"You don't know who I am? It seems Nagato's descendants have declined as well."
Well aware of how easily a magus's legacy can be lost over generations, given Zelretch's long lifespan, he had witnessed countless dynastic changes and rise and fall of families throughout the ages.
His brief hesitation lasted less than half a second before he noticed the Master watches on Sakura and Rin's wrists, "So you've already been chosen as participants in this Holy Grail War?"
"Girls of the Tohsaka Family, descendants of Nagato..."
Clearing his throat, Zelretch tapped his cane, "You two, how about becoming my disciples?"
He had a particular fondness for prodigies of exceptional talent. In the original work, Zelretch took Rin as his disciple in a parallel world.
In the Snowfield City World, he similarly took a liking to Sakura and Rin's innate talent at first glance.
"Disciples?"
Finding Zelretch's proposal utterly baffling, if it were the Rin from the original work, who grew up alone and recognized the darkness of the magus world, she would probably have agreed without hesitation.
But in this world, a world where she had her sister Sakura and Irisviel's care, she didn't lack a sense of security.
"Sorry, old man, but we sisters already have teachers."
Laughing brightly, Rin was referring to Crimson Moon and Hope… one a Planetary Singularity-level existence, and the other a Machine God who had surpassed the planetary level, reaching Star Godhood.
'Sakura, this old man is very powerful, definitely not inferior to Crimson Moon-nee and the others. Let's look for a chance to escape later.'
Exchanging a glance with Sakura, both Rin and Sakura carried magical items from the Einzbern Family for self-preservation. But facing Zelretch, they weren't sure if their items would truly be effective.
Their long-standing tacit understanding as sisters allowed them to decide on an escape plan. While Rin spoke lightly, she was secretly gathering magical energy within her body.
"Hmm? Quite clever little girls."
Noticing Rin's subtle hand movements, Zelretch wasn't angry. It was like the anticipation one feels towards promising descendants. He was curious to see what means Rin could employ.
At that very moment...
Crack! The sound of shattering space.
"Rin, Sakura, what would you like for lunch?"
Shattering the bounded field created by Zelretch, as the black-and-white world broke apart, everything in the school returned to normal.
The sounds of students walking and chatting in the winter, the honking of cars on the distant streets, and... the sound of Rin and Sakura's rapidly beating hearts!
"Dad!"
Seeing Ryuya, dressed in formal attire, walking towards them from across the way, Sakura and Rin had never felt so thrilled.
Never imagining Ryuya would appear at this time, the two girls, forgetting their previous sense of distance towards him, threw themselves into his arms.
"I'm here, I'm here. What's wrong? Are you cold?"
Holding Rin with one arm and Sakura with the other, the air around Ryuya visibly warmed. Even though it was still winter, Sakura and Rin felt extremely warm.
It was a father's love.
Gently patting Sakura and Rin's backs, Ryuya then looked up at Zelretch, "Looking for my daughters... is there something you need?"
"Your daughters?"
Looking at Ryuya with doubt, Zelretch's body, intuition, magical energy, everything told him the man before him was an utterly ordinary person. But it was precisely this ordinariness that felt strange.
Could an ordinary person have such looks and bearing? Could an ordinary person break his bounded field? Could an ordinary person be wearing a Master watch?
"According to my knowledge, these two girls are children of the Tohsaka Family. Their father was Tohsaka Tokiomi, was he not?"
Pausing, Zelretch was puzzled. He wondered when had Rin and Sakura's family changed? Or had he found the wrong people?
"Tokiomi? He's dead. Rin and Sakura are my daughters now."
Letting out a mocking laugh, having already recognized the old man opposite him, Ryuya saw the watch on Zelretch's wrist.
Ignoring Zelretch further, he bent down slightly to look at his daughters, "Rin, Sakura, did this guy scare you just now?"
"Dad."
Noticing the surrounding students were starting to point and stare at them and Ryuya, inevitable given Ryuya's overly striking appearance, and considering she and Sakura were somewhat famous around the school, Rin didn't want to cause trouble for Ryuya.
Exchanging a glance with her sister Sakura, the two sisters reached a silent consensus.
"Father, are you here to take us home?"
Not bringing Zelretch into the conversation, in other words, ignoring him, Sakura asked Ryuya.
"Home? No, no. I was thinking of taking you out to have some fun today."
Holding Sakura's hand with one of his and Rin's with the other, Ryuya continued, "Daughters, you don't need to be so formal with me. Look at Illya, look at Arcueid and Altrouge, look at Mordred. They're never this distant with me."
As he spoke, his gaze turned towards Zelretch. Ryuya didn't need to use magical energy to have numerous means of attack. For example...
Sephirah, Tiphereth (Beauty).
Boom!
As spiritual power erupted, before Zelretch could even understand what was happening, alarm bells rang within him… warnings from his very soul.
'What is this feeling? This is...'
Stagnation, confusion, emptiness… a sensation he hadn't even experienced while following his teacher, the King of Mages Solomon, surfaced in Zelretch's mind.
Vaguely, he saw a large character for 'Death' hurtling towards him. By the time he regained his senses, he had vanished from the spot.
"Dad?"
Watching Zelretch disappear like a breeze, Sakura and Rin asked in doubts.
"Just a minor seal. It's fine. He is a Magician, after all, he'll be back in a couple of days."
"Consider it punishment for offending my precious daughters."
The power of the Angel he got from Mukuro could seal the very concept of anything, let alone simply sealing Zelretch's individual 'self'.
Looking at Sakura and Rin, Ryuya asked again, "So, what would you two like to eat?"
"Eat?" The dream of their father picking them up from school was something Sakura and Rin had yearned for years but never experienced. After a pause, they both said in unison, smiling at Ryuya...
"Luosifen!"