Chapter 10 Is It Time for a Little Lion?
"Thank you for the meal."
Saber lowered her head, exhibiting civilized table manners. Beside her was stacked a lethal quantity of dining plates.
"The pleasure was mine; please excuse the meager hospitality."
To this, Shirou could only accept with a sense of sheepishness.
Currently, about an hour had passed. The early morning sun was highly active, unblocked by any clouds; by noon, it would likely become somewhat blinding.
They couldn't wait until noon.
At a time that could only be called morning tea or mid-morning, Saber had already concluded the battle with her stomach.
Despite the sheer number of plates around Saber, she had actually exercised good control over the price point, sticking mostly to cheaper side dishes. Nevertheless, Shirou had absolutely no intention of telling Saber the total cost once it was all added up.
"..."
Saber pursed her lips. "Because my consumption is high, I may have ordered a bit too much. I am truly very sorry."
She admitted her fault with full self-awareness.
Shirou was about to stop her when she looked up further:
"The kindness of a meal and an empty wallet—I shall surely compensate for them."
As a side note: currently, Shirou was primarily responsible for the Emiya household's finances. Rin was the only exception, though even Rin had asked Shirou to take her money for safekeeping in case she couldn't control her shopping urges.
The person with the lowest income was currently standing right in front of Shirou.
In general, it was close to zero.
"Saber... you... do you have a job?"
Saber produced a "petrification" sound effect.
Strange—even Rider's Mystic Eyes were ineffective at petrifying Saber, yet this did the trick.
"No, my thought was... I will do housework to make up for this portion. Probably."
"Sakura and I already handle the housework. By the way, Saber, do you know how to wring out a mop?"
Saber's eyes became transparently vacant. Seeing her like that, Shirou quickly pressed down the corners of his mouth.
'No, I can't laugh yet. If I actually laugh out loud, I'll definitely be cut.'
Before the void-staring Saber could notice anything amiss, Shirou raised his hand with a proposal: "In that case, how about we just consider this payment for Saber acting as a bodyguard?"
Hearing this, Saber became anxious instead: "No, Shirou! Protecting you is my duty as a Servant; how can the two be conflated!?"
'No, she's really quite high-maintenance. If she's that concerned, why not just follow Rider's lead and take a part-time job?'
Shirou propped up his cheek, thinking of a better way to phrase it: "Then, consider it payment for the times Saber protects Rin, Sakura, and Illya."
"...Mmm."
'What do you mean, "Mmm"!?'
Saber had a moment of realization, her face showing a mix of relief and a hint of pride. Seeing her look like that made it impossible to stay annoyed, so Shirou let it drop.
Shirou sighed and looked out the window at the bustling street. The crowds, unaware of the Holy Grail War, brushed past one another with smiles, heading toward a place called "daily life."
Saber, still with her hair down, reached behind her head and began tying it back into her original hairstyle bit by bit. "Are you worried, Shirou?"
"I just feel it would be nice if this kind of time could last a bit longer."
"Time is short; all the more reason to cherish it."
So said Saber. Her way of cherishing time seemed to be watching the crowd outside the window together with Shirou.
Gradually, a trace of a smile appeared on Saber's lips.
The sound of music drifted in from the other end of the street. A group of people with mohawks entered their field of vision carrying bags of instruments. Those among them holding portable instruments couldn't wait and were already plucking strings.
The music from the various instruments was extremely chaotic, loud, and excessively boisterous, yet it possessed a certain underlying rhythm.
"I recall this style is called Rock. Or perhaps Punk, or something else."
"To be honest, I still don't quite understand the difference between Rock and Punk."
"If Saber wants to know, I'm afraid I can't help much. I don't really know the ropes when it comes to music."
Saber asked with a casual air, "Then, does Shirou like this kind of music?"
"I might find it just okay. Some people like this vibe, but I worry this music is a bit too noisy. It's fine to hear it once, but if you hear it too much, your ears start to hurt."
"Shirou's thinking makes sense. However, I believe that music which can bring a group of people together to sing, dance, and laugh incessantly is an embodiment of vitality and passion. It is very suitable for those whose hearts are surging."
Saber nodded in agreement.
"I wonder if there are Heroic Spirits in the world who like this kind of music."
She had a point. Shirou couldn't help but wonder aloud out of curiosity.
Once the trendy band had passed, the two packed up their things and walked out of the restaurant doors.
Shirou and Saber's plan was to meet up with Rin and the others in the afternoon to share the information gathered in the morning. However, before that, it was perfectly fine to utilize their rest time to walk around the city a bit.
The two headed forward casually along the commercial street. Many, many children and adults accompanying them passed by.
Only then did Shirou notice that the reason the street was so crowded seemed to be a new amusement park opening nearby. In the distance behind the buildings, a small drop tower could be seen.
Weaving through the crowd alongside the wide-eyed Saber, Shirou didn't forget to guide her back to the path whenever she nearly got swallowed by the mass of people.
After the foot traffic thinned out, the two finally brushed past the gates of the amusement park.
There seemed to be a large stage set up there, with a crowd gathered around it. Although Shirou's eyesight allowed him to see the decorative advertisements on the hosting platform, he wasn't clear on what exactly was going on.
"Shirou?"
Saber lightly poked Shirou's side. "Shall we go see?"
"Okay, I get it."
Shirou gave a wry smile and let her lead him over.
Actually, Shirou didn't have much of a psychological expectation for this. Because from what he could see, the prizes backstage were mostly children's toys. Even if there were paper notebooks or leisure books, Shirou didn't think Saber would be interested.
Soon, Shirou realized where he had been wrong.
At a spot where he could see the prize display case in full, Shirou finally saw it.
It was placed right in the grand prize position, incredibly conspicuous. With magnificent, serious eyes that hovered between an impression of cuteness and majesty, it had a heap of extra decorations as the "icing on the cake." Most impressively, a mini-quilt had been draped over its back to serve as a cape.
'Please, don't let it be this big of a coincidence.'
"The first prize for this event is: the Lion Plushie · 20th Anniversary · Ultra Collector's Type · Limited Edition produced by the Jotai Company!"
It looked like they wouldn't be leaving until this event was finished.
Shirou calmly accepted this nirvana-like conclusion.
New Fanfiction!
You call this a projection?
What is a sword?
After Shirou Emiya awakened the memories of his past life and obtained a system that allowed him to travel to other worlds, his horizons were broadened by witnessing the wonders of those realms, and he suddenly reached a moment of enlightenment.
"Only swords... how could it be such a limit!"
Shirou Emiya: "Trace on!"
"False Magician's Red"
Consequently, by the time the Holy Grail War officially began...
Rin Tohsaka exclaimed in agitation:
"This isn't Projection at all!"
Crossover with Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Jujitsu Kaisen and others.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting