Chapter 42

6 PM.

Carrying some groceries from the shopping street, Shinji felt a thrill upon seeing a package in the mailbox outside his home.

The items I needed have finally arrived.

Sakura, standing nearby, looked at the package in Shinji's hand with a hint of curiosity. Noticing her expression, Shinji smiled slightly.

"Don't worry about it. I just wanted to personally check our family company's service capabilities."

"Our family's business is in package delivery?"

"That's just one part of it," Shinji said casually. "We handle various sectors like new e-commerce similar to Amazon, energy, real estate, fast and convenient parcel delivery, digital, electronic communications, gaming, investment, clothing... These are roughly our company's scope of business. If you're interested in managing the company, I can teach you bit by bit later."

"Just hearing about it sounds troublesome," Sakura stuck out her tongue.

After dinner, watching Shinji change his shoes at the entrance as if preparing to go out, Sakura's eyes flashed with a faint, complex emotion.

"Sakura, I'm going out for a while."

"Be careful, brother."

9 PM.

In a ghostly mansion.

Sitting on the sofa, Bazett, with only her right hand remaining, was idly fiddling with a 4x4 sliding puzzle, similar to the Huarong Dao.

It's a simple puzzle: divide the picture into sixteen pieces, remove one piece to leave a space, and then slide the pieces one by one until the original picture is restored.

Bazett had bought this for entertainment when she arrived here; it was the only thing she could call a hobby or interest. However, having only one arm made it difficult to keep the puzzle steady on the smooth table, causing it to shift around constantly.

Just as Bazett was about to lift the puzzle onto her lap, a hand reached out to hold it in place.

It was a slender, fair, and handsome man's hand, belonging to a young man she had recently met.

"Do you like this kind of game?" Shinji asked as he sat down beside her.

Bazett just hummed in response and continued with the puzzle. But for some reason, she began making frequent mistakes, adding unnecessary moves. What should have taken ten steps to solve took her dozens.

Watching Bazett almost randomly slide the pieces, Shinji felt puzzled. I remember reading that Bazett is supposed to be good at board games. Was that information wrong?

Eventually, Shinji couldn't resist and moved the pieces himself. Bazett silently withdrew her hand, watching him work.

Without any extra moves, Shinji quickly completed the puzzle of a flower, then smiled broadly at Bazett.

After that, Bazett found herself inexplicably drawn in, her heartbeat quickening and her mind silent...

When Bazett regained her senses, she realized she was left with just her last line of defense. Her body and nose were filled with the scent of the young man she had not known for long—a sunny, intoxicating smell.

"No, this isn't right!" Bazett pushed Shinji away, covering her chest with a flushed face and turning her back to him. "This... this is wrong, I..."

Thud!

"You didn't refuse when we kissed."

Half-dressed, Shinji sat up from the floor, rubbing his head and mumbling in frustration.

"Don't look."

"Alright, alright. I know, the mood is completely ruined now."

Shinji picked up his shirt and sweater from the floor and slowly walked toward the door.

Creak—click!

As the door closed, Bazett finally relaxed her grip on her chest.

She remembered everything clearly, from the kissing on the sofa to being carried into the bedroom. But why didn't she resist?

Even if she hadn't fully recovered, she could easily push away this ordinary boy named Shinji Matou, who wasn't a magus. But why?

She could have refused and pushed him away earlier. Why didn't she?

What was she doing, losing herself in such a shameful act?

Her mission was to participate in the Holy Grail War, seek revenge, and reclaim Lancer. Why did she act like that?

As an Enforcer for the Mage's Association, she had little interest in matters outside of combat, let alone men. So why?

Did she not gauge her strength when she pushed him away?

Is he... hurt?

In the living room, Shinji, fully dressed, was sitting on the sofa, arguing with his system.

[Although the three souls and seven spirits each have their own yin-yang attributes, overall, they are still yin and yang. Condensing the soul is yang, forging the spirit is yin, thus achieving yin-yang harmony. In other words, grandson, you have too much yang energy in your body now. You are overwhelmed with emotions and find it hard to control yourself. If you relax for a moment, you will...]

Yes, earlier, Shinji almost did something irreversible, caught between rationality and uncontrollable feelings.

Isn't this the routine of a fantasy harem protagonist from a decade ago in my previous life? Translated to Japan, it would be a typical eroge protagonist plot!

Things like practicing some technique that increases yang energy, attracting women, and having irresistible eyes—all the same stuff!

Just like a human-shaped aphrodisiac!

[It's different. Grandson, you can only attract extremely weak women. The weaker they are, the stronger your attraction to them, and vice versa.]

Damn it!

Shinji cursed inwardly.

Why didn't you tell me this earlier?

Almost made an irreversible mistake!

I didn't plan to use this woman this way!

What if I did something weird?

[A man shouldn't be so petty. Why do you care about this?]

Get lost! I have my principles!

[Wouldn't it be more convenient if she became your woman? You could get the Mage's Association's information from her easily.]

It's not the same!

[Grandson... are you a pure-hearted type? I haven't noticed that over the years.]

Pure my ass, get lost!

After cursing, Shinji saw Bazett standing at the bedroom door, wearing a shirt with a misbuttoned button, looking at him with a shy glance.

"Bazett..."

Bang!

As soon as Shinji spoke, Bazett quickly turned and entered the room, closing the door behind her.

This left Shinji utterly confused.

He had no idea that Bazett was just worried about whether she had hurt him with her instinctive push.

As she closed the door, Bazett felt relieved.

—It seems he's not hurt.

After half an hour of waiting on the sofa without Bazett coming out, Shinji finally stood up and hesitantly approached her door. After a moment of hesitation, he gently knocked.

Knock, knock.

"Bazett, about earlier..."

Shinji felt awkward; talking about this seemed wrong no matter how he approached it.

"Go home."

Bazett's voice returned to its usual coldness from behind the door.

"Oh, okay."

Shinji responded, cursing himself for messing up his plan due to his momentary lapse. He came to discuss the Holy Grail War, after all...

After a moment of hesitation, Shinji tried again, "Bazett, can you come to my place tomorrow night? It's about the Holy Grail War, nothing else..."

Hearing his words, Bazett, sitting on her bed hugging her knees, remained silent.

If Bazett didn't want to involve Shinji in her matters before, after tonight's incident, she felt even more unwilling.

Even though she had no backup and her strength had more than halved due to her missing arm...

"The address is xxxxxxx. I'll wait for you at home after school."

Receiving no response, Shinji left this message and slowly walked away.

After tonight's awkward incident, Shinji couldn't be sure if things would go as planned.

Of course, if Bazett chose not to come, Shinji had some backup plans...