At the funeral of the Tohsaka family, Roland stood outside the cemetery casually holding an umbrella, while Toosaka Rin, dressed in black, walked out, covering her arm.
"Elder sister..."
Although it was also her father's funeral, Sakura Matou, who had simply followed Roland, did not wear formal black clothes. She was still wearing a white shirt and pleated skirt as usual, and her small feet in white socks were stepped on black round-toed leather shoes.
Looking at the sad face of Tohsaka Rin, although she could not accept Tohsaka Tokiomi, Matou Sakura still considerately held her umbrella and came to Tohsaka Rin's side.
The funeral was drawing to a close, and although she was nominally the head of the Tohsaka family, after the formal occasion was over, the people who came to pay their respects still gave the little girl some free time.
The host, Kotomine Risei, was standing solemnly in front of Tokiomi's grave, praying silently. Aoi Tohsaka, wearing black mourning clothes, looked even more dignified. She stood quietly beside the crowd, occasionally looking at Roland outside the cemetery.
"Thank you, Roland. If you hadn't comforted my mother, I'm afraid she wouldn't have the courage to attend my father's funeral. And... I will pay you back as soon as possible for the money to rebuild the Tousaka family."
Tohsaka Rin hung her head. Even she couldn't smile on an occasion like today. After taking over the Tohsaka family in the past few days and learning the details, she realized what a mess it was.
The mansion that served as the workshop and main residence was blown up, and there were foreign debts everywhere, and no liquid assets at all. The remaining funds were more than enough to maintain a decent life, but it was a bit stretched to rebuild the Tohsaka family or to invest in magical training.
Fortunately, the underground books, her father's seal, and the spiritual place as the administrator of Fuyuki City are still there, otherwise the Tohsaka family might really be expelled. As guardians, Kirei and Kotomine Risei want to help her, but compared with the Tohsaka family, they are not even a drop in the bucket.
In order to keep the Tohsaka family going, Tohsaka Rin had to ask Roland for help again. Fortunately, the other party generously lent her a large sum of money, which allowed her life to get back on track.
Although she didn't want to admit it, Tohsaka Rin felt that the image of Roland in her heart was constantly rising because of his timely help in such a difficult time.
"It doesn't matter. I already owe you so much, so it doesn't matter if I borrow a little more," Roland smiled. "Besides, if you can't hold on any longer, I won't be able to get you back."
Look, the other party always finds such childish excuses to make himself feel better. Apart from his father, he is indeed a person worthy of reliance. No wonder he was able to help his mother get out of the shadow so quickly...
"Besides, you are Sakura's sister and Aoi's daughter. This is what I should do."
At this point, Roland began to miss Tohsaka Tokiomi. Although it was not subjective, this Pot of This World had helped him a lot.
Unfortunately, the last trace of the other party had been swallowed up by the Key of All Spirit. All Roland could do was to learn from Prime Minister Cao and make a promise: "I will take care of your wife and children, don't worry about them." I hope Tohsaka Tokiomi rest in peace.
"Has the imprint transplantation been completed?"
"The first part is done."
"That's good. This is a gift that Kirei asked me to pass on to you."
Roland looked at Tohsaka Rin, who was biting her lip with a strong face, and took out the dagger wrapped in cloth from his arms.
After the conversation that day, Kotomine Kirei had indeed changed. He did not attend such a joyful moment in person, but chose to let Roland take over.
"This is a gift from your father. I hope you can forgive his shortcomings."
"I know."
Tohsaka Rin responded to Roland in a muffled voice, "Kirei has done a great job. Not only is he managing all of my businesses for me, he has also personally arranged the inheritance of the seals and other assets. He has also opened an orphanage specifically for adopting children who were orphaned in the fire. I shouldn't have made too many demands on him."
Tohsaka Rin's expression also became much calmer. Although the death of her father was a big blow, her mother and sister were still by her side, giving the girl a lot of support.
"And I heard that Kirei's own daughter has also returned. Let's go visit her later. It's a good opportunity to return the gift."
