"Aww my head hurts..." I groan as the moment I open my eyes I realize I'm finally back in the bedroom again.
I really wanted to stay in the inner world and wait until Denial wakes up, especially since I could hear two very familiar voices sounding exactly like Lady Ava and Fou aggressively bickering in another room.
but Void warned me that time has already resumed in the real world, so I knew I had to head back if I didn't want Irisviel to find me completely unconscious on the floor.
I slowly push myself up and look around as the massive hole in the wall is still there and the entire room is left in absolute ruin after Denial used that projected katana during the fight.
Plaster dust is still settling over the shredded furniture and the scattered debris covering the carpet.
"Well I hope I have time to fix all of this before Irisviel comes..." I mutter under my breath while trying to wipe some dirt off my face.
BOOOM
I don't know if saying that out loud was a bad omen or something but suddenly the heavy double doors of the bedroom completely explode inward.
Wood splinters fly everywhere as a thick cloud of smoke fills the entryway.
"Reina?? Are you okay?" Irisviel shouts in sheer panic as she rushes through the ruined doorway along with Saber who's clearly the one that just destroyed the door.
They both freeze the second they see me sitting on the ground surrounded by total destruction with my hair completely disheveled and my pajamas in a terrible mess.
I just let out a heavy sigh because I know right away that this is gonna be a very long and exhausting explanation.
Irisviel quickly scoops me up from the debris-covered ground and carries me out of the ruined bedroom as Saber follows closely behind us.
We move down the hall into another room that has the exact same massive size and luxurious layout as the last one so seeing this firsthand makes me suddenly realize just how ridiculously rich the Einzbern family actually is.
In the anime they never really focused on their wealth outside of the homunculus stuff and my mind immediately snaps to the fact that Irisviel is a homunculus created specifically to be turned into the Holy Grail.
"Ahhh!" I suddenly yelp out loud as I realize I completely forgot about her fate.
"What's wrong Reina? Did you feel hurt somewhere? Maybe I should bring you to a doctor!" Irisviel asks with utter panic in her voice as she gently holds me tighter in her arms.
I glance over her shoulder and see Saber continuing to escort us while still fully clad in her silver armor and gripping something completely invisible in her hands which I assume has to be her Excalibur.
"No I just remembered something... Sorry for surprising you like that" I quickly reassure her while looking up at the deep worry etched across Irisviel's face.
"No if you feel something just tell me or even Saber here as this is also my fault for leaving you all alone" Irisviel says gently as she finally sets me down on the fresh bed.
I end up having to lie and tell them that Assassin appeared out of nowhere and blew up the wall to kidnap me even though it was actually Gilgamesh's fault that the wall got destroyed.
Earlier i manage to spin the story by saying the masked servant suddenly disappeared right before she could actually grab me.
"That's probably because Rider used his Noble Phantasm to kill all the Assassins that ambushed us during our Banquet of Kings as Rider named it earlier" Saber said before with a serious nod.
Thanks to her backing up my fake story Irisviel is completely convinced and letting that story go before we move to this bedroom.
"Your hair is so dirty now even though we just took a bath a few hours ago and the Illya pajamas I lent to you are completely ruined too" Irisviel says as we sit together on the bed while she gently tidies my messy hair and inspects my torn clothes.
"That's fine I can just go back to the orphanage and change my clothes there later" I reply casually since I know I can easily use my illusion magecraft to stay invisible and then apply reinforcement on my body to quickly rush back home.
"Orphanage? You live there Reina?" Irisviel asks with sudden surprise in her voice upon hearing my living situation.
Even though Irisviel doesn't have much firsthand experience with the outside world she still possesses a solid understanding of how society works after being taught by Kiritsugu.
"Hmm" I nod simply before continuing "Since I was born I have always lived there but they also..."
Wait why am I suddenly telling them about where I come from?? The entire reason I'm using Reina as a fake name is so they can't track my real identity, and now I'm literally giving away crucial clues about my home and the orphanage!
I quickly snap my mouth shut and glance back up at her face.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Irisviel asks as she just tilts her head in genuine confusion.
I frantically try to think of a way to change the subject but my train of thought completely halts the second I look into her ruby eyes.
Her expression is so unbelievably pure and innocent, that it instantly melts away all of my rising panic.
There isn't a single trace of malice or hidden calculation behind her gaze as her soft features are just overflowing with a gentle and comforting warmth.
Staring at her face makes it absolutely impossible to stay guarded because she clearly just cares about my well-being with the absolute unconditional kindness of a worried mother.
"Nothing, I'm just saying that I've been living there for a long time" I say hurriedly to cover up my near mistake.
"Really? How old are you this year, Reina?"
"I'm eight years old now"
Both Irisviel and Saber instantly freeze upon hearing my response.
Irisviel blinks a few times as if she didn't hear me correctly, while Saber visibly widens her eyes in sheer surprise.
I completely forgot that even though we are just having a normal conversation, my reaction to everything is way too calm.
A normal eight-year-old who just survived their bedroom exploding and nearly getting kidnapped would be crying or deeply traumatized, but thanks to the thirty years of experience from my previous life, I am just casually chatting with them without a single hint of panic.
"Eight...?" Irisviel murmurs softly, and I can see a fleeting wave of melancholy wash over her beautiful crimson eyes.
She is undoubtedly comparing me to her own daughter, Illyasviel, who happens to be the exact same age.
While Illya is safely guarded back in the snowy Einzbern castle acting like a proper, innocent child, here I am casually brushing off a deadly attack with the emotional maturity of a grown adult.
