Chapter 206: Mashiro Visits Her Master
The young people left the shopping mall and headed on the road back home.
Just then, a phone rang. Mashiro looked down at her pocket, pulled out her phone, and stared at the caller ID before a look of interest appeared in her otherwise placid eyes. She pressed "answer."
An adult female voice came from the other end, saying something that made the girl perk up.
"Hello, this is the editor from Houbunsha's manga department. May I please speak to Miss Mashiro Shiina?"
"Yes, I'm Mashiro. Hello."
"If you have time this afternoon, could you come in for a meeting...?"
"Okay..."
"..."
"I understand. Goodbye."
"Shirou, I want to go see Master Eriri to discuss the manga," Mashiro said to the boy after hanging up the phone.
"Right now?" Shirou asked, looking at the large and small bags he was carrying.
"I have a meeting with the manga editor this afternoon," Mashiro said, nodding, her eyes gleaming with expectation and fighting spirit. This was her first stop in the birthplace of manga, Japan, and she needed guidance from an experienced person.
"Alright then. But we need to go home first to drop off the stuff, and then I'll take you there," Shirou quickly agreed after a moment of thought. It was still early enough; even if they went home first, they would have enough time.
"Okay, Artoria, Komachi, let's hurry up. But lunch will have to be simple today."
The girls looked over nervously at the mention of lunch.
"No need to go through the trouble! Just leave these things to us," Komachi said, raising her hand.
"That's right! I can carry these things back. Shirou, you just take Mashiro over now, that's fine!" Artoria also agreed.
"Is that so? Then I'll leave it to you two. I feel relieved with Artoria around." Shirou handed the two large bags to the blonde girl.
"Mhm, Shirou, I'll wait for you to come home, so remember to come back and make dinner," Artoria said seriously as she accepted the bags.
"Oh, leave it to Komachi," Komachi said with a smile, flashing her little canine teeth. She hadn't eaten a proper home-cooked meal from her brother in three weeks, and this was the most important lunch of the day—she wouldn't miss it!
So, Komachi and Artoria were responsible for taking the items back home, while Shirou took Mashiro directly to the Sawamura family villa.
As soon as he pressed the doorbell, the person inside saw Shirou's face through the electric viewer and immediately opened the door.
A young woman with black hair styled in twin tails and wearing an expensive kimono stepped out of the doorway, greeting him with a delighted smile.
"Oh my, Shirou. You finally came to see me after you got home." The woman, who looked about eighty to ninety percent similar to Eriri, except for her eye color, spoke.
"Good morning, Sayuri-san. A small gift, please accept it as a token of my respect," Shirou said, handing over a box of FGO series steamed buns he bought on the way.
These were the best-selling products from the Type-Moon company, made to look like the chibi heads of popular FGO characters. They were essential goodies for home snacking and for gifts when going out.
There was Ushiwarakamaru's head with white skin and red bean paste filling, the Rider's head with purple taro flavoring and Nero's head with lotus seed paste. Of course, the best-selling was the seven-colored Saber head set with various fillings.
"Oh my, Shirou, that's so thoughtful of you," Sayuri, dressed in a delicate kimono, tucked in her sleeve and extended her fair hand to accept the steamed buns, smiling. A polite and respectful child is welcome everywhere, and Shirou was also good-looking. Sayuri couldn't be happier.
Mashiro stood quietly on the side, watching the woman who came out of the villa greet Shirou and chat with him very familiarly.
"Come in quickly. And who is this child?" Sayuri noticed the quiet girl behind him.
"This is Mashiro. She is a friend Eriri met in Britain." Shirou moved aside, extending a hand to Mashiro and gesturing toward her as he introduced her.
"Hello, I am Mashiro Shiina, a disciple of Master Eriri," Mashiro bowed respectfully.
"Oh my, a disciple? Mashiro-chan, right? Please come in first," Sayuri said, examining the girl with a little surprise.
"I told you! Don't call me Master outside!!" At that moment, a furious roar came from the intercom. The twin-tailed blonde girl had been eavesdropping inside.
"Master Eriri? Good morning." Mashiro paused, then bowed to the camera on the intercom.
"Just... just hurry up and come in... don't say anything..." Eriri shouted, mortified and helpless.
"Alright, alright, come in," Sayuri said with a smile, leading Mashiro inside.
