Chapter 248

Work brings happiness, and wages make one forget oneself!

Watching Rin, who diligently spent an hour re-cleaning the spotless living room, Shinji found himself at a loss for words, unsure of how to express his thoughts.

"Whew—"

Rin wiped the non-existent sweat from her forehead, marveling at how such simple work could earn her gold coins. It was totally worth it!

Seeing Rin so absorbed in earning small change that she forgot her main objective, Shinji wondered whether he should remind her.

"Ah! I almost forgot!"

Seeing Rin's sudden realization, Shinji decided not to remind her after all.

"I haven't cleaned the kitchen yet!"

Pfft—!

Shinji spat out a mouthful, unable to hold back his laughter, and started coughing. Young Gilgamesh pointed at Rin and laughed with Shinji.

"Big brother, this sister is really interesting."

"No, she's just an idiot."

"Who are you calling an idiot?!"

Rin retorted, gritting her teeth. What was wrong with working hard and earning money? It should be something to be proud of!

"Well, as long as you're happy."

Shinji glanced at the screen, knowing that nothing significant would happen for a few days. He stretched and yawned, "I'm tired. Good night, everyone."

"Good night, big brother."

"Good ni—"

Rin suddenly realized something was off. Why was she so relaxed, doing housework here? Wasn't she doing something serious before this?

"Wait! Shinji!"

Remembering she was kidnapped by her own Servant in a parallel world, Rin quickly stopped Shinji.

"Isn't it a bit early to sleep? Emiya and the others are still fighting! And Archer too..."

"If you weren't wearing a maid outfit, your words might have a bit more credibility."

Rin looked down at her maid outfit and the mop in her hand, blushing. She tried to respond calmly.

"That's that, and this is this. Doing housework is fine, but sleeping is not!"

"Ah, I'm feeling sleepy... Let's sleep."

Shirou's voice from the screen was a slap in Rin's face, silencing her.

Shinji shrugged nonchalantly, "Anyway, that's how it is. Good night."

"Wait a minute! At least tell me where this place is? And what is that screen? And what kind of technique was that clone you used? And how did you transform? Hey! Wait!"

Young Gilgamesh kindly explained.

"This place probably doesn't exist objectively, but it can exist magically. It's in the crevices of this real world. As for the screen, it's just a form of clairvoyance. I don't know about the clone, but it seems like a technique from some manga, and the transformation too."

Rin, seeing Young Gilgamesh's friendly smile and raised finger, retorted, "I wasn't asking you! Why are you acting like his spokesperson?!"

"Girls are so troublesome... I was just trying to help. Anyway, his room is the first one on the left on the second floor."

...

When Rin angrily opened Shinji's room door and saw him taking off his shirt, she suddenly realized something.

Wasn't it inappropriate to enter at this time? Alone with a guy...

"You should give up. If you try anything, I'll resist with all my might tonight!"

Knowing the girl behind him was overthinking, Shinji spoke without turning around.

"That's not something a man should say, is it?"

"That's something a handsome guy should say!"

Rin fell silent for a moment.

"... Can you die?"

...

Shinji, now dressed in a clean, gold-sequined shirt, made two cups of coffee and handed one to Rin, who sat on the hard wooden chair. He then sat on the soft bed.

"What are you planning?"

Rin sipped her coffee and then directly asked.

"Rebel to the end—ouch!"

Bam!!

Shinji, punched for no reason, pointed at his coffee-stained shirt indignantly, "Why did you hit me? This was my only clean shirt! And it's borrowed!"

Rin, retracting her fist, had a large red # symbol on her forehead. She glared at Shinji, struggling to contain her temper.

"Stop fooling around! No matter what your plan is, they'll face a tough battle next! That black object and that troublesome displacement magic aren't easy to deal with!"

Shinji crossed his legs, wiping his shirt with a tissue, and replied casually, "You're right. If they really fight head-on, Emiya and the others will likely be wiped out."

"What?!"

Rin stood up in shock but quickly got angry at Shinji's nonchalant attitude.

"Then why are you just relaxing here?! There's no time left!"

"There never was any time for that world."

"What do you mean..." Rin suddenly paused. "What did you say?"

"I said that world was doomed from the start. No matter what they do, it's a waste of time. Whether it's Emiya trying to save both or Darius having other plans, it's all in vain."

"What happened to that world?"

"What happened? It's reaching its end, heading towards its doom. Our world will eventually face the same fate. It's inevitable."

"Wait, my head's a bit jumbled. Explain everything! What do you know? What's happening to that world? What are the Einzberns trying to do? What's Archer's goal? What's your plan? Tell me everything!"

Seeing Rin bombard him with questions, Shinji sighed and said, "I just arrived in this world, okay? Why do you think I'm omniscient? I'm not like those golden guys who can see the future..."

"My intuition tells me you know."

"That useless intuition will get you in trouble one day."

"Speak!"

Seeing Rin, hands on her hips, glaring down at him, Shinji marveled at her slender waist.

"Anyway, it's a hopeless situation. No one can save that world. Not even the Holy Grail (Miyu) can perform such a miracle. Even if you tell Darius and the Einzberns, they won't stop because their wish isn't just to save humanity. They have another goal."

Rin bit her finger, frowning in thought for a moment: "Is it about that box and the girl called Erika?"

"As expected of the Tohsaka family's head, you gathered so much information in less than ten hours."

"So, what is that box?"

"A bit of hopeless hope, a gift from Zeus to a woman in Greek mythology..."

"Greek mythology..."

Rin's eyes widened: "Pandora's Box! Right! If they can create cards like Thor, it makes sense they can create a card for Pandora!"

Then, Rin, her mind sharp, analyzed: "Pandora's Box, once opened, releases disasters and despair. When everything is out, only hope (Elpis) remains. It's a wish machine surpassing the Holy Grail, created by various gods of the Age of Gods! No, wait! If that's true, why is there mud in the box? In mythology, the box should only contain hope! This doesn't make sense!"

Seeing Rin's frown deepen, Shinji leaned back and said casually, "In that world's mythology, Pandora never opened the box. Even if she did, don't naively think Elpis just means hope."

Shinji's words contained so much information that Rin took a full five minutes to process it!

"The box was never opened..."

"Anyway, the truth doesn't matter. No matter how hard they try, they'll only reach a dead end."

Two hours later, Shinji, with dark circles under his eyes, looked exasperatedly at Rin, who was still deep in thought. It had been an hour and a half since she heard the truth!

"Big sis, I really want to sleep..."

Shinji lowered his head and sighed heavily.

"Don't worry, I'll join you later."

Rin unconsciously said, then continued analyzing: "So, you and Gilgamesh were stopped by Gaia's consciousness to save this world, but Gaia doesn't care about humanity's fate. This world has entered the irreversible state you mentioned, the Steel Earth. Darius's goal is... Julian's goal is..."

Seeing Rin's relentless analysis, Shinji decided to wait a bit longer. Of course, it had nothing to do with her unconscious statement.

He simply admired those who passionately pursued the truth and questioned everything to the end!