Chapter 9: Bringing Stones as Gifts

"As far as I know, the Matou Family also participated in this Holy Grail War."

Kirei Kotomine said with a frown.

"I know what you're worried about, but Matou Kariya, who represents the Matou Family in the war, is just a guy who gave up the path of magecraft halfway."

"Although the Holy Grail War focuses more on the strength of the summoned Heroic Spirit itself, if the mage acting as Master is a half-baked amateur, then no matter how powerful the summoned Servant is, it's useless, because they themselves are a weakness as Masters."

"Still, we do need to be on guard; that's why I called you over."

"Kirei, I need you to use your Servant Assassin's power to investigate the situation here."

"Whether it's a scheme by the Matou Family or some unknown faction actually abducted Sakura, I hope you can figure out what's going on."

"And bring that child Sakura back as safely as possible."

"Understood, Teacher Tokiomi."

"This is a photo of Sakura."

Tohsaka Tokiomi pulled a group photo from his pocket; the photo showed two little girls, his two adorable daughters.

And the younger one, when she was still called Sakura Tohsaka, smiled with such innocence and happiness.

"She really is a cute child, not at all inferior to Miss Rin."

Kirei Kotomine said politely with an expressionless face.

"Sakura's talent is indeed not inferior to Rin's, but unfortunately the Tohsaka Family's magecraft inheritance is only one; whichever child inherits the magecraft inheritance, the other child who cannot inherit it will suffer the misfortune brought by that rare talent."

Tohsaka Tokiomi said this and sighed; this was also the reason he did not refuse when the Matou Family proposed adopting a daughter from the Tohsaka Family as the future magecraft heir of the Matou Family.

"Alright, Kirei, act quickly; I'm worried about that child's safety."

Tohsaka Tokiomi raised his wine glass, gesturing to the disciple beside him that he could go act.

"Did the child get lost, Tokiomi? Why not come ask this King for help?"

After Kirei Kotomine left, a blond man walked in from outside the balcony; this man had a pair of scarlet vertical pupils like those of a reptilian creature, and he was none other than Mr. Jin, the future kind-hearted citizen of Fuyuki City, but he looked bored and wanted to find something to do.

And for this former Fifth King of Uruk, helping a subject find his missing daughter was just something to pass the time.

If Tohsaka Tokiomi knelt down and begged him with a pious attitude, Gilgamesh would help as if satisfying a subject's request when bored.

"How dare this subject let the great King of Heroes lower himself; this is merely this subject's private matter."

Facing his Servant's goodwill, Tohsaka Tokiomi said respectfully.

"Hmph, what a boring guy."

Looking at his respectful appearance, Gilgamesh felt his mood spoiled; his situation was like a tyrant suddenly wanting to do a good deed, but the subordinates didn't believe he would do good deeds, yet dared not refute due to his noble status, and then produced a respectful posture like Tohsaka Tokiomi's current one, with no fault to find, to deal with him.

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "…"

If this weren't the proud and arrogant King of Heroes, he would have long treated the other party as an ordinary familiar to order around.

Although the two remaining Command Spells could forcibly command him, using Command Spells on such a killing-a-chicken-with-an-ox-cleaver matter—how would the subsequent Holy Grail War be fought? Could it be that he had to use Jewel Magecraft to fight those monster-like Heroic Spirits head-on? Just as Tohsaka Tokiomi responded to the King of Heroes' evaluation with silence, Kirei Kotomine suddenly walked back from outside the study.

"Why are you back?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi broke the silence and asked.

"Teacher, no need to look for your daughter; she's outside."

Kirei Kotomine's expression was somewhat subtle as he replied.

He had just taken the photo and was about to go out to look for someone when he met three people at the front door who were about to ring the doorbell.

And one of them was exactly the little girl in the photo.

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, Tohsaka Tokiomi was stunned, then immediately asked about the specific situation.

"I didn't ask, but the ones who brought Teacher your daughter home were two people, one big and one small."

"The small one is a boy about the same age as your daughter; the big one is a girl holding a bamboo sword."

"The other party looked aggressive, but is an ordinary person."

Kirei Kotomine described what he saw, then walked outside with Tohsaka Tokiomi.

"Daddy!"

When Tohsaka Tokiomi came to the entrance outside, he heard his little daughter's surprised shout, but it was just a shout.

