"Orders... I don't have any yet."
"I see. But there are other Masters and Servants here, so an explanation is needed. Are we allies?"
Saber pointed her invisible sword at us and asked Shirou.
"Well, allies... I guess you could say we're allies? Ahaha..."
"I wish you would speak clearly."
As Saber urged him, Rin stepped forward and said.
"We are allies. Servant Saber! We helped your Master summon you."
Saber looked at Shirou to confirm if that was true.
"That's right, they helped me."
Hearing Shirou's words, Saber lowered her sword.
"I see. Understood."
Rin quietly asked Cassian.
"Cassian, if you fight Saber, can you win?"
"Hahaha, even if there were 100 Sabers, I could win."
"Hey~ you're lying... Saber is said to be the strongest among Servants."
Tohsaka Rin was a Saber fanboy in the original story. Since she tried hard to summon Saber for the Holy Grail War, Cassian could understand her saying this to some extent, but it hurt his feelings a bit when she said it in front of him.
"Really, you don't believe me? Are you really my Servant? You summoned the strongest Servant, you know."
Then, Saber, who had been listening quietly, frowned and said.
"I can't let that remark slide."
"I only speak the truth. Don't overestimate your abilities, Saber!"
"It's Saber! Fine, it wouldn't be bad to test our skills as allies."
"I agree."
As Saber and Cassian seemed about to fight, Shirou hurriedly intervened.
"Wait, Saber!"
"Master, if I endure such an insult, I can no longer be called a knight."
Rin, curious, started egging them on.
"Yeah, Shirou. It's just a light sparring match."
"But a girl like her shouldn't be swinging weapons and fighting."
When Shirou said that, Saber was taken aback. Seeing this, Cassian pointed at Shirou and shouted.
"Here, we have a sexist!!!"
Then, all the women glared at Emiya Shirou and each said something.
Tohsaka Rin: "Shirou, I'm disappointed. What era do you think this is, saying such things!"
Saber: "I never thought my Master would be such a person. Are you disappointed that your Servant is a woman?"
Rider: "Sakura! I think you need to seriously reconsider this Shirou person!"
Matou Sakura: "Senpai..."
Shirou panicked and quickly made excuses.
"No, wait! I just thought Saber is a cute girl, and if she gets hurt..."
Cassian pointed at Emiya Shirou again and shouted.
"Here, we have a habitual sexist!!!"
Then, the women started confronting Shirou.
"Shirou, that's really too much. Are you saying women should just cook and do laundry at home?"
"That's right. Master, you need to change your views on women!"
"Sakura, is it okay if I hit this guy just once?"
"Senpai..."
Thus, Shirou became cowed and was surrounded by the women, having to listen to a lecture for an hour. Sakura didn't try to stop them and seemed to enjoy the situation.
'Wow... women are scary...'
Since a lot happened today, it was already 1 AM. Cassian told the women who were still lecturing.
"That's enough now. It's late, let's sleep. It's already 1 o'clock."
When Cassian informed them of the time, they all stopped the lecture. Rin looked at the clock in the dojo and asked Shirou.
"I see, it's already time... Let's sleep quickly. I'm staying over tonight, so give us a room."
"Y-yes..."
Shirou, perhaps because he had listened to the lecture for too long and accumulated mental damage, staggered as he showed them to the room. Since they were a newly formed alliance, they divided the rooms considering the Masters and Servants.
Fortunately, Rin and Cassian were assigned a room with a bed. Rin jumped onto the bed and lay down.
"Ugh... I'm tired. There was a lot going on today."
Cassian covered Rin with a blanket and lay down on the futon that Shirou had provided on the floor.
"By the way, why did you tell Shirou that we're dating?"
Rin turned over in bed and looked at Cassian, asking. Probably, Shirou had told her while Cassian was briefly away with Caster.
"Well, there was no need to explain to someone who doesn't know anything. Saying we're dating will make it easier to act from now on."
Rin suddenly blushed and said.
"Is that really all?"
"Disappointed? Shall we really date?"
Rin quickly covered her face with the blanket and turned over. Rin was very embarrassed.
"W-w-what... are you saying!"
"What's wrong with that?"
"..."
Rin was silent for a while. Then, she asked about Cassian.
"By any chance, in the future... I mean, where Cassian came from, did you have someone you were dating?"
