"You must be Mr. Meruem, the legendary butler, correct? I've heard so much about you—what a pleasure to meet you." When Tokiomi Tohsaka saw Meruem, he put on a standard, formulaic smile and spoke with perfect courtesy. He wasn't irritated by Meruem's rudeness at all; instead, he tried to close the distance between them. That smile, however, looked utterly disgusting to Meruem.
"Sorry. I don't know you." Meruem cut him off impatiently, rejecting him without the slightest courtesy. "Why are you here?"
This was the first time Tokiomi Tohsaka had met someone who gave him no face at all—and it was really no face. Even with his aristocratic composure, he couldn't help feeling irritated.
Meruem's status, if you put it nicely, was a butler, a steward. If you put it bluntly, a so-called butler was just a high-end servant.
And yet he didn't even look at his own status before daring to speak to Tokiomi Tohsaka, the famous head of the Tohsaka family in the magecraft world, like this.
Of course, Tokiomi didn't know what kind of being Meruem was, nor did he know Meruem's identity. Much less did he know the relationship between Meruem and Sakura.
Rather than a butler-and-head-of-house relationship between Sakura and Meruem, their relationship was more like family—perhaps even closer than family.
As a negligent father, he naturally assumed that when Sakura saw he had come, she would immediately come out to greet him.
He never would have imagined that Sakura's feelings toward him were extremely complicated. After everything that happened, when Sakura was at her most desperate, her father didn't appear, and her mother didn't appear either...
Her heart had been utterly torn apart, full of wounds. And yet, when she saw Tokiomi, she still held onto a faint, lingering hope.
Dad is here to take me home.
If Dad takes me home, then what about Meru? Mm, I'll ask Dad to take Meru with us too. I'll introduce Meru to Rin—Rin will definitely like Meru.
And Mom too... We can all live happily together, just like before.
As she thought and thought, watching Tokiomi in the crystal ball, a tiny smile formed at the corners of Sakura's mouth.
But reality slapped Sakura hard across the face.
"I'm here to visit the head of the Matou family, Sakura Matou. Move aside." Tokiomi Tohsaka tapped the ground with the cane in his hand and stared at Meruem coldly as he spoke.
He really wasn't here to take Sakura back. After all, he had adopted Sakura into the Matou family. And in name, Sakura was now the head of the Matou family. Even though Tokiomi was her biological father, in name Sakura had nothing to do with the Tohsaka family now, and taking her back to the Tohsaka home would likely mean losing the Matou family's wealth. Plenty of magi were watching that, just waiting for an excuse to make trouble.
The Matou family might be low-key, but the title of one of the Three Great Families was dazzling.
To someone as calculating as Tokiomi, that wasn't worth it. Ever since he learned that the Matou family head, Zouken Matou, had died an untimely death, Tokiomi had already started viewing the Matou family's wealth as if it were his own.
But once again, he overlooked one thing.
Sakura's feelings.
That cold voice passed through the crystal ball and struck straight into Sakura's small, nearly shattered heart.
Dad... you're not here to take me?
Matou? Sakura?
Why... Sakura's name is Tohsaka Sakura, not Sakura Matou.
Dad, Dad... do you really not want Sakura anymore? Then what about Mom? Maybe she doesn't want Sakura either.
What did Sakura do wrong? Why don't you want Sakura? Is it because Sakura isn't good? But Sakura will be good. Sakura will be obedient. Sakura will listen.
So it's true—Sakura is a bad child no one wants, a child who gets thrown away...
As Sakura's heroic spirit, Meruem could feel her emotions. So the moment Sakura's sorrow surfaced, Meruem sensed it immediately.
"Sakura, I'll always stay by your side."
Meruem understood Sakura's feelings at this moment. He had not the slightest goodwill toward Tokiomi Tohsaka and had no intention of defending him.
So, I'll be the bad guy.
"Sorry. She doesn't want to see you." Meruem looked at Tokiomi Tohsaka and said coldly. That was what Sakura was thinking right now—she just hadn't said it out loud. But Meruem could feel it, which was why he said the bad guy would be him.
Hearing that, Tokiomi Tohsaka laughed in rage, his little mustache on his chin trembling. "You're nothing but a butler. If I want to see Sakura, do you think you can stop me?"
What a joke. Sure, the matter of Meruem beating up several magus families had made a big stir, but in Tokiomi's eyes those were just a few minor families.
Who was he? One of the Three Great Families, the Tohsaka family—a world-class magus lineage with influence even at the Clock Tower.
If it weren't for the fact you're taking care of Sakura, I wouldn't even bother with you. And now you dare block me? I need to teach you a lesson you won't forget, so you understand the strength of a great magus family.
Fireball—the signature spell Tokiomi Tohsaka took pride in. In the FZ plot, when Kariya Matou used Crest Worms to ambush Tokiomi, he was defeated by this very Fireball.
But magecraft at this level couldn't even scratch Meruem.
Or rather, for a magus's magecraft to hurt a heroic spirit at Meruem's level...
Are you a Magician?
Under Tokiomi's horrified gaze, Meruem crushed the enormous fireball floating in front of him with his bare hand.
"Get lost. I won't hurt you for Sakura's sake. Next time... you can try." Even if that standard aristocratic magus Tokiomi were ten times stronger, he still wouldn't be a match for Meruem.
Meruem easily snatched the cane from Tokiomi's hand and snapped it in two, looking at Tokiomi with disdain as he spoke.
"Damn it..."
Tokiomi could only stare at Meruem unwillingly. In the end, he had no choice but to leave in disgrace.
In name, if Sakura didn't want to see him, there was nothing he could do. He'd just tried using force, and he couldn't even get through the door. Though he was the head of the Tohsaka family, Sakura's status was equally that of the head of the Matou family, one of the Three Great Families.
"Is Sakura okay?" Meruem hurried back to Sakura's side.
"Waa..." Sakura threw her arms around Meruem, her tears soaking through Meruem's clothes as if they were free. "Sakura is a bad child that nobody wants."
"How could that be? Sakura is so good, so cute." Seeing Sakura like this, Meruem didn't know how to comfort her.
"Really? Meru really thinks so?"
"Of course it's true. Don't worry—I'll always be by Sakura's side. Even if the whole world stands against Sakura, I'll stand on Sakura's side."
"Meru..."
"Hm?"
"Right now, Sakura only has you. Can Sakura stay with Meru forever?"
"Of course."
"Really? It's a promise, okay! Forever and ever together, okay?"
"Yeah. I promise."
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