Things That Cannot Be Changed / Do What You Can ...

"Hey! Right now, our Saintess is the most promiscuous one!" Black Saber couldn't help but complain.

"In short, things are finally over. With Kayako's guarantee, I believe those ghosts won't be wandering around the school anymore, and the small world is fine now," Shirou said, clapping his hands.

"Hmph, if only it were really like they say. Look at how infatuated they are with men, how pathetic they are. Do you think they can convince other ghosts with what they say? I really doubt it." The silver-haired girl said with a disbelieving snort.

"Don't worry, as long as I, Gilles de Rais, am here, I won't let that happen! Unlike some coffee shop kid, I'm an expert in this! So don't be shy, rely on me more, as a mother's father... uh..." Gilles de Rais didn't finish his sentence before letting out a groan, then his eyes rolled back and he collapsed.

A fiery meteor struck his abdomen, aiming directly at his kidneys, delivering a powerful blow.

"Whoosh~" The silver-haired girl blew out indifferently, sending the rising wisps of smoke flying out from her palm.

"Gil, you'd better leave here quickly. I don't want to see you pollute this sacred campus," the blonde girl said rudely.

"Waaah... Lululu... Why? Why? Why won't Jeanne d'Arc accept my advice?" Gilles de Rais knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his large eyes.

"If you had agreed to let me be the chairman back then, you would have had the greatest benefits. We wouldn't have needed the statue of the Virgin Mary at the entrance; we could have replaced them all with statues of Jeanne d'Arc, filling the entire academy with a hundred of them. The church would have been converted into the Jeanne d'Arc Church. I'm not reconciled!!!" Gilles de Rais, lying on the ground, grabbed some grass and glared resentfully at Shirou, who was surrounded by three girls.

"Alright, alright, let's go back." Arjuna helped Gilles de Rais up, and led by the female ghosts, they left the space where the dead ghosts lived.

"Brother Shirou, what do we do next? There are still four of the Seven Mysteries that haven't been solved yet," Little Saint said, looking at the man.

"No, there aren't four anymore. I already know how to solve the last three, but I don't understand the last one," Shirou said.

"Huh? What's going on?" The three girls tilted their heads in confusion.

"Come with me, and you'll see. Ah, Little Saint, you can stay here and play with Toshio- kun." Shirou said after considering for a moment.

"Are you sure you don't need my help?" Little Saint asked, feeling a little embarrassed that he was the only one slacking off.

"There's no danger anymore, so you can leave it to me. If you get hungry, go back to the cafe. There are some snacks in the fridge; they're made with special ingredients, so you should be able to eat them even in ghost form," Shirou said.

The girl looked at Shirou, knowing that if Shirou said so, then there must be no problem, so she smiled and nodded, agreeing, "Okay, I understand!"

"Then, Toshio -kun, let's play together," Little Saint said with a smile.

"Yes!" The little boy nodded happily.

"Then let's go. The fourth of the Seven Mysteries of the Academy: the smiling portrait in the art room." Shirou replied, leading the girls to the legendary art room. Pushing open the door, they found it filled with portraits of the same person, so densely packed that it could easily scare someone with trypophobia.

"Ah, it's the Mona Lisa... something I used to paint that made me want to vomit." When Black Saber saw that face, she felt a wave of nausea in her throat.

"Wait, what's wrong with you all? This is clearly an improved version of a portrait of a perfect genius like me, so why do you all look so impatient?" The black-haired noblewoman in the portrait couldn't help but speak up.

"So why do you keep changing the portraits that have been preserved? Is it because of the animation function of GIF images? Making a painting hanging on the wall talk at night like that would scare anyone who runs into it, wouldn't it?"

"Da Vinci, I hope that one day you will truly repent, and may the Lord accept you then," the blonde girl said, clasping her hands together.

"How rude of me! I was merely using the rules of this world to leave you with an important message within the painting," Da Vinci said.

"Information?" Shirou and the others were stunned for a moment, then looked at Da Vinci and asked.

"Well then, I'll just say it." Da Vinci's smile vanished, and he said seriously, "Jeanne d'Arc d'Arc, Alter! Shirou! You don't have much time left. At the latest, it will take half a month; at the latest, it will take less than a week, before this little world completely collapses."

