The shock from the scene before her nearly froze Tohsaka Rin's body completely.
She stared wide-eyed at her little sister clinging tightly to the young man in the dim light, rubbing her eyes desperately, even wondering for a moment if she was trapped in a nightmare.
"You... you two..."
Finally, after an unknown stretch of silence, Rin's voice rang out, suppressed as much as possible, yet still trembling slightly, her tone filled with disbelief. "What are you doing?!"
Logically, if she caught a man hugging her little sister in the middle of the night, Tohsaka Rin would probably march up and demand answers, or even explode in anger.
Because in her eyes, her sister was just an innocent little girl who knew nothing and could easily be deceived by others.
Yet what surged in the girl's heart right now wasn't anger, it was overwhelming shock mixed with an inexplicable sense of loss.
The shock came from the intimate actions between Matou Sakura and Alvin.
The loss... she couldn't quite pinpoint why even now.
On the other side, the expression on Alvin's face had already grown wonderfully colorful.
Getting caught in an ambiguous, intimate moment with his Master's little sister in the living room late at night... by his own Master, no less.
What do I do? Waiting online for advice, urgent.
Alvin quickly released Sakura from his arms. "Rin..."
He intended to explain, but before he could get the words out, Sakura stepped forward first.
"Sister... I was just telling Senpai some secrets. It's not what you think."
As she explained, she walked closer to Rin.
"Secrets...?"
Tohsaka Rin looked at Sakura in confusion.
What kind of secrets required discussing in the dead of night, and with such close hugging?
At that moment, Matou Sakura had already drawn completely close to Tohsaka Rin. She gently hugged her sister and leaned her lips near Rin's ear.
"The secret is..."
Her voice paused at some point.
At the same time, a strand of deep purple light suddenly flared from Sakura's fingertip.
With a "thud," Rin's mind seemed to suffer some kind of impact.
Her eyes gradually grew hazy, and then she slowly "fell asleep."
Her body naturally went limp, but before it could touch the ground, Alvin had already swiftly stepped forward to catch Rin's delicate figure.
After confirming that the girl wasn't truly injured, he let out a breath of relief and quickly turned to look at the girl standing quietly in front of him.
In the dim light, Matou Sakura's refined, fair face showed no expression.
The gentle, tender gaze from daytime now appeared somewhat indifferent.
For some reason, Alvin suddenly felt as though he couldn't understand this girl at all.
"What did you do to Rin?"
He asked in a low voice.
"I just let Sister 'sleep' for a little while... If things had continued like that earlier, Senpai would have been troubled too, right?"
Sakura gazed gently at the unconscious Rin. "After all... Sister's feelings are the same as mine."
"That just now seemed like Imaginary Numbers magecraft, didn't it?"
Alvin stared at the refined, innocent girl. "When did you learn it?"
Imaginary Numbers attribute—in the material world, it was also called "nothingness."
Normally, if she had inherited the Matou family's magecraft crest properly, Matou Sakura's Imaginary Numbers attribute would have turned into Water.
But because of Matou Zouken's sudden death in the previous Holy Grail War, Sakura had spent a relatively normal childhood.
As she grew older, she awakened her innate special attribute—Imaginary Numbers.
The ability to reach into dimensional pockets, or even directly absorb enemy attacks into Imaginary Number Space...
One could say Sakura's talent in Imaginary Numbers was unquestionable.
But Alvin had never imagined that Sakura had already mastered such profound Imaginary Numbers magecraft at this age.
Self-taught? Or... did she have a teacher guiding her in secret?
"I just happened to awaken the Imaginary Numbers attribute on my sixteenth birthday, and learned a bit of the basics of Imaginary Numbers magecraft on my own."
Sakura looked up at Alvin, her eyes gentle. "Can you keep this a secret from Sister for now?"
Alvin gave a soft "mm."
Though he wasn't sure why Sakura wanted to hide her magecraft, everyone had their own secrets.
Not everything needed to be dug into.
"Also... You probably don't want Sister to know about tonight either."
Sakura tilted her head slightly.
A soft smile appeared on her delicate, fragile face. "So let's make it our secret, okay?"
