Black, dressed in a school uniform, entered the Matou Mansion, the iron-barred door closing behind him.
Next to him, Sakura kept her head low, her vision going in and out of focus.
"I am a bit nervous," Black said, chuckling. "It's like meeting the girl's family… Haha!"
Sakura's entire body quivered.
No. She couldn't do this. Her heart was tearing itself apart.
Run… Sakura mumbled. Then, she lifted her head and dared to speak out loud clearly, "RU…"
"Ah, so you are Black from the Einzbern family…"
Black and Sakura's heads snapped to their right.
It was winter, but it felt like thousands of insects were buzzing.
From the darkening bushes, Zouken Matou walked out, smiling at them.
Sakura bit her lips. "… Grandfather…"
"Prepare tea," he told her. "I will attend to our guest."
Sakura looked into Black's eyes, something dying inside her, and then walked away.
Zouken Matou brought Black inside the mansion, saying nothing. When they were inside, he gestured for Black to sit.
Zouken sat opposite Black.
"How is the girl?" he asked.
"Perfect for bearing children," Black replied.
Zouken's smiling face crumpled. He stared at Black, his beady eyes narrowing. "The Einzbern girl?"
"Oh…" Black smiled ruefully. "I thought we were talking about Sakura."
"…?" Zouken could hardly believe it. Is there a flaw in this Homunculus? Is that why the Einzberns transferred the Grail's contents to him, hoping to save the girl for later?
"Illya is… occupied," Black said. "I will be taking her place at the Einzbern Castle this year."
"I see…" Zouken let out a smile, a danger alarm ringing in his mind. This Homunculus… isn't even trying to hide his Vessel Status?!
It was one thing to reveal that he was a Master.
It was another thing entirely to reveal him being a Vessel to an elder like Zouken.
Does he have so much confidence in Berserker? Zouken thought, maintaining the smile. Haha… Even if he has brought his Servant with him, it will not help…
"Are you talking to yourself?" Black asked.
Zouken's brows rose, his smile vanishing again.
"I always have a feeling that as you get older, the more you begin talking to yourself…" Black explained, the corners of his mouth lifting in blatant mockery.
For a moment, both Black and Zouken stared at each other, an unnerving atmosphere building up in their surroundings.
It was then that Sakura entered the Grand Hall and served them tea.
It was also then that Shinji stepped downstairs, and his eyes fell on Black, drinking tea with his grandfather, Sakura standing dutifully next to them.
"How dare you?!" Shinji boiled. "You dare come to my home after…"
"Enough!" Zouken thundered, standing up. He tapped the walking stick in his hands on the floor, sending Shinji flying. "Do not disgrace Matou's name with your grudges. Black Von Einzbern is our guest and…"
Zouken looked between Sakura and Black. "… and your future brother-in-law."
The empty tray slipped out of Sakura's hands.
Black kept drinking tea, wondering what the old fool was planning.
On the other hand, lying on the floor, Shinji's face lost all color. He looked at Sakura, then at Black, and then at his grandfather.
If indignation could take a person's face, then it would have certainly looked like Shinji's.
Grinding his teeth, he stormed up the stairs to his room, the sound of the slamming door echoing in all ears.
"… That was quite a declaration," Black said, smiling. "I do like Sakura. But… Marriage? It's not in my hands."
Zouken let out a smile of his own, refusing to explain the matter.
Even though Sakura was shocked, she picked up on the oddity. Despite being the main topic of conversation between Black and her grandfather, she felt like it wasn't her they were talking about at all.
"Go to your room," Zouken told Sakura. "I need to talk something with your friend here."
As a puzzled Sakura disappeared, Black took another sip of the tea, now truly wondering what the old fool was waiting for.
…
Upstairs, Shinji took out a vial of aphrodisiac. "You slut! I will show your true face to everyone…"
He marched to Sakura's room and found her seated listlessly on her bed.
Then, without saying anything as she looked at him in shock, he threw the vial at her face.
The glass vial shattered as it hit her head, drawing blood and spraying the contents right on her face.
The effect was instant.
Even before the pain could make her scream, the desire for pleasure made her moan.
Sakura's entire body twisted and squirmed as her face took a red hue, blood dripping down her nose.
Shinji came screaming and laughing at her, but, for a moment, she couldn't hear him.
He pushed her down on the bed and groped her breasts.
This time, when he shouted, she heard him loud and clear.
"I will fuck you!" He was screaming, laughing like a maniac. "Then, I will go downstairs and tell my brother-in-law how many times we have fucked here… how many times you have begged me to fuck you! Hahaahahah!"
…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The entire Matou Mansion shook like a leaf in the storm.
Black's head snapped toward Sakura's room upstairs. Instantly, as he sensed the fluctuations of Mana, his gaze landed back in front of him.
Smiling, grinning, and buzzing, Zouken Matou disintegrated into thousands of worms.
As if time had stopped, Black's Advance Observation Haki picked up another disturbance. But it had come so fast and so silently that even the Haki seemed to have been deceived.
Four black daggers shot across the Grand Hall and plunged deep into Black's body.
With a massive boom, he struck the wall behind him, his body being propped up by the daggers.
"Cough!" Black coughed out a mouthful of blood.
Shaking, he lifted his head and saw blackness taking shape across the hall.
It seemed — Zouken Matou wasn't as much of an old fool as he had been taking him to be.
Because, unknown to everyone, even without letting the Overseer know of it, Zouken had become a Master, summoning his own Servant —
Assassin — Hassan of the Cursed Arm!
******************
AN: Up to 60 more chapters are available in advance across three Tiers. [Use the link in my webnovel profile to access all options]
You can even subscribe Trial Tier for just 1 dollar to have an experience of exclusive chapters for an entire month. I hope a few of you will consider supporting the work.
100 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter