Please play Fate/Go with me.

Early the next morning, Shirou took his sister to school, Komachi went to the classroom where the examinees gathered, and Shirou headed to the archery club.

I was about to use my key to open the door when I discovered that it was already open, with a small crack in the door.

Pushing open the door and stepping inside, I saw the familiar pink-haired girl. She had changed into a black and white archery uniform and was aiming at the target. There were five arrows stuck in the target, three of them in the bullseye and two that were off-center.

The pink-haired girl focused her mind, drew the bow to its fullest extent, and the arrow sliced ​​through the air, finally landing below the '鹄' character on the bullseye.

"What a pity, it was just a little short," Shirou said regretfully.

"Good morning, Shirou-senpai." Upon hearing the voice, Mash lowered her bow-wielding hand and greeted him with a smile.

It's been almost four months since the girl joined the archery club. She started by learning archery etiquette and has now progressed quite well in archery. In fact, she has made rapid progress. However, she still has some shortcomings if she wants to participate in competitions.

In sports like basketball, golf, and archery, where the goal is to hit a target, even beginners can hit the bullseye. Some experienced enthusiasts, when they're in good form, can also have a number of consecutive shots.

However, in professional situations, the key to victory is no longer how many times you hit the bullseye, but how to consistently get the best score when you're not in good form.

In an archery competition, if you're so unlucky that you shoot six times, hitting the bullseye five times and missing once, you only get 50 rings. It would be better to shoot slightly off target six times and get 9 rings each time, for a total of 54 rings.

A professional's approach requires a steady and methodical approach, ensuring consistent performance under pressure, avoiding misses and low scores. The young woman lacks this consistency.

If the girl's connection with the Heroic Spirit Galahad hadn't become so unstable due to her current physical condition, she probably could have done much better.

After her resurrection, most of her abilities as a Demi-Servant had dissipated, and her magic circuits were shut down as if rusted. Without the Holy Grail in the FGO system on her phone, she could not transform and was practically an ordinary person in normal times.

Shirou felt a little sorry for this pink-haired girl who put her heart and soul into everything she did, but when he thought about how she was able to enjoy school life and find fun in classes and club activities, he realized that it wasn't so bad.

Chapter 56 International Archery Competition

"Good morning, Mash, you're here early today," Shirou said with a smile.

Mashu nodded and said, "Yes, after all, the international youth sports competition is about to begin, and the other seniors will probably be here today too."

“It would be wonderful if you could be selected to compete as well,” Shirou said.

Mashu blushed slightly, then clenched her fist and promised, "I'm still far from good enough, but I'll be here to cheer for Shirou-senpai on the day of the match!"

"Okay, thank you." Shirou was relieved to see that his junior wasn't feeling down.

Since Perseus was defeated, the world here has temporarily returned to normal, at least on the surface. Although monsters roam freely in the alternate dimension and there are news reports of sudden earthquakes and buildings shaking from time to time, no one has been injured so far.

Following Leonardo da Vinci's advice, Shirou and the girls decided to stay, but first they would eliminate the monsters in the nearby alternate dimension. After all, there were still six Heroic Spirits like Perseus who had been corrupted by the black mud and turned evil, and they could attack this world at any time, or even have already secretly infiltrated some alternate dimension.

Only when Da Vinci has thoroughly investigated the situation and made a comprehensive plan can action be taken; otherwise, there will be no hope of redemption.

So during this period, the main task was to clear out all the monsters in the Tokyo metropolitan area and surrounding areas within an hour or two's commute. Only on holidays would they travel further afield to clear out more distant areas.

So Shirou and Mashu had some free time to participate in club activities at school. The national-level sports competition was about to begin, and as the captain of the archery club, Shirou naturally had to participate as well.

It is said that the organizers invited teams from China, North Korea, Singapore and other countries to participate in the competition, and the national-level event was suddenly upgraded to a small-scale international competition.

These past few days, even those guys who only practice sporadically have come to the archery club to practice.

After Komachi finishes her exams these two days, Shirou will go to Tokyo to participate in the international competition in two days. After he finishes the competition and returns, the school should announce the admission results.

"Hey, Shirou, Mashu-chan's here too! You two are together again today." A tall, thin male classmate walked in with a big laugh. It was none other than Nasu Yoichi, the captain of the archery club and one of Shirou's teammates in this team competition. He was very tall, but also very thin. Despite being nearly 9 meters tall, his arms and legs were thinner than many girls'.

"Yo, Nasu." Shirou simply nodded to the other person. Although he was the captain, he was just a figurehead and didn't usually show his face.

"Good morning, Nasu-senpai," Mashu greeted.

"Hey, this reaction is way too bland." The archery club president had originally wanted to tease the two people in front of him, but their bland reaction made him unable to continue.

"Good morning! Good morning, everyone!" At this moment, another short and stocky male student walked in with a big laugh. This was Taira no Kyoukei, the vice-captain of the archery club, and Shirou's teammate in the team competition. He looked exactly the opposite of Nasu Yoichi. He was not tall, but very strong. From a distance, he looked like a door panel, but up close, you could see that his muscles were very solid, making him look quite intimidating.

"Good morning, Tsunehira. Now that all three members of the men's team are here, let's begin practice," Shirou said.

"Yes, yes, I'm counting on you, Ace. If you're serious, you can hit the bullseye every time, right?" Heikyou said with a hearty laugh.

"I'll try my best not to hold anyone back. In short, I'll strive for the top five, and try to get into the top three," Minister Nasu said with a relaxed smile.

"...Seniors, please do your best." Mashu paused in confusion, wondering why, even with a teammate who always hits the bullseye, the goal was still to be in the top five. For a moment, the girl was unsure whether her club's archery club was strong or not.

Anyway, just keep going!

"Alright, let's change and practice." Shirou led the way into the changing room.

"Got it! Please guide me. ACE!" Vice Minister Ping Jiaojing said with a hearty laugh.

While I can understand Mashu's feelings, that's just the way things are at this school. They recruited a special student to save face, so they didn't interfere too much. These two men, as captain and vice-captain, are actually the strongest archers the club could find.

So there's not much more to say, just practice. A sudden burst of good form can be lost just as suddenly. Your grades can fluctuate wildly, so keep practicing! Only constant practice will never lie to you.

"Hey, Mashu, everyone's already practicing." At that moment, the long-haired teacher in the white coat walked in and nodded with satisfaction when she saw the boys practicing inside.

"Good morning, Hiratsuka-sensei. You're unexpectedly early to school today," Mashu said with a curious look at the teacher who always arrived at the classroom just in time.

Ms. Hiratsuka looked at the girl with displeasure and said, "Mash... you don't have a problem with me, do you? It's only natural for me to be here as the archery club's advisor! I'm usually here at this time too... on my way (whispering)..."

"Is that so?" Mashu felt that the teacher in front of her seemed to be like the adults in Chaldea who liked to slack off at work.

“Of course! Shirou, come here for a second!” Hiratsuka Shizuka called out to the boy on the other side, wanting to end the conversation quickly.

"Hiratsuka-sensei? You're surprisingly early today." Shirou put the bow back on the shelf and walked over to say.

"Stop nagging! You can't keep repeating the same thing over and over! You're my mom!" Hiratsuka Shizuka shouted angrily.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Shirou looked at his junior with a puzzled expression. 'Why is she suddenly angry and saying things like that? She has absolutely no intention of becoming someone's mother.'

"..." Mashu shook her head. Her current teacher was indeed quite different from the adults in Chaldea; she was much more childish.

Hiratsuka Shizuka said, "Never mind, I came to ask you how your preparations are going. I already told you about the changes to the competition last time, right? We can't count on the team competition for recurve bows anymore, but the school hopes you can participate in the recurve bow competition."

