"Sorry, I've got somewhere else to be. See you," Shirou said as he quickly left the cafeteria, leaving Arturia, Ishtar, Parvati, Sitonai, Astraea, Irisviel, Kiritsugu, Jaguar-Man, and EMIYA behind.
At that moment, everyone was confused with what just happened, especially Arturia.
"Okay. What is going on with Emiya-kun lately? He's becoming so busy lately..." Ishtar said.
"Yeah. It kind of reminds me of what I used to be..." Arturia said.
"Nee-san, do you have any idea of what's going on with senpai?" Parvati asked. Ishtar nodded her head sideways in reply. "I see..."
"Mou! Shirou better not be hiding any secrets from me!" Jaguar-man yelled.
"Calm down Jaguar-man," Irisviel said with a smile on her face.
"Still though, it's not like onii-chan to be this busy. Even though he may have his reasons, at least he could have told us about it first..." Sitonai said.
"Exactly! Keeping secrets from others isn't good for one's mental health!" Astraea yelled.
Kiritsugu let out a sigh. "Don't tell me he's trying to be me...because that's not good..."
EMIYA sighed as well. "So, did anyone talk to him about his recent actions?"
"No. We tried to, but we couldn't have a chance to. Speaking of which, do you have any idea about his actions Archer?" Arturia asked.
"Sorry to disappoint all of you, but I have no clue on what's going on with him as well," EMIYA replied.
"I see..."
For a moment, everyone was silent as they were thinking about Shirou's recent behavior and why he was so secretive lately. That was then Irisviel had an idea come to her head.
"Hey! I have an idea!" Irisviel said with a smile on her face.
"What is it mama?" Sitonai asked.
"Simple! I'll follow him to see what he's been up to!"
For a moment, Arturia, Ishtar, Parvati, Sitonai, Astraea, Kiritsugu, Jaguar-Man, and EMIYA were dumbfounded at Irisviel's suggestion. Despite hearing many of Irisviel's crazy ideas in the past, this one trumped all her ideas in total.
"What? Is there something wrong everyone?" Irisviel asked innocently.
"Well...yeah! I mean, suggesting stalking your own adoptive son?! That is a bit too crazy, even for me!" Ishtar said.
"Exactly! How did you produce this idea?!" Parvati asked.
"Well, just think about it. If we ask Shirou about his recent actions, then he will just keep saying he is fine. Following him is the only way to find out what he's been up too!" Irisviel replied as she raised a fist in the air.
Arturia, Ishtar, Parvati, Sitonai, Astraea, Kiritsugu, Jaguar-Man, and EMIYA looked at Irisviel's behavior and sweat dropped. "Really?"
After a few more seconds of silence, Arturia continued the conversation. "Irisviel, don't you think you're going a bit overboard with this...plan of yours?"
"Nope! Now if you'll excuse, I've got a Shirou to follow! So, see you!" Irisviel exclaimed happily as she soon left the cafeteria.
At that moment, everyone was shocked at what just transpired.
"Old man...mom can be scary sometimes..." EMIYA said.
"Yeah...she can be surprisingly scary when she's dead set on something..." Kiritsugu said.
Shirou was walking in the hallway, minding his own business as he was heading towards a certain location in Chaldea. As he did, he kept turning around to see if there was anyone following him. "Okay. Looks like there's nobody following me right now..." He then turned around again and kept moving forward.
Little did he know that Irisviel was following him in the distance. "Phew. That was close. Shirou kept turning around at every corner, which makes following him harder...and more exciting as well! This is making things more interesting!" Irisviel then continued to follow Shirou as he kept walking in the hallway.
At one point, Shirou took a turn and Irisviel followed him. As she did, she saw Shirou heading into the mini mall. "Hm? The mini mall? Why is Shirou going in there? Is there something he needs to do over there?" Irisviel then continued to follow him until he went into a café. "A café? What does Shirou need to do in a café?"
Irisviel then looked outside of the café to see what Shirou was doing without getting caught. As she was waiting outside of the café, what came next gave her a smile on her face.
She saw Shirou serving customers...in a butler suit.
"Oh my. To think Shirou was doing something like this and hiding it from us...this is interesting!" Irisviel thought excitedly.
She then soon left the area for two reasons. One was to not bother him.
And the other was to tell the others...
"Have you chosen what you like?" Shirou asked a customer asked.
"Yes. I would like a short cake and a cup of coffee, please," the customer replied.
"As you wish. Your order will be ready within a few minutes," Shirou replied with a smile on his face before he went over to the counter to give the chef the order. As Shirou was giving the order to the chef, it was then that the front door to the café was opened. "Ah, welcome to Café Mald'amour."