Eriri swung her twin tails, rushed forward, grabbed Mashiro's hand, and led her inside. She turned back to Shirou, grimacing. She had to conduct a common-sense re-education for her disciple and had no time to deal with the boy.
Eriri raised a finger and looked at the girl. "Listen up, Mashiro, absolutely never mention that I am your Master outside, especially about me being Kashiwagi Eri!"
"Hmm?" Mashiro tilted her head, confused. "Isn't Master the Master?"
"No! The problem is that no one should know about those drawings without clothes, right?!" Eriri said, blushing.
"Hmm?" Mashiro still didn't understand. She had been taught by her teacher since childhood that to master the fundamentals, one must observe and practice more. If you didn't observe and practice drawing the human body, you couldn't draw characters well.
"Waaahhh! Why don't you get it?! Translator! I need a translator proficient in Mashiro-speak!" Eriri shouted, clutching her head in frustration.
At this moment, Sayuri smiled affectionately and beckoned Shirou to come closer. Mrs. Sayuri took hold of Shirou's sleeve with one hand and covered her mouth with the other, giggling.
"That's right, Shirou, listen, listen. My Eriri, after coming back from that trip to Britain, is actually helping to clean the house! Not just her room, but the living room and the toilet too~!"
"That's real growth. Boarding life really does train a person," Shirou said, smiling with relief.
So the two began to exchange effective methods for managing rowdy children.
"I've realized that you definitely need to use a mix of carrots and sticks, but you can't let her feel lonely or wronged. Because if she becomes too isolated due to loneliness, or loses trust in others because she feels wronged, it will be even worse. So, when punishing, there must be a justifiable reason, and the task given should be something others have done," Sayuri summarized.
"I see, that's precisely correct. That's an impressive summary, Sayuri-san," Shirou said in surprise. He hadn't realized there was such wisdom in it.
"And also, I found that the maid leader in Bristol, Britain, is truly no ordinary person. She managed to tame my child completely. She must be a master of leadership and a genius at commanding people to work," Sayuri wanted to clap for the woman.
"Mhm, that's not wrong to say. She is indeed a very impressive person," Shirou said, a memory flashing in his mind of Artoria waving her hand and shouting to her subordinates: "Go quickly! Buy fried chicken ten kilometers to the right! Then go buy hamburgers from the shop ten kilometers to the left!"
"Mom! Don't tell Shirou everything! I... I just got used to it! Cleaning! For more than ten days, it was like this every day. If I don't labor with a mop after waking up, I feel restless all over.
I feel like if there's any unclean spot in the house, it's an unforgivable sin. Me, leaving dirt in the house, I'm like the dregs of society, like a cockroach in the corner.
No, at least cockroaches help humanity by eating all sorts of discarded trash and cleaning the Earth. If I don't mop and clean the toilet, I'm worse than a cockroach..."
Eriri's voice grew quieter and quieter until she was enveloped in a black cloud of dejection.
"I really want to meet that maid leader," Sayuri said, clasping her hands with admiration.
"Eek!!! Maid leader! Maid leader!" Eriri's black cloud of despair vanished as she spun around in terror, an image of the blonde girl with the crown-like white hairband flashing in her mind, letting out a shriek.
"You're exaggerating. Relax, Artoria didn't come," Shirou said to her with amusement.
"Master Eriri?" Mashiro poked her head out, looking curiously at Eriri, who had startled and collapsed onto the sofa.
"Fine. So, what did you come to see me about?" Eriri asked.
"Yes, Master Eriri. I'm meeting a manga editor this afternoon. What should I do?"
"I see. I understand. Mashiro, come to my room with me. Let's talk about the important things," Eriri said seriously to the girl.
"It looks like they'll be busy for a while. This child is boarding at the Hikigaya house, right? I'll send a car to take her back later. Shirou, if you have something to do, you can go home first. After all, you just returned from abroad," Sayuri said.
"Alright then. Thank you for taking care of Mashiro, Sayuri-san." Shirou didn't want to bother them, so he said goodbye to Mrs. Sayuri and left the Sawamura home.
"Mhm, don't worry," Sayuri stood at the door, waving as she watched the boy leave. "Remember to visit often, Shirou. Even if it's not to see Eriri, you're more than welcome to come see me."
.
.
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Meanwhile, a batch of cargo sent from France had arrived on the land of Tokyo via a transport plane.
