"This bar... feels truly impoverished."
Walking into the sake bar, Gilgamesh's crimson eyes swept over the entire establishment, taking in all the customers.
"Oh? I thought it would be another boring moment, but to encounter such an interesting fellow... somewhat intriguing."
Casting an interested glance towards a certain sobbing Succubus, Gilgamesh didn't hesitate and simply walked straight over.
Danger!
It was a terror stemming from life itself.
Warning!
It was a fear that promised death.
Her body felt as if targeted by some primordial beast.
Stiffly turning her head, watching the oldest King radiating divinity approach, Kaguya didn't know who this woman was, but that didn't stop her from sensing the other's immense power and her unearthly, peerless beauty.
"Well, well, to think I'd find mongrels eyeing this king's treasures here."
"Looking at you, crying like a beaten dog... is this the whimper of defeat upon this king's arrival?"
Launching a series of taunts at the bowed, grieving Merlin, the Female Gil, having finally found some amusement, didn't conceal her identity in the slightest.
Simply staring quietly at Merlin and Kaguya, her sense of pleasure was finally somewhat satisfied.
Meanwhile, outside the commercial street.
"Yukino, look at this cat, it's so cute!"
"Haruno, Haruno, look at this dog, it's so adorable!"
Originally planning to follow Gilgamesh to the sake bar, Enkidu discovered a pet shop along the way.
Under the drifting snowflakes, the little animals peering through the shop window with big eyes exuded an aura of cuteness.
Having almost zero resistance to such little creatures, Enkidu loved the plants and animals of nature the most.
As if saying that Gilgamesh could be ignored for now, she wanted to visit the pet shop to see the animals.
As for Yukino and Haruno, they naturally followed Enkidu.
After all, compared to the proud Gilgamesh, Enkidu was much easier to talk to… at least the three of them shared some common topics.
Inside the pet shop, having never seen so many kinds of adorable little creatures, Enkidu quickly completed the newbie trifecta: looking at cats, playing with dogs, and observing birds.
Not only that, other small animals also captivated her.
Hamsters, cute tropical fish, even the reptiles in the terrariums… she accepted them all, making surprised gasps while looking at them.
Not particularly interested in pets herself, Haruno simply watched the equally silent Yukino. Sensing her sister's low spirits, Haruno asked, "Yukino, I remember you like cats a lot. Aren't you going to look?"
"Right now... I probably don't have the time or mood for that, Nee-san."
Shaking her head, Yukino had actually been pondering one thing: why she was able to accept Gilgamesh and Enkidu so quickly.
Yes, as the second daughter of the Yukinoshita Family, Yukino had a certain self-awareness about her abilities. She was a girl superior to ordinary people, but fell far short compared to her sister.
"Yukino is doing well! She's almost catching up to her sister Haruno."
"Is this your younger daughter, Yukinoshita-san? She really resembles her sister."
She had heard comments like these since childhood. Believing she always lived in Haruno's shadow, Yukino was well aware that she truly wasn't as capable as Haruno.
Figure, looks, ability, aura... everything about her seemed like a copy of her sister. Growing up in such an environment, she developed a cold exterior but a fragile interior.
Only with Ryuya, with her brother, could she find the meaning of her existence as 'Yukinoshita Yukino'. To Yukino, Ryuya was the only one who saw her as 'Yukinoshita Yukino', not 'Yukinoshita Haruno's little sister'.
Mustering courage for the first time, revealing her own light for the first time, the changing Yukino understood she might never catch up to Haruno, but she would still strive to be the cute Yukino in her brother's heart.
After crossing over to Snowfield City, she witnessed her sister and the two Servants, the oldest King Gilgamesh and the Chain of Heaven Enkidu, arrive.
Although she didn't speak much, Yukino was surprised to find that she had accepted everything about these sudden Servants and the Holy Grail War much faster than her sister.
Not knowing the reason, she clearly understood the gap between herself and her sister. Therefore, there must be some reason why she could adapt to this life so readily.
'Onii-chan... is it because of you?'
Gently touching her abdomen, as if Ryuya's warmth still lingered there, Yukino understood. The reason she could accept the divinity radiating from Gilgamesh and the others was simply because she was already accustomed to it.
Simply because there was already someone at home who possessed it.
Simply because the man named Takumi Ryuya, her brother, had already exposed her to it.
Yes, no matter how Ryuya hid his unusual nature, Yukino, who had always lived with her brother, was unconsciously influenced by him.
That's why she could adapt to the presence of Gilgamesh and Enkidu so quickly.
Pondering in her mind about who her brother really was, Yukino suddenly felt a sense of apprehension.
She was afraid. Afraid that she wasn't good enough for her brother, afraid that she didn't deserve Ryuya, afraid that she couldn't become a qualified little sister for Ryuya.
Standing worriedly in the pet shop, her figure seemed hazy, as if detached from this world.
Noticing the change in her sister, Haruno didn't know what was happening with Yukino.
After some thought, she felt it necessary to chat with her sister about topics that might interest her.
So...
"Yukino, how has Ryuya been lately? I wasn't home last time you two visited."
"And now, how is your relationship with him? Have you taken that step?"
Well aware of her little sister's feelings, how could Haruno not care about her sister?
As the older sister, wanting to protect her younger sister, she was like an adult with somewhat overprotective tendencies, placing responsibilities on her sister that she shouldn't have to bear.
Knowing this behavior wasn't ideal, but unable to change the habit formed since childhood, Haruno distanced herself from Yukino after realizing her presence hindered her sister's light.
It was to allow Yukino to find her own life.
Similarly, she also yielded the little brother she cherished most, the man she also loved.
Looking at Yukino with a complex expression, Haruno actually very much wanted to live together with her sister and Ryuya.
However...
'Let's wait a bit longer. Yukino, when will you grow up?'
Watching her somewhat distracted sister, Haruno let out a helpless sigh.