Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 873 - : What Attitude Should I Take Toward You?

Matou Sakura, the future head of the Matou family, one of the Three Great Families, with magical aptitude ranking among the top 100 in the current era and a shining star even within the Mage's Association, was utterly devastated at this moment.

She had been full of confidence, determined to be the first to complete the summoning of a Servant and surprise her beloved brother. But she failed.

There was no surprise, only shock.

The Servant summoning ritual had been a success, without a doubt, but the Servant that appeared was not the one she had expected.

It's not that a Servant other than Scathach is bad. In fact, with Sakura's current abilities, she could immediately recognize the strength of this woman who appeared as a Rider-class Servant. But no matter how powerful, it couldn't fill the gap left by broken expectations, nor could it ease the awful feeling of disappointing her brother by messing up the plan.

The more she thought about it, the lower Sakura's head sank, until she nearly buried her face in her ample chest.

Yes, even in a different world line, Sakura's figure was still as impressive as ever—summed up in four words: childlike face, voluptuous body.

By the way, Shinji always found it strange that, despite not undergoing the inhumane modifications of the original world line, Sakura still had such a great figure. Her elder sister, Rin Tohsaka, wasn't flat-chested, but she was petite, and their mother, Aoi Tohsaka, had a typical slender Eastern figure, far from voluptuous. So why did Sakura end up with such a great figure?

Shinji would swear on the names of Scathach and Justeaze that Sakura's modifications were limited to hair and eye color; not a single strand of her body hair had been touched. Could it be that Sakura was just that lucky, inheriting her grandmother's genes from the Edelfelt line? Or was it the effect of a golden apple?

Whatever the reason, it was a good thing, not a bad one. Shinji wasn't stupid enough to say anything about it, though. It was just something he pondered occasionally, for his amusement.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Sakura, still in her embarrassed posture with her face buried in her chest, repeated the same words in a voice that was about to break into tears.

"I-I'm sorry, Brother."

"Forget it. What's done is done. Apologies won't change anything—do you know what went wrong with the summoning? There was no problem with the ritual, right?"

Given that his little princess, whom he had spoiled since childhood, had already apologized, what else could Shinji say?

Sakura slightly raised her head and shook it gently. "No, the ritual was fine. Teacher Justeaze has already checked it."

"I see. Then it's not your fault."

Yes, if there was no problem with the ritual, then Sakura wasn't to blame.

The plan had been devised by Shinji andJusteaze. Sakura was just following it, though she might have been a bit impulsive by not waiting until all variables were clear before summoning. But if anyone was to blame, it would be Shinji. If he had killed Heartless immediately, none of this would have happened—wait, variables?

"Could it be a problem with the Greater Grail's summoning system?"

"The summoning system isn't the issue either—Sister Justeaze said so."

The voice that responded wasn't Sakura's, but that of a transparent white humanoid figure that emerged from the wall, passed through Shinji's body and spoke sweetly with its upper half in front of him and its lower half behind him.

"You're back, Shinji."

"Yeah, I'm back, Kirie."

Shinji extended his hand, infused with spiritual particles, and playfully poked the forehead of the ghostly figure. This was a dual existence of Kirie, currently serving as a liaison between Ryuudou Temple and the Matou family, conveying information that couldn't be sent through normal communication channels.

"If the summoning system isn't the issue, then there's no need to blame yourself, Sakura-chan. Excluding ritual errors and system problems, there's only one possibility left: the idea of using something from Servant as a catalyst was flawed from the start. Maybe the Servant can't represent the original person, or perhaps the Fate wasn't strong enough. When I suggested this plan, even Justeaze mentioned that no one had tried this before, and there was no precedent for summoning a living being like Shishou as a Servant. The uncertainty was too high."

Of course, Shinji still went ahead with it, without hesitation. Because he wanted to see her again. He wanted her to see his growth; he wanted to tell her that he had been working hard, striving to become strong, so that one day he could fulfill her wish.

No, it wasn't just her wish; it was his wish as well. The admiration from his past life and the reverence of this life intertwined, and from the moment she chose to end her journey in this world with Artoria's sword, he had made up his mind.

Hearing Shinji say this, Sakura's face finally brightened a little, and Kirie gleefully flew around Shinji.

"Hehe, I knew Shinji wouldn't blame you. He spoils you so much; I'm jealous!"

"I knew you were behind this, stirring the pot."

With a casual flick, Shinji sent the ghostly girl flying into the wall while dousing her inexplicable excitement with a light hum. If he didn't do this, letting her get too excited would make it impossible to get anything done. She was the only girl in the house who could rival Arcueid in clinginess, and her energy was off the charts.

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Kirie stuck out her tongue and zipped into the wall, disappearing.

Shinji and Sakura were used to this, while Rider, standing behind Sakura, remained as motionless as a statue.

Shinji left the sofa and walked up to Sakura, gently patting her head as he did when they were children, and softly said, "You've worked hard while I was away."

"It wasn't hard at all; you're the one who's been working hard, Brother."

Sakura squinted her eyes, just like before, slightly tilting her head up to see her brother's face more clearly, and to let him see her more clearly.

"No, no, I haven't been working hard. You're the one working hard."

"No way, you've been working hard, Brother."

"You've been working hard."

"You've been working hard."

...

For a while, the two of them, like children who hadn't grown up, repeated the same words until they couldn't help but burst into laughter. It might have seemed silly, but this was their childhood, a symbol of the bond between siblings. Perhaps years, decades from now, they would repeat this scene and then smile at each other knowingly. This is what family is all about.

At the end of this playful exchange, Shinji changed his head pat to a tap and carefully advised, "Next time, don't be so hasty. Especially when facing unexpected situations, you should be more cautious."

"Mm, got it."

Sakura nodded vigorously.

"Oh, right, I haven't introduced you to my Servant yet. This is Rider, and her true name is—"

Shinji raised his hand, interrupting his sister.

"Medusa."

"Huh? Brother, you already knew?"

Sakura exclaimed in surprise, and the previously statue-like female Servant finally showed a hint of emotion.

"Yes, I knew, I've known for a long time."

Shinji sighed deeply, his gaze at Medusa becoming more complex.

"To be honest, I don't know what kind of attitude I should take toward you."