He ruffled Sakura Matou's hair as a final farewell, then turned and walked toward the door.
As he passed by Shirou—
"Why did you send your daughter here, Uncle?" the red-haired boy suddenly asked.
"...What?"
Tokiomi Tohsaka stopped and frowned displeasedly.
"Hey, Shirou! Stop spouting nonsense! Come back to the room with me!"
Shinji Matou hugged his right leg, but was shocked to find that no matter how hard he pulled, Shirou did not budge.
Tokiomi Tohsaka froze for a moment, then answered with an elegant smile.
"I hope my daughter will be able to find happiness in the future, which is why I sent her to the Matou Family—
A child like you wouldn't be able to understand... the difficulties parents face."
The Tohsaka Family was a long-established magus lineage.
In the world of magi, a family's greatest legacy was neither wealth nor knowledge, but the Magecraft Crest.
The research into which several generations had poured their hearts over hundreds of years was all accumulated within that tiny Magecraft Crest—
Yet only one child could inherit it.
Tokiomi Tohsaka had two daughters.
It would have been one thing if one of them had mediocre talent, but both possessed rare gifts bordering on miracles.
Only one could inherit the Tohsaka name.
Only one could receive the protection of the Tohsaka name.
Those who possessed top-tier talent in magecraft but did not inherit their family's legacy 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 the mystery was in decline.
Accepting the Matou Family's protection and inheriting its magecraft was the greatest happiness this child could attain.
Tokiomi Tohsaka did not expect a seven-year-old child to understand such heavy reasoning.
"I don't know what your circumstances are, but if she's your own child, then you should protect her to the very end. That's what makes someone an adult, isn't it?"
Shirou said with an unhappy look, "Your daughter clearly doesn't want to go."
"..."
Sakura Matou raised her listless eyes and looked at Shirou in surprise.
Perhaps feeling that he had lost face in front of the Matou Family, Tokiomi looked somewhat displeased. "Sakura, do you not want to leave the Tohsaka Family?"
Sakura Matou hurriedly lowered her head. "That's not it, Uncle Tohsaka."
Volume One 006: Seen It All Through Years of Battle
Women were more cunning and more prone to saying one thing while meaning another than fairies—
Rain Amamiya confirmed this once again.
"Listen carefully, Shinji. That girl is extremely dangerous. You must be extra careful around her from now on."
As Shirou whispered, he stole glances at the girl silently following behind them.
Zouken Matou was an old man with a powerful presence, and Tokiomi Tohsaka was no less imposing.
But Shirou believed that this seemingly harmless and delicate little girl was the most dangerous of them all.
His insight, honed from living alongside fairies in the otherworldly Britain, could never be wrong.
Shinji looked displeased when he heard that.
"What are you talking about, Shirou? Sakura is so adorable. How could she be dangerous? Ah... I get it!"
"What do you get?"
"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 in a mocking tone, then burst into laughter. His smug and carried-away nature was already beginning to show at this age.
Shirou sighed. Brat. Don't come begging me for help when something happens later.
After seeing Tokiomi Tohsaka off, Shirou, Shinji, and Sakura... the three children, came to the street.
The two boys walked ahead, while Sakura kept about two meters behind them without saying a word.
Today was her first day at the Matou Family's home.
Tsuruno Matou gave Shinji twenty thousand yen and had him take Sakura out to a restaurant for a lavish meal.
It was an unavoidable decision.
The Matou Family was currently suffering from a severe shortage of manpower. Several servants had already been driven away by Zouken's eccentric personality.
Shinji Matou had just become an older brother, and had also received a large sum of money and an important assignment from his father. He was so excited that he could barely contain himself.
"Sakura, is there any restaurant you like? Big Brother will take you there to eat."
Sakura Matou was silent for about three seconds. "There's nothing in particular I want to eat."
Shinji planted his hands on his hips and raised his chin. "Is that so, is that so? Then I'll take you to the fancy French restaurant I always go to!"
Sakura Matou: "..."
Shirou Amamiya: "..."
They arrived at an extremely upscale restaurant that had recently opened in the shopping district.
Three children of seven or eight years old walking into such a lavish Western restaurant would inevitably draw strange looks from the adults around them.
But Shinji Matou did not care. He only wanted to display his dignity as an older brother in front of his little sister.
"Hey, don't overdo it. Did Tsuruno give you enough money?" Shirou poured cold water on him.
Shinji flushed bright red with anger. "Huh? Don't underestimate me. I have... huh? Huh? Huh?!"
Shinji's expression suddenly changed drastically, and he began rummaging through his clothes and trouser pockets.
"What's wrong?"
"It's gone."
Shinji seized Shirou's arm with tears in his eyes.
"What do we do, Shirou? The money Dad gave me is gone... waaaaaah! Sniff, waaaaaah!"
The boy with purple seaweed-like hair burst into tears on the sidewalk of the shopping district.
"All right, all right, stop crying. I'll lend you the money."
Not wanting to attract too much attention, Shirou had no choice but to take out his wallet.
He had not spent the past half-month cooped up in the Matou Family's home playing games every day.
While wandering around outside and gathering information about Fuyuki City, Shirou had happened to meet someone willing to hire children.
All he had to do was keep watch for the man in the black suit and make sure the man in the hat did not approach. The world really was full of good people.
Although their financial problem had been temporarily resolved, the plan for the three of them to eat at an upscale restaurant had to be abandoned.
"Hey... Sakura, I'm sorry. This is all the money Big Brother has left. Sakura?"
Shinji noticed his sister looking at a restaurant in the distance.
Red Banquet Pavilion Taishan, the only Chinese restaurant in Fuyuki City's shopping district.
Its glass windows were tightly shut even in broad daylight, and it was impossible to tell whether any customers went in or out. It was a demonic lair in the shopping district, the sort of place that made you want to turn around and run home after one glance.
"Sakura, do you want to eat there?"
Shinji, who had heard rumors about the restaurant, asked nervously.
Even if they had no money, there was no need to eat there... There were still plenty of more suitable restaurants.
"..."
Sakura Matou said nothing, merely gazing at the Chinese restaurant in silence.
Her mother—no, the woman who had once been her mother, Aoi Tohsaka, had been very skilled at Chinese cuisine.
Mrs. Tohsaka often cooked Chinese food for her and her older sister. The girl was merely reminiscing about those days.
"Let's go."
Shirou broke the silence.
He stepped forward first, and Shinji hurriedly followed when he saw him move.
"O-Okay~! We'll eat there, Sakura... Hey, wait for me, Shirou!"
"..."
Sakura Matou watched the red-haired boy's back. Surprise appeared on her face, and a glimmer of light flashed through her dim eyes.
The girl hurried to catch up.
The owner of Red Banquet Pavilion Taishan, Miss Ba, was a petite girl in a qipao. Even when faced with three children, she enthusiastically handed them menus.
Shirou rested his chin on his hand and watched the girl in the qipao head toward the kitchen with an intrigued expression.
"Heh... So people like this really exist. Pan-Human History sure is interesting."
Shinji, sitting beside him with a menu in hand, eagerly tried to strike 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 a bright red, greasy plate of mapo tofu.
Just bringing your face near it was enough to make your eyes burn so badly you could barely keep them open. One bite, and your tongue might dissolve.
It went without saying that the boy only wanted to show off in front of his little sister.
"Don't push yourself too hard, Shinji."
"Huh? What are you talking about, Shirou? This level of spiciness is nothing—ngh!"
After taking his first bite, Shinji Matou plunged his entire face into the plate of mapo tofu.
Shirou: "..."
"So weak."
Sakura: "..."
She snickered.
Shirou looked toward the source of the laughter and saw Sakura Matou covering her mouth.
She stole an embarrassed glance at Shirou, then lowered her flushed, adorable face.
With the noisy one knocked unconscious, they were able to enjoy their lunch in peace.
Although the shredded pork with green peppers was not as terrifying as the mapo tofu, it was actually extremely spicy too—super spicy.
As Shirou chewed the peppers, he imagined Miss Ba gripping a huge Chinese wok with one slender arm and tossing every ingredient inside it with chili peppers in a grotesque scene.
Fortunately, Shirou had developed astonishing endurance and adaptability in Britain, but it was far too much for a six-year-old girl.
"If you really can't eat it, then don't."
After Shirou said this, Sakura Matou briefly stopped using her chopsticks.
"I'm fine."
Whether when her father had sent her to the Matou Family or now, Sakura Matou's greatest strength, compared with her sister who could do anything, was her ability to endure.
"...Is that so?"
Shirou said no more and returned to his meal.
They did not exchange another word until they left the restaurant.
Before you continue