[Tohsaka Sakura did not notice your existence.]
[But she did see the moment the scabbard flashed.]
[This made her a little curious.]
It had indeed lit up.
Tohsaka Sakura rubbed her eyes, but found that Excalibur Galatine had returned to normal.
"Eh——?!" The little girl's mouth hung slightly open, her eyes filled with confusion.
Tohsaka Tokiomi naturally didn't miss his daughter's unusual reaction.
He crouched down, his face full of concern, and spoke to her.
"Sakura, what's wrong?" Tokiomi asked gently, his eyes filled with worry.
"..." Without much hesitation, Tohsaka Sakura extended her little finger and pointed to the scabbard lying quietly in the box on the table.
"Daddy~" Sakura said softly, her voice a little hesitant.
"It glowed just now!" She added.
Hearing his daughter's description, Tohsaka Tokiomi felt that something might be wrong, so he asked rather cautiously.
"Sakura... what kind of light was it? Tell Daddy a little more carefully." Tokiomi prompted gently.
"Was it white, yellow, or something else?" He inquired.
Tohsaka Sakura scratched her face, seriously trying to recall the scene from just now, but found that she couldn't remember it no matter how hard she tried.
Looking at her like this, Tohsaka Tokiomi realized that it might just be a misunderstanding.
However, he didn't blame his daughter, but instead reached out and stroked Tohsaka Sakura's soft hair.
"It seems like Sakura, you've temporarily forgotten," Tokiomi said with a gentle smile.
"In that case——" He paused for a moment.
"Why don't you go to sleep first? Maybe you'll remember after you wake up," he suggested kindly.
"Mmm~" Tohsaka Sakura obediently nodded her head.
"I understand!" She replied.
[Tohsaka Sakura rarely opposed her father's arrangements.]
[Moreover, she really couldn't recall what the scene of the scabbard glowing just now looked like.]
[She decided to go to sleep first according to her father's arrangement—maybe she would really remember after waking up.]
[She returned to her room.]
[And her mother, Zenjou Aoi, was already there waiting for her with a storybook.]
[This was Tohsaka Sakura's favorite bedtime story time.]
[She would hear many interesting things during this time.]
"This is the story of King Arthur," Zenjou Aoi closed the book on her lap, then looked at her daughter and asked softly.
"Sakura, do you like it?" Aoi asked with a warm smile.
"I like it~" Tohsaka Sakura first nodded with a smile, but soon showed a puzzled expression.
Zenjou Aoi, who doted on her daughter, naturally noticed this contrast.
She brushed aside the stray hairs on Tohsaka Sakura's forehead and asked gently.
"Sakura," Aoi said softly, her eyes filled with affection.
"You seem... confused about something? Can you tell Mommy?" She inquired.
"Mommy," Tohsaka Sakura looked at her mother, who had just finished telling her the legend of King Arthur.
"King Arthur... why did she give up the throne at that time and give it to her sister?" Sakura asked, her voice filled with childlike curiosity.
"Wasn't what she did... not very good?" She questioned innocently.
"..." Zenjou Aoi's expression became a little awkward for a moment, as if she had thought of certain real-world situations.
She completely hid this emotion in her heart, then continued to explain the reason to Tohsaka Sakura.
"Because King Arthur knew that her sister could do a better job," Aoi explained gently.
"That's why she bravely chose to give up the throne," she added.
"Sakura, you must also take her as an example and be brave, okay?" She encouraged her daughter.
"Eh——?" Several red patches appeared on Tohsaka Sakura's cheeks.
"I understand! I will try my best!" Sakura said earnestly.
"Hmm," Zenjou Aoi smiled slightly. "Then have a good rest."
"Okay~" Standing at the door, Zenjou Aoi took one last look at her daughter and gently turned off the light for her.
After turning around, she fell into endless sorrow.
[According to past situations, Tohsaka Sakura lying in bed should have fallen asleep quickly.]
[But today's situation seemed a little different.]
[She found that she couldn't sleep.]
"Why can't I fall asleep..." The little Tohsaka Sakura tightly clutched the blanket covering her body.
She puffed out her cheeks and shouted as if chanting a spell, "Sleep——! Sleep——! I want to sleep——!" She chanted loudly.
