The sun began to set on the western horizon, painting the sky above Totsuki Academy in hues of orange and purple.
The evening breeze blew through the lush trees, carrying the scent of damp earth and dry leaves.
On the dirt path cutting through the forest on the outskirts of the academy, three figures walked side by side.
“This is so far…” Yukihira Soma complained, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“Seriously, Tadokoro, are we even still on school grounds?
It feels like we’ve walked to another prefecture.”
Beside him, Tadokoro Megumi smiled awkwardly, hugging her school bag tightly.
“I-I’m sorry, Yukihira-kun.
The Polar Star Dormitory is located a bit out of the way.
It’s about three kilometers from the main building.”
“Three kilometers?!” Soma’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
“We have to walk this far every day?
My legs are going to turn into pure muscle before I even get the chance to cook.”
Emiya Shirou, walking calmly on Megumi’s other side, merely observed his surroundings.
His sharp eyes scanned the increasingly dense trees.
His breathing was steady, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever—his physical stamina, honed through regular morning training, made him well-accustomed to distances like this.
“It’s a strategic location,” Shirou commented flatly.
“Far from the crowds, surrounded by the forest.
Perfect for hiding something…
or for training without interruptions.”
“Emiya-kun, don’t say scary things like that,” Megumi squeaked, her face turning pale.
“That dorm is terrifying enough without adding horror stories to the mix.”
“Terrifying?” Soma asked, curious.
“Yeah,” Megumi nodded weakly.
“The building is incredibly old.
There are a lot of rumors that it’s haunted.
And the residents…
well, they’re all very ‘unique’ people.”
“Unique in a good way or a bad way?”
“Unique in the sense that…
you’ll see for yourself later,” Megumi answered ambiguously, as if reluctant to recall past traumas.
They continued walking until the trees began to part, revealing a gloomy, old European-style building.
Its paint was peeling, ivy covered most of its front facade, and crows perched on its sloped roof, cawing hoarsely.
The Polar Star Dormitory.
“Wow,” Soma let out a low whistle.
“It really does look like a haunted house from a horror movie.”
“The structure is still solid,” Shirou muttered, performing a rapid structural analysis through his observation.
“Granite foundation, a frame of preserved old oak.
Even though it looks fragile and unkempt on the outside, this building could withstand a mid-scale earthquake.
Whoever built it knew what they were doing.”
Megumi stopped right in front of the rusted gates, looking at her two new friends with a forced expression of seriousness.
“Well, we’re almost there.
Yukihira-kun, Emiya-kun, are you ready?”
“Ready for what?” Soma asked innocently.
“The dormitory entrance exam,” Megumi answered.
Silence.
A breeze blew, carrying a dry leaf between them.
“Huh?” Soma tilted his head in confusion.
“Exam…
what exam?”
Megumi’s eyes widened in shock.
“You didn’t know?
To live in the Polar Star Dormitory, you have to pass a cooking test given by the Dorm Mother, Daimido Fumio-san!
If your food isn’t delicious, you won’t be allowed in and you’ll have to sleep outside!”
“Sleep outside?!” Soma yelled in shock, his voice echoing through the quiet forest.
“Oi, oi, I didn’t read anything about that in the enrollment brochure!
I thought we just walked in, dropped our bags, and went to sleep!”
“I figured as much,” Shirou chimed in calmly.
“In a place like Totsuki, there’s probably a test just for breathing.
Your guard is too low, Yukihira.”
“But the problem is…” Soma’s face drastically paled.
He patted down his pants and jacket pockets in a panic.
“This is bad.
A state of emergency.”
“What’s wrong, Yukihira-kun?” Megumi asked worriedly.
“I don’t have any ingredients!” Soma exclaimed hysterically, pulling at his own red hair.
“And worse yet…
I don’t have any money!”
He pulled out his pathetic-looking wallet and turned it upside down.
Only a few spare coins and an old shopping receipt fell sadly to the ground.
“That damn old man…” Soma grumbled, crushing his wallet.
“He only gave me just enough money for my train ticket and the enrollment fees!
He said, ‘Soma, a true man must be able to survive by eating grass if necessary!’ That cheap old geezer!
Where am I supposed to find grass that tastes good cooked?!”
Megumi covered her mouth with her hands.
“T-That’s terrible!
Without ingredients, you can’t cook for the exam.
And the nearest supermarket is outside the forest area, near the station.
You need money to buy ingredients.”
Soma collapsed to his knees, an aura of absolute despair wafting from his body.
“My life is over.
Homeless on the very first day.
And right after I declared I’d take the number one spot in front of the whole school, too.”
Shirou let out a long sigh at the drama unfolding before him.
He reached into his blazer’s inner pocket and pulled out an elegant black leather wallet—a birthday gift from Illya last year.
“Yukihira.”
Soma looked up with teary eyes.
“Emiya?”
Shirou pulled a banknote from his wallet.
Not a one-thousand yen note.
Not a five-thousand yen note.
It was a crisp, brand-new ten-thousand yen note.
And Shirou pulled out three of them at once without blinking an eye.
“Use this,” Shirou said, offering the money to Soma.
Soma and Megumi’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“Thirty thousand yen?!” Soma shrieked.
“Emiya!
Did you…
did you just rob a bank?!
Or are you the son of a mafia boss?!”
“It’s just pocket money,” Shirou replied casually.
“My mother…
she tends to go a little overboard with allowances.
She was worried I’d starve on the streets, so she stuffed my wallet full before I left.”
In truth, Irisviel had tried to hand him the Einzbern’s Black Card, but Shirou had vehemently refused, knowing he would never need it.
But seeing Soma’s current predicament, Shirou was grateful he had accepted this “modest” amount of cash.
By Irisviel’s standards, thirty thousand yen might be equivalent to spare change for buying candy, but to a high school student, it was a massive fortune.
“Emiya…” Soma stared at Shirou as if looking at a savior god descending from the heavens bathed in holy light.
He grabbed Shirou’s hand and shook it vigorously.
“You’re my best friend!
I’ll pay you back!
I promise!
After I make it big!”
“Just pay me back whenever you remember,” Shirou pulled his hand back.
“Now, hurry up and go buy your ingredients.
The sun is setting.
The stores will close soon.”
“Right!” Soma jumped up with renewed vigor.
“Tadokoro, please show me the way!
I have no sense of direction around here!”
“R-Right!” Megumi nodded quickly.
“The supermarket is near the station.
If we run and take the shortcut, we can be back in an hour!”
Soma was already getting ready to sprint, but he paused for a moment and turned to Shirou.
“You’re not coming, Emiya?
You need ingredients too, right?”
Shirou shook his head.
He patted his tool bag slung over his shoulder.
“I’m already prepared.
You guys go on ahead.”
“Okay!
Wish us luck!” Soma shouted before sprinting off through the forest, followed by Megumi who was panting as she tried to match his pace.
Shirou watched their retreating backs until they disappeared behind the trees.
The atmosphere fell silent once more.
Only the cawing of the crows could be heard.
Truthfully, Shirou had suspected something like this might happen.
Archer’s memories had instilled a healthy sense of paranoia within his mind: Always assume the battlefield will not provide logistics.
A Counter Guardian did not rely on luck.
Therefore, before leaving this morning, Shirou had already packed several high-quality, non-perishable base ingredients into his bag—such as cured meat, hard cheeses, and dried spices.
A habit of preparedness that normal students might consider bizarre, but one that had saved his life (and his bed) today.
Shirou turned back to face the old building of the Polar Star Dormitory.
Structural Analysis: On.
His eyes glowed dimly, analyzing the architectural details before him.
He saw the traces of “history” in this place.
Wooden planks that had absorbed the aroma of spices for decades, stone walls that stood as silent witnesses to thousands of failed and successful culinary experiments.
“A den of demons, huh?” Shirou murmured, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
To him, who had slept in the burning ruins of cities and magical defensive fortresses within his memories, this haunted house looked…
cozy.
At the very least, the roof wasn’t leaking and the walls were thick.
Shirou stepped forward, climbing the wooden stairs that creaked beneath his feet.
He was going to face the gatekeeper of this dormitory alone.
And if the Dorm Mother expected a dish that could surprise her, Shirou was going to give her something far more than just a surprise.
He would give her respect.
Shirou’s hand pushed open the heavy wooden door.
Creaaak.
The sound of old, rusted hinges greeted his arrival, as if the gates to another world had just opened to swallow its newest resident.
“Like my work?