Chapter 88: I Can Help Senpai Too
"Senpai, could you come to my room for a moment?" Sakura said quietly.
This happened after dinner, once the table had been cleared and the service bell pressed to request the staff to take away the remains.
"Why is it that even though we all know how to cook, we solve it by ordering takeout every day?"
"You're such a dummy, Rin. This isn't the Fifth Holy Grail War; wandering around outside during wartime can be dangerous, you know? The surveillance from the sky is also annoying."
"Who are you calling a dummy! And it's not like wandering outside during the Fifth Holy Grail War was safe either—we encountered plenty of trouble! Including you, the person least qualified to talk! ...But didn't you still go to school normally during the Fifth Holy Grail War?"
Perhaps because today's dishes weren't to her taste, Rin slumped over the large table, letting out resentful complaints. Illya, meanwhile, was trading barbs with her.
Shirou remembered clearly that when Sakura peeked out to make her invitation, they were still engaged in that argument. Shirou had originally intended to sneak into the room as well, but halfway there, Rin's attention snapped toward him.
"Emiya-kun~ How about we go out to eat together tomorrow? I'll pick the restaurant in advance. My treat." Rin lifted her forehead from between her arms on the table, peeking at Shirou with her eyes.
The destructive power of hearing Rin say the words "My treat" was immense.
"I'll look forward to it. Though I firmly insist on paying myself—after all, checking the leylines has been hard work for you," Shirou replied casually.
In the city right now, the greatest danger was likely Alcides' sniping. Since Alcides and Shirou remained unaware of each other's camp locations, they were currently in a state of mutual non-interference. He would only become a problem if their position was exposed.
The surveillance in the sky was the work of the mastermind named Faldeus, who was not in the same faction as Alcides. But out of caution, Shirou still kept an eye on the sky when heading out alone, bypassing the monitoring.
However, going out with Rin meant he didn't have to worry too much. Rin was an incredibly capable magus who excelled at spells like physical concealment; she was the person least afraid of familiars. It would be fine to leave it to her.
"Ah, you mean that? Daijoubu, daijoubu. I've owed you favors before, haven't I? Even if we've settled the score, I'm the type of person who isn't at peace unless I let others owe me a favor, you see?" Rin said with a spark of mischief in her eyes, her words loaded with implication.
"I've known that for a long time," Shirou shot back.
"Sneaky! Cunning~!" Illya whistled a heckle from the side. Rin offered a "friendly" smile and lunged with a palm strike, which Illya—having predicted it—dodged, covering her mouth with a petite hand in a mocking smirk.
Taking advantage of the moment they became embroiled in their skirmish, Shirou was welcomed into the room by Sakura, who poked her head out.
"Please wait for me a moment—ah, sorry, I brought these drafts into Senpai's room. I'll take them away soon."
"..."
'As I thought, I can't escape it?'
Shirou followed Sakura's back toward the desk, stealing a glance behind him—Sakura hadn't closed the door, leaving it slightly ajar.
Inside the room, under the bright white lights, piles of manuscript paper lay on the table. Judging by how neatly they were arranged, they had likely been filled out in Sakura's room and then moved to Shirou's all at once. Shirou glanced at one randomly; the content seemed to be theories and calculations for magical formulas. He said "seemed" because while he recognized every individual character, he couldn't understand them at all when put together.
Sakura stood gracefully by the window, gazing out at the streets for a brief moment. Standing there alone, the dim lights illuminated her profile. Soon, she turned her gaze back, her eyebrows curving happily in a smile.
"The preparations are complete. I can help Senpai now."
"...Complete? What kind of thing?" Shirou pressed, harboring a final shred of hope.
But the girl placed a hand over her chest and answered without concealment: "A formula that can seize the black mud inside Alcides' body. I've created it for you, Senpai."
Shirou didn't speak immediately. When you are submerged under the water of "atmosphere," speaking causes your oxygen to drain away. Taking a deep breath with half-baked resolve, he freed himself from the sensation of drowning and replied to the person who was thinking solely of him.
"Sorry. I just didn't expect it to be so fast."
She wielded dark shadows, yet there was a bright and fearless light in Sakura's eyes. Shirou felt relieved again seeing her in this mental state.
