Rin's lips curled into a cold, mocking smile far too sharp for her age. She didn't refute him directly. Instead she lowered her head and, with surprising gentleness, looked at the sister still shivering in her arms.
"Sakura," she asked softly, "tell meand tell Fatherdo you want to go to the Matou house?"
"Do you want to leave home, leave Mom and me, and go live with that old man?"
Blunt and cruel in its simplicity, the question ripped away every false wrapping andif only in namereturned the choice to the one who mattered.
""
Cradled in Rin's arms, Sakura seemed to find a measure of courage. Timid and still shaken, she lifted her head, stole a glance at her father's darkened face, and immediately burrowed back into her sister. Then, in a nasal, mosquito-thin but unmistakably clear voice, she choked out:
"I I don't want to I don't want to be apart from Sis. I don't want to leave home. I'm scared"
Those few simple words were a dagger, cutting through all of Tokiomi's grand reasons.
Rin raised her head, that dust— and tear-smudged chin tilting up, eyes blazing as she bore down on her father.
"Did you hear that, Father?" Her voice carried a deeper sorrow.
"Sakura says she doesn't want to go. She doesn't!"
"You keep saying it's for her own goodhave you asked what she wants?"
"This isn't for her sake at all. It's just your willfulnessyour selfishness!"
"Heh heh heh"
At that moment, Matou Zouken, who had been lurking like a shadow, finally let out an owlish, skin-crawling laugh. Leaning on his twisted cane, his murky gaze slid between Tokiomi and Rin, the mockery and needling plain.
"The Tohsaka heir you've trained is certainly unusual."
He stretched each word, every syllable scraping across the face Tokiomi guarded so closely.
"Sharp-tongued, ruled by emotion but lively, I'll give her that. Heh heh"
For a man who prized family honor and personal dignity, even such airy taunts landed on Tohsaka Tokiomi like the loudest of slaps.
Chapter 973: He's up to no good!
Tohsaka Tokiomi felt his cheeks burn.
He'd been stripped of all dignity as both family head and father in front of everyoneespecially before an old fox like Matou Zoukenby his own seven-year-old daughter's defiance and accusations. It was humiliation unlike anything he'd ever experienced.
Forcing down his anger and embarrassment, he managed a stiff smile and offered an apologetic nod to Matou Zouken. "Forgive the spectacle, Elder Matou. The child is young and ignorantmy lax discipline. I'll handle this from here and won't delay our business."
Then he turned back. When his gaze fell on his two daughters locked in each other's arms, it sharpened to ice. Whatever softness he'd tried to feign vanished. The absolute authority of the Tohsaka head settled over them.
"Rin. Sakura. Whether you understand or not, whether you're willing or not, there is no room to change this," he declared, brooking no argument.
"I am your fatherand the head of House Tohsaka. My decision is what's best for the family and for your future. You will do as I say."
With that, he offered no further explanation. He started forward, steps steady and resolute, closing in on Rin and Sakura. His tall figure cast an oppressive shadow in the morning fog. He clearly meant to use forcetear Sakura away from Rin's side.
"Sis!"
At her father's implacable tone, Sakura trembled and clutched Rin even tighter, as if she could bury herself inside her sister for protection.
Rin's face turned ashen. His iron stance had outstripped what she'd imagined. He was almost upon them, and that horrifying Matou Zouken was still watching with predatory interest. Words alone wouldn't work anymore. Maybe the only way was to run with Sakura
But a thought flashed through her mind like lightning: what the chat-group host Rei Ao had told herthe real aim of Matou Zouken, the chilling truth.
She didn't fully grasp terms like "seize her body" and "Lesser Grail," but she knew one thing with absolute clarity: it was nothing like the "better future" her father described for Sakura.
No more hesitation.
Just as Tokiomi's hand was about to touch Sakura's shoulder, Rin snapped her head up. She threw out her small hand and pointed straight at Matou Zouken, sitting there at his ease with that twisted smileand, in a voice so sharp it cracked, she shouted for all to hear:
"Father! You can't hand Sakura over to himthis man is not a good person!"
"His intentions toward Sakura aren't pure!"
"He has no real desire to train Sakura as an heir!"
"Hm?"
Tokiomi's advance checked by reflex. He frowned, baffled by Rin's sudden claims. For a heartbeat, even the grotesque smile on Matou Zouken's face stiffened, a needle-thin glint of malice flickering in his clouded eyes.