The huge transport plane was parked on the open ground. Its hatch was open, revealing wooden crates sealed with planks and steel containers lined up inside. Long ramps had been set up, connecting directly to the platform of the cargo truck below.
A red truck cab, three meters high, was dragging a flatbed trailer over ten meters long, next to which a crane with a hook was already prepared.
Since this was a cooperative product, it had already passed inspection and clearance in France, so these items didn't need further procedures and were loaded directly onto the truck for transport.
The truck driver, wearing a gray cap and gray work uniform, completed the handover, took the signed documents, climbed into the truck, and skillfully drove the large truck toward the delivery location.
Inside one of the black-painted containers, a silver-haired girl was sleeping on a pile of soft foam. The occasional shaking and vibration of the truck's body failed to wake her.
Time passed slowly. The truck was driven and stopped at a rest stop.
The cargo that should have been delivered directly to Chiba was now at a transit rest stop. When the driver, wearing a cap, emerged from the restroom, his clothes hadn't changed, but his appearance was completely different.
A moment later, the previous driver, wearing a different set of clothes, took out a key, pressed it, opened the door of a small car in the parking lot, and drove away unhurriedly.
The truck, now with a different driver, changed direction again and began driving toward a more remote area.
"Wait! This isn't what we agreed upon! I only slept for a bit, and it's almost noon now? Hey, Da Vinci! Are you there?" Jeanne contacted Chaldea on her phone.
But there was no reply.
Jeanne looked at the GPS location on her phone and found that she was moving in the opposite direction from Chiba.
"What on earth is going on?!" Jeanne furiously punched the container wall.
Afterward, the truck continued to drive with the cargo on board. It eventually reached the foot of a mountain, driving along an old, dilapidated road, through a dark tunnel, and arriving at a wide, desolate private property. A factory was actually operating there, and the truck drove into a heavily fortified warehouse.
Inside, there was a group of middle-aged and young men, all looking fierce and violent.
"Have you secured the goods?" asked a middle-aged man in a police officer's uniform with a 'sanpaku' gaze.
"Yes, Boss. The handover with the people over there is complete," the driver said, taking off his cap.
They were a Yakuza group working with the company in France, but they were not the previous faction. The middle-aged man's faction had significantly increased its power over the past few months, and he had made a claim to be the new leader the night before last.
The old guard of the opposing faction, the elders of the gang, had died in succession. The middle-aged man, with the approval of the remaining elders, successfully forced the former boss to step down last night and took his place.
Even this cargo was transferred to him, and the French side, having not been contacted, had no way of knowing about these developments. The people who were supposed to meet Jeanne were from the previous boss's faction and had since been eliminated, so they naturally couldn't pick up Jeanne.
At that moment, the middle-aged man with the sanpaku eyes seemed to sense something. He raised a hand to signal for silence and walked toward one of the containers.
His subordinates sensed their boss's unusual behavior and followed him.
He unlocked the container door and opened it, only to find a large hole had been torn through the inside. A large, fierce beast seemed to have already left the area.
"A dinosaur?" one of the men asked, having recently watched a movie of that nature, looking surprised at the hole.
"Just as I thought..." the man in the police uniform muttered, looking at the torn hole.
"Boss? Did someone steal our goods? I'll track them immediately," a subordinate asked.
"No need. This matter ends here. The goods shouldn't be missing. Check and see," the middle-aged man said.
He calmly lit his cigar, put it in his mouth, and exhaled white smoke that obscured his face. Only his vicious sanpaku eyes flashed menacingly, like a shark that had scented blood.
Meanwhile, a silver figure was darting through the dense forest.
"Where on earth am I?!!" Jeanne looked around frantically. After realizing the direction was wrong, she tried to open the door to leave, but it was blocked by a crate on the other side.
An angry Jeanne finally couldn't hold back, summoned her flag, blasted open the container, and jumped out into the mountain forest.
She didn't expect the area to be so remote that there was no cell phone signal. In the dense woods, the girl completely lost her sense of direction and had unknowingly wandered farther and farther off course.
Jeanne looked around the forest, which seemed somewhat gloomy because the sunlight was blocked by the leaves. She continued running forward, feeling like she had entered some kind of maze. This was the fourth time she had passed the large tree she had marked with her sword. She kept going in circles, unable to find a way out.
A few kilometers away from the girl, there was a sign marking the place, which read: "Aokigahara Jukai - Enter at Your Own Risk." (Aokigahara Jukai= the famous suicide's forest)
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