At the very moment Matou Sakura finished speaking, Jean immediately looked at Cú Chulainn beside her.
He looked incredibly frustrated at that moment; it seemed highly likely that it was true.
"How come I never knew about this?" Tohsaka Rin asked in surprise.
"Of course you didn't know. If anything, Elder Sister was... uh, particularly naive when she was little."
Matou Sakura chose a more neutral word, but Jean felt that she most likely wanted to say 'dim-witted'.
Even so, Tohsaka Rin was completely devastated, having no idea how to respond.
Meanwhile, Matou Sakura continued with her story.
"I spent about ten years in the Land of Shadows, where I was taken in by my teacher, trained, and learned everything I could see. But interestingly, for some unknown reason, my body didn't grow. At the time, I thought I was a dead person just like the other spirits there."
"However, my teacher said I was still alive, which is why I became her disciple. Over those ten years, I mastered everything she taught me, and I came to regard her as a mother figure."
"Until one day, my teacher told me, 'You have learned everything you are capable of learning; it is time to say goodbye...'",
"At the same time, the other me appeared again. She only left behind one sentence: 'If heaven does not save man, man must save himself,' and then she brought me back home, even though only an afternoon had passed."
Matou Sakura gently rubbed the rim of her coffee cup with her fingertip, then continued as if she had made up her mind:
"At first, I didn't know what that sentence meant. Shortly after, Father sent me to the Matou Family."
Then, Matou Sakura recounted in a calm tone what Matou Zouken had wanted to do to her.
"He! How could he do such a thing!"
Upon hearing this, Tohsaka Rin was so agitated she almost jumped up, but Matou Sakura remained calm and placated her:
"Don't get so worked up, Elder Sister. Before it could happen, that old man was already dead, wasn't he? By my own hands..."
Her finger rubbed the cup rim hard, making a harsh sound.
"But why didn't you come home after that?" Tohsaka Rin asked.
"Come home? Why?"
"But Father, he might not have..."
"Known? What does it matter if he knew or not? That man was a Magician, after all."
Hearing Matou Sakura emphasize the word 'Magician', Tohsaka Rin had no way to refute her.
Even though in her memories her father was so kind, he was, after all, a qualified Magician.
Jean, who had been listening to the story quietly, interjected at this moment:
"If a Matou Sakura with the ability to kill Matou Zouken had returned home, the next person to be sent away would very likely have been Tohsaka Rin."
"!!!" Jean's statement made everything clear to Tohsaka Rin, and she looked at Matou Sakura with a face full of guilt.
"Tch, you really are an annoying woman."
Matou Sakura, who had been happily watching Tohsaka Rin's silent expression, now felt uncomfortable being watched herself, so she glared fiercely at Jean.
Jean, however, responded with a warm, spring-like smile.
At this moment, Cú Chulainn looked at the three women battling with expressions in front of him and felt genuinely troubled, especially by his own master, who was simply too much like that old hag.
Even so, he didn't dare move, because his feet were already covered by black shadows.
At the same time, within the black shadows, a large number of blood-red spear tips emerged, with the posture of 'whoever dares to move will be skewered'.
And that person called Jean was even using silvery-white wind to tease these shadows, guarding her own master, while also using small currents of air to constantly play pranks.
Moreover, even though the situation underneath was already lively and chaotic, on the surface, it remained calm and peaceful.
Women really are terrifying.
"So, why did you, Miss Matou Sakura, install so many surveillance devices to observe your own sister?" Jean asked.
"Is there something wrong with caring about one's own family?" Matou Sakura looked completely calm, as if it were true.
"Wiretapping and secret filming? You call that caring? I'm afraid you're going to care your way into the police station."
"It's fine; the Matou Family still has some pull at the Fuyuki Police Station."
"You actually solved it from that angle? Besides, if you wanted to see your sister, you should have just gone to see her."
"Of course I went to see her! It's just that Elder Sister didn't know."
"Eh? When?" Tohsaka Rin looked confused.
"You don't actually think the Barrier around the Tohsaka Family could stop me, do you, my naive Elder Sister?"
"But if you had just said something, I would have always welcomed you. All these years, I thought you hated me."
"How could I hate you? You are the only family I have left in this world."
Hearing Tohsaka Rin's words, Matou Sakura showed a different expression for the first time, her words filled with warmth.
"At first, I just went to confirm if Elder Sister was living well on her own, and whether she was being bullied by that Kirei. Later, I was attracted by how clumsy yet exceptionally hard-working Elder Sister was, so I often snuck in to observe her, until..."
"Until?"
"Until later, when a manufacturer released a new device, as long as at home..."
"Enough, don't say any more." Tohsaka Rin clutched her head in a headache.
Matou Sakura stopped talking and changed the subject: "So, you can consider yourselves to have an understanding of my situation now, right?"
Jean shrugged, indicating no objection, and Tohsaka Rin nodded.
Then Matou Sakura continued: "Then let me state my requirements for the alliance: The Holy Grail goes to you, and the command rights over Elder Sister go to me!"
— — Matou Family Theater — —
(Drawing the summoning circle on the ground, and using the spear given to her by her teacher as a holy relic, Matou Sakura happily prepared to summon her teacher.)
Matou Sakura: It's been over ten years, and finally the opportunity has arrived. I wonder if Teacher will be happy to see how much I've grown.
(The correct time had arrived, and Matou Sakura began the incantation.)
Matou Sakura:...Come from the Wheel of Suppression, Guardian of the Scales!
(Then, a red light flashed, and a figure appeared from within.)
Cú Chulainn: Yo, Servant Lancer has arrived in response to the summons. Let us... Woah.
(Suddenly, a red light shot past Cú Chulainn's head.)
Cú Chulainn: Could this be... (The familiar spear in front of him, and the young girl who looked especially like the old hag.)
Matou Sakura: Who the hell summoned you? Where is Teacher? Where is my teacher! Die and go back so I can summon again.
Cú Chulainn: It's not like I wanted to come out. It's highly likely that old hag just didn't want to see you... Ah!
Old hag.jpg
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