Homurahara Academy
Dragged to school early by Sakura, Shinji entered the classroom to find Shirou slumped over his desk, sporting large dark circles under his eyes and looking utterly exhausted.
Since it was still early, the classroom was empty except for Shinji and Shirou.
I forgot to mention, Shinji had seen Rin in the hallway earlier, and she looked just as worn out as Shirou does now.
One, two, three...
Within a day, I've encountered three pandas. Homurahara Academy really is a magical place.
"Yo, morning, Emiya."
"Ah, morning," Shirou replied weakly, glancing at Shinji as he walked over.
"You didn't go for morning practice?" Shinji sat down in the seat in front of Shirou. "By the way... did you not sleep at all last night?"
Shirou sighed deeply without answering. Last night, he and Saber spent the entire night fighting skeleton soldiers and chasing the cunning Caster, who always managed to stay just out of reach.
Rin, equally frustrated by Caster's antics, finally snapped as dawn approached, yelling at the ceiling for a good ten minutes!
Of course, all this was undoubtedly observed by Caster, who was likely laughing in the confines of Ryuudou Temple.
In the end, Rin decided to adjust their approach to dealing with Caster.
"Let's find and investigate Caster's Master first."
Shirou agreed with this strategy, realizing that Caster was too crafty to catch directly.
Seeing Shirou's lack of response, Shinji didn't press further and instead kindly suggested, "Whatever happened, you should try to get some rest tonight. You won't last if you keep this up."
Shirou didn't reply to this either. Instead, he lowered his voice and said, "Shinji, there seem to be several magical barriers in our school. Be careful."
Shinji frowned. Other than the barrier he had set, there was another one? Could it be Caster's doing?
He hadn't noticed anything unusual. Are ancient magicians really this impressive?
Calming his mind, Shinji carefully used his mental strength to investigate. Meanwhile, Shirou continued in a low voice.
"According to Rin, the barriers are very subtle and hard to detect, set by a very skilled magician. One of them seems to be draining the students' energy. Lately, students have been complaining about feeling hungry even before lunch. Rin says that's the barrier's effect. It hasn't caused any serious harm yet, but over time..."
Using his mental strength to carefully investigate, Shinji confirmed the presence of a barrier that indeed seemed to drain life energy. He retracted his mental probing and waved dismissively.
"Don't worry, just eat more."
"That's not the point..." Shirou said helplessly. "Rin is particularly annoyed because this barrier seems to be making her eat more and gain some unwanted weight."
Huh? Shinji was puzzled, thinking: Why didn't I notice? Maybe I've done a good deed without realizing it? What's my reward?
However, since Caster had already targeted the school, it was time to remove his own barrier. He had collected enough energy for future use.
Moreover, he had been worried about how to transport the collected energy to the Great Hollow. Now, with Caster's barrier in place, he could use it as a cover to transfer his collected energy discreetly...
...
Whether it was due to Taiga's pressure or something else, Shinji surprisingly did not skip classes today and stayed until school ended.
As the dismissal bell rang, Shinji turned his head and smiled awkwardly but politely at Taiga, who was standing next to him with a large paper fan, watching him intently.
"Can I go now, teacher?"
"Yes." Taiga finally nodded.
Shinji: ...
...
After School
"Rin! Today..."
After school, Shirou immediately found Rin, who was packing her bag to go home. But before he could finish his sentence, she cut him off.
"Nope, today I'm going home to sleep. I haven't had a good rest in three days, and you should do the same. You haven't rested properly either, have you?"
Seeing the dark circles still prominent under her eyes, Shirou didn't argue.
As she was about to leave, Rin, yawning, added, "Oh, by the way, the barrier you couldn't sense at school seems to have been removed just before classes ended."
...
Same Old Intersection, Same Old Chinese Restaurant
At the familiar intersection and the same Chinese restaurant, the students were once again lining up.
Rin knew this was thanks to the barrier's effect. Being the closest restaurant to the school, many hungry students would rush here after classes to grab some Chinese buns or similar snacks.
Smelling the freshly made buns, Rin once again considered having her dinner here.
But...
Having gained 1 kg in just a few days, Rin decided to abandon the idea.
Absolutely not!
Resolute in her decision to skip dinner and perhaps fast for the night, Rin was about to leave when she saw a familiar figure squeeze out of the Chinese restaurant.
Seeing Shinji chatting and laughing with the voluptuous young female owner in a tight T-shirt, Rin felt inexplicably irritated.
"Just as you said, business has really picked up recently."
The young owner, all smiles and giggles, made Shinji unable to tear his eyes away.
"Hahaha, I was just making a casual comment."
Scratching his head, Shinji chuckled, but his laughter abruptly stopped as he sensed something unusual behind him.
Turning around, he saw Rin glaring at him with a grim expression.
...
In a Secluded Alley
Cornered by Rin against a wall, Shinji remained calm as she glared at him, clearly cursing him inwardly.
"Shinji, tell me, was the barrier at school your doing?"
"Do you think I'm a magician?" Shinji retorted calmly.
Rin thought about it and realized he had a point. After all, this guy wasn't a magician, and setting such a subtle barrier would require a highly skilled magician.
But still...
"What were you talking about with that restaurant owner earlier?"