As Shirou turned around to see who was at the front door, his eyes widen upon seeing who was at the front door.
It was Arturia and her counterparts.
Shirou's mind was in a complete blank as he was trying to figure out how Arturia and her counterparts found out about the café Shirou was working in. "What the heck? How did they find me here? And right when it's my shift?"
"Um...Shirou, are you all right?" Arturia asked, snapping Shirou out of his thoughts.
"Y-Yeah. Anyways, a table...for 13 people, correct?" Shirou asked.
"Yes."
"Well then...give me a moment." Shirou then headed towards a corner of the café. Afte a few minutes of him scuffling around in the café, he came back. "We have a table for all of you. Please follow me."
Shirou then towards a corner of the café with Arturia and her counterparts following him. As they arriced at the corner of the room, there was a giant table and 13 chairs. Arturia and her counterparts sat on the chairs while Shirou handed each of them a menu. "Give me a call when you're done with what you want to choose."
"Yes!" Arturia and her counterparts said in unison.
Shirou let out a smile and headed towards the counter, where the previous order was done and was about to given to an earlier customer.
"Wow. So that's why Shirou's been busy lately..." Arturia Lily said.
"Hmph. He doesn't have to be this secretive about a part-time job..." Arturia Alter said.
"Still though, Shirou in a butler outfit...it's been a while since we've seen him in one," Santa Arturia Alter said.
"Indeed. And it still looks good on him," Rider Arturia Alter said in agreement.
"Yeah. I wonder if Da Vinci still has that butler mystic code around..." Lancer Arturia Alter said.
"Still though, why is Shirou working here?" Lancer Arturia asked.
"Maybe he's running out of QP. Then again, I can't blame him because of the stuff Da Vinci told him to buy for those hoverboard parts," Archer Arturia said.
"Indeed. Although I'm worried if he passes out again from overworking himself like what happened to Tristan..." Ruler Arturia said.
"Um...what's with about seeing Shirou in a butler suit after a long time?" Caster Arturia asked.
"We'll tell you later. Right now, we need to order something from the menu," Mysterious Heroine X said.
"Exactly. All of this chit-chat is already making me hungry..." Mysterious Heroine XX said.
"And there's so many sweets here...all of them are making me drool..." Mysterious Heroine X Alter said.
After a few minutes has passed, Shirou came back to check on Arturia and her counterparts. "I take it that all of you are ready now?"
Arturia nodded in reply. "Yeah. We're all ready now."
Arturia and her counterparts then gave Shirou their orders to write down and Shirou headed back to counter to give the massive order to the chef. After a few minutes has passed, Shirou gave Arturia and her counterparts their orders, and they enjoyed it.
As Shirou was watching Arturia and her counterparts eat the food they ordered, Shirou asked Arturia on question.
"Hey Arturia...how did you find me here?"
"Mnph? Oh, Irisviel told us," Arturia replied.
Shirou mentally facepalmed at Arturia's answer.
Shirou was cleaning the tables, wiping the dust off of them. As he did, he heard the door to the café open. He turned around to greet the guest. "Ah, welcome to Café Mald'amour."
As he turned around, he saw Ishtar, her Rider counterpart, and Ereshkigal. Ereshkigal had a surprised look on her face while Ishtar and her Rider counterpart were close to snickering because of his greeting.
"Phhh...Emiya-Kun's greeting in the café...so priceless!" Ishtar and her rider counterpart thought in unison.
"Eh...so that's what Emiya-kun was up to recently..." Ereshkigal thought.
"Um...are all of you all right?" Shirou asked, snapping the goddesses out of their thoughts.
"Hm? Oh, yeah! A-Anyways, show us to our tables! And they should be worthy of a goddess at least!" Ishtar said with a blush on her face.
Shirou let out a small sigh. "As you wish. Right this way." Shirou then led Ishtar and her counterparts of a table that has a window on the side. "Will this do?"
"Hm...well, it may be simple, but it does look good at least, so yeah," Rider Ishtar replied as she, her Archer counterpart, and Ereshkigal began to sat down on the chairs.
"I see. Anyways, here are your menus. I'll be back shortly to see if you're done deciding what to choose."
Ereshkigal let out a smile. "Thank you, Emiya-kun."
"No problem," Shirou said with a smile as he soon headed towards another customer.
"Wow. So that's what Emiya's kun been up to these days. He's been working part-time at a butler café," Ishtar said.
"Jeez. I know he's popular, but how did he end up working in a butler café of all places?" Ishtar said.
