Toosaka Rin opened her eyes blearily.
"Well, where is this?"
After realizing that this was an unfamiliar environment, she immediately looked around vigilantly.
"Did you sleep well, Rin?"
The man sitting next to her was flipping through a classic book in his hand. When he noticed her, he casually greeted her.
And his sister, like a baby animal, put her head on the man's legs, with a happy look on her face.
"Sakura?"
Toosaka Rin gradually recalled everything. After reuniting with her sister, the two of them, who were of the same age, immediately started chatting with each other. Although most of the time they were special lectures on how great Roland was, under Sakura Matou's intoxicated narration, Toosaka Rin's opinion of Roland changed a little.
Powerful, mysterious, unpretentious, gentle yet always maintaining an appropriate distance, perhaps Sakura's sincere narration really worked.
Although her father is still the most perfect person in her heart, as an adult who admires him, it is inevitable that someone like Roland will make her heart beat sometimes.
After they were tired of chatting, the two sisters didn't care about the environment because they had their younger sister's company, so they took a nap on the sofa. Unexpectedly, when they woke up, they found that Roland seemed to have been back for a while.
"What's wrong?"
Looking at Toosaka Rin who was staring at him blankly, Roland asked puzzledly.
"Nothing!"
Toosaka Rin blinked her big eyes and subconsciously lowered her head to hide the blush caused by her previous reverie. She immediately jumped off the sofa, and her thick black twin ponytails swayed with her movements.
"What time is it now?"
"Don't worry, I'll take you back."
"No."
Although she had a deep impression of Roland, Rin Toosaka was not ready to accept the kindness of the guy who was her enemy in the morning. Even if she reached a deal with him, she still had dignity!
"Are you sure? School is over now."
Roland didn't care. He just touched Ying's head with an expression that looked like he was enjoying a good show.
"Woo——!"
Toosaka Rin was struck by lightning. The note she left for her mother only mentioned that she was leaving home early. Maybe she could still get away with it, but if she came home late, then she would have no way of explaining it.
Although Toosaka Tokiomi is the backbone of the Toosaka family, in daily interactions, he is only responsible for matters such as teaching magic. Usually, Toosaka Rin is taken care of by Aoi. Although Toosaka Rin believes from the bottom of her heart that her mother is very gentle, she is afraid to see her face when she is angry.
If we rely on the opponent's power to move around in the shadows, it's still not too late to make up for it.
But at this moment, Roland seemed not to notice the confusion on Toosaka Rin's face. He showed an innocent smile and did not mention sending her home.
Toosaka Rin, who was less than ten years old, deeply felt the filthiness and helplessness of the adult world. She ran to Roland's side, pulled Roland's hand under Sakura Matou's suddenly sharp gaze, and threw aside the dignity she had just picked up.
"Please help me, Lord Roland!"
Although the second half of the sentence sounded a bit like he was speaking with gritted teeth, Roland naturally didn't care about it. The deep darkness rushed over and enveloped the two figures.
At the door of the Zenjou family, Roland saw Toosaka Aoi again. She was still as dignified and beautiful as ever, with the elegant temperament inherited from the Toosaka family.
"I'm so sorry, this kid always acts on his instincts without considering reality, and it's causing you trouble."
Holding Rin's hand, Aoi Toosaka bowed deeply and steadily to Roland, who claimed to be a kind passerby and took the initiative to give Rin a ride, showing off her voluptuous figure.
"It's just a small favor," Roland smiled brightly. He always had a quiet and arrogant temperament, so when he took the initiative to show this kind of smile, it always made people feel very friendly.
After chatting casually for a few minutes, Toosaka Aoi was pleasantly surprised to find that although Roland looked very young, he was able to handle housework, cooking, and various daily chores with ease. This made Toosaka Aoi, who didn't have many friends because of her Yamato Nadeshiko-like temperament and her identity as Mrs. Toosaka, rarely smile sincerely.
