Saberfes!

Chapter 81

It was the second day of him cooking in the Ryuudou temple's kitchen. Already, he was starting to miss Sakura's presence besides him, something he had gotten used to over the past few years, but it couldn't be helped. He didn't want her to get involved with the Holy Grail War, and asking her to come all the way to Mount Enzo was troublesome.

Ah, thinking about it, Caster had mentioned the Matou's being one of the three founding families behind the Holy Grail War, but he just couldn't see Sakura as a magus. Besides, if she was, he would've found out a long time ago.

Still, the kitchen wasn't that bad. While he wasn't completely familiar with the placement of the cooking ware and appliances, the ingredients they had stocked up weren't all that different from what he usually used at home in his own kitchen. The vegetables, plants and soy products were mostly similar to what he used, such as naga-imo (mountain yam) and daikon (radish). It was just that the meal lacked meat or pungent herbs and vegetables like garlic and onions. He had also managed to grasp the basic layout of the kitchen yesterday, so he wasn't just fumbling around looking for everything he needed, which he spent half an hour doing yesterday morning.

Getting permission from the monks wasn't too hard either. They were quite accommodating of him, and when Souichirou-sensei vouched for him, any doubts they might have had were quelled. He was also acquainted with Issei's father, so that helped too, though it seemed that his father was away for now.

"Why do you want to cook?"

Souichirou-sensei had asked him after he secured permission from the monks.

"Well, it's something of a hobby of mine, and it calms me down. Even though it's not like I absolutely can't not cook, I'd rather be able to do it than not. It's something like that."

It was hard to express, and Souichirou-sensei's face didn't reveal anything, so he hoped he understood.

"Thanks for helping me though, sensei." Giving a slight bow, Shirou tried to express his gratitude.

"There's no need to bow. We are equals as Masters, so you just treat me as one outside of school. It's healthy for a teenager like you to have hobbies, especially under these conditions. If you can't stay calm, you might slip up and die."

Despite his ominous words, Shirou could still sense the goodwill in his reply.

They had returned to their own rooms after that brief exchange, but Shirou was pleasantly surprised to know that Kuzuki wasn't like how he'd expected him to be.

At school, he had heard of the various rumors surrounding Kuzuki, and had personally experienced some incidents as well. Small missteps in homework, deviant behaviour in class, even mistakes by teachers were not overlooked by him, with every problem that arose instantly snuffed out when it received his attention. Homework was harshly graded, classes were strict, and he would meticulously go over the test and exam papers to spot any possible errors. He also provided assistance to the school student council regarding matters such as the school club budget allocation, and was the disciplinary head in the school, a well-known title in Homuhara Academy. One lesson of his Ethics class was enough to see what kind of person he was.

Despite that, he was also highly respected by many students and staff alike. He had helped resolve many misunderstandings between teachers and students or students and students, serving as an impartial mediator for them. This was especially true of Taiga, infamous for her wild antics as a teacher. Many students had been bailed out by him after Taiga misheard them calling her the forbidden word.

Even outside of school, he was respected by the temple's monks as a man who was unmoved by worldly desires, a solid core existing beneath his skin. Though this was mainly due to their mistaken impression of his hollowness born from a wretched past. The chief priest however, Issei's father, could see that he was different. Empty, for a lack of a better word. But he still liked him, and offered him a room at Ryuudou Temple, when he was looking for a place to stay at.

Shirou had also heard Neko, or Hotaruzuka Otoko, the daughter of the owner at Copenhagen, the liquor store he worked at, mention him once.

"Hey Emiyan, I got saved by a scary guy today!"

"Eh?"

He paused in his mopping, looking at Otoko wiping the glasses behind the counter.

"I got cornered by some punks in an alley today while I was out buying some of the alcohol we ran out of earlier, but then this tall, lean guy with glasses and a hardass face showed behind them and made them scram."

"So you're fine?"

"Yeah, I'm good, don't worry Emiyan. Anyways, that guy just left after saying he didn't do much. Like, he just stood there, menacingly, frightened them off, and then left after escorting me out of the alley."

"I managed to get his name though. Something like, So-souikoro, Kuchiki?"

"Souichirou Kuzuki?"

He was the guy Neko was talking about?

"Ah yeah, that's right! That's his name! Do you know that guy?"

"He's a teacher from my school."

"Seriously? Then help me deliver a bottle of spirits to him as thanks!"

As a result, he was forced to give him a bottle of sake the next day. Naturally, it was awkward for him, even though he had already managed to arrange a time and place where nobody else would see, but it was still embarrassing. Neko was very insistent though, and he couldn't refuse his help to her. Kuzuki had just taken the bottle, nodded in thanks and left, so it wasn't as bad as he'd expected it to be.

He was glad for the fact that while Kuzuki was strict with himself and others, he was also reliable in many ways. In particular, he had saved him and Saber in their battle against Berserker, risking his own life to escort Emiya safely to Caster. Even if Shirou himself received the same enchantments from Caster, he doubted he could have done the same.

"I need to get stronger...maybe I can ask him to teach me?"

The words of Caster from last night came to him.

"You can also ask Saber or Kuzuki to train you physically."

That was true. While it wasn't like he could turn into a master of magecraft or martial arts overnight, he could at least survive a second or two longer, or contribute just a little more to their fights.

"I'll ask them when they come for breakfast later."

He stirred the soup, lost in his thoughts as he cooked with the monks in training in charge of cooking beside him.