"You hold yourself with remarkable composure, Reina" Saber finally breaks the heavy silence, looking at me with a complicated expression. "After experiencing such a terrifying ambush, I never would have guessed you were merely eight years of age."
"Haha well back in the orphanage they always call me brave Reina" is all I can say to try and brush it off.
I mean, if I actually tell them the truth about my reincarnation they are probably gonna believe me since this world is already filled with magecraft and magic, but who in their right mind would ever confess that they are secretly an adult from a previous life?
Definitely not me, because if I do that I won't be able to act spoiled and get all the candy or food that I want~
As I'm still thinking about the perks of being a kid I unconsciously let out a huge yawn.
It feels pretty weird considering I have technically been sleeping for months inside my inner world, but I guess the sudden adrenaline rush from the kidnapping attempt is finally crashing down and leaving my physical body completely exhausted.
"Ah are you tired? Go on, the sun still hasn't risen yet so you can get some sleep" Irisviel says with a soft smile.
"Here, here" she whispers gently, and suddenly she pulls me back into a warm embrace.
My head naturally rests against her soft chest like a perfect pillow, and I am completely enveloped by the comforting heat of her body.
"I'm gonna stay right here with you until the morning so just go to sleep" Irisviel adds while gently stroking my hair.
"I'm gonna make sure absolutely no disturbances happen during your rest, so please rest assured" Saber suddenly chimes in from the side.
It is actually a bit weird since I really don't think I've interacted with Saber that much yet, but hearing her suddenly make that knightly vow is undeniably reassuring.
Oh well, there is nothing else I can really do as my eyelids rapidly grow heavy and I drift right back to sleep.
---
---
---
The quiet rhythm of Reina's breathing slowly fills the room as she falls into a deep and peaceful slumber.
"She sleeps so soundly" Irisviel whispers softly while gently brushing a stray lock of hair away from the young girl's relaxed face.
Saber stands closely beside the bed to maintain a tight defensive perimeter around them both, her green eyes narrowing slightly as she carefully studies the sleeping child.
"She is hiding something" Saber finally speaks up in a quiet but serious tone.
"When you asked about her age earlier her expression shifted for just a fraction of a second"
Irisviel looks up from the bed with a slightly worried frown. "You think she was lying to us?"
"No, my instinct tell me she was being completely honest when she said she is eight years old" Saber shakes her head while keeping her vigilant watch over the room.
"But she is definitely not telling us the whole truth, because the composure she showed during the ambush and the way she calculates her words are traits you usually only see in adult"
Irisviel gently pulls the blanket higher up around Reina's small shoulders and lets out a soft sigh. "Whatever she is hiding she is still just a vulnerable child caught in the middle of this war, so it is our duty to protect her regardless of her secrets"
"I completely agree, but we must remain cautiously aware of our surroundings" Saber nods firmly before slightly shifting her armored stance next to the bed.
"Speaking of this war, I must report what transpired at the castle courtyard right before the ambush occurred"
Irisviel looks up with a tired but attentive expression as the conversation naturally shifts away from the sleeping girl.
"Right, what exactly happened between you, Rider, and Archer during that?"
Just like in the canon story, Saber explains how during the grand banquet, the three of them discussed the true meaning of becoming a ruler and what specific wish they would make to the Holy Grail if they actually won.
But when Saber honestly told them that she wanted to rewrite history by changing the person who pulled the sacred sword from the stone, both Rider and Archer looked at her as if she were speaking absolute nonsense.
They both firmly told her that a proper king should lead by grand desires or absolute rule, whereas her tragic path of endless self-sacrifice only left her people feeling pitied, which ultimately led to their total ruin.
Rider boldly called her a terrible king who was acting as nothing more than a martyr, while Archer simply found her struggles to be hilarious and pathetic, like an entertaining clown.
"Do you think the same Irisviel? Is my dream really just pathetic?" Saber asks quietly as she tightly clenches her fist, her anger not directed at Irisviel but at the two arrogant kings for treating her lifelong dedication like a foolish joke.
Irisviel simply looks back at Saber with a small, slightly sad smile. "I'm sorry Saber but I can't answer that, I don't know much about the world but if you truly believe in your dream you should move forward with that dream in mind and regret nothing"
Hearing those words really reminds her of how Kiritsugu's ultimate dream is achieving world peace, and how he is willing to do absolutely everything he can to reach that goal.
Just like what happened yesterday when he blew up an entire towering hotel just to kill Lancer's Master, even though the massive assassination attempt ultimately failed.
That horrific incident is actually one of the main reasons why Irisviel became so aggressively protective and actively tried to stop Kiritsugu yesterday when he pointed his gun directly at Reina.
She was deeply disturbed and angry at his ruthless decision to blow up a building and risking of harming many people just to catch one enemy Master, even though she knows that as his wife she is supposed to always support him.
Looking down at the sleeping girl wrapped securely in her arms who so strongly reminds her of her own precious daughter back in Germany, Irisviel gently strokes Reina's hair.
She silently resolves that she can at least treat this helpless child with genuine warmth and love during her own short, tragic life that is destined to end in just a few days.
As Irisviel continues to comfort the sleeping girl, her eyes trail down to the torn fabric of the pajamas she lent her.
She lets out a small sigh as she realizes the outfit is completely ruined, which is a real problem since that was actually the biggest and only set of Illya's clothes that even fit Reina in the first place because her daughter is noticeably smaller.
Then a spark of idea suddenly flashes in her eyes as the heavy tension in the room finally completely lifts away.
Irisviel gently shifts her weight on the bed and turns toward Saber with a bright and excited smile.
"Let's go shopping in the morning~" Irisviel suddenly declares.