Shirou nodded and said, "That's no problem. It doesn't really matter to me which one to use."

Because this national competition has been changed into an international competition, seemingly for commercial considerations, even the competition arrangements have been changed. The traditional archery competition has been moved to a small indoor arena, while the recurve bow competition will be held on a lawn, which is much larger in scale.

Of course, for the pragmatic Shirou, any kind of bow is fine as long as he can hit the bullseye. He'll also take care of the etiquette and physical discipline required for archery competitions, in addition to archery skills.

"Really? That's good! It's reassuring to have you here, haha. Bring me back a lot of medals! Go back and practice." Hiratsuka Shizuka said with a laugh, patting the boy on the back.

Shirou felt a burning sensation on his back as he was pushed back onto the archery platform.

"By the way, Mashu, it's rare for me to come to school so early, let's play FGO for a while," Hiratsuka Shizuka said.

“Well, but the seniors are practicing here, it wouldn’t be good to disturb them.” Mashu said, glancing at Shirou’s side, somewhat tempted.

"Let's go outside and play," Hiratsuka Shizuka said, pulling Mashu towards the door.

"By the way, speaking of which, did you draw Master-chan last time, teacher?" Mashu asked.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, we can still have fun." Hiratsuka Shizuka lowered her head in disappointment.

"It's okay, teacher! The C-rank Shi-chan will be implemented soon! This time, Shi-chan has a younger feel to her. With a beauty like you, teacher, you'll definitely be able to get her." Mashu clenched her fists and cheered for her teacher.

Hiratsuka Shizuka immediately perked up and burst into laughter, "Haha, is that so? You're right! I'll try a few more summoning tickets then, no! Maybe I'll get it in one summoning ticket!"

"Actually, I feel like I've been having pretty good luck lately, maybe I'll get a gold card next time."

The two chatted and laughed as they left the archery club together.

"..." Shirou picked up his bow and continued practicing, leaving only the sound of arrows piercing the air and hitting the target.

Chapter 57 Heading to the Tokyo Arena

When lunch break arrived, Shirou, as usual, came to the Service Club to have lunch with everyone.

"Hey? Shirou, are you eating rice balls today?"

"Well, since my younger sister Komachi is taking her entrance exam today, I don't think she'll be able to eat her lunch even if I bring her one, so I just made rice balls for her as a snack."

Shirou's box contained six rice balls, three on each side. One side was snow-white, with rice wrapped in seaweed and filled with different ingredients: cod, pork floss, and a braised egg. The rice was vinegared, and it tasted even sweeter when it was cold.

One side is golden brown, which is the roasted rice ball filled with spices and minced meat, while the other side is crispy.

"Huh? The entrance exam is today? Shouldn't it start on Saturday or Sunday? It's only Monday now," Yui asked in confusion.

“Yuihama, didn’t you know? That’s not how it works. To accommodate international students from other countries, the international high school holds exams in advance every year,” Yukinoshita explained.

"Because I'm not familiar with the students in the international class. I haven't even spoken more than a few words to any of the international students yet," Yuihama said with a smile.

"That can't be right, we have a foreigner here!" Shirou retorted.

"Huh? Who is it?" Yui blinked in confusion. Was there a foreigner with her? And who had she told about the traffic jam?

"Hmm??" The pink-haired girl tilted her head in confusion and looked at Asuna-senpai. Although her nickname sounded like a foreign name, her real name's surname was a traditional Japanese clan name, such as Yuuki Rito, Yuuki Mikan, or Yuuki Yuna, which was not uncommon.

Then she looked at Yukinoshita-senpai. Although she had heard that this senpai had studied abroad, she was still a Japanese.

"Even if you try so hard to play dumb, no one will complain," Shirou said calmly, looking at Mash.

"Ah! Mashu!" Yuihama suddenly realized.

"Don't say it out loud." Yukinoshita pulled Yuihama back and made her sit down.

