Why Transitional Chapters Matter Too, Right?

He climbed out of bed and checked the time. It was already noon.

"I never thought that old bastard would let me sleep until noon. Is this supposed to be consideration for a Noble Phantasm?"

Clearly, Yanye's body had already been in terrible shape. After being "treated" by Jizi through violent means and going through far too much last night, his mind still had not fully woken up.

Huh? Something seemed wrong. Since when had the gloomy Matou Residence gotten rid of those opaque windows and replaced them with ones this bright?

Speaking of bright light, there had seemed to be some last night too... or rather, a whole expanse brighter than the sun... Where would the sun come from at night? He could not remember. As expected, the Crest Worms' erosion of his body had weakened even his nerves. He had already forgotten what happened last night.

Still groggy, Yanye walked to the foyer. Along the way, he noticed even more things that made no sense. Not only had the house become brighter, but that oppressive feeling that used to fill the entire building even on sunny days had vanished as well—what people called that oppressive feeling was really Zouken's presence. Had that old thing gone out? Impossible. Even if he had, there should still have been plenty of familiar worms left in the rooms... Could he be dead? How could that be... Huh, why was he thinking of that light again?

The floors had been polished until they shone. The cobwebs accumulated on the walls over countless years had been thoroughly removed, and the walls had even been repapered in sky blue. Every table, coffee table, cabinet, and display shelf had been wiped until they reflected light.

Clean, tidy, comfortable, bright, and warm. Was this really the Matou Residence?

A radio in the living room was broadcasting the news—since when had they bought a radio?

"Last night at xx:xx, a massive explosion occurred at the Hyatt Hotel, causing the Hyatt Hotel to collapse. Nearby roads were also damaged and are temporarily impassable. As of now, the number of minor injuries has risen to eighty, with ten seriously injured and three missing. Fortunately, no deaths have been reported. The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined, and police are investigating..."

Still full of confusion, he entered the dining room. Sakura was distributing tableware beside the table: four plates and four sets of knives and forks. A large soup pot sat on the table, giving off a rich aroma, alongside several simple but exquisite home-cooked dishes. The sound of pots and pans clattering came from the kitchen. Someone was cooking. Who was it?

"Good morning, Uncle Yanye... It's already noon, isn't it? Good afternoon."

"Ah, ah, Sakura. Good, good."

He responded to Sakura's greeting mechanically, only realizing something was strange a while later. Ever since coming to the Matou Family, Sakura had seemed spiritually dead, showing no emotional reactions at all. Her eyes had always been filled with lifeless silence. Since when had she taken the initiative to greet him? Since when had she helped with the housework like a capable little daughter from an ordinary family? Her tone was still stiff, and there was not much light in her eyes, but this was already a thousand times better than before!

Was this a dream? If it was, please do not let me wake up. Let me sleep forever in this dream!

"Yo! Yanye, you're awake! It's already noon. We finished breakfast ages ago, and I've cleaned up the entire house. Berserker is absolutely perfect as manual labor—he handled every strenuous chore by himself. The Celestial Empire seriously needs hardworking, efficient renovation workers like him!"

A girl emerged from the kitchen, wearing a black robe beneath an apron in an utterly mismatched outfit. She held a wok spatula in one hand, while her long silver hair had been casually tied into a bundle that hung down her back for convenience while cooking. The contrast between her housewife-like appearance and her actually rather cold, glamorous face made Yanye's mind, which was just beginning to wake up, go blank again.

Who was she again? Why did a flash of white light appear in his head whenever he thought of her?

"Go sit down first. The food will be ready soon. You have no idea—Berserker's dough-kneading skills are amazing. Well, he does have all that strength. The noodles are so springy that even someone from the northwest like me rarely gets to eat noodles this good. I'll throw a pot of hand-pulled noodles in soon. Eat well at lunch and eat less at dinner for good health. Both you and Sakura need to nurse your bodies back to health. A healthy body is built through food, so listen to me. Drink more soup too. At dawn, while the Church had all its attention on the bombing, I secretly went and retrieved the medicinal herbs from beneath the bridge. There are plenty in there that restore Mana, just right for building you back up..."

