Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

At this moment, Shirou finally got a clear look at her face.

Although the girl was young, she already showed signs of becoming a beauty, but that's not the point.

Beneath those thick, dark bangs were a pair of exotic eyes, reminiscent of crystal-clear sapphires.

Not Japanese... no, mixed race?

Shirou recalled the information he had obtained from Machiri.

She is Tohsaka Rin, Tokiomi's other daughter and Sakura's older sister.

"You're here to see Sakura? Come in and have some fun."

"!"

Upon hearing this, Rin Tohsaka's eyes widened in surprise.

Although she looked disheveled, she quickly regained her composure.

Rin Tohsaka crossed her arms over his flat chest and said in a condescending tone, "You...you must be the legendary Shirou Amamiya."

What's with the rumors?

Shirou urged, "Aren't we going in?"

The girl blushed: "...There's no way I can get in!!"

Sakura Matou is no longer Rin Tohsaka's sister.

Now that things have come to this, even if her former sister were to reappear, it would only upset the child and remind her of painful memories.

"I don't understand, why worry so much?"

"Ugh... I'm not as clueless as you."

Rin Tohsaka brushed her hair aside and changed the subject, saying, "Shirou Amamiya, I've heard about you from my father."

Shirou asked curiously, "Oh? What did Tokiomi Tohsaka say?"

He had previously confronted Tokiomi Tohsaka in front of the Matou family, so he probably didn't leave a good impression on that man.

He said you... never mind, I won't tell you.

For some reason, Rin Tohsaka pouted her small lips and gave him a defiant look.

What a spirited girl! Despite being sisters, she doesn't resemble Sakura at all, Shirou thought to himself.

“Sakura…she’s a good girl.”

Rin Tohsaka lowered her head and stared at her round-toed leather shoes.

Shirou frowned: "Why are you suddenly saying that?"

Does that mean you hope I can become friends with Sakura?

It's unnecessary; I would have done the same thing even if no one had asked me to.

"You'd be happier saying that to her face."

Rin Tohsaka gave Shirou a deep look: "Let's go. Don't tell anyone that I was here."

The girl turned and left.

Halfway there, she suddenly stopped, turned around, and made a face at the boy.

"What are you doing?"

Shirou muttered as he returned to the mansion.

A few days later, Rin Tohsaka was spotted again, lurking around the area suspiciously. This time, she was wearing a pair of particularly suspicious sunglasses.

Just ignore it.

……

Nighttime, Matou Residence.

After finishing his homework, Shirou turned on the electronic device—the computer—located on the desk in the guest room.

This computer was purchased not long ago by Shirou using the pocket money given to him by Mr. Rai.

The reason he came into contact with a computer was because there was one in Matou Shinji's room, which he had pestered his father to buy for him.

Shirou used to often go to Shinji's room to watch him play, and over time he learned how to use a computer.

Shirou vaguely sensed that Shinji would be quite talented in computers, but he didn't say anything for the time being because he had accepted hush money from Matou Tsuruno.

"I'm sorry, Shinji. You should focus on your studies."

Turn on the computer, connect to the internet, and skillfully log into the online chat room.

Unlike Shinji Matou, Shirou is more interested in the internet, a derivative technology of computers, than computer games.

To be precise, it involves gathering intelligence and communicating with people online.

He could access books and information from all over the world, or communicate with friends thousands of miles away, all through a single cable. This process didn't even require magic. Shirou found it incredible and fascinating.

Although few people currently have access to the internet, he believes that in the near future, this technology will completely transform human life.

"Wu Ming has entered the chat room."

Anonymous: Good evening.

"Yaobikuni: Ah, it's Mr. Anonymous, good evening~"

"Anonymous: Is only Miss Yaobikuni here tonight?"

Yaobikuni: It seems so, hehe.

"Yabikuni" is a friend Shirou met online.

There are all sorts of weirdos on the internet, and she is one of the few people who can have a really good chat with Shirou.

Judging from her conversation, the other person should be an adult woman with a calm and composed personality, who knows a lot and has an extremely rich knowledge base.

Of course, Shirou cannot say for sure what the actual situation is.

After all, the "Eye of the End" is much less effective online.

This is probably one of the reasons why Shirou finds the internet interesting.

"Yabikuni: Speaking of which, Mr. Wuming logs on at this time every day."

"Yaobikuni: Let me guess, you're probably still a high school student, right?"

"Sorry, you guessed wrong. I'm a primary school student."

Shirou typed on the keyboard.

"Wu Ming: It's not good to pry into other people's information without permission, Miss Yaobikuni."

