Part 164: Rin-sama angry

Music: In the Sunlight



"Man… I guess I'm pretty simple-minded."
I grumble while getting out of the futon and change into my uniform.

""
I can hear faint breathing if I strain my ears.
I feel Saber's presence on the other side of the sliding door.

"Ugh."
The instant I wonder what she looks like when she's sleeping, my head blows up.



"Breakfast. I'll go make breakfast."
That's good, that's good.
I shake the indecent thought out of my head and go out of my room quietly.

Music: Tender Scenery




"And what do you think the doctor said after that? He said 'You have an extraordinarily healthy body, so why don't you donate some blood while you're here'!?


Man, I'm a patient too! I'm not going to such a place ever again!"

…Is totally destroyed by Fuji-Nee, who is more energetic than usual.
In terms of horse racing, this development is the dark horse, but something tells me this might have been the likely outcome.



"All rightso what happened after that? I heard all the students were taken to the hospital, so did they all regain their consciousness?"


"Yeah, most people should have recovered yesterday.
The ones on the fourth floor… The first years seemed like they were just sleeping, and some second years lost their memory of the incident.


The third years, um… the ones on the second floor weren't too bad, but the ones on the first floor…"

Fuji-Nee looks down as though it's difficult for her to talk about it.
…I feel bad.
Fuji-Nee has gone to all the hospitals in this town.
She has just seen what kind of conditions the students on the first floor classrooms were in.

"I'm sorry. I'll stop talking about this. So the school is starting as usual?"


"Yup. But since the third years can start coming to school voluntarily soon, they said people who are not feeling too well don't need to come to school. I bet most of them won't come today."

…I see.
Then it'll mostly be first and second years coming to school today…

"Hey, Fuji-Nee. Who in our school is connected with the Ryudou Temple?"


"Wouldn't it be Issei-kun? He's the successor of the temple, right?"
"Yeah. No, forget about what I just asked."


"?"

I put my bowl down while I look up at the ceiling.
The only one connected to the Ryudou Temple at our school is Issei.
But it's too soon to decide whether he's a Master, and most of all, I don't think he is a Master




"You too, Shirou. Even though the boundary field is gone from the school now, you cannot let your guard down as long as Caster's Master is there. …You only have one more Command Spell, so please be very careful."

"I know. If I find Caster's Master, I'll come back home and report to you first."


"Yes. I shall stay here and replenish my magical energy to meet your expectations."





""
So.
In the middle of it all, in front of the school gate is…

Music: Stop



""
…I have a bad feeling about this.
I have a bad feeling, but I can't sneak past her since she's in the middle of the road.

"Yo. Good morning, Tohsaka. You're early today."
I stop and greet her.

Music: Gentle Everyday




"I think Issei's suspicious."

"We're just friends, really! I only have eyes for Archer!"

…Whoa.
First thing she says is straight to the point.

"…What do you mean by 'suspicious'?"


"Caster's Master. Caster is at the Ryudou Temple, and Issei is coming here from the Ryudou Temple. There has to be a connection here."

"There's no connection. It might just be coincidence."
I try to defend Issei.



No outsider can come in, and Issei's like the only one who came out from there!
If he's not suspicious, everyone would be a fair call!"

"…Hey now. You say nobody comes out, but don't monks usually stay at the temple?"




"You idiot. How outdated is your knowledge? There's no way monks can live without going to beg nowadays!"

""
Wow, that's a big prejudice.
If Issei was here, I'm sure the secret feud that lasted for two years between them would have been settled right here.

Music: Stop



Students coming to school are all around us, and they are all paralyzed at the disgraceful behavior of the school idol, Tohsaka Rin.


"What's with those eyes? What, are you going to stand up for Issei?
Heh, fine. If you're going to ignore the obvious, I'll go and solve things myself!"
But our school idol is the only one who does not realize the situation.

"……Tohsaka, come over here."


"What, are you going to run away!?"
"I won't run away. Just come this way."
I drag Tohsaka by her hand.

"HHey, Emiya-kun…!?"
She can complain later.
Just let me get away from here as fast as I can.

Music: Tender Scenery




""
…Tohsaka, who's glaring at me silently.

"I know. I know what you want to say. I know, so don't make a face like that. I don't know what to do if you sulk."


"I'm not sulking!"

"Ugh."
My mind is stunned at the lightning comeback.

Responses like that are only comebacks when you're five.

But I have to deal with her calmly.
Issei's life is on the line.
Knowing Tohsaka, I bet she would do something reckless to test Issei.



"Don't try to deceive me. Caster's base is at the Ryudou Temple, and Issei is coming to school from the Ryudou Temple. Why are you ignoring that fact!?"

Tohsaka yells at me.
…She's right, but I just don't think it's Issei…


"What? Do you have any objection?"
"……"
But I'll die before Issei if I give her such an ambiguous answer.
But I can't leave Tohsaka like this, so I'll have to try to convince her somehow…

"All right. You're saying Issei is suspicious no matter what, right?"


"Right. You might not be able to tell, but the Ryudou Temple is really strange right now.
It's true that Caster's base is there, but the distortion is too big, and there's too much being collected"

"Collected…? You mean the magical energy sucked up from the town?"


"Ughno, it's nothing, so don't worry about it."
"……"
…You're more suspicious than Issei right now, Tohsaka.





"Anyway! He's suspicious because he's coming here everyday with a cool face from such a place!


Yes, I always thought I needed to give him a kick, so this would be a perfect opportunity."

Tohsaka's serious.
I heard that they weren't on friendly terms, but I didn't know it was this bad.
…Actually…
What the hell did Issei do to Tohsaka?
I'm a bit curious as to what could cause Tohsaka to be so drastic… No, now's not the time.

"Yeah. I agree that Issei's position is a suspicious one."


"Of course. You would be guilty too if you keep on defending him."

"Yeah. So leave Issei's case to me. I'll find out if he's a Master or not."




"……"
Whoa.
It looks like she doesn't believe me at all.

"Trust me. I won't hold back on Issei just because he's my friend, nor will I lie to you. First of all, this is all needless worry. There's no way Issei would do something so evil."


"…………"

The silent pressure continues.
I bet Tohsaka's worried that I might go easy because Issei's my friend.
Her doubt is only natural, so I just have to endure it.
I have to get her to believe in me.



"Tohsaka."
I sigh with relief.


"But how will you figure it out? Do you know how to identify a Master?"
"Huh?"
Tohsaka asks about the fundamental deficiency in this proposal.

"Umwell…"


"…Oh. Don't tell me you're going to go up to him and ask 'Hey Issei, are you a Master?'
Even though we're cooperating, I will settle my case with you right here if you're going to do such a stupid thing."



"Hold on. It's all right. I have a way to figure out if he's a Master or not without asking him. I'll settle this case today, so please don't do anything. I'll contact you once I figure it out."


"You're right. Cooperating is like this, after all."
She starts walking away with a gesture that obviously tells me she's not content.



Saying so, Tohsaka goes back to the school building.

""
I see her off.
"…Huh? Could that be…"
I realize that she might have been worried about me.