TYPE-MOON Universe, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
"I guess that means it was good, huh?" Tatsuo asked with a grin on his face. He then looked towards Elicia with an inquisitive glint in his eyes. "So, how close would you say my cooking is to your husband's?"
It took a moment for Elicia to reply to Tatsuo's question. However, that had nothing to do with the completely involuntary moan that came out of her mouth after tasting Tatsuo's food. Instead, it was because she was seriously considering his question.
Meanwhile, Sakura, who had a similar reaction, could not even raise her had to look at Tatsuo. Despite all the obscene things she was forced to do because of the Crest Worms that were previously in her system, this was something totally different. Those things only brought her shame and despair. But this, it ushered in nothing less than the highest level of embarrassment she had ever experienced.
"Hmm… You're definitely better than Grayfia." Elicia said, finally getting her thoughts in order. "And when we hired her, she was about ninety-five percent as good as Fonzie. But over the years, that gap has grown. Now, I'd say she was about ninety-percent as good. As for you, you're probably about ninety-three or ninety-four percent as good as Fonzie. But something tells me if you get to watch him cook, you'd probably surpass him pretty quickly."
Nodding in both understanding and satisfaction, Tatsuo finally started to eat as well. And even if he said so himself, the food was excellent.
'Lici's right.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'This isn't as good as Alfonzo's cooking. And it's even further away from Jōichirō- San's. Looks like I still have a long way to go.'
Like that, the dinner passed peacefully. However, it was clear that Sakura was still being affected by her embarrassing moment. Still, she ate all her food without leaving even a grain of rice. In fact, had she been alone, she was sure that she would have licked the bowl, too.
After dinner, the trio, with cups of tea prepared by Tatsuo, continued to sit around the table so they could discuss the more important matters.
"Alright, now that we're all fed, we've got some serious business to talk about." Elicia said, her smile still present on her face, though her tone let everyone know that she was taking this conversation seriously. "First, we already know about your circumstances, Sakura, having been adopted away from the Tohsaka Family when you were only about six years old. It was pretty big news in the magical community, after all."
Nodding in response, Sakura was not surprised to know that Elicia already knew about that. In fact, on top of being big news in the magical community, it was pretty common, as well. Magus families only pass their legacy down to one heir each generation. So, that can cause issues if the family has no inheritors or more than one.
Unfortunately, the Tohsaka and Matou families fell into both of those categories this generation. And because of a hair-brained scheme of being able to control both the Tohsaka and Matou families once Sakura became the Matou family's head, Sakura's late father, Tohsaka Tokiomi, agreed to Zouken's request to keep his family's lineage as a Magus family going.
Unfortunately, Tokiomi lost his life during the Fourth Holy Grail War when he was betrayed by his student, Kotomine Kirei. And even if he had lived, he would have had no idea what Sakura was going through while she was in the Matou family.
But if he had ever found out what Sakura was forced to endure, there would have probably been a war between the Tohsaka and the Matou families. Because, despite his shortcomings and ambitions, Tokiomi did love his second daughter.
"And do you know about the Holy Grail War?" Elicia continued, receiving another nod from Sakura in response. She then pointed at Sakura's right hand as she continued. "Then, I assume you know what that means, too, right?"
"I do." Sakura said as she raised her right hand and cradled it in her left. "It means I've been selected by the Grail to be one of the seven Masters. Though, my grandfather did not intend to let me participate. Instead, he planned to transfer my [Command Spells] into a grimoire that he would give to my brother, Shinji."
"Such a waste." Elicia said while shaking her head. "I know he knows that the Servant's strength is dependent on the Master's Od, right? so, why would he willingly handicap the Servant the Matou family would have summoned."
"Because he had no intention of winning the Grail War." Tatsuo said with a scoff. "He planned on taking over the girl's body with those disgusting worms. And when you consider how young she is, he would have enough time before he needed to jump bodies again to participate in the next Grail War."
"That makes sense." Elicia replied with a nod.
Sakura, on the other hand, widened her eyes in surprise. From what she'd heard, Zouken only implanted those worms in her so that her body would be suitable for the Matou family's magical crest, which was true. However, that was not all of it, and Zouken found no reason to tell her, since she might rebel against him if she knew the truth.
