Chapter 149 Daily Life

"Ugh!" Rin finally emerged from her low blood pressure state, casting an inquiring look at Artoria. After the King nodded silently, she maintained a calm and steady gaze fixed entirely on Lancer, who immediately felt goosebumps erupt all over his skin.

"Is that really so..." Lancer knew that trying to explain at this point would be completely useless, yet he still clung to a sliver of hope and decided to give it a try. However, the world once again proved to him that reality is cruel.

"Still... My King, since such a thing has happened..." Lancer, who had been leaning forward, suddenly straightened his posture and looked at Artoria with an unwavering gaze.

"Which matter are you referring to..." The formidable and dominant aura that Artoria usually projected instantly vanished, her voice growing softer and smaller by the second.

Rin stared at the two of them in utter disbelief. In her impression, apart from his formidable strength, Lancer possessed absolutely nothing that resembled a proper knight; he was entirely devoid of any principles or decorum. Yet at this very moment, something unfathomable had occurred—why was a blatant masochist suddenly overwhelming someone who naturally embodied the aura of a sovereign?

"Naturally, I mean whether you will leave with me after the Holy Grail War ends! To stay together forever!" Back in the third dimension, although possessing decent looks, Lancer had always lacked self-confidence due to his otaku tendencies, which resulted in him never having a girlfriend before his identity was exposed. But through his travels across various worlds, he had learned that whatever one desires must be fought for by one's own hands, and right now was his moment to fight for it.

"However..." Artoria was still caught in hesitation, but Lancer's next words shattered her lingering doubts.

"My King! You have already sacrificed your finest years for Britain; do you truly intend to keep silently watching over him forever? He has long since grown into a mighty tree capable of sheltering others from wind and rain, and it is finally time for you to rest." Raising his head, Lancer looked into Artoria's eyes, his expression brimming with anticipation and absolute sincerity.

"Allow me to consider it for a little longer. I shall give you my answer before..." Hearing Lancer's words, Artoria's resolve began to crumble. Before pulling the sword from the stone, her personality had actually been quite lively, but ever since drawing the blade, she had dedicated herself entirely to fulfilling that so-called prophecy, forcing herself into the person she was today.

"No, that will not be necessary, My King. I have already seen the answer, and I believe in you." With those words, Lancer dropped to one knee and gently kissed the back of Artoria's hand.

"I have wanted to say these words for a very long time—is there anything I can do for you, my lady?" Lancer flashed a rare, deeply warm smile.

***

"Phew! Good thing I'm clever." The moment he stepped outside and closed the door behind him, Lancer pressed a hand against his chest. His heart began pounding at an inhumane velocity—this was his true state; his earlier bold declarations had merely been a tactical maneuver to change the subject, but thankfully, it had succeeded.

"..." However, just as Lancer was celebrating his narrow escape from the tiger's jaws, he found Shirou standing right there, holding three bowls of red bean rice and staring at him in blank astonishment.

"Um, Lancer-san, this is what Rider-san asked me to cook just now." Seeing the frozen Lancer, Shirou suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed, so he hastily offered a somewhat plausible explanation to smooth over the awkward situation.

"Uh, well, I need to step out for a moment. As for the food, please give it to my Master and the King." Without missing a beat, Lancer hurried toward the front gate.

"..." Watching Lancer's flustered retreat, Shirou's earnest face melted into a strange, amused smile, though Lancer was already far away by then. "To think Lancer-san is capable of making such an embarrassed expression. I always thought he was perpetually smiling."

***

"Hey! Saber, has Assassin always been like this?" Rin asked casually while holding the bowl of red bean rice Shirou had handed her.

"Not really. The Lancer of the past was quite serious." Within the time it took for Rin to finish a single bite, Artoria had already polished off an entire bowl.

"Really? Why do I feel like he acts more like a modern person than I do? He was a knight from the exact same era as you, so why is there such a massive difference between you two?" Rin glanced at Sakura, who was following closely behind Shirou carrying an entire rice cooker filled with red bean rice, and broke out in a cold sweat before speaking up again.

***

"I do not know either. All I can say is that Lancer is likely not an ordinary Heroic Spirit; though his time in the Throne of Heroes was brief, I had never heard any legends concerning him beforehand." Whether because the two of them were sitting close together or because the other girl was Lancer's Master, Artoria saw no reason to withhold the information she possessed.

"Indeed, I remember when I was a child..." Fragments of memories danced hazily in Rin's mind. She only vaguely recalled seeing that man when she went looking for that mysterious serial killer, though he had seemed to be chasing something and they hadn't actually spoken. The next time she saw him was when her mother married her current father, but the exact details had long since faded from her memory.

"I remember Big Brother quite clearly, though." Hearing the conversation between her sister and Saber, Sakura suddenly chimed in.

"That's true, after all, that fellow back then was..." Rin trailed off abruptly. Although Sakura and Kariya had never explicitly mentioned what kind of magecraft the Matou family truly practiced, upon inheriting the position of head of the Matou household, Rin had investigated everything related to the family. After all, the changes in her younger sister had been far too drastic—not just the alteration in her hair color, but also her frequent bouts of melancholy unbefitting someone her age.

"Sister." Sakura remained silent, simply gazing at Rin, yet the deep concern in her eyes was obvious enough for even an outsider like Shirou to perceive.

"It's fine. I've already come to terms with it, and I'll use all the time we have left to make it up to you." Rin shook her hand dismissively to signal the end of the topic. Meanwhile, a tangle of complex emotions stirred within Sakura's heart; although that incident in the past had terrified her, it was also the very reason she had found her own "knight."

"What I am curious about, however, is why Lancer chose to participate in the Holy Grail War when he clearly knows what the Holy Grail actually is. Aren't participants supposed to join only because they desire the Grail to grant a wish?" Artoria brought up a new topic once the sisters concluded their exchange, causing everyone at the table to pause in realization. Indeed, every Heroic Spirit who entered the Holy Grail War had their own objective; even if they weren't necessarily seeking to have a wish granted, they at least pursued the Grail as a prize, much like Gilgamesh did. Yet Lancer had displayed absolute indifference toward the Grail from beginning to end.

"Ring, ring, ring..." Just as the group prepared to delve deeper into the discussion, the telephone in the living room suddenly rang, prompting Shirou to stand up to answer it.