Chapter 4: Standing Up is a Lie, Arguing is Your Goal!

After Broly left the Matou household, the headless corpse in the bug pit began to reform. Worms gathered to reconstruct Zouken's head.

"What a dangerous child. Such power can't belong to a normal human, yet I can't sense any magical energy from him. He must be a Servant."

This was the only explanation. Zouken, aware of the gap between himself and a Servant, had played dead after his head was blown off. After all, his true body was in the bug pit, and he feared that a fight might destroy it.

"The Matou family's participation in this Holy Grail War isn't a secret, but who sent the attacker? Why did they take Sakura? Do they think they can use her to threaten the Matou family, or perhaps the Tohsaka family?"

Zouken muttered to himself as he walked out of the basement and paced the hallway. He suddenly stopped by a corner window.

"Perhaps this could also be the work of Tohsaka Tokiomi. He might have discovered that the Matou family's magecraft has shifted from water attributes to insect attributes. Not wanting to break the alliance with the Matou family, he resorted to this trick to take back his daughter."

The window reflected the old man's ghoul-like appearance. His sharp eyes narrowed as he continued to ponder.

"No, Tokiomi's personality is too rigid, bound by the Tohsaka family's strict traditions. He's not the type to secretly break an alliance. And as a cold, professional magus, familial affection likely wouldn't drive him to compromise his principles. But humans are complex emotional creatures. Perhaps Tokiomi..."

Zouken trailed off.

"I'm getting old and senile. There's no point in speculating. I'll just have to test the waters to find out."

Zouken shook his head and continued walking.

"Ah, Grandfather, you're home?!"

As he turned the corner, he ran into his nominal grandson.

"Wait, no, now's not the time for that. Grandfather, Sakura's been kidnapped by a dangerous person. You have to save her!"

**[This foolish grandson has no talent as a magus but retains the innocence and kindness of a child. I wonder how this innocence will twist as he grows up and realizes he's a useless waste. Thinking about it is quite entertaining...**

**Hmm?**

**As a senior member of the Matou family, I'm actually looking forward to the suffering and corruption of my descendants. It seems my soul is also deteriorating. I must obtain the Holy Grail soon, before I completely forget my identity as a magus. But before that...]**

"Shinji, have you finished your holiday homework?"

"Uh, not yet. Grandfather, now's not the time for that!"

Young Shinji was anxious but still answered his grandfather's question.

"You haven't finished your homework? Then why are you wasting my time with nonsense?"

Zouken's eerie smile disappeared, and he scolded his grandson.

"Go back to your room and finish your homework."

"But Sakura..."

"She's just your stepsister. Stay out of her affairs."

Young Shinji, feeling wronged but not daring to defy his grandfather, could only return to his room.

---

Meanwhile, in Fuyuki City, where the Fourth Holy Grail War had already begun, a conflict was brewing in a small restaurant specializing in rice bowls.

The situation was this: Broly had been happily eating pork cutlet rice bowls when the restaurant suddenly stopped serving him.

"Why aren't you bringing more food?"

"I'd love to keep serving you, but you two kids have ordered so much. Do you even have the money to pay for it?"

The restaurant owner crossed his arms, voicing his doubts. The economy wasn't doing well, and recently, someone had dined and dashed at his restaurant.

Today, two kids who barely reached his thighs had come in and ordered a mountain of food. When asked about their parents, they said the adults would arrive soon.

But after serving half the order, the owner grew suspicious. He stopped serving and came out to question them.

"Money?"

Broly was momentarily confused, but then his mind supplied the definition: the usual medium of exchange for purchasing food.

Broly immediately understood. It must be like Baya blood in this world. But he didn't have any, so he turned to young Sakura.

"How much do we owe for the food we ordered?"

The girl asked politely.

"Including the dishes that haven't been served yet, you owe..."

The owner quoted a number. Young Sakura counted the coins Shinji had given her and realized they only covered a fraction of the bill.

