Sakura gently nodded, "There are many of Grandpa's magecraft secrets hidden inside the Crest Worms, so the Matou family hasn't completely abandoned them."
Alvin's brows unconsciously furrowed.
He could be said to utterly despise those things. On one hand, bugs themselves were disgusting… and on the other, Sakura had almost suffered because of the Crest Worms back then.
'If the Matou family is still raising Crest Worms even now, then could Sakura—'
"Senpai, are you worried about me?"
Sakura asked with a smiling expression, pulling Alvin back to reality.
"Don't worry. This place only keeps a small number of Crest Worms for research purposes. I'm fine."
Only then did Alvin feel slightly relieved. He withdrew his gaze and said, "Rin's waiting for you in the hall right now. Let's head over."
Sakura obediently nodded.
"Oh right, Senpai…"
She suddenly stepped forward and lightly kissed Alvin on the lips.
Before Alvin could react, Sakura had already retreated two steps. Two shy blushes hung on her pure and delicate face.
"Good morning."
Alvin subconsciously touched his lips with his fingers. Watching the girl's gradually departing figure, he suddenly felt a strange sense of discomfort.
Clearly, he and Sakura had never officially become a couple, so why did it feel like he was secretly having an affair with Rin's younger sister behind her back?
———
Although his mood felt somewhat complicated, Alvin gathered his thoughts and silently followed behind Sakura.
Not long afterward, the two arrived together at the Matou family's tea room.
Rin had long since been sitting on the slightly cool tatami floor waiting. She held a cup of green tea in both hands, steam rising from the teacup.
"Sorry for making you wait."
Sakura walked barefoot into the tea room and spoke in her gentle voice.
"It's fine… speaking of which, did you find what you needed?"
Rin turned toward her younger sister behind her and asked with a smile.
Sakura lightly nodded.
"I found it already… It's getting late. We should head to school soon, Sis."
Rin glanced at the clock on the wall.
"It's already this late?"
Only then did she hurriedly react and get up, pulling her younger sister along to leave together.
"Uncle Kariya, we're heading out first."
Sakura looked toward the man and politely spoke.
A smile appeared on Matou Kariya's aged face as he nodded slightly.
After the sisters left together, the room finally returned to its usual silence.
Matou Kariya sat in the tea room sipping tea. At that moment, he vaguely heard the faint sound of wings flapping outside the window.
He slightly turned his head toward the window.
Within the pale curtain of snow, a flying insect marked with thorn-like dark red patterns struggled against the wind. The ice crystals shaken loose from its wings reflected an eerie purple glow amid the heavy snowfall, like shattered curses disappearing into the snowstorm.
Inside the insect's abdomen, black muddy sludge seemed to be slowly seeping out, deep and terrifying.
———
The two sisters walked along the road toward school.
Both wore the school uniform skirt. Though dressed identically, their temperaments were completely different.
Rin gave off a sense of confidence and elegance. Her legs were long and slender, with thin black thigh-high stockings wrapping around them. Between the hem of her skirt and the black stockings was a perfectly shaped absolute territory, revealing a trace of pale skin on her thighs.
Meanwhile, Sakura kept her head lowered the whole time. Compared to her older sister, she appeared somewhat lacking in confidence, and her fragile temperament naturally made people want to protect her.
But for some reason, Rin seemed absent-minded today. Compared to usual, something about her expression felt off.
Sakura tightened her scarf and looked at Rin with concern.
"What's wrong, Sis? You seem like something's on your mind."
"Ah!"
Rin snapped back to reality from her thoughts and hurriedly waved her hand with a smile.
"It's nothing. I just didn't sleep very well last night…"
"Didn't sleep well?", Sakura tilted her head slightly, concern in her eyes.
"What happened?"
"Nothing… I just had a nightmare."
Rin's smile was bright, complementing the delicate girl beside her.
"Oh right… when are you planning to summon your Heroic Spirit?"
Apparently not wanting to dwell on the previous topic, she quickly changed the subject.
"The Holy Grail War officially starts tonight. There'll definitely be times when you're alone… It'd be more reassuring if you summoned a Servant as soon as possible."
As Rin said this, her tone became more serious.
This was also her genuine opinion. The Holy Grail War was not some children's game. The fact that the three great families of Fuyuki participated in the Holy Grail War was something outside Masters would discover after investigating.
Neither she nor Alvin could guarantee staying beside Sakura and protecting her every second.
"Mm… I know. After school today, I'll perform the Heroic Spirit summoning ritual once I get home," Sakura softly replied.
"Then let Assassin and me escort you home today. I'm not comfortable with you being alone."
Rin held her younger sister's hand and quietly said, "After all, we still don't know exactly who the Masters participating in the Holy Grail War are."
Sakura's eyes flickered slightly. A trace of hesitation soon appeared on her pale, fragile-looking face.
She looked at Rin with a complicated expression, but in the end still nodded and accepted her kindness.
From beginning to end, Alvin silently followed behind the sisters. Suddenly remembering something, he asked,
"Speaking of which… what catalyst did Sakura prepare?"
