He had planned to formally ask Shinji upon his return. But Astolfo couldn't wait and directly invaded Shinji's room via the balcony, leading to this current situation.

PS: If you've played "Fate/Grand Order" 1.5, Chapter 2, you'll know how formidable Dion and Astolfo are. It's said that on the day Chapter 2 was released, the number of Doujin featuring Astolfo and Dion surged dramatically.