Chapter 21

Take a break, Shinji thought to himself.

The system unusually refrained from urging Shinji to train or refresh daily tasks, as if intentionally giving him a moment to relax.

The day after the funeral, Shinji packed his bags.

Leaving behind a message that he wanted to travel for a few days, he departed from the Matou residence and left Fuyuki.

In the blink of an eye, it was April.

The season of cherry blossoms and the start of a new school term.

Early in the morning, just a few days after returning from his trip, Shinji opened his eyes and got up from a bed cluttered with various documents and materials.

"Ha~~~" Shinji yawned widely and stretched.

Dressed in the neatly folded school uniform placed by the bedside, Shinji, freshly washed and groomed, pushed open the dining room door to see Sakura busy setting the table.

"Brother, breakfast is ready."

"Aren't you going to the Emiya's today?" Shinji asked nonchalantly.

"Since it's been a while since you've been back, I thought..."

She really is a good sister, Shinji thought to himself.

As he pulled out a chair and sat down, Shinji discreetly observed his sister, whose expression was markedly different from before.

The biggest change was perhaps the light and sparkle in her eyes.

A protagonist truly is something special; within just a few months, they can completely change the life of a girl who was nearly in despair. Is this the power of the protagonist's aura? No, perhaps it's the power of love.

Shinji pondered.

Since deciding after last Christmas to treat this world as a real one and turning off the favorability system, Shinji would never have guessed that the sparkle in Sakura's eyes had a lot to do with him.

Listening to bits of news about her frequently absent brother from the mouth of a certain ally of justice, hearing amusing anecdotes about her brother at school...

"Clean up later; it's better not to be late on the first day of the new term."

Finishing breakfast, Shinji stood up and said this plainly.

Although Shinji's gaze was as cold as usual, Sakura's face clearly showed a hint of joy upon hearing his words.

Walking to and from school with her brother seemed like something that happened a long time ago—back when they were in middle school together, there were only a few such instances.

"Okay," Sakura responded with a smile.

At the gate of Homurahara Academy, amidst the constantly falling cherry blossoms, Shinji and Rin met and immediately exchanged sharp, sarcastic remarks, maintaining a harmonious tension.

"Really, on the first day of the new school year, I thought something good might happen, but it seems not. Otherwise, I wouldn't have run into such bad luck first thing in the morning."

"Indeed," Rin said, shrugging slightly with a hint of regret, "Just as Matou said, without a doubt."

"It seems Tohsaka already has a clear understanding of her position."

"No, no, what I meant was, encountering Matou first thing in the morning is exactly what bad luck feels like."

"Are you looking for a fight this early?"

"You're the one who started it."

Watching the two bite back and forth, Sakura quickly intervened, "Good morning, Tohsaka-senpai, I am a first-year student—Matou Sakura."

Seeing the two pretending to meet for the first time and introducing themselves in public, Shinji sighed inwardly.

Such scenes are really quite pathetic.

"Yo, Shinji, morning."

Turning around, Shinji saw the newly arrived Shirou and raised a hand in response. "Morning, Emiya."

"Good morning, Senpai," Sakura greeted softly.

"Good morning, Sakura. And you too, Tohsaka."

"Matou, just in time, the student council needs a report on your absenteeism for the new term."

Watching Issei approach, Shinji retorted, "What student council? Aren't you the president now? And what's with the absenteeism report? Why am I the only one who needs to do it?"

"Do you even need to ask? Of course, it's because your absenteeism is off the charts."

"Emiya! Emiya! Come help with recruitment!"

From a distance, Mitsuzuri's voice rang out.

Seeing Mitsuzuri waving and running over, Shirou raised his hand in response. "Ah, I'll be there in a bit."

"Matou, you should come too." Mitsuzuri winked at Shinji as she approached.

Shinji looked uninterested, "No way, I'm not a member of the Archery Club anymore."

"You used to be, right?"

"That was just in the past; I'm not interested anymore."

"Actually, from a certain perspective, you haven't really left the Archery Club, since you haven't submitted the withdrawal application yet."

"I don't care about that!"

"By the way," Mitsuzuri suddenly noticed something, looking at Sakura who was chatting with Rin, and asked Shinji, "Who's that girl?"

"Shinji's sister," Shirou answered for the disinterested Shinji.

"Ah!" Mitsuzuri's eyes lit up, and she darted forward, grabbing Sakura's hand before she could react, eagerly asking, "Are you interested in archery? Your brother is a genius in archery, so you must be talented too, right?"

"Uh, no, I'm not—"

Before Sakura could finish, Mitsuzuri continued, "Oh, I almost forgot, what's your name?"

"My name is Sakura."

"Sakura... mm-hmm!" Mitsuzuri nodded satisfactorily, moving a few inches closer, "Then join the Archery Club. Or have you already decided on another club?"

"No, I—"

"Then it's settled!"

Watching Mitsuzuri's assertive behavior, Issei pushed his glasses and sighed, "Really, too forceful."

Shirou smiled helplessly.

At this moment, Shinji noticed something—Rin, who was trying to sneak away, and Taiga, who was running over with a camera.

"Hey," Shinji called out to Rin, taking a couple of steps toward her.

"What? Still want to argue?"

"How about a temporary truce?" Shinji shrugged.

"Huh?" Rin exclaimed in surprise. "That's not like you."

Nearby, Taiga, holding the camera, called out, "Matou-kun, you're the last one! Oh, and Tohsaka-san too, come join!"

"Eh? I don't need—"

Before Rin could finish, Shinji pulled her by the hem of her clothes.

"What are you doing? Let go of me—"

"Just shut up," Shinji said without looking back.

"You—let go of me!" Rin's face turned slightly red, but Shinji didn't let go.

Eventually, Rin was pulled over by Shinji and positioned quietly between Sakura and Mitsuzuri.

Seriously, this guy loves making decisions for others, Rin grumbled inwardly.

"Thanks, teacher." Standing behind the six students, Taiga smiled at the neatly dressed man with silver glasses—Souichirou Kuzuki—whom she had asked for help.

"Fuji-nee, you're a teacher too," Shirou remarked helplessly.

...

In the end, a group photo with seven people was taken.

From left to right, it featured Shinji with his hands in his pockets, trying to look cool but being pulled by the ear by Taiga, who was behind him; Issei, not fully looking at the camera and seemingly glancing at Shirou; Shirou, frowning and about to say something to Taiga; Sakura, side-glancing at Taiga and Shinji with a slightly surprised expression; Rin, pretending not to care at all; and Mitsuzuri, grinning at the camera.

Behind them stood Taiga, pulling Shinji's ear, seemingly annoyed by something he had said.

The scene was frozen in time.

"Just so you know, I won't thank you," Rin said on the rooftop, arms crossed, full of tsundere attitude.

Hearing this, Shinji's eye twitched, and after a long silence, he finally spoke.

"So you dragged me out of the classroom where I was napping just to say this?"

"Yes."

Shinji fell silent again.

After a long while...

"If you want to argue, just say so."