At noon, just finished freshening up, Shinji sat on the bed, quietly pondering... which Servant should he cuckold?
Gilgamesh...
Not very interesting. If he really went after Gilgamesh, with his true personality, he could probably end up quickly getting along... cough cough, becoming close... well, not exactly.
In short, while taking down Gilgamesh would make winning quite easy, it didn't seem all that meaningful. Even if he won, it would feel somewhat bland.
Moreover, though he hated to admit it, the combination of himself and Gilgamesh would likely double the chances of things going wrong.
The Emperor...
While he could easily mess with that cute little Waver, it seemed like he could only get the Emperor's body, not his heart, which was not an ideal outcome.
Saber?
Forget it. It felt like he would be stealing from a friend's relationship, which wasn't good.
Assassin... impossible. With so many personalities, he couldn't handle it alone.
Caster? Also no good. He was crazy, and Shinji wasn't a psychiatrist, not really suited to dealing with that.
Wasn't there one more!
Shinji slapped his forehead and instantly sat up.
There was still Lancer!
Loyal, righteous, kind, and courteous, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. Although he had an E-rank in luck, his stats were decent, and his Noble Phantasms were excellent. Not to mention, in another world, he and Lancer had quite a bond... Ah, what a great friendship!
The more he thought about it, the more he felt Lancer was the perfect choice. Without hesitation, Shinji discarded his robe and started getting dressed.
He had to find the hotel where Kayneth was staying today and seize the chance to make a good impression on Lancer!
What? Lancer is the hardest to win over?
Sorry, Shinji loves the hardest challenges!
The more difficult it is, the more excited and driven he gets!
...
After a simple search, Shinji found the Hyatt Hotel, which had not yet been blown up by Kiritsugu Emiya.
It wasn't luck; it was simply because this hotel was the tallest building in Fuyuki at the time.
Feeling the magical workshop inside this building, which was practically a fortress, Shinji couldn't help but feel sorry for the genius who would be tricked and killed by Kiritsugu.
To set up such a magical workshop in such a short time showed Kayneth's genius.
Because his identity issue hadn't been resolved yet, Shinji didn't check in immediately but did a quick reconnaissance before leaving.
Caster was also summoned today. If he was lucky, he might catch Ryunosuke right after he committed a crime and before he started summoning.
Being a helpful person, Shinji could help Ryunosuke understand the true meaning of death, showing him his own death.
But since he had been labeled as not very lucky by a certain blue Lancer, it seemed the prophecy was true. He searched until sunset without finding any trace of the special, simple-minded seeker of "perfection."
Under the sunset at Miyamiya Bridge, two familiar figures in the park caught Shinji's attention.
Kariya, constantly making faces and exclaiming, pointing at various things to capture the young girl's attention, hoping to see more expressions on her face.
And Sakura, holding a white bunny plushie, sitting in the pavilion, still expressionless but with more vitality than when Shinji first saw her yesterday.
Shinji knew that Kariya wouldn't let the young girl meet her mother immediately. He hoped to open her closed heart a bit more before letting her reunite with her mother and sister.
Seeing that it was getting dark and today's progress was sufficient, Kariya took Sakura's hand and headed home.
...
In front of the Matou house, Kariya could clearly feel the little hand he was holding trembling slightly.
Kneeling down, Kariya smiled gently at Sakura, "Trust Uncle. I promised you today, no more going to that basement, and you won't see that grandpa again."
Hidden in the shadows, Shinji looked at the surveillance familiar under his foot and sighed inwardly.
It seemed he needed to remind his uncle again, or the news that Zouken was dead might spread quickly.
...
At night, after comforting the young girl holding the white bunny plushie to sleep, Kariya quietly left the room and closed the door.
When Kariya returned to his room and turned on the light, he saw Shinji sitting on the bed, reading a novel.
Knowing why Shinji had come, Kariya didn't react with surprise but walked in and closed the door gently.
"Don't worry, I've set up a soundproof barrier."
Ignoring the boy's words, Kariya quickly snatched the novel from Shinji's hands.
