But now... after hearing this information again.
Touko Aozaki realized that this trip... seemed to have brought her to the right place.
She put her glasses back on and switched her personality back.
Then, prompted by this information to make another connection, Touko Aozaki turned to look at her younger sister.
"Is the Holy Grail War here different?"
"Probably... not that different."
Compared to her sister, Aoko Aozaki, the Fifth Magic User... who could manipulate time to some extent, actually knew far more than Touko Aozaki.
As for Fuyuki City's Holy Grail War, she had already learned about it through fragments of time before setting out for Fuyuki City.
But her purpose in coming to Fuyuki City was completely different from that of most people who came here.
She neither sought the Holy Grail's miracle, the Third Magic, nor information on the Clock Tower's Lords. She had come only to figure out... the Timeline changes caused by the Counter Force.
Of course, Aoko Aozaki did not know that the Counter Force was behind the trouble, but she could still confirm that the origin of the recent Timeline anomaly was in the Fuyuki City area.
Although they had not seen each other for years, and Touko Aozaki and Aoko Aozaki had rarely interacted even as children, Touko Aozaki still vaguely remembered some of her younger sister's habits.
"Do you know that every time you lie, you look especially unsure of yourself?"
The smile on her face suddenly froze and became exceedingly forced. Though she felt somewhat embarrassed at having been exposed by her sister so directly.
Aoko Aozaki still insisted firmly.
"Heh... I really don't know."
"Let's just say you don't..."
Saying that, she could not be bothered with her younger sister any longer. Her interest now stirred, Touko Aozaki lit herself another cigarette, picked up her suitcase, and headed straight down the mountain...
Sakura's Grief and Indignation...
With a lollipop in her mouth and her short little legs crossed, Sakura stared at Fuyuki City's Surveillance System in an arrogant pose, looking exceptionally comfortable.
The Winter Saintess's plan had succeeded.
Though after returning home and conducting tests, the results had not been ideal.
Irisviel had not inherited any particularly crucial abilities.
But no matter what, Irisviel was at least the new generation's Winter Saintess, one who had inherited the Third Magic.
More importantly, this Winter Saintess belonged one hundred percent to the Matou Family—to Sakura.
Thus, Sakura, in high spirits, naturally had the right to puff out her chest a little and enjoy herself for a while.
However... Sakura's arrogance and comfort did not last long.
More precisely, it did not even last ten minutes...
As the Aozaki Sisters returned from Ryuudou Temple to Fuyuki City and swaggered into view on the Surveillance System, the lollipop fell straight from Sakura's mouth.
"...Why are these two here?"
She pressed her face against the screen showing the Aozaki Sisters, completely ignoring Kirei Kotomine beside them. Sakura immediately grew tense.
No one could blame Sakura for being nervous. Anyone who saw those two would probably have the same first reaction.
One was a "magus candidate" talented enough to be granted a Grand rank by the Mage's Association. The other was a genuine "magus" who wielded the Fifth Law, whose true nature remained unknown.
Had it been earlier, while the Holy Grail War was still ongoing, Sakura would not have been nervous.
Had it been later, when Goetia, the Alien God, and Chaldea emerged to stir up trouble, Sakura would not have been nervous either.
But right now... this pair of sisters was practically the ceiling of power in the present world.
And Sakura knew herself well enough. She barely even needed to think about it—their appearance was most likely because of her.
She bit down on her thumbnail miserably...
Then Sakura opened her "system" Panel for a look, and the miserable expression on her face became even heavier.
Carrying an exquisite tray and breathing in the fragrance of tea and delicate pastries upon it.
Kurumi was in quite a good mood at the moment. Humming an unknown little tune, she elegantly pushed open the door to the equipment room where Fuyuki City's Surveillance System was located.
She had thought this would be a pleasant evening of happily drinking tea, eating snacks, and enjoying some time alone with Sakura...
But after entering the room and seeing Sakura's miserable expression, Kurumi, who could now empathize with Sakura to some degree, instantly changed expression as well.