Honestly, there were in other worlds, but Cassian decided to only talk about the real world.
"No, there wasn't. I was just busy surviving in the bunker. The surface was all contaminated with radiation."
"I see..."
"Sleep quickly. It's good to sleep a lot when you can."
"Y-yes..."
It was quiet again for a moment. Rin said quietly from under the blanket.
"S-so... that is... after the Holy Grail War ends... it might be good to date..."
"Yeah, let's do that."
"It's a promise!"
With those words, Rin really fell asleep. Cassian lay down for a while and checked the [lesser grail] ability he had obtained. He needed to check if it was corrupted when he stole it.
[(SS)lesser grail] Mana +500 Can store souls. (Key to the Greater Grail)
Fortunately, there was no mention of corruption. It seemed that only the pure lesser grail had transferred when he stole it.
'That's a relief.'
Then, Cassian sensed a presence outside. Since Rin was sleeping, he quietly got up and went outside. Rider approached him.
"I have something to say. Follow me."
"Is it okay for us to leave our posts?"
"Saber is here, so it should be fine."
"Understood."
Guided by Rider, Cassian went to an old-looking shrine a bit away from Shirou's house on the mountain. The shrine seemed to have been unattended for a long time, as it was broken in many places.
Rider suddenly started taking off her clothes. Honestly, Cassian was a bit surprised.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Sakura summoned me without even a catalyst, with nothing at all. In such cases, the Servant selected is one whose existence is close to the Master's. I didn't want Sakura to become like me, but regardless of my will, things kept flowing in a bad direction."
"That's when I appeared."
"Yes, thank you very much. For giving me the salvation I couldn't receive. You didn't just save Sakura; you saved me too. So, I wondered if there was any way to repay you."
"So, you chose this method?"
"Yes, this is all I can offer."
Cassian shook his head and said to Rider.
"I'm sorry, but I have someone in my heart."
"That would be Sakura's older sister, right? Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret. Or is it that I'm not attractive enough?"
"..."
As Cassian remained silent, Rider approached with a flushed face, took his hands with both of hers, and brought them to her chest.
'Wow~! I really can't resist this.'
In the old shrine, Cassian had a passionate affair with Rider and then returned to Shirou's house.
"It was enjoyable. If you want it again, just say so. Next time, I might be the one who wants it. Hehe"
Rider smiled and went to the room where Sakura was sleeping. Cassian felt guilty towards Tohsaka Rin, but he doubted any man who wasn't a eunuch could resist when Rider seduced him naked. That night, Cassian didn't sleep but spent time on the roof, keeping watch. It was indeed late for sleeping.
The next day, after washing up simply, they ate the breakfast Cassian made and tried to go to school. For Cassian and Rider, it was fine, but Saber, having become a Servant while alive, couldn't spiritualize, so it was hard for her to follow. However, she insisted on following to protect her Master, so Shirou was about to use a command spell to order her, but reluctantly, she decided to stay and guard the house.
"Then, I entrust my Master to you."
"Understood."
Saber asked Cassian to look after Shirou. Thus, classes started, but during class, police came to take Sakura away, so Cassian informed Shirou, and he went to the police station as her guardian. It was probably due to the Matou house fire, but with Shirou and Fujimura Taiga's testimony, Sakura was able to return to school safely. This way, Sakura gained complete freedom.
After school, Cassian decided to learn 'Projection Magecraft' and 'Reinforcement Magecraft' from Shirou. Seeing this, Rin tried to stop him.
"Learning that won't be of much use. You should learn something else."
"Rin, think about it. Even if it's fake, if you can copy gems and use them, it might cost a lot of mana, but wouldn't it definitely reduce gem consumption?"
"Oh... that's true. Cassian! Are you a genius?"
"Heh~ This kind of thing always requires a shift in perspective."
Cassian informed her in advance about what Tohsaka Rin would learn and use in the future. Anyway, Tohsaka Rin and Cassian learned projection and reinforcement magecraft from Shirou in the yard of Shirou's house. Shirou was happy that he could teach magecraft to someone else and explained with all his passion.
"Ugh~! Why isn't this working?"
"That's why imagination is important."
Tohsaka Rin was struggling quite a bit, but Cassian immediately learned it after seeing Shirou demonstrate. This seemed largely influenced by [Clairvoyance], [Material Manipulation], and [Genius]. And his understanding of magecraft in the Fate worldview was also high.
