Vita Magicis (HP SI-WC) (Patreon)

Chapter 31: New Beginnings

Silently watching the two heirs stare each other down, I couldn’t help but imagine two cats hissing at each other—fur raised, ears flat, tails lashing.

The image lingered for a moment… before I dismissed it with a sigh.

“I’m glad you two are already getting along,” I said lightly, stepping between them and placing a gentle hand on each of their heads.

If two cats are fighting for your attention, the only solution is to make sure they both feel loved and accepted.

Especially when one is a classic tsundere like Rin, and the other is as clingy and bold as Illya.

“W-What are you doing, Aether!? Don’t treat me like a pet!” Rin stammered, her cheeks flushing crimson. “And no way in hell would I ever get along with this brat!”

“Fufufu~” Illya’s eyes gleamed with mischief as she struck immediately sensing blood in the water. “Sounds like someone’s panicking. Poor Onii-chan clearly needs someone more refined and graceful—like me—instead of this gorilla.”

“What did you just call me!?” Rin snapped, stepping forward with fire in her eyes. “At least I’m tall enough to not look like a child next to him! And don’t even get me started on your biggest problem. A mature body~”

With that, she moved to my side and wrapped her arms around mine, pressing it firmly between her modest—but undeniably present—breasts, a smug smirk dancing on her lips.

Yikes. Critical hit.

Illya recoiled like she’d been physically slapped, her expression collapsing for a second before she turned and crossed her arms protectively over her chest.

“I-I’m still growing, you ugly gorilla!” she snapped, eyes stinging with unshed tears. “Besides! If Onii-chan is true to his word, I’ll outgrow you soon enough! From the looks of it, you’re done growing… while I’m just getting started!”

‘Oof. Nice comeback,’ I thought with a wince as the verbal counter hit dead center.

Rin’s smirk vanished. She hugged herself slightly, her eyes flicking to me before she turned with a pout.

“There are many types of body types, and I just happen to have a… refined one,” she said, then looked at me with watery eyes. “Right, Aether?”

“Yes, of course,” I said with a nod.

Rin immediately turned to Illya with a smug grin, not even letting me finish the sentence.

“I think both of you are beautiful in your own way,” I added quickly.

That made Rin pause.

The smile vanished from her face, replaced by a sharp click of her tongue as she turned away, flustered.

Illya, on the other hand, brightened like the sun. She brushed off her earlier embarrassment and now she wore the smug look—clearly pleased with the outcome.

“Anyways,” I said, stepping in before they could start round two, “by your words earlier… can I take it to mean you accept coming with us, Illyasviel?”

She blinked, caught slightly off guard by the sudden shift.

Then her eyes locked with mine with quiet intensity, which happen to be the location of my Love Spot lure. Her gaze lingered there for a long moment before she composed herself and nodded politely.

“As you’ve conquered this castle and killed the man who kept me imprisoned,” she said with unexpected grace, “I suppose I have no other choice but to rely on you, Onii-chan.”

Then she smiled sweetly and sent me a playful wink.

“Please take care of me from now on~”

Smiling at her words, I summoned my Company Stamp into my hand and gently reached for Illya’s left hand under her curious gaze.

With care, I pressed the symbol onto the back of her hand. A faint glow flared, and the mark settled into place like a tattoo. Rin let out an annoyed huff but thankfully kept her comments to herself.

“What is this?” Illya asked, lifting her hand and inspecting the mark with wide, intrigued eyes.

“Think of it as my own unique brand of magecraft—or true magic, if you will,” I replied. “In exactly five days, your body will begin to transform. You’ll be enhanced in every way—physically, magically—and most importantly, your lifespan will be extended and tied to mine.”

Illya blinked, clearly surprised.

“True magic?” she asked skeptically, her tone guarded. As expected—there were only five true magics known to exist in the modern world, and anyone claiming access to a new one sounded like a lunatic.

“Hmph.” Rin cut in with a light huff, eyes half-lidded and cheeks tinted pink. “If you’re going to be traveling with us, you’d better get used to having your worldview shattered by this guy. He’s basically the definition of impossible.”

Her tone was sharp, but the slight blush on her cheeks betrayed the fact that she was trying to be helpful—without looking like she cared too much.

