C290

"Here are today's assignments."

Finally, after patiently waiting for the teacher to finish doling out homework, Fujimaru Ritsuka packed up her bag and glanced toward the door. As expected, her brother and sister were already waiting by the door.

After bidding farewell to her friends, Ritsuka hurried over and tugged at Shirou's clothes, eagerly exclaiming, "Hey, brother! Guess what? I scored 87 on the last math test! 87!"

"Not bad, you're definitely improving," Shirou remarked, affectionately tousling her hair.

Sakura chimed in with a smile, "That's impressive, Rikka."

Ritsuka beamed with delight, her smile stretching across her face.

Shirou chatted briefly with Ritsuka's homeroom teacher before bidding farewell.

The three of them strolled home together, with Ritsuka clutching her test paper and bouncing along happily.

Shirou and Sakura trailed behind, watching her with fondness.

"Something feels off..." Sakura murmured out of the blue.

"What's the matter? What feels off?" he asked.

Sakura stole a glance at Ritsuka up ahead and then shifted her gaze to Shirou, remarking, "It's only been a little over a year since you returned, but Ritsuka has grown even more attached to you."

"Are you feeling jealous?" he teased, a playful smile on his face.

"Absolutely not!" Sakura pouted.

Ritsuka waved her hand impatiently, "Hurry up, you two! If you don't, I'm gonna leave you behind!"

"Hey, slow down!" he called out.

"Forget it!" Ritsuka pulled a silly face, stuck out her tongue, and gleefully sprinted ahead.

Shirou grinned and chased after her alongside Sakura.

He couldn't risk losing sight of his energetic little sister in the bustling street. As always, he walked Sakura and Ritsuka to the nearby intersection and casually remarked, "You guys go ahead, I've got to swing by the office first."

"Sure thing, big brother," Sakura replied.

"Brother, don't forget to bring me a Haagen-Dazs!" Ritsuka chimed in.

"It's still April, no ice cream allowed."

"I got an 87 on my test!" Ritsuka proudly waved her test paper in the air.

"Not even a perfect score."

"Ugh..." she pouted and mumbled under her breath, "You're so stingy!"

Shirou paused for a moment, then said, "Well, since you've been improving in your grades, I'll treat you to some takoyaki."

"Aww, brother, you're the best!" Ritsuka grinned.

Shirou waved goodbye and turned the corner, gradually disappearing from sight.

"Alright, Rikka, time to head home," Sakura crouched down and beamed at Ritsuka.

"Yeah!" she nodded with delight.

The two of them strolled towards their house, hand in hand.

Ritsuka held tightly onto Sakura's hand, humming a tune and leading the way.

All of a sudden, Ritsuka realized she couldn't tug her sister anymore. She turned her head and caught sight of Sakura, gazing intently across the street.

"What's wrong, sis?"

Sakura dismissed it with a shake of her head, "Oh, nothing. Let's keep moving."

"Okay!" Oblivious, Ritsuka continued humming, strolling on ahead. Unbeknownst to her, Sakura kept stealing glances across the street, eyebrows knitted, looking perplexed.

"Weird...maybe I got up too early and it's messing with me," she muttered before walking off to catch up with Ritsuka.

Before long, on the other side of the street, a large tree suddenly split apart with a rustling sound, startling passersby.

...

Shirou reached the company and decided to take a leisurely walk around the premises. By the time he eventually departed, night had already fallen.

The company, which happened to be owned by his father, was a modern commercial supermarket and was part of a larger retail chain.

In terms of size, it wasn't excessively massive, presently catering to just ten smaller cities, with its main headquarters situated in Fuyuki City.

Shirou's father had solid management skills, but when it came to taking vacations, he handed over the reins to Shirou.

It seemed like he had no worries whatsoever about Shirou messing things up.

Well, it was because Shirou was the one who came up with the idea of focusing on smaller cities.

In places like Tokyo, the cost of land was sky-high, and the big players dominated the scene. Their family's limited resources wouldn't have given them any real advantage in such a cutthroat environment. So Shirou suggested putting big cities on hold for now and starting off in smaller cities instead. He aimed to tap into the untapped markets that the bigwigs were overlooking and gradually expand from there.

And it seemed like things were going pretty well so far.

On top of that, Shirou displayed exceptional skills in managing both people and operations, which came as a surprise to his father. With such confidence in Shirou's abilities, his father entrusted the company to him without any hesitation and set off on vacation.

This left Shirou both speechless and in charge.

While he managed things with ease, his true ambitions didn't lie in this industry. The retail business didn't capture his interest; he was merely stepping in temporarily to fill his father's shoes.

After wrapping up work, Shirou said his goodbyes to a few employees.

On his way home, Shirou decided to take a detour to a street food market and treated himself to some mouthwatering takoyaki.

As soon as he stepped through the front door, his attention was caught by the sight of a woman with golden hair sprawled out on the family sofa, engaged in an intense video game battle with Ritsuka.

The two of them were completely engrossed in the game. Whether they were pulling off some ridiculously weird moves or passionately yelling out phrases like "Super Furious Kick," it all seemed a bit cheesy but undeniably entertaining.

It's quite something to see this woman, who has lived for centuries, still capable of shouting like that.

"Oh no... I lost again!" Ritsuka exclaimed in frustration.

"Hehehe... the invincible True Ancestor reigns supreme once more. You still have much to learn, Ritsuka," she said, covering her right eye and sporting a satisfied smile.

"But you used to lose to me all the time before," Ritsuka pointed out.

"Uh, well...that was all part of my master plan!" she clarified awkwardly.

Just then, she glanced at the door. "Oh, hey Shirou. When'd you get back?"

"Right about when you were bragging about the 'True Ancestor.' By the way, you might want to check a mirror. You look like a fugitive on the run right now."

Indeed, Arcueid was dressed in a rumpled white robe, her golden hair a mess. She looked less like an ancient vampire and more like an escaped convict fresh out of a prison cell.