Chapter 244: Little Sakura's Adoption
Eternally Seventeen: Competing for a man? Pfft… Little Tornado, have you been picking up bad habits from Admin-sama? He's a single dog and he's clearly been a corrupting influence.
Terrible Tornado: No. No I haven't. Absolutely not. (triple denial)
Kaguya-sama: Why am I being dragged into this?!
My True Form Is Cola: Kaguya-senpai totally has feelings for Admin-sama, doesn't she? Me and Tornado-senpai figured it out ages ago.
My True Form Is Cola: And last time it was just the two of them on the group quest together. No third parties whatsoever!
Maidang: …I was there though. And nothing happened, as far as I could tell.
My True Form Is Cola: No no no, new kid, you've got it all wrong. There's a very real possibility something irregular occurred between them before they came to rescue you.
Maidang: The adult world is so complicated. This minor is shaking.
Eternally Seventeen: Admin-sama didn't actually do that to Little Kaguya-chan, did he…? Hss… she's still a minor, not even fully developed yet! Admin-sama, you absolute beast!
Kaguya-sama: Hey hey hey, why is this getting more graphic by the second?!
Kaguya-sama: Nothing happened that day, nothing happened, nothing happened — we are completely and entirely platonic — important things bear repeating three times!!
RawrSoFierce: I feel like some of you have already fast-forwarded to Kaguya Shinomiya being pregnant.
My True Form Is Cola: Terrifying… there's already a child?
Street-Corner Illustrator: Oh lord. This minor is also shaking.
I'm Rolling In It: Admin, please practice safe — lol just kidding…
"…"
Ryū read through the chat log without any particular irritation. It was obvious enough that everyone was just messing around.
Still — wasn't the misunderstanding getting a little out of hand? Nothing had happened between him and Kaguya Shinomiya. Nothing that exceeded the bounds of friendship, anyway.
If he remembered correctly, Kaguya was in her second year of high school this year. Seventeen at most by the generous counting. Nowhere near the finish line of adulthood, by a considerable margin.
Ryū felt confident that whatever his flaws, he was not the sort of person who would pursue someone underage.
His moral compass was pointing due north. As upright as his face was handsome.
He quietly awarded himself a mental thumbs-up.
He had just turned his attention back to the Chat Group when something made him stop short. Sakura Matou — one of the Chat Group's all-time champion lurkers — had, against all reasonable expectation, surfaced.
The youngest member of the group by true age. Actually the youngest.
Little Sakura of the Tohsaka: Father told me today that according to the rules, I've reached the age where I have to be adopted out.
RawrSoFierce: Adoption? Right — I think there is a rule like that. If you're not adopted out in time and someone finds out, you get turned into a specimen.
RawrSoFierce: What are you thinking of doing?
Little Sakura of the Tohsaka: …I, I don't know. I don't want to be adopted out somewhere.
Kaguya-sama: Sakura-chan, have you tried talking to your father about it properly? If you showed him how exceptional you are, he'd probably find another way — no parent actually wants to hand their daughter over to strangers, right?
Little Sakura of the Tohsaka: Kaguya-nee, do you really think that would work?
RawrSoFierce: That one's a bit risky. If Sakura demonstrates anything out of the ordinary, Alaya might start paying attention.
RawrSoFierce: I also have no idea whether the Fate world she's in is canon or a doujin variant. Canon Alaya mostly stays hands-off, but a doujin Alaya is anyone's guess — could be completely unhinged.
Edward Newgate: Gurararara — Admin-sama mentioned before that Alaya is a "will" that exists to protect humanity, correct?
Edward Newgate: If she truly must be adopted out somewhere… gurararara, why not come to old Whitebeard? Are you saying someone like Whitebeard can't take in Sakura as a daughter? Gurararara!
"…"
Time had moved faster than he'd noticed. Sakura was already at that age.
Ryū turned it over for a moment. Sakura clearly didn't want to be adopted out — probably just a child's natural dread of the unfamiliar. And she'd been in the Chat Group for a while now, but had never participated in any group quests. She'd been building strength purely through daily sign-in Points, which meant her combat capability was still sitting at the bottom of the group's rankings.
In that condition, if Sakura got adopted into a family anything like the Matous —
That would be shoving her face-first into a burning pit.
RawrSoFierce: @Little Sakura of the Tohsaka — your strength is too limited right now. You can't hold your own against the powerful factions in your world.
RawrSoFierce: Here's what I'm thinking. Like Whitebeard said — I'll transfer you 1,000 Points for the crossing. Pick a world from the group, travel there. Once you've grown stronger and saved up Points, you can cross back to the Fate world any time and see your family.
RawrSoFierce: Sign-in luck permitting, accumulating 1,000 Points takes just over two weeks. Once a month back home is completely doable.
Little Sakura of the Tohsaka: I'd be crossing to where my big brothers and sisters in the group are?
Little Sakura of the Tohsaka: But that feels like such an imposition… I'd just be getting in the way. My strength is too low, I'd only hold everyone back.
Eternally Seventeen: Ara ara, Little Sakura-chan, no need to worry. It's really not a problem.
Eternally Seventeen: My home is very spacious. And I am your magic teacher — if your world poses a threat to you, you'll simply stay with me for the time being. No refusing allowed!
Edward Newgate: Gurararara — no need to be shy, Sakura. The whole point of the Dimensional Chat Group is to look out for each other, isn't it?
Little Sakura of the Tohsaka: But last time I already put everyone to so much trouble…
RawrSoFierce: @Little Sakura of the Tohsaka — no refusing! Be good and listen.
RawrSoFierce: Forget about trouble and not-trouble — safety comes first. I'll transfer you the 1,000 Points. Stay with the old hag. It's better than being adopted out to somewhere unknown. If you need to, go say goodbye to your father first — just make up some excuse.
Little Sakura of the Tohsaka: …Alright. Alright, I'll try. I'll pay back the Points someday, Admin-sama, I promise…
RawrSoFierce: Don't worry about it!
"…"
The sudden development on Sakura's end had caught Ryū a little off guard.
But when he thought about it — her world's customs meant this was always coming. And if she wasn't adopted out, she'd end up as a specimen. Sakura had no power to resist the major factions operating in her world right now. Any Chat Group member who wanted to go over and help would need to spend 1,000 Points per trip.
Under those circumstances, the straightforward answer was to just bring Sakura over to Yukari's side directly.
Their dynamic was already basically that of older and younger sister anyway. Yukari made Sakura call her "Yukari-nee" at every opportunity, which was thoroughly shameless of her — but also proof the two of them genuinely got along.
Someday, when the Chat Group has developed further, maybe we can actually run the full Fate gauntlet. That'd be the time for Sakura to return properly. But right now… the group is still a little short.
No one understood the Chat Group's current ceiling better than Ryū.
Right now, the strongest member was still Wandering Earth.
The group's development had found its footing, true. But when it came to genuine high-end firepower — beyond Wandering Earth, who could casually crack a star? Even Wandering Earth going star-busting mode would probably end in mutual annihilation.
Still — less than a year old, and already at this level. That was genuinely remarkable.
To actually clear the Fate world properly, I'm thinking we'd need at least three or four members capable of star-busting output. Anything less and "stable" doesn't really apply.
☆☆☆
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