"Heh heh," Sella smiled smugly, "looks like you've already realized your own shallowness, Miss Sajyou. The world is far bigger than you can imagine, don't be too conceited."
It's her first time going far from home, yet she used such words to mock an omniscient and omnipotent monster.
'Sella, I, Emiya Shirou, am willing to call you the strongest!'
"...", For a moment, Sajyou Manaka indeed had nothing to say.
Feeling the timing was about right, Shirou speedily packed up the stuff.
"Give me... Berserker," The low-presence Liz spoke on her own behalf.
Shirou didn't refuse, handing her the lighter items.
Speaking of which, there wasn't much left. There was still some tea, but the desserts were completely gone. One of their plans was to eat dinner at the restaurant.
"Let's go," Shirou called Medea.
"Berserker, carry me," Illya felt that the stimulation to Sajyou Manaka wasn't enough, and reached out for Shirou to carry her.
Shirou shook his head helplessly and picked her up under the armpits.
Because of this, the other part of the stuff ended up in Sella's hands.
Liz went to exchange items with Sella again.
"Hey, don't think I can't carry anything," Medea snatched the items from Liz's hands.
The heavy stuff was mostly tea. The camera was still hanging around Shirou's neck.
"Wait a moment," Sajyou Manaka called out to Shirou.
"What is it?", Illya asked cutely, "Just saying in advance, Berserker won't be given to you."
Even now she didn't forget to provoke.
In a certain sense, women are truly terrifying.
"No problem, I'll personally snatch him away."
A flower was only struck by a powerful raindrop for a moment, just a moment. Sajyou Manaka's strength was indeed unusual.
Trying to make her mind collapse with just a piece of cake? You might as well hope for the old Saber to stab from behind.
The delicate flower smiled, "If I'm not mistaken, you all brought up something like a 'cooking duel(shokugeki)' challenge, right? Are you going to leave before I even answer?"
Shirou's figure halted, the expression on his face as cold as a husky's in minus fifty-degree snow.
How awful.
He subconsciously thought that after eating his matcha cake, Sajyou Manaka would give up on the Shokugeki.
Why? Cooking Skill: EX. That gave him confidence.
"Being disrespected? That's a bit troubling," Realizing Shirou's true thoughts, Sajyou Manaka looked like a girl just rejected and pondering how to mend the relationship.
That sense of innocence and distress she displayed made one instinctively want to comfort her.
Couldn't bear to see her frown even a little, couldn't bear to see her troubled by anything, couldn't bear to let her lose the purest part of being a girl. Sajyou Manaka, a girl who could evoke bias from others just with her looks.
"Is this how I usually face people? So calm it's like I ignore everything. Should I say it's detestable, or just that strong people are meant to be like this?", She gently touched her lips, the sense of fragility infinitely magnified, and the clarity in her eyes shimmered like waves.
It was a kind of unbelievable purity.
Even calm water would ripple, even stubborn stone couldn't resist erosion over time.
This woman was different, she had no heart. With no heart, she didn't care about anything. Not caring meant no distractions, no distractions meant the soul was clear, and such clarity, that was her essence.
At this moment, Shirou saw through the girl.
Even so, her beautifully dazzling figure had almost reached a level where one could ignore her flaws.
So, Shirou confirmed.
He truly hated this girl, hated her to the point of not needing any reason, hated her enough to use any means against her.
"Saber's Master," Medea asked, "Are you agreeing to the cooking duel?"
"Yes, that's right," Sajyou Manaka put her hands behind her back, tilted her head, and smiled, "If the wager is Berserker."
"No way!", Illya sneered, "Berserker absolutely cannot be wagered, he's my most important family."
As if polluted spring water purified at the moment, even the sound of rushing water hitting rock could become a pleasant rhythm.
Shirou's mood suddenly relaxed. Same as always, repeated three times a day.
'Illya is the best!'
"Using Saber is no good either?"
"Manaka!", Artoria was so shocked she crushed the chip bag in her hand.
Shirou could guarantee all the chips inside were now powder.
"Sorry Saber, I made an inappropriate joke," Realizing her mistake, Sajyou Manaka immediately apologized sincerely to Artoria.
A sudden doubt arose in her heart.
'Am I just being impulsive?'
It seemed like her emotions were suddenly beyond her control.
"Mm, I understand. Please don't do that again," Artoria's expression eased as she accepted the apology.
Sajyou Manaka, as if relieved, smiled brightly, "Thank you, Saber. It makes me happy to be understood by you."
"No, I should be the one thanking you."
After settling things with Artoria, Sajyou Manaka turned to Shirou with an apologetic expression, "Sorry, just now Manaka was a little rude."
Shirou once again confirmed, Sajyou Manaka is a very terrifying girl.
He communicated with Illya, not by speaking directly, but through the kind of silent Master-Servant link outsiders couldn't hear, ["Illya, do you trust me?"]
Illya didn't nod, but said expressionlessly, ["Whatever Berserker decides to do, I trust you."]
["Thank you."]
Shirou gently squeezed Illya's soft little hand and set her down.
"Saber's Master, I can allow you to use Saber as a wager."
"You!", Artoria hadn't finished speaking.
Sella questioned first, "Berserker, are you going to break our agreement, and betray Illya-sama?"
"Don't be so agitated, maid of the Einzberns," Medea urged her to calm down.
"Illya-sama!", Sella hoped she would say something.
Illya's crimson eyes flickered and she shook her head, "It's fine. Berserker told me in advance, I agreed to it."
"Didn't expect you to agree so suddenly," As soon as Sajyou Manaka started speaking, Artoria locked her with her holy and verdant gaze.
"Manaka."
Without a word, Sajyou Manaka played with her hair, her face hidden in shadow.
After a moment, she looked up playfully, "Too bad, Berserker, Saber is very important to me, not for sale."
Artoria relaxed. Her Master did not disappoint her.
"Of course," Having failed to stir trouble, Shirou was unmoved.
He was only testing her from the start, he never actually intended that outcome.
Even if Sajyou Manaka truly agreed, he wouldn't offer himself as a wager.
Not due to lack of confidence in his cooking. But because something more important was at stake.
Illya trusted him, and he had chosen Illya. No matter what, using himself as a wager would be no different from betrayal.
That's something he would absolutely never do.
"A wise choice, Saber's Master."
"Please call me Manaka," Even knowing it was impossible, Manaka still politely extended the invitation.
"Alright, Saber's Master."
Invitation rejected.
"I never planned to use myself as a wager from the beginning."
"Hmm?", Sajyou Manaka's expression changed slightly. She had noticed something earlier, 'So this Berserker really has been stirring up trouble.'
'A Berserker with this level of intelligence?'
"Berserker," Sajyou Manaka smiled faintly, "I believe I said, the wager must be you or I will not…"
"Don't be so absolute," Shirou's gaze was calm, "What if it's the secret of why my cooking glows?"
"You finally admitted it," Sella looked like she'd caught a rat showing its tail, "I knew there was a secret!!"
"Oh?", This indeed piqued Sajyou Manaka's interest, "In that case, I'll use…"
"I set the wager," Shirou meant: the chip from your side will also be chosen by me.
"So overbearing," Sajyou Manaka narrowed her eyes slightly, then smiled after a while, "If it's too much, I'll reject it, Berserker."
"Of course. If I were your Master, even if it were too much, I'd find a way. Holy Grail excluded, because the Holy Grail is already promised to Saber."
Compared to Sajyou Manaka's light tone, Medea grew displeased.
"Tch! You're already treating the Holy Grail as your personal property? I say, even the most arrogant modern magi should know their limits, right?"
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