Shirou's Friend List
During his time in the Service Club, Shirou had helped Saika practice tennis. Thanks to her own efforts afterward, Saika became the captain of the tennis club.
That became the turning point for their friendship. To him, working in the Service Club was very meaningful.
"Eh? Shirou, you're playing this game too? That's such a surprise!" At that moment, a short-haired girl with glasses walked over and said.
"Oh right! Tesla x Edison is great, Little Sun x Arjuna is amazing too! And between Hayama and Tobe, who's the top and who's the bottom? Also, can I add you as a friend too?" Ebina asked breathlessly, her face flushed with excitement.
"…I mean, I guess that's fine," Shirou ignored the earlier part of her statement and responded.
Since Ebina had once requested help from the Service Club, she seemed to have remembered some kind of gratitude and had stopped making overly wild BL jokes about him.
In that sense, it might be one of the good things that came from Shirou joining the Service Club.
"Shirou-kun, if you're interested in any male Servant, you absolutely have to tell me. King of Heroes, Child of Light—doesn't matter which one, whether four-star, five-star, or even Angra Mainyu, I'll put them in my support slot just for you,"
Ebina said, pushing up her glasses and smiling confidently. In order to complete her various OTPs, she had spent all her New Year's money on the game.
If you got Young Emperor and Young Gilgamesh, you'd want to see the Emperor and Gil standing together.
When the old Saber showed up, you'd want to gather the entire Round Table for him. Isn't that the very essence of being a fujoshi?
Even so, this game still felt like a bottomless pit, continuously tempting her to spend more money.
"…" Shirou turned his head away, thinking, What the hell do you want me to say to that?
At that moment, a bun-haired girl who had been chatting with her friend Miura in the back seemed to be paying close attention to what was going on here.
Shirou turned his head and happened to meet her gaze.
Yuigahama Yui smiled and waved lightly, then looked away again.
In her little group, there were girls like Miura and Ebina, while the boys were mostly led by Hayama.
He was the school's most popular student—helpful, trustworthy, well-liked by classmates, and also the captain of the soccer team. His character and conduct were excellent.
Though Shirou didn't have much direct interaction with him, they got along decently as classmates.
"Shirou, you're playing FGO too? Add me as a friend, okay?" Yumiko Miura also noticed what was going on and spoke up.
"…" A silver-haired girl with a single ponytail who gave off a slightly delinquent vibe silently took out her phone, looking like she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Ebina noticed and grinned mischievously as she pounced on the girl. "What what? Saki-saki, you want to add Shirou too, right? Don't be shy, just say it~!"
"Get off me, dammit! What's wrong with me adding a friend?!" The silver-haired girl brushed Ebina off. After saying that, she blushed slightly, gave Shirou a quick glance, and then looked away in a hurry.
"I'll tell you her name—it's 'It's Not Eggplant'! Got that?" Ebina shouted with a mischievous grin.
By this point, other girls in the class also silently took out their phones…
In the FGO system, Merlin's bond level quietly rose from 10% to 30%.
In fact, Shirou's classmates were all crazy about this game.
As soon as class ended, everyone would pull out their phones.
Some science nerds would even bring out pen and paper to write formulas, calculating the most efficient way to use stamina based on the schedule.
Even the girls had stopped talking about TV drama stars.
Instead, they chatted about which characters in the game were the coolest, discussed the love triangle between Proto-Gil, Guinevere, and Lancelot, and said things like, "If Tristan ever releases a CD, I'd definitely buy it."
If someone happened to pull a limited character from a single roll, they'd be praised like a blessed and popular god all day—and also become a lifelong nemesis of certain "tribes."
Around lunchtime, Shirou left the classroom with his lunchbox and, as usual, went outside to eat. When he opened the game, he suddenly saw more than ten new friend requests and said in confusion, "Where did all these people come from?"
"Shirou-senpai… have you seriously never noticed how popular you are?" Mash said, munching on bread while also helping herself to his lunch, giving him a look of disdain.
"No way… I mean, someone as boring and uninteresting as me—there can't be many of those left in the world," Shirou replied with a laugh, clearly not believing her words.
"Geez! Shirou-senpai, you're always stubborn about the weirdest things. Hikigaya Shirou from the Archery Club is just as well-known as Hayama from the Soccer Club, Yukinoshita-senpai the Ice Queen from the international class, and Yukari-senpai, the Yamato Nadeshiko," Mash corrected him.
"As far as I know, the most well-known person at this school is that pink-haired transfer student who keeps recommending FGO to everyone, kindly and patiently teaching them how to play, and then says, 'You're a good person,' before disappearing.
She's left countless broken hearts in her wake. Such sin!" Shirou said nonchalantly with a grin.
"Did I do something wrong? If they're willing to play FGO and help save Chaldea, then they're good people, right? Why would anyone be hurt by that?" Mash blinked in confusion.
Ah, forgot that this girl lacked common sense in some areas.
Guess I'll have to rephrase it.
Shirou smiled and asked, "So if I say, 'As long as you play this game, we'll always be together,' you wouldn't find that embarrassing?"
"Ugh… I wasn't lying! Besides, I said that all for the sake of saving Chaldea!" Mash replied, face blushing, as she stuffed the last takoyaki ball from the bento into her mouth and mumbled.
"Is that so? But today's high school boys have very vivid imaginations, so they might easily misunderstand. I suggest you use a different way to recommend the game," Shirou said as he clapped his hands, packed up his finished lunchbox, and stood up.
"Shirou-senpai, are you going somewhere?" Mash asked curiously.
"Yeah, I'm heading up to the clubroom for a bit. Yukinoshita should be there. We'll meet again in the archery club after school," Shirou said as he walked toward the upper floor.
As agreed, he was meeting with Yukinoshita to discuss how to deal with the unexpected guests from other worlds.
Regarding Da Vinci's suggestion of bringing in more companions, Shirou felt a little conflicted. He couldn't decide whether dragging others into this was a good or bad idea.
But his strength alone was limited. With just him and Mash, there was no way to handle all the red dots on that map.
He turned a corner on the upper floor and soon arrived in front of an unused classroom. The door was decorated with colorful, random stickers—this was the Service Club's base.
Shirou knocked, then pushed the door open. As expected, he saw the black-haired girl inside brewing tea. On the desk sat a neatly packed lunchbox, and next to it was a bun-haired girl.
"Yahallo~! Shirou," Yuigahama said cheerfully with a smile.
"Yo," Shirou greeted as he entered the clubroom.
"Here," Yukinoshita poured a cup of tea for Yuigahama, then walked over and poured another one, handing it to the boy.
"Thanks," Shirou accepted the cup. Warm steam rose from it, and a pleasant aroma filled the air.
"I thought it over last night. Aside from decisive combat strength, what we urgently need now is a solid strategy. If we understand our enemies well enough, we can prepare accordingly for battle.
Anyway, I'll try to consult some experts and compile information about possible monsters and their abilities," Yukinoshita said.
"Got it. Mash and I will handle the field investigation. If we run into powerful enemies and need help, I'll call on you," Shirou nodded.
"Eh? Strategy? Investigation?" the bun-haired girl tilted her head in confusion at the two of them.
There weren't even any weird English gaming terms this time—so why was she still completely lost?