Even though the heroic spirit intentionally hid their presence, Alvin's sharp senses still caught their existence.
'Looks like this should be Sakura's summoned Servant.'
Although Alvin was somewhat curious about the Servant Matou Sakura summoned, since she still wanted to keep it secret for now, he chose to respect that.
After chatting for a while, Alvin got up and prepared to leave.
Before leaving, he hesitated for a moment and stopped walking, "You need to be careful these next few days. If things really don't work out, move into Rin's house for now."
"Okay, I'll think about it."
After Matou Sakura finished speaking, she saw Alvin about to leave the room and suddenly called out to him, "Right, Senpai!"
Looking at the boy who had stopped, the girl hesitated for a moment before saying, "If one day I become a bad girl, would you still like me?"
"This assumption doesn't make sense from the start, does it?", Alvin shook his head with a smile.
As soon as he finished speaking, the girl continued, "But I want to know the answer."
Alvin paused slightly and subconsciously looked at the girl a few more times.
The shyness from earlier had already faded from her eyes. She was staring at him with complete seriousness.
"Looks like you're really thinking seriously about this?"
Alvin's smile faded slightly. After thinking for a moment, he stepped forward and stopped in front of Matou Sakura.
Then, under the girl's disbelieving gaze, one of his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her soft body into his embrace.
Warmth rushed over her in an instant. That feeling of complete ease made Matou Sakura close her eyes without thinking, and she slowly sank into it.
Alvin lowered his head and looked at the girl in his arms. His expression was gentle as he said, "Even now, I still think this assumption doesn't make sense, but if Sakura really becomes a bad girl someday, I'll personally pull you back out of the mud."
Matou Sakura froze for a moment. Her fingertips unconsciously tightened against the clothes on Alvin's back, as if she wanted to carve those words into herself forever.
Snowflakes continued falling outside the window, dyed dim yellow by the streetlights. Even after Alvin left, Matou Sakura still kept her eyes closed, as though she were still immersed in that warmth from before.
At that moment, inside the empty room, a slender figure quietly formed beside Matou Sakura.
She silently looked at the girl and spoke in a cold but pleasant voice.
"He's gone far away."
Matou Sakura softly replied, "Mm. It's already so late. Sister would probably worry too if he's still outside, so he should head back early."
"After all, he's Sister's Servant."
Rider silently glanced at the girl and said in a low voice, "Someone entered the worm pit tonight. I think it was most likely Assassin."
"I know."
Matou Sakura's voice remained as gentle as ever.
Rider paused for a moment, "Since that's the case, why didn't you keep him here just now—"
"With my current strength, even if I use the rules of the Holy Grail, it'd still be hard to keep Senpai here."
Matou Sakura slightly turned her head and looked at the woman beside her, "The only person who can truly command him, from beginning to end, has always been my sister."
Rider hesitated before saying, "He should've already noticed something."
"But he still chose not to ask."
Matou Sakura turned her head slightly and looked at the woman beside her. The bright purple eyes she once had now seemed much deeper.
"Why do you think that is, Rider?"
Rider fell silent for a brief moment.
"Because he still chose to trust me."
A self-mocking smile appeared on Matou Sakura's face as she slowly raised her right hand and opened her palm.
A creature that had mutated into a "Desire Worm" quietly spread its wings in her palm.
Bzzz!
A sound like electric current echoed through the room.
For a brief instant, Matou Sakura's loose hair seemed to be dyed with colors like a starry night.
She looked toward the direction Alvin had left, and a gentle curve soon appeared at the corner of her lips.
"But he shouldn't trust me."
———
Even if Alvin exposed her tonight, it was already too late.
Inside the worm pit, more and more eggs pulsed violently like beating hearts.
Then, tens of thousands of "Desire Worms" quietly hatched.
———
Late at night, the lights in every household had already gone out, but the Tohsaka mansion was still brightly lit.
The fireplace in the living room burned strongly, bringing a little warmth to the cold night.
Tohsaka Rin lay sideways on the sofa, asleep with her eyes closed.
She had already waited inside the mansion for nearly two hours.
Perhaps because of unease, even in her sleep, the girl still frowned. She looked weighed down by something.
At that moment, in the previously quiet living room, a figure quietly appeared beside the sofa like a ghost.
Alvin immediately saw the sleeping girl. He stepped forward and lightly patted Tohsaka Rin's shoulder while softly saying, "Rin..."
Tohsaka Rin frowned again and slowly opened her eyes. In her blurry vision, she saw the fairly handsome face of a boy.
She rubbed her eyes and sleepily said, "You're back... How did things go? Did you find any clues?"
Alvin paused slightly before gently shaking his head, "I haven't found any clues about Rider's Master for now."
If Tohsaka Rin had been fully awake right now, she probably would have noticed at once that Alvin's expression looked a little strange. But her mind was still hazy, so she only comforted him in a sleepy voice, "It's okay. You can slowly investigate things."
