Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Shirou only briefly mentioned wanting to end the stay, and Sakura's tears instantly flowed.

"Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"No, Sakura, this isn't your fault..."

"Hey! Shirou! What's going on here?"

Shinji gritted his teeth, his face flushed red: "Didn't we agree to go to the national tournament together? What about our promise to participate in the national karuta tournament together! You're not allowed to leave!"

"No, there was never such an agreement."

Shirou, whose arms were being held by the brother and sister, looked to Matou Tsuruno for help.

The middle-aged man, who was nominally the head of the household and usually obedient to Shirou, remained silent for a moment before speaking.

“I understand. Since Shirou wants to leave, we have no reason to stop him, but…”

"Wait until you find a suitable place to live before moving out."

……

……

Early in the morning, Shirou walked quietly through the streets of Fuyuki.

There were no classes at school today, so he sneaked out early to wander around.

"The housing prices in Fuyuki are so expensive... Oh no, this is terrible."

When he came to his senses, Shirou found himself on an unfamiliar street.

where is this?

Shirou looked around, wondering which direction the Matou family lived in.

"Did you get lost from your mother?"

Suddenly, a hoarse voice came from behind.

Shirou turned his head and saw a thin, slovenly middle-aged man.

"Ah! No! Little brother, your uncle is not a suspicious person!"

The man frantically waved his hands in explanation, but the more he tried to explain, the more suspicious he became.

He was wearing a dirty sweatshirt, his hair looked like it hadn't been washed in months under his wrinkled hat, and his glasses were clearly the wrong size. He also had a foul odor.

"He's a homeless man," Shirou thought to himself.

"Shall I...shall I take you to find the police officer?"

The homeless man clearly knew he was suspicious, so he used a term that would convince the child.

He forced a kind expression through his chapped lips: "Uncle will take you to the police station to find your mother, okay?"

"..."

Shirou was extremely reluctant: "I'm sorry, I don't have a mother."

Just as he was considering whether to use a suggestive magic trick to get rid of the other party, his stomach made a "rumbling" sound.

Shirou hadn't eaten breakfast before leaving home, and he hadn't noticed because he was lost in thought. Now he was suddenly starving.

At that moment, the homeless man pulled a wrapped hamburger from his dirty coat and revealed a genuine smile.

"Just got this from the fast food restaurant kitchen, want some?"

……

……

Fuyuki Park was shrouded in silence in the early morning.

Not far away were the tents where homeless people gathered. Amamiya Shirou sat on a bench, quietly eating a cold hamburger, while the man who was offering supplies watched him eat with a smile.

If the police had seen this, the homeless man would have been detained and interrogated overnight as a criminal.

"My name is Shirou."

"Huh? Oh, um! My name is Sato!"

Taking the initiative to speak, the two began to chat.

The homeless man's name was Sato. He used to be a company employee with a decent job and a happy family.

As a result, he was laid off during the financial crisis a few years ago. Coupled with the huge debts he incurred from failed stock investments, he dared not go home to face his wife and children, so he went to the park and lived as a homeless person for five years.

To put it bluntly, he's a loser, a scumbag. This park is basically full of people like him.

"Wandering...maybe it suits me..."

Shirou looked at the makeshift tent made of tattered rags next to him and said, "Should I come and live here too? All I have to do every day is collect bottles and beg for food."

"what are you talking about!"

The homeless man's expression suddenly turned serious, and he began to lecture:

“Shirou-kun, we are beyond saving; we are the scum of society.”

But you're different, you're still young, you shouldn't...

"Okay, okay, I'll leave after I finish my hamburger, Master, please stop chanting."

Sato smiled, revealing his yellowed teeth, and said, "Well, go back to school now."

That was the end of their conversation.

"I am leaving."

Shirou jumped off the bench and threw the hamburger paper into the trash can.

"oh oh."

Sato watched the boy leave, but then he suddenly stopped halfway through his journey.

"Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask, uncle, why did you stop me just now?"

You're not the type to rush to help others when they're in trouble, are you?

