Chapter 64 The Second Day
Somewhere, a dream once existed. A boy stood in the middle of a fire.
Collapsing houses, charred remains. Walking through it, his vision was dyed a brilliant crimson.
Running, gradually accelerating, merging with the smoke and dust.
—That was already a quite nostalgic matter.
In reality, there were no dreams that night. Today, Emiya Shirou simply woke up as usual.
When Shirou awoke in his bed, the pale morning light filtered through the gaps in the curtains. He checked the time on the alarm clock face; the hour hand had just pointed to the sixth major mark.
After getting out of bed and folding his blankets, Shirou began to wash up. He had originally thought he might dream of the Fifth Holy Grail War again, but the space within his sleep was merely a serene white. In that tranquility, there was no need to dream of anything.
If one had to say something high-intensity had happened...
"Ahem."
The associative reflex of seeing the white toothpaste and remembering a certain "snow-white" girl was a different matter entirely.
Shirou truly felt that Illya should maintain a bit more sense of distance; that incident had nearly caused him to toss and turn all night.
'What was she trying to achieve by pressing up like that?' Shirou shook his head violently to disperse the lingering tactile memories and put on his coat.
As per his routine, Shirou intended to head down for a stroll. There was no place away from prying eyes to perform morning sword practice, so at the very least, he wanted to substitute it with a walk.
The streets in the morning were almost empty, with only a thin morning mist dispersing. Looking down the street, one could see a peaceful distant view of Snowfield City, with clusters of skyscrapers in the distance. Behind those skyscrapers stood a "Tower of Babel" even taller than this hotel. That "Crystal Palace" was the residence of the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
He certainly lived comfortably.
The King of Heroes was a potential unstable factor. Shirou didn't want to fight him again; as long as he didn't have another "episode" and try to destroy the world, Shirou would leave him be.
However, if Gilgamesh's gears shifted the wrong way and he went off the deep end again... that's when the Emiya household would have to step in.
The Emiya family only needed to hold him back; the King of Heroes would have a lot more to consider if he suddenly decided to start a rampage. Fortunately, the Emiya family currently had at least Shirou himself, Saber, and Rider as combat assets. If luck favored them, they could even pull Richard in. In the best-case scenario, four Noble Phantasms could be unleashed together.
Well, would the invincible King of Heroes win? Shirou silently set this difficult question aside and checked his phone, finding a new email.
[Sigma: I am currently living alone in a small hut by a marsh. No abnormalities occurred today. Please rest easy.]
"..."
There was absolutely nothing "easy" about that.
The last time he heard of someone living that far out, it was an old witch in a fairy tale stirring a cauldron.
[Shirou: If it really is a situation that allows for peace of mind, then it's fine. If your employer tries to move against you, let me know.]
If Sigma was targeted for leaking intel, Shirou would help him deal with it.
Looking on the bright side, since Sigma lived so far out, he probably wouldn't run into other Servants... right?
Sigma's style didn't resemble a Master's; Servants generally wouldn't look for him. That possibility held a 99% probability.
It wouldn't turn into a situation where Sigma just happens to be a Master, his Servant just happens to be unable to materialize by his will, and while he's living alone in a remote hut, a Servant just happens to drop by the marsh for a rest, breaks in, and starts chasing him, would it?
Shirou thought about it, but ultimately hoped that 1% wouldn't manifest and dropped the thought.
It felt very quiet; there were no assassins on the street, no familiars or drones in the sky.
"..."
Of course, no one was going to pop out from a corner and spray a magazine at him.
Because yesterday, Shirou had already been assassinated in a much harsher manner, and he had countered it. Life should be cherished; a gunman's life is still a life.
A major purpose of Shirou's morning walk was to confirm if this hotel had been locked onto by his attackers or the Police Department. After a round of patrolling, Shirou confirmed that he and Saber had indeed shaken off the surveillance. With his vision, the fact that he saw no drones or familiars stationed even after intentional observation was proof.
This saved Shirou the trouble of finding a place out of sight to—shoot down—the surveillance devices.
Having confirmed the vicinity was safe, Shirou returned to the area near his room, only to find someone standing at his door.
Specifically, a certain "Perfect Miss" with long hair draped over her shoulders and a languid expression, dressed in light, airy clothing like a young lady heading for a secret tryst, was loitering in front of the door.
"Good morning, Rin. Are you breaking and entering?"
Rin turned her face, her lips curving into a perfect smile:
"Good morning, Shirou. Mm-hmm, I'm indeed breaking and entering..."
"......My lady, what do you think would be a good response for me to give?"
Maybe he should start by physically taking half a step back.
"It's just a joke. For once I went along with your rude remark, and you make that face."
Rin pouted dissatisfiedly, then stretched. Letting out an indecipherable, feminine yawn, Rin hummed while stretching: "I just happened to wake up early today. I figured you'd be up already, so I came to take a look. It is you, after all."
It was currently about 7:00 AM.
The Perfect Miss actually loved to sleep in; her usual habit was waking up at 7:30. Since her sleepy appearance was quite cute, it wasn't a serious problem. If they were living in an apartment, Shirou would be happy to take advantage of the early hour to make her breakfast. But during these days without a kitchen...
Shirou pointed downstairs: "Want to go grab breakfast together?"
This suite hotel had breakfast service, but he hadn't tried it and didn't know how it tasted.
"Suit me perfectly. Although, I thought you would first modestly mention that Saber woke up as early as you did?"
Perhaps because it defied her prediction, Rin blinked her eyes wide in surprise.
"It's common knowledge that she wakes up early, and I'm not as awkward as you say."
Saber spent most of her morning hours in Zazen or meditation; after all, adjusting her mental state was a crucial prerequisite for diving fully into a Holy Grail War. Shirou didn't doubt her
reliability for a second. It was just that the fact she was awake was somewhat inconvenient at this moment.
"Wait, that's a bit strange. Even though there's food downstairs and Saber is awake, you aren't going to tell her? That doesn't fit your usual style of being mindlessly considerate to everyone everywhere, Shirou."
Rin yawned again. A few seconds later, her expression sharpened.
Her deduction process involved a rather rude remark—one could even say it was illogical. It made one wonder how she viewed Shirou and Saber on a daily basis.
"Let me think..."
Rin's eyes flickered. After a moment of thought, she said suspiciously: "Do you have something you want to discuss with me that you don't want Saber to accompany you for?"
The trouble was, her conclusion was correct. Shirou could only admit defeat.
Realizing for the umpteenth time that he couldn't win against her, the young lady of the Tohsaka family let out a cute "Hmph," leaned in close, and smiled playfully.
"Let's go to the restaurant downstairs and talk in detail."
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