"I don't know, but who cares? We've got something to see here," Rider Ishtar said with a smug grin on her face.
Ereshkigal let out a sigh. "You two..." she said as she looked at the menu.
Sakura, Kama, BB, and her sisters were looking at the café Shirou was in the distance. As they did, they got a glimpse of Shirou wearing a butler outfit. "So that's what senpai was up to recently..." Parvati said.
"Hmph...so's he's been working at a café as a butler..." Kama said.
"Oho. So senpai's been working secretly as a butler in a café...fufufufufu..." BB said with laughter in the end.
"B-Big sister, calm down..." Passionlip said.
Meltlilth let out a sigh. "Jeez, she's already going crazy..."
"Um...what are we going to do right now?" Kingprotea asked.
BB let out a sadistic smile. "Well, let's go and visit senpai of course!" she exclaimed as she soon began to head towards to where the café was, with Parvati, Kama, Passionlip, Meltlilith, and Kingprotea following her. As they all arrived, Shirou heard the bell chime. "Ah, welcome to Café Mald'amour."
However, what happened next was that BB grabbed a camera out of nowhere and took a photo of Shirou, surprising him. "BB?"
"Yes! A photo of senpai in a butler outfit! I'll treasure this photo for the rest of my life!" she exclaimed happily as she danced around. Soon, BB's sisters reached her and started to drag her outside of the café. "What the-hey! Let me go!" she exclaimed as she was struggling to get out of her sisters' grip.
Parvati let out a sigh. "Sorry about this senpai," she apologized as she left with the others.
Meanwhile, Shirou was confused with what just happened.
"Hm..." Illya muttered as she looked at the amount of sweets that were on the menu.
"Illya, hurry up and choose something," Kuro said.
"I will! There are so many options to look at here..." Illya muttered in reply.
Sitonai let out a sigh. "Have you decided what you want Miyu?"
"Yeah. How about you?" Miyu asked.
"Same."
After a few minutes, Illya was done looking over the menu and came to a decision. "All right. I'm done."
Kuro let out a small sigh. As she did, she raised her hand, signaling Shirou that she along with Illya, Sitonai, and Miyu were done.
"I take it that all of you are done ordering from the menu?" Shirou asked.
"Yeah, onii-chan!" Illya replied with a smile on her face.
"Very well, what will the four of you will order?"
"Could I have the chocolate crepe please? With iced tea as well," Illya asked.
"A strawberry shortcake for me," Kuro said.
"One parfait for me," Sitonai said.
"And I'll have the apple pie," Miyu said.
"As you wish," Shirou said as he was done writing down the orders. "Your orders will be finished within a few minutes. Until then, please be patient."
"Yes, oniichan!" Illya said with a smile on her face.
Shirou then let out a smile as well. "Very well, I'll be off." He then left the table Illya, her counterparts, and Miyu were at. As he left, Illya and her counterparts and Miyu looked at him from behind.
"Onii-chan in a butler outfit...that's something you don't see every day..." Illya said.
"Yeah. And it looks good on him," Kuro said with a smirk on her face.
"Indeed. I wonder if he should be a butler for the Einzberns...?" Sitonai said.
Miyu let out a sigh. "Not a chance."
Astraea took a sniff at the cup of tea she was holding in her hand. "Hm...the amora of the tea in front of me...it's sweet, but not too sweet..." As she was done sniffing the tea, she then took a drink out of the cup. "Hm...the taste is subtle, yet pleasant..."
"Well, is the tea well of your liking?" Shirou asked.
Astraea put the teacup down on the table. For a moment, Astraea didn't say anything. Then she let out a smile.
"The tea was quite exquisite Sherou. My complements to the brewer of the café here."
"Well, I'm glad that you liked it Luvia," Shirou said with a smile on his face.
Astraea quickly blushed before giving Shirou his next order. "A-Anyways, I want to order a blueberry tart next."
"As you wish," Shirou said as he left the table and headed towards the counter. Meanwhile, Astraea turned around with a huge blush on her face.
"By the root, Sherou in a butler outfit is something I will always never forget! And every time he wears it, he's even more beautiful than before!"
"Umu! This is quite the pleasant experience!" Saber Nero said proudly.
"I agree! A café like this should be praised for its efforts!" Caster Nero said.
"Exactly! Not to mention that the amount of work here is amazing!" Bride Nero exclaimed happily.
It was then that Shirou came by with three glasses of water that were for Nero and her counterparts. "Um, please lower your voices. We don't want all of you to disturb the other patrons," he said.
"Ah. My apologies," Saber Nero said with approval from her counterparts.
