Chapter 204: Shirou and the Girls Living Together
"Alright, don't just stand there staring in the entryway, hurry up and come in. Shirou, put your luggage away and then come back down," Mr. Hikigaya called out.
"Oh, okay," Shirou replied, carrying his suitcase up to his room. He first took out all the gifts and placed them in an empty space. Then, he took out his change of clothes and neatly placed them into the closet, categorized.
After he finished tidying up, Shirou looked around and found that although he had been gone for three weeks, the room looked exactly as he had left it, without any dust.
It seemed someone had cleaned it thoroughly. Well... except for the bed sheets, which looked a bit messy, with traces that suggested someone had been rolling around on them.
A cheerful voice came from the doorway.
"Onii-chan, Komachi is here to help~!" His sister walked in with a smile, though she claimed to be helping, she was really here to claim her gifts.
As Komachi walked in, she followed her brother's gaze and saw him looking at the slightly messy bed sheets. Her face instantly flushed, and she flailed her arms, shouting:
"Waaahhh!! No! No! Onii-chan! It's not what you think!"
"If it's not what I think, then what is it?" Shirou asked, looking at his sister strangely.
"See, it's just like how ordinary siblings miss rolling around, sleeping, and bathing together when they were little. This is just a very normal thing, okay?" Komachi explained with a red face and wandering eyes.
"No need to explain, I understand," Shirou said with an indifferent smile.
"What exactly did you understand?!" Komachi cried out in panic.
"Anyway, I'm not mad. Don't worry about such a small matter," Shirou said with a light chuckle. He understood his sister well enough.
Komachi was probably thinking something along the lines of, "Wahahaha, Onii-chan is gone, both rooms and both beds belong to Komachi now!" and then using both rooms in rotation, sitting here for a while and checking out the other room too.
Komachi puffed out her cheeks and said, "Honestly! Komachi thinks Onii-chan has the wrong idea. But, whatever, as long as you remember to give Komachi her gifts, Komachi will forgive you no matter what mistake you've made."
"Yes, yes, I'd forget anyone before I forgot you." Shirou handed the Jiu Jiang tea cakes, Paris macarons, syrup, and Bristol... snacks and sweets to Komachi.
"Hahaha, Komachi's big harvest~! There's so much, I can barely eat it all myself." Komachi looked at the abundance of delicious food and snacks in her arms, beaming with an extremely satisfied smile.
"Just try one for dinner, or you won't be able to eat the main meal," Shirou reminded his sister.
"Yes, yes. Onii-chan is such a hassle, starting to nag less than ten minutes after coming back." Komachi gave the boy a look of distaste, then carried her gifts off to her room.
Sitting down in the living room with everyone, Shirou finally got a clear picture of what was going on.
"Mom, this is the outfit I bought for you. I bought a trendy style in your size; it should suit you well." Shirou took out the gift he had prepared.
He had described his mother's appearance, figure, and temperament in detail to the school principal, received excellent advice, and then carefully selected this branded dress.
Although not as internationally famous as the major labels, it was a brand name in France. Its focus wasn't on fast fashion trends but on elegant and graceful dresses that highlighted the unique charm of mature women. The embroidery and prints were exquisite and beautiful without being overly flashy.
A mother who raises a child, assuming she has the child at twenty, will be nearly forty when the child reaches adulthood. Women start to show age at forty. Except for a few who rely on injections, beauty treatments, and spend a lot of time on maintenance and exercise, most women in middle age have to face issues like wrinkles and weight gain.
This was the time for the child to show care for the mother. Buying a gift for your parents with your first paycheck is something many people do.
"Thank you, Shirou. I'll cherish it," his mother said, smiling happily.
"And this is for Dad," Shirou said, handing the gift to his father, who was pretending to read the newspaper.
"Oh, more good wine!" His father instantly put down the newspaper, took the gift, and said happily.
"More?" Shirou looked over at Artoria. Their eyes met, and he understood what was going on.
"Thank you, Artoria, for taking the trouble to bring gifts for my family," Shirou said to the girl.
