Because Gilles de Rais had killed several officers the previous night, the police concluded the serial killer still had accomplices. The alerts were not lifted; in fact, the warning level was raised again, leading many elementary and even middle schools to suspend classes outright.
Learning they did not have to go to school—normally great news for students—did not make Rin Tohsaka happy at all. Her little face drooped when she heard.
Broly had saved her yesterday, but because she had run into Uncle Kariya afterward, there had been many things she could not say to the boy. She had planned to ask him properly at school today, only for the school to call and announce that classes were canceled.
Rin felt crushed. Fortunately, her mother suggested taking her and Sakura to an amusement park, and that quickly brightened her mood.
They spent the whole morning riding the carousel, the Ferris wheel, the bumper cars. At noon, they had ice cream, hamburgers, and fries.
Even after they got home, the good mood from the amusement park lingered.
"Mom, next time can we bring Dad to the amusement park too?"
Facing her daughter's hopeful question, Aoi Zenjou forced a smile.
She answered with a vague "okay," then slipped into her room to call her husband.
Tokiomi Tohsaka had only just lain down to rest when the phone rang. Realizing it was his wife, he asked whether she had finished "preparing" one of their daughters to be sent to the Matou family.
"No, Tokiomi, I haven't. It's just… last night, in Fuyuki, I ran into Kariya Matou…"
"Wait. You came back to Fuyuki last night?"
"Rin slipped over to Fuyuki on her own to look for a friend…"
"Why didn't you keep an eye on her?"
"I…"
"Enough. I'm not blaming you. As long as you and our daughters are safe, that's what matters."
Fatigue had dulled Tokiomi's control over his emotions. Realizing he had spoken too harshly, he quickly recovered his elegance, softening his tone toward his wife on the other end of the line.
"If you have something to say, just say it."
He only wanted to end the call quickly and get some sleep.
"I ran into Kariya, and his body is in terrible shape."
Aoi went on.
"What does that have to do with us?"
Tokiomi frowned. Hearing his wife bring up another man made even someone as composed as he was feel uncomfortable.
"He protected Rin last night."
"Then I really ought to thank him. If I run into him later, I'll try to leave him a way out."
"That's not what I meant. He mentioned the Matou magecraft. He said it eats away at life and flesh."
Aoi hid nothing, describing exactly what she had seen of Kariya's condition and relaying it all to her husband.
"Keep working on the girls' mindset. I'll go speak to Zouken Matou. If their magecraft really is as vile as you say, I won't throw our daughter into the fire."
After hanging up, Tokiomi went back to his study, picked up a pen, and wrote Zouken a letter. He summoned a crow familiar and sent it off to the Matou house.
Receiving Tokiomi's letter, Zouken was furious. Leaning on his cane, he hurried into the worm cellar.
In the worm pit, Kariya Matou was being chewed by crest worms—this was how a half‑baked magus like him maintained his mana.
"Kariya, did you really think telling the Tohsakas about your condition would stop them from sending their daughter back here?"
Zouken spoke directly to the man buried in worms.
"What do you mean?"
Wracked by the worms' pain, Kariya was completely at a loss.
"Heh. Playing dumb? Never mind. I'll tell you: it's pointless. The head of the Tohsaka family is a rational magus. He's already decided to send the girl who ran away back to the Matou house!"
He waved the letter in his hand, then slipped it away before Kariya could see and turned to leave the pit.
"Wait, Zouken Matou, you bastard, at least explain… ah!"
The worms began squeezing harder, draining more of his life. Kariya collapsed, his consciousness swallowed by agony.
"Byakuya."
Leaving the worm cellar, the old man went to find his nominal eldest son.
"Father, what do you need?"
Byakuya Matou stepped forward, fear on his face, to take orders.
"Take Shinji and leave the Matou house."
"Huh?"
"Go hide somewhere. A dangerous guest is coming tonight."
In Tokiomi's letter, they had arranged for him to visit the Matou house that night with his Servant. Zouken could not refuse. Even if he thought Tokiomi would probably not attack, he still had to be prepared.
On the surface, he was sending the ordinary human Byakuya and his grandson away to lie low. In reality, his true body would quietly slip out with them and stay away from the Matou house for a while.
"Pardon the intrusion, Lord Matou."
That evening, recovered and composed, Tokiomi arrived as promised.
"Not at all. The Tohsaka head is always welcome at the Matou home."
The old man stood at the door, a polite false smile on his face.
"Then, regarding the questions in my letter, may I ask for your answers?"
Tokiomi smiled as well, but the way he gripped his jewel‑topped cane made it clear that if the answers displeased him, he would not hesitate to act.
"Of course. This way, please."
Zouken seemed oblivious, leading Tokiomi and the materialized Gilgamesh into the house.
"The mana here is unpleasant."
Once inside, Mr. Gold frowned and gave his verdict, then sauntered over to the Matou liquor cabinet, pulled out a bottle of wine, and popped it open for himself.
"This wine is better than what you have at home, Tokiomi. Even better than what your student keeps."
Zouken watched Gilgamesh with a twitch of the eyelids in his insect‑made body. Those bottles were valuable enough to be used as reserves of wealth.
"What? Do you object to this king drinking your wine?"
"N–not at all. It is an honor for my cellar to earn the praise of the King of Heroes."
"You worms know how to talk, at least."
Zouken's body stiffened. He had not expected his puppet to be seen through so easily.
"In light of the wine, this bit of filth, this king will tolerate for now. Whatever you have to say, say it to my vassal.
"But if you let that mad dog you've chained underground lay a hand on him, don't blame this king for what happens."
Leaving Gilgamesh in the sitting room with his wine, Zouken led Tokiomi down into the worm cellar.
