Mm, today is another day full of hope.
Although starting from last night, the city once again seemed to be shrouded in the so-called sixty-year cyclical curse spoken of by the older generation of Fuyuki residents. News reports about gas explosions, urban homicide cases, and mass fainting incidents had visibly increased.
Of course, that was all.
No matter how heart-stopping last night's mysteries had been, when morning came, the city was still bustling with traffic.
Under the bright morning sunlight, the city that had fallen silent for a night restarted from its temporary standstill as usual. Like every other day, everything awakened from quietude.
The streets quickly filled with crowds and noisy chatter. The previous desolation vanished, and one shop after another opened for business as normal.
"Good morning, viewers. Welcome to today's morning news. Compared to the past few days, temperatures in our city will continue to drop over the next week. Citizens are advised to add clothing and keep warm." (PS: The approximate time of Fuyuki City's Fifth Holy Grail War is around January.)
"Yesterday, an underground gas pipeline explosion occurred at Fuyuki Central Park near Shinto Station. Fortunately, there were no casualties..."
"Regarding the recent malicious home invasion murders and missing persons cases within our city, Mayor Himuro Michiyuki stated that the nature of these incidents is extremely vile and the impact severe. They will be thoroughly investigated without leniency, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice."
"A spokesperson for the Fuyuki Police Department also issued a statement announcing a week-long 'intensive crackdown' operation. Citizens are advised not to panic. Please avoid going out after midnight if possible. If necessary, do not travel alone and avoid staying for extended periods in areas not covered by surveillance."
Amid the repeated broadcasts of Fuyuki's morning news, office workers in suits still hurried along with tense expressions, briefcases tucked under their arms. Racing against time, they held simple breakfasts in their hands while exchanging brief comments about the news between bites.
The sun rose as usual. The Earth had not been destroyed. Aliens had not invaded. The government was still operating. The corporate drones of Fuyuki still had to go to work as normal. There was no need to take those urban legends seriously. At most, they were lunchtime entertainment.
"Hey, did you see the morning news? The underground gas pipeline at Fuyuki Central Park near Shinto Station seems to have exploded..."
"Exploded? Any casualties?"
"Not sure. The Central Park area near Shinto Station has already been sealed off. The authorities haven't released exact details yet. But the municipal engineering team has gone over. According to on-site surveys, it seems the pipeline had aged, and due to various messy factors, leaked gas was ignited by an open flame."
"That's really unlucky."
"Yeah. I also heard the church cemetery was robbed by some cult group. The scene was apparently horrific."
"Ugh... disgusting. Damaging the resting place of the dead—don't tell me those cultists are trying to perform some curse ritual."
"Tch, wishful thinking. Hopefully the police catch those lunatic cultists soon."
"What's the point of catching them? Do you think murderers will actually be executed?"
"Who knows. The Minister of Justice is a coward—too afraid to sign off on executions because of pressure from the abolitionists."
"Sigh, rumors are flying everywhere. Who knows what's true or false? There are even stories about people vanishing in alleyways and handsome men and beautiful women appearing out of thin air..."
Beep!
As they spoke, the brief waiting time for the train quickly ended. Without another word, the office workers stopped their idle chatter and immediately plunged into yet another busy day.
In contrast to the overworked corporate drones were the students enjoying their youthful years. With freshly received pocket money in hand, they headed toward their respective destinations in twos and threes, stopping by shop after shop along the way—shouting, joking, laughing.
Meanwhile, at Homurahara Academy.
It was the weekend. Dressed in his usual black casual attire, Shirou Emiya walked along the pathway leading from the campus entrance to the school building, a bag slung over his shoulder as always.
The classmates passing by greeted him from time to time—just as familiar as ever. And yet, Shirou Emiya felt a vague sense of déjà vu, as though he could never truly return to how things had been before...
It was not some sense of superiority from stepping into magecraft. Rather, it was worry. The miracle of surviving death and coming back to life. Rin Tohsaka and Kirei Kotomine's warning last night. The battles between Servants that felt as though the Age of Gods had returned...
Especially the great fire caused by the Holy Grail War ten years ago. Every time he thought about it...
The burning sensation on his body. His family devoured by flames. The despair of being unable to save anyone. The cries for help. The mental shock brought by charred corpses twisted and deformed by fire. In this moment, it felt as though those scenes had crossed the boundaries of time and space, appearing right before him and suffocating him.
And even more terrifying than that hellish landscape was the indescribable "black sun."
