[Ding! The group chat system will undergo an upgrade!]
[During the upgrade, all cross-world functions will be temporarily frozen/locked and unavailable. Communication and group chat functions will continue to work normally.]
[Planned contents of this upgrade include: detailed provisions for a "Special Protection Protocol for Underage Members"; optimization of the transaction-value evaluation system (introducing modules to assess abstract factors such as emotional value and future potential); a pilot "Emergency Humanitarian Aid" clause; and adjustments to certain feature permissions…]
[Countdown: 23:59:59…]
[Please be advised.]
Yomogawa Ayame: "The system's upgrading?"
Bibi Dong: "A forced upgrade?"
Misaka Mikoto: "Twenty-four hours? And right now of all times?!"
Akame: "Function freeze?! Then that means…"
The chat instantly filled with surprised, baffled, and anxious reactions.
Akiyama Mio: "T-twenty-four hours? Will that be too late? Rin's situation already seems urgent!"
She was genuinely worried—she was a kind girl. And she wasn't the only one. In the Light Music Club's subgroup, Hirasawa Yui, Kotobuki Tsumugi, and Tainaka Ritsu were all especially concerned. Yui, who had a younger sister, was shaken the most. Just imagining her own sister being given away and suffering the unimaginable was intolerable.
"Rin and Sakura… will they be okay?" Hirasawa Yui asked, worried.
"…"
But no one could give her an answer.
Yukinoshita Yukino: "This upgrade confirms that the issue Hayasaka raised is real and an urgent system loophole to fix."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "The timing seems unfortunate, but it's a necessary act of procedural justice."
Even as she said that, Yukino's brows knit slightly.
Staring at the cold system notice and the shrinking countdown, Rin felt the fragile hope she'd just found get crushed halfway all over again. Her fists clenched tight—nails biting into her palms with a tiny sting that helped her resist the despair threatening to break her.
After a brief, breathless panic, a hotter, firmer flame lit in those crimson eyes.
No relying on others. No waiting around.
The upgrade might not be in time—but it was also an opportunity. Father didn't know about the group chat, this "variable." She still had a chance.
"I can't just sit and wait for doom."
Tohsaka Rin: "It's okay, everyone!"
She drew a deep breath and sent her message with force.
Tohsaka Rin: "Twenty-four hours. Before the freeze kicks in, I'll find a way to win these crucial twenty-four hours for Sakura—no, I'll stop this from happening!"
Miyamizu Mitsuha: "Rin…"
Mitsuha was moved by Rin's strength.
Miyamizu Mitsuha: "I'm with you. You can do this!"
Tohru: "Oh? That's the spirit, kid—no, young lady. Now we're talking!"
Rei Ao: "That resolve is good."
His message appeared with a steady weight that calmed the heart.
Rei Ao: "Twenty-four hours. Remember this, Rin: in your current position, the essence of 'persuasion' is information warfare and psychological warfare."
Rei Ao: "What you need is leverage—'evidence' that forces your father to hesitate and reevaluate."
Rei Ao: "Against his absolute authority and strength, direct resistance would be foolish."
Tohsaka Rin: "What you need is wisdom. Gather and use every resource and ounce of imagination you have to find any thread—especially about the Matou family, and Matou Zouken himself—that isn't so spotless."
Rei Ao: "After the upgrade, the new rules may let me provide more direct support that still complies with the 'price' constraints."
Rei Ao: "Until then, hold fast—and act smart."
Tohsaka Rin: "Yes! I understand. Thank you—thank you, everyone!"
She bowed deeply, even though no one could see it.
Closing the luminous screen in her mind, Rin took another deep breath, as if drawing all her courage and resolve into her lungs. She shoved her door open and bolted out like the wind, racing down familiar corridors and across the carefully tended—but now eerily quiet—courtyard, eyes scanning urgently.
At last, under the old cherry tree in the corner of the garden, she found Sakura, crouched quietly, fingertips brushing a tiny nameless flower.
The afterglow of sunset streamed through the leaves, laying a dreamlike softness over Sakura's sleek violet hair.
"Sakura!"
Rin ran up to her sister, a bit breathless from the sprint. She gripped Sakura's shoulders, her expression more solemn than ever.
"Sis?" Sakura looked up, her large violet eyes—so like Rin's but softer—blinking in confusion at her sister's agitation. "What's wrong? Your hands are shaking."
"Listen, Sakura." Rin met her sister's clear gaze and spoke each word with crystalline clarity. "No matter what happens next—no matter what Father says to you, or if strangers try to take you somewhere—don't be afraid, and don't trust them easily."
"Trust me. I will protect you."
"I won't let anyone hurt you. That's my promise."
Rin wanted every word carved into Sakura's soul.
Sakura didn't fully grasp all the weight behind the vow, but in Rin's eyes—burning with unwavering fire—she felt a certainty and warmth that needed no explanation. It was a power stronger than language.
She nodded lightly, a soft, trusting smile blooming on her face. "Mm. I know. I believe you."
Looking at that pure, guileless smile, Rin felt her heart squeezed tight by a warm hand—aching and full. Her resolve to protect that smile hardened like diamond.
She took Sakura's hand. "Come on, let's go back to our room."
"Okay!" Sakura replied brightly, squeezing Rin's hand back with all her trust.
~~~
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