"What!" everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"You've all seen the signs, more or less, haven't you?" Da Vinci asked, looking at the crowd.

"Hmm... Some ghosts have already come out and caused a ruckus. If a real fight breaks out, who knows what might happen," the blonde girl nodded and said.

"How could this be? The boundary of the small world is still quite a distance away. Isn't there any other way? Even just to extend the time a little more?" Shirou asked, frowning.

Da Vinci explained to everyone:

"The small world we live in now is like an inflated balloon. It was blown up very big at first, and now it has shrunk down. In fact, its structure is different from when it was first blown up. The outer skin was stretched, and when it shrinks back, it will wrinkle and become more droopy."

The methods used during the initial construction were quite haphazard. Therefore, when the small world shrunk to the point where structural errors occurred, it triggered a domino effect, amplifying one problem after another until the world instantly collapsed.

"...Damn it." The silver-haired girl's face darkened. She had remained silent, but in truth, she was the one who cared most about this world.

Chapter 538 Things That Cannot Be Changed

"Is there really no other way?" Shirou asked in a deep voice.

"Yes, that's all. I assure you, as a genius." Da Vinci in the portrait nodded in agreement.

"Really? Then what kind of impact will it have on the outside world when this world collapses?" Shirou asked again.

"There will be some, after all, it's a small world. Even when firecrackers explode, there will be some noise. But no one will be injured or killed. After about a night's sleep, I believe the world's Counter Force will detect that something is wrong, then repair the excess and bring everything back to normal. After that, there won't be any other problems," Da Vinci in the portrait said, shrugging.

"Yes, that's enough. That's what Jeanne d'Arc envisioned when she made her wish," Shirou nodded and said.

"..." The silver-haired girl looked down dejectedly and didn't say anything.

"Shirou, won't our café disappear too?" the blonde girl asked Shirou.

Looking into the blonde girl's reluctant eyes, Shirou nodded helplessly. It had been going on from the beginning, but he hadn't expected things to turn out so quickly.

"Really... More than a year has passed in the blink of an eye. This is the first time I've felt that life can go by so quickly," the blonde girl said with a smile.

Shirou patted the blonde girl on the shoulder to comfort her, then placed his hand on the silver-haired girl's head and said softly, "Let's go home."

"Hmm..." The silver-haired girl nodded.

Shirou turned to look at the strange portrait and said, "Well then... Da Vinci, you'd better not scare people at night anymore. Goodbye."

"Hey, Shirou, now that you know what's going to happen in this world, what are you planning to do next?" Da Vinci, in the portrait, asked the man with a light smile.

"We'll see this through to the end, and we'll get everything sorted out in the next few days," Shirou said.

"I understand, then I'm relieved." Da Vinci nodded, smiled mysteriously, and agreed.

Thus, the incident involving the smiling portrait came to an end, but three more things followed.

As soon as I pushed open the door and stepped inside, I heard the little girl's voice.

"Welcome back." Little Saint pulled out a chair and stood up. There were empty plates on the left and right sides of the table.

"Ah, we're back~!" Shirou exchanged glances with the two girls and replied with a smile.

"I'm back. By the way, where's that little boy?" the blonde girl asked, puzzled.

"Yes, Toshio and I had some snacks together. His mother Kayako, just finished her date, and Mr. Siegfried brought her here to pick Toshio up to go home. Toshio said the snacks were delicious," Little Saint replied with a smile.

"Okay, that's great. Let's invite our friends over next time," Shirou replied with a smile.

"Tsk..." Upon hearing this, Black Saber clicked her tongue.

Little Saint looked at Black Saber and said, "What's wrong? Second Sister seems unhappy? Are you still sad about your friend running away with the female ghost?"

"No way! I just see them as useful subordinates!" the silver-haired girl said unhappily, standing up to leave.

"Well, don't be angry. I'll go make a cup of coffee. Let's all sit in the living room together," Shirou said softly, pressing his hand on the silver-haired girl's shoulder.

"Okay, I understand." The silver-haired girl, unusually, managed to suppress her temper today and replied softly.

