"Ya—"
Tohsaka Rin instinctively closed her eyes, thinking she was about to be crushed like those monsters.
However...
The expected pain did not come.
A warm, large hand landed gently on her head, even slightly messing up her twin tails.
"Little one," Hansen's voice, tinged with a bit of playfulness, rang out from above her head. "Didn't your elders teach you? Playing adventure games in a place like this is very dangerous."
The frozen sewer was suffocatingly silent.
The cold air was like a maggot on a bone, seeping through the collar of her red trench coat.
The moment that exceptionally handsome, tall guy reached out, Tohsaka Rin felt her heart was about to jump out of her throat.
However, the warm hand on her head didn't apply any force capable of crushing a skull; in fact, its movements were excessively gentle.
Yet in Tohsaka Rin's perception, this man was ten thousand times more terrifying than the tentacled monsters from before.
Those monsters only wanted to devour her flesh.
But this man... that gaze, as if looking down at ants from high above the clouds, instantly crushed her pride as a magus into powder.
This was a powerful pressure the genius magus girl had never experienced before!
—No, I can't panic!
—Tohsaka Rin, you are the eldest daughter of the Tohsaka Family, the future head of the house!
No matter what desperate situation you face, you must remain elegant and seek an opportunity to break through!
Even if the opponent is a monster you can't possibly defeat!
The little girl took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her instinct to tremble.
Her azure eyes quickly filled with a layer of pitiful mist, and her stiff body instantly softened.
"B... Big brother?"
Tohsaka Rin looked up and said in a soft, sweet voice capable of melting even a stone-cold heart, "Thank you for saving me!"
She blinked her large eyes, putting on a pitiful expression, trying to make herself look like an innocent elementary school student who had lost her way.
"Um... since the bad guys have been defeated, can I go home? My mom and dad are waiting for me for dinner."
As she spoke, she carefully tried to move her head away from Hansen's palm, her toes already quietly turning toward the exit.
As long as she could leave this man's attack range, she would escape even if she had to crawl!
Saber, standing behind, saw this and relaxed her tense nerves slightly.
Although it was suspicious for a little girl to appear in a monster's den, seeing her look like she was about to cry, perhaps she really was just an unlucky child?
"Ruler..." Saber stepped forward, just about to say something.
"Pfft—"
Hansen couldn't help himself and burst out laughing.
There wasn't a hint of sympathy in that laughter; instead, it was full of mockery that saw through everything.
The large hand pressing on Tohsaka Rin's head didn't move; instead, he grabbed the back of her collar and lifted her like a kitten, applying a bit of force.
"Ouch!" Tohsaka Rin, lifted into mid-air, cried out, her feigned pitiful look instantly crumbling.
"Eh, in such a hurry to leave?"
Hansen leaned down, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile that made the little girl want to cry. "Little one, those high-concentration mana gems in your pocket and that Mana Compass in your hand aren't toys a normal elementary school student should have."
Rin's pupils shrank suddenly, and she instinctively covered her pockets.
Oh no!
I've been seen through!
"I'm right, aren't I..." The Platinum Divine Fire in Hansen's eyes flickered slightly. Though his tone was relaxed, it carried an unquestionable certainty. "The little princess of the... Tohsaka Family?"
Boom—!
As those last few words were spoken, Tohsaka Rin felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in her mind.
It's over.
My identity is exposed.
During the Holy Grail War, falling into the hands of an enemy Servant as a direct relative of a master—Rin, who had received a magus's cruel education from a young age, knew exactly what that meant.
"Since you've found me out, I have nothing more to say!"
Tohsaka Rin forcefully shook off Hansen's hand and stepped back, the layer of feigned childishness on her small face completely vanishing.
In its place was a determination and resolve that surpassed her age.
Her hands quickly clamped several gems containing explosive mana between her fingers, and she assumed a non-standard combat stance.
"Since you are an enemy Servant, then do it! A member of the Tohsaka Family will never beg for mercy!"
Even though her legs were still trembling and her voice was still childish.
But that unyielding pride was entirely different from Kayneth, who only knew how to plot behind people's backs.
"Ho?" Hansen raised an eyebrow, a flash of genuine appreciation in his eyes. "Interesting. You're much better than your old man, who only knows how to practice being elegant in front of a mirror."
"I won't let you insult my father!" Rin bit her teeth, the gems in her hand about to be thrown.
However...
Swish—!
Her vision blurred.
Rin only felt her wrist lighten. Before she could react to what had happened, the priceless Magic Gems between her fingers were already in Hansen's hand.
"The quality is good, and the mana reserve is very pure." Hansen tossed the gems like coins, then casually stuffed them into his suit pocket right in front of Rin. "Confiscated."
"You—! Give them back! Those are my trump card!" Rin fumed, jumping up and down like a kitten whose food had been stolen.
"Trump card? That's just a firework that wouldn't even crack this ice."
Hansen straightened up, looking down at the exasperated little lolita, and flicked her smooth forehead with his index finger.
Thump—!
"Ugh...!" Amidst the crisp sound, Tohsaka Rin crouched down holding her forehead, tears really about to burst out.
"Listen up, brat."
Hansen put his hands in his pockets and spoke nonchalantly, yet directly pronounced her fate.
"From now on, you are no longer some young miss of the Tohsaka Family, and there is no option of going home after school."
"Congratulations."
He grinned, revealing a set of stark white teeth. "You are now my prisoner."
Tohsaka Rin: "..."
"You—! Let me go! You barbarian!!"
Rin was carried on Hansen's shoulder like a sack of grain, struggling desperately, but to no avail.
Saber watched this scene, opened her mouth, but ultimately did not stop him.
At least the child was still alive.
And although that guy's behavior was atrocious, his character was still trustworthy.
He probably... wouldn't do anything to a little girl like this... right?
The next moment, Saber stopped her thoughts, her gaze sharpening as she looked ahead.
"Ugh... ahhh..."
In a corner of the ruins, Caster, with only half his body left, let out a venomous groan.
He wasn't dead yet.
Even with his body broken, and even though that "Jeanne" ignored him completely, this madman was still immersed in his own delusions.
"False god... and that... damned magus brat..."
Caster's bulging eyes stared fixedly at Tohsaka Rin, seemingly wanting to vent all his hatred onto Hansen.
"Give me back... my festival... Give me back... Jeanne..."
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