Hearing this, curiosity also rose within Rin as she looked toward her younger sister.
Faced with their curiosity, Sakura only smiled lightly.
"You'll find out eventually. For now, let me keep it a little secret, Senpai."
Using her pinky finger, she elegantly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and slightly tilted her head toward Rin beside her.
"More importantly… if we keep taking our time like this, we're going to be late soon, Sis."
Just as she finished speaking, the sound of the school bell ringing faintly came from the distance.
Rin's expression changed slightly as she grabbed Sakura's hand.
"This is bad! We're really going to be late!"
After sprinting the whole way, the sisters finally made it to school just before the teacher entered the classroom.
Since it was winter, both class schedules and dismissal times had been adjusted.
———
After afternoon classes ended, Sakura took leave from the archery club today and prepared to return home early to perform the Heroic Spirit summoning ritual.
"You can stop here… hurry and head back, Sis."
Standing in front of the Matou residence, Sakura folded her hands neatly in front of her lower abdomen and spoke with a smile.
"It won't be very safe if you head home after dark."
Rin still clearly seemed uneasy and hesitated.
"How about I wait until you finish summoning your Servant? With Assassin around, you don't need to worry about my safety."
"Even having a Servant doesn't mean you can't get hurt. You should head back earlier," Sakura said.
Seeing how firmly her younger sister rejected the idea, Rin ultimately gave up on staying. Still, before turning around to leave, she could not help reminding her,
"If anything happens, remember to tell me immediately."
"Don't worry. I'll be fine."
Sakura smiled softly and waved her hand.
Only after quietly watching Rin leave did the smile on Sakura's face slowly fade.
She let out a faint sigh.
Beside her, a breathtaking figure with long purple hair silently appeared.
Rider calmly said, "The Church already sent people to Ryuudou Temple last night to reconstruct the purification barrier for the Greater Grail."
Sakura raised her head and looked toward Mount Enzou, or more precisely, toward the location hiding the core of the Greater Grail.
"That news probably came from the Einzbern Castle side. After all, both that mother and daughter are deeply connected to the Greater Grail."
"What do we do next?", Rider asked.
"No matter what happens, the Greater Grail cannot be completely purified."
Sakura raised her right hand. In her palm, a bug covered in extremely complicated patterns quietly appeared.
Feeling the incomparably dangerous and terrifying aura from it, Rider could not help warning in a low voice, "Sakura, you should still be careful… that thing isn't something you can control."
"You know what this is?"
Sakura looked at her Servant with slight confusion. Her normally bright eyes now seemed somewhat dark.
"As long as they're from Mesopotamian mythology, they probably wouldn't be unfamiliar with it," Rider quietly said, "It's Mesopotamia's nightmare."
The black mud from the Indian Ocean. The Tide of Chaos.
"It won't affect my will. You just need to be careful yourself."
Sakura smilingly handed the "Crest Worm" to Rider.
"Take it to the Greater Grail."
"Before that thing emerges, the Greater Grail cannot be completely purified."
Logically speaking, every Master participated in the Holy Grail War for the omnipotent wish-granting device.
However, Sakura had never joined for the sake of making a wish from the very beginning.
Rider hesitated slightly, but eventually still lowered her head.
"I understand."
She took the Crest Worm influenced by the Tide of Chaos and silently turned away.
Sakura looked up at the falling snow filling the sky. One hand gently rested over her full chest as she slowly let out a sweet breath.
"Don't rush. Just wait a little longer… very soon, very soon we'll be together forever, Senpai~"
Half of her black hair seemed dyed into a flowing starry night, and an eternal Kama flame appeared to burn at the tips of Sakura's hair.
———
[The Tohsaka Residence]
Inside the bathroom, mist filled the air as steam continuously rose from the bathtub.
Splash!
Rin lightly tested the water temperature with one foot before slowly lowering herself into the bath.
The hot water of the winter night soaked her body, seemingly washing away the exhaustion of the entire day. Rin could not help letting out a soft sigh of satisfaction.
But soon, as if she had remembered something troubling, she quickly opened her eyes. Worry filled her sapphire-blue gaze.
"I wonder what kind of Servant Sakura's going to summon…"
"She's already a mature girl. You can't take care of her forever. Sometimes, maybe you should try trusting her a little."
At that moment, the boy's voice suddenly came from outside the bathroom.
"Assassin?"
Rin seemed startled. She subconsciously covered her chest and looked toward the blurry figure outside the bathroom.
"W-Why are you here?"
"Tonight is the first night of the Holy Grail War. We still don't know the identities of the other Masters yet, so I can't leave your side," Alvin smiled.
"Don't worry. I'm not going into the bathroom."
"I know what kind of person you are… but it still feels a little weird."
Rin lowered her head and muttered, "And doesn't that just make it sound like I have no charm at all?"
A young girl in the prime of her youth was bathing, yet Alvin, a man, showed absolutely no "interest" whatsoever… just thinking about it was enough to make her feel somewhat depressed.
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