After that, the four of them sat side by side on the sofa, holding warm coffee cups, with small flower-shaped lamps hanging from the ceiling casting a warm glow, enjoying the tranquility of the moment.

Sitting quietly like this, enjoying time with family, is perhaps a small kind of happiness. The length of time left in this little world has become less important.

No... it can't be unimportant...

In the quiet living room, the silver-haired little girl lowered her head and whispered, "Some liquid has dripped into the coffee cup." Her voice trembled with tears as she said sadly, "..."

"Even if you don't say it, I know... because I was born after I grew up and entered Chaldea. Everyone in the Black Tea House, Gil, Alexander, Uncle Hector, everyone was so kind to me... but they're all going to disappear."

Little Jack said she had a lot of fun shopping in Small Town with her mom, Little Rhyme wanted to collect new stories every day, and Little Toshio too... even though they only made friends today."

"Little Saint, come here." The blonde girl put down her cup, looked at the little girl, and opened her arms.

"Waaaaah... Waaaaaah!" Little Saint buried his face in the blonde girl's arms and burst into tears.

"Stop nagging and crying, you brat! I feel ashamed to see myself like this!" Black Saber shouted angrily, but at this moment she also raised her hand and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"I'm sorry, but the world constructed by the Holy Grail and the power of the world will one day dissolve. That's just how it is, and we can only accept it," Shirou said softly.

Everyone who comes into this world understands that such a place cannot last. Allowing the dead to live again in the human world, and giving human forms to the electronic world's Servant and other anomalies, all of this violates the original principles of how the world works.

Anything that violates the rules of nature will find it difficult to survive. Forcibly creating a small space with different rules within a larger space is inherently unnatural.

From the very beginning, most of the beings, like the Sachiko, Kayako, and Miss Hanako, simply treated this place as a brief moment of revelry. It's just that the sense of loss from having possessed it before and then losing it is so pronounced.

Shirou felt that in his limited lifespan, it would be enough to live with the three girls as much as possible, even if it wasn't in a world where he was protected like this.

As long as the four of them are together, even if they face external disturbances, conflicts, and unpleasant things, they will also have new encounters and new miracles. If the family can be of one mind and stay together, then there shouldn't be any problems.

It's time. It's time to accept the fact that this little world is about to disappear and then start a new life.

But things weren't over yet; he had to finish what was left. Doing every single thing well was the only thing he could do for this place.

Chapter 539 Do what you can do

The next day, Shirou got up very early. It was still pitch black outside, and the stars were still twinkling, though the Morning Star seemed brighter. He went into the kitchen, changed into his chef's uniform, opened the refrigerator and took out a large pile of ingredients, and then went into the storeroom and took out boxes of things.

They started cooking with more effort than ever before, working faster and more diligently. Soon, the kitchen was filled with all sorts of aromas, a wide variety of dishes, making it seem like they were preparing Manchu Han Imperial Feast.

At seven o'clock in the morning, the timer on the oven beeped. The man swiftly placed the sliced sashimi on the knife blade and then on top of the rice balls soaked in vinegar.

"Great! The timing is perfect!" Shirou looked up and said softly. He pulled out a towel to wipe the light sweat from his face. He had been cooking since before four in the morning, and only now could he finally stop.

Shirou quickly placed the freshly baked bread on top of the counter, then opened the shop door and put up the sign. After he finished doing all this, the sound of wind chimes came from outside, and customers walked into the shop.

"Welcome, good morning." Shirou stood up straight, looked at the first customer of the day, and said with a bright and cheerful smile.

"Good morning, Manager Shirou. It smells so good! Oh my, what's going on today? There are so many breads and cakes, and they 'Gil and look especially delicious."

"Well, I had a sudden urge to make a lot of samples today, and now we're having a big sale to thank everyone for their patronage over the past year. So please don't be shy, it's buy one get one free today, so please pick out some bread you like to take home." Shirou stood on the counter, smiling warmly at the regular customers who came in.

"Here you are, Mrs. Sanae. These are your favorite starfish bread and senbei bread. I've added your own creative touch, and I'm sure your husband will love them too." Shirou smiled, took something out from under the cabinet, and handed a wrapped bag to the young and beautiful lady.

