Conclusion and Separation (II)

"Big brother~"

As Artorius grumbled, a soft voice came from the side.

Turning around, he could see a cute girl in a flowing white dress with a joyful smile.

It was Illya.

The cute loli with white hair and red eyes leaped into Artorius's arms and nuzzled his chest with a giggly smile.

"Illya."

Beside her, Iri seemed concerned yet scolded as she called out to her, which prompted a slightly embarrassed chuckle from Illya.

"Big Brother..." Illya looked up at Artorius and said with reluctance, "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah..." Artorius nodded.

"Oh..." Illya appeared somewhat disappointed.

Although initially, she had been closest to X, as time passed, her fondness for Artorius had noticeably grown, surpassing that for X.

At first glance, this might sound surprising. But upon reflection, it was quite normal.

The Dragon Emperor was both handsome and gentle, and being held by him made the cute girl feel safe. Her fondness for him soared.

Sometimes, unintentionally, she heard the maids playing 'games' with him in the bedroom or bathroom, their joyful voices ringing out, and her body would feel strange when hearing them.

The next day, when Artorius held her again, her body would be so weak she couldn't muster any strength, and she felt weirdly restless.

Originally, being held by him would be enough to satisfy her, but not anymore.

She wanted him to treat her like he treated the maids, to establish a deeper connection. She wanted to be even softer, to connect with him.

If Artorius stayed in this world a bit longer, perhaps these soft moments could truly happen. But fortunately or unfortunately, he was about to leave.

"Be good, Illya, listen to your mother." Artorius smiled as he spoke. "Big Brother will come to see you again."

"Umu, I understand..."

Though Illya was reluctant, she finally nodded obediently, accepting Artorius's words.

"Illya will work hard to become Big Brother Artorius's bride!"

"Hahaha, do your best then."

Not taking the child's whimsical words seriously, Artorius chuckled joyfully and placed Illya by his side.

After Illya, it was the two sisters from the Tohsaka family.

After summoning Gilgamesh, Tokiomi was hit with severe stomach pain, liver pain, and migraines, landing him in the hospital. He still hadn't been discharged. Hence, these two cute girls were being looked after by the maids of the Einzbern family during this time.

Therefore, in various ways, they also got to see the interactions between Artorius and the maids.

"Artorius-niisan."

Summoning courage and determination, Sakura came over and wrapped her arms around Artorius's neck.

Wanting to be the Emperor's Bride had now transformed into wanting to be the bride of Artorius. Though it might sound the same, it was fundamentally different.

"Sakura will also work hard." The bright-eyed Sakura said with a smile.

"Yeah, I'll be waiting."

Following Sakura was Rin. The twin-tailed tsundere initially struggled to hide her embarrassment. But after a little nudge from her sister, she also half-pushingly leaped into Artorius's arms.

Of course, saying something like "I want to be Big Brother's bride" was definitely too embarrassing for Rin. So, she just nestled in his embrace without saying anything.

Like the other girls, she liked, really liked him. How could she not? It's just that she was too shy to say it out loud. It would be wonderful if he could take the initiative. But before he could say something like "I like you, Rin", another girl had already taken him away.

Thinking about this, Rin felt somewhat uneasy.

"To have three schoolgirls fall for you at once, Your Majesty is a sinful man."

Observing this scene, Iri smiled and made her assessment, prompting Artorius to give her a resigned look.

"Is it my fault for being popular among the girls?"

"Isn't it?"

Their gazes met, conveying those messages.

'That's just the kind of man you are, Your Majesty. Very outstanding, or rather, too outstanding. To the extent that any females can't help but fall for you. Even if it defies ethics and morals, even if we know it's wrong, we can't help it; love is love. It just came naturally and hard to take it away. That's what love is.'

With those thoughts, Iri's mood grew somewhat melancholic.

Because Artorius had already made his decision.

A big batch of maids from the Einzbern family would return to his timeline with him.

This wouldn't create a time paradox.

Because the Einzbern maids were all homunculi, the creation of Mystery. They had minimal impact on the timeline and history. Time and the world possessed a self-repairing capability. And most importantly...

'The empire will inevitably control time in the future.'

Artorius thought that way. Not the kind of time travel, which could only be considered as 'utilizing time'; there was still some way to go before achieving 'true control'.

'The Fifth Magic is quite useful. The empire needs to invest more in it.'

===

Watching the maids who had already decided to follow Artorius back, Iri felt envious. She really enjoyed the feeling of being together with him these past few days.

Being with everyone, living happily, with laughter and joy every day. It was different from the previous lifelessness and also unlike the bitterness and deep grudges that would come later.

Hope.

Effort.

Struggle.

Progress.

Joy.

Warmth.

Love.

In Iri's brief life, which was as long as mandatory education, this was the most memorable period. If possible, she wished for these days to continue forever.

However, just like a dream.

Dreams eventually must awaken, and Artorius would eventually have to depart as well.

'I won't forget you, Your Majesty...' Iri silently swore in her heart.

"We've bid farewell to everyone. Next, we'll be able to go home, right, Artorius?"

Saying that was X, and she appeared quite delighted. This made Artorius's mood somewhat complicated.

This girl, did she really appear out of nowhere and crash into his head?

Even though they've become familiar now, forming bonds of family and friendship, it didn't mean she was truly his mother right? She couldn't really treat his place as her own, could she?

Also, how should he explain when they return? Just tell everyone directly—"She's my mother from a parallel world, here to defeat this world mother."

That wouldn't work and sound ridiculous.

Artorius was lost in thought because of this matter.

In this contemplation, Artorius, X, and a large group of Einzbern maids gradually disappeared without a trace, bit by bit.