"So that's how it is... It's probably because she's been in prolonged contact with the feather I gave her, granting her some degree of perception toward 'Stands.'"
After exhaustedly seeing Sakura Matou off, Zuke emerged from the room, sounding genuinely surprised.
The fact that Sakura could see the maid outfit Reines was wearing had caught Zuke off guard. He could only attribute it to the influence of his black feather—after all, it had been plucked from his Stand, making it a part of his spiritual entity. Sakura's long-term exposure to it must have altered her perception.
When Zuke last left the Fate/Zero world, he was certain Sakura had no potential for a Stand. But now? That might no longer be the case.
He was even considering whether he should test Sakura's Stand compatibility with an arrow at some point. Who knows? She might awaken one.
"What's a 'Stand'? Isn't this maid outfit your Noble Phantasm?"
Reines shot Zuke a disgruntled look before glancing down at her attire. She hadn't expected Sakura to suddenly point it out.
At the time, she had been startled but managed to brush it off with an excuse: "Sometimes, when I'm alone, I indulge in... unusual hobbies."
The cost? Sakura now probably saw her as "a noble magus with a maid outfit fetish."
Reines could only sigh in resignation.
Fortunately, Sakura wasn't the type to gossip about others' secrets, so Reines wasn't too worried about her "preference" spreading among other magi.
But that was only if Sakura remained her friend.
If Sakura found out she had stolen Zuke, spreading rumors would be the least of Reines' worries. She was more concerned about Sakura outright declaring war on her.
"So, you're just going to keep hiding this from Sakura?"
Zuke turned to Reines. Though he hadn't left the room earlier, his current abilities made it impossible for him not to overhear their conversation.
Before leaving, Sakura had repeatedly asked about Reines' Servant, only to be deflected each time with: "To ensure victory in the Holy Grail War, I must keep it a secret."
Admittedly, a Servant's True Name was crucial—some could be exploited if their legends were known.
But refusing to even let her see the Servant? That was suspicious. After all, the Holy Grail War was a battle of Heroic Spirits—they'd clash eventually, regardless.
Sakura had left with clear skepticism, likely sensing that Reines' evasiveness was out of character.
"I have no choice but to keep hiding it for now. I know Sakura's temperament—if she finds out I summoned you, she'll lose it."
Reines gave a bitter smile. There was simply no other way.
"For the time being, we'll have to operate in secret. Even if she summons a Servant and realizes it's not you, she must not discover that I was the one who summoned you."
"Fine. You're the Master—your call."
Zuke shrugged. He personally didn't mind telling Sakura the truth, but Reines clearly wasn't ready.
He could wait. While Zuke was impulsive by nature, Reines had treated him well. There was no need to embarrass her.
---
Searching for Illya
After leaving Reines' hideout, Zuke set out to find his next target: Illya.
In this world, Illya had summoned an unknown Servant, slaughtered the entire Einzbern Castle, and fled. By now, she should already be in Fuyuki City.
There were two reasons for seeking her out:
As a participant in the Holy Grail War, they would clash eventually. Gathering intel in advance was only logical. Zuke had an Illya of his own back home, so he couldn't help but be curious about this world's version.
No matter the differences between the two, he still saw her as his daughter and intended to treat her the same.
"But Fuyuki isn't exactly small... How should I go about this? Maybe use 'Black Bird Requiem'?"
With Presence Concealment active, Zuke hovered high above the city, scanning the streets below.
Even with his ability to sense "energy signatures," pinpointing Illya's location was tricky.
The Illya from his world had her "Lesser Grail" functions sealed, making her energy fundamentally different from this one's.
Still, if he really wanted to find her, there was a way—by using Black Bird Requiem to rewrite "the result" and force a path to her.
The cost of such a broad application would be steep, but for Zuke now? It was nothing.
With that decided, he summoned Black Bird Requiem, preparing to lock in the "outcome" of locating Illya.
This was the first time he'd ever used his Stand's power just to find someone.
If it weren't for the fact that she was his daughter, he wouldn't have bothered.
---
Illya was indeed in Fuyuki—but unlike the original timeline, she had taken refuge in a civilian's house.
The original owners had been "persuaded" (with generous compensation) by her maids, Sella and Leysritt, to vacate the premises.
As for where the money came from?
Well, the Einzberns might have been reclusive, but they weren't poor.
With the family wiped out, Sella and Leysritt had looted the vaults to fund Illya's needs.
Though they were homunculus maids who initially served her out of duty, years of companionship had forged genuine loyalty.
Yet, despite their efforts, Illya's condition in the house was far from stable...
To be continued…