A Visitor Approaches Lightly

After the battle with Caster and Kuzuki, Shirō and Saber return home. Shirō claims he is fine so as not to worry Saber, but is clearly in pain and off-balance as a result of using projection magic. The next day, he goes to school and finds that Kuzuki is absent due to what is claimed to be an illness. After school, Shirō returns home, where Rin suddenly arrives unannounced. The two proceed to formulate a strategy to deal with Caster. However, their only viable plan is a full-frontal attack against Ryuudou Temple. While Rin and Saber agree it is their best shot, they fear that Caster might opt to destroy the entire temple if she is cornered. After dinner, Shirō meets Rin in the courtyard, where she muses that Shirō's house is more open and welcoming than her own, and that perhaps it is better that Shirō did not adopt the lifestyle of a true mage. She then tells Shirō that she became a mage because she personally enjoys studying magic, and asks him what his reasons for studying magic are. Shirō responds that he wants to use magic to help others, which frustrates Rin, who cites that it is not right for him to put the happiness of others above his own. She then tells Shirō that she will be staying at his house for the night. Later that night, Shirō returns to the shed to practice his magic. Saber comes in to check on him, and he tells her how Kiritsugu was a good man and how he wanted to be a hero like him. Archer then arrives and asks Shirō about his symptoms, knowing precisely the side-effects of using projection magic. He tells Shirō that the pain he is feeling is due to activating magic circuits that had long lay dormant. After repairing Shirō's magic circuits and noting that he once went through a similar experience, Archer warns him that his ideals are meaningless and doomed to fail, something Shirō denies.