Unfortunately, Shirou had no birthday, having grown up in an orphanage.
He tried to sound casual as he asked Sakura, "What have you all been talking about lately when you get together so often?"
The girl's face changed dramatically. She stammered and nearly burst into tears under Shirou's questioning.
This won't do...
Shirou gazed at the sunset-dyed sky and sighed helplessly.
Sakura had an appointment with Ayako Miyadera today, so she hadn't left school with him.
I don't really want to go back so early...
With both hands behind his head, Shirou walked along the riverbank as junior high and elementary school students just out of class approached from the opposite direction.
Perhaps because he had told quite a few lies while describing the Holy Grail War in Romania, the intense guilt he felt toward his family made him uneasy, causing him to overthink things.
Tohsaka was one thing, but he had no reason to doubt Eiri and the others.
No matter what happened, they would definitely stand on his side.
That was absolutely how it was. That was what family was supposed to be.
So—
He would ask them properly after he got back today and find out exactly what had happened.
Once he had made up his mind, Shirou felt particularly refreshed.
Just then, he heard a faint melody.
At first, he thought he had misheard it, but when Shirou followed the sound, he discovered that he hadn't.
Was it a piano?
No, it wasn't a piano.
It was a melodious tune a hundred times more majestic than the piano, hailed as the king of instruments, powerful enough to fill the entire city—solemn yet delicate.
Shirou quickened his pace without realizing it.
He walked for a full five minutes before finally reaching the source of the melody—the Fuyuki