Transition

Transition

"The Old Worm's business is finally settled. Let's call it a night."

Wang Xiaoming stretched. Quite a lot had happened tonight. And now that his memories of Zouken Matou had flooded back, his head was still spinning. He felt like he needed some time to collect himself.

Wang Xiaoming asked Matou Kariya, who was still holding Sakura:

"Matou, could you arrange some rooms for us?"

"Oh? Oh... Sure!"

Kariya seemed to be thinking about something. He only looked up and replied distractedly when Wang Xiaoming called to him.

"What's up?"

Seeing that Kariya seemed troubled, Wang Xiaoming asked curiously.

"Um, Wang-san..."

Ugh—

The way Kariya addressed him made Wang Xiaoming shudder instinctively. Kariya, who saw his reaction, looked puzzled.

Had he said something wrong?

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I just remembered some unpleasant things."

Wang Xiaoming gave a wry smile and waved a hand. He wondered how Ryunosuke was doing now.

"Well, Xiaoming..."

Kariya switched to a more formal way of addressing him.

(Emmmm... Xiaoming-kun really does sound kind of funny.)

"Go ahead. What is it?"

Seeing Kariya's expression, Wang Xiaoming felt he couldn't keep acting so casually, and straightened up.

"I was thinking..."

Kariya seemed a little hesitant, but he still gritted his teeth and made up his mind:

"I'd like to leave Sakura in your care..."

"???"

Wang Xiaoming thought his ears must be playing tricks on him. Was Matou Kariya asking him to look after Sakura on his deathbed?!

They'd only just met. They weren't that close.

"No, no, I mean—"

Seeing Wang Xiaoming's bewildered expression, Kariya waved a hand and started to explain, but then seemed unable to find the words. His hand dropped limply to his side. "You've seen Sakura's condition for yourself."

Because Kariya had practiced Magecraft, the Crest Worms serving as his Magic Circuits had merged with his nerves. As a result—

The nerves on the left side of his body were nearly destroyed, his left eye was blind, half his face was disfigured, and his hair had turned completely white.

Even so, Matou Kariya had never abandoned his original goal: getting Sakura out of the Matou House, that den of evil.

To Kariya, Sakura was the one thing keeping him going.

Now that Zouken Matou, the nightmare that had haunted the Matou family for years, was gone, the Sakura he'd once known was still beyond his reach.

Kariya turned his gaze to Shirou, who was standing beside Medea:

"So I'm hoping you'll let this child spend more time with Sakura. They're around the same age, after all. Maybe if they get to know each other, Sakura will become a little more cheerful."

"...Shirou, come here for a moment."

After a brief silence, Wang Xiaoming called Shirou over.

"Say hello to Mr. Kariya."

Rarely, Wang Xiaoming spoke to Shirou with a hint of solemnity.

"Hello, Mr. Kariya."

Though he still didn't understand what was going on, Shirou went over and greeted Kariya properly.

"Just call me Uncle, like Sakura does."

Kariya smiled at the well-behaved Shirou and spoke to him gently.

Wang Xiaoming respected a man who was willing to sacrifice everything for the person he loved. Now, because of the children, the two of them had grown closer.

Wang Xiaoming was glad to see that.

"Then I'll leave this child in your care, Kariya."

"Did you have some reason for letting Shirou spend time with that little girl?"

After they returned to their room, Medea, who had been following Wang Xiaoming, suddenly spoke up.

Medea thought highly of Shirou, her apprentice. He had good talent, listened well, and was willing to work hard.

Besides, he was her first apprentice...

Seeing that Wang Xiaoming seemed to be deliberately arranging Shirou's social life, Medea wasn't very pleased.

"A reason?"

At Medea's question, Wang Xiaoming paused. But when he saw her displeased expression, he immediately understood.

"What reason could I have? Shirou's practically my adopted son. Why would I ever set him up?"

Wang Xiaoming couldn't help laughing as he guessed what Medea was thinking.

"..."

