22 I got Yae Miko, but at what cost?

Your author here! I am here to send my prayers for @ForTheGreaterGood, who lost his left b*ll due to a bet in the previous chapter.

And also don't forget to join my discord server! The link is in my profile.

If you have some advice for the fanfic please tell in the comments and I will reply to it (If I don't forget that is).

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(99837th POV)

"Why do you want to change it? Isn't it as good as it is now?" Albion complained in an indignant tone while frowning at Shirou.

*Sigh*

Shirou sighed tiredly at his partner's stubbornness as he tossed a fried egg before it fell down to the wok.

"I told you already, it's not that I dislike the design of the Balance Break that you made, but I feel that there are still improvements to be made," Shirou explained again as poured the leftover rice from the day before.

After returning from the apartment where Shirou stayed for a few months, he teleported back to his room and waited for Kuroneko to return. And in the meantime, he was discussing (persuading) Albion to change the overall appearance of the armour.

"What do you mean? It is perfect as it is, there is no need to change it," Albion said, refusing to budge on his point.

'Seriously, he sometimes acts so stubbornly when I point out some flaws on him and he refuses to change, but when I praise him he starts acting so smugly,' Shirou thought as he was starting to get slightly annoyed.

"The armour is too bulky and more suited for hand-to-hand combat. You know that I am more of a swordsman than a brawler," Shirou said and heard a grunt through their mental connection.

"Fine…I will change it later…" Albion said reluctantly after a pause.

"Good," Shirou nodded as he poured soy sauce and MSG on the fried rice, "I will share with you some designs later, we've got guests now."

As soon as he said, the time stopped momentarily and the front door was opened. Two women entered the room and immediately rushed in his direction before stopping at the doorway of the kitchen.

And then the time started moving again.

"Cease! Don't move!" Kurono shouted as she pointed her handguns at Shirou. Beside her, Nene was holding a pair of metal fans.

"Wait...Shirou!?" Kurono gasped in surprise and Nene was surprised as well. Their surprise was obvious.

They were instantly alarmed when they suddenly felt a presence of an unknown Desperado in the Academy, so they immediately rushed there only to find out that one of their students reached the realm of Desperado, a feat that normally isn't easy to achieve (except for a few peculiar cases).

"Director and Nene-san…"

"How? And when?" Kurono asked in a serious tone that demanded an answer from him.

Shirou knew what she was talking about and scratched the back of his head.

"It's a rather…complicated story," Shirou said after thinking for a while. "Why not join us for dinner? It will take a while to explain what happened."

Kurono and Nene sighed in relief and dematerialized their Devices.

"It's fine, we alre–" Kurono wanted to politely decline his offer, but she was abruptly interrupted by the legal loli beside her.

"Sure!" Nene accepted immediately with a drool gathering in the corner of her mouth.

"Hey! What ar–" Kurono wanted to reprime her friend when her nose suddenly picked the fragrance floating in the air and unconsciously started sniffing.

'This is…!' Kurono wasn't a stranger to this smell as it was familiar to her, but somehow it was different this time.

Kurono gazed at the side and saw Nene looking at her with a teasing smile. Director noticed that her behavior just now was somehow rude and coughed in embarrassment.

"I made egg fried rice," Shirou said as he distributed the egg fried rice in different bowls and put it in front of them.

'And it's about time…' Shirou thought as he looked at the hallway.

Then the front door was opened again and a raven-haired girl entered the room.

"I'm home," Kuroneko's voice echoed through the room.

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"This is so good~!" Nene said as she brought a spoon of egg fried rice to her mouth.

"I see, so that's what happened," Kurono said with a serious expression, ignoring the glutton beside her.

Shirou told them what happened this afternoon and of course, it was filled with lies and truths.

"But this isn't assuring at all. If that woman is here, then I am sure that there will be a lot of troubles waiting for us in the future," Kurono said while biting her nails. As the director of the Hagun Academy, it was her responsibility to make sure to not let any danger of this level fall on the students.

"Don't worry~, don't worry~! I am sure we will get over it somehow, right Kotobo~?" Although Nene spoke in a playful manner, her eyes were serious while looking at Shirou.

"Sure…" Shirou said still not used to the nickname she gave him.

Kurono released a sigh and smiled.

'Having another Desperado in our ranks will be assuring,' Kurono thought and looked at Kuroneko who was silent during the whole dinner, 'And we have a lot of promising students too.' She then got up from her seat, preparing to leave.

"Then I will take my leave, I still have work to do," She said and looked at her friend, "And stop fooling around, we are going."

Nene nodded and got up from her seat and followed behind Kurono.

"Then see you later~, Kotobo~" Nene said before closing the door behind her.

*Sigh*

"And they are out," Shirou let out a sigh before turning to Kuroneko, who was silent all this time.

"Let me wash the dishes," Kuroneko volunteered and Shirou nodded, before sitting on the couch.

"So how much of it was a lie and what part was the truth?" Kuroneko asked curiously.

Shirou shrugged his shoulders, "Only the first part of it was what really happened, the rest is what I made up from the spot, but I will tell the whole story later in the Group Chat."

Kuroneko nodded and continued to wash the dishes.

*Ding!*

Kuroneko's phone suddenly rang which alerted the duo.

"Can you get it for me?" Kuroneko asked.

"Sure," Shirou replied and got up from his seat and stretched his hand to the table, grabbing the phone. Then he went to the kitchen while reading the message.

"What does it say?" Kuroneko asked.

"The opponent for your tomorrow match has been decided," Shirou said as he took his eyes from the screen and looked at Kuroneko.

"..."

"Stop with the suspense and tell me already!" Kuroneko said with her eyebrows twitching in annoyance.

Shirou chuckled, but then his expression turned to a worried one and said, "It's…Kurogane Shizuku."

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(??? Location)

Moonlight penetrated the reinforced windows and illuminated the whole empty floor of a building. There was a man sitting on the chair with a stoic expression as he gazed at the dark sky.

Next to him, there was another man with a shorter statute standing beside him, with wrinkles spread on his fatty face.

"Itsuki-sama, Shizuku-sama's match is tomorrow," The fatty said respectfully.

"I see…" Now the man identified as Itsuki gave a short answer in a monotone voice.

"Her opponent is a Blazer B-rank that has been winning every match much like Shizuku-sama and it is said that she is a talented one too."

"..."

This time, the man received silence from Itsuki, but he wasn't perturbed by this. Then Itsuki sighed tiredly and without looking at the man beside him, he asked.

"Akaza, do you think she will lose?" Itsuki asked.

"Of course not, a genius like Shizuku-sama won't lose to anyone!" Akaza said, trying to appease his boss.

"I see," Itsuki said flatly.

"Then what about 'him'?" Akaza asked with the corner of his lips curved slightly upwards.

"...Do whatever you like with him," Itsuki said after a brief pause.

"Understood," Akaza said and bowed slightly enough to hide the creepy grin on his face.