Four Big Characters on His Face—Easy to Fool! (New Book, Please Support!)

Looking at Bazett lying on the bed, her injuries having received some simple emergency treatment, her entire body wrapped in bandages, Shinji sat comfortably at the desk beside her with one leg crossed over the other, savoring the tea he had just found and brewed.

As expected of a woman known as the lady in the suit—she was perfect everywhere.

Shinji praised her inwardly. Thanks to her training, Bazett had no excess fat anywhere on her body aside from those rather unscientific—cough, cough—assets. She was brimming with aesthetic appeal.

Of course, it was merely an appreciative gaze.

Bazett—one of the few women in the Fate world capable of tearing apart Heroic Spirits with her bare hands, the Mage's Association's strongest active Enforcer, the woman whom Mapo had screwed over and who never even got to show her face in the Fifth Holy Grail War, and...

A hereditary carrier. She was completely different from the mother of the carrier who had given birth to him and died afterward—the daughter Zouken had called a third-rate roadside magus. Or rather, she was the truly powerful kind.

How should he make use of this woman? The instant Shinji saw Bazett, several ideas came to mind. Or rather, he had already thought them through before ever meeting her.

First was this Holy Grail War. Her grudge with the tax-evading Kirei Kotomine should be able to draw quite a bit of attention away from Shinji, who was preparing to do something in the shadows.

As far as Shinji was concerned, everyone else in this Holy Grail War was irrelevant. The only one he needed to guard against was Mapo. After all, Golden Flash was on that side, and he could end the Holy Grail War in a single night.

Then there was... Shinji felt that once his power was exposed in the future, the Clock Tower—the Mage's Association—would eventually list him for a "Sealing Designation." Having an informant within the Mage's Association would therefore be a good option.

But what if this woman refused to act according to his wishes?

A man who could not even conquer a woman had no right to ascend the throne of an emperor.

"Shut up."

With that, Shinji crossed his legs, propped up his chin, and frowned in thought.

To be honest, Shinji had quite a few ways to make Sister Bazett obediently listen to him. But in his view, those methods were not very... humane, and he did not particularly like them either. Things like the Heart-Devouring Curse, for example.

Although Shinji was certainly capable of taking advantage of someone in a crisis, she was still a woman he had played with—in a game, that was.

If possible, Shinji still hoped to use strategy to make use of this contradictory woman, whose nature was somewhat like Shirou's.

Also, the moment he saw Bazett, Shinji had been somewhat surprised.

Because the time when Bazett had her Command Spells stolen seemed to have come many days earlier than in the original work.

If he remembered correctly, in the original work, Bazett should have summoned Lancer only recently at this point. But that was clearly not the case now. Certain traces of daily life in the house showed that Bazett had been living here for at least three days.

That meant Bazett had arrived in Fuyuki City earlier than she had in the original work. Shinji simply had not noticed.

Early morning.

Her groggy consciousness gradually cleared. Before she even opened her eyes, Bazett sensed the light and the fresh morning air.

The sensations across her body also began returning bit by bit.

Pain. Pain throughout her body—especially the nearly unbearable pain in her left arm, so intense that it made her feel as though she were suffocating. But... it was good news, in a way. Feeling pain meant she was still alive.

Along with the somewhat glaring light and fresh air, everything without exception proclaimed the fact that she was alive.

"Pain..." Bazett murmured softly as she slowly opened her eyes.

Looking at the familiar ceiling, Bazett knew she was still inside the Twin Mansion.

Had she endured it yesterday? Bazett wondered, while recalling the blue-haired youth who had carried her in his arms yesterday.

Had that been a dream? Had she successfully saved herself at the last moment?

"You're awake."

Hearing the door open and a man's voice entering the room, Bazett gritted her teeth and used all her strength to turn her head toward the bedroom door. What she saw was the blue-haired youth, carrying a tray and wearing a gentle smile.

So it had not been a dream. Bazett frowned at Shinji, confirming that this unfamiliar youth had saved her at the very last moment yesterday.

"Leave... quickly. It's dangerous here." Bazett barely managed to force out those words. She had lost a great deal of blood and was so weak that even speaking was difficult.

From the very first moment she saw Shinji, Bazett had already noticed that he was not a magus. There was not even a trace of magical energy on him.

Kirie, who had stolen her Command Spells and Servant, might return here. And with her current injuries, let alone fight, she could not even raise an arm. If Kirie arrived at a time like this...

Watching the youth say nothing as he slowly approached, pulled over a chair, and sat down beside the bed, Bazett was about to say something else when the spoon Shinji held to her mouth stopped her words.

"You should eat something first. With the amount of blood you've lost, you absolutely won't recover anytime soon unless you replenish your energy properly."

"Listen to me! I really am grateful that you saved me, but this place is very dang—"

Bazett's tone grew sharper, but before she could finish, a heaping spoonful of seafood congee was stuffed into her mouth.

"How is it? Is it good?" Shinji asked with a smile, his eyes curving. Then he showed a hint of pride. "It's my first time making it, but I thought it tasted pretty good when I sampled it. I just don't know whether it suits your taste."

After swallowing the not-too-hot congee with a gulp, Bazett spoke again. "I'm serious. This place is very dang—"

But she still could not finish. Another spoonful of seafood congee plugged her mouth once more.

"I feel like you're the one who isn't listening, big sister. I clearly asked how the congee tasted." Shinji still wore a smile overflowing with kindness.

Looking at Shinji's face, full of that gentle smile, Bazett did not know how to respond for a moment. She merely froze briefly, and at that moment, Shinji naturally continued speaking as he scooped congee from the small bowl.

"Although I really don't have Mage Circuits, I am at least the eldest son of a mage family, so I know a few little tricks. In other words, this house is safe for the time being."

"You're a magus too?" Bazett's brows drew together slightly, and a measure of wariness appeared between them. She even refused the congee offered to her mouth once again.

"Calm down, big sister. I'm just an ordinary person born into a fallen mage family. Didn't I say so? I don't even have a single Mage Circuit. My name is Shinji Matou."

"Matou..." Bazett suddenly thought of something. "Makiri, one of the Three Great Families..."

Taking advantage of that pause to feed Bazett the congee, Shinji continued, "Yes, that's right. But while that may be true, we've already completely declined. Especially in my generation—I don't even have the most basic requirement for becoming a magus: Mage Circuits."

"I see."

"So you don't need to be so wary of me, big sister. I'm no threat to you. Honestly, being treated like this after saving you is quite hurtful."

"Sorry... I'm sorry." Bazett showed a hint of apology.

Huh? She believed him just like that? Shinji was slightly surprised inwardly. This woman trusted him completely that easily?

"Ahem, of course. There's another important reason why I saved you, big sister." Shinji continued feeding Bazett congee, his eyes curving into a beautiful smile. "Actually, my mother was also a carrier. She didn't have any remarkable abilities, though, so she couldn't compare to a truly powerful hereditary carrier like you, big sister."

"You can tell what I am?"

Wariness surfaced between Bazett's brows once more. Shinji, however, did not care in the slightest and simply brought another full spoonful of congee to her mouth.

"Ah, yes. Maybe it's the only ability my mother passed down to me. An utterly useless ability, aside from being able to identify my own kind. Of course, perhaps we really shared a blood relationship long ago, in the distant past. If that were true, then there was no way I could stand by and watch you die."

Looking at the small spoon extended toward her and Shinji's beautiful, sincere smile as his eyes curved once more, Bazett blankly fell into a daze again...