"...Caster!" The brain circuits that had crashed finally restarted completely, and Yanye finally understood the situation. Still, Jizi's motherly nagging and current appearance dealt a certain amount of damage to his sanity.

"What are you calling me for? The noodles are still cooking in the pot! Huh! What's wrong, Yanye? Don't pass out! Sakura, hurry and help him!"

"Yes, Sister Caster."

-----------Every siscon big brother is an all-purpose housewife----------

"Roar~"

"That makes sense."

"Roar roar!"

"Exactly. I thought you only had martial prowess, but I never expected you to be so outstanding at devising strategy as well. You truly deserve the title of perfect knight."

"Roar."

"Excessive humility is pride, Sir Lancelot."

"Roar roar roar!!"

"Indeed. If we want to deal with that glittering Archer, there is no foolproof plan."

"Roar..."

"You may be able to fight him, but I'd only get instantly killed."

"Roar?"

"Rider might actually be open to negotiation, but given his style, he would definitely demand that we join his ranks. Isn't there only one master for you?"

"Roar roar."

"Fine, fine, I admit that not being good at dealing with that overly familiar idiot is also part of the reason. What, do you really want me to marry him?"

"Roar roar roar..."

"Trying to talk things out would be fine. Even if negotiations break down, we would not lose anything."

Watching the two Servants sitting at the table and "discussing" a huge pile of documents, Yanye felt a profound sense of powerlessness well up from the bottom of his heart.

What the hell, this was supposed to be a strategy meeting?! How exactly were you two communicating?! And what about my opinion? I'm the Master here, okay?! Also, after eating, are you not planning to clean up? You're heroes whose great achievements and legends were recorded in history, yet you have no psychological burden whatsoever about making a seven- or eight-year-old girl wash the dishes?!

"Hm? Why are you looking at me?"

"Yanye, you said all of that out loud! And I deeply suspect that last sentence was your real point!"

"Roar↗ Roar↘." (Nods.)

Berserker, why the hell are you joining in?!

"Someone who slept until noon, got up and ate without doing any work at all, has no right to criticize us!"

"Roar↗ Roar↘."

"And Sakura is a sensible, good child. While you were lazing around in bed, I explained the situation to her properly. She accepted it quite reasonably too. She thinks that her 'Uncle Yanye' made such a huge sacrifice for her, and while she cannot help you with important matters, she wants to contribute whatever she can. How could I bear to stop such a pure-hearted child's wish?"

"Sakura..."

"All right, let's put aside personal feelings for now and continue with business."

"Roar↗ Roar↘."

"You two are the last people qualified to talk about business!"

-----------Today's language class has entered the scriptwriting unit--------------

Time: After lunch on the second day of the Holy Grail War.

Location: The living room of the Matou Residence.

Characters:

Kariya Matou: Current head of the Matou Family, one of the seven Masters in the Holy Grail War.

Matou (Tohsaka) Sakura: Tokiomi Tohsaka's daughter, adopted into the Matou Family and subjected to Crest Worm modifications. She suffered both physical and psychological trauma, but improved after being rescued by Yanye and Jizi.

Jizi: A Servant who appeared under the Caster class. For specific setting details, refer to the prologue.

Lancelot: A Servant who appeared under the Berserker class. Having lost his sanity due to Madness Enhancement, he could only communicate with Jizi in ways incomprehensible to others (?). Originally King Arthur's strongest Knight of the Lake, he had a traditional, steady personality and valued etiquette.

At the opening, the four sat around a coffee table piled with documents. Jizi lounged lazily on the sofa, Lancelot sat upright across from her, and Yanye sat between them with Sakura in his arms.

Curtain rises:

Jizi: Yanye, have you noticed that your strategic objectives have basically already been achieved?

Yanye: Hm?