"Sakura... what happened?"
She gently walked over to Sakura, who looked utterly miserable, then set down the tray in her hands.
Her face filled with concern, Kurumi immediately sat beside Sakura with a hint of nervousness.
"Something outside the plan happened again... Kurumi, do you think someone is deliberately causing trouble? Every time I make plans according to the future's course, some random weirdos suddenly pop up and ruin everything..."
Strictly speaking, Sakura was not wrong.
Someone really was causing trouble, though the current situation was not the work of those two Counter Forces. Still, the reason Aoko Aozaki had been drawn here was indeed because of the Counter Force's earlier meddling.
Kurumi gently rested Sakura's head against her shoulder and looked straight at the screen Sakura had been watching. The moment she saw who Sakura meant by those random weirdos, madness flashed in Kurumi's eyes, and a murderous smile spread across her lips.
"Are these the two?... Sakura, I'll get rid of them for you..."
Sakura raised a hand to stop Kurumi from summoning more clones. Then, leaning against Kurumi's shoulder, Sakura nuzzled against her before explaining.
"Never mind, Sister Kurumi... these two are special... even you..."
Though Sakura did not finish speaking, Kurumi understood what she meant.
The madness in Kurumi's eyes and the killing intent in her smile faded. Then she raised a hand in slight displeasure and scraped Sakura's nose.
"Are they troublesome?"
"Yes. You could say their abilities are somewhat like yours, Sister Kurumi..."
"Is that so... It's fine. If Sakura wants me to deal with them, I can fight them for ten thousand years..."
Knowing that Sakura did not want her to take action, Kurumi naturally would not force the matter.
But following Sakura's words, Kurumi still bluntly expressed her own wishes.
In fact, let alone ten thousand years, if the sisters on the screen dared hurt Sakura, Kurumi would probably hound the Aozaki Sisters until eternity...
After all, the Kurumi Sakura had summoned was Kurumi from her most despairing period.
With the affinity and all sorts of other boosts from the Temple of Destiny, if this were a game world where affection could be seen, Sakura would definitely find Kurumi's affection for her had already burst through the meter.
To Kurumi now, Sakura was her most important and cherished "younger sister"...
"...I don't want you fighting them for ten thousand years, Sister Kurumi. You still have to protect me, remember?"
"How could I forget? Of course I won't..."
"Don't worry, Sister Kurumi. They're troublesome, but I have cheats, after all... I only made that face because I was reluctant to spend it..."
That was right. As someone with cheats, Sakura could exchange for all manner of items and people to help her as long as she had enough destiny. How could she possibly fear the Aozaki Sisters... especially when she still had a huge sum earned from the Holy Grail War.
Her misery came purely from being reluctant to spend it.
"Sister Kurumi, keep an eye on them for me. I'll check the Temple of Destiny's summon list first... so I don't suddenly panic at a critical moment."
"Mm, I'll keep watch for you."
Just as this new Sakura, who seemed to have something of a hamster's personality, was communicating with her "system" while continuously flipping through the Panel.
Inside the Matou Residence's Basement, which had recently become rather crowded.
Orobouhime, without using the Disguise Erasure Technique and wearing a face very similar to Irisviel's, furrowed her delicate brows as she looked grimly at Illya, who was immersed in a life-support device.
Irisviel, who had changed out of Heaven's Dress and now wore everyday clothes that made her appear mature and beautiful, did not look much better either.
"Lord Orochimaru, is Illya's body really in such bad shape?"
"Unfortunately, Irisviel... if roughly sixty percent of your body still belongs to the realm of humanity, then the part of this little one that still belongs to humanity is probably only her appearance... She is completely a humanoid Magic Crystallization!"
Orobouhime and the Nine-Year-Old Mother, Eight-Year-Old Daughter!
From the moment she was created and placed into her mother's womb, Illya had undergone countless magical modifications.
After Illya was born, those modifications did not stop. They even became increasingly intense.