"Oh my, Manager Shirou, I only mentioned it briefly, but you remembered it. Thank you so much. How much do all of these cost in total?" Mrs. Sanae took the bag with delight, looking at the cute breads inside, and asked Shirou with great pleasure.

"No, no need, this is a free gift. Thank you for your continued patronage," Shirou said with a friendly smile.

"Yes, thank you. I will definitely taste it carefully. Oh, and I'll let my husband at home try it too. It will definitely change his opinion of my taste." Mrs. Sanae looked at Shirou seriously. The gentle and virtuous woman seemed to have thought of something, but she didn't ask.

There's no need to worry about Mrs. Sanae's husband's stomach, because with Shirou's cooking skills, even with the unusual ingredients that Mrs. Sanae likes, Shirou still managed to turn everything around with his culinary prowess.

Then a beautiful lady with a dark blue braid came over with a sandwich in her hand, smiling.

"Good morning, Mrs. Akiko. Oh, and here's the jam you wanted. Please enjoy it with your daughter." Shirou smiled and pulled out a bag containing various jams in transparent jars, all sorts of colors arranged together, crystal clear and Gil.

"Thank you, Shirou. You've made so many delicious things for everyone all this time." Mrs. Akiko took the jam, touched some of it tenderly, and said with a smile.

"You're too kind." Shirou bowed slightly as he saw off yet another customer. He did this to thank each and every regular customer who had visited the shop before.

Although no reason was given, many people probably already sensed something was amiss. However, the wives of these regular customers all chose to be understanding of Shirou and left the shop without asking any further questions.

Shirou could do for them was to put in his best effort to cook a delicious meal to repay their kindness.

"Good morning." At this moment, the three sisters upstairs had also woken up, washed up, and walked out of the stairwell.

"Good morning, Shirou -san," Xiaosheng said Little Saint, her eyes still a little red, clearly having cried alone the night before.

"Alright, everyone, sit down and have breakfast. I made something delicious today," Shirou said softly, without pointing it out.

"Hmm," Little Saint replied, though he was still somewhat downcast.

"Shirou, what happened next...?" the blonde girl asked the boy.

The silver-haired girl next to him looked over.

"Alright, you guys have a great time with your classmates and friends these next few days. Say goodbye when you need to, and leave the rest to me," Shirou said.

Around noon, Shirou arrived at Abigail's club in the junior high school area. The fifth mysterious incident in the school: The giant that moves at night. It's no surprise that this is the evil scarecrow that absorbs ghosts.

This evil scarecrow has the ability to collect ghosts into its body, but its appearance is also affected by the dark energy of the ghosts. It can't digest this energy and only becomes increasingly sinister and terrifying. If other female students saw it, they would really be terrified.

"That's how it is..." Shirou explained the situation to Abigail and Lavinia, expressing his hope that they could collect the ghost and then dismantle the evil god scarecrow.

"Wait! My evil god isn't some ordinary thing. Summoning it is a lot of work! How can you just tear it down like this?" Abigail waved her hands excitedly.

"If we don't summon the evil god, wouldn't our Black Magic and Evil God Research Society missing an important half?" Lavinia asked seriously, her eyes wide.

"I'm sorry, but this world can't be left with such a hidden danger, so I have no choice but to ask you to do this. I will compensate you," Shirou said to the two children.

"No need for apologies or compensation, that's not the point at all. We put in a lot of effort and it took us a lot of trouble to make this!" Abigail and Lavinia said, feeling wronged.

"Sorry, but anyway, you should try this first." Shirou took out a brocade box with a red painted lid and a black box underneath. When the lid was opened, a golden light immediately rose from inside.

This is a scene that Shirou sometimes sees in his dreams. In that world, he follows a robust old man wearing a red headscarf and learns the secrets of luminous cooking.

"What exactly is this radiance...?" Abigail and Lavinia, who were still arguing, were immediately drawn to the delicious-looking and fragrant dish. Especially that crystalline light, it was truly magical.

Chapter 540 To Do Is to Live

The two girls stared intently at the brocade box in Shirou's hand, practically drooling. However, they didn't want to accept Shirou's apology so easily; otherwise, they would be obliged to open the handsome evil god's box.

'How terrifying! They're like demons!'