In the dim light, that gentle smile seemed to carry a hint of slyness.
Now that things have come to this, Alvin naturally wouldn't refuse and nodded lightly. "Alright... I'll carry Rin back to her room first."
"By the way, just to be safe..."
Just as he had picked up the unconscious Tohsaka Rin, Matou Sakura suddenly stepped forward with small steps and gently hugged Alvin from behind with both arms.
He could clearly feel the wonderful, soft pressure of her proud chest against his back.
Before Alvin could speak, she suddenly released him.
Then, like a little sprite, she tiptoed around to face him, leaned in lightly, and pressed her small, soft cherry lips against his in a gentle kiss.
Under Alvin's shocked gaze, a captivating smile curved on Matou Sakura's lips.
"Now we're accomplices, Senpai~"
...
Matou Sakura turned and gracefully left.
After carrying Tohsaka Rin back to her room, Alvin sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the sleeping Rin.
Yet his mind couldn't help replaying Sakura's every smile and gesture from moments ago causing him to sigh inwardly.
'...I have to admit, she's way too good at this.'
If she hadn't read some kind of strategy guide, then it was pure natural talent.
First, playing a "forbidden" game in the living room behind her sister's back, then sharing a secret with him... and that final kiss was an absolute killer move.
Unknowingly, she really has changed a lot...
Moreover, the Imaginary Numbers magecraft Sakura used tonight was clearly already extremely proficient.
If she were an enemy, Matou Sakura would probably be a truly formidable opponent.
Though he had nearly been caught "in the act" by Tohsaka Rin tonight, if he had to say it... it wasn't entirely without gains.
After all, his CG collection had increased by two more images in just one night.
One was the CG of Rin catching them being intimate in the living room, and the other was the special CG of Sakura lightly kissing the young man.
How much longer until the remaining CGs are collected...?
With these random thoughts swirling in his mind, Alvin didn't notice the arrival of the next morning.
Tohsaka Rin faintly furrowed her brow, feeling the morning light on her face. She slowly opened her sleepy eyes.
"Ugh... my head hurts so much..."
Tohsaka Rin gently rubbed her temples, feeling her mind a bit foggy.
In the morning light, she wore a loose nightgown, her long hair cascading down in a messy manner, adding a touch of lazy allure.
The collar of her top had slipped down slightly, faintly revealing a glimpse of fair skin and subtle curves.
"Didn't sleep well last night, Rin?"
Alvin asked with a smile.
Tohsaka Rin rubbed her eyes and looked up at the young man in confusion.
A ridiculously absurd scene suddenly flashed through her mind.
It was the image of her little sister embracing the young man in the living room.
She opened her mouth, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn't.
"What's wrong?"
Alvin tilted his head, puzzled.
"N-Nothing..."
Rin quickly waved her hands.
"I just had a really strange dream."
It really was a strange dream.
She knew Sakura desperately wanted to see Alvin and truly liked him... but that kind of liking should just be pure longing.
No matter what, a Master wouldn't develop special romantic feelings for a Servant, right?
Besides, how many years apart were they?
—Even though Alvin's appearance made him look about their age.
"By the way, where's Sakura?"
Tohsaka Rin suddenly asked.
"She left early this morning. Said she had to stop by the Matou house first... seems she left something there."
Alvin replied.
"Left something again?"
Rin's brow arched as she muttered, "Why does it feel like she always forgets something at the Matou house..."
She glanced at the clock on the wall. "We woke up pretty early today. There's plenty of time... Let's have breakfast, then go find Sakura."
Today was already the first day of the Holy Grail War.
Though it usually began at night, she couldn't shake her unease...
After all, her little sister hadn't summoned a Servant yet.
If some enemy targeted her, she might be in danger.
After casually drinking a glass of milk and eating two slices of toast, Tohsaka Rin bundled up in her coat and left the Tohsaka residence.
The sky was gray and overcast.
The snow on the streets had been cleared to both sides early that morning.
Before long, Tohsaka Rin arrived at the gate of the traditional Japanese-style villa.
Knock knock...
