Even though Haruhi Suzumiya said that, Emiya wasn't killed on the spot.
That alone proved that, despite her anger, she had no intention of actually killing him.
Even so, she still made a huge fuss for quite a while before finally letting him go.
"So," she said, staring at him, "why did you refuse? I'm pretty, you know."
That was a fact.
Setting aside her strange and self-centered personality, Haruhi Suzumiya was undeniably beautiful.
Back in middle school, love letters and confessions had come one after another. Unfortunately, none of them ended well.
The longest relationship lasted less than a week.
The shortest lasted five minutes.
Emiya couldn't even imagine how traumatized a boy would be after being dumped five minutes into dating. That was practically emotional whiplash.
He cleared his throat.
"You are very pretty. But unfortunately, I prefer women who are gentler and more mature. You're too young. You're not within my hunting range."
Haruhi Suzumiya's eyes widened.
She had never expected to lose... because of her age.
Emiya continued calmly,
"Besides, you didn't confess because you like me, did you?"
Haruhi Suzumiya let go of him and replied as if it were obvious,
"Of course not. Who falls in love with someone they just met?"
Emiya: "..."
Thanks for the honesty.
Suppressing his irritation, he spread his hands.
"See? You confessed because I'm a psychic from another world who can travel between worlds. You got interested and didn't want me to leave."
"You were afraid that once I left, I'd never come back. Afraid you'd never get the chance to go to other worlds. So you confessed, planning to use your identity as a beautiful girl to confuse me and make me stay. All so you wouldn't be bored anymore. Right?"
Haruhi Suzumiya stayed silent.
Because he was right.
The moment she met Emiya, she realized how terrifyingly powerful his ability was. Compared to aliens, time travelers, or even psychics, someone who could freely move between worlds was far rarer.
He represented countless worlds.
All kinds of unfamiliar, interesting worlds.
The fact that he could appear in her world proved it. Her world itself was just an anime here.
If that was the case, then didn't every anime represent another world?
And didn't that mean the man in front of her could enter all of them?
Haruhi Suzumiya was certain of one thing.
As long as Emiya stayed by her side, she would never be bored.
And she was someone who absolutely could not tolerate boredom.
She had already made him vice commander of the SOS Brigade, but as he traveled to more and more worlds, who knew if he'd forget her entirely?
After all, he had already said he wouldn't always be able to participate in SOS Brigade activities.
So, almost instinctively, she confessed.
She planned to use the title of "girlfriend" to keep him close. Either keeping him by her side, or staying by his.
As long as he was there, boredom would never find her.
She just hadn't expected-
"You saw right through me," Haruhi Suzumiya said with a self-mocking smile. "I'm pretty despicable, aren't I?"
Emiya shook his head.
"Not despicable. Just clever."
That was honestly what he thought.
The Haruhi Suzumiya he knew wasn't a bad person.
"And don't worry," he continued. "Since I promised to join the SOS Brigade, I won't go back on it. If I run into anything interesting in the future, I'll definitely take you along."
"More people makes it more fun."
"Really?"
Haruhi Suzumiya's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really. In fact, something interesting is happening in a few days. There's a world called Food Wars!. In it, there's a school named Totsuki Academy that specializes in training chefs. They're holding a training camp right now."
"I'm planning to go check it out in a few days. If you're free, I can take you with me. What do you think?"
"I'll go!" Haruhi Suzumiya answered immediately. "Of course I'll go. It'd be stupid to miss something like that."
Emiya nodded.
"Alright. I'll come get you."
"It's a promise."
Haruhi Suzumiya held out her pinky.
"Alright. A promise."
Emiya hooked his finger with hers.
The deal was sealed.
"I'll send you back now," Emiya said. "It's late in your world. You should rest."
Without waiting for a reply, he sent her back.
The landing spot was still her bathroom.
"Get some sleep. I'll come pick you up in a few days."
He patted her head.
Then vanished.
This time, Emiya didn't head to another world.
He returned to his own.
Traveling through three worlds in one go had left him tired.
More accurately, mentally tired.
Every time, he had to explain who he was, where he came from, bring people home, and casually spoil their entire lives.
Honestly, it was a hassle.
Maybe next time, he wouldn't explain so much.
Just say he was a psychic.
If he met someone interesting, he'd take them along. As for whether he told them about anime or not, that could depend on his mood.
After making that decision, Emiya felt noticeably lighter.
He checked the time.
Almost 11 a.m.
After resting briefly, he went out for lunch.
Compared to Erina Nakiri's cooking, though, the difference was obvious.
Completely different levels.
Looks like I need to recruit some chefs soon.
After eating, Emiya went home and took a nap. He had no intention of continuing to run the convenience store.
After gaining the ability to travel between worlds, a life tied to a convenience store no longer satisfied him.
He planned to deal with it as soon as possible.
The nap lasted a long time.
When he woke up, it was already around 6 p.m.
He washed his face, then went to his parents' place and handed the convenience store keys to his father.
His father looked at him with surprise, clearly asking what had gotten into him.
Naturally, Emiya wasn't about to say he was addicted to world-hopping.
So he lied.
"Dad, a friend of mine ran into some trouble. I'm going to help him for a while. Can you handle the store? I'll take it back once I'm done."
"A friend?" his father asked. "Which friend? What kind of trouble?"
"It's nothing big," Emiya said vaguely. "Don't worry. It'll be resolved in ten to fifteen days."
If it wasn't resolved by then...
He could always come up with another excuse.