Chapter 283

Watching Saber-chan, engrossed in her fried chicken with her ahoge swaying, Shinji smiled slightly. He then stood up and walked leisurely towards the CD player.

"Junk food like fried food should be eaten in moderation. Shinji, you should set limits too. As long as you get enough nutrients from your regular meals, you don't need such things. Especially hamburgers, which are completely unhealthy."

Standing at the counter, flipping through the records, Shinji listened to Saber-chan's grumbling without any retort. Instead, he casually replied, "Is that so? Well, you might have to skip dinner tonight then, Saber. I plan on having a lot of 'junk food' this evening."

"Hmm?"

Saber-chan's ahoge stood up as she mechanically turned to look at Shinji, who was selecting a record at the CD player. A few seconds later, she remembered to argue.

"Do you think that will be allowed, Shinji? Sakura definitely won't permit it!"

"If no one else wants it, I guess I'll just have to eat alone. You all can have a nutritious dinner, while I enjoy my bacteria-ridden but delicious junk food."

Having chosen a nostalgic album, Shinji placed Jay Chou's 2001 album "Fantasy" into the CD player. As the familiar melody of "Love Before AD" played, Shinji's thoughts drifted back to the days of listening to Jay Chou's pirated tapes.

Before traveling to another world, he had heard there was going to be a new album. He wondered if it had ever been released. Back then, he couldn't afford original albums, and by the time he could, Jay Chou had become lazy and stopped releasing music.

Humming along to the melody and memories, Shinji soon noticed the return of Gil, who had just completed his task.

"Mission accomplished."

After saying this, Gil plopped down on the main sofa seat, just like his former self, occupying the prime spot without any reservations.

In this aspect, the two were indeed identical.

"This song…"

Hearing the lyrics, Gil had a peculiar expression.

"What's wrong?" Saber-chan asked, as she couldn't understand Chinese without special skills.

"Nothing," Gil shook his head, then looked at Saber-chan with a smile. "You're really peculiar, Saber. Even though you've realized your wish can never be granted, you still choose to stay…"

"I…" Saber-chan clenched her fists, her face showing a mix of frustration and reluctance.

Shinji sat beside her and spoke up in her defense. "Hey, don't just outright deny our Servant's wish, okay? Regretting a past decision and wanting to change it is pretty normal. Everyone has those thoughts."

"Shinji…"

Saber-chan looked moved. This was the first time Shinji acknowledged her wish.

"But she's a king…" Gil retorted.

"So what if she's a king? She's still human at the end of the day. It's perfectly normal for someone to regret a past decision and want to change it. You might say it's not wise to base one's existence on such a goal, but you can't say the wish itself is wrong."

"Uh…"

Saber-chan tilted her head, trying to figure out if her Master was agreeing with her wish or subtly criticizing her.

"Even I have regrets that make me want to use a time machine."

Saber-chan was surprised. "Shinji, you want to change a past decision too?!"

"Yeah, there are things I regret," Shinji said seriously. "Like back in junior high, a girl confessed to me, but I turned her down. Recently, I saw her again…"

Clenching his fist and looking remorseful, he continued, "She's become so cute now! I really regret it! If only I had…"

"What are you talking about, Shinji!" Saber-chan scolded, her face red with anger. "Don't mix such trivial things with my wish to change the past! They're completely different! And I can't believe you're that kind of person!"

With an innocent expression, Shinji responded, "Huh? Aren't they both about wanting to change a past decision?"

"They're not the same at all! Totally different!"

Saber-chan stood up, her small face puffed with anger, making Shinji want to pinch her cheeks.

So cute, indeed.

"Really? I thought we were the same."

"Not at all!"

"It doesn't seem that different to me," Gil shrugged and sighed. "I still don't understand why such a wish has to be elevated to the level of life's purpose."

"As a king, you don't understand, Gilgamesh? The pain of watching your country fall apart and be destroyed…"

Seeing that a debate between the two kings was about to start, Shinji stepped in to stop them.

"Saber, Sakura and Rider will be at the beauty salon all afternoon. What about you? Do you want to stay home or come with me?"

"You're going out, Shinji?"

"Yeah, I need to get some ingredients for tonight's junk food feast."

…

Shinji's motorcycle was parked by a small, secluded stream off a branch of the Mion River. Incidentally, this motorcycle had almost become Rider's exclusive ride.

Every part was meticulously maintained and occasionally Rider would go to the garage to caress it like a cherished child.

Shinji had seen Rider's expression while caressing the motorcycle only once and it had given him goosebumps. He quickly erased it from his memory.

"Is the ingredient fish?" Saber-chan asked curiously as she watched Shinji set fish traps by the shore.

"Haven't you gotten tired of eating fish by now?"

Without turning around, Shinji took out his ultimate tool for catching crayfish—a defleshed chicken that had been rotting for two days and was now emitting a foul stench.

"Shinji, wasting food is wrong."

Saber shook her head, thinking about all the delicious dishes the chicken could have been made into: stewed chicken, spicy chicken, crispy chicken, or roasted chicken.

"Brother, there's nothing in these waters except red swamp crayfish."

Already relaxing under a sunshade, wearing sunglasses, Gil spoke up.

"Well, Japanese people don't eat crayfish."

Shinji nodded to himself. The main reason Japanese people didn't eat crayfish was simple: they didn't need to.

Living by the sea, they had access to fresh seafood all the time. Compared to the cheap, tender lobster from the sea, the tough meat of crayfish was not appealing.

