A childhood that can be remembered... For Illya, an interesting student experience could also be a memory.
"Suddenly realized there are several unlucky people on the ship who didn't have a childhood."
Thinking of this, Ethan thought of Laura, who had been brought onto the ship when she was just over ten and grew up there.
There was also Sherry, who came to the ship at a very young age, although she later attended school for a short time in the Marvel world. That kind of temporary enrollment was meaningless.
Adding Wolverine Logan, who had wandered with his brother since childhood because he was different, and Selene, whose parents were killed when she was young and who was tricked into becoming the adopted daughter of her sworn enemy, the childhoods of these were clearly not pleasant.
As for Annette, Ada, and Evelyn, forget them. They were well-educated, and besides Ada's background being hard to determine, the other two came from decent families.
Jonathan, Evelyn's brother, also did not need to be considered. O'Connell came from a humble background, so perhaps he had a tough youth?
And Anck-su-namun, as a high priestess, was not in this category either.
"Should I trick Logan into turning back into a child?"
As the saying goes, shared joy is double joy. Such an interesting thing should be shared.
"I feel like you're thinking of something bad."
Perhaps because he had turned into a child, or because his control over this body was not steady, Ethan did not maintain his usual neutral expression. While he was amused, some expressions showed unconsciously.
Judging from Illya's disgusted look, it probably was not pretty.
"What I'm thinking is actually a very good thing, but I don't think those few would agree."
"What thing?"
"There are quite a few people who haven't gone to school or experienced a wonderful childhood. I was thinking about whether to let them go to school with you."
"..."
Illya put down the strand of hair in her hand and rubbed her head.
"Why do you insist on me going to school?"
"You don't want to go?"
"Of course I don't want to go!" Seeing Ethan ask this, Illya thought he was willing to change his mind. "Can I not go?"
"No."
Pouting. Her cheeks puffed up like a bun. At this moment, Illya did not realize that she did not actually have to listen to Ethan, since he was not her elder.
But she did not seem to notice this at all, simply expressing various dissatisfactions.
After pointing out some minor mistakes in her spellcasting, Ethan did not let Illya stay holed up any longer and took her out for a walk.
He did not leave Arthur's palace, only moved around the area arranged for him. It was a specially constructed complex, covering a large area. Besides enough rooms and buildings with various functions, there were dedicated gardens and a spacious training ground.
With a large group of personnel assigned to serve Ethan and the others, all their needs could be met.
To make it convenient to leave the palace, this area had been built near the perimeter, making it easy to wander outside at any time.
When they strolled to the garden and saw that everyone who should have been exploring Camelot was actually there, Ethan was a little surprised.
"Back so early?"
Besides everyone being present, Gawain and Lancelot, who were supposed to accompany them, were not there.
"Did something happen?"
"We were planning to go play in the suburbs with Gawain and Lancelot, but something must have happened. King Arthur summoned them into the palace, so we came straight back."
"It seems some unexpected situation has occurred."
Ethan looked around. Except for Artoria, almost everyone was here. Mordred and Galahad were also not present. It seemed something had indeed happened. Although those two were Knights of the Round Table, since joining Ethan's group, they no longer held positions in Britain. These past few days, they had been hanging out with everyone, and even without knowing each other at first, the outgoing Mordred had already gotten familiar with them.
As for Artoria, since arriving, she had replaced Bedivere's role and become Arthur's close guard knight, staying by his side almost all the time except when resting at night.
Her purpose was to observe and understand this completely different version of herself in all aspects. How did he manage the country to be so strong, and how did he get along with his subordinates?
During this time, only Shirou could often see Artoria. It was difficult for the others to see her alone. Only when Arthur came to find Ethan during his rest could everyone see this Artoria, dressed in full armor and disguised as an ordinary guard knight.
"Do you need help?"
Seeing Rin's eagerness, Emiya, beside her, unceremoniously dampened it.
"Rin, let's not even ask whether King Arthur needs our help. Even if help is needed, there are better options here."
Reminded by Emiya, Rin finally remembered that there was a real god and a powerful demigod nearby, both good friends of King Arthur with strong ties. Why would he abandon powerful allies he trusted and ask them for help?
"Moreover, after coming here, you cannot use magecraft or magic at all. You are just an ordinary girl now and cannot help much."
"Who says I can't help? Besides, wasn't it possible to use magecraft after finding the correct method?"
Ethan and Scáthach being able to use magic did not surprise anyone. It was only after seeing Illya cast magic that they realized the fact that magecraft could not be used after leaving their original world was not absolute.
"I achieved this through dedicated learning and diligent practice. Do you think I just wander around all day like you?"
Illya folded her arms, tilted her head, and looked at Rin with disdain. This girl with a bit of a spoiled attitude seemed a little abnormal. Why was she always thinking of good things? And Berserker was clearly hers, yet she shamelessly stepped forward. How thick-skinned.
Rin also realized she had oversimplified things, but she still refused to admit defeat. "Of course I know practice is needed... but that is not difficult for me!"
Then she pointed to Shirou beside her. "It is decided, we will start practicing tomorrow."
"Huh?" Shirou pointed to himself, not understanding what this had to do with him. "Actually, I have been practicing all along."
"Huh?" Rin was very surprised. She had not expected Shirou to have been practicing quietly this whole time.
"Hmph, after all, he is my brother. Of course he cannot appear too useless."
The one who taught Shirou how to correctly use magical energy and release spells without connecting to the Root was indeed Illya, but that was also because Shirou was willing to learn and to wake up early and practice diligently.
Rin glanced at Sakura, and the embarrassed girl softly gave a devastating answer. "Actually... I have also been practicing all along."
"Am I the only one who has been enjoying this trip?" Rin suddenly felt puzzled. It was not strange that Shirou received Illya's guidance because he was her brother. But where did Sakura learn this?
"I asked Senpai to teach me."
"..."
She knew that Sakura had always had a good impression of Shirou, which was why she had used that lifesaving stone to save him after Cú Chulainn killed him.
Turning to look at her Servant, Emiya, she could only hope he had not abandoned her now.
"Cough."
Unfortunately, although Emiya did not answer, he turned his head and avoided her gaze completely, which was also an indirect answer.
"Where did you learn it from?"
Emiya did not speak, and the others were not curious about this point. Only Shirou knew the situation. During this time, he often saw strange scenes, and naturally learned many techniques for using magical energy and performing magecraft.
Especially after he mastered the method of casting magic without the Root one day, he saw a blurry figure in a dream that night, performing powerful magecraft.
After he woke up, all the details of that magecraft were as if carved into his memory, impossible to forget.
At that time, he vaguely saw that the figure was his future self, and he understood what was going on.
The two Shirous had a special connection. As he diligently practiced this new magic technique, Emiya also seemed to learn this method of casting without the Root through that connection.
Perhaps it was caused by their special link, or perhaps intentional on Emiya's part, but he also gained a lot of knowledge from the other side, only lacking practical experience to transform it into truly mastered ability.
Neither Emiya nor Shirou told anyone about this, but Ethan, nearby, could easily guess.
"So, it seems Shirou's strength has not been affected much. Besides lacking experience, he seems even stronger."
Considering he already wanted to cultivate this chef, Ethan was happy with this situation, as it could save him a lot of effort.
However, it also brought the troublesome Rin who actively attached herself to him.
(To be continued.)
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