I am the protagonist

"However, it will take some time to complete. I need to practice my carving techniques more these days."

Of course, Shirou doesn't plan to further improve his engraving skills; the current level is sufficient for his needs. His main focus remains on alchemy, and he'll leisurely work on improving his alchemy level, since the elixir of immortality is the key right now.

Before they knew it, they were both home.

Upon entering the foyer, the two brushed off the scattered snowflakes from their clothes, hung their umbrellas there, changed into slippers, and went inside together.

The temperature inside the house is definitely much warmer than outside.

Once inside the living room, Shirou took off his heavy coat.

"Phew~ It's definitely warmer at home."

The room had air conditioning, and even the heater was on, making the entire living room quite warm.

"Hey~ Where did you and Sakura go?"

When Rin saw Shirou return with Sakura carrying a bag of unknown contents, her eyes turned deadpan, as if she was determined to get to the bottom of the matter.

"Of course, I'll go shopping for materials with Sakura."

Shirou raised the bag in his hand slightly so that Rin could see it more clearly.

"That's it?"

"These are gems; my current research topic is alchemy."

"Jewels... Shirou, you don't need to learn jewel magic, right? So, are these jewels for me and Sakura?"

"Rin, you're dreaming."

They were already trying to snatch the gems before they even finished speaking.

"I plan to process these gems and experiment with making magic props."

"It's started so soon?"

After only a month and a half of learning magic, Rin was already being asked to start making magic props. She was quite discouraged.

When she had been learning magic for a month and a half, she found it extremely difficult not only to make magic props, but also to control her magic power.

The thought that Shirou had started making magic props after only a month and a half of learning made Rin feel quite complicated, as if her bottom line was crumbling time and time again.

【No, no! Rin Tohsaka, you need to calm down. As a member of the Tohsaka family, you need to be calm and elegant.】

It took Rin a lot of effort to finally control her emotions.

"Shirou, you and Sakura only went out to buy some jewels?"

Saber noticed that among Shirou and Sakura, only Shirou seemed to be carrying a bag.

"more than."

"I only thought of making these gems later. My recent research topic has been alchemy. Sakura and I went to the herbal medicine shop and bought a large quantity of herbs, but it seems we can't gather them all now. It will take at least another month."

"My alchemy project won't be able to officially begin for at least another month. During this time, I can only focus on making magic props."

Although Shirou really wanted to start the alchemy project as soon as possible, the problem was that the project required a considerable amount of medicinal materials, and it was impossible to proceed without those materials arriving. He could only use this month to find other things to do.

"Saber, I'll need some dragon blood when I'm making medicine. I'll have to trouble you then."

"Dragon blood? Shirou, what kind of medicine are you trying to make?"

Even Saber knows that alchemy requiring dragon blood is extremely advanced, so what kind of potion is Shirou planning to make this time?

"Yeah, everyone needs dragon blood now. Shirou, what are you planning to refine?"

Rin was also thinking about which alchemy required dragon blood, a top-grade material, but none of the alchemy recipes that flashed through her mind required dragon blood. Normal alchemy certainly didn't need such a material.

"Oh, it's the elixir of immortality."

"……puff!"

Saber, Rider, and Rin all unleashed their fury at that moment.

Before they could even wipe the water from their lips, they stared blankly at Shirou, who had just uttered those words.

First, they confirmed from Shirou's attitude that what he said earlier wasn't just a joke, and their expressions suddenly became even stranger.

"Shirou, you... are you going to tackle such a difficult problem right from the start with alchemy?"

Immortality is what all magicians pursue, but the fundamental reason why all magicians seek immortality is that the source they are pursuing is too far away.

The origins cannot be found in one or two generations, so magicians need to seek immortality in order to further study and pursue the origins.

Over time, this has become a wish that magicians find difficult to fulfill.

It's like pursuing the root cause.

If you want to get to the root of the problem, the first condition is to achieve immortality.

Shirou's initial alchemical goal was the elixir of immortality, which is perhaps a bit too ambitious.

Chapter 49 Works by Beginners

Upon returning home, Shirou's first action was to upgrade his alchemy skill to level 4, having just used up his last 6 JP points.

Shirou gained a clearer understanding of alchemical techniques and the importance of certain timing points, and at the same time, he began to truly approach the edge of magical alchemy.

But now he's focusing more on gold carving, because the gifts for Sakura and the others are more meaningful if they're made by himself.

"Very good, let's get started!"

They took the gold-carving tools and went straight to it.

The girls outside the door could hear tinkling sounds coming from inside the room, and sometimes even those teeth-grinding noises.

"It's really started now. I just don't know if Shirou can handle the gems properly. If he can't, wouldn't it be a waste?"

"elder sister……"

"I... I'm not worried about the jewels. I'm worried that Shirou is setting his sights too high, and it will hurt him more when he falls."

Rin was worried that Shirou would be disappointed because he couldn't achieve his goal, but she was also heartbroken about wasting those gems. You see, her gem magic is very resource-intensive, and those gems could be used for many magical studies. It would be a real shame to waste them all.

"Sister, you're just worried about the gemstone, aren't you?"

