Chapter 41: Nero, Sit!
Having just turned around, Shirou suddenly looked back.
"Ah, right, I forgot to tell you—I have hundreds more chains like that in storage. Even if you really manage to break free from this one, there are many more waiting for you~"
Unsurprisingly, provoked by these words, Nero began to struggle furiously.
"Curse you...!!"
Ignoring her roars, Shirou walked toward Sakura.
"Shirou... Rider, she..."
Sakura still wanted to plead on behalf of her Servant. Looking at the sight of Nero being stretched out into the shape of the character '大' (a star-jump position), she felt a wave of shame. If she were treated like that... she wouldn't even dare to imagine it.
"Restraining Rider was mainly because she's too rowdy," Shirou explained with a smile.
After cutting out the finer details and explaining the situation to Sakura, she finally understood.
"Ah, I see!"
Sakura puffed out her chest; the young girl already carried quite a heavy "burden." Compared to the foul-mouthed Nero over there, she was certainly not inferior in that department. Then, as if thinking of something, Sakura looked up at Shirou, her purple eyes shimmering with an excited light.
"I'll just help you obtain the Holy Grail too, Shirou!"
Hearing this, Nero shouted loudly in extreme displeasure.
"I object!"
"Objection overruled!" Sakura looked at Nero, whose face was flushed red, and raised her left hand displaying the Command Spells. "I order you with a Command Spell: for the duration of the Holy Grail War, Rider must obey Shirou's orders!"
"What?! My Praetor, have you gone mad?!" Nero completely failed to understand Sakura's "traitorous" behavior, feeling a sense of betrayal.
Simultaneously, once the Command Spell took effect, Shirou released "Enkidu." As the chains binding her retracted, a sudden sense of lightness returned. A sharp glint flashed in Nero's eyes, and she raised her sword, sprinting toward Shirou.
"Die—!!"
"Sit!" Shirou suddenly issued the command.
Thump!
The red-dressed girl carrying the deep-red greatsword suddenly sat down on the ground mid-charge, landing in a well-behaved "duck sit" (W-sitting) position.
"Dammit... I cannot accept this!"
Nero was unable to rise again.
.
.
.
After returning to the classroom, Sakura approached Shirou with a wrapped bundle.
"Shirou, you didn't bring a lunch today, did you?"
"Food and such aren't really necessary for me anymore..."
Seeing Sakura pull out a bento wrapped in cherry-blossom colored cloth, the words Shirou was about to say suddenly stopped.
"Yeah, I forgot to bring it. Looks like I'll have to go hungry today."
"Hehe~" Sakura smiled as she unwrapped the cloth, revealing the bento box inside. "Then let's eat together, Shirou~"
"Sure," Shirou nodded.
Suddenly, another red bento box was slammed onto the desk in front of Shirou with a bang.
Rin tilted her chin up slightly in a classic tsundere fashion and said, "This young lady will show mercy and share a bit with you!"
Two bentos placed on the desk meant that Shirou was now faced with two choices. No matter which side he chose, the other would be hurt. Shirou's brain worked at high speed, as if piercing through the galaxy, revolving and cycling through the universe...
After thinking to such an extent, Shirou gave a very "scumbag-like" answer.
"I want them both," Shirou said, playing his cards.
"I really can't do anything with you, Shirou~"
Although Sakura was a bit jealous, in the end, she only spoke with a hint of resentment.
"Tch, you calculating guy!" Rin shot Shirou a side-glance.
Though their reactions differed, their actions were identical. The two sisters sat on the chairs to Shirou's left and right and began to open their bentos.
The scene of Shirou being surrounded by two beautiful girls was naturally witnessed by the students remaining in the classroom to eat, as well as students passing by the hallway, who were greatly shocked.
"No way, no way! It's only been two days and Tohsaka has already been conquered by that transfer student Orihara? That's too fast!"
"I was actually planning to try and ask Orihara-kun out~"
"What a pity. It seems even Orihara-kun is blinded by beauty."
"Ah... dammit! Finally, a great guy transfers in, and he's snatched up so quickly!"
In this class, the female-to-male ratio favored the girls, but that didn't mean "plenty of meat and few wolves" guaranteed a meal. In fact, for a small portion of the boys, such a class wasn't that happy; they were often watched with wary eyes by the girls and lived every day very cautiously.
Thus, seeing Shirou successfully capture the two most beautiful girls in the class—and even the grade—immediately upon arrival, their faces naturally twisted with envy.
"Ah! Why does heaven treat me like this!" "Curse it! Envy makes me hideous!" "Envy makes me look at quadrants with no change!" "Envy makes me oxidative-decompose!" "Envy makes my genes mutate!" "Envy makes me reproductively isolated!"
Even though their gazes seemed capable of devouring a person, that level of glaring was like a light breeze to Shirou; he acted as if it didn't exist.
"It seems a lot of people are looking this way," Sakura whispered, looking somewhat puzzled at the envious and jealous gazes from the students.
"Don't worry about that. Ah—" Shirou said casually, then opened his mouth to accept Sakura's feeding.
"Mmm, Sakura, your cooking is amazing."
Receiving affirmation, Sakura's cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes narrowed into crescent moons, and she smiled behind pursed lips.
"Try this one too~"
Shirou, naturally, did not refuse and opened his mouth again. Sakura used her chopsticks to place a meatball in Shirou's mouth. After chewing for a bit, Shirou nodded with great satisfaction.
"The flavor is superb!"
Having received such a high evaluation, Sakura's face beamed with a smile. Over the past ten years, Sakura had also learned cooking from the maids, so her skills were naturally at a very high level. To have her hard-earned culinary skills praised by her beloved person was, for
Sakura, the most desired result. All her past efforts transformed into a happiness that overflowed on her face.
Seeing the atmosphere between Shirou and Sakura gradually heating up, Rin felt quite displeased and let out an ill-timed cough.
Sakura was instantly snapped out of the mood. Thinking of her lapse in composure, she lowered her head, her face turning crimson with embarrassment.
"Ah, right, I haven't tasted Rin's cooking yet." As Shirou spoke, he took another bite of Sakura's offering. While chewing, he turned his face toward Rin.
"Hmph! I won't feed you like that! You just ate Sakura's and now you want mine? Don't even think about it!"
Although she said that, after a moment, the girl reluctantly picked up a piece of eel from the red bento box.
"O-only this once, okay!"
Read ahead (100 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting