The morning sun slowly rose into the sky as birds chirped outside the window.
Ren woke up from his bed and stretched slightly, only to feel a small tug on his clothes. Looking down, he saw a tiny hand gripping his shirt tightly.
It was Sakura, still sleeping peacefully beside him.
Seeing her sleeping face, Ren couldn't help but smile as he gently pinched her chubby cheek.
"…Still asleep."
Not wanting to wake her yet, Ren quietly leaned back and spoke in a low voice.
"System, sign-in."
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for signing in! You have received: Mobile Task Force Alpha-1 — Red Right Hand Program.]
[Detecting Special Reward: MTF Program.]
[Please select a building to be converted into a Red Right Hand Program facility that will automatically operate once D-Class personnel enter the building.]
[Please provide D-Class personnel to be converted into members of Mobile Task Force Alpha-1 — Red Right Hand.]
Seeing the reward he had received, Ren raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"So the system doesn't only give SCP objects… it can also give SCP personnel programs."
This discovery was extremely useful for him.
After all, Ren had no intention of becoming a one-man army. Handling every small issue personally would quickly become annoying, and with a proper Mobile Task Force under his command, most minor or medium-level threats could be dealt with long before they ever reached him.
And Mobile Task Force Alpha-1 — Red Right Hand was not just any MTF.
They were a special unit that worked directly under the O5 Council, essentially acting as the Foundation's most trusted strike force.
In simpler terms—
Alpha-1 was the O5 Council's personal execution squad.
When the Council needed someone assassinated, silenced, or simply erased from existence, Alpha-1 handled it without hesitation. Their missions were not limited to dealing with monsters or anomalies; most of their operations involved eliminating traitors, covering up dangerous information, and making sure no one learned more than they were supposed to.
Basically the O5 Council's personal "problem-removal service."
"But if I remember correctly…"
"To turn D-Class personnel into Alpha-1 members, they normally require Aurum Silkwork and SCP-5920."
Which meant that by following this system's program, he would essentially obtain not only a special facility but also a type of hatchery and an SCP.
That was the good part.
The bad part, however, was that Ren would not gain any personal trait from this SCP since it had been integrated into the MTF Alpha-1 program instead.
Still—
It wasn't a bad trade.
"System," Ren said quietly, "place the Mobile Task Force Alpha-1 — Red Right Hand Program into Space Dimension-51: Containment Building."
He decided to place it inside his Keter Duty dimension.
After all, the dimension was completely under his control, making it the safest place possible, and most of the spaces there were still empty and unused.
It was the perfect place to build something like this.
suddenly, Sakura stirred slightly beside him.
At first it was only a small movement, her fingers twitching against the blanket as the warmth of sleep slowly faded. A moment later her eyes opened halfway, still clouded with drowsiness as she looked around the unfamiliar room.
White ceiling.
Strange walls.
A bed she had never seen before.
For a brief moment, Sakura simply blinked in confusion.
Then the realization slowly began to sink in.
This wasn't her home.
Her body suddenly tensed, and she quickly sat up on the bed, her small hands clutching the blanket tightly as panic rushed through her chest.
"W-Where…?"
Her breathing grew uneven as she hurriedly looked around the room, trying to understand where she was.
Memories from last night flashed through her mind.
The car.
The old house.
The basement.
The worms.
Her body began to tremble again.
But before the fear could fully consume her, her gaze suddenly landed on someone sitting beside the bed.
Ren.
He was leaning back slightly in the chair, looking far too relaxed for someone who had just witnessed a child wake up in panic. When he noticed Sakura staring at him, he simply gave her a gentle smile.
"Morning."
Sakura froze.
For a moment she only stared at him blankly.
Then the rest of her memories returned all at once.
The basement.
The terror.
And then—
This person.
The one who appeared and saved her.
The tension in her small body slowly loosened, though her fingers were still gripping the blanket tightly.
"…Onii-san…" she murmured softly.
Ren tilted his head slightly, amused by the title but choosing not to comment on it.
"Good, you're awake," he said calmly. "You must be hungry."
Meanwhile, his thoughts had already drifted somewhere else.
Now that it's settled… I need to "recruit" some D-Class personnel.
Ren tapped his finger lightly against the armrest of the chair.
Hmm… where am I supposed to get them?
Finding criminals wasn't exactly difficult, but gathering them efficiently without causing unnecessary attention would require some planning.
After thinking about it for a moment, Ren simply shrugged.
"Anyway, let's have breakfast first," he said casually.
Reaching for his phone, he quickly sent a message to the hotel attendant.
"Two breakfasts, please."
Within seconds the order was confirmed.
Ren placed the phone back on the table and looked toward Sakura again, noticing that she was still sitting stiffly on the bed, quietly watching him as if trying to determine whether she was really safe.
His expression softened slightly.
"Relax," Ren said gently. "No worms here."
Sakura blinked.
Then slowly nodded.
===============
Morning sunlight filtered softly through the hotel window as the two of them finished their breakfast together, the plates now sitting empty on the small table while the distant sounds of the city drifted faintly through the glass.