The owner, noticing her distress, added, "If you only pay for what you've already eaten, you'll need to make up 2,000 yen."

Young Sakura: "..."

This was the downside of not having started school yet—she couldn't even do basic math. They had clearly overspent.

Young Sakura looked at Broly, hoping the slightly older boy could help. But Broly just looked back at her innocently.

If young Sakura was a child of civilized society, Broly was a pure wild child from the barren planets of the *Dragon Ball* world.

His father, Paragus, had only taught him combat skills, not arithmetic. And the fragmented memories in his mind didn't cover such knowledge either.

So Broly was also a glutton who only cared about eating, not calculating.

Now, without this world's version of Baya blood (money), he couldn't help the girl.

Their eyes met, and Broly's innocent gaze made young Sakura realize something: the boy with the tail who had saved her from the bug pit was apparently a penniless vagrant.

She turned to the restaurant owner. "I don't have any more money."

"If you're short on money, you can call an adult to pay the bill."

The owner suggested.

Young Sakura fell silent. When she left the Matou household, she had thought she could finally return to her real home.

But only after entering the restaurant with Broly did she remember what her father had said when he sent her away.

"Sakura, from today onward, your surname will be Matou. You are no longer a child of the Tohsaka family. Neither I nor your mother will have any relationship with you.

In the future, if you ever meet Rin again, don't treat her as your sister. You will be rivals on the path of magecraft.

If the day comes when you must face each other in conflict, don't feel sad. Instead, be glad that your magical potential wasn't wasted..."

Her father had already severed their relationship. Did her real home still have a place for her?

Young Sakura wasn't sure, but she knew that if the restaurant owner contacted her biological father, Tohsaka Tokiomi, about the unpaid bill, it would surely embarrass the elegant gentleman.

"I don't have a home. My parents don't want me anymore."

Young Sakura said dejectedly.

Restaurant owner: "???"

"So, you're trying to dine and dash?"

His expression darkened, and his tone turned harsh.

"I can work to pay off the debt."

Young Sakura spoke with deep disappointment.

Restaurant owner: "???"

"So, you're trying to dine and dash?"

His expression darkened, and his tone turned harsh.

"I can work to pay off the debt."

Young Sakura quickly added. Her magical aptitude had exposed her to more education, including the covenants and transactions of magi. This was also why, when she was sent to the Matou household, she had been confused but hadn't made a fuss. Overall, she was a well-behaved child.

Her maturity made her want to use labor to make up for the shortfall in the meal payment. However, she overlooked the fact that she was far too young to be of any real help.

"Are you kidding me? What can a little kid like you even do?"

The restaurant owner clearly didn't accept this proposal. Seeing the children's clothing, they didn't look like they came from a poor family or were street urchins. He assumed they were just kids who had run away after a fight with their parents. He insisted that the girl call her family to come and pay.

**[Reminder: Sakura Matou's happiness level is dropping. Host, please pay attention to her situation.]**

The Harem System's prompt appeared in Broly's mind, making him aware of the girl's reluctance. "Hey, don't give her a hard time," he said directly.

Hearing this, the restaurant owner turned to him and asked, "So, do you have the money to pay?"

"No," Broly answered bluntly. If he had this world's version of Baya blood (money), he would have handed it over already.

"Then can you call your parents and ask them for money?"

The owner pressed.

"I don't know who my mother is, and my father isn't in this world," Broly replied, shaking his head.

"You don't have money, and you can't call your parents for help. Are you messing with me?"

The situation looked more and more like a dine-and-dash, and the restaurant owner grew angrier.

"Do you believe I'll call the police and have you two little troublemakers arrested for not paying?"

The owner threatened, not noticing the dangerous glint in the boy's eyes.

Broly indeed didn't have this world's version of Baya blood, but in the past, he had never needed it to obtain food. When he was younger, he and his father, Paragus, had hunted Vampa spiders directly to survive.

In other words, killing the restaurant owner, the current "owner" of the food, seemed like the simplest solution to Broly.