"Looks like I'll be dining alone."

Shinji muttered, looking at the clear water of the creek, far from any industrial areas.

He chose this spot because of its clean water. After all, crayfish from polluted waters wouldn't be healthy.

Then again, if he was eating crayfish, did he really care about health?

Realizing the contradiction, Shinji paused, but was soon brought back to reality by Saber-chan's excited shout.

"Crayfish! Lots of crayfish, Shinji!"

…

In the evening, after getting her hair done at the beauty salon with Sakura, Rider saw the mud-covered motorcycle parked outside the garage and felt like the world was ending.

She had kept it spotless, maintaining every part meticulously. Now her Master had returned it in such a filthy state!

After she cleaned and polished it, she would have to have a serious talk with him!

Holding a hose, Rider walked towards the motorcycle, while Sakura smiled wryly.

"I'll go inside first, Rider."

…

"I'm back."

Carrying some groceries, Sakura entered the living room.

"Welcome back, Sakura," Saber-chan replied.

Meanwhile, Shinji, humming along with "Can't Open My Mouth" playing from the CD player, turned to Sakura.

"Sakura, you don't have to make dinner for me tonight."

"Huh?" Sakura was confused. "Aren't you eating dinner, brother?"

"Well… just don't worry about me," Shinji said, pointing to Gil, who had clearly come to mooch a meal. "And don't worry about wasting food. We have an extra guest."

Gil scratched his head awkwardly. "Calling me a mooch is a bit much. Besides, I helped you a lot today, didn't I?"

"Yeah, and I'm letting you eat here as thanks."

"Uh…"

At seven o'clock, after Sakura finished preparing dinner, she called out to Shinji.

"Brother, the kitchen is all yours now."

…

At the dining table, everyone waited politely, despite Shinji saying not to wait for him. He was in the kitchen, humming and busy cooking.

"Only the steel frame kept me company all day, sleeping pig trotters, quiet uncle's…"

Everyone listened expressionlessly to Shinji's increasingly enthusiastic singing, not understanding the Chinese lyrics. Sakura, always the supportive sister, smiled.

"Brother is really talented…"

Sakura had just finished speaking when Shinji walked in, holding two large bowls of crayfish.

Seeing the untouched food, Shinji, puzzled, took a seat at the table. "You haven't started eating yet? I told you not to wait for me."

"Well… brother…"

Seeing the bowls filled with crayfish, Sakura looked concerned. "Are you really going to eat that?"

"Yeah, you guys enjoy your meal. I'm fine with this."

With everyone watching in disbelief, Shinji put on gloves and began eating with gusto, one hand handling spicy crayfish, the other garlic crayfish, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Seeing Shinji's complete lack of table manners, everyone lost their appetite.

Especially Saber-chan, who turned her face away but secretly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Three minutes later…

Seeing everyone else wearing gloves and eating crayfish without any semblance of decorum, Shinji suddenly regretted saying, "Why don't you try some?"

He had thought they hated junk food! And Saber-chan, you're eating the most enthusiastically!

"Although the meat is tough, it has a unique flavor."

Sakura ate gracefully. Growing up with Shinji's cooking, she was used to spicy food.

Rider, cutting the crayfish with a knife and fork, gave Shinji a look full of meaning, but he ignored her.

No way was he sparring after eating spicy food—it would be torture!

At the table, Gil took over the explanation, describing the characteristics of crayfish. Hearing about their rapid reproduction and adaptability, Saber-chan looked distressed.

"If we had these in my time, no one would have starved…"

Gil replied, "Saber, I don't think Britain fell solely due to a lack of food…"

"You don't understand! If we had enough food from the start, we could have…"

Shinji nodded and added, "She's not entirely wrong. With enough food, Britain's situation would have been much better. At least the army wouldn't have to worry about supplies."

Saber-chan's eyes lit up. "That's it! We should bring improved crops back to the past! That way, Britain will be saved!"

Shinji almost choked, then looked at Saber-chan, who was serious with her tiny fists clenched.

"Pfft…" Gil couldn't hold back his laughter. "Saber, your idea is interesting, but don't you know? History has a way of correcting itself. Even if you fix one issue, others will arise."

"Then we'll fix all the issues!"

Saber-chan's resolute declaration left Shinji and Gil speechless.

"We'll stop that woman (Morgan) and bring enough food to the people. Britain will be saved!"

"Give it up. It's impossible."

Gil sighed. "Even if you could do all that, other unforeseen problems would arise, and the outcome wouldn't change."

Shinji nodded. Saber's plan was like trying to plug a leaking dam; fix one hole, and another would appear. It was inevitable.

Even if history couldn't correct itself, the world might become a singularity, attracting some heroic spirit to fix it.

In the end, it would still fall.

"But there is a way."

Gil suddenly changed his tone, smiling at Shinji, who instantly became wary.

Someone was planning to set him up!

"What way?" Saber-chan asked, eyebrows raised.

"It's simple," Gil said, pointing at Shinji, who was busy eating. "Just take this big brother back with you. I'm sure he can handle history, humanity, and everything."

"Don't be ridiculous. Don't look at me. I can't handle it."

Shinji immediately denied it, not wanting to go back and become Saber's consort. It was too humiliating.

"Shinji… you…"

Saber-chan looked at Shinji in disbelief, thinking he was Britain's only hope!

"Don't look at me like that. I really can't do it!"

"Shinji, I know it's a lot to ask…"

"If it's too much, don't ask!"

"Shinji!"

"I can't do it, and that's final!"