There, Tokiomi saw Kariya Matou. Zouken had the worms lift the man up to show him, and began to explain why the crest worms were devouring his life.
"In the end, it is only because this worthless son of mine suddenly came back, wanting to fight in the Grail War.
"I had no choice but to use this extreme modification to give him enough power to stand against true magi."
"A very intricate method. His body and life are ravaged, but the circuits forced open at the cost of his life are producing a considerable amount of mana."
Ignoring the mass of writhing worms, Tokiomi studied the magic circuits they had activated in Kariya's body and spoke his praise without reservation.
"Lord Matou, you truly are an experienced magus. I am still far from your level on the path of magecraft."
"You flatter me. These are just some crude little tricks."
"Then how can I be sure you will not use the same method on my daughter?"
"I seek a true heir to our art, not another disposable tool like him. I would never inflict such a brutal modification on your daughter.
"If you doubt me, we can sign a magical contract as a guarantee."
The repeated "Tohsaka head" seemed to trigger something. Perhaps that word reached him through the pain, but Kariya suddenly opened his eyes.
"Tokiomi Tohsaka… what are you doing here?"
"You're awake, Kariya. The Tohsaka head is here to examine the Matou magecraft and discuss sending his daughter back as our heir."
"D–damn…"
Barely more than a puppet for the crest worms, Kariya's mind was still hazy. Yet he forced the words out.
"Seeing me like this, you still want to send your daughter here?"
"You brought this on yourself. Coming to the Grail War as a half‑trained magus is what did this to you.
"But Lord Matou has already promised he will not use such harsh methods to modify my daughter's circuits."
Tokiomi paused to thank Kariya for helping his wife and daughters the night before, then turned back to Zouken.
"Lord Matou, can we sign a new adoption contract?"
"Of course."
Zouken's smile was a bit chilling. He said he had a contract form from the Association ready at home.
"Hey… Tokiomi Tohsaka, you're not fit to be a father. Ber—"
Kariya tried to call his Servant to attack, but Zouken swiftly ordered the crest worms to pin him down.
"You'll regret this…"
Those were his last bitter words before the worms plunged him back into unconsciousness.
"I am Rin and Sakura's father. How I arrange their futures is the Tohsaka family's business. Outsiders have no right to interfere."
Tokiomi only sneered. Still, there was a trace of regret in his eyes as he looked at Kariya.
As his wife's childhood friend and his own friend in youth, this man's concern for his two daughters was genuine.
If he lived, then whichever girl they sent to the Matou house would at least have someone who truly cared for her.
He sighed inwardly but kept his expression elegant as he followed Zouken out of the worm cellar.
Using a high‑grade Association contract form that Kariya had procured, they went over the terms for adopting a foster heir again. Once they had confirmed there would be no risk to the child's life and that the heir would succeed the Matou founder's lineage, Tokiomi signed his name in mana.
"When will Sakura be sent over?"
Zouken asked once the covenant was complete.
"My wife seems very reluctant to part with our younger daughter."
"What are you saying, Lord Tohsaka?"
"I may send our elder daughter instead. Will that be a problem?"
"Haha, not at all. Whether you send the elder or the younger, all the Matou family needs is an heir with excellent potential."
Far from minding, Zouken was delighted. If Tokiomi sent the older girl, her more mature body and womb would be easier to remodel into a vessel for Matou descendants.
After leaving the Matou house and confirming the truth of their worm magecraft, Tokiomi went home, called his wife, and reassured her about the Matou magic. Then he urged her to hurry and prepare one of the girls mentally.
"If possible, I would still prefer to send Sakura. Rin is older. If something happens to me, she will be better able to steady the Tohsaka family."
"Isn't that too cruel to Sakura?"
"Very well, Aoi. I'll stay out of which one you choose. You're their mother—let it be your decision.
"As long as you can persuade one of them to go to the Matou house as heir, that's all that matters."
On that point, Tokiomi stepped back, giving his wife the choice, then hung up.
….
At the Fujimura house, Broly felt lucky that, just before being sent back to his own world, he had stumbled onto something very important.
Namely, that in order to convert a wife's Happiness Value into Happiness Points, he had to invite her into the Crystal Palace.
He had not noticed this at first. Only at lunch, when Kiritsugu and Irisviel entrusted their daughter to him and the Crystal Palace gained its first official member, did he ask for an explanation and learn how Happiness Points were actually obtained.
Without that as‑yet‑unseen wife joining the Crystal Palace, he might have gone back empty‑handed, never understanding the system.
Now, after inviting Taiga Fujimura to join while bathing that evening—and after she accepted—his Happiness Points balance had shot up to over twelve thousand.
Beyond Taiga, already converted into points as a prime "stock," he still had two other wives in this world with high Happiness Values. Just thinking about inviting them tomorrow and watching his points surge again made him excited.
If he had not spent some time testing the exchange function, making it too late at night, he might have gone out then and there to invite them.
"Really hope tomorrow comes quickly."
"So eager to leave big sister already?"
"Uh…"
"Just teasing. But don't forget about me once you're back."
"Mm. I won't. Fujimura sis is the one who's treated me best."
Taiga hugged him. After using the sub‑system the Crystal Palace granted to official members to exchange for a local specialty from Planet Vampa—a Vampa spider leg—she had tried a bite of the viscous yellow‑brown flesh inside and nearly vomited her stomach out.
Then, after listening to Broly describe his "simple" (read: insane) hunting life on Vampa, her pity for the child only deepened.
On the last night before parting, Taiga wanted to give him a mother's care. Her body was soft, her scent warm. In her arms, with her patting his back to lull him like a baby, Broly quickly drifted off to sleep.
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