"Don't be shy! You were worried about how I, Yuihama, would do just now. That scores you a lot of points." The girl wrapped herself around the boy's arm and pulled him outside as she spoke.
"Come to think of it, you're exactly my type too. Anyway, let's go on a date first! Ah! Mash, you can head home by yourself." Truly befitting a Princess, the fox-eared girl casually waved Mash away as though dismissing a servant on a whim.
"Wait, I can walk by myself." Shirou was dragged straight ahead by the girl's Saber-class strength. He could not stop even if he wanted to.
Mash had been quietly standing nearby, blushing as she secretly studied the way adults communicated. Only now did she realize that she was being left behind.
"Ah! Senpai...?" Mash stood frozen in place with a bewildered expression, unsure what to do. She could only watch helplessly as Shirou was dragged away, looking as aggrieved as a little dog left at home while its owner went on a honeymoon.
"Mash, you can't come along." The fox-eared girl turned back and said with a kind, friendly smile.
Mash had intended to secretly follow them, but the moment she took a step, the girl looked straight at her. Startled, she quickly pulled her foot back.
Gudako-senpai, the senpai in this world are all so scary! Do underclassmen not have any rights at all?
Servants and the Service Club
The fox-eared girl held the boy's hand as they walked down the street and arrived at a bustling shopping plaza. Since they were in an invisible extradimensional space, pedestrians on the roadside occasionally passed right through them. The sensation was undeniably eerie.
"Unpleasant arguments and fights—if you want to fall in love, you'll always run into some of those. Let's put the ex-boyfriend aside for now. Shirou! Be my temporary boyfriend and properly accompany me on a date rehearsal! Next time, I want to go on a date with my Master at full Bond." The fox-eared girl smiled.
"I can do that, but we can't really do anything in this state, can we?" Shirou said. Even if they went shopping, they could only look at things. Wasn't that boring? And she was with him, of all people. If she found someone more witty, they could at least talk about interesting things and make her laugh.
"Ah... We can't touch things from the original world, but we can watch movies for free... If we scan something with the Magic Eye, even 3D glasses could probably be projected."
"No way. Sneaking into someone else's house together for excitement would be one thing, but for a movie, you have to line up together to choose tickets and share a bucket of popcorn for it to have any atmosphere." Suzuka Gozen said.
"No, sneaking into someone else's house is definitely not okay." Shirou rejected the idea.
"Actually, it's still possible to enjoy life in the outside world, as long as we don't interfere with this world's rules. I'm very good at this sort of Transformation Jutsu. Since we helped the humans of this world deal with monsters, it's fine to collect a little tribute, right?" Suzuka Gozen said with a sly smile.
The boy and girl were currently in an extradimensional state beyond the world's outer boundary. What they saw was identical to the world, but there was actually a protective membrane between them.
The monsters wanted to break through that layer of protection and enter the world inside to do something.
Servants summoned through possession could also move around in the space beyond the membrane, and people outside could not see them.
As long as one understood the proper techniques, it was possible to use the possessed physical body to touch real objects in the present world. They simply had to be careful not to get discovered.
"Ah! That! I saw this girl eat one in her memories. I want to try it too! Shirou, let's go!" The fox-eared girl pulled the boy and ran across the road.
Ahead of them, four young girls stood beside a crepe stand, holding the crepes they had just received and chatting about something.
The most excited among them was a girl with long blonde hair and a red bow on her head. She raised her hand and waved around the crepe she had yet to eat.
"An opening!" Suzuka Gozen instantly used Transformation Jutsu, entered the real world in a transparent state, snatched the crepe in her mouth, swallowed it, and returned to her spiritual-body state with a giggle.
"So sweet~! Is this the kind of crepe JKs like nowadays? I feel like my feminine charm just went up again." The fox-eared girl savored the crepe and praised it with narrowed, smiling eyes.
"Haah..." Shirou finally understood why this celestial Princess had been called a thief in life. In modern terms, she was a high-school-girl thief. A slightly dangerous existence.
