Chapter 297: Sakura: What a shame, there's no drama to watch~
As a surface-level intellectual beauty, so long as she didn't make any blunders, even in the Type-Moon world where beautiful women were as common as air, Hinako was still in that top-tier echelon.
So the moment Cloris laid eyes on her, an intense sense of danger surged in her chest.
Black stockings, a full bust, shapely hips, glasses, literary-girl vibes— this woman was basically executing a triple forward spin, quadruple backward somersault, and a full ELECT dance routine right across her dear little Shinji's bottom line—finishing it all off with a 24-karat pure gold wink just for him.
The only things missing were silver hair and a shrine maiden outfit, and she would've been the perfect embodiment of Shinji's boundless aesthetic preferences.
"You—who exactly are you? Where did you come from? What's your relationship with Shinji?"
Cloris's eyes blazed with hostility at Hinako, looking for all the world like a Knight King guarding her feast.
Hinako, baffled as to why this woman was angry at her, simply lifted her head with a puzzled look toward Sakura.
"…And this is?"
"Mm…"
Sakura hesitated for a moment. Between watching her brother perform monkey tricks, witnessing a good old-fashioned love-rival showdown, and enjoying a happy-family tableau… she chose the last one.
It wasn't that she didn't want to see the fireworks—ever since Shinji pulled one over on Rider-nee, she'd been looking for a way to get back at him.
The problem was, with her brother currently out of Fuyuki, there was no way to enjoy the chaos live.
And if she stirred the pot now just to let him swoop in and reap the rewards later, it might be going too far—it could damage the genuine relationship between Cloris and Shinji. That thought kept her from acting rashly.
'…Tch, don't tell me Onii-sama planned this. Of all times, he had to be in Europe right when Cloris came…'
Though grumbling inwardly, Sakura kept her smile perfectly composed.
"Cloris-nee, this is a thaumaturgical consultant my brother specially invited from China. She's a real master. Hinako Akuta-san, this is Cloris-nee—my brother's business partner and, well… rumored love interest."
Sakura first introduced Hinako to Cloris, then Cloris to Hinako.
"Oh~ so she's Shinji Matou's…"
Hinako raised an eyebrow, but didn't seem to care much.
With Sakura's explanation, Hinako now understood why Cloris had been angry at her.
And then… that was that.
Getting worked up over a little girl whose age didn't even amount to a fraction of her wasn't worth it—it would only diminish the dignity of her being the genuine Yu Mei-ren.
"…This woman…"
Cloris rubbed her temple in mild irritation at Hinako's complete indifference.
Sakura's introduction told her this Hinako Akuta had no real relationship with Shinji—or at least, not yet.
But being dismissed so casually ruffled the feathers of her proud heart.
'So what if you're some 'famed Chinese thaumaturgical consultant'? The Flora family is a powerhouse in America too, you know?'
"Sakura, is she really that good?"
Leaning toward Sakura, Cloris whispered, "Never heard of any great mystic families from China with the surname 'Akuta'."
"I haven't either," Sakura replied with a small shake of her head.
Shinji had never told anyone Hinako's true identity as Consort Yu—not even his secretary Ophelia knew her real name, only that 'Hinako Akuta' was her stage name.
"But this onee-san is really amazing," Sakura praised with genuine admiration. "Thanks to her, the Servants can finally leave Fuyuki City."
"Eh? Seriously?"
Now Cloris was truly taken aback. She'd never imagined some random thaumaturgical consultant could pull off something that incredible.
"Though, the concept itself was Onii-sama's idea. Akuta-san merely made it a reality."
"Hmph I knew it. The greatest magus will always be my little Shinji …Though I'll admit, this woman's not bad either."
Cloris cast Hinako a sidelong glance, her tone equal parts smug and begrudging praise.
"By the way, is it some kind of company tradition now? Hiring a new employee and immediately throwing a welcome viewing party?"
Cloris's eyes swept the room, taking in the Servants holding bottles of soda and specialty snacks from Tongliao, laughing and chatting amongst themselves, and couldn't help but make the comment.
From the secretary Ophelia, to Ryougi Shiki, to Jeanne, and even little Akiha—come to think of it, every time a new member joined, Type-Moon always just so happened to hold a "viewing party."
"That's just coincidence~" Sakura said with a smile, tearing open a bag of potato chips. "This party is about the glorious victory of the weekly and monthly anime schedule!"
Hinako Akuta, however, snapped her book shut with a cool look.
"Can I just leave? There's nothing in here that catches my interest. I'm simply not interested in this so-called 'viewing party.'"
"You can't be antisocial, Akuta-san," Arturia chided between crunchy bites of chips. "This is an official group activity. And since there are no restrictions, you can relax completely—it's the best chance for a newcomer to blend in with the team!"
"…I'm pretty sure this is just for you to feast on the snacks."
"I'm saying—"
Before Arturia could finish, the TV speakers blared the opening theme of Magical Illya, effectively cutting her off.
"Yo yo~ here it comes! Father's supreme performance!"
"Ah~ O Great King! Once more, grace the screen with your shadow!"
"Hear now! This is the king's divine broadcast!"
"O King! O King!"
…
What in the world are these idiots shouting about?
Hearing the loud racket from the Round Table Trio (+1), Hinako frowned slightly.
She was never fond of noisy scenes.
She didn't particularly know the plot of Magical Illya, nor did she have any desire to watch it.
Frankly speaking, if Shinji hadn't ordered her to attend this viewing party to "familiarize herself with the current Type-Moon works," she'd much rather be reading under the moonlight than watching a movie with this pack of loudmouths.
Still, even without seeing the earlier episodes, the "previously on" segment before this one officially began was enough for her to get the gist.
An "ordinary" elementary school girl named Illya, due to some accident, became a magical girl, and together with her companions set out on a journey to collect Class Cards.
In the last episode, after finally defeating and sealing the Caster card, Illya's group was ambushed by Saber, resulting in a major crisis.
And this episode began exactly from that point.
"Ugh… it hurts… my arm's bleeding…"
Illya collapsed on the ground, clutching her arm, her face contorted in pain.
With the aid of her magical wand, Magical Girl Illya could normally shrug off most attacks—such a visible wound was the first she'd suffered since taking the field.
After all, unlike her counterpart in Fate/Stay Night who endured hellish training that warped both her humanity and morals, the Illya of this world was a genuine elementary schooler—at least on the surface.
So, the instant she saw her own blood, panic was inevitable.
Even when the wand tried to soothe her—"It's fine, just a scratch. You'll recover in no time—"—for someone at an age where a paper cut was already a major injury, the gash on her arm was far beyond what she could handle.
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