Type-Moon's Problem Child from Collapse

Chapter 23: It Must Be a Compatibility Summon!

"Irisviel, you're back... Who is he!" After standing at the door for half an hour out of guilt, Kiritsugu Emiya finally waited for his own... wait, that Mercedes-Benz 300SL.

"Her" elegantly streamlined body was as steady as a noblewoman, while the roar of the six-cylinder engine in a row was as majestic as a wild beast. And the one who drove this classic sedan to over a hundred kilometers per hour—gripping the steering wheel were slender wrists like those of a noble lady.

As a Magus, Kiritsugu had excellent eyesight. Though he couldn't see the faint veins bulging on those slender wrists, confirming it was his own wife was simple enough.

He hesitated for a moment, ready to step forward and greet her, only to spot a man sitting in the back seat. His heart suddenly pounded—this was a racing heart, no, sheer shock! Who was he!

Whether intentional or not, that elegantly streamlined car gracefully sped past half a meter in front of him. The wind whipped up by the vehicle slapped his face, just enough for him to make out the man's face and the two little girls beside him.

'Killing someone's spirit, utterly destroying their spirit!' Fu Yuan, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly felt a bit of pity for Kiritsugu as he watched this scene. Through Emotion Perception, he could roughly guess the course of Kiritsugu's thoughts.

"Was there just something that passed by?" Irisviel drifted the car to a stop at the gate, then pushed open the door with great flair, asking Fu Yuan in the passenger seat with feigned ignorance.

"...Was there?" Fu Yuan, faced with this situation... chose to play along, of course! He despised this kind of person the most—too contemptible! So he replied with a hint of confusion.

"It looked like Dad..." Illya really raised her little hand, answering uncertainly.

"There wasn't, right!" Irisviel completely ignored Illya's words—or rather, she heard them but didn't care.

Kids, they missee things all the time!

Kariya Matou felt like he might have stumbled into trouble, but he hadn't figured out what kind yet. After all, though he wasn't a boy anymore, he was still a bachelor—never married once.

Right now, he only felt that the family dynamics of the Saber Group were a bit... complicated.

But it didn't matter; he was only staying here for seven days anyway. Oh, six days.

Suppressing his emotions, he pulled Sakura beside him, pushed open the door with gentlemanly grace, and waited to the side. Oh, and he did the same for Little Illya.

Then came Kiritsugu's furious glare!

A strange man, greeting his daughter with a gentlemanly posture at his own home, right after he'd just argued with Irisviel.

What was this! A provocation! Fine, I accept this challenge, bastard!

Kariya Matou: ???

"Mrs., you've returned." Maiya, standing at the door, said very respectfully, as if unconsciously adding the honorific out of guilt.

"..." 'Tch, this reaction is troublesome!' Irisviel looked at Maiya's response and sucked in a cold breath. What to do, what to do—this has me stumped!

That's not how it goes in the novels! If I keep pressing, won't I turn into the villain!

'Hmm~ a bit frustrated. It's all Kiritsugu's fault!' After figuring out this key point, Irisviel suddenly glared at Kiritsugu with some anger.

"Um, can we talk inside first?" Kariya Matou suddenly spoke up to suggest.

Strictly speaking, this wasn't his line to say, but who knew why Einsbern Castle was so cold! He didn't mind for himself, but Sakura couldn't take it!

So Kariya Matou glanced at Sakura, who had just shivered—oh, and Illya too—draped his coat over them both, then spoke somewhat impolitely.

'Turning the tables, huh? You've got nerve, bastard!' Kiritsugu Emiya clearly noticed Illya shivering too—oh, and that purple-haired little girl—but just as he was about to speak, that other man beat him to it.

"Yeah, Irisviel, let's go home first. The kids are cold."

Kiritsugu Emiya stressed the word "home" and shot Kariya Matou a smug look. Hear that? My home!

"Maiya, it's cold outside. Come in first. And A Yuan, all of you, come in and talk inside!" Irisviel acted as if she hadn't heard him, suddenly calling out to the group, then turned and pushed open the door to walk inside, completely ignoring Kiritsugu, who was left awkwardly behind.

As for Maiya, Irisviel had already thought it through. Earlier, it was just pure unwillingness. Hearing Maiya's somewhat humble tone, Irisviel decided not to dwell on it.

But Maiya was Maiya, and that stinky man was that stinky man. For this matter, kneeling on durians for a few days wouldn't be enough. By the way, kneeling on durians was A Yuan's idea.

Worried about Sakura, Kariya Matou took the two kids inside as soon as Irisviel spoke, with Fu Yuan following close behind.