She raised her hand and knocked on the door.
After waiting a moment, heavy footsteps sounded from inside.
A man opened the Matou family's gate.
The man looked to be only in his early forties, but he had a full head of white hair and was leaning on a cane, appearing extremely weak.
Matou Kariya.
Though he had clung to life from the previous Holy Grail War until now, his body was so weakened that he needed a cane just to walk.
He looked up. In his cloudy eyes, the girl's figure blurred into view and soon, a smile appeared on his face. "It's Rin... You're here for Sakura?"
Tohsaka Rin nodded lightly and asked politely, "Is Sakura home right now?"
"She just said she left something in her room. She should be out soon."
Matou Kariya stepped aside.
"Come in and sit."
Tohsaka Rin entered the Matou residence. At the same time, Alvin's spiritualized figure silently followed behind her.
Matou Kariya froze slightly, instinctively glancing beside Tohsaka Rin.
"Matou Kariya-san, it's been a while."
At that moment, Alvin's voice suddenly rang out as his figure materialized without a sound.
Kariya blinked, straining to study him for a moment before excitement filled his face and he blurted out instinctively, "White Dragon... The Tohsaka family's Servant is you?!"
If it hadn't been for Alvin back then, Matou Kariya would likely have died early in the Fourth Holy Grail War.
He wouldn't have had all those later experiences, nor the self-redemption of watching Matou Sakura grow up healthy.
He quickly steadied his emotions and bowed shakily. "My deepest apologies. I didn't realize you were here as well."
"My Master and Sakura are very close, so there's no need to be so formal."
Alvin chatted casually for a couple of sentences and Kariya gradually calmed down. "Please, both of you, follow me."
The three walked along the residence's path toward the hall.
At that moment, Alvin suddenly seemed to sense something and instinctively glanced in a certain direction within the Matou house.
"What's wrong?"
Tohsaka Rin noticed Alvin's unusual behavior.
"It's nothing... Go ahead to the living room and sit for a bit. I feel like taking a walk."
Alvin smiled quickly.
He had clearly felt a very familiar aura just now—one almost identical to the "bug" he saw last night.
Though it was only for an instant, he trusted his perception wouldn't be wrong.
He followed the direction of the aura he had sensed, unknowingly arriving at a very spacious small courtyard.
In front of the courtyard, an underground warehouse quietly came into view.
Alvin was about to step forward when a gentle, pleasant voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Senpai, why are you here?"
Alvin turned and saw Matou Sakura standing behind him with her hands clasped behind her back, a slight surprise in her eyes.
"Rin was worried about you being alone, so I came to walk you to school."
Alvin said, glancing suspiciously at the underground warehouse.
He could faintly hear the sound of some creature flapping its wings inside.
Clearly, this should be—
—The insect warehouse.
"Does the Matou family still breed crest worms now?"
Alvin asked.
Matou Sakura nodded lightly.
"The crest worms hold many of Grandfather's magical secrets, so the Matou family hasn't completely abandoned them."
Alvin's brow furrowed unconsciously.
He was quite repulsed by these things. For one, the bugs themselves were pretty disgusting... and for another, Sakura had nearly suffered a lot because of the crest worms back then.
If the Matou family was still raising crest worms now, would Sakura...
"Are you worried about me, Senpai?"
Matou Sakura asked with a smiling lilt, pulling Alvin's thoughts back to reality.
"Don't worry. This place only keeps a few crest worms for research. I'm fine."
Only then did Alvin relax a little and withdrew his gaze. "Rin's waiting for you in the hall. Let's head over."
Matou Sakura nodded obediently.
"By the way, Senpai..."
She suddenly stepped forward and lightly kissed Alvin on the lips.
Before Alvin could react, Sakura had already nimbly stepped back two paces, a shy blush coloring her innocent, fragile face.
"Good morning."
Alvin's fingers unconsciously touched his lips.
Watching the girl's figure gradually recede, a strange, inexplicable feeling suddenly rose in his heart.
He and Matou Sakura weren't even in an established relationship, yet why did it feel like he was secretly having an affair with her behind Rin's back...?