Chapter 288

After calming down, Shinji realized something crucial: he had definitely been set up by someone!

And if his guess was right, it was probably that pesky old man he'd caught spying on him more than once!

There's no other way to explain this. After all, Shinji had never caused any extraordinary, out-of-this-world phenomena here. This outcome was definitely orchestrated by that old geezer he'd confronted and insulted repeatedly!

"Hey, are you listening to me? Hey—"

"I'm listening, I'm listening. Anyway, I need my nap."

"What nap! Didn't you hear what I just said? Do you have any idea what a big deal being called the Sixth Magician is? In the current state of declining mysteries…"

Shinji sighed and continued in a nonchalant tone, "With the decline of mysteries, the appearance of a completely new, unprecedented mystery has caused a huge uproar in the mystical community, right? I heard you. But don't worry, I'll have the company negotiate with the Mage's Association. By tomorrow, they'll probably announce they made a mistake."

"There's no way that's possible! Even if it were, the entire mystical community worldwide knows about this! Everyone will be watching you!"

"Don't worry, stay calm. As long as no red shadows appear, it's fine."

Just as he finished speaking, Shinji noticed a red shadow entering his field of vision.

Seeing the red Archer standing nearby, Shinji rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

"Almost forgot there's a red shadow right here…"

"Red shadow? What's that?" Rin asked curiously.

"Probably one of Emiya's colleagues or something."

"Huh?" Rin still looked confused, but then Archer began to explain, "Magic and magecraft are different. Magic, the laws of the gods, are miracles to magi because they can achieve the impossible. But to each human, magic is a disaster. Therefore, when a new magician is born, the world sends a red shadow to hunt them down."

"Uh…"

Rin, understanding only half of it, suddenly had a revelation. Her eyes twitched as she stuttered, "So, Archer, does that mean the red shadow is…"

"I vaguely recall doing similar work."

"It really is you?!" Rin yelled.

"It's not him, it's the world," Shinji corrected, then explained, "When a new magician is born, the world sends people like Archer to hunt them down."

The word "employee" made Archer frown slightly in displeasure, but he didn't argue.

"Anyway, I personally feel that neither Gaia, the planet's restraint, nor Alaya, humanity's restraint, has any intention of intervening with me. In fact, they seem quite friendly towards me, so there's no need to worry about that."

"But those magi…"

Rin hesitated, the real concern being the magi who'd learned about this.

Ding, ding—

The phone rang. Seeing the caller ID on his phone, Shinji clicked his tongue in annoyance and muttered, "Oh, great. Speak of the devil…"

"Who is it?" Rin asked.

"An old woman."

"Old woman?"

Despite the caller ID, Shinji decided to answer, considering she'd helped with the Shinjin expansion. And if he didn't answer, this troublesome woman might come over.

The Grand Magus under sealing designation—Aozaki Touko.

"Moshi moshi—"

"Let me guess, you just called me an old woman, right? My contact name must be 'Old Woman' too, right, kid?"

"Yep." Shinji admitted honestly.

"Haha~" The cheerful voice over the phone sounded like someone wearing glasses. If she wasn't, she wouldn't laugh like that!

"So, you've become a magician now? How about doing me a favor, kid? I've helped you quite a bit, you know."

"Don't talk nonsense. When have you ever helped me for free? I've paid for every favor."

"Aww, I should have captured you and kept you as a pet. Regrets~"

"Are you like those idiots at the Mage's Association? A magician? Someone without even a magic circuit being called a magician? The Mage's Association must be going bankrupt."

"You misunderstand the Association's criteria for magic, kid. Anything mysterious falls under magecraft for them. I don't know what you've shown, but in their judgment, it's the most mysterious magic."

Shinji got angry just hearing this. Grinding his teeth, he retorted, "I've never shown anything! It's all that disrespectful old man's doing and their imagination!"

"Really? I don't believe you. Let big sis see it in person?"

Hearing her lick her lips, Shinji got goosebumps and quickly refused, "No thanks. Even if you know where I am, you won't see me. Bye!"

With that, he hung up.

"So, who's this old woman?" Rin, having listened to the whole conversation, asked again.

While typing a message, Shinji shrugged casually. "Don't worry about it. Just a troublesome old woman. Anyway, it'll be sorted out. The Association will probably retract the announcement by tomorrow."

Having sent the message, Shinji stood up. "Unless they want the mystery to cease being mysterious…"

Rin twitched, seeing Shinji talk about this like it was no big deal. This guy never considered the consequences!

"Goodnight~"

"It's afternoon!"

"Same difference. I'm going to sleep, don't see me off."

Yawning, Shinji turned to leave, but stopped when Rin spoke again.

"Wait, Shinji, there's another thing I need to ask you."

"What is it?"

"What's going on with Sakura?" Rin's expression grew serious. "Why does she have such immense magical energy? I've never sensed it before!"

"Probably because I usually conceal it with a disguise."

"You did it again?"

Rin clenched her fists, reminding herself that this was typical of Shinji. "Why? With her magic power, if she learned magecraft…"

"I told you, Sakura wants to be a normal person. As her brother, I want to fulfill her wish."

"Then why conceal her magic? And why reveal it now?"

Knowing Rin wouldn't let him nap without an explanation, Shinji finally revealed Sakura's unique magic attribute.

A few minutes later...

"So, you hid Sakura's rare magic attribute to keep the Association from targeting her. Now that Japan is under Shinjin's control, you've lifted the disguise because there's no longer a threat from the Association?"

"Exactly," Shinji nodded, turning to leave again, waving as he did, "So, that's the end of it. Goodni—"

Before he could finish, a loud crash came from the entrance, followed by hurried footsteps.

"Shinji, are you alright?!"

Seeing the flustered Bazett rushing in, Shinji decided she definitely needed to be invited to the beach episode.