บท 78: Chapter 78: Justeaze's Doubt

In the year since Shinji met Justeaze, he had never seen her wear such an expression.

With her head lowered and her hands unconsciously fidgeting with her clothes, she appeared timid, hesitant, helpless, and guilty. She couldn't bring herself to look Shinji in the eye, not even Scáthach. She couldn't speak up like she usually did; she simply stood in the corner of the workshop, like a child who had done something wrong and been forgotten.

Yes, a child. Despite having lived for over a thousand years, Justeaze hadn't experienced much emotional growth as a human. Taking into account the ten years she spent with Zouken Matou and Tohsaka during the construction of the Great Holy Grail, as well as the year she spent with Shinji after disconnecting from the Grail system, Justeaze's psychological age was only eleven, like that of a child.

Scáthach recognized this, but Shinji, due to Justeaze's long life, overlooked it.

You couldn't hold a child to the standards of an adult—that was Scáthach's implicit message, or it could be translated as not holding Justeaze to the standards of an old lady.

And then, you could just wait for a beating. Don't worry, even if the master beat you to death, she could use magic to resurrect you and continue beating you, or she could take your soul to the Land of Shadows and continue beating you.

However, the master also made a mistake; she overestimated Shinji's psychological age. Shinji's combined psychological age from his two lives wouldn't exceed thirty years, still far from true maturity.

The reason for this oversight was that Shinji's background surpassed the master's understanding, and these deficiencies led to a misjudgment.

No matter how keen the master's clairvoyance was, she couldn't see parallel worlds, let alone know that the world she was in was familiar to Shinji through novels, games, anime, manga, and various other forms.

The deep impression Shinji left on her was built on his previous life's accumulated desire for mystery and strength, and his meticulous planning and cautious style were based on his familiarity with the Type-Moon world. But the master didn't know that, aside from these two points, Shinji was just an ordinary person with nothing particularly special about him.

However, a person's personality and actions are essential factors in evaluating that person and cannot be excluded.

Therefore, Shinji's reaction was completely different from what Scáthach had anticipated.

"Lady Justeaze," Shinji called her name and looked at her calmly.

"Yes," Justeaze responded softly, lowering her head even further until her nose nearly touched her chest.

Seeing her ostrich-like appearance, Shinji couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. He had no intention of interrogating her, so why did she adopt such an ostrich-like posture?

Helpless, Shinji could only seek assistance from his all-knowing master through his eyes.

Scathach raised her hand and lightly tapped Shinji's head with her manifested magic spear before responding, "Idiot. Men should take the initiative when dealing with women. I'm genuinely worried that you'll follow in Kariya's footsteps with your current attitude."

"Huh? How am I supposed to be like that ultimate backup guy?" Shinji complained while rubbing his head.

"Whether you'll end up like him or not is a question for the future. For now, focus on resolving the issue with Justeaze. Otherwise, be prepared to get beaten up."

Upon hearing her threat, Shinji didn't dare hesitate, but as soon as he spoke, it caused Scathach's mouth to twitch.

This is what Shinji said, "Um, don't you have something to say to me?"

"..." Justeaze's face turned red, and after hesitating three times, she finally spoke in the softest voice, "Yes, I'm sorry."

"What else?" Shinji forcefully rubbed his temples and asked.

"I... I was wrong." Perhaps because she had already said one sentence, Justeaze's voice was slightly louder this time.

"Bang!"

"Thud!"

"Ah!"

Three sounds almost simultaneously rang out.

"Bang" was the sound of Shinji placing his hands on the workbench. Because he was a little agitated, it sounded somewhat like slamming the table.

This sound startled Justeaze, causing her to close her eyes, and resulting in another tap on Shinji's head.

"Thud."

The final "Ah" was the sound of Shinji letting out a cry when he was hit.

"Sensei, what did I do wrong this time? Why did you hit me again?" Shinji didn't understand.

"Idiot, blockhead, rotten wood that can't be carved!" Scáthach, who noticed Shinji's connection to China in his past life, sometimes switched to Chinese to express herself accurately. Over 2000 years, she has learned all the languages in the world.

"What did I just say? Take the initiative! Let me say it again, take the initiative. Do you understand? Express your thoughts properly—really, you're even dumber than Cu Chulainn. You're not even as good as my foolish little sister."

Um, Sensei, your sister, Aoife, is also a legendary female warrior of the same level as you. It wouldn't be embarrassing to be dumber than her. Shinji could only think this in his mind, as saying it out loud would probably result in not just a few light taps but a solid beating.

At this moment, Shinji hadn't noticed that he didn't mention Cu Chulainn in his previous statement. Perhaps subconsciously, he didn't want to lose to the senior disciple whom his Sensei admired the most.

Under the "pressure" from his Sensei, Shinji was expressing his thoughts.

"Lady Justeaze, what I want to hear is not an apology, and you don't need to apologize to me."

Justeaze raised her head in confusion, seemingly not understanding why Shinji would say such a thing.

"Although you promised to inform me promptly about the situation in the Einzbern Forest, it's understandable that you couldn't contact me in time in special circumstances. Just give me an explanation after the matter is over."

Upon hearing Shinji's response, Justeaze was stunned. She thought Shinji was angry with her because she didn't follow the agreement and acted on her own, exposing herself to the Einzbern family. That's why he wasn't talking to her.

"Um, aren't you angry? I... I've affected your plan..."

"There's no need to be angry... Well, I admit there might be a tiny bit of anger because your actions could lead to unforeseen changes."

This is easy to understand. Suddenly, an artificial human of the Holy Grail model appeared out of nowhere, and it's difficult to predict the reactions of people like Kiritsugu and the Einzbern family.

"However, you are not my Servant. On the contrary, I am fulfilling the agreement with you to help you obtain the Holy Grail. You have the ultimate decision-making power. Therefore, you have the complete right to decide what to do, as long as you give me, your contractor, a reason."