Arriving in Bristol / The World Changes Too Fast ...

"Alright, alright." Shirou looked at the woman who was acting like a child and sighed helplessly.

"Hurry, hurry!" Shizuka Hiratsuka ran to the pool below the waterfall, raised her fist, and assumed a stance ready to throw an uppercut.

"You really want to fight?" Shirou retorted.

However, this time Shirou no longer doubted whether Shizuka Hiratsuka could reverse the flow of the waterfall.

After all, she can now even send dragons flying.

After that, everyone toured Lushan Mountain together until around 3 PM before leaving the scenic area. In the afternoon, they went to nearby shops and bought local specialties and souvenirs to take home.

"Brother, the gift from Komachi should ideally be something delicious." Shirou still vividly remembered his younger sister's instructions, so he chose 'Kujiang Tea Cake'.

These were local traditional tea cakes he had at the hotel. The freshly baked tea cakes there were indeed delicious, with a slightly firm and chewy outer layer and a crispy, sweet interior. Su Dongpo, who loved fragrant aromas and fried foods, also ate such pastries when visiting Buddhist friends at a temple in Jianzhou, and praised them, saying, "These small cakes are like chewing the moon, with a crisp and sweet filling."

Meanwhile, in Chaldea side, Da Vinci was analyzing the collected data using various computer instruments. This work had begun the previous night and continued until now.

She seemed to have gained some inspiration from the small world that Li Shuwen built outside of the alternate dimension.

"Da Vinci, thank you for your hard work. Do you understand anything about those black mud Heroic Spirit?" Gudako was sitting to the side, stepped forward and asked.

Da Vinci shook his head in distress and said, "No, the only thing confirmed now is that the summoning of the black mud Heroic Spirit is a different system from Chaldea's. The existence of controlling the Black Mud seems to involve either directly establishing a contract with the Servant of the Throne of Heroes, or establishing a contract with Servant like Li Shuwen who disappeared from Chaldea. We might even encounter more troublesome enemies later."

"Could the other top-tier Servant who disappeared from Chaldea also have been corrupted by the Black Mud?" Gudako asked.

"I don't know either. The more we investigate, the more mysteries we discover. These worlds are indeed not as simple as they seem. On the surface, there's the black mud Heroic Spirit who wants to kill Shirou, and in the shadows, there are other forces stirring up trouble."

Although the signal was very faint and well-concealed, making it impossible to pinpoint the exact location, it is now confirmed that in Shirou's world, besides the black mud Heroic Spirit and Demonic Beast roaming freely, there are indeed other beings with magical energy.

Gudako asked in surprise, "Wouldn't Shirou-senpai be in great danger in that world? Won't Mash and her upperclassmen from school be in trouble?"

"Yes, it seems that the Counter Force of that world is not as resistant to mystery as it was at the beginning. Now it seems to be fueling things from behind, and things are getting more and more complicated."

"We can only rely on Shirou and those girls. Now that the compatibility is 100%, the summoned Servant can at least exert their corresponding strength, and protecting themselves shouldn't be a problem," Da Vinci said.

In the evening, everyone returned to the hotel to rest and held a meeting in the lobby.

The middle-aged teacher leading the group announced the upcoming itinerary.

"Thank you for your hard work this week. The exchange program at Xunyang Branch School is now officially over. Let me reiterate the itinerary for the rest of the week."

"Shirou-kun will be led by Mr. Hiratsuka to a school in Britain for an archery exchange. The others will come with me to another branch school in Yuezhou, China."

"Understood." The students replied casually. These were all things that had already been decided back in Chiba. They were originally part of the standard setup for exchanges with the Huaxia branch school, except that Shirou's bow-wielding was a bit special.

"That's great! We can go to Europe, to Britain!" the classmates around the boy said.

Shirou was already quite familiar with Britain, waved his hand and said, "No, if we go to Yuezhou, we can eat lots of snacks, there are many fun places, and there are even panda triplets there."

"Yes, thinking about it that way, it seems to make sense. I feel much better now. Besides, it's very close to Foshan there, so maybe I can draw Wong Fei-hung."

"Take lots of pictures of the pandas; they might be really popular with the girls in the class."