Sakura sat quietly in her chair, her small hands folded nervously in her lap as she stared down at them, having barely spoken during the meal except for a few soft replies whenever Ren asked if she wanted more food.
Ren leaned back slightly in his chair as he watched her for a moment.
After a short pause, he finally spoke.
"Sakura," Ren said gently.
The little girl immediately looked up, her body stiffening slightly as if she had been waiting for him to say something.
"…Yes?"
Ren rested his elbow on the table and lightly supported his chin with one hand before speaking again in a calm tone.
"So… what do you plan to do next?"
Sakura blinked in confusion.
"…Next?"
Ren nodded as he continued, "You can't stay in this hotel forever, so eventually you'll have to decide where you want to go."
The moment those words left his mouth, Sakura's shoulders tightened slightly as her fingers curled together nervously.
The first place that appeared in her mind was the Tohsaka Residence, the home where she had lived together with her family and where her sister Rin Tohsaka was still waiting.
However, the moment that thought appeared, another memory quickly followed.
The long car ride.
The dark mansion.
The basement.
And the countless worms crawling across the floor.
Sakura's small body trembled slightly as she remembered the suffocating fear she had felt in that moment.
"I…" she began softly, only for her voice to falter halfway through the sentence.
Ren didn't interrupt her.
Instead, he simply remained silent and waited.
After a few seconds, Sakura slowly shook her head as she lowered her gaze.
"…I don't want to go back," she whispered.
Her voice was extremely quiet, yet the fear hidden behind it was impossible to miss.
"If I go back… Father will send me there again."
Her hands tightened slightly as she spoke.
"I don't want to go back to that basement."
The room fell silent after that.
Ren watched her quietly for a moment before letting out a small sigh and scratching the back of his head as if he had just reached a simple conclusion.
"Well," he said casually, "that's fair."
Sakura looked up in surprise, clearly not expecting that kind of response.
Ren shrugged lightly before continuing, "Anyone who sends a kid into a worm dungeon automatically fails the parenting test."
Sakura blinked at the strange wording, and although she didn't fully understand what he meant, the tension in the room eased just a little.
Ren leaned forward slightly as he rested both arms on the table.
"So here's another option," he said. "You could stay with me."
Sakura froze for a moment.
"…With you?"
Ren nodded.
"Yeah. You could basically become part of my family."
After a brief pause, he added with a small smile, "And I promise there are absolutely zero worm basements involved."
Sakura stared at him quietly as she tried to process what he had just said.
Her mind was still filled with confusion and lingering fear, yet one memory stood out more clearly than the rest.
When she had been trapped in that basement, surrounded by those horrible worms, he had been the one who appeared and saved her.
Right now, he was also the only person who made her feel safe.
Sakura slowly lowered her gaze again as she spoke in a hesitant voice.
"…If I stay with you…"
She paused for a moment before continuing.
"…I won't have to go back there?"
Ren immediately shook his head.
"Nope. Not happening."
Another quiet moment passed between them as Sakura thought about his words carefully.
Then she slowly lifted her head again, her eyes still slightly red but now filled with a small trace of determination.
"…Then… can I stay with you?"
Ren smiled faintly as he nodded.
"Sure."
And just like that, Sakura had made her choice.
Instead of returning to the Tohsaka household and risking being sent back to the Matou residence again, she chose to stay with the person who had reached out his hand and pulled her out of the darkness.
Ren remained seated for a moment after Sakura's answer, quietly watching the small girl in front of him as if thinking about something important. Then, as though remembering something, he reached into the inside pocket of his coat and took out a pair of black gloves.
The gloves looked ordinary at first glance, but if one looked closely, faint symbols and delicate rune-like patterns had been stitched along the inner seams, forming a complex pattern that was clearly not meant for decoration.
Ren placed them on the table and gently pushed them toward Sakura.
"Here," he said casually. "Wear these."
Sakura looked at the gloves with a bit of confusion before lifting her gaze back to him.
"…Gloves?"
"Yep," Ren replied simply.
He didn't bother explaining too much, and instead just gestured lightly toward them.
"Go ahead."
Although she didn't fully understand the reason, Sakura still obediently picked up the gloves and carefully slipped them onto her hands. They fit perfectly, as if they had been made specifically for her.
Ren watched quietly as she finished putting them on.
The real reason he had given them to her, however, was something he didn't say out loud.
The moment Sakura had appeared in his room yesterday, Ren had immediately noticed something unusual on the back of her right hand.
A red tattoo.
A mark that anyone familiar with the Holy Grail War would instantly recognize.
A Command Spell.
It meant that Sakura had already been chosen as a participant in the upcoming Fourth Holy Grail War.
Under normal circumstances, this mark would allow her to command a Servant once the war officially began. However, it also meant that other magus might eventually notice it if she walked around carelessly.
That was why Ren had prepared the gloves.
The runes inscribed within them served two purposes: to conceal the presence of the Command Spell and to create a small defensive barrier that would activate automatically if Sakura were ever in danger.
In short—
They were both camouflage and protection.
Sakura looked down at her hands after putting them on, flexing her fingers slightly as she tested the unfamiliar feeling of the gloves.
"…They're warm," she said quietly.
Ren nodded lightly.
"Good."