"I just feel sorry for Sakura. And Shirou needs a playmate, too. I can't let the boy spend his whole childhood studying Magecraft. Kariya brought it up, so I just went along with it."

Hopefully they'll grow up together and get married!

"Fine, you're right."

Medea rolled her eyes at Wang Xiaoming.

Moonlight spilled through the window and fell on Medea. As he watched her figure, almost like a fairy beneath the moon, Wang Xiaoming scratched his head.

"By the way—"

"?"

Medea gave Wang Xiaoming a questioning look.

"I want to transfer Shirou's Command Spell to myself. Can I do that?"

Wang Xiaoming told Medea what he was thinking.

He had given the matter of the Command Spell careful consideration. As the Holy Grail War progressed, the Servants' battles were growing more intense. Though he'd already managed to win Lancer and Berserker over to their side, no one could guarantee that nothing unexpected would happen.

And in the shadows, there was still a lurking Assassin, as well as a man who would stop at nothing to win: Emiya Kiritsugu.

Besides, Wang Xiaoming didn't want Shirou to witness what had happened tonight.

It was downright creepy—

"Sure, but you should ask Shirou first."

To Wang Xiaoming's surprise, Medea agreed without giving it much thought. He'd expected he'd have to spend more time persuading her.

"Okay. We'll talk it over with him in the morning."

Wang Xiaoming nodded.

"Well, good night..."

"Good night."

Meanwhile—

At the Fuyuki City prison.

"Hey, Ryunosuke, buddy~~"

After finishing his forced labor, the scar-faced burly man returned to his single cell. Looking at Ryunosuke Uryu, who still seemed dazed, he couldn't help feeling sorry for him.

A guard had just told him that Ryunosuke Uryu was going to be executed by firing squad.

What a shame.

Such a handsome young man...

Why not have one more go with him?

The scar-faced man was the sort who acted as soon as he had an idea. He stood up and started pulling down his pants.

"What are you doing?"

A groggy voice rang out in the room, like someone who'd just woken up.

The scar-faced man froze. There were only two people in the cell. Besides himself—

There was only...

The scar-faced man looked up. The young man who should have been sitting on the bed in a daze was now staring at him, eyes completely clear. 1020037992

That gaze was so pure it sent a chill down his spine...

Swish—

The pants in the scar-faced man's hand slipped to the floor, unnoticed.

As for extra chapters, wait until I've got my energy back.

It's the end of the year, and work has been absolutely insane. Orz

Interlude 1.0

I wrote a little skit while I was at work.

It's also a response to the comments in the reviews teasing the protagonist's name.

I'm truly grateful for everyone's support.

If there's anything else I need to respond to in the future, I'll probably do it this way.

Here's the skit.

"Sir Kayneth."

Wang Xiaoming called out to Kayneth, who happened to be passing by.

"What is it?"

Kayneth stopped and turned to face Wang Xiaoming.

"I just wanted to ask what you think of Zouken Matou. You seem to really hate him."

Honestly, to an ordinary person, Zouken Matou's actions might have seemed horrifying.

But if you looked at it from the perspective of the supernatural—

What the Old Worm had done wasn't actually all that outrageous.

Wang Xiaoming had gone after the Old Worm partly because he needed a clean place to stay, but most of all because he was indignant. Of course, there was also the possibility that he'd been helping Shirou earn some brownie points.

"If he couldn't achieve his ideals while he was alive, that just proved he wasn't capable of it. He should've died with his ideals, then. Why cling to life in this world?"

In Kayneth's eyes, having been called a genius since childhood, people who didn't try to pursue their ideals themselves but relied on outside help to achieve them were the very picture of incompetence.

Kayneth's bluntness surprised Wang Xiaoming. He continued:

"People who can throw away their dignity and principles just to stay alive usually make excuses about some unfulfilled wish. It's ridiculous!"

Having grown up surrounded by praise, Kayneth had always looked down on people who lacked ability but went around shouting about their lofty ideals.

The rotting Zouken Matou was one such person.

His own student—