"Shirou, you just eat your fish and chips and focus on your performance over there."

The boys laughed loudly as they spoke.

"Yes, good luck in Go and table tennis too!" Shirou encouraged his classmates.

"..." The people on the other side immediately deflated. Yes, they had a lot of fun these past two days, but the cycle of hell was about to begin again. No wonder the principal said from the beginning that everyone who participated would receive a scholarship. It turns out he never considered that they would win!

Chapter 136 Arrival in Bristol

Shizuka Hiratsuka seemed to still be recovering from the shock, and Shirou had been leading her the whole way. After passing through security, they boarded another plane and flew to Bristol, a city in the southwest of Britain England.

Bristol is a historic city. Although it cannot be compared with ancient countries like China, it has been established for nearly a thousand years, making it of great significance to Britain.

The plane sped over the Eurasian continent, crossing mountains and heading towards the English Channel.

At this very moment, Eriri is in a villa in England, dressed in a black and white maid outfit, diligently working with a mop.

She didn't learn much at the school here, but her housework skills improved significantly. Her English vocabulary also expanded considerably, especially vocabulary related to begging for mercy and cleaning, which she now uses quite fluently.

Furthermore, my understanding of the structure of doors, windows, and floors has deepened. When I need to use these scenes in my next illustration, I can strive for the ultimate level of 'both real and unreal'.

Eriri was in a fairly good mood, humming a song. She had already received news from her teacher that Shirou would arrive in Britain today, and if the flight wasn't delayed, he would be there before nightfall.

We'll see them again tonight; everyone will pick them up and we'll go to a restaurant for dinner together.

The place she was cleaning was the girls' dormitory at the Bristol Branch School of the International High School. Most of the students living there were art students, young girls who were passionate about art, painting, and music.

The girls in this dormitory lived a carefree and innocent life, laughing and playing like young ladies, until the legendary head maid descended upon the place and began Sparta- style, ruthless reign.

After that, two new rules were added to the girls' dormitory:

First, one must abide by the dormitory rules and regulations and the head maid's orders;

Secondly, in the event of a conflict between the two, the head maid's orders shall take precedence.

However, Eriri committed an unforgivable crime, severely offending the head maid and violating head maid portrait rights by drawing an indescribable picture. If it weren't for the certainty that she painted with love, that it was a yuri (lesbian) story, and that it served some purpose, her head might already be chopped off.

After a busy afternoon, Eriri finally finished cleaning the entire dormitory corridor floor. She stopped to wipe the sweat from her brow and prepared to rest for a while. She took out her phone and saw a notification light flashing. It turned out she had received a message from Utaha Kasumigaoka. When she opened it, she was stunned. She stood there frozen, still looking at her phone.

Like a stone statue, half an hour or an hour passed, and the girl remained motionless.

At that moment, a petite figure walked over, reached out a fair hand, pulled out Eriri's phone, stared intently at the photo on it, and remained silent for a long time.

Eriri snapped out of her daze and nearly jumped in fright when she saw the cool, pale blonde girl with golden eyes beside her.

The other person was the head maid here, dressed in a pure black maid outfit, with a white lace headband on her head that resembled a crown.

Legend has it that she suddenly arrived here more than half a month ago. In fact, she was a relative of a female student who was staying here. In just one day, she gained the power to manage the girls' dormitory, and no one questioned her authority.

"Head maid! Eriri has been slacking off for an hour, just sitting here staring at her phone." Rita, who was also dressed in a black and white maid outfit and had been cleaning at the other end, ran up and raised one hand to tattle.

"Is that so? I understand. Rita, now that you've finished cleaning, you can go and rest today." The head maid waved to the blonde girl.

"Yes! Thank you very much!" Rita, the girl with golden curly hair, saluted and replied, then turned and left with the bucket and mop.

As Rita passed Eriri, she nodded apologetically, thinking to herself, "I'm sorry, Eriri! If I don't distance myself from you now, I'll also be punished as an accomplice in covering up each other's laziness. Better you die than me, goodbye."

Seeing Rita's sinister expression, Eriri explained, "Wait! Head maid, let me explain! I definitely didn't slack off, it's just that the shock was too much for me to handle, and my consciousness suddenly stopped."

