Chapter 207: The Returning Exchange Student
A series of loud crashes echoed through the forest. With the sounds, large trees, nearly fifty years old, collapsed, falling down on both sides, crushing smaller trees and flower bushes in the vicinity.
A silver figure, wielding a sword, charged forward continuously. Because she kept going in circles, Jeanne had cut down the tree she used as a marker, and then proceeded to cut a straight line through the forest. A small path of broken wood was formed, looking as if some giant had violently crashed through, snapping and shattering the trees in its path.
"Gah Roar!" The silver-haired girl opened her mouth and fiercely roared at the beast that was spying on her from within the woods.
Monkeys in the trees, raccoons in the grass, and bears were startled and ran away.
Frustrated, Jeanne jumped onto a rock on a hill and looked around. Below, she was surrounded by dense forest, and in the distance, there seemed to be a lake.
"So... where is this place?!"
A chorus of echoes returned from the mountains, reverberating for a long time without dissipating...
After returning home and making lunch, and resting for a while after the meal, there was still no news from the silver-haired girl. However, Shirou and Artoria both felt there was no need to worry, as Jeanne was very resilient.
"It's probably due to a flight delay. Or something else is holding her up," Shirou said.
"It's nothing. The later that assault woman arrives, the better. At least for today..." Artoria muttered softly to herself.
Because the school was holding a wrap-up meeting that afternoon, Shirou noticed the time and left. Soon after he entered the school gate, he heard a series of dull thuds from the athletic field.
Shirou turned his head and looked toward the flowerbeds several hundred meters away. He saw a girl with a black ponytail, wearing a blue and yellow tracksuit, with her back to him. She was bouncing up and down in place, her small figure seeming very anxious.
Shirou walked over, confirming that the tracksuit was not the style of any nearby high school or junior high school. Furthermore, judging by her small size, she seemed to be an elementary school student.
The little girl, with her back to Shirou, didn't notice anyone approaching and continued bouncing up and down. The lower part of her tracksuit pants was slightly bulging, suggesting something was tied around her calves.
'Could she just be exercising?' Shirou wondered. Walking closer, he noticed that the girl's skin tone was slightly darker than that of a Japanese person.
"Hi, do you need help? Are you lost?" Shirou asked, walking up to her curiously.
"I'm just running here. Who are you? Are you a student here?" The long black-haired, brown-skinned girl turned around. She wasn't shy and looked directly at the approaching boy. The girl blinked her grayish-brown eyes, which shone with vitality, and replied in fairly fluent Japanese.
"Mhm, running? Do you like running very much?" Seeing such an energetic girl, Shirou figured he was overthinking things. But why would a foreign elementary school student be here?
"I love it the most~!" The little girl answered with a bright smile, showing her white teeth. She spoke as if she was passionate about something extraordinary.
"Is that so? That's impressive. Here, have this." Shirou rummaged in his pocket and found the small bag of chocolate milk candy he had received as a free gift at the mall earlier. He pulled out a few pieces, placed them in his palm, and held them out to the girl.
"Thank you~! You're a nice person!" The girl took the milk candy, immediately unwrapped and popped one into her mouth, saying happily. Since she was restricted to a healthy diet in the US, she was very welcoming of sweet candies.
"Hello, Onii-chan. I'm Ria Hagry, from Los Angeles, USA. I'm currently in the sixth grade of elementary school. Please take care of me." The brown-skinned girl said vivaciously, giving a salute. (Ria Hagry= Oreimo)
"Oh, you've even learned the etiquette here? That's amazing. I'm Shirou, a student here. Please take care of me too. If you have any questions, just ask," Shirou said approvingly, patting the girl's head. He didn't dislike athletic, frank, and lively girls.
"Hehe." The little girl smiled sweetly with the candy in her mouth.
"But speaking of which, why is an elementary school student here?" Shirou wondered, still stroking the girl's head.
"Wait! Wait! Who are you, and what are you trying to do to this elementary school student?"
"It's a misunderstanding," Shirou said, looking at the round-faced girl with orange-tinged brown hair who had run over.
"Kirino! This is Shirou Onii-chan. He seems to like me and struck up a conversation. He even kindly gave me candy. I actually quite like this guy, too!" The girl suddenly jumped in front of the boy and hugged him.
"Eh? Eh!" Shirou gasped in surprise. It seemed the misunderstanding was about to escalate.
"Hmm? Are you that Shirou from the high school here?" The round-faced girl with shiny brown hair stared at the boy.