"Good. I'm glad that all of you understand. Here are the menus. Feel free to raise your hands whenever you feel like ordering."
"Okay!"
"Good. Now if you will excuse me, I need to be somewhere else. See you," Shirou said as he soon left to another patron.
As Shirou left, Nero and her counterparts looked at Shirou from behind where they were sitting at, and they were amazed.
"Wow. I didn't know that our praetor was capable of something like this..." Saber Nero said in wonder.
"Indeed. He's so talented in many things...which makes him even more worthy!" Caster Nero said.
"Exactly! I wonder if I could borrow him for his services..." Bride Nero said.
As so, Nero and her counterparts continued talking about Shirou in a butler outfit...
"Um...Jeanne, what is this place?" Sieg asked as he was in front of the butler café along with Jeanne D'Arc and her counterparts.
"Oh this? This is a butler café, Sieg-kun," Jeanne replied.
"Huh...what's the difference between a regular café and a butler café?"
"Well, the waiters here was wearing suits and greet us like butlers."
"I see."
"Tch, why did I have to join you along with him?" Jeanne D'Arc Alter asked with a groan.
"Now, now, you need to get out occasionally. After all, staying cooped up in your room a lot is not that good for your health," Jeanne D'Arc replied.
"I know that! But why are we going to a butler café of all places?"
"Well...I just happened to have a coupon for the place I mentioned."
Jeanne D'Arc Alter was dumbfounded upon hearing her unaltered counterpart's answer. "Really?"
"Hey, a coupon is a coupon," Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily said. "Anyways, let's go inside!"
Soon, Sieg and Jeanne D'Arc and her counterparts went into the butler café. As they did, they heard a familiar voice greeting them.
"Ah, welcome to Café Mald'amour," Shirou greeted.
For a moment, Sieg, Jeanne D'Arc, and Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily were surprised while Jeanne D'Arc Alter was laughing over the fact that Shirou was wearing a butler outfit.
"What the heck?! What are you doing here?! And wearing that outfit neverless!" Jeanne D'Arc Alter asked while laughing at the same time.
"Well...it's a long story..." Shirou replied while Jeanne D'Arc Alter was still laughing,
"Older me, quit making fun of him!" Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily said as she elbowed her older counterpart, making her stop for a moment.
"All right...all right..." she huffed.
"Um...sorry for interrupting, but are all of you here to dine in?" Shirou asked.
"Yes Shirou-san. All four of us are here, and I've brought a coupon as well."
"I see. Let me look at it." Jeanne then gave Shirou the coupon. After a few seconds of looking at it, he gave it back to her. "This coupon is acceptable. As so, you'll receive a discount on your order. Now then, shall I show the four of you to your table?"
"Yes."
"Very well. Follow me."
Shirou then lead Sieg, Jeanne, and her counterparts to their table and handed their menus. As he did, he then left them to tend towards the other patrons.
"Wow. I've never seen Shirou in that outfit before..." Sieg said.
"Me too..." Jeanne D'Arc said.
"Yeah. I wonder why he's working here now?" Jeanne D'Arc Alter Santa Lily said.
"Whatever the reason is, it must be embarrassing..." Jeanne D'Arc Alter said with chuckles in her voice.
For the rest of the day, Jeanne D'Arc Alter was in a good mood...
"Hm...I wonder what I should pick..." Okita Alter said as she looked at the menu in front of her.
"Me too...everything seems so interesting here..." Musashi said in agreement as well.
Okita let out a small sigh. "Wow. When it comes to fighting, they're so quick on their decisions. But when it comes to sweets on a menu, they're really slow on what to choose..."
After a few more minutes of reading over the menu, both Okita Alter and Musashi finally decided on their orders. "Okay, we're done!" Musashi said.
Okita let out a small sigh. "Finally..." she thought as she raised her hand. "Excuse me? We're ready to order now."
Soon, the waiter arrived, ready to jot down their orders. "I see that all of you are ready to order?"
"Yes, Shirou-san," Okita replied.
"Very well. What will all of you have?"
"I want the macron set," Okita replied.
"I'll have the ice cream sunday..." Okita Alter said.
"And I'll have the special giant parfait for me!" Musashi exclaimed excitedly.
"As you wish. Please wait for a moment until your orders are ready. They'll be here with in a moment."
"Okay."
Shirou then soon left. As he did, Okita and the others began to start a conversation.
"Wow. I didn't expect to see Shirou-san here..." Okita said.
"Me neither..." Okita Alter said.
"Yeah. And he looks good in that outfit of his...and the others working here are also wearing the outfit as well...this is interesting!" Musashi exclaimed excitedly.