"Ugh..." Mashu puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. How could these seniors be so uncooperative? Even if they were telling a lame joke, shouldn't you at least laugh? That's basic social etiquette.

"Hehehe, I see." Yuihama laughed shyly, fiddling with the bun on her head. Because their conversation was so natural, she completely mistook Mashu for a Japanese person.

"Speaking of which, why didn't you invite your sister to have lunch with you?" Asuna asked.

"Ah, Komachi said she has a classmate who knows a lot about ramen and will take her to eat it," Shirou said.

"I see. It's a little disappointing, I haven't met your sister yet," Asuna said.

Shirou thought to himself, 'No, perhaps it's better if you two don't meet.'

"Speaking of which day, what day of the week are you going to Tokyo for the competition?" Yukinoshita asked the boy.

"Thursday afternoon is over, and the competition starts on Friday. The archery club's competition is on the first day, and the recurve bow competition is on the second day," Shirou said.

"Huh? Then we didn't have time to cheer you on?" Yui asked in surprise.

"No, Yuihama-senpai, making noise is prohibited during archery competitions," Mashu reminded her.

"Does everyone want to come over? It's actually pretty boring," Shirou said.

"Shirou, what are you talking about? Watching the game alone is boring, but watching the participants is a different story! Yukino, come with me to the mall after school, I need to get my megaphone and maracas ready!" Yui Hama said.

"Okay, sure. It's too embarrassing to shout, but I can use the maracas too," Yukinoshita nodded in agreement.

“Then I’ll go too,” Asuna said.

"I don't need that kind of thing. I'm not participating in boxing or any kind of fighting. Even if you want to come, please just watch quietly," Shirou reminded him.

"Someone's cheering you on, what's there to be unhappy about?" Yui Hama said unhappily.

"I know, I'll cheer you on without affecting the match," Yukinoshita said, looking over.

"Shirou-senpai, do your best!" Mash cheered.

"Um... thank you everyone." Shirou could only agree, but there really was no need to watch that kind of match.

After school, Komachi, whose exams for the day had already ended, returned home and changed into her pajamas to stay at home.

"My friend took me to several ramen shops, and the one we finally found was so delicious! I feel like I'm getting addicted!" Komachi said with a big laugh.

"Isn't it dangerous to have addictive ramen? By the way, are you classmates?"

"No, it's the student Komachi met during the previous school visit. At first, I thought she was a bit aloof, but we actually got along very well. So, I'll ask her to take me out for some good food tomorrow!" Komachi said expectantly.

"You're a test taker, right? It's good to be relaxed, but don't forget about the exam," Shirou retorted.

"I know! Eating delicious food always makes me feel super energetic for exams. Komachi will definitely have no problem this time," Komachi said confidently.

“Is that so? That’s good.” Shirou replied.

“Brother, speaking of which, my friend seems to like cooking. Maybe you two are a good match. I’ll invite you out next time so we can all meet up.” Even while preparing for her middle school entrance exams, Komachi didn’t forget to work hard for her brother’s marriage.

"Komachi, what do you think we should eat today? Mom and Dad will be home early today too," Shirou said, heading towards the kitchen.

After that, Komachi successfully finished her exams, and the results would not be announced until next week. On Thursday, Shirou also packed his bags and prepared to go to Tokyo to participate in the competition.

"Go for it, brother! Mom and Dad are busy, but Komachi will be going over to cheer for their friends on Saturday, so they'll cheer for you too!" That's what Komachi said to him when she left for school in the morning.

They will stay at a hotel owned by the board of directors of the international high school tonight, and then report to the gymnasium tomorrow morning.

Shirou arrived at the archery club and met up with his teammates. Together they boarded the school's luxury bus, put their luggage and bows in the storage room on the first floor, and then climbed the stairs to the second floor.

As soon as I climbed the stairs, I heard a cheerful voice.

"Hey, Shirou's finally here. Come sit over here." One of the leaders, Hiratsuka Shizuka, waved to the boy.