Chapter 161 — Emiya is the Kind of Person Who Could Become My Father
Since he was very, very small, Fushiguro Megumi had no idea what kind of situation his father was in.
That man had never come to visit him. Perhaps a long, long time ago, Megumi had longed for him, fantasizing about how wonderful it would be to have a father as a protective umbrella. But that fantasy had long since been killed by cruel reality during his childhood.
At that time, all he knew was that his father was a son-in-law who had married into the Fushiguro family, and that he himself was someone who had his surname changed to Fushiguro as a result—because his father had fathered him with another woman, his true mother, before marrying into the Fushiguro house.
However, before long, his new mother passed away from illness due to some cause, and his father left the Fushiguro household, never to return.
Logically speaking, a child who was a complete outsider like him would inevitably face exclusion and abuse within the Fushiguro family; being kicked out of the house directly would have been entirely expected.
Fortunately, his stepmother had also raised a daughter before meeting his father: his sister, Fushiguro Tsumiki.
Despite having no blood relation, his sister took care of him in every possible way, even though they—having lost their parents together—were never looked upon kindly by the Fushiguro relatives.
For two children under the age of ten, left with only a small inheritance from their mother, would their distant relatives truly harbor much goodwill toward them?
Although Gojo Satoru showed up shortly after and adopted the siblings together, as for a man like that... one shouldn't expect him to act like a proper guardian or provide normal emotional support.
So, for most of his childhood, Fushiguro Tsumiki acted as Megumi's mother figure. She was that kind of good person—gentle to her brother and full of kindness toward everyone.
It seems that in the growth process of a normal child, the love of both a father and a mother is indispensable. Megumi had only felt a semblance of maternal love from his sister, and that was only when he was very young; as he grew older, his self-esteem made it impossible to endure that kind of dynamic.
In his life, Megumi had never met anyone more concerned for him than her. Gojo Satoru was a guardian who provided money but ignored everything else, and school teachers generally didn't pay much attention to a student's personal feelings.
It wasn't until he met Emiya-sensei that Fushiguro Megumi truly felt what it was like to receive care from a teacher. Because of the difference in their status, he didn't feel a strong aversion to that care.
One could say... Emiya was already the male elder who cared about him the most?
Well, that required ignoring the fact that the age difference between them was actually negligible—a fact Megumi was beginning to forget entirely.
Precisely because of this, he worked so hard when Emiya gave him a direction for improvement. Aside from his own desire to grow stronger, he also wanted to earn Emiya's praise and recognition, much like a child always wants to show their impressive side to their father.
That was why, when his utilization of the " Heavenly Vow " power showed its first signs of success, he had come to Emiya so excitedly to verify his results. This wasn't something he needed to think about consciously; in his subconscious, he already believed that once he improved, Emiya would surely give him praise and affirmation.
What Fushiguro Megumi completely failed to expect was that Emiya-sensei, at a moment already worth celebrating, brought him even better news: his sister was about to wake up.
He had indeed requested that Emiya check on his sister's condition, but he hadn't harbored high expectations. After all, Fushiguro Tsumiki had been in a coma for a year, and numerous jujutsu sorcerers at the High School, including Gojo Satoru, were completely helpless.
On what grounds could he demand that Emiya succeed?
But in the short time before Megumi could even shift his mindset, Emiya had already returned with the good news. There was no rollercoaster of emotions, no disappointment followed by hope; simply by standing there, Emiya brought him the greatest hope directly.
"...Is it true?"
Emotionally speaking, humans are creatures controlled by feelings; medically speaking, humans are just animals controlled by hormones. But regardless of which truth holds, when emotions in a certain area reach an extreme, it is inevitable for a person to enter a state where they cannot clearly control themselves—just like Fushiguro Megumi right now.
He no longer knew what words to use to express his current feelings, and for a moment, he couldn't think of what to say, so he inexplicably blurted out that single question.
"Of course it's true. Do you think I would lie to you about something like this?"
Based on the choice of words, there seemed to be a hint of dissatisfaction, but Emiya's tone was purely one of relaxed teasing, mainly intended to help Megumi's emotions settle a bit.
"Is that so? I see..."
Megumi dazed out for another moment, and even the Shikigami in front of him unconsciously reverted to a shadow state and slowly dissipated.
