Chapter 38
Waking up in his shed after a long night of Structural Analysis, his body ached as his muscles protested stiffly from the lack of a proper bed, his extremities cold and numb.
Standing up, he stretched his muscles until his joints cracked and popped. Checking the time, he realized it wasn't time for school yet, and proceeded to do his morning exercises. It had become a habit for him to work out ever since he was old enough, in order to train his body to fulfill his ideals.
The morning passed uneventfully, his kouhai, the purple-haired Sakura Matou, coming over to help him cook breakfast like usual, while his guardian/teacher Taiga Fujimaru sat in the living room watching tv.
shick-shick-shick*
His knife slid through the tofu as he chopped them into even cubes for the miso soup, doing so carefully and gently to avoid "cracking" the fragile white cubes. Beside him, Sakura worked in silence as she cracked the eggs and poured them into a small white bowl, heating up the pan with oil as she whisked the eggs with chopsticks expertly, prepared to turn it into a fluffy yellow tamagoyaki.
ttsszzz-ssprrrr*
The whisked mixture poured onto the pan as the oil popped beneath it, cooking it into a solid mass, but not completely cooked, as she rolled it up, before pouring more egg into the pan. Slowly, it continued gaining in size until it reached the size of a guinea pig, before Sakura added a piece of nori seaweed for the final layer and wrapped it up, taking it out of the pan to serve as a tender, and fluffy tamagoyaki.
The fermented vegetables and natto were placed into small dishes, garnished lightly with chopped spring onion as sliced seaweed.
ding!*
The rice cooker was done, steam rising into the air as Emiya cut it into several even portions, saving some for Taiga's lunch later, as well as his own and Sakura's. Three bowls were soon filled with rice, their fragrance forcing Taiga to peek at the kitchen as she became distracted by the smells and sounds coming from the kitchen.
"Moouu, Shirou, is it done yet? I'm hunggrrrrryy."
The Tiger of Fuyuki had a large appetite to sustain it's energetic ways. Here, in it's natural habitat of the Emiya residence, one could often observe it's feeding habits at the hands of it's caretaker, Emiya Shirou.
"Just be patient Fuji-nee, we're almost done."
"Kay."
She went back to watching tv, though her stomach wouldn't stop rumbling.
"Senpai, I think the salmon is done cooking."
The salmon he had started frying earlier was now done, the surface gleaming brightly under the kitchen lights as the pink flesh turned orange, the flesh crispy and firm where it had touched the pan. Black pepper dotted the length of the salmon steak, a savoury aroma hanging in the air above the pan.
"Ah, thanks for reminding me."
"No problem."
They proceeded silently after that, only the occasional clicking of the cutlery against the bowls and plate disturbing the silence as they plated the food. Both burners were switched off, the pan left on the stove to cool down as they placed the used bowls into the sink for washing later on. Lifting the lid of the pot, he poured the miso soup that had been stewing for some time, the brown transparent liquid with white paste poured into three bowls for the three of them, putting in extra tofu for Taiga. He took a sip just to be sure of the taste, then nodded in satisfaction. On the side, Sakura took the plates out to the chabudai (low table) in the living room, carefully setting each plate in its proper place.
clink, clink*
Soon, the table was filled with food, the fragrant rice with heat still wafting out of the bowl in front of each seat as the soup was placed on the right, while the larger plates of fermented vegetables, tamagoyaki and salmon were placed further in, the salmon in the middle and the other two on the left. Savoury umami scents drifted into the mouths and noses of each person in the living room, stimulating their taste buds and sense of smell. Taiga was already drooling, her eyes transformed into stars.
"Itadakimasu."
Everyone spoke the phrase, "Let's eat.", and then dug into their food.
"Mmmm, I shwill neber ger ired ohu hirou's foo."
"Fuji-nee, it's not polite to talk while your mouth is full."
The tiger was consuming everything at a rapid pace, the food disappearing like the wind into her mouth. Emiya had to lightly berate her for speaking like that as small bits of daikon radish and cucumber flew across the table at him. She could also choke by eating and talking at the same time, with the rate she inhaled the food at, but he had seen her do this since his childhood, making him give up in that regard.
"By the way, it seems that a meteorite shower struck Enzō-yama and destroyed the stairs leading up to Ryūdō-ji."
