"Haa—"
He ate a little slowly, but Xiang An finally finished the large serving of extra-spicy mapo tofu.
"S-So spicy, but so delicious."
Xiang An's lips had swollen a little.
For some reason, Shirou Emiya's urge to try it next time weakened slightly. Though, in truth, he was still eager to give it a shot.
"Alright—now that we're full, kid, what did you want to talk about?"
Patting his stomach, Xiang An sat up straight and looked at Shirou Emiya beside him.
"It's about Sister Jie."
"She called herself Yu Meiren before, if I remember correctly."
"I'm not doubting it, but is Sister Jie really... that Yu Meiren who stood beside the Hegemon-King of Western Chu during the Chu-Han Contention?"
Shirou Emiya rubbed his hands together uneasily.
At the very least, he needed to confirm whether it was true.
"There's no need to doubt it. I call her sister-in-law, and I only have one sister-in-law in this world."
Xiang An waved a hand.
"What you really want to ask is whether Sister-in-law truly lived for thousands of years, rather than being something like a Heroic Spirit, right?"
Xiang An smiled and moved to sit across from Shirou Emiya.
"...Really, is there any life that could endure such long, lonely years?"
Shirou Emiya clenched his fists.
He could not imagine it.
After watching the one she loved most commit suicide before her eyes, then seeing her only remaining family die elsewhere—Sister Jie had endured that grief and remained here all this time, searching for a way to revive her beloved.
Just how horrifying must that loneliness and pain have been?
"Sister-in-law is that kind of person. Don't dwell on it too much."
"In fact, during her life, the time my brother spent by Sister-in-law's side was very short."
"Thousands of years