"So I'm saying, Illya's magical girl stuff is great, but Helena-chan is super cute too. Rhyme has such a great vibe, and the magical girls in FGO are really nice. All the girls in it are just as cute as Mirakurun." The blonde girl spoke excitedly, brought her crepe to her mouth, and bit down on nothing. Looking down, she discovered that only the wrapper remained in her hand.
"Huh? Where's my crepe?" Kyoko Sunao cried out in surprise.
"Didn't you eat it yourself?" the black-haired girl beside her quipped.
"No, my mouth doesn't feel sweet at all. Akari-chan! You're the culprit after all, aren't you?" Kyoko Sunao raised a finger and pointed at the red-haired girl beside her.
"I didn't do it, Kyoko-chan! Why are you falsely accusing Akarin?" the red-haired girl, Akari Akaza, asked aggrievedly.
The blonde girl pushed up her imaginary glasses and delivered her famous deduction. "Who besides you has instinctively learned Presence Concealment and can silently appear behind me? Could it be an Assassin-class Servant from FGO jumped out of my phone?"
"Akarin doesn't have such an exaggerated skill!" Akari Akaza retorted angrily.
"So I'll be taking your crepe without hesitation, then. Hamu!" Kyoko Sunao suddenly opened her mouth wide and bit off more than half of Akari Akaza's crepe.
"Akarin's strawberry crepe! How could you?!" The girl looked at the crepe that had contained less than a quarter left despite her having taken only one bite, then cried out in heartbreak. Struck by the blow, her body gradually turned transparent.
Shirou silently committed the red-haired girl's dumpling-shaped twin buns, which looked like they could launch off her head, to memory. Sorry, girl... If we ever meet again, I'll treat you to one next time.
Huh? Where did you go, girl?
After that, the celestial Princess continued indulging her whims and dragged the boy all over the place.
Shirou had initially worried that appearing in this world might have bad consequences. This world seemed highly hostile toward mysterious beings. If they caused any commotion here, the backup measure meant to deal with invading monsters might be used directly against the Servants.
But judging from things now, they possessed bodies native to this world while their souls had fused with Servants. At the very least, they were two-thirds human and one-third Servant.
After all, he had used magecraft in this world through the Magic Eye before, and nothing had happened then. As long as they did not cause destruction, it seemed they would not be rejected.
After tasting the sweet snacks JKs ate, Suzuka Gozen pulled Shirou to an arcade. The girl secretly took a few game tokens and began playing. A staff member who happened to walk over saw a game running even though no one was there.
As though he had witnessed a supernatural phenomenon, he rubbed his eyes. The boy and girl hurried away, leaving behind only the utterly baffled employee, who assumed the machine had malfunctioned.
When they arrived before a cold drink shop, Suzuka Gozen wanted to repeat the trick, but Shirou dragged her away.
The girl then wanted to visit a clothing store that JKs frequented.
"Shirou, let's look around this shop too. There are so many pretty clothes." The fox-eared girl grabbed the boy and tried to pull him inside.
"Hey! Suzuka, this is a lingerie store!" Shirou stopped and called out to her.
"It's fine, no one can see us anyway. Ooh! So these are the legendary Victory panties!" Suzuka Gozen shook off his hand, ran into the shop by herself, and marveled at the brightly colored, lace-trimmed garments on display.
"No, in a sense, it's worse precisely because no one can see us." The boy complained. Looking at all the vibrant colors inside, he did not know whether he should go in.
At that moment, the Servant in his heart spoke.
Teacher Qiao reminded him, "Shirou, as a man, I believe youthful romantic adventures are an admirable thing. I once received a fine horse as a gift from a witch, too, but vulgar things are unacceptable."
"I'm not going to do anything vulgar," Shirou retorted. Merely appearing in a lingerie store while transparent was already a little too stimulating for the body of a hormone-filled male high school student.