"Really? I wonder if Issei is ok…"
Issei's 2-hour walk on foot from Ryūdō-ji to Homuhara Gakuen was no joke, and if the stairs were damaged he could be further delayed since that was the only path out of Enzō-yama. Emiya had asked him before why he commuted to school like that, and he'd simply answered it was training. Well, it was similar to Emiya himself who insisted on working out every day in the morning and at night when he could, so he could respect his friend's determination.
Taiga sprang out of her seat after cleaning every last speck of her plate while remarking that she was late, bursting out the doors onto her beloved scooter and rushing back to school. Emiya and Sakura shared a laugh over this regular occurrence, the ever-energetic Taiga, then cleaned up and went to school.
Tohsaka Rin grumbled to herself as she walked back to school, her twintails shaking much more than usual despite her attempt to restrain her pace.
"How are there already large battles happening so soon? I haven't even summoned my Servant, yet there's already been conflicts across Fuyuki, while the priest keeps reassuring me that everything is ok, when it's clearly not!"
The explosions of mana during the battle between Berserker, Caster and Assassin, as well as the summoning of Lancer, didn't go unnoticed by her. Yet, her prime time to summon her Servant was still some ways off, almost ten days later.
Gritting her teeth, she quickly reassumed her honors student persona as she noticed the presence of other students on the streets, noting the presence of a red-haired fellow schoolmate and a familiar kouhai with purple hair next to him, walking across the street ahead of her.
"T-Tohsaka-san, nice to see you today!" A brown-haired girl slightly shorter than Tohsaka shyly stammered out a greeting.
"Ah, Sae-san good morning."
Saegusa Yukika lightly blushed as the student she admired to the point of almost worshipping responded to her greeting.
"Would you like to, um, walk to school together?"
"Sure, it's nice having someone to talk to on the way."
The two walked to school, chatting along the way, while behind the two an athletic, dark-skinned and flat-chested tomboy stalked them with her gray-haired friend wearing round glasses, both of whom were part of the school's track team.
A boy with curly blue hair and gray-blue eyes raised the bow, the sheer length of it giving it a heft despite it's thinness. He ordinarily wouldn't be at the range this early in the day, but he had woken up early out of excitement and couldn't go back to sleep, so he had decided he might as well go back to school to meet with his groupies. His sister had already left for the Emiya residence, something he still disapproved of, but it was already out of his control. Well, he could always use her at night when she came back.
His groupies hadn't arrived at school yet, so he had decided to swing by the dojo to take a look at the club he supposedly attended.
"What sight for sore eyes. Matou Shinji, here at the dojo this early in the morning. Planning to do some early practice?"
Another tomboy appeared at the entrance of the dojo, red hair barely reaching her shoulder as she walked in dressed in the traditional gi and hakama required for kyudo.
"Somebody has to pick up the slack after Emiya left, unlike what the captain of the team has been doing."
His haughty voice needled at the girl as he boasted about things he hadn't done at all.
"Just stop scaring away the kouhai's, otherwise we might get shut down from the lack of members."
"Oh, I'm sure I can always convince more to join, unlike you Ayako-chan. With your charm, I'm sure it would be quite difficult."
She almost bit her lip, but she managed to push down the rising tide of anger within her as she simply ignored him to grab a bow and begin morning practice with the other members. Seeing her unresponsive attitude, he decided to leave, entertained from the small exchange with her.
"Did you hear? Souichirou-sensei's not coming to school today."
"Hah? It can't be, he's never missed a day of school since he started teaching here."
"Yeah, rumor has it that his accumulated paid holidays are enough to last him for a year."
"Idiot, that's obviously way too long. Still, it is strange that he just couldn't show up after being perfectly healthy yesterday."
"Did you see the show yesterday?"
"Yeah, the Phantas-Moon episode was pretty epic. To think that she was forced to use Sparkle Moon in that fight…"
"Hey, did you hear about the hallucinations of the white castle at Enzō-yama? People said they saw a ghostly white castle float there for a second."
"That can't be true. No castle has ever been built there."
Chatter rang throughout the school halls as students walked to and fro, teachers quickly coming into the classrooms before the bells rang to silence them and start their classes.
Outside the school, far on the outskirts of the city, Illya kept herself snug in the kotatsu, the heater soothing her body as Berserker devoured the hill of food piled on the table bit by bit.
skrple*
The transparent plastic covering of the cake was torn open as the fluffy goodness of the product was revealed. Illya eyed the white steamed cheesecake, with the outline of Hokkaido stamped on top.