Rin barreled on, screaming out the "truth" she knewthough she couldn't fully understand itbecause she trusted Rei Ao.
"He's only coveting Sakura's rare talent!
He wants to take over her bodyhe he wants to turn her into some kind of Lesser Grail!
He's using Sakura! Father, you've been deceived!"
It was like thunder from a clear sky.
Tokiomi froze, stunnedhis first shock of the day that didn't spring from anger. His instinct was to scold Rin for spouting nonsense. But a realization struck him.
The Holy Grail War is a secret among secrets. How does Rin even know the word "Grail"?
He was certain he'd never mentioned it to her. And "Lesser Grail"? In the Grail War system, a vessel is needed to contain mana, yesbut even he had never delved into that particular term. Where did Rin learn it?
Almost on instinct, Tokiomi's eyes cut to Matou Zouken, searching the man's face for the smallest crack, some telltale panic at being exposed.
Inside, a storm had already broken over Zouken. The shriveled fingers hidden in his wide sleeves twitched into a curl. Disbelief churned with suspicion. How could this little girl possibly know my plan?
"Soul materialization," "vessel," "Lesser Grail" these were purposes he had buried deepest, secrets he had never revealedeven to his "children." How did she know? Was there a master behind the Tohsaka guiding her? Was this a plot aimed at him? A hundred thoughts surged up at once, including a flash of killing intent toward Rin.
But Zouken had lived for centuries; his mask and command of the room were peerless. The instant Tokiomi's gaze hit him, the shadow of doubt vanished without a trace, replaced by affronted, mocking displeasure. He looked at Tokiomi with a smile that never reached his eyes.
"Tokiomi, it seems there are significant gaps in how you manage your house and educate your heir," he rasped, voice needling, designed to sow discord. "Have you really grown so dull and weak you'd believe the baseless slander of a mere child?"
"My cooperation with the Tohsaka," he went on silkily, "is out of respect for a fellow magus lineagecherishing talent, passing on the mantle. To be smeared like this how chilling."
The maneuverretreating to advance, turning the tableshit Tokiomi like a bucket of cold water, snapping him to his senses.
~~~
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Chapter 974: Accepting the Deal! Trade with Rei Ao!
RightRin is just a child. How could she possibly know any profound secrets of magecraft? She must have picked up a few scraps of hearsay somewhereor, in a panic to stop Sakura's adoption, made something up.
And yet he had actually wavered for a moment. Unforgivable. An insult to the judgment of the head of House Tohsaka.
Stung by self-reproach, Tohsaka Tokiomi hardened his resolve at once. He turned back, face colder and more severe than ever, and snapped at Rin:
"Rin! Enough! You have disappointed me greatly!
As the future head of the Tohsaka family, how can you be so rash, spout nonsense, and slander your elders?
Apologize to Elder Zouken this instant, then come home with me!"
"I'm not spouting nonsense! I'm telling the truth!"
Rin clenched her teeth until her gums ached. Seeing the absolute disbelief in her father's eyes filled her with helplessness and bitter grievance.
She was repeating what Rei Ao had told her. She didn't fully grasp what a "Lesser Grail" meant, but she could feel the grave weight in Rei Ao's voice, and his concern for Sakura. That was no lie. She was just a kid with no real leveragewhy would he deceive her?
But her father wouldn't believe her. He would rather trust that old man who looked every inch the villain than his own daughter. Rin felt powerless.
What should I do?
Was she really going to stand by and watch Sakura be taken away, plunged into the dark future Rei Ao had described?
No. Never.
Just as despair was about to drown her, a glintrelief, almost joyflashed in Rin's eyes. It was so brief that both Tokiomi and Matou Zouken, watching her closely, thought they imagined it.
Rin drew a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind. She stopped trying to persuade her father with words. In a preternaturally calm, even faintly icy tone that didn't fit her age, she said:
"Father, since you refuse to believe your own daughter and insist on pushing Sakura into the fire then, as her sister, to protect her, I'll have to use my own method."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried strangely, as if she were declaring this not to her father, but to something beyond.
"I accept your deal. Please help me."
The last four words landed like the trigger of a hidden spell.
In an instant, the world changed.
There was no quake, no surge of mana. Instead, in the fog-shrouded empty space right before Rin and Sakura, clear, visible ripples spread outward, one after another. The ripples were not made of magecraft; they radiated a peculiar, ethereal energy that neither Tokiomi nor Matou Zouken had ever sensed.
