“Sakura, that is a gift of thanks for the people who helped you.
Return it to him.”
Tokiomi Tohsaka could only turn to his younger daughter and instruct her.
“Uh… okay.”
Having just been accepted back by her father, young Sakura was still very obedient.
She tried to return the sapphire in her hand to Broly.
However, Broly did not take it.
He only frowned slightly, a hint of hostility appearing in his eyes as he looked at Tokiomi.
This man was stopping him from increasing the girl’s happiness value, which meant he was blocking Broly from obtaining food.
He already had a path to death.
But the man was Sakura’s father.
If Broly killed him, the girl would definitely be sad.
That made Broly hesitate, uncertain of what to do.
“This is something I’m giving to you.
I want you to be happier.”
After thinking for a moment, Broly could only rely on the overbearing style of a wild child from Planet Vampa, speaking firmly to young Sakura.
Young Sakura: “Eh?!”
Tokiomi: “Hm?!”
Almost everyone watching the scene seemed to have exclamation marks appearing over their heads.
“Things have become interesting.”
Mr.
Gold gave his opinion on the matter.
He could clearly tell that the boy was speaking the truth.
A little boy telling a little girl that he wanted to make her happier would usually sound like a childish joke.
But now that it had been confirmed as sincere, wasn’t that interesting?
Of course, part of the amusement came from Tokiomi.
Seeing such a rigid, proper man show a look of surprise created a delightful contrast.
It made Mr.
Gold feel a faint interest, as if thinking: so even this stiff man can make such an expression.
I wonder what other expressions he can show.
He’s only a child.
What he means might not be the same as what I understand.
Tokiomi told himself this inwardly, then put on a false smile.
“Words like that should not be spoken carelessly to a lady, even if she is still young.
As a man, one should be elegant and maintain proper gentlemanly conduct…”
Tokiomi began teaching a child his knowledge of elegance and gentlemanly manners.
“I only want to make my wife happier.
I won’t casually say that to anyone else.”
Broly listened humbly, thought for a moment, then gave his answer.
“Calling a lady your wife without permission is also an extremely impolite and ungentlemanly act.”
Tokiomi said.
“But she is my wife.”
As Broly said the word “wife,” he was thinking of the food the girl had fed him yesterday, including the bugs he had devoured in the basement.
His tone was extremely firm.
“What do you mean?”
Tokiomi could not understand the boy’s attitude.
That was, until young Sakura tugged at the hem of his clothes and explained, in a rather roundabout way, that since she could not repay the boy who had saved her from the pile of insects, she had already agreed to become the wife of the big brother who saved her.
Tokiomi first fell silent.
Then he nearly broke down.
Immediately after that, he declared that such words between children were mere childish jokes and could not be taken seriously.
“She gave me food, so she has to take responsibility for me!”
This line surfaced in Broly’s mind, and he used it directly.
The moment those words came out, the scene fell silent once again.
Broly’s statement was so novel that everyone needed a moment to digest its meaning.
“So if I give you food, do I also have to take responsibility for you?”
After a while, Tokiomi finally asked.
“You can’t take responsibility, because you can’t become my wife!”
Broly answered seriously.
His earnest appearance finally made Mr.
Gold burst into laughter.
If such absurd words were spoken by an adult, they would be utterly ridiculous.
But if spoken by a child, they could be taken as a child’s wildly imaginative thinking.
Mr.
Gold liked that imagination.
“Doesn’t this era have sex-change surgery?”
That was something he had seen in hospital advertisements on television when he was bored.
“In that case, Tokiomi, why don’t you undergo that surgery, become a woman, and become this child’s wife?”
Mr.
Gold directly offered his elegant retainer in this era a truly wicked and terrible suggestion.
“Of course, if you do not accept this era’s transformation techniques, my treasury also contains a gender-changing potion I could bestow upon you.”
“King of Heroes, you jest.”
The corners of Tokiomi’s eyes and mouth twitched as he replied to his Servant.
Inwardly, he kept reminding himself to remain elegant and maintain his gentlemanly composure.
“If you truly wish to make Sakura your wife, then you still have a very long road ahead of you. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
At the very least, you must become an exceptionally outstanding person.”
From their exchange just now, Tokiomi had realized that this child’s understanding of things might be abnormal.
However, he had no intention of correcting the boy’s worldview.
Instead, he stated the standard he, as a father, held for any future son-in-law.
That standard had only one condition:
The person had to be outstanding.
As for what “outstanding” meant, naturally, the definition could be made as strict as possible.
“To be outstanding means to surpass ordinary people and accomplish things that common people cannot…”
If this child truly became an exceptional person in the future, then even if he wished to take his younger daughter as his wife, perhaps by then it would be something Tokiomi could accept.
“Outstanding?”
Broly frowned and memorized the word.
This was not entirely because of Tokiomi’s words, but also because of the Crystal Palace’s prompt.
[Becoming an outstanding person is indeed beneficial to the host’s wife-capturing efforts.]
“Then how do I become an outstanding person?”
Broly asked.
“That is something you must think about yourself.
But my suggestion is that, at all times, you should maintain elegance and the conduct of a gentleman…”
Tokiomi continued instilling his elegant philosophy of life into him.
Meanwhile, the Crystal Palace only reminded Broly that there were a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes, and that “outstanding” was a rather subjective judgment.
It was up to the host to decide for himself.
To this, Broly only wanted to ask:
What is Hamlet?
Can you eat it?
He always had this habit.
Whenever a new term appeared in his mind, he would ask whether it could be eaten.
Usually, he received no response.
[Hamlet is a tragic story.
It cannot be eaten.]
This time, however, the Crystal Palace actually replied.
After receiving the answer, Broly immediately lost interest.
His attention returned to the question of how to become an outstanding person.
Although the Crystal Palace told him to judge for himself, wasn’t there someone right in front of him he could ask?
“What is elegance?
What is conduct?”
Tokiomi did not yet realize how terrifying Broly could be when he entered curious-child mode.
When Broly asked him this, Tokiomi even felt a slight pleasure in teaching and began explaining his own understanding of elegance and gentlemanly conduct.
However, once Broly’s follow-up questions came one after another, turning him into a question machine of endless “whys,” even someone as elegant as Tokiomi began to lose patience.
“Enough!”
The man let out a somewhat undignified shout, but after realizing he had lost his composure, he quickly coughed and restored his previous elegance.
“What I mean is, there are still matters at home, so it is inconvenient to continue receiving you two as guests.”
Tokiomi Tohsaka found an excuse and respectfully escorted the two of them out.
“When I have time in the future, I will invite you both to visit the Tohsaka residence again.”
In other words, if there was no invitation, it would be best not to come.
The door closed.
Taiga Fujimura felt a trace of sympathy for Tokiomi, who had chased them away.
Broly’s endless questioning just now reminded her of what had happened in the large bathhouse last night.
At the time, she had been just like that man, trying to explain things clearly to a curious child with a hundred thousand “whys.”
The result had been a complete defeat, followed by embarrassment and anger, ending with her choosing to shut down the topic.
“Can you tell me—”
Broly, still unsatisfied, turned to Taiga.
“It’s noon.
Want to go eat?”
Before the question could be asked, Taiga changed the subject.
The moment he heard it was time to eat, Broly immediately threw all those unresolved questions about elegance to the back of his mind.
“Yes!”
He answered obediently.
…
“Phew…”
After sending Broly away, Tokiomi let out a long breath.
“That must have been difficult for you.”
Mr.
Gold actually began sympathizing with this unlucky Master.
If it had been him being questioned like that, he would definitely have been unable to resist using force.
Originally, he had thought Tokiomi was a boring man.
Now, however, he felt that the man was not entirely without merit.
At the very least, as an adult male, his elegance and composure had now earned Mr.
Gold’s approval.
Hearing this, Tokiomi froze slightly.
He had not expected this tyrant-like King of Heroes to say such a thing.
For a moment, he actually felt somewhat ashamed.
“My elegance and composure still require more refinement.
I still have much to practice.”
After Tokiomi escorted his daughter back to her room and returned, Kirei Kotomine walked over and asked,
“Teacher Tokiomi, do I still need to investigate Miss Sakura’s matter?”
“No need.
There are no traces of tampering on Sakura.
She most likely took the opportunity to run away from the Matou family.
Although running away from home was a little mischievous, it did allow me to discover some issues with the Matou family.”
Tokiomi narrowed his eyes, walked to the side, picked up the receiver on the table, and dialed the Matou household using the old-fashioned telephone.
“Hello?”
After the call connected, a hoarse voice came from the other side.
“Sakura has returned home.”
Tokiomi did not beat around the bush and spoke directly.
“As expected of the Tohsaka family head.
You so easily took Sakura back from those who abducted her.”
Zouken Matou offered a compliment.
“I did not take her back.
She found her way back on her own.
She also told me some things about what she experienced in the Matou household.”
Tokiomi’s tone was cold, giving away no emotional fluctuation.
“Is that so?”
Zouken questioned in response.
He did not quite believe Tokiomi’s words.
The speed at which Sakura had been recovered made him think this was a play directed and acted out by Tokiomi himself.
“Does the Matou family head not intend to give me an explanation?”
Tokiomi asked.
“What do you want me to explain?”
“Explain why the daughter I adopted into your family was thrown into a pile of insects.
Explain when the Matou family’s magecraft inheritance changed from water to insects.”
Tokiomi’s voice sank.
Now, his intention to demand accountability could finally be heard.
“The world changes, and so does the Matou family.
The magecraft passed down from the past caused the magus bloodline of my Matou family to decline.
For the sake of inheritance, the Matou family naturally had to make some changes.
Whether it is changing our family’s magical attribute or requesting a child of excellent aptitude from your Tohsaka family, all of it was done so that the Matou family’s magecraft inheritance could continue.
That is my answer.
I wonder if the Tohsaka family head is satisfied?”
The decline of the Matou family was an objective fact.
Changing a family’s magical attribute for the sake of preserving its inheritance was something Tokiomi could understand.
If he had been in the same position, he would likely have done the same.
“You should not have hidden such a matter from me.”
Tokiomi said.
“Tohsaka family head, have you forgotten?
Our two families are not only old allies, but also competitors for the Holy Grail.
Would you reveal all your trump cards to your rival?”
Zouken asked in return.
“No.”
After a moment of silence, Tokiomi answered.
“Then, do you plan to send Sakura back to the Matou family, or do you have other arrangements?”
Zouken asked again.
The choice was now in Tokiomi’s hands.
If that man did not intend to send his daughter back to the Matou family, then Zouken would have to consider plotting to obtain another child with magus aptitude and bring them back to the Matou household for modification.
There was no need to fall out with him yet.
Tokiomi was not weak as a magus.
Moreover, as a Master participating in the Fourth Holy Grail War, he had summoned an extraordinary Heroic Spirit.
If he truly became unreasonable and attacked with his Servant, the Heroic Spirit summoned by a half-baked magus like Kariya Matou would not be able to stop him.
“Tap, tap, tap…”
Sitting in his armchair, Tokiomi tapped his fingers against the table.
If only the Holy Grail ritual had not begun so soon—if it could have been delayed by four or five years—he would have tried to obtain an additional magecraft inheritance for his younger daughter.
Unfortunately, there was no such possibility.
Tokiomi also had not expected his younger daughter to possess the same exceptional magus talent as his eldest daughter.
By the time he learned of Sakura’s talent, the Holy Grail War was already close at hand.
Tokiomi had no spare energy left to make other arrangements for her.
That was why, when he learned the Matou family needed an adopted heir for their family’s magecraft, he had felt extremely fortunate.
Even now, after learning that the Matou family’s magical attribute had changed from water to insects, the Matou family—who needed a magecraft heir—was still the best option before him for entrusting his younger daughter.
“I will have Sakura return.
But when altering her magical attribute, I ask that you be gentler.”
Tokiomi’s reply left Zouken stunned.
After hanging up the phone, the old man muttered to himself in an uncertain voice,
“Could it be that Sakura’s abduction really wasn’t arranged by him?
Forget it.
Whether it was or not, the fact that the Tohsaka boy is willing to send his daughter back is good enough.
Hm.
I should call Kariya back as well, so no one else can abduct such an important experimental material from the Matou household again.”