Sakura, who knows her older sister very well, believes that at this moment, what her sister is most heartbroken about is the gem.

Rin blushed slightly, her thoughts having been exposed.

"...Okay, I was just a little worried. Gems are precious, even the raw stones are extremely valuable. If one piece breaks... and Shirou fails, then four pieces will break."

"Sakura, did you see that? That size of gem can support a lot of our magic research, and we could even save that much for half a year."

"Does my older sister know that my senior is preparing gifts for us?"

"...Oh, I see."

The moment Rin's pained expression vanished, her facial expression seemed to completely change in an instant.

At that moment, Rin realized that jewels were all irrelevant; the gifts Shirou had prepared for them were the real focus. After all, money could certainly buy jewels, but could money buy the gifts Shirou had personally prepared? Even if you had the money, you couldn't buy them!

The meaning is different, so naturally the value will also be different.

"Rin, you change your mind faster than you can turn the pages of a book."

"Saber, you're so long-winded."

"Rin, weren't you just feeling sorry for Shirou breaking the jewel?"

"Of course I'd be heartbroken! It would hurt me to see any gemstone broken."

Just thinking about the gem shattering makes Rin shudder, especially since it didn't shatter during magical research but during some trivial matter. Just imagining that scene makes Rin's nerves ache.

"However, it's different if it has some kind of significance."

Yes, it really hurts Rin to see the gem break over something meaningless.

If the gem were to break because of something very meaningful, Rin might feel heartache, but she would never feel particularly distressed, because the happy parts would definitely overshadow the sad parts.

"Some things are more meaningful than gifts prepared by others, especially those prepared by hand."

Regardless of whether it's a true success or not, the significance of this achievement far surpasses the value of any jewel.

Rin is not a mercenary person.

It was only because she and her sister lived a relatively poor life that she took the family's livelihood very seriously.

Even Rin has other moments when, in the face of a gift with a different meaning, the sentiment behind it is more precious than the gift itself.

[If it weren't for Shirou making this gift himself, perhaps you would have changed your mind, Rin.]

Although Rin's words sounded nice, Saber was certain that if Sakura revealed that the gifts weren't made by Shirou himself, Rin would be heartbroken over the loss of those jewels.

"Given Shirou's current state, he probably won't be able to focus on anything for a while, so we might have to figure out our own dinner tonight."

"We'll handle it ourselves... Rin, can you eat this?"

Rin sensed a strong malice in those words.

"Saber, what do you mean by 'can you eat it'?"

“Sakura and I are good cooks, does that mean we can’t eat what we make?”

To be honest, Rin believes her cooking skills are quite high, and her younger sister is also a girl who is good at housework and cooking. So why can't the food made by the two sisters be eaten?

"Rin, that's not what I meant."

Saber quickly explained that she wasn't denying Rin and Sakura's cooking skills, but rather that her palate had been spoiled by Shirou.

"I mean, Shirou has been preparing the meals for the past month, so I'm a little unaccustomed to having someone else do it all at once."

"..."

This question made Rin reflect on her breakfast this morning.

This morning, she ate steamed buns that Shirou had made early in the morning. One bite and the juicy meat made her mouth water.

It wasn't overly greasy, just filled with the delicate aroma of meat.

Then Rin suddenly remembered the dishes she and Sakura had made, which were edible.

It's just food.

But aside from being edible, it's definitely not something that tastes particularly good.

"Cough cough!"

"Saber, just bear with it for now."

“Shirou is the type of person who, once he gets into something, he won’t stop for a while. Even if Sakura and I make just average dinner, at least you won’t go hungry.”

Okay, Saber thinks it's better to eat something than to go hungry.

At worst, we can wait until later and have Shirou make something else to satisfy her hunger.

Shirou, inside the room, was completely absorbed in the gold-carving technique.

Although Shirou only acquired the most basic carving skills, and his skill level was only average, he could still manage to make some simple things.

This is all we could do at the beginning.

Shirou's skill level limited his potential.

Shirou was undoubtedly dissatisfied with his first work; many details were not handled well, and it was merely a gold engraver's first piece.

There's not much Shirou can do about his current skill level, since it's impossible to improve one's skills in a short time. This level is already the limit for a beginner.

Shirou felt he needed to improve his craftsmanship in the future.

There's no other way but to use effects to embellish the work.

Chapter Fifty: The Prepared Gift

For magicians, magic power and its regeneration speed are crucial. When magicians are of equal skill levels, their strength lies in their intellect and their physical abilities.

Magicians are not warriors; battles between magicians are back-and-forth exchanges, not a one-sided, relentless assault.

The ability to see through the flaws in an opponent's magic trick and find a way to break the deadlock is the method of battle between magicians.

However, Shirou cannot use magical items to help with the magician's fighting style. All he can do now is use magical items to provide Rin and the others with some assistance.

Wait a minute! I remember magicians chant incantations, and the speed at which they use magic is key to victory. Shouldn't we add a high-speed mantra? I recall runes having that function.

Learning runes is probably the best decision Shirou has ever made.

There may only be eighteen runes, but if these eighteen runes are used properly, many incredible effects can be achieved.