Holy Grail... I will definitely stop it.
Silently clenching his fists, Shirou Emiya made up his mind about what he would do later. He would go ask Rin...
Lost in thought, Shirou Emiya reached the entrance of the school building. His body moved by muscle memory toward the shoe lockers, preparing to change into indoor shoes, when suddenly—
"Yo, isn't this Emiya... huh?!"
Bang!
It seemed he had bumped into someone.
"Hiss—"
Shirou Emiya snapped back to reality and took a step back, looking toward the voice. "Ah, sorry, sorry. I was distracted and didn't notice... Huh?! Shinji..."
"..." Shirou Emiya looked at the blue-haired heir of the Matou family, Sakura Matou's older brother, and for a moment didn't know what to say.
"Hiss... you barbarian, you ran into me!" The rather handsome young man with a flippant demeanor rubbed his shoulder while hissing in pain.
"Shinji, don't twist the truth and play the victim. You were the one who ran into Emiya. Tsk tsk—too weak to pull it off, huh? Tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice instead."
A bold female voice filled with clear provocation sounded from behind Shirou Emiya and Shinji Matou.
"Tch, Mitsuzuri Ayako." Looking annoyed, Shinji used Shirou Emiya's arm for support to stand up, then immediately brushed his hand away and made a nasty expression. "Such a meddlesome woman."
"Hah? What do you mean meddlesome?"
The newcomer was a beautiful young woman with brown eyes and matching brown hair. Her shoulder-length, neat short cut gave her a spirited and capable look. Crossing her arms, Mitsuzuri Ayako snorted. "Isn't it normal for a club captain to look after a former member?"
"Besides, Shinji, I saw it clearly. You were the one who deliberately bumped into him."
The other students who had come to school for weekend club activities couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Indeed, Shinji Matou's academic performance at school was not bad—ranking within the top five in the entire school—and he was the eldest son of a wealthy local family. He had money and a decent appearance, making him fairly popular among ordinary girls.
But that depended on who he was being compared to.
That was Shirou Emiya, after all—the school's famous good guy. He owned a large inherited traditional house. Not exactly rich, but certainly not lacking money either. On top of that, he maintained good relations with the Fujimura Group, the local power in Fuyuki.
At school, there was probably no one who truly disliked him. The people around him all thought highly of him and genuinely liked him.
As a friend and as a classmate, Shirou Emiya was unquestionably an ideal person to have around. Even if someone approached him with ulterior motives, once they became familiar with him, if they ever needed help, he would not only cook for them or help clean their house...
He would even draw a blade for them and fight on their behalf if trouble came.
If something happened, he really would step up. He genuinely thought for others. A trustworthy guy.
The only problem was that once you became Shirou Emiya's friend, you might forever worry that one day he would die trying to save someone else.
If such an opportunity were placed before most people—to become friends with Shirou Emiya—I doubt many would refuse.
Perhaps because of his own mindset, Shirou Emiya mistakenly believed he had absentmindedly bumped into Shinji Matou.
But from an outsider's perspective, it was Shinji Matou who had deliberately slammed his shoulder into Shirou Emiya.
There had even been an obvious wind-up motion.
Unfortunately for Shinji, compared to the well-trained Shirou Emiya, his own physical condition was simply too weak.
Although he possessed talent in kyūdō, he was lazy by nature. He frequently skipped practice, preferring instead to fool around with girls, hanging around entertainment venues with them, indulging in pleasure and decadence, even participating in group activities.
After all that indulgence, his body was hollowed out beneath the surface, looking utterly drained.
"Heh, so what if I did? Emiya already quit the club anyway. I heard he's been busy sucking up to the student council president lately. Mitsuzuri, you should just give up, no—"
Shinji Matou's mocking words had barely reached halfway before Shirou Emiya interrupted him with a smile.
"Ah... haha~ Mitsuzuri, don't mind him. Isn't this just how Shinji always is? Anyway, if there's anything you need help with, just let me know. I still have something to do, so I'll be going first."
"Mm... tch..."
Hearing that, Shinji Matou glared resentfully at Shirou Emiya as he changed into his indoor shoes. The malice in his eyes deepened further...
This guy... always like this again. Doesn't he know how to refuse people? Doesn't he ever get angry? No matter what dirty or exhausting work people throw at him, he never resists. Like some dog trying to please everyone... how irritating.
