"Mmm..."
Seemingly sensing that her surroundings had changed, Illya let out a soft moan, then slowly opened her eyes and groggily woke up.
If she were still "Illyasviel," during the 12-hour shutdown period, she probably wouldn't wake up so easily.
But thanks to becoming the Fused Heroic Spirit Illya, her energy was much better than before. The 12-hour rest period didn't need to be slept through all at once and could be made up through naps.
"You're awake. You're back in this world now."
Zuke looked at Illya lying on the ground in her pajamas and smiled, reaching out to pinch her cheek, which finally seemed to fully wake her up.
Even so, she still reached out toward Zuke with a slightly spoiled expression on her face.
Zuke didn't refuse, reaching out to lift Illya from the ground. Seeing the satisfied smile on her face, he pointed to Medusa nearby.
At this time, Medusa was still in a dazed state from Zuke suddenly producing a little girl — until she heard what Zuke said next to Illya:
"See that woman? She's this Holy Grail War's Rider. I've already tied her up. Help me take her to Reines and keep her there."
"Mmm...? This person with the eyepatch?"
Illya heard this and finally turned her gaze to Medusa, who was bound by chains nearby — because she possessed the legendary Mystic Eyes of Petrification, Medusa wore an eyepatch on her face.
That eyepatch was Medusa's Noble Phantasm "Breaker Gorgon" — once released, it could use the Mystic Eyes of Petrification.
"That's right, this woman is Medusa. You should have heard her name."
Zuke nodded and explained Medusa's background to Illya, lest Illya accidentally remove Medusa's eyepatch and get petrified by carelessness.
Illya's "Magic Resistance" was only C-rank, barely able to deflect ordinary magecraft. Facing such high-level Mystic Eyes of Petrification, she couldn't resist the effect.
Hearing Zuke's words, Medusa's mouth twitched — she had indeed been thinking about trying to trick this little girl into removing her eyepatch, then using her Mystic Eyes of Petrification to turn the tables.
She hadn't expected Zuke to immediately reveal her identity, causing her original plan to fall through.
"I see, it's the Gorgon."
Illya understood. As her previous self Illyasviel, she had made many preparations for the Holy Grail War in the Einzbern family and was well-versed in various myths and histories.
Medusa's name was legendary in mythology. When it came to petrification abilities, most people would first think of this legendary snake-haired monster.
Although Medusa's hair didn't look like snakes but rather smooth purple hair, what was sealed in her eyepatch was definitely the Mystic Eyes of Petrification.
Now it was impossible for Medusa to trick Illya into removing her eyepatch.
"Should I seal such a dangerous woman in ice? Just like with that Archer."
Illya jumped down from Zuke's embrace, then transformed — the pajamas she was wearing disappeared, replaced by the ethnic-style magical clothing she wore as a Heroic Spirit.
Medusa watched Illya's transformation with wide eyes, finally understanding why Zuke dared to leave her in the care of such a small girl.
This little girl was also a Heroic Spirit — after changing clothes, Medusa could even feel waves of cold air emanating from Illya.
"That's not necessary. As long as you don't remove her eyepatch, this woman poses no threat now."
Zuke said with a smile — after all, Medusa's Noble Phantasm "Bellerophon," which summoned the Phantasmal Species, had been shattered to pieces. It would be difficult to recover during this Holy Grail War.
As a Rider who had lost her strongest Noble Phantasm mount, Medusa's only remaining threat was her Mystic Eyes of Petrification.
"Mmm... is it really just because she poses no threat?"
However, after hearing Zuke's words, Illya suddenly narrowed her eyes, then looked Medusa up and down before turning to ask Zuke.
"Papa, you wouldn't happen to like women with Medusa's type of figure, would you?"
Because there were too many women in Zuke's household, Illya also knew about Zuke's apparent preferences in this area.
When she heard Zuke tell her not to freeze Medusa in ice, her first reaction was that Zuke might have taken a fancy to Medusa.
After all, although Medusa wore an eyepatch, just looking at the lower half of her face showed she was quite attractive, plus her figure accentuated by the chain bindings...
Illya looked down at her own figure and immediately felt deflated — her body was an artificial human, basically stuck in this state with little room for growth.
"What are you thinking?"
Zuke tapped Illya's head irritably, telling her not to overthink things.
If he had to say, Medusa's figure and appearance were indeed quite good, but Zuke didn't have much interest in her.
The reason was simple — Medusa was a Heroic Spirit, and ultimately all of them would be sent into the Grail as nourishment, unable to stay behind.
Keeping one Illya was already the limit. After the Lesser Grail stored the souls of five Servants, it would manifest and become the vessel of the Grail.
In other words, excluding Zuke and Illya, the other Servants would all have to be eliminated by Zuke. He naturally wouldn't have any extra thoughts about them.
Unless Zuke could find a way to make the Grail descend without destroying the Servants.
That way he could complete the main quest "Obtain the Grail of the Fifth Holy Grail War" through alternative means, and perhaps handle these Heroic Spirits differently.
After entrusting the task of escorting Medusa to Illya, Zuke leaped from the rooftop.
He naturally wasn't afraid of falling to his death — the Flight Technique from the Dragon Ball world was basic operation. Only Master Roshi never learned this technique, even up to Dragon Ball Super.
After Zuke left, silence fell between Illya and Medusa.
After a while, Medusa looked at Illya with a rather strange expression — though because of her eyepatch, her expression couldn't be seen clearly.
She asked in an odd tone:
"Your relationship with your papa...?"
She had just heard Illya call Zuke "Papa," but some of Illya's behaviors...
"Shut up."
Illya glared at Medusa with displeasure, cutting off her words.
To be continued…