Part 33: Buddy Saber, buddy Rin

Even though my nausea has gone away, I still feel terrible.
And on top of that, my shoulders are heavy from all the unexpected developments.

"Phew."
I take a deep breath and look over the yard.
I've heard what I needed to hear, but the fact that I still don't know anything doesn't change.
My Senpai as a magus, and an official Master, Tohsaka is…



…Is intently searching my house for things.

"…You can take the cushion in the next room.
But a normal household doesn't have beakers nor protractors."


"Huh? I can't believe it. A magus should always keep experimental tools around."
Leaving that complaint, she goes back to the outbuilding busily.

"…I guess she's serious."
I take another deep breath.
I guess it has already been decided that Tohsaka is going to stay at my place.
When I went over there earlier, there was a sign that said,
"Remodeling in progress: Do not enter"
on the door of the best room in there.

"…Yeah. The outbuilding's pretty far away, so there's no problem."
Just having Saber around causes some tension, so if Tohsaka was near me too, I wouldn't get any peace.

Ahaha, he thinks he'll be left in peace.



…Oh, but we'll see each other at meals.
And we only have the one bath, so we'll have to decide how to use it. No, thinking about that, Saber is a girl, too, so
"Idiot, what am I thinking…!?"
Shaking my head, I lie down in the corridor.





Music: Tender Scenery





And now…
"Shirou, how do you use the air conditioner?"
The scene I saw when I was called was…



…This.

Oh my! That slovenly pig... she unpacked!





I can't calm down.
These two are complete outsiders.
I rarely have guests at this house, so that must make the situation even stranger.

No, first of all.


The appearances of these two don't really fit this Japanese-style house.

Music: Stop

"……"
Well, it's about seven o'clock now.
Even though we're all in the living room, all of us staying quiet like this is not good for my mental well-being.

Music: Gentle Everyday

"If you two don't mind, I'd like to talk about what to do from now on."


"Hold on. I want to decide on something before that. All right?"

"Uhsure. What is it?"
"About dinner. Shirou, you live alone, right?"
"…? Well, yeah."
"Then you have cooked for yourself, right?"
"Of course. I'll get hungry if I don't eat."


"I see. Then I have a proposal. How about we take turns preparing dinner? We'll be living together for a while, so that should be helpful, right?"
"…Hmm. You're right. I was thinking of continuing as usual, but if you're going to be living here, you're just like family. It's normal for you to cook, and it'll be easier on me too."



It's late already, so let's have our meeting after dinner."
"Huh? Well, I don't mind taking turns for dinner, but what are we going to do about breakfast? Will we be taking turns too?"



"What's that? Don't be ridiculous. You won't grow if you don't eat breakfast."



…Anyways, you'll be preparing dinner! I won't talk unless you cook something good, okay?"
Tohsaka glares at me irritatedly.

"…All right. I'll make something… Saber, you're eating too, right?"


"Certainly, if you will prepare some for me. Food is an important source of energy."
"All right. Then be good, you two."



I glance at Tohsaka and Saber from the kitchen.
"…Hm."
They look like they'd prefer western meals over Japanese food.
It's unlikely that Saber, let alone Tohsaka, will understand the tastes of tofu and natto.

"No, more importantly, Saber might not be able to use chopsticks."
I ponder this for a second, but I can't help it.
There's only a limited range of dishes I can make with what's in the fridge.

Anyways, there's some tofu.
After thinking for a bit, I decide to make some deep-fried tofu. For soup, I'll make miso soup with seaweed and tofu.
I have some chicken, so I'll make teriyaki out of it and make that the main dish.

I drain the water off the tofu, season the chicken, and cut the Japanese white radish while I'm at it to make salad. I grate the white radish, cook some green peppers

Is this really fucking necessary? So hungry...




"Who knows? I can't say much since I don't have any information, but I think it's most important to find out about the other Masters.
There are four more Masters. I want to search for them without them realizing I'm a Master, but it probably won't go perfectly."

…Hm.
I told them to be good, so what's with that dangerous conversation?
Can't they see that I'm busy making dinner for the three of uno, they aren't even looking.

"Tohsaka! Not four, five! The only Masters we know are you and me!"
I yell, holding the big pot for the deep-fried tofu.


"What are you talking about? You, me, and Ilyasviel makes three. Did you already forget about Berserker?"
"Oh."

…Oh yeah, that girl is a Master too.
Berserker was so strong that I forgot, but stillI can't believe a girl that small is a Master who mercilessly tried to kill us.


"I understand. You're you, so I bet you didn't see her as an enemy. It's fine, so concentrate on the cooking. It'll be a problem if I can't judge how good you are."

"Uh?"
I don't know how my cooking skill affects her, but what she says is correct.
The preparation will be done soon, so I should concentrate on finishing dinner now.



"Rin, you seemed to know her."


"…Yeah, I know her name. Einzbern is a magus family lineage that has almost made it to the Holy Grail a few times."

"…So they are well-accustomed to the Holy Grail War?"


"I would think so. I don't know about the others yet, but I can't be wrong in saying that Ilyasviel is our biggest obstacle. Usually, Berserker is a class chosen to strengthen a weak hero.
It takes sanity away as compensation for strengthening the hero, but to control such an 'insane Servant' requires enormous amounts of magical energy. For example, if you became Berserker"


"I would not be able to talk like I am doing now. Removing all roles as a collaborator and specializing in battle is how Berserker is. But that is like subduing a wounded lion. A normal magus will not be able to control it."


"I'll bet. A normal magus cannot control Berserker even when some minor hero becomes it.
But Ilyasviel summoned a top-grade hero, made him Berserker, and controlled him completely.
…It's irritating, but her ability as a Master is on a completely different level."

Pretty soon Shirou's cooking will be "on a completely different level." ...Eight.