"Yaobikuni: You're being too polite. I thought Mr. Wuming and I were already close friends who could talk about anything. Was it just wishful thinking on my part? ('?ω?`)"

"Wuming: Of course not. I also consider Miss Yaobikuni an irreplaceable friend, but please forgive me for not being able to disclose any personal information."

Was it prescient?

Or perhaps it's a story of experience from the Fairy Kingdom?

As early as 1993, Shirow was already paying great attention to protecting his privacy online, which was several versions ahead of its time.

"Yaobikuni: Since we're friends, could you reveal a little bit? I'm really curious. ('?ω?`)"

"Anonymous: Then let me ask you the other way around, Miss Yaobikuni, may I have your personal information disclosed?"

Shirou sent the message and received a reply in less than two seconds.

"Yaobikuni: No."

Anonymous: That was a fast answer!

"Yabikuni: Hehe."

"Wu Ming: But even if you don't say it, I can probably deduce some information about Miss Yaobikuni."

Yaobikuni: Huh, really? (＊'д｀)?

"Yabikuni: Tell me, tell me, what has Mr. Wuming deduced?"

After a moment's thought, Shirou typed a line of text.

"Anonymous: I guess you must be a long-term patient in some facility?"

Somewhere in Japan, deep in the mountains.

The girl named Sesshouin Kiara lowered her hands from the keyboard, revealing a surprised expression.

Volume 1, Chapter 20: Wanting to Become Human

I waited a very, very long time for this reply.

It took quite a while for the online chat room to refresh with new text.

Yaobikuni: (°ロ°) !? It's very rude to call someone a bedridden patient, isn't it?

Why would Mr. Wuming think this way? Please provide a reasonable explanation.

"Anonymous: Because Miss Yaobikuni is always online. No matter when I go online, you are almost always online."

"Yaobikuni: That's really... undeniable. It seems I need to seriously reflect on myself. ('?ω?`)"

Anonymous: There's also the issue of work and rest schedules.

"Anonymous: Miss Yaobikuni, you've logged off at 10 PM several times, haven't you? I've also logged on after 10 PM a few times, but you were never online."

"Wu Ming: You spend almost all your time online, yet you control your offline time very precisely, which makes me wonder if your schedule is being artificially controlled."

Shirou spent his entire life in a children's welfare home until he was seven years old, so he has a deep understanding of this aspect.

"........."

Sesshouin Kiara stared at the text popping up on her computer screen, speechless with astonishment.

"Nameless"'s reasoning was not entirely correct, but it hit the nail on the head.

After 10 p.m., Sesshouin Kiara would be ordered to shut down her computer and prepare for bed.

It seems that Mr. "Nameless" possesses extraordinary insight.

But that's not the point, and that's not the reason why Sesshouin Kiara was surprised.

The real reason for her surprise was:

"In this ethereal online world, would anyone genuinely care about a complete stranger online?"

Sesshouin Kiara was born into a religious family.

She was the daughter of the head of the "Eiten-ryu" branch of the Tachikawa school of Shingon Buddhism.

No one may have heard of "Eiten-ryu", but "Tachikawa-ryu" is a household name in Japan.

A branch of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism that emerged in the late Heian period.

This religion does not regard Buddha statues, but rather white bones and skulls as the deity.

He then went on to propose the groundbreaking theory that "male = Vajradhatu, female = Garbhadhatu, therefore male-female intercourse = the union of Vajradhatu and Garbhadhatu."

Our current understanding of Japanese Buddhism is that monks have no taboos and can even marry, but this is actually the result of a nationalist movement led by the Japanese government in modern times that denigrated Buddhism and promoted Shintoism.

In other words, in the Buddhist community at that time, which strictly prohibited women from violating the precepts, not only did they acknowledge the precepts for women, but they also sought truth in sexual intercourse between men and women—this is the "Tachikawa School".

Although it was identified as a heresy as early as the 14th century and was physically exorcised by monks sent by the head temple of the Shingon sect, its pernicious influence continued until the Edo period.

It hasn't completely disappeared—

The "Eiten-ryu" school of the Sesshouin family is the successor to its mantle. The believers regard the practice of joy as a path to liberation that leads to Buddhahood in this very life, and they believe in the theories of "purity of self-nature," "unity of the two," and "attracting supernatural power."

At only 14 years old, Sesshouin Kiara was not yet clear about the core tenets of her religion, but she vaguely sensed something unusual.

But what does this have to do with her?

From birth, she was diagnosed with an incurable disease and was expected not to live past the age of fourteen.

She has spent the rest of her life in a hospital bed.