Women are even more cunning and more prone to saying one thing and meaning another than fairies.
Shirou Amamiya confirmed that once again.
"Listen carefully, Shinji. That girl is extremely dangerous. You need to be on guard around her from now on."
Shirou lowered his voice as he spoke, stealing a glance at the girl quietly following behind them.
Zouken Matou was already an old man with a heavy presence, and Tokiomi Tohsaka was no less imposing.
But in Shirou's eyes, the seemingly harmless, delicate little girl was the most dangerous of all.
The insight he had honed among the fairies of "Britannia" could not be wrong.
Shinji frowned, clearly displeased.
"What are you even talking about, Shirou! Sakura is so cute, how could she possibly be dangerous? Ah… I get it!"
"What do you get?"
"You're jealous! Jealous that I have such a cute little sister! What an ugly feeling, Shirou!"
Shinji dragged out his words in a mocking tone, then burst into laughter, already showing signs of his smug nature at such a young age.
Shirou let out a sigh. Fine. When things go wrong later, don't come crying to me.
After seeing Tokiomi Tohsaka off, Shirou, Shinji, and Sakura headed out onto the street.
The two boys walked in front, while Sakura followed about two meters behind them in silence.
Today was her first day at the Matou family.
Byakuya Matou had given Shinji 20,000 yen and told him to take Sakura out for a nice meal at a restaurant.
There was no other choice.
The Matou household was severely short on staff right now. Several servants had already quit after being driven off by Zouken's eccentric temperament.
Shinji Matou had just become an older brother, received a large sum of money from his father, and been entrusted with an important task. He was practically bursting with excitement.
"Sakura, is there anywhere you want to eat? Big brother will take you there."
Sakura Matou was silent for about three seconds before answering, "There's nothing in particular I want."
Shinji put his hands on his hips and lifted his chin.
"Is that so? Then I'll take you to the fancy French restaurant I always go to!"
Sakura Matou: "..."
Shirou Amamiya: "..."
They arrived at a newly opened high-end restaurant in the shopping district.
Three children around seven or eight years old walking into such an upscale Western restaurant naturally drew strange looks from the surrounding adults.
But Shinji Matou didn't care. He only wanted to show off his authority as an older brother in front of his little sister.
"Hey, don't push it. Is the money Byakuya gave you really enough?" Shirou said, pouring cold water on him.
Shinji's face flushed red. "Hah? Don't underestimate me, I've got… huh? Huh? Huh!?"
His expression suddenly changed as he began frantically patting his clothes and digging through his pockets.
"What's wrong?"
"It's gone."
Tears welled up in Shinji's eyes as he grabbed Shirou's arm.
"What do I do, Shirou! The money Dad gave me is gone… Waaaah! Waaaah!"
The purple seaweed-haired boy burst into loud sobs right there on the shopping street.
"Alright, alright, stop crying. I'll lend you some."
Not wanting to draw too much attention, Shirou took out his wallet.
Over the past couple of weeks, he had not just stayed inside the Matou house playing games every day.
While wandering around and gathering information about Fuyuki City, he had run into someone willing to hire a kid.
All he had to do was keep watch for a man in a black suit and make sure another man in a hat did not get close, and he would get paid.
There really were quite a lot of good people in the world.
Even though the money problem was temporarily solved, their plan to eat at a high-end restaurant was abandoned.
"Um… Sakura, sorry, but this is all the money your big brother has left. Sakura?"
Shinji noticed his little sister staring at a restaurant not far away.
Koushuuensaikan Taizan, the only Chinese restaurant in Fuyuki's shopping district.
Its glass windows were shut tight even in broad daylight, and you could not tell at all whether customers were coming or going. One look at it was enough to make it feel like the shopping street's own little den of evil.
"Sakura, do you want to eat there?"
Shinji had heard the rumors about the place, so even asking the question made him nervous.
Even if they were short on money, there was no need to eat there… there were obviously other, more suitable places.
"..."
Sakura Matou said nothing. She simply kept staring at the Chinese restaurant.
Her mother… no, her former mother, Aoi Tohsaka, had been very good at Chinese cooking.
Mrs. Tohsaka often made Chinese food for her and her older sister. The girl was only remembering those days.
"Let's go."
Shirou broke the silence.
He was the first to step forward, and Shinji hurried after him in a panic.
"O okay! Let's eat there, Sakura… hey, wait up, Shirou!"
"..."
Sakura Matou stared at the red-haired boy's back in surprise, and a faint glimmer passed through her dull eyes.
Then the girl quickly followed after him.
...
...
The owner of Koushuuensaikan Taizan, Miss Batsu, was a petite girl in a cheongsam. Even when faced with three little kids, she enthusiastically handed them a menu.
Resting his chin in his hand, Shirou watched the cheongsam-clad girl head toward the kitchen with obvious interest.
"Heh… so there are people like this too. Proper Human History really is interesting."
Seated beside him, Shinji held the menu and eagerly tried to make conversation with Sakura.
After a while, the food arrived.
Shirou and Sakura ordered shredded pork with green peppers, while Shinji ordered a bright red, oily mapo tofu.
Just leaning your face close to it was enough to sting your eyes shut. One bite might melt your tongue.
There was no need to say it. He had clearly ordered it just to show off in front of his little sister.
"Don't push yourself too hard, Shinji."
"Hah? What are you talking about, Shirou? This level of spice is nothing at all… guh!"
The moment Shinji Matou took his first bite, his whole face dropped straight into the plate of mapo tofu.
Shirou: "…Pathetic."
Sakura: "…Pfft."
Shirou looked toward the source of the laugh and saw Sakura Matou covering her mouth.
She gave him an embarrassed little glance, then lowered her blushing face.
With the noisy one passed out cold, the two of them were finally able to enjoy lunch in peace.
Although the shredded pork with green peppers here was not as terrifying as the mapo tofu, it was still very spicy. Incredibly spicy.
As he chewed the green peppers, Shirou pictured Batsu-san swinging a huge Chinese wok one-handed with those slender arms of hers, coating every last ingredient in chili.
Fortunately, Shirou had developed absurd endurance and adaptability in "Britannia," but for a six-year-old girl, this was asking a bit much.
"If you really can't eat it, then don't."
After Shirou said that, Sakura Matou paused with her chopsticks for a moment.
"I'm fine."
Whether it was when her father sent her to the Matou family, or now.
Compared to her older sister, who could do everything, Sakura Matou's greatest strength was her ability to endure.
"…I see."
Shirou said nothing more and went back to eating.
Until they left the restaurant, neither of them spoke again.
...
...
After lunch, the three of them headed straight home.
Shinji still had not woken up, so Shirou had no choice but to carry him on his back, while Sakura Matou walked silently beside him.
"Um… Shirou-nii…"
"I'm not your big brother. Just call me Shirou."
"Thank you for speaking up for me earlier in front of Fa… Uncle Tohsaka."
Sakura Matou lightly bit her lip, then finally gathered the courage to continue.
"And also… I'm really sorry… for lying before. I actually didn't want to leave the Tohsaka Family…"
"It's nothing. I'm already used to betrayal."
Shirou said it as if it meant nothing at all.