"My daughters? Those two children..."
Hearing Hope say that both Sakura and Rin had been adopted by Irisviel, lamenting Tokiomi's fate, Ryuya and Hope approached Sakura and Rin.
Looking at the two girls whose appearances differed little from their original story counterparts, Ryuya noticed that Sakura in this world had deep blue hair and elegant black eyes, just like Rin's lineage.
That made sense. After all, in this world, Matou Zouken hadn't used Crest Worms on Sakura, so she naturally wasn't affected.
Smiling at his two daughters, Ryuya spoke softly, "Sakura, Rin, this is our first time meeting, isn't it?"
"It seems Irisviel has taken good care of you both."
"You are..."
Staring dazedly at Ryuya, Sakura and Rin had seen the photos of Irisviel and Ryuya together. Clearly, this man was the person in those photos.
No need for pretense, no need for doubt. That soul-stirring tremor could only be brought by their father, because both Sakura and Rin had received Ryuya's blood… a treasure that enhanced their talent and magical energy.
"My children, I am your father."
"Irisviel has told you about me, right?"
Hearing Ryuya confirm his identity, Rin and Sakura looked shocked.
Sakura was the first to respond. Having seen Ryuya's past in the Eternal Night Empire through Crimson Moon's guidance, she took a deep breath, "Yes, Dad. Mom Irisviel often tells us about you."
"Have you... finally returned?"
Gently pursing her lips as she looked at Ryuya, Sakura didn't know what she was feeling now.
Even though she had always hoped for her father's return as a child, even though she wanted to hear Irisviel's stories about her father every night, even though...
Too many expectations, too much longing, caused Sakura, who had never met Ryuya before, to feel afraid at this moment. She feared Ryuya's disappearance, feared this was all a dream.
Tohsaka Rin, on the other hand, was different.
"Are you Dad? You're Dad!"
Much more straightforward and unreserved compared to Sakura, recognizing the man before her as her long-missed father at first glance, Rin first walked slowly, step by step, then quickened her pace and flew into Ryuya's arms, starting to cry.
"Dad, I missed you so much, really, really missed you so much."
Crying in Ryuya's arms like a true daughter, expressing her longing, looking at the tearful Rin in his arms, Ryuya didn't know what to say.
"Sorry, Rin, I'm back late."
Smiling helplessly, gently holding Rin in his arms, looking at his obedient daughter, Ryuya comforted softly, "Sakura, Mordred, come here, let me hold you..."
"Dad..."
Watching her sister crying in Ryuya's embrace, Sakura now realized she wasn't dreaming.
She also threw herself into Ryuya's arms. Only upon feeling the man's body temperature did she confirm she truly wasn't dreaming.
As for Mordred, she put on a reluctant expression.
"What's this? Who wants to compete for favor with younger sisters? As if I really like you that much... Stupid old man."
Her voice grew softer, the last three words sounding like a young bird's chirp. The tsundere Mordred ultimately walked up to Ryuya and, at this moment, along with Sakura and Rin, enjoyed her father's embrace.
Inside the Einzbern Castle.
"Huh? Why aren't Sakura and Rin back yet today?"
Checking the time and realizing Sakura and Rin were already 20 minutes late, Irisviel couldn't help but call her daughters.
Hearing the busy signal on the other end, she felt inexplicably worried.
"Don't worry. With Hope there, those two children won't come to harm."
Rarely taking the initiative to come out of her room, having changed into new clothes again, Crimson Moon had a habit: she never wore the same outfit twice unless it was Ryuya's clothing.
Today, she wore a light blue cheongsam that accentuated her striking figure and astounding aura. She was also listening to Irisviel talk about events in Snowfield City.
It seemed Crimson Moon was bored. The Moon King even had time to glance at the biscuits Female Gil made and let out a disdainful snort.
"Hey, what are you laughing at?"
Hearing Crimson Moon laugh at her food, Female Gil wouldn't stand for it.
If it were anyone else, maybe, especially those who had beaten her in the last cooking competition, Female Gil wasn't that petty.
But Crimson Moon? Even if she was the Moon King, it didn't matter. In Female Gil's eyes, one thing was one thing. How dare you look down on my cooking? Can you do better?
"Laughing at what? Of course, I'm laughing at your inability to cook."
With a casual snap of her fingers, a plate inexplicably appeared before Crimson Moon, filled with all sorts of biscuits: macarons, Oreos, cranberry cookies, etc.
As the aroma of wheat filled the entire first floor of the castle, Crimson Moon's method was simple: just use Marble Phantasm.
After all, with her power as the Moon King, she could even create the Millennium Castle out of thin air, let alone some simple food.
If it weren't for her sentimental attachment to this Einzbern Castle where Ryuya had once lived, not wanting to damage her beloved's former residence, she would have transformed the entire castle into the Millennium Castle the moment she arrived.
Smiling lightly at Female Gil, Crimson Moon didn't need to say a word… everything was in that one expression.
"You... actually have such skill?"
Female Gil could sense that the biscuits Crimson Moon created were made after fully understanding them.
As mentioned before, Marble Phantasm cannot create life or things the user doesn't understand.
In other words, if you gained this power, you could make a Transformers toy, but you couldn't make a real Transformer because you don't know the internal parts or the mysterious technology involved.
But since Crimson Moon could create these biscuits, it meant she definitely understood their basic composition. In other words, if Crimson Moon were to make these foods step by step using flour and such, she could recreate them exactly.
Somewhat startled by Crimson Moon's skill, just as Female Gil was about to find some way to save her dignity, Morgan suddenly looked up towards the main door, "Is that Mordred returning?"
And before Morgan finished speaking, Crimson Moon's figure was already up and running to the main entrance.
Thud...
As Crimson Moon opened the villa's main door, looking at the man walking from the end of the path, everyone was stunned.