Rider: I Can't Control Myself! (Please Support the New Book!)

In the bathroom, Shinji, with a towel wrapped around his waist, was staring wide-eyed at Rider, who was curled up in the bathtub.

Well... come to think of it, Fate/stay night had been R18 to begin with, so there was nothing wrong with seeing a scene like this. That was just the kind of world it was. No problem, no problem.

Thinking this, Shinji lowered his gaze, locked on, and stared without blinking.

After all, he had bragged about predicting an enemy's movements from the rise and fall of their chest—their breathing. He couldn't let himself get exposed!

Then again, as expected of Rider. Unlike ordinary girls, she didn't scream or make a fuss when faced with something like this.

That deserved a huge thumbs-up!

A full minute later, Rider finally said blandly, "Sorry. I'll be done right away."

"It's fine. Next time, you can use Sakura's bathroom or the one at the end of the second-floor corridor. This one's the one I've always used."

After saying that with complete calm, Shinji stepped out and gently pulled the bathroom door shut.

Of course, though his expression remained unchanged, Shinji still felt that he had just seen something rather nice—or rather, a fine view.

A few minutes later, Rider emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. The first thing she saw was Shinji leaning against the side with his arms folded, one hand propping up his chin, brows furrowed as though deep in thought.

To outsiders, the scene would have looked strange. A man and a woman, both wearing nothing but towels, stood in a cramped space—the changing room—yet the atmosphere was strangely quiet and harmonious.

The man was lost in thought, while the woman silently observed him. An eerie silence hung between them.

After more than a minute had passed, Shinji finally seemed to notice Rider. He gave her a faint smile, walked past her into the bathroom, and shut the door behind him.

Rider was very curious about what this man, who felt unlike ordinary people and was clearly not as simple as he looked, was thinking about.

And this man had said he would help her participate in the Holy Grail War, but just what method would he use?

Could it be...

By the time Shinji finished bathing, it was already ten at night.

Shinji had just entered the living room, intending to greet Sakura before heading to the study, when Sakura once again wrapped herself around his arm and pressed her whole body against him.

"Brother."

"Sakura, aren't you going to sleep? It's already very late."

"I just wanted to spend a little more time with you before bed."

Looking at Sakura before him, Shinji suddenly understood.

This little sister of his probably still hadn't truly processed it. As he thought that, his gaze softened slightly. He placed a hand on Sakura's head and gently stroked it.

"It's all right now. The nightmare is over, Sakura."

"Brother, from now on, there'll only be the two of us left in this house, right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

At midnight, in front of the living room fireplace, Shinji sat on the sofa and carefully flipped through the materials he had found in Zouken's room concerning Command Spells and the Holy Grail, using the firelight.

Zouken had not left behind much information. For some reason, whether by accident or deliberately, most of the crucial material had disappeared.

Makiri had provided the Holy Grail War with Command Spells, yet there were very few notes and records concerning that part. That wasn't logical.

By all rights, even if information on the Holy Grail itself was scarce, the information on Command Spells should have been extremely detailed.

Shinji guessed that there was only one reason for the missing portions of the Command Spell system: after creating a complete Command Spell system, Zouken had deliberately hidden part of it.

Still, that wasn't enough to stump Shinji. The complete records of the False Heroic Chronicle, along with the small amount of remaining information on Command Spells, were already enough.

Although the Holy Grail records were incomplete, Shinji roughly understood the principles behind it. The method for dismantling the Great Holy Grail system was still unclear. Though he had obtained an analyzer this time, time was still somewhat tight.

The main quest given by the System was to completely and thoroughly dismantle the Holy Grail System, not merely destroy the Holy Grail. If all he had to do was destroy the Holy Grail, Shinji could basically just stay home and sleep while waiting.

After all, there was Saber, wasn't there?

And even without Saber, he could just prepare more explosives and toss them into the Great Void while no one was around. That would basically settle it.

But unfortunately, the quest wasn't that simple.

The System wanted him to complete, ten years in advance, the work of the princess and that twin-tailed girl—and do it more thoroughly than those two had.

Those two had merely dismantled the Great Holy Grail, but his quest was to completely dismantle the Holy Grail System. That wording was somewhat ambiguous.

That meant it wasn't just the dismantling of the Great Holy Grail. The Command Spell system and that factory might all fall within the scope of his quest.

There was no need to worry about the factory. As long as the Great Holy Grail was dismantled, that factory would completely shut down and fall silent, and Ahlad would turn off his own "power" as well!

—Because it would be absolutely impossible to reproduce the same Holy Grail System! Einzbern's "obsession with salvation" would no longer have even the slightest hope of being fulfilled!

Wrapped in a blanket and holding one of Shinji's arms, Sakura remained pressed against his side. Looking at the still-burning fireplace, she spoke softly.

"I've had dreams like this many times. The two of us leaning against each other on the sofa in front of the fireplace, with only the dim flickering firelight. But it was still very warm, just like now."

Hearing that, Shinji took his eyes off the book and glanced sideways at his little sister, whom he had urged several times to obediently return to her room and sleep.

"Is that so..." Shinji's gaze softened once more. Then he suddenly remembered something and said, "Sakura, actually, Brother has prepared a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Sakura turned back, her expression holding a trace of confusion and anticipation.

"Yeah, but it'll be tomorrow." Shinji smiled with curved eyes and raised one finger. "Anyway, it's a very special gift."

"A doll?"

"Mm... you're very close, but not quite. You'll find out tomorrow. Hurry and get some rest. I'm almost done here too. Once I finish this last little bit, I'll go to sleep."

Sakura covered her mouth and smiled. "Brother, you're mean. Now that I know something like this in advance, I'll be too excited to fall asleep."

"Is that so?"

"I'm starting to suspect you did it on purpose."

"I didn't. Anyway, hurry up and go to sleep."

In the end, under Shinji's urging, Sakura reluctantly returned to her room.

Shinji, meanwhile, only returned to his room to sleep after carefully reviewing all the materials once and memorizing every key point.

January 30th, four in the morning.

Already accustomed to waking early, Shinji looked helplessly at Rider, who was lying by the bed just as translucent and weak as yesterday.

Why wouldn't this stupid woman listen to reason at all?

Seeing Rider once again ask for blood, Shinji felt that this couldn't continue. Perhaps he should give this overly curious woman a little punishment.

Watching Shinji seemingly conjure up a lollipop and offer it to her, Rider was briefly at a loss. But just as she opened her mouth to ask something, Shinji stuffed the lollipop into her mouth.

Mana! Extremely pure mana that was easy to absorb, aided digestion, and replenished calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, and vitamins!

With the lollipop in her mouth, Rider could only stare blankly at Shinji in shock.

A lollipop that could replenish mana was simply too unbelievable.

"This is the last time, Rider..." Shinji said as he rolled out of bed. After casually straightening his pajamas, he turned back toward Rider with a faint smile. "If there is a next time, I'll give you an appropriate punishment too. And for a woman, it'll be a somewhat serious punishment."

Rider did not answer, but from Shinji's lightly teasing tone, she could already tell that he was not joking.

"Sorry."

Hearing Rider apologize, Shinji casually waved a hand, picked up the sportswear beside him, and opened the door without looking back as he walked out.