Hongzhou Ensaikan Taizan was located in Miyama Town, the only Chinese restaurant in Fuyuki's shopping district.

Run by a limping manager, a mysterious Chinese man named Ba, it was a strange establishment where one couldn't see inside from the windows, even during the day.

The restaurant had no desserts, and every single dish was loaded with chili peppers, which was nothing short of torture for the people of the Far East, who generally didn't eat much spicy food.

Fortunately for the restaurant, a man named Kotomine Kirei existed in Fuyuki City.

Because the sensation of spiciness is essentially a form of pain, the priest, whose soul was abnormal and who enjoyed using pain to fill the emptiness in his heart, was extremely fond of the mapo tofu here. Thanks to the vigorous patronage of the Mapo Tofu Priest, business at Hongzhou Ensaikan Taizan was at least passable.

"This is so spicy!"

The swordswoman, her beautiful sakura-pink hair tied into a ponytail and dressed in a light kimono, scooped up a large piece of mapo tofu with her spoon, sent it into her mouth, and swallowed.

She felt as if she hadn't just swallowed a spoonful of tofu, but a ball of raging fire. A surging heat, like that of an ever-erupting Mount Fuji, pulsed through her entire body.

Seriously... so spicy!

Beads of sweat had already formed on her forehead, and her blue-green eyes were red from the spiciness of the mapo tofu.

Across from her, a girl with waist-long hair and a stern, cool demeanor was also panting heavily, her image completely shattered.

"But it tastes so good!!"

The tofu was tender, so tender that the moment it entered her mouth, it melted into a sweet nectar and slid down her throat. The minced meat was crispy, providing a satisfying chewiness like real crispy meat.

Though she was a beautiful girl, Miss Aozaki's current appearance was rather disillusioning as she panted and spoke.

In the time it took Matou Kariya to report to Li Zihan, these two, who had stumbled into Hongzhou Ensaikan Taizan and mistaken the Chinese restaurant for an all-you-can-eat buffet, had not held back in the slightest. In fact, they were eating even more ferociously.

In Miss Miyamoto's words, "Since a sucker is coming to pay the bill anyway, why not eat a bit more for free?"

Aozaki Aoko, paying no mind to the dignity of the Aozaki family, the leading magus house of the Far East, expressed her wholehearted agreement with Miss Miyamoto.

Should one say, as expected of a compatibility summon? These two really hit it off, or perhaps, they were two peas in a pod.

"I never thought Miss Miyamoto and Miss Aozaki would be such extraordinary women, as stalwart as Kirei, to be able to eat my special mapo tofu without batting an eye."

The manager, Ba, looked at the chili flakes on the plate, which were piled so thick it was as if a whole layer had been spread on top, and his voice was filled with admiration.

There weren't many people in the Far East who could handle their spice this well.

"Who's Kirei?"

Having perhaps eaten her fill of free food, Miyamoto Musashi put down the white porcelain bowl in her hand, let out a magnificent burp, and then asked.

"The priest from the church."

Before either Aozaki Aoko, a participant in the Holy Grail War, or Manager Ba, the lifelong purveyor of food for the Mapo Tofu Priest, could speak, a young man's voice cut in.

The sucker had arrived.

Her Master had told her that she had a very wealthy friend here, and that as long as they notified him, their group wouldn't have to make a Jotaro declaration and run for it.

Now, a new voice had suddenly appeared, which naturally meant the sucker was here.

The swordswoman turned her head to look, wanting to see what kind of person this sucker was.

What entered her sight was a young man.

His skin was fair, his features well-defined, his black hair like ink, and his brilliant red eyes seemed to be quietly burning flames.

Miyamoto Musashi's breathing quickened, and her heart rate fluctuated slightly.

Compared to the swordswoman, the magus Aoko's reaction was rather bland.

She looked at the young man, who should be even more attractive to normal women now than he was two years ago, and an expression of disappointment involuntarily crossed her face.

He's almost expired. Not as cute as he used to be.

Clearly, Miss Aoko, just like her sister, was a perverted shota-con. And for a perverted shota-con, the appeal of a handsome young man was honestly not that great.

Li Zihan, who was not being dragged into paying for the first time, looked at the master and servant duo, who were covered in sweat with red-rimmed eyes from trying to eat as much free food as possible, and the urge to turn around and walk away suddenly rose in his heart.

"Long time no see, Ah Han. It's so embarrassing to have to ask you to pay the bill again."

The magus, who was clearly not a first-time freeloader, showed no trace of embarrassment on her face.

"It would be nice if you were actually embarrassed."

The young man, who had been scammed by the Aozaki sisters more than a few times, sighed. Although Aoko and Touko had a terrible relationship, they were remarkably similar in certain aspects. For example, they never paid back money they borrowed, and the moment you asked for it, they'd put on an "a humble girl is willing to repay her debt with her body" expression.

"Since you feel so embarrassed, why don't you help me out in this Holy Grail War as a way of returning the favor?" Li Zihan said resentfully, looking at the person who owed him a considerable amount of money.

He had thought about it for a long time and had come up with three possible solutions to the Holy Grail problem.

One, have Aoko use the Fifth Magic to throw the "event" of the Grail being polluted by Angra Mainyu into the distant future.

Two, ask the Jewel-Wielder to throw him into another world line to snatch an unpolluted Grail.

Three, illegally summon Caster Medea, drain the mana from the Black Grail, and use that mana to create a genuine one.

"Sorry, I promised Alice I wouldn't help you." Aoko, who had a very good relationship with Alice, shrugged and said.

"Well, that can't be helped."

Li Zihan, who had already anticipated that Alice would have persuaded Aoko in advance to add difficulty to his Grail purification quest, sighed and fell into thought.

"In that case, I can only try to destroy the Grail and then get one from somewhere else." Li Zihan said.

Back then, the Ahoge King was able to smash the Grail with her "Sword That Was Promised to Let Me Win." The Little Sun, with an ample mana supply, had no reason not to be able to do the same.

Since I can't get Aoko's help, I'll just go find old man Zelretch.

"Don't do that!!"

Miss Aoko, who had just been acting all serious and seemingly on the same side as Alice, suddenly slammed her hand on the table, her expression horrified.

"Hey, hey, hey, that's half an omnipotent cauldron! You're just going to dismantle it like that?"

"Can't you just drink a potion to regress to about ten years old, be my hug pillow for a month, and let me reluctantly 'let my hand slip' when I'm dealing with the Holy Grail?"

As it turned out, the friendship between her and Miss Alice was somewhat plastic.

"I think you're dreaming."

Li Zihan, who clearly had no desire to return to being ten years old to serve as someone's hug pillow, raised his voice several octaves.

"Then, how about a compromise?" Miss Aoko began to bargain.

"Regress to twelve, and be my hug pillow for half a month?"

"...Inappropriate."

Author's Note:

PS: To everyone out there, be careful of black buses. If the driver is very eager to give you money to switch buses, be careful, he might just be trying to dump you...

Don't ask me how I know this.