Berserker opened her small mouth, delicately nibbling on the edge of the cake at first, then after confirming the flavour, she stretched her mouth wide open and consumed it in one gulp. Flowers seemed to pop up mid air around her as she closed her eyes in bliss, cheeks protruding like a chipmunk, then they deflated as a noticeable bulge appeared at her throat before sliding down into her stomach.
"Fuah…" Seeing Berserker so laidback also put Illya into a more relaxed state, her cheek resting on the wooden table as she closed her eyes, enjoying a light nap.
Outside the room, Leysritt pushed away a mountain of discarded wrappers, plastic packets and paper bags on a trolley.
"We're going to go bankrupt soon."
Sella said emotionlessly, her eyes hollow as she stared at the overflowing magic incinerator that was supposed to be able to handle up to 50 tons of waste per day. Even the thaumaturgically enhanced flames couldn't chew through food wrappings fast enough to keep the castle clean.
"With how much she eats, she could speed up global warming by decades."
In fact, a scientific study done in collaboration between Merlin and Zelretch, proved that having a city filled with Artorias would speed up global warming by 4% and cause widespread food shortages across the world, leading to world wars as well when famine struck. The alternate timeline was quickly pruned when it was clear that the Artorias were going to unleash their Excaliburs all at once in the final showdown, possibly causing a rip in space-time that could reach other parallel universes.
The wind howled outside the castle, spirits gliding silently in the forest around it as the maids in the castle despaired, while the Master and Servant dozed in the Dark Rounds-edition kotatsu.
"Oooh, is that where you bought takoyaki from?"
"The Edomaeya? Yep, I bought them here. They're pretty cheap individually, but you have to buy them in bulk for 80 yen each. I've heard that there are other takoyaki shops at the place called "Verde" though."
Flat and Assassin walked through Mount Miyama, the local shopping district, buying the food they needed for next week. El-Melloi had told him to unwind outside, letting him relax while giving Gray the chance to rest as well after the battle last night.
Assassin had also recovered outwardly, the surface injuries no longer present. But, it didn't escape Flat's notice that her ahoge trembled slightly whenever she took a step, unlike when she was first summoned where it was totally rigid.
Without warning, the two of them picked up the scent of pure spiciness. Instantly, Flat's eyes began to water as Assassin pulled up her muffler over her mouth and nose.
"Get behind me, it could be an attack!"
Thus, they ended up in an awkward position where Flat suddenly got saddled with all the food they were carrying as Assassin moved in front of him, body poised to act against any enemies. The passersby on the street gave them a wide berth as these two foreigners acted like they were in a warzone, which was technically correct.
"Uh, Saber? I think it's just the smell of spicy food from that restaurant over there."
Indeed, the smell was wafting out of the noren curtains hung over the door, the sign above the entrance saying "Kōshūensaikan Taizan" written in kanji. The store was small and unassuming, but the aroma coming out of the store was undeniably strong, almost on the level of a weapon.
"What on earth are they selling in there?"
"Why don't we go take a look?"
Flat suggested, his curiosity rising. He'd heard of food that talked in the Clock Tower before, combinations of spices infused with magecraft to achieve miraculous results, so could this possibly be the workshop of a food magus?
"Hmmm, it has been some time since I'd challenged my tongue. Let us proceed to inspect the store."
They passed through the cloth and entered the store, the scent now completely enveloping them as their bodies started to sweat and tears started pooling in their eyes. It was like bathing in a sauna, if a sauna had ghost chilli peppers mixed in the water.
"Hoh, new customers, and foreigners that. Take a seat anywhere, the owner is still in the back."
A tall, imposing man sitting at one of the simple wooden tables spoke to them, a bowl of mapo tofu in front of him. His cassock lay discarded on the chair next to him folded neatly, as the muscles on his body were highlighted by the sheer amount of sweat spilling from every pore on his body. Several empty bowls were on the side, traces of red liquid still staining the porcelain.
Besides him, there were no other customers.
"O-Ok."
That was all Flat could wrestle out of his throat as he staggered to a seat, almost crashing into the table as he struggled to resist the miasma of pepper eating into his eyes, nose and mouth. Beside him, Assassin fared better, with her Servant constitution and the blue muffler covering her face. Nevertheless, she still felt an abnormal amount of pain in her eyes, desperately trying to stop the tears from leaking out of them., rapidly blinking to reduce contact with the air.
Seeing their suffering, Kirei couldn't help but smile. It was a good day to be alive.
A few minutes passed while Flat struggled to get accustomed to the air, then a young girl stepped through the door leading to the kitchen.