However, the harder Tohsaka Sakura tried to shout, the more she found herself unable to sleep.
In the end, the little girl had no choice but to use the most traditional method.
That was counting sheep!
She closed her eyes and began to imagine herself as a shepherdess.
"One sheep... two sheep... three sheep... four sheep... glowing sheep... glowing scabbard..." She counted slowly.
"Eh?!" Tohsaka Sakura, who had counted something strange, opened her eyes.
She suddenly realized why she couldn't fall asleep—it was still because of the scabbard from earlier.
The little girl found that she really cared about it too much.
But... no! If she got up at this time, it would definitely make her parents unhappy.
She absolutely couldn't do that. That wouldn't be being a good girl.
Thinking like this, Tohsaka Sakura buried her head directly into the quilt, trying to fall into a deep sleep.
[Tohsaka Sakura loved her parents very much.]
[She didn't want them to be angry because of her, so she chose this way of avoiding her true feelings.]
[This was a very effective method usually.]
[But it was useless at this moment.]
[The more Tohsaka Sakura tried to forget the scabbard of Excalibur Galatine, the more clearly she remembered it.]
[She could even draw a rough image of it in her mind.]
[In the end, she even heard a certain voice.]
"Why don't we meet?" A clear and gentle inquiry bloomed in Tohsaka Sakura's ear, scaring her so much that she wrapped herself tightly in the blanket and curled into a ball.
After a long while, the little girl cautiously poked half of her head out from under the covers and called out towards the outside.
"Who are you?!" Sakura asked, her voice trembling slightly.
However, there was no response.
Tohsaka Sakura waited for quite a while. After confirming that it was safe, she cautiously crawled out of the blanket.
She began to mutter to herself.
Had she misheard? She wondered.
No. It shouldn't be possible that she had misheard.
After all, it had been very clear.
And that voice didn't sound like some terrifying ghost... more like a friendly stranger.
Why don't—— She go and look at that scabbard again? She thought to herself.
[Once an idea is planted in the heart, it will quickly take root and sprout, growing into a large tree called action.]
[Tohsaka Sakura increasingly wanted to return to the study where the scabbard of Excalibur Galatine was located.]
[This feeling grew stronger and stronger.]
[Finally, the little girl, unable to control herself, took action.]
Swish—— Tohsaka Sakura pulled open the drawer of her bedside table and took out a cute little flashlight from inside.
There was a sticker of a little rabbit on it, which she had added herself.
Wearing her pajamas, she held this object that could emit light, as if holding onto confidence.
*Click*, the flashlight turned on.
A small white circle of light appeared on the ground.
Tohsaka Sakura thus embarked on her nighttime journey.
[The place where Tohsaka Sakura slept was still some distance away from the study.]
[And the biggest difficulty hidden in between was having to pass through the room where her parents were.]
[This was a challenge that could not be avoided no matter what.]
[Tohsaka Sakura felt very worried about this.]
In the hallway.
Tohsaka Sakura, holding the rabbit flashlight, looked at the faint yellow light peeking out from under her parents' not-fully-closed door, and couldn't help but shiver.
This was the first time she had gone against her parents' wishes, so she felt a little unaccustomed to it.
But—— The little girl really wanted to see the scabbard again.
So even though she knew it was wrong to do so, she felt she had to try.
Besides, in the end, she was just trying to complete the task of "sleeping."
After taking a look at the scabbard, she would sneak back to her room without anyone knowing, and that way, they wouldn't be angry!
Having successfully convinced herself, Tohsaka Sakura took a deep breath.
She adjusted her emotions, then turned off the little flashlight, held her breath, and walked forward on tiptoes.
She planned to just pass by her parents' room and then complete her meeting with the scabbard.
However—— Just as Tohsaka Sakura reached the vicinity of the light, she heard a sob.
That was... the sound of her mother crying? She realized with a pang.
This was the first time the little girl had heard such a sound.
Even though she could cross the most "dangerous" place on this nighttime journey with just one more step forward.
But Tohsaka Sakura still stopped—she really couldn't ignore her mother's crying.
Grasping the edge of the door, Tohsaka Sakura peeked out half of her head.
She began to peek at the situation inside through the silk-like crack in the door.
