Everyone fell silent when Sakura pointed it out.
They had honestly forgotten about him.
Izumi's mouth twitched, frustration flashing across his face.
"…Right. We really did leave that kid behind."
"Give me a second. I'll go grab him."
Without further explanation, Izumi vanished in a blur of movement—
returning to the Emiya household's world, where he found a soul-crushed young Gilgamesh sitting alone, sulking.
He grabbed him by the collar and dragged him over.
The boy blinked at the sudden shift in scenery, then exploded.
"—Oi!! You did that on purpose!"
"You took all the girls with you and left me behind!"
"You promised to take me to beat up my future self!"
"You can't back out now!"
Izumi sighed helplessly.
"My bad. I really did forget you."
"I'll keep my promise. Don't worry."
Back in the Emiya household earlier, he had promised young Gil that he would take him to go smack around his edgy adult version.
But when they left, Izumi cleanly forgot him.
Young Gil let out a long, dramatic sigh, eyes drifting to the girls surrounding Izumi.
"Ah, I get it now."
"Since I'm the only boy, it makes sense nobody cares about me."
"Truly, the fate of men is to suffer."
He wrenched himself free of Izumi's grip and straightened up.
"When you're ready to leave again, come find me."
"I'll go do my own thing in the meantime."
With that, the golden child ran toward the city center alone.
Everyone watched him go, unsure how to react.
Kuro commented dryly:
"…That's kinda pathetic."
"So lonely."
Silence fell.
She wasn't wrong.
Besides Izumi, young Gil was the only male in the group.
Everyone's attention had been glued to Izumi from start to finish—
no one had spare brain cells to worry about him.
Being ignored was… inevitable.
Izumi didn't dwell on it.
Instead, he turned toward Illya.
"Anyway, let's head back for now."
"Once things here are settled, I'll head to Rin's world."
The girls nodded quickly.
Under Illya's lead, they soon arrived at her home in Fuyuki.
Illya pushed open the door and called excitedly:
"Sella! Leysritt! We're home!"
Sella—currently busy with chores—and Leysritt—watching anime—instantly reacted with shock and joy.
But before either of them could respond—
A voice came from the living room:
"Oh my, Illya, you're back already?"
"Did you bring Miyu with you?"
It was Irisviel.
She wasn't out driving dangerously today, so she was actually home.
Hearing Illya's voice, she rushed out of the living room with a smile—
Only to immediately lock eyes with Izumi.
Without even acknowledging her daughter's embrace, Irisviel bolted straight past Illya and stopped inches from Izumi, eyes shining.
"You are—Izumi-sama!!"
Her excitement was palpable.
Illya froze mid-step, baffled at being completely ignored.
She turned her head stiffly—
and saw Irisviel clutching Izumi's hand, talking rapidly with a face full of admiration and joy.
Illya's brain blue-screened.
What.
The.
Hell.
Why did her mother look at Izumi like that?
She had never seen her mother show that expression toward a man.
Irisviel clasped both of Izumi's hands, voice filled with relief:
"Ah, how wonderful!"
"Izumi-sama finally came to retrieve me!"
"When I disappeared back then and met Izumi-sama, I nearly fainted!"
"I never expected it would take so long before you arrived!"
Her tone was almost worshipful.
Because Izumi had implanted knowledge into her using the Second and Third Magic,
Irisviel had retained her memories of him—
and the reverence that came with them.
To her, the wielder of the Third Magic was absolute.
Illya snapped out of her daze and panicked.
"M-Mom, wait—"
"You know Izumi-oniichan!?"
A terrifying thought sparked in her mind.
Don't tell me—
He really IS my father?!
Irisviel, without looking back even once, snapped:
"Illya, be quiet."
"Go stand over there."
Then she promptly ignored her daughter again.
And continued happily chatting with Izumi.
Illya stood frozen, devastated.
Then it got worse.
Sella and Leysritt rushed over—
not to greet Illya—
But to greet Izumi.
And they started chatting with him too, completely absorbed.
Illya?
Totally ignored.
The girl's eyes welled with tears.
What kind of tragic homecoming was this?!
Kuro snickered beside her.
"Ehehe, abandoned by your own mom. Tough luck."
Illya glared.
"Aren't you going to say anything!?"
"Mom didn't even look at you either!"
"You're her daughter too!"
Kuro shrugged.
"Can't you see how happy they are?"
"And seriously, you haven't realized it yet?"
"What is the Third Magic, you idiot?"
Did this girl really forget everything Irisviel had taught them?
The Third Magic—
the ultimate goal of the Einzbern family.
Kuro stared at Illya like she was the dumbest creature alive.
Illya blinked.
Then memories resurfaced—
the explanations about the Holy Grail War,
about the Third Magic,
about the family's long pursuit.
She had completely forgotten until now.
Her face flushed bright red.
She puffed up defensively.
"I-I didn't forget!"
"I just… didn't remember immediately!"
"Hmph!"
Truthfully, Illya had never cared much about the Einzbern family.
She grew up under Sella and Leysritt's care, ignorant of clan politics.
Most of what Irisviel told her went in one ear and out the other.
So it wasn't surprising she forgot.
But she absolutely would not admit that.