There was once a person who was very afraid. Not afraid of death, but after knowing this was the Type-Moon world, he feared he wouldn't be able to give Miyu a happy ending.
Even if he sacrificed himself, those important to him would still feel sorrow for his death.
Thinking that sacrificing himself would bring happiness to the saved, this was a form of selfishness.
He didn't want to embrace that kind of selfishness.
So, no one, absolutely no one, was allowed to casually disturb his daily life.
"Mm~", At the Emiya household's dining table, if Taiga turned into a tiger, she'd definitely be a tiger that only wags its tail.
"It's delicious, Sella!", Taiga gave high praise for her cooking.
"You flatter me, Fujimura-san," Sella's manners were impeccable. In contrast, Liz was slouchy and adorably vacant.
"Liz, how can you be so sloppy during meals," Sella let out a scolding.
"What's the big deal?", Liz spoke vacantly and cutely, "Milady and Miss Miyu are like this too."
"So stop giving me more chores, alright?"
Sella rubbed her forehead helplessly, "Seriously, all of them care so much about where Shirou went, they should just ask directly."
That's right, Shirou had gone out.
Before dinner even started, he put on his shoes and went out, and even requested leave from Taiga, he wouldn't be going to school.
Taiga's first reaction was to refuse, and she asked him what he was going to do.
Shirou didn't answer, only gave her the most serious gaze.
He knew, he had broken his word. He once said that he'd be honest with his family. But if it concerned the Holy Grail War, no matter what, he didn't want Fuji-nee and the others to be involved. That included Illya.
So, Taiga lost to Shirou and let him leave.
It couldn't be helped. It was the first time Shirou had pleaded so seriously, she really couldn't refuse.
Thus, without even saying goodbye to Illya or Miyu, Shirou just left quietly.
As a result, during dinner, everyone kept distractedly glancing toward the door.
"Sigh!"
'After just two days, Milady already looks like she have lost her soul, as if she can't live without Shirou,' Sella felt incredibly stifled, more and more convinced she couldn't hand over Milady to Shirou.
'At most, I can hand myself over. That's it!' [T/N: Absolutely.]
———
Mid-April's weather was already inexplicably starting to heat up.
They say some places were still snowing this time of year. The details went beyond Shirou's knowledge gap, so there's no need to elaborate.
After the system confirmed that this world had no magi and no Holy Grail War, Shirou decided to see the truth with his own eyes.
He wasn't too paranoid. But a gas explosion, and the location being Fuyuki Bridge, no matter how you looked at it, it was unsettling.
This time it was Fuyuki Bridge, would next time be the academy?
What if he just happened to be left behind by some unknown twist of fate again?
And then, just his luck, he caught that so-called gas explosion the experts mentioned and died gloriously?
And finally, some Rin-type girl would appear at the critical moment and shout—
『I am Servant Saber, summoned under your command…』
That would suck too much. In any case, Shirou absolutely didn't want that kind of development.
'System, I'll give you one more chance. Confess honestly, and help me quickly master EX-rank Projection Magecraft, and I'll let bygones be bygones.'
["I suggest you stop daydreaming."]
'Very well, let's see who's right.'
In any case, Shirou hoped he was just overthinking.
Arriving at Fuyuki Bridge, all the cars were jammed together. The bridge made of red reinforced concrete looked imposing and majestic.
From bridgehead to bridge end, everything was sealed off. Shirou stood at the riverbank of Mion River, looking up from below, he couldn't see anything that looked like a gas explosion.
He stared hard for a while, but still couldn't see anything.
Helpless, he sighed and pulled out his phone. This was the method he least wanted to use.
He swiped the screen, found Kiritsugu's number, and hesitated slightly as he dialed.
'You're up, Mr. Hosting Mode.'
'Give me a lie detector.'
Then he dialed Kiritsugu's number.
System Shirou wore a blank expression, eyes cold.
The ringtone rang for two seconds before being picked up.
["Moshi moshi?"], Kiritsugu's voice sounded confused, ["Shirou, did Illya bother you again?"]
"No."
Shirou, in a tone colder than -40°C, said, "Kiritsugu, I ask, you answer."
There was a pause on the other end, it seemed he hadn't expected his adopted son to sound so commanding.
But he didn't think too much of it, assuming something urgent was going on.
["Ask."]
"Are you a magus?"
["Ah?"]
On the other end, Kiritsugu sounded stunned.
Shirou pressed with aggression, "Answer me quickly."
["N-No,"] Kiritsugu was flustered, almost biting his tongue.
The aura was so intense, it felt oppressive even through the phone.
"Do you know about the Holy Grail War?"
["What?"], Kiritsugu wondered if his ears were full of water, or stuffed with sponges.
"Forget it!"
Hosting mode cancel.
Shirou's tone returned to calm, "Sorry, Kiritsugu. For talking to you in that tone."
["No, it's fine,"] Kiritsugu answered immediately.
["Is something troubling you?"]
Shirou sighed, "Yeah. I've been writing a novel lately. The theme is about magi and the Holy Grail War, and I'm having trouble finding inspiration."
["So that's what it is."]
Kiritsugu chuckled, ["Anything I can help with?"]
"If you were a magus, that'd help a lot."
["Well then, that's a bit unfortunate,"] Kiritsugu said, ["If you mean magic tricks, I could introduce you to someone, but I suppose that's not what you meant."]
"Indeed not."
Shirou sounded disappointed, chatted a little more with Kiritsugu, and hung up.
Bang!
He stood by the riverside railing for a while, then suddenly punched the railing hard.
'No lies. At least according to Hosting mode's results.'
'So, is it the system that has a problem, or me?'
The surface of the Mion River was calm. As if covered with a transparent membrane, no ripples at all.
Shirou hoped this wasn't the last moment of peace.
He asked, "System, can I trust you?"
["..."]
["Given the current results, doubt is the most appropriate action."]
"I understand."
Shirou made his decision. He turned and left Fuyuki Bridge, taking the train home.
———
Half an hour later, he rushed to the warehouse.
Sella, who was cleaning, frowned as she saw Shirou rushing in, and couldn't help but complain, "Seriously, I just finished cleaning."
He opened the warehouse door.
Under the play of light, the dust danced like fairies. Unfortunately, they were evil fairies that attacked human lungs.
"Cough! Cough…", Shirou covered his mouth and walked in.
This warehouse had been abandoned long ago, back when he hadn't yet learned Projection Magecraft from Kiritsugu.
At first, he had been excited. He looked forward to Kiritsugu teaching him magic. But time proved, on the surface, this world was very ordinary.
He cleared all the piled-up junk to the side, old TVs, fans, desk lamps… Shirou grabbed a broom and swept furiously.
In just one hour, the warehouse was completely clean, something even system-assisted Hosting mode couldn't accomplish.
Only Housekeeping EX Shirou could do it. But Shirou himself really hated doing chores.
The only thing that could make him willingly do housework, was family.
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