"Whoa there, that was close~."
"At least let me hit you!"
"Hmm, even so, isn’t it a little much to tell your heavenly older brother to stand still while you keep firing [Gand] at him, Rin?"
"What heavenly older brother?!"
Hey, so you really did ditch the act.
"Hmm, this might be getting dangerous."
"Dangerous? Dangeroouus?!"
Hmm, how should I smooth this over... Ah, got it!
"Ahem! Behold my true and proper secret technique!"
"What now?!"
"Emergency Escape: Split and Run!"
Protecting my head with both arms, I hurled my body toward the window. Conveniently, it was open. Hmm, the way my arms were raised felt weirdly embarrassing.
"You little punk!!"
"Hahaha! I'll be back!"
As I jumped, I didn’t forget to give a thumbs-up. That’s my sense of style! Heh heh!
...Maybe something about this is wrong, but whatever.
I landed while drawing [Aiki] around my legs for a split second. Hmm, I can’t stand how nicely the impact gets dispersed!
...Actually, that hurt a little. Owie. I leapt down with the instincts of my previous life because of the dream, then snapped back to my senses and hurriedly wrapped myself in [Aiki].
Tch. In my previous life, I could drop from the second floor barehanded without a problem.
"Huh? Big brother?"
"Oh, Sakura."
"...I don’t even know where to start, but first, why did you jump from the second floor?"
"Uh... because my cute little sister was blasting [Gand] at me, so I was dodging?"
"...Setting that aside, why aren’t you wearing anything above the waist?"
"I woke up from sleep and jumped straight out."
"......"
Through the window, Sakura stared at me in utter disbelief. Hmm.
"What? Why? What."
"No..."
"Hmm? Sakura? What is it?"
Huh? Who’s that? That voice sounds familiar...
"Ah, the hyena from the Edelfelt family."
"Hmph! How vulgar. Sakura, is that man your brother?"
"Ahaha..."
Hmm. So that’s Luviagelita Edelfelt. Sakura scratched the back of her black-haired head with an awkward expression.
"Anyway, Sakura, what brings you here?"
"Oh, my sister told me. That you were leaving today..."
"Uh... which sister? The one yelling from way up there? Or the martial-arts girl in the back looking displeased?"
"The one up there."
"W-wait, what do you mean martial arts...?"
"...You’re really bad at acting."
Her face was practically screaming, I’m lying, you know.
"How did I know? Ah, because it was written all over your face. No need to ask how I knew. I could tell at a glance. Your body’s pretty well trained, and your movements are those of someone trained professionally. There are hardly any calluses on your palms, so it’s not kendo... And those sleeves, they’re detachable, right? Velcro?"
"...!"
"Well, your muscles are pretty lean, so probably a striking style. Your lower body’s trained too much for archery... wrestling, maybe? That side is practical in real combat, after all. I guess that’s very Edelfelt of you."
"....."
"Ahaha... Come to think of it, my brother does have a lot of knowledge about that sort of thing."
"Well, one thing and another. So, am I right?"
"You are."
Hmm, just as I thought. My eye for this stuff hasn’t gone rusty yet.
"Anyway, setting Sakura aside, what brings the hyena queen of Edelfelt all the way here?"
"...Well, Sakura is technically part of Edelfelt too. Tokiomi adopted her, didn’t he?"
"Even so, Sakura’s my cute little sister. Just because she carries the Edelfelt name doesn’t mean people’s feelings are cut cleanly with a knife, right? So, may I ask once more why the queen of the hyenas herself has graced us with her presence?"
"Ah, th-that’s..."
Huh? What’s this? The de facto head of that Edelfelt den of hyenas, the one that doesn’t care about face in the slightest, is hesitating like that?
"Hmm. I wonder what brought you here. I’m curious too, actually."
"Oh, our cute little sister has arrived."
"Shut up. Anyway, what brings you here?"
"I don’t think that’s any of your business."
"That won’t do."
I cut in lightly.
"Even if Edelfelt are hyenas who don’t care about face at all and casually ignore other people’s opinions, you do understand the meaning of barging into someone else’s workshop with dirty shoes, don’t you? Are you picking a fight? Did you get so desperate to turn the Edelfelt mansion grounds into flat land?"