Although Toosaka Aoi felt a little weird about getting along so well with a young man who was much younger than her, this state did make her more relaxed compared to Toosaka Tokiomi, who spent most of his time socializing to maintain his noble status or studying magic. In their daily interactions, although they were not cold, they were definitely not enthusiastic either.
"It's almost time for dinner, Roland-kun, do you have anything else to do? If it's convenient, please come to my house and try my cooking."
"Although I really want to say that obedience is worse than respect, unfortunately," Roland showed an embarrassment, "Seeing that Miss Aoi is such an excellent wife, I have to go home quickly to see my wife."
"Roland-kun got married at such a young age?" Toosaka Aoi was a little surprised and smiled. "No wonder, compared to a woman like me, the young wives at home are more attractive."
"You're joking. Frankly speaking, this is an arranged marriage by the girl's family, and I am the passive party," Roland sighed pretentiously. "But even so, as a father, I can't just leave my daughter alone. If I really want to choose a marriage partner, a good wife and mother like Miss Aoi is more attractive to me."
Before she could react to the fact that Roland was pregnant, Toosaka Aoi's beautiful face was filled with a peach-like blush.
"...Roland-kun is joking again."
"After all, these are just some presumptuous words, please don't take them to heart," Roland nodded to Aoi Tousaka steadily, and quickly left before she could raise her guard. "Then I'll take my leave first."
But just after turning around and walking a few steps, Roland turned back and winked at Tousaka Aoi with a sly smile.
"However, my comments just now all came from my heart."
After saying that, he left without paying attention to the reactions of the two people behind him.
Toosaka Aoi was standing there in a daze, and only came to her senses when Rin beside her pulled her clothes.
As a descendant of the Zenjou family, which was once a magic family, although Tousaka Aoi does not have magic circuits, her bloodline is still very excellent and she is a precious mother. Therefore, from the very beginning, she was reserved by the Matou family. After Matou Kariya gave up voluntarily, Toosaka Tokiomi quickly chose to take over. Therefore, Toosaka Aoi actually did not have the freedom to choose her marriage.
But due to the education she received since childhood, she had no complaints. After all, Toosaka Tokiomi was an excellent husband and had always been good to her, so Toosaka Aoi had always blindly reciprocated her love, even if her daughter was to be sent away, even if Rin and Sakura might develop hatred and fight as competitors in the future.
She is so strong that she would never show her emotions about these things, but would just obey obediently. Matou Sakura's usual performance comes from her personal example.
This was the first time that Toosaka Aoi had received such direct praise from Roland.
"Is he also someone who can't choose his marriage? Just like me..." Thinking of Roland's previous words, Toosaka Aoi had a strange misunderstanding and subconsciously regarded the other party's situation as the same as her own, and then quickly shook her head because of those thoughts that shouldn't have appeared in her mind.
She is Tōsaka Tokiomi's wife, and as long as she holds this identity, she must maintain this loyalty like a subject to his lord.
But if you just want to make a new friend, it should be allowed, right?
"Mother?"
Toosaka Rin held her mother's hand cautiously. She had never seen her mother look so gentle, with longing and a little shyness.
"It's nothing, Rin, let's go home," Hearing her daughter's call, Toosaka Aoi smiled and walked towards the Zenjou family's house.
Toosaka Rin wanted to remind her mother of Roland's true identity, but she couldn't find a suitable reason to keep the secret that she was also possessed by Ishtar, destroyed Matou without authorization, and was subdued by someone.
Finally, the mother and daughter, each with their own thoughts, arrived at the door of Chancheng's house.
Toosaka Aoi bent down slightly and stared at her daughter's face with a very serious expression.
"Rin, you can't tell Dad about what happened today."
"In exchange, Mom won't tell Dad about you not coming home on time after school and wandering around Fuyuki City where you can't stay for long."
"Hmm…"
Toosaka Rin looked at her mother's expression and finally nodded helplessly.