Shirou leaped down from the three-meter-high climbing frame, leaving Shinji Matou dumbfounded.
"Seriously? You're a man, aren't you? Why can't you speak up?"
"N-no need for that... It's not like you can't hear me."
"Heh heh... You actually dare talk back. At least you've got some backbone."
Shirou shot him a glance, and Shinji immediately stumbled back several steps in fright.
Some backbone, but not much.
"Who were the people bullying you just now?"
Shinji answered, "Some classmates from school."
School seemed to be an institution where children went to learn.
In fact, Shirou wasn't completely ignorant of this world, where he had lived for only seven years.
On the fairy island of "Britain," treasures called "drift objects" appeared from time to time—
Craftworks, books, and even Shirou Amamiya himself, for example.
They had all flowed into "Britain" from this world.
Through the books among those "drift objects," Shirou had gained a little information about the human world.
"Your parents don't do anything when other kids bully you?"
Shirou didn't have a father or mother, so he wasn't very sure about this...
But parents protecting their own children was probably common sense in this world.
"I didn't tell Dad..." Shinji said.
"Why?"
Shinji Matou bit his lip and fell silent again.
Seeing his expression, Shirou understood at once. "Hmph. Strange self-esteem."
His feelings exposed in a single sentence, Shinji Matou blushed. "Why... why did you help me?"
If he had to explain it, it was because this boy named Shinji Matou possessed an air similar to Bavag's... an air that made it impossible to leave him alone.
Rather than "making people want to protect him," it was more like the feeling of "being frustrated by his failure to live up to his potential."
Of course, Shirou wouldn't admit that. He said nonchalantly, "Don't worry about it. It's not that I wanted to help you. I just didn't like the look of them, so I stuck my nose in."
Shinji froze for a moment. "Aren't you afraid they'll retaliate? They'll bully you too after this."
"Should you just keep yielding because you're afraid of retaliation? That'll only make the other side even more brazen with their bullying."
Shirou had learned one thing from the history of the fairies: weakness would never win sympathy. Only strength could earn respect.
The strongest fairy in "Britain" was Reynard, a typical aristocratic fairy who enjoyed bullying the weak and treated humans like blades of grass.
At first, he had looked down on Shirou Amamiya as well.
But as Shirou grew stronger and demonstrated the strength to match, Reynard had come to regard him as an opponent worthy of respect.
"When dealing with people who bully you, you have to pay them back even more fiercely."
Shirou pressed down on Shinji's shoulder and lectured him in the tone of someone he knew well.
"If it's a man, beat him up. If it's a woman, sleep with her. Then no one will dare bully you again."
Whenever Sage Grim tried to fill Shirou's head with such twisted ideas, Morgan would appear behind him and punch him into the ground.
But that person was no longer here.
As far as Shirou was concerned, there was nothing and no one left for him to treasure... In other words, he was invincible!
"Mm... mm..."
Infected by Shirou's imposing air and thoroughly shaken, Shinji nodded rapidly, half understanding and half not, unsure whether he had grasped any of it.
"I-I understand!"
"Good. It's good that you understand, brat. You've got some talent after all."
Shirou patted Shinji firmly on the shoulder, then turned around.
Beneath the setting sun, the purple-haired boy gazed at the red-haired boy's departing figure, his eyes shining brightly.
Without a doubt, today would become a day Shinji Matou would never forget for the rest of his life—
Shirou Amamiya stopped, then turned and came back.
"Shinji."
"H-here! What's wrong?"
"I don't have anywhere to stay right now. Can I stay at your house for a few days?"
Shirou followed Shinji up a long slope.
Atop the mountain at the end of the slope stood an ultra-luxurious Western-style mansion.
Even in "Britain," only the highest-ranking aristocratic fairies could live in such a huge estate.
"Oh, is that your house? It's pretty impressive. How does it look anything like a haunted house?"
"That's the Tohsaka Family."
My house is over here. Shinji looked awkward and pointed toward another mansion on the hillside.
In terms of scale and luxury, it was no worse than the one on the mountain, yet it was strangely inconspicuous.
The sun had not yet set, but the inside of the house was already pitch-black.
