After leaving the restaurant, Fujimura Taiga noticed two small figures following her.
"Hey, why are you two following me?"
She turned around and asked, puzzled.
"Uh..."
Young Sakura wasn't sure how to respond. She had just followed Broly out of the restaurant without thinking. Now, faced with the older girl's question, she felt flustered but quickly came up with a reasonable answer.
"I wanted to thank you for helping us."
Her soft, timid voice was endearing.
"Ah, such a polite little girl! But no need to thank me. I just helped on a whim."
Fujimura Taiga bent down and patted the girl's head. Then she turned to the boy.
"So, little guy, are you here to thank me too?"
Broly didn't fully understand the concept of gratitude but answered directly, "I'm not here to thank you. I'm here to find a wife."
"Find a wife?"
Fujimura Taiga was stunned. A young boy saying something like this so seriously was both bizarre and amusing.
"What does that have to do with following me?"
She asked.
"You're the new wife I'm looking for."
Broly pointed at her nose, speaking with utmost seriousness. According to the Harem System, she was one of his figurine "wives," a source of food.
"Is this some new kind of scam?"
Fujimura Taiga was speechless but found the boy's cuteness irresistible. She pinched his cheek.
"You're adorable, but you're way too young. If you want to be my boyfriend, come back in ten years."
While Fujimura Taiga was amused, young Sakura was shocked by Broly's words.
"Wait, aren't I your wife?"
The girl asked.
"You are," Broly confirmed, not forgetting the food she had provided.
"Then why are you looking for another wife?"
"Can't I have more than one wife?"
Broly's retort left young Sakura speechless. She couldn't find a flaw in his logic.
"Wow, so young and already so greedy?"
Fujimura Taiga chuckled, pinching Broly's cheek harder.
"Do you want to be my wife?"
Broly didn't feel any pain. The girl's strength was nothing to him.
"Of course not!"
Fujimura Taiga answered without hesitation, finally letting go of his cheek. She didn't want to hurt him.
"Oh."
Broly was disappointed. This new "wife" clearly wasn't willing to provide him with more food.
"Hey, where are you going?"
Seeing the boy turn to leave with a dejected expression, Fujimura Taiga called out.
"It's nighttime. I need to find a place to sleep."
Broly answered honestly. On Vampa, he had followed a day-night cycle.
Fujimura Taiga rubbed her temples and said to the two children, "If you're not afraid of being around people who might look a bit intimidating, I can take you to my family's old house to stay."
"Eh, big sister, are you going to take us in?"
"I'm just worried that you two little ones might run into trouble with bad people outside."
Recently, a serial killer had been active in Fuyuki City, and several people, including children, had been killed. The police still hadn't caught the culprit.
Fujimura Taiga knew about this because her grandfather, Fujimura Raiga, who was currently staying at the old house, had warned her to be careful when traveling to and from school.
Originally, Fujimura Raiga had wanted to arrange for someone to escort his granddaughter, but Fujimura Taiga had refused.
One reason was her confidence in her own martial arts skills, and the other was her reluctance to reveal her family background at school.
"Welcome back, young mistress!"
"Greetings to the young mistress!"
Because her family was the Fujimura Group, the largest yakuza organization in Fuyuki City.
"Do we really have to do this every day?"
"Young mistress, the boss ordered us to be more welcoming to you."
Her grandfather was kind, but a bit too enthusiastic. Since her father had refused to inherit the family business, her grandfather wanted to groom her as the future successor of the Fujimura Group. The problem was, she didn't want to become a yakuza boss either.
"Young mistress, who are these?"
A man with a scar on his face, clearly a member of the yakuza, noticed the two children following Fujimura Taiga into the house and couldn't help but ask.
"Two homeless children I found on the street. I was worried about them wandering outside, so I brought them here."
Fujimura Taiga explained.
"Ah, so the young mistress is finally starting to build her own loyal team for the future of the Fujimura Group?!"
The scarred man, despite his intimidating appearance, was moved and exclaimed loudly.
"It's not about building a team, you idiot!"
"Boss, the young mistress has finally come around! She's willing to be your successor!"
The scarred man ran into the main house to deliver the good news, while Fujimura Taiga chased after him.
At this moment, she really wanted to kick the idiot who had misinterpreted her actions.
"What's all this noise? Have you no sense of decorum?"
Fujimura Raiga, who had been discussing matters with a guest in the main room, frowned when he saw the scarred man rush in.
But when the scarred man told him that his granddaughter had brought home two homeless orphans, the old yakuza boss's face lit up with a smile.
For people like them, adopting orphans was a way to cultivate loyal subordinates. Only children raised from a young age could develop unwavering loyalty to the organization.
The scarred man before him was one such orphan Fujimura Raiga had adopted. Even now, with a family of his own, the man and his children remained fiercely loyal to the Fujimura Group.
"Stop overexplaining my actions in front of Grandfather!"
The sliding door to the main room was kicked open, and Fujimura Taiga delivered a flying kick that sent the scarred man sprawling.
"Ahem, Taiga, we have a guest here!"
The sailor-uniformed girl stepped on the scarred man's back, looking like a tigress hunting her prey. Hearing her grandfather's words, she noticed the mature man sitting nearby. After glaring at the man beneath her feet, Fujimura Taiga toned down her "Tiger of Fuyuki" demeanor and became more composed.
"Mr. Emiya, my apologies. My granddaughter takes after me in temperament."
"No problem. In our line of work, a bit of temper is an advantage."
Kiritsugu Emiya showed no change in expression and calmly complimented her.
"About the house..."
"We'll go with the price you suggested, Mr. Emiya. As for the goods you ordered, I'll have them delivered to the warehouse next to the house tomorrow."
