Willfulness, Stubbornness, and Refusing to Lose: That's What Makes a Girl

At seven in the morning, Shinji had just finished his morning training when he opened the front door and caught the long-absent aroma of cooking in the house.

"I'm home."

The moment she heard the door open, Sakura, wearing an apron and holding a ladle, ran toward the entrance in her slippers with a patter.

"Welcome home, Brother. Breakfast will be ready soon, so hurry up and wash up."

Seeing Sakura's face brimming with a certain contented happiness, Shinji answered softly.

"Yeah, I know."

At seven thirty, Shinji emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel and found a fresh set of clothes Sakura had prepared in the changing room while he was bathing.

"Having a thoughtful little sister isn't bad."

Shinji murmured to himself, casually pulled off his towel, and began getting dressed.

After breakfast, Sakura washed the dishes while humming a tune.

Rider, who had always felt that her Master was deliberately ignoring her, had offered to help, but Sakura politely declined.

It was obvious that Sakura enjoyed both cooking for her brother and washing the dishes.

Sitting at the dining table and reading the morning paper, Shinji skimmed past the day's headline—a gas leak in a district of Shinto.

This was already the third gas leak discovered over the past few days. If nothing unexpected had happened, it was probably that woman Shinji had once considered getting ahead of.

"Was it a Servant?" asked Rider, whom Sakura had ignored.

"Probably." Shinji casually set down the newspaper in his hand. "But it looks like the war hasn't officially begun yet."

As he spoke, Shinji stood up, smiled faintly at Sakura, who had finished washing the dishes, and said, "Sakura, get ready to head out."

"Okay! I'll go change."

Watching Sakura hurry toward her room in excitement, like a little child, Shinji smiled helplessly.

"She really is like a child."

Rider spoke flatly. "Nothing like you at all, even though you're only a year apart."

"Rider, if you're that curious, shall we continue tonight?" Shinji curled his lips slightly and looked at Rider with a teasing expression. "I'm really looking forward to it."

Rider fell silent. Just as the man said, she was becoming increasingly curious about him. Yet her instincts sensed the domineering, unquestionable strength hidden beneath his exterior.

If she approached him again, she might truly encounter some unforeseen danger!

But curiosity was something else entirely...

Looking at the silent Rider, Shinji shrugged lightly. "What a shame. I thought you'd be like an ordinary girl."

"What... is an ordinary girl like?"

Rider asked a very strange question.

"Probably willful, stubborn, and unwilling to admit defeat."

"Willful, stubborn, and unwilling to admit defeat?"

"Yeah. Simply put, they're the adorable sides most girls have."

With that, Shinji glanced at Rider with interest.

Several seconds later, Rider finally forced out, "I... am not adorable."

"Do you think you don't have an adorable side?" Shinji turned his face toward her, his smiling eyes looking straight at Rider. "Then shall I help you uncover it? A woman can be adorable in many ways, you know. You have adorable qualities that no one else has. So? Shall I uncover them and tell you?"

Looking at Shinji, who stood half a head taller than her, the sense of danger rising in Rider's heart still compelled her not to answer.

Seeing that Rider gave no response, Shinji lost interest in teasing her. Changing the subject, he asked, "So? Want to go out and have fun together today?"

"No. Sakura wants to spend more time alone with her brother," Rider said. "Besides, I found a book that interests me."

"A book?" Shinji was somewhat surprised. "Aren't you only interested in reading itself?"

A trace of wariness appeared on Rider's face. "Why do you know so much about me?"

Shinji answered without hesitation, "It's just a very simple analysis. It's been two days since you were summoned. You spend most of your free time reading, but there's no particular genre in what you read. You can quietly read any kind of book, so I figured maybe you simply enjoy reading itself. Simple deduction, right?"

I've played through the original so many times. Of course I'd know.

"...It only sounds simple."

After a long silence, Rider said only that before turning into spirit form and vanishing from the dining room.

Shinji wore a dark gray shirt beneath a brown wool sweater, paired with dark trousers and black men's boots, with a fitted khaki wool coat over it all.

Compared to Shinji's already formulaic attire, Sakura's clothes were much simpler: a plain white dress, a small pink jacket, a red coat, and an ordinary handbag.

"Sakura, aren't you clinging a little too closely?"

Sakura, who had linked arms with Shinji and pressed tightly against his side, shook her head. "No, because we're siblings."

"Suit yourself." Shinji shrugged, then casually said to Rider inside the house, "Anyway, I'll leave the house to you."

Rider nodded lightly.

Fuyuki City had a river running through its entirety—the Miyou River.

It divided the entire city into two sections with completely different architectural styles.

To the east lay Shinto, a highly modern new city that had everything.

To the west was Miyamachi, an old town consisting mainly of residential areas.

The two riverbanks were connected by the modern Miyou River Bridge.

On the bridge, Shinji sat on the bus, somewhat helpless about his little sister, who had remained glued to his side. She was his sister, yes, but he was still not used to such intimacy.

However, knowing Sakura's past inside and out, Shinji wisely chose not to say anything in the end.

After roughly twenty minutes of travel, Shinji and Sakura finally arrived at their destination—Spring Sakura Amusement Park, which was currently in a half-price trial opening and would officially open in mid-March.

Incidentally, Spring Sakura Ice and Snow Kingdom and Spring Sakura Indoor Water Park stood on either side of the amusement park.

The Ice and Snow Kingdom mainly featured an indoor ski resort and all kinds of ice sculptures children loved.

The Indoor Water Park was a water park suitable for all seasons, featuring not only water attractions but also artificial beaches and various leisure facilities.

"Brother, is coming to an amusement park together the surprise?"

Seeing Sakura's delighted expression, Shinji gently shook his head.

"No, it isn't."

"It isn't?"

"Sakura, this amusement park is for you." As he spoke, Shinji pulled his arm free, held Sakura by the shoulders, and pointed at the signs overhead bearing the Spring Sakura prefix. "The Ice and Snow Kingdom and the Water Park too. They're all gifts for you."

"Huh? Gifts for me..." Sakura could not process it for a moment.

"Simply put, this whole place is our family's property. It's yours too."

"What?!"

Sakura covered her mouth in surprise. She knew that her brother had been managing the family assets over the past few years, but she had never imagined that he had invested that money into a project like this—and was even calling it a gift for her...