“It’s alright if you don’t believe me yet,” I added, grinning. “I’ll let the results speak for themselves.”

With that, I discreetly slapped Rin’s behind, making her let out a surprised yelp as she turned to glare at me with a thoroughly red face.

Illya giggled.

“Fufufu~ I see. Very well then. I’ll be in your capable hands, Onii-chan,” she said sweetly as she moved to my other side and looped her arm through mine.

“Tsk,” Rin clicked her tongue. “Great. Guess I’ll have to deal with this brat from now on.”

Of course, being the tsundere she was, there was no real venom behind her words.

“Right,” I said, taking charge again. “Now that that’s settled—Illyasviel, would you like to bring your maids with us?”

Then I glanced down at her and added with a smile, “Also, is it alright if I call you Illya?”

Illya looked up at me, her cheeks pink again, but she nodded.

“Hmm. Fine,” she agreed. Then she turned her head toward Rin with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “But that only applies to you, Onii-chan. Everyone else has to call me by my full name. Or Miss Illyasviel—especially this brute.”

“Ha! Like hell I’m calling you that!”

Illya ignored her.

She turned back to me, sweet and innocent once more. “As for the maids… I wouldn’t mind bringing them along. They have nowhere else to go, after all.”

“Got it.” I nodded, then looked over to Ilulu and Bella, who had stayed silent through most of the exchange. Ilulu was smiling, clearly amused and happy at making another friend, while Bella glared subtly at both Rin and Illya in jealousy.

“Ilulu, Bella—could one of you inform Asako to gather all the surviving homunculus maids at the main entrance?”

“Leave it to me, Master~!” Ilulu chirped, immediately stepping forward and beating Bella to it before dashing out of the room.

Now back to Illya—who was currently sticking her tongue out at Rin—only to immediately smile up at me again like she hadn’t just declared war.

“Since you’re coming with us,” I said with a light grin, “would you mind if we emptied out the castle?”

Illya blinked. “What do you mean, Onii-chan? While it would be nice to bring some things… isn’t that too much? I don’t want to be a bother to my savior.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal,” I said reassuringly.

Then I gently disentangled myself from both her and Rin, walked over to the oversized bed behind her, and placed my hand on the frame.

A second later, the massive bed vanished in a flicker of light as it entered my inventory.

“Wha—!?” Illya stared, gobsmacked. Her jaw dropped, completely shattering the composed, noble image she’d been holding onto.

“Huhuhu~ I told you, brat,” Rin said smugly, watching with pure amusement. “Aether’s full of surprises and that was just the beginning.”

=====

Several Hours Later

With Illya owning a literal castle, it took us a few hours to loot the place clean of anything that wasn’t nailed down.

Thankfully, the process was a lot smoother thanks to the homunculus maids—now all Stamped—and working efficiently under Illya’s orders.

As for Illya herself… she had stuck to my side like a limpet the entire time, asking me question after question. About my magic. My abilities. Where we were heading next. Whether I preferred tea or hot chocolate. She was relentless—but in a charming, curious way.

At one point, a mischievous and slightly sadistic glint sparkled in her eyes.

“Onii-chan~” she cooed, looking way too innocent. “Do you want to get your hands on a Noble Phantasm?”

It didn’t take a genius to know what she was referring to.

Avalon. The sheath of Excalibur. The one Kiritsugu had implanted into Shirou—the same Shirou who just so happened to be Illya’s stepbrother.

Too bad for the little gremlin, I had no plans of returning to Fuyuki anytime soon.

Without a word, I summoned Avalon into my hand, letting its golden brilliance illuminate the room.

The moment it appeared, every head in the room turned.

Illya’s jaw dropped.

“Wha—!? When did you get that?! You’ve been with us the whole time. There’s no way you had time to snatch yourself a Noble Phantasm!” Rin exclaimed in surprise having been near us when I pulled it out.

“That time I went after Sakura,” I replied casually, a small smirk on my lips. “I realized there was no harm in paying Shirou a little visit.”

Putting the boy to sleep had been child’s play. He had no magical defenses to speak of. As far as he knows, he just had a weird dream and went on with his day.

