Saberfes!

Chapter 193

Chapter 193

Shirou's eyes snapped open in the darkness of his bedroom. For a moment, his hands squeezed the silky sheets, then they relaxed as he remembered where he was sleeping.

Sitting up, he felt his rear sink into the mattress as his weight shifted, the sinfully soft cotton embracing his lower body. Feeling his eyelids droop a bit, he pushed off the bed, his palms descending into multiple layers of fabric and cotton before springing out.

Sliding his legs off the bed and onto the marble floor, he gave an involuntary shiver as the chill permeated his body from his bare soles, but he stood up anyways and walked to the massive drapes covering the windows at the side of the room. Lifting up a corner, the faint light of the stars and the moon illuminated his pale face, and he could spot a large swathes of broken branches and logs outside.

"It's still early."

He whispered to himself as he walked away, opening the door and heading outside to prepare breakfast.

Then he realized he had no idea where the kitchen was.

Awkwardly, he stood in the hallway outside his room and scratched the back of his head.

Looking left and right, he decided to just trust his gut.

...right

Moving off, he quickly turned a corner and disappeared.

As if on queue, a maid appeared right around the other corner opposite, just missing him as he left.

Walking up to the door of his room, she gently opened the door, the hinges rotating without a sound. Peering into the room, she frowned when she saw the rustled sheets and empty bed.

Wandering the marble halls, he felt his feet grow numb as they continuously padded across the icy floor, his body heat steadily being sapped away from the soles. Redoubling his pace, he was slowly starting to wonder if he was actually lost.

After trying to retrace his steps and ending up at the foyer of the mansion, he could only accept the reality of the situation.

Sitting down on the lustrous white stairs that glimmered under the chandelier light, he stretched his body as he brainstormed a way to find the correct way through the maze that was the Einzbern mansion.

He was too deep in thought to notice when a young maid silently glided up to him. Leaning down, her ample chest shifted underneath beneath her uniform as she place her lips next to Shirou's ear, almost kissing it.

"Emiya-sama."

Her voice was penetrated deeply into his ears, delivering a fatal attack to his fragile sensibilities. The sound of his neck cracking echoed in the open space as he jerked away instinctively, almost throwing his entire body to the side.

"W-woah!! A-are you Leysritt?"

The flush slowly faded from his face as he registered who it was, identifying the maid as one of the two who always accompanied Illya.

Standing straight, she nodded.

"Sella told me to look for you. After a while, I found you here."

Her slightly wide eyes and vacant face as she spoke didn't exactly inspire him with confidence, but nevertheless she was somebody who could lead the way. She was after all, a maid who worked in the mansion.

"What do you need, Emiya-sama?"

"Um, could you show me the way to the kitchen?"

"As you wish."