After reporting the situation here to Miyu and learning that she had also joined a club, the Archery Club, Shirou told her to do her best.
And the moment he entered the Literature Club, he put down his phone and picked up the hardcover book that Ritsuka had been reading during lunch and began reading it.
'Why am I reading? Shouldn't I be writing a novel?'
The hosting system didn't answer.
It seemed to think that writing a novel did not count as a club activity.
Shirou disagreed and argued based on reasoning.
So, after less than two minutes of reading, the hardcover book once again returned to the dazed Ritsuka's hands.
Shirou picked up a pen and manuscript paper and began his great writing endeavor.
———
4:30 PM, club activities ended.
Shirou put down his pen on time.
"Good work."
Hearing this, Ritsuka and Mash, who had been tense all along, finally relaxed.
"Uwah~", Ritsuka stretched with a tone full of deep fatigue.
"So tired!"
Suddenly realizing Shirou was still nearby, she thought that wasn't nice to say and covered her mouth.
"Sorry, Emiya-kun…"
"It's okay, Ritsuka and Mash worked very hard today. I really liked it, keep it up from now on," Shirou spoke gently.
He considered it gentle, though in reality it was only 0.01 degrees warmer than forty degrees.
Even so, it still shocked Ritsuka and Mash quite a bit.
"Emiya-kun…", Mash asked cautiously, "Did you just call me and Ritsuka by our names?"
"Is that not okay?", Shirou seemed confused, "I thought that would make you happy."
"Ah, mm," Ritsuka came back to her senses, twirling her hair with her fingers, "It does make me happy… it's just, it was kind of sudden."
"Understood."
System Shirou instantly got it, "We're not friends yet, so I should keep some distance. I'll keep that in mind, Fujimaru-san, Kyrielight-san."
"Wait, forget Ritsuka, why did I suddenly become Kyrielight-san?", Mash noticed something odd.
"Emiya-kun, you misunderstood me! That's not what I meant, I meant something else!", Ritsuka got all flustered.
'Let's end it here.'
Realizing the system really couldn't handle interpersonal relationships, Shirou terminated hosting and said with a smile, "Just kidding, Fujimaru-san, Mash-san."
"Uwah!", Ritsuka exclaimed, "Emiya-kun smiled, his first smile this afternoon."
"Emiya-kun, please keep that smile, let me take a picture!", Mash took out her phone.
Shirou: "..."
"You two need to stop."
He held his forehead and let out a sigh.
"You're the one who teased us all afternoon," Ritsuka complained.
"Well, I wouldn't call it teasing."
Shirou smiled, "From now on, it might be like this often. Better get used to it."
"Really? You'll become that serious version again?", Ritsuka sighed.
"Noo, gentle Emiya-kun is the best."
"But, I think Ritsuka doesn't actually hate the serious Emiya-kun either," Mash cut in.
Because if she truly hated him, she wouldn't do so many things with Shirou.
"Mash, whose side are you on?", Ritsuka grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
"Ah! Stop, Ritsuka, I'm getting dizzy!", Mash's eyes started spinning.
Shirou smiled, then suddenly changed expression and said, "Fujimaru-san, Mash-san, you two go on ahead."
"You're not leaving school with us?", The two stopped playing around.
"No, I still have something to do."
That hosting task for raising charm, because of the school rules restriction, it had been put on hold. Now that school was over, it reappeared.
Thus, before Ritsuka and Mash could figure out what was going on, Shirou had already walked out of the Literature Club expressionlessly.
Ritsuka and Mash looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.
'Here we go again!'
'What do you do when your friend Emiya-kun keeps doing weird things?'
No one answered.
Ignoring the two still in the Literature Club, Shirou quickly arrived at the teacher's office, found the PE teacher, and borrowed high jump equipment.
Now he understood. He was actually preparing to high jump.
Shirou couldn't hold it in.
'This is the method to increase charm?'
'High jump?'
Say what you will, Shirou's High Jump was a famous specialty dish in the Type-Moon world, must try it.
But this ridiculous move from the system still left Shirou speechless.
On the field, he found an empty spot and adjusted the high jump bar to a height he currently couldn't clear, but was just barely below.
Laid down the soft mat, all preparations were complete.
Shirou took a few steps back. The distance was perfect, posture was perfect, all that was left was the sprint.
The arc of the leap was also perfect.
It drew everyone's eyes.
What kind of high jump was that? Indescribable, irresistible.
Some might fall for him because of this high jump, not because he succeeded, but because of his running posture, his jumping form, his way of landing in failure, then fall in love with the person himself.
It was just that magical. Any bias about looks or personality would collapse in the face of this high jump.
In their eyes, all that remained was the flailing figure of the boy mid-jump.
"This guy isn't an idiot, is he?"
Far across the field, Tohsaka Rin, about to head home, crossed her arms and watched from a distance. That boy jumped again and again, failing again and again.
At first, she was interested because she thought he'd give up soon.
But he didn't. Instead, he stubbornly and persistently kept trying.
Even as his clothes got dirtier and dust covered him, he never looked like he'd quit.
'Why?'
'It is just a high jump. Why go this far?'
'It's completely meaningless, isn't it?'
"Emiya-kun…", Ritsuka and Mash exchanged glances, with a hint of pain in their eyes.
For the first time, they realized that after school, Emiya was working so hard practicing high jump.
He must have a reason he absolutely doesn't want to give up.
Serious in class, meticulous in tasks, and never giving up in sports.
'What kind of man is this?'
"Onii-chan, you big baka, what are you doing?"
Having waited so long without seeing Shirou, Miyu came to the field to check, puffing her cheeks in complaint.
But when she saw Shirou's focused expression, how he was concentrating solely on surpassing that obstacle, her face unconsciously softened.
Her small hands clenched, and she softly whispered, "Do your best."
Suddenly, she remembered something and turned to the purple-haired beauty beside her, saying, "Sorry, Sakura-senpai, I want to wait for onii-chan. You can go home first."
"I-I'm not in a hurry. I'll stay with Miyu a while longer," Sakura, who had been spacing out, came to and brushed her beautiful purple hair behind her ear with a gentle smile.
"Really?", Miyu looked a bit uneasy.
Matou Sakura was a senpai she met in Archery Club today, a third-year like her brother.
Not only beautiful, but well-proportioned, and very gentle.
Most importantly, she was a rich young lady, the truly wealthy kind.
Miyu felt a bit embarrassed to make her stand here and watch her brother jump.
"It's fine."
Sakura's smile was more beautiful and captivating than cherry blossoms fluttering from a tree.
That gentle aura was something people couldn't help but linger on.
However, at this moment, her right hand was clenched over her chest, and there was a strange light in her eyes.
"Emiya Shirou."
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