Teacher Qiao said approvingly, "That is good, then. A man's charm lies in a strong body and steadfast spirit capable of serving women. During the day, let the girl you love feel relaxed and happy to the fullest, and only at night, when both of you are deep in affection, should things happen naturally."
"Teacher George, you really know a lot." Shirou nodded as though he had learned something.
Since going inside would be awkward, Shirou simply stood outside and chatted with Teacher George in his mind. As a renowned hero, Teacher George possessed abundant life experience.
Shirou could ask the teacher how he had won the witch's favor in the past, and how he had ridden the warhorse she gifted him to rescue a Princess from a dragon.
PS2: I'm starting to suspect that Book Guest has some kind of secret society or evil force hidden behind the scenes that wants authors to wear women's clothing.
The First Meeting of Girl and Boy
Through his conversation with this Servant, Shirou gained a deeper understanding of the summoning system. He even felt that his compatibility with Teacher George had increased somewhat.
"Hey!" The girl suddenly appeared and patted the boy's back. "Seriously, why are you standing outside a lingerie store by yourself and smiling? Come on, next shop!"
"Huh? You're already done?" Shirou asked in surprise. He had thought girls could not finish picking clothes in under half an hour.
"Well, I've already studied them. If I need any, I can just make them with Transformation Jutsu. What? Do you want to see?" The fox-eared girl blinked her golden eyes and looked at the boy teasingly.
With her hands behind her back, the girl walked backward while facing him, wearing a mischievous and suggestive smile.
"No, Shirou-kun. I'll only show my Victory lingerie to my boyfriend. Or do you want to be my boyfriend?"
"Is that so? What a shame. Let's go to the next shop." Shirou walked ahead to lead the way and spoke casually.
"Tch..." The fox-eared girl pursed her lips and quickly followed.
The girl and boy walked one behind the other, continuing to wander aimlessly through the streets.
"Ah! That! I want to take pictures with that!" The fox-eared girl suddenly pointed at a pink machine shaped like a little house.
Shirou frowned when he saw the machine she meant. "A photo booth?"
The pink machine was decorated with all kinds of colorful stickers and bore a notice prohibiting men from entering alone. Translated, it practically meant: "Singles and dogs forbidden."
Photo booths were practically forbidden zones for single people. Wasn't this blatant discrimination like the old sign in Shanghai's Bund Park that read, "Chinese and dogs not allowed"?
Though it was also because there had been several terrible incidents involving suspicious men secretly installing pinhole cameras inside photo booths, beneath the floors, or in the ceilings. That was why photo booths clearly stipulated that men could only enter when accompanied by girls.
"Stop spacing out. Come on!" The fox-eared girl dragged the boy inside.
It was Shirou's first time entering a photo booth. He looked around and found everything rather novel.
"Shirou, look at the screen! You make this pose too! It's taking the picture!" Yuihama shook the boy's arm and urged him on.
"Oh... okay." Shirou came back to his senses, faced the screen, and copied the girl's pose, making half a heart shape.
This was a little embarrassing. And for a picture, did they really need to stand this close?
The large screen flashed, and then the photo appeared. The sweetly smiling girl hugged the boy, while a pink heart bounced inside the heart shape formed by their hands.
The instant they saw the photo, the Servants within Shirou and Yuihama were both satisfied.
The armor on Shirou's body vanished, and the girl seemed to return to a state where she herself was in control of her body.
Seeing the girl recover, Shirou explained the circumstances of the world to her and made a promise.
"Yuihama, I'm truly sorry for dragging you into something like this. If you don't want to, I won't force you to face those monsters again."
"No, I'm really glad I can help. Or rather, I feel like I have to do this. What you and Yukino were discussing before was this, right?" Yuihama shook her head.
"Yeah. It wasn't that I wanted to hide it from you. I just didn't know how best to explain it," Shirou said.
"I know. You didn't want me to be in danger, right? But Shirou, I'm really happy that you can summon me to help! That way, the three of us can be companions together again.