"Kotomi-oh, we have customers! Welcome to the store, do you have anything you'd like to order?"
A short girl with hair done in odango buns walked up to them, a notepad and pen in her hands. An apron covered her, giving her more decency than the scandalously short red qipao she wore that barely reached the middle of her upper thigh, two slits running up the sides all the way up to the top of her pelvis.
Flat was now able to breath more normally, but speaking a whole sentence was still beyond him.
Kirei grinned.
"Get both of them a bowl of mapo tofu each, Batsu-san."
The cute girl stared at the priest for a moment, looked back at Flat and Assassin, then nodded.
"Ok, as long as you pay up."
She went back into the kitchen, her voice yelling at the sole cook who was able to withstand the spices to hurry up.
At the table, Assassin looked at Flat in pity. While she could withstand the spice after tasting numerous cuisines in space, he was in for a world of pain.
"W-wwatterrrrr…"
In a temple on a certain hill, a young girl nursed a heavily injured man.
"Just let me feed you Master."
"It's fine. I can use my right arm."
The stump of his left arm was wrapped in gauze, the bruises around his body reduced to a mere swelling through her magecraft, while the minor scratches were closed. Still, healing magecraft wasn't her specialty, and there was still internal damage from Berserker's kick and impact that had necessitated him to rest while the passive effects of her Noble Phantasm seeped into his body, similar to what the scabbard Avalon could do. His left arm however, was permanently gone.
The girl stared at the ground in frustration as she clenched her white dress tightly, her face downcast.
Kuzuki stopped eating the congee and looked up at her.
"I was simply outmatched by my opponent. Neither you or I were to blame for my injuries."
"But if I could have dispelled Rhongomyniad faster, I could have-"
He raised a hand and patted her golden hair, no longer hidden underneath the large cap that covered her head most of the time.
"You kept me alive, and for that I am thankful."
Her dainty lips became stained with a line of blood as she bit deeply, silent tears flowing as her Master patted her head softly, his formerly empty self suddenly finding the urge to comfort this familiar that was supposed to become the leader of Britain, who in this moment was just a frustrated, crying girl that was upset over not being able to protect someone important to her.
Night soon fell over the city, the stars and moon faintly twinkling in the sky as the chill descended onto the streets. Yet, deep in the bowels of a dark mansion, the air was warm and humid, almost sticky even. Thousands of bugs and worms crawled across the walls, floor and ceiling, a veritable mass of undulating insects that would cause a heart attack in most people.
In the midst of this chaotic swarm of life, an empty circle formed as the bugs retreated to the sides, vanishing into hidden corners and tunnels as a few hundred of them piled on each other in the center, forming the body of a frail old man stooped over with age, holding a gnarled piece of wood as a walking stick.
click, clack, click, clack*
Descending the stairs into the basement was the insufferably arrogant face of Matou Shinji, followed by the hollow girl obediently following behind him.
"Tonight, tonight I finally get the chance to prove my superiority!"
His laughter echoed strangely in the chamber, distorting his own voice heavily until it became a mockery of the original. Numerous luminous bugs lit up on the ceiling at their entrance, providing light for them.
"Let us begin the ritual."
The old man handed over an elaborate crafted book to Shinji.
"The book of False Attendant will allow you to maintain control over your Servant in Sakura's stead."
"So these are my Command Seals?"
"Kohkoh, in a sense, yes."
His gravelly, near-inhuman voice sparked unease in Shinji's heart, but he decided to ignore it, as he had always done.
"Well, what are you waiting for Sakura? Start chanting!"
Pushing her forward roughly, she stumbled before catching herself, her white dress in stark contrast with the grimy room.
The magic circle was already prepared by the old man, engraved on the ground as it always was since the first war.
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Shut (fill).
Repeat every five times.
Simply, shatter once filled.
Silver and iron to the origin. Stone and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone.
Zolgen Makiri is the great master I pay tribute to.
The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate.
――――I announce.
Your self is under me, my fate is in your sword.
In accordance with the approach of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer.
I hereby swear. I will be all that is good in the eternal world. I will be the disposer of evil in the eternal world.
You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――！
The winds died down as the lights faded, revealing the Servant they had summoned.
"Servant, Rider. Now that I'm here, be ready to live the ideal lifestyle. I won't allow sleeping in or insufficient exercise. The cleaning and laundry will be done thoroughly by me. Cooking, cooking as well…I'll do it the best I can."