Chapter 41: Just Extremely Cute
No!
How can I be a freeloader!
Shirou, Shirou! How can you be so depraved!
It's decided!
From today onward, I shall never eat the food of charity!
"Shirou, why are you spacing out? Hurry up and come here~"
"Coming right up~"
Looking at the girl smiling sweetly at him, Shirou attained enlightenment.
Why refuse food that is both fragrant and tender?
At worst, I can just return the favor later as a matter of courtesy.
While Shirou was eating and letting his mind wander, Rin suddenly thought of something and quietly brought up a topic.
"Speaking of which, Shirou, do you know about the Holy Grail War?"
"...!?" Shirou, sensing the key element, blinked. He never expected Rin to suddenly bring this up. Luckily, Shirou's expression management was excellent enough, and he quickly masked that trace of surprise.
"Well, all the Magi in Fuyuki City probably know about it, don't they..."
After deflecting with this sentence, Shirou began to think about how to change the subject.
Rin, however, had no intention of stopping. After all, she believed that Shirou, being the same age as her, couldn't possibly have any connection to the Holy Grail War.
Given this premise, Shirou became Rin's best confidant.
Of course, Rin wasn't foolish; she wouldn't reveal anything about her father.
"I've looked up information, and the previous Holy Grail Wars were all over within a few weeks... By the way, Shirou, have you noticed anything abnormal in Fuyuki recently?"
Any Magus could sense that something was amiss in Fuyuki City during the night lately, so lying about this was pointless.
"The Holy Grail War, huh... it feels far away from me. I just hope it doesn't cause too much damage or casualties." Shirou said somewhat sentimentally.
However, this wasn't something he could easily control.
But, if Caster was taken care of, Shirou felt the casualties would be significantly reduced.
Perhaps because her father, Tohsaka Tokiomi, was already involved in the Holy Grail War, Rin was also quite concerned about the matter.
"I wonder how long this Holy Grail War will last..." She mumbled indistinctly while chewing her food.
"I don't know. If I could, I'd really like to see it." Shirou was still playing dumb.
"You can't think like that, Shirou!" Rin's small face immediately became serious upon hearing Shirou's remark.
"Even if you are a Magus, it would still be very dangerous if you were seen!"
The family texts about the Holy Grail War mentioned that the Heroic Spirits who appear are beings with illustrious reputations from past eras.
Among these Heroic Spirits would be heroes, kings, and knights from the past, but also villains who committed heinous crimes.
That's why Rin became anxious after hearing Shirou's comment; she was genuinely worried that Shirou would get entangled in such terrifying events.
Unfortunately, Rin didn't know that Shirou was already deep within the vortex of the Holy Grail War.
"Don't worry, Rin, I won't." Shirou said to Rin with a smile, which eased the girl's nervous expression.
After this topic, they discussed some interesting anecdotes and gossip from the Magic world. Rin also mentioned that she would probably go to the 'Clock Tower' to study once she came of age and asked Shirou about his plans.
"As for me... I don't know yet..."
Putting aside the slightly distant Fifth Holy Grail War, the current Fourth Holy Grail War was full of uncertainties, so Shirou couldn't give a definitive answer.
Moreover, if he spoke too clearly, Shirou felt like he might be raising a flag.
You can't just say things like that in a two-dimensional world.
"Is that so? Then what do you think of the 'Clock Tower'?" Rin asked with some curiosity.
Shirou paused for a few seconds, appearing to think seriously, then replied: "I think... it's a pile of garbage."
The Mage's Association is mainly divided into three major institutions.
The Clock Tower in London, the moving academy Wandering Sea in the North Atlantic, and Mount Atlas in Egypt.
The scale of each institution is the same, but nowadays, when people talk about the Mage's Association, they usually mean the 'Clock Tower.'
The Wandering Sea believes that the Age of Gods' magecraft is supreme and that post-Christian era magecraft is a joke; they are currently in a cold war with the 'Clock Tower.'
And Atlas Institute, known as "The Giants' Cellar," has no external communication; it's a "living hell" from which even light cannot escape.
These two places are synonymous with being behind the times.
No one wants to become a relic of the past, so ninety percent of Western European Magi chose to enter the 'Clock Tower.'
This disparity in power is irreversible and unavoidable. If the Clock Tower were to fall from the center of the Magic world, it would mean that for this planet, the Magic world would essentially have completely vanished.
This Clock Tower, over centuries, has seen its various Lord divide into two major factions based on differing ideologies, and they are one step away from internal strife.
The Mage's Association, like the Church, is merely a necessary evil. The so-called Seal Designation is just preserving "mysteries" they don't understand in formalin.
It can only be said that the Mage's Association is an extremely conservative bureaucratic organization.
"Hmm... is that so..." A flicker of disappointment crossed Rin's eyes. In truth, she hoped that one day she could go to the 'Clock Tower' with Shirou.
However, since Shirou had a poor opinion of the 'Clock Tower,' Rin wouldn't badger him to go with her.
She was that kind of girl—possessing not only extreme cuteness but also kindness and warmth.
Perhaps due to Shirou's deep understanding of Rin, he subconsciously viewed her through rose-tinted glasses. In his eyes, this girl was full of shining points.
As Shirou was thinking about this, Rin, sitting across the dining table, felt somewhat awkward under Shirou's constant gaze.
Rin instinctively wiped the corner of her mouth. After finding no oil stains or rice grains, she asked with some confusion.
"Why are you staring at me... Is there something on my face?"
Hearing Rin's words, Shirou realized his lapse in decorum.
"Ah, sorry, I just realized that Rin looks cute from every angle."
After saying this, Shirou realized his expression might have been too direct.
But Rin's cheeks had already flushed, and a shy mist of water was gathering in her sea-blue eyes.
"W-what are you saying! You... idiot!"
Rin, having finished most of her meal, stood up, quickly carrying her tray and leaving the cafeteria before she could become clumsy and embarrass herself due to shyness.
Although Rin had been educated with elegant family etiquette since childhood, she always seemed to falter at crucial moments—a characteristic that felt like a family trait—and it greatly bothered her.
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