With Kotomine Kirei's regretful expression, he put the glass down without changing his expression and then said, "Let me eat another bowl!"
Nero had already eaten five bowls; he couldn't fall behind.
["Amazing!"]
The host said in a fanatical tone, ["When Nero the Great Demon King took the lead with five bowls of Mapo Tofu, Emiya Shirou once again stood up for Artoria."]
["To sacrifice himself even after reaching his limit, unwilling to let the other be harmed, truly… so moving."]
Mengbao-chan wiped her tears.
Shirou: "..."
'Host, if you say another word I really will assassinate you.'
Taking off his jacket, Shirou made up his mind.
'System, end the match for me.'
He had basically figured it out. If that host kept talking, even if he didn't get burned to death by the Mapo Tofu he'd get stabbed. If that's the case, he might as well flip the table.
So.
The fifth bowl begins…
"Go for it, Mash!", Fujimaru Ritsuka saw the dawn of victory.
Mash was all in too.
"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH…"
She had never eaten something this spicy; the first bite nearly made her faint.
To live up to Nero's expectations, she forced herself not to collapse.
At least three bowls had to be eaten.
'Three bowls…'
'Can't stop, it's fine, quick…'
Unconsciously, the first bowl was finished.
Second bowl…
Third bowl finished.
Mash's face lit up with joy.
"I did it, I didn't let Nero-sama down!"
"Um, you can stop now, Mash."
A staff member's gaze was pitying.
"Did we win?"
Mash, surprised and surrounded by joy, wanted to cry, "Wah wah wah… Nero-sama, we won, your efforts weren't in vain."
Then the staff cruelly said, "No, because Emiya Shirou ate twenty bowls and hasn't hit his limit. The organizers deem it impossible for anyone to be stronger than him, so they decided to end early."
At those words, Mash felt the sky collapse.
She moved her mouth, tearless and crying out, "Emiya, are you even human?"
———
"Hiss… hiss…"
"The… last bite!", Merlin extremely painfully put the last spoonful of Mapo Tofu into his mouth.
A staff member immediately came up and said, "Thank you for your effort, Mary."
The voice was very gentle.
"Did we win?", Merlin forced a smile.
One bowl of Mapo Tofu was already the result of his utmost effort.
'It shouldn't be possible…'
"Mm."
The staff said cutely, "Couple #12 won. Emiya Shirou is amazing, he ate twenty bowls at once and ended the match."
"Ah?", The smile on Merlin's face gradually vanished.
It appeared on Makoto's face.
Same as always, the smile didn't disappear; it just transferred.
Moreover, Monday's school news now had a headline.
Name: News Club Head Merlin cross-dresses to secretly photograph high jump boy, moral decay or a distortion of human nature.
———
[May 1st, 6:30 A.M.]
Golden Week had just begun.
After training, physical exam, training, exam, training, exam, training, Shirou finally that day, completed his little goals.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Name: Emiya Shirou]
[Age: Adult]
[Strength: B]
[Endurance: B]
[Agility: B]
[Magic: C]
[Charisma: EX]
[Skills: Housekeeping: EX, Writing: D, High Jump: ? Sleeping: C, Swordsmanship: A, Archery: A+, Hand-to-Hand Combat: D, Hawk-Eye: C]
[Magic: Projection Magic: E→A++, Reinforcement Magic: C, Alchemy: D, Unlimited Blade Works: EX]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
No longer the weakling with D in strength and speed he once was.
Although still far from double-A strength and speed, and nowhere near bending rebar barehanded or kicking down utility poles.
But life finally had hope.
After several rebirth-like days, he wasn't arrogant or complacent, still keeping the habit of two hours sleep, waking at four, eating more and training more every day.
The sun rose; mountains hazy with mist; nearby plants hung with crystal-clear dewdrops.
Returning from his run, Shirou didn't go to Tiger Dojo but to the warehouse.
He had promised Alaya the pigeons were too many the past few days.
Also, getting it solved early meant he could enjoy Golden Week peacefully.
Just arriving at the warehouse, he found a magic circle glowing on the floor.
He sensed magical power continuously flowing in.
Shirou was surprised, "So eager?"
He had only just notified Alaya and she'd already prepared.
She looked as if she were afraid he'd run off.
No familiar voice answered in his head.
Shirou didn't mind and first looked around the empty warehouse.
Nothing worth noting.
Because the swords made by practicing projection magic are stored in Unlimited Blade Works due to the origin boundary, this warehouse was basically semi-abandoned.
After observing for a bit and seeing the magic circle's mana accumulation almost ready, Shirou closed and locked the door. Then stepped into the center of the magic circle himself.
If he didn't close it, he worried Sella would wake up in the morning, find him asleep on the floor and take him straight to the hospital.
He didn't want Illyasviel and Miyu to worry.
As the magic circle glowed brighter and brighter, Shirou remembered to ask, "By the way, I should be summoned there as a Servant, right?"
Most of the times helping Alaya set up a summoning is done that way.
But Shirou was still alive; Illya that time was a pure accident.
If his whole person was summoned, all the training these days would not only be wasted but completely pointless.
Facing a Servant, without adjusting mystery, human panels C and B look no different in their eyes.
They would run equally fast.
"..."
No answer still.
"Hm?"
Shirou slightly felt something was wrong.
He found the mana driven by the magic circle begin to sway, forming a whirlpool-like strong suction, trying to pull him over.
He had felt this before.
A few days ago when dealing with the Singularity F, the System did a reverse summon on him and it felt like this.
So Shirou realized he was about to be summoned.
Just as he stepped forward, an intense, dazzling light covered the warehouse.
The boy's figure disappeared.
Only a voice left behind, "The magic circle is poisonous to me!"
———
A few minutes later, Alaya, ready, came to call Shirou.
She found the other had already gone to another world.
"?"
Her brain didn't compute for a long time before she finally understood.
'Someone stole my limited-edition figure!'
'And used my prepared summoning circle!'
'Isn't that the same as using my money to buy the cherished figure?'
Alaya was stunned.
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