"Cheers~~~~~~!"
Taiga Fujimura raised her glass, filled to the brim with beer, and led the toast. Everyone in the living room lifted their glasses along with her.
There were too many people, and the distance between them made clinking glasses awkward, so they only mimed the gesture. Once everyone had toasted, Shirou brought his orange juice to his lips.
The dining table was covered with all kinds of dishes, from Japanese cuisine to Western and Chinese food. The spread was impressively varied.
All of it was the result of Sakura Matou, Rin Tohsaka, and Ayako Mitsuzuri's hard work… though if he put it that way, Fuji-nee would get very angry, so she deserved some credit too.
There were nine people at the welcome party tonight, so the usual dining table was not enough. They had brought out another one from the storage room.
The three Einzberns and Taiga Fujimura sat at one table, while Shirou and the other middle school students who could not drink sat at the other.
Shinji said, "Shirou! Tell me about your trip overseas! Man, I'm so jealous. I want to take a leave of absence too!"
Shirou said, "Wait, don't crowd me. It wasn't a vacation."
Issei said, "Hm, this miso soup…?"
Rin said, "I made it. What's wrong?"
Issei said, "So you made it. No wonder… " He pushed up his glasses.
Rin said, "Hah? If you've got something to say, say it. Do you have a problem with my cooking?"
Issei said, "For a Tohsaka dish, it's passable, as long as you don't compare it to Shirou's."
Rin said, "What did you say!?!?!"
Ayako said, "Calm down, Tohsaka! Don't let him bait you!"
The room quickly descended into chaos.
Even so, things were still relatively tame on their side. At the adults' table, Irisviel and Taiga Fujimura, master and apprentice, were already drinking beer by the mugful.
Thinking about how he would have to take care of two drunks again after tonight's welcome party, Shirou could not help sighing.
"Senpai, may I sit here?"
Sakura Matou walked over and stood behind Shirou and Shinji Matou.
"Wait, Sakura! This is my sea-"
"What?"
Sakura Matou cut off her brother's protest with a smile.
"P-please, go ahead. It's only natural for an older brother to give up his seat for his little sister, ahahaha!"
Under Sakura's gaze, Shinji Matou shrank back and voluntarily made room.
The wordless pressure radiating from the girl was enough to make even Shirou feel nervous.
"Senpai, welcome back."
"Ah, yeah. I haven't even had a chance to say hello to you yet, Sakura."
"But you won't suddenly leave without saying anything again, will you?"
Shirou nodded. "Yeah, everything in Germany has been taken care of. From now on, I need to focus on my studies."
"That's good." Sakura placed a hand over her chest, which had recently begun growing rapidly, and let out a relieved breath.
"Sorry, Sakura."
"Senpai?"
"We had to leave in such a hurry back then, so I didn't get to tell you beforehand. I'm sorry I made you worry."
Sakura shook her head. "As long as you're safe, that's all that matters."
Ever since they entered middle school, perhaps because they had joined the same sports club, Sakura had started calling him "Senpai" instead of "Shirou-nii-san."
It felt like their relationship had become more distant… Well, it was probably just his imagination.
Yeah, just his imagination.
He and Sakura were still as close as siblings.
"So, Senpai, what did you do overseas?"
"Huh?"
Shirou froze.
He could have brushed the question aside with the excuse he had prepared in advance.
But the way the girl looked straight at him made a chill run through him, and the lie caught in his throat.
"Uh… didn't I tell you over the phone? I went to Germany with Aunt Iri to see a doctor."
"Oh, right. Sorry, Senpai, I forgot."
"It's fine."
Sakura Matou said calmly, "Aunt Iri is supposed to be your guardian, but she was the one who needed you to accompany her abroad for treatment."
"T-that's normal, isn't it?"
What part of that is normal? It's practically like a married couple… Sakura Matou thought.
The girl held her orange juice in both hands and brought it to her lips, while her eyes remained fixed on Irisviel at the next table.
Maybe it was just her imagination, but Irisviel, whom she had not seen for a month, seemed even more alluring than before.
No, Aunt Iri had always been a peerless beauty, like a princess from a fairy tale, but…
In the past, Irisviel had always seemed somewhat childish to Sakura Matou. But looking at her now...
That faint girlish air from before had completely vanished. From head to toe, she now radiated the charm and presence unique to a mature woman.
