After the King of Conquerors left, Souta and his group also departed from Ryuudou Temple.
As they descended the mountain, the constant chirping of insects filled the air. The cold moonlight of winter cast a chilling glow upon them.
Upon reaching the roadside at the foot of the mountain, Souta used his material creation ability to materialize a sedan. Irisviel immediately took the driver's seat, and the group set off toward the Matou residence.
Emiya Kiritsugu sat in the front passenger seat, while in the back, Tohsaka Rin and Illyasviel squeezed Souta in between them, forming a scene where he was "embraced from both sides."
Illya took off her little boots, leaned against the car window, and placed her small feet on the seat, pressing right against Souta. She occasionally nudged his waist with her foot as if she were teasing him.
Souta only needed to tilt his head slightly to see the girl's pale, slender legs, her delicate, arching feet, and her pearl-like toes... It was almost criminally enticing.
"Illya?" Souta looked at her in confusion. "Why do you keep kicking me?"
"Big brother, do you like it?" Illya asked.
"This," she said, wiggling her little foot.
Illya continued, "Big brother, you often stare at Rin's legs. You must like them a lot, right?"
"Ahem... I wasn't staring. Don't say nonsense."
Being exposed by a little girl, Souta felt somewhat embarrassed.
Were these people watching his every move? Were they that bored?
Illya had a small, adorable smile on her lips.
Her combination of innocence and mischief made her look both angelic and devilish.
Beside them, Tohsaka Rin glanced at the interaction between the two and, unable to hold back, stomped on Souta's foot hard.
"What now?" Souta looked at her.
"Nothing, just wanted to ask—what are you planning to do with that road roller you left in the lower stream of the Mion River?"
Rin came up with an excuse to cover up her feelings of annoyance.
What's so great about Illya's short legs? Are they more beautiful than my long ones?
"The road roller? Just leave it there," Souta said. "Going back to retrieve it is too much trouble. If I ever need one again, I can just create another."
"That road roller did crush the King of Heroes to death, though," Rin said, suddenly curious. "Do you think it could become a Noble Phantasm?"
"Noble Phantasms are physical manifestations of legends, right? What kind of legend would that thing even have? It only killed a Servant; nobody even knows about it."
Souta immediately saw through Rin's attempt to take advantage and shook his head.
"Forget it. It's impossible. And even if it did become one, could you even lift it?"
"By the way," Souta continued, "tonight, we'll stay at the Matou residence. Tomorrow morning, you should go notify Kariya to come back. Sakura can be brought home now."
"Sakura... Yeah, it's time to bring her back."
Thinking about her gentle little sister, Rin's heart suddenly felt warm.
It was only now that she realized their mission of saving their loved ones was finally complete.
She didn't even know how to properly thank Souta.
Maybe... she should let him play with her legs for a bit? He did seem to like them a lot.
"Souta, we're leaving for Germany tomorrow," Irisviel suddenly said from the driver's seat.
"Germany?" Souta quickly understood their plan.
He asked, "Have you booked the plane tickets?"
"Maiya will take care of it," Emiya Kiritsugu answered. "Iris and I have decided that after we rescue Illya, we'll settle down in Fuyuki City."
"You two are going alone to save her?" Souta wasn't convinced. "I should go with you. You two might not be able to handle the Einzbern family."
"Big brother, Illya will go too," Illya said from beside him.
She stretched out her legs, resting her calves on Souta's thighs.
"We have Berserker, so there won't be any problems."
Souta instinctively glanced toward the rear car window—he had completely forgotten about Heracles.
Wait... was Berserker running behind their car right now?
How exactly did Servants move while in spirit form?
"But have you guys thought about the aftermath?"
Souta suddenly realized that simply rescuing Illya might not be enough.
"The Einzbern family won't just let Illya go so easily."
At this, Emiya Kiritsugu furrowed his brows.
Knowing Old Man Acht's character, once he learned that the Greater Grail had been completely drained of mana and that the next Holy Grail War wouldn't be possible for at least sixty years, he would probably lose interest in Illya.
After all, Illya's body had undergone unnatural magical modifications, significantly shortening her lifespan—there was no way she'd live long enough to participate in the next war.
Moreover, the Holy Grail's ability to restore the body was still a secret that had not been exposed.
Under these circumstances, if they took Illya away, the old man should let it slide.
Their side was not to be underestimated, and after weighing the risks, the old man would probably give up.
Kiritsugu explained his reasoning.
However, Souta shook his head.
"Looks like the past five years made you too soft. Even with your memories, your judgment has gotten too passive. We can't gamble our lives on the enemy's mercy."
Kiritsugu asked, "Then what do you suggest?"
"Simple. Just directly—hmm? Rin, why are you pinching me?"
Souta turned to look at Rin, who was gripping his thigh and twisting it hard.
Since he usually kept his divine energy shield retracted for daily life, he could actually feel the pain.
"Please... can you not be so extreme all the time?" Rin said in an exasperated tone.
"Saying stuff like 'just eliminate him'—don't you think that's a bit too ruthless?"
"Eliminate him? When did I say that?" Souta looked puzzled. "I was saying we should directly alter Old Man Acht's memory so he forgets about Illya. That way, we won't have to worry about any future problems."
After explaining, he gave Rin a weird look.
"Rin, I hate to say this, but your thought process is way too violent. You immediately jumped to killing the guy? You might want to do some self-reflection before you go down the wrong path."
Then, he subtly pointed toward Irisviel in the driver's seat and whispered, "Irisviel is still here, you know? Jubstacheit is her father in name. Try to be a little more considerate of her feelings. If you must talk about killing someone, at least wait until we're in private."
She was completely speechless.
Thinking back, her first instinct had been to kill Old Man Acht...
Had her mentality actually gotten more violent lately?