Chapter 44: Magical Girl Rin?
About a year ago, out of curiosity, Rin opened a box sealed away in the Tohsaka residence's Magus workshop.
The box appeared to be a storage container, but the things inside were strange.
Obscure, hard-to-understand books, a pink sphere of unknown use, a small red bag containing a few coins, and so on...
Among these, what most attracted Rin's attention was a Magic Staff-like Mystic Code.
The grip of the staff was red, and the tip was inlaid with a star, complemented by decorations resembling angel wings. Rin enthusiastically took it out of the box, intending to study it.
However, upon leaving the box, the staff, which she had thought was just a Mystic Code, actually spoke.
Rin soon learned that an artificial spirit named "Ruby" was housed within the staff, and this Mystic Code was also called the Kaleido Stick.
The artificial spirit told Rin that by forming a contract with it, she could temporarily gain the skills of her alternate-universe selves.
Rin, in a moment of whimsical desire to sing well, fatefully entered a contract with it. However, the staff gave her no improvement in singing. Instead, it "hypnotized" Rin's friends, infuriating Rin, who then sealed the staff back in the box.
Shirou looked at Rin's "Magus' Notebook" in his hands, completely confused and perplexed.
Hearing his exclamation, Rin's small face instantly turned scarlet. Reacting as if her dark past had been exposed, she quickly reached out, snatched her "Magus' Notebook" back from Shirou's hands, and clutched it tightly to her chest.
"Th-that... that was just a dream I had! I thought it was interesting at the time, so I wrote it down! Yes, that's right!" Rin explained, her eyes darting away, having finally come up with an excuse after a brief mental scramble.
"..." Shirou was expressionless now because he already sensed that something was amiss.
Yes, starting from the change in the elementary school's name to "Yatsushirodai Elementary School" and the fact that Rin was attending school there, Shirou had vaguely felt that this world had changed from his memory.
Could it be that his numerous restarts, causing too many timelines to intersect, were the reason for these coincidences?
Although no major impact seemed to have occurred so far, Shirou had a feeling that some intractable problem would arise in the future.
However, despite his inner worry, Shirou couldn't dwell on it now.
The immediate problems had yet to be solved; focusing on the distant future would be putting the cart before the horse.
"Um, let me tell you something interesting." Rin put down the "Magus' Notebook" containing her dark history, and to alleviate her embarrassment, she decided to sell out Kotomine Kirei, the priest who often followed her father.
"This happened last year on Valentine's Day..."
A lot of things sure happened last year.
Shirou, who was complaining internally, listened to Rin's account without a word.
It was on Valentine's Day that Rin and Sakura made chocolates and gave them to Tokiomi.
They were eagerly awaiting Tokiomi's review when Kirei, standing nearby, pretended to cough and then pulled out a box from behind his back.
"I also have something to give to Sensei."
Instantly, both Tokiomi and Aoi looked at Kirei with surprise.
Following Kirei's words, the scene descended into momentary chaos.
Rin: "What does this have to do with Kirei! This is Valentine's Day!"
Sakura: "Nee-san, please calm down..."
"I didn't give Sensei a gift in person for his birthday last year, so I have to make up for it now."
Kirei spoke very sincerely, but Tokiomi's expression was somewhat awkward.
"Kirei, um..."
Rin was like an angry kitten: "That's not it! You're just sly! You knew Sakura and I made chocolates for Father, so you deliberately came to show off!"
"Um, Kirei..." Tokiomi tried to ease the atmosphere, and Aoi also helped.
"Rin... keep your voice down. Mr. Kotomine didn't mean anything by it; it should just be a coincidence..."
But Kirei, at an untimely moment, spoke again: "I apologize, Rin. I trust Sensei knows I didn't mean that."
However, Kirei's explanation seemed like provocation in Rin's eyes. She pointed at the stone-faced Kirei and said angrily.
"Look at that smug look on his face, like he succeeded in his scheme!"
"I didn't. Rin, you are mistaken." Kirei explained, still expressionless.
Tokiomi interjected: "Kirei, I do feel that on Valentine's Day..."
"See! Father doesn't want your gift either!"
Rin argued with the expressionless Kirei over this matter for a full hour.
Even Kirei was ashamed by such persistence.
.
.
.
The story didn't end there. Rin then told another story about a boy who tried to bully her friend Kotone and cried to his parents after Rin stopped him.
"He was bullying Kotone first, but he cried just because I shouted at him. How pathetic!"
Just then, accompanied by a slight knock, Aoi Tohsaka's voice came from outside the door.
"Dinner is ready, Rin."
After saying this, the woman continued.
"By the way, Orihara-kun, why don't you stay for dinner too?"
"I shouldn't. If I don't go home soon, my mother will get angry." Shirou declined, his face betraying no sign of deceit.
"I see. That's a shame then."
Although most invitations to stay for dinner in this world are just polite gestures, Tohsaka Aoi was clearly not one of those people.
As he was leaving, Aoi gave him the dessert she had originally prepared.
This made Shirou feel a little awkward, especially since he and Tohsaka Tokiomi were enemies.
However, under Aoi's insistence, Shirou left the Zenjou house with the wooden bento box wrapped in cloth.
Then, Shirou materialized Karna, and as they walked together towards the Tohsaka residence, he shared the dessert Aoi had given him.
"This tastes really good. It's even warm..." Shirou took a bite of a dorayaki.
The texture was completely different from anything bought at a store. It was clearly homemade by Tohsaka Aoi.
"Mhm, it's a relaxing flavor." Karna, after tasting it, also praised the taste.
"Maybe I'll try making it myself tomorrow." Hearing Karna's comment, Shirou became interested.
Shirou was quite skilled at cooking.
"Ah, does that mean I'll have the honor of tasting Master's cooking tomorrow? That would be excellent." Karna smiled expectantly.
As they chatted, they had already stepped into the Shinto area.
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