"I don't like that girl."
After hearing what Tohsaka Rin said, Matou Sakura said angrily, "Especially a fool like my sister, she will definitely play with her."
"Sakura! You underestimated me again!"
Hearing her sister's sarcasm, Tohsaka Rin broke away from her sad mood and started playing with Sakura.
Roland watched this scene quietly, and then suddenly an idea came to his mind and he looked at the Key of All Spirits in his hand.
After he digested the Shendu, his authority increased again, and now the Key of All Spirits can monitor the entire Fuyuki City.
And just now, the Key of All Spirits suddenly conveyed another message to him.
"The current number of nearby Contract Spirits: 1"
Are there still some fish that slip through the net?
Roland's eyes became strange. He had visited Fuyuki City before and found no relevant traces. Now they suddenly appeared? And there was no trace. The influence of the contract spirit was almost impossible to cover up, unless it was a harmless white level, but that level would never escape.
But fortunately, now he doesn't have to measure the distance between himself and the unknown spirit step by step like the Killer Queen did in the past.
It was enough to know that the other party had just entered Fuyuki City.
Roland snapped his fingers, and the dark shadow turned into a thin line and spread out.
"Find everyone who just entered Fuyuki City and report back to me."
After a while, detailed information came back.
Roland was also a little surprised to see the figure he had just seen a few days ago.
"Is it that guy?"
——
Standing at the door of the hospital, Matou Byakuya looked at the dark sky outside the window and sighed.
He is the nominal head of the Matou family, but that doesn't mean he has no self-awareness.
Who created the current situation of the Matou family and who is the real controller? This is not a secret that needs to be hidden.
The deteriorating situation of the Matou family and the increasingly twisted heir cannot be said to have nothing to do with the existence of Matou Zouken, but he is at least the main culprit.
But Matou Byakuya still didn't dare to resist Matou Zouken. When he thought of the densely packed insect nests and his mother and wife who lost their value after giving birth, fear flowed in his veins. Although he had no talent, as a member of the magic family, he knew how terrifying that monster was.
On weekdays, apart from using alcohol to numb himself, he had been living in a daze. It was not until the news of Matou Zouken's death came that Matou Byakuya understood what it felt like to be truly alive. After confirming that Matou Sakura followed a man to inherit the Matou family, he didn't even plan to resist and planned to leave directly.
But the man who might have killed Zouken Matou stopped him, asked him to help continue managing Matou's business, and gave him generous rewards.
Out of practical considerations, Matou Byakuya agreed. He had originally prepared himself to step into the devil's lair, but he did not expect it to be so easy. After all, as long as he did his job well, the adult would not ask him to do anything unnecessary.
"Are there magicians like Lord Roland?"
"I advise you not to trust this kind of misunderstanding, otherwise it will only hurt yourself."
"Lord Roland!"
Matou Byakuya subconsciously took a few steps back and looked at Roland who walked out of the shadows, but he didn't expect that the other party just glanced at him and then shifted his attention to the hospital behind him.
"What are you doing in the hospital?"
"Uh..." Matou Byakuya hesitated instinctively, but still didn't dare to lie to Roland, so he answered honestly.
"I'm here to help transfer my son Shinji to another hospital. According to his father's wishes, the child has been recuperating in a country hospital. Since I'm mainly working in Fuyuki City now, I transferred him here for convenience."
So this is the origin of the problem with the heir that Matou Zouken mentioned before. Roland stared at Matou Byakuya.
"Matou Shinji, why is he in the hospital?"
"Unconscious," Matou Byakuya sighed, "That child was not meant to be an heir, but he is very smart and interested in the classics of magic, and Zouken also indulges his behavior.
"So after Sakura was adopted, I kept it a secret from him, hoping to make the child feel better. Until he found out about Zouken teaching of Sakura, he was ridiculed by the old man when he went to question him. I don't know what happened, but he passed out on the bed that night. Zouken couldn't find the cause, and the doctor said it was a heart attack caused by anger, so he had to be thrown into the hospital to rest."
