Who are you calling a stable boy?!

"But brother, what exactly did you say to Ms. Sora?"

Hesitantly, Diarmuid decided to ask anyway.

"She seems to be..."

“You’ve overcome your hurdles, and she has hers to overcome as well.”

Zheng Jing waved his hand.

"Alright, that's enough for now. Remember to tell Kenneth to keep an eye on the Church's announcements later."

"Respectfully seeing off my elder brother!"

With Diarmuid bowing and clasping his hands behind his back, Zheng Jing led Rin a long way before Rin suddenly spoke.

"We...we did a good deed, right?"

She recalled Sora's expression after hearing Zheng Jing's words and hesitated.

"Of course it's a good thing! Besides, Xiao Di is my sworn brother, so his business is my business. How could I not lend a hand?"

"Ok."

Rin sighed.

“Let’s go back then. I only told my mom that we might have lunch out, and we need to be home before dinner.”

"Alright, let's get right there—"

Zheng Jing nodded in agreement and was just about to carry Lin to race the train again when he suddenly stopped.

Lin tilted her head, wondering what was wrong with Zheng Jing again.

"...Hehe, let's make a deal, Sister Lin, I'm afraid I, Old Zheng, will have to keep busy for a while longer."

"what?"

Rin was stunned for a moment, and just as she was about to speak, she heard Zheng Jing shout loudly behind her.

"Little sister!"

Upon hearing the sound, the Knight King, who was traveling with Irisviel, was startled and looked in the direction of the sound.

"Big brother?"

Chapter 118: Eye Contact Leads to Battle!

"I never expected to meet my older brother here."

Upon meeting, Artoria first clasped her hands in a fist and bowed.

She and Diarmuid learned this etiquette from Iskandar when they became sworn brothers.

Zheng Jing smiled and waved his hand.

"Hehe, little sister, no need for such formalities."

After exchanging greetings, Artoria couldn't help but glance at Rin, who was standing next to Zheng Jing.

"Brother, who is this?"

Zheng Jing looked down at Lin.

"Little sister Lin, are you going to do it yourself, or should I, Old Zheng, do it for you?"

Rin raised her head, glared at the grinning Zheng Jing, then straightened her posture, closed her eyes slightly, and bowed to Artoria and Irisviel.

"Nice to meet you. I am Rin Tohsaka, daughter of Tokiomi Tohsaka."

"The daughter of the Tohsaka family?"

Irisviel looked at Rin curiously.

Among the intelligence gathered by Kiritsugu Emiya was naturally Tokiomi Tohsaka, the current head of the Tohsaka family, one of the three great families of Fuyuki.

She knew that Tokiomi Tohsaka had two daughters, the elder daughter Rin Tohsaka and the younger daughter Sakura Tohsaka, and she had seen photos of the two children, but her impression of them was not very deep.

Now, after hearing Rin's self-introduction and looking at the adorable girl in front of her, who resembled a baby doll, she connected her with the photos she had seen before.

However, she had heard Kiritsugu mention that Tokiomi Tohsaka had sent his wife and daughter away from Fuyuki City before the Holy Grail War even began...

"Brother, have you met that Master from the Tohsaka family?"

"After accompanying Rin, that old man Tokiomi was quite sensible. This year's Broken Cup melee is over. I reckon that either today or tomorrow, Risho will step in to mediate in the name of the church."

"accompany......"

Artoria looked at Rin thoughtfully.

Irisviel, on the other hand, was drawn to Zheng Jing's words.

"So... does that mean this Holy Grail War is definitely going to end like this?"

Her murmur caused Artoria's expression to change slightly, revealing a hint of distress.

Zheng Jing glanced at her, then looked at Artoria.

"What's wrong? Little sister, what trouble have you encountered?"

"..."

Instead of answering immediately, Artoria first looked at Irisviel, clearly asking for her opinion.

Meeting Artoria's gaze, Irisviel hesitated for a moment before nodding vigorously.

"Brother, this is a long story. May I invite you to the castle for a talk?"

Zheng Jing scratched his cheek.

Of course he has no problem.

But if I go, it's hard to say whether I'll be able to get back to my home in Chancheng before dinner.

Little Rin had made an appointment with Mrs. Aoi to go back for dinner.

"Go ahead."

