"Hey, doesn't Shirou still have an interview with the Education Department to complete in the afternoon? It's not good to just push off the things that were originally agreed......"

With a look of surprise and confusion, the girl's clear blue eyes looked straight at me.

"That...... What to say...... "I involuntarily tilted my head and raised my hand to scratch the back of my head.

In the face of such pure eyes, it is really very difficult to lie without blushing and heartbeat......

However, in order to avoid worrying the girl in vain, I had no other way but to bring the statement back.

"That's it...... The leader of the inspection team who came this time didn't seem to be very reliable.,It's a newcomer who has just taken over the work.,Especially keen to ask all kinds of meaningless questions to show his authority...... "My heart is calm and organizes the language that can be accepted by the girl in front of me," So,Ichisei told me that there was no need to go in the afternoon.,He will face the other party alone as a student president.。 ”

It looked like nothing was happening, but in fact my heart was beating so fast that it almost broke out of my chest!

"I see, so Shirou doesn't want to leave his friends behind, and wants to share the difficulties." The girl nodded in understanding, and a relieved smile appeared on her face.

"Ah...... Exactly. Rubbing my chest, I smiled stiffly and prevaricated, "But if you think about it, Artoria is more important." Issei that guy must be able to handle the problem very well by himself! ”

I'm sorry, Issei, in order not to be caught deliberately skipping class, I can only sacrifice you......

"Uh......h Me, I'm actually fine. When the girl heard this, her cheeks quickly flushed, "Shirou doesn't need to think about my ...... all the time."

"Jingle ——!"

Before the girl could finish her words, she heard a second crisp bell ring, echoing throughout the school building.

After the lunch break, the first bell rings to prepare for class, about ten minutes before the start of the lesson, leaving a gap for students to return to the classroom.

But the second bell is to announce that the afternoon class has officially begun!

"Oh no, I'm going to be late! Let's go, Artoria! ”

I took the girl's hand and strode towards the staircase.

"Well, Shirou be a little careful not to fall." The girl followed my pace, trot briskly and not forgetting to remind me behind me.

And because of this, the originally somewhat awkward scene was resolved, and Artoria did not ask me about the details.

I hurried back to the classroom, although it was a little later than usual, but the teacher hadn't arrived yet, so luckily, neither Artoria nor I were recorded as being late.

The afternoon session ended exactly as usual.

The next few days were also completely uneventful, calm and leisurely campus life.

As for the information about Xindu that Issei spent a few days and nights gathering, I also found an opportunity to return it to him tactfully, and expressed my gratitude.

I decided not to delve into this information.

Now that you have decided to believe in Artoria, you must be consistent in what you say and what you say, and be able to hold your chest up calmly whenever and wherever you are questioned.

……

And just like that, before I knew it, the rest day came again.

In the evening, I made dinner early, according to the time Artoria had gone out on the previous two weeks off.

After happily finishing the meal and putting away the dishes, Artoria also put on her close-fitting civilian clothes and prepared to leave the house.

But at last when she put on her shoes at the entrance, the girl turned to me who had sent her out.

"Shirou, this week is the last time I'm going out. If nothing else, I will be by your side every day off to make up for your loss during this time. ”

As she spoke, the girl bowed solemnly to me, as if to prove that there was a lot of determination in her words.

"Well, I see." Suppressing the curiosity that surged into my heart, I let out a deep breath and kept a smile, "Then I'll stay home tonight and wait for you to come back and tell me everything." ”

"Well, I promise you, Shirou." The girl tapped her head vigorously a few times, then quickly got up and walked out without stopping......

The girl left home nearly two hours later than usual.

The feeling of being anxious, but helpless, lingers in my heart, and I can't get rid of it.

But despite this, all I could do was wait. This is my choice, as I did when I first met, and I entrusted all my trust to the girl I loved.

It wasn't until near midnight that I felt a little sleepiness in my head—

"Click-"

Finally, the sound of a key opening the door was heard at the door.

It was originally just a very small sound, but it exploded like thunder in my ears.

First of all, in this room, which is silent and unoccupied except me, any whisper will be amplified and made especially visible; Secondly, I had been so concerned that I had been building up all night, so much so that I almost overflowed, so my mood was too sensitive to be any more sensitive.

"I'm back—"

The familiar clear voice came from the doorway, still so quiet and with a hint of vitality inside, but there seemed to be a subtle ...... Feelings of exhaustion.

"Welcome back, Artoria." I quickly cheered up, got up from my chair and prepared to welcome the girl who returned late.

However, when I walked to the entrance and saw the returning girl, I couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

I saw that the girl's soft blonde hair was stained with many fine pieces of colored paper. Not only that, but the shoulders of her pure white blouse were also sprinkled with shiny gold dust.

It looked as if she had just finished attending a big celebration and hadn't had time to change her clothes.

"Artoria, you must be hungry so late, I'll go prepare a supper for you."

Keeping my doubts to myself, I picked up my apron and prepared to head to the kitchen.

"Wait a minute, Shirou——!"

However, as soon as I took a step, my sleeve was tightly pulled by the girl who jumped up in a few steps.

"That...... Before that, I ask Shirou to accept this ......"

The girl bowed her head, carefully took out a bulging envelope from her bosom, and handed it to me with both hands.

"Isn't this ......?"

As soon as I looked at the style and size of the envelope, I could vaguely guess what was inside.

Tear open the seal and look inside—

The inside of the envelope was full of neatly tied bundles of yen bills.

“——！” I glanced up at the girl in front of me in surprise, but the latter just kept his head down and remained silent, not saying a word.

"Whew-"

I took a deep breath and pulled stacks of notes out of the envelope and stacked them on top of each other on the table in the living room.

……

After counting, the face value of this pile of banknotes is as much as 10 million yen!