"What kind of gratitude is that! I'd rather have the two billion directly!"
Riding on Shinji, Rin vented her frustration by waving her weak little fists.
Shinji countered while blocking, "You're still young; you can't handle it!"
"What are you even talkin..." Rin suddenly sensed something and stopped moving, "Huh? What's this underneath me..."
Seeing Rin quietly get up, her voice trailing off, her face slowly turning red as she muttered "pervert" under her breath, Shinji felt it was time to salvage his image.
"What nonsense are you thinking? It's just half a brick in my pocket."
Saying this, Shinji got up and pulled out half a brick from his right pocket.
Rin's expression relaxed a bit, but she still looked puzzled, "Why are you carrying something like that?"
"I thought it might be useful for self-defense if I run into danger."
Rin: ...
...
The morning passed uneventfully.
At lunchtime, just as Shinji was about to leave for the cafeteria to have a rare eating contest with Mitsuzuri, Shirou blocked his way.
"Shinji, I'm going to the rooftop with Tohsaka to discuss the Holy Grail War."
Seeing Shirou's earnest face, Shinji didn't quite understand why Shirou was telling him this, but then he realized.
Translating Shirou's words into plain language, it meant:
I, Shirou Emiya, will never coexist with a cuckold!
Unsure how to react, Shinji silently patted Shirou's shoulder and said in a low voice.
"Stop imagining things."
...
In the cafeteria, at a table, although there was no sound other than chewing and swallowing, the battle had already begun.
—Shinji and Mitsuzuri, occupying the table, were demonstrating the truth that "youth is exceptionally hungry!"
A bowl of ramen, a curry rice, a vegetable salad, a sandwich, and a bowl of miso soup. Both sides had the same items, very fair.
Finally...
"It's over!"
Mitsuzuri was the first to finish, putting down her miso soup bowl and saying so, but then she noticed the second bowl of ramen in front of Shinji.
Seeing Shinji slurping the last mouthful of the second bowl of ramen he had ordered while she was busy eating, Mitsuzuri awkwardly twitched her mouth and then turned her face, clenching her fist.
"Tch! If only we had competed a few days ago. My appetite was definitely double today's!"
"Ah, I'm full, I'm full~"
Mitsuzuri, playing with her spoon, asked with interest, "By the way, why are you in the cafeteria today? Don't you usually bring a bento?"
Shinji, wiping his mouth, answered, "I was planning to skip class today, so I didn't have Sakura prepare one for me, but..."
"You got caught by Fujimura-sensei, right?" Mitsuzuri interrupted Shinji cheerfully, "This morning during practice, Fujimura-sensei was proudly saying she caught a problem student trying to skip class."
"Ugh~ I hope we get a new homeroom teacher in the third year~"
"Is it Kuzuki-sensei?" Mitsuzuri waved her hand, "Forget it, with his serious and rigid personality, you wouldn't be able to stand him."
"That's true." Shinji nodded and then stroked his chin thoughtfully, "But even if we get different classes in the third year, I doubt he would be my homeroom teacher."
"Why?"
"Just a feeling."
"I see... Speaking of the third year," Mitsuzuri looked a bit wistful, "I wonder where we'll go for our graduation trip? It'd be great if it were Tokyo..."
"Tokyo? Hey, it's a graduation trip, you should choose a place abroad!"
"But I really want to visit Ikebukuro."
"You can go there anytime. For a graduation trip, you should choose a place you wouldn't normally get to visit."
Mitsuzuri propped her chin and thought, "That's true. Where do you want to go for the graduation trip?"
"I'm interested in the Bermuda Triangle."
Hearing this, Mitsuzuri's eyelids twitched, and a few dark lines appeared on her face.
"The place you're choosing isn't one you'd rarely get to visit; it's one you'd rarely return from..."
"Even so, aren't you curious? I'm extremely curious!"
"That's a different matter. Well, never mind, I should talk to Sakura and have her convince her brother who's interested in weird and dangerous things."
"Sakura..." Shinji murmured, then smiled, "Well, I really appreciate it, Mitsuzuri."
"No need to thank me, I like shopping after school anyway, having a companion is nice."
"Thanks again."
"Don't worry."
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
On the rooftop of the school building, Shirou was reporting to Rin about Saber sneaking out to Ryuudou Temple last night and Illya wanting to join their team to fight.
To Shirou's surprise, Rin didn't immediately reject the idea of Illya joining them. Instead, she suggested meeting and talking with her after school.
Rin then shared some descriptions Archer had given about Caster from last night.
Of course, according to Archer, Caster was just an arrogant and conceited fool, even claiming she didn't have a brain and needed to borrow one.
"You said Caster wanted to borrow Shinji's brain?"
Shirou was baffled, feeling something was off. How could someone arrogant and conceited admit to needing someone else's brain?
...
Meanwhile, at the Matou residence.
For some reason, Rider, who appeared in Shinji's room, silently looked around the empty room.
Rider wasn't here to continue the battle that was disrupted by Caster last night. She was simply trying to extract a bit of a plan from her "Master" (as she perceived herself).
"What's the next step? When can I take action?"
"Damn witch!"
Rider clenched her fists, gritting her teeth. This exclamation was merely out of disdain for Caster's evil ways, unrelated to the interrupted battle.
"Damn it!"
Muttering her disdain once more, Rider decided to return tonight. She turned into her spirit form and left the Matou residence.