To put it in a certain way, it was as if she had been nourished, refined, and polished by a man…
"By the way, Sakura, how have you been lately? Is your Magecraft training going smoothly?"
Shirou quickly changed the subject and leaned closer to ask quietly by the girl's ear.
Suddenly, someone kicked him.
He looked up and saw Rin Tohsaka, seated directly across from him, glaring over in displeasure, as if warning him not to discuss Magecraft in public.
She had clearly been secretly watching her younger sister the entire time, and had heard Shirou's whispered question too.
Shirou did not care. The principle of secrecy had nothing to do with him!
He was not a Magus. Wasn't that the Landlord's job?
Sakura Matou smiled. "Mm! When there's a chance, I'd like to show you the new Magecraft I've learned, Senpai. Maybe you could give me some guidance while you're at it."
"Sure, but I don't think there's anything left for me to guide you on."
Shirou said, "You're hardworking and talented, Sakura. When it comes to Magecraft, you might have already surpassed me."
"No way…!"
Sakura Matou protested loudly.
As a result, everyone's attention was drawn over by her voice. Rin Tohsaka in particular was gritting her teeth, her eyes practically blazing.
"Ugh…!"
Sakura Matou flushed red and lowered her head.
Although she was more mature and composed than other girls her age, every now and then, she still showed a cute side befitting a middle school girl.
"Senpai?"
"I'm going to the bathroom."
As Shirou stood up, Rin Tohsaka, who was sitting across from him, also rose.
"Tohsaka?"
"The bathroom."
She made no attempt to hide it at all. She simply followed him at a brisk pace, and the two of them left the living room one after the other.
Unlike the lively, noisy room, the outdoors was wrapped in the quiet veil of night.
Shirou walked silently in front, while Rin Tohsaka followed behind with an aggressive air.
The two of them passed through the moonlit courtyard without a word.
Just before the turn leading to the bathroom, Shirou stopped and looked back at Rin Tohsaka.
"Hey."
"…Wh-what!?"
The black-haired girl staggered back a step and nearly fell onto the floor, looking flustered.
She had not expected Shirou to actually speak to her first, so she was caught completely off guard.
"…Why are you following me?" Shirou asked.
"W-who's following you!"
Rin Tohsaka's face turned red. "I just… just happen to need the bathroom too, that's all."
"Then let's go to the bathroom together like good friends, Tohsaka."
The corner of Rin Tohsaka's mouth twitched. "…What a disgusting way to put it."
After the Fourth Holy Grail War, Tokiomi Tohsaka had been beaten by Shirou until his spirit broke. He voluntarily gave up his position as head of the Tohsaka Family, left Japan for London, and devoted himself entirely to his patent business.
As a result, the position of head of the Tohsaka Family fell to Rin, who was only eight years old at the time.
Since the Tohsaka Family was the Landlord controlling Fuyuki's Leylines, her duties were similar to Aoko's work in Misaki City.
At only eight years old, she had to balance schoolwork and Magecraft training while also managing the Barrier nodes throughout Fuyuki City, as well as communication with the Mage's Association and the Church.
She must have had a truly miserable childhood.
The one responsible for all of it was Shirou himself, so he would not have found it strange if she hated him for it.
In fact, Rin Tohsaka's attitude toward Shirou really was not good.
However, it did not seem to be the resentment Shirou had imagined. Rather...
"Sis… Tohsaka-senpai actually sees you as a rival, Senpai," Sakura Matou had said.
"A rival? Me? I thought Rin's rivals were Ayako or Issei," Shirou said, puzzled.
Sakura said, "Mitsuzuri-senpai is a rival in a different sense. As for Ryuudou-senpai, I think they just don't like each other… But when it comes to Magecraft, Tohsaka-senpai really does see you as her goal, Senpai."
"Her goal, huh."
Shirou was speechless. Come on, why does a mediocre ordinary person like me have to become the teacher and goal for you two genius sisters?
Because Shirou had defeated Tokiomi, Rin believed that only by surpassing Shirou herself could she prove the excellence of the Tohsaka family.
Don't be ridiculous, you father-obsessed brat!
Of course, Shirou would never dare say that to Rin Tohsaka's face.
Rin was now Homurahara Academy's school idol, the unattainable flower admired by everyone. With a single word, she could socially destroy an invisible male student like Shirou.
