Chapter 54

"Sorry, Archer, I'll introduce you to the city this afternoon."

Following behind Sakura, Rin apologized to her spirit-form Archer.

"No problem, it seems like this matter is more important to you."

"I was also quite surprised. As far as I remember, this is the first time my brother has caught a cold," Sakura said with a smile, brushing back her hair tied with a ribbon.

"The thought of him catching a cold does seem pretty unbelievable," Rin agreed, recalling how she'd often seen Shinji swimming in ice water wearing nothing but swim trunks.

"I hope it's not anything serious like the flu," Sakura said as they approached her house. But before she could open the door, a man's voice interrupted her.

"Excuse me, is this the home of Matou Shinji?"

A young driver had stopped a small delivery truck nearby and was leaning out of the window.

"Yes," Sakura replied politely, turning around. "And you are?"

"I have a package for Mr. Matou Shinji. Please sign for it."

The delivery man got out of the truck...

——That's roughly what happened before.

"Keep an eye on your packages," Rin said, stepping forward and placing the large package heavily in front of Shinji.

Honk-honk—

Watching Shinji blow his nose into a tissue, Rin looked at him with disdain.

After crumpling the tissue and tossing it into the fireplace, Shinji finally focused on the package in front of him.

"I almost forgot about it. The efficiency is impressive."

"I can't believe you actually caught a cold. It's really unbelievable," Rin said, sitting down on the sofa. "I thought idiots don't catch colds."

"Oh, I see," Shinji said lightly while unwrapping the package. "So that's why you never get sick? I'm so envious."

"You!"

"Pfft!" Archer in spirit form couldn't help but laugh.

'What are you laughing at!' Rin was annoyed.

'Nothing, it's just rare to see you get embarrassed.'

'This guy is just that kind of person, never gets along with me.'

"Tohsaka-senpai, tea."

Taking advantage of the moment, Sakura brought in a tray with tea and placed it on the table in front of Rin.

"Thank you, Sakura."

"Not at all, I was the one who invited you, Tohsaka-senpai."

Shaking her head, Sakura then picked up a glass of water and some medicine and approached Shinji, who was still unwrapping the package.

"Brother, here's your medicine."

Seeing the assortment of pills in Sakura's hand, Shinji's forehead creased with black lines. "No, I just need a little rest. There's no need for..."

"You'll get better only if you take the medicine," Sakura insisted, hands on her hips.

"Even if you say so, isn't this a bit too much? What exactly did you tell the doctor?"

"I asked for one of each type of cold medicine," Sakura said, holding up one finger.

"Uh..."

For a moment, Shinji didn't know how to respond. Did his sister have a thick-skinned side to her?

After taking a sip of Sakura's brewed tea, Rin's eyes lit up, and she praised, "I'm surprised! This tea is perfect, Sakura. And is this Chinese red tea?"

"All the tea at home is bought by my brother, and he taught me how to brew it."

"BOHEA's earliest meaning," Shinji said without looking up. "What you're drinking now is red tea, once selected by the English royal family as the royal tea and sparked the famous 'afternoon tea'—Chinese Lapsang Souchong."

(Note: Lapsang Souchong red tea originated in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, produced in the beautiful "World Double Heritage" Chinese national nature reserve—Wuyi Mountain, Fujian. It is a famous historical tea in China. As early as the early 17th century, it was exported to Europe and was very popular, once chosen by the English royal family as the royal tea, and hence induced the world-famous "afternoon tea." Historically, BOHEA referred to "Lapsang Souchong red tea," and at the time it symbolized Chinese tea. Source: Baidu Encyclopedia.)

"I knew that," Rin said calmly as she put down the teacup. "I'm just surprised you like this kind of red tea."

"My brother loves Chinese culture, like tea and calligraphy, and he's best at cooking Chinese food."

"Eh—" Rin showed a bit of surprise and looked at Shinji, who was carefully examining two oil paintings of different sizes taken from the package. "You really can't tell, liking Chinese cuisine and all."

"Isn't it obvious?" Shinji replied casually. "After all, you don't look that smart."

"Hahaha, Matou Shinji just said something very interesting."

Rin's smile was sweet, except for the twitching corners of her eyes.

"What? Are you going to praise my keen eyes? No need to be so polite, guest."

"You!" Rin's fist clenched unconsciously, trying to suppress her anger, especially since Sakura was present. Exposing her true nature now wouldn't be good.

"Alright, assessment completed."

Saying this, Shinji placed the two oil paintings on the floor beside him.

"Brother, are those paintings you bought to hang up?"

"Yes, I'll handle it later. Throw that woodblock print into storage, and the landscape painting can be hung anywhere, even in your room if you like."

"Aren't they expensive?" Sakura asked, puzzled.

Picking up two books from the tall stack on the floor and tossing them into the fireplace, Shinji said indifferently, "Expensive? Not really. It only cost a few million yen."

"Cough, cough, cough!" Rin started coughing uncontrollably, her expression horrified. "A few million yen?!"

"Of course, that's just the purchase price. The true value can't be estimated now because they need cleaning, restoration, and professional appraisal. It might take a long time. Although I initially thought of it as a small investment, the lengthy and tedious process makes it too troublesome. I'll just throw them into storage."

"The true value?" Sakura understood immediately. "So they really are famous paintings!"

"Ah, that landscape painting is Van Gogh's 'Sunset at Montmajour,' and the dirty portrait woodblock print is Da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi.'"

"Pfft!!" Rin ultimately couldn't hold back and spat out her tea.