Okita let out a sigh. "Really?"
Soon, Shirou arrived with their orders, and they all enjoyed them. As they were done, Okita Alter brought out a smartphone and asked for Shirou's permission to take a group photo.
And Shirou did it.
Shirou let out a small sigh as he was cleaning up a table. "Phew. It's almost closing time in the café...speaking of which, I'm still wondering how mom found out about me working in the butler café...well, either way, my time here is over since today is my last day..."
However, as he was cleaning the tables, it was then one of his co-workers came up to him.
"Um Shirou...we need some help."
"What is it?" he asked as he stopped cleaning the table for a moment.
"Well...one of our customers is being impolite and is causing a ruckus at the moment..."
"Who?"
The co-worker took a deep breath before continuing. "Gilgamesh."
Shirou let out a sigh. "Wait here. I'll deal with him."
Soon, Shirou went over to where Archer Gilgamesh was. As he did, they both looked at each other with hatred in their eyes, especially in Gilgamesh's case.
"Hey, Gilgamesh," Shirou said.
"Oh? So, you're working here now, faker?" he asked arrogantly.
"For the time being. Anyways, I've heard from a co-worker saying that you've been impolite and started to cause a ruckus here."
"Hmph. This place isn't deserving of my recognition. They should feel honored that I'm even allowing my existence to be here."
For a moment, Shirou mentally facepalmed at Gilgamesh's arrogant attitude. "Whatever, just stop making a ruckus here."
"Why should I? It is none of my concern of what I do that affects the mongrels here right now," Gilgamesh said arrogantly.
"Or else you'll be forced to leave."
"Hah? How so, faker?"
"Well...either I ask you to leave...or I let Sengo Muramasa possess me for a moment and punch you out of the café, like he did to you many times before."
There was silence in the room as both Shirou and Gilgamesh didn't say anything after Shirou's choices of options.
"Well?"
For a moment, nothing happened. Then Gilgamesh got out of his seat.
"Hmph. Fine, I'll leave. This place was boring me anyways."
Then Gilgamesh left. As he did, Shirou let out a sigh. "Phew. Hope I won't be seeing him for today..."
Soon, Shirou resumed cleaning the tables. As he was done with the task, he then changed back into his normal clothes and left the café, where he heard a familiar voice calling out him.
"Shirou!"
Upon hearing the voice, Shirou turned around to see Irisviel, who was looking at him with a smile on her face. Shiou let out a small sigh. "Hey there mom. What are you doing here?"
"Oh my. I'm just here to check on my son. Is there something wrong with that?" Irisviel asked innocently.
"Well...no. Anyways, I assume that you're probably wondering why I'm working here, right? And I already know that you saw me here earlier because of Arturia and her counterparts," Shirou asked.
"Yeah. Why are you working here?" Irisviel replied.
Shirou let out a sigh. "Well, to put it short, it's all because of Da Vinci."
"Da Vinci huh? Let me guess, she roped you into this somehow?"
"Well no. Rather...I lost a bet with her..." Shirou said with embarrassment.
For a moment, Irisviel was silent before starting to laugh out loud. "Hahahahahahaha! Really?! You were working here because you lost a bet with Da Vinci?!"
"Y-Yeah..."
"No way! What kind of bet was it?! In fact, I've never seen you bet before! Just what was it?" Irisviel asked in fits of laughter.
"Well...Da Vinci dared me a bet that Romani would not look at any Magi-Mari related stuff for an entire week."
Irisviel was confused for a moment. "Magi-Mari?"
"A net idol. Anyways, from what I heard, Romani is an advocate fan of Magi-Mari, and would always spend his free time looking at any of Magi-Mari's livestreams. And he would never, I repeat, never miss out on any one of them."
"Is that so?" Irisviel asked as she was interested in the conversation.
"Yeah. Anyways, what happened next is that Romani was not allowed to see anything related to Magi-Mari for an entire week. And well, he did to Da Vinci's surprise, but he did not look so good in the process."
"And that's how you ended up in this situation," Irisviel said as she finished the conversation. "Speaking of which, what was going to happen to Da Vinci if you won the bet?"
"Well, if I won the bet, Da Vinci would not be allowed to use me for any of her experiments for a week."
Irisviel was shocked at the bet. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"I see. So how long is this bet going to last?"
"Well, today is the last day actually, so tomorrow, everything will be back to normal."
"Oh. Well, then, I have one more question for you."
"What is it?"
It was then Irisviel brought out her camera. "Will you allow me to take a picture of you in the outfit?" she asked with a smile on her face.
Shirou let out a sigh.