Chapter 12. Awareness, Intelligence, Night Raid
"So, the above is what happened when I went out with Sakura today."
The "hellish confession," like beans spilling out of a bamboo tube, lasted for half an hour.
By the time Shirou finished summarizing, the expressions of everyone present were a bit subtle. Their gazes drifted back and forth several times before finally settling into seriousness.
"Everyone present" referred to the five women currently gathered in Shirou's hotel room.
The hotel was indeed not the same one as yesterday; to shake off surveillance, they had re-selected a new hotel located on the edge of the city center.
As for why they still tended to gather in Shirou's room when discussing matters, it remained an unsolved mystery to this day.
"I think I can imagine the expression on that magus's face when he died..." Illya raised her hand and said quietly.
"So, you played the Ally of Justice once again?"
Regarding Rin's teasing—where one couldn't tell if she was being serious or not—Shirou felt helpless, but he gave a clear answer:
"I only still dream of becoming an Ally of Justice even now; I'm not a real one. Besides, without Sakura's help, I wouldn't have been able to fight at full strength."
Rin pursed her lips nonchalantly. "Be that as it may, didn't you two save quite a lot of people? If my calculations are correct—there should have been about five hundred people inside that Temple's Great Bounded Field, right?"
Shirou could only remain noncommittal toward that question.
After the magus died, the Bounded Field was dispelled.
Naturally, the ordinary people Sakura had sent into Imaginary Space for refuge were "returned to their original places." Taking advantage of the moment the space reverted, the two left before the unharmed civilians truly woke up. They even cleaned up the bloodstains along the way.
If Shirou remembered correctly, back during the last Holy Grail War when he was nearly stabbed to death by a certain guy, it was also Shirou who cleaned his own blood off the school floor before going home, just so the people coming to school the next day wouldn't be frightened.
'Why is it that Shirou always ends up doing these strange things?'
Though Shirou couldn't figure it out himself, it was just a small favor, so he got it done. As for the mass fainting incident involving a thousand people? All the troublesome aftermath was dumped on the local Magus' Association to handle.
"Rin, is there a difference even between things called a 'Temple'? This one today didn't seem to be on the same level as the one from back then."
"Of course. If you're referring to the Temple I'm thinking of, that person was a top-tier magus."
Shirou leaned close to the red-clad girl's ear and whispered a brief exchange of information.
Sakura, who was isolated from this specific topic, tilted her head in confusion and puffed out her lips with slight dissatisfaction.
After exchanging faint smiles with one another—
"Next is the main topic, the one that isn't a laughing matter."
"Yeah, the thing I haven't been able to figure out."
The fleeting smiles vanished, and Shirou and Rin simultaneously repeated with solemn expressions:
""The Holy Grail War.""
That was the reason for everyone's serious expressions. The small talk was merely to ease the tense atmosphere.
After a long pause, Shirou finally spoke:
"This is just a speculation following the conversation, without evidence, and certainly without confirmation."
And that was:
"—The Holy Grail War hasn't ended."
In the unbearable silence, Shirou insisted on taking the words to the final step: "Didn't the magus Giva say it too? The Mages' Association won't have time to deal with him for the next few days. I think the most likely reason they don't have time is..."
There was no need to say the unspoken words.
Finally, Saber, maintaining her formal seated posture, spoke: "Shirou, please give us one night. —We also need to think this through properly."
.
.
.
After everyone left, Shirou spent the first few moments staring blankly toward the door. Then, he quickly retracted his gaze and projected it into the dark night outside the window.
Saber was right. Even now, Shirou was rethinking everything over and over.
It made sense; the surveillance during his sword practice this morning might actually be related to the Holy Grail War.
If these two things were connected, then why was Shirou chosen for surveillance?
It wasn't that Shirou had no ideas at all. There were two possibilities. The first was that he had been recognized as the victor of the Fifth Holy Grail War.
And the second...
Shirou extended his clenched fist toward the window. The moonlight shone down, reflecting a black mark on it that resembled a Command Spell.
...To be honest, this wasn't something from the Fifth Holy Grail War. It was merely a leftover from a record that couldn't quite be called a Holy Grail War.
Scraps of information kept fluttering; his mind was gradually becoming white-hot, and his thoughts were entering a dead end. This wouldn't do at all. Shirou prepared to scrap his rigid thinking and start from scratch.
However, before he could do so, there was a light knock on the door.