"Deal." Kiritsugu nodded and pushed a box filled with cash toward Fujimura Raiga. The money was for purchasing the house and the weapons.
Kiritsugu Emiya, once a famous magus killer in the underground world, still had some connections. Before the Holy Grail War began, he had contacted the largest yakuza group in Fuyuki City through the Fujimura Group to procure a batch of weapons.
"Aren't you going to count it?"
Seeing the old man have his subordinate take the box without checking, Kiritsugu couldn't help but ask.
"I trust Mr. Emiya's reputation."
Fujimura Raiga said, then had one of his men escort the guest out.
Kiritsugu stood up and followed the Fujimura Group member out. In the hallway, he passed by the two children being led inside.
"Mr. Emiya?"
Kiritsugu suddenly stopped, confusing the yakuza member escorting him.
"Nothing, I just remembered something."
Kiritsugu brushed it off. After leaving the Fujimura residence, he frowned.
He didn't recognize the boy, but he knew the girl. Having thoroughly investigated the participants of this Holy Grail War, Kiritsugu recognized her as the younger daughter of the Tohsaka family.
According to the latest information, she should have been adopted by the Matou family. He had no idea why she was now in the Fujimura residence.
"Could I have been discovered? But if I have, sending a child to get close to me seems a bit too casual."
Kiritsugu was deep in thought. His earpiece buzzed with Maiya's voice asking if everything was alright. He replied that it was fine but decided to look into the situation.
---
"You two are the orphans my granddaughter brought home?"
Fujimura Raiga looked at the two children brought into the room and asked directly.
"Grandfather, I just saw them homeless, and with that serial killer on the loose, I couldn't leave them outside. Don't scare them!"
Fujimura Taiga interjected.
"Is that so? But this little one seems quite bold."
Fujimura Raiga was referring to Broly. When brought in for questioning, Broly had been looking around the room with curiosity, completely unfazed by the scarred old man before him.
In contrast, young Sakura was clearly intimidated and hid behind Broly.
"Is there any food?"
After inspecting the room, Broly quickly lost interest and asked the old man directly.
Sakura's grandfather had been generous, offering him bugs to eat right away. Though it turned out to be a misunderstanding, Broly couldn't help but feel hopeful about Fujimura Taiga's grandfather.
"Kid, how dare you disrespect the boss!"
"Ah, you're still hungry?"
The scarred man and Fujimura Taiga spoke at the same time.
Broly patted his stomach and only answered Fujimura Taiga: "Not yet."
Feeling his dignity insulted by being ignored, the scarred man stepped forward to teach the brat a lesson.
"Stand down."
But Fujimura Raiga stopped him.
"It's good for a child to have an appetite and ask for food."
Fujimura Raiga turned to Broly.
"However, if you want to eat at the Fujimura residence, there's a condition."
"What condition?"
"The Fujimura family doesn't support freeloaders. Only those who contribute to the Fujimura family are worthy of eating here."
"What do you need me to do?"
Broly asked directly. In the harsh environment of Planet Vampa, one had to hunt to eat. Broly understood this principle.
"You're still too young. The Fujimura family doesn't need you to do anything yet. So, all I ask is that when you eat, you remember that you're eating the Fujimura family's food. In the future, you must be loyal to the Fujimura family. You must consider yourself part of the Fujimura family, one of us. Can you do that?"
Education starts young. Unlike recruiting small-time thugs, the upper echelons of the Fujimura Group were made up of orphans raised from childhood. This early cultivation of loyalty and cohesion was why the Fujimura Group dominated Fuyuki City's underworld.
**[Part of the family, one of us? What does that mean?]**
Broly frowned, pondering the question.
**[Crystal Palace, do you know?]**
He even asked the system in his mind, treating the information that occasionally surfaced as messages from the Crystal Palace.
**[Searching... Based on contextual analysis, 'part of the family' and 'one of us' are terms similar to 'wife.']**
The Crystal Palace actually responded. After receiving the explanation, Broly was momentarily stunned. Then, looking at Fujimura Raiga, he asked something that left everyone speechless:
"So, do you also want to become my wife?"
The room fell silent. Everyone stared at him in disbelief. Even though it was a child's words, it was still shocking.
"So, you're not just after me, but my grandfather too?!"
Fujimura Taiga was also stunned, muttering to herself.
"What? He's after you too?"
Fujimura Raiga was furious. His granddaughter was only fifteen, a genuine middle school student. Anyone who dared to have designs on her would have their legs broken!
But looking at the innocent face of the boy, who seemed unaware of what he had said and looked no older than a kindergarten student...
Well, it was just a kid much younger than his granddaughter. No harm done. If anything, it was his granddaughter who might be taking advantage.
"Did I say something wrong?"
Broly asked, confused.
**[Host, please note that the Crystal Palace currently does not accept non-figurine wives.]**
The Crystal Palace reminded him.
**[So, we can't become family...]**
Broly was disappointed. If he couldn't become part of the family, did that mean he couldn't eat here?
"Grandfather, this child has some cognitive issues. Don't take it to heart."
Fujimura Taiga spoke up for Broly and led him and the girl out of the room.
"Can't I eat here?"
Broly asked as they left.
"No, of course you can."
"But you won't agree to be my wife, and your grandfather can't be my wife either."
"You really want my grandfather to be your wife?"
"Having a wife means having food."
Broly answered.
"So, you just want to eat, not actually find a wife, right?"
Broly nodded without hesitation.
"Alright, if that's the case, I can agree to be your wife."
Fujimura Taiga finally understood the child's perspective.
"So, I can eat here now?"
"Yes!"
"Where's the food?"
That was all Broly cared about.
"I'll take you there."