"Sho, are you alright?"
"Huh, oh yeah."
Sakura's voice brought me back to reality. We had just finished a welcome party at Section 6 and were on our way to the next location.
It was a family restaurant, a pretty typical choice. I was always thankful that the meeting spots were so casual.
"Are you nervous, Sho-kun?"
"A little, I guess."
I knew who I was about to meet, but it was still the first time for some.
When we walked into the restaurant, I spotted them right away. The weather was too hot for the clothes I usually imagined her wearing, but her outfit still held true to her style: a red polo shirt and a mini-skirt.
"Sorry, Onee-san. Did you wait long?"
"No, I just got here. So, this is the person?"
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Yozuki Sho."
"Likewise. I'm Tohsaka Rin, Sakura's older sister. And the different last names... I don't need to explain that, do I?"
"No. I know the general situation."
After exchanging pleasantries, we sat down. Rin was across from me, and Sakura was sitting right next to me.
"Hmm."
Rin was grinning as she watched us, looking absolutely delighted. Sakura was just giving a wry smile, but it was obvious she was trying to hide her embarrassment. I was embarrassed, too.
"So?"
"Huh?"
"So, what's your relationship?"
"...Sakura?"
She didn't tell her?
"Onee-san? What are you talking about?"
Sakura was confused, too. This means...
"Oh, I only know his name. Right? You'll have to tell me directly, you know?"
Rin traced the rim of her cup with her finger, smiling.
She knows exactly what she's doing.
"...We're dating. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tohsaka-san."
"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, too."
"Ugh..."
Rin kept chuckling, having made me say it out loud. Sakura's face was beet red. It was just a normal sister teasing her sibling about her happiness.
I was a little embarrassed, too, declaring our relationship so brazenly to her relative.
"Please take good care of my sister, okay? This girl, she never talks about herself, does she? She's been working so hard to be a help to you, you know?"
"Oh... is that so?"
"Onee-san...!! You're making Sho-kun uncomfortable...!"
"Am I, Yozuki-kun?"
"No, not at all..."
"O-Okay, well, since introductions are over..."
Sakura abruptly changed the subject and pulled out her device, starting a call. Suddenly, the magnified face of Kiritsugu-san appeared on the screen.
"Ah, can you hear us?"
<
Kiritsugu-san stepped back, revealing several familiar faces: Maya-san and Irisviel-san. And for the first time, I saw a boy and a girl who looked exactly like Irisviel.
<
Irisviel-san on the screen waved at me.
"I can hear you, Irisviel-san. It's been a while."
<
"The same goes for you."
For me, the Holy Grail War was only a few months ago, but for them, it was 10 years in the past. The proof was in...
"It's good to see you, too, Kiritsugu-san, Maya-san."
...that they had aged. But honestly, they looked younger than they did back then. It was probably because the exhausted look they used to have was gone. Their skin had a healthy glow, and their smiles were much softer.
<
"Yeah, more or less. I've just been sticking my nose where it doesn't belong."
"I heard a rumor that this island was in a lot of trouble recently. Were you involved in that, too?"
"Well, a little bit."
"...A little?"
"Just a little."
I answered Rin's question while looking away. Sakura, who I hadn't told all the details yet, was giving me a suspicious look.
<
"You've been hearing a lot of things."
But it seemed she hadn't mentioned who the client was.
<>
"Yeah, I guess that's what it was."
The truth was that it was related to Hidan, but for the public, the official reason was a more straightforward one.
<
"Haha, you got me."
"Seriously? I saw the footage. Some of them were as big as buildings, right!?"
"Yeah. Monsters are pretty big."
"No, you're just saying 'yeah' like it's nothing..."
"Onee-san, just give up."
Kiritsugu-san and the others were surprisingly calm. Well, they had fought in the Holy Grail War. Maybe something like this was nothing to them now.
<
<
The two kids chimed in.
<
<>
Ilya-chan greeted me at Irisviel-san's prompting.
<
<
Takuya-kun was prompted by Maya-san.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Ilya-chan, you look well now."
<
<
"That's true."
If you consider the time she's actually been alive, she's older than me, isn't she?
I shifted my gaze to the black-haired boy next to her.
"And Takuya-kun?"
<
"You didn't fight? Everything's okay?"
<
<>
<
So there were no problems?
<
Ilya raised her hand.
I guess it would be shocking to find out your dad suddenly cheated on your mom and had a child.
<
<
I'm glad to hear that. As long as they're happy, everything's okay.
<
<
The two women gave me a warning.
<
"Huh?"
Takuya-kun leaned forward eagerly.
<>
"...Wh-what did you say?"
Kiritsugu-san and Maya-san on the screen gave wry smiles.
<
"I don't think it was that heroic, though..."
What did you tell them about me?
<
"That was Sakura."
Everyone except Sakura said in unison.
"H-Hey!? But I-I wasn't lying, right!?"
<
<
The two who didn't know about that time were interested in me, even if their attitudes were a little different. And so was Rin.
"Yes, me too. I want to hear the story of the person who changed our fate."
"Well, alright..."
We continued our lively conversation with laughter.
---------
"We're being watched."
"Looks like it."
Our conversation at the family restaurant was over, and as Sakura and I walked home, we noticed a strange presence lingering around the house.
Seriously? We just started school, and there's already trouble? It feels like the gap between incidents is getting shorter.
