Chapter 193
Shirou's eyes snapped open in the darkness of his bedroom. For a moment, his hands squeezed the silky sheets, then they relaxed as he remembered where he was sleeping.
Sitting up, he felt his rear sink into the mattress as his weight shifted, the sinfully soft cotton embracing his lower body. Feeling his eyelids droop a bit, he pushed off the bed, his palms descending into multiple layers of fabric and cotton before springing out.
Sliding his legs off the bed and onto the marble floor, he gave an involuntary shiver as the chill permeated his body from his bare soles, but he stood up anyways and walked to the massive drapes covering the windows at the side of the room. Lifting up a corner, the faint light of the stars and the moon illuminated his pale face, and he could spot a large swathes of broken branches and logs outside.
"It's still early."
He whispered to himself as he walked away, opening the door and heading outside to prepare breakfast.
Then he realized he had no idea where the kitchen was.
Awkwardly, he stood in the hallway outside his room and scratched the back of his head.
Looking left and right, he decided to just trust his gut.
…right
Moving off, he quickly turned a corner and disappeared.
As if on queue, a maid appeared right around the other corner opposite, just missing him as he left.
Walking up to the door of his room, she gently opened the door, the hinges rotating without a sound. Peering into the room, she frowned when she saw the rustled sheets and empty bed.
Wandering the marble halls, he felt his feet grow numb as they continuously padded across the icy floor, his body heat steadily being sapped away from the soles. Redoubling his pace, he was slowly starting to wonder if he was actually lost.
After trying to retrace his steps and ending up at the foyer of the mansion, he could only accept the reality of the situation.
Sitting down on the lustrous white stairs that glimmered under the chandelier light, he stretched his body as he brainstormed a way to find the correct way through the maze that was the Einzbern mansion.
He was too deep in thought to notice when a young maid silently glided up to him. Leaning down, her ample chest shifted underneath beneath her uniform as she place her lips next to Shirou's ear, almost kissing it.
"Emiya-sama."
Her voice was penetrated deeply into his ears, delivering a fatal attack to his fragile sensibilities. The sound of his neck cracking echoed in the open space as he jerked away instinctively, almost throwing his entire body to the side.
"W-woah! A-are you Leysritt?"
The flush slowly faded from his face as he registered who it was, identifying the maid as one of the two who always accompanied Illya.
Standing straight, she nodded.
"Sella told me to look for you. After a while, I found you here."
Her slightly wide eyes and vacant face as she spoke didn't exactly inspire him with confidence, but nevertheless she was somebody who could lead the way. She was after all, a maid who worked in the mansion.
"What do you need, Emiya-sama?"
"Um, could you show me the way to the kitchen?"
"As you wish."
Bowing her head slightly, she turned around and started walking, with Shirou behind her.
After a while, they arrived right back at the entrance hall they had left.
"...we are lost."
Shirou stared at her as she said it lightly, wondering if perhaps he should just try his luck again and walk around.
"Do not worry, we'll get there this time."
Saying that, they went off again.
When they found themselves back where they started, even Shirou couldn't help but think that she was doing this on purpose. In front of him, Leysritt lowered her head and raised her finger to her chin as she thought, her blank eyes betraying no signs of her emotions.
"Emiya-sama, I see this is where you two ended up."
Behind the two of them, a third figure appeared. She was dressed in similar attire to Leysritt, with the only major difference for Shirou being her facial expression, and…
He immediately looked away as he became aware of where he was staring at, and thankfully the two maids didn't notice.
Looking at Leysritt's face, Sella sighed.
"Perhaps it was incorrect of me to ask Leysritt to guide you through the mansion. Allow me to be your guide instead, Emiya-sama. Leysritt, go attend to our other guests."
Saying so, she tapped the floor with her boots and whispered something. In response, a glowing line appeared on the floor.
"Sorry, Emiya-sama."
Bowing deeply this time, Leysritt started walking along the line, and shortly disappeared into the winding corridors. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but her shoulders seemed to be drooping as she walked away, her back much smaller than he remembered.
Then, Sella turned to Shirou.
"Allow me to apologize for her actions. Please don't blame her, for she truly means no harm, as it is simply due to her body lacking a sense of direction."
"Her body?"
Shirou wondered what that meant. On the outside at least, she didn't seem to be strange, asides from the exotic colors of physical appearance. He'd even go as far to say that she was quite attractive, at least according to his standards.
"Allow me to talk while we head towards the kitchen."
Saying so, she turned and started walking, allowing Shirou plenty of leeway to keep pace with her.
"As you most likely know, I, Leysritt and the rest of the workers at the mansion are all homunculi, artificial living beings created through alchemy unique to the Einzbern family."
He nodded, though on the inside it was still difficult for him to grasp that the person speaking to him now was, essentially, grown in a tube through magical means.
"However, homunculi often have various physical defects that while not fatal, still make them inferior to humans in this respect, as a result of the various flaws within the methods of homunculus creation. This rule holds true for most, and even more so for homunculi created to be specialized for a certain purpose."
Shirou's brains connected the dots as she was talking, realization dawning on him as to why Leysritt had gotten lost.
"So Leysritt is like that as well? A specialized homunculi?"
Without interrupting her pace, she nodded in assent.
"She is a homunculi created be a Mystic Code for our Master, so many things were deemed unnecessary for her."
She paused for a moment, Shirou halting behind her as well.
"The five senses. Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. And beyond that, even the ego itself."
Looking out the window, she watched as the winds shrieked outside, reminding her of the eternal winter that shrouded the Einzbern castle.
"They were all reduced to the bare minimum. Just enough for her to function, no more, no less."
With that, she resumed walking, but Shirou didn't move an inch.
Sensing his inactivity, she turned around to face him.
"Emiya-sama, is there something wrong?"
"No, it's nothing. Let's keep going."
They resumed their walk, continuing in silence.
To think I thought she was doing it on purpose
A slight shade of red infused his cheeks as he remembered his thoughts about her previously. Though he was sure she would forgive him if he apologized, he wanted to do something more concrete for her. It looked like he would be quite busy in the kitchen later. Slowly, he sank into deep thought as they traversed the mansion.
Before he knew it, they had arrived. Sella stopped in front of a pair of ornate doors, no less flamboyant than the ones in front of the bedrooms.
"The kitchen has seen much use lately, so please excuse the condition it's in."
"No, it's fine-"
As he was about to finish the sentence, the doors opened, revealing the kitchen in all it's glory.
The first thing he noticed was the piles of ingredients strewn across the kitchen like the remains of a battlefield. He physically recoiled as the mixed smells of food both mild and strong slammed into him, and he had to take a moment to adjust. When his eyes stopped watering, he finally noticed that there were actually corpses lying on the ground and slumped on the tables, casualties of the 'battlefield'. In reality, they were simply homunculi who were dead tired.
"What happened here?"
"We could keep up with only Berserker, but with Saber and Caster, we were absolutely overwhelmed. This is all that remains of the once proud catering corps of the Einzbern army."
She bowed her head, in respect for the noble 'martyrs'.
Looking around the kitchen, Shirou could feel his knees wobble at the prospect of dealing with everything, but all he could do was summon his willpower and straighten his back. Retreat wasn't an option for him, the boy known as the 'fake school janitor'. If there was anything he could take pride in, it was his ability in housework.
Rolling up his sleeves, he readied himself for the long battle ahead.
"Sella, I'll be counting on you."
The maid could almost see an aura warp the air around him as his determination spiked in preparation for the massive undertaking he was about to do.
"You may rely on me for anything, Emiya-sama."
With that, the quest to conquer the Einzbern kitchen started.