Komachi Binds Herself in a Cocoon
After the topic in the chat group came to an end, Shirou looked up and saw that Komachi had already finished eating and was now lying on the table doing her homework.
So Shirou didn't want to disturb her any longer in the room.
He collected the cups and plates onto the tray and stepped outside.
Komachi wanted to apply to the international high school that Shirou attended—one of the most prestigious schools in the area for students advancing to higher education.
Aside from providing various privileges for honor students and those with special talents, the international program also offered opportunities for overseas study. Many students from other cities even came specifically to attend this school.
Therefore, the entrance exams were more difficult than other schools by a level.
Although Komachi wasn't exactly smart when it came to academics—sometimes when Shirou dropped her off at school and carried her bag for a while on the way—she would suddenly dash into school completely empty-handed like a cute fool.
But if she tried hard enough, it wasn't impossible. As her older brother, he would always cheer her on from behind.
After that, Shirou chatted on and off in the group with the big shots, exchanging support requests like "Sable, don't run off!" and grinding the game late into the night.
As a newbie, he gradually came to understand the game thanks to explanations from the veterans.
Like Da Vinci-chan said, the only way was to gradually build up strength and be fully prepared before facing the monsters.
Time flew while playing games—it was already past one in the morning.
Shirou yawned and stepped out of his room. Just then, he noticed that the light in Komachi's room had just turned off as well, so he decided to log off and get some rest.
Inside her room, Komachi had just crawled into bed. She rolled her eyes around and, hearing Shirou's footsteps fading away, covered her mouth and giggled as she opened her phone.
Now that Shirou was gone, no one in the world could stop her from playing FGO!
Come on—just because you're a student preparing for entrance exams doesn't mean you're not human.
Studying all day long, of course you need some entertainment time to relax your brain. Playing FGO for a bit was the perfect way to unwind from over-studying.
A moment later, in the group chat:
Yuuki Ao-chan has come online.
Yūki Ao-chan: "Wahaha! In the prime of youth, how can we waste it on sleeping? Let's all grind FGO together!"
Komachi knew that there were still plenty of people in the group who hadn't gone to bed yet. She just needed to shout, and all the night owls would respond and come play with her.
Sure enough, someone replied immediately. Komachi smiled as she looked at the new message that popped up.
Emiya: "You're a current exam candidate, aren't you? Go to bed already!"
"Uwah!" Komachi almost fell out of bed in shock.
Outside her door, Shirou clearly heard the scream of someone getting caught red-handed, followed by a dull thud.
He looked at the chat group on his phone, exasperated.
Yūki Ao-chan: "Um... actually I hacked someone else's account. Bye."
Yūki Ao-chan has gone offline.
UMR: "Uwah, got caught red-handed. I definitely can't let my brother find out about this group."
Dancing While Doing Laundry: "Agreed…"
Emiya: "I'm logging off too. Everyone, please get some rest. Good night."
With that, Shirou shut off his phone and went to sleep.
That day, the boy—partner of justice—had teamed up with the girls to defeat the monsters invading the world and successfully saved his sister from becoming a cultivation-crazed FGO-addicted shut-in.
A perfect day, really.
The next morning, after making breakfast, Shirou headed off to school.
Because the battle yesterday happened in an alternate dimension and the damage was minimized, there were no major casualties.
However, the mutated Chimera's destructive power exceeded imagination, and the school gate was still in ruins, drawing surprised reactions from arriving students.
But for a wealthy international school, this wasn't a big issue.
Shirou didn't linger and walked directly through the entrance. After a few steps, he suddenly sensed someone approaching from behind.
"Hey!" a girlish shout came from behind.
Then Shirou felt something smack him in the back.
Turning around, he saw a lively girl holding her backpack with one hand.
Her soft tea-pink hair had a slight curl, cut to shoulder length, with one side tied into a high bun.
Her school jacket was left open, and her generously sized chest stretched the white shirt underneath. She looked at the boy with a defenseless, slightly childish smile.
"Morning, Shirou! Hee hee."
"Oh, morning, Yuigahama." Shirou nodded at her and continued walking forward.
