After entering the castle, Li Mo stared at the rows of long-legged women in astonishment. He stopped and looked at the nearest maid. "Where are the Einzbern people?"
The guests had already entered, yet the hosts did not even bother to show themselves?
The maid Li Mo had stopped was about to speak when a gentle voice suddenly came from ahead. "You may all leave. I will receive the guests myself."
That voice... sounded a little familiar!
Li Mo turned around and, sure enough, he had not been mistaken. It was Irisviel von Einzbern, the wife of the Mage Killer Kiritsugu Emiya and little Illya's mother.
Red eyes, white hair, a gentle voice, and an adorable face... Li Mo suddenly felt that Kiritsugu Emiya had gotten quite the bargain.
But when it came to returning Avalon, Irisviel probably could not make the decision herself.
So Li Mo turned to face Irisviel directly and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I have long heard of you, Mrs. Irisviel. However, the item I have come to return is far too important. I would still prefer to meet the head of the Einzbern family."
After hearing Li Mo's words, even someone as mild-tempered as Irisviel was taken aback. What did he mean, he had long heard of her? Did this man know her?
Could her identity have been exposed?
Irisviel's expression changed. Li Mo's words abruptly made her think of the Holy Grail War four years from now. By then, she was meant to serve as the Grail's vessel, allowing it to appear at the very end.
But Irisviel quickly forced down her chaotic thoughts and tried her best to remain calm. "The family head is inside. Please follow me, both of you."
Li Mo nodded. Although he did not know why Irisviel had lost focus just now, business came first. He tugged at Sakuragi's coat, and the two followed Irisviel into a grand hall.
"Welcome, both of you, to the Einzbern estate. May I ask what item our esteemed guests have come to return?" The moment they entered the hall, a vigorous voice rang out from ahead, drawing Li Mo and Sakuragi's gazes over.
When Sakuragi saw the speaker, his expression remained calm. Li Mo's face, however, turned extremely ugly. Mana surged around him, billowing his long coat.
The family head Irisviel had mentioned was actually a homunculus. Though it had been well concealed, Li Mo saw through it at a glance!
After all, Li Mo had mentioned Brishisan from the start. What he represented now was not merely his own dignity!
With a grim expression, Li Mo practically gritted out each word. "Sending a homunculus to meet me—is this how the Einzbern family receives its guests?!"
In the world of magi, humiliating someone was more likely to create a grudge than almost anything else!
Li Mo was venting his anger, but Sakuragi beside him was utterly bewildered. He looked at the figure in the hall, then back at Li Mo. Fine, he could not tell...
However, the person ahead turned around with a smile on his face, as though recalling something. "People... There are no people left in Einzbern."
"As you can see, Einzbern Castle now contains only homunculi like us."
Li Mo and Sakuragi were both stunned. There were no people left in the Einzbern family?
Seemingly unable to understand, Li Mo looked at the person ahead and asked, "As I recall, isn't your clan leader named Ahad? Where is he?"
"Ahahahahaha..." The man in the hall suddenly burst into wild laughter. He fixed Li Mo with a cold gaze and said, "I am Ahad—a homunculus. There have been no humans in Einzbern for a long time!"
It turned out that Einzbern Castle had originally been a workshop established at the beginning of the Common Era by the disciples of the Third Magus to recreate the Third Magic. Later, however, they could never recreate it. They could only devote themselves to puppet-making techniques, hoping to create an individual identical to the Third Magus. That was why the Einzbern family's homunculus technology had become so advanced.
Of course, they had succeeded. After nine hundred years of exploration, the magi of Einzbern Castle had accidentally created a homunculus capable of reproducing the magic known as "materialization of the soul": Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, known as the Winter Saintess. Yet that success had always been nothing more than an accident, bearing not the slightest relation to their nine hundred years of effort. All they could do was repeatedly create homunculi of the Winter Saintess, hoping to find the key to success, until they discovered Justeaze's flaws.
Yes, although Justeaze could reproduce the Third Magic, the cost was extraordinarily high. Moreover, while she did not age, her body was exceptionally frail. She could not even leave Einzbern Castle!
The Third Magus's tragic wish had been to save all humanity, and naturally, the disciples who inherited his magic had wished for the same. But when they discovered that Justeaze could not be recreated, much less surpassed, they collapsed. Some left the castle, while others chose to destroy themselves outright. After that, all that remained in Einzbern were the Justeaze they had left behind, along with the homunculi modeled after her.
After Ahad's explanation, Li Mo's face was filled with disbelief. As he stared at him, even his voice began to tremble. "In other words, after those magi left, it was you homunculi who kept this castle running all along, and the so-called Einzbern family has always consisted of only you?"
From the disciples of the Third Magus to this group of homunculi, what exactly had supported them all this time?
Ahad fell silent. Only after a long while did he answer Li Mo. "That is correct. Although we age as well, the homunculus technology left behind by those magi still remains. We have always relied on it to maintain our current numbers."
Li Mo smiled bitterly. Heh, the tragic wish to save all humanity... Did humanity really need saving? Could anyone truly accomplish such a thing?
No, it seemed someone really had accomplished it!
Li Mo suddenly thought of Ritsuka Fujimaru from the Fate Grand Order timeline, humanity's last Master. Everything he had done seemed to have fulfilled that very wish.
Unfortunately, it seemed that in the end, the Mage Association had only awarded him a Frame rank?
Seeing Li Mo fall silent, Ahad could not help asking, "Aren't you curious why I am the family head now? Where did Justeaze, the ageless Winter Saintess, go?"
As for Sakuragi?
He had long since been ignored while following behind Li Mo...
Li Mo's lips moved slightly, but he shook his head. "You and the other two of the Three Great Families constructed the Holy Grail system together, didn't you? I may know even more about it than you do."
The Holy Grail had long since been corrupted, yet you still intended to continue. Of course I knew more than you!
Ahad showed a momentary look of surprise at Li Mo's words, but he did not ask directly. Instead, he asked about Li Mo's purpose for coming.
"Then, you said earlier that you had been entrusted to return something. Can you take it out now?"
Before you continue