Not only did it have terrible lighting, but the curtains were drawn tight, and there were barely any lamps.
It really did look like the sort of house a vampire would live in, Shirou thought.
"I'll go tell Dad. Amamiya, wait in the living room."
"Yeah, okay."
After giving Shirou a few instructions, Shinji hurried up to the second floor.
On the way there, Shinji had proudly declared that his father was the head of the Matou Family.
As long as his father agreed, Shirou could stay here.
If only things really went that smoothly, Shirou thought as he sat down in a chair.
The living room was just as dim.
Shirou's eyes could adapt to the darkness faster than an ordinary person's, but just then—
A chill shot up the back of Shirou's neck, and he turned around.
"Heh heh... It's quite impressive that you noticed this old man. The young are truly formidable."
In the darkness, the sound of insects rang out at just the right moment.
A hunched old man, as black as a dark crystal, stood there.
Volume One 004 The Mystic Eyes from the End
A short old man stood in the darkness.
He wore the folk attire of this country. His thin, shriveled body radiated an oppressive presence, while a pair of incredibly sharp eyes sat in his wrinkled face.
Judging by his aged appearance, he seemed to be nearly a hundred years old.
The native humans of "Britain" lived for only thirty years, while most fairies retained their youthful appearances forever.
So Shirou lacked knowledge in this area and perhaps couldn't make an accurate judgment—
His first reaction was that the old man had lived for at least five hundred years.
"Hey, did you come into this house for something?"
The old man spoke, and Shirou narrowed his eyes. There was no mistaking it—this was Shinji's grandfather, the vampire of local rumor.
"What's wrong, young man? Why aren't you saying anything?"
The old man muttered to himself in a pleasant voice.
"If you don't answer, I'll have to assume you're trespassing illegally, won't I? Heh heh... Now, how should I deal with you?"
Shirou replied neither servilely nor arrogantly, "Shinji invited me here. You started threatening a guest without even figuring out the situation. Is that the Matou Family's etiquette?"
"Shinji invited you?"
The old man—Zouken Matou—furrowed his brows suspiciously. His cowardly and useless little grandson had invited someone his own age home to play?
How strange.
Stranger still, the red-haired boy before him was enveloped in an atmosphere that did not belong to someone his age.
He had tried to intimidate him just a little. An ordinary child should already have gone deathly pale with fright.
Yet not only was the boy completely composed, he even—
Zouken Matou was stunned inwardly. Could it be that my presence has actually been overwhelmed by him?
And those eyes...
The red-haired boy's amber eyes seemed to harbor some kind of power, one that could see through everything about him with ease.
"..."
A hundred-year-old man and a young boy faced each other.
The air gradually grew dense and difficult to breathe. Just then—
"—miya!"
An excited child's voice came from upstairs.
"Dad agreed! You can stay here!"
Shinji Matou came running down the stairs, beaming, and rushed up to Shirou.
"What are you standing here for? Listen, Dad agreed!"
"The servants at home ran away a few days ago after Grandpa angered them. If you can help with the housework... Uh, Grandpa?"
Zouken Matou clicked his tongue unhappily. "What? So this really is someone Shinji brought home."
"Grandpa! This person is..."
Shinji hurriedly explained the situation to him.
Of course, the prideful boy concealed the part about being bullied by other children and emphasized only that he had met a playmate on the street.
As he introduced Shirou, the old man kept staring at his face, while Shirou met his gaze without fear.
"What's your name?"
"Shirou. Shirou Amamiya."
Upon hearing that name, Zouken Matou immediately lost interest.
He had thought this boy came from some special magus family.
For example, not Amamiya, but Emiya...
So he was just an ordinary brat?
Still, although his own grandson was this hopeless, it wasn't impossible for a true genius to emerge—someone already extraordinary at seven or eight years old.
Zouken Matou paused, then spoke. "Since you're a guest my grandson brought home, I won't say much more.
"But to be cautious, let me ask you first—surely you don't intend to harm innocent civilians?"
A sharp glint shot from his murky eyes, as though it intended to pierce straight through Shirou.
Before you continue