"Rin?"
Opening the door, the twenty-five-year-old Rin stood in the hallway wearing only thin pajamas.
Her hair was draped down like a waterfall, and a slight mist of moisture clung to her shoulders. Her beautiful face was momentarily cast in bashfulness, her brow slightly curved.
For a second, the stunning woman wore an expression of having something on her mind. But it was quickly replaced by a familiar smile.
"What, am I not welcome?"
"What business does the Great Miss Rin have?"
An affected joke slipped out of Shirou's mouth unintentionally. If Shirou were a butler, he would surely speak this way.
This provoked an annoyed expression from Rin, and she swung a small fist at him.
"Hey, hey, don't do that in the hallway!?"
After welcoming her into the room, Shirou wasn't sure exactly how to proceed.
"Do you want to sit in that chair over there...?"
"Since I'm already here, the bed is obviously more comfortable."
The Red Devil (currently not wearing red) easily vetoed the proposal. Without hesitation, she took over the room and sat at the head of the bed.
It was no longer the time when they were in Fuyuki. Shirou didn't say anything; he just gazed out at the moonlit night and didn't give up the bed to sit in the chair.
In other words, two people were on one bed.
"..."
"..."
It was fine when everyone was there, but when it was just the two of them, the atmosphere turned somewhat romantic.
Faint moonlight shone lightly on the bed where the two were sitting.
'...Why did this girl come over right after taking a bath?'
Doesn't this make it look like—that kind of thing?
"Just to be clear, Shirou, I didn't have any special intentions in taking a bath. I just felt frustrated, so I thought things over while taking a shower."
Shirou could understand that.
So, does that have any connection to you coming to "night raid" me?
"Showers are very comfortable. I think Shirou should try it too; the feeling of irritation really lessens a lot."
'You're right, Miss Rin, so does that have any connection to you coming to night raid me?'
"And then, well, I have a lot I want to say. Let's start with something lighter as an appetizer."
Since Rin looked like she wanted to say something, Shirou chose to turn his head and listen.
However, the matter wasn't something to be heard.
"?"
His right arm grew slightly warm. He hadn't felt this sensation in a long time. The magical energy within his body was being rapidly refilled, eventually reaching the optimal state where his entire body's prana was surging.
"The thing on your arm—it's still normal for transporting magical energy, right?"
Rin smiled and leaned back, lying spread-eagle on the bed.
Shirou silently rolled up his sleeve. The "little blue fish" emitted a faint light.
"Rather than normal, isn't the output a bit too good?"
With a bitter smile, Shirou touched the glowing, warming Magic Crest.
—It was something that originally belonged to Rin.
Shirou still understood why she was bringing this up now.
Shirou hadn't used it in a long time, including during the fight with Giva earlier today. However, Rin judged that if there really was a Holy Grail War, the state of the Magic Crest had to be confirmed.
For the day it might be needed—the day it must be used.
"No, while your understanding isn't wrong, it's not everything either."
Rin placed her palm on her forehead and corrected him:
"The fact that you immediately thought in that direction shows that the sense of unease in your heart is too great. In that case, I'll talk about a quite interesting side of it first."
He was all ears.
"By now you should know that one of a magus's missions is succession, right? Incorporating the results of magical research into the Crest to pass it to the next generation, so that the planted seed can bloom and bear fruit. This is the fundamental reason magi need to condense Crests and breed descendants. Even if one doesn't seek the Root, this is still the pride of being a magus.
I don't intend to strip the Crest back from you. At least, I don't intend to let you adventure alone. But I also don't intend to give up on the succession of the Tohsaka family's Magic Crest.
So, please consider the proposition, dear Emiya-kun: is there a good method? A method that lets you use the Crest to your heart's content, while keeping a successor close at hand to take over the Crest from you."
Was it the moisture sticking her clothes to her skin? Rin tugged at her collar. Her pajamas remained in a somewhat damp state.
...The more he heard, the stranger his expression became.
Isn't this still about that?
"So, do you have an objection?"
"No."
Shirou used all his strength to meet Rin's gaze, ultimately refusing to let his eyes drift. Shirou pursed his lips and said awkwardly:
"I just feel like it's not the right time to discuss this."
Rin paused for a moment.
She laughed radiantly.
"Ara, your eyes aren't bad,"
The woman hummed that word, though with a different meaning than on the plane: "I like it quite a bit, Mister Head of the House."