Father Matou

Yu Feng turned around and saw a white-haired woman who looked quite similar to Illya waving at him.

Great, another one.

"Uh... yeah, long time no see." After thinking for a while, Yu Feng could only force out a "long time no see."

After all, he didn't know her at this moment—though he'd known her well before, they'd never actually met face-to-face, right?

And the woman before him was none other than Illya's mother.

Irisviel von Einzbern, like Illya, was a homunculus of the Einzbern family.

The Lesser Grail vessel of the Fourth Holy Grail War.

Yu Feng was curious how Irisviel had survived to the Fifth Holy Grail War.

Had the Grail of the Fourth Holy Grail War never manifested?

Or had someone replaced her?

That was a question worth pondering.

Irisviel wasn't surprised by Yu Feng's awkwardness at all, and even added apologetically, "Sorry, sorry—at this point, it seems you really don't know us yet. But I find it hard to believe that someone from this era could become a Heroic Spirit."

As Irisviel apologized with regret, Yu Feng also caught a note of surprise in her tone.

What, people from this era can't become Heroic Spirits?

Emiya, Kiritsugu: "Guess we don't exist, huh?"

Oh right, Emiya was a Guardian, a bit different from a Heroic Spirit. So the only one who hadn't become a Heroic Spirit or Servant through possession so far was probably Kiritsugu—no, wait, there were plenty of others.

At Irisviel's appearance, Artoria also showed a delighted expression. "Irisviel!"

Irisviel smiled warmly at Artoria. "Saber, it's been a while."

"Mom!" Illya softly called out to Irisviel.

Artoria looked around, as if searching for something.

Irisviel saw through Artoria's thoughts and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "We usually don't bring guards when we come here."

Artoria frowned slightly at that, and Irisviel added, "No one would be foolish enough to cause trouble. Even if they were, we could use some simple magic to scare them off. Saber, no need to worry."

That barely eased Artoria's concerns.

Meanwhile, Little Mo beside them felt quite out of place. The others were chatting and laughing with people they knew, while she didn't recognize a single soul, so she just buried her head in her food.

Little Mo: Only food can soothe my wounded heart.

Irisviel also noticed Little Mo sulking and eating in silence.

"She's Mordred, isn't she?"

Little Mo looked up at Irisviel, seemingly surprised that Irisviel knew who she was.

Irisviel smiled gently and said, "Back when Yu-kun and Saber were with me, they mentioned you quite often."

Instantly, Little Mo's earlier gloom vanished. She glanced at Artoria and Yu Feng, let out a proud little hum, and said nothing—but anyone could see how she was feeling now.

Illya watched Little Mo eating with her head down and marveled at how easy she was to cheer up.

Irisviel had said just a few words, and Little Mo was already happy.

Completely different from her—she wasn't that easy to soothe. Unless it was Yu Feng doing the soothing.

Illya thought to herself.

Yu Feng stood up to let Irisviel sit inside, while Illya settled onto Irisviel's lap, making the seating look less cramped.

After Irisviel sat down, she shot a glance at Artoria.

Artoria noticed Irisviel's look but didn't catch its meaning at first, a bit puzzled.

It wasn't until Irisviel subtly pointed at Yu Feng that Artoria understood, a blush creeping onto her face as she shook her head slightly at Irisviel.

Seeing this, Irisviel made an encouraging gesture, telling Artoria not to be afraid.

Artoria said nothing more and just buried herself in her meal to avoid the topic.

Their little exchange didn't escape Yu Feng's eyes, but he hadn't seen the earlier glances—he only noticed when Irisviel made the encouraging gesture, so he had no idea what she was encouraging Artoria about.

At the table, Illya started chattering endlessly to Yu Feng about things from the past ten years, occasionally bringing up events from the Fourth Holy Grail War that involved him.

Yu Feng listened patiently, with Little Mo chiming in now and then. Of course, Illya made sure to include Little Mo in her stories, or else Little Mo wouldn't have had a chance to speak.

Otherwise, well, I won't say more.

After the meal, Illya and Irisviel left.

They said that being out without escorts, especially in a place like Fuyuki, was already a concession from the family. If they stayed out too long, it might cause unnecessary trouble.

After Illya reluctantly said goodbye, the group was suddenly down to three again.

Just as they stepped out of the shop, Yu Feng felt both sleeves of his arms tugged.

It was Artoria and Little Mo.

Yu Feng looked at the two of them, and saw both their gazes fixed on a small street not far away.

Everywhere was filled with delicious food, with people coming and going—a lively scene.

Yu Feng couldn't even be bothered to complain at this point.

These two had just come out and were already thinking about eating again.

"Come on, come on, let's eat one more time and then head back, or else you'll really eat me out of house and home!" Yu Feng said helplessly.

Artoria felt a bit embarrassed, but Little Mo couldn't care less and headed straight for the food street.

Yu Feng had no choice but to follow.

Once Little Mo reached the food street, she picked a random shop and walked in. Yu Feng, catching up, looked at the shop's name and his expression turned odd.

This shop sold nothing else but one type of dish—Chinese cuisine—and it was even called the Chinese Restaurant.

A bad feeling crept into Yu Feng's heart. He felt like he might run into a certain joyful priest here.

As soon as Yu Feng entered, he spotted two figures whose backs looked vaguely familiar.

At the same time, a voice full of delight rang out.

"Ahh, how joyful!"

Damn, speak of the devil, and he shows up? And with a bonus gift on top?

Yu Feng stared at those two figures, his face darkening.

Was this even fair? He just picked a random place, and he still ran into these two?

At that moment, Yu Feng felt like dying.

He was just out to have some fun.

Why did he keep bumping into acquaintances everywhere?

Illya and Irisviel up ahead were fine, but the one in front of him now—Yu Feng really didn't feel good about it.

Just as Yu Feng noticed them, they noticed him too.