"Ah, th-that’s not it. I did hear about you, you know?"
Huh? What do you mean? It’s nothing special. About ten years ago? Around then, that wormy old bastard from the Matou family must’ve completely lost it, because during the Holy Grail War he tried to kidnap Rin. And since it was in the middle of the war, Tokiomi himself was away from the workshop.
He did succeed in the kidnapping, but the cleanup was sloppy. Rin had been placed under a tracking spell for safety, and they hadn’t removed it. I tracked her down, realized it was the Matou workshop, and with half my mind gone, I literally drew my sword and stormed the place alone.
The result was the death of that wormy old bastard Matou Zouken and the Matou family’s elimination from the Holy Grail War. I hunted down every last one of the brain worms he’d hidden away with magecraft, so that’s certain. When I cornered him and cut down the black-armored Berserker he’d summoned with a Command Spell, his face was something else. Ah, youth was reckless. Ho ho.
...Come to think of it, I’m almost eighty mentally now. Sob sob.
Anyway, after that incident, an unwritten rule spread around here: don’t lay a hand on anyone from the Tohsaka family. If you do, the whole family will be smashed to pieces... or so they say.
No, what I did wasn’t that amazing... Ah, right. The moment a human being beat a Servant barehanded, I’d already gone beyond human, hadn’t I? And that wormy old bastard Zouken was pretty strong in his own way. I think he was said to be able to take on Servants if they came into the workshop during his prime... though my memories of my first life are pretty hazy.
Anyway, after that incident, the Clock Tower even asked if I’d be interested in working as an Executor. I turned them down, and they dropped the matter without any lingering attachment.
Come to think of it, that Berserker was... Lancelot, wasn’t it. Hmm. Right, that lower-body Berserker.
"Even we wouldn’t... want to provoke a human who can defeat a Servant barehanded. No, at this point I’m honestly not even sure you’re human..."
No, don’t say that so seriously. Rin, why are you nodding along too? Sakura, not you as well?!
"...Shut up. No, more importantly, why are you here? Say that. Quickly."
"Ah, um, th-that is, uh..."
"You’re using way too many filler words."
I gestured at Rin, and mana began to flow as she activated her crest.
"Can you tell me in ten seconds? If not, I may have to use a slightly rougher method to throw you out."
"N-no! That’s not it!"
"Huh? Brother Ren? What’s going on? Miss Luvi? Not it?"
"Shirou! You’re here! You can just call me Luvi..."
Luviagelita’s face lit up.
...Ah, I get it now. My expression cooled instantly. Rin’s did too. The flow of mana gradually weakened, as if she’d stopped activating her crest.
"Tch. Let me guess, you followed Sakura here, saw that Shirou guy, and immediately said you’d come along."
That harem-master bastard. And look at that, Sakura’s got this weirdly jealous expression too. A love triangle?
"Ugh... die in a fire, you real-life winner..."
"...My side hurts..."
Those were my words and Rin’s, respectively. Still, the tense atmosphere had eased up.
"Ah, big brother. Come to think of it, I made breakfast..."
"Oh, you made it?"
Everyone’s eyes sparkled. Why is Luvi acting like that too...?
"Fufu. Shirou’s cooking, the first I’ve had since he became a butler at the Clock Tower..."
...Ah, so that’s it. Is she happy because Shirou made it, or because it tastes good? Usually it’d be the former, but since it’s Shirou, maybe the latter too... no, probably both.
++++
"Hmm, it’s good. Thanks for the meal, Shirou."
"Mm, as expected of senpai’s cooking..."
"...If Sakatsuki-kun ever has nothing to do later, he could probably open a restaurant and make a decent living."
"Hmph. Even a muscle gorilla can tell how amazing our Shirou’s cooking is, huh."
""What did you say?!""
The sisters’ voices overlapped. Hmm. Rin’s mad about the muscle gorilla part, and Sakura’s mad about the word "our," I guess.
"Sister? Why did you put a possessive in front of Shirou senpai?"
"Hah. Muscle gorilla, huh. You’re one to talk after suplexing me out of nowhere, aren’t you?"
I need popcorn! Popcorn!
"Hey, eroge protagonist... no, Shirou. Got any popcorn?"
"....Brother, you just said eroge protagonist..."
