[This was something Tohsaka Tokiomi hadn't thought about much before.]
[Tohsaka Sakura didn't only have the Matou family to go to. There was another choice.]
[That choice was to ask the Edelfelt family for help. They lived far away, overseas.]
[The Edelfelts were distant relatives of the Tohsaka family. But for some reason, they stopped their Contact with each other around the time of Tohsaka Tokiomi's grandfather.]
[So, when Tohsaka Tokiomi was thinking about what to do, he didn't really consider this option.]
[But now, it seemed like this could be the hidden third way to help Sakura!]
"Hmm..."
Hearing her husband's idea, Zenjou Aoi's face first showed happiness that their daughter might be saved. But soon, her expression became serious again.
"Tokiomi," she said.
"If I remember correctly... our families stopped Contact long, long time ago, right?"
"...Yes," Tohsaka Tokiomi answered honestly.
"I think it was around my grandfather's time that we stopped contacting them."
"Then—"
Zenjou Aoi looked at the man in front of her, her eyes showing worry.
"Can you still get in touch with them now?"
"I don't know," Tohsaka Tokiomi replied, "But I have to try."
"Since Sakura doesn't want to go to the Matou family, I need to find a new way for her to be safe."
"Aoi," he continued, his voice firm.
"She's our child. No matter what, I have to do my best to protect her."
This promise showed how serious Tohsaka Tokiomi was.
Zenjou Aoi didn't ask any more questions.
She nodded, showing that she supported her husband's idea.
"I understand," she said.
"If that's the case... I'll also go back and ask people on my side of the family."
"I'll ask around. Maybe they'll know a way to contact the Edelfelts."
"Thank you for your help, Aoi."
"You too, Tokiomi."
[You and Tohsaka Sakura didn't know about the new plan Tohsaka Tokiomi and Zenjou Aoi were making secretly.]
[While the two of them were trying to find a way to contact the Edelfelt family.]
[Your relationship with Tohsaka Sakura was becoming closer and closer.]
"Ghost-san, look at my drawing! Is it good?!"
Tohsaka Sakura looked happy as she showed her picture to the empty space.
"It's very good," Mr. Ghost replied quickly. "At least, it's better than anything I could draw."
"Eh—?!"
Tohsaka Sakura blinked her eyes in surprise.
"Ghost-san, do you have hands too?"
"What are you talking about? Why wouldn't I have hands?"
"Then—" Tohsaka Sakura became curious. "Ghost-san, are you actually a person like us?"
"..."
"I think so," Mr. Ghost said after a moment.
"Wow—~" Tohsaka Sakura hugged her drawing and smiled brightly.
"That's wonderful!"
"Wonderful?"
"Hmm~"
The little girl looked very serious as she replied to Mr. Ghost beside her.
"Because if that's true, it means Ghost-san and I are the same! Maybe we'll have a chance to meet someday!"
Tohsaka Sakura became more and more confident as she spoke.
"Ghost-san, wait for me~"
"I'll definitely find a way to meet you!"
"..."
"Yes, I'll wait for you."
[You and Tohsaka Sakura made a promise.]
[You didn't know that this promise would directly affect many of her choices in the future.]
[During this time, Tohsaka Tokiomi finally had a bit of good luck.]
[He found a way to contact the Edelfelt family.]
[But the person on the other side seemed very proud and looked down on him.]
[They politely said they were interested in Tohsaka Sakura, but they wouldn't come back to Japan no matter what.]
[With no other options, Tohsaka Tokiomi finally suggested that he would go to Finland himself.]
[But before that, he needed to talk to his daughter honestly.]
Standing in front of Tohsaka Sakura's room, Tohsaka Tokiomi felt a little scared to go in.
He knew that the Edelfelt family lived in Finland, which was very far away, unlike the Matou family who were still in Fuyuki City.
His daughter didn't even want to go to the Matou family. How could he expect her to want to go to the Edelfelt family?
Just as Tohsaka Tokiomi was thinking about how to talk to his daughter, the door behind him slowly opened.
Tohsaka Sakura peeked out, her adorable eyes blinking as she called out:
"Papa~"
"Hmm?"
Tohsaka Tokiomi turned around, looking a bit flustered.
"Sakura... why did you suddenly come out?"
"Hehe~" Tohsaka Sakura tilted her head and giggled. "Because I heard Papa's footsteps!"
"Footsteps?"
"Yes~" Tohsaka Sakura nodded.
"Papa's footsteps sound like rocks."
"Mama's footsteps sound like cotton."
"I can tell them apart right away!"
"..."
The more obedient Tohsaka Sakura seemed, the harder it became for Tohsaka Tokiomi to speak.
As a father, he really couldn't bring himself to talk about this again, knowing that his daughter was against it.
But Tohsaka Sakura spoke up herself at that moment.
She looked at the man in front of her and said softly:
"Papa, are you... still thinking about sending me away?"
Tohsaka Tokiomi was taken aback.
"No, Sakura, I don't want to send you away."
"It's just that if you stay with us... there will be problems."
"Then... why doesn't the person called 'Rin' have to be sent away?"
Tohsaka Sakura looked confused and sad.
"Is it because I'm not as good as her?"
Hearing this, Tohsaka Tokiomi's eyes widened.
He felt a sharp pain in his heart.
This was the first time Tohsaka Tokiomi regretted becoming a magus, because it had put his daughter in this situation.
He really wanted to answer Tohsaka Sakura's question, but he couldn't say anything.
Tohsaka Sakura misunderstood his reaction, thinking she had asked something she shouldn't have.
"I'm sorry, Papa," the little girl said, lowering her head.
"Did I... ask a really bad question?"
"No... not at all."
Tohsaka Tokiomi knelt down on the floor.
"It's Papa who is useless."
"Sakura... I'm sorry."
[Fate began to move in a completely different direction at this moment.]
[In the end, Tohsaka Sakura went on a trip to a foreign country with her father.]
[And you stayed by her side the whole time.]
[Without realizing it, you seemed to have become a source of emotional support for her.]
"Ghost-san."
Tohsaka Sakura in her seat once again called out to the voice that only she could hear.
"This time, I have to go meet other people with Papa again."
"Is that so?" Mr. Ghost replied quickly.
"Do you know who you're going to see this time?"
"I know," Tohsaka Sakura nodded. "They're Papa's distant relatives."
"Oh? People you know? Isn't that good?"
"Hmm," Tohsaka Sakura hugged the rabbit plush in her arms, her voice a little quieter.
"But it feels like I'm going to be sent away again..."
"..."
[Your past experience made you realize that Tohsaka Tokiomi and Zenjou Aoi didn't just send their daughter away for no reason.]
[They were thinking about things that Tohsaka Sakura couldn't understand yet—of course, it was definitely for her own good.]
[But you also knew that this didn't mean Tohsaka Sakura had to accept these arrangements.]
[After thinking carefully, you decided to give the choice back to her.]
"Sakura," Mr. Ghost said gently.
"Since that's the case, then just like last time."
"If you think you can accept it, then agree."
"If you think you can't accept it, then don't hesitate at all. Just refuse."
"Don't force yourself to agree with things you can't accept at all, okay?"
Tohsaka Sakura had started to rely on Mr. Ghost in her ear.
She nodded and replied to him:
"I understand!"
[Tohsaka Sakura arrived in Finland with her father.]
[It seemed like they wanted to be a little bit welcoming. The Edelfelt family's pride seemed a little less strong at this moment.]
[Tohsaka Tokiomi took Tohsaka Sakura to meet them in a cafe.]
"You said the other day that your daughter has a lot of talent for magic, right?"
"Yes," Tohsaka Tokiomi replied.
Having learned his "lesson" from the Matou family, Tohsaka Tokiomi this time brought Tohsaka Sakura's magic ability test results with him.
He placed it in front of the person.
"You can take a look at this report. It explains everything clearly."
"..."
"'Imaginary Numbers' aptitude, huh? Looks pretty good."
"But—"
"Just this alone might not be enough to impress me."
"..."
Tohsaka Tokiomi wasn't stupid.
He realized that this meeting wouldn't be as simple as he had hoped.
The anger that had built up over generations between their families wouldn't be easy to resolve.
But—
For his daughter's sake, he had to try, no matter how bad the situation might be.
[Tohsaka Tokiomi started talking with the person to reach an agreement.]
[You and Tohsaka Sakura didn't know anything about this.]
[Because you two were also facing a difficult "opponent" over there.]
[It was another little girl from the Edelfelt family.]
"My name is Luviagelita Edelfelt."
A little girl with two golden pigtails that looked like drills proudly introduced herself to Tohsaka Sakura.
"Looking at you, you probably can't even remember my full name."
"I'll allow you to call me Luvia—so be grateful to me."
"Luvia..." Tohsaka Sakura nodded, taking the name down very seriously. Then, she introduced herself.
"Hello, Luvia-san!"
"I'm Tohsaka Sakura~"
"Tohsaka Sakura, huh..."
Luvia repeated the name to herself. Then, she started walking in circles around Tohsaka Sakura, looking at her as if she were prey.
"W-what's wrong?" Tohsaka Sakura became a little nervous being treated like this.
"Nothing."
Luvia stopped.
She crossed her arms and stared at Tohsaka Sakura with a sharp look that didn't match her age at all.
"I just heard from my mother that you have very strong magical talent."
"So, why don't you show me what you can do?"
"Eh?"
Tohsaka Sakura never expected to hear such a request.
And what was even worse was that she didn't know anything about magic.
"Luvia-san, I don't know any magic!" the little girl admitted her weakness very honestly.
"What?!"
Luvia moved closer.
"Are you a special kind of idiot made in Japan?!"
"You're the child of a magus, and you don't even know magic?!"
"Eh?"
[Tohsaka Sakura was already very worried about her relationship with her parents.]
[Luvia's words put a lot of mental pressure on her.]
[Without realizing it, she once again activated the 'shadow' contract she had made with you.]
[She released her magical power for a moment—though it wasn't much.]
[This gave you a chance to touch the outside world, and the first person to be affected was Luvia.]
[But because it happened so quickly, neither of you realized what had occurred.]
Poof.
Luvia fell backward suddenly and landed on the ground.
"Eh?!"
Tohsaka Sakura panicked immediately.
Being kind-hearted, she quickly ran over and helped Luvia up.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"What just happened...?"
"I'm fine."
Luvia shook off Tohsaka Sakura's hand and stood up on her own from the ground.
Even though she dressed like a rich young lady, she didn't act arrogant like some noble girls.
"I knew you could do magic!"
"I can't—!" Tohsaka Sakura hugged her rabbit plush and denied it anxiously.
She would never admit to something that wasn't true.
"I really haven't learned anything like that."
"..."
Feeling that Tohsaka Sakura wasn't lying, Luvia put her hands on her hips and chose to forget her own sudden "defeat."
"That's strange then."
"If you don't know magic, why did you come to our house?"
Compared to the confused Tohsaka Sakura, the older Luvia's thoughts were quite clear.
"Could it be that you're trying to steal our magic?"
"Eh, that's..."
Tohsaka Sakura quickly shook her head to deny it.
"I... I don't even know why I'm staying at your house—Papa arranged it!"
"Huh?"
Luvia looked at Tohsaka Sakura with a puzzled expression.
"You don't know anything, and you just followed your father to Finland like this?"
"Y-yes, that's right."
Tohsaka Sakura forced an awkward smile, but she quickly stopped when she saw Luvia's unhappy face.
"..."
Seeing how scared Tohsaka Sakura was of upsetting her, Luvia felt a sense of superiority.
At the same time, Luvia also felt a little sorry for Tohsaka Sakura. If it were her, she would never agree to something without knowing what she was supposed to do.
After thinking for a moment, she spoke again:
"So, what do you think?"
"Do you... want to stay, or do you want to leave?"
"Eh, that's..." Tohsaka Sakura hugged her rabbit plush, not knowing what to answer.
But this seemed to be exactly what Luvia needed.
"Alright."
"If you can't make a decision, I'll decide for you!"
Saying these words, Luvia grabbed Tohsaka Sakura's hand and called out to the adults who were still talking in the distance.
"Mom!"
"Let's keep this Japanese idiot here as my little sister!"