"I can project them, but if I use them in combat, they can only last for a very short time."
Shirou shook his head helplessly.
"Less than a minute."
Moreover, he could only project the armor itself and was unable to truly replicate the powerful energy contained within. Naturally, he couldn't use the armor's power to unleash the corresponding special moves.
Ethan nodded. This wasn't surprising. Shirou currently had one major weakness: his extremely low mana capacity.
Even though he had been consistently guided by Illya, Rin, Scáthach, Artoria, and Ethan, and had inherited the correct usage of Magic Circuits, Projection Magic, and Reinforcement Magic, as well as Archer's vast combat experience, his mana pool had never improved.
Ethan hadn't brought up the issue of mana capacity because, to him, it was the easiest problem to solve.
He had too many ways to drastically increase Shirou's mana. So, he wasn't in a hurry to boost it. Instead, he had Shirou review all the basic knowledge from the ground up, ensuring his foundation was solid before considering mana enhancement.
"You can relax a bit now."
After a year of battle and rapid improvement, Shirou had accumulated a wealth of experience and ideas. Now, he could calm down and slowly digest everything he had gained, while also building up some mana reserves.
Additionally, Shirou expressed a desire to return home for a visit.
He knew Ethan intended to invite him to join the team, and he wasn't opposed to it. He understood clearly that, from the moment he was inexplicably dragged into the Holy Grail War, it was impossible for him to live a normal life again.
As he learned more, he felt that surviving the disaster when he was a child had already destined him for everything that followed.
However, he was still reluctant to leave home behind.
"That's fine. In the future, the time flow on both sides will be synchronized, and a stable channel will be established so you can travel freely between your world and here."
"That would be great."
Now another issue arose: whether Rin still wanted to return and finish high school.
"What does that have to do with me?"
"If you still want to go back and finish high school, then the time flow can only be synchronized after you graduate from Hogwarts."
"Doesn't seem to make much difference. Even if my world's time is synchronized with this one now, wouldn't going to Hogwarts still feel like an instant to both worlds?"
"That was before."
Ethan now planned to synchronize Hogwarts' time with this side, because interstellar travel took far too long. If every time they returned from another world it was instant, then people on the ship would have spent several years away, while the spaceship itself hadn't moved at all. That would drive anyone crazy.
According to Artemis' current course and Luna's calculations, they should reach the habitable zone of the target star system in about a year. There might be planets suitable for life there, worth exploring to possibly replenish supplies.
Before reaching that destination, they needed something to pass the time. Ethan figured that, since they were going to spend a year at Hogwarts anyway, they might as well take advantage of it.
If returning from that world still felt instantaneous, he would be stuck waiting idly on the spaceship for a year.
"I see."
Rin didn't hesitate for long and quickly made her decision.
It wasn't a hard decision to make. For a girl from a magus family like Rin, the pursuit of the unknown was nearly endless. Running into someone like Ethan was already a rare stroke of luck. No sane person would give up the chance to learn advanced and profound magic just to return to high school.
She very much hoped to become Ethan's student. That way, she would have a legitimate reason to stay.
But this was easier said than done. She wasn't sure if her talent would impress Ethan. After all this time, Ethan hadn't shown any such intention. She was even beginning to consider choosing someone else as her teacher.
"I'll just withdraw directly."
Rin looked at herself and realized that, in her current appearance, withdrawing from school might be a little complicated. She looked even younger now than she did before.
Teenage years are a time of rapid change, and even a difference of two or three years could lead to a dramatic shift in appearance. Now, Rin looked so young that no one would believe she was who she claimed to be.
"That's simple. An illusion can fix it."
With that settled, the next step was to send the remaining people from the Type-Moon universe back. Sakura and Shirou would continue attending school. After the stable channel was established, Shirou could return to the ship at any time, making it easy for him to come back for training and cooking.
Sakura, who had a weak presence during this time, didn't have that privilege.
For Ethan, his team didn't necessarily need Sakura.