Before Zheng Jing could speak, Lin spoke first.

She put her hands on her hips and looked up at Zheng Jing with her small face.

"It's not like I've never gone out by myself before. If you're not here, I'll just go to the station and take the bus home."

"That's fine, I'll take you to the station."

"No need, you go do your own thing."

"No, I have to watch you enter the station."

"Such a worrywart..."

Rin pouted and turned her face away.

Zheng Jing smiled and looked up at Artoria and Irisviel.

"Little sister, Mrs. Alice, want to take a walk together?"

These two naturally had no objections.

After watching Xiao Lin run into the station, Zheng Jinggang turned around, but Irisviel could not suppress her curiosity.

"Berserker, what exactly is going on between you and that child...?"

"Hey, Mrs. Alice, stop calling me 'Basaka Basaka'. You and Little Sister are friends. If you'd like, just call me Brother Zheng."

Zheng Jing waved his hand.

"As for me and Lin, hehe, it's nothing. She was looking for a helper, and I, Old Zheng, happened to have some free time at the time. I thought it would be interesting, so I came over to lend a hand."

Before Irisviel could react, Artoria seemed to have confirmed something and sighed.

"I see, that's why you never bring your Master into battle, brother."

Upon hearing this, Irisviel was first taken aback, then suddenly felt a jolt.

She glanced at Artoria, then at Zheng Jing.

"—Huh?!"

-

When Rin got off the train and walked out of the station, it was already quite late.

She took out her phone, looked at the numbers in her contacts, thought for a moment, and then put the phone away.

The train station isn't close to my home; in fact, it's quite far.

If she calls back now, she can probably get Yan Ye to come pick her up on his bicycle...

Rin felt it was unnecessary.

This stretch of road is indeed quite far for an average primary school student to walk on foot.

But for her, it was no different from taking a walk.

"Well......"

Rin stretched and put away her phone.

"Let's take a shortcut."

She muttered something under her breath and started walking.

It's called taking a shortcut, but it really just means taking some side streets and alleys that are off the main road.

The city where my hometown, Chancheng, is located is simpler than Dongmu, and it can't compare to those big cities.

During this rush hour after get off work and school, if you want to get home earlier on foot, it's faster to take these old alleyways and side streets than the main roads...

"..."

Rin, who had been walking alone for almost half an hour, suddenly stopped.

At this moment, she was in a secluded alleyway.

"There's no one else here."

She turned her head to the corner of the alley behind her and said, "If you don't come out now, I'm not going to keep you company."

"Heh, the girls of this generation in the Tohsaka family are all so interesting..."

With a sinister laugh, a thin, old figure slowly emerged from the shadows around the corner.

It's Matou Zangen!

"It's a pity that one is submissive and the other is brave but reckless."

Before he finished speaking, six hideous, strange insects flew out of Matou Zouken's wide robes, which moved without wind.

These strange insects, each the size of a basketball, flapped their elytra and buzzed as they swarmed toward Rin, who still had her back to Zouken Matou—

"To be honest, I don't hate bugs."

—Rin's voice was accompanied by a piercing sound like cutting through wind and lightning.

A crimson afterimage flashed by, and the six strange insects that pounced on Rin immediately exploded and scattered in the air, turning into dirty fireworks.

The smile on Zouken Matou's face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of astonishment that even his sinister aura couldn't conceal.

At this point, Rin turned around, facing Zouken Matou, and tossed the red and white sphere in her hand.

"After all, I do quite like this child."

As if in response to Rin's words, the crimson figure standing in front of her opened and closed its pair of giant pincers, making a crisp clicking sound.

Chapter 119: I, Old Zheng, am determined to help you with this!

Zouken Matou scrutinized the tall creature that stood between him and Rin.

Standing nearly two meters tall, with its legs upright, its entire body covered in crimson carapace that appears to be cast from metal, and a pair of giant pincers the size of human heads positioned on either side of its head.

It appears to be a familiar created based on a praying mantis.

"My father and I were planning to settle accounts with you, you old devil, after everything had settled down, but we never expected you to dare to jump out on your own."

With one hand on his hip, he looked at Zouken Matou with a stern smile.

"You dared not enter the circle Zheng Jing drew, but as soon as you saw me alone, you dared to show yourself. You old devil... do you really think I'm easy to bully?"