I am the protagonist

Having made up his mind, Shirou decided to play dumb tactically.

"Ah, I guess I was overthinking it. After all, someone like me shouldn't have any girls liking me. I guess I was just being too self-conscious."

Shirou knew his performance was probably a bit exaggerated, but he'd never been particularly good at acting. He lacked any acting skills to improve this area, and since it wasn't related to daily life or combat, it wasn't something Shirou valued. Naturally, his acting skills were far inferior to his direct combat abilities.

That's not the case at all!

Although Rin was happy that her thoughts could be hidden, she felt quite annoyed when she heard Shirou say that.

【It's what I like!】

【You're not overthinking it, this is absolutely what I think!】

【Ah... Rin Tohsaka, you idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!】

Actually, things would have been much simpler just now; all she had to do was answer what she wanted and she would have gotten it easily. But Rin chickened out just now; when faced with a real situation, she couldn't handle it and backed down.

"Sakura, you should be too..."

"I like my senior."

"..."

The atmosphere at the scene became tense once again.

The atmosphere, which had finally eased, stiffened again. Shirou knew this was because his question had been problematic. Perhaps he should be more tactful in the future, instead of directly bringing up the issue.

Sakura, have you finally grown up?

Medusa's first feeling upon hearing Sakura's words was relief; she had been deeply troubled by the child's romantic feelings. In fact, Medusa had known about Sakura's feelings for Shirou for a long time, but she also knew that Sakura had always suppressed them because of her older sister.

Sakura, this is the right choice. When you meet someone you like, you should go for it.

Although Medusa never had such an experience, does that mean someone who has never had such an experience can't see it?

That's wrong, precisely because we are outsiders we can see things more clearly.

But it is precisely because Medusa is an outsider that she can clearly see the emotional changes of the three girls present.

For example, Rin's reaction was shock upon hearing her younger sister admit that she liked Shirou.

For example, Sakura's reaction was to express her nervousness and trepidation when she revealed that she liked Shirou.

As for Saber, she was one of the few Medusa felt pressured by, because at this moment Saber's face was putting on a dramatic display of extreme displeasure. Her face was filled with the words "displeasure," "anger," and "They dare to steal my man!" Saber's facial expressions really scared Medusa.

[It turns out Sakura likes Shirou!]

Saber's mood instantly soured, and it wasn't just a little bit of annoyance, it was extreme annoyance. But the next moment, she forced herself to calm down. As a champion, she couldn't lose her composure because of anything; she had to maintain a good mindset at all times.

"Senior, what about you?"

Saber's ears perked up, and his eyes were fixed intently on Shirou.

Rin, who was in perfect sync with her, also turned her gaze to Shirou.

"Me? I have absolutely no idea how to handle this kind of thing."

Sakura's face was filled with disappointment upon hearing this.

"Ah, what I mean is that you have those feelings for me from the past. I personally know you completely, and I don't know how to respond to your thoughts."

Chapter Thirty-Six: Rin Almost Was Eliminated

"You should know that I don't even know many people. If you suddenly say you like me, I don't know how to handle it."

Shirou knew that in the future, when faced with similar situations, he should keep quiet and not utter such nonsense. Such behavior seemed a bit like a scumbag deliberately flirting with girls. After all, having experienced so much, as Aria said, he should improve in this area.

Sakura then remembered that her senior had lost his past memories, and that she and her sister had moved in to help him regain them.

"Then... senior, did I say something unnecessary?"

This made Shirou a little embarrassed, since he was the one who brought up the topic first, and Sakura had merely answered his question. It was definitely not superfluous; he needed to reflect on his own actions in asking the question and resolved not to ask such unnecessary questions in the future.

"Not at all, not at all. I just asked the question unconsciously because I saw you two sisters suddenly getting so nervous. After all, the way you two girls are treating me... makes me a little concerned about your relationship with my past self."

If he could understand girls' thoughts better, he wouldn't have asked such a stupid question. Now Shirou feels like an idiot. How could he not know what the two sisters were thinking when their attitudes were so obvious?

Okay, I guess I really am an idiot.