Young Sakura stood outside the Tohsaka Family's front door with a hesitant appearance, not daring to step into this home.

"Sakura…"

Tohsaka Tokiomi's gaze softened, but before he could say anything, what greeted him was the 1988 Type-Moon World version of T0.

"You're this child's father, right? I really didn't expect that a rich person living in such a big villa would actually abandon his young daughter!"

Fujimura Taiga started scolding as soon as they met, the bamboo sword in her hand pointing at Tohsaka Tokiomi's nose; seeing Young Sakura shrink back and not dare enter the house just now had made her furious.

What exactly had this child suffered in this home, that even at the door, with the door already open, she still stood outside not daring to enter?

"A bastard like you who abandons his daughter—do you count as a man? Do you count as a father?!"

The scolded Tohsaka Tokiomi: "…"

Kirei Kotomine's mouth twitched beside him, and Mr. Jin behind revealed a melon-eating, show-watching expression.

"Today in this home, if you let her in she enters, if you don't let her in she still enters; if you, this guy, don't want me to use my fists to kick you out of this home, you'd better know your place and let her go home!"

After Fujimura Taiga finished her opening scolding, Broly also raised his small fist and walked forward, making a threatening posture on Young Sakura's other side.

The two people on the left and right were like street yakuza threatening a shop that dared not pay hygiene management fees.

Only, the ones doing this were a righteous, youthful, beautiful junior high school girl and a little boy who looked like he was still in kindergarten senior class, so the actual effect was like Connor's Evil Dragon Roar scene.

Tohsaka Tokiomi had thought his little daughter's disappearance might be a scheme plotted by the Matou Family in this Holy Grail War, and had also thought it might be a calculation by some other Master with despicable means against the Matou Family and Tohsaka Family.

But he never expected that his little daughter would, on the day after news came that she had been abducted, bring these two people to his door.

One person shouted insults about him not being a proper father upon meeting, and another, not old at all, dared to raise a fist and threaten him.

For a moment, Tohsaka Tokiomi was left with the three questions of life: 【Who am I】, 【Where am I】, 【What am I doing】.

"My daughter, she should have been abducted from the Matou Family, right?"

After a pause, Tohsaka Tokiomi asked this question of his own Disciple.

"If what Teacher you said when you used your Familiar to notify me was correct, then that is the case."

Kotomine Kirei replied expressionlessly.

"Then who can tell me now, what exactly is the situation appearing before my eyes?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi issued his inquiry, but Kotomine Kirei had no way to answer him, because he also did not know what this situation was.

"Foolish retainer, if you directly ask your daughter, wouldn't it be clear what the situation is?"

At this time, Mr. Jin was like a guiding lamp, giving out his own instructions.

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "..."

Only then did he walk forward, standing at the entrance with a short distance between them, and asked the girl: "Sakura, can you tell Daddy what exactly happened? Yesterday, people from the Matou Family came looking, saying you were abducted by someone."

"No one abducted me, I was rescued. After going to the Matou Family, I was thrown by 'Grandpa' into a basement full of worms.

Those worms crawled on my body, making me feel so much pain, so much pain.

It was Brother Broly who suddenly appeared, saving me from the pile of worms."

Young Sakura mustered her courage and narrated to her father her experiences in the Matou Family.

Tohsaka Tokiomi listened with his brow furrowed.

The Matou Family indeed has a magecraft of manipulating worm familiars, but throwing his own adopted daughter, who was sent over to be the Magecraft Inheritance heir, into a basement full of worms, was something he could not understand.

"That guy Matou Zouken, why did he throw you into a basement full of worms?"

He asked.

"Grandpa said it was to modify my magecraft element."

Young Sakura answered honestly.

【Magecraft element, but the Matou Family's magecraft element isn't water? Could it be……】

Tohsaka Tokiomi had some guesses, but did not voice his guesses.

"Then what about them?"

He turned to ask about the situation of the two people at the side.

"This is Brother Broly, the person who saved me from the Worm House.

This is Sister Fujimura, the person who took us in last night when we had no home to return to."

Young Sakura introduced them.

Tohsaka Tokiomi: "..."

No home to return to, quite a "no home to return to."

These words spoken from his little daughter's mouth were so ironic.

"There might be some misunderstanding in this."

