A week before the Holy Grail War,
"How dare you talk back to me?!" Shinji Matou hissed, slapping Sakura with the back of his hand. "You will stay here and clean the entire place. Tch!"
As Shinji stormed out of the Archery Club, Sakura kept lying on the floor for a moment.
Her right cheek had gained a red tinge, but it didn’t hurt. Not truly.
Nothing hurt her too much these days, anyway.
If she didn’t do what Shinji told her to do, he would... do worse things when she returned home.
The only thing that made her frown was that she might be too late to help Shirou cook dinner, as it was already late.
And if she directly went to Shirou’s house after finishing cleaning the Archery Club, then she would be late getting home.
Shinji would punish her again, then.
But it was her grandfather who terrified her the most.
All of a sudden, Sakura felt tired. So, as there was no one in the Archery Club anymore, she just lay down.
Sakura shot back up, her head snapping toward the entrance.
No one was supposed to be at School at this hour. Even Shirou, who usually stayed late, had left. That’s why she had refused Shinji’s order to clean the Archery Club in his place, to begin with.
Sakura hurriedly got up, adjusting her skirt.
However, the moment her eyes rested on the incoming person, she just kept looking at him.
Short white hair. Red eyes. Tall. Wearing the school’s uniform. She had never seen this person at school before, Sakura confirmed.
"Are you blushing?" the boy asked, approaching her with a smile. "Or..."
Sakura hurriedly lifted her hand and covered the cheek where Shinji had slapped her.
"Sorry..." the boy said, his smile flickering. "Didn’t mean to startle you. Transfer student. Joined the academy today. Name’s... Black Von Einzbern."
Sakura’s body shook. Einzbern?! Didn’t...
"This is the time when you introduce yourself, you know," Black chuckled.
"Oh, yes!" Sakura jumped. "I am Sakura... Sakura Matou."
It was obvious to her that, given their family history, the boy would recognize the name.
Sure enough, hearing her name, Black lifted his brows. "So, you are the princess of the Matou Family..."
"Eh? No!" Sakura hurriedly answered, fear claiming her face. If Shinji heard something like that, then he would...
"I have heard about the Archery Club," Black continued to say, ignoring her. "So, just wanted to check it out. Do you often sleep here?"
"No!" Sakura hurriedly replied. Then, she bit her lips. "I was... taking a break. I need to clean this place. So, can you come tomorrow?"
Black raised his brows. "Clean this place? By yourself?"
Sakura didn’t know what was odd about that. She cleaned Matou Mansion every morning, which was way bigger than the Archery Club.
"... Alright," Black said.
Sakura sighed. She slowly lifted her head, hoping to see the boy disappear as well.
To her utter surprise, Black was rolling his sleeves up. "Wha... What are you doing?!" Sakura exclaimed.
Black frowned. "Helping you clean, what else?"
"..." Sakura stared at the boy, disbelieving the words coming out of his mouth. "... Why?"
"Because..." Black said, smiling, wielding the broom like a saber, "... As a Knight, I must save the princess..."
Deep underground, in the Secret Underground Facility, thousands upon thousands of Crest Worms buzzed, taking the shape of Zouken Matou, the head of the Matou Family.
The moment he took form, shock replaced all expressions on his face.
In the last Holy Grail War, unknown to many, he had also obtained a few fragments of the Holy Grail after it had been destroyed.
Then, he had fused those fragments with Crest Worms before implanting them inside Sakura.
After ten years of incubation, Sakura had already turned into a Holy Grail Vessel.
Zouken considered himself a hidden Master in this Holy Grail War.
He knew this Holy Grail was corrupted. So, he wanted to bide his time till the next Grail War and use Sakura to snatch the Holy Grail at the right moment, coming out as the ultimate winner.
There was one more thing that emboldened his confidence in all this. Latest content published on ⓝovelFire.net
After hundreds of years, Zouken had already lost his physical body, becoming similar to a wraith.
His true body was now a Crest Worm residing next to Sakura’s heart, holding his soul.
But his consciousness was mostly spread across the Crest Worm network available in the Matou Residence, giving the impression that he was still normal.
Using his main body, he monitored Sakura, making sure that she didn’t use her Magic Circuits, ruining the Holy Grail fragments-induced Crest Worms that were feeding off her Mana.
To not being found out, he limited his observations, though.
However, something had happened just now that jolted his soul, making him even take a physical form to express his shock.
He had sensed another Vessel.
Impossible... Zouken thought with wide eyes. There has never been a male Homunculus in the Einzbern family. Even if Einzberns got their hands on Holy Grail Fragments in the last war, it should be a female acting as the Vessel...
Zouken knew much about the Einzbern family because he was there when — Justeaze had sacrificed herself, activating the Ancient Ritual of the Holy Grail War.
Something’s odd... Zouken contemplated, licking his lips. If I can get my hands on this homunculus, then... I don’t need to wait till the next Holy Grail War...
If he took control over the Einzbern Vessel, then, with Sakura in his grasp, he could alone claim the Holy Grail when it manifests after the War.
"Hahaha..." Zouken let out a mad laugh, already imagining that day.
Using the Lust Worms he had implanted in Sakura, he would force her to get close to the Homunculus.
Then, at an appropriate time, he would snatch the Vessel, even if it had become a Master.
Yes. It was time for the girl to finally serve her purpose, Zouken thought, grinning before exploding into a mass of buzzing worms.
Far away at the Homurahara Academy, Sakura watched as Black wiped the sweat off his head while cleaning.
This time, a blush did rise on her cheeks, making her look away.
And, watching Sakura’s thighs squirm as the Crest Worms within her stirred, the invisible Caster next to her let out a small smile.
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