In the afternoon, Shirou finished his physical strength training.
Looking at the unmoving "B" on the panel, he scratched his hair in frustration.
'System-san, is your training method flawed? Why is my strength improving slower than a turtle?'
The system didn't respond. Shirou didn't mind and prepared to go take a bath and make some dessert.
Passing through the main hall, he saw Sella's resentful gaze while she was cleaning.
Her food rations had been majorly cut. Everyone at the dinner table had ganged up on her, constantly saying she was fat, making her like a bullied child, almost blurting out something like "I'm not playing with you guys anymore."
In any case, this was definitely one of the black histories she didn't want to recall.
Because of this turning point, she made up her mind to control her diet and lose weight.
Shirou was unmoved by her resentment and arrived at the bathhouse.
Sometimes, a bathhouse being too big could make people feel uneasy.
The Einzbern bathhouse was operated by magecraft, always had hot water, and was even clean enough to drink.
If Shirou didn't lack that kind of fetish, he might've really drunk the bathwater.
Amid the rising steam, Shirou took a shower, looked at the spacious bath, and thought, 'Haven't soaked in a while. I'll soak for ten minutes.'
Then, not caring how hot the water was, he wrapped a towel and stepped in.
"Phew~"
The trained muscles were finally relaxed, and it felt like two months of accumulated fatigue had been wiped away.
Shirou exhaled in comfort, inwardly sighing that he should've come earlier.
Since he was a Servant, he didn't sweat. Aside from psychological reasons prompting him to shower daily, he never considered soaking in a bath.
Looking at the sky, life really couldn't go on without a bath.
[Strength: B+]
'See, even the system acknowledges it.'
So Shirou decided that from now on, after every training session, he had to soak for ten minutes.
"Splash~"
From below the bath's surface, a scene like a beauty emerging from water appeared before his eyes.
The graceful curves were obscured by the steam of the bathroom. Slightly curled silver-white long hair hung damp over her shoulders.
Shirou's expression remained calm.
Steam couldn't hinder a Servant's vision. So the reason he was this calm was—
[Absolute Reasoning: A]
'Your standing in my heart has finally risen a little.'
Not only that, Shirou even greeted naturally, "Good afternoon, Liz."
"Af-afternoon, Berserker," Liz rubbed her eyes, stepping with her long legs, wanting to approach Shirou.
Shirou rose without a trace of expression, wrapped his towel, and said, "I've finished my soak, Liz. Take your time and be careful."
Illya was probably napping, otherwise Liz wouldn't have come to bathe.
———
Do you think Shirou was so virtuous that he could think of something else?
He was just diverting attention.
After exiting the bathhouse, Shirou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
[Strength: B+]
'System-san, even you think looking at pretty girls is good for mental and physical health, huh?', Shirou nodded in approval.
'Not bad, this system is still kind of smart.'
After this brief episode, it was dinner time.
Sella was banned by Shirou from entering the kitchen, bringing the dishes was left to Liz.
Her skin glowed with a soft red hue. Her delicate and cute little face also carried a faint blush.
'Why is your embarrassment always delayed, Liz?', Shirou thought idly.
While eating, Illya asked curiously, "Liz, why is your face always red?"
"H-Hot!", Liz stammered.
Having already finished her dinner, Sella shifted her gaze from Shirou's plate, her expression skeptical, "Liz, it's January. What's hot?"
Liz: "..."
Shirou calmly took a sip of soup and fanned himself.
'It really is kind of hot… in Fuyuki City in January.'
"Are there cherry blossoms around this time?", Illya, bored, had asked Sella to buy a Fuyuki City travel guide during her shopping trip.
She found that at the end of January here, cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
"Berserker, shall we go see the cherry blossoms together tomorrow?", Illya extended an invitation.
Shirou glanced at Sella.
"Why are you looking at me?", Sella sat upright and said, "If you want to go, go."
The preparations for the Einzbern estate were mostly complete. It was appropriate to let the young lady go out for a bit.
"Wanna come with us?", Shirou suggested.
"No, I still need to clean," Sella bluntly refused.
"Berserker," Illya adjusted her dress, kneeled on the bench, hands resting on the solid wood table, cupping her cheeks, "I knew Sella would definitely refuse, so I'm only inviting you."
If Sella didn't go, Liz surely wouldn't either.
"That's to be expected, Illya-sama," Sella replied sincerely, "The castle must be cleaned daily without slacking. Just let Berserker accompany you for protection duties."
"Don't you get bored cleaning every day, Sella?", Illya couldn't clean to begin with, literally incapable.
Even though she was a genius, her experience with housekeeping was basically zero.
A good reference is the 2006 version. During the Ahoge route, when Shirou went to school, Illya tried cleaning the Emiya house.
She ended up flipping over herself and the bucket while wiping the floor, ridiculously cute.
That was also the happiest ending Illya had across the three routes. And even so, she died a year after the Holy Grail War ended.
Then Shirou Emiya spent his entire life, forgetting everything, even his name and his ideals as a hero of justice, ultimately chasing after a miracle called "Avalon" to reunite with Artoria.
Merlin probably lent a hand in that.
"Berserker? Berserker?"
"What is it, Sella?",nShirou finished the last sip of his soup.
Sella's fingers tapped the wooden table, an expression of impatience.
"Did you hear what I just said?"
"Of course, protect Illya."
Don't be fooled by Shirou's distraction, he could multitask.
Sella's expression eased a bit, "Good. I'll prepare the necessary items for Illya-sama's outing. For Japan, should we bring a picnic mat, tea, and snacks?"
"Hmm?", Shirou focused, "Sella's not coming with us?"
Sella crossed her arms with a tsundere expression, "As the Einzbern head maid, I need to take care of this castle. Where would I find time?"
In truth, she planned to secretly use Shirou's gym equipment to lose weight.
"Illya, what kind of sweets do you want while we watch cherry blossoms? We can also bring a lunchbox. If you want to eat outside, let Sella bring money."
"We can eat outside?", Illya flopped onto the table like a salted fish, her posture utterly improper.
"Just once won't hurt."
"Then I want to try Fuyuki City's specialty foods."
"Okay, I'll take you to look around."
Sella couldn't stand it anymore,n"Hey, can you listen to me?"
"..."
"Then it's settled, we're also going to the amusement park, the park, and the beach tomorrow!"
"That's too much, let's take it one place at a time."
"Yeah, we'll leave everything to Sella, let her lose weight," This line was spoken by Illya.
Liz unusually chimed in, "Sella, lose weight."
Sella: "..."
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