"You coming to the club this afternoon?" The bun-headed girl bounced beside him, walking together toward the classroom building.
"Yeah, I'll be there. I also practiced kyudo yesterday," Shirou replied.
This bun-haired girl was a clubmate from another club—not the archery club, but the Service Club.
He had joined the archery club only to fulfill the special admission conditions of the school. The Service Club, however, he had been dragged into by their homeroom teacher, Shizuka Hiratsuka.
"You're always being asked to help others, right? So this club is perfect for you. No objections allowed! Decision made!" And with that, Hiratsuka-sensei had written his name on the club registration form without permission.
In a way, this person was even more forceful than Fuji-ne-san.
The Service Club's activities were essentially helping people in need. He, along with two girls, would accept requests from students and assist them based on the belief that teaching someone to fish is better than giving them a fish. It was, honestly, a club that suited him well.
Through these activities, he, Yukinoshita, and Yui had helped many people, and Shirou had also grown and learned many lessons in the process.
"Morning, Shirou-senpai! Yui-senpai!" A girl came running up and greeted them with her signature drawn-out, cutesy voice.
Her name was Iroha Isshiki.
Although she was a first-year like Mash, she had already been elected student council president by popular vote.
"Yo, Isshiki," Shirou said.
"Senpai, walking into school this early with Yui-senpai—don't tell me you two arranged to come together?" Isshiki asked in an exaggerated tone.
"No way, Iroha-chan! We just happened to meet at the gate," Yui said, waving her hands and blushing.
"Don't you have student council duties? Is it okay to be standing around here?" Shirou reminded her.
"Ah! Not good, look at the time! Everyone's probably waiting already! Senpai, senpai, I'll be going now! Bye!" Isshiki ran off in a hurry.
The reason she became student council president was actually related to a request the Service Club received.
A lot had happened back then. Now, to Shirou, she felt like a somewhat mischievous and troublesome underclassman.
After saying goodbye to that underclassman, Shirou and Yui entered the classroom and headed to their respective seats. Yui greeted her clique of normie friends.
Shirou sat down, pulled out his phone, and figured he'd use the free time to complete his daily missions.
In fact, aside from Isshiki, Shirou had gotten to know quite a few people through Service Club requests and had even become friends with some of them.
"Morning, Shirou." A cute person in gym clothes came running over with a pure, innocent smile. Big round eyes sparkled like stars, snow-white skin—cute enough to be mistaken for an angel who had wandered into the mortal world.
But—it was a boy.
That's very important, so let's say it again: He is a boy.
"Ah, morning, Saika."
"Shirou, you started playing FGO too? When did that happen? Were you hiding it from me? I invited you before and you rejected me!" Saika leaned in, slightly pouting.
"Well, just started in the past few days. A junior in the club gave me an account," Shirou explained.
"I see. Then let's be friends in-game! What's your username?" Saika said cheerfully, pulling out his phone and opening the app.
"Sure, it's 'It's not Eggplant,'" Shirou said.
"Eggplant? What a weird name. The one who gave you the account—that first-year transfer student in the archery club, right? How does she resemble an eggplant?" Saika asked.
"Well… sometimes she really does resemble one…" Shirou recalled Mash's transformed appearance, then asked, "By the way, Saika, do you know Mash?"
"Ah, she's been going around inviting everyone in school to play FGO—even the cafeteria auntie and the teachers. She's really famous.
Members of my tennis club also got dragged into it. But after downloading the game, they were completely ignored.
They were so devastated they didn't come to practice for two weeks.
Apparently she told them something like, 'As long as you play FGO, I'll be with you forever,' so they were really heartbroken," Saika complained.
"Ah... Sorry, she really doesn't mean any harm," Shirou apologized on behalf of the occasionally scatterbrained Mash.
According to Da Vinci-chan, the game was practically the autobiography of Mash and another girl.
This girl was the type who, during the Hundred Years' War, would speak English to French soldiers while raising her shield, saying she was hitting them with the back of her sword.
Later, in the Sixth Chapter, she'd wear a cloak and still hold her giant shield while trying to sneak into Camelot—a complete natural airhead.