Matou Sakura subconsciously glanced at Sajyou Manaka, then very quickly shifted her gaze back to Alvin.
In the end, she still gave a soft "Mm."
———
At the same time, inside the Tohsaka family mansion.
Golden particles of light silently gathered in the hall of the mansion, and Gilgamesh's cold, arrogant voice echoed quietly through the space.
"You've got some nerve, Tokiomi."
Tohsaka Tokiomi had long prepared his excuse. He placed a hand over his chest and said respectfully, "My sincerest apologies for disturbing Your Majesty's enjoyment, but I considered that there might be many eyes watching tonight, so I thought it best to be a little more cautious."
"It's nothing more than a Holy Grail War. Originally, I could have reclaimed the Grail into the King's Treasury tonight."
Gilgamesh let out a cold snort. Then, as if recalling the mysterious servant he had faced earlier, a trace of doubt quickly appeared deep in his crimson eyes.
'Saber. Just who was that guy? In the past, I have never heard of anyone being able to summon that 'Mother Goddess of Creation.''
As if guessing what Gilgamesh was thinking, Tohsaka Tokiomi quickly spoke again in a respectful tone, "My king, I may already know who the person that crossed blades with you tonight is."
"Oh?"
Gilgamesh finally turned his gaze toward Tohsaka Tokiomi.
"Let's hear it."
———
[The Matou Household]
At this very moment, there was another person who had collapsed unconscious during the process of summoning a heroic spirit. Matou Kariya.
As the second son of the Matou family, the younger brother of Shinji's father, Tsuruno, he had originally had no interest whatsoever in the Holy Grail War. Yet he had been forced to participate in this Fourth Holy Grail War.
Then, using the relic provided by Matou Zouken, he intended to summon the White Dragon of Britain, but during the summoning, he lost consciousness because he could not supply enough magical energy.
Leaning on his cane, Matou Zouken silently looked at the man collapsed in the basement, his expression terrifyingly dark.
During the time he had spent traveling through ancient Britain, he had come to understand just how vast the power possessed by that Watchman of Camelot truly was.
For the sake of this Holy Grail War, he had exhausted every scheme and finally, before the countdown to the end of his traversal ran out, obtained a holy relic of the White Dragon.
His original hope was to have Matou Kariya summon that mythological White Dragon. But the result, this child of his did not even have the qualifications to summon it.
Matou Kariya, Matou Tsuruno, and even Matou Shinji. With so many children in the Matou family, not a single one had any talent for magecraft. He had raised nothing but trash.
Fortunately, not long ago, Tohsaka Tokiomi had given his daughter up for adoption to the Matou family. At the very least, the Matou bloodline would not end with his generation.
Still, that child was not very compatible with the Matou family.
At the very least, she still needed a bit of modification.
As if thinking of something, a cold smile quickly appeared on Matou Zouken's gloomy face.
"Bring Sakura over. During the Holy Grail War, I will have her truly inherit everything of the Matou family."
He looked at a servant nearby, his voice low.
However, at that moment, he noticed the servant hesitating.
"What is it?", Matou Zouken asked in a deep voice.
"Miss was originally outside enjoying the snow tonight, but at some point she slipped away on her own. She still hasn't come back," The servant's voice was full of fear and unease.
Matou Zouken's expression sank slightly.
'She ran away?'
'That child Sakura… it seems she still has a bit of a rebellious streak.'
Matou Zouken took a deep breath and said slowly, "She won't get far."
From his robes, he slowly took out a tiny insect and tossed it up into the air.
That insect seemed to possess a kind of intelligence. It flew out of the Matou mansion, soared high into the sky, and in the next instant, countless insects appeared across the firmament, swiftly heading toward the direction of a certain high-rise building.
A detached smile quickly appeared on Matou Zouken's aged face, "So she's there."
Perhaps because of the disturbance caused by Matou Zouken's actions, the previously unconscious Matou Kariya furrowed his brow slightly, clutching his head as he slowly opened his eyes amid splitting pain.
"Sakura…"
The moment he opened his eyes, the man instinctively called out that name.
"Don't worry. She's fine for now, but if you fail at the next heroic spirit summoning as well, then I can't guarantee that Sakura will remain unharmed."
The old man's cold, aged voice echoed eerily through the mansion. His grayish-white eyes, long since stripped of their original light, stared quietly at Matou Kariya.
In truth, Zouken's descendants were not very obedient, especially Matou Kariya.
If Matou Zouken had not used Matou Sakura as a threat, then even if he were killed, Matou Kariya would never have participated in this Holy Grail War.
"To think the blood of my Matou family would thin to such a degree in your generation."
Matou Zouken's tone was filled with coldness and contempt, "You can't even manage to summon a familiar properly. If you were to become a transmigrator and truly face that White Dragon, hmph!"
In Matou Zouken's eyes, so-called servants were at best just 'familiars.' Though their power could be considered formidable, they still had to obey command seals.
Yet his own child could not even summon a familiar-level White Dragon.
Matou Kariya unconsciously clenched his fists.
"Two servants have already appeared tonight, and both are far stronger than imagined. If you want to obtain final victory in the Holy Grail War, you must at least summon a servant capable of matching them."
Leaning on his cane, Matou Zouken looked down at Matou Kariya from above and continued, "And if I'm not mistaken, among the two servants that appeared tonight, one of them should originally have belonged to the Matou family."
Matou Kariya seemed to recall something and blurted out instinctively, "You mean, a master has already summoned the White Dragon?"
Matou Zouken snorted, "Your magical energy can't support the White Dragon's manifestation, but that doesn't mean other masters can't. It's probably either the Tohsaka family or the Einzbern family."
"With the situation as it is, we must find a way to summon a servant that can rival it."