Rin, however, genuinely breathed a sigh of relief; she had almost been forced to leave her stage forever. Once Shirou decided who the heroine was on stage, the one who wasn't chosen would naturally have to walk off the stage dejectedly.

Just now, Rin truly experienced going from heaven to hell and back again.

Thankfully, Shirou has amnesia!

Amnesia really saved my life.

If Shirou hadn't lost his memories of the past, Sakura would have truly succeeded this time.

Rin was absolutely certain that her younger sister possessed such charm: a great figure, a good temper, a good personality, and most importantly, genuine sincerity towards Shirou. If Shirou hadn't lost his memory, he might already be with Sakura, and she, his older sister, would have been completely sidelined.

[...just a little bit off.]

Sakura was a little disappointed with her failure. Perhaps the original senior would have succeeded, but Sakura had forgotten that the current senior had lost his past memories. Now, Sakura really hoped that the senior could regain his memories, so that she could have a longer-term relationship with him, having mustered her courage.

Unfortunately, Sakura was also in the hospital last time, and she heard from the other person that the senior's memories were basically irrecoverable. Now, thinking about restoring his memories was almost unrealistic. Sakura didn't believe that the senior could recover his memories under such circumstances, after all, reality wasn't a melodramatic romance drama.

[It's not entirely meaningless. The older sister definitely likes the senpai, but it seems Saber likes him too.]

Sakura had just noticed Saber's unusual facial expression; Saber's face was practically screaming "unhappy." Even if Sakura's eyes were impaired, she could tell why Saber was in such a bad mood.

She had already figured something out before, but Saber's feelings in the past were quite subtle, while Saber now expresses them very clearly.

"Alright! Let's get back to our previous topic."

Rin hoped that this topic could continue. Her heart had almost stopped beating because of it, and if it continued, her heart definitely wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure.

They forcibly brought the topic back to what it was before.

"Shirou, has using the Mystic Eyes had any negative effects on you?"

"That did not happen."

Shirou was certain that his Mystic Eyes were quite special, but he was also certain that his eyes weren't as special as others had said.

The special Mystic Eyes caused Shirou to perceive everything in front of him in an unusual way, but Shirou could not agree that everything happening in front of him was caused by the Mystic Eyes. He could only say that it was partly caused by the Mystic Eyes.

"If we're talking about the most significant impact, it's actually the issue of vision. When I first got used to it, I often used that ability to look at people. But after gaining some control over it, I stopped using that ability to look at people."

When looking at a person, if the black line and the person's shadow overlap, it will cause a series of unpleasant effects, but apart from these effects, Shirou doesn't think there are any other effects.

"No other effects? Are there absolutely no psychological or emotional problems?"

"Absolutely not."

Regarding whether there is anything of that kind on a spiritual level, Shirou can say with certainty that there is no such thing.

If there really is a problem in this area, Shirou would definitely be the one who senses it most immediately.

“Rin, stronger abilities may come with greater limitations, and even require a considerable price to use, but at least this is not happening to me right now.”

"That's strange."

Rin remembers that there are very few records about these demonic eyes, but there are also mentions of them. People who possess these demonic eyes can no longer be considered normal people, and they have many mental problems.

[Shirou hasn't shown any changes in this regard, and if he did, we wouldn't have failed to notice. Could it be that his amnesia caused him to awaken these Mystic Eyes?]

Is amnesia the price Shirou has to pay?

If this is the price the Magic Eye has to pay, then this price is far too strange.

If this level of magical eye only requires amnesia as the price, then many people would definitely want to obtain it.

However, Rin has no idea what the specific cost will be; at least, she doesn't know the cost right now.

It seems we need to continue observing Shirou; there are still many things about him that we haven't fully understood.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: I Can See the Future

"Rider, do you think your senior's situation is normal?"

"There is indeed a problem. I don't know if the Mystic Eyes have strong side effects, but Shirou's Mystic Eyes ability is very special and should normally have some side effects on him."

Medusa pointed to her eyes.

"My magic eye is like this, always open. If I'm not careful, it will petrify all the creatures it sees. In the past, my eyes had to be sealed, otherwise I might accidentally cause some big problems."