[Projection Magecraft]
Projects and replicates items.
[Reinforcement Magecraft]
Enhances the performance of substances.
The reason Cassian wanted to learn [Projection Magecraft] was not only because it's overpowered itself, but also because its end might develop into [Material Creation]. Although he has [Material Manipulation], this only manipulates existing substances to change them into others, which is clearly different from [Material Creation].
"Rin."
"Don't talk to me! I'm concentrating."
"Uh... okay."
Cassian sensed Sakura and Rider coming, so he tried to tell her, but Rin said not to talk to her because she was focusing on [Projection Magecraft]. Sakura, having lost everything due to her house burning down, decided to buy daily necessities, underwear, and another set of school uniform. So, she was out shopping with Rider's escort.
The money was provided by Rin and Shirou, but soon all the assets the Matou family had would be inherited by Sakura, so it seemed she wouldn't lack for living expenses. Until then, Rin and Shirou agreed to help a bit. Rin was stingy, but she didn't spare money for Sakura.
"We're back. We also bought ingredients for dinner."
"Welcome back~"
Certainly, Sakura's expression had improved. Now that the things that bound her had disappeared at once, vitality gradually flowed into her eyes, and she seemed brighter.
"Then, I'll prepare dinner."
"Yeah, please."
Cassian called Shirou.
"Shirou."
"Yes? What is it?"
"This is in return for teaching me magecraft."
Cassian gifted two bracelets made of gems. These were made by imitating the necklace that Rin always carried, left by her father, and referencing [Material Manipulation] and Rin's gem crafting. They were bracelets with only the function of storing mana, but they could store a considerable amount and were made by encasing the gems in an alloy to prevent easy breakage even with vigorous movement.
"What is this?"
"I noticed you seem to lack mana a lot, so this should be a solution. They are bracelets that can store mana. Think of them as mana piggy banks."
"Oh~ thank you."
Certainly, Shirou is a protagonist overflowing with a sense of justice, so he can be trusted, and there's a need to strengthen him. Moreover, by giving him these bracelets, there's no need for Tohsaka to do strange things by transferring mana through a pass like in the original story because Shirou lacks mana.
'I need to prevent any potential mishaps in advance.'
Then, suddenly, Saber ran out into the yard.
"Master! What happened? The mana transmitted to me suddenly increased."
"I received mana piggy banks as a gift from Cassian."
Shirou showed Saber the pair of bracelets he was wearing on his arm.
"That's good news. Cassian, thank you."
"No problem, as allies, we should help each other."
Rin, while practicing magecraft, kicked the ground and got irritable. She had very high talent in other magic, but this kind of magecraft didn't seem to suit her.
"Ugh~! Hmph... Let's just eat. By the way, what's that Shirou is wearing?"
"These are mana piggy banks that Cassian gifted me."
"What did you say?"
Rin approached Cassian and held out her hand.
"Huh?"
"Obviously, since you gifted such things to an ally Master, you'll give me something better, right?"
"Really... didn't you take a bunch of gems this morning?"
"That was because Sakura needed money. Stop talking and give it to me quickly!"
"Yes, yes. Someone might think I'm your servant."
Cassian gave Rin some gems he had made in advance.
"Wow~ these contain a considerable amount of mana?"
"Keep them and use them only in emergencies. I'm not sure if this will become an ATM machine later."
"Hey~ as if I would do that?"
Cassian couldn't believe that statement. In the original story, after the Holy Grail War ended, Rin tried hard to create gems using Shirou's projection magecraft.
When Sakura called them to eat, they gathered in the living room and had dinner together. Saber exclaimed with admiration every time she ate.
"Oh~ this is delicious."
"That's fried chicken."
"Then, what is this?"
"Stir-fried meat and vegetables."
"I see."
Chomp chomp chomp!
"Master, may I have another bowl, please?"
"Y-yes."
As expected of Saber. She ate so well that even Shirou seemed surprised.
Rin said to Shirou.
"After dinner, there's a place I want to go with you."
"Huh? Where?"
"The church in Shinto."
They finished eating, entrusted the house to Rider and Sakura, and moved to the church.
"Is it okay to go at such a late time?"
"It's fine. It's good to hear about the Holy Grail War from that priest."