"Are you some kind of task-completion expert?"
Now that she wasn't being ordered, Melusine seemed incapable of moving. Jiang You could technically command her to be happy, and regardless of her true feelings, her outward expression would show no signs of resistance. It was almost disturbingly unnatural.
"Alright, how about this? Just like the others, if you win the tournament, I'll grant you one request, as long as it's within my means, of course."
"Then..."
Melusine's eyes lit up instantly. Jiang You could practically read her mind.
"You're always thinking about others, aren't you?"
It's such a shame Aurora never produced a Card called "Brainwashing."
"I forbid you from making any requests related to Aurora."
"You haven't given up on your schemes, have you? Let me tell you—don't even think about it!"
Fairy Tristan tapped Melusine's chest. While she understood Melusine's feelings for Aurora, she believed her own feelings for Morgan were no less intense. If not for her desire to prevent Aurora from dying too easily, she would have killed her long ago.
"For rebels like you to still be able to roam freely is already a monumental grace. Stop dreaming."
"Then I have no further requests."
Melusine's eyes reverted to their vacant state.
"The selection tournament still has a long time to go. Let me give you an order."
Jiang You was at a loss for what to do with Melusine in this state. The Melusine from Chaldea had completely severed ties with Aurora, having personally bid her farewell. But this Melusine hadn't. "Go and find what you truly desire," he said. "Here, no one recognizes you, no one will shun you as the Calamity. Just think about yourself for once."
Because it was an order, Melusine would inevitably obey.
"If you just wanted me to participate in the tournament, you didn't need to go through all this trouble."
Melusine couldn't understand why Jiang You was doing this. With no room for resistance, he could have simply ordered her directly without beating around the bush.
"It's different. What you yearn for yourself is entirely distinct from what I order you to want."
In truth, Jiang You didn't fully understand what Melusine craved. She had a twisted fetish for being a mistress, but what could he possibly provide to satisfy her? His words were merely a way to brush her off.
After equipping the Three Fairies with modern attire, Jiang You allowed them to explore Fuyuki freely. With several Great Gods keeping watch over Fuyuki, he wasn't worried about any trouble brewing.
Upon returning to Einzbern Castle, where Illya resided, Rin Tohsaka had been waiting for quite some time. Invitations for the second Duel Tournament had already been sent worldwide, and as the tournament administrator, she couldn't simply stand by. She had come to discuss venue arrangements with Jiang You. With Magic no longer needing to conceal itself in Fuyuki, the Duel could be held in the city center.
However, upon arriving, she saw Eresh, who differed from her only in hair color.
"Y-y-you... what are you doing here?!"
Her first thought was that Eresh was an artificial human created by the Einzbern. Given their advanced technology, customizing appearances was a simple matter. She even suspected that Jiang You and Illya had grown tired of informing her about everything and were planning to secretly dispose of her.
While it defied common sense, this behavior was perfectly logical to a Magus.
"Eh? Is she the child who served as our vessel back then?"
Eresh had also recognized Rin Tohsaka's identity. A faint trace of Ishtar's aura lingered on Rin, barely perceptible but impossible to escape the keen eyes of her eternal nemesis.
"I never realized the world was this small," Eresh remarked.
"You'll feel the world shrinking even more soon," Jiang You replied. He quipped that the Type-Moon World was overflowing with familiar faces. Eventually, the entire world, including all its Parallel Worlds, would boil down to just a handful of recycled faces.
"Rin, don't panic. This is Ereshkigal, the Mesopotamian goddess. You can call her Eresh."
"Can you at least come up with a plausible explanation?"
Rin Tohsaka retorted, exasperated. "There aren't any conditions in this era to sustain a god's manifestation. Even summoning a servant of Major God-class is nearly impossible. Besides, how could a Mesopotamian goddess look exactly like me?"
Rin hadn't had much contact with Jiang You. She knew he had the ability to summon other Heroic Spirits, but she remained ignorant of his true nature.
"The Love Goddess of India next door looks just like Sakura, even though he's also wearing a costume."
Servants in the Type-Moon World often possess other people's bodies, so we'll probably never see their true forms in this lifetime. In any case, the Three Great Houses are an essential part of the Type-Moon World experience.
"Does this feel like they're using character popularity to boost sales?"
Rin Tohsaka wasn't sure what he was even saying. If she didn't understand something, she'd just skip over it.
"Let's not talk about that. Tell me the details later. I came to discuss the second Duel Tournament. You started sending out invitations without even preparing anything? The venue isn't even set up yet! Now all the Magus are coming to me for information. You're going to make me start charging you for this! No, I am going to charge you!"
"Are you really that short on cash?"
After the death of a certain Priest, a significant portion of the Tohsaka Family's assets had reverted to Rin's control. She shouldn't be worrying about money anymore.
"Don't you get a share of the broadcast revenue from the Duel Tournament?"
"That's not enough! What I mean is, I can't just work for you for free, can I? They all think I'm your proxy!"
Jiang You often traveled to other worlds. His nominal Master, Illya, naturally didn't concern herself with such matters, so it was Rin Tohsaka who handled the reception and explanation.
"Have you finalized the tournament schedule and arena arrangements yet? At least a thousand Magus have already gathered in Fuyuki City, and conservatively speaking, several hundred more are on their way."
"By the way, your failure to send invitations to some established families has caused considerable dissatisfaction among certain Magus."
The speaker was a red-haired beauty in a suit. Unexpectedly, Bazett had also come. Having participated in the Holy Grail War, she had been dispatched by the Clock Tower as their liaison for the tournament.
"As a result, Magus who didn't receive invitations have begun seizing invitations from others. The recent casualty rate among Magus is ten times higher than usual."
"Hearing you say that, it sounds like Magus don't have a particularly high survival rate even under normal circumstances," Jiang You couldn't help but retort.
"Speaking of which, where's Tiamat?"