Emiya was a Counter Guardian, whose job was to prevent humanity's extinction. To achieve this, he even had to undertake some rather dirty work.
He performed similar tasks relentlessly year after year. After completing a job, he would return to his own world for a simple rest before continuing with the next mission.
There was no salary, no vacation, nothing. All there was was killing, over and over again.
Living this kind of life for so many years, any normal person would find it unbearable. Therefore, Ethan deeply understood Emiya's desire to kill his past self and change the fact that he became a Guardian.
Emiya's superior was merely a rule, devoid of any human touch, simply completing its own job mechanically. As for how Emiya, as a human, felt about it, that was not within its consideration. The moment Emiya chose to accept this job, he became a tool.
Ethan was different. He had his own thoughts, and for the most part, he would pretend he was still a person. Thus, he would consider things from a human perspective.
During the time he took over the Nasuverse, he had, to some extent, gained a bit of control over this world.
He could not make huge changes, and currently there was no way to completely free Emiya. Separating Emiya was not just about removing his status as a Guardian, but also involved the Throne of Heroes, which was a rather complex situation.
Since the fundamental problem could not be solved for now, he would deal with the simple matters first.
Ethan adjusted Emiya's work hours and the location of his home base, making Fuyuki, where they had been before, Emiya's usual resting place.
This meant that from now on, Emiya could live in Fuyuki when he was not being summoned for a mission.
The number and frequency of summons were also adjusted by Ethan. He only needed to go out on one mission per month, and the remaining time could be used for rest.
Simply put, Emiya's work style was somewhat similar to that of a dimension traveler, except that his missions were mostly aimed at ensuring the survival of humanity as a whole by eliminating evil existences that could cause human extinction.
"Currently, I can't interfere too much with your work assignments. When I can in the future, I'll let you take on some easier or less unpleasant tasks. Of course, if you truly encounter a situation where you need to save the world, I won't stop you either."
There was a reason Emiya became a Guardian. Although after so many years of killing he loathed this identity and regretted his initial choice, when faced with a real crisis, he would always make the correct choice and protect everything he believed should be protected.
This had not changed even after dying countless times, suffering innumerable blows, and witnessing the various evil sides of humanity. It could be said that he was fundamentally an excellent Counter Guardian.
Although she did not understand what Emiya and Ethan meant by missions and home base, Rin did understand the part about Emiya being able to live in Fuyuki like before when he was not working.
"You can actually do that?"
Emiya had not had a very intuitive impression of Ethan controlling the entire world before, but this time he truly understood what this individual in front of him meant to a special existence like himself. This was essentially his superior's superior.
"That's great! In that case, can Emiya come with us?"
"Still no."
Emiya shook his head. Although Ethan had provided him with many new benefits, he calculated that he had been off work for a while, and he would have to go out on a mission after returning this time.
Although his missions existed at various points in time and did not conflict with the timeline of that world, he was not sure how time in that world was calculated when he left for a mission.
"We all have things we need to do. Anyway, it's not like we won't see each other again."
"Okay!"
After saying goodbye to Artoria, Shirou, and Sakura, who were confirmed to stay here, Ethan took everyone directly back to Artemis, then sent Emiya back to the Nasuverse alone before returning to Artemis again. A certain person eating instant noodles looked left and right suspiciously: Seems like someone came back? Huh? Was it a hallucination?
"Alright, now we need to make preliminary preparations for the upcoming activity."
Ethan's target this time was precisely the world of Harry Potter. For the world he once lived in, when mentioning schools of magic, Hogwarts would come to mind. In many universes, Hogwarts was also the most famous school of magic because those worlds also had the novel and film series of Harry Potter.
He chose this world not only because of its special magic system but also because the age for new students entering Hogwarts was exactly eleven, which perfectly matched the current physical condition of Ethan and Illya.
At the same time, Leah's apparent age was also just over ten. Although her actual age was a bit older, she looked younger than her actual age due to living in poverty in previous years. A thin, weak little girl, saying she was eleven would not arouse suspicion.
The only trouble was Rin, who was already a high school student. There was no way for her to directly enter Hogwarts.
"You have two options now. One is to simply come to that world with us without entering the magic school to study, but I can compile that knowledge and teach it to you."
Rin thought about it and finally shook her head. She still preferred to personally experience this completely different mysterious knowledge.
"What's the other option?"
"Drink this. This potion can make your body return to the state of being around eleven years old."
Rin caught the small bottle Ethan threw over. Having practiced martial arts for many years, her reaction time and physical coordination were good. When necessary, she could use reinforcement magic to enhance her physical abilities and engage in close combat.
Squinting at the bottle in her hand, her gaze kept shifting between it and Ethan.
"What?"
"This isn't some strange potion, is it?"
Ethan covered his face. "What are you thinking?"
"A girl traveling alone, of course, has to be careful." Rin opened the bottle and smelled it for a long time. Just as she finally decided to drink it, Ethan reached out and signaled her to wait.
"Wait a moment."
"What?" Her first reaction was that the potion was problematic, but then she realized that if there was a problem, Ethan would not stop her, right?
"It's not about that." Ethan pointed to her clothes. She had changed back into her favorite red top and skirt before returning. "Your body will shrink after drinking the potion, but your clothes won't shrink with you."
"Ah!"
Only then did Rin understand, and she slightly blushed as she screwed the cap back on.
"I was just smelling it. I wasn't going to drink it right now."
"You don't need to rush with this. To go to that world, I still need to do some preparatory work."
Hogwarts' admissions were quite special. Unlike many schools where parents applied for their children, in a certain area, once a child with magical aptitude was born, the child's name and information automatically appeared on Hogwarts' list of new students. When the child turned eleven, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry sent an owl with an acceptance letter to the child's location.
This area definitely included the British Isles. There were other magic schools on the European continent, and Ethan could not be sure how the territories of these schools were divided.
Therefore, to ensure that they would receive acceptance letters from Hogwarts, he had to make arrangements and preparations in advance, such as entering at the very beginning of the film, shortly after Harry Potter was born and his parents were killed by Voldemort.
This was to ensure their names automatically appeared on the list of new students, or to use some means to write their names on it.
Besides himself, there were Illya, Leah, and Rin, who also needed to enroll.
"Do you want some?"
Ethan had already informed his companions about his upcoming itinerary and even sent messages to the few who were not currently on Artemis.
So far, everyone's reaction was not very enthusiastic. Logan, whom Ethan specifically asked, expressed a very clear refusal. He had no interest in turning into a child and going back to school.
"If you really turn me into a child, I'll fight you!"
Logan's expression was serious, very serious. Judging by his appearance, he was definitely not joking, and he repeatedly emphasized that Ethan was not allowed to add anything to his food in a prankish manner.
"Diana, when are you going back? I'll stay with you for a while."
Feeling that staying near Ethan at this time was likely to get him into trouble, Logan decisively chose to go out and avoid the storm, and his choice was Paradise Island.
"No problem, I'll be going back in a few days."
"Going back already? I thought you'd stay with me for a few more years."
"You'll be living in school for the next few years, and I can't get in. Should I become a teacher?"
Diana was not very interested in such things. Besides, Hogwarts was a magic school. Although she was not completely clueless about magic, she was not skilled enough to be a teacher.
At the same time, she was not interested in becoming a child. Considering Ethan's ability to leave Hogwarts and find her at any time, which was no different from their usual way of interacting, there was no need for her to stay by Ethan's side all the time.
Moreover, Ethan, who had turned into a little kid, could not do much in a short time.
That very night, Ethan made Diana realize how incredibly wrong she was.
(To be continued.)
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