This morning, Gabriel didn't come to Shin's house for her maid duties—she had asked Tohru for leave, saying she had something very important to attend to.
Shin guessed it was probably related to the heavenly realm. Otherwise, he couldn't think of anything more important to Gabriel than earning money to spend on gacha games.
But this was fine. With Gabriel absent, Shin could speak more openly in front of everyone.
"Irisviel, I'm planning to perform a Heroic Spirit summoning later."
At the breakfast table, Shin casually mentioned his plan while eating, his tone as calm as if he were talking about taking out the trash.
However, these words caused Irisviel's expression to change dramatically, and she immediately became tense.
"Wait Shin-Kun, what do you mean? Is there a Holy Grail War in this world too?!"
It was no wonder she reacted this way. After all, her experiences in the *Fate/Zero* world were far from pleasant.
Born as a vessel for the Holy Grail, she had initially believed she was working toward a just cause, only to be ruthlessly abandoned and ultimately meeting her end in the black mud.
If Shin hadn't used a special method to bring her out of her original world, Irisviel would have long since ceased to exist.
Thus, her memories of the Holy Grail War were deeply painful, and if possible, she never wanted to touch anything related to it again.
She thought this world was wonderful. The girls at home were kind to her, and her relationship with Shin was pleasant. She had almost forgotten that she was a homunculus created by the Einzbern family.
So when Shin suddenly brought up Heroic Spirit summoning, she was terrified, fearing that this world might also have such a cruel ritual.
"Holy Grail War?" Sayu Ogiwara looked at Irisviel in confusion.
She already knew Tohru's true identity as a dragon, so she had technically touched the other side of the world.
However, she still didn't know Irisviel's true origins and continued to think of her as a young lady from a foreign family.
Tohru also cast a curious glance, seemingly interested—though her interest was likely in whether she could help Shin.
Shin had grown accustomed to Tohru's way of thinking. She didn't seem to care much about her own desires, and many of her actions were based on "making Shin happy."
Of course, it was also possible that her own desires were satisfied by Shin every night, which was why her daily thoughts revolved around him...
"About the Holy Grail War, Irisviel, you can explain it to them slowly after I leave."
Shin took a sip of miso soup and nodded to Irisviel, signaling that she could now reveal her true origins to the others.
After spending so much time together, Shin believed Irisviel had come to trust the people in the house.
Sayu Ogiwara wasn't a gossip, and Tohru and Kanna were already accustomed to such matters.
Shin even suspected that in the alternate world Tohru came from, there might also be a Holy Grail.
Of course, the Holy Grails of the two worlds would be fundamentally different, but their names were likely the same.
After all, the alternate world Tohru came from was clearly a place where various myths and legends converged. Legendary dragons like Fafnir and Nidhogg also existed in that world.
Moreover, when Tohru arrived in this world, her powers were sealed by a divine sword. Since gods existed, it wasn't surprising that a Holy Grail might also exist.
"But this Heroic Spirit summoning has nothing to do with the Holy Grail War. I've gained the ability to summon a Heroic Spirit once, and only I can do it."
This world definitely didn't have a Holy Grail War. The Heroic Spirit summoning was purely a reward from the system.
Shin said to Irisviel:
"Don't you miss Illya? I was thinking that if I use you as a 'catalyst,' I might be able to summon Illya as a Heroic Spirit."
"Huh? Illya? A Heroic Spirit?"
Irisviel was shocked. Her eyes widened as she never expected Illya to be associated with the term "Heroic Spirit."
If things went according to the Einzbern family's plans, Illya might have participated in the Fifth Holy Grail War... but there was no way she could become a Heroic Spirit, right?
If the Einzbern family had such technology, wouldn't they have mass-produced Heroic Spirits and dominated the previous Holy Grail Wars?
"Is something like this really possible? Did Illya accomplish some great feat in the future that would make her worthy of becoming a Heroic Spirit?"
Irisviel wasn't trying to doubt Shin, but she found it hard to understand.
Becoming a Heroic Spirit wasn't something that could be achieved just by saying it. In modern times, the conditions for becoming a Heroic Spirit had become increasingly stringent. She couldn't imagine how Illya could ascend to the Throne of Heroes.
In truth, not only did Irisviel find it hard to understand, but Shin also couldn't fully grasp it—but the *Fate/Grand Order* game did have Magical Girl Illya as a Heroic Spirit.
It just goes to show that settings sometimes have to bend for the sake of game revenue.
"It should be possible... Let's just try it, okay?"
Shin didn't have high expectations either, but he figured there was no harm in trying.
However, before performing the Heroic Spirit summoning, Shin gave Irisviel a heads-up:
"Even if the Illya we summon really is her, and she recognizes you as her mother, she would still be an Illya from a parallel world. Don't mistake her for the Illya from your original world."
Magical Girl Illya and the Illya from *Fate/stay night* were very different in terms of experiences and personality.
Although both had Irisviel as their mother, their experiences and memories were completely different. Shin hoped Irisviel wouldn't become saddened later when she realized this.
"I understand. Just being able to see Illya... even if she's from a parallel world, is already enough for me."
Irisviel had already prepared herself mentally. After all, she came from a magus family and was well aware of the concept of parallel worlds.
The Second Magic user, Zelretch, was known for his "Parallel World Interference" magic, so she had naturally learned about it during her family studies.
Once she accepted this, Irisviel immediately became eager. She looked at Shin excitedly and quickly asked:
"So when will the summoning begin? Can we start now?"
"At least let me finish my breakfast first."
Shin looked helplessly at his breakfast. It seemed Irisviel was indeed very eager to see her daughter.
Fortunately, the system had provided him with a Heroic Spirit summoning kit, so Shin didn't need to prepare a bunch of magical materials like in other works where summoning Heroic Spirits was involved.
To be continued…
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