"No, I learned about the etiquette here. This small gift is necessary for the elders who raised you, Shirou," Artoria replied as a matter of course.
"I see. This is a gift I originally intended to give you at the airport when I picked you up after you finished your trip and came to Chiba, but I didn't expect you to arrive here earlier than me." Shirou said, taking out a long, narrow box and pulling out a silver necklace.
"Mhm, thank you, Shirou. I like this very much." Artoria accepted the necklace and put it on immediately. A silver ring, with an ornament carved like the Holy Sword in the center, rested against the skin beneath her snow-white, jade-like neck.
"Is that so? That's great. It really suits you," Shirou said with a smile. The moment he saw the necklace, he felt a connection to it and bought it.
"But I didn't prepare a gift for you, Shirou," Artoria said, playing with the silver ornament beneath the necklace.
"I've already received my gift. Hearing you say 'Welcome home' from inside the door today, Artoria, is the best gift," Shirou said sincerely, from the bottom of his heart.
Stare...
Everyone in the living room focused their gaze on the boy and the girl.
His mother and Komachi exchanged glances: 'This is a confirmed success, right?'
'Looks like it! Onii-chan has moves!'
Stare...
The other long-haired blonde girl continued to stare intently at the boy and the girl.
Shirou felt the gaze and pulled out another gift.
"Mashiro, this is a small gift. This beret is the same style as Osamu Tezuka's." Shirou took out a beret and handed it to Mashiro. It was just a souvenir he had bought for fun. He never expected the girl to come to Chiba with Artoria, so it was great that it could be put to use.
Mashiro took the hat, placed it on her head with a sense of ceremony, and said honestly, "Thank you, Shirou. Next time, just bring me Baumkuchen and melon bread."
"I know." Shirou said with a chuckle, realizing that he would have to moonlight as a pastry chef in the coming days.
"Woof woof!" Caval II ran up and squatted at the boy's feet, his two large black eyes sparkling with expectation.
"Alright, I didn't forget you. Here! French-made Royal Dog Food. Eat up." Shirou opened the package and poured the food into his specialized bowl.
"Woof woof!" Caval II wagged his tail, nudged Shirou affectionately, and then lowered his head to enjoy the imported, high-quality dog food.
Grumble~!
"Don't let your stomach growl just because you see a dog enjoying its meal," Shirou joked.
"Shirou, make dinner. I want fried chicken," Artoria said.
"Baumkuchen," Mashiro added.
"Yes, we're really looking forward to your cooking too, Shirou," his mother and father also chimed in.
"It's been three weeks since I had Onii-chan's love-filled cooking. Everything I ate felt like it was missing something. In these three weeks, Komachi fully understood the terrifying power of culinary skills over people's hearts. When school starts, I definitely need to learn properly from Erina-chan," Komachi said seriously.
"Why not learn from me? I've summarized some insights on French cuisine since I came back from abroad," Shirou suggested.
"No way! Komachi would never be Onii-chan's apprentice!" Komachi rejected.
"Why?" Shirou looked at his sister in surprise, genuinely confused about what she was thinking. They were siblings; what couldn't they do together?
"Anyway, Shirou (Onii-chan), please~!" x5 Five voices converged in perfect harmony.
"Alright, alright. I wasn't planning on having any of you cook anyway," Shirou said. "Why do I suddenly feel like there are several Komachis gathered here?"
The two girls seemed more like members of the Hikigaya family than he did. With the unanimous approval of Mrs. Hikigaya and the family, Artoria and Mashiro officially took up residence in Shirou's home as boarders.
To welcome the two new members of the family, Shirou got busy. Since his parents were always busy with work, the refrigerator was constantly stocked with vegetables, ham, and bacon.
The oven in their four-person home was not capable of making professional-grade Baumkuchen.
However, even a simplified version of Baumkuchen, one that achieved the tightly layered and connected texture, could be done with some effort. He figured they would have to settle for that tonight. He would buy a specialized large oven tomorrow.
