When Izumi woke the next morning, what he saw made him freeze.
Le Fay was sleeping right beside him.
She woke moments later—saw him—
and her face immediately turned crimson as she dove under the blanket like a startled cat.
Izumi exhaled dramatically.
"…I didn't expect you to be this bold, Le Fay."
"I really underestimated you."
She squeaked behind the blanket.
"P-Please don't say things like that…!"
"Turn around… it's embarrassing!"
Izumi chuckled.
Shy now, was she?
She certainly hadn't been shy last night.
Still, he obediently turned away, letting her compose herself.
Just then, he felt a faint pulse of mana behind him.
Warm. Gentle. Healing.
He blinked.
"…Healing magecraft?"
"Asia-style? Seriously?"
She shouldn't have been able to… replenish mana like that.
But Izumi shrugged the thought away.
He washed up in the bathroom, and when he came back out, Le Fay was already sitting on the bed watching morning TV, looking like nothing had happened.
The news caught his attention immediately.
"Last night, an unexpected gas explosion occurred at the Fuyuki Church."
"Lord Tōsaka, do you have anything you wish to say?"
On screen, the reporter held out a microphone—
at Tōsaka Tokiomi.
Izumi stared.
Gas explosion?
Really?
Tokiomi maintained a perfectly solemn expression.
"I am deeply saddened. My disciple was inside the church at the time."
"He and his father… have passed away."
"I hope the citizens of Fuyuki take care and avoid further tragedies."
…
Le Fay pointed at the screen.
"It was totally him."
"Rin's father is way more ruthless than I expected."
"He learned the future and killed the guy the same night!"
Izumi sighed.
"Well, gas explosions happen a lot in this world. You'll get used to it."
"Hurry and wash up. We'll walk around a bit, then head to the Tōsaka house."
Le Fay nodded, hopped out of bed, and rushed to the bathroom.
Once she was gone, Izumi pulled a card out from his system space—the locator card.
It had returned after being used, meaning it was reusable.
He didn't know how many uses were left.
Didn't matter.
If he didn't return after too long, Ophis would definitely come looking for him.
"…I wonder if this card can jump us ten years forward."
"If not, I'll just let Ophis pick us up."
The thought made him click his tongue.
He hadn't expected his dimensional jump to malfunction so badly.
He did reach the Nasuverse—but ten years too early.
Meaning:
the Holy Grail War hadn't even begun yet.
What, was he supposed to sit here for a whole year?
Absolutely not.
He frowned, then made a decision.
If he was stuck in the Nasuverse, then he would start moving things himself.
The Magecraft here held no appeal to him.
Only the Noble Phantasms did.
And among those, there was only one that existed right now.
Avalon.
And if he was going after Avalon, he should stop by the Einzbern Castle.
If he revealed the Third Magic, they'd fall to their knees immediately.
After all, the Einzbern family at this point was essentially a clan of homunculi.
Their only goal was to resurrect the Third Magic.
And Izumi was the holder of the Third.
They'd probably treat him like their new head of house the moment he stepped through the door.
He nodded to himself.
Yes.
He had a plan.
First: dig up the Greater Grail.
Second: visit the Einzberns.
Irisviel should already exist by now.
Kiritsugu should be there too.
Maybe he could even… interfere a little.
The thought thrilled him.
Perfect. Decision made.
When Le Fay returned, Izumi repeated the previous routine:
They checked out with a simple suggestion spell, then wandered outside.
Since they didn't have Fuyuki currency, they naturally—
ate without paying.
Le Fay, however, dropped a gemstone on the table as she left.
And she did the same at the hotel desk.
Izumi stared at her, speechless.
This girl was absurdly wealthy.
Who just threw gemstones around?
After breakfast, they arrived at the Tōsaka mansion.
Izumi was about to ring the bell—
when Rin burst out of the house and grabbed his wrist.
"You came just in time!"
"The Grail manifested early—come quickly!"
Izumi froze.
"…The Grail manifested early?"
"You're serious?"
Rin nodded sharply.
"Yes! Father has Command Seals!"
"And a voice is urging him to summon a Servant!"
"He can barely hold himself together!"
She dragged Izumi straight into Tokiomi's workshop.
There, on the back of Tokiomi's hand—
three glowing Command Seals burned like fresh ink.
Izumi's eyes narrowed.
"Why would it trigger now…?"
"This has to be a joke."
Tokiomi's expression twisted.
"I don't know why either."
"I returned home… and the Command Seals were already there."
"Normally they should appear next year…"
Before he could finish, the Command Seals blazed.
Izumi's pupils contracted.
Tokiomi's voice spilled out against his will, the incantation forced through him:
"I hereby declare!"
"Your body belongs under my command; my fate rests upon your sword."
"Appear from beyond the restraining layers—Guardian of the Scales!"
A massive magic circle expanded before him.
Magic surged.
Light burst.
A golden figure stepped out of the summoning array.
The moment Izumi saw who it was—
he moved.
His shadow shot upward, forming a blade that slashed toward the newly summoned Servant.
The Servant, just about to recite his triumphant introduction, saw the incoming strike—
—and his expression snapped into fury.