"Lord Zuke, you're back."
Upon returning to King Kai's planet via Instant Transmission, Zuke was immediately greeted by North Kai, who had come out to welcome him.
Although North Kai had no idea what Zuke had gone to the Galactic Patrol Headquarters for, Zuke's "status" was such that it wasn't something a minor figure like him could inquire about.
"Mm, here, take this back."
Zuke nodded and pulled out the token of the Galactic Patrol from his pocket, handing it back to North Kai.
This token likely had some sort of special marking on it, which was why Merus had been able to recognize it as belonging to North Kai.
But it wasn't a big deal anymore. All the Galactic Patrol members had now recognized Zuke. The next time he visited, he wouldn't need the token anymore.
Merus's influence within the Galactic Patrol was far greater than Zuke had initially imagined. Once Merus voiced his agreement, the other members of the Patrol hardly raised any objections.
Zuke suspected that the Galactic King was likely aware of Merus's true identity, which was why he had granted him considerable authority. But this was merely conjecture and not something he could confirm for now.
North Kai accepted the token from Zuke with an awkward smile.
"Um... you didn't go to see an angel, did you? You weren't complaining about me, were you?"
"Hm?"
Zuke was momentarily stunned, not understanding why North Kai would say such a thing.
He hadn't just met an angel… oh, wait, on second thought, he did have contact with Merus earlier.
As a trainee angel, Merus hadn't used any angelic powers, but he did exude divine energy.
As another divine being, North Kai must have sensed the traces of divine energy on Zuke, which led him to think Zuke had visited an angel.
"Sort of, but I wasn't there to complain about you."
Although North Kai had misunderstood the situation, the result was beneficial—he now held Zuke in even greater reverence.
After all, if Zuke carried divine energy from an angel, it only further proved that he was assisting both angels and Gods of Destruction.
…
{Transitioning to Shin}
The next morning, when Shin woke up, he immediately felt a subtle transformation in his body.
The techniques he had learned from the Dragon Ball world had naturally synchronized with his body in the real world.
Even though it had only been seven hours of training, Shin's control over the magic within his body had undergone a tremendous shift.
At the very least, he was no longer a novice clueless about Dragon Ball-style magic but could now actually use it for certain things.
For instance, replenishing magic reserves.
After washing up, Shin noticed that Sayu Ogiwara was still in the kitchen preparing breakfast, so he headed to the guest room.
Opening the door, he surveyed the room's interior. Just like the night before, nothing had changed.
Irisviel was still lying on the bed motionless, like a sleeping beauty. The small crow from his "Blackbird: Lover" technique perched on her forehead remained just as inactive.
"Wow, she's really out cold."
With a wave of his hand, Shin called the small crow back, merging it with the body of the "Blackbird" behind him.
The fog-like abilities of the Stand "Justice," which he had taken from Enya, were proving incredibly useful. Every time Shin needed to create a clone, he relied on its mist-separation capabilities.
He pulled out his phone to check the time. There was about an hour left before school started.
Given Shin's speed, the commute to school was negligible. After subtracting the time for breakfast, he figured he only had a little over half an hour to spare.
For Shin, that wasn't nearly enough time, so he decided to keep things simple.
"Since replenishing magic involves bodily fluid exchange, there's no need to restore her reserves completely in one go. I'll just get her up and running for now and gradually top her off later."
With that in mind, Shin approached Irisviel's bedside, lifted her upper body, and leaned down toward her lips.
…
Irisviel felt as if she were trapped in a void of darkness.
Shortly after arriving in Rin Tohsaka's room, she had begun to feel increasingly weak, realizing that she was on the verge of death.
As a homunculus created by the Einzbern family, she had been instilled from birth with the belief that she would one day sacrifice herself for the Holy Grail War. Thus, she had long since accepted her fate.
However, even as she lost sensation in her body, Irisviel found her consciousness unusually clear.
Her mind was trapped in the darkness, her feet seemingly submerged in a flowing black mud, leaving her to linger alone in the void for what felt like an eternity.
Just when she wondered if she would remain in this darkness forever, she suddenly felt a peculiar sensation on her lips.
The next moment, a brilliant light filled her vision. She opened her eyes abruptly, finding her awareness freed from the darkness and her body restored.
"Cough, cough!"
Before her, Shin coughed violently, black mud-like residue leaking from the corners of his mouth.
"Damn it, why is there still black mud in your body?!"
"Huh? What?"
Irisviel was stunned, completely clueless about what had just transpired.
She tried to extend her hand toward Shin but found her arms too weak. Eventually, her body slumped, and she leaned against him for support.
Meanwhile, Shin, having just wiped away the black mud from his lips, allowed the substance to be reabsorbed by his "Blackbird," converting it into magical energy for his own use.
"That black mud really ruined the moment," Shin muttered, annoyed.
Still, this incident ensured that Irisviel no longer carried any remnants of "All the World's Evil." The black mud was likely a residue left over from her transformation into the Holy Grail.
Judging by the situation, the system must have reverted Irisviel from her Holy Grail state before presenting her as a reward.
Seeing Irisviel's bewildered expression, Shin sighed and began explaining everything that had happened.
At the very least, she needed to understand her current situation to avoid causing him trouble later.
To be continued…
Advance 50 Chapters are up on my Patreon!
pat reon.com/AlphaSenatus