“…Did you kill him?” Illya whispered, her voice small. Her expression was complicated—half-relieved, half-betrayed.

“No.” I shook my head, watching her carefully. “I know he’s technically your half-brother, so I didn’t hurt him. I just took Avalon and left. As far as he knows, nothing changed.”

“I see…” she murmured, then sighed. Her shoulders sagged just a little.

But after a moment, she shook it off and looked up at me with a genuine smile.

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore. Not when I have a new Onii-chan who’s a million times better than that idiot~”

‘Harsh… but not technically untrue,’ I thought.

I pulled her into a gentle hug and pressed a kiss to her forehead, making her freeze in place as her face turned completely red.

“Thank you, Illya,” I said softly. “I promise, from now on, your future will be filled with laughter and happiness. So please… don’t make that kind of face again, alright? If something’s bothering you, tell me. I won’t always have all the answers, but I will always try my best.”

“Y-You…” she stammered, still red, her voice barely audible. Then, with a huff, she turned her head away.

“You’re really trying to seduce me, aren’t you, Onii-chan? Who knew my new brother would be such a pervert~?”

I laughed softly. “Like I told you earlier, I just can’t help myself when an older girl tries to seduce me with her cute looks~”

Illya’s ears turned red as she spun on her heel, refusing to look anywhere in my direction.

“Stupid handsome Onii-chans,” she muttered under her breath before storming off, leaving behind a thoroughly amused and mildly jealous Rin.

“…Hard to believe she’s actually older than us when she acts like that,” Rin grumbled as she came to stand beside me.

“Oh? But Rin,” I said with a teasing grin, leaning down just close enough to whisper in her ear, “have you forgotten that you have plenty of cute sides too?”

She froze.

“I especially remember the way my adorable Rin was looking at me the other night—pleading for ‘more.’”

Rin turned scarlet.

“S-S-Shut up!” she stammered, squirming as her thighs subtly pressed together. “Y-You better not tell anyone about that!”

“Hmhm. Don’t worry, Rin,” I said with a smirk, stealing a quick kiss from her lips. “Your secret’s safe with me. After all… only I’m allowed to see all of my Rin’s cute and embarrassing sides, right?”

“...I-I hear Ilulu calling me!” she blurted out, turning and bolting from the room in the opposite direction without even trying to deny my words.

I stood there alone now, grinning to myself.

“Hmhm. Bullying her is great~”

=====

After the little episode between Illya and Rin, it took us just another half hour to finish our preparations.

We left the now-empty castle behind for good and made our way back to the small town where we’d been staying.

Thanks to Asako’s ability to split herself into multiple bodies, our return trip went far smoother than it had any right to—especially considering we now had over twenty homunculus maids… plus Illya.

In just a few minutes, we reached the inn.

As expected, our large group drew quite a bit of attention as we passed through the town. It wasn’t every day people saw a parade of girls following a single guy like some traveling aristocrat.

Since there was no way we’d all fit inside the inn, I went in alone to retrieve our things and check in one last time.

I had just reached the door to our room when it suddenly slammed open and I was yanked forward into a tight, loving embrace.

“Senpai! You’re back! Are you alright?” Sakura’s voice trembled slightly as she held me tight.

She pulled back quickly and began fussing over me, eyes scanning every inch of my body, clearly looking for any injuries. When she found none, she sighed in visible relief.

“We’re back, Sakura,” I said with a warm smile, touched by her concern.

Then I leaned in and kissed her.

She returned it immediately and deepened it, refusing to let me pull away for several minutes.

“Thank you for waiting,” I said afterward, cupping her cheek and planting a swift peck on her lips. Her flustered expression was beyond adorable.

“Mmn… Senpai,” she murmured softly, cheeks still glowing. “Are we… finally leaving this world?”

“Yes,” I nodded, watching as her amethyst eyes lit up with joy. “As soon as I transfer your soul into your new body, we’ll leave.”

“You mean…” she whispered, stunned.

I nodded again, and that was all it took.

She kissed me again—fiercely this time—and when we finally broke apart, her eyes were shining.

During our time at Einzbern Castle, I had crafted Sakura’s new body using homunculus material—modified, of course. The body retained her signature purple hair and violet eyes. Once I transferred her soul, all Company benefits would apply to it, including full health, and an infinite lifespan.

