Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 963: Artoria’s Confession

The last room in the Emiya household was in an uproar, all because of a sudden statement by Artoria.

"What? A confession?"

"It seems like something interesting is happening."

"Did you confess to Saber?"

"A Master and a Servant, huh..."

"So, this is what you're into?"

"W-Wait, brother, what's going on?"

Amidst the chaotic clamor, there were strong feelings of gossip and even a hint of jealousy, making the scene increasingly hectic.

However, the two people at the center of this event were not part of the chaos.

One of the individuals involved, Artoria Pendragon, who had spoken the shocking words, tilted her head and innocently said, "Is there something wrong with Shinji confessing to me?"

"There's nothing wrong with that," the equally innocent Irisviel shook her head.

"Confessing to someone you like is completely natural, just like Kiritsugu and me."

"Hmm."

Artoria nodded seriously, trusting Irisviel's judgment as always.

"So, Shinji, I—"

"Hold on a minute."

The other person involved, Matou Shinji, raised his hand. Not only were the others dumbfounded by Artoria's words, but Shinji was also left in a daze. He never imagined that Artoria would say something like that, and it took him a while to process it.

"A confession? I confessed to you?"

"Yeah."

"When did that happen?"

"Don't you remember? Five years ago, at the Yggdmillennia Castle, the night before the final battle, I came to find you... You... you said you liked me..."

Even someone as saintly as Artoria felt a little shy when talking about such matters.

"Ah—"

Now that she mentioned it, Shinji finally remembered. It did indeed happen.

That night, Artoria had come to check on him while he was pulling an all-nighter drawing maps. She asked him why he was being so kind to her. His answer had been—"Maybe because I like you."

That wasn't exactly a lie, but that feeling was mixed with other factors. The atmosphere back then didn't feel like a confession to him. More importantly—

"Uh, didn't you reject me back then?"

"I didn't reject you," Artoria replied earnestly.

"What I said was that I couldn't respond to your feelings at that moment."

"Right," Shinji remembered the answer clearly.

"Isn't that a rejection?"

"Is that a rejection?"

Artoria asked at the same time.

After a brief pause, the knight king, who had no experience with romance, turned to her good friend Irisviel for guidance.

"Well, normally, that would be considered a soft rejection. But for someone like Saber, she probably genuinely meant that she couldn't respond at that moment. Saber said it was the night before a decisive battle, so it wasn't the right time to answer. She was likely planning to respond after the battle."

Irisviel, true to her role as a close friend, immediately grasped Artoria's thought process.

"Yes, that's exactly what I thought. I even said that we should leave the rest of the conversation for after the battle, hoping that we would both survive."

"That was after several more lines of conversation. I thought it was just a hopeful wish, not connected to the confession. I completely misunderstood."

Shinji rubbed his face and sighed helplessly.

"Why didn't you say anything after the battle?"

"Because you were taken away by the Second Magician so quickly, and I hadn't figured out how to respond yet. But now, I've made up my mind. Matou Shinji—I..."

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"Wait, hold on. Ahem, do you want to say it right now?"

Faced with Artoria's directness, Shinji seemed a little flustered.

"Yes, I want to express my feelings to you now."

Artoria was always straightforward, her honesty both charming and endearing.

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"..."

Shinji wanted to say that there was something wrong—he could feel the resentful gazes and the increasingly tangible dark aura behind him. But when he saw the sincerity in Artoria's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Why did I have to blurt out the truth back then? Oh well, it's already out in the open. Whatever she says, I'll just go with it. It's not like this is the first time I've been publicly humiliated. Things will work out somehow.

With this in mind, Shinji forced a wry smile and shook his head.

"No, nothing wrong. Go ahead, I'm listening."

"I don't have any experience with romance. My marriage to Guinevere was arranged because the knights said the king needed a queen, and it would be good for the kingdom. So, I don't know how to answer properly. Merlin told me that all I need to do is speak from my heart. Is that enough?"

"Yes, that's enough. That's what love is all about," Irisviel nodded vigorously, cheering on Artoria.

"Be brave and say it, Saber."

Taking Irisviel's words to heart, Artoria took a deep breath.

"Shinji, I think I like you, too. Although I don't fully understand what it means for a man and a woman to like each other, my feelings for you are different from those for the knights of the Round Table, different from Guinevere and different from Merlin. Being with you makes me happy, and I want to be with you more. I think that's what liking someone means. Matou Shinji, I like you—that's my answer as Artoria Pendragon."

Her answer, or confession, had the distinct flavor of a knight. It felt a bit stiff, a bit confused, but it was Artoria's truest thoughts, her genuine feelings.

"Did I respond correctly? Did I express myself well?"

"You expressed yourself perfectly. For once, that old rogue Merlin gave good advice."

Shinji reached out, wanting to touch Artoria's cheek, but halfway there, he noticed the gazes fixed on his hand. In the end, he gave up and settled for patting her shoulder instead.

The fact that he wanted to touch her at all showed that Shinji's heart had been moved. Maybe it was influenced by his past life's feelings, maybe it was something else, but did that matter? Wasn't this still love? Was this feeling fake just because of those reasons? With Artoria confessing to him with such a sincere expression, how could he not be moved?

No matter what others thought, Shinji was moved—deeply moved.

"So, what's your reply?"

Artoria looked at Shinji with those emerald eyes, more beautiful than the finest gems, and asked, a little nervous and uneasy.

In a normal romantic scenario, this question would be unnecessary since the man had already confessed. But given that five years had passed, and there had been a misunderstanding, Artoria treated it as a brand-new confession.

"My reply, huh? Just like you did five years ago, I can't respond to your feelings right now."

Not only was his response similar, but even his apologetic tone was identical.

"I see." Artoria's emerald eyes immediately dimmed.

PS: Just a random thought—Saber's sword stances in Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night often look like baseball swings. In Unlimited Blade Works, she even goes all out like a power hitter. Look out for the cleanup batter!