"How could that be, Taiga?"
Shirou Emiya wore an expression caught between laughter and tears.
"If you're curious, you can go talk to him yourself. His name is Anno."
After hesitating for a moment, Shirou still chose not to hide anything from Taiga, though some things could only be explained vaguely.
"Hmph. Then I'll go ask him myself."
Puffing out her cheeks, Taiga Fujimura decided to ask this so-called "acquaintance of Emiya Kiritsugu" for Shirou Emiya's safety.
Watching Taiga Fujimura walk toward Anno, Shirou Emiya nervously bared his teeth.
There shouldn't be a problem... right?
"Mr. Anno, you look like a foreigner? Let me guess. Are you American?"
As outgoing as ever, Taiga Fujimura sat down across from Anno.
Her eyes held a hint of scrutiny.
"It has been a long time. I never expected Mr. Raiga's granddaughter to have grown so much."
Anno's first words completely threw Taiga Fujimura off.
"Huh? What? Grandpa? Huh?"
Taiga Fujimura blinked rapidly several times.
What was going on here?
Not only did this man know Kiritsugu, he knew her grandpa too?
"Though we only met once, has Mr. Raiga been well lately?"
Anno continued speaking as usual, asking another question.
"Ah, um, he's... he's doing fine, I guess."
The expression on Taiga Fujimura's face became somewhat stiff.
"So, uh... you really do know Kiritsugu? But I don't think I've ever seen you before. Were you perhaps a friend of Kiritsugu's from before he settled down in Fuyuki?"
By this point, Taiga Fujimura was already eighty percent convinced that this gray-haired middle-aged man really was an acquaintance of Emiya Kiritsugu. What she was more curious about now was why he had chosen to seek out Emiya Kiritsugu at this time.
Though she did not really want to bring it up, Emiya Kiritsugu had been