"I'll take you back to your room first."
Alvin helplessly said, "Why are you this sleepy tonight?"
Normally, magi were creatures active at night. Even though Tohsaka Rin was still a high school student, she was still a Master participating in the Holy Grail War. She should've long been used to staying active at night.
But for some reason tonight, even Alvin had never seen Tohsaka Rin this sleepy before.
He carried the girl's body in his arms, pushed open the bedroom door, and gently placed Tohsaka Rin onto the soft bed.
However, just as Alvin was about to leave, Tohsaka Rin suddenly opened her eyes and tightly wrapped both arms around his neck.
She suddenly rolled over and pinned Alvin beneath her, supporting herself with both hands on the bed while staring directly down at him.
Alvin lay on the bed, blankly looking at Tohsaka Rin. Although he couldn't understand what her actions meant right now, he still stayed still and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Alvin... I want to ask you something."
Tohsaka Rin looked at the boy with a complicated gaze, "What happened between you and Sakura in the living room that night, was it really just a dream?"
'Why is it this question again,' Alvin felt helpless inside, but confusion appeared on his face, "Rin... I don't even understand what you're talking about."
However, just as he finished speaking, red light lit up on the back of Tohsaka Rin's hand, and Alvin's expression gradually became pale.
"A Command Seal?"
Although he already knew that Tohsaka Rin sometimes got emotional in certain situations, and it wasn't unheard of for her to use Command Seals during arguments, Alvin still didn't expect her to use one so casually.
'Just for asking a question?'
There was no time for Alvin to think further.
Unlike other classes, Alvin in his Assassin state reacted differently. When the forced power of the Command Seal descended, his instincts pushed him to resist its force, and his body stiffened slightly.
At that moment, Tohsaka Rin looked directly into Alvin's eyes and asked again, "Tell me, Assassin, what happened that night, was it really only my dream?"
Alvin opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Tohsaka Rin tilted her head slightly, looking somewhat confused and puzzled. "Strange, why doesn't the Command Seal work?"
"My magic resistance in Assassin form really is much weaker than in the Saber class, but if I resist with everything I have, one Command Seal still isn't enough to force me to obey."
"Even so—"
Alvin let out a helpless sigh, "If I refuse to answer, you'll probably use a second Command Seal too, right?"
The Holy Grail War had only just started on the first night. If his Master directly used two Command Seals already, what would happen after this?
Tohsaka Rin still remained on top of Alvin. She silently looked down at him from above. After a long while, the weight of her body finally moved away from him.
She quietly looked at the boy with a complicated expression, "You already answered me, didn't you?"
"So last night really wasn't a dream."
At that moment, there was both confusion and relief in her eyes.
Ever since waking up this morning, Tohsaka Rin had felt completely dazed, and she had even wondered if she was simply overthinking things.
But the scene she witnessed last night had stayed in her mind the entire time. Even by the next evening, she was still recalling that forbidden and improper scene from last night.
Her younger sister hugging her Servant together in the living room late at night. If she hadn't appeared, perhaps they would've gone even further.
Tohsaka Rin suddenly remembered something and said, "So Sakura really knocked me unconscious?"
"But with Sakura's level of magecraft, how could she..."
"Her magecraft is much stronger than you imagine," Alvin shook his head.
Tohsaka Rin paused. She took a light breath and slowly let it out.
"Alright, then let's rest for tonight."
Afterward, the girl answered in a fairly relaxed tone.
This time, it was Alvin's turn to be stunned. He subconsciously looked at the girl, surprise showing in his eyes.
"What? Now that everything's clear, there's nothing else for me to question, right?"
Tohsaka Rin said as though it were obvious, "Even though I think it feels a little strange for Sakura and you to be dating, that's still something between the two of you."
"Alright, you can leave now. I want to calm down by myself for a while."
After speaking, before Alvin could say anything, Tohsaka Rin lightly pushed him out of the room.
Alvin looked at the tightly shut door and soon let out a helpless sigh.
"I didn't expect things to turn out like this..."
But while he had this chance, he could also head to one more place.
The large number of Crest Worms inside the Matou family's worm pit, the barrier purifying the Greater Grail being destroyed, the corrupted power formed from the fusion of black mud and the Tide of Chaos, and even Merlin's appearance, all of it pointed toward a massive crisis hidden within this Holy Grail War.
And this crisis was serious enough that even Merlin, who usually liked slacking off, had no choice but to take it seriously.
Alvin could only think of one possibility. Beast.
That's right. Only the imminent appearance of a Beast capable of affecting or even destroying Human Order would make someone like Merlin personally step in.
Although he wasn't sure which Beast it was, if it involved the Tide of Chaos, then there was one figure that could not be avoided, Tiamat.
Since the enemy wanted to use the Tide of Chaos to bring a Beast into the world... then maybe he could use a similar method to give the enemy a little surprise too?
As if thinking of something interesting, a faint smile quickly appeared on Alvin's face.
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