Chapter 114
Rin, who was about to use her command spell to call Archer, lowered her arm when Shirou acted first.
Saving is a good habit.
...
In the classroom, Shinji was lying on his desk, pretending to sleep, when he suddenly noticed two skeleton puppets appearing out of nowhere next to his desk!
"What the hell! Is this guy still not giving up on me?"
"Why does C-mom find me attractive? Is it because I'm handsome and possess a powerful weapon?" Before he could finish thinking, Shinji was pushed to the ground by the two puppets and then lifted up by them.
As he was carried down the corridor, Shinji could only sigh internally: "This makeshift bed is really uncomfortable!"
...
C-mom's plan was almost perfect this time. As long as Shinji reached the first floor, her phantom would hold him hostage and demand that Shirou Emiya hand over the command spell. However...
"Why is there a Lancer at the stairway?!"
"Why do you show up everywhere? You must be really bored!"
After complaining in her mind, C-mom, who was at Ryuudou Temple, dispersed the phantom and redirected the collected life force back to the temple through the underground ley lines.
The more C-mom thought about it, the angrier she became, especially with the constant knocking and hammering sounds from the yard and roof!
"All this noise! Is it really necessary to renovate this broken temple?!"
"Renovate, my ***!"
Knock, knock!
There was a knock on the door.
"Ahem..." Caster forced down her anger, straightened her clothes, controlled her expression, and then opened the door to step out.
"What's the matter, Mr. Ryudo?"
"Sorry to bother you, Miss Caster." Ryudo Reikan, a burly man in monk's robes, smiled sheepishly as he rubbed his bald head. "My junior is funding the temple's renovation, and since you and Souichirou are getting married soon, I was wondering if you'd like to spruce up the wedding room a bit."
"Huh?!"
Caster was taken aback, and her frustration from the failed plan vanished instantly.
Though the mention of marrying Souichirou made her heart flutter, she politely responded, "We've already caused the temple enough trouble by staying here..."
"No need to be polite, Miss Caster. It's a small matter, and after all, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event for you and Souichirou."
"This..." Caster feigned hesitation before bowing slightly. "Thank you very much."
In reality, C-mom didn't hold back at all. She spent the entire afternoon directing the workers.
The roof needed repairs, the doors needed fixing, the floor had to be redone, and the outer walls should be painted purple... Any dissatisfaction led to a complete overhaul!
As the annex gradually transformed, Caster's heart was filled with thoughts of Souichirou, making her forget all about the failed plan.
After all, if not today, there's always tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after. And if that doesn't work, there's always the woman who freeloads at Shirou's house and has never had a boyfriend. If she's captured, Shirou will surely hand over the command spell!
Pushing those trivial matters aside, C-mom thought about how happy Souichirou would be to see the newly renovated room, and she couldn't help but find a place to roll around in embarrassment.
"Souichirou-sama~~~!"
...
Homurahara Academy.
At the stairway between the first and second floors, Shirou and Rin were tending to the pale-faced Shinji.
"Enough, enough. This kid just has bad luck. He's actually pretty strong and will be fine after a bit of rest," Lancer said impatiently.
Shinji maintained a neutral expression, but internally he was furious: "That's the third time Lancer said I have bad luck! This is so insulting!"
"Lancer! Why are you here?!"
Saber asked with a frown.
"Just passing by. Anyway, if there's nothing else, I'll be going."
Lancer, true to his style, turned into spirit form and disappeared.
"Not sure if you're lucky or unlucky. How many times have you been caught up in this? If it weren't for Lancer..."
Rin didn't finish her sentence, instead folding her arms and looking away with a heavy sigh.
Shinji silently cursed her tsundere attitude, then sighed and stood up, leaning against the wall. "Shouldn't we be focusing on the others who are still unconscious?"
"I'll call an ambulance!" Shirou volunteered, but Rin stopped him.
"Wait, it's better to contact the church. Kotomine can handle the aftermath."
Listening to Rin, Shinji rolled his eyes. Kotomine wouldn't be able to come up with a good excuse for this.
The incident happened before class, with many people still in the cafeteria or on the field. Claiming a chemical leak in the school building wouldn't explain the unconscious people in the cafeteria or on the field.
Kotomine couldn't come up with a good reason either, so after the call, he passed the responsibility back to Shinji.
"Weren't we supposed to cover the building damages? This isn't part of our agreement."
Kotomine was silent for a long time. "The church will buy that painting for a billion dollars. Deliver it tonight."
"Leave it to me!"
Seeing how quickly Shinji switched gears, Rin couldn't help but feel jealous of his newfound wealth.
"Anyway, let's open the windows first. I'll handle the rest!"
"Shinji, are you sure you can manage?" Shirou asked uncertainly.
Focused on his phone, Shinji nodded. "Don't worry, you can catch tonight's news for the full story. It'll be flawless!"
"By the way, how's Sakura?" Rin asked.
"Sakura didn't come to school today. Shinji helped her call in sick."
"She had a slight cough this morning after not drying her hair properly last night, so I let her rest at home."
"I see..." Rin visibly relaxed.
...
At 8 PM, at the Emiya residence, Shirou watched the evening news with a strange expression as a special segment explained the day's events in Fuyuki City.
Experts from the US, UK, and Japan deeply analyzed the rare millennial solar electromagnetic wave event that caused dizziness!
First, they explained electromagnetic waves, giving examples of their ubiquity.
Then, they singled out solar activity, describing it as a rare, powerful electromagnetic wave causing dizziness and disrupting human metabolism.
The program concluded with experts reassuring the viewers that this phenomenon is extremely rare, poses no life-threatening danger, and that people will recover without any lasting effects.
After watching, Shirou almost believed it himself. Taiga, who had been hospitalized and released the same day, was engrossed.
"A one-in-a-billion chance, rarer than winning the lottery," Taiga mused. "I thought it was something serious, but it was just the sun. We should try buying a lottery ticket tomorrow!"
"Uh..."
Seeing Taiga so excited, Shirou was at a loss for words. After a long pause, he awkwardly replied, "Well, it's always good to believe in science."
"What are you talking about, Shirou? Of course I believe! By the way, what should we buy if we win the lottery?"
As Taiga began fantasizing about winning, Shirou swallowed his retort.
...
At 10 PM, as Shirou, Rin, and Illya prepared to sneak into Ryuudou Temple under the cover of night to fight the boss, Shinji received an eleven-billion-dollar check from the church at the Matou residence.
The painting was also taken away.
"One billion dollars, minus the experts' fees, the bribes to the TV station, and other miscellaneous expenses, a net profit of eighty million~ Not bad~"
Shinji was pleased, wondering if Kotomine would regret not thinking of this himself.
Knock, knock!
Creak—
"Brother..."
Seeing Sakura enter, wearing something so thin that it made his heart burn... Shinji scolded her internally.
"You're sick, and you're still wearing so little at night? Don't you care about getting worse?"
"Sakura, we'll skip today's lesson. I have to go out."
...
Elsewhere, at the foot of Ryuudou Temple, in a house belonging to a friend of the temple due to the recent renovations, Caster's real master, Souichirou Kuzuki, was also staying temporarily.
Around midnight, after finishing his lesson preparations and organizing materials for the next day's class, Kuzuki felt unusually uneasy.
Though he didn't believe in intuition, tonight was an exception...