As dawn approached, Saber finally sheathed her Excalibur, looking satisfied.
"You've made great progress. In just one night, that odd slash of yours has become much stronger, and your magic efficiency has greatly improved. Well done, Miyu!"
Lying on the ground, dirty and exhausted from a whole night of training, Miyu mustered the energy to lift her head and thank Saber.
"Thank you, Saber-san..."
"No need to thank me. I just helped a little."
"Hehe..."
For some reason, Shirou, who was also lying on the ground, dirty and out of breath, let out a helpless laugh and then complained.
"Why did I end up participating in Saber's training too!"
"Shirou, you still have a long way to go! Although you're getting better at projection magic, your training is far from enough!"
A few kilometers away, sitting alone on the rooftop of an isolated Western-style house, a certain Archer who had been watching the fun all night chuckled softly.
"Just a kid..."
He then stood up and leaped off the rooftop. It was almost time for his Master to wake up for school, so he needed to go to the shopping street to buy ingredients for a nutritious breakfast and lunch.
As for the magical girl he had been watching all night, he wasn't interested in the slightest!
...
On the way back, Shirou took Saber and Miyu to the shopping street, partly to buy ingredients for the day's meals and partly to familiarize Miyu with the area.
Coincidentally, they ran into Archer, who was also shopping. Not wanting to engage much with Shirou's group, Archer mocked them briefly before disdainfully handing two red bean buns to the kids (Miyu) and leaving.
Watching Saber and Miyu eat the buns they received, Shirou sighed as he declined Miyu's offer. "I'll pass, Miyu. You and Saber go ahead."
He realized immediately that Archer hadn't considered him at all. Archer just found everything about him annoying!
"Alright, let's pick out the ingredients. We used a lot of energy last night, so let's make a hearty breakfast."
"Wise decision, Shirou!" Saber praised, her ahoge bouncing.
"I'll help too," Miyu quickly added.
The vegetable vendor lady, overhearing their conversation, looked at Shirou with a changed expression.
Used a lot of energy last night? With two young girls? And one is still in elementary school?
The vendor lady didn't dare to think further. This seemingly righteous young man... turned out to be...
Gasp! A wolf in sheep's clothing!
...
The Matou household's morning began with the water heater in Sakura's bathroom malfunctioning.
"Sakura, don't worry. I'll call someone to fix it today," said Rider, flipping through the phonebook hastily.
Returning from his morning exercise, Shinji couldn't help but think that the water heater in Sakura's bathroom was a recurring issue, breaking down every few days.
That bathroom seemed cursed; any water heater placed there would malfunction intermittently. It was a matter of feng shui, an unsolvable problem for now. He'd have to figure out a permanent fix eventually.
"It's alright, Rider. I'll just use my brother's bathroom for now," Sakura said, smiling.
Rider immediately understood, but as a dutiful maid, she decided to call for repairs once Sakura left for school.
"Hmm..."
"What's wrong, Rider?" Sakura asked, noticing Rider's unusual behavior.
"Nothing," Rider quickly shook her head.
Under the table, Shinji ended his little prank, enjoying the playful atmosphere at home. Despite being trained to see herself as a servant, Rider harbored a subtle rebellious sentiment towards Sakura, which Shinji observed with amusement but didn't address.
Shinji didn't mind a bit of tension in the household. A completely compliant servant wasn't his preference. Besides, a little intrigue made things interesting.
After breakfast, Shinji found a pair of Sakura's panties left behind in the bathroom. Before he could do anything, Rider appeared.
"Apologies, Master. It's my fault for not keeping things tidy. I'll wash all the laundry today."
"Call me Master."
Rider cursed him silently but ultimately complied, blushing. "Master..."
...
The school day ended amidst Luvia and Rin's escalating bickering.
Shinji was somewhat disappointed that Luvia hadn't made a bold move to court him yet. Should he hint at his interest?
Maybe show a vulnerable side like Cinderella to lure her in?
"Hey, wait up!"
After school, Shinji was about to head home to work on his game cards when Rin called out to him.
Seeing Rin's frown, Shinji's first thought was that she had noticed the distortion in the ley lines and was going to question him.
"It's been three days, and I can confirm that woman (Luvia) has her eye on you!"
Relieved that Rin wasn't talking about the ley lines, Shinji noted that as the guardian of Fuyuki's ley lines, she hadn't noticed anything wrong. She must have been preoccupied.
Of course, it wasn't entirely Rin's fault. Detecting distortions related to the mirror world required careful examination, even for someone like Rider, who could sense changes in the land.
Moreover, Rin had been focused on studying a ring and the gem sword left by the Second Magician, believing that the ring involved some form of the Second Magic.
As for the Archer who had volunteered to patrol, he was busy preparing meals and maintaining the garden for his Master.
Shirou, on the other hand, wouldn't notice anything unusual at all.
"Which means Illyasviel might be the first to discover the anomaly..."
"Hmm? What did you say?" Rin asked, puzzled by Shinji's muttering.
"Nothing," Shinji shrugged, noticing a silver-haired girl playing hopscotch in the middle of the street ahead.
Following Shinji's gaze, Rin also spotted the girl.
"Illyasviel, is she here to... Huh? Where'd he go?"
Before she could finish, Rin realized Shinji had vanished. Illya, noticing this, grew frustrated.
She had waited all afternoon, and he just ran off at the sight of her? She wasn't a monster. Or did he know something...
Thinking about the hair samples she had collected from Miyu and Shirou and their DNA comparison results, Illya sighed.
The DNA results showed they were indeed related! Not just similar eye colors!
"Illyasviel, what are you doing here? Waiting for Emiya-kun?" Rin asked as she approached. "But he said he had club activities and then work today..."
"I'm not looking for Shirou today..." Illya sighed. "I'm here for Matou Shinji."
"Hmm? Still after the Third Magic? I told you, he really has lost interest in that."
"No, it's not about the Third Magic this time," Illya shook her head, her expression serious. "As the guardian of Fuyuki, haven't you noticed anything?"
Rin frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Never mind. Since you haven't noticed, I won't interfere. It's not my concern. Goodbye, Rin."
"Hey, what do you mean?"
Ignoring Rin's questions, Illya walked away.
...
Back home, Rin grew increasingly uneasy and decided to ask Archer, who was focused on his cooking.
"Archer, have you noticed anything unusual during your patrols?"
"Unusual? No, everything seems peaceful."
"I mean the ley lines of Fuyuki."
"Sorry, I'm not like Rider, who can sense changes in the earth. Is something wrong?"
Rin sighed, holding her forehead. "Never mind, we'll check it ourselves tonight. Get ready, Archer."
"Understood," Archer nodded.
...
Originally, Rin planned to investigate the ley lines that night but received a call from the Mage's Association before she could leave.
The Association informed her about the distortion in the Fuyuki ley lines and, surprisingly, offered to handle it secretly, saying it was no trouble for the Tohsaka family.
Listening to their supposedly kind words, Rin silently cursed them for pretending to be helpful.