"Are you serious?" Sakura asked in a shaky tone.
"Yeah, no doubt about it." Tatsuo replied with a nod. "I could feel pieces of his soul in every one of those worms. And there was a pretty big portion of it in the worm that was closest to your heart. If that wasn't a dead giveaway about his plans, then I don't' know what is."
Sakura could not help but shudder at the thought of losing her body to old man Zouken. The thought was completely mortifying. But when she remembered how Tatsuo rescued her, she could not help but look at him with gratitude, and a hint of something else.
Meanwhile, when Elicia saw that glint, the smile on her face widened. Though, she had no intention of interfering. However, she would find great amusement in watching how the relationship between Tatsuo and Sakura panned out.
'Something tells me Tatsuo's harem is going to be even bigger than Fonzie's or James'.' Elicia thought to herself. 'And with his draconic greed, he's definitely never gonna let any of them go.'
["On top of that, his harem won't have the luxury of being from the same guild like Fonzie's."] Scylla added. ["Nor will they have all the same moral ambiguity of the devils, Yōkai, and supernatural beings in James'. This could be hard to deal with for him."]
'I know, right?' Elicia replied. 'It's gonna be so fun to watch. Even though Sumire is open to sharing, it's clear that Aletia isn't. Shea and Tio don't' seem too bothered, though. But what about the girls in his world? I know his mom's assistant, Mai, is against it, too. So much drama. I love it.'
Scylla, in Elica's inner world, only shook her head at Elica's antics. However, the small smile on her face made it clear that she was thinking something similar.
"Anyway, let's get back to the real topic." Tatsuo said, completely unaware of Elicia's thoughts. [Those [Command Seals]… Do you intend to participate in the Holy Grail War, Sakura?"
"I… I don't know…" Sakura replied after snapping out of her shock. "The Holy Grail War is dangerous, isn't it?
"It is." Elicia replied solemnly. "But the rewards are lucrative. With the mana that will be stored in the Grail by the end, almost anything is possible. Well, if the Grail wasn't corrupted, anyway."
"Corrupted? What do you mean?" Sakura asked in a confused tone.
"You can thank Einzbern family for that." Elicia said with a strange smile on her face. She then proceeded to explain what she meant in a solemn tone. "In the Third Holy Grail War, the Master chosen by the Einzberns summoned an illegal Servant, Angra Mainyu, of the extra class, the Avenger Class."
"Angra Mainyu?" Sakura asked, interrupting Elicia's explanation in a shocked tone. "But isn't he the evil god of Zoroastrianism? How could he be summoned as a Heroic spirit?"
"Yes and no." Elicia replied, not bothered by Sakura's interruption. "Although Angra Mainyu is the name of the evil god you're referring to. In this case, they are different. In this case, he was just a weaker than average Servant. However, when he was defeated and sucked into the Holy Grail, it made no difference whether he was the evil god or not, as he corrupted it so completely that it was as if all the world's evils were crammed into the Grail."
"You can't be serious." Sakura said in atone filled with horror. "Then, doesn't that mean that even if someone won the Grail, it would do nothing but cause disaster?"
"Exactly." Elicia replied. "And there was an example of that ten years ago. No one even won the Grail in the last Grail War. Yet, when the mana collected in the cup spilled, it caused the Great Fire of Fuyuki."
Hearing that, Sakura's eyes shot wide open. At the same time, the image of a young man with short auburn hair and golden-brown eyes appeared in her mind.
"Then, why would you ever even consider participating in the war?" Sakura asked in a shaky tone.
"Originally, I only did it because my family basically forced me to." Elicia said in an annoyed tone. "I'd rather be at home making clothes. But when the [Command Spells] showed up on my hand, they said they would crush my business if I refused. And now I'm here…"
Sakura did not find that reasoning surprising at all. She knew just how ruthless Magi could be. So, the only thing she could do is look at Elicia with sympathy.
"But I really lucked out with the Servant I summoned." Elicia continued, her tone becoming more cheerful. She then gestured towards Tatsuo as she continued. "You see, Assassin, here? Well, he's skilled enough in Magecraft that he could also serve as a Caster if summoned in the right circumstances. And one of his signature Magecraft is that of---"
"[Purification]." Sakura said, cutting off Elicia's explanation as she glanced at Tatsuo. "So, that means, unless you win the War, the Grail will remain corrupted, right?"