"Yeah. My Archer hasn't healed enough to return to battle. How about you, Saber? Is your injury okay now?"


"…It will not be a problem if I am to fight normally, but I am not healed enough to fight Berserker.
The injury from the battle against Berserker is healed, but it seems it will take longer to heal the wound I received from Lancer."



"I have a suggestion about that. I hear Archer has sharp eyes. Would it be wise to have him keep watch around the house?"


"That's what I've been planning to do. I'll have him keep watch on the roof, so we should know right away if anyone strange is approaching this place. This house has a boundary field that warns of intruders, so our defenses are perfect.
…Though, if Berserker comes and attacks us, all we can do is run."



Damn women. They should just sit quietly when the menfolk aren't around.

First of all, Tohsaka is too friendly with Saber.
…Well, it's true that Tohsaka isn't that friendly with me, so it helps if Saber talks to her, but

"Hm?"
The face reflected in the glass of the kitchen cabinet looks disappointed.
…That's weird. Why am I angry?




"Huh? What are you angry about, Shirou? Oh, should I have at least helped carrying it out?"
"I'm not angry. But weren't you not going to be friendly?"
I glare at her.




…Makes a frightening smile.


"We were just deciding on the structure for cooperation. Don't worry, I won't steal your Saber."
"!"
I can tell my face is blushing.
I can tell what I'm angry about after Tohsaka tells me.

"Y-Y-You"


"Oh, was I mistaken? Then I'm sorry, Emiya-kun."
"Guh, you…… oh, just keep talking!"
I retreat to the kitchen to get the rest of the food.



Absolutely not. Shirou has got to go.

Music: Gentle Everyday




"……"
Saber eats dinner silently.
Her gestures are elegant, and I can't possibly imagine she was swinging around a sword.

And, well, how should I put this…
"…Hmm. …Hmm, hmm."
She nods every time she eats something she hasn't eaten before.
Her gestures are strange.
It must be her way of expressing that it's good.
By the way, she is able to use the chopsticks.

On the other hand, Tohsaka is…


"All right, I'll win…!"
She clenches her fist after taking a bite.



Great. Just what this game needed: cooking battles.

She shakes her clenched fist.
""
God.
Have I done something bad?

"Um, about what you guys were talking about."


"Hm?"
The two both raise their heads.

""
Hold on. Hold on hold on hold on hold on.
Even one of them is enough to tense me up, so they shouldn't both react.



"…About what to do from now on. You guys were talking about it while I was cooking."


"About searching for other Masters for now?"
"Yeah, that. I was wondering what exactly you were going to do?"



Oh, yeah. Can you at least sense other magi's presence? It'll be easy if that's the case."

"No. I went to the same school as you for two years and I still didn't realize you were a magus, Tohsaka."


"Just as I thought… Well, that's fine. The others would be hiding their presence, so it should be impossible to find them from their traces anyways.
How about you, Saber? I hear Servants can detect other Servants."


"I can somewhat, but only when they are using their abilities nearby. In my case, I can only detect them within about a two hundred meter radius."


"I see. Then we'll have to wait for their actions or find some place where it seems strange. If a Master acts, their traces should remain. So that means we are going to try to find those."

"So, are you saying we should search throughout the town?"


"No, you shouldn't do that. They'll be searching too, so that'll tell them right away that you're a Master."



Go through life as you were and don't let them know that you're a Master.
Hide the Command Spell so no one will see it.
Try not to go to desolate places.
Come home before dark.
And, what else…"


"Please try to take your Servant with you when you go outside. Can Archer guard you, Rin?"


"I guess he can do that much. I'll have him ready in spirit form, so it should be okay. The problem is"


"My Master."


"Right. Are you listening, Shirou? Take Saber with you when you go anywhere. It's our rule to stay out of people's sight, but some idiot might attack us in the middle of the day.
Have Saber with you in case of things like that."

"All right. I'll try."


I respond without interest.
I understand what she's saying, but I'm resistant to being with Saber all the time.

I feel nervous talking to Tohsaka, but Saber makes me even more nervous.
…No, it's wrong to say I'm nervous.
I'm just bad at talking with Saber.

"What is it?"
"Nothing. I'll give you more, so give me your bowl."


"No, I am fine. It was very good, Shirou."

"!"
I look away before I realize.
…I can't even look at her normally, so how can I stay with her all the time?


"Oh, it's no good, though. Saber can't become a spirit, so she won't be able to follow you to school."


"School…? Are you a student, Shirou?"

"That's right… Oh, Saber isn't a student, so she can't enter the school… She'll just have to stay here while I go to school."
"…Can't you not go to school, Shirou?"

"I can't. If you want me to live normally, I have to go to school. And there's no danger at school. There aren't many places with that many people."


"But…"



"I'm saying there won't be any emergencies."
So I declare.



That line has got to be the source of so many terrible NWS comics.

Saber nods, though she looks discontent.

Music: Stop

The night wears on.
It seems Tohsaka has prepared and taken her bath while I was cleaning up after dinner.
Geez, it seems she's really selfish from her first day here.

"…I should seize the initiative from now on…"
I know that, but seizing the initiative from her seems really difficult.

"…Man. On the subject of difficulties, there's one more that's giving me trouble…"
No, rather, the main problem.
Tohsaka will understand if I talk to her, but this person doesn't seem to understand however much I talk to her.

"…Saber, huh? I know she's not a bad person but…"
Saber is back in her room.
Tohsaka should be resting in her room in the outbuilding.

I'm the only one in the living room.
There's still time until bedtime, so I should talk to Saber.
…Honestly, I have to get over my inability to talk to her, or I'm worried about our future.

First of all, ignoring her being a Servant and all, she is a girl from a younger age.
There are a lot of things I'll find out from talking to her, and most of all…