"Are we going to have to fight here?"
"We should avoid that. There are too many people around here."
Replica-sensei suddenly appeared. Sakura and I were getting ready for a fight, but as Replica said, we were in the middle of the city. A full-on battle would be a bad idea.
"Worst case, let's put up a barrier to keep people away..."
Just as Sakura was about to make her first move, a black-suited man with a tough face appeared in front of us. He didn't seem hostile. In fact, he was...
"Why...?"
He had a tail I recognized.
---------
"Oh, you've finally come home."
Rushed home by the black suit, I found the captain of the Deviluke Royal Guard, Zastin, sitting at our kitchen table as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Someone had even served him tea, but everyone else looked bewildered.
"Hey, hey, Onii-chan!"
Kuro ran up to me and Sakura as we entered.
"What's going on? Did you do something again? We haven't even solved the Mordred thing yet!"
"No, I seriously didn't do anything."
"That's right. Sho-kun was at Section 6 all afternoon."
Well, I had met him before, but I thought it was a one-time encounter. I didn't expect the Deviluke family to take action so quickly.
"Isn't that the person we met before, senpai? The day we met Lala-san?"
Yukiina, who had been there at the time, joined the conversation.
"Yeah, he's from the Deviluke Kingdom."
"He's the princess's bodyguard, right? So he must have some business with you about the princess, Onii-chan?"
"...Yeah, I guess so. Senpai, his highness's bodyguard has something to discuss with us."
Yukiina and Kuro exchanged nods.
But gossiping wouldn't make Zastin leave. I was sure it had something to do with Lala, so I decided to just hear him out and get him to leave.
He probably just wanted to tell me that Lala ran away again and to contact him if I found her. I mean, if it were something serious, he wouldn't be sitting at my house calmly drinking tea, right?
Is a runaway not a serious situation? Well, if it happens this often, I guess not.
"I apologize for the late hour. We've been a little hectic ourselves."
"It's no problem. What can I do for you today?"
I sat down across from him. As if he had been waiting for that, Zastin started his story. Everyone else was listening intently, though they didn't say anything.
"I assume you've already guessed. It's about Princess Lala."
"Yeah, I figured."
I'd like to hear what about Princess Lala he wanted to discuss.
"Haaah... Princess Lala's study abroad has been decided."
"Huh?"
"The location is this island. The school is the Butei High School that you attend. She'll be in your second-year class starting tomorrow."
"WHAT!?"
Wait, what? Study abroad? Where? Here? At my school? Starting tomorrow?
"Noooooo..."
"I understand how you feel, but this has already been formally decided."
I'm pretty sure my feelings and Zastin's are different.
"We had some trouble with the paperwork, so she couldn't make it on the first day, but as of tomorrow, she is officially a student."
"W-What was the reason?"
"...It was Princess Lala's wish."
"A wish? But..."
Lala is a princess of a nation; there's no way her wishes are granted so easily. Plus, I can't imagine Lala having any interest in Butei.
"Well, that's true. Princess Lala has already mastered all the basic subjects. There is nothing more for her to learn at a school."
Regardless of whether the education at Butei is "basic," I understand what he's saying.
"It was more of a suggestion from Princess Lala's mother, but..."
"Yes?"
"No, never mind. So, in reality, the main purpose will be to interact with the students."
He added that she would attend classes, though.
"Interaction, huh..."
"Yes. The Deviluke Kingdom has had little interaction with other nations and has built its own culture. But to keep up with the times, we need to open up."
"And Lala's in charge of that? Not to be rude, but isn't she... unsuited for that role?"
The handsome man's face twisted as if he had bitten into a bitter bug.
"...We are well aware of that. That's none of your concern."
"Okay then."
By the way,
"So what do you want from me?"
So far, none of this has anything to do with me. Well, I would help if I could.
"About that... I have a message for you from Princess Lala's father, the King of Deviluke himself."
A bad feeling swelled up inside me.
"I don't need it."
"I'm going to play it now. Please listen carefully."
He didn't listen to me. Zastin took out his device and started the recording.
<
A voice came from the device. I could feel some of the girls around me gasp.
Of course. This was the voice of a king.
But to me, who knew the man behind the voice, I couldn't get that worked up. I didn't need to brace myself for hearing the words of a king. The problem was what he was going to say.
"Is that a recording?"
"Of course."
<
The video continued.
<
Of course, I am.
<
Protected... Oh, when Yukiina misunderstood and knocked out the bodyguards. So that's how they're framing it.
<
I wasn't with her for that long, but I'm glad she had fun. As for her marriage, that's her own problem, I guess.
<
Took what seriously?
<
That's what you get.
I had been taking it lightly until then, but then,
<
"What!? That's not true!"
H-How unreasonable...!! Is this what a king is like...!!
<
"Wait, wait!"
There was no point in yelling at a video. The screen went black.
Zastin put the device away.
"We will, of course, act as her bodyguards in peacetime, but it's difficult inside the school. More accurately, Princess Lala has rejected our protection, saying that being with bodyguards all the time is no different from being in the castle."
"So if anything happens, it's going to be my fault!"
"That's exactly what the King said. Just accept it; it's already decided."
Already... decided...
I finally got a taste of what it feels like to be a salaryman, where an unreasonable command is justified with a single phrase: "It's been decided."
Looks like a major change is coming, not on the first day, but on the next.
---------
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