[Vivian, a name incredibly familiar to you.]
[You never expected to hear information about her at this very moment.]
"This..." Ian felt the seriousness in Tohsaka Rin's tone; he was sure she wasn't joking with him. "Rin, why do you think so?"
"Because—I've always believed that nothing in this world is that good." Tohsaka Rin thought, her mind drifting back to the day Vivian left the Tohsaka residence. In fact, even on that day, the girl had similar thoughts. Since Vivian understood the Holy Grail War so well, she must have known it was a way to achieve wishes. So—from that perspective, would she truly be so willing to help her sister, Tohsaka Sakura?
Tohsaka Rin had actually been bothered by this. It's just that, due to her sister Tohsaka Sakura's presence, she hadn't said much. After all, at the end of the day, Tohsaka Sakura and Vivian still had a teacher-student relationship, and saying too much would inevitably feel like sowing discord.
However—it was different now. After all, neither she nor Tohsaka Sakura had been contacted by Vivian for over a month. No matter how Tohsaka Rin thought about it, she felt Vivian was planning something. The girl poured all her thoughts out to the man in front of her.
"That's pretty much it. What do you... think?"
"..."
[Actually, you had this thought even earlier than Tohsaka Rin.]
[After all, fulfilling wishes sounds quite tempting.]
[However, in the past decade, Vivian had been exceptionally kind to Tohsaka Sakura.]
[This made it hard for you to believe she would do anything harsh to her one and only student.]
[But you also had to admit that everything Tohsaka Rin said was objectively true.]
[What exactly is Vivian doing now?]
"It's hard to say," Ian answered Tohsaka Rin's question. "But at least for now—we probably can't conclude she's participating in the Holy Grail War, can we?"
"Indeed, we can't." Tohsaka Rin didn't deny Ian's statement. After all, she truly had no concrete evidence, only feeling that this was the most likely direction. But if one thought about it carefully—a powerful magus just disappearing for over a month. At the same time, she also knew about the Holy Grail War and was in the Holy Grail War region. It was indeed hard not to think in that direction.
"Anyway, I just came to give a warning. If you think it's appropriate... tell Sakura; if you don't... just ignore what I said."
"Okay, I understand." Having received the man's answer, Tohsaka Rin turned around, intending to leave directly. But after a few steps, she seemed to remember something, turned back, and asked a question.
"By the way—do you really not know my Archer? She... seems to care about you a lot."
"This..."
"Still hesitating, so I guess you really don't know her," Tohsaka Rin shrugged. "Alright, goodbye." The girl truly left this time. Ian was left alone on the street.
[You didn't hesitate.]
[You decided to tell Master Tohsaka Sakura exactly what you saw this morning.]
[You returned to the place where you two lived.]
Inside the house rented by Fujimura Taiga.
Ian returned, carrying food. He took off his shoes and walked upstairs to the place where he and Tohsaka Sakura were resting.
"Sakura," the man said softly. "Time to get up."
Hearing Ian's voice, Tohsaka Sakura slowly opened her eyes and saw the man she cared about. "Mr. Ian..." The girl rubbed her sleepy eyes, "Is it already late?"
"Almost noon, I think."
"Ah?!" Tohsaka Sakura immediately sat up from under the covers. At this moment, she was naked, but showed no intention of covering herself in front of him. "Mr. Ian, why didn't you wake me up earlier?!"
"Why should I wake you up early?" The man's fingers gently brushed Tohsaka Sakura's slightly messy long hair together. "It's not like I don't know what you were doing last night, Sakura."
"This..." Tohsaka Sakura grew a little shy. But she didn't deny what Ian said. After all—last night, she was the one who actively asked to experience that intensity with Ian.
"Mr. Ian, wait for me~" Tohsaka Sakura got up. "I'm going to wash my face."
"Okay."
A few minutes later, Tohsaka Sakura, having washed up and dressed, returned to Ian's side and noticed the food he had bought.
"Mr. Ian, did you buy this especially for me?"
"Not especially, no. We haven't tidied the kitchen yet... so we can only eat this. You don't mind, do you, Sakura?"
"Of course not." Tohsaka Sakura pulled up her skirt and sat beside the man. "But—I want Mr. Ian to feed me~"
"No problem."
Next, it was a scene like a couple. Tohsaka Sakura, like a cute little animal, lay on Ian's lap, eating the food he fed her bite by bite. Every now and then, the girl would bite one end of the food, then signal for the man to bite the other end, completing a simple kiss.
"Turns out moving out feels quite nice~" Tohsaka Sakura sighed.
"No." "It should be said that as long as Mr. Ian is here, anywhere is home."
"..." Ian was silent for a moment, then spoke. "Sakura."
"Hm?" The girl looked up. "What's wrong?"
"I saw Rin just now."
"..." Almost instantly, Tohsaka Sakura's expression changed from sunny to cloudy. She turned, grabbed Ian's collar, glared at him, and spoke in a completely different tone than before: "So—Mr. Ian, you went out and secretly met my sister while I was asleep, didn't you? Is that what happened?"
"..." Feeling the extremely terrifying aura emanating from Tohsaka Sakura, who was biting her lip, Ian quickly reached out to stop her. "Sakura, please listen to me first. I didn't go out specifically to see Rin... I just met her by chance."
"Met by chance?" Tohsaka Sakura's tone softened a little, but she still sounded quite unhappy. "What does that mean?"
"It's just—" Ian looked towards the previous window. That was where he had witnessed Li Shuwen and his Bajiquan. "I was originally woken up today by that old man Master Taiga mentioned yesterday. It turns out he's somehow related to Rin—he's her master's master."