Shirou was already planning for the long term. Making it himself would be much cheaper than buying it, and it tasted better, too. When the house next door was finished with renovations, he could just move the oven over there.
As for the melon bread, that was not an issue. It was simple to make, although the fermentation required time, and he needed to perfect the crispiness of the crust. Since it was a dessert, he would make it last, as a late-night snack for Mashiro and Artoria.
After mentally finalizing the menu for the evening, Shirou quickly got to work. With his culinary skills honed through extensive practice, there were no flaws, and no cuisine he couldn't master.
The dishes for tonight, besides the melon bread dessert and Artoria's favorite fried chicken, included a variety of dumpling sets.
There were cabbage and mushroom dumplings, where the delicious filling was encased in the wrapper, boiled in hot water, then cooled and served. Eaten this way, the wrapper was incredibly smooth and tender, and the filling was juicy and flavorful.
There were chive dumplings. He mixed the dough himself, using a rolling pin to flatten the water-added flour into a thick, circular layer. If wrapped and then steamed, the thick dumpling skin, chewed a few times, gave a satisfying, rustic feeling.
There were pan-fried garlic dumplings. This time, he used thinner wrappers, which were placed on an oiled iron plate and pan-fried until golden. The garlic pork filling combined with the wheat aroma inside the wrapper, and finally, a layer of special meat sauce was drizzled on top.
"So happy, so delicious, ohhh..." Komachi said, holding her cheeks in ecstasy.
"Our dinner really needs to be at this level. Shirou definitely needs to be a chef."
"Oh, this pan-fried dumpling goes great with the wine," his father said, picking up his wine glass.
Since they were at home in the evening, they didn't have to worry about bad breath. They could just take a shower and brush their teeth afterward. Everyone ate heartily, and Shirou made enough until everyone was satisfied.
The next morning, Shirou woke up at six for his physical training.
Artoria was already standing on the open ground in the garden, swinging a bamboo sword.
"Good morning," Shirou walked over and greeted the girl.
"Good morning, Shirou," Artoria said, stopping her bamboo sword practice.
"You're very dedicated, waking up so early to practice," Shirou complimented her.
"Mhm, now that I have a physical body, if I don't exercise properly, my muscles and physical resilience could easily become dull," Artoria explained.
"I see, that makes sense," Shirou nodded.
"Shirou, would you like to have a practice match?" Artoria suggested.
"It's a rare opportunity. Let's do it. Please go easy on me," Shirou said, picking up a bamboo sword from the rack and smiling.
Although they couldn't make too much noise since there was no dojo and no soundproofing here, their sparring didn't involve intense collisions. Instead, they opted for grappling and entanglement, which still felt quite exhilarating.
In the rapid exchange, bamboo sword met bamboo sword, blocking the attack and then neutralizing the momentum. One excelled at offense, the other at defense.
Shirou watched the British King's exquisite swordsmanship, and even though he had seen it hundreds of times and sparred dozens of times, it was still just as powerful and resolute. A fire ignited in his heart. It all felt like a return from another life.
The bamboo sword attacks blurred into streaks, a continuous assault that felt almost suffocating.
But the boy, who excelled at defense, managed to parry all the attacks.
Artoria raised her sword and struck down with immense force, slightly knocking Shirou's bamboo sword off balance.
Artoria seized the momentary opportunity, lunged forward, and struck with a decisive blow.
"Hah, I lost again," Shirou sat on the ground, sweating and panting heavily. It had been a long time since he had such a satisfying practice match. Artoria was just as serious and rigorous in combat as she used to be.
"No, Shirou, you did very well. If you were using your preferred dual swords, I might have lost," Artoria said.
"Then we'll compete again next time, but let's end today's practice here. I'll go wash up and prepare breakfast. Artoria, you can pass the time here for a bit," Shirou said to the girl.
"Understood. I'll be responsible for waking Mashiro up in a little while," the girl nodded in agreement.
After their exercise, Artoria put away her bamboo sword, sat down, and began her combat training meditation.
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