"You know me? That makes things easier," Shirou said, relieved.
"Hmph... Aren't you that man who never refuses? The ace of the International High School Archery Club? That senpai everyone praises?" Kirino pulled the little girl back a few steps, looking at the boy with suspicion. Although she was a pervert in the world of two dimensions, in the three-dimensional world, she had the duty to look after this little girl who had followed her to Chiba.
"Hey, don't keep backing away while saying things like that!" Shirou complained.
"No, the more excellent someone appears on the surface, the more corrupted they are on the inside. People with unspeakable hobbies will try everything to hide their true thoughts. You can't guess what's going on in their heads," Kirino shielded the little girl, looking at the boy defensively.
"Are you judging based on yourself?" Shirou recognized the round-faced girl he had seen three weeks ago at the International Junior High, the one who made dangerous comments about wanting to lick Illya.
"Senpai~! Shirou-senpai~!" Just then, a sweet, high-pitched voice came from afar. Iroha Isshiki ran up to the boy, winked mischievously, and smiled. "Welcome back. I missed you so much, Senpai~!"
"Ah, Isshiki, you're here too," Shirou said, looking at his kouhai.
"After all, I'm the student council president. And whose fault is it that I got this position?" the girl retorted, looking at the boy.
"Haha, well! At least on that point, I can say, Isshiki, you truly worked hard. You've done a great job all along," Shirou chuckled, then looked at his junior with a serious expression.
"Is... is that so? Is that what Senpai thinks? After all, Senpai helped me many times, even though I initially just didn't want those bitches who deliberately voted for me, wanting to see me make a fool of myself, to succeed."
"Tch! So, he's a heretic with very broad tastes. I feel like even I'm in danger now. Is this guy the most evil and wicked of all?" Kirino muttered to herself, looking at the boy who was chatting happily with the JK who had run up to him.
"Oh~! It's Kirino-chan, and Ria-chan," Iroha Isshiki turned her head and waved with a smile.
"Hi~! Iroha!" The American little girl greeted her.
"Hello, Isshiki-senpai," Kirino finally walked up to greet her.
"By the way, what are you two doing here with Shirou-senpai?" Iroha Isshiki asked the two girls curiously.
"This Onii-chan was playing with me and gave me candy," the American little girl replied happily, holding up her hand.
"Hmph, typical Shirou-senpai. This time, he's found the fastest elementary school student in all of America," Iroha Isshiki squinted her eyes, looking at the boy suspiciously and speaking with a knowing tone.
"Hmm? Is this child that famous? And why is she running in Japan?" Shirou was surprised, looking at the smiling girl next to him who was sucking on the candy.
"Hehe, I came to Japan to visit with Kirino. I have to go back to training in a few days," the brown-skinned little girl said with a smile.
"Yeah, yeah, sorry there's no one here to be your opponent. I can't outrun you, anyway," Kirino said, shrugging indifferently.
"Even a junior high student can't outrun her?" Shirou asked, looking at Kirino. He recalled that she was assigned to a sports-focused school in Los Angeles for an exchange program as an athletics specialist.
"This kid treats running as the greatest playtime; she's happy as long as she can run. I just can't outrun her, no matter how hard I try. She's like one of those monsters from the Dash! Yonkuro anime who can run alongside a racing car.
No! She is a Mini 4WD car! It's just too much of a cheat," Kirino said exaggeratedly, waving her hands in exasperation.
Although she considered herself smart and believed she could succeed in most things if she put her mind to it, facing a true prodigy, she could only acknowledge her shortcomings.
They met during the specialized athletics training camp hosted by the sports-focused school in Los Angeles. The camp was originally for junior high students and older, but due to Ria's genius, she was exceptionally allowed to join as an elementary school student.
Kirino was assigned to be her roommate. A lively and cute younger girl was certainly to her liking. However, three-dimensional little sisters, even if as cute as those in the two-dimensional world, were ultimately different.
Kirino mostly acted as a proper older sister taking care of the girl. She never expected the girl to follow her all the way to Chiba for sightseeing.
"Don't be discouraged, Kirino. Just enjoy running. You have to participate in next year's sports festival," the brown-skinned little girl said, hugging the older girl who was taking care of her.
"Well, I'll think about it then," Kirino said, frowning. By then, she might no longer be training in track and field every day. Whether she could still be chosen as a representative was uncertain.
"I know you, Onii-chan! You're really good at archery, right!" The little girl said, grinning and making the gesture of drawing a bow toward the boy.