"Hmph..." The head maid drew out the sound meaningfully, silently transferred the photo to her phone, and then tossed it back to Eriri.

"Phew..." Eriri hurriedly took the phone. Seeing that the head maid didn't seem to be blaming her, she breathed a sigh of relief. That meant she could finally rest today.

'Who is that fox spirit...? She has to be punished too, even though she already has me...' The head maid muttered to herself, her face darkening.

Eriri didn't quite catch what the head maid was saying, but seeing her expression, she knew something was wrong. While the head maid usually had a cold expression, this time it was more terrifying than ever before.

Looking at Eriri with a bad mood, she said, "Eriri- san, you always seem to have something that makes people unhappy. Last time it was the drawing in my notebook, and this time it's a strange photo..."

With tears in her eyes, Eriri quickly apologized, saying, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! This is the biggest mistake of my life. I never imagined that there would be someone in this world whose appearance, hairstyle, and style are so similar to mine in a doujinshi!"

"Now that the floor is clean, go and clean the windows. No dinner until you've finished!" the head maid coldly commanded, then turned and left.

"Eh!" Eriri cried out in shock. Was today her day of disaster? Her childhood friend, whom she cared about, had been forcibly kissed by a girl she knew, and now her workload was going to double...

"Waaah..." Eriri thought with tears streaming down her face. It was supposed to be a great day off, and even if she wasn't really interested in going out, she should at least be able to lie in bed and lazily catch up on anime.

"Mashiro, it's time to get up." At that moment, the head maid took out her key, pushed open a room door, and called out as she entered.

The room was a mess, with pillows scattered on the mahogany floor. A girl with an ethereal, fairy-like air sat there, her long, pale golden hair cascading down, shimmering with a granular glow in the sunlight streaming in from the window. Hearing the door open, she slowly turned around.

The blanket covering the girl was spread on the ground, revealing her fair back. The pure white girl tilted her head innocently and looked at the head head maid had just entered, like a fledgling bird that had just hatched, and spoke in an ethereal voice.

"Ria... I accidentally took my clothes off..."

Chapter 137 The World Is Changing Too Fast

Bristol is located on the western coast of the Irish Sea and has Britain's oldest port. In the Middle Ages, it was Britain's most prosperous city. The metropolitan area, centered on Bristol and including surrounding satellite cities, has a population of over one million.

Incidentally, the Tokyo metropolitan area, which includes Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, and other Tokyo, has a population of over 37 million, while the Pearl River Delta urban area in China has a population of over 57 million.

Even in Britain, with a population of just over 60 million, this city is not large, but it is already the largest in the southwest region, surrounded by mostly rural, non-metropolitan counties with mountains.

The entire city is traversed by the River Avon, connecting it to the tourist city of Bath, and bordering Somerset to the southwest.

For Shirou, this was not a completely unfamiliar city. In fact, he had come here with Tohsaka when he was learning Magecraft at the Clock Tower in his previous life. After all, it was only about 160 kilometers away from London, and it only took an hour and a half to get there by train.

Shirou vaguely remembered that there was an old Gothic church near the city's train station.

He and Tohsaka came to this city to visit Glastonbury Tor, which is about 20 kilometers away. It is home to one of the most famous tombs of King Arthur in Britain. Although they didn't know if it was real or not, they went there to pay their respects to someone important.

I never imagined that after so many years, he would come here again. This is in another world, and everything has changed. I can't help but feel a little sad.

When the plane landed, Shizuka Hiratsuka and Shirou went straight out of the airport and took a taxi to a hotel near the branch school.

Exchange students are usually housed in the dormitories at the Bristol Branch School, as the campus is vast and has ample, well-equipped student housing. Therefore, the Chiba Branch School students were immediately assigned to these dorms upon arrival, becoming members of the Bristol Branch School community. They will remain there for the next two weeks, experiencing the vibrant, artistic atmosphere of the campus.

However, to make things easier, Da Vinci had already made arrangements in public relations to get Shirou and Shizuka Hiratsuka staying at a large hotel near the school.

The Bristol Branch School, considering that Shirou had arrived a week later than other students and missed the optimal time to adapt to the environment, also agreed to the request.

