Matou Sakura

Now that the nightmare that had weighed on him since birth had finally been exorcised, Kariya's gratitude was sincere, even if the people who had done it were a group of mages of unknown origin.

"We'd like to use the Matou House as a base for our operations. We only got rid of Zouken Matou, that Old Worm, to make our work here safer."

Wang Xiaoming told Matou Kariya the purpose of his visit.

"That's fine, but..."

Kariya agreed to Wang Xiaoming's request readily enough. But when he looked at the Command Spell on the back of his hand, he began to hesitate—

"Please don't worry. We won't try to take your Command Spell. I know a little about your feud with the head of the Tohsaka Family, Tohsaka Tokiomi."

Seeing Kariya's expression, Wang Xiaoming understood what he was thinking and continued:

"We can guarantee that we won't interfere with anything you do. But we also hope you won't tell outsiders where we are."

Eat, sleep, beat up Tokiomi.

Those few simple things made up Matou Kariya's daily life.

A thug who asked for nothing in return and was willing to charge straight into the thick of things was a rare find.

What's more, Berserker was a huge drain on their magical energy.

"Okay, I agree!"

Though Kariya couldn't figure out Wang Xiaoming's true intentions, being allowed to keep his Command Spell was already an unexpected stroke of luck.

Kariya's hatred for Tokiomi had reached its peak. At that moment, all he wanted was to take revenge on that arrogant man.

"But I have one more request. I hope you'll agree to it."

Wang Xiaoming's words brought Kariya back to his senses, and he grew wary. He figured this request was Wang Xiaoming's real intention, finally revealed.

"Go ahead..."

"It's nothing. I just hope you'll calmly let me stab you once—"

Wang Xiaoming smiled as he said something horrifying.

Chapter 34: Matou Sakura

"Tsk, tsk. This thing is seriously disgusting."

Wang Xiaoming studied the strange insect, which was hopping around inside a sealed box, and remarked:

"You've lived all these years just to end up as a bug. What was the point of it all?"

The Brain Worm was the vessel that housed Zouken Matou's soul, and the Old Worm's last resort for staying alive. Medea had dug it out with her Noble Phantasm, Rule Breaker... Ahem! With the Rule Breaker, and then sealed it inside the box with Magecraft.

Kayneth, who had no interest in the Old Worm, had already sent Kariya to arrange accommodations for his group. Though it was also possible he'd done so because Sola found the thing disgusting.

"This thing—"

After arranging a place for Kayneth's group to stay, Kariya returned and stared at the bug in the box, his face turning grim.

"This is what they just dug out of your heart."

Wang Xiaoming's answer made Kariya's face turn even paler.

Anyone would be upset to learn there was a thing like that inside their heart. But fortunately...

"Thank you."

This time, Kariya's gratitude was sincere.

"It's nothing. Just routine pest control."

Wang Xiaoming waved a hand. Who could possibly feel any goodwill toward the Old Worm?

"Why?!"

With his soul trapped, Zouken Matou was still making one last attempt to resist.

"What did I ever do wrong? Why are you relentlessly pursuing me and trying to take my life?"

"Come on, are you trying to tell the joke of the year?"

Wang Xiaoming picked at his ear, laughing at Zouken Matou's words.

"Don't you have any idea what you've done to keep yourself alive?"

"And what does that have to do with you? They were just ordinary people!"

Zouken Matou howled, feeling a touch of absurdity. Had he run into some sort of righteous hero who was righting the wrongs of the world?

"That's true. It doesn't have anything to do with me. But what if I can't rest easy unless I get rid of you?"

"..."

What could Zouken Matou possibly say to that?!

"But speaking of which, I thought you'd put the Brain Worm inside Matou Sakura. I didn't expect it to be inside Kariya."

Wang Xiaoming watched the insect hopping around in the box with interest. His words made Kariya's face change again.

If Medea hadn't reminded him, Wang Xiaoming might really have asked her to take a little knife to the little girl and... do that—

"Heh. If that child was bait set by Tohsaka Tokiomi, then I'd have gone to all that trouble for nothing."

Zouken Matou sneered.

After all, anything or anyone connected to mages couldn't be judged by common sense. Since Matou Sakura hadn't yet been fully modified, Zouken Matou would never put his last resort for staying alive inside her.

"Can't you let me live? If you spare me, I'll do everything I can to help you win the Holy Grail in this Holy Grail War."

Zouken Matou asked, clinging to his last shred of hope.