"Yeah." Elicia replied with a nod. "But I doubt anyone will just let that happen. They'll probably never believe us, anyway. Besides, every Magi and Servant in this war has something they are fighting for. So, they'll probably fight until the bitter end to claim the Grail for themselves."
"I see…" Sakura replied in a contemplative tone.
'She's right.' Sakura thought to herself. 'Even though I never wanted to fight in the Grail War, now that I've been chosen, I have something I want, too. But am I willing to endanger everyone just to have my wish fulfilled? No, I'm not.'
"I'll help you, Taylor-San." Sakura said in a serious tone. "I'll join the Holy Grail War and fight alongside you with the Servant I summon. I don't want to see a tragedy like that from ten years ago ever again."
"I appreciate the thought, Sakura." Elicia said with a smile. "But you have to consider more than just that. For example, will the Servant that you summon be willing to give up a chance at having their wish granted, too?"
That question caused Sakura to pause. She had never considered that. But it was definitely something worth pondering.
"Either way, we can think about that after you actually summon a Servant." Tatsuo said calmly. "For now, we should think about getting your wounds taken care of. Since we already took the catalyst that old man prepared."
Nodding in response, Sakura turned to look at Tatsuo with even more gratitude.
"Unfortunately, I don't' think I can heal... everything." Tatsuo said while quickly glancing down at Sakura's crotch.
Noticing Tatsuo's glance, Sakra drew in a deep breath of air.
"*Sigh* I understand." Sakura said after exhaling a long sigh. "I didn't expect you to be able to turn back time. And although I'm sure those experiences have changed me from the person I would have been otherwise, I won't dwell on it. I'll just keep moving forward. That's all I can do, after all."
Hearing Sakura's heart-felt words, both Tatsuo and Elicia looked at her with impressed gazes.
"You're stronger than I am." Elicia said sincerely. "I don't' think I could be so positive if I were in your shoes. I'm just lucky I had my husband to help keep me safe. Because lord knows, I could have been in a situation similar to yours, if not worse when I was a child."
Thinking back to the day when both hers and Alfonzo's families were killed in the village outside of Hargeon in her universe, Elicia could not help but be glad that Alfonzo was with her. Because without his [Metal Magic's] awakening in that dangerous situation, both of them would have been carted off by the Cult of Zeriff to become slaves in the building of the Tower of Heaven, alongside another one of Alfonzo's wives and Elicia's sister-wife, Erza Scarlet.
Tatsuo, on the other hand, looked at Sakura with greed in his eyes. Like he had with Yakumo, he found something that was worth being part of his hoard in Sakura. And he wanted her for himself.
But Tatsuo could consider how to have Sakura for himself later. For now, he had more important things to think about.
"Anyway, let's take care of those injuries." Tatsuo said as he stood up from the table. "After that, you can get some rest."
"That's a good idea." Elicia said as she, too, stood up from the table. "I'll go make you some pajamas."
"Thank you." Sakura said while lowering her head politely. "I truly appreciate everything that you've done for me tonight."
"Don't worry about that." Elicia replied. "I don't like seeing people suffer if I can help it. So, I just did what I wanted."
With that, Elicia disappeared into her room to get started on making the pajamas. Meanwhile, Tatsuo led Sakura into the room where he had been summoned. Then, using a piece of the same magical chalk Elicia used, he drew a [Healing Magic Circle], one he learned from Shirasaki Kaori in the Arifureta Universe. Then, once it was done, he had Sakura stand in the center before activating it.
Before too long, all the cuts, bruises, and old injuries on Sakura's body were healed, leaving her almost as good as the day she joined the Matou family.
After that, Tatsuo sat with Sakura until Elicia finished making the pajamas. Then, with the new pajamas in hand, Sakura, for the first time in a long while, went to bed and slept well.
Tatsuo, on the other hand, left the hotel to handle a little business while scouting the town for the night, informing Elicia that he would be back by sunrise. And the fact that the entire Matou residence, with Byakuya and Shinji inside, vanished from Miyama town about an hour before sunrise would be the major topic of the magical community for a long time. Especially since there was no clue to who had done it.