"Well, you eat first. I'm hungry too."
However, even after Noah sat down again, Sakura still held him tightly with one hand and ate with a spoon using only the other.
Fortunately, children are children.
Perhaps because she had just cried her heart out for a long time, Sakura yawned quickly after finishing a large bowl of noodles.
This made Noah secretly delighted.
"Hey Sakura, are you sleepy? Why don't you go to sleep first? I'll find you a bed."
Sakura nodded, then shook her head, leaving Noah somewhat confused.
Then, the little girl raised her two tiny arms high in front of him, the meaning of which couldn't be clearer...hug me!
Noah's eyelids twitched at that matter of fact manner, and he couldn't help but turn cold.
Wow! girl! Aren't you being too lenient with yourself?
When Ais is sleepy, she always asks me to carry her on my back, but you actually want me to hold you?
Am I meant to be your body pillow?
Absolutely not—
"Oh, you're awake?"
When Byakuya woke up with a severe headache, the first thing he saw was Noah sitting on a chair by the bed, looking down at him.
Although he sat casually, his demeanor was like that of a king looking down upon his subjects, making people somewhat afraid to look him directly in the eye.
If he weren't holding Sakura who was fast asleep in his arms…
"Hey, I'm asking you a question!"
Feeling the man's gaze lingering on his chest, Noah widened his eyes to draw his attention back.
After a hushed conversation with the man, Noah learned roughly about the Matou and Tohsaka families.
For example, the man was named Matou Byakuya, and he had a younger brother named Matou Kariya. He explained their past life in the Matou family and their current situation.
For example, Sakura was formerly known as Tohsaka Sakura. She was the second daughter of another prestigious family in Fuyuki City. She was adopted into the Matou family because Zouken needed to find an heir.
However, Byakuya didn't know much else, since he himself was just a puppet.
Noah, however, had some guesses based on the notes he had read last night.
Unlike the Matou family, which has declined to the point of not even being able to find an heir capable of practicing Magecraft, the two daughters of the Tohsaka family in this generation possess Magic Circuits of extremely high quality and quantity.
The problem is that a family's Magic Crest is unique and can only be passed down to one heir.
The daughter who did not inherit the Magic Crest would be lucky to be an ordinary person. More likely, she would live a miserable life because Mystery attracts Mystery or even be turned into a specimen by the Association.
The Tohsaka family had a daughter they didn't know what to do with, while the Matou family happened to have no heir, so the two families decided on the adoption.
If it weren't for my appearance last night, the girl's fate would undoubtedly have been quite tragic.
It is said that Magi are monsters who lack humanity and have no concept of worldly morality... I wonder if Sakura's father knows about his daughter's ordeal.
If he knew, I could have killed him without any trouble.
As Noah slowly pondered, patting Sakura's head, he suddenly felt a gaze upon him.
"Hmm? Is there anything you want to say?"
His hands were rubbing together nervously like a fly's. Byakuya felt Noah's gaze and his breath caught in his throat.
As the saying goes, when the gap between the two sides is too large, the weaker side will feel immense pressure just from being watched.
Not to mention, the image of Noah looking at him last night, armored and sword in hand, still lingered in Byakuya's mind.
That scrutinizing gaze was like considering the best angle to slit one's own throat the fastest.
This killing intent was natural, devoid of any emotion, anger, or coldness; it stemmed entirely from instinct.
Therefore, Byakuya was certain that the youth in front of him, who could make countless rich women scream and cry, was definitely a Berserker who had fought countless battles and whose hands were stained with blood.
However, Byakuya felt that even if the other party was really a heroic spirit, he should still be more human like than that psychopathic old guy.
Isn't it an example that Sakura clings to him and sleeps with him?
Children are often much more perceptive than adults, able to distinguish between good and bad people.
Well, although I'm a scumbag myself, I wouldn't lay a hand on a little girl. In a sense, we're the same kind of people, rounded up.
After encouraging himself in this way, Byakuya decided to take a gamble on his future wealth and glory!
"Um, Lord Noah, how do you intend to deal with the Matou family and me?"
With just that one sentence, Noah understood what the man was thinking.
"What, you want to handle this for me?"
As if he had drunk strong liquor, Byakuya suddenly straightened his back and his face turned slightly bright.
However his face which had looked old due to wrinkles and eye bags, appeared much younger.
"Well, the Matou family were outsiders a hundred years ago, so their land assets are scattered all over the country. If no one handles them in a unified way, they will probably fall apart soon… Although I was just a puppet before, I did serve as the head of the family for a few years! I am confident that I can hand over the Matou family's assets to Miss Sakura in their entirety!"
Although he deeply hated Zouken, he also understood that the Matou family's wealth was inseparable from the help of that old guy.
If they lose the support of those in the Moonlit World, the Matou family's wealth will likely shrink very quickly.
Therefore, both gaining Noah's approval and waiting for the highly talented Sakura to grow up and succeed him are absolutely necessary.
Byakuya is ambitious, but not that ambitious; his greatest wish is simply to live as an ordinary rich man.
Noah also sensed this.