"Sorry, but we don't need your help."

Wang Xiaoming rolled his eyes, shattering Zouken Matou's last illusion.

"You've lived long enough. I'm tired just thinking about it. Better to die sooner and move on."

He had no intention of giving the Old Worm a chance to redeem himself before he died.

Wrong was wrong—

No matter how lofty his ambitions had once been, now he was nothing but an evil practitioner whose actions were steeped in wickedness.

As he spoke, Wang Xiaoming picked up the box containing the Brain Worm and tossed it into the trash. Medea saw this and held out her hand, a flame kindling in her palm. With a flick of her slender hand, the flame drifted into the trash can.

The Magecraft Medea unleashed was no ordinary fire. The instant the Brain Worm touched the flames, Zouken Matou burned away without even managing to scream.

As the Brain Worm turned to ash, the bead binding Zouken Matou's soul quietly shattered, and the black mist churning inside gradually dispersed.

The soul that had clung to this world through sheer obsession no longer had anything to anchor it. With unwilling reluctance, it faded into the air.

This marked the end of—

Zouken Matou, the great mage who had lived for more than five hundred years, and his life of sin.

"Who are you?"

Standing in front of Shirou was a little girl with short purple hair. She stared at him with lifeless eyes. Shirou had slipped out to look for the restroom, and had run into her on his way.

"I'm Shirou."

Shirou scratched his head. He felt a little uncomfortable with the girl staring at him like that.

But nature was calling—

"Could you tell me where the restroom is?"

"Over there. Turn left."

The girl pointed him in the right direction after hearing his question.

"Thanks!"

After thanking her, Shirou headed in the direction she'd pointed.

"Whew—"

Shirou let out a long breath of relief after leaving the restroom and started back the way he'd come.

When he reached the corner—

Farther down the hall, he spotted the little girl who'd shown him the way lying on the ground!

Having witnessed Zouken Matou's end, the burden that Kariya had carried in his heart for so long finally lifted. He had never felt any affection for the man who was his father in name only.

And that Old Worm had done something so horrible to Sakura, too.

Right, Sakura!

Just as Kariya let out a sigh of relief, he suddenly remembered—

"Hey, mister! Something's wrong!"

Just then, Shirou rushed into the room, carrying a little girl with short purple hair in his arms.

"Sakura?!"

As soon as Kariya recognized the girl in Shirou's arms, he sprang to his feet and snatched Sakura away from him.

"What happened?"

Wang Xiaoming called Shirou over and asked him.

"I ran into her in the hallway. Then I saw her collapse and spit out a pool of black water. There was a bug in it, wriggling around."

Shirou truthfully described what had happened:

"After I stepped on the bug and killed it, I carried her here."

"Good job."

After hearing Shirou's story, Wang Xiaoming ruffled his hair in praise.

Then he turned to Medea and said:

"Caster, could you check that child's condition?"

Medea nodded and went over to the girl. She held out her hand—

"She's not in any serious danger. That Old Worm did quite a bit of damage to her, but she'll recover after getting some proper rest."

With Kariya watching expectantly, Medea withdrew her Magecraft and told him what she'd found. Kariya breathed a sigh of relief, then ground his teeth at the thought of Zouken Matou again.

"We shouldn't have let that Old Worm die so easily!"

"He's already burned to ashes. Even if you wanted to whip his corpse, you couldn't."

Wang Xiaoming patted Kariya's shoulder and offered what could generously be called consolation. Then he pointed at Sakura in Kariya's arms:

"The most important thing now is to make sure this child is taken care of."

For the sake of sales, the author has started trading favors too (facepalm)

My Life Can't Possibly Be a Harem Game!

Synopsis: Did you know? Sometimes, cheats can be nothing but a burden... What can the ability to travel ten years into the future do, besides tell you who your wife will be in ten years and make you lose nutrients at an alarming rate?

What? I'm going to be in grave danger ten years from now?

What? I'll have nothing ten years from now?

What? I'll become a playboy ten years from now?

What the hell kind of future is this? I've decided—I'm going to change it and build a happy life!

Now, let's start changing things—

"I'd rather get the axe without knowing what was coming ten years from now than have demi-humans all over the world staring at my crotch like this. I'm not a playboy, and I don't want sex. Beautiful ladies, please behave yourselves!!!"

—by Lu Fengxian, from a certain happy ending

Thanks again to Fantasy Princess for the kind recommendation. Much appreciated!

(If all goes well... there might be an extra chapter today? Probably.)