At the very end, Durandal mentioned wanting to return later.
Because she needed some more time to process and adapt to these immense changes.
Although many of these were already established facts, they were all things she hadn't known. She only learned today that her teacher, the Bishop of Schicksal, had hidden so many things.
This perfectly aligned with what someone once said: admiration is the furthest distance from understanding.
And Otto could be called an intellectual monster. Durandal had practically grown up under his observation, so if there were any obvious changes, she definitely wouldn't be able to hide them from him.
Therefore, Durandal needed some time to adapt to this change.
And coincidentally, going to help Irisviel rescue Ilya was an excellent opportunity.
The Holy Grail War ended, and Matou Byakuya didn't come to ask Takatsuki when they would leave. As the nominal head of the Matou Family, and having survived under the oppression of the Old Bug until now, Matou Byakuya knew very well how to read people's expressions.
Although he did not inherit the family's magical profession, he was still considered part of this circle. If he had even a little magical talent, he wouldn't have allowed those who intruded into his home to usurp it so easily. But sadly, the current Matou Family had no magical talent at all.
Even the heir to their magic was a little girl adopted from outside.
Although Matou Byakuya didn't come, Takatsuki still found him.
He told him about his intention to settle Irisviel in the Matou Family, and in return, Irisviel would help teach Sakura to restore the Matou Family's magic.
This was something that would sound absurd to an ordinary person: an outsider helping another adopted outsider restore their family's glory?
But in the minds of mages, this was quite normal.
Because they valued inheritance more than bloodline.
Even though Matou Byakuya was not a mage, he knew this, and he deeply understood that a large part of his family's assets depended on their status as a mage family.
If the family's magic declined, then their other industries would inevitably be affected as well.
So he agreed to Takatsuki's terms without hesitation.
Perhaps this involved various interests, or perhaps he found Irisviel easier to talk to?
Who knows?
In any case, Irisviel's settlement was thus decided. Compared to the overbearing Takatsuki, Irisviel's attitude towards Matou Byakuya was very good. After all, it was her nature, and in her opinion, the other party's willingness to take in their orphaned mother and child was already a great kindness among mages. The other party even allowed her to consult the Matou Family's inherited magical texts.
Although the Matou Family's magical crest was completely lost due to the Old Bug's complete demise, it could still be restored little by little. After all, each of the current big three had actually declined.
It is worth mentioning that Takatsuki went to the Tohsaka before leaving Fuyuki.
After the Holy Grail War ended, Tokiomi's wife and daughter naturally returned to Fuyuki. Because there was no experience of being suffocated by Kariya in the original Fourth Holy Grail War, although Tohsaka Kui was very sad about the passing of her childhood friend and husband, she still persevered.
However, facing the jackals and bandits from all directions intending to carve up the Tohsaka, Tohsaka Kui, who had no magic circuits, was completely powerless to cope. Because she was a pure Yamato Nadeshiko, everything in the original home was decided by Tokiomi, asking her to hold her own was as difficult as asking Tohsaka Rin to learn to use electrical appliances.
At this time, Takatsuki, who came to visit, "helped" her solve some small troubles.
Although in her opinion, Takatsuki was actually not much different from those people.
But Takatsuki had no intention of directly interfering with their property. His purpose for coming here was only one: the subject of the Tohsaka's successive heads, the Jeweled Sword Zelretch.
This weapon can be said to be the pinnacle of a limited-function magical mystic code, a weapon that can use the vast magical energy of infinite parallel worlds.
Theoretically, this weapon is useless in worlds without parallel worlds.
It could even be said to be Type-Moon World exclusive.
But Takatsuki wanted to take a gamble, because in the Honkai Impact 3rd universe, every world bubble can be said to be a parallel world.
Perhaps it was because his youngest daughter was now the heir of the Matou Family, or perhaps it was because Irisviel acted as a liaison.
The former big three of Fuyuki City, after a slight decline, actually reunited.
Matou Byakuya might have helped the Tohsaka with a series of affairs well, perhaps because his own magical heir was the Tohsaka's youngest daughter, or perhaps he had some other thoughts, but at least for now, he did.
As for other matters, Takatsuki was too lazy to bother. At least he had helped pave the way.
After obtaining the design blueprint of the Jeweled Sword Zelretch, Takatsuki memorized it and returned it to the Tohsaka. The design blueprint itself didn't have anything too special. Although it was a heirloom of the Tohsaka, it was actually a problem that had never been solved. Takatsuki remembered that it was eventually replicated after Emiya Shirou saw the prototype.
Takatsuki couldn't see the prototype now, but it didn't prevent him from deducing the weapon's structure himself.
After obtaining the Jeweled Sword, Takatsuki had only one goal left in this world.
However, he couldn't achieve this goal for the time being. After asking Matou Byakuya for help, he took Irisviel and Durandal and rushed to the Einzbern castle.
During this time, Takatsuki had always kept Durandal with him, not hiding anything from her. He even took the initiative to explain some of his intentions to her. Perhaps it was the effect of sincerity itself, or perhaps it was finding that feeling from the dream, which made their relationship better.
"Sizzle…"
With a surge of magical energy like an electric arc, the Jeweled Sword that Takatsuki had just constructed instantly collapsed.
"Still no good. As expected of a magical mystic code at the pinnacle, its complexity is no less than a Noble Phantasm."
The Jeweled Sword is a mystic code that can only be constructed by applying the Second Magic, and it can even give the Master the capital to fight against a Servant.
Irisviel, who was across the aisle from Takatsuki, saw Takatsuki fail again and suddenly said, "Takatsuki, why are you looking for Aozaki Touko?"
That's right, what Takatsuki asked Matou Byakuya to do before leaving Fuyuki was to find Aozaki Touko. Although Irisviel didn't know much about the world of mages, she had heard of this person's great name, after all, she was a Sealed Designation from the Clock Tower.
Durandal also looked over. This was one of the few questions Takatsuki hadn't actively explained to her, but she didn't press for it. Her past experiences told her that Takatsuki would speak when he felt it was necessary.
"Well, I just wanted to try. Aozaki Touko is a famous doll mage, currently active in the East Region. The dolls she makes are completely indistinguishable from real people, so I just wanted to learn from her."
Because he wasn't sure if he could find Aozaki Touko, Takatsuki hadn't explained in detail before, and it was still the case now: "I'll talk about the specifics once I find her. If I can't find her, there's no point in talking about it."
The reason is actually very simple. Takatsuki himself could also make dolls, but he discovered the flaws in the dolls he made.
That is, they couldn't allow other people's souls to attach; they could only use the doll cores he crafted by hand, and crafting cores meant processing souls, an irreversible act.
Takatsuki wasn't lacking in the combat power of dolls, nor in manpower, so he wasn't very interested in the puppeteer's skill tree.
But since it was already a professional tree, he didn't want to waste it. If possible, learning doll-making techniques from other worlds might bring about some different changes.