Chapter 8. A Small Question, and the Beginning of the Abnormality
Stepping through the small path, right at the corner—specifically at the back of that Oasis Cafe—was a Japanese tea bar. Given that they had been walking for an hour, Shirou and Sakura discussed it and decided it was time to take a break.
"I'll have a tea, and she'll have an iced orange juice, please."
The young girl sipped the rare icy drink in front of him. In contrast, Shirou had not yet drunk his hot tea. He wasn't actually thirsty. Outside, the green scenery rustled with the wind, everything melting into the cool breeze.
After confirming no one was eavesdropping, Sakura, sitting across the table, suddenly spoke:
"I'm actually very happy, Senpai."
She said it quite naturally.
"Yeah, I'm glad too," Shirou replied.
But the girl shook her head silently.
"Senpai's understanding might be a bit off. I don't just mean I'm happy to be out... although that is certainly joyful."
She murmured words that seemed self-contradictory.
"You and I have been through so much. Whether fighting side-by-side or resting together, I won't forget a single inch of those memories. Being able to have these experiences, being able to form a bond with my Nee-san—it all started because of Senpai."
Sakura flashed a simple smile, sitting upright like a lady, her legs swaying gently. "Living like this now, I have no complaints. I have no intention of leaving Senpai."
"What are you saying..."
Shirou felt his cheeks grow slightly hot, but he pretended not to notice. After Sakura finished what she wanted to say, the air cooled down. However, the atmosphere didn't turn cold; meeting Shirou's gaze, she straightened her posture. The peaceful time stretched on. Finally, Shirou picked up his teacup and took a small sip of the now-cold tea.
"By the way, Senpai, I have a small question. I've heard many things from Nee-san recently."
The topic shifted. Sakura finished her orange juice, lightly raised her hand, and asked with ease. Her voice was perfectly natural and tranquil, bringing up a very important topic in the post-meal atmosphere.
"In that regard, have you taken a step further with Nee-san?"
A critical hit.
"Cough, cough-cough!"
The unexpected strike caused the mouthful of tea he had finally managed to swallow to be coughed right back out. Shirou desperately tilted his head back, only to see Sakura tilting hers. Wait, Sakura?
"Cough... not yet, currently..."
"So that means, is it possible in the future?"
The girl gently toyed with the straw in her empty cup, pressing the question without a hint of malice.
"...Probably."
She was someone he could not deceive. And he couldn't deceive himself either. Thus, Shirou only ever had one path: to say what he was thinking. He could not deny such a possibility.
"So that's how it is for Nee-san. Then, um, what about... for me?"
Sakura let go of the straw in the empty cup and raised her hand again. However, her flushed cheeks seemed to turn away in embarrassment. This caused the overwhelming pressure she had built up through her "black-hearted" feminine power to crumble at the last second.
Swallowing the tea that no longer had any flavor, Shirou braced himself, intending to speak. However, when Sakura saw his expression, she waved her hands frantically, preferring not to hear the answer she wanted rather than allow a fundamental misunderstanding:
"Senpai, I want to correct a mistake! No matter the outcome, I will accept it. I won't eat Senpai up. Please don't think that I am suffering."
Sakura looked up and said very seriously:
"To begin with, I should have died back then. It was my own weak willpower; I was seduced and committed many sins. I was the one who fell into madness on my own, who wanted to destroy precious things on my own, and even wanted to kill Senpai and Nee-san on my own."
Realizing her voice was too loud, Sakura hurriedly looked left and right, sighing in relief only when she saw no one was paying attention.
"It was Senpai and Nee-san who forcibly overcame all obstacles and brought 'the me who acted on her own' back. It was Senpai who kept me from being trapped by guilt, and Nee-san who let me feel the warmth of family.
Senpai said that I must not only atone but also be allowed to see a wider sky. That sentence has been completely fulfilled. Senpai hasn't broken his promise, just like always. So Senpai hasn't done anything wrong at all."
Sakura's chest remained high as she said:
"I won't make a mistake again, either."
There was no haze in her deep purple pupils; they were beautiful as jewels. However, there was certainly something other than haze in them. Even the dense Shirou roughly understood. While smiling bitterly with complex emotions, Shirou spoke with a touch of unnecessary worry:
"I understand. I won't think about similar things anymore. But, Sakura, the most important thing isn't 'not causing trouble for others.' I want you to—"
The trees outside the window swayed. The dialogue between customers and servers became incredibly slow. Suddenly, the words were forced to a halt. A drop of water from the straw dripped into the bottom of the cup.
Ssh.
On a side note: Medusa (Rider), who is currently on Shirou's side, has the Noble Phantasm [Blood Fort Andromeda]. It requires setting several magic circles in advance to act as starting points, eventually becoming a vicious Bounded Field that rapidly dissolves humans inside. The effect itself is first-class, but in terms of the setup being too easy to detect, it is at least not rated as first-class.
So, what does a "first-class" Bounded Field look like?
"Set to burn it."
An elderly male voice that was not present, yet definitely reached this place, enveloped the entire area.
" "!?" "
A violent storm of magical energy suddenly surged. The flow of mana was chaotic. Colors distorted; the originally vibrant interior furnishings were tainted by a dark, abnormal sheen. In the first instant the abnormality began, every staff member and customer—except for Shirou and Sakura—collapsed headfirst. The sound of heavy bodies hitting the floor rang out continuously.
"Another magus's Bounded Field... we've been trapped inside."
As if smeared with ash, the scenery outside the window was covered by a black substance, momentarily giving Shirou the illusion of being locked in another world. The decorative lights went out, plunging the room into the deep darkness of a sealed chamber.
However, when they entered the room, there hadn't been a single trace or omen of a Bounded Field—how did they achieve complete concealment? To make matters worse, even Sakura, who had once been a Lesser Grail, failed to sense it. This was no small problem.
"Senpai, about that topic just now..."
"Yeah, let's leave it at that."
Standing up from their chairs, the two leaned in close, side-by-side. Leaving behind her dream-like attitude, Sakura gave a playful, shallow smile for an instant, then her gaze turned serious. On her arms, the Imaginary Element ribbons gradually wove into phantasmagoric sleeves.
"Since we've been dragged in, let's face it head-on first."
"I completely agree with Senpai's view."
The aura of their respective magical energies leaped violently.
They had long since passed the stage of being unable to face their own problems honestly. Thirsting for a certain emotion to be clearly voiced, wanting to face head-on the feelings that had become part of daily life—these were minor interludes encountered while living, perhaps becoming worries of varying sizes.
But in the face of a big problem, all of those were trivialities not worth mentioning. Right now, the most important thing was...
Someone wants to hurt Sakura?
Someone wants to hurt Senpai?
Then, it's time to sound the horn of war!