"Whew—I'm full, I'm full. That meal was so satisfying!"
"Tch! This is the first time I've ever lost to someone when it comes to eating!" Touko Aozaki was annoyed by Shirou's refreshed expression.
She had thought she was the biggest eater in Japan, with Aoko Aozaki at most tying with her. Who would have thought Emiya Shirou would suddenly appear out of nowhere? And that appetite—God, he had eaten over twenty kilograms! That was more than half his own body weight, wasn't it? Did he seriously have a four-dimensional stomach?
"You should say, 'Among everyone I've ever seen, no one can surpass you when it comes to eating. I acknowledge you as the strongest.'" Shirou crossed both hands behind his head, gazed at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, shot Touko Aozaki a glance, and said, "Wouldn't that sound a lot cooler?"
"Don't forget what I do. Compared to efficiency, whether something is cool or not means nothing. Isn't that right, Magus Killer?" Touko Aozaki abruptly shifted the topic and glanced sideways at the head of the Emiya family, who had been serving as background decoration behind them—Emiya Kiritsugu.
Even while standing off to the side, Kiritsugu had somehow caught a stray shot. He smiled bitterly. "Don't mock me, Ms. Aozaki. I've retired. Now I'm just a wealthy man who wants to live peacefully with his family."
"Who are you trying to fool?" Touko Aozaki was clearly dissatisfied with Kiritsugu's answer. "What ordinary person carries multiple firearms around?"
"Oh dear, you noticed." Having been exposed, Kiritsugu admitted it readily. Even though he no longer accepted jobs, he still carried weapons with him. It was practically an occupational habit.
"How lame, old man. If it were me, I'd deny it to the death."
"If you stubbornly deny it, wouldn't that just prove you have a guilty conscience?"
"So what? Humans shouldn't be capable of X-ray vision, right?"
"Not necessarily." Touko Aozaki rejected Shirou's claim. "Listen, kid. I can tell you're going to become a magus too. Since you broke that guy's record, I'll give you a little lesson about Mystic Eyes."
This was exactly what he'd been waiting for!
Shirou knew far too little about Mystic Eyes. He only knew that such a thing existed. Still, he knew that throughout the Nasuverse, Touko Aozaki was one of the foremost experts on Mystic Eyes.
He had deliberately steered the conversation toward vision earlier, hoping Touko Aozaki would take pity on him and explain them. It seemed his goal had been achieved.
"Listen carefully, kid. So-called Mystic Eyes are a form of magecraft.
They transform one's eyeballs into Magic Circuits through a method similar to creating a Magic Crest, converting the passive function of receiving external information into the ability to actively affect things in the outside world.
In other words, every target within one's field of vision is affected by magecraft. If the target looks directly into the Mystic Eyes, the effect of the magecraft rises sharply. Mystic Eyes cannot be looked at directly, and once they see you, you fall under the user's magecraft. On top of that, it is difficult to tell from appearance alone whether someone possesses Mystic Eyes, making them nearly impossible to guard against. Therefore, possessing Mystic Eyes is proof of a first-rate magus."
"Awesome. Since Mystic Eyes are a kind of magecraft, there should be lots of magi who have them, right?" Shirou asked his question. If Mystic Eyes of Death Perception could be mass-produced, that would be terrifying. Just imagining a squad of little Sister Shikis... terrifying.
Hearing Shirou's question, Touko Aozaki rolled her eyes. This kid looks pretty sharp, so why is he asking something so stupid?
Though that was what she thought, Touko Aozaki still answered Shirou's foolish question. "Impossible. Artificial Mystic Eyes can at most achieve abilities like charm or suggestion. Binding, compulsion, contracts, incineration, illusions, misfortune, petrification, and instant death are all exceptional cases among Mystic Eyes. Those powerful Mystic Eyes are limited to innate abilities—'superpowers' that even magecraft cannot reproduce."
"Mystic Eyes are divided into different ranks by color. Ordinary Mystic Eyes emit red or green light, powerful ones are golden, and Mystic Eyes within the domain of gods can even shimmer with rainbow light like gemstones."
Shirou listened with utmost seriousness. He had already pulled out a small notebook and recorded every word Touko Aozaki said without missing a single one.
"You've been listening in for long enough. Time to come out, you sneaky little voyeur." Shirou closed his notebook, and his gaze turned sharp.
...There was no response.
"I'll say it again. Come out! Otherwise, I'll personally invite you out!" This time, Shirou released his presence. Dust rose from the ground, and even the hems of the group's clothes fluttered in the wind.
...Still no response.
"Still not coming out?" Shirou narrowed his eyes slightly. He was about to make a move.
"Hey, kid, what the hell is wrong with you?"
Shirou ignored Touko Aozaki. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a coin, and flicked his wrist, sending it flying with a sharp whoosh.
"Kid, what are you do—" Touko Aozaki was cut off halfway through by a scream. "—What?"
Everyone looked toward the sound and saw only a little girl with long purple hair lying on the ground, staring at Shirou's group in terror.
"What? It's just a little girl. Kid, aren't you being a bit too paranoid?" Touko Aozaki was the first to let out a sigh of relief.
Honestly, she had been the most nervous just now. She was someone on the Sealed Designation list; it would not have been strange for an enforcer from the Mage's Association to show up at any time.
"That girl looks familiar..." Shirou muttered softly, so quietly that only he could hear. Just as he was trying to remember where he had seen her before, something unexpected happened!
The space around Shirou suddenly twisted. Every hair on his body stood on end. His nerves, instincts, and sixth sense all conveyed the same message: danger!
Driven by his survival instinct, Shirou leaped to the right and escaped that area, but he was still too late. His left arm was twisted clean off!
"Shirou!" "Kid!"
"Tch! Was I a step too late?" Shirou looked at his severed left arm. It hurt, all right, but it somehow felt like something was missing.
"Shirou, how are you? Are you all right?" Kiritsugu asked with a worried expression, only to make Shirou bare his teeth in pain.
"Isn't it obvious? My left arm got torn off, that's all. Obviously, I'm not all right! Trace On!" As he spoke, Shirou Projected a short sword and cut off his entire left arm—the twisted stump had interfered with the effects of High-Speed Regeneration.
Then Shirou's left arm grew back. Yes, grew back...
Hey, hey! Don't perform something so inhuman while wearing a human face! If there hadn't been anyone around right now, you'd be on tomorrow morning's front page, you know that?
Before you continue