Parallel world, Ainsworth Family Castle.
Looking at the vast courtyard and the castle standing not far ahead, the familiar sight made Miyu reflexively nervous, but she quickly calmed down.
There were no more enemies here, and even if there were, she wasn't alone this time. She had two of the most reliable people by her side.
Glancing at the castle ahead, Naoki patted Miyu's shoulder: "Alright, go find your brother, Miyu. Gray, you go with her, and Angelica will lead the way."
"Understood. Miyu-sama, Gray-sama, please follow me."
Truly like an obedient doll, Angelica immediately agreed upon receiving the order, then turned and walked straight towards a spot in the castle. Miyu watched and quickly followed.
Seeing them both leave, Gray reflexively turned and looked at Naoki: "Big Brother, what about you? Where are you going?"
"There's something in this castle that makes me quite curious; I'm going to check it out. After you find Miyu's brother, tell Angelica to bring him to meet me. Just say I went to look for Erika."
"I understand, Big Brother, be careful."
"There are no more enemies, what do I need to be careful about?"
Smiling, after watching Gray follow Miyu and Angelica, Naoki immediately summoned wind to lift him into the air. In a few breaths, he had already arrived at the top floor of the Ainsworth Family Castle.
Inside a room on the top floor, a blonde girl in a black dress was leaning against the window, gazing at the sky.
After breaking the window with a punch and flying in, Naoki landed in front of the girl: "My entrance was a bit rough, please forgive me—I'm Naoki, pleased to meet you, Erika Ainsworth."
"Or, Pandora?"
Pandora.
That was the name of the girl in front of him.
Not just a similar name, but truly Pandora herself, created by the gods in the age of mythology.
Her emotionless eyes, just like Angelica's, focused on Naoki. After observing him for a moment, Pandora spoke in a flat voice: "Never seen you before. Where is Darius?"
"I killed him. Truly dead; no possibility of reincarnating into another descendant of the Ainsworth family."
"I see. Darius is dead too."
A very calm answer.
As if the deceased were merely unimportant strangers to Pandora. Although she and Darius had known each other for a thousand years, her emotions and personality had long since crumbled and disappeared over the long span of time. Now she would no longer feel any emotion for anything.
"Then, why have you come here?" Pandora asked.
With Darius's death, the Ainsworth Family could be said to have been destroyed, and the wish that had been maintained for thousands of years had also vanished. This castle no longer held any value—coming here was meaningless.
"Of course, for you." Naoki laughed, "After all, you are a replica of a god created by the gods using themselves as a blueprint. One could say you are a divine doll. As a Magus determined to study doll-making, I am very interested in you, the work of the gods."
No matter how powerful Touko's doll-making techniques were, they were ultimately still within the realm of humans. Meanwhile, Pandora was a doll created by true gods; her entire being was the knowledge and technology of the Age of Gods—for a doll maker, this was the greatest treasure.
"You want to research me, don't you?"
Naoki nodded: "But even if it's called research, I won't actually do anything to you. At most, I'll just examine your body structure, and I won't make you a guinea pig. I have more perfect experimental material than you."
These words, of course, referred to the Logos React. As long as he had that, Naoki didn't need to spend any costs when conducting experiments; he didn't even need the material itself, just let the Logos React simulate everything.
Compared to the great villains of the Clock Tower, Naoki's method was truly conscientious.
Hearing Naoki's words, Pandora was silent for a moment, then—
"I understand. From now on, my body is yours to command. But, after you finish researching me... can you kill me?"
Pandora uttered her deepest wish.
Wandering the earth for thousands of years, her own death also confined within Pandora's Box, unable to die, and unable to open the box, Pandora had long lost the will to live. Now she only wished to die, to let the death that had been delayed for thousands of years finally come to her.
"As long as you can kill me in the end, then whatever your request, I have no objections."
"Good. I agree."
Naoki assented: "I know someone who possesses Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. You should have heard of it, right? Eyes that can kill anything. If it's her, I believe she can kill you."
"Mystic Eyes of Death Perception... Such Mystic Eyes that even appeared in the age of mythology, have they now appeared in the current world?" Pandora was slightly surprised, "However, if they truly are those Mystic Eyes, then killing me is no longer impossible."
"Then, it's settled. I entrust my body to you, and you must kill me with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception after I am no longer useful to you. Unknown Magus."
"No problem. By the way, my name is Natsukawa Naoki; just call me Naoki."
"I understand."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
A few minutes later, in one of the rooms in the castle.
Naoki looked at the familiar man clinging to Miyu: "It seems he was successfully brought out—pleased to meet you, Emiya Shirou, I am Natsukawa Naoki."
"Pleased to meet you. I've heard everything that happened from Miyu. Thank you very much, Natsukawa, for doing so much for us siblings. I truly don't know how to thank you. If there's anything you need from me, please don't hesitate to say it directly."
Shirou bowed his head.
Naoki waved his hand casually: "I didn't help you guys. I've said it many times; it was originally just to get money from the Jewel Old Man. My reasons for helping you afterward, on one hand, are because I wanted to meddle, and on the other hand, because you happened to be at the center of the incident, so I just helped out briefly."
"Even so, the fact that you helped us is undeniable. This kindness, I will never forget. If in the future anything is needed, please don't hesitate to say so; I will do my utmost to help."
"I accept your good intentions. But before you fulfill your promise, let's sort out your and Miyu's next steps first." Naoki looked at Miyu, "Miyu, you successfully saved your brother. I must congratulate you. But after this, what are your plans?"
"Do you want to stay and live with your brother here, returning to your previous life?"
"No." Miyu shook her head, "What was in the past cannot return. What has been lost cannot come back. Even if it did, it wouldn't be the same thing. My and Onii-chan's past life is impossible to return to."
"And... Big Brother."
Turning to look at Shirou, Miyu smiled gently: "Onii-chan, you once wished upon the Holy Grail, wanting me to live happily. That wish has indeed been granted. In that world, I met Luvia-san and Rin-san, who were very kind to me, and I also went to elementary school and met some friends like Gray... Onii-chan must have hoped I would live a life like that, right?"
"I don't want to leave Luvia-san and them, and I also don't want to be separated from Onii-chan again. So... Onii-chan, come with me to that world."