"Rider, so you can control it now?"

"Thanks to my transformation from a Heroic Spirit to a half-Heroic Spirit, half-human, I can now begin using my Mystic Eyes."

While still a Heroic Spirit, Medusa's Mystic Eyes remained constantly active. However, after transitioning from a Heroic Spirit to a half-Heroic Spirit, she gradually began to control these abilities. Medusa herself didn't know why this was, but it was a good thing.

"Although I can see the outside world even without eyes, it would be best to be able to see with my own eyes. In the past, there were really great limitations in this regard."

"That's quite troublesome."

It would indeed be much more troublesome if you didn't use your eyes to see the world. Shirou immediately thought of the black lines that the Mystic Eyes could see.

"My Mystic Eyes are similar to Rider's. When they're open, you can see a lot of black lines. I feel like the world I see when I open my Mystic Eyes is completely different. Everyone has a lot of black lines on their bodies, and it looks much more bizarre."

"Shirou... could you explain this matter in detail?"

Rin seized on this point and began questioning him.

Most things about this Demon Eye are currently unknown: its abilities are unknown, how to use these abilities is unknown, and even the negative effects of this power are unknown.

In fact, the last unknown is the biggest problem in Rin's eyes.

Being unaware of the drawbacks and disadvantages of the Magic Eye is tantamount to constantly exposing oneself to danger, which is considered quite bad behavior in the world of magicians.

"I already said it, it's because I can see a lot of black lines."

"It's not about the black lines. I'm talking about whether those black lines will have an impact on you, for example, on your mental health."

"Mental state... is alright."

On a mental level, Shirou didn't feel there was anything too wrong, but of course, because he had been using his Mystic Eyes for a long time, he still saw some strange scenes.

"Sometimes we'll see your bodies cut into pieces, but otherwise there's nothing wrong with you."

Rin felt a chill run down her spine. Looking at Shirou's nonchalant expression, she really wanted to say, "Isn't this extremely problematic?"

"Shirou! This is the biggest problem!"

Rin knew that the problem with Shirou's Mystic Eyes had been found. Those Mystic Eyes were indeed not completely without side effects; in fact, the side effects had already harmed the brain and mental level.

"Shirou, how many times has this happened?"

"Hmm... There was one time when I first tried to open the Mystic Eyes. When I saw the sky then, the entire sky was shattered. The second time, when I stared at you with the Mystic Eyes, I felt that the moment I touched you, your bodies would shatter instantly. It was as if my eyes saw a future like that."

"What about the rest of the time?"

"No, that was all, only twice."

"Twice? That's still considered good."

Two occurrences shouldn't be considered particularly serious, but Rin is no longer as relaxed as before. Just as she initially suspected, such a powerful Mystic Eye would definitely not be without side effects, and these side effects are extremely strong, even directly affecting the brain and mind.

At this moment, Rin looked at Shirou very seriously.

"Shirou, if any problems arise with those Mystic Eyes in the future, you must speak up immediately. The fact that they have already affected you just after awakening is enough to show that this is a side effect of those Mystic Eyes. The Mystic Eyes may have great power, but the consequences they cause are equally great."

"I understand. I'll let you know if this happens again."

Shirou knows absolutely nothing about magic. All he knows is that magic is a way of expressing common sense in unconventional ways. As for anything else... Shirou has never even heard of it.

"Shirou, besides the Mystic Eyes and the materialization of your soul, are there any other changes on your body?"

"Sister, your senior has changed a lot."

"No, I always felt that there must be some other changes in Shirou."

This is not a well-founded claim; this time, Rin's judgment was entirely based on her sixth sense as a woman.

Are changes like the Demon Eye and the materialization of the soul significant enough?

That must be extremely large; regardless of the size, Shirou has become a subject of interest for many magicians.

But Rin instinctively sensed that there must be some other changes happening to Shirou.

"It's not that there haven't been any other changes at all."

Shirou is also preparing to explain his current situation, as now is actually the easiest time for people to accept his explanation.

【I knew it! 】

Rin knew that there must be other changes in Shirou. Before, it might have just been a woman's sixth sense at work, but now Rin was certain.