Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

He ruffled Matou Sakura's hair as a final farewell, then turned and walked towards the door.

As he passed by Shirou—

"Why did you send your daughter here, uncle?" the red-haired boy suddenly asked.

"……what?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowing in displeasure.

"Hey, Shirou! Stop talking nonsense! Come back inside with me!"

Shinji Matou hugged Shirou's right leg tightly, but was surprised to find that no matter how hard he pulled, Shirou didn't budge.

Tokiomi Tohsaka paused for a moment, then replied with an elegant smile.

"I hope my daughter can find happiness in the future, which is why I sent her to the Matou family—"

A child like you couldn't possibly understand... the hardships of being a parent.

The Tohsaka family is a long-established lineage of magicians.

In the world of magicians, the greatest inheritance of a family is not wealth or knowledge, but the magic imprint.

The culmination of centuries of research and dedication by generations is condensed into a tiny magic crest—

However, only one child can inherit the magic crest.

Tokiomi Tohsaka has two daughters.

If one of them were mediocre, it would be fine, but both of them possess rare talents that are almost miraculous.

Only one person can inherit Tohsaka's mantle.

The name of Tohsaka can only protect one person.

Those who possess top-tier magical talent but do not inherit the family business will be forcibly taken in by the association under the guise of "protection" and turned into specimens.

That's why Tokiomi Tohsaka sent his daughter to the mysteriously extinct Matou family.

Accepting Matou's protection and inheriting Matou's magic is the greatest happiness this child can obtain.

Tokiomi Tohsaka didn't expect a 7-year-old to understand these weighty truths.

"I don't know what's going on with you, but since it's your own child, you should protect it to the end. That's what an adult should do."

Shirou said with a displeased look, "Your daughter is clearly very unwilling."

"........."

Sakura Matou raised her listless eyes and looked at Shirou in surprise.

Perhaps feeling he had lost face in front of the Matou family, Tokiomi was somewhat displeased: "Sakura, don't you want to leave the Tohsaka family?"

Sakura Matou quickly lowered her head: "That's not true, Uncle Tohsaka."

Volume 1, Chapter 006: A seasoned veteran, he's seen it all.

Women are more cunning and deceitful than fairies.

Shirou Amamiya confirmed this once again.

"Listen carefully, Shinji, that girl is very dangerous. You must be more careful in the future."

Shirou whispered to himself while stealing glances at the girl who was silently following behind them.

Zouken Matou is a very charismatic old man, but Tokiomi Tohsaka is no less impressive.

But Shirou believes that this seemingly harmless and pitiful little girl is the most dangerous.

The eyesight honed from interacting with fairies in the otherworld "Britain" is absolutely infallible.

Shinji looked displeased upon hearing this.

"What are you talking about, Shirou! Sakura is so cute, how could she be in danger? Ah... I get it!"

"What do you understand?"

"You're just jealous! Jealous that I have such a cute little sister! What an ugly feeling, Shirou~!"

Shinji drew out his words in a sarcastic tone, then burst into laughter, revealing his smug nature at such a young age.

Shirou sighed: "You brat, don't come begging to me if you get into trouble later."

After seeing Tokiomi Tohsaka off, Shirou, Shinji, Sakura... the three children came to the street.

The two boys walked in front, while Sakura followed behind, keeping a distance of about two meters and saying nothing.

Today is her first day at the Matou family's house.

Matou Tsuruno gave Shinji 20,000 yen and asked him to take Sakura to a restaurant outside for a big meal.

This is also a helpless move.

The Matou family is currently facing a severe shortage of manpower; several servants have already left due to Zouken's eccentric personality.

Shinji Matou has just become an older brother and has received a large sum of money and important responsibilities from his father, so he is extremely excited.

"Sakura, do you have any favorite restaurants? I'll take you there, okay?"

Sakura Matou was silent for about three seconds: "There's nothing in particular I want to eat."

Shinji put his hands on his hips, raised his chin, and said, "Is that so? Then let me take you to the fancy French restaurant that my brother frequents!"

Matou Sakura: “…”

Amamiya Shirou: "..."

We arrived at a newly opened ultra-luxury restaurant in the commercial street.

If three seven- or eight-year-old children walked into a luxuriously decorated Western restaurant, they would definitely be looked at strangely by other adults.

However, Shinji Matou didn't care; he only wanted to show his authority as an older brother in front of his sister.

"Hey, don't push yourself too hard. Is the money Tsuruno gave you enough?" Shirou poured cold water on him.

