Rin Tohsaka in His Palm

"I'm back." Yu Feng casually tossed his bag aside and looked around the room.

Where was everyone?

They should have been back by now, shouldn't they?

Yu Feng felt somewhat puzzled, but he did not dwell on it. Instead, he lay down on the sofa and stared at the ceiling.

Ah, who would have thought? He had actually been chosen for the Holy Grail War. So this time... was he joining as the seventh Master, or had he replaced one of the original six Masters?

It was a question worth considering. He might have been selected as the seventh Master, or he might have replaced one of the six from the original story. After all, the rules of the Holy Grail War had far too many loopholes to exploit. Yet Yu Feng only knew the rough locations of some of the other Masters. He had no idea what their current circumstances were.

Rin Tohsaka was next door, Sakura was with the Matou family, Illya was still at Einzbern, Shirou Emiya was probably at home playing househusband, Mage—no, Sister Baz—seemed to still be on her way, and Attram Galliasta appeared to have already summoned Caster. Who knew whether they had fallen out yet? The old gatekeeper definitely had not been summoned by Caster yet. This Holy Grail War alone was riddled with holes.

In the original story, a Servant summoning another Servant had already violated the rules of the Holy Grail War. With only six chosen Masters, the Fifth War was stranger than all the previous ones.

Come to think of it, if he had not started thinking about it, he would have forgotten. In the original story, Mage seemed to have chopped off the arm of Sister Baz, the Master sent from the Clock Tower to summon Sasaki Kojirou, right? Although he had not killed her, he had left her to fend for herself at Twin Mansions.

At this point in time... Yu Feng was not sure whether Mage had already cut off Sister Baz's arm. He was not particularly clear on the timeline of the original story. If he had time, he should go take a look at Twin Mansions.

Just then, Rin Tohsaka suddenly appeared in the living room.

"Did you really come back this late?" Rin Tohsaka glanced at the time. It was nearly eight o'clock. Her tone was full of displeasure, as though she was very dissatisfied with Yu Feng returning so late.

Yu Feng replied calmly, "I've been sitting here for over half an hour, so I'd like to ask where you went."

"Forget it. This isn't the time to talk about that." Yu Feng exposed his arm for Rin Tohsaka to see.

In an instant, Rin Tohsaka's expression became one of utter disbelief. "Huh?!"

"No way? That's impossible! How could this be? You were actually chosen?"

Rin Tohsaka's voice was filled with disbelief. Yu Feng becoming a Master felt like a dream to her, yet it was an undeniable fact.

"You were actually chosen?" Rin Tohsaka repeated herself, which was enough to show just how agitated she was.

Yu Feng waved his arm. "With these three Command Spells, does that mean I can also participate in your so-called Holy Grail War?"

Rin Tohsaka seemed to notice her loss of composure and hurriedly coughed a few times. She nodded solemnly, though her eyes were still full of disbelief. "That's right. And these three Command Spells prove that you have talent in Magecraft, so I no longer need to prove it for you."

Rin Tohsaka seemed to think of something else and looked at Yu Feng. "Do you want the Holy Grail?"

Yu Feng looked at Rin Tohsaka in surprise, but quickly understood. Rin Tohsaka probably wanted to draw him into her camp.

Yu Feng thought about it. If it were the original Holy Grail, he might really have had a few wishes he wanted granted. No, rather than wishes, they were more like ideas. But as for the current Holy Grail, there was not really anything he wanted it to grant.

"Mm... I don't want the current Holy Grail, but if it were the previous one, I might consider it." Yu Feng gave her that answer.

"Really? That's—cough, cough. In that case, there shouldn't be any problem with you helping me win this Holy Grail War, right?" Rin Tohsaka was excited at first, but quickly composed herself and asked Yu Feng seriously.

Clearly, Rin Tohsaka had not caught the meaning behind Yu Feng's words. But that was normal. She still believed the Holy Grail was an omnipotent Wish Machine and had never considered that it had already been contaminated by Black Mud.

Yu Feng looked at Rin Tohsaka. "Sure, but why?"

Rin Tohsaka did not seem to understand. She blinked with a slightly dazed expression and asked, "Huh?"

"Why should I help you win the Holy Grail War?" Seeing Rin Tohsaka's somewhat adorable, blank expression, Yu Feng's mischievous side immediately surfaced.

Rin Tohsaka seemed not to have expected him to say such a thing. For a moment, she was at a loss. "Because, because... you've lived in my house for so long, right? You should at least pay something in return, shouldn't you? You eat my food and use my things. It's not unreasonable for me to ask for something back, is it?"

Yu Feng smiled faintly and slowly moved closer to Rin Tohsaka. "Oh? Is that so?"

"I wonder who has been ordering me around like a servant all these years. That should count as repayment already, shouldn't it? Besides, with your spoiled young lady personality, without me, your daily routine and life would probably become a complete mess."

As Rin Tohsaka watched Yu Feng slowly approach her, panic appeared on her face, and she began backing away. "What are you trying to do? Th-this... I can still let you enter the world of Magecraft, and... and..."

"Me?"

"Y-Yes! That's right! Huh? What?" Just as Rin Tohsaka was trying to come up with an excuse, Yu Feng's voice suddenly rang out. She nodded in agreement on instinct, only realizing what he meant after quite a while.

Seeing Yu Feng getting closer and closer, Rin Tohsaka instinctively wanted to step back again, only to realize that she had somehow already backed herself into a corner. There was nowhere left to retreat.

Yu Feng looked at Rin Tohsaka's panicked face, then suddenly turned and sat back down on the sofa. "All right, I was just joking with you, my Lady Rin~."

Rin Tohsaka stared blankly at Yu Feng, who looked like his scheme had succeeded. Her cheeks swiftly flushed crimson as she snapped in embarrassment, "You! Bastard! Pervert! Idiot!"

But Yu Feng seemed to have expected that reaction. He said slowly, "The Holy Grail War is about to begin. The most urgent thing is to summon your Servant first, isn't it?"

"You really are... such an awful person! Hmph!" Still flushed, Rin Tohsaka glared at Yu Feng, gave an haughty snort, turned around, and quickly fled the scene.