[This was a scene Tohsaka Sakura had never seen before.]
[Her mother, who had just recently told her the story of King Arthur so gently, was now crying in her father's arms.]
[It was a very miserable scene.]
[Even a child as small as Tohsaka Sakura could feel the endless sadness from it.]
[She wanted to find out what was going on.]
Zenjou Aoi's voice came from inside the room, a sob-filled narration.
This usually incomparably elegant mother also looked very helpless at this moment.
"Tokiomi... do we really have to send Sakura away? Is there no other way?" Aoi asked, her voice choked with tears.
"Sigh," Tohsaka Tokiomi sighed.
As a mage, he knew that he shouldn't feel sad about these things.
But at this moment, looking at his wife crying her eyes out, the man found that he wasn't as firm as he had imagined.
He also couldn't bear to part with his incredibly obedient daughter and didn't want her to leave his side at all.
And what was even more upsetting was that this seemed to be the only way he could solve the problem at the moment.
"Aoi, I'm sorry," Tohsaka Tokiomi hugged his wife, his words full of apology.
"I'm too incompetent," he confessed.
"I really can't think of a second way to protect both Rin and Sakura at the same time." He admitted his failure.
The Tohsaka family's protection could only be given to one person.
A choice had to be made between Rin and Sakura.
And if considered from a utilitarian perspective, the older Rin was naturally more suitable to stay in the Tohsaka family.
As for Sakura, they could only take this compromise to protect her.
Knowing that the husband before her had already tried his best, Zenjou Aoi didn't say another word, but just kept wiping away her tears.
The room fell into a deathly silence.
[At this moment, the Tohsaka couple completely didn't notice that their daughter, Tohsaka Sakura, had overheard these conversations.]
[After all, in their hearts, Tohsaka Sakura had always been a sensible and good child, so it was naturally impossible for her to do something like eavesdropping.]
[But it was precisely this trust that created the current situation.]
[Tohsaka Sakura found that she seemed to know something terrible.]
"I'm going to be sent away?" Upon learning this, Tohsaka Sakura felt a sharp pain in her heart.
She knew that her parents loved her very much. But if that was the case, why did they want to send her away?
And... who was that person called Rin? Why didn't she have to be sent away? She wondered, confused.
Despite having many doubts and confusions in her heart, Tohsaka Sakura didn't immediately go to question her parents.
She felt that would be too impolite.
Besides—— The little girl glanced at the turned-off rabbit flashlight.
She had sneaked out... if they found out, they would definitely be very angry! She thought nervously.
She should still hurry to the study first!
Tohsaka Sakura took one last look at her parents in the room, then left silently.
[This was a much smoother night than imagined.]
[Tohsaka Sakura, holding her rabbit flashlight, quickly arrived at the door of the study.]
[This process was not discovered by anyone.]
Whoa—— The heavy wooden door was pushed open little by little by Tohsaka Sakura, making a dull sound.
The study was pitch black.
But the little girl definitely didn't dare to turn on the light—because that might attract her parents.
There wasn't much she could do.
Tohsaka Sakura could only use the light from her little flashlight to begin searching for the scabbard of Excalibur Galatine in this large study.
Fortunately, she remembered where her father had taken the box from.
Tohsaka Sakura moved a chair over, bit the little flashlight, and then followed her memory to search on the bookshelf.
And the situation was about the same as she had imagined—that box was lying quietly on the bookshelf at this moment.
Tohsaka Sakura felt her heart beat a little faster than usual.
She used all her strength to take the box down, then placed it on the desk in the study.
The little girl opened it, and then saw the scabbard of Excalibur Galatine at a glance.
However, it was a little different from the last time.
Tohsaka Sakura didn't see it glowing this time, nor did she hear that strange voice.
Could it be that she had made a mistake? She couldn't help but suspect this.
It shouldn't be... Tohsaka Sakura looked at the scabbard before her, and the thought of touching it with her hand grew in her heart.
She didn't know why she wanted to do this, but when she came back to her senses, she found that her hand had already reached out.
The next moment, Tohsaka Sakura's hand rested on the scabbard.
A feeling like an electric shock ran through her body.
Then, a gentle greeting:
"Nice to meet you, I look forward to working with you."