Illya suddenly looked up at Souta, her voice quiet.
"Why are you going so far for us? I... I can't give you anything in return."
"To complete the quest, of course," Souta replied. "The system will reward me, so this is mutual benefit. You don't need to think about repaying me."
Illya shook her head. "It doesn't feel like that. You're lying, big brother."
"Then what do you think it is?"
"You like me, don't you?"
Her sudden question caught Souta completely off guard.
"..." Souta scratched his head, giving a wry smile. "I mean, yeah, I like you—but not the way you think. It's more like... I like you as a character from a story, not in a... loli—"
Illya began kicking Souta's knee under the table as she said,
"I'll remember everything you've done for me, big brother. Don't worry—I'll definitely repay you."
"So here you two are."
At that moment, a voice reached them. Souta turned and saw Rin walking in through the café's entrance.
As she approached, she handed Souta a special card—one he had created using divine power to preserve memories.
"This holds Sakura's memories," Rin said.
"Yeah. She agreed to have her past changed—and she doesn't want to remember it. But just in case, I saved her memories here."
Rin nodded and added,
"After all these years... Sakura finally called me 'big sister.' She used to just call me 'Tohsaka-senpai'..."
"That means she's finally accepted you as her sister."
Souta took the card and sighed.
"Rin, if you hadn't clung so hard to your mage family's pride and tsundere act, and just gone to her sooner, she might've called you that a long time ago."
"Who's tsundere?! Whatever, let's not talk about this anymore."
Rin changed the subject quickly.
Souta reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick stack of magical item cards.
Since he didn't have enough points to get a single card that could send them back ten years, Kurumi had helped him prep several lower-tier ones.
"Following the timeline, we'll go back to one year before the Fourth War to save Sakura from Zouken Matou. After that, we'll handle the Holy Grail War. And for Kiritsugu, we need to stop five years prior to store his memories."
As he spoke, Souta pulled out twelve cards.
"These cards are weaker, so we'll need four jumps to reach the right time. You ready?"
Rin took a deep breath and calmed herself.
Illya, as always, gave a quiet nod.
"Alright, then... let's begin."
Souta activated the card.
A dark, damp stench of rot filled the air.
They were now deep beneath the Matou mansion, in the underground worm pit.
Disgusting insects squirmed across the floor, walls, and ceiling—a horror to anyone with a fear of creepy crawlies.
The reek of rot and decay was overwhelming.
Standing atop the stone steps was a decrepit old man.
Bald, mummy-thin limbs, hollow eyes glowing with malevolence, and a hunched back exuding the stench of death—
This was Zouken Matou, patriarch of the Matou family.
"Sakura, go down," he ordered the little girl beside him.
A five-year-old girl with long black hair and delicate features trembled in fear.
This was Sakura Tohsaka, just adopted into the Matou family.
Frozen on the steps, she stared in terror at the sea of writhing worms below.
All thoughts of abandonment were drowned in sheer terror.
"G-Grandpa... I want to go home... it's so dark..."
"Be good, go down. You'll get used to it," Zouken said coldly, pushing her down with his cane.
Sakura stumbled and fell.
Zouken, with no trace of sympathy, seemed to relish the scream she was about to make.
"I want to go home! Please let me go home!"
Sakura tried to flee.
"Tch... looks like I'll have to train her first."
With a flick of his cane and a simple mental command, Zouken paralyzed her with magecraft.
Her body froze against her will.
"Sakura, go down," he said with twisted delight.
Her mind screamed in terror, but her body walked toward the pit.
Just as she was about to give in to despair, the air shimmered—three figures appeared out of thin air.
In the dim light, Souta, Rin, and Illya stood atop the stairs.
Heracles, in spirit form, stood protectively at Illya's side.
The barriers outside hadn't triggered—space-time teleportation?
"Divine teleportation really is handy."
Souta's voice echoed, startling the swarm.
He reached down and tapped Sakura, immediately wiping away the mental command.
The girl regained control, looking up at him in confusion.
"What a repulsive place..." Rin muttered, nearly gagging at the squirming insects.
Sakura lived ? Tortured and warped day after day?
She rushed over, scooped the girl into her arms, and examined her for injuries.
Seeing the lingering fear on Sakura's face, Rin shot a deadly glare at Zouken.
"You're..." Sakura stared at Rin, something about her face familiar.
"It's okay now. I'll protect you," Rin whispered, gently stroking her hair and cheek.
Her soft smile eased Sakura's fear.
Zouken finally spoke, cold and sharp.
"Why have you come to my workshop?"