Before, I saw you talking about things I couldn't understand. I was worried about what I'd do if I were the only one left out..." Yuihama narrowed her eyes, revealing a heartfelt smile of relief.
"Yuihama..." Shirou looked at the girl and understood that, compared to the danger of facing monsters or the incomprehensible things involving Servants, what she cared about most was the bond between the three of them.
"Shirou, do you remember? The first time we met, on the day school started in our first year?" Yuihama asked softly.
"When we went into our assigned classrooms?" Shirou asked in confusion.
"No! When we almost got into a car accident! You were the one who stopped the car back then, weren't you? With magecraft?" Yuihama had always thought it was a miracle, that the car had suddenly malfunctioned and stopped. But now that she knew about Servants, she finally understood the truth.
"Ah! The time that little dog almost got hit by a car." Shirou remembered. If he had not used the Magic Eye to calculate a safe method and forcibly locked the car's brakes onto the wheels, that dachshund might really have been hurt.
The first time the girl saw Shirou was on the morning she entered high school.
She had been taking the family dog out for a walk. Since she was in a hurry, she had been running the whole way. When she passed a traffic light, her grip slipped, and Sabre suddenly dashed out.
At that moment, a black luxury sedan happened to be driving by. It was about to hit him.
The sound of brakes screeching rang out from the road. The black sedan miraculously stopped before hitting the dog, and no one was hurt.
The car's emblem was a silver goddess leaning forward as though she were dancing. It looked incredibly expensive.
She had expected the driver to get out and give her a furious scolding, but then the boy appeared.
"Do you need help? I work part-time at an auto repair shop. If it's not a major problem, I can fix it right away." The boy spoke confidently.
"Really? I'm rushing to school, so if you can fix it, that would be a huge help." Seeing how calm and dependable he seemed, the anxious driver thanked him repeatedly.
"Then let her go home first. The little dog suddenly ran out, so it isn't entirely her fault," the boy suggested.
"Ah, of course. You, be more careful next time. Whether it's a person or a dog, if there's an accident, it'll be terrible." The driver lectured her.
"Yes, I'm really sorry!" She apologized and was let off.
It was because the boy had appeared and helped her out that she had not been blamed.
Now that she understood, even Sabre had been saved by him. It was practically a fated encounter, like a prince saving a Princess.
The boy had surely forgotten those little details long ago. After all, he was a goody-two-shoes who would always step forward to help whenever he saw someone in trouble.
But the girl clearly remembered how calm the boy had been while speaking to the adult, and how efficiently he had repaired the sedan. He had looked truly cool.
Later, she had wanted to change her habit of always going along with others and having no opinions of her own. Using cookie-baking as an opportunity, she joined the Service Club at Teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka's recommendation, met the boy and Yukino, and the three of them became good friends.
At first, she had only regarded the boy as a good friend. But at some point, she had fallen in love with him, and everything changed.
In truth, Suzuka Gozen had returned control of the body to her long ago, but Yuihama Yui would not say that aloud.
Going on a date with the person I like was the wish of the Servant possessing the girl, and also the girl's own wish.
Countless times, Yuihama Yui had imagined going shopping and having fun alone with the boy in her dreams.
But if she really did that, it would feel somewhat unfair, like she was getting a head start, and it would hurt the important people around her.
But now, if it was only limited to today, it should be okay.
This was originally the Servant's request, so that made it okay, right?
If possible, the girl wanted to hold hands with the boy while shopping, then eat dinner together at a very stylish restaurant. That was impossible this time.
But... this was enough for now. One day, she would definitely say those words. Until then, they should all enjoy their high school lives happily together.
"I can't figure out overly complicated things either, but no matter what happens, the three of us shouldn't hide things from each other..." Yuihama said, lowering her brows. After falling silent for a moment, the girl lifted her head, patted her cheeks, and showed her usual cute smile.
Before you continue