IBHJ Chapter 863

Mo-chan's face flushed red as she hastily straightened her posture, head bowed as she mumbled, "N-No need, Father."

She would occasionally steal glances at Shirou, only to look away flustered when their eyes met.

Watching the interaction between Shirou and Mo-chan, Salter leaned her head on one hand as she munched on chips, her dark golden eyes observing them both.

"By the way, isn't oniichan coming?" Chloe, now a new mother cradling baby Miyu, looked at Shirou questioningly.

"Ah...the king? He had something to take care of," he responded smoothly. From his exchange with Gray, he had already deduced the reason for Artoria planning to meet him today.

"I see. Well, if he's not coming then so be it. Honestly, Shirou-niisan has been distant lately," said Chloe with a sigh.

Hm? He asked in confusion, "Distant?"

This was the first time he had heard such a thing about himself from others.

While he didn't normally care about others' opinions of him, coming from Chloe and his other acquaintances, it did give him pause.

"Yeah, haven't you noticed?" Chloe looked at Shirou quizzically, then smiled wryly as she patted her head. "Ah, I suppose it would be too much to expect you to notice that sort of thing."

He tilted his head in bewilderment. "?????"

"It just feels like oniichan has been keeping something from us, carrying some burden alone. It's frustrating - when we're struggling he's always there to lend a hand, but when he has troubles he never asks us for help...it's like he sees us as outsiders!" Chloe said with a dissatisfied pout.

Hearing Chloe out, Shirou understood - they felt he had been hiding things from them. Things like the loop, the Beasts, the Dark Vortex... These were all matters he had kept secret, never burdening these young people with such heavy affairs. But because of that, they misunderstood and felt excluded.

Still, it was better this way. Rather than drag these kids into his time-looping troubles that even the Enlightened One was involved in, he would gladly accept their misunderstanding. The more they knew, the less happy they would be. His eyes looked at the complaining Chloe with tenderness.

"Don't say that, Chloe," Salter said between bites of her chips. "Eternal King must have his reasons."

"I know...but I just feel uneasy being treated like a stranger by oniichan," Chloe muttered.

I've never seen you all as strangers, Chloe. You're all my dear friends. He smiled gently, but said nothing.

"There's one more thing," Salter set down her chips and extended her hand towards Shirou. "You can hand it over now, right?"

"Huh?" he looked at her, confused.

"Your notebook!" Salter smiled slightly at him, then pointed to the chips in front of him smugly. "No matter how much I begged before, you refused to let me see it. But now, you've eaten my chips - you've accepted a favor from me. Isn't there a saying that goes..."

She took out a notebook from her pocket, flipped through it, then looked up at Shirou seriously. "'One who partakes of the fruit is bound to the tree.' Quick, hand over your notebook!"

"This is..." he looked utterly baffled. What was this all about?

But his confused expression only made Salter think he was going to back out, prompting her to say indignantly, "You've already eaten my food, if you refuse now that would be totally dishonorable, my other self! Besides, I'm not even borrowing, just taking a look!"

Shirou: "......"

He finally realized what notebook Salter was talking about.

It was his embarrassing memories notebook!

Ahhhhh!

"Hey, no one else is coming, right?" Chloe asked Gray.

"That's right, The others are either not around or unwilling to come," Gray replied.

The former referred to people like Illya and Mordred, while the latter was the arrogant and extremely unpopular Gilgamesh.

"Perfect! Let's eat, I'm starving!" Chloe grinned, reaching for her chopsticks with gusto.

Her words, however, seemed to trigger an unspoken battle cry. The two blondes at the table suddenly tensed, their ahoge antennae twitching as if receiving a signal. In a flash, chopsticks became weapons and the peaceful dining table transformed into a chaotic warzone.

A whirlwind of chaos erupted, the two golden-haired dynamos clashing with such force that the table itself shook. The sheer intensity of their battle left everyone else speechless.

Mash quietly set down her bowl and chopsticks, recognizing this was a demigod duel far beyond her mortal capabilities.

"I should have seen this coming..." Chloe sighed, setting her utensils down as well, already full from just witnessing Salter and Mo-chan's vicious fighting.

Salter and Mo-chan's chopsticks clashed and clattered, turning the dining table into a scene of carnage rivaling the Hill of Swords itself.

In the end, the clash ended with Salter snatching away the last pork rib.

Staring at the empty plate, Mo-chan couldn't help but glare at Salter accusingly. "Your bowl was full of ribs, why didn't you leave even the last one for me?!"

Salter side-eyed her, protectively cradling her own bowl as she continued to eat.

Seeing Salter like this, a vein bulged on Mo-chan's forehead - such a father was better off beheaded!

Her warrior spirit flared, reaching for her sword. Salter mirrored the movement, equally ready to draw.

Before steel could be bared, two strong hands clamped down on their wrists. "Enough, both of you," Shirou's voice was gentle but firm. "You're troubling everyone."

Mo-chan and Salter glanced around to see the rest of the group looking distinctly uncomfortable.

Busted.

Mo-chan glared defiantly at Salter. "She started it!"

"I disagree, you were the instigator," Salter flatly replied.

Damn it! Mo-chan glared daggers at Salter, who glared right back unflinchingly.

"I don't care who started it, take this squabble elsewhere," he scolded. "If I have to hear one more word about it, I'll get angry. And trust me, neither of you wants to see me angry. I might just lose my patience and never speak to either of you again, or perhaps forget where I put the Eternal King's Notebook."

"I was wrong, Father..."

"My apologies, my other self..."

The two lowered their heads in sincere apology.

"Then as a sign you two won't cause any more trouble here, shake hands," Shirou instructed.

"No way! I absolutely refuse to shake her hand!" Mordred shook her head vehemently.

"I refuse as well," Salter said coldly.

Seeing their refusal, he smiled. "Come now, just shake hands and be friends."

He gripped their wrists and tried to pull their hands together into a handshake.

Mordred and Salter both resisted, but quickly realized their struggles were in vain against Shirou's overwhelming strength.

What monstrous power!

Their eyes widened as their hands were forcibly joined in a handshake under his guidance. To Gray and the others, it appeared Salter and Mo-chan were simply shaking hands reluctantly, their faces flushed.

"See, just shake hands and make peace, isn't that better?" Shirou said as he released them.

The two instantly recoiled as if burned, shooting each other daggers before turning their shocked gazes back to Shirou.

His strength...was unbelievable!

Of course, it wasn't actually his strength, but Artoria's. Still, even if it wasn't his own, experiencing that overwhelming power gave him a dark sense of satisfaction.

Up until now, he'd always been the one overpowered by others. Now he was the overwhelmingly strong one!

It felt...

Absolutely amazing!