"I don't have a phone, Brother," Tohsaka Sakura said softly as she sat on Fu Yuan's lap.
"I don't have one either, and Father doesn't allow me to use things like that," Tohsaka Rin said with a troubled expression.
"Then I'll give you phones. I won quite a few in a lottery before."
Was it Tohsaka Rin and Tohsaka Sakura's imagination? Why did hearing Fu Yuan say that make them feel strangely melancholy?
Shouldn't winning phones in a lottery have been something to celebrate?
...Celebrate what?! Fu Yuan had wanted to win weapons, Stigmata, and character templates—not some "Hyperion Brand Communication Phone."
Fu Yuan took out two phones from his pocket [System Backpack], gave one to each of the Tohsaka sisters, and personally taught them how to use them.
So that she could contact Fu Yuan in the future, Tohsaka Sakura seriously committed everything he taught her to memory.
After teaching them how to use these phones that did not belong to this world, Fu Yuan set the soft little Tohsaka Sakura down from his lap.
"I'm going to the courtyard. You two can try calling me with the phones."
"Okay!"
Fu Yuan then left the living room. The Tohsaka sisters stayed behind, fiddling with the phones he had given them. Though they had never touched phones before, dialing a number was hardly difficult.
Watching Tohsaka Sakura seriously fiddle with her phone, Tohsaka Rin adopted the tone of an elder. "Sakura, you were too rude just now. How could you just throw yourself at someone like that?"
How could you say that so self-righteously when you were clearly the one who did it first?~
"It's fine. Brother won't mind. Besides, I've decided that I'm going to become Brother's bride." Tohsaka Sakura spoke those determined words in a soft voice as she fiddled with her phone.
Tohsaka Rin's eyes widened at her sister's words. She looked at her. "Sakura, what are you saying... B-b-b-bride?!"
"Mm. When I grow up, I'll come back to Fuyuki City and live with Brother, so I'm going to become Fu Yuan's bride."
"No!"
"Mm?" Tohsaka Sakura looked at the bristling Tohsaka Rin, her little face full of confusion. "Sister, why not?"
"Well..." Tohsaka Rin was at a loss for words. Under her sister's pure gaze, her round eyes rolled around as she hemmed and hawed.
Tohsaka Rin seemed to think of an excuse and hurriedly said, "That woman from before! The woman in the bathrobe must be Brother Fu Yuan's girlfriend. Think about it—she's in Brother Fu Yuan's house and dressed like that, so she has to be his girlfriend."
To make herself more convincing, Tohsaka Rin nodded her little head vigorously and urged, "So, Sakura, give up on the idea of becoming his bride!"
Just like that, Scáthach had somehow become Fu Yuan's girlfriend. Who knew what kind of expression she would have if she found out?
"..." Tohsaka Sakura ignored her sister Tohsaka Rin and dialed Fu Yuan's number.
Fu Yuan, who had arrived at the courtyard platform, answered his phone and said with a smile, "Hello? Is that Sakura or Rin?"
Hearing his voice come through the phone, Tohsaka Sakura softly said, "Not Sister. It's me, Brother."
"Sakura? Then you know how to use the phone now, right? From now on, you can contact me through it. Even if we're a whole planet apart, as long as there's a signal, you'll be able to reach me."
"Mm." Tohsaka Sakura nodded her little head, pursed her lips, and softly asked, "Brother, who is that big sister in your house?"
The moment Tohsaka Rin heard that, she immediately pressed herself against Tohsaka Sakura, looking eager to learn the truth.
"Her..." Fu Yuan glanced at Scáthach, who was setting up a Magic Barrier in the courtyard. Before he could answer, Tohsaka Sakura's voice came through the phone again.
"Is she Brother's bride?"
The soft, syrupy voice coming from the phone made Fu Yuan's mouth twitch, while Scáthach, who was setting up the Magic Barrier, instinctively stopped what she was doing.
Fu Yuan glanced at Scáthach with a twitching mouth, then said wryly, "What bride? My relationship with Scáthach isn't what you think it is."
"I see. Mm, I understand." Tohsaka Sakura's slightly delighted voice came through the phone.
"What do you understand, you little kid?" Fu Yuan helplessly shook his head. It wasn't as though he hadn't noticed Tohsaka Sakura's attachment to him, but he thought it was perfectly normal.
After all, it was normal for children to have a vague fondness for the older brother or sister next door.
But that sort of vague affection would gradually fade as time passed and they grew up, so Fu Yuan did not take Tohsaka Sakura's attachment to him seriously.
Besides, Tohsaka Sakura would soon be going to Finland. Growing up there, she would probably gradually forget him.
That was how children were. They would like something, grow tired of it after ten days or half a month, and eventually forget it altogether.
Fu Yuan believed that both Tohsaka Rin and Tohsaka Sakura would grow distant from him or forget him as they got older. But... some children were different from the rest. Once they liked something, they would keep liking it from childhood into adulthood.
And that something included the boys they liked.
Fu Yuan did not stay on the phone with Tohsaka Sakura for long, because Tohsaka Tokiomi had arrived.
Looking at the impeccably dressed Tohsaka Tokiomi, Fu Yuan said into the phone, "Rin, Sakura, come out. Your father is here."
"...Okay."
An Hour of Battle Hadn't Even Been a Warm-Up Yet
Since they had found a way to contact Fu Yuan, and because Tohsaka Tokiomi had come to get them, Tohsaka Rin and Tohsaka Sakura did not fuss much and were taken away by him.
Once the sisters left, the chances of them meeting Fu Yuan again would probably become very slim.
Tohsaka Rin was still all right. She had merely been forced to go to Zenjō because of the Holy Grail War. Tohsaka Sakura was different—she would be living in Finland from now on, so she would probably have few chances to return to Fuyuki City.
Watching the Tohsaka sisters reluctantly wave their little hands, Fu Yuan waved back and bid them farewell.
Standing beside Fu Yuan, Scáthach glanced at him and said in a casual tone, "You're really something, Fu Yuan. You've got those two little girls completely wrapped around your finger."
"What are you talking about?" Fu Yuan choked on her words and shot the queen a glare. "Is the Magic Barrier set up?"
"Mm, it's done. But there are no Ley Lines beneath the ground where your house stands." Scáthach pointed her jade-like finger at the ground below. "So it won't gather much Great Source Mana."
"If you want to gather more Great Source Mana, move. Move to where this city's Ley Lines run, or to Mount Ensō over there." Scáthach tilted her head slightly, indicating the direction of Mount Ensō.
Ley Lines were like undercurrents within the earth, crisscrossing beneath the ground. Where they converged, all things would grow in abundance. Since there were no Ley Lines beneath Fu Yuan's home, even Scáthach could not gather much Great Source Mana for him.
It was like trying to make a meal without rice.
"I see." Fu Yuan frowned slightly. "So I still need to move?"
"That's your choice." Scáthach, still wearing her bathrobe, shrugged her fragrant shoulders. "But if you want to gather more Great Source Mana, you'll have to leave this place."
"Then let's move. Scáthach, can you come with me tomorrow to find a Ley Line suitable for gathering Great Source Mana?" Fu Yuan asked Scáthach.
"There's no need to look for one. Mount Ensō is where this city's Ley Lines converge. There are plenty of Ley Lines to choose from there." Scáthach pointed toward Mount Ensō.
Before you continue