It didn't belong to modern magical foundations, nor to any known secrets of the Age of Godsmore like a conceptual interference from outside the world itself.
Then, at the center of those ripples, a gentle yet steadfast light glimmered. It widened, stretched, took shapeas if an invisible brush were painting upon the air. A tall, slender human silhouette grew distinct within the glow.
The first thing to meet the eye was a sleek black outfit, its hem stirring though no wind blew, as if it carried the drift of years and starlight from afar. The newcomer stood straight.
He looked young, yet carried a serenity tempered by time. Most striking were his eyesiridescent pupils that now regarded the scene calmly.
His gaze swept past the unsettled Tohsaka Tokiomi, past Matou Zouken whose eyes had gone fully dark, and finally returned to Rin, who was shielding her sister, hope and last-ditch resolve burning in her eyes.
He arrived without spectacle, yet he felt like an absolute "foreign object" forcibly set into the rules of this world, clearing the oppressive air around them.
Seeing the figure who had come as promised, Rin's taut heart finally eased a little. Softly, with a hint of unguarded reliance, she breathed the name:
"Rei Ao-san?"
He dipped his head to her, offering a look of reassurance, then stepped forward andalmost imperceptiblyplaced himself fully between the sisters and the two men, facing Tokiomi, who stood grim and braced as if before an enemy, and Zouken, in whose eyes anger and greed churned.
"My apologies," he said. His voice was clear and even, like a mountain spring, yet carried an unquestionable firmness that rang out at the gloomy gate of the Matou estate.
"Tohsaka Tokiomi, Matou Zoukenunfortunate to meet you in this manner. Regarding Sakura's future, perhaps we can resolve it another way."
His gaze settled on Zouken. Those red eyes had already seen through centuries of filth and obsession.
"Especially concerning the 'Lesser Grail,' soul materialization, and a rotten obsession five centuries old. Zouken-sanwhat do you think?"
"Noperhaps it's better to call you Makiri Zolgen."
Yes. Matou Zouken's true identity is Makiri Zolgen. On the registry he is the grandfather of Matou Sakura and Matou Shinji; in truth he is the family's first head from six generations past, a great magus who has lived for five hundred years.
He abandoned his original body and uses worms of magical nature to assemble a temporary one. As the Makiri family's founder, he is tied to the origins of the Holy Grail War.
Chapter 975: Special Deal! In the end, its all Tokiomis fault
A minute earlier
Rin Tohsaka held her sister in a death grip. With her father closing in step by step and Matou Zouken watching like a hawk, her heart was a knot of anger, despair, and helplessness.
On her own, she couldn't protect Sakura. That fact crushed her, ready to break her small frame.
And thenat the very brinkthere was a crisp, uncanny chime only she could hear, ringing through her mind like music from the heavens:
[Ding! Trading Chat Group system upgrade complete!]
[New feature unlocked: "Special Deal"!]
Rin's consciousness was pulled into a UI no one else could see. Simple lines of text flowed past:
"Special Deal": When a group member lacks the price for a regular deal, they may initiate a Special Deal. The condition for a Special Deal is granting "World Channel access" to the member's world.
"World Channel": Through the World Channel, the trading partner may freely enter that world with no time limit, and may choose to open the channel to other group members.
The sudden upgrade was a blinding beam of light cast into the pit of her despair.
Her heart hammered with excitement.
It was thanks to this mysterious "Trading Chat Group"and its all-knowing, benevolent owner, Rei Aothat she'd learned of Matou Zouken's plot. But the previous deal terms hadn't made any allowance for a child like her, so she hadn't been able to tradeand couldn't fix anything at the root.
Now the update meant a real, decisive opening.
She didn't hesitate. She didn't even stop to weigh the long-term consequences of granting World Channel access. Acting on pure instinct to protect her sister, she locked onto Rei Ao's name in her mind and sent the most urgent plea she'd ever made.
The deal went through almost at once.
[Special Deal]
[Partner]: Rei Ao
[Content]: Save her sister, Tohsaka Sakurastop her from being sent to the Matou family.
[Condition]: World Channel access to Rin's Type-Moon world.
[Special Deal confirmed!]
[World Channel access transferred!]
[Channel under construction!]
The prompts flashed by like lightning.
In the real world, from the spark of strange joy in Rin's eyes, to her vow to "use my own method," to the ripples that spread through the air before heronly a heartbeat passed.