But what if it were something you truly cared about...? I'd really like to see you lose your temper and scream in frustration.
As though thinking of something amusing, the corners of Shinji Matou's lips suddenly curled into a reckless grin. Just as he was about to speak—
"Yo, Emiya, Mitsuzuri... Matou? Good morning."
Turning toward the voice, they saw a student entering the school building. He wore the academy's standard uniform, had short purple hair, and round glasses. At a glance, he looked refined and scholarly.
The student council president—Issei Ryuudou.
"Hey, hey, student council president, what's with that pause and questioning tone when you addressed me?" Shinji Matou complained with a displeased look.
"Ah, sorry. I was just a little surprised. Usually at this time, Matou, aren't you outside with female classmates... ahem."
"You bastard..."
"Morning, Issei." Shirou Emiya waved familiarly before stepping forward and asking, "Didn't you say you had to help out at Ryuudou Temple over the weekend? Why do you have time to come to school?"
Issei Ryuudou was the second son of the Ryuudou family, whose members had served as the head priests of Ryuudou Temple for generations.
As Issei Ryuudou's close friend, Shirou Emiya naturally knew that Issei, now a second-year high school student, was already destined to inherit Ryuudou Temple after graduation and train to become a monk.
"Of course it's for something important. Kuzuki-sensei, who's been staying at our temple, got into a car accident. I came to inform the administration office. Kuzuki-sensei's younger brother will be substituting for classes temporarily."
"Ah? Kuzuki-sensei got into a car accident? Is he okay?"
"He's out of danger now." Issei Ryuudou revealed a saddened expression on behalf of Kuzuki-sensei before pointing behind him. "There, this is the new teacher who'll be substituting for us for the time being."
The next moment, accompanied by heavy footsteps, a tall figure entered Shirou Emiya and the others' field of vision.
"This is a teacher?! Kuzuki Souichirou-sensei's younger brother?"
The first thing they noticed was the towering physique blocking out the sunlight.
To be honest, the newcomer did look properly masculine and upright. Black-framed glasses. White shirt. Plain tie. Formal suit. At first glance, he really did look the part.
But his nearly two-meter-tall, massive physique already made him stand out like a crane among chickens in Japan. Then there were the explosive muscles barely concealed beneath the suit, along with the ferocious aura that seemed capable of devouring people whole...
Good grief, are you here to teach or beat people up? Some kind of football coach?
"Uh, Issei... who are these people behind you?"
"Hello. My name is Kuzuki... Soujirou. Please take care of me from now on."
Thus spoke the Imperial Auxilia officer summoned by Durandal.
Meanwhile, Issei Ryuudou looked completely unsurprised. Clearly, he had already been hypnotized and had his memories altered.
At this moment, sweating coldly, Shirou Emiya also noticed two women outside the school building who looked entirely out of place within Homurahara Academy.
There was no helping it. They were far too eye-catching.
The gray-gold-haired, red-eyed beauty dressed in a maid outfit alone was already absurd enough. Her exquisitely sculpted face and perfectly proportioned figure became even more alluring under the cinched waist of the maid uniform.
As for the woman being closely guarded by the maid, she was even more outrageous. That presence...
In an instant, Shirou Emiya arrived at a guess.
Participants in the Holy Grail War?
"Mr. Issei Ryuudou, does Homurahara Academy have a boxing club?"
Durandal, now dressed in black casual clothing with her long ponytail tied behind her, stepped out from behind the officer using an alias and asked curiously.
While investigating Ryuudou Temple, Durandal had discovered the family of the head priest who had been controlled after Caster Medea occupied the temple.
She had not harmed them. Durandal merely had Medea continue blocking the Ryuudou family's perception while forging fake identities for them.
Their fabricated setting was that they belonged to the Ataegina family, a distinguished noble house from Central Europe that had long served the Kuzuki family. They had come to Fuyuki to bring Kuzuki Souichirou back.
"Uh... Miss Ataegina, I'm sorry, but Homurahara Academy currently doesn't have a boxing club. However, we do have karate, kendo, and mixed martial arts clubs... if you require—"
"No need. Mr. Issei Ryuudou should focus on handling important matters first," Durandal said warmly, while simultaneously shifting her gaze toward Shirou Emiya standing by the shoe lockers.
'Hello, magus.'
Shirou Emiya read the seductive lip movements of the maid instantly, and his expression changed drastically.
Not good. I need to inform Saber and Rin immediately. They're participants in the Holy Grail War!