Wait, why did you actually come here yourself?
Akatsuki looked at Tohsaka Tokiomi, who was walking toward her without a hint of Gilgamesh's aura, her mouth twitching slightly. As the father of Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura, although Tohsaka Tokiomi had failed in some aspects, he was one of the few Magicians who leaned toward being a normal person.
Akatsuki couldn't even remember how many times she had enjoyed the sister sandwich ten years in the future, so being suddenly confronted with meeting the parent like this, she really wasn't prepared.
"Are you the True Ancestor from last night? I am Tohsaka Tokiomi, the administrator of the land of Fuyuki City, and also the Master of Archer in the Holy Grail War."
"I've heard a lot about you."
Although the streetlights in the area hadn't been rebuilt yet, it didn't matter to Akatsuki whether there were streetlights or not. Sizing up the man before her, who had regular features, a dignified appearance, and a steady temperament, Akatsuki always felt like the darkness behind him where the streetlights were missing looked like a giant black pot of blame being carried on Tohsaka Tokiomi's back.
Everything is Tokiomi's fault.
As for just how much blame 'Time' has shouldered for Tokiomi...
Akatsuki's ears seemed to ring with the voices of meme-players and the voices of some bystanders who didn't know the truth.
"Oh? For a noble True Ancestor to have actually heard of my name, I am truly honored."
His deep blue eyes looked at Akatsuki with utmost sincerity, which made Akatsuki, who had enjoyed the sister sandwich countless times, unable to help but look away. She then opened the barrier shrouding her house and invited Tohsaka Tokiomi inside for a talk.
Inside the reception room.
A stone doll that looked similar to a human poured a cup of black tea for both Akatsuki and Tohsaka Tokiomi, then stood quietly in the corner of the room.
The stone doll was something Akatsuki had found time to make during the day. Although she couldn't compare to a certain Crown-rank puppeteer, as the earth uo, she could still manage to bestow things with something like a pseudo-personality.
"What can I do for you?"
Akatsuki leaned back on the sofa and looked at Tohsaka Tokiomi calmly. That's right, she had enjoyed the sister sandwich, but she and the sisters, Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura, were completely in a relationship of free love; Tohsaka Tokiomi had no business interfering. Moreover, it wasn't like she was sleeping with Tohsaka Tokiomi's wife! Why the hell should she be nervous?
"The Matou Family..."
Akatsuki frowned. Bringing this up as soon as you arrive is a bit inappropriate, isn't it? She glanced at Tohsaka Tokiomi but ultimately listened patiently to his question.
"The Matou Family has been wiped out by me. Both Matou Zouken and Matou Kariya are dead. By the way, Berserker is already out of the game. Since last night, the entire older generation of the Matou Family is gone, except for that Matou Tsuruno, who has nothing to do with magecraft."
Hearing the news that his ally had been destroyed, Tohsaka Tokiomi's inner suspicions were further confirmed, so he hurriedly asked, "I wonder if you have seen a child in the Matou Family."
As he spoke, he handed a photograph to Akatsuki.
Akatsuki took the photo and looked; it was a picture of Matou Sakura when she was still Tohsaka Sakura. At that time, she was standing beside her older sister, Tohsaka Rin.
Akatsuki frowned.
"This child is a child of the Tohsaka Family who was adopted into the Matou Family. If possible, I would like to ask you to return her to me. Of course, we can negotiate for whatever you want."
Looking at Tohsaka Tokiomi, who appeared full of confidence, elegant, and easy-going, Akatsuki's mouth twitched once again.
"Impossible."
After hearing Kirei Kotomine's report, Tohsaka Tokiomi hadn't originally intended to come to the site of the Matou Family home, but when Kirei mentioned that Akatsuki was playing in the park with the second daughter of the Tohsaka Family, Tohsaka Tokiomi realized his daughter was still with Akatsuki.
Combined with the detailed knowledge about the True Ancestor he had obtained from the church's supervisor, Risei Kotomine, Tohsaka Tokiomi decided he had to make the trip.
Since Akatsuki, as a True Ancestor, chose to take his daughter out to play during the day, it was certain that Akatsuki would not torture his daughter; perhaps she was just looking after the child on a whim.
Thinking this, Tohsaka Tokiomi decided to take a huge gamble. He didn't bring his Servant, nor did he even need Kirei Kotomine's Assassin to protect him from the shadows, and came alone to the front door of Akatsuki's residence.
Tohsaka Tokiomi knew he was the one asking a favor of Akatsuki, so he specifically chose to look for her at night. However, what Kirei Kotomine didn't expect was that Akatsuki had just left, and Tokiomi arrived right after.
They had perfectly missed each other.
"Why?"
"You don't have the ability to take good care of Sakura. Even if I let you take her, how would you repair the relationship between you and her? Once the seeds of doubt are sown, they will one day take root and sprout. Tohsaka Tokiomi, you have already lost Sakura's trust."
What Akatsuki said left Tohsaka Tokiomi somewhat dazed. He had only done it so his daughter could stay away from a sealing designation and better utilize her talents, but in Akatsuki's mouth, it had become such a serious problem.
"She will understand me one day."
"No," Akatsuki's tone was decisive. "Even if your starting point was good, you made one major mistake: you didn't properly investigate the distortion hidden behind the Matou Family before adopting Sakura into it."
Tohsaka Tokiomi opened his mouth but didn't know how to argue back, because Akatsuki was telling the truth. Although the Matou Family's movements in Fuyuki City were hidden and they rarely had contact with the outside world, he truly hadn't considered that level when he adopted Matou Sakura into the Matou Family.
However, there was still a sense of unwillingness in his heart.
"Follow me."
Akatsuki also saw that unwillingness in Tohsaka Tokiomi's eyes, so she stood up directly.
Tohsaka Tokiomi didn't understand why, but he still followed Akatsuki's lead. When Akatsuki pushed open the door to the reception room, she and Tohsaka Tokiomi seemed to travel through time and space to the period when the Matou Family house still existed.
The entire house was filled with a gloomy atmosphere. It was hard for sunlight to pass through the windows of the Matou Family home; even if all the windows were opened, it was difficult to let the sunlight in.
"This is..."
"The past."
Akatsuki continued to walk forward. Tohsaka Tokiomi didn't understand why but still followed Akatsuki's footsteps. Akatsuki led Tohsaka Tokiomi around the Matou Family home for a long time, finally stopping at the entrance of a basement.
"Tohsaka Tokiomi, why do you think Matou Kariya chose to return to the Matou Family and even became one of the seven Masters of the Holy Grail War?"
"For someone who once abandoned magecraft to return to this world, it is undoubtedly because of a longing for the power of the Holy Grail."
Hearing the name of this former love rival, Tohsaka Tokiomi thought for a moment and spoke the words he had prepared in his heart. To this, Akatsuki could only shake her head.
"Go in and see for yourself. Don't worry, if I wanted to harm you, you would have been dead long ago."
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