Six Servants Lined Up

The Matou Family living room!

Duke lounged against a loveseat with one leg crossed over the other, most of his body sunk into the sofa, looking thoroughly at ease. Across from him, Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou were drinking Black Tea with their heads lowered. Even when they occasionally looked up, they only stared with a pair of dead fish eyes.

There was no other reason: six Servants stood behind Duke—Heracles, Lancelot, Red Archer, Medusa, Medea, and Ahoge—arranged in a neat row from left to right and tallest to shortest at Duke's request.

Duke wore a faintly apologetic expression, as if saying, "Please don't laugh at me," but his constantly bouncing crossed leg betrayed him. He was clearly showing off.

Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou gritted their teeth in fury, but they couldn't beat him. Even if they could, that pervert across from them couldn't be killed. Left with no choice, they could only take it out on the Black Tea, as though drinking a few more cups could bankrupt Duke.

Sakura kept pouring tea for her two classmates. Perhaps she felt guilty, because she never put down the teapot. As soon as Emiya Shirou finished a cup, she quickly refilled it. When Tohsaka Rin finished hers, Sakura filled that one too, all while saying things like, "Please, don't be polite."

Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou drank so much Black Tea their stomachs were full, and by the end they truly couldn't drink another drop. Yet they couldn't refuse such hospitality and endured without saying no. In truth, what they wanted most right now was to use the bathroom.

Another pot of Black Tea was finished, and Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou felt as though a burden had been lifted. Sakura failed to notice their predicament and got up to