I'm a Victim Too!

Mo Shuying simply turned and left. Watching his retreating back, Souichirou Kuzuki silently raised a hand. Countless methods of murder surfaced in his mind. As a man, he had to avenge his woman! He would let Mo Shuying know the fury of a people's teacher.

But then Medea reached out and held Kuzuki's fist. Her eyes were soft as water as she looked at him and shook her head.

"Lord Souichirou. Kojiro's Tsubame Gaeshi couldn't even break through his defenses. Forget it."

Kuzuki said, "...Hmph. I'll spare him this time. Come on, I'll treat your injuries."

Kuzuki insisted that this was not cowardice. Mainly because his wife was too beautiful, and he was afraid she might remarry.

"Yes~ Lord Souichirou~"

Medea happily nestled into Souichirou Kuzuki's arms. The current situation was already the best possible outcome. Not only did she not hate Mo Shuying, she even felt a trace of gratitude toward him for sparing them.

Outside the gate.

Sasaki Kojiro, still staring at his long sword in confusion, turned around and examined the completely unharmed Mo Shuying. Should he try again?

But Medea's order had already arrived.

[Don't cause trouble! See him off!]

Sasaki Kojiro's eyelids twitched. He sheathed his sword and stood to one side.

"Hmph. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

"Heh."

Mo Shuying smiled at him and did not attack again to see whether he could obtain a Class Card. There was little hope with such an early Heroic Spirit.

Besides, one of the seven newly appeared Heroic Spirits was also an Assassin. If necessary, he could consider Sasaki later.

Mo Shuying gave Sasaki an amused smile. Sasaki's back went cold and his buttocks clenched as he stared at Mo Shuying with extreme vigilance. Then he watched Mo Shuying activate Presence Concealment and disappear as he headed down the mountain.

"This guy..."

A bead of cold sweat appeared on Sasaki's forehead. The other man had clearly revealed no killing intent, yet he gave Sasaki an incomparably dangerous feeling. That feeling... was very bad.

"I'm back."

Near evening, Mo Shuying returned to the Emiya Residence. As soon as he entered, he saw Illya there as well, with Heracles standing beside her.

"You're back? Come on, Illya brought cake. If you'd come back any later, there wouldn't have been any left."

Tohsaka Rin ate her cake in small bites with a fork, seeming to enjoy it immensely.

Most of the others were much the same, especially Saber. The ahoge atop her head was still swaying constantly. She really did not have the slightest sense of crisis.

"Oh, save me a small piece. Where's Emiya?"

Mo Shuying asked.

Tohsaka Rin pointed toward the inner room.

"He's cooking in the kitchen. There are so many people, so he needs to prepare in advance."

"Okay, I'll go take a look. I'll be right back."

Mo Shuying walked into the inner room and quickly spotted Emiya Shirou busy in the kitchen.

"Yo."

He stepped forward to greet him. Emiya turned around and, upon seeing Mo Shuying, bitterly smiled while tossing the wok. Cooking dinner for more than a dozen people was apparently still rather stressful for him.

"I bought some food on my way back. Consider it a contribution to the household expenses."

Mo Shuying waved a hand, and all kinds of ingredients immediately piled up beside the refrigerator. Seeing so much food laid out before him, Emiya's expression darkened even further.

"Keep it up, kid. I believe you can do it. Ah~ Though I feel terrible about it, I can't cook either, so I really can't help you. Take your time, don't rush, and keep it up!"

After saying that, Mo Shuying turned and ran. Just as he was leaving the room, he heard Emiya Shirou's miserable cry.

"Damn it!!"

Mo Shuying shook his head.

"Poor kid. I hope no more people show up. Hm? Rin! Where's the cake you promised to save for me?"

Mo Shuying walked out and frowned at the empty cake plate.

Tohsaka Rin pointed at Saber.

"Saber!!"

Mo Shuying gritted his teeth. That glutton could really eat!!

At dinnertime, Emiya made a huge table full of dishes, and everyone gathered around it again.

Even Heracles took a seat. However, the chopsticks in his hands were like toothpicks, and his bowl was tiny as well. He looked at the bowl in his hand in confusion, then—

"Ah."

He tossed both the bowl and its contents straight into his mouth.

"Ah!! Berserker! You can't eat that! Spit it out!"

Illya lunged toward Heracles, but what had already been swallowed could not be spat back out.

With that little incident, the atmosphere during dinner remained quite lively, except for Red Archer, who kept finding fault with everything.

"Hm, these asparagus were cooked for too short a time. They're still a little raw. The clams in this miso soup are too small; they weren't chosen well. This little tofu should have been rinsed once to remove the bean smell. And this..."

Crack!

Emiya Shirou, his face dark with anger, snapped the chopsticks in his hand with one hand. An afternoon of exhaustion erupted at that moment.

"You talk a big game! Why don't you cook next time?!"

Everyone turned to look at Red Archer. Who would have thought that this guy's skin was so thick? He calmly took a sip of soup, then said—

"I can't cook."

"Tch!"

He earned a chorus of jeers.

Mo Shuying truly despised him. Red Archer was Emiya Shirou from the future; saying he could not cook was an outright lie. Some skills became richer and more refined with time, and cooking was one of them.

Dinner finally ended with only Emiya Shirou being unhappy. Fortunately, he did not have to wash the dishes. Several girls ran into the kitchen to clean up. Watching that group of chirpy young girls, Mo Shuying's mood improved.

Taking advantage of the downtime, Mo Shuying picked up the remote and turned on the television. It was broadcasting Fuyuki City's evening news, beginning with—

"Latest report: This afternoon, eastern district police cracked a counterfeit currency circulation case. The suspect was a foreign woman. She was arrested after attempting to deposit counterfeit bills at a bank. Next, we have footage of the incident."

The screen changed.

"Ah! This money isn't mine! I'm a victim too! I've been framed! Bastard! Just you wait!"

In the footage, a short-haired young woman in office attire had her face mosaicked as two police officers restrained her from struggling. Cú Chulainn stood behind her with a helpless expression, though while he could be seen on television, none of the ordinary people at the scene had noticed him.

Mo Shuying recognized Bazett at a glance.

Perhaps because she feared exposure, Bazett could not use violence to break free. In the end, she was still escorted into the police car. Amid sirens and the applause of the crowd—

She was taken away.

Mo Shuying: "..."

Beside him, Luvia, who claimed to be a young lady untouched by household chores, frowned.

"That was Bazett, wasn't it! That had to be Bazett, right! Hahahaha! Did that woman turn to crime because she had no money? Counterfeit money? Depositing counterfeit money at a bank? Hahahaha! I'm dying!"

Luvia very unladylikely fell to the floor, clutching her stomach and rolling around. It was as though she had heard the funniest joke of the year.

Mo Shuying raised a hand to his forehead. He truly had not expected Bazett to go deposit money at a bank.

After all, although the money he had given Bazett was genuine, it had duplicate serial numbers. The moment the bank checked it—

That would be the end of it!!