The Tokyo International Archery Competition seemed to have garnered a good response, and the impact of the exchange activities in various countries was gradually spreading. News about the Divine Archer at the Chiba branch school seemed to be circulating widely.
"Well, as long as you maintain a calm mind every day, focus, and practice Archery diligently, many people can actually achieve it. But for them, settling their hearts seems to be very difficult," Shirou said honestly.
"Mhm, mhm. I think running is the same way. A lot of people think too rigidly," the little girl said, nodding in agreement, feeling understood by the boy, and smiling happily.
'No... people give up because they can't improve, even if they desperately try, and the effort is wasted. They spend months and still can't find the trick. That's why I hate prodigies...' Kirino looked at the little girl, then glanced at Shirou, feeling a bit irritated.
"Shirou-senpai..." Iroha Isshiki stood up, pointing a finger at the boy as a warning. "In summary, this is a very famous child! So! Don't even think about making a move on this child! Even if you like younger people, you need to find someone suitable."
"Uh..." Kirino looked slightly astonished, taking two steps back. For some reason, she felt the aura of a grand gal game protagonist emanating from the boy.
Even the protagonists she role-played in sister-themed games didn't have an aura as strong as his. He was truly the King of popularity and sales in the gal game world.
He wasn't the typical protagonist who constantly helped girls to raise his affection points; he was a grand protagonist who fought with his life, only to be counter-attacked by a crowd of girls desperately trying to raise their affection points for him.
Kirino nervously reached out to pull the three-dimensional girl, whom she regarded as her own little sister, to leave this dangerous place early.
But the little girl moved first, nimbly running forward, just missing Kirino's outstretched hand. "Onii-chan Shirou, add me as a friend on this chat app."
"Mhm, sure," Shirou said, pulling out his phone.
"Onii-chan Shirou, do you play any games?" the little girl asked while adding him as a friend.
"Mhm, I play FGO, for what it's worth," Shirou replied.
"Ah! I play FGO, too! The Japanese server! It helps a lot with learning Japanese," the American little girl opened the game and showed off her max-level Gilgamesh.
"The King of the 'Golden Sparkle' who always carries an armory..." Shirou said, frowning.
"It's Gilgamesh-sama!" The mixed-race girl, who had ancient Mesopotamian blood, retorted, looking displeased.
"Er... sorry. Do you really like him?" Shirou asked in surprise.
"Yes! I respect him, rather!" The American little girl corrected him again.
Although that ancient civilization had long perished, the Four Great Ancient Civilizations were praised not because they were ancient. After all, there were even older 'countries' and 'ethnic settlements' than China's five thousand years or Egypt's seven thousand years, so Egypt couldn't even rank in the top four based on age alone.
They were so rated because these nations had a profound impact on the world, contributing to the acceleration of global development. It also means that modern humans have inherited their culture to varying degrees.
Just like Alexander the Great of Macedon's expansion. Although his vast territory quickly split into three major powers after the untimely death of the brilliant genius ruler in his thirties, it still spread Greek civilization to many corners of the world.
The Romans inherited this, and later, Rome transformed into an Empire, then split, and its culture was carried forward by the Christian nations of Europe.
The girl was a descendant of the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia, possessing the brown skin and black long hair attributed to the recorded Sumerians. The gods in the Sumerian pantheon, featured in the epic legends of that civilization that revered gold and jewels, were often described as fair-skinned and blonde.
The most famous legend passed down in her ethnic group was that of the King who was one-third human and two-thirds god, a fair-skinned, red-eyed, blonde King, a powerful being who commanded strength capable of rivaling the gods—the King of Heros Gilgamesh.
Such a King naturally commanded the admiration and love of this little girl, Ria.
"The Heroic King is super strong and super cool!" The little girl said, spreading her arms to demonstrate a big circle.
"That's right! How cool is the King of Heros! And his Noble Phantasm is beyond words! If I could just modify it like I want, it would be perfect, hehehe..." Kirino nodded in agreement. Incidentally, her online name was: "All Little Sisters in the World Emerge From My Treasury."
"That he's strong is certainly undeniable, both in the legend and in the game after his Noble Phantasm upgrade. But I feel like you two aren't talking about the same thing?" Shirou said, looking at the girl and Kirino.
"Alright, alright, Senpai, let's go inside first. The meeting is about to start," Iroha Isshiki said, running up. She had originally come to find the little girl and take her to the meeting room.
"Let's go, everyone. The teachers will be arriving soon," the girl said, literally pushing Shirou inside, not forgetting to urge the two girls.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting