Mm.

Tang Yao changed buses several times and finally got home a little after two in the afternoon. She took out her key and unlocked the door.

Since it wasn't time yet, unlike usual, there was no girl holding a bundle of clothes who looked her up and down.

Tang Yao always complained that Tang Xun's gaze was like she was checking whether her older sister was still alive.

But after coming home for once and not being greeted by that scrutinizing look, she actually felt a little unaccustomed to it.

Habits really were terrifying things!

"...Time to get to work."

Tang Yao looked at the spotless home Xun had tidied up and smiled softly. Thinking about this and that, she went back to her room and prepared to get started.

The deadline was tight, and there was a lot to do.

She'd told Shang Tao that two manga would be added to the early-release lineup, but she hadn't mentioned that one of them still had to be drawn from scratch...

So she didn't have much time. She had to finish the first few chapters of Fate Zero by Sunday.

If she couldn't finish... If she couldn't finish, she was done for!

That wasn't going to happen!

Having to draw so much in such a short time was certainly a headache.

Fortunately, Tang Yao had started preparing early. She'd been working out the panel layouts for the past few days, so she wasn't starting from nothing.

She could only say she was lucky.

"Time to work myself to the bone."

Tang Yao sat down at her desk, took a deep breath, then bent over her work and started drawing.

Before long, the house fell silent, with only the steady rasp of pencil against paper echoing through it.

Time passed slowly.

The afternoon sunlight spilled into the cramped living room, then gradually slanted and shifted... until it turned into an orange sunset.

The one thing that didn't change was the steady rasp of pencil against paper.

Click—

As the sunset faded from the living room,

the sound of the lock turning rang out, and the front door opened again. A youthful girl with a high ponytail stepped inside, dressed in a loose school uniform and carrying two plastic bags.

She set the bags down as soon as she came in, then turned and closed the door. After bending down to change her shoes, she picked up the bags again and murmured, "Pork rib soup, garlic bok choy, bitter melon and beef..."

Suddenly,

Tang Xun's murmuring stopped. She had reached the doorway to the room and spotted her older sister.

"..."

Tang Xun turned to look at Tang Yao, who was completely absorbed in her work. She paused, a little surprised... then seemed to remember something. Her body tensed, and she immediately looked her older sister up and down.

Tang Yao's posture was excellent, so even sitting down, she was quite eye-catching. Her graceful curves were practically perfect.

...There was nothing strange about her. She was simply focused entirely on the drawing.

Noticing this,

Tang Xun slowly relaxed. After a moment's thought, she walked over to Tang Yao and glanced down. On the page stood an elegant, beautiful woman in a flowing battle skirt, in front of a church's stained-glass window. She turned to look at the viewer—or rather, at someone—and asked, [I ask you, are you my Master?]

...It seemed to be a line of dialogue.

Tang Xun studied the valiant-looking female character, who seemed to leap off the page, then shifted her gaze upward to her older sister's soft-featured profile.

She couldn't figure out what her sister was thinking. First it had been heads and balloons, and now... a lady knight?

She didn't understand.

"Why are you home so early today?"

Tang Xun stood silently beside her for quite a while. When she realized her sister still hadn't noticed her, she had no choice but to speak up.

"!!!"

Tang Yao was completely immersed in the world of her manga. The sudden voice by her ear startled her... She clutched her chest and abruptly shrank to the side, looking frightened.

Tang Xun: "..."

"Xun... Why are you so quiet when you walk?"

A few seconds later,

Tang Yao finally realized who was standing beside her. She patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

Tang Xun looked at her older sister. "I've been standing here for almost ten minutes."

"Really? I must've been too absorbed."

Tang Yao sat up straight again... She had some idea just how engrossed she'd been. She scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed. "I had something urgent to take care of, so I came home early... Oh, right. Welcome home."

As she spoke,

Tang Yao suddenly remembered something... She looked up again and began examining the girl standing beside her.

But Xun was standing close, so Tang Yao's gaze could only start at her flat stomach, then travel slowly up along the curve of her waist, passing over her striking figure that even her loose school uniform couldn't hide, before finally coming to rest on her lovely, still somewhat childish face.

She had to admit,

her little sister was beautiful.

Tang Yao couldn't help but think so from the bottom of her heart.

Tang Xun noticed her sister's gaze wandering over her, but didn't move away. Instead, a hint of confusion appeared in her eyes. "...What is it?"

"See? Anyone would ask that, wouldn't they?"

Tang Yao gave her a mischievous look, propped her cheek on one hand, and tilted her head. "Imagine someone looking you up and down like that out of nowhere."

Tang Xun caught on. "...Payback?"

"Mm."

"You're so childish."

"Right?"

"...I mean you. I'm not talking about looking someone over. I have a reason for checking you every day."

"Oh? Tell your big sister all about it."

"..."

"I know. Don't worry about me."

Tang Xun chose to stay silent, saying nothing.

But Tang Yao had already guessed what her little sister was thinking. She moved her hand from her cheek, leaned back in her chair, and stretched, as though demonstrating to the girl beside her that she was fine. "I've moved on. I won't fall apart like I did last week. Don't worry."

As she spoke,

Tang Yao glanced at the pages she'd drawn on the desk and smiled softly. She picked one up and turned to show it to Tang Xun. "Your big sister is working like a champion every day now."

"..."

Tang Xun watched the smile on her older sister's face. After a long silence, she finally... nodded lightly.

Then her gaze drifted down to the lady knight on the page. "Is this a new manga?"

"Mm."

Tang Yao put the page down and looked at Artoria Pendragon—in other words, Saber. Her expression turned nostalgic, and she said softly, "A new manga... Xun, do you believe that by next week, I can get every manga reader to call out her name?"

That really was something worth reminiscing about.

Fate Zero was excellent in its pacing, story, and artwork... even years later, it still held up.

But the world never stood still, and the kinds of stories audiences wanted to see kept changing.

As time went by, the core themes of many anime no longer resonated with newer audiences.

Toradora was probably the clearest example. To viewers at the time, it might have been a great school romance, and its heroine had even won the title of Most Moe Character in 2009.

But many newer viewers weren't fans of the anime.

Saying tsundere characters had fallen out of fashion wasn't a joke.

They really had fallen out of fashion now.

Times changed. Everything moved forward, regardless of anyone's wishes... Of course, perhaps years from now, if the economy improved, a new generation might become more open-minded and return to the tastes of that era.

Fate Zero hadn't become completely irrelevant, but it was undoubtedly a product of an older era. Some people criticized it for trying too hard to be profound and being excessively chuunibyou.

When Tang Yao had crossed over, that IP was already something people looked back on with nostalgia.

So she really did miss it.

She was part of that older era, after all.

Fortunately... this world hadn't reached that point yet.

Tang Xun listened to her older sister, then fell silent for a moment. "...It's already Thursday."

"Dreams should be bold, shouldn't they?"

Tang Yao turned to look at her sister, who had just punctured her bubble. She didn't mind, though; she only smiled. "Besides, if you don't even dare to dream, how can you make big money?"

"Also, you need to remember this, Xun."

As she spoke,

Tang Yao thought it over and decided she should try to help the girl let go of whatever was troubling her.

She turned her chair to face the girl beside her, then gently took her hand. "If there's something you want to do, you have to tell me. As long as it's reasonable, I'll support you no matter what. Don't worry about money, and don't feel despair just because your goal seems too far away.

"Dreams are, at their core, hopes for the future. Once you lose hope, start hesitating and worrying about every little thing, and back away, you'll soon forget about them.

"At the very least, you have to give it a try. Your big sister will always support you. Understand?"

In her previous life,

she had hesitated and worried about this and that, and in the end, she'd forgotten her original dream without ever even trying.

She didn't want the girl in front of her to end up the same way.

She'd earn money sooner or later.

Even if she had to become a manga artist.

"..."

Tang Xun rested her small hand lightly in her older sister's palm. Her usual aloofness melted away, and she seemed like a well-behaved kitten instead.

She looked at her earnest older sister and pressed her lips together. Unlike usual, she didn't respond with a half-teasing remark, but obediently nodded. "Mm."

"Also, thanks for all your hard work lately."

Tang Yao glanced at the plastic bags of vegetables and meat by Xun's feet. Her voice was apologetic as she said softly, "Even though I came home early, I still can't help you with any of it..."

"..."

At her words, Tang Xun immediately gave her a look that said, 'There you go, talking nonsense again.' She pulled her hand out of her older sister's palm and instantly became her usual cool self again. "You're my biological older sister."

As she spoke, she picked up the plastic bags by her feet and turned toward the door. "Even if you really became a shut-in and stopped doing anything, I'd still take care of you."

Tang Yao paused, feeling that something wasn't quite right. "Isn't that backward?"

"No."

"I'm the older sister, right?"

"No."

Tang Xun walked toward the semi-open kitchen by the balcony, her voice drifting back to her sister.