"So you met her?" Tohsaka Sakura clutched Ian's clothes, still looking quite concerned.
"Something like that," Ian didn't shy away from the question. "She... asked me to tell you, she wants to say 'I'm sorry,' she feels what she said that day was a bit too harsh."
"..." Tohsaka Sakura's hand trembled. She perhaps hadn't expected her sister's apology to come so quickly. "Mr. Ian, you're not lying to me, are you?"
"I'm not lying to you, and there's no need to, is there?"
"But if that's the case, why didn't she come and say it herself?"
"Because Rin was worried you'd be unhappy seeing her." Ian hugged Tohsaka Sakura, who was against his chest, and gently kissed her forehead. "See—you get this worked up just hearing her name. If she were actually here, you'd definitely argue with her."
"..." Tohsaka Sakura finally completely calmed down. "I guess so."
"Then—" The girl's gaze softened considerably; she clearly realized she had been overly emotional just now. "Did sister say anything else?"
"Hm..." Ian straightened himself, looking very seriously at Tohsaka Sakura. "Sakura, what I'm about to tell you, please don't be afraid."
"Rin... thinks Vivian might also be participating in this Holy Grail War."
"What?" Compared to the earlier misunderstanding about meeting Tohsaka Rin, the news that her teacher Vivian was participating in the Holy Grail War clearly had a greater impact on Tohsaka Sakura. She looked at Ian in disbelief, her eyes filled with doubt. "How is that possible? Teacher Vivian... she never said she had such thoughts, did she?"
"Yes," Ian nodded. "I thought so too. But—she also hasn't contacted us for over a month, has she? Considering that, I think Rin's idea might have some truth to it. Sakura, can you understand what I mean?"
"..." Tohsaka Sakura had gradually transitioned from the initial anger upon learning Ian had met Tohsaka Rin to concern. "But—Mr. Ian, if what you're saying is true, isn't it highly possible that Teacher Vivian was planning this from the very beginning? Then... was she just deceiving me all this time?"
"That's not necessarily the case," Ian gave his answer. "Perhaps—something changed her mind. But regardless, we cannot ignore this risk."
"Mm." Tohsaka Sakura nodded. "Mr. Ian, you have a point. Then—let's tentatively consider Teacher Vivian an imaginary enemy. Oh, right!" Tohsaka Sakura grabbed Ian's hand. "Let's consolidate information—we haven't dealt with this aspect until now."
"That's certainly what we should do."
Having reached a consensus, Ian and Tohsaka Sakura sat by the table and began analyzing the Holy Grail War situation in brief notes.
"As for me... it's Saber Mr. Ian."
"As for my sister... it's Archer."
"Teacher Vivian is pending, but given her magic strength, her Servant definitely won't be bad."
"And four more Servants are completely unknown."
Tohsaka Sakura looked at Ian beside her, asking for his opinion. And the man gave his thoughts.
"As for Vivian, I estimate she likely wouldn't summon an Assassin or Berserker."
"Eh? Mr. Ian, how do you know that?" Tohsaka Sakura looked at Ian, her expression somewhat confused.
"Intuition." Ian certainly couldn't tell Tohsaka Sakura that he made that judgment based on a feeling of familiarity—that would displease her. He always felt she disliked Assassins and Berserkers. And the girl also seemed not to want to bring up such things, so she didn't ask further.
"Mm... what else?"
"As for what else—" Misaya's image appeared before Ian. "That teacher from the Kendo Club should also be participating in this Holy Grail War."
"..." Although a bit shocked, Tohsaka Sakura quickly realized this was something Ian knew before she used the Command Spell on him. She didn't want to bring up that experience again, nor did she want to mention any Command Spells in front of him.
"Then Misaya, she might summon Lancer." The girl absentmindedly wrote down that sentence.
[You and Tohsaka Sakura discussed many things that day.]
[You knew she truly wanted to win this Holy Grail War.]
[She began setting up defensive magic on the edges of your residence.]
[It was clear she didn't intend to return to the Tohsaka family residence.]
[However, what greatly pleased you was that—]
[Although she didn't plan to return, Tohsaka Sakura proactively called Tohsaka Rin—this was perhaps a sign of the sisters' initial reconciliation.]
[You realized you had to protect Tohsaka Sakura well.]
[But you didn't expect your first battle in the Fifth Holy Grail War to come so suddenly.]
Night.
After their usual prana replenishment with Tohsaka Sakura, Ian looked at the blushing girl beneath him and gently kissed her forehead.
"Was it painful?"
"Not at all." Tohsaka Sakura looked up at the man above her, her eyes filled with love. "As long as it's with Mr. Ian... no matter how many times, I'm happy."
"Is that so..." Ian's fingers caressed the girl's hot cheek, a vague tenderness for her growing within him.
But at this moment—Boom! A flash of white light streaked past the window, illuminating the intimate scene inside the room. If Tohsaka Sakura hadn't set up protective enchantments beforehand, it would have probably impacted them already. Almost instantly, the loving pair realized something was wrong.
"Sakura."
"Mm." Tohsaka Sakura nodded—she knew he wanted to go outside and check. "Mr. Ian, you go. I'll stay here quietly."
This was the right approach—after all, this was no longer a simple residence; following Ian out might actually be less safe. Having received his Master's permission, the man no longer hesitated and went outside. But when he got outside the residence, he realized the situation was dire.
He saw a blue Lancer, holding a dark red spear, repositioning himself, seemingly in a tough battle. And opposite him was a girl riding a white horse, holding a glowing sword. Not far away, Vivian issued her command.
"Rider!"
"Kill him for me!"