118 School Exchange Activities
The dean of Xunyang Branch smiled as he led everyone to the parking lot, and they were taken by private car to a five-star hotel affiliated with the international school board.
The hotel was lavishly decorated in golden tones, with tens of thousands of crystal chandeliers on the ceiling. The rooms had already been reserved through internal coordination; after presenting the school ID at the front desk, everyone received their keys.
Each student had a single room, with male and female students on separate floors, and one teacher assigned to each floor. Shirou's room was on the right side, closest to the elevator exit, for convenient travel.
After settling the students, it was already evening, so they dined at the hotel. All expenses—including food, lodging, and other necessities—were fully covered by the handsome man with slicked-back hair and a long coat, Mr. Zhou, leaving them no need to feel hesitant.
The two teachers were guided to another table by the local teachers, who ordered several bottles of fine wine. Shirou and the other students sat at a separate table. Tonight's meal was lavish, a gesture to welcome foreign guests.
The older teachers gathered to chat, while the younger teachers approached Shizuka Hiratsuka. After a few drinks, Hiratsuka became boisterous, calling the young foreign male teachers "brothers." Any single teachers who had initially been interested in the attractive foreign teacher were intimidated by her hearty drinking style, which resembled that of a burly Northeastern man.
Some younger teachers confident in their own drinking stayed behind, but eventually either got completely drunk or pretended to pass out, leaving Hiratsuka alone to continue drinking.
"Hahaha, looks like I won!" Hiratsuka laughed, pouring herself another glass of baijiu.
Her impressive alcohol tolerance was clearly the result of practicing alone at home during Valentine's Day, Tanabata, Christmas, and other holidays when couples dominated the streets.
At the other table, Shirou sampled various local delicacies: lotus-blood duck, chopped chili fish head made from local fish, and dishes like Lushan Three Stones. They were all delicious. However, with important matters at hand, Shirou ate quickly and prepared to return to his room.
"Shirou-kun, my room number is 1215," said Kasumigaoka Utaha, tugging gently at his sleeve and smiling softly.
"Eh?" Shirou looked at his senpai in surprise. Even if she told him the room number, she wouldn't let him in, right?
The surrounding students glanced over in curiosity, especially a few girls whose eyes sparkled with gossip, thinking, "Could these two really be…?"
"You're not coming? Fine, then I'll come find you after my shower," Utaha said deliberately, using a teasingly ambiguous tone.
You have no idea which room I'm in! Shirou thought.
"Of course they're that kind of relationship!" the surrounding students shouted in unison.
The boys whispered to each other, shoulders linked, eyes burning with excitement as they stared at Shirou.
"Wait, what's up with this Hikigaya?" asked a boy with a black watermelon haircut.
"He's in second year, right? How does he know third-year Kasumigaoka-senpai?" asked a boy with glasses and a brown watermelon haircut.
"He was quite famous online a while back; they probably connected on the plane," one student offered.
"No, even before that, I often saw him walking with a group of cute girls."
"I've even seen him escort middle school girls to school!"
"Damn it! He doesn't spare even middle schoolers. He's a public enemy of men! Unforgivable!"
Shirou felt the gazes on him becoming increasingly dangerous. Alright, it seems Utaha's plan had succeeded. Sneaking out would now be difficult.
"Hmph." Utaha's lips curved in a sly, triumphant smile as she looked at Shirou.
"I'll head upstairs first," Shirou said, fleeing toward the elevator and finally exhaling in relief once inside.
Shirou entered his room, pulled out his phone, and contacted Chaldea.
Da Vinci appeared in a three-dimensional projected image.
"Hello, Shirou. How's the trip?" Da Vinci asked with a smile.
"It's bad in many ways, and I'm not here to tour. Let's get to business. Da Vinci, have you located the Black Mud Servants in this area?" Shirou asked seriously.
Da Vinci shook her head. "Unfortunately, we can only confirm they appeared in this city, but we haven't detected that massive magical energy since. I've arranged a thorough search, so we'll have to wait a few more days."
Shirou frowned but had no better option. "Understood. I'll go look around myself today as well."
He changed into a black jacket and quietly walked out into the unfamiliar streets. Wandering like a headless fly, he had no clue where to begin. After 1 a.m., he had no choice but to return to the hotel. It seemed he could only participate in the exchange activities and wait.
The next morning, just after 7 a.m., everyone went down for breakfast.
The male teachers, who had been drunk the previous night and stayed over, supported each other as they walked down. Seeing Hiratsuka Shizuka sitting unbothered and eating century-egg pork congee, they looked like mice seeing a cat.
"Ah, good morning, teachers," Hiratsuka greeted the two male teachers from last night with a smile.
"Good morning," the two men responded awkwardly, nodding, and moved to a spot farthest from Hiratsuka.
"Huh? You could have just sat with us," Hiratsuka murmured, puzzled.
A forty-year-old teacher reassured her: "Hiratsuka-sensei, you're still young. Don't worry; you'll meet someone suitable eventually."
"Really? Haha, I'm young, huh? Thanks for the compliment," Hiratsuka said, delighted despite not fully understanding.
Shirou grabbed a tray and found a small corner table, sitting alone. He sensed hostility from some boys, and seeing the girls' expressions, he guessed there might be troublesome questions, so he preferred to eat alone.
At that moment, a black-haired girl sat down across from him, smiling. "Good morning, Shirou-kun."
Shirou glared at the culprit and replied, "Good morning, senpai."
