Clearly, Sella had assumed that Zuke would only take Sitonai away from this world, while she and Leysritt would be left behind.
Her misunderstanding stemmed from the fact that "Parallel World Interference" was the Second Magic—a realm of "Sorcery" countless magi dreamed of attaining.
Even the so-called Wizard Marshal, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, who mastered the Second Magic "Parallel World Interference," could only traverse parallel worlds by himself.
There had been no records of the Second Magic being capable of taking others to different parallel worlds.
In Sella's eyes, Zuke's ability to take Sitonai away was already an incredible feat. She naturally didn't dare to hope that Zuke could take her and Leysritt along as well.
"Of course, we're all leaving together. Why would we stay in this world to rot?"
Zuke, unaware that his words were being associated with the Second Magic, looked at Sella with slight exasperation.
"The Einzberns in this world are all dead, right? What else can you two even do here?"
Zuke's words instantly brightened Sella's expression. Even Leysritt, who had been mostly expressionless, showed a softened look.
Clearly, they had both initially believed that after today, they might never see Sitonai again—but Zuke's words were like a reassurance to them.
Even Sella's steps seemed livelier as she went to retrieve the Einzbern family's materials.
"...There's way more material here than I imagined."
Zuke couldn't help but twitch his mouth at the massive pile of materials Sella brought out.
He had initially thought the materials Sella and Leysritt brought out would be limited to a few books or similar items, but the reality surprised him.
Most of the Einzbern family's materials were indeed books, but aside from books, there were also many papers recording homunculus experiments, objects suspected to be relics, and other things.
Books and miscellaneous items of all sizes quickly piled up, occupying nearly half the living room through Sella's efforts before everything was finally brought out.
On second thought, it made sense—the Einzbern family had been passed down for so long, and the accumulated materials were naturally vast. These might not even be all of the Einzbern family's materials.
"I wonder if Reines can find the method to create a Lesser Grail from among all this stuff."
Zuke reached out and stored the massive pile of materials in the "Gate of Babylon"—he would take these to show Reines later.
He didn't expect Reines to sort out the method for creating a Lesser Grail from these materials today... After all, there were still several days left. He could let Reines work hard at it.
After storing the Einzbern family's materials, Zuke turned to Sitonai and said:
"I still have something to do next... Wait a little longer. I'll be back to pick you up in a few hours at most."
"Do you have something to do? Do you need my help?"
Seeing Zuke about to leave again, Sitonai immediately grew somewhat flustered. She quickly stepped forward, grabbed the corner of Zuke's clothes, and asked.
On one hand, she was worried that once Zuke left, she might lose contact with him again—after all, after Zuke left yesterday, Sitonai had been worried he might never return.
On the other hand, Sitonai also wanted to prove her value to Zuke—although her strength was inferior to his, she was still a Heroic Spirit after all, and could definitely be of some use.
"That won't be necessary. I'm just going to capture a Heroic Spirit."
Zuke smiled and patted Sitonai's head, just like he would pat Illyasviel's head in the real world.
Compared to Illyasviel's soft and warm hair, Sitonai's hair felt somewhat cool—perhaps this was also related to her nature as a Heroic Spirit.
Sitonai didn't resist Zuke rubbing her head, only blushing slightly, seemingly gradually accepting Zuke's intimate gestures.
However, Zuke probably didn't realize that although Sitonai and Illyasviel were the same person from parallel worlds, their ages were completely different.
Even though Sitonai had always lived in the isolated Einzbern Castle and maintained a somewhat naive personality, those extra few years compared to Illyasviel were undeniable.
Zuke might view Sitonai as a daughter as well, but whether Sitonai felt the same way as Illyasviel in her heart was something Zuke didn't know.
Cough... Cough!
(T/N: Stfu!)
In the Matou family's basement, Shinji Matou coughed violently, continuously spitting blood from his mouth.
Although he looked miserable, Shinji Matou's emaciated face showed no trace of fatigue but instead an unusual sense of alertness.
It was the "feedback" from the Crest Worms devouring his life force, spewing out magical energy that made him seem somewhat more spirited.
But in reality, this alertness was akin to a final rally before death—it would only lead to continuous loss of life force until it was completely exhausted.
"Master, this can't go on."
Behind Shinji Matou, the Archer he summoned frowned at the miserable scene and couldn't help but say in a low voice.
"Conserve your life force. I am Archer, possessing the class skill 'Independent Action.' Even if you reduce the magical energy supply, I won't disappear."
This Archer had short white hair, darkish skin, wore black body armor, and had red cloth wrapped around his arms.
It was none other than Heroic Spirit EMIYA, as Zuke had previously guessed.
At this moment, Heroic Spirit EMIYA was also very confused—the development of this world seemed completely different from what he understood.
Not to mention that he was summoned by Shinji Matou, and for some reason, Shinji had turned into this half-human, half-ghost state.
Even Sakura Matou, who should have been in the Matou household, seemed to have vanished without a trace, her whereabouts unknown.
Heroic Spirit EMIYA had tentatively asked Shinji Matou about his family situation, only to find that Shinji seemed completely unaware of Sakura Matou's existence.
Under persistent questioning, Shinji seemed to recall that Zouken Matou had adopted a young girl ten years ago, but that girl had been taken away not long after arriving at the Matou household.
Even Zouken Matou had died around that time, leading to the Matou family's current decline.
Hearing Shinji's description, Heroic Spirit EMIYA guessed that this worldline must have undergone some major changes... but the exact point of divergence was still a mystery to him.
For now, he could only follow Shinji Matou's lead and see if he could learn how this world's history differed from what he knew through further investigation.
Although Heroic Spirit EMIYA was also "Shirou Emiya," he hadn't formed the same connections with the girls as the Shirou Emiya from the original story had.
Instead, he blindly pursued the ideal of being a "hero of justice" until the end, becoming a "Counter Guardian" for the Counter Force.
Even so, he still considered the people he had once encountered as friends—so he was somewhat worried about how they were faring now.
"I hope nothing too terrible has happened... Surely not everyone has ended up as miserable as Shinji, right?"
Looking at Shinji's seemingly life-draining state, Heroic Spirit EMIYA sighed inwardly.
To be continued…