"'After arriving at the Immortal Boat, Blade's Mara-Struck condition flared up so violently that even my Spirit Whisper couldn't suppress it. In that state, he wouldn't be able to travel through space.'"

Kafka looked at Blade, whose eyes were tightly shut inside the room.

"'Therefore, I need to continuously weaken the effect of the Mara-Struck state using Spirit Whisper and temporarily seal it. I can't be distracted while maintaining Spirit Whisper, so I need you to act as a protector. Protect me while I suppress Blade.'"

"'I know when the danger will arrive and what it is. So don't worry, working together, we can definitely overcome this difficulty, and you won't suffer any negative consequences.'"

Kafka already knew about the coming danger, so she just needed Star to let go of her worries and work with her.

Kafka's first arrangement was for Star to clear out the wandering monsters nearby. This was simple; Star dealt with them all in just a few swings of her stick. After returning to the hiding place, she waited patiently for a while until Kafka stopped her Spirit Whisper.

"'...Seeing you when I open my eyes, it's been a long time, Star.'"

"'Blade's senses have been cut off by me. Next, I need to separate his consciousness from the Immortal Boat and your friends. This process also cannot be disturbed, but before I start, I can take some time to answer your questions.'"

"'My questions?'" Star was slightly taken aback.

"'Yes, as compensation for helping me—don't you have any questions you want to ask me? I put you into a deep sleep, then woke you up, abandoned you at Herta's, and then lured you to the Immortal Boat; I owe you many explanations, don't you want to know?'"

—

"Of course I want to know!" Stark shot up from his chair.

Anyone with eyes could see that Kafka and Star were clearly old acquaintances, but to what extent they knew each other was unknown.

"Judging by Star's skills, she used to be a Stellaron Hunter, right?" Zane deduced. "Blade and Silver Wolf both know her, and their attitudes are quite subtle... Clearly, they fought side-by-side before."

"But that doesn't make sense," Feilun shook her head. "Think about it carefully, Kafka, Silver Wolf, Blade, and the others are all wanted criminals in the universe, with bounties that have who knows how many zeros, but there's nothing about Star's bounty at all. If she were a Stellaron Hunter, how could there be no trace of her?"

"And if they were comrades, Kafka's attitude seems particularly intimate, a kind of intimacy that is completely different from how she treats Silver Wolf and Blade..." Stark's tone shifted, and he suddenly threw out a bold conjecture.

"Speaking of which... Kafka wouldn't have a crush on Star, would she?"

"Uh... a crush?!"

Feilun's face immediately flushed. She glanced up at Stark not far away: "Probably... not?"

"Not?" Stark tilted his head. "Then why didn't Kafka let Silver Wolf come over? Silver Wolf is also very capable; acting as a protector on the Immortal Boat shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"If you ask me, she just wanted to create an opportunity to be alone with Star, right? Anyway, Blade's senses are sealed, so it doesn't matter. This is a great opportunity to get closer! Right, right?"

Seemingly very proud of his deduction, Stark puffed out his chest proudly.

Looking at Feilun behind him, whose cheeks were flushed and who looked a little awkward, Zane rubbed his forehead speechlessly. He had been hoping that these two would get together someday, but now it seemed impossible to expect this silly boy Stark to figure things out.

Star did have some questions she wanted to ask, but just as she was about to ask, Kafka proposed playing a truth game.

The game had a bit of a competitive element. Both sides would ask each other questions, and lying was allowed, but the answers had to be one truth and one lie. As for which was true and which was false, only the questioner would know.

Kafka didn't have much time and allowed Star to ask two questions, but she also had to give two answers.

The first question was not important; answering with truth or lies was fine. The fun of this game lay in the second question. So Kafka quickly asked Star the first question: "How do you see me?"

(Huh? How... do I see Kafka?)

Facing Kafka's slightly smiling eyes, Star, who was answering the question, seemed a little flustered. After some thought, she decided to lie on the first question.

Taking a deep breath, Star said, "I hate you."

"...Heh." There wasn't much surprise in Kafka's eyes. She still kept her smile, unperturbed: "See... it's like this. It's very simple, Star. You really hide your thoughts well."

It was Star's turn to ask. Because of her Remembrance loss, she wanted to find some answers from Kafka: "Who was I before?"

"You?...You were a life unexpectedly created by a star god, with only a body but no soul. Elio guided me to find you, and you gained a soul."

"There's nothing to say about your past. You remember me because you've only seen me. When your soul was born, I was by your side," Kafka said calmly and confidently.

Emiya Household—

"This should be a lie, right?"

"Hmm... I'm more inclined towards it being the truth." Saber carefully analyzed what Kafka had just said, her brows slightly furrowed. "This woman always looks confident no matter what she says. It's hard to guess whether it's true or false."

"If Kafka's words are true, it would explain why Star could receive glances from Nanook and Clipper while others couldn't. As such a special creation, containing a stellaron within her body can also be explained..."

"But a star god's creation should have some more special abilities, right?" Emiya Shirou remembered when Star first appeared, she started fighting with just a baseball bat, completely unremarkable.

"No, she does have them," Lancer shook the beer in his can and said calmly. "The difference between her and others is that everyone else's paths are fixed, but she can switch between different paths—holding a bat means Destruction, holding a fiery spear means preservation. It's probably something even Emissaries can't do, right?"

"Thinking about these things is pointless for now. We still have to see Kafka's second answer."

"'I saw your expression—don't ask. I can't tell you if the answer is true or false. Feel free to guess and choose the next question based on the answer. I hope your next question is interesting enough~'"

"'But before that, shall we continue our truth game? It's my turn again.'"

The corners of Kafka's mouth curved slightly, like ripples on a lake surface stirred by a spring breeze: "Second question: Do you want to see me again?"