Chapter 42: Want to Come to My House?
Since Rin had left, Shirou didn't continue to waste time in the cafeteria. Eating didn't take much time anyway; they had spent much longer chatting.
Returning to the classroom, the afternoon class was not as strange as the morning's; at least no problems beyond the scope of elementary school were suddenly thrown at Shirou.
When school ended, Shirou packed his textbooks as usual, placing them inside his desk, with no intention of taking them home; carrying a backpack or any such burden was completely unnecessary.
When Shirou finished these trivial tasks in a few minutes and subconsciously looked toward the classroom entrance, he didn't see that familiar small figure.
"Has she left already..."
She probably went home ahead of time.
Or perhaps the incident at noon made her feel too embarrassed to meet him.
Thinking this, Shirou stepped out of the classroom.
Then, upon seeing the girl leaning against the corridor window, slightly lowering her head and waiting, Shirou suddenly felt a slight flutter in his heart.
Seemingly sensing Shirou's gaze, Rin finally raised her face, and their eyes met for a moment.
"Um..." Rin awkwardly averted her gaze. Shirou's slightly amused look made her cheeks feel warm again.
"Shirou, do you... want to come over to my house?"
Shirou couldn't help but be surprised.
"To your house?"
Shirou already knew that Rin currently lived at the Zenjou residence, as he had followed her once.
However, that time he had only looked from afar. Shirou was still somewhat curious about what it looked like inside.
"Wouldn't that be inconvenient...?"
"It's fine! Mom won't mind!" Rin seemed a little happy and excited about inviting a friend over for the first time.
After all, this was just the old Zenjou family home, not the Tohsaka residence, so there were no major taboo items. Rin had considered this.
However, Rin didn't know that Shirou wasn't worried about going to her house being inconvenient; he was worried about drawing the attention of Tohsaka Tokiomi.
If he were just an obscure Magus, it would be one thing, but Shirou had appeared with Karna on the first night of the Holy Grail War.
While he didn't know if Tohsaka Tokiomi would install surveillance or similar devices in the Zenjou home, it was impossible to say he'd be completely unprepared.
Shirou felt like declining, but looking at Rin's expectant eyes, the thought of the disappointed expression that would appear on that sweet, cute face if he refused made him hesitate.
No...
Shirou suddenly realized.
His usual cautious mindset seemed to have led him into a misconception.
The moment he first revealed himself, all his information was already 'public and transparent.' If that was the case, what was there to hide?
He was now going to the home of Tohsaka Tokiomi's wife and daughter; the one who should be uneasy was Tohsaka Tokiomi, not him.
With this thought, Shirou slightly narrowed his eyes, then nodded to Rin standing before him.
"Alright then."
Having agreed, Shirou got into the car with Rin.
On the way to the Zenjou residence, Shirou continued the joke he had promised to tell Rin last time.
"Luo Ji finally found the legendary Shadow Elf after countless hardships. His strength advanced by leaps and bounds. He broke through the heavenly gates with one spear thrust, entering the realm of the Terrestrial Immortal, shocking the world!
But even so, he couldn't stop the Droplet. Zhuang Yan sacrificed herself to save Luo Ji, who fell into deep sorrow. Depressed, Luo Ji threw a party (par-ty), but ended up in the ICU for eating Oreo cookies too fast.
However, with the help of Da Shi, Luo Ji quickly rallied, endured all kinds of suffering, and found the 100,000-year Nine-Knot Energy Ring. Standing at the peak of the world, he yelled, 'Revive! successfully reviving Zhuang Yan.
"fterward, Luo Ji's combat power greatly increased. Using the 100,000-year Nine-Knot Energy Ring as an energy source, he created the Quantum Gundam, destroying the Droplet with a single punch and safeguarding temporary peace. However, the Trisolarans arrived at this moment, and people looked up at the dark and dim starry sky, only to see the Nine Dragons pulling a Coffin..."
As he reached this part of the story, they arrived at the Zenjou home entrance, and Shirou stopped there.
The joke was Shirou's fabrication, but because this era didn't have so many strange memes, Rin's expression was somewhat blank after hearing it.
It was clear that Rin might not have fully understood, but she was definitely greatly shocked.
After getting out of the car, Shirou occasionally glanced discreetly around the not-so-large residence. He didn't find any surveillance cameras or familiars.
However, there were some barriers specifically targeting Magi, likely intended to deal with uninvited guests.
Since Shirou was invited, he didn't trigger any reaction.
"Please come in, Orihara-kun." Rin's mother, Aoi, opened the door with a gentle smile and invited Shirou inside.
"Ahem... Excuse the intrusion." Shirou said politely, then, guided by Aoi, he exchanged his shoes for slippers at the entrance and entered the living room.
"By the way, Orihara-kun, would you like to call home? The telephone is by the window over there." Aoi, who had already walked up the entrance steps, suddenly remembered something and looked back at Shirou.
Shirou nodded at the suggestion: "Thank you, I'd appreciate that."
As he walked toward the phone cabinet by the window, Shirou glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye.
Her exquisite and gentle face looked as if she had stepped right out of an ancient novel. Her smooth, pale green long hair cascaded down to her waist. She wore an open white jacket over a long dress with green trim.
Tohsaka Aoi, this beautiful, graceful, gentle, and delicate woman, was a classic Yamato Nadeshiko (ideal Japanese woman).
She was born into the Zenjou family, which had Magus ancestors several generations back. It was because Magus factors still flowed in her bloodline that Tohsaka Tokiomi proposed to her and was accepted, leading to the birth of two sisters with astonishing magical aptitude.
Although Tohsaka Aoi never expressed it, she privately understood that Tokiomi's proposal was primarily due to the Magus bloodline. The day she decided to marry a Magus, she had already come to terms with the fact that, as a family inheriting the blood of the Magic Arts, the pursuit of ordinary domestic happiness had become a distant dream.
The world of the Magic Arts, while having a glamorous side, was mostly dark.
But from Shirou's perspective, having married Tohsaka Tokiomi, she must still be happy.
"Shirou~! Hurry up and come up!"
Rin's call snapped Shirou out of his brief contemplation. He quickly replied.
"Coming, coming! Don't rush me!"
Shirou proceeded to dial his home phone number, then told Mrs. Orihara that he would be staying over at a friend's house tonight and wouldn't be returning.
Fortunately, Mrs. Orihara didn't ask many questions, simply instructing him not to play too late, and left Shirou to it.
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