“Thank you, Senpai~ I love you~” Sakura whispered, her smile radiant.

But behind that smile… her eyes had darkened, turning almost black.

I didn’t need to be an empath to understand—Sakura could no longer live without me.

Still, I smiled gently and pulled her close.

“I love you too,” I said softly. “And don’t worry about it. I’m just keeping my promise.”

To others, that dark obsession might’ve been cause for concern.

But for me?

I had no intention of ever leaving her so whatever came with that love didn’t matter.

Sakura’s smile grew wider as she leaned against me, wrapping my arm between her breasts and holding it there like it belonged.

“Are we staying in the inn tonight, Senpai? Or are we leaving?”

“Unfortunately, we’ll have to leave,” I replied. “There’s too many of us now to stay here. But once I transfer you into your new body, we’ll return to my world. There’s more than enough space there for everyone.”

Sakura’s entire face lit up with excitement.

“I can’t wait to see your world, Senpai~”

“You’ll love it.”

I kissed the crown of her head and finally led us inside the room, locking the door behind us before turning to face Sakura.

“Are you ready?” I asked gently, feeling her tremble slightly beneath my arm.

She took a deep breath, then nodded and stepped forward, releasing me to turn around with a look of determination on her face.

“I’m ready, Senpai,” she declared, her voice firm, her expression brave.

I couldn’t help but reach out and gently ruffle her hair. She melted under my touch, smiling up at me.

“Alright. Please lie down on the ground,” I instructed.

Without hesitation, Sakura followed my command and eased herself onto the floor.

I stepped up beside her, then brought up my inventory and retrieved her new body, depositing it gently beside her. Dressed in a simple white robe, the body was a perfect replica of her—except free of every scar, curse, and trace of pain that had once marred her.

Sakura’s eyes widened in awe.

“Is… is that really me?” she whispered, staring at her new form.

“Yes,” I said with a small smile. “Surprised?”

“You’re… you’re saying I’m really that beautiful?” she asked softly, a blush rising to her cheeks.

“You’re much more beautiful than you realize, Sakura.”

She looked away, clearly flustered. “You’re the only one who’s ever said that, Senpai…”

“It doesn’t make it any less true,” I replied without hesitation.

That earned me a shy, tentative smile.

“Now, please close your eyes. You’ll need to be unconscious for the next part.”

“Alright then, Senpai. I’m ready.”

Tears welled in her eyes again, but this time she smiled without fear. She closed her eyes with trust in her heart.

I gently placed my palm on her forehead and a moment later Sakura slipped into unconsciousness.

Cracking my neck, I raised a ward around the room.

Then I transformed into my Harbinger of Death form.

The temperature dropped instantly, the air thickening with power as the shadows curled around me like living things.

I moved to Sakura’s side, placing my hand gently over her heart. Through my command over death and souls, I began to extract her essence, carefully, tenderly.

A sphere of violet-tinged light rose from her body.

Her former shell slumped, lifeless.

Holding her soul gently in my hands, I turned to the new body and lowered the glowing light into her chest.

The moment the soul made contact, I reverted back to my normal form.

For several long seconds, nothing happened.

Then—

A gasp.

Sakura’s new body jolted lightly as her eyes flew open, searching the room frantically.

Her gaze found mine and she calmed instantly.

“Relax,” I said softly, stepping forward. “Take it slow. Your soul’s still settling in. Let your body adjust.”

She nodded, tears already brimming in her new, untainted eyes. Slowly, shakily, she sat up.

“I… I’m no longer tainted,” she whispered. Her voice trembled, as though afraid to believe it. “I can’t feel the filth anymore…”

She reached out and I was already there, catching her in my arms as she collapsed against me, sobbing.

“Thank you so much, Senpai,” she choked out, burying her face in my chest. “Thank you for not making me feel dirty anymore…”

“Shh… there’s no need to thank me,” I said gently. “Honestly… I did this for selfish reasons too.”

She blinked up at me in surprise.

“I wanted you to stop thinking of yourself as lesser than the others,”

At that, she broke again, clutching me tighter, crying harder, whispering thank you over and over again like a prayer.

And I just held her.