While this gave Illya a number of Mage Circuits that overwhelmed every ordinary magus, in a sense, Illya's body had completely become a piece of Magic Crystallization in exchange for that power.
And Yubstach Haider, that Artificial Idiot, had even specialized this piece of Magic Crystallization known as Illya.
Though the specific modifications had not been completely finished on Illya, Orochimaru, who had obtained all of Einzbern's records and studied them day and night, could still determine... the direction in which Illya had been specialized.
Orochimaru raised a hand and pressed it against the surface of the life-support device containing Illya's body. As if stroking Illya through the device, she wore a slightly angry expression, as though she had seen a masterpiece ruined.
"Far too crude..."
Compared to Orochimaru, who merely regarded treating Illya as a "task" and research.
Irisviel, as Illya's mother, was naturally much more anxious.
Irisviel did not want to hear this "Orobouhime," who wore a face seventy percent similar to her own, explain just how terrible her daughter's condition was.
After Illya was "cured," Irisviel planned to take her to Kiritsugu's grave so Illya and Kiritsugu could have a farewell.
"Lord Orochimaru... please..."
"Shh, quiet!"
Just as Irisviel could no longer suppress her anxiety and was about to ask Orochimaru to get serious rather than continue saying things that made her heart ache as a mother.
Orochimaru interrupted Irisviel and turned to walk toward the experimental record table piled high with various materials nearby.
"Irisviel, curing Illya is not a simple matter. The current Illya is like a humanoid machine. She looks human, but other than her appearance, everything about her can be called artificial... And machines, no matter how advanced current technology becomes, their parts will never last as long as real human beings. That is why both you and Illya can only maintain your functions for a little over ten years."
"...Then what should we do?"
"Use a clumsy method... replace her bit by bit. And the organs used to replace her parts... Irisviel, you need to provide them!"
"I agree!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Irisviel fully demonstrated what it meant to be strong as a mother.
After Orochimaru said those words, let alone the Irisviel who now possessed the Third Magic, even the Irisviel of the past would have made the same choice without hesitation, even if the price were her own life.
An indescribable light flashed through Orochimaru's eyes, followed by a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.
A nine-year-old mother, an eight-year-old daughter... This world is even more insane and twisted...
In truth, Orochimaru had long discussed Illya's treatment plan with Sakura.
The reason Orochimaru was now acting as though she had only just come up with the treatment plan... was due to a bit of selfishness on her part.
A nine-year-old mother and an eight-year-old daughter... such absurd, joke-like ages, coupled with the fact that Irisviel had been abducted at the start of the Holy Grail War and had never had a chance to show anything...
Orochimaru disliked such distortions. Finding this world even more hateful than the world of Naruto, she did not want this twisted spiral to continue, and she absolutely would not allow such things to affect Sakura. Out of that selfishness, she had decided to give Irisviel a test.
And the smile on Orochimaru's face now clearly showed that Irisviel had passed.
"Irisviel, you are a qualified mother... Regarding Illya's treatment..."
Just as Orochimaru acknowledged Irisviel as a mother and prepared to explain in detail how Illya would be treated, including how the organs Illya needed replaced would be cultivated anew by herself...
Orochimaru's eyes suddenly widened. She instantly exploded into a cloud of smoke and vanished before Irisviel.
Though her reaction was slightly slower than Orochimaru's, at the instant Orochimaru's Shadow Clone burst apart, Irisviel, who had now grasped a little of the Third Magic, also discovered that someone was invading the Matou Residence aboveground.
In the Matou Residence's garden.
Several black cats the size of leopards, seemingly formed from shadows, had somehow intruded into the area.
Shinji Matou, who spent nearly every day cultivating in the garden except when eating and sleeping, naturally noticed these cat-like invaders immediately.
"The Garden's traps didn't activate... and the barrier didn't raise an alarm..."
A grave expression appeared on his face as he instinctively gripped an Explosive Tag made by Orochimaru. As the first person in the Matou Residence to discover the Invaders, Shinji did not shout or panic.
Before you continue