"What is it? Is everything okay?"
Emiya stepped forward, wanting to check on Megumi's state, only to see the boy suddenly straighten up and bow deeply toward him.
"Thank you very much, Emiya-sensei!!!"
Seeing this, Emiya didn't choose to stop him. Instead, he stood a short distance away and let a slight smile play on his lips.
"What's this? I thought something happened. Even if you insist on doing something to thank me, now isn't the time, right?
Do you want to go see your sister now? Or wait until she's fully awake? Principal Yaga has likely already arranged for medical monitoring personnel.
Also, there are some problems that haven't been resolved yet. Though not immediately life-threatening, you must be very careful..."
Emiya explained Tsumiki's physical condition and the fact that the Shroud of Saint Martin must absolutely not be removed.
Emiya felt a bit as though he hadn't solved the matter perfectly, but to Megumi, this was already an incredible situation. Previously, when he had no way to deal with the curse, no one knew if it was the type that would suddenly take her life after a certain time; she was essentially on the edge of a dangerous cliff every moment.
But now, even though there was an inescapable safety risk, it was under Emiya's control. Megumi knew very well which was more dangerous: an unpredictable threat or a fully sealed cursed object. Furthermore, even if the curse wasn't lifted, the cursed object had already been on Tsumiki in an unsealed state. Emiya had solved two problems at once.
"No matter what, I must thank you, Emiya-sensei... though you're right, just saying thanks is useless.
I will definitely work hard to use the power of the Heavenly Vow to develop the 'Ten Shadows Technique.' Once I have enough strength, I can truly be of help to you!"
At this moment, Megumi was truly full of motivation!
The next to take the stage would be Student Fushiguro, desperately studying "card-playing" (combat) techniques. Playing cards by day, playing cards by night—as long as it doesn't kill him, he'll play to the death!
"But, sorry, I have to go to my sister's side now... I want to keep watch until the moment she wakes up."
Even though his sister was finally going to wake up, Megumi couldn't help but feel uneasy; he wanted to be there. Additionally, after being in a coma for so long, his sister would surely be confused about many things upon waking, and she would need him to answer them.
"I know. Go on."
"Thank you again, Emiya-sensei!"
Emiya watched Megumi depart—looking much more cheerful than before—and a smile stayed on his own lips.
'This feeling... is probably like the heartfelt smile of an old father seeing his child?'
After Megumi left, Emiya briefly checked and guided the other students' training status. Afterward, he returned to his room, intending to increase his stock of Noble Phantasms to prepare for emergencies.
Emiya realized that Noble Phantasms were things you could never have enough of; a sufficient stock was necessary to solve many problems. For example, regarding "Tengen" earlier today—if Emiya hadn't pre-stocked so many Rule Breakers, getting the other party to compromise so quickly wouldn't have been nearly as easy.
But the moment Emiya pushed open the door, what met his eyes was Gojo Satoru, who had the freezer door open and was rummaging through everything wantonly—
"Oh, you're back?
Come here, come here! I'm starving to death!"
"...."
"It's only just afternoon, isn't it? Why are you back so early?"
Emiya sighed helplessly, entered the room, and closed the door. He gently took the ingredients Gojo had picked out.
Unsurprisingly, there were very few "gross" vegetables.
"Something so important happened on your end, how could I waste time outside?
I just finished off the enemies and hurried back immediately."
Having said that, Gojo not only gave Emiya a thumbs-up but also flashed a row of bright, white teeth.
Was he praising Emiya for giving "Tengen" a beating—doing something Gojo wanted to do but hadn't yet?
"So, Principal Yaga told you everything?" Emiya asked.
"Ah, that's right.
Ancient sorcerers from a thousand years ago... just guys clinging to life until now, yet they dare to act so recklessly. It's like they've grown tired of their own disgusting, maggot-like long lives...
But speaking of which, I think I encountered a problem on my way back?"
Gojo didn't seem to want to discuss the previous topic further. He immediately shifted into a different persona, speaking to Emiya in an ambiguous tone: "Yeah, I remember now. Apparently, some people came to the Tokyo school to look for you.
Two beautiful young girls, a crone old enough to lose her teeth, and even a young man...
Emiya-kun, your time management doesn't seem very good. Do you want me to teach you?"
"...Ha?"
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