However, he didn't dislike it... on the contrary, he admired it a little, because having ambition wasn't a bad thing.
Noah always believed that if even one tenth of the people in the world could act solely out of rational self interest, the world would be a much better place.
Because at least half of the people do stupid things every day that harm others and themselves.
I will be returning to Orario after the Holy Grail War, and this period of time is probably not too long. At least it is impossible for me to wait until Sakura grows up.
Therefore, it is essential to prepare a backup plan for her.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Matou family head."
After offering a few words of encouragement to Byakuya, Noah carried the still sleeping Sakura back to his study and continued flipping through his notes.
It wasn't until sunset that Sakura finally woke up, and while stretching comfortably, she almost punched Noah in the face.
Seeing Sakura's face flushed and her head bowed in embarrassment, Noah could only pat her head, then watch her squint her eyes comfortably like a kitten, and sighed that children are so lucky.
I didn't realize it when I was a child, but I understand it now that being able to eat simply for the sake of eating and sleep simply for the sake of sleeping is a kind of happiness.
As we grow up, sleeping is still something we're happy to be able to do, but eating is a different story.
Sometimes, even when faced with food they absolutely don't want to eat, they'll force themselves to eat while crying.
Noah's sighs didn't end until Sakura tried to pull him to take a bath together.
After a three minute standoff with Sakura, Noah decided to carry her back to the bedroom to sleep.
He just couldn't understand why this girl, who was clearly timid and afraid of everything, was so stubborn toward him.
However, before Noah could wait for Sakura to agree sleep by herself, an uninvited guest arrived at the Matou residence.
...
"Zouken! Where are you? Hand over Sakura!"
When Noah heard the shouts coming from the living room on the first floor, he was sitting on the newly moved in oversized sofa, flipping through a research notebook on Bounded Fields.
The reason for studying this was naturally to prepare for the upcoming battle for the Holy Grail.
For Noah, the biggest problem right now is Mana. There's no point in talking about strategy when Mana is insufficient.
Heroic Spirits can only derive their magical power from the Holy Grail and their Master, and even Noah is no exception.
Essentially, it is the Holy Grail that summons Servants, while the Master's ritual merely establishes a connection between the Master and the Servant to maintain their presence in the world.
Therefore, when a Heroic Spirit is summoned, the Holy Grail will grant them a full amount of mana at once, and they can obtain three opportunities to replenish it by using the Command Spells.
Although Noah still had some Mana left after destroying the swarm of worms in the basement, it was as little as he could use.
Without restoration and replenishment, no amount of magical energy can sustain a battle.
Therefore, Noah had to find a way to restore his magical energy.
The sources of magical energy in this world are mainly divided into the Small Source (Od) and the Large Source (Mana).
The Small Source is the life force within the human body, which can generate magical power on its own. Most modern Magi accumulate magical power little by little in their daily lives in this way.
A skilled Magus can store more magical power, while a mediocre Magus cannot store much.
Although in times of crisis, one may exchange life force for Mana, excessive exploitation will shorten one's lifespan or even lead to sudden death.
The idea of obtaining Mana by exploiting scumbag people's life force flashed through Noah's mind for a fleeting moment before he dismissed it.
Because efficiency is a major issue that cannot be avoided...even if I squeeze people dry, how much Mana can they provide?
Therefore, I should look for another way—the Great Source...
The Great Source, the life force of the world, overflows through various channels such as the Leylines and the atmosphere. Its scale is not on the same order of magnitude as the Small Source.
However, the reason why this world declined from the Age of Gods to the modern era is because the Great Source has faded.
Even the birth of the Holy Grail War was related to the decline of the Great Source.
Because Noah discovered in the notes that the essence of the Holy Grail War was not a wish granting machine, but a ritual to seek access to the Root.
In the Age of Gods, where Mana was abundant, Magi and sorcerers were one with the Source and did not need to seek it desperately.
Fortunately, although the methods were few, after receiving Riveria's devilish teachings, Noah possessed a certain level of magical knowledge and managed to find one or two ways to obtain magical power from the Great Source.
The only problem is that obtaining magical power from the Great Source requires setting up a Bounded Field, which will definitely attract the attention of many people in the Moonlit World around.
It was obviously impossible to do this in Fuyuki City, so Noah wondered if he could try it elsewhere.
The distance shouldn't be too far, and it's best if there are any paranormal legends associated with it.
Mifune City.
When Noah arrived at the location in his thoughts, the shouts coming from downstairs drew his attention back.
In Noah's perception, it should have been an ordinary man.
Are they here to see Sakura?
Noah couldn't help but look at Sakura, who was lying on the sofa next to him, flipping through a storybook and swinging her short legs.
After spending a few days together, Sakura seemed to have barely emerged from her previous shadow; at least she wasn't clinging to him all the time anymore.
"Uncle Kariya?"
Kariya?
Oh, The younger brother of Byakuya.
"Is he someone Sakura knows? Should we go and meet him? He seems to have come to rescue you."
Sakura unconsciously opened her mouth and looked at Noah, but couldn't say a word for a long time.