The Tohsaka residence.
Tohsaka Tokiomi was doing his utmost to play host to this great figure, the Old Man of the Jewels. Forget the small Tohsaka family— even the famous aristocratic houses of the Clock Tower could not compare with him.
"..."
"That's that. From now on, Tohsaka Sakura will be my disciple. However, I cannot remain here for long."
"I'll leave behind a period's worth of study materials. As her father, you can at least tutor Sakura in basic magecraft theory. Just treat it as making up for the mistake you made."
"Tohsaka Rin, that little one, can study along as well."
Zelretch spoke very bluntly, giving this family head no face at all.
"I understand, senior," Tokiomi replied bitterly.
He had never imagined that after his daughter was sent to the Matou family, she would suffer something like that. If he had not coincidentally summoned Servant 227, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
His original intention in sending Sakura away had been that the current Tohsaka family could not support the magecraft paths of two daughters.
Now, though, Sakura's eyes held distance whenever she looked at him, and that made him feel awful.
But he also knew it was all his fault.
For a father to personally cast his daughter into hell— the damage that did to a little girl was beyond measure.
Tohsaka Aoi looked at Sakura, her heart aching so much she could hardly breathe.
As a mother, she had opposed giving her daughter away, but as a mere housewife, she had no say in great matters.
If she had known about the worm pit, even at the cost of her own life she would never have allowed her husband to send Sakura to a family like that.
Rin could not clearly picture what had happened, but she still felt deeply for this little sister.
She could keenly sense that someone who had once been family now stood separated from them by an invisible wall.
"Lord Zelretch, what about the Clock Tower's side of things?"
Tokiomi was a little worried. Kenneth and the others would certainly report all this.
"You don't need to worry about that. I'll speak to them. No one will make things difficult for you. If anything, this is your good fortune."
Zelretch waved his hand dismissively.
As the Magus Marshal, he still had plenty of clout.
On Koji's side, he and Irisviel had gone to the Einzbern main castle and taken Illya away.
The old man there had been furious, but whenever he remembered just how terrifying Koji was, he could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger, feeling horribly aggrieved.
"Thank you, Koji."
Irisviel spoke earnestly. If it were just her, forget taking Illya away— even she herself would have been forced to remain there.
"It's nothing. This is a request from Artoria," Koji replied casually.
"Little one, are you not scared?"
Illya only looked around curiously at her surroundings, which made Koji ask with interest.
"What is there to be scared of? As long as I'm with Mom, everywhere is the same," Illya answered brightly.
She truly felt that way. Anywhere her mother was felt like home.
Irisviel gazed at Illya with gentle eyes. It was the same for her: anywhere her daughter was, that was home.
"This is the card that old geezer gave me. Spend however you like— he won't dare say anything."
Koji took out the Einzbern family head's bank card. The man had offered it to him with genuine sincerity.
Irisviel did not stand on ceremony. She and Illya really did need money.
...
"Counter Force, what did you contact me for?"
Koji spoke across the void with the Counter Force of the Type-Moon world. He had been here for a while, and had not expected the Counter Force to wait until now to approach him.
Zelretch's appearance had been tied to the Counter Force, so Koji took this seriously.
[To make a deal with you.]
This was a thigh worth hugging, and the Counter Force absolutely would not let him slip away.
"A deal? What do you think I could possibly need?" Koji smiled helplessly.
As far as he was concerned, there was basically nothing the Counter Force could offer that he lacked.
[The authority to summon any Heroic Spirit.]
The Counter Force knew that although Koji was incredibly powerful, he would not resort to banditry. He did things in a fairly rule-abiding way.
"Can I summon gods?" Koji's interest was piqued; he asked with evident curiosity.
[As long as the other party agrees, then it is possible.]
Although that was how it phrased it, anything that could be summoned— even gods— would usually be intrigued. In practice, they would almost always consent.
"Fine, no problem. If I'm not busy, I can help you out."
Koji had no objections. It was basically just putting his name on something. In return, the Counter Force would gain a way to contact him. All of his real homes were in Teyvat; that was where he truly belonged.
The Counter Force fell silent.
"Lumine, let's head out. I'll bring you back here another time."
Lumine nodded and followed Koji. Getting to see beings as mysterious as Heroic Spirits was fascinating; she wondered who she might meet next time.
If she ever got to meet an Ultraman, she would absolutely insist on tagging along.
...
Liyue, Guili Plains.
The city's construction had already taken shape. Without stubborn remains of gods' power that were hard to deal with, the monsters here weren't a big problem; give the Millelith some time and they could handle them.
"Wow, so this is 'Liyue speed', huh?"
Lumine could not help sighing. In just such a short time, a small town had already been built. It did not yet have as many buildings as Liyue Harbor, but that was only a matter of time.
"Of course it's fast. Keqing is overseeing the whole project herself. That civil-engineering girl, when it comes to overtime, she's no worse than Captain Jean," Koji said.
"Hey, I heard that. I don't like being called a 'civil-engineering big sis'."
Keqing— "Keqing-cat"— walked over with a smile.
"Isn't Liyue's land development under your jurisdiction?" Koji grinned back.
The Liyue Qixing each oversaw a different sphere, so many people dreamed of joining their ranks. The resources they could draw on were simply enormous.
However, one did not become a Qixing on talent alone. Background was just as important.
Ningguang was an exception— starting as a poor little girl and growing into the fabulously wealthy woman whose name resounded across all of Teyvat. Her life story could fill a whole novel.
"True enough. I've heard of that Captain Jean from Mondstadt. She seems like a highly capable leader."
Keqing did not skimp on praise. The "giant baby" phenomenon in Mondstadt was famous far and wide, and she despised that kind of overgrown child the most.
People who could not even handle small matters themselves and always had to trouble others— it was only because the Knights had spoiled them rotten.
"There's something I've been curious about. Among the humans of Liyue, there don't seem to be any truly top-tier fighters. None that can compare to the adepti," Koji remarked.
Mondstadt might be the first nation a Traveler entered, but this beginner village was anything but simple. It was a country capable of launching an expedition, after all. Grand Master Varka had taken the elite of the Knights of Favonius and gone abroad.
Varka's strength was almost certainly on the level of a god, probably not far off from that squad captain.
By comparison, in other nations, human combat power did not stand out much. Adepti and god-touched beings did not really count as "humans" in this sense.
"I don't know. Maybe humans just have limits," Keqing said after thinking it over. Among Liyue's humans, almost none had reached adeptus-level might.
"Then have you heard of the Knight of Favonius Grand Master, Varka?"
...
(End of Chapter)
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