Jizi: Rescue Sakura from that disgusting worm pit, accomplished. Rebel against that old man Zouken, more than accomplished. You have now overthrown his dictatorship and become the head of the Matou Family. Other than teaching Tokiomi Tohsaka a lesson, is there anything else?

Sakura (asking timidly): Uncle Yanye, are you going to... fight Father...

Yanye (interrupting roughly): That man does not deserve to be your father! A man who would send his own daughter to a place like that does not deserve to be called a father! He got everything I ever dreamed of, yet did not cherish any of it. He made Aoi sad. I will definitely...

Jizi: You're scaring the child, Yanye!

Sakura (looking frightened): Please do not... blame Father. I am a child of the Tohsaka Family. I had long known that this would...

Yanye (who had calmed down because of Jizi's words but became agitated again upon hearing Sakura): Does being a Tohsaka mean being unhappy?! Then I have even more reason to make that man—make the Tohsaka Family pay! Back then, it was because... because Aoi would be happy with him that I...

If things were going to end up like this, then what meaning did my giving up, all these years of mine... have at all?! (His final sentence was almost a tearful cry.)

Sakura (timidly): ...I-I'm sorry!

Jizi (dissatisfied): Yanye!

Yanye (forcing something down): I know. I know. I'll be rational.

Jizi: Good. In any case, let's continue the previous topic. Although our strategic results have been gratifying, many drawbacks have also been exposed. First, although we have two Servants, our side does not have even one Master capable of fully bringing out a Servant's strength! (Seeing Yanye's complicated expression) This is not directed at you, Yanye. I am merely stating the facts. You were originally still able to command Berserker, but after I removed the Crest Worms from your body, your Mana level is now only a little stronger than that of an ordinary person.

Yanye: Speaking of that, I never asked before, but Caster, where is your Master?

Jizi: I killed him.

Yanye: I see... (Suddenly realizing what she said) What?! You...

Jizi: He was not a magus. He was merely dragged in by the Holy Grail to fill a slot through a strange coincidence. He was that serial killer everyone had been talking about a few days ago. He seemed to have learned a smattering of magecraft somewhere and used his victims' blood to draw a magic circle and summon me. His mind was completely deranged. He even believed it was a ritual to summon a demon and wanted to use the only surviving child in that household as a sacrifice for me to eat... Anyway, do not mention him.

Yanye: Oh... Then... if it truly comes down to it, we can use Crest Worms again. Zouken is dead anyway, so there is no need to worry about him controlling me. As for you, Caster, recreating his magecraft based on Zouken's notes should be easy, right?

Jizi: Do you not want to live?! Even with my treatment, whether you can survive another ten years is questionable! Remember, you are all that remains of the Matou Family now. If you die, what will happen to Sakura? Send her back to the Tohsaka Family? Can you guarantee that Tokiomi will not adopt her out to some other magecraft family again?

Yanye: Then what plan do you have?

Jizi: That is why I had Sakura attend as well. This little girl's aptitude is something not even you, her biological father Tokiomi, or even that genius Kayneth could ever compare to.

Yanye (protecting Sakura behind him, agitated): I will absolutely not allow it! Even if you have shown me kindness, I would rather pay with my life, but Sakura absolutely cannot be drawn into this dangerous conflict!

Jizi: Calm down, calm down. I like this child too. I will not put her in danger. Speaking of which, Yanye, I only discovered this while cleaning the Matou Family library this morning. I never expected there to be something so interesting. I wonder if you have heard of it?

Yanye (confused but not relaxing): What, Zouken's research results? I absolutely will not let you use them on Sakura.

Jizi (smiling helplessly): Do not be so tense. If I truly had bad intentions, could I not simply carry them out directly? Why would I discuss them with you? Do you think you have the power to stop me?

Yanye (slightly reassured): Then what do you want to say?

Jizi: You really did not connect it to the Book of the False Vassal, did you?

Lancelot: I'm in the cast, yet I have absolutely no lines!