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"Think he's really dead?" Alex asked.
Hestia shot him a look. "What, you wanted him to live?"
"Uh…" Alex didn't answer. Truth was, a part of him really did hope Emiya Kiritsugu was gone for good.
Back when he'd only watched the anime, Alex had actually admired the man. But ever since landing in the Type-Moon world—and getting dragged into the Holy Grail War—that admiration had long since vanished.
Especially after last night, when Kiritsugu had fired an Origin Bullet straight at him. That shot sealed their fate as mortal enemies.
Seeing Alex fall silent, Hestia copied the information from Kiritsugu's magic crest and merged it into Alex's own.
With that, Alex gained a solid understanding of time-based magecraft.
Then Hestia opened the chat group and privately sent both Kiritsugu's crest and basic Type-Moon world magic data to Tokisaki Kurumi.
It didn't take long before Kurumi replied.
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Thank you, Lord God."
Hestia: "Don't mention it. Honestly, I'd have forgotten if Alex hadn't reminded me."
Tokisaki Kurumi: "Still, I'm grateful that you stepped in."
Hestia: "Whatever you say. Just remember, you're part of my Familia now—you don't need to be so formal."
okisaki Kurumi: "Understood."
Alex got a short thank-you message from Kurumi as well. He replied, then closed the chat window.
"Well, that settles things with Kurumi," Hestia said. "We should head out."
"Yeah." Alex nodded, glancing one last time at Kiritsugu's body lying on the ground.
Not long after the two of them left, Kiritsugu's breathing stopped completely. His heart fell silent.
He was dead.
At the Einzbern Castle
When Alex returned, none of the girls were in sight.
After searching around, he finally found everyone gathered in Maiya Hisau's room.
Maiya had woken up, though her face was pale and she looked weak and exhausted.
"You're awake, huh? Should I take the scabbard out now?" Alex said the moment he walked in.
He never felt much toward Kiritsugu's mistress—he just wanted to get the scabbard back and return it to Irisviel.
As a homunculus, Irisviel didn't have much of a lifespan to begin with; her body aged fast. Without the scabbard's protection, she wouldn't have many years left.
And now that she'd joined Hestia's Familia, she was one of them—a companion.
But everyone else in the room twitched at his blunt words.
Couldn't he see how weak Maiya still was?
Pulling the scabbard out now could easily kill her!
Seriously, could this guy be any more impatient? Yeah, he liked Irisviel, but still!
All the women silently grumbled the same thought: Men really are heartless sometimes.
Irisviel's cheeks flushed pink. "It's okay. The scabbard can stay with Maiya for now."
Alex shrugged and said nothing more.
He left the room, changed into his training outfit, and headed to the dojo to practice his Perfect Martial Arts.
Luo Hao had given him countless martial techniques—all of which had to be mastered and fused into one. It was a massive undertaking, and every second counted.
Nightfall
After a quick dinner to fill his stomach, Alex went right back to training.
Hestia, meanwhile, was busier than ever—helping Irisviel retrieve the Grail by day, helping Kurumi snatch Kiritsugu's crest, and now, by night, dragging Irisviel all the way to Germany to "borrow" Illyasviel from the Einzbern main house.
The reunion between mother and daughter was tearful and heartwarming. The other girls immediately fell in love with the adorable Illya, doting on her as if she were their precious mascot.
Alex trained until ten at night before finally stopping to rest.
Dripping with sweat, he took a shower and went to the hall—only to find Illya giggling and playing with Sakura.
"You went all the way to Germany?" Alex asked, surprised.
"Mm." Hestia nodded and tossed him a USB stick.
"What's this?"
"All of the Einzbern family's research on homunculus creation. Might come in handy."
"Damn," Alex said, giving her a thumbs-up. "You really went and nabbed that? The Einzberns are probably losing their minds right now."
Not that it mattered to him. Once the Grail War ended tomorrow, he planned to head to the DanMachi world for training.
By the time he returned, it'd probably be ten years later—the Fifth Grail War.
Alex crouched beside Illya and gently patted her soft, silvery hair.
She was unbelievably cute.
If only she were my daughter… mine and Irisviel's, he thought with a sigh.
Illya blinked up at him with those big sparkling eyes. "Big Brother, will you play with Illya too?"
Alex smiled warmly. "Illya, from now on… don't call me Big Brother. Call me Dad."
"Eh?" Illya froze, her little face blank. Her mind was just one big question mark.
"Pfft!"
All the girls in the room spat out whatever they were drinking. Shameless!
Irisviel's face turned scarlet. She didn't dare look at Alex.
He was nothing like Kiritsugu—colder, quieter, more distant. Alex was… fun.
Even if he said ridiculous things, she couldn't bring herself to get angry.
In fact… a tiny part of her felt strangely delighted.
Wait, what am I thinking? I'm a married woman!
Why does this feel so… forbidden? So exciting?
Alex, of course, had no clue what she was thinking. To him, it was just a joke.
After playing with Illya for a while, he went off to bed.
Training every day was exhausting, and if he didn't rest properly, he'd never get up early tomorrow.
The Next Morning — Final Day of the Holy Grail War
Alex woke early, muscles sore and aching from yesterday's intense training. He quickly cast both healing magic and a healing spell.
Under the double recovery effect, the soreness vanished.
He went through his usual routine—sign-in, get dressed, wash up—and then started running laps around the castle.
A hundred laps later, he dropped into a solid horse stance.
Horse stance was the root of all martial arts. A stable base meant never being easily knocked down in battle.
An hour later, dawn finally broke.
Leaping up to the roof, Alex sat cross-legged, facing the rising sun as he began cultivating the Northern Darkness Divine Art.
When Irisviel woke up and saw him meditating on the roof, she couldn't help but murmur in awe, "He's already so strong… yet he still trains this hard. I need to work harder too!"
Once the war ended, she'd be following Hestia into another world.
She knew nothing about that world—but strength was always important, no matter where you went.
To protect Illya, and to make sure they could live peacefully in that new world without being pushed around…
She had to grow stronger.
"..."
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