"I never thought, Matou Zouken, that you would sink this low. To turn yourself into a disgusting, filthy worm and try to crawl inside little Sakura's body just to live forever. Pathetic!" Tohsaka Tokiomi rushed over quickly. As soon as he arrived, he saw Kotomine Risei holding a strange-looking worm in one hand and using the other to heal Sakura's chest. Tokiomi instantly understood what was going on.
He stepped forward, took Matou Zouken from Risei's hand, and stood before Sakura.
"I'll leave him to you, Tokiomi," Risei said seriously.
"Alright." Tokiomi nodded, then looked at the worm in his hand with pure disgust. Finally, he threw it hard to the ground and crushed it under his foot.
During this time, Zouken had been begging for his life, saying anything and everything just to survive. But this old worm didn't deserve to live. Even another Magus like Tokiomi despised him.
"Ahh…" Tokiomi let out a heavy sigh, mourning the end of the Matou bloodline. Then he looked at Sakura, who was still being treated. "Father, how is little Sakura?"
"Don't worry, your daughter will recover soon," Risei said.
"I meant Sakura's Imaginary Numbers attribute. That old worm dared to ruin such a rare talent!" Tokiomi only truly lost his calm when speaking about Sakura's gift.
"No need to worry. Zouken only thought he changed her attribute. In reality, he only buried it deeper. Her talent is safe," Risei explained.
"That's good." Tokiomi nodded, finally at ease.
Now he finally had the mind to look at Alexander the Great, along with Waver and Tia. The other Masters and Servants watching from the shadows also learned of Sakura's suffering and Zouken's vile acts.
"So the King of Conquerors is here as well. Forgive me for being too hasty earlier," Tokiomi said politely.
"Don't mind it. I understand how you felt," Alexander said calmly. He already knew the situation from Tia.
"Thank you. But may I ask, what brings you here? This is the Holy Church. It's not really a place for battle." Tokiomi still thought of Alexander as reckless and didn't understand his reason for coming.
"Tokiomi, your daughter was brought here by the King of Conquerors. Clearly, they just went to the Matou house and took their Command Seals," Risei explained right away.
"What?" Tokiomi froze, then looked at Risei before turning to Alexander. "Thank you for saving my daughter's life, King of Conquerors!" he said respectfully.
"No need to thank me. I came tonight to report something to the Overseer. The Master of the Magus Gilles de Rais has already been dealt with. Gilles himself has gone missing, but he has a very dangerous Noble Phantasm. If we don't stop him soon, it will cause a lot of trouble," Alexander said.
"Oh? So you've already fought a Magus and even learned his true name—that French marshal of the Hundred Years' War, later called Bluebeard Gilles de Rais. Impressive as expected," Risei said as he finished healing Sakura.
"Thank you, Father," Tokiomi said once more, then picked Sakura up in his arms. "Then, please excuse me. I need to take my daughter home."
"Wait!" After holding back for so long, Waver finally spoke up. "Lord Tohsaka, where do you plan to send your daughter next?"
"Well… I'm sorry, I haven't decided yet," Tokiomi shook his head.
"In that case…" Waver wanted to suggest letting him take her in and teach her.
But just then, Kayneth stepped out of the shadows.
"Lord Tohsaka, if you don't mind, would you let me adopt your daughter? In the name of Lord El-Melloi, I promise I can raise her into the greatest Magus in the world. She could even inherit my title," Kayneth suddenly declared.
His words shocked every Master present, including Kiritsugu and Irisviel, who were watching from Einzbern Castle.
"What?" Tokiomi was the most shocked of all. "Lord El-Melloi… you… you would really adopt my daughter?"
Tia had been watching silently, not taking part in the conversation, but when she heard Kayneth's words, her heart suddenly tightened.
Things had gone far beyond her expectations again.
She originally thought Sakura would end up like in Fate/Apocrypha, being sent to Luviagelita's family. She had been looking forward to Sakura being trained into a lady wrestler like Luvia herself. And since Luvia was one of Waver's students, if Sakura went to Luvia's family, she would surely become Waver's student too. Tia had even planned to tell Waver about this. But now Kayneth suddenly stepped in.
If Sakura was taken into Kayneth's family, she might end up growing up alongside Reines.
And Reines…
Kayneth's niece, a girl who at a very young age had already declared she would inherit the El-Melloi name. Twisted, sharp-tongued, and cruel. Even in the future, when Waver became a Servant of Chaldea (the "Overtime King"), he would still avoid her whenever he saw her there.
If Sakura grew up together with someone like Reines, she might end up letting her darker side out, becoming like BB, the mischievous devilish kouhai.
Tia suddenly imagined BB's teasing "Se-n-pa-i~~" ringing in her head, and she couldn't help but feel excited.
Wait! Why am I getting excited about this?!
Waver, meanwhile, was shocked to see Kayneth appear. He got nervous, but then he realized—if Sakura was adopted by Kayneth, he would see her often. That thought actually made him a bit excited. He could use those chances to secretly teach Sakura his own theories, letting her test them out and maybe even win Kayneth's recognition in the process.
But right now, Waver wasn't even in Kayneth's eyes. Kayneth had seen Sakura's Imaginary Numbers attribute and, worried about the future of his family, decided to bring her back to inherit his family's Magic Crest. His house now only survived thanks to his own strength, after all.
So when he saw the stunned Tokiomi, Kayneth gave him a friendly smile. "Of course it's true!"
"Thank you so much!" Tohsaka Tokiomi was extremely excited as he hugged Matou Sakura and bowed in thanks.
Signed the deal, starting double updates today, and asking for all kinds of votes.
(End of The Chapter)