As Rin Tohsaka walked along the familiar streets toward her home, a young man suddenly stepped in front of her, blocking her way.
She instinctively looked up at him, assuming he was trying to hit on her. Immediately, her expression turned cold, though she still maintained proper etiquette:
The young man was fairly good-looking, but she despised frivolous guys .
Souta casually pulled out his system phone and waved it, revealing his identity.
Rin's cold expression froze, her eyes widening in shock.
"Y-You... How did you get here so fast? We weren't supposed to meet yet!"
"Illya happened to be nearby. After picking her up, we decided to come find you together."
As Souta spoke, he glanced sideways at Illya, who was currently examining Rin with a calm, unreadable gaze.
The doll-like girl stood on his right side, her expression indifferent.
Passersby couldn't help but steal glances at her—a girl as adorable as a porcelain doll was a rare sight.
However, Rin wasn't in the mood to admire her beauty—she was on high alert and instinctively took several steps back.
"Why did you bring her here directly? I thought she was your sister at first... Wait, where's her Servant? Is he with her?"
"Yeah, he's following her."
Immediately, Rin felt the urge to run.
"Hey! Do you even have a sense of danger?" She scolded him, looking slightly annoyed.
"You're worrying too much," Souta said casually. "At most, Illya will just strip you naked and humiliate you in public. Anything beyond that, the system won't allow."
Hearing this, Illya's eyes sparkled with interest as she stared at Rin.
Rin took a few more steps back, glaring at Souta with pure hostility.
"You... You're not actually here to mess with me, are you?"
"Relax, relax, I was just joking." Souta laughed. "Come on, let's go to the real world. I'll give you the data you need—I've still got other things to do."
Rin hesitated for a long time but ultimately gritted her teeth and stepped forward.
Souta first picked up Illya, since her small stature made it awkward for her to initiate the hug herself.
Once she was securely in his arms, the little girl didn't show any resistance, which reassured Souta.
Then, he turned around and offered his back to Rin.
"Alright, your turn."
"Hug me," Souta said matter-of-factly. "Didn't you notice I left my back open for you?"
Rin felt an intense urge to punch him.
2:00 PM – Reality, Inside the Rented Apartment
Souta sat at the dining table, surrounded by three girls.
On the table were tea prepared earlier by Kurumi and an assortment of fruit and pastries that Souta had created using his materialization ability.
Rin scrolled through the Apple phone Souta made for her, her expression filled with awe.
"This ability of yours... is ridiculously convenient."
Seeing him casually produce two smartphones and various treats, she felt equal parts amazed and jealous.
"By the way, doesn't the system store have an 'Upload Item' function? How about selling me your ability?"
She suggested casually.
Souta shot her a side glance and responded flatly:
"You think you can afford it? You don't even have a single point, you broke girl."
"I can earn points eventually! I'll just join the next multiplayer mission, won't I?"
"Even if you had points, I still wouldn't sell it. I'm collecting all four fundamental elements so I can become an unstoppable One-Above All."
Souta dismissed the topic with a nonsense excuse and quickly changed the subject:
"Anyway, forget about my abilities. How's your progress with the data?"
"There's too much—too messy. No way I can process all of it in just a few days."
Across from Souta, Illya sat on a chair, having removed her boots.
Her bare little feet dangled in the air, unable to reach the floor due to her short stature.
She swung them back and forth, occasionally kicking Souta's knee, though she seemed completely unconcerned.
Berserker remained in spiritual form, standing silently in a corner of the apartment.
Since the system counted him as Illya's possession, he was able to travel with her to the real world.
"So, both of you are taking the phones back to check later?" Souta asked.
"Yeah." Rin nodded. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"
"Not at all. I just wanted to remind you to be careful with them—don't break them."
Souta recalled Rin's background and added:
"If I remember correctly, you're kind of a klutz when it comes to technology. Unlike the system phone, the ones I made aren't indestructible. If you break it, I won't have time to make another one for you—I'll be too busy gathering faith."
Rin's expression stiffened, but she quickly brushed it off.
She then straightened up and spoke in a serious tone:
"Regardless, thanks for all of this."
"Big Brother, thank you too," Illya added. "Once the Holy Grail War is over, I'll prepare a thank-you gift for you."
Her tone was sincere, making it clear that she truly meant it.
However, Souta's expression turned strangely awkward.
"A thank-you gift, huh... Well, after reading through the data, you might not feel so thankful anymore."
Rin frowned. "What do you mean?"
Souta just shook his head.
He wasn't going to explain right now—after all, he had more pressing matters, like collecting faith.
The situation with Sakura Matou and everything else could wait.
Besides, as long as Kurumi was around, any tragedies could be stopped before they even began.
"You'll understand after reading through it."
Souta smirked and added:
"If you run into any trouble, just come find me. Once you've learned everything, you might even unlock a wish-fulfillment quest. Then we could all earn points together."
"What exactly is in this data...?" Rin's curiosity only grew stronger.
Meanwhile, Illya simply stared at the phone screen, staring blankly at the anime version of her mother.
After lingering in the apartment for a while, the two girls returned to their own world.
Before leaving, Rin handed Souta a few gemstones, saying they were a temporary thank-you gift.
However, Souta wasn't particularly excited.
After all, with his materialization ability, he could create these naturally occurring materials anytime.
After Rin and Illya left, Kurumi—who had been silent this whole time—finally looked up from Souta's Apple phone.
She frowned slightly and commented:
"Those two... What they've been through is a bit..."
"You finished reading?" Souta asked.
"Not all of it, but I got the gist."
"Don't worry," Souta smiled. "With you here, anything can be changed."
Then, he changed the topic:
"I'm planning to head to Akame ga Kill's world now."
"Hmm? But the new member hasn't responded yet, right? You can't go over yet."
"I'll just use a Travel Card—can't wait around forever. 500 points isn't exactly..."
Before Souta could finish speaking, his system phone suddenly vibrated.
Someone had sent a message.
Chelsea: "What a magical device! It directly transmits knowledge into my brain!"
Great. Now he could save his points.