Chapter 16: Magician

"You two, do you really want to eat outside? I can just cook, you know."

"That won't work, Nii-san. You should relax too."

"But I am relaxing sometimes..?"

Right after training, Shinji and Sakura pulled Shiro to have fun outside. At first, he was about to refuse, but then he realized that he hadn't gone outside with the kids.

Well, he went outside every night just so that he could explode more cuisine. That, and some ingredients to bring back to Terra. Bland food is something he could not tolerate after all.

Once they went outside, a driver is waiting for them. Then, the driver spoke to Shinji, the son of the family head. After the trouble was settled, everyone else in this house acted normally. Everyone except Byakuya, though.

He got locked up at his own room, with only his name of use to the official papers.

"Good morning, sir."

"Good morning."

"Where would you like to go?"

"That cafe we used to visit."

"Understood."

*****

"Now I know why you used to keep coming here."

Shiro tasted the stuffed baguette in his hands. He can tell that the owner of this shop is a master of cooking, perhaps possessing an expert level cooking mastery.

The bread has the right texture and softness while the fillings are of great taste as well.

Meanwhile, Sakura got her hands on a stack of pancakes while Shinji got the usual english breakfast.

"This is delicious. Why isn't there much customers here?"

"We don't know. It might be that the owner never bothered to do an advertisement, aniki."

"Really? But he's much better at cooking than me."

Hearing this, they were startled a bit. Honestly, they found his cooking better than this. Whenever they took a bite of his food, they almost got dragged in an illusion.

Sometimes, they even thought of using his food as a weapon!

A food that pull others into a reality marble. Once they're stunned, it'll only require a final hit to defeat their foe.

"Your cooking is still more delicious."

"That's right."

"You guys..."

A thought popped up his head. While he's cooking, he made sure to adapt each dish based on their liking. Sakura loves sweet things while Shinji liked it more savory. That's why he only used the dishes that he cooked by the book only as a reference.

Once he knew their tastes, he adapted each meal to their liking. It felt just like doing magic, which felt enjoyable to him.

After having breakfast, they strolled around the city. Since it is a coastal city, they opted for seafoods during lunch. They've also done a bit of shopping and visited some places.

Evening came and they had another seafood dinner yet again. Shiro and Shinji thought of a good place to end their trip until Sakura suggested that she had wanted to see the seaside.

"The sea breeze surely did feel like her..."

"Nii-san..?"

"It's nothing."

His first meeting with that Aegir gave a big enough impression to him. Of course, it is not only her beauty, but also the feeling that she gave. It's very similar to a higher-leveled being.

Sitting down on the white sand, the three enjoyed the night sea breeze that frequently swept over their faces.

"Hey, Shinji."

"Aniki?"

"It'll start in over a year."

"The grail war."

"The grail war? What is it?"

As a child, Shiro never taught her about grail war yet since she'll never participate. Though, it'll never hurt if she knew a simple explanation to it for now.

Thinking of a good explanation of what happened in a 4th, Shiro explained to her calmly.

"The grail war is a fight where the winner gets his or her wish granted. But, the wish itself is a sham"

"A sham?"

"Yes. That's why, it's useless to participate on it nonetheless." He thought of the food poisoned grail that caused the infamous "Fuyuki Fire" in the future. "What's more, the wish itself would harm you."

"I understand. I'll just read more books!"

"Good girl."

While patting her head, Shiro hatted with Shinji through the chat group.

[Private] Shiro: "If you can, start your preparations as early as possible. Leave this city 2 months in advance."

[Private] Shinji: "I understand. What about the house?"

[Private] Shiro: "I'll fortify the bounded fields more. Try to save for some items in the shop that I'll recommend to you as well."

[Private] Shinji: "Thank you, aniki!"

All of a sudden, Shiro felt Sakura lay her head n his shoulders.

"She's fallen asleep. We should go home now."

"Mn."

The two of them went into the car, but Shiro sensed a very huge presence nearby. At the same time, another prompt popped up in front of him.

[Official Quest: Wielder of True Magic]

Details: Zelretch, the wielder of the Second True Magic, sensed a change occur in one of the parallel worlds observed by him. To his surprise, someone outside of these parallel worlds had arrived and changed the history of a parallel world.

Objective: Do not antagonize Zelretch.

Reward/s: 30,000 Soul Points, Jewel Magecraft (Full Mastery), Reality Marble Awakening Chance x2

Looking at the objective, he could only sigh at how powerful Zelretch is.

After putting Sakura in the seats, he told Shinji that he'll go out for a while.

"Aniki..?"

[Private] Shiro: "It seems that a Magician is nearby."

"Ma-?!" He quickly covered his mouth to not spill out the beans. He hurriedly replied in the chat group.

[Private] Shinji: "Will you be alright?!"

[Private] Shiro: "Maybe. Kaleidoscope isn't a bad person, so I'll be placing my bets on him trying to do something good. I'm not of this world after all."

[Private] Shinji: "The one who has authority over parallel worlds? Take care..."

Shiro went back to the shore along with his unsheathed [Fragrant Olive Sword (UR)] in his left and his staff in his right. He also wore his original double robes that gave him an increased magic resistance, though he is doubtful whether it'll help against that guy.

After all, it is the Magician who literally pushed back the moon back to its place. He could only lament as to how scary the ether canon will be if used against him.

"There's no more used in hiding, isn't it?"

"No, there is."

Shiro instinctively dashed away the moment he heard his voice in his back. Shiro saw an old man in his 50's who wore a rather conspicuous clothing.

Shiro stared at him calmly to see if he really is an opponent.

"Judging from the looks, you should know me, no?"

"I know. Wizard Marshal, the wielder of the Kaleidoscope."

"This shall become easy, then." Squinting his eyes slightly at him, he asked. "How did you come here?"

"Through magical means I suppose..?"

Shiro asked a rhetorical question instead. To be honest, he couldn't understand how the chat group worked as of now. Maybe, he would be able to once he regains his memories.

"What a funny fellow." Zelretch seemed to have been entertained by his response. "From what I saw, you are a good guy?"

"Depending on the situation."

Nodding, Zelretch looked at him amusedly. He seemed to have seen something on him before proceeding to ask him.

"You shouldn't be a threat to humanity, but your existence potentially endangers them."

"My existence? A threat to humanity?"

Shiro slowly sheathed the golden sword as he looked at Zelretch confusedly.