"Really?" Roland hesitated for a moment, "Which room is he in? Take me to see. If everything goes well, maybe your son will wake up today."
"Really... Thank you, Lord Roland! Thank you!"
Looking at Matou Byakuya, who was leading the way in front with an excited look on his face, Roland's eyes gradually became deep, and he did not say the second half of the sentence.
However, whether the person named Matou Shinji is the same person as before is another matter.
——
Shinji Matou is proud of his last name from the bottom of his heart.
As a member of a mysterious family, he was born to embark on this path. He has the responsibility and obligation to take on this power.
To this end, he began to study hard at a very young age.
There was no doubt that he was a genius. He always surpassed others in sports. In study, he didn't even pay much attention to the teacher's explanations, but he was able to get top grades. Even computers, which were difficult for adults to understand, he learned easily. He started to hack into websites through self-taught programming and became a hacker.
If he studies hard, he will undoubtedly become a scientist. If he paints, he will become a famous artist. If he studies programming, he will become a leading hacker. These are all bright futures that Shinji Matou can choose.
But he doesn't care about any of that, he just wants to be a magician.
Whenever he got some free time, he would go into the library of the Matou family and eagerly learn everything there. Whether it was techniques or theories, Matou Shinji absorbed these essential knowledge like a sponge.
Because he is a capable person, he must shoulder his due responsibilities, and being a magician is undoubtedly the path he most desires.
It was not until the appearance of that girl that he found out that she was the true heir of the Matou family that a long time passed.
His father, grandfather, and the girl all kept him in the dark.
It's so ridiculous that he actually thought that the girl was being excluded and tried his best to use his status to get more care for the girl.
This ignorant kindness must be very funny in the eyes of that girl. She is obviously an abandoned waste, but she is showing off her skills to the real heir of the Matou family.
All his efforts seemed like a living joke to his grandfather and father.
He tried his best to find the answer, and finally his father told him the truth with compassion.
Since he was born, it was confirmed that he did not have any usable magic circuits.
Without this qualification, no matter how familiar he is with the theories or how much he understands the knowledge, he will not be able to use this mystery.
Shinji Matou's pride was shattered, and he felt that everything around him had betrayed him. His twisted obsession with becoming a magician since childhood turned into deep jealousy, which completely overwhelmed him.
If you can't fill the void in your heart, if you don't let this jealousy fade, you will definitely end up in misery.
Shinji Matou was sure of this, but he was still unwilling to give up. He even mustered up the courage to ask his extremely frightened grandfather for directions.
But the other party just commented with a look as if he saw a joke.
"Give up. You don't have the [talent]."
Matou Zouken made a prediction about the future of his grandson.
"You just need to be like an ordinary person, don't need to think about anything, just live your life from day to day, and when you grow up, just inherit the blood of the Matou family. Incompetent people should have their own way of living. You just need to be like a louse in the future, sucking the blood of talented people to make yourself live happily."
Everything he had was denied, and Shinji Matou fell into despair, realizing that he had no talent.
He can achieve achievements in this society that are envied by others, but he can never get a ticket to the path he desires.
However, even though he had nothing, there were things he wanted to do.
If there really are such gods, he would be willing to give up everything he has.
"—I want to have talent."
In his dream, he also repeated this twisted obsession, and then he was chosen.
Endless talent completely submerged his soul, personality, world outlook, and even his memory, but even so, he was content to accept it.
Because his emptiness has been filled, he now has talent.
"As long as this child can wake up, I won't say anything more to him. As long as he can have hope, I will accept him no matter how he lives."
Matou Byakuya looked at his son and his voice became heavier.
"Really? But this child probably won't just have hope. He might even become hope itself. However, this requires that he can find the savior who can save him from his talent."
Roland looked at Shinji Matou who was lying on the hospital bed and fell into a deep sleep. He took back the contracted spirit that almost escaped, and his eyes kept moving between his name and Shinji Matou.
——The Contracted Spirit [Shin Shizuku: Hope's Peak High School] has been recovered.