However, hearing her say this, Shirou finally realized that the Fuyuki Holy Grail War and this "Fake" Holy Grail War truly used the same system. Only Sakura could say for sure; Shirou's own theories lacked authority. Only Sakura herself could draw a conclusion on whether she still had a connection to the Grail.
Shirou had always felt it was unlikely, but since Sakura used that phrasing, he could no longer evade it. He had to admit: the Snowfield Grail was made using fragments of the Fuyuki Grail.
Precisely because of this, Sakura had no reason to fear Servants from the same system as Fuyuki. A chess piece cannot move against a hand that smashes the board.
Since the Fake Grail was generated based on the Fuyuki Grail—then things were simple. Sakura could still dominate the field, capable of instantly killing even "administrator-level" figures like Alcides.
The Avenger, whose entire body was soaked in dregs, had already effectively placed himself under Sakura's control. It was as absurd as swallowing a self-destructing bomb. While a normal Heroic Spirit might have the strength to struggle, an Avenger could only take the explosion from the inside.
His Master likely never imagined that polluting Heracles with black mud was equivalent to handing his life over to Shirou and the others. If it truly came to a point where he needed to be eliminated at any cost, the Servant called Alcides was really no trouble at all.
Just by reaching out, Alcides would die. Die. Exit. Irrelevant to his personal will, his martial arts, or the chance to show his Noble Phantasm—he would vanish from Snowfield like a phantom.
The problem wasn't that. The problem was... the authority to kill him at will was built upon the prerequisite of Sakura taking the authority of Angra Mainyu.
But Shirou and the others didn't want Sakura linked to that pollutant at all, which is where things got troublesome. Using the power of pollution was bad for Sakura, but without using it, they couldn't execute Alcides directly and would have to fight him normally.
There was nothing to regret—after all, being human meant having a line that could not be crossed. Furthermore, there is no logic in choosing to end up "covered in scars" when one could win without injury. The "correct answer" must be victory without sacrifice.
Shirou would not accept Sakura making a sacrifice.
His forehead ached; his optic nerves felt like they were clogged with foreign matter, causing signals to fail. But Shirou wasn't worried to the point of calling a halt immediately, because he believed that Sakura must have thought through the same things before standing here. Sakura possessed a basic sense of risk awareness.
Sakura suddenly seemed a bit hesitant, getting stuck as if she had encountered something she wasn't sure if she should say: "Senpai knows about the Origin Bullets, right?"
As if feeling this topic might be heavy for Shirou, her voice became gentle and cautious.
"It's about Kiritsugu, isn't it? I'm fine, you don't need to worry," Shirou said immediately to keep her from worrying.
"The Origin Bullets used by Senpai's father were a type of Mystic Code where, even if they didn't hit, as long as they touched magecraft operated by a Magic Circuit, the effect would spread to the Magic Circuits through that connection."
Sakura said: "In terms of pollution, the black mud is the same."
Shirou thought silently about the meaning of those words. The black mud would also spread toward the host through magecraft... In other words, even if it were a magical ribbon appearing from the void, if it touched the mud, it would make Sakura suffer?
His pupils dilated slightly.
Sakura shook her head quickly, letting out a soft "Ah": "There was ambiguity in what I just said. If the magecraft attempts to resist and defend, it can block the intrusion of the mud. However, that wouldn't fit the objective."
"Wouldn't fit the objective?"
"The point is to make the black mud choose me over that black-and-red Heroic Spirit, so that they leave his body. If I apply a defense to the formula, that objective can't be achieved. On the contrary, if I 'do nothing,' things will be quite easy... it seems the mud just gathers toward me if I do nothing."
Sakura looked pensive, staring at the magical theories on the desk as if it were no big deal. To prevent the mud from flowing into the Grail, she would use magecraft to absorb it and then dump it into Imaginary Space.
She had explained it clearly, but... Shirou hadn't heard about her protective measures yet, had he?
The sensation of sloshing warm water remained in his mind. Along with his heartbeat, the echo of vibrating liquid wouldn't fade. Shirou leaned forward, grabbing her wrist firmly before she could move.
"Are you serious? If it's that dangerous, then forget about Alcides' black mud; we'll handle that guy. At worst, we'll wait until we find the Lesser Grail and destroy it then—if the Lesser Grail isn't an object but a person, we'll strike the Greater Grail or the Hole. There's always a way. So..."