It was a black history novel, "The Dark Mystic Swordsman Kariya," which Kariya had found in Zouken's room during the day. He had hesitated to destroy it immediately and had placed it in his room temporarily.
He hadn't expected Shinji to find it!
Ignoring Shinji's playful expression, Kariya turned to the bedside table, took out a file, and handed it to Shinji.
"As you requested, a flawless identity."
Skimming through the documents and finding no issues, Shinji tossed the file into his system space.
"Thanks, Uncle Kariya." Standing up, Shinji continued, "Let's meet again after the Holy Grail War."
Kariya felt helpless towards his elusive nephew from a parallel world.
"You brat..."
"By the way, one last reminder. From now on, don't mention that Zouken is gone. The area around this house is full of surveillance familiars set up by opponents in the Holy Grail War. If someone overhears, it could put you in danger and expose me prematurely.
Just as I told you last night, 'Zouken went out alone, and you didn't receive any Command Seals.' Let Byakuya and everyone around think that the Matou family has given up on this Holy Grail War."
"I understand, but can you really handle this alone? I can use some magic now..."
"Don't worry. I even defeated the Servant summoned by Zouken. Although I don't want to say this, if you help, you'll just be a burden. Besides, I prefer to act alone."
"Alright." Kariya nodded but then realized something, "Wait, you brat, who are you calling a burden?"
"Alright, you have your own job, don't you? Sakura only trusts you right now."
"Wait, Shinji, what about... Tokiomi Tohsaka?"
Seeing Kariya's hesitation, Shinji, knowing what he wanted to ask, answered straightforwardly, "Whether I encounter him is a question. My main goal is victory, not personal grudges. I will probably only act in the final stage of the Holy Grail War. If he is the last enemy, I won't show mercy, but I doubt it will be him. His grace and composure are a joke to me."
Slap!
"Hahaha! I almost think you're my son! Indeed, his grace and composure are just hypocrisy to me!"
Feeling the hand on his shoulder, Shinji sighed and said, "In any case, follow my instructions carefully and don't slip up."
"Got it."
"By the way, what happened to this world's me?"
"Covered in worms, cried for half an hour, then completely gave up..."
Shinji interrupted, "No, I know my childhood self. Half an hour isn't enough. In a few days, he'll be back in the study, unable to stay away. His nature is to forget the pain once the wound heals.
Continue tomorrow, extend it to an hour. The day after tomorrow, make it two hours. The day after that, make it four hours. You can even throw him in without clothes, leaving a psychological shadow is fine. This way, he won't go astray or become a menace to society when he grows up. If Byakuya asks, say it's Zouken's instructions before he left."
After a long silence, Kariya retorted, "You're too harsh on yourself, aren't you?"
Shinji smiled, put on his invisibility cloak, and patted Kariya's shoulder, "Trust me, it's for his own good."
...
Returning to the Hyatt Hotel, Shinji had a new look—
A clean and tidy brown-striped casual suit, a lightly ironed shirt without a wrinkle underneath, black leather shoes, and a detective hat. He carried a small wooden box in his left hand and held a high-quality mahogany cane in his right.
In this appearance, anyone would think he was a professional detective.
At the front desk, Shinji put down the wooden box and took out the passport he got from Kariya, smiling slightly at the receptionist, "I've reserved a room, the name is Miyafuji Shinji."
Miyafuji Shinji: half Japanese, half Russian. His father was Russian, his mother Japanese, and his father married into his mother's family 22 years ago.
He grew up in Tokyo until he was ten, then moved to Russia with his parents due to their work. At sixteen, he went to study in England, and at twenty, he returned to Russia after finishing his studies.
Currently running a detective agency in Russia, he returned to Fuyuki after hearing from a friend about recent serial killings in the city.
This was an identity Shinji had created in this world with the help of several mage families. All the details could withstand scrutiny, as long as it wasn't an exhaustive investigation, there wouldn't be any flaws.
"Alright, Mr. Miyafuji, please follow me. Your room is..."
Nodding, Shinji picked up his box and leisurely followed the friendly staff.