Taking a deep breath, Tohsaka Tokiomi broke the standoff at the front door and spoke.

Fujimura Taiga was still thinking about worms and magecraft; upon hearing Tohsaka Tokiomi's talk of misunderstanding, she immediately exploded.

"What misunderstanding! Look, she doesn't even dare step through her own home's gate, that tells you what kind of irresponsible father you are!"

Tohsaka Tokiomi was scolded head-on again, but considering the young girl before him was an ordinary person, and had also taken in his little daughter, as an elegant gentleman he could not flare up, and could only patiently explain the situation of his daughter being adopted into another family as a foster daughter.

Of course, Tohsaka Tokiomi did not mention the matter of Magecraft Inheritance, simply speaking of the Tohsaka Family and Matou Family being old family friends.

And in his heart, he had already treated the matter of his little daughter being abducted by a Heroic Spirit as the situation of her being unable to endure the magecraft element modification, and thus sneaking away from the Matou Family, with the helper being the boy called Broly at the side.

"Then why don't you let her return to her real home?"

Broly asked.

"There is no such thing as not letting her return home, it's just that this involves the matter of inheriting the family business; after the adoption is completed, we will make a comparatively clear division, this is an unavoidable matter, and when Sakura grows up, if she wants to return here, there is also no problem."

【Ah, so this is how wealthy families handle adopted children?!】

Fujimura Taiga sighed inwardly; through the content she had just heard, this Tiger of Higashi had already daydreamed up some dramas of two wealthy families adopting children.

However, Broly did not possess such rich daydreaming ability like her; Tohsaka Tokiomi's words only left him feeling lost in the clouds.

He shook his head, and asked the man at the entrance: "So, can she return home or not in the end?"

"Of course she can."

Tohsaka Tokiomi nodded and said.

Young Sakura's eyes lit up, but she still hesitated a little.

"The previous division and estrangement were under normal adoption circumstances, but the current situation is already abnormal; then, Sakura, you are still my child."

The elegant gentleman opened his embrace to his little daughter.

"Otou-san~"

Young Sakura could not hold back, directly running through the front door and throwing herself into her father's embrace.

"Wuu wuu wuu……"

She could not help but cry; her father's embrace was still so wide and thick.

She thought that if her father knew her experiences in the Matou Family, he would definitely come to pick her up and take her home.

It must be that that bad Grandpa deceived her father, not letting her father know her actual experiences in the Matou Family.

Therefore, her father did not come.

Young Sakura found an excuse to absolve her father for not coming to save her.

And with an excuse to absolve him, she quickly forgave this man with the identity of father, and continued to regard him as an important person she relied on, gradually obtaining from him an emotion called peace of mind.

【Matou Sakura Happiness Value, continuously rising.】

"Although it's already clear this is a misunderstanding, I still want to say, you, who didn't even figure out the adoption family situation before sending your daughter over to be abused, are still an irresponsible and terrible father!"

Fujimura Taiga was still spraying, and regarding this point Tohsaka Tokiomi had no way to refute, only able to say: "Indeed it was my negligence, but thank you two for helping my daughter."

Thinking for a bit, Tohsaka Tokiomi fished out two high-quality gems from his pocket.

"My Tohsaka Family does jewelry business."

Speaking like this, he passed the gems in his hand toward the boy and young girl before him.

"These two gems are not anything precious, please accept this token of gratitude."

Fujimura Taiga originally still wanted to scold two sentences, but this man before her gave too much.

Broly merely glanced once, and upon discovering they were stones rather than food, lost interest in the blue stones.

【Sparkling gems, are commonly used tools to raise opposite sex happiness value, main usage method is giving.】

However, the reminder that emerged from the Crystal Palace in his mind, caused Broly to change his attitude of disliking gems.

"Give to you."

He unceremoniously accepted the sapphire from Tohsaka Tokiomi's hand, turned his head and stuffed it into the hand of Young Sakura beside him.

"Eh!?"

Young Sakura, stuffed with a sapphire, froze a bit, subconsciously raised her head to look at her father beside her.

"What does this mean?"

Tohsaka Tokiomi was somewhat startled, frowned slightly and asked.

"I give her a stone, you have an opinion?"

Broly's direct refute caused Tohsaka Tokiomi to choke for a moment.

(Chapter End)