"Taiga, you're already here."
Carrying the ingredients she had scavenged from the department store, Ritsuka pushed open the door. With a look of helplessness, she smelled the scent of alcohol in the house and immediately slammed a fist onto Fujimura Taiga's head.
Taiga, who was engrossed in the TV, fell flat on the floor from the sudden strike. Just as she was about to complain, she saw Ritsuka pick up the alcohol from the table with furrowed brows as if she were about to get angry. Taiga instantly flattened herself against the floor, not daring to get up.
Ritsuka hated alcohol; it brought back some very bad memories.
There weren't many things she hated: alcohol, certain prohibited highly-addictive substances, and losing control of one's emotions and laughing loudly... Drinking was strictly forbidden in the Emiya Residence. Moreover, aside from Taiga, almost everyone who came here was a minor. Even the occasionally visiting old man Fujimura Raiga didn't like to drink.
Japanese law prohibited drinking before the age of 20.
"Hehe... Yo, Miyu-chan, I've come to visit!"
Seeing that Ritsuka's expression wasn't right, Taiga hesitated for a moment before changing the subject. She greeted Miyu, who was the second to enter the house holding a book. Miyu smiled and stepped forward to pull Taiga up from the floor.
Sakura was the third to enter the room. She followed Ritsuka to put the ingredients in the kitchen before approaching Taiga, who was rubbing her head. "Fujimura-sensei, this is a gift for you."
"Oh, a gift for me... So today is my birthday! Thank you, Sakura!"
Taking the birthday gift with both hands, Taiga reached out and gave a high-five to the bewildered Sakura, then happily ran off to the side to unwrap the gift.
Miyu returned to her room holding her newly bought book. The living room suddenly became quiet, leaving only the sound of washing vegetables at the sink. Ritsuka was processing the ingredients she had bought today.
"Senpai, I'll help too."
After looking around, Sakura walked to the kitchen and rolled up her sleeves.
They worked together to prepare dinner.
Ritsuka washed the salmon she bought and placed it in a container. She poured in a little pure rice wine for seasoning and sprinkled salt on both sides, letting it sit for five to ten minutes to draw out excess moisture.
Skillfully handling the fish, Ritsuka glanced sideways at the serious girl beside her, her lips curving into a slight arc.
Not far away, two figures—one large and one small—were peeking through a crack in the doorway, watching the harmonious scene with great interest. Taiga's face was full of excitement, as if she were about to cheer for Sakura, when a wooden spoon flew over and smacked her on the forehead—
"Wahoo!! Gwah..."
Taiga screamed and fell to the ground. Miyu, who was beside her, hurriedly pulled her away to escape.
In the kitchen, Ritsuka, who could no longer sense anyone through her Minds Eye, silently withdrew her hand and smiled at Sakura, who had turned her head in confusion.
"Senpai, was there some sound just now..."
Sakura looked hesitant, but Ritsuka indicated there was no problem. She calmly pressed Sakura's shoulder, making her look at the rice she was preparing to steam. "You misheard. There's no one there."
"Re-really? I thought I heard a scream just now..."
"It must be that you're too tired from studying, Sakura. You're just having hallucinations. You have to believe me; when have I ever lied to you?"
Handing a basin of clean water to Sakura, Ritsuka took out some dust-free paper towels to pat the salmon dry.
Next, she took out onions and carrots and sliced them all into thin pieces. The thin kitchen knife danced in Ritsuka's hand; her chopping speed rivaled that of the top-tier Medicine King from anime. After all, her physical fitness and Minds Eye provided exceptional control over the ingredients.
She broke apart the soaked mushrooms and sprinkled pepper and other seasonings onto the salmon. Afterward, she took down the juice container from a high shelf and began mixing fruit juice.
She prepared three servings of juice in advance, excluding Taiga. When Ritsuka had opened the bottom drawer of the refrigerator earlier, she had seen a bunch of frozen beer and sake; Taiga had already come prepared.
Although she utterly loathed alcohol, it would be a waste to throw it away. In a situation where earning money wasn't easy, she naturally counted every penny. After finishing dinner tonight, she still had to go work as a security guard at a venue; the salary from old man Fujimura wasn't low.
