"You finally came. I was starting to think you'd run off."
When Zuke arrived at the living room of the ordinary house where Illyasviel was staying, he saw Sitonai, who had been waiting on the sofa for a long time.
She seemed to have regained her composure by now—after all, Zuke had promised her that she would be able to see Irisviel, which had become her new hope.
Back at Einzbern Castle, the reason Sitonai had lost control was mainly because she could see no future for herself and felt lost about her own existence. This mental confusion had led her to do such extreme things.
In the original storyline, Illyasviel at least had a goal—to kill Kiritsugu Emiya's adopted son, Shirou Emiya.
But in this worldline, since Kiritsugu Emiya had died early and had no adopted son, Illyasviel, now as Sitonai, had lost all purpose.
With no attachments left in this world, she now saw Zuke's words as her only way out.
"Illyasviel ended her rest early to wait for you to fulfill your promise. She's been waiting here for a long time," said Sella, the maid standing beside Sitonai. She seemed to still harbor some doubts about Zuke, but due to Sitonai's insistence, she refrained from being disrespectful.
Although Sitonai was now in the form of a Servant, her body was still based on Illyasviel's original form—a body that, due to the nature of the Lesser Grail, required 12 hours of res) daily.
So, Sitonai had made sure to sleep a full 12 hours during the day today, just to be in optimal condition for her meeting with Zuke tonight.
On the other side of Illyasviel, the other maid, Leysritt, was also on high alert. She was a homunculus of the same origin as Illyasviel and had also needed for 12 hours during the day to maintain her best state.
However, unlike Sella, who was practically an all-around skilled maid, Leysritt was rather incompetent at maid work—her main role was combat.
Of course, she was well aware that even Sitonai was no match for Zuke, so as a homunculus maid, she stood no chance either. Thus, she seemed somewhat resigned to the situation.
"Looks like you can't wait, huh?"
Seeing Sitonai sitting on the sofa, Zuke couldn't help but laugh.
Although Sitonai appeared calm on the surface, Zuke noticed her fingers fidgeting nervously. No matter how hard she tried to maintain her composure, these subtle movements betrayed her inner turmoil.
"Since you've chosen to believe me, how about calling me 'Dad' first? After all, once you go over there, you'll have to call me that sooner or later anyway."
"You...!"
Sitonai's face flushed red at Zuke's teasing, and she glared at him, clearly annoyed by his provocative words.
But Zuke wasn't wrong. If he really had that kind of relationship with Irisviel in another world... then logically, she would indeed have to call him "Dad."
So, after a moment of internal struggle, Sitonai blushed and softly uttered the address she had never used before:
"Da... Dad."
"Good."
Zuke nodded in satisfaction. Since Sitonai could say "Dad" once, she would naturally say it a second and third time—until she fully accepted the title.
Although, biologically speaking, Sitonai was about the same age as Zuke, almost his peer... but who could resist when she looked just like a loli?
However, before taking Sitonai to the real world, Zuke remembered another important matter:
"Before that, there's something I need to ask you... If I take you away, won't this world be left without a Lesser Grail?"
The Lesser Grail was a crucial part of the Holy Grail War process.
Before the Greater Grail descended, the souls of defeated Servants would enter the "Lesser Grail." Once five Servant souls were collected, the Lesser Grail would activate and become the ritual's vessel.
In this world, the Lesser Grail was Sitonai—or more precisely, the body originally named "Illyasviel von Einzbern."
If he took Sitonai out of this world, the world would lose its "Lesser Grail," and the souls of defeated Servants would have nowhere to go.
Without the Lesser Grail as a medium, the Greater Grail would not open, and the Holy Grail War would become an incomplete ritual.
"That's true... but does it matter? It's just a Holy Grail. Do you still need the Grail to make a wish?"
Sitonai looked at Zuke in confusion—if she left this world, there would indeed be no other Lesser Grail.
But she didn't think it was a big deal. With Zuke's strength, wasn't there anything he couldn't achieve? Did he really need the Grail's limited power to fulfill his wishes?
Or was he interested in the Third Magic?
"It's still a bit troublesome. I do need the Holy Grail from this Holy Grail War..."
Zuke smiled awkwardly—after all, the main quest required him to obtain the Holy Grail from the Fifth Holy Grail War.
Although he had no real need for the Grail now, he was still interested in the potential extra rewards from completing the main quest through the system.
The Type-Moon world had some pretty useful things, and he wanted to try his luck at obtaining them.
"Among the materials we brought from the Einzbern family, there are methods to create a new vessel for the Lesser Grail," Sella suddenly spoke up.
"If necessary, we can use those methods to create a new Lesser Grail."
The process of creating a vessel for the Lesser Grail wasn't particularly complex, and it didn't necessarily require a homunculus—the Lesser Grails in the first three Holy Grail Wars were inorganic objects with relic-like properties.
In the original story, Zouken Matou had also used Holy Grail fragments to create his own "Matou Grail," which functioned as a Lesser Grail.
This showed that the technology behind it wasn't particularly advanced.
"I see... That could work."
Zuke thought for a moment—although he had no knowledge of magecraft, Reines did.
As long as Reines helped, replicating a new Lesser Grail vessel based on the Einzbern family's materials shouldn't be a problem.
"Then, I'll go fetch the magecraft materials we brought from the Einzbern family," Sella said, relieved that Zuke seemed to accept the proposal.
"Please, in the future, make sure to take good care of Illyasviel and never let her suffer..."
"Hm?"
Zuke looked at Sella in confusion—her words sounded like she was entrusting him with something final, which puzzled him.
"What? Aren't you two coming along?"
"Eh?"
Sella was taken aback by Zuke's question.
"We can come too?"
To be continued…