Dinner

Since Shirou and the others were going out to eat, they naturally chose an all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant. There was no other reason—just because it was "all-you-can-eat"!

As everyone knew, Emiya Shirou was the Nasuverse's acknowledged Grand Chef, and Shirou on this timeline was even more so.

Before today, the Emiya Family had never eaten at a restaurant, because the chefs there could not make food as delicious as Shirou's.

Shirou had an unparalleled obsession with food. Meat in particular. Everyone at home knew that Shirou was the kind of madman who could turn beef into nine different dishes. Naturally, they had chosen all-you-can-eat barbecue this time so Shirou could do the grilling.

"Boss, bring us ten servings of pork chops, ten servings of pork belly, ten servings of beef strips, ten servings of beef tongue, twenty servings of beef tenderloin, twenty servings of short ribs, and a bowl of rice. That'll do for now. I'll order more if it isn't enough!"

The moment Shirou finished speaking, the previously noisy barbecue restaurant fell silent. Aside from the Emiya Family, who all looked as though they had expected this, everyone else was stunned.

Aozaki Touko even said to Shirou, "Hey, kid, are you trying to raise pigs by ordering that much?"

"Who says so?" Shirou shook his head. "I'm worried the table won't have enough room. Otherwise, this amount should be tripled."

Touko wanted to say more, but seeing that the others from the Emiya Family had already sat down, she closed her mouth.

The table was already packed full. More than packed full—aside from the grill, everything else had been piled up.

With astonishing speed, they laid the meat across the grill. As it began to sizzle, the Emiya Family members brought their hands together as though they had rehearsed it dozens of times and said in unison, "Let's eat!"

That perfectly synchronized movement made Touko's eye twitch. "This family is beyond saving."

Still, despite thinking that, Touko honestly picked up her chopsticks. "Let's eat!"

She picked up the first slice of pork belly with her chopsticks, delicately dipped it in chili sauce, and slowly put it into her mouth.

"Mmm, this flavor!"

Touko's eyes widened instantly. As the Barbecue Emperor and a Big Eater Record Holder, she was something of an expert when it came to grilled meat. Yet this flavor—Touko would stake her taste buds on it—was absolutely the best she had ever tasted.

"Mm-hm, it's really delicious, right? Since Shirou himself has quite a large appetite, he's also very good at cooking!"

Illya said to Touko. Because she was an artificial human, she grew at half the rate of ordinary people. Though she was a year older than Shirou, she only looked seven or eight.

"Oh? Is that so? This kid, huh?"

Sensing Touko's gaze, Shirou calmly shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, then filled another bowl. He ate as he spoke:

"What? It's simply my duty as a cook. If dishes made from good ingredients aren't popular, then no matter how you look at it, it's the chef's fault."

"Interesting." Touko smiled faintly. "Kid, do you plan to become a chef when you grow up?"

"Mm, how could that be? I'm definitely going to become a magus. But then again, someone like me will probably be seen as an oddity by my peers!" Shirou said.

Heaven knew how the kid managed to speak so clearly with his mouth stuffed full.

"Then do you want to learn magecraft from me? Honestly, I rather like you." Touko had the urge to poach him. Shirou might have been young, but he was more mature than children his age, knew how to take care of others, and, most importantly, was an excellent cook. That last point was the key.

The moment Aozaki said that, Kiritsugu could no longer sit still. She was clearly trying to poach someone from him, and the person she wanted was the chef in charge of their meals. That was intolerable!

"Hey, hey! Don't just poach people whenever you feel like it! Be careful, or I'll assassinate you with a sniper rifle!" Kiritsugu threatened.

"Tch! Bring it on. I'm not afraid of you." Touko provocatively said to Kiritsugu, then continued her poaching campaign. "What do you think, kid? There's no future following that oddball magus father of yours who only knows how to use firearms!"

Shirou finally glanced at Touko. Only once, before lowering his head and continuing to eat. "You can't beat me," he said.

"Hey, don't look down on me!" Touko took a swig of beer. "I'm one of the only ten Grand Magi!"

"So what? In my view, a magus's skill only represents their accomplishments. It doesn't represent combat power, and combat power is all I recognize."

"Then let's make a bet!"

"What?"

"You're very confident in your appetite, right?"

"Uh, I suppose you could say that."

"Then let's see who can eat more. If I win, you'll come work at my office. How about it?" Touko still refused to give up.

"And if I win?" Shirou asked.

"Then I'll give you an eighty percent rate on the costs of adjusting artificial humans."

"Deal!" Shirou swallowed the food in his mouth. "Boss, bring us another table's worth of what I just ordered!"

When the grill was once again covered with meat, Touko and Shirou looked at each other before picking up their chopsticks at the same time.

The slices of meat sizzled on the grill, the sound produced as their juices and barbecue sauce evaporated under the high heat.

"Ready?" Shirou asked.

"Yeah!"

"Then—"

"Let's eat!" ×2

The two began eating in perfect sync. For a time, the sizzling of meat and the clacking of the two pairs of chopsticks collided into one continuous sound.

Touko and Shirou quickly got into the rhythm. At their astonishing eating speed, plate after plate of barbecue was emptied, while two bowls of rice were rapidly scraped clean.

Then Shirou's young voice rang out again. "Boss, another ten servings of pork chops, twenty servings of beef tenderloin, thirty servings of pork belly, and another bowl of rice!"

"And twenty servings of beef strips, twenty servings of short ribs!" Touko added.

The barbecue restaurant's customers were practically numb by now. Good heavens, they could still eat? Were these two prehistoric beasts in human form?

The only happy person was the barbecue restaurant owner. Thanks to Shirou and Touko's "contest," he had nearly completed half a month's sales in one night.

After contentedly stuffing the last slice of beef tenderloin into his mouth, Shirou looked at Touko with a childlike smile. "Well, Ms. Aozaki? A bet's a bet. Eighty percent, okay!"

Touko spat in displeasure. "Tch! I know. It's not like I'm a sore loser. But you really can eat! Is your stomach connected to the Root of All Evil or something?"

"Who knows? Maybe it's a fourth-dimensional stomach bag."

"Shirou, I've only heard of a robot cat's fourth-dimensional pocket." Looking at Shirou strangely, Illya spoke with innocent sincerity. It was 1995, and the robot cat was still wildly popular.

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