However, taking food without a proper exchange could disrupt the ecological balance. But before entering the restaurant, Broly had seen many other tailless beings on the street. Based on his experience on Vampa, where he and his father had hunted spiders without using Baya blood for trade, the ecosystem hadn't collapsed. So, killing one tailless being here probably wouldn't cause any issues.

Moreover...

Broly glanced toward the kitchen, where the delicious aroma of food was coming from. If he dealt with the restaurant owner, all that food would be his.

The more Broly thought about it, the more appealing the idea became. Just as he clenched his small fist, ready to strike—

*Bang!*

The sound of a table being slammed came from the next table.

"I can't stand listening to this anymore! Boss, you're an adult. How can you bully two kids like this?"

"Wait, who are you? What does this have to do with you?"

"I'm Fujimura Taiga, and while it's none of my business, I can't stand seeing an adult pick on two children."

The person who stood up was a young woman with orange hair tied in a ponytail. She slammed the table and pointed at the restaurant owner, speaking with a righteous tone.

"How is this bullying? Isn't asking for payment normal? They didn't have enough money to pay for their meal!"

The owner argued.

"Yes, these kids don't have enough money, but didn't you hear their circumstances? One doesn't know his mother, and his father is gone. The other has no home—probably abandoned by her parents."

"How should I know? Kids love to lie. What if they're just trying to skip out on the bill?"

The owner's expression grew uneasy.

"I'm not lying," Broly and young Sakura retorted almost simultaneously.

Fujimura Taiga nodded. She believed the children.

"And if they're telling the truth?"

She asked the owner.

"I run a restaurant, not a charity. Should I just take the loss?"

The owner shot back. Orphans should go to shelters for food, not dine and dash at his restaurant.

"You shouldn't have to take a loss, but your approach is disgusting. Couldn't you have been gentler? Threatening to call the police on kids their age?"

"I was just trying to scare them!"

The owner said defensively. In this day and age, minors were heavily protected. The police wouldn't arrest two young children for something as trivial as skipping a meal.

At most, they'd be taken in for a lecture, and their parents would be called to pick them up—if they even had parents.

"Scare them?"

Fujimura Taiga raised her voice and stomped over, pointing at the owner's nose.

"Do you know how much psychological damage your 'scare tactics' can cause? What if they grow up fearing the police and lose trust in them? Can you take responsibility for such a social disaster? Children are like delicate flowers, but in this society, there are always bad adults trying to crush them..."

As dinnertime approached, more people entered the restaurant. Seeing the commotion, they realized this wasn't the best place to eat, but it was perfect for some drama.

Those who weren't in a hurry gathered at the entrance, watching the spectacle unfold.

"Alright, alright, I was wrong, okay? I'll apologize. Just stop talking."

The owner, noticing the growing crowd, realized that if this fiery girl kept going, his reputation as a bully who picked on helpless children would spread. He quickly backed down.

"Hmph, it was your fault to begin with. At least you know when to admit it."

Fujimura Taiga exhaled deeply, looking like a victorious general. The owner apologized to the children for scaring them and accepted the coins Sakura had as payment, writing off the rest of the bill.

*Slap!*

But Fujimura Taiga walked over and slapped two 1,000-yen bills on the counter.

"I'm not one to bully others either. I'll cover the rest of their bill."

She declared.

"Thank you, miss. You're very kind."

The owner's expression shifted from frustration to a welcoming smile.

"By the way, if you'd just told me you were willing to cover their bill, we wouldn't have had to argue."

"Ha! No, thanks. Arguing with you actually improved my mood."

Fujimura Taiga had been feeling down lately after clashing with her parents over dyeing her hair. This heated argument had been a great way to vent.

Restaurant owner: "..."

So, you just wanted to argue, didn't you? That's it, right?

But since she'd paid and saved him from a loss, he decided not to charge her for the emotional rollercoaster.

"Welcome back anytime!"