[FMMISM] Chapter 5: Mother and Daughter

At 7:13 AM, Ragna left the Sajyou residence in Suginami, Tokyo.

At 8:03 AM, Ragna sneaked into someone's house in Chiyoda, Tokyo.

Speaking of which, in the real world, East Asians were often perceived to have a younger appearance compared to Caucasians, but this rule didn't apply in the world of anime and manga.

In there, foreigners with bright-colored hair and eyes often appear younger, as proven by what was happening right now.

Walking in front of Ragna right now was Elza Saijo, an exotic, mixed-blood beauty.

As a half-German and half-Japanese woman, she sported red hair and emerald eyes. Despite being nearly thirty and already having become a mother, her youthful face resembled that of a high school student.

"Even her figure is like that of a high schooler..."

Following behind Elza, Ragna muttered as he walked through a hallway.

"Hmm? What did you just say?"

Feeling a chill creeping up from ahead, Ragna quickly shook his head.

"No, it's nothing."

Elza might seem gentle and easygoing, but in reality, she was a tough woman who could achieve what ordinary Masters couldn't.

In the original work's Tokyo Holy Grail War, Elza once boosted the magical energy of her Servant, Arash, with three Command Spells at once and forced him to release his Noble Phantasm, Stella, at full power—although that was the result of being forced by Manaka.

"Elza."

Taking a seat on the sofa, Ragna pulled out a thick envelope of neatly stacked bills from his shoulder bag and placed it on the coffee table.

"This is for this month. I probably won't be able to come by for a while."

"Um, thank you for going through the trouble."

Elza carefully accepted the envelope with an expression tinged with guilt before bowing deeply to him.

"I'm sorry... If I could be more useful and earn more..." Elza said in a low voice.

"No, you're already doing more than enough. If anyone should apologize, it's me for burdening you with her." Ragna shook his head.

Upon hearing this, Elza brightened into a sincere smile.

"I never once thought of that child as a burden. Without her, I don't know where I'd be now. I really don't know how to thank you enough, Ragna... If it weren't for you..."

"Oh, did the ATM arrive? That's rare."

A girl's voice suddenly came from the next room, causing Ragna to furrow his brow as he turned to look at the girl entering through the sliding door.

"Brat, who are you calling ATM?" Ragna retorted.

"..." 

"Caren, you shouldn't speak to Ragna like that, okay?"

Elza was stunned for a moment, then pretended to be displeased as she scolded the girl who had just entered the room. 

The newcomer was a young girl with skin as pure as snow and deep, rich golden eyes. Her luxurious silver, wavy hair complemented a simple black homespun dress. She wasn't just a stunning Western doll; she looked more like an angel, untainted by earthly affairs.

Her name was Caren Hortensia.

She was a girl with a tragic childhood whom Ragna had dragged away from a church in Southern Europe a year ago.

Since her mother had committed suicide and her father had betrayed the church, she had been raised from a young age by a strict priest. However, because suicide was considered a grave sin in Christianity, as the child of a sinner and a traitor, Caren could only perform menial tasks in the church and couldn't receive any education.

In the original work, it wasn't until she was nine years old and displayed stigmata that the church began to pay attention to her, setting her on a path that was perhaps more challenging than that of ordinary people.

Fortunately, Ragna's impulsive behavior completely disrupted the girl's original fate.

"That guy's daughter seems to have a miraculous body constitution that can lure demons, purify them, or something... I wonder if it'll work on me?"

After muttering like that at that time, Ragna leisurely crossed the Eurasian continent by plane and arrived at the church where Caren was.

As it turned out, her body had absolutely no effect on him whatsoever.

To Ragna, the girl standing before him was just a quiet, often disdainful child who occasionally cast contemptuous glances at adults.

In truth, taking Caren away from the church was purely an impulsive decision at the time.

"Missy, do you want to come with me? I'll take you to a nice place."

"..."

At that time, even though Ragna asked in a somewhat suspicious manner, Caren wordlessly came to his side and took his hand.

As a result, Ragna truly brought Caren to Japan.

And so, two parallel lines that were never supposed to intersect, converged.

Elza, a single mother who lost her five-year-old son several years ago, and Caren, a five-year-old girl abandoned by her father shortly after her mother's suicide, now relied on each other like mother and daughter in Tokyo under Ragna's guidance.

"Hey, Ragna. Are you leaving Tokyo?" 

Asking this, Caren approached and plopped down directly onto Ragna's lap, her mesmerizing golden eyes stared straight into his face as she looked up.

"Well, well... what's brought this on? Are you trying to make me stay?" Ragna asked with a teasing smile.

Caren shook her head, her dazzling silver hair fluttering.

"Just don't die. Promise me you'll take me to Disneyland when you come back."

In her eyes, Ragna seemed like a guy who liked to mess around aimlessly after filling his belly.

"Deal." Ragna immediately agreed.

"Hmm..."

With a simple 'Hmm', a bright spark flickered in the depths of Caren's profound golden eyes. Silently, she hopped off Ragna's lap and skillfully pulled a ten-thousand-yen bill from the envelope on the table before heading toward the house entrance.

Seeing this, Elza and Ragna were surprised.

"Caren, where are you going?" Elza asked.

"I made plans to meet friends to play in the sandpit at the park."

'Miss Caren, you know you can't buy friendship with money, right?' Ragna chuckled wryly in his mind.

"Caren, Ragna hardly ever visits. Can't you stay home a bit longer?" Elza frowned.

"Just seeing Ragna alive is enough for me. Besides, he's not the type to abandon kids randomly."

Without looking back, Caren replied calmly as she sat obediently by the entrance hall, swinging her little shoes.

"Moreover, isn't it time for Ragna and Elza to head to the bedroom and get lovey-dovey or something? It's pointless for me to stay here anyway. Elza won't be able to relax with me around, right? So I'll make myself scarce."

"Wh-Wh-Wh-What?!"

Elza stuttered in shock, her exquisite face instantly flushing a brilliant crimson, matching the color of her hair.

On the other hand, Ragna stayed silent, merely shaking his head with a wry smile.

"Ca-Caren, don't tease the grown-ups like that!" Elza added with her head lowered.

"Elza, Ragna, I'm heading out. Don't go into my room."

Shrugging her shoulders casually, Caren said goodbye to them before walking away.

'...Is she really five years old?'

Ragna thought silently before letting out a sigh as he watched Caren's petite figure leave.

Click

As soon as Caren closed the front door and left the house, Ragna got up from the sofa.

"Well then, I should probably get going too since the Shinkansen departs at 9:30 in the morning." Ragna said, looking at the clock on the wall.

"..." Elza was silent for a moment before suddenly speaking. "Can you stay for a while? I'll drive you to Shinto later."

"Huh? But that'll cost a lot of money for gas." Ragna, who didn't immediately understand what she was getting at, said in surprise.

"But... I can't just waste that child's kindness..."

With a coquettish expression, Elza suddenly grabbed Ragna's wrist and pulled him forcefully toward her.

In the next moment, as someone who had once been a mother, she skillfully pinned the boy, who was a head shorter than herself down onto the sofa.

With a flick of her tongue over her red lips, Elza blew a warm, moist breath into Ragna's ear.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a month... haven't I?"