Although Shirou did have plenty to say about Rin's title as "Homurahara's Number One Beauty."
"My Sakura is obviously the cutest. Why has no one noticed? Even Mitsuzuri's ranking, in the top three, is higher than Sakura's. How is that fair?"
"S-Senpai…!"
Hearing Shirou's complaint, Sakura blushed bright red. "How could I ever compare to Tohsaka-senpai or Mitsuzuri-senpai? Uuuugh! Please stop teasing me, Senpai!"
After that, things became extremely troublesome.
"You didn't say anything weird to that child, did you?"
Rin's voice came from the bathroom, only a door away.
"No," Shirou replied.
"Hmph~ Fine, then."
Rin Tohsaka asked again, "Did something happen with the Einzbern?"
As expected of her. She really was sharp.
Shirou said, "Nothing much. Why do you ask?"
"I'm the head of the Tohsaka Family. I don't think there's anything wrong with asking about the state of an ally."
Shirou thought she had a point, so he told Rin about how he and Irisviel had rebelled and seized control.
"Wh…"
Since Rin was inside the bathroom and Shirou was outside, he could not see her expression, but he could more or less imagine how spectacular it must have been.
"I see… So the Einzbern have given up on the Greater Grail."
"Yeah. From now on, the Einzbern will be putting more effort into Magecraft exchange, so please take good care of us."
"You make it sound as if you're already one of the Einzbern, Amamiya-kun."
Rin Tohsaka sneered. "What happened to that 'neutrality' we agreed on?"
"Uh…"
His attitude just now really had been careless.
After returning to Japan, Shirou was not supposed to show any greater intimacy with Irisviel. That had been part of their agreement from the start.
Shirou said, "I'm only an advisor to the Einzbern. If the Tohsaka run into any trouble, you can come to me too."
"Oh really~? Then I'll gladly take you up on that, Amamiya-kun. Anyway…"
Shirou leaned closer to the door. "What is it, Tohsaka?"
She had already been in there for almost five minutes.
Could it be that Homurahara Academy's number one beauty had some secret, unspeakable physical condition?
A roar filled with embarrassment and anger came from inside. "How am I supposed to use the bathroom when you're standing right outside the door?!"
Looks like they needed to think about buying an electric toilet that could play music, Shirou thought.
...
After using the bathroom, Shirou and Irisviel returned to the living room.
"......Ugh."
"Madam, are you all right?"
Sella anxiously rubbed her mistress's back, while Irisviel covered her mouth, her face deathly pale.
Her eyes went wide. She shook her head desperately, then got up and rushed out of the room, hurrying toward the bathroom.
"That's why I told you not to drink so much, honestly."
The moment Shirou sat back down, Shinji Matou immediately leaned over and asked why he had taken so long in the bathroom.
"Mm, uh… nothing."
"That's suspicious! Come on, confess already. What were you doing with Tohsaka?"
"I told you, all sorts of things."
When Shinji Matou heard that, he looked nervous. "Shirou, don't tell me Tohsaka was bullying you!"
Shirou nearly spat out the juice in his mouth.
The welcome party was almost over.
Issei Ryuudou was the first to say he had to go home.
As the youngest son of the temple, he was serious by nature and always observed his curfew.
Shirou walked him to the entrance and was just about to return to the living room when Leysritt called out to him.
"Shirou, Madam is calling you to her room."
"Uh… Can't we talk outside? The guests are still here."
Leysritt said expressionlessly, "Congratulations, Shirou."
???
Shirou said, "Congratulations for what?"
She gave no explanation and simply turned toward Irisviel's room, her back seeming to say, "Follow me."
Shirou braced himself and followed her.
Irisviel's room was right next to Shirou's.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Irisviel wearing a complicated expression and Sella looking tense.
Sella raised her head and exchanged glances with Shirou.
For some reason, Shirou sensed something like murderous intent in the maid's eyes.
"Iri, I'm here."
"Shirou!"
The moment Irisviel saw Shirou, she broke into a radiant smile, took his hand, and sat him down beside her.
"Um, can this wait until later? I want to see the guests off first…"
Irisviel, who usually went along with whatever Shirou said, completely ignored his suggestion this time and gripped the boy's hand tightly.
"Stay calm and listen to me, Shirou."
A blissful blush rose on the silver-haired beauty's face.
"I think I'm pregnant."