Chapter 37: Preparations for "Fishing"
After deducing that the one who stole Bell's weapon was someone capable of changing their appearance, Shirou realized he needed to proceed with great caution.
He wasn't afraid of strong enemies, but if the opponent could freely change appearances and hide in the shadows, even he couldn't afford to underestimate them.
A single careless mistake might allow the culprit to escape, and then it would be extremely difficult to find them again.
Still, Shirou remained calm.
He already had a method in mind to deal with the supporter girl and was determined to teach her a painful lesson.
At the very least, he couldn't let her get away with stealing something without consequences.
Therefore, Shirou secretly negotiated with the pawnshop owner, asking him to spread word about the true value of the dagger when customers came in, and preferably to also leak that the dagger had already been returned to its rightful owner.
The pawnshop owner was, of course, baffled by Shirou's strange request and couldn't quite understand it.
But after Shirou offered some compensation—and dragged the Sword Princess out to add some intimidation—the shopkeeper quickly and obediently agreed.
Once the owner had agreed to act according to Shirou's plan, Shirou left the pawnshop with Ais.
"Why did you want the shopkeeper to spread that information?" Ais asked suddenly on the way, clearly curious and not understanding Shirou's actions.
"Have you ever gone fishing, Miss Ais?" Shirou responded with a completely unrelated question.
"Fishing? I haven't," Ais shook her head. "But I've caught fish in the dungeon before. You just stab them with a sword and you can catch quite a few from the underground rivers. Though sometimes there are monster fish down there. Last time, I nearly got swallowed by one."
"That… sounds like quite the experience," Shirou said with a twitching mouth, inwardly marveling at how adventurous an adventurer's life could be.
Then he quickly brought the conversation back on topic. "Since you don't know, let me explain simply. Fishing is when you put bait on a hook, throw it into the river where the fish swim, and wait for the fish to be lured by the bait. When it bites the hook, you reel it in."
"You mean to say…?" Ais looked more and more confused.
"In short, what I'm doing is like fishing. Even though we can't find that adventurer who stole the item, if we throw out bait and they take the bite, we can catch the culprit in one go!" Shirou roughly explained, though he didn't go into detail about the entire plan.
Ais didn't seem interested in fully understanding anyway. She muttered, "You sound a lot like Finn. I can't follow when things get too complicated."
"Well, let's stop talking about catching the culprit for now. How about we find a place where I can cook for you?" Shirou invited her. "You helped me a lot today. And last time I promised you crepes, but that got ruined by the monster attack. So this time, I'll make you some myself."
"Crepes…" Ais's eyes immediately lit up, and she even started drooling a little.
But she quickly restrained herself and tried to act nonchalant. "Fine, I'll have some crepes."
"Alright." Shirou nodded and began walking with Ais in a certain direction.
"Where are we going?" Ais asked in confusion.
"To the Hostess of Fertility," Shirou replied quietly. "That tavern agreed to let me work there, so I can borrow their kitchen tools."
Currently, the biggest issue with the Hestia Familia's base was its poor condition.
They didn't even have a proper kitchen, so Shirou had no opportunity to cook.
But he didn't complain—he preferred that the familia's funds be used for more critical matters.
So if he wanted to cook, he had to borrow the tavern's facilities.
.
.
.
At the Hostess of Fertility Tavern
"You finally showed up, brat!"
As soon as Shirou stepped into the tavern, the owner Mia warmly greeted him. But she was clearly surprised to see the Sword Princess Ais following behind him.
"Sword Princess? What's going on here?"
"Emiya said he's going to treat me to some food," Ais said bluntly, stating her purpose without hesitation.
Shirou scratched his head awkwardly. "Would it be alright if I borrowed your kitchen? As a return favor, I can help out with the work here today."
"Haha, of course, you're more than welcome." Mia nodded and led Shirou into the kitchen. "Use whatever ingredients and tools you want. You can make whatever dishes you like, but it's best if they're of the same kind—that way I can add them to today's menu."
"Thank you."
Hearing how generous Mia was being, Shirou knew she was going out of her way to accommodate him.
So he put his full effort into preparing the upcoming meal.
The dish of choice, naturally, was the crepes he had promised Ais.
Before cooking, Shirou checked the ingredients.
To his surprise, the tavern had a wide variety of ingredients, all of exceptionally high quality—the best of the best.
Even an average cook could make a superb meal using these ingredients, let alone someone like Shirou with top-tier culinary skills.
And so, when Shirou's skill combined with the top-class ingredients of the Hostess of Fertility, the final result was an otherworldly meal that nearly shook the entire tavern.
"Is this… is this even real food?"
Syr, Ryuu, and the other waitresses forgot all about their duties and crowded around the kitchen door, staring at the dish Shirou had created.
Some of them even thought they saw the dish emitting a golden glow!
Well… that was just an illusion.
"Um, why don't you all have a taste?" Shirou said helplessly, as his focus on cooking was completely disrupted by the surrounding girls. Unable to resist their curiosity any longer, he offered them a sample.
"It's delicious! It's explosively good!" shouted a beastman waitress named Anya in excitement.
Ryuu, standing nearby, gave her a deadpan look and said, "You haven't even taken a bite yet."
"Come on, just seeing such a divine dish is already enough to satisfy my soul," Anya replied.
In a way, Anya's reaction represented the feelings of the other waitresses.
Just looking at Shirou's cooking made them feel an unprecedented level of satisfaction. They couldn't even imagine what it would taste like.
As for the person this meal was actually meant for—Miss Ais, who had previously claimed she wasn't interested in food—she now looked like a starving stray dog waiting to be fed, already seated at the table with impatient anticipation.