A few minutes later, nearby the spot from just before, Guinevere found a small park to rest in.
She restored her original appearance, sitting on a bench, while Sakura's body lay flat, resting on her lap in unconsciousness.
"Assassin, do you know Sakura?"
Under the night sky, the streetlamp beside the bench flickered, but fortunately, no King of Streetlights suddenly appeared.
However, while he didn't appear here, he had already appeared outside the Matou House, where he was supposed to be, after Guinevere acted against Sakura.
Looking up, Guinevere could see the glow of fire coming from the direction of the Matou House, and listening carefully, the sound of fire trucks was also exceptionally clear.
"Rider, Sakura is actually supposed to call me Mama!"
Smiling, her disguise faded, Guinevere grew a bit taller, and her hair also returned to its original gray-white color.
And this sentence obviously stunned Medusa, and made the just-awakened Sakura struggle violently.
"My mother is Aoi Tohsaka!"
Sakura's struggle failed; she was held down by Guinevere by the shoulders, who forcibly kept her pressed on her lap.
"Of course I know your biological mother is Aoi. I mean that in a certain parallel world, you didn't fall into the hands of that disgusting Old Worm, but instead became my adopted daughter."
This was the truth. Guinevere no longer planned to hide it, and if this truth were to spread, the people who could link her and Guinevere would probably be one in ten thousand.
For example, Medusa, lacking memories related to Guinevere but knowing of Sakura's suffering, immediately identified Guinevere as a modern or future Heroic Spirit—and a capable Mage at that.
When Sakura met Guinevere's gentle gaze and believed her words to be true, she found herself thinking the same as Medusa.
"A Mage? An Assassin?"
"I only have the aptitude for Assassin," Guinevere replied with smug satisfaction. "If I were summoned as a Caster, I could end this Holy Grail War in a single night."
Sakura subconsciously assumed Guinevere was just boasting.
Yet, as she did, Sakura found herself doubting Guinevere's introduction even less.
Sakura's body finally relaxed, her once-stiff frame softening as she turned. During this moment, Guinevere grabbed her hands—which were clenched tightly at her sides—and forced them in front of her own chest, where she could hold them more securely.
A long, long silence stretched between them... until the flames over the Matou estate intensified. Sakura's brow furrowed in confusion, and she finally broke the silence.
"The worms inside me... Grandfather... is he dead?"
Finally, Sakura rose from Guinevere's lap, her face a chaotic mix of emotions as she turned.
Beyond the frown and confusion, one could see relief, joy, and other feelings, truly making her face a kaleidoscope of expressions.
At the same time, as Sakura spoke, Guinevere, who was still holding her hand, sensed the worms within Sakura's body stirring.
This confirmed the Old Worm's death for her, especially since she believed the King of Heroes, who carried out his duties with such seriousness, would not fail at such a minor task.
Thus, her next course of action was to thoroughly examine Sakura's body to see if she could immediately cleanse it.
But as Guinevere's mana flowed into Sakura's body, she felt anger, frowned, and her killing intent flared.
Sakura's body had been stained too deeply. Pulling out every single worm within her was not something she, as an Assassin, could achieve.
Should she ask the King of Heroes again? No, Guinevere decided to let Medea examine Sakura first.
As a mage from the Age of Gods, Sakura's ailments should fall within her professional expertise.
"Sakura, the Old Worm is almost certainly dead and gone. Next, you will accompany me to Ryudou Temple. The Caster of this Holy Grail War is there, and I will ask her to examine your body."
One second, ten seconds, ten minutes...
Sakura's expression had regained its composure, even though she still didn't know where to go. If she went home now, her 'brother', Shinji Matou, who had 'gone mad' from jealousy, would surely be especially cruel to her, wouldn't he?
Yet even so, Sakura still wanted to go back and take a look. After all, during her long life in the Matou House, after Uncle Kariya died, that scumbag of a brother was the only one who could give her a little warmth.
"Mom... no, Assassin, I want to go home."
This time, it was Guinevere's turn to bite her lip. Since she had never intervened in this world before, everything before this battle had proceeded according to the original plot. Sakura had likely already developed Stockholm Syndrome; she wasn't someone who could unravel her inner knots with a single word.
Or rather, compared to her, a sudden stranger from above, the only person who could possibly unravel Sakura's inner knots must be the one Sakura cared about.
Thinking of this, Guinevere looked up at the sky. Judging by the moonlight, she realized she hadn't wasted much time, and there was still time to rush to Homurahara Academy.
"Sakura, you like Shirou Emiya, don't you? But if you go back to the Matou House now, your beloved Shirou Emiya is going to die at school."
As soon as Guinevere finished speaking, Sakura had no time to be shy. Her mind was filled with the thought of Emiya dying. She tightly gripped Guinevere's upper arms. She was about to shout, but immediately calmed down and turned to Medusa beside them:
"Rider, I order you by the name of the Command Spell: head to the school at full speed and save Senpai for me!!"
Sakura was truly calm. Or rather, after the torture in the Worm Pit, Sakura had long since forged the most resilient of nerves.
On this point, even Guinevere could not compare to Sakura.
Upon receiving the Command Spell's order, Medusa's figure vanished instantly. With A-rank Agility, Homurahara Academy, a kilometer away, was but a single step.
"Sakura, Rider has already gone ahead. Are you asking me to take you there, or do you still want to go home? Can you really sleep without confirming that Shirou Emiya has survived?"
Can she sleep? Of course she can't.
Therefore, even though Sakura imagined that if she returned late, her scumbag of a brother would slap her directly, she still looked seriously into Guinevere's eyes and pleaded in a low voice:
"Assassin, can you take me there, and can you make sure Senpai doesn't find me?"
"Call me Mama and I'll take you there!"
Guinevere no longer possessed the heart of a young girl. Or rather, the fact that she could still maintain the mindset of a young woman was all thanks to her existence as a "Heroic Spirit."
Gritting her teeth and pursing her lips, Sakura stared fixedly at Guinevere, especially at her unyielding eyes and the smile hanging on her lips after mentioning the form of address.
"This is too sudden, could you..."
"No!"
"Assassin Mama."
Sakura had still been trying to take a shortcut, but Guinevere finally relented. She chuckled softly, her body fading back into its disguised state as she scooped Sakura up. Even then, killing intent-charged Mana surged more fiercely into her own body, flooding her magic circuits.
Guinevere used her own purest killing intent to terrify the Worms, forcing them to smell death itself. This completely quelled their unrest, which had flared after they lost their true master.
"It's been hurting you the whole time, hasn't it? Don't worry, I wasn't lying to you. I've truly adopted a version of you from another world, so I won't ever harbor a single shred of malice toward you."
With that, Guinevere leaned down and pressed a kiss to Sakura's forehead, transmitting her emotions.
Guinevere still felt a wave of displeasure when she looked at Sakura's body, but her anger wasn't directed at Sakura herself. It was the Worms inside her. To this moment, Sakura remained their most innocent victim.
In this world, there was no reason to say harsh words to a victim.