Because there were too many uncertainties, Shirou and the others wanted to resolve the mud issue before the Grail appeared. But if Sakura was certain she would be eroded the moment she touched the mud, compared to those uncertainties—Shirou would rather protect Sakura first.
The mud that had already flowed into the Grail, Shirou would destroy. Sakura, Shirou would also protect. It wasn't an "either-or"; he would take full responsibility. That was what Shirou considered best. Regardless of others' opinions or objections, he would not let anyone else bear this arrogant phantom dream.
Shirou glared at Sakura as if pleading, only to see her look back at him. After an unknown amount of time... she burst out laughing.
"W-what is it!?"
"Senpai, please listen to people until they finish."
"Oh." Shirou shut his mouth awkwardly.
Sakura leaned closer to Shirou, her long hair falling over her forehead. She cheerfully raised a hand to brush the stray locks aside, her comforting smile seeming long-accustomed. She looked much happier than before, though the lively beat quieted down after a moment.
"It's a fact that the black mud can invade through magecraft; I know its nature very well." Sakura gave a complicated smile. "But it isn't completely impossible to handle, Senpai. Going back to the previous topic—if you want to defend against an Origin Bullet, how many methods are there?"
When asked this, Shirou was out of his depth. The previously energetic Shirou immediately went quiet. This was the reality of a third-rate magus.
"Either through physical means—as long as you don't use Magic Circuits for defense but block it with ordinary matter, the Origin Bullet can't take effect across space; or through a one-time magical source or a special Mystic Code, without using your own prana... though it's true Senpai wouldn't have a use for this knowledge."
Sakura hesitated and lifted the hem of her skirt slightly.
"Unfortunately, handling the black mud requires magecraft, so the first method isn't viable. I can only prepare an additional special Mystic Code. Even with that mud bearing a curse... as long as I don't let it mix with my own prana, I can isolate most of the problems."
Her soft voice smoothed out Shirou's agitation, allowing his heart to gradually calm.
"I won't be in danger," Sakura promised him softly. "Just," she added regretfully, tilting her head, "I've pushed the magecraft to its limit, but the allowed time is still very tight. Senpai, trust me—as long as I can withdraw the magecraft in time at the specific moment, I can guarantee my safety."
"However, this temporary Mystic Code can only be used once. To safely absorb such a massive amount of black mud from that black-and-red person, the mud itself needs to be in an inert state."
Shirou tilted his head, not quite understanding her meaning.
"In other words... Alcides must be rendered immobile and in a weakened state before she can complete the final step."
This sentence wasn't spoken by Sakura. It came from behind them before she could open her mouth.
The elegant, black-haired older sister was leaning against the doorway. Sure enough, just as Shirou thought, Sakura's information had actually been shared with Rin and the others. They might have known even earlier than Shirou. Her appearance here also served the purpose of confirming the truth of Sakura's claims.
"So, that part will be left to us to handle. I've verified Sakura's magical theory and it's fine. If it's just letting her do the cleanup work, I suppose I don't object. Shirou, what do you think?"
Shirou thought for a moment and finally spoke with a condition.
"...Alright, I accept it too. Even if we don't go looking for him, he will come looking for us. If we can successfully reach that stage, we'll use Sakura's plan."
The goals of Shirou's group and Alcides were opposites. Even if it hadn't erupted yet, peace could not last forever.
Rin understood perfectly. "Of course. If we don't reach that stage, we'll both act like this plan was never proposed. Just like you, I won't allow her to be reckless; the moment there's a sign of recklessness, I'll stop her."
After saying this, Rin stepped around Shirou and faced Sakura directly. "Sakura, let me ask you one more question."
She seemed to think this was a warning that had to be settled in advance.
"This question is very important. To be honest, I don't want to ask it. But this concerns you personally—can you guarantee that even if this person falls into a predicament, you won't act prematurely?"
Rin tapped Shirou on the head. Sitting next to her, Shirou could hear that her voice wasn't heartless.
"Or rather... even if this guy, along with everyone else including myself, falls into a predicament, can you guarantee you'll wait for the planned time?"
She was simply playing the "bad cop," saying the words that were stuck in Shirou's throat. Sakura blinked. Then, like a Yamato Nadeshiko, she replied with a smile:
"I understand."
The sky above was a boundless night. The full moon shone with a tranquil light.
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