As for Berserker, who hadn't been mentioned at all—due to insufficient seats in the car, he was in Spiritronization. And since Kariya Matou hadn't told him to revert, anyone with insufficient magecraft couldn't perceive him.

Kiritsugu's pupils sharply contracted. This man—too familiar, wasn't he! Bastard!

Then he took a deep breath, and another, until his mood calmed, and he entered full combat readiness.

In the living room, Irisviel was entertaining Kariya Matou—oh, and Maiya too, since they might be spending a long time together.

Fu Yuan was coaxing Sakura... and Illya too.

Illya: ! Feels targeted!

It wasn't that he didn't care about Little Illya; it was just that Sakura was too pitiful and endearing, while Little Illya was too well-behaved, so he ended up being a bit biased.

Faced with this situation, Fu Yuan had no good solution, so he forcibly tried to mold Sakura into a different shape!

"On the other shore, flowers bloom in a seven-colored sky; falling petals become immortals for a thousand years. The gate of the immortal mountain hides cause and effect; the path of cutting flowers asks not of heaven."

"Heaven or hell, I come when I wish, I leave when I wish—who can stop me!"

"Meeting an emperor without bowing, fate is already lost; your name is on the Reincarnation Stele. One step, one kowtow; on the path to rebirth, half your sins are erased, protecting your true spirit."

Kiritsugu Emiya walked to the seat opposite Kariya Matou, pulled out a chair, and sat down heavily, then just stared at him.

"Pfft!"

Irisviel looked at the strange Kiritsugu, puzzled at first, then as if suddenly remembering something, she burst out laughing, but didn't correct him.

Kariya Matou wasn't an idiot. If he still couldn't figure out what was going on by now, he really had wasted all these years alive.

Then he extended his right hand and spoke very politely: "Kariya Matou, Berserker's Master. I just formed an alliance with Saber today."

As if to echo his words, a surge of magical energy erupted in the living room, and Berserker's figure emerged from within it.

Kiritsugu Emiya suddenly slapped his forehead. Damn it, a Master from the Matou Family! He hadn't even recognized him before.

Then a chill ran through his heart. Right, he doesn't know I'm Saber's real Master. So why is he saying all this? A threat? Trying to make me back off? Why does even you have to compete with me for this!

"What are you trying to say!" Kiritsugu Emiya suppressed the anger burning in his chest, forcing calm as he questioned.

Kariya Matou fell silent. Could they not have a pleasant conversation? Were these people insane? Were they insane!

He took two deep breaths to steady himself. What else could he do? He was already on this sinking ship.

Heh. Based on the intel that old geezer had given him, the Einzbern Family's prepared Holy Relic was that legendary scabbard. And from the looks of it now, Saber was clearly not King Arthur.

That meant it was a Compatibility Summon. He just didn't know whose fault it was that this Saber had been summoned. But looking at how unreliable Saber was, Kariya Matou felt he'd already guessed the truth.

Kiritsugu Emiya had a bad brain. No doubt about it!

Thinking this, Kariya Matou's mood suddenly lifted. Adopting a very relaxed attitude, he politely explained to Kiritsugu again.

"Saber's Noble Phantasm destroyed my house. I have nowhere to stay. Plus there's a child involved, and since we're allies, I came here. Also, your wife seems pretty angry..."

"Cough, cough. Haven't you prepared dinner yet?" Irisviel suddenly coughed twice, cutting off Kariya Matou's words, and pulled out an excuse she'd already thought of.

"Dinner is ready, Mrs." Maiya, who hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise, responded to this and prepared to head to the kitchen.

"I'll go!" Kiritsugu suddenly pressed down on Maiya as she was about to get up. No other reason. He just felt awkward.

If he could go back a few minutes, he would definitely kill his past self. What kind of insane move was that!

Was that something he would do? Was Saber possessing him or something!

Fu Yuan, who was playing with the two little ones, looked up in confusion and glanced around.

Chapter 24: Best Strategy is to Attack the Heart, Star Gazing (Limited)

"This is Thunderbolt! Heaven's own Thunderbolt!"

"This... is Heaven displeased with the Imperial Court?"

"Is something interesting happening?" Su Mei, holding Fu Yuan's little hand as she came downstairs, saw a crowd gathered around the inn and felt a spark of curiosity.

"Mmm~ I don't know. But I don't think it's anything good." Fu Yuan squinted at the spot. He had a dangerous feeling about it, though it seemed very faint, as if the threat there lacked staying power.

Su Mei pulled Fu Yuan to sit at a table. Sensing the almost nonexistent Honkai energy over there, she was secretly startled.

Eliminating Honkai—this was something that old geezer had pursued for who knows how many years. And now it was happening right next to her. Coincidence? Or something else? If it was man-made, what was the goal?

