"Zuke-san!?"
When Reines saw Zuke carrying Matou Sakura in a princess carry back to the room, she was completely dumbfounded.
At first, she even thought Zuke had killed Matou Sakura—after all, in this Holy Grail War, Matou Sakura also belonged to the opposing Masters.
But thinking about it again, Zuke already knew Matou Sakura, and Matou Sakura was so obsessed with Zuke, so Zuke probably wouldn't strike Matou Sakura down, right?
Sure enough, after Zuke placed Matou Sakura on the bed in the bedroom, Reines came over to take a careful look, confirming that Matou Sakura seemed to have just fainted, with no obvious wounds on her body.
Or if she had to say... the shoulder area of Matou Sakura's clothing seemed a bit damaged, but the skin exposed beneath the damaged part was still intact, without a trace of injury.
"I awakened an ability for her, and now she might need to sleep for a while... if it's short, she might wake up in a few minutes; if it's long, it might take several days."
After putting Matou Sakura down, Zuke explained to Reines to prevent her from thinking of strange things.
"During this time, I might need you to take care of her... or you could have Trimmau take care of her."
Although Trimmau, as the mystic code "Volumen Hydrargyrum," should be used to protect Reines's personal safety.
But now Reines was wearing Zuke's maid outfit Stand, and she also had the "Black Bird Requiem: Black Sabbath" that Zuke had given her, so her safety was quite well guaranteed.
At this time, Trimmau could truly be used as a pure maid, just like her appearance suggested.
"...Is it that ability called a 'Stand'?"
Reines was silent for a moment, looking at Matou Sakura lying on the bed, and suddenly asked.
Zuke had mentioned the term "Stand" to Reines before. For convenience in making Reines understand, Zuke had told Reines to think of it as a type of Noble Phantasm.
But now, clearly, this ability wasn't a "Noble Phantasm." After all, Matou Sakura was just an ordinary magus, not a Heroic Spirit, and shouldn't possess something like a "Noble Phantasm."
"That's right. You can understand a 'Stand' as an 'incarnation' condensed from a living being's mental power, possessing various abilities."
Seeing that Reines also seemed interested in "Stands," Zuke nodded and told Reines about the specific nature of Stands.
To prevent Reines from not understanding, Zuke even summoned "Black Bird Requiem"—the pitch-black Stand figure appeared behind him, allowing Reines to see it.
"As you can see, this is my Stand—'Black Bird Requiem.' The Stand that pulled you into the shadows before was a part of my Stand."
Because Reines had been given the maid outfit Stand, she essentially counted as half a Stand user now, so she could see Zuke's "Black Bird Requiem."
Of course, if Zuke retrieved the maid outfit Stand from Reines, then Reines would return to being an ordinary person who couldn't see Stands.
"Then... can I also awaken a Stand?"
Reines seemed to become more conflicted. She suddenly reached out and grabbed the corner of Zuke's clothes, asking somewhat nervously.
She knew that the maid outfit she was currently wearing was a "Stand" that Zuke had given her, but that wasn't her own ability—it was power that would disappear after Zuke left.
It wasn't that she coveted this power; rather, she suddenly felt that her importance in Zuke's heart had become lighter—because Matou Sakura now clearly received more of Zuke's attention.
Because Zuke had helped Matou Sakura awaken a Stand but hadn't helped her, this made her very uneasy.
"...Unfortunately, Stands require potential, and you don't have Stand potential."
Zuke shook his head. It was precisely because Reines didn't have Stand potential that Zuke could only give her the maid outfit Stand to give her the power to protect herself.
Otherwise, Zuke might have chosen to help her awaken a Stand directly, and then Reines wouldn't lack the power to protect herself.
Although it had now been confirmed from Matou Sakura that carrying "Black Bird's" feather for a long time seemed to grant Stand potential, this clearly wouldn't take effect in a short period.
"Do you want a Stand that badly?"
Seeing Reines's face show a disappointed expression, Zuke couldn't help but laugh.
Logically, Reines should have already passed through her most dangerous period, and the El-Melloi family was also getting on track. She shouldn't need a Stand's help that much, right?
Before Zuke could continue, Reines suddenly stepped forward and threw herself into Zuke's embrace.
Then Reines's somewhat trembling voice came from Zuke's embrace:
"It's okay if I don't have a Stand. Can you hold me, Zuke-san?"
Hearing Reines's words, Zuke was stunned—then he seemed to realize something and looked down at Reines, who was holding him.
He reached out and held Reines—sure enough, after he embraced Reines's body, the slight trembling in her body also calmed down.
Only then did Zuke understand that Reines seemed to be afraid of losing him?
Because of her past experiences, Reines had an incredibly exaggerated obsession with a sense of security, and Zuke could fill this void for her.
So her actions just now were actually just to get Zuke to pay more attention to her, so she wouldn't lose the sense of security that Zuke brought.
Thinking of this, Zuke felt somewhat amused.
But thinking carefully, Reines was, after all, just a girl approaching adulthood.
Even though she had passed through the most dangerous period, her heart still lacked a sense of security, which was why she appeared somewhat arrogant and unreasonable to the outside world.
Wanting Zuke to help her awaken a Stand was just because she saw Matou Sakura get Zuke's assistance first and felt a sense of crisis.
Unfortunately, even if Zuke wanted to help her awaken a Stand... she didn't have the potential, and that was that.
People without Stand potential would die directly in the process of awakening a Stand after being pierced by the "Arrow." This point had been confirmed in the JoJo world.
In Part 4, Nijimura Keicho had killed many innocent people with the "Arrow" this way.
Just as Zuke was thinking about how to comfort Reines, Reines suddenly spoke again:
"Can you hold me and rest on the bed for a bit, Zuke-san?"
This was somewhat beyond imagination. Zuke could basically guess what would happen next if he really did this.
Zuke could roughly guess Reines's thoughts—since she couldn't get closer to Zuke in terms of "Stands," she would approach from another angle.
Although Zuke didn't mind taking action, he looked at Matou Sakura lying on the bed and said helplessly:
"But Sakura is still lying on the bed."
"It's okay, isn't she unconscious?"
Reines's voice seemed filled with determination, completely unafraid.
Doing such things with the Zuke she had been fixated on, right beside her good friend Matou Sakura... had quite a forbidden feel to it.
To be continued...