Akira felt a bit strange.
On the day the results for shōsei were announced in Chapter 4, he had explained the matter regarding Kara no Kyoukai to Hisashi, and the other party had agreed to help resolve it.
But as it turned out, there had been no news for the past few days.
So he called him, only to be told that the relevant matters were still under discussion.
Was this matter really that difficult to handle?
He didn't quite understand.
However, his energy hadn't been focused on this over the past few days because he and Rin were working on the single for Marigold.
Although they had already mostly finished the arrangement while at Rin's house, the feeling of professional production in a recording studio was still somewhat different.
Fortunately, Rin adapted quickly, and he learned fast as well; the entire production process went relatively smoothly overall.
Time passed, and before he knew it, it was time for the release of the latest issue of Shonen Jump.
And Chapter 5 of Fate/stay night was finally published along with it—
...
...
Suzuki Hideyuki got off work and returned home, put the pre-made bento he bought on the way into the microwave to heat it up, and then sat down by the bed to read the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump.
After opening the magazine, he skipped the preceding manga and flipped directly to where Fate/stay night was located.
Although Fsn had only been serialized for four chapters, the sudden expansion of the setting starting from Chapter 3 had piqued his intense interest.
And at the end of Chapter 4, which was published last week, the protagonist Emiya Shirou was saved, so he was very curious about how the story would unfold next.
Master, Servant, Holy Grail War...
Although Mochizuki-sensei still hadn't provided a detailed explanation of the Holy Grail War by now, as the male protagonist, Emiya Shirou would undoubtedly participate in it, right?
Then, what kind of Servant would Emiya Shirou summon?
Holding such expectations, he first looked at the title of this chapter: Night of Fate.
Such an unusual title seemed to faintly foreshadow something.
His anticipation and curiosity could not help but rise, and he couldn't wait to start reading—
...
The rescued Emiya Shirou dragged his injured body back home, his mind in a chaotic mess.
The two mysterious men fighting each other; he, who had been killed and then saved by someone; that mysterious person who saved him...
But Emiya Shirou didn't have time to think carefully before the barrier bell in the courtyard suddenly rang.
An instantaneous sense of crisis made him subconsciously jump from where he was, narrowly dodging a fatal blow once again.
The spear-wielding man who had killed him once before at school had actually appeared before him again!
"To think I have to kill the same person twice in one day; is the world always this cruel and bloody?"
The spear-wielding man said this, and the two began a chase again, with the result being the same as always.
Emiya Shirou fled all the way to the warehouse, but was driven to a dead end there.
...
Why is this guy so persistent!
Suzuki Hideyuki cursed inwardly, while worrying about the current plot direction.
Emiya Shirou isn't going to die again, is he?
That would be too terrible.
However, in the next panel, a familiar magic circle suddenly appeared behind Emiya Shirou.
Isn't this the magic circle from Tohsaka Rin's basement?!
It's really happening!
Suzuki Hideyuki instantly became excited and hurriedly continued reading—
...
"Clearly quite clever, yet completely ignorant of magecraft, though the aptitude seems decent..."
"Could you be the seventh Master?"
"But even so, it ends here."
The spear-wielding man said this, aiming the spear tip at Emiya Shirou's heart again, as if to recreate the scene at school.
"...What a joke."
'I was just saved... I must live to fulfill my duty...!'
Emiya Shirou stubbornly tried to look straight at the other party, muttering unwillingly to himself.
Meanwhile, a strange pattern appeared on the back of his left hand without him realizing it, and the summoning circle behind him responded accordingly—
"I refuse to be killed by a guy like you in such a meaningless place—!"
Accompanied by Emiya Shirou's roar, at the moment the spear tip was about to pierce his heart again, the summoning circle burst into brilliant light!
Almost at the same instant, a figure dashed out from behind Emiya Shirou, brandishing something to knock back the spear-wielding man, saving Emiya Shirou from his hands!
"What...!?"
"...To think it really is the seventh Servant?!"
Both Emiya Shirou and the spear-wielding man were astonished by the suddenly appearing figure.
And as the figure turned around, the moment Emiya Shirou saw her face clearly, he fell into complete speechlessness—
A beautiful girl wearing skirt armor gazed at him with jewel-like pupils, devoid of any emotion:
"I ask you, are you my Master?"
...
Just like the protagonist Emiya Shirou in the manga, Suzuki Hideyuki was also completely speechless at this moment.
He stared blankly at the girl in the panel, and at this moment, only one thought remained in his mind: So beautiful.
On the third-to-last page, the author used several close-ups in a row, carefully depicting several details of the girl from head to toe, with very delicate brushwork.
In the close-ups of the last two panels, the author highlighted the girl's exquisite and cute face and her cold expression, as well as Emiya Shirou's face, which was stunned and lost in a daze from staring at her.
And the contrast between the close-ups of both their faces further highlighted the girl's beauty and divinity.
The last two pages were a large, combined double-page spread—
The moonlight of the night slanted into the warehouse, illuminating the girl in knight's attire.
The cold moonlight draped over the girl, adding a touch of holy and inviolable sanctity to her.
The protagonist Emiya Shirou sat in the shadows where the moonlight couldn't reach, looking up at her, his expression stunned and at a loss.
The girl standing under the moonlight, looking down calmly; the boy sitting in the darkness, looking up in astonishment and confusion.
It was just a simple composition, but the many well-placed contrasts within it gave their eye contact a different kind of meaning.
It was as if... it was the fated encounter between a boy and a girl.
Night of Fate.
The title of this chapter from the beginning suddenly surfaced in Suzuki Hideyuki's mind.
At this moment, he looked again at the large double-page spread of the two staring at each other at the end of the manga, which seemed to have taken on a more extraordinary meaning with the addition of the title.
Phew... He didn't know how long it had been, but Suzuki Hideyuki closed the magazine and let out a long sigh.
But the image of the boy and girl staring at each other seemed to be directly imprinted in his mind, unable to dissipate for a long time.
And after realizing this, he realized—he seemed to have been completely conquered by Fate/stay night and Mochizuki-sensei.