Chapter 64

Squeak——

"Sakura, I heard you're not feeling well? Huh?"

Rin entered the room and paused, seeing Shinji and Shirou already inside.

"Thank you for your concern, Sis... Tohsaka-senpai, I'm fine now." Sakura smiled gratefully.

Seeing this unusual combination, Shinji suddenly thought: Is this the high jump team? No, it's just everyone watching Shirou jump high! Wait, wasn't I supposed to support my sister? So what I should be doing is being a good wingman.

"That's good. Anyway, take it easy and rest. I need to talk to your brother."

Before Shinji could say anything, Rin grabbed his sleeve and pulled him out of the room.

Sakura could only watch as her brother was taken away by her sister, not daring to stop them.

On the familiar rooftop, Shinji was eating the bento Sakura had prepared for him that morning, savoring every bite.

Although it was Saturday with only morning classes, Sakura had still prepared a bento, probably because she had archery club activities in the afternoon.

Sitting beside him, Rin held a sandwich and a carton of milk, her face twitching in irritation as she watched Shinji. Her posture had been the same for the past five minutes.

The situation began when they first reached the rooftop:

Rin: Don't play dumb with me. Is Sakura feeling unwell because she received the Matou family's magic crest?

Shinji: What nonsense are you talking about? Grandpa was cremated. How could there be such a thing? I saw it myself, it burned cleanly!

After that initial exchange, Rin fell into a prolonged silence.

Of course, Shinji was just joking. Zouken's magic crest didn't exist!

The insect-like body didn't possess such a thing.

If anything, the worm inside Sakura was Zouken's entire legacy, but unfortunately, when Shinji "redeemed" Zouken, he found no magic crest on it.

Zouken had never intended to raise an heir. In fact, he no longer deserved to be called a magus, as others had said, he was merely a vampire.

Sure, if one dug deep enough, they might find some remnants of a magic crest on the worm, but Shinji didn't want Zouken's affairs to be exposed.

Dealing with the Mage's Association would be a headache, so Shinji faked Zouken's cremation thoroughly. If the Mage's Association investigated, they wouldn't find anything.

In fact, Shinji could proudly declare it as the Matou family's determination to completely withdraw from magecraft!

Moreover, Shinji had hidden Sakura's Imaginary Element with some methods, making her appear as a normal girl with mediocre water-aligned magical aptitude.

"I'm full." Shinji put down his chopsticks, clasped his hands together, and then looked at Rin, who was still holding her original posture. "What's wrong? Not hungry?"

Rin finally snapped out of it and took a deep breath.

"You're truly a dutiful grandchild!"

"Don't praise me too much, I might get embarrassed."

"That wasn't a compliment!"

"Huh? It wasn't?"

Seeing Shinji's smug expression, Rin decided to hold back her urge to punch him.

Sacrificing centuries of magical knowledge and even the family's magic crest!

This guy wasn't just ruthless; he was hardcore!

Suppressing her annoyance, Rin turned away and angrily bit into her bread.

"The Mage's Association in London contacted me. They want the Tohsaka family to investigate and report on the Matou family's withdrawal from magecraft."

"Just report the truth." Shinji shrugged indifferently.

"Even if I report it truthfully, the Mage's Association will send someone to verify it. Magic crests are serious business. What you did is unprecedented. Be prepared for what's coming."

"Whatever."

Shinji remained indifferent. He had a good idea of who the Mage's Association would send. They wouldn't send someone from far away; they'd likely ask Bazett, who was already nearby, to verify it after the Holy Grail War ended.

Bazett… she's easy to fool.

"Give me your left hand."

"What for?" Shinji looked at Rin strangely.

"Just give it to me!"

Rin grabbed Shinji's left hand, carefully examining his wrist before letting go.

"You don't suspect I was lying yesterday, do you?" Shinji glanced at the faint, incomplete Command Spell on his wrist and smirked. "I told you, I'm not participating in that boring war."

Rin turned away, her face slightly red, and mumbled, "Just checking, don't make a big deal out of it. But, I didn't expect you really had no intention of joining the Holy Grail War. It seems you're quite self-aware of your capabilities."

"You're really annoying, you know that?" Shinji shrugged. "But you're wrong about one thing. I'm not participating because I don't want to be involved in magecraft anymore, and because it's boring. If I did participate, victory would be a foregone conclusion."

"Overconfidence can be your downfall."

"Believe it or not, if I wanted the Holy Grail, victory would be mine. But I'm not interested."

Seeing Shinji speak so nonchalantly, Rin's brows furrowed. What made Shinji, who wasn't even a magus, so confident? Could he really know something crucial about the Holy Grail War that she didn't?

She had stayed up late last night to confirm that the Holy Grail War and the individual who could manifest the Third Magic, the Winter Saint Justeaze, were indeed related.

But what did Shinji mean by saying Justeaze resided at the bottom of the Holy Grail?

"Alright, time to go." Shinji stood up after packing the bento box. He then paused and added, "By the way, good job earlier."

"Earlier?" Rin was confused.

"Giving Sakura and Emiya a chance to be alone."

"You mean Emiya Shirou? So, you know Sakura likes him?"

"Anyone with eyes can see it. But Sakura is too shy to confess." Shinji chuckled. Then, looking into the distance with a soft expression, he continued, "You know, Tohsaka, for ordinary people, having something they love is happiness. But having someone they love makes them even happier."

Watching Shinji smile beautifully after saying this, Rin felt her cheeks begin to burn.

"Wha-what are you suddenly saying?! Idiot!"

"I'm just telling you that Sakura is probably happy now. Haven't you always cared about her?"

"Oh, is that so." Rin turned away quietly.

"Anyway, no classes this afternoon. I'm going home to have some tea and take a nap."

"Wait!"