Kasumigaoka Utaha ate crab-and-taro congee, accompanied by a fried dough stick, a stack of radish cakes, and a cup of black coffee—mixing things freely, much like her own whimsical personality.
Noticing Shirou's large portions of stir-fried noodles, a plate of rice rolls, and beef ball soup, Utaha smiled lightly. "Shirou-kun, as expected from an athletic boy, you sure eat a lot for breakfast."
"No, I'm fine. For other physically demanding clubs, like soccer or baseball, if you don't eat two big bowls, you can't handle the hunger," Shirou said.
"But… being too energetic isn't good either. I clearly let you leave last night… and yet you still…" Kasumigaoka Utaha pretended to be shy as she spoke.
On the other side, the other students who had been eavesdropping huddled together.
"What? What's going on?"
"Did they really stay together last night?"
"Come to think of it, I think I saw him sneaking out last night."
"Wait, senpai! Can you stop saying things that make people misunderstand? We don't have any kind of relationship!" Shirou defended himself. He had just quietly gone out last night to search nearby for signs of Black Mud Servants' magical energy.
"Really no relationship?" Utaha calmly picked up her chopsticks and started sharing some of Shirou's stir-fried noodles without permission.
"I think it's better if you take care of yourself, senpai. Can't you just speak honestly?" Shirou said.
"Oh my, who isn't being honest here, Emiya-kun?" Utaha looked at him with a slightly plaintive expression.
"Why? How do you know that name, senpai?" Shirou asked in surprise.
"Do you think it's hard to figure out the chat account linked to your phone number? At the last meeting, everyone submitted their phone numbers. I just remembered yours. And that blonde friend of yours also includes you, Emiya-kun. I've hinted at this many times on the way here. Why won't you admit it?" Utaha asked, clearly dissatisfied.
"No, it really wasn't me! It was a prank!" Shirou hurriedly explained.
"Where is that person? At your home? Your room? Then take me to meet them. If someone admits it, then I'll believe you," Utaha said, scrutinizing Shirou with obvious skepticism.
"That's impossible, but if it's online, I'll find him and have him explain to you," Shirou quickly said.
At that moment, Hiratsuka Shizuka stood up and addressed the students.
"Alright, after breakfast, everyone return to your rooms to prepare. Gather in the hall at 8:30, and then we'll head to Xunyang Branch School together."
"Understood, teacher," Shirou responded. "Senpai, I'll explain everything to you later. See you soon."
Then he got up and walked upstairs.
"One week is plenty of time. Take it slow," Utaha said with a sigh.
Do I really have no charm at all?
If he had outright rejected her, she would have accepted it. But this evasive behavior—what was that about?
Originally, she only glanced at Shirou a bit more because he was a childhood friend of Eriri. After knowing that he had helped her, her gratitude grew. Shirou's attitude made her want to punish him with a prank.
Last night she had paced outside his door several times, finally gathering the courage to calm herself and ring his bell—only to find that he had snuck out without her noticing.
The frustration of being stood up—could anyone imagine how annoyed she felt?
Utaha looked in the direction Shirou had left and pursed her lips slightly.
Several boys nearby shivered.
A little scary, huh.
This must be the so-called peach blossom luck—or maybe a peach blossom disaster.( Activating peach blossom luck is believed to attract new and exciting lovers to enter your life)
Suddenly, she felt less jealous.
Since they were guests, Xunyang Branch's drivers would handle their transport during the visit.
Back in his room, Shirou said seriously to Da Vinci at Chaldea, "Please contact Merlin. I need to have a serious talk with him."
Da Vinci shook her head. "Unfortunately, Shirou, if that Flower Magician doesn't contact us himself, we have no way of finding him."
"Not bad, Shirou-senpai, I wish I had that kind of constitution too," Gudako said with envy, imagining that with such a body, every female Servant would respond to her summoning.
"That's enough. Find a chance to talk properly with your senpai. As for Merlin, we can't mention him, and there's no evidence… Shirou voluntarily severed contact, so consider it accepted."
After that, Shirou changed into his school uniform and went downstairs, waiting for the other students to gather. Since it was the first day, the activities began with introductions and talent demonstrations. Bow performances like his would be scheduled for later days, so there was no need to bring archery equipment down yet.
At that moment, a large bus arrived at the hotel entrance, labeled "Xunyang International High School." Guided by the Xunyang teachers, everyone boarded.
The bus drove down the avenue, and in less than ten minutes, it arrived at a school. Perhaps due to the larger number of participants, it was at least twice the size of Chiba Branch. A grand ten-meter-high school gate automatically opened for the bus.
The Xunyang principal and the dean Shirou had met yesterday were already waiting, warmly shaking hands with teachers and students alike, leading Shirou and the others to a spacious auditorium that could accommodate five to six thousand people. The upcoming activities would all take place here.
The auditorium's lower stage had rectangular tables arranged in a circle, covered with red cloth. Tea and bottled water were prepared for the guests.
The principal was a kind-looking elder with white hair, speaking in a warm yet resonant voice that reached everyone's ears.
"Please sit down. This exchange is for you young people, so don't be nervous. Speak up about what you want to learn and know."
Students sat across from each other at the rectangular tables, while teachers took the remaining seats on the sides, serving as translators only when necessary, clearly giving the spotlight to the students.
If Shirou had to describe his first impression of the school, it was that it was warm, welcoming, and very friendly. From the principal to the students, everyone showed kind smiles and signals of friendliness, so much so that it almost felt unreal.
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