"Hey, Uncle. What's going on over there?" Su Mei suddenly patted the Swordsman at the next table, acting familiar.

"What the—... No, Peerless Lady!" The passerby whose shoulder was patted looked over with great displeasure. After seeing who it was, his dissatisfied tone died in his throat.

Cold sweat broke out on his body. His mind raced, trying to think if he'd offended this Living Yama recently.

Su Mei heard the title that had once made her so proud, but now it suddenly made her afraid. She glanced back at Fu Yuan, who seemed not to have noticed anything, then put on her usual smile and repeated her question.

At the same time, her eyes turned cold. If this guy didn't know his place, she wouldn't mind using some methods on these wastes.

"I... I don't know. I heard someone say it was thunder." The Swordsman she was staring at was visibly flustered, inwardly regretting why he'd chosen to sit here.

"...Don't know? Then sorry for the trouble." Su Mei didn't do anything else after hearing that answer. She simply walked back and said nothing more.

"Little Cutie, sit here for a bit. I'll go take a look." Su Mei briefly explained, then prepared to head over. A way to eliminate Honkai—a method of great value. She, Tai Xu Xiao Tu, was very interested.

"...L-Little Cutie..." Fu Yuan clearly hadn't heard the rest of what she said. His whole face red, he buried it in the table. Mmm~

"Kid. Kid." The Swordsman from before came over and nudged Fu Yuan, who was in a strange state, hoping to snap him out of it.

"Kid? Me?" Fu Yuan felt someone pushing him and looked up at the Middle-aged Uncle in front of him. Mmm~ Looking at it that way, he really was a kid.

"Kid, why are you with that Witch? Did she trick you?" The Middle-aged Swordsman felt he had a sense of justice. Even if he wasn't strong, even if he'd been cowardly just now, when it came to children... he was still gentle!

At the very least, he couldn't let such an adorable child fall into that Witch's hands!

"Witch? Senior... isn't she an Immortal Disciple?" Fu Yuan was confused by his words. That title sounded really bad!

But... he felt like he might get to know another side of his Senior Sister! Thinking this, Fu Yuan got a little excited and asked curiously.

"Peerless Lady is indeed an Immortal Disciple, and she truly hates Demon Beasts. But she... she... Ah! You just need to know one saying that circulates in the Jianghu."

"Better to offend Living Yama than to offend Peerless Lady!"

Fu Yuan looked at the Uncle, whose face was clearly filled with fear, and began to feel puzzled. In his eyes, Senior Sister was a very gentle person. But in this Uncle's eyes, it seemed to be the opposite?

"Why?" Fu Yuan made full use of his cute appearance, lifting his little face and asking innocently.

"Killing is just a nod and a fall. But she's different. She kills and destroys the s—" The Uncle, who clearly had a lot to say on this topic, started getting excited. But halfway through his sentence, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder, and an icy voice followed.

The uncle, who had been so agitated moments before, froze instantly, and visible fear spread across his face.

"Hey! What were you saying to my Little Cutie?" Su Mei said coldly, slapping his shoulder as killing intent began to brew in her heart. After all, there were some things she wasn't ready to confess yet.

Fu Yuan watched his Senior Sister's reaction and felt a strange flicker of glee inside? Still, he promptly threw himself onto her, looking at her with an adorably dazed expression.

Otherwise, he felt like the uncle was about to be in serious trouble!

The uncle clearly caught Fu Yuan's meaning too, and while Peerless Lady wasn't paying attention to him, he bolted—running very fast.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Even though Fu Yuan kept trying to start conversations, his Senior Sister's face was dark and gloomy, and every topic died almost instantly.

A long, long time after the meal ended, Su Mei suddenly asked Fu Yuan, who was hopping along ahead of her.

"Aren't you afraid?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Fu Yuan turned his whole body around and tilted his head at his Senior Sister, whose expression was uneasy.

"Afraid of what?"

"I'm the Peerless Lady! The Peerless Lady, more terrifying than even Yama." Su Mei said with a hint of self-mockery, though the words were painfully accurate.

"Hmm~ Not afraid."

Fu Yuan looked a little confused. He thought for a moment but couldn't figure out why his Senior Sister had suddenly become so insecure.

Still, he gave his answer seriously. Then, seeing that Su Mei wanted to press further, he hopped over and hugged her arm, making his childish face as earnest as possible before saying something very odd.

"I'm Senior Sister's Little Cutie!"

"...Is that so?"

Su Mei fell silent for a moment, then scooped him up—a princess carry—without any explanation. But her face suddenly lit up with joy again.

(Hmm~ The tragedy of being 1.58 meters tall.)