Chapter 43: Rin's Treasure
After hanging up the phone, Shirou let out a light sigh and then planned to head up the stairs leading to the second floor.
As Shirou stepped onto the wooden stairs, Aoi walked out from the kitchen and asked him.
"Oh, I haven't asked you yet. Orihara-kun, would you like something to drink? Black tea, or coffee?"
"Uh... black tea, please."
Shirou answered.
"Alright."
Nodding, Aoi withdrew her gaze and returned to the kitchen.
While preparing the refreshments, Aoi's gentle smile could not help but turn slightly bitter as she thought of the relationship between her daughter Rin and Shirou.
Now a member of the Tohsaka family, she was respected even among other relatives and friends, but Aoi knew clearly that all of this was thanks to Tohsaka Tokiomi.
In other words, she had no way to interfere with her daughter's future happiness.
Therefore, the better Rin's relationship was with that boy, the more tragic the outcome would be.
Even though the Tohsaka family was more in decline than before, they were still one of Fuyuki City's "Three Families," a great lineage. Naturally, Tokiomi would not allow his daughter, who possessed such outstanding talent, to have too much entanglement with someone who had no reputation in the world of magecraft.
In the end, everything they had now would probably only be a beautiful memory in Rin's past.
The moment her daughter was born as a scion of a Magecraft family, Aoi already knew that their lives would be eternally unconnected with the lives of ordinary people.
While Aoi was sighing over these matters, Shirou, who had walked up the stairs to the second floor, was contemplating other things.
When he told Mrs. Orihara that he would not be returning tonight, he certainly did not plan to stay over at Rin's house.
If he actually did that, even if Shirou did nothing, Tohsaka Tokiomi would surely try to fight him to the death.
After all, for a perceived enemy to spend a night in the house of his wife and daughter, viewed from Tohsaka Tokiomi's perspective, how could it not be a provocation?
In fact, Shirou already had a plan for tonight.
He intended to take a trip to the Tohsaka residence.
There was no need to waste any more time; previously, by not spending more effort searching, he had given Caster enough time to prepare fully, even summoning the Sea Demon.
Although there were no casualties, that was only because Karna was strong enough.
But since his own strength combined with Karna's was already among the most powerful in this Holy Grail War, why should he be timid and hesitant?
It must be admitted that Gilgamesh was powerful; when serious, he was undeniably in the very top tier of Servants.
If Shirou were alone, he, with only the power of the Servant Emiya, naturally wouldn't act rashly.
But the situation was clearly different now; combined with Karna's power, he had a chance to fight.
It might indeed be better to wait until they had absolute certainty, but would such an opportunity truly come?
Opportunities are fleeting. If they could be easily grasped, why would there be so many regrets, and why would he have gone through so many deaths...?
Before he possessed sufficient resolve, he was stuck in an endless time loop.
And perhaps because of those numerous deaths, a certain part of Shirou's mind seemed to have broken; the greater the danger, the more active his mind became.
Since Shirou had already arrived at the Zenjou house, Tohsaka Tokiomi might have already received related news.
In that case, if Shirou continued to wait and see, it would be tantamount to waiting for death; he absolutely must take some action tonight.
"Shirou, come over here, I'll show you my treasure!"
Compared to Shirou, who was contemplating the Holy Grail War tonight, Rin was clearly much more excited. She took Shirou's wrist and led him to her room.
It was the first time he had been in a girl's room, and Shirou looked around with a hint of curiosity.
Perhaps partly because they had moved from the Tohsaka residence to the Zenjou house, Rin's room didn't have much furnishing and was relatively simple.
"Look, Shirou, this is my 'Magecraft Notes,' which records all my insights into the magecraft I've learned so far! How about that, isn't it super amazing?"
Shirou smiled and praised, "That's really impressive. I definitely wouldn't be able to keep notes like that."
Rin proudly handed her thick 'Magecraft Notes' to Shirou. Shirou took it with curiosity and flipped through it. Most of it consisted of relatively basic magecraft, with the greatest highlight undoubtedly being Jeweled Magecraft.
Jeweled Magecraft is the general term for magecraft that utilizes jewels.
Jewels easily accumulate the intentions of their possessor and readily house magical power.
Especially in minerals that have long slumbered underground, natural spirits easily form. A jeweled gem with elemental affinity is itself a simple Magic Crest.
A gem housing a natural spirit of fire is easily ignited when magical power is injected; the same goes for wind.
Rin's notes mentioned that she would use incantation to specify which gem to use and for what effect, but using the magical power stored in the gem would cause the gem, as the container, to shatter.
...It truly is a type of magecraft only usable by the wealthy.
Although she had only just learned a part of Jeweled Magecraft, for a girl Rin's age, this was already terrifying talent.
However, considering Rin's aptitude for magecraft, it also felt so reasonable.
After all, her elemental affinity in magecraft was the "Average One," possessing suitability for all five major elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Void).
Therefore, Rin had an affinity for almost all types of magecraft and was capable of interfering with most existing magecraft.
Generally, a magus has only one attribute, and even the most excellent only have two.
Thus, Rin's talent could be described as peerless, and her future achievements had the potential to reach the rank of Grand.
Rin might be able to enter the top hundred of the Mage's Association in history when she reached adulthood, but due to a family trait of failing at crucial moments, even if she could become a professor, she wouldn't be a professor with a particularly good reputation.
However, a magus's life is short. Even with methods to slow aging and temporarily revert to youth, a hundred years is still the average upper limit.
Even a magus cannot violate the limits of lifespan.
Therefore, they pass on their hopes to their descendants. The reason magi value generations is to continue "unfulfilled aspirations that they could not achieve."
As common knowledge in the world of magecraft, a magus can concentrate on research in their field for fifty years, and then dedicate the rest of their life to cultivating a successor.
Rin was being raised as Tohsaka Tokiomi's only successor, so Tohsaka Tokiomi would never allow her to suffer even the slightest harm.
"Wait a minute..."
Shirou, who was flipping through Rin's "Magecraft Notes," suddenly showed a surprised expression when he saw a certain record.
"What the heck? Why there are notes on Magical Girls"
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