"Sakura, can I trouble you to keep an eye on things? I suddenly remembered something I need to check on."
Sakura nodded gently. "No problem, please leave it to me."
Ritsuka patted Sakura's head. Seeing the girl's slightly red cheeks, Ritsuka grinned.
With everything ready and time still being relatively early, Ritsuka took out a lid to cover everything, waiting for the salmon to marinate. Then, she took the crystal dice and went to the living room.
This object had been resting quietly, but just now, it had produced some strange reactions. The last time such a reaction occurred was several years ago when she met Miyu.
At that time, due to other reasons, she hadn't paid much attention to the crystal dice's abnormality, but now it was starting to react again.
Sitting on the sofa, she held the slightly floating, crystal-clear 20-sided die in both hands. Following Ritsuka's thoughts, the 20 faces began to tumble, finally stopping on one face that enlarged the image within.
A figure with a strong build but obvious signs of muscle atrophy, bare-chested, with a long cloth covering his face and a massive bow slung over his shoulder.
A terrifying existence clearly the opposite of a hero, shrouded in murderous intent... [Alcides (Archer/Avenger)]
[synchronization value (0%)]
..."Emmm, what's going on? Why did one suddenly pop up?"
Ritsuka looked at the crystal dice in confusion. The aggressive Avenger was positioned in her field of vision like a projected model.
She couldn't guess why it had suddenly appeared. The first time was during the fire that swept through Shinto; it was there that she had grasped this 20-sided crystal die.
The last time it had a major reaction was when she met Miyu. That time, the character in the crystal dice, 'Emiya Shirou,' saw his synchronization value advance by leaps and bounds, breaking through the 30% mark in one go.
Hostility. After carefully studying the newly appeared character, Ritsuka felt a slight chill in her heart.
This was a villain completely filled with murderous intent, a man who had entirely fallen. But unexpectedly, she didn't hate this figure.
Even though he was a clear villain overflowing with the concept of evil, he gave off a sense of sadness.
"Alcides, I feel like I've heard that somewhere..."
"Ritsuka, it looks like it's snowing outside. Should we take out the Kotatsu? It looks like it's going to be very cold."
The crystal dice fell into her palm. Ritsuka looked back to see Taiga barging in; this energetic auntie seemed unusually excited.
Passing by Taiga, Ritsuka stepped onto the corridor and dazed slightly, watching the snowflakes falling from the sky. Although the snow wasn't heavy, it was indeed a beautiful sight.
"Hey, hey, Ritsuka, hurry up and take out the Kotatsu."
Ritsuka glanced at Taiga, who was spinning in circles beside her, and chuckled. "Alright. Miyu, come with me to get the Kotatsu out."
———
The Kotatsu that Ruins Nations.
This was a secret treasure capable of capturing the King of Britain, a noteworthy element of Japanese culture. Unfortunately, Ritsuka didn't know it contained a 'British allusion.'
The electric heater was ready, the wooden frame set up, a set of bedding draped over it, and then a square wooden tabletop structure was placed on top.
Having set up the Kotatsu in the empty space of the room, Ritsuka brewed a pot of black tea for Miyu and Taiga, who had crawled inside with looks of bliss. She placed the teapot in the center of the table and then walked toward the kitchen.
Approaching the focused Sakura from behind, Ritsuka reached out and lifted the lid from the cutting board. "Sakura, you go take a rest too. I can handle the rest."
"Eh?"
Sakura was pushed by the shoulders and gently pressed down beside the Kotatsu. Under Ritsuka's expectant gaze, she put her legs inside... "Mmm—mmm..."
With faces full of peace and serenity, the three of them—Sakura, Miyu, and Taiga—were all captured heart and soul by the Kotatsu, immersed in its warmth.
Outside the window was a snowy scene with a thin layer of silvery white on the ground. Fuyuki City wasn't the kind of city where snow could accumulate very thickly; having a thin layer covering the ground was the norm. Ritsuka actually hoped to experience a heavy snowfall again, like in her previous life.
That would be truly beautiful—breath-takingly beautiful.
She continued her work.
After a while, Ritsuka opened the pot lid and took out the prepared foil-grilled fish. A burst of aroma immediately filled the room.
"Time to eat."