"A favor?"
Although Sella didn't know the full extent of Jiang You's abilities, based on what she had seen, there was no reason he couldn't do anything she could. Her guard went up again, and she immediately prepared to refuse.
"What exactly are you plotting?"
"Huh? No, could you please stop looking at me with such suspicion?" Jiang You protested loudly. "I haven't even told you what I want yet! Can't you at least wait until I finish speaking before getting so agitated?"
"...Fine, go ahead and explain."
Sella realized her reaction had been excessive. From a magus's perspective, Jiang You's ability to converse with her on equal terms was already remarkable.
"Since Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel were defeated in this world, Acht hasn't given up on his pursuit of the Holy Grail. In our world, Sella and Leysritt were designed as combat support tools. Don't you sense that they lack genuine personalities?"
"Tools?"
Sella glanced at the Leysritt from the neighboring world. This Leysritt showed little interest in the story, instead taking on the task of providing fruit and snacks for the group. Her maid outfit gave her a competent air. Then she looked at her own Leysritt, who showed no restraint whatsoever, wearing loose loungewear as she devoured the fruit on the table like a whirlwind.
"...This one seems more useful than ours."
"Stop looking at her and look at yourself."
Jiang You waved Sella over. The usually aloof Sella approached him.
"Don't you find her lacking in human warmth? She barely has her own consciousness. I want her to be like you, with her own personality. A family member who sees herself as a mere tool isn't what I want."
"I never imagined you had such sentiments."
Jiang You's request slightly improved Sella's impression of him, though only slightly. In her mind, his "lolicon" expression had already been indelibly stamped onto her forehead. "But I have no idea how to put her back on the right path. I haven't been specially trained for this and have absolutely no experience."
"That's fine. Just let her live with you."
The world of Prisma Illya was remarkably peaceful, likely because most of its malice had been drained away by the adjacent world of Miyu.
"I'll establish clear rules for them. They're quite obedient to me, so you don't need to worry about them causing any trouble."
"Wait a minute... live with us?"
Sella hadn't anticipated this approach. While the Emiya household wasn't small, it wasn't particularly large either. If Jiang You just crammed more people in, the remaining spare rooms would become critically scarce.
"No, no, no! With your abilities, buying a house would be easy, right? What scheme are you plotting now?!"
It was clear that a momentary misunderstanding had completely eroded Sella's trust in him.
"Of course I have my reasons. Aside from your Parallel World counterparts, my Illya here needs a break too. After all, the Type-Moon World is full of lunatics. Only your world is suitable for a peaceful retirement."
"There are indeed a lot of mentally ill people," Sella said, glaring at Jiang You with ill-concealed hostility. This guy acted so freely, completely disregarding the opinions of others. From Sella's perspective, Jiang You, as a player, was actually showing considerable restraint. He spent every day doting on the little girl.
"In any case, I refuse! Especially you—don't even think about getting close to our Illya!"
"..."
Objectively speaking, Jiang You did prefer Prisma Illya a bit more. In a sense, Sella wasn't entirely wrong.
"Don't worry, I have no intention of living with you. In fact, I'll even take Shirou-kun with me for the time being."
Since there weren't enough rooms, Shirou would have to make do. Besides, it wasn't really a hardship—it was the long vacation only students got. Next, he planned to send Ryuudou Issei and Emiya-kun on a trip to Hawaii together, where he'd tan Shirou's skin dark brown. In the meantime, he'd let the Emiya household become a girls-only residence.
If Jiang You took Shirou away, Sella might have been somewhat agreeable. She always suspected that Kiritsugu's eldest son might try to harm Illya. She felt that even male children weren't safe around Shirou. But Jiang You posed an even greater threat to Illya, so she naturally couldn't agree.
"Absolutely not..."
Just as Sella refused again, Jiang You pulled a leather trunk from his Inventory, about the size of a curled-up adult.
"Since you won't agree, let's settle this with the dirty tricks of adults!" Jiang You grinned savagely as he reached for the trunk's latch.
Sella sensed imminent danger and tried to retreat, but Jiang You's Sella and Leysritt, flanking her on either side, clamped down on her shoulders. Given the physical strength difference, Sella stood no chance against these two auxiliary fighters from the Holy Grail War; escape was impossible.
Are they going to kill me here? Sella instantly adopted the mindset of a Magus. For Jiang You, who possessed a homunculus of the same type as the Einzbern's, it would be trivial to confine her in the trunk and reprogram her thought patterns. If only she knew Jiang You had even simpler methods of mind control, she wouldn't be so worried.
The trunk sprang open, and a blinding golden light flooded Sella's vision. Inside lay a treasure trove of gold and jewels, neatly arranged. This was a small portion of the kickback Jiang You had received from the treasures Gilgamesh gifted Ishtar, making him obscenely wealthy in this realm.
"How about it? Is this enough to corrupt your soul?"
"...It's certainly a dirty tactic."
Sella had to admit the offer was tempting. As the family's caretaker, she knew the value of every grain of rice. The Emiya household wasn't exactly poor, but they weren't wealthy either—otherwise, they wouldn't have settled for such a modest home. The original Einzbern Castle had been hundreds of times larger. Now, with no income from any of the family members, they relied entirely on the monthly transfers from Kiritsugu Emiya, which fluctuated unpredictably. "But..."
"The current Einzbern family isn't exactly rich, are they?"
In the Prisma Illya world, both Kiritsugu and Irisviel were ostensibly working overseas. But anyone who knew Kiritsugu's nature understood he would inevitably take on jobs with a moral dimension, perhaps even paying out of pocket to help children in need. Saving money was never his priority. Otherwise, given the couple's deep affection for Illya, they would never have let her be nearly abducted by Jiang You over a simple dessert.
"Moreover, the source of this isn't the 'gold' possessed by the original Einzbern family. It comes from Gilgamesh's personal treasury, so there's no Curse of Unfulfilled Desire attached."
"..."
Sella desperately wanted to refuse, but the Emiya household's finances had been stretched thin lately.
"No strings attached," Jiang You said. "Just consider it my rent."
He pulled Illya closer. "Alright, not entirely without strings. You need to take good care of this Illya for me."