'A servant that could rival the White Dragon. Does such an out-of-scale servant really still exist in this world?'
Just as that thought crossed Matou Kariya's mind, he saw a faint, knowing smile appear on the old man's face, "There is, and in the legends of Britain, he is the original White Dragon."
Matou Kariya froze slightly, but before he could speak, he saw Matou Zouken turn around, leaning on his cane, and walk out of the mansion.
"Come. Let's go bring Sakura back first."
Matou Kariya's expression changed slightly, and he instinctively asked, "Sakura ran away from home?"
Then again, it made sense. Sakura had only been adopted into the Matou family not long ago, and the atmosphere of the Matou household was especially oppressive. For a little girl of her age, it was only natural that she would miss her original family.
"Hmph! Children at this age are bound to be a bit rebellious. After some time, she'll behave herself."
Matou Zouken said eerily, "My 'familiar' tells me that a certain household seems to have taken her in, perfect timing to go pay them a visit."
And also to use his actions to tell his granddaughter that anyone who got involved with her would meet no good end.
As if thinking of something amusing, a horrifying smile quickly spread across Matou Zouken's face.
———
"The White Dragon... of Britain?"
Inside the Tohsaka mansion.
After hearing Tohsaka Tokiomi relay his intelligence in detail, a trace of doubt quickly surfaced in Gilgamesh's eyes.
"Are you certain, Tokiomi? If you dare deceive this king with false information, even ten thousand deaths would not be enough to atone for your crime," Gilgamesh said coldly.
After all, the special being summoned by Saber tonight was the Mother Goddess of Creation from Mesopotamian mythology.
No matter how one thought about it, Britain's White Dragon should have no connection whatsoever to Tiamat.
"My king, I once traveled to ancient Britain, and I have come into contact with the White Dragon. If the information is correct, then the servant who crossed blades with you tonight is indeed the White Dragon," Tohsaka Tokiomi spoke in an extremely respectful tone.
Gilgamesh narrowed his crimson eyes, staring at the deferential Tohsaka Tokiomi.
After a long while, he suddenly revealed a pleased smile.
"If it truly is the White Dragon then this Holy Grail War should not bore this king," Even as he said this, when he thought of Saber's special Noble Phantasm, even Gilgamesh felt an intense headache.
"Tokiomi, before the Holy Grail War began, didn't you send one of your daughters to the Matou family?", Gilgamesh suddenly asked.
Tohsaka Tokiomi froze for a moment and replied in confusion, "How did you know about that?"
"She was wandering the streets where this king fought Saber tonight. I imagine she ran away from home," Gilgamesh said.
Hearing this, Tohsaka Tokiomi could not help rubbing his temples in frustration.
For a family of magi, he could only pass down his Jewel Magecraft to one child.
And Matou Sakura possessed the special 'Imaginary Numbers' attribute, which in fact was not very suitable for the Tohsaka family's Jewel Magecraft.
Therefore, the one most suited to inherit Jewel Magecraft could only be Tohsaka Rin.
If he did not wish to bury Matou Sakura's talent and potential, then the only choice was to send her to the Matou family.
He never expected that Sakura would run away from home tonight.
Thinking of this, Tohsaka Tokiomi stood up, went to the landline phone, and dialed the Matou household.
However, after calling three or four times in succession, there was still no response.
"It seems they've already gone out to look for Sakura," Tohsaka Tokiomi quietly let out a sigh of relief.
When he had first sent Sakura to the Matou family, he had also worried whether they might treat his daughter poorly. But now it seemed that this concern might have been unnecessary.
Gilgamesh cast a cold glance at Tohsaka Tokiomi and said, "Don't be so quick to feel relieved. You'd better pray that the Matou family, as you call it, remains safe and sound."
"Mediocre."
Tohsaka Tokiomi was stunned for a moment and instinctively asked, "What do you mean?"
However, Gilgamesh did not answer him. He only gave Tohsaka Tokiomi a meaningful look before turning and leaving.
———
Fuyuki City is a coastal town in Japan. Its eastern side is the New City, a highly modernized urban area, while the western side is Miyama Town, mostly residential and essentially Fuyuki's old city.
The eastern and western sides are connected by a bridge known as the Mion River Bridge.
The place where Sajyou Manaka lived after traveling was located in the bustling center of the New City, inside a towering high-rise building.
For a child of Matou Sakura's age, this was her first time running away from home at night and on her very first outing, she had come to the home of two strangers.
Along the way, the little girl's gaze swept across her surroundings, her eyes filled with curiosity toward new things.
Her originally dull, gray eyes seemed to regain a bit of their light at this moment.
After pushing open the door and entering the room, Alvin poured her a cup of hot tea. Then he crouched down beside the little girl and asked gently, "Sakura, from the way you spoke just now, it sounded like you've heard about the White Dragon before?"
Toward Alvin, Matou Sakura seemed to have little guard up. She lightly nodded her head and said softly, "I've heard my father mention it before."
Alvin's thoughts stirred. He remembered Arcueid once saying that the Counter Force would 'correct' everything unrelated to history, so 'White Dragon Alvin' might also be corrected in the future.
But if people in the future all knew the story of 'White Dragon Alvin,' would that mean he had already become a part of history?
'If so, would the Counter Force still 'correct' my existence?'
Alvin temporarily reined in his thoughts and asked warmly, "When did your father send you to the Matou family?"
"A few days ago," When Matou Sakura said this, her tone seemed much lower.
A little girl of this age could not hide her feelings. When she was sent to the Matou family by her father, her heart had already been filled with despair.
But what Matou Sakura likely did not know was that if she had not run away from home tonight, she might already have been in the worm pit, undergoing the 'baptism' of Crest Worms.
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