"Must’ve been your imagination. Anyway, got popcorn?"
"...Here."
I tore open the bag of popcorn Shirou handed me. Now where’s the cola... I took a cola from the fridge, poured it into a glass, then with a light chant activated my magic circuits to make ice and dropped it into the glass.
Want a cup too? No, I’m fine. Fine, suit yourself. After the conversation passed, I went upstairs, rolled up the sleeves I’d thrown on, stuck my hand into the popcorn bag, and shoved a handful into my mouth.
"Ngh! Seriously! This hyena!"
"Hmph! Unrefined much. Aren’t you the hyena here?"
"Sister! ‘Our’?! Or are you perhaps suggesting we split senpai up...?"
...Wow, what a mess. This is a full-blown soap opera. And Sakura, what did you just say... split Shirou into how many pieces?
"...You’re a sinful man."
"...Sniff."
========================================
+bonus
material_tohsaka_ren
True Name: Tohsaka Ren
Magic Circuits / Quality: B
Magic Circuits / Quantity: A
Magic Circuits / Structure: Altered
Status
Strength D Endurance E Agility A+ Mana D Luck C
Skills
[Colored Wave Force - Blue-Red Wave] F(EX)
Description: A wave force created by imitating the nature of a conceptual weapon. It is a cheat-like power that drags every force down into its own starting position. Unless it is the same blue-red wave, it holds a favorable matchup against any opposing power. In addition, by wrapping it around the body, physical abilities can be greatly enhanced. Specifically, all stats except Luck rise by one rank. (If the body’s base physical ability is low, the increase may be even greater.) However, the body is currently far too weak, so it is effectively sealed. If it is raised, the body will begin collapsing continuously after only a few seconds. That is why the rank is set to F.
[Top Sword] EX
Description: A title granted to the greatest knight. Similar to the skill [Infinite Martial Arts], the owner of this skill can display a certain level of proficiency with any weapon they pick up. However, this is not the effect of the skill, but rather something that appears to be the owner’s personal ability. Pure swordsmanship has reached such a level that even spatial distortion and reversal are possible. However, spatial distortion is half-sealed for the same reason as [Colored Wave Force - Blue-Red Wave].
[Mind’s Eye] A
Description: Insight honed through endless effort and training. Even when cornered, it calmly assesses its own situation and the enemy’s abilities, drawing out a way forward in battle. If there is even a 1% chance of turning things around, it can secure the opportunity to carry out that plan.
[Instinct] B
Description: An innate sixth sense. In combat, it lets the user feel the optimal flow of battle. It can only be used for combat-related actions. However, this subject obtained it after being exposed far too often to situations where life and death hung in the balance. It could even be said to have been derived from [Mind’s Eye].
[Steel Resolve] A
Description: The skillification of repeated experiences of remaining calm and making rational judgments based on reason in extreme situations. It allows the user to act while ignoring pain. (Not by blocking it, but by feeling the pain and not being affected by it.) It also receives the effects of the Valor skill. It does have a damage boost effect for hand-to-hand combat, but since the owner’s basic martial skill is already extremely high, that part is of little significance.
[Military Tactics] B-
Description: Tactical intuition for battlefields involving many people rather than one-on-one combat. The reason for the minus rank is that, since this is knowledge from the future, some parts do not match the present age. However, precisely because of that, it becomes possible to gain the upper hand in a battle of wits when facing Heroic Spirits from the past with strategy.
[Charisma of the Battlefield] B
Description: A natural talent for commanding legions. Improves the abilities of allies in legion warfare. It is only effective on the battlefield, and makes the soldiers under command loyal to orders. However, it only works if there is already a certain degree of trust in the owner. It will not work if they harbor hostility toward the owner. When exerted as a "general," its effect can become especially great.
[Red■ ■■]
Description: Because the ■■ of the Red■ ■■, which is the ■■ of ■life, remains in the ■■, its ■■ has also affected ■■■■. As a result, the ■■ of ■■■■ is in a heavily ■■ state. It cannot be noticed at a glance. To notice it, one would need vision on the level of a divine spirit. Even then, direct contact is required; it cannot be learned indirectly. To find out directly, someone with the skill of a Magus King or Medea would have to make direct contact and confirm the ■■■■.
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