章節 56: Chapter 56: The Little Princess of the Matou Family (Part 1)

Shinji received the message from Justeaze half an hour later.

Within the Einzbern Forest's bounded field, Justeaze couldn't use any magecraft, as it would trigger the boundary's alarm system, which was under the control of Irisviel.

Therefore, after the strategy meeting ended and Kiritsugu and Irisviel whispered to each other under the moonlight, Justeaze left the bounded field to contact Shinji.

"Do you care more about your arch-nemesis, Kirei Kotomine, than Caster?"

Upon hearing this message, eight words formed in Shinji's mind: Unexpected, yet within reason.

His attention had been solely focused on matters related to Caster, naturally assuming that the other Masters held similar thoughts. But he had forgotten that for Kiritsugu Emiya, Kirei Kotomine, who openly showed hostility and was already aware of his existence, posed a greater danger than Caster.

The year-long gap had caused Shinji to forget some irrelevant details. He forgot that in the previous timeline, the focus of this meeting was not on Kirei Kotomine but on how to deal with Caster.

The chivalrous King of Knights, Artoria Pendragon, naturally believed in taking the initiative to quickly eliminate the indiscriminate killer, Caster.

On the other hand, the efficiency-oriented assassin, Kiritsugu, believed that there was no need to concern themselves with Caster, as there would naturally be other Masters handling it. He even proposed using the fact that "Caster sees Saber as the saint Joan of Arc" as bait to lure Caster out, without engaging in direct combat, to find an opportunity to assassinate the Master of any Servant interested in Caster.

This shameless, despicable, and vile behavior (spoken in the language of the King of Knights) greatly disgusted Saber. The ideological opposition between the Master and Servant had finally transformed into a visible conflict, leaving even the mediator, Irisviel, helpless. Although the conflict between Saber and Kiritsugu had been present from the beginning, both had exercised a certain level of restraint. However, the Caster incident acted as a catalyst, igniting all the underlying tensions at once.

But now, things were different. The unexpected appearance of a dangerous opponent attracted the attention of everyone in the Saber camp. Faced with a life-threatening crisis, all other issues had to be put aside. The conflicts between the Master and Servant not only remained unresolved but also intensified due to this crisis. This was also the influence brought about by Shinji, the interloping time traveler.

Of course, Shinji wouldn't pay attention to these minor details even if he knew about them. As long as it didn't affect the outcome of the war, he wouldn't mind. If he had free time, he would rather spend it playing with his sister.

Since the Matou family had entered a state of wartime readiness, Shinji hadn't had the chance to play with his sister for several days. Although the responsible Sakura didn't cling to him like other children and even took the initiative to take care of household chores, Shinji could see the loneliness in her eyes.

Today, with some rare free time, Shinji decided to spend the day playing with his sister.

"Hey, our little princess of the Matou family, I wonder if I have the honor of accompanying Your Highness for some outdoor fun?"

Shinji, dressed in sportswear, awkwardly performed a gentlemanly gesture towards his sister, who had just finished practicing magecraft. It didn't seem to match at all.

Sakura's eyes brightened but quickly dimmed again. "B-but we still have martial arts training later..."

"Cancel it," Shinji answered without hesitation. "The instructor isn't here, so I'll make the decisions."

"And dinner..."

"We'll eat out. I'll treat you to something delicious. Let Father and Uncle take care of themselves. Two adults shouldn't have trouble with a simple meal, right?"

Upon hearing Shinji's words, Byakuya, who was reading the newspaper in the living room, twitched his mouth.

Looking up, he saw Kariya sitting across from him with the same expression.

Byakuya muttered quietly, "This brat is becoming more and more disrespectful towards his elders."

Kariya nodded. "Indeed."

"Just like you were when you were in your teens."

"Why is it turning to me?" Kariya was taken aback for a moment, then quickly countered, "I admit that about myself, but the tendency for leaps in thought is something Shinji inherited from you."

Byakuya stroked his chin and pondered, "You're right... Wait, we seem to have gone off-topic. What I originally wanted to ask was how we're going to solve the dinner issue."

"It was you who started the off-topic discussion," Kariya confirmed once again the fact that Byakuya and Shinji were father and son. "Let me handle dinner. After being on my own for so many years, I would have starved to death if I couldn't cook."

Upon hearing his younger brother's words, Byakuya threw the newspaper aside and slumped onto the couch. "Ah, well, I'm just a helpless mess when it comes to taking care of myself."

"Good to know," Kariya replied, not offering any comfort and instead adding insult to injury.

Byakuya sank further into despair.

On the other side, Sakura continued to raise questions, only to be countered by Shinji point by point.

"The Holy Grail War."

"Currently in a ceasefire."

"Brother needs to rest."

"Brother is in great shape and can knock out a cow barehanded."

"Brother is lying."

"No, I'm not lying. We're going to a farm outside the city, and Brother will perform the 'One Punch Cow' for you."

"Maybe not, because if Brother does that, the cow will end up dead, and that's just too cruel."

"Today, Princess Sakura is in charge, and I shall obey her orders."

Shinji once again performed a mock bow, causing Sakura to giggle uncontrollably.

"So, Princess Sakura, where would you like to go?"

"Anywhere is fine. Wherever Brother takes me, I'll go."

Sakura tilted her head and pondered for a moment before blurting out, "I want to go to the park, and I want to see the big bridge. Mom said you can see very far and it's beautiful from the bridge. Can we go?"

"Of course, we can go. Didn't I say today Princess Sakura is in charge?"

"Brother is the best."

Upon hearing her brother's words, Sakura smiled with joy and threw herself at Shinji, hugging his arm.

Shinji lovingly ruffled his sister's hair while playing the role of a loyal knight. "Princess Sakura, you must maintain your composure."

"Mm..." Sakura tried to hold a serious expression, imitating the demeanor of her sister, Rin. "Brother, let's go."

Shinji held his sister's hand and walked out of the house.

"Princess Sakura, we're setting off from the palace~"