Walking in the Question and Answer System of Heroic Spirits

Gawain's mashed potatoes...

[Back then, Gawain became fascinated with mashed potatoes for some reason, and she ate the other person's prototypes for a long time.]

[When this topic was brought up, Shirou Emiya seemed to see vengeful spirits emerging from behind Artoria.]

Is this a complaint about mashed potatoes?

Good heavens, how potent is Gawain's mashed potatoes?!

Gawain: "..."

At this moment, Gao Wen felt as if he had been betrayed.

Your Majesty, that's not what you said back then.

Zabiko: "There's even food that King Arthur wouldn't want to eat."

Blonde Rin: "That actually makes it more interesting."

Artoria: "Ahem, Gao Wenqing, don't overthink it."

Mordred: "Hahaha＼(^▽^)／, gorilla, now you know how awful your mashed potatoes are."

She was also a victim of mashed potatoes back then.

Flower Magician: "Don't be sad, Gawain-chan. At least your younger siblings still like to eat it."

Gawain: "(╥╯^╰╥)"

[At midnight, Artoria had already gone to rest, but Rin Tohsaka, unable to sleep, pulled Shirou Emiya to sit in the corridor and admire the moon.]

[Rin Tohsaka has clearly developed different feelings for Shirou Emiya; otherwise, she wouldn't have moved into the Emiya family home.]

The reason for this is that Rin Tohsaka discovered a truth.

[That guy, Archer, is actually Shirou Emiya!]

[Actually, in the days leading up to this, perhaps due to the contract, she had several consecutive dreams in which she saw Red A's past life.]

Of course, his experiences are concentrated in the latter half of his life, which had the greatest impact on him; his memories of the Holy Grail War and the Clock Tower in the first half of his life are only briefly mentioned.

Only then did she realize that her Archer was such a tragic person.

However, she hadn't realized that Archer was actually Shirou Emiya until yesterday's battle ended.

After returning home, she felt increasingly uneasy, and after a night of brainstorming, she finally came up with a guess: Red A was none other than Emiya Shirou.

She initially couldn't believe the answer, since she genuinely couldn't tell.

[Summoning a Servant from the future is something that has never been recorded before, and in the first few days after Archer's arrival, he was constantly trying to persuade her to kill Shirou Emiya.]

Killing yourself, what kind of operation is that?

But as the truth came out, she increasingly felt that the two people were very similar.

Holding the belief that it was better to believe it than not, she accepted the fact.

[Therefore, she moved into the Emiya family home under the pretext of helping Shirou Emiya practice projection magic, hoping to help him avoid his tragic future.]

[That Red A guy seems really out of place; I don't know where he's gone again.]

Fiore: "So you discovered Red A's past?"

Weber: "It's amazing how this kind of shared memory happens again."

This isn't the first time a Master has seen a Heroic Spirit's past memories in a dream due to a contract; it happened to Shishikatsu Kairi before.

The cause is not yet clear.

Rin Tohsaka: "Seriously, you're just being too kind."

Aozaki Touko: "When a woman is interested in a man, it's a signal."

Rin Tohsaka: "..."

After a moment of silence, Rin Tohsaka broke it.

She asked Shirou Emiya, "Does learning and practicing magic bring you joy?"

She felt happy because it allowed her to forget that she was alone, with only a distant younger sister left.

She enjoys magic and the feeling of improving her skills, but she doesn't become addicted to it.

She won't become arrogant or conceited just because she's gained a little power.

[This can be seen as a response to my father's expectations, and also as a response to my own persistence.]

Weber: "Heh, you're getting straight to the core issue."

Ninja: "Through this question, we should be able to see Shirou Emiya's true intentions."

【"..."】

[Shirou Emiya didn't know how to answer this question.]

He didn't know—

This question is like asking someone who runs every day, "Are you happy running every day?"

Running is just a way to exercise. Just like Shirou Emiya practicing and learning magic, he only learns it because he needs to use magic, and he doesn't feel happy about it.

Caules: "In general, is it treated as a task to be completed?"

Gold: "Actually, most magicians start out like this, like my good-for-nothing son, who just went through the motions when I gave him the contact plan."

Magical Girl Illya: "It's just like going to school and taking exams (︶︹︺)."

Gina: "Hehe, that's such a vivid analogy."

[Rin Tohsaka: "Why are you silent? Emiya-san's father didn't force you to do it, but you keep practicing. Isn't it because magic makes you happy?"]

[Emiya Shirou: "Uh, no..."]

Rin Tohsaka's words pierced his heart deeply.

[Happiness—Shirou Emiya has never experienced this feeling even once.]

He learned magic only to become an ally of justice, so that he could use it to save people.

Magic is a tool for saving lives; learning how to use a tool certainly won't bring joy.

He knew he lacked any talent for magic (in his own mind), but in order to become like Kiritsugu, he had no choice but to desperately cling to this hope.

[At least I learned magic, which gave me the opportunity to get close to Kiritsugu.]

"Wait, answer me seriously."

[Rin Tohsaka said seriously, "Emiya-kun, I might have made a mistake about something very important..."]

She suddenly realized that she might have understood something.

"...That's right."

[Shirou Emiya hesitated for a moment, then said frankly, "I've never found the training of magic enjoyable. Neither the training nor magic itself has brought me joy. However, I'm happy as long as those around me feel happy. So, it's that feeling—that as long as I learn magic, one day I can be of use to someone. That's what I think."]

"I want to become a champion of justice like Kiritsugu, that's why I studied magic."

"Well, that's roughly my reasoning."

"What?! Didn't you learn magic for your own sake?"

Rin Tohsaka felt a surge of anger welling up inside her; she remembered the tragedy of Archer she had witnessed in her dream.

She finally understood the root of the tragedy.

Weber: "Tools... well, you can't say they're wrong. But—"

Shishi Jie Jie Li: "If he practices magic with this kind of mentality, he won't go far."

Kenneth: "A person who lacks exploration and creativity and learns magic only for others is merely reciting from a book."

Househusband: "...I learned this on my own in the video, and that's already pretty good."

Webber: "That's true, you do lack a qualified teacher to guide you in magic."

"What do you mean by 'not for myself'?"

[Shirou Emiya asked doubtfully, "I'll be happy as long as I can help others."]

He didn't know why Rin Tohsaka was angry, but he still spoke his mind.

Learning magic, helping others, receiving smiles from them, and doing good deeds—isn't that great for everyone?

"That's just being happy! It's not true joy!"

Rin Tohsaka said with exasperation, "That's not what happiness is. I'm talking about Emiya himself. Whether you feel happy or not has nothing to do with everything around you!"

"I'm asking you if you're truly happy from the bottom of your heart!"

Chapter 499 Kindness

(I've been a bit busy at the end of the year, so updates will be irregular these few days. I'll be back to normal next week.)

[Emiya Shirou: "Happy?"]

[Rin Tohsaka: "For example, when a magic trick succeeds, when you become more skilled at it, and when you can do things that others can't, that feeling of great joy! Have you ever experienced that?"]

[Shirou Emiya: "..."]