Chapter 58 Meow~
The room was so quiet that one could even hear the sound of traffic from the distant road.
Shirou swallowed small bites of fruit, flipping through the growing pile of notes on his paper, occasionally glancing at Rider. Whenever Shirou stole a look at her, Rider would meet his gaze peacefully until he looked away. She didn't seem to tire of this repetition.
Whatever Rider had wanted to talk about was likely finished. Since the previous topic concluded, she hadn't spoken again.
However, Rider showed no intention of leaving. She simply stayed in the room as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Unlike a certain indulgent disciple of a Magician, Rider was remarkably restrained. Even though a soft bed was right beside her, she didn't choose to sit on it.
She blended into the air of the room, providing no sense of intrusion. Instead, she was like the most beautiful landscape painting in the space, low-key allowing her own beauty and presence to yield to this small, private world.
Yet, for Shirou, even with her self-control, the scent unique to Rider acted as a poison that occasionally stimulated his brain and nerves.
After a while, as if having developed a taste for it, Rider skewered two more pieces of apple and began to chew. But then, as if suddenly realizing the plate wasn't technically hers, she halted her movements.
"Eat as much as you want, Rider," Shirou urged.
"But, Sakura and the others cut these for you. I have my own portion; I've already eaten." Rider's gaze drifted toward the distance.
"Is that so... Then I'll cut another portion for you later. There should be plenty of apples left anyway."
Even if there weren't, he could just go buy more. It wasn't exactly a difficult task.
"...."
Rider spoke softly. She smoothed her long hair and offered Shirou a faint smile—one that was more "beautiful" than "bewitching." Her shimmering eyes sparkled with a pleasant light.
Following some unknown train of thought, she suddenly said, "Shirou, I must correct a possible misunderstanding. Although I did say I would protect Sakura, that doesn't mean I am rigid, inflexible, or a woman who cannot be won over."
Rider stated clearly: "When the time comes that you need me to join the battle, please tell me. This body will surely become your strength."
It wasn't a contradiction. Just as Shirou trusted Rider's judgment, Rider trusted Shirou's. Rider left it to Shirou to decide when to cast aside evasion and deploy full combat power. In truth, Shirou only needed a single word to command Rider to strike.
In the quiet bedroom, the two of them only occasionally locked eyes. While these encounters usually ended with Shirou being the one to look away, just this once, Shirou felt he shouldn't intentionally avoid her and maintained his composure. It was during this moment that he realized Rider had no intention of breaking eye contact either.
Consequently, the atmosphere began to turn subtle.
Rider smiled meaningfully. Her exquisite figure leaned slightly forward toward Shirou. If it were the Rider from years ago, she would have looked down, but now she could look up at him.
Within Rider's golden, glowing pupils, a layer of blurred excitement began to surface...
Just then... the sound of friction on the floor abruptly broke their concentration. The door creaked open just a crack. Saber poked her head from behind the door:
"Shirou, we are heading back to our own rooms. If there's a sudden combat plan, come find me in my room."
"!!"
Even a cat hunted by a snake wasn't as fast as Rider. Shirou's excellent dynamic vision couldn't even clearly see how her body jerked; she immediately shut her eyes and cancelled the motion of tilting her head up.
"..."
Shirou wasn't sure if he misheard, but he thought he heard Rider let out a hiss of annoyance toward Saber. She might have had a stress response.
Even though things were already "on the verge," Rider was still somewhat reluctant to move. Her expression signaled that whether Saber left or stayed had nothing to do with her, and she remained unmoved.
Until a voice of divine revelation rang out.
An unseen but strangely powerful call drifted from behind Saber: "Rider, shall we head back too? We mustn't trouble Senpai for too long, okay?"
'Hiss, this is bad!'
The sinner awaiting judgment instantly became well-behaved. With a 540-degree turn in attitude, she smoothed out the wrinkles in her blouse as if nothing had happened.
Rider signaled to Shirou: "Well then, I shall take my leave."
Her body turned into particles and vanished; this time, she used spiritualization to pass directly through the wall, leaving the room.
For once, Shirou was left alone in the room.
The strange thing was... even though this should have been the norm, Shirou wasn't quite used to it. He felt a bit at a loss as to what to do.
Setting the marked notes aside, Shirou sat at the head of the bed, staring at his phone's email page and thinking. After mentally reviewing the current situation once more, he remembered something he could do and pulled up a certain person's email address.
[Shirou: How was your day?]
The email was sent to Sigma, but he didn't receive a reply for the time being.
"Done for the day."
There was a lot to do tomorrow. Judging whether Sakura's proposal to deal with Alcides was feasible; finding a chance to meet Sigma or the Ayaka camp again; and Shirou remembered Sakura mentioning a quite powerful priest... likely the supervisor from the Holy Church.
Shirou decided to pay a visit to the church. Anyway, Shirou wasn't a Master in this Holy Grail War; wandering into a church didn't violate any rules.
Shirou wanted to check out the man's character. If he was the type like Kotomine—who would resort to violence in the church if investigated—Shirou would take responsibility for cleaning him up.
Cleaning up the desk first, Shirou stood up again and headed out of the room toward the bathroom. His body felt sticky; he hadn't had a chance to shower since returning today. He had to wash up before going to sleep.
As he walked, Shirou thought of Sigma again. Sigma seemed to be operating alone, maintaining an indifferent attitude that was almost worrying. He wondered where Sigma had chosen as a base.
Shirou was a bit worried about his mental state. But if he told anyone else, they'd probably retort, "Aren't you the last person who should be saying that about him?", so he didn't plan to invite that mockery.
In that regard, Shirou was indeed the same. Despite how lively things usually were, in the end, he still showered alone, brushed his teeth alone, and slept alone.
"Onii-chan~"
...I was alone, right!?
"Saber and the others have left. Like we agreed before, let's take a bath together, okay? Now, it's just the two of us."
He didn't know when she had grabbed the corner of his shirt. Behind him was an aura that was very cute, but dangerous in every sense of the word.
The request was dangerous, the figure was dangerous, and the status was dangerous. Commonly known as "completely out of bounds."
A musky, intoxicating fragrance began to fill the unlit, dim main hall. Pure white long hair, seemingly glowing in the dark, began to flutter actively in his peripheral vision...
In a situation that should have triggered a protective instinct, that silvery, innocent voice was instead putting all its effort into using its "legal" status to provoke desires to do as one pleased, without considering the consequences.
Shirou froze in a posture without turning around, his face darkening.
Yesterday's conversation surfaced in his mind, casting aside today's grand talk...
'Crap, I forgot about this part!'
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