C379

In the Fuyuki City, at the Fujimaru residence.

Ritsuka clung tightly to Sakura, her small hand gripping onto Sakura's clothes as she tearfully gazed at Shirou.

Shirou glanced at her, who was now hiding behind Sakura, "Ritsuka, have you come to realize your mistake?"

Peeking her little head out from behind Sakura, she tearfully replied, "I'm going to tell Mom that you hit me!"

His expression darkened. It seemed all his efforts in educating her had still not been enough.

Sakura quickly stepped in to protect Ritsuka, positioning herself as a shield between her and Shirou. "Brother, Ritsuka understands now," she said urgently. Turning her attention to Ritsuka, she asked, "You promise you won't cheat in exams anymore, right?"

Facing away from Shirou, Sakura blinked at the youngest sibling, silently communicating with her through her eyes.

However, Ritsuka was a bit stubborn and protested, "But I really want to cheat!"

Shirou rose to his feet with a stern expression on his face.

She got scared, and instinctively covered her little buttocks, stammering, "I won't cheat anymore, I promise! I'll never cheat again!"

Only then did he sit back down.

Sakura took her by the hand and led her back to her room.

He sighed and looked at Miyu and Gray, saying, "Sorry for disturbing your sleep."

"No, no, no... It's... It's okay," Gray quickly waved her hand. 

Miyu also said, "It's okay, Fujimaru-niisan."

In that moment, Artoria took control of Gray's body, and she hesitated for a brief moment before speaking, "My King, aren't you being too harsh on Princess Ritsuka? This approach might make her develop a dislike for you..."

He sighed, "Raising a child without discipline is like hindering their growth. I'd rather endure her resentment or even her dislike than allow her to stray down the wrong path."

Artoria: "..."

"Illya..." His gaze turned to the restless girl sitting nearby.

"Yes—I'm here!" she responded instinctively, her voice tinged with fear.

"I've already called your mother. She said you should spend the night at my place tonight."

"I... I understand," she nodded hastily. She was already somewhat afraid of him, and now her fear had intensified.

He then turned to Miyu and Gray and asked, "Miyu, is there space for one more person in your bed?"

"Yes, there is."

"Then I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Tonight, you three will have to share the bed."

"It's okay," they waved off the concern.

He gently advised, "Then go to sleep now, it's getting late. Children shouldn't stay up late."

"Yes," they replied obediently, hurrying off to rest.

Artoria hesitated. She took a moment before speaking up, "My King, you should get some rest too."

He simply nodded in acknowledgment.

As he watched them leave, he settled into a more comfortable position and gazed down at the two Mystic Codes—Ruby and Sapphire—constrained heavily by his black mud on the table.

He glanced at the two wands with a cold expression and questioned, "Alright, Ruby, spill it out. What's Zelretch's game here?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" she looked puzzled.

His tone turned icy, "Don't play dumb. Trying to lure my sister into becoming a magical girl. What's Zelretch's intention?"

"I really don't get it. Isn't being a magical girl a good thing, Eternal King? I mean, over fifteen hundred years ago, you quite liked Magical Girl ☆ Melly, didn't you?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious.

He sighed, "That's not the same thing."

"What do you mean? What's different?"

"How can you treat my sister the same way as that old brat? She's just five years old! How dare you lure her into becoming a magical girl and put her in danger!"

Ruby, with a hint of displeasure, retorted, "Magical girls have the protection of the Second Magic, so it's not dangerous! They're messengers of love and justice. There can't be any real danger."

He sneered, "If I hadn't shown up just now, who knows what could have happened? Do you seriously think that flimsy magical barrier could have stopped Rider's Noble Phantasm?"

"Well, there's always a way to handle these situations~!"

"I can't sense any remorse at all," he stood up, his face grim. "Alright then, I'll have you retire here!"

He threw Ruby onto the floor and swiftly projected Caliburn, stabbing it toward the magical stick.

"Thud, thud, thud..."

"No, don't! Please, don't do that! That place is off-limits, don't stab there... It hurts, it hurts... Be gentler, be gentler, it'll break!"

Shirou: "..."

These lines were so absurd that if someone didn't know the context, they would think he was doing something terrible.

Sapphire was bound tightly to the table by black mud. She said, "Eternal King, please spare my sister for now. She doesn't know that Ritsuka is your sister."

"I thought you were going to bring up something more relevant, Sapphire. Is this really the main issue here?"

Sapphire spoke up, "Actually, we were sent here by our Master to assist you, Eternal King."

Feeling hopeful, Ruby quickly chimed in, "Yes, that's right!"

Before Ruby could finish her sentence, he stomped on her.

"Yaaah~~! Don't... don't step on me~! I'll break, I'll really break~! Waaah..." Ruby whimpered.

Shirou shifted his gaze to Sapphire, a mix of curiosity and suspicion in his eyes, "Assist me? What do you mean?"

Sapphire took a moment to explain, "Master sent us to repair the world's cracks and help you out. But when we arrived in Fuyuki City ahead of you, Class Cards had already started causing trouble here. Since we didn't have a Master, we couldn't fully exert our powers, so we decided to each choose a Master."

"So, that's the reason you deceived and abducted little girls to work for you?"

"Deceive and abduct? There was nothing like that," Sapphire defended herself. "I wasn't aware of my sister's situation. But, before I made a contract with Illya, I informed her of everything, and she willingly formed a contract with me."

