When Zuke returned to the base, he found that Reines had already come back.
She was half-reclining on the sofa, letting her "maid" Trimmau—formed from her "Volumen Hydrargyrum"—massage her feet.
"You're really enjoying yourself, huh?"
Zuke walked into the living room and teased Reines, who was sprawled on the sofa. After all, even he hadn't asked Tohru to massage his feet at home before.
"Trimmau's movements consume my magical energy. In essence, I'm just using my own magic to massage myself. Is there a problem with that?"
Reines offered a perfectly logical explanation—while Trimmau possessed artificial intelligence, at its core, it was still a Mystic Code, the "Volumen Hydrargyrum."
Since it was a Mystic Code, it naturally required magical energy to operate. So even if Trimmau was massaging Reines' feet, the energy being expended was still Reines' own.
Given that Reines' magical energy reserves weren't substantial enough to support Trimmau in highly strenuous activities, what was wrong with a little foot massage to relax?
"No problem at all. It's good for you to relax while you can."
Zuke didn't mind. After all, he wasn't the one massaging Reines' feet—though he wouldn't have minded touching a beautiful girl's body either.
"Because soon, you probably won't have much time to relax."
"...What do you mean?"
Reines had been lying comfortably on the sofa, letting Trimmau ease the soreness from her earlier investigation outside. But upon hearing Zuke's words, she immediately tensed up, sitting bolt upright to stare at him.
"Did something happen with the Three Great Families?"
"Pretty much. Since you've already learned about the previous Holy Grail War from Waver, you should also know who my former Master was, right?" Zuke smiled as he looked at Reines.
"Your former Master... if I recall correctly, it was the eldest daughter of the Tohsaka family, Tohsaka Rin, right?"
After a brief moment of thought, Reines provided the correct answer—it seemed she had thoroughly researched Zuke's background through Waver.
Though Zuke didn't quite understand why Reines seemed so interested in him, he didn't dwell on it and simply nodded.
"During my investigation earlier, I met Rin... and she's planning to participate in this Holy Grail War too."
"Huh? Even though she knows you're someone else's Servant now, she still dares to join the war?"
Reines' expression turned incredulous. As Zuke's new Master, she was well aware of just how powerful he was.
Masters inherently possessed the ability to perceive a Servant's parameters, and Reines was no exception—neither was Tohsaka Rin.
If Rin knew that Zuke held an overwhelming advantage over other Servants, why would she still participate? Wasn't she afraid of being crushed by him?
However, Reines' confusion soon gave way to horror. She shuddered and stared at Zuke.
"Wait... are you saying Tohsaka Rin is going to target me?"
If a Servant couldn't be defeated directly, then targeting their Master was a common strategy in the Holy Grail War.
If Rin was bold enough to join the war despite knowing Zuke was her opponent, she was likely planning to go after Reines instead.
That was why Zuke had said, "You won't have much time to relax soon"—Reines was about to become Rin's primary target.
On the surface, the Tohsaka family and the El-Melloi faction might seem mismatched in power, but this was Fuyuki City—the Tohsakas were the local power here.
How could the El-Melloi, a family already in decline, possibly compare to the Tohsakas on their home turf?
"Pretty much," Zuke replied, amused by Reines' nervous expression. Then, he dropped an even heavier bombshell.
"Oh, and I also checked the Einzbern side..."
He proceeded to explain what he had discovered at the Einzbern castle, which only made Reines' expression grow even more troubled.
The Einzberns were no small family—their homunculus technology was renowned throughout the entire mage community.
For such a prominent family to be annihilated without even a whisper of it reaching the Mage's Association... the perpetrator must have acted with terrifying speed.
And according to Zuke, that Servant had likely followed Illya to Fuyuki and was now hiding somewhere...
The thought sent a chill down Reines' spine.
"Don't worry, though. With Avalon inside you, you shouldn't die under normal circumstances."
Seeing Reines' unease, Zuke reached out and patted her head reassuringly.
"But if you're still worried... try this."
With that, he activated his "Bestowal" ability, granting Reines the "Maid Outfit" Stand.
In the next moment, Reines felt her body grow lighter. She immediately looked down at her attire—and her face flushed red as she glared at Zuke in embarrassment.
"What is this outfit?!"
As someone who had shaped her "Volumen Hydrargyrum" into a maid, she obviously recognized the maid uniform she was now wearing.
How was it that she, the Master, had ended up dressed as a maid by her own Servant?!
"You can think of it as a kind of Noble Phantasm," Zuke explained, amused by her flustered reaction.
"This outfit enhances your physical abilities and stamina... you can feel it, right?"
"...I suppose so."
After a brief silence, Reines had to admit that she did feel stronger—her physical capabilities had noticeably improved, and even her magical energy seemed to have received a slight boost.
It wasn't enough to let her fight a Servant head-on, but at least she'd stand a better chance at escaping.
"But it's still embarrassing!"
Despite her flushed face, Reines didn't actually refuse the outfit.
After all, it did provide her with an extra layer of security—even if the source of that security was a little... unconventional.
Wearing this maid outfit gave her the strange sensation that their Master-Servant roles had been reversed, stirring an odd excitement in her.
I should be the one in control here!
Unbeknownst to Reines, Zuke had also secretly attached another Stand to her—his "Blackbird · Black Sabbath," which lurked within her shadow.
If Reines ever found herself in true mortal danger—even with the enhanced abilities from the maid outfit—"Blackbird · Black Sabbath" would pull her into the shadows to hide her.
Unless the enemy could also traverse shadows, they wouldn't be able to harm her.
To be continued…
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