But looking at it another way, having one more person like her on the team wasn't a big deal. So, Sakura's future would depend entirely on her own choices.
She could work hard and gain Ethan's recognition, eventually becoming a crew member. Or she could continue trying to get closer to Shirou and board the ship as his relative. Or she could choose to return to her previous life. It didn't matter either way.
Even if she didn't board the ship, with Ethan's connection to the Type-Moon universe and Shirou definitely becoming a member, Sakura would still visit frequently even if she never officially joined the team.
After staying in the Type-Moon world for a few days, Ethan slightly reduced Shirou's age, restoring him to his previous appearance so he could return to school without attracting suspicion.
As for Rin, she withdrew from school entirely. The reason was simple: due to a change in guardianship, she was going to live abroad.
Of course, the school had no reason to keep her, so the withdrawal process went smoothly. For the next few years, she would definitely be living aboard Artemis. What her future held would depend on herself.
"Illya, is there anything you want?"
Rin had given up her original life to pursue more advanced magic, but she still had many attachments and would surely return often.
Shirou, on the other hand, still felt nostalgic about his past and was currently wavering between his old life and his new path.
Illya, however, had completely let go of everything. She truly regarded Artemis as her home now.
"There's nothing left here worth missing."
To Illya, the only thing in this world worth caring about was her younger brother, Shirou. But since Shirou had already joined Ethan's team, she could see him anytime.
As for the Einzberns and the Holy Grail War, there was nothing worth remembering.
As for her parents...
She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thoughts that suddenly appeared. She decided to achieve everything herself instead of relying on Ethan for everything.
Ethan could probably guess what she was thinking, but he didn't say anything like "you can rely on me." For Illya, having a goal to work toward was a good thing.
In any case, with him around, was he really worried Illya would fall apart just because she couldn't achieve her goal? If needed, he could step in at any time.
"Yo, I've already heard all about it from the little guy. That was really interesting... Another King Arthur?"
Cú Chulainn, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, greeted Ethan with great interest.
"Just hearing what that one did, I can tell he's amazing. What a shame I didn't get to see him with my own eyes."
"Anyway, if you want to meet him, there will be chances in the future."
Ethan looked at him. He was happy to have such a talented warrior join his team.
But Cú Chulainn was different from Scáthach. His connection to this world was too strong. His true self was still on the Throne of Heroes, so he couldn't truly leave.
At best, he could visit Ethan's place like Medusa, but he couldn't truly become Ethan's subordinate.
For Cú Chulainn to join, Ethan would have to completely control this world. But at that point, the whole world, including the Throne of Heroes, would belong to him. Whether Cú Chulainn boarded the ship or not, he would still be his subordinate.
There was no need to rush that. Ethan wasn't in a hurry.
After chatting for a while, they had another hearty dinner at the Emiya residence. This time, all the crew members who had stayed aboard Artemis and hadn't gone to other worlds came to join. Shirou, Rin, Sakura, along with Archer who was resting, spent half the day preparing a large spread to satisfy so many appetites.
With that meal, matters in the Type-Moon world could be set aside for now. Ethan brought everyone back to Artemis and began thinking about what to do next.
The Harry Potter world was off-limits for now. That was the main focus for the next year, and they were depending on it to pass the time.
As for the Starship Troopers world, there wasn't much to worry about. Cherry Military Industries had been developing steadily.
However, Imhotep had encountered some trouble. When he tried to expand his cult globally, he ran into obstacles from all sides. Although he overcame them with his powerful strength, the cult's development had slowed down.
Imhotep, who hadn't returned in a long time, came back to Artemis specifically to consult Ethan about the matter.
But Ethan wasn't interested in cults. He thought that if Imhotep couldn't expand it further, he might as well stop.
Unexpectedly, Maria Hill offered a suggestion.
"Humanity is at war with the Bugs, so stronger warriors will definitely be valued. If you can provide ways to enhance a warrior's combat power, you'll attract attention... Once you have the Federation's interest, development issues will be easy to solve."
(To be continued.)