The atmosphere of the dinner was very good, with people eating, drinking and having fun.
After experiencing the baptism of the Grand Prix, the gap between heroes and masters has been reduced a lot.
Maybe they are destined to become enemies in the future and fight to the death, but at this moment, everyone is a friend and enjoy the present moment.
However, there are some outliers among them.
A red-haired young man with delicate features but a muscular build quietly left the table shortly after the banquet began. He went to the top of the city wall alone and stared at the moon in a daze.
A few minutes later, a boy with blue hair and similar age also climbed onto the city wall.
"What's wrong, Shirou? Are you here alone? Is the food not to your liking?"
"Ah, Mr. Matou."
Shirou seemed a little restrained, perhaps because he didn't expect Shinji to suddenly appear here.
"No, it's not. The food is delicious."
"If it's delicious, you should eat more. Forging is a physically demanding job. How can you have the strength to swing a hammer if you don't eat enough?"
"Yeah, I know, I'm just - not used to being in a crowd."
The Senko Muramasa lineage all live in seclusion and have little contact with society.
"Besides, I'm not in the mood for a party right now."
Hearing the disappointment in the words, combined with Mina's description of the magical experiences she had during this period, Shinji roughly guessed the reason.
"Is it because of Faker-Muramasa?"
Shirou nodded with a heavy expression: "Master, he had to face those monsters to protect us. If he wanted to leave, he would definitely be able to leave - if I hadn't held him back... If I could be more useful, maybe..."
Shinji sighed, he could understand Shirou's current mentality.
Humans are such complicated creatures. When he took over the inheritance while escaping, he was full of enthusiasm. However, when he escaped and was able to calm down, he fell into regret and confusion again - after all, he was only a 17-year-old boy.
"Indeed, you are powerless in front of a monster like that. I will not deny that. You can feel upset, blame yourself, and regret it. I will not say that you have failed Senko Muramasa's efforts and failed the people who care about you. Because these are all normal things. The question is how you deal with such emotions. Do you let them trap you, isolate yourself, and become lost? Or do you use them as motivation to keep moving forward?"
"I..." Shirou opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Shinji didn't care, and pointed at the other person's chest: "Haha, it doesn't matter whether you tell me or not. What matters is that you are worthy of your heart and the people who care about you - listen."
There were faint sounds of shouting in the corridor below.
"Shirou, Shirou?"
"Where did this child go?"
"Ah, there seems to be someone up there."
"Found it. Here it is."
"Hey, Shirou, ah, Shinji is here too."
"Why didn't you say anything when you came out?"
"We thought you were lost."
The couple who came before them were one in black and one in white, Emiya Kiritsugu and Irisviel. Shirou had been staying with them for some time.
There is no doubt that this is another work of Shinji.
After the battle that night, the two good friends from another world finally met.
Shinji was a little surprised when he saw Shirou for the first time. This guy actually appeared, became the Master, and summoned his ancient self. In the end, he actually met Ryougi Shiki. Fate is indeed an incredible thing.
Of course, he was just stunned for a moment, and then he didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, it was not the original world line, the two had no intersection, and they didn't know each other. Excessive enthusiasm would arouse suspicion. All he could do was to protect this former male protagonist, that's all.
So, Shinji arranged Shirou to live in his own villa, which is where the Emiya family lives now.
According to the rules, the Master who left the scene should be placed in the church, and Fiore had planned to do so at first. But Shinji said that the safety factor of the dilapidated church was really not very good, and it was safer here. With the Yoji family as a guarantee, he could not do anything, so Fiore did not object.
Of course, this is only the superficial reason, and everyone knows the real reason. Shirou has been adopted by the Emiya family in several world lines, and their compatibility is very good.
In Shinji's subconscious, Shirou should be the Emiya Shirou of the Emiya family. With the Emiya family, which has a lot of people with distinct personalities, it should be much easier for Shirou to get out of the shadows. At least now he seems to smile a lot more than when he is with himself.
Actually, he is not unaccustomed to being in a crowded environment. The key is who he is with.
Knowing that he was not the right person, Shinji quietly walked into the corridor while Shirou was busy dealing with the Emiya couple, and stopped the moment he stepped into the shadows.
"Mina, don't hide, I know you are there."
"Ah, I've been discovered." A little girl came out from the corner.
"Tell me, what are you planning?"
"I don't have any evil ideas." Mina rolled her eyes and moved closer to Shinji, "Mina is also worried about big brother, she has been helping to look for him, and she was the first one to find him."
"Oh, really? Then why didn't you come out? And why didn't you ask your mother to help look for it?" Shinji asked back with a smile.
Mina continued to roll her eyes, "Because mom is not good at finding people."
"So where is your stepmother?" Meizhu has been with Shi all this time, acting mysterious and no one knows what she is doing.
"Hmm... I forgot." Wei Na stuck out her tongue.
Most people would be fooled by her innocent appearance, but Shinji, who knows Mina's true nature, doesn't buy it at all.
"Okay, stop pretending. I know you like to play tricks on people, especially on honest people. Your dad, your mom, your uncle Shiki, your stepmother, and now you have to add brother Shirou, right?"
Mina finally stopped pretending: "Um... ahahaha, my future master has seen through me."
"If I don't do this, how can I be your master? Here is another lesson for you. It's okay to tease people, but there must be a limit. Moderate teasing can relax people's body and mind, which is very good for Shirou. Excessive teasing will only make people hate you."
"clear."
Shinji sighed: "You are a smart kid, but sometimes too smart."
"Aunt Qiuye said so too. Hehe, Mina will try to learn to play dumb. However, this time Mina feels that she shouldn't play dumb. Mina also saw someone when she came here, a dark-skinned sister wearing very cool clothes, on the other side. Well, I'm not kidding."
After saying that, Mina skipped away, while Shinji lowered his head and gently rubbed his palms.
"Yeah, I know. I've always known."