Shinji's face turned bright red with anger: "Huh? Don't underestimate me, I have... eh? eh? eh eh eh!"

Shinji's expression suddenly changed drastically, and he began rummaging through his clothes and pockets.

"what happened?"

"Gone."

Shinji, with tears in his eyes, grabbed Shirou's arm.

"What do I do, Shirou! The money Dad gave me is gone... Waaaaaaaahhhhhh! Waaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

A boy in a purple skirt and with a turnip head was crying loudly on the sidewalk of the shopping street.

"Okay, okay, stop crying, I'll lend it to you."

Shirou didn't want to draw too much attention, so he had no choice but to take out his wallet.

For the past two weeks, he hasn't been staying at Matou's house playing games every day.

While strolling around outside, gathering information about Fuyuki City, Shirou happened to encounter someone willing to hire a child.

You get paid just for keeping watch for the uncle in the black suit and making sure the uncle in the hat doesn't get too close. There are still many good people in the world.

Although the financial problem was temporarily resolved, the three had to abandon their plan to dine at a high-end restaurant.

"Hey... Sakura, I'm sorry, this is all the money I have left, Sakura?"

Shinji noticed that his sister was looking at a restaurant not far away.

Hongzhou Banquet Hall Taishan is the only Chinese restaurant on Dongmu Shopping Street.

The glass windows were tightly closed even in broad daylight, making it impossible to see where customers were coming and going. It was a shopping street den of iniquity that would frighten anyone who saw it and make them want to run home.

"Sakura, would you like to eat there?"

Having heard rumors about this shop, Shinji asked cautiously.

Even if you're broke, there's no need to eat there... There are clearly other more suitable restaurants.

"..."

Matou Sakura didn't speak, she just silently stared at the Chinese restaurant.

Her mother—no, her former mother—was extremely skilled in Chinese cuisine.

Mrs. Tohsaka often cooked Chinese food for her and her sister; the girl was simply reminiscing about that time.

"Let's go."

Shirou broke the silence.

He took the first step, and Shinji hurriedly followed.

"Okay, okay~! Let's go eat there, Sakura... Hey, wait for me, Shirou!"

"..."

Matou Sakura stared at the red-haired boy's retreating figure with a surprised expression, a glimmer of light flashing in her dim eyes.

The girl quickly chased after him.

……

……

Ms. Ba, the manager of Hongzhou Banquet Hall in Taishan, is a petite young woman in a cheongsam. Even when facing three children, she was exceptionally enthusiastic in handing them the menu.

Shirou rested his chin on his hand, watching the girl in the cheongsam walk towards the kitchen with a look of great interest:

"Hey... I didn't know there were people like that. Pan-human history is really interesting."

Shinji, sitting next to him, held the menu and eagerly struck up a conversation with Sakura.

After a while, the food was served.

Shirou and Sakura ordered shredded pork with green peppers, while Shinji ordered bright red and greasy Mapo Tofu.

Just putting your face close to it makes your eyes burn so badly you can't open them; if you take a bite, your tongue might melt.

It goes without saying that this guy just wanted to show off in front of his sister.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Shinji."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Shirou? This level of spiciness is nothing at all—ugh!"

Upon tasting the first bite, Shinji Matou's entire face slammed into the Mapo Tofu plate.

Shirou: "...so weak."

Sakura: "...Pfft."

Shirou looked toward the source of the laughter and saw that Matou Sakura had covered her mouth.

She glanced at Shirou shyly, then lowered her cute, flushed cheeks.

The noisy guy passed out, and they were able to enjoy their lunch in peace.

Although the green pepper and shredded pork dish at this restaurant isn't as intimidating as Mapo Tofu, it's still very spicy, extremely spicy.

As Shirou chewed the green peppers, a bizarre scene flashed through his mind: Miss Ba wielding a large Chinese iron wok with one hand on her slender arm, coating all the ingredients inside with chili peppers.

Fortunately, Shirou developed exceptional endurance and adaptability in "Britain," but it was a bit too much for a 6-year-old girl.

"If you really can't eat it, then don't eat it."

After Shirou said that, Matou Sakura briefly stopped eating.

"It's okay with me."

Whether it was when her father sent her to the Matou family, or now.

Compared to her older sister who can do anything, Matou Sakura's greatest strength is her ability to endure.

"……Is it."

Shirou said nothing more and returned to his meal.

They did not speak to each other again until they left the restaurant.