Ruby quickly added, "I did the same with Ritsuka! It's true! You have to believe me..."

He ignored Ruby's pleas and pressed it firmly under his foot, even twisting his foot slightly to increase the friction between Ruby, the ground and his shoe sole.

"Yaaah~~! No... don't do this... yaaah... I'll break, I'll really break~! Don't...!" Ruby made strange sounds.

Sapphire glanced at him and said, "Eternal King, please spare my sister."

They truly had a strong sisterly bond. Sapphire added, "Your strength won't be enough to destroy her."

"Hah, making fun of my lack of strength?"

But whatever. Maybe he'll bring someone who has enough power to crush them both.

Naturally, the perfect person for this task was...

Shirou pulled out his phone and dialed Arcueid's number.

After a few rings, a weak and pitiful voice, almost like crying, answered, "Um, hello? This is a pitiful, weak little bat. Who are you, and what do you want? Actually, anything will do. I just really need someone to talk to right now... I don't want to type anymore..."

Shirou: "..."

He took a deep breath and said, "Arcueid, it's me, Shirou."

"Oh!!!" Arcueid's voice transformed instantly from weak and tearful to domineering. "You have the nerve to call me? You heartless traitor! Heartless, heartless, heartless!"

"Look, I'm sorry, Arcueid. But I need your help right now."

"Hmph. Why should I help you?"

"Well, as a reward, how about next time we play King of Fighters, I'll only use one hand?"

"Really?" Her eyes lit up.

"Yes."

"You mustn't use your right hand! Got it? The right hand!"

"OK."

"Where are you now? I'll come over right away!" she happily said.

"I'm at home."

"Wait for me!" she said cheerfully.

...

At the Matou Editing Office,

Arcueid stood up with a happy expression and turned to look at Kariya, who was busy reviewing manuscripts. She said, "Kariya, I was thinking..."

"Ahh?!" Kariya turned around, his bloodshot eyes looking at her as he asked, "What are you thinking?"

"Oh no, no, no..." She was sweating, "I'm not thinking of anything. I just want to write. Writing makes me happy!"

"Then hurry up and write!" He turned his head back, his resentment soaring, "Damn bastards, sending their manuscripts on the deadline day. I'll definitely grab a knife and cut them all into bald donkeys sooner or later!"

Arcueid was sweating profusely, her trembling hands holding her phone as she said, "I'm sorry, Shirou. I am not free right now."

Then she hung up the phone.

Shirou: "..."

He looked at his phone, speechless.

Over the past year or so, Arcueid had immersed herself in Fuyuki City, doing things that humans did. She had even pulled off the classic mysterious transfer student act, enrolling in his school. But she grew tired of it all too quickly, casually submitting a withdrawal application, and disappearing just as easily as she had arrived.

Becoming a light novel author was another one of her little games. Yet, this time, it seemed she hadn't gotten bored and moved on, as she usually did.

To make things even more interesting, she had caught the attention of the extremely responsible Matou Kariya. Shirou let out a sigh, genuinely impressed that she hadn't grown tired of writing yet. Who knows what's going on in that woman's mind?

Shirou tilted his head slightly and glanced at Ruby, who was panting heavily and trying to catch her breath after being trampled by him. But now he couldn't find the right words to say; he was speechless.

Who would have thought that she was into this kind of stuff? An M, of all things!

He couldn't help but sneer, "Even if I can't seal you permanently, I'll still find a way to keep you away!"

An ominous aura of black mud swirled around him, shaping itself into a pitch-black treasure chest. Like the mythical tale of Pandora's box, he placed Ruby and Sapphire inside it.

"Yaah~! Are we playing a game of imprisonment now? Can't you give poor Ruby a moment to catch her breath?"

"Sister, please stop causing trouble. Eternal King, once your anger cools down, you should consider letting us go," Sapphire calmly suggested.

"Release you?" He let out a cold laugh. "I'm going to seal both of you for eternity! Not even Zelretch can save you now!"

He shut the lid of the black treasure chest and allowed the swirling mud to swallow it, along with Ruby and Sapphire, submerging them within the depths of the "Evil" inside him.

The "Evil" contained layers of imaginary pace, and the black treasure chest, along with Ruby and Sapphire, were exiled to that imaginary space.

"Brother..."

At this moment, Sakura came down the stairs.

Shirou looked at her and asked, "How is she?"

"I've applied the ointment, but you were really harsh on her this time."

"Well, I had to be tough. Otherwise, she'd never learn her lesson."

She hesitated for a moment and added, "I'm sorry, Brother..."

"What's wrong?"

"I... I didn't even notice she was doing such dangerous things."

"You can't put all the blame on yourself. The owner of those two Mystic Codes, despite being a despicable scoundrel, is indeed very powerful. It's no surprise you didn't catch on."

"No!" she shook her head firmly, "Brother, being too soft on me won't help! It's really my fault, and I need to learn my lesson through punishment!"

Sakura walked over to his side and threw herself onto his legs. With a hint of embarrassment, she slowly lifted her skirt, revealing a pair of bear-patterned panties. She blushed but continued, "Don't hold back. Please punish me as much as you want, Brother!"

Shirou: "????"

He was completely baffled!

"What on earth are you doing, Sakura?" His eye twitched as he asked, trying to make sense of her actions.

"I made a mistake, so I really think I deserve a harsh punishment." she said with a bashful expression.

His stomach started to hurt.

It seemed like his little sister's thinking had taken a rather abnormal turn too!