The two teachers in charge at the Chiba Branch School led the students to the hotel to welcome the two.

The team leader in Bristol was a bespectacled, honest, and steady man in his early thirties, Mr. Takiryu, who taught painting at the school. The other team leader was a woman in her mid-twenties, Teacher Sawako, who taught music.

After Shirou and Shizuka Hiratsuka settled in, the two teachers took them to a nearby Japanese restaurant for a meal. The teachers and students walked into the restaurant with ease, seemingly quite familiar with it, since there really wasn't much good food there.

The shop is decorated in the same Japanese style as Chiba, with posters of Noh geisha and masks with various expressions. Not far inside, there is a large counter where handmade sushi is made.

The chef standing opposite the counter was a middle-aged man with small eyes, dressed in a sushi chef's uniform and a checkered square hat. He smiled and nodded to the customers.

"Good evening," Shizuka Hiratsuka greeted with a friendly smile in Japanese.

"Sorry, I can't speak Japanese. I grew up in the UK, huh, huh," the chef across from me said with a friendly smile.

"Eh? Okay, okay..." Shizuka Hiratsuka replied somewhat awkwardly.

The male teacher leading the group explained with a smile, "Haha, Teacher Hiratsuka, don't mind it. The owner here is actually Chinese. Let's go into a private room."

"I see... Ah, eh?!" Shizuka Hiratsuka blinked, surprised.

Why is the owner of the Japanese restaurant industry really that fierce?

The experienced team leader, Chef Takiryu, spoke directly in Mandarin: "Boss Qin, a large sushi platter, a seafood platter, and one of your Chinese cuisine crispy duck and roast goose. Let's meet at our usual spot."

"Okay, okay, please wait a moment, the food will be here soon." The middle-aged man with small eyes smiled, his eyes crinkling, and replied in Mandarin with a regional accent.

Since there were more than ten of them, they simply went into a private room and sat down. Soon, a waiter came over with a smile.

The middle-aged teacher in charge gestured for the students to take their seats, and after the dishes were served, he picked up his glass and stood up.

"First of all, I'd like to welcome Teacher Hiratsuka and Shirou-kun to Bristol! Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

"Come on, Teacher Hiratsuka, the sushi here is really good!"

"Thank you, I'll start eating now," Shizuka Hiratsuka said without any politeness.

The teachers clinked glasses and drank some sake.

After several rounds of drinks...

Sawako, the female teacher sitting next to Shizuka Hiratsuka, suddenly reached out and put her arm around her, asking gossipy, "By the way, Shizuka-chan, you met quite a few young male teachers in China, right? What were they like? Were there any handsome guys among them? I heard that men from Jiangnan are all very youthful and have skin even better than girls'!"

"Ah, they were all great! They were very hospitable when they treated us, and some of them were quite generous with their drinks, but they couldn't hold their liquor and I drank them all under the table. Hahaha!" Shizuka Hiratsuka laughed proudly.

"Shizuka-chan, that's why you've always been single..." the female teacher Sawako, said sadly, covering her face.

"What?! Sawa-chan is the same way, acting like she's already found a boyfriend and is superior to everyone else, what's with that tone?" Shizuka Hiratsuka said unhappily.

Sawako hand on the table, stood up, and laughed triumphantly, "Hahaha! You asked! You finally asked! Yes! That's it! We've decided to get married! Wahahaha!"

Sawako smiled brightly, grabbed Takiryu- sensei's hand, and pulled him up with her, raising them high like a boxing champion.

"Eh?! Eh?! Eh?! Eh?!" Shizuka Hiratsuka's mouth dropped open in shock, unable to close it.

"?" Shirou looked around at his classmates, each one calm and indifferent, as if this scene had been seen countless times and was as commonplace as drinking water.

"Ahaha, that's how it is. Please take care of me, Teacher Hiratsuka," said Takiryu, the male teacher, with a light laugh as he shook hands with Sawako.

'That Sawako who likes death metal, acts all gentle in front of students, can be won over with cakes and afternoon tea, and bites her guitar while playing —Sawako's getting married!'

With an incredulous expression, Shizuka Hiratsuka asked, "When did you two start dating? You're getting married so soon?"

Chapter 138 Bristol Branch School