Faced with the boy's question, Sato could only honestly answer, "Because you're about the same age as my son..."

"That's it."

Shirou nodded thoughtfully: "Sato, you may be a complete piece of trash, but you really shouldn't be staying in this park."

"Garbage!?"

Shirou said, "You still have somewhere to go back to, so... go back to your own home."

Sato fell silent upon hearing this, his face darkening.

“Going home… How can I face going home now? I abandoned my wife and children for more than five years. I have no home to return to. They will never forgive me.”

Shirou glanced at him: "Whether they are willing to forgive you or not is their business."

But even trash like you can ask them for forgiveness.

"No... I can't go back...!"

Sato clutched his head in despair and screamed hysterically, "I owe so much money, and I've been hiding all these years. I can't go back anymore...!"

Seeing his pathetic performance, Shirou couldn't help but sigh: Trash is trash after all.

Even trash like this has a place to go back to.

The boy approached the man and placed his hand on the man's drooping shoulder.

"Sato, let's make a promise. Go get a haircut and shave, then go home and meet your family, okay?"

"..."

Sato raised his head with tears streaming down his face.

Looking at Shirou's childlike face, the man was speechless.

Despite his adorable boyish appearance, his expressions and gaze exude a strangely powerful persuasiveness—

Charisma.

It is said that this is a trait possessed by only a very small percentage of people.

Many historical heroes and kings possessed this genius trait that cannot be explained by science or magic.

As the Fairy Knight King who established the "Fairy Round Table" in a foreign land, Shirou naturally cultivated this miraculous quality later in life.

It had nothing to do with magic or anything like that; his words were filled with a divine appeal.

In addition, charisma varies greatly depending on individual circumstances.

In the case of Shirou Amamiya, it should be categorized as... or perhaps called "leadership in dire straits".

"Um……"

After a long silence, Sato nodded as if he had made up his mind.

"I-I understand, I'll try! After being encouraged by Shirou-kun, I feel full of energy. I want to work hard, pay off my debts, and earn my family's forgiveness!"

"Alright, I'm off then... Anyway, back to the point..."

Before leaving, Shirou casually asked a question.

Sato's creditors seem to be a yakuza family called the Fujimura Group.

----------

Volume 1, Chapter 15: Fujimura Group

"--call."

Shirou stretched and relaxed as he came out of the park.

Although I found out the way back to the Matou family from Sato, it's too early to go back now.

Okay, let's wander around the town of Fukayama.

I just wanted to ask about the Fujimura Group, just by chance.

Shirou stopped a salaryman: "Excuse me, do you know where the Fujimura Group is?"

"rattan……"

The office worker looked surprised, glanced at the boy, and then quickly left.

How could that be? Was I impolite just now?

—If Shirou were just an ordinary 7-year-old child, he would probably think this way.

Unfortunately, I am the Savior's companion and the ancestral king of Britain. What kind of human relationships haven't I seen?

The passerby's reaction just now clearly showed that they did not want to be associated with an organization called the Fujimura Group.

Since that's the case, we'll have to resort to our trump card.

"Excuse me, do you know where the Fujimura Group is located?"

The second person's expression changed upon hearing the question, but Shirou pulled out two thousand-yen bills from his pocket.

The intelligence was obtained very easily.

This is the first principle Shirou realized after his return—money is everything.

In this world without calamities, a religion called "capitalism" (?) is practiced, and as long as you have money, you can get almost anything you want.

Money works not only in the physical world, but also in the hidden world of magic.

According to Machiri, if you have hundreds of millions of dollars, you can even get the highest-grade (gem-quality) Magic Eye.

In the past, Zouken Matou painstakingly researched ways to make money for his magic career, and now he holds a huge amount of assets overseas.

With the power of money, Shirou found the base of the Fujimura Group, an old and unremarkable office.

"Oh no! This isn't a place for kids. Go home and watch cartoons!"

The tall man standing at the entrance, dressed in a black suit and wearing black sunglasses, threatened Shirou menacingly.

No wonder the locals all keep their distance from this place, the boy thought.