When Izumi returned to the living room, every single person in the house was staring at him.
Especially the three little girls.
Their faces were practically screaming unhappy.
A mysterious girl had suddenly appeared and ended up alone in the bathroom with Izumi. Of course they were shocked. Anyone would be.
Naturally, everyone in the Einzbern household wanted an explanation.
Izumi glanced at the trio and couldn't help but sigh internally.
Are they really that concerned about me? Have they already reached jealousy-level DEFCON 1?
Illyasviel von Einzbern crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.
"Izumi-oniichan, aren't you going to explain?"
"Who is she?"
Her tone was clearly dissatisfied.
Izumi couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked. Without hesitation, he reached out and began kneading her cheeks.
"Illya, are you jealous?"
"You're about to become the East Asia Vinegar King at this rate."
Illya's face turned bright red.
"I'm n-not jealous!"
The denial came out distorted thanks to her squished cheeks.
Illya would never admit such a thing!
Watching her flustered reaction, Izumi chuckled before finally answering properly.
"Mash Kyrielight is from a parallel world next door."
"She's part of the Nasuverse too."
"Before long, that world will probably merge with this one."
"When that happens, you'll understand."
He then explained Chaldea's situation to everyone—about the disappearance of Singularities, the fading of Lostbelts, and how their world had essentially completed its role.
After hearing the explanation, everyone was stunned.
A secret organization correcting history across time?
It sounded like some kind of justice squad straight out of a heroic epic.
More interestingly, if they ever became Heroic Spirits, they might be summoned to that world as well.
That possibility alone made things far more exciting.
At that moment, Mash stepped out of the bathroom.
She had changed into the dress Izumi provided. Her original clothes—still damp—were folded carefully in her arms.
Seeing that, Sella immediately approached her.
"Mash-sama, please leave that to me."
"You should rest over there."
Mash looked a little overwhelmed.
"Th-thank you very much…"
The pure-hearted kouhai clearly wasn't used to such hospitality.
She didn't refuse, though.
After Sella took her clothes away, Mash sat down on the sofa.
The others watched her curiously.
They already knew from Izumi's explanation that Mash was a homunculus—just like Illya and the Einzbern family.
That alone made her feel less like an outsider.
Since they were the same "kind," the atmosphere quickly softened.
Illya's jealousy vanished almost instantly, replaced by curiosity.
She began asking Mash about Chaldea, about Heroic Spirits, about Rayshifting.
Mash, equally curious about this merged world, gladly exchanged information with her.
Within minutes, the two were chatting like old friends.
Watching the scene, Izumi smiled faintly.
Then he closed his eyes.
His awareness spread outward, covering all of Fuyuki City.
On the outskirts of Fuyuki, several Heroic Spirits were already causing trouble.
Izumi's expression turned strange.
So it's begun…
The Church had quietly become a gathering place as well.
Jeanne d'Arc.
Jeanne d'Arc (Alter).
And even Saint Martha.
All present.
Elsewhere, atop a skyscraper—
Three identical faces were staring at one another.
Okita Souji.
Jeanne d'Arc (Alter).
Artoria Pendragon (Alter).
Three variations of the same face.
They were simply… staring.
The absurdity nearly made Izumi burst out laughing.
And that wasn't all.
Kid Gil was mercilessly mocking Archer Gilgamesh, who had apparently been beaten black and blue for refusing to use his Noble Phantasm.
Caster Gilgamesh stood nearby, arms crossed, looking like he wanted to disown his younger self.
Archer Gil was fuming.
Getting ganged up on was bad enough.
But being mocked by both his child self and his wiser adult self?
Unforgivable.
Izumi chuckled.
"This is only the beginning."
The real show hadn't even started yet.
What would happen once the so-called "Golden Three" gathered in one place?
Archer Gil and Ozymandias forming a laugh-like-villains duo, while Karna silently watched them like an exhausted babysitter?
Or would Archer Gil and Ozymandias simply start fighting, dragging the Mesopotamian and Egyptian pantheons into chaos?
No matter how he imagined it, it was entertaining.
And then—
What expression would Artoria Pendragon (Saber) make when she saw several versions of herself standing side by side?
Just thinking about it was worth popcorn.
After some consideration, Izumi made a decision.
If all the Heroic Spirits were assembling, there was no reason to leave out two particular individuals.
He turned toward Morgan le Fay.
"Lefay, could you make a trip for me?"
"Go bring Lancer Artoria back."
"This world is about to become very lively."
Lefay blinked.
"…What's going on?"
"Why bring back my ancestor?"
She had long since accepted Lancer Artoria as her true progenitor.
Izumi grinned.
"All your 'ancestors' are already here."
"Don't you want to see what happens when they gather?"
He began counting on his fingers.
"Artoria who wished to redo the past."
"Artoria who walked the path of tyranny."
"Artoria in her perfected form."
"Artoria who longed to become the ideal king."
"When every phase of Artoria Pendragon stands together…"
"Wouldn't that be fascinating?"
Lefay deadpanned immediately.
"This is purely your bad taste, Izumi-sama."
"You just want to watch the drama."
He didn't even deny it.
"Correct."
"So head to my world and bring back Lancer Artoria."
"And while you're at it, invite Scáthach as well."
"With so many gathered, it wouldn't be complete without them."
Izumi's eyes gleamed mischievously.
He wanted to see identical kings standing face to face.
The only regret?
It seemed the "Southern Hemisphere" variant hadn't appeared.
A north-south showdown would have been even more spectacular.
Maybe I should ask Alaya and Gaia what happened there…
Now that had potential.
Lefay didn't argue further.
She simply turned and disappeared to carry out his request.
Watching her vanish, Izumi leaned back and smiled.
He truly couldn't wait to see how this absurd convergence would unfold.