In the Nasuverse, inside Rin Tohsaka's room at the Tohsaka manor.
"Sis, didn't you say you had to use the restroom? Why did we come here?"
Sakura Tohsaka, a quiet and well-behaved girl of only five or six with shoulder-length black hair, looked at her older sister with a puzzled expression.
The head of the Matou family had already arrived and was currently downstairs in the main hall, conversing with their father.
The Matou family head was a hunched, wizened old man with an incredibly sinister face. The moment Sakura saw him, her first reaction was fear. His eyes were as dark as a starless night, like an insect that had captured its prey, their inorganic gleam devoid of any emotion.
Although Sakura was afraid, she had no intention of running away. No matter what, I can't cause trouble for Father and Sis, she thought.
Fortunately, at that moment, her sister, perhaps noticing her unease, immediately spoke up, saying she needed to use the restroom and taking Sakura with her.
Sakura did wonder why two people were needed for a bathroom trip, but she didn't resist. She would much rather be with her sister than under that old man's gaze.
To her surprise, Rin didn't take her to the restroom but instead pulled her straight up to her own room on the second floor.
Watching Rin peek down the hallway twice before locking the door, looking for all the world like a thief with a guilty conscience, Sakura blinked, a suspicion suddenly forming in her mind.
"Sis, don't tell me you want me to run away?"
Looking at the window in Rin's room that led outside, Sakura shook her head. Not to mention the bounded fields set up around the house, even if that wasn't a factor... "If we do that, Father will be angry with you, Sis!"
Even now, faced with being given away, she still called Tohsaka Tokiomi "Father." And her primary concern was not for herself, but for whether Rin would get scolded. It had to be said, she had something of a people-pleasing personality.
"Shh! Quiet down. Who said I was taking you to run away?"
Hearing Sakura's words, Rin placed a finger to her lips.
"At our age, even if we ran out, they'd find us. We might even starve to death. I'm not going to make such a foolish decision."
"Then, Sis, what are you...?" Sakura tilted her head, a little confused.
"I'm here to welcome Lord Su Mo!" Rin said in a hushed voice. "If it's Lord Su Mo, he can definitely solve your problem!"
"Lord Su Mo?"
Hearing this unfamiliar name for the second time, Sakura paused, then carefully observed the irrepressible excitement and nervousness on her sister's face.
After hesitating for two seconds, she suddenly asked a strange question.
"Is Lord Su Mo a man?"
"How did you know?" The surprise on Rin's face was evident. Could it be that Sakura had also joined the chat group?
"So, Sis, you've hidden an unfamiliar man in your room?" Sakura asked with innocent bewilderment.
Her train of thought was completely different from Rin's, and her one sentence completely short-circuited Rin's brain.
Though Sakura's deduction had a certain logic to it, why did it sound so strange? She wasn't even seven years old yet!
"Of course not!" Flustered by her airheaded little sister, Rin's face flushed beet-red as she retorted. "Lord Su Mo is—"
Her explanation was cut short as a man's voice, incredibly familiar to those in the stream, sounded out clearly.
"I'm what?"
Having just arrived in the Nasuverse, Su Mo surveyed his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over all sorts of cute decorations before landing on the two little girls in front of him.
Rin's twin-tails were highly recognizable, so there was no need to guess. Sakura's gentle demeanor was also quite obvious.
"L-Lord Su Mo?!"
Seeing Su Mo's figure, Rin was dumbstruck for a moment before immediately grabbing her sister's hand, about to kneel on one knee to salute.
"Greetings, Lord Su Mo—"
This wasn't sycophancy or opportunism, but the basic respect of the weak for the strong.
In truth, let alone for Su Mo, who had shown her kindness and agreed to help, even if a god a tier below him who had nothing to do with her were present, they, as ordinary mortals, would have to show their reverence.
So-called etiquette, besides displaying the majesty of the strong, also served to teach the weak how to interact with them, protecting the weak from harm.
"To be able to teleport inside the house... amazing!"
Sakura didn't resist Rin's actions, kneeling along with her. But the look in her eyes as she gazed at Su Mo held no small amount of surprise.
Though she hadn't been raised as the heir, she still knew a little about the common sense of the magus world. The ability to teleport was itself an extremely rare power; to do so inside another's bounded field was nothing short of miraculous.
Most importantly, he hadn't triggered the Tohsaka family's wards at all, treating their defenses as if they were nothing.
"No need to kneel. You're not my knights. You can treat me as an equal."
Facing the two saluting lolis, Su Mo casually stopped them. They only felt a gentle breeze brush past them, and they were immediately helped up.
Madoka: "So that's Rin's little sister! She's so cute!"
Kanae: "Little Rin is cute too!"
Kanae: "But Little Rin looks even younger than I imagined!"
This was the first time the group members had seen Tohsaka Rin in person, and they were immediately full of enthusiasm.
If it were malicious teasing, Rin's comeback would have been swift. But faced with such heartfelt praise, she found it a bit hard to take.
Tohsaka Rin: "No I'm not! Stop saying weird things!"
Watching her twin-tails sway back and forth and her cheeks redden with embarrassed anger, even Erica, who was supposed to be on guard duty, couldn't help but chime in.
Erica: "If I'd known Little Rin was this cute, I would have tricked her into coming over to be my hug pillow!"
Erica: "Seeing Little Rin looking so embarrassed but also enjoying it, I suddenly understand the exquisite pleasure of teasing a tsundere."
Madoka: "Erica... you're scary!"
Kanae: "As an older sister, I can understand that feeling. That's what I call being a pro!"
Tohsaka Rin: "Waaahhh! You vixen, I'll kill you!"
"Sis?"
Seeing the expression on Rin's face suddenly become incredibly colorful, Sakura glanced at her quizzically before looking back at Su Mo.
She didn't know if it was because of her connection to her sister or because this big brother was better looking, but unlike the fear she felt after seeing the old man from the Matou family, seeing Su Mo seemed to calm her heart a little.
It was like a clear mountain spring in summer, giving a cool and calming sensation.
"Don't mind her," Su Mo said casually.
"I understand!" Sakura said with a polite nod, trusting Su Mo's words.
Sure enough, realizing Su Mo was right there, Rin managed to return her expression to normal in less than three seconds, no longer paying mind to the embarrassing praise in the group chat.
"Lord Su Mo, this is my house..."
Glancing awkwardly at the messy pajamas thrown on her bedsheet, Rin forced herself to remain calm and introduce the place.
"We're in my room right now."
"Mm," Su Mo nodded, then glanced downwards. "Your father is downstairs. Will we be proceeding with the original plan later?"
The original plan was to first investigate the trustworthiness of the Matou family before deciding what to do next.
To Su Mo, the plan Rin had proposed sounded rich in detail but was actually useless. It didn't matter whether they followed it or not.
After all, whether it was a one-for-one trade or sacrificing herself, both were plans based on the premise that Tohsaka Tokiomi hadn't misjudged and that the Matou family was trustworthy. If this factual basis was lost, none of it was even worth discussing.
The main reason he hadn't rejected Rin's proposal was that there were some things she had to witness for herself. Su Mo didn't need to interfere too much.
As it happened, the thing he wanted to obtain in the Nasuverse was also at the Matou residence.