Shirou's Return from the Fae Kingdom

He ruffled Sakura Matou's hair as a final farewell and turned towards the door.

As he passed Shirou—

"Why would you send your daughter here, Mister?" the red-haired boy suddenly asked.

"...What?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka stopped, his brow furrowing in displeasure.

"Hey, Shirou! You shouldn't talk like that! Come back inside!"

Shinji Matou clutched his right leg, but to his surprise, he found that no matter how hard he pulled, Shirou didn't budge.

Tokiomi Tohsaka paused for a moment before replying with an elegant smile.

"I want my daughter to be happy in the future, which is why I sent her to the Matou family—

A child like you wouldn't understand... the burdens of parenthood."

The Tohsaka family was a Magus lineage with a long history.

In the world of Magus, the greatest inheritance of a family was not wealth or knowledge, but the Magecraft Crest.

The research that generations had poured their hearts into over centuries was all accumulated within the small Magecraft Crest—

However, only one child could inherit the Magecraft Crest.

Tokiomi Tohsaka had two daughters.

If one of them had been mediocre, it would have been fine, but both possessed rare talents that were almost miraculous.

Only one could inherit the Tohsaka name.

Only one could be protected by the Tohsaka name.

Those with top-tier magical talent who did not inherit the family business would be forcibly taken in by the Association under the guise of "protection" and turned into specimens.

That was why Tokiomi Tohsaka had sent his daughter to the Matou family, where mystery had long since vanished.

Accepting the Matou's protection and inheriting the Matou's magic was the greatest happiness that child could achieve.

Tokiomi Tohsaka didn't expect a 7-year-old child to understand these heavy truths.

"I don't know what your circumstances are, but if you gave birth to a child, you should protect them until the end. That's what being an adult means."

Shirou said with annoyance, "Your daughter clearly doesn't want to go."

"..."

Sakura Matou looked up at Shirou with listless eyes, surprised.

Perhaps feeling he had lost face in front of the Matou family, Tokiomi became somewhat displeased. "Sakura, you don't want to leave the Tohsaka family?"

Sakura Matou quickly lowered her head. "No, Uncle Tohsaka."

Volume 1, Chapter 006: Battle-Hardened, Seen It All

Women were more cunning and more prone to saying the opposite of what they meant than Fae—

Shirou Amamiya confirmed this once again.

"Listen, Shinji, that girl is very dangerous. You must be wary of her from now on."

Shirou whispered, stealing glances at the girl who was silently following them.

Zouken Matou was an elder with a strong presence, and Tokiomi Tohsaka was no less imposing.

But Shirou believed that this seemingly harmless, pitiable little girl was the most dangerous of all.

His eyesight, honed by his time with the Fae in the other world of "Britain," would never be wrong.

Shinji looked displeased at his words.

"What are you talking about, Shirou! Sakura is so cute, where is she dangerous? Ah... I get it!"

"Get what?"

"You're jealous, aren't you! Jealous that I have such a cute little sister! What an ugly emotion, Shirou~!"

Shinji drew out his words, speaking sarcastically, then burst into laughter. His true nature, which couldn't contain his excitement, was already evident at this age.

Shirou sighed: Brat, don't come begging me when trouble comes later.

After sending Tokiomi Tohsaka away, Shirou, Shinji, and Sakura... the three children went out onto the street.

The two boys walked ahead, while Sakura kept a distance of about two meters, following them silently.

Today was her first day at the Matou residence.

Tsuruno Matou had given Shinji twenty thousand yen and told him to take Sakura to an outside restaurant for a big meal.

This was also out of necessity.

The Matou family was currently severely short-handed. Several maids had already been driven away by Zouken's eccentric personality.

Shinji Matou had just become a big brother, received a large sum of money from his father, and been entrusted with an important task, so he was incredibly excited.

"Sakura, is there any restaurant you like? Big brother will take you!"

Sakura Matou remained silent for about three seconds. "There's nothing in particular I want to eat."

Shinji Matou put his hands on his hips and tilted his chin up. "Oh really? Then I'll take you to the fancy French restaurant big brother always goes to!"

Sakura Matou: "..."

Shirou Amamiya: "..."

They arrived at a super high-class restaurant that had just opened in the shopping district.

Three children, about seven or eight years old, walking into a luxuriously decorated Western restaurant like this would definitely attract strange looks from the adults.

But Shinji Matou didn't care. He just wanted to show off his authority as an older brother in front of his little sister.

"Hey, don't push yourself too hard. Is the money Tsuruno gave you enough?" Shirou poured cold water on him.

Shinji's face turned red with anger. "Huh? Don't underestimate me! I have..." Huh? Huh? Huh?!"

Shinji's expression suddenly changed drastically, and he started rummaging through his clothes and pockets.

"What's wrong?"

"It's gone."

Shinji, with teary eyes, grabbed Shirou's arm.

"What do we do, Shirou! The money Dad gave me is gone... Waaahhhhhh! Sob sob sob!"

The boy with the purple seaweed-like hair burst into tears on the sidewalk of the shopping street.

"Alright, alright, stop crying. I'll lend you some."

Shirou didn't want to attract too much attention, so he took out his wallet.

He hadn't just stayed at the Matou house playing games every day for the past half month.

While Shirou was wandering outside and collecting information about Fuyuki City, he happened to meet people who were willing to hire children.

All he had to do was keep watch for the uncles in black suits and make sure the uncles in hats didn't get too close, and he'd get paid. There were still plenty of good people in the world.

Although the financial problem was temporarily solved, the plan for the three of them to eat at a high-class restaurant had to be abandoned.

"Hey... Sakura, I'm sorry. Brother only has this much money left. Sakura?"

Shinji noticed his sister looking at a restaurant not far away.

Red Banquet Pavilion · Taishan, the only Chinese restaurant in the Fuyuki shopping district.

The glass windows were tightly shut even in broad daylight, and it was impossible to tell who was coming in or out. It was a den of the shopping street that would scare you into wanting to run home just by looking at it.

"Sakura, do you want to eat there?"

Shinji, who had heard rumors about this place, asked hesitantly.

Even if they were broke, there was no need to eat there... There were plenty of other more suitable places.

"..."

Sakura Matou didn't say anything, just quietly gazed at the Chinese restaurant.

Her mother—no, it should be said, her former mother, Aoi Tohsaka, was very good at Chinese cooking.

Mrs. Tohsaka often made Chinese food for her and her older sister. The young girl was just reminiscing about those times.

"Let's go."

Shirou broke the silence.

He took the first step, and Shinji, seeing this, hurriedly followed.

"Okay, okay~! Let's eat there, Sakura... Hey, wait for me, Shirou!"

"..."

Sakura Matou looked at the back of the red-haired boy, her expression filled with surprise, and a glimmer of light flashed in her dim eyes.

The girl quickly caught up.

The manager of Red Banquet Pavilion · Taishan, Miss Ba, was a petite girl in a qipao. Even when facing three small children, she enthusiastically handed them the menus.

Shirou propped his chin on his hand, watching the qipao-clad girl head towards the kitchen, a look of interest on his face.

"Heh... So there are people like this. Human history is truly interesting."

Shinji, sitting beside him, held the menu and solicitously struck up a conversation with Sakura.

After a while, the food was served.

Shirou and Sakura had ordered shredded pork with green peppers, while Shinji had ordered the bright red, greasy Mapo Tofu.

Just bringing your face close to it made your eyes water, and eating a bite might melt your tongue.

It went without saying that he just wanted to show off in front of his sister.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Shinji."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Shirou? This level of spice is nothing—oof!"

Upon tasting the first bite, Shinji Matou's entire face plunged into the mapo tofu dish.

Shirou: "...So weak."

Sakura: "...snicker."

Shirou looked towards the source of the laughter and found Sakura Matou covering her mouth.

She shyly glanced at Shirou, then lowered her flushed, adorable cheeks.

With the noisy one knocked out, they could finally enjoy their lunch in peace.

While the restaurant's shredded pork with green peppers wasn't as terrifying as the mapo tofu, it was still incredibly spicy, super spicy.

As he chewed the green peppers, Shirou pictured Miss Ba single-handedly wielding a large Chinese wok with her slender arms, coating all the ingredients inside with chili—a bizarre scene.

Fortunately, Shirou had developed incredible endurance and adaptability in "Britain," but it was a bit too much for a six-year-old girl.

"If you really can't eat it, then don't," Shirou said.

After Shirou spoke, Sakura Matou paused her chopsticks for a moment.

"I'm fine."

Whether it was when her father sent her to the Matou family, or now.

Compared to her sister, who could do anything, Sakura Matou's greatest strength was her endurance.

"...Is that so."

Shirou said nothing more and returned to eating.

They didn't exchange another word until they left the restaurant.