Morgan glanced at him quietly and said nothing.
Before her eyes, a string of special numbers was floating silently in the void.
[00:00:00:00]
The transmigrator's countdown.
When the first ray of morning light pierced through Fuyuki's clouds, Alvin turned into a thin mist and disappeared before Morgan's eyes.
She gazed at the spot where the boy had vanished, a gentle curve appearing at the corner of her lips.
"We'll see each other again very soon, Alvin."
———
Suddenly, a burst of white light surged forth, as if the entire world had become bright as day at this moment.
The blazing white light quickly swallowed Alvin's body. Countless ripples spread through the surrounding scenery, then gradually twisted and blurred.
Hoo~
The breeze outside carried the warmth of sunlight into the room, casting scattered patches of light.
Lying on a soft white bed, Alvin slowly opened his eyes.
He raised a hand and stretched lazily, then looked at the alarm clock on the table.
[3:36 P.M.]
"So I'm finally back..."
Alvin sat up and looked out the window.
The slightly glaring sunlight made him narrow his eyes. He got out of bed, picked up a glass of water from the table, and took a small sip.
"That reminds me... why haven't I unlocked the last CG yet?"
He opened his personal interface. The CG gallery was still stuck on the final image.
He had gone through quite a lot during this Holy Grail War, and he had triggered quite a few scenes that could be considered CGs... yet the last one had remained locked for so long.
'Could this be like those apps that make you ask your friends to help "cut a price"?'
Knock! Knock!
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Soon after, the voice of a student came from outside.
"Alvin, Professor Kayneth is looking for you."
'Professor Kayneth? I just got back and he's already sent someone to find me... Did he discover something?'
Alvin quickly put away his thoughts and called toward the door, "Okay, I'll change clothes and head over!"
———
[Einzbern Castle]
The white-haired mage sneaked into the hall and immediately saw the silver-haired girl sitting there with a dragon scale in her arms, looking somewhat downcast.
Seemingly noticing his presence, Illya quickly gathered herself and said softly, "Why are you still here, Caster?"
"That makes it sound like you can't wait for me to leave, Master."
Merlin smiled helplessly.
"I'll be returning to Avalon soon. I just saw that you seemed unhappy, so I came to take a look."
"Is Master sad because the White Dragon has left?"
Merlin asked.
Illya said nothing.
Seeing this, Merlin put on a mysterious smile, "But actually, Master doesn't need to be sad."
"The dragon scale he gave you is still in your possession even after he left. Why do you think that is, Master?"
Illya froze for a moment. She vaguely sensed that something was off and frowned slightly.
"What do you mean?"
The smile on Merlin's face deepened, and he softly said something.
As his words fell, the silver-haired girl's eyes slowly widened, her face filled with disbelief.
———
[The Matou Residence]
The night was deep. Matou Sakura had just finished bathing and walked into the living room wrapped in a towel, only to see her sister there.
For some reason, when she saw her sister, Sakura suddenly felt guilty and instinctively looked away.
But Tohsaka Rin seemed not to notice the awkwardness at all and naturally smiled.
"Has he left?"
"Ah... yes... Senpai said he had something to take care of, so he left first."
Sakura replied softly, "I see... I can't sense his presence through the Command Spell either. Looks like he's already left the present world."
Rin's eyes dimmed slightly, though there was a trace of complaint in her voice.
"That guy didn't even come say goodbye before leaving..."
"He probably didn't want to meet and then part right away... after all, that would only make things sadder."
A gentle smile appeared on Sakura's fair face.
"Besides, Senpai didn't leave without saying anything."
A black scale appeared in her hand.
Rin's gaze froze at that instant.
"This is..."
"Ah..."
Sakura seemed to realize something and quickly put away the dragon scale in her hand.
"It's nothing. It's just a small gift Senpai gave me before leaving..."
Back then, Alvin had even said it was a magical item he treasured greatly... which probably meant she was the only one who had a piece like this.
If her sister saw it, she would probably feel awful.
Just as that thought crossed Sakura's mind, she saw Rin silently take out a dragon scale from her own clothes.
The smile on Sakura's face slowly disappeared.
She tilted her head.
"Eh?"
Ring! Ring! Ring!
At that moment, the telephone in the living room suddenly rang.
The sisters looked at each other. Sakura quickly composed herself and stood up.
"I'll go check."
She answered the call. After hearing the voice on the other end, she subconsciously glanced at her sister.
["Nee-san... it's Miss Illya."]
———
The airplane moved through the clouds in the middle of the night.
At this moment, three people were on their way back to the Clock Tower together.
The cabin was rather quiet. Only a silver-haired girl sat there with her head lowered, looking apologetic, Gray.
Not long ago, Morgan had just returned control of the body to her. After that, the unusual pair of Reines and Sajyou Manaka came looking for her.
Since the Holy Grail War was already over, the three of them decided to return to the Clock Tower first.
Along the way, Reines had asked many questions about Alvin.
"So you're saying the White Dragon of Britain and Alvin... are actually the same person?"
Even though she had already suspected it, after repeatedly questioning Gray and hearing the answer directly from her, Reines still stared with disbelief.
"How could something this bizarre happen? The present era and ancient Britain are separated by more than a thousand years!"
"It really is a long time apart, but don't forget that Alvin is a transmigrator just like us," Sajyou Manaka spoke calmly.
"Even if he became a transmigrator earlier than we did and experienced some things in Britain... it doesn't seem that strange, does it?"
For a time, silence filled the cabin.
Reines' eyes flickered. In the end, as if making up her mind, she said quietly, "No... no matter what, after we get back, I need to have a proper talk with him again."
———
[Clock Tower]
[Department of Mineralogy Office]
"Come in."
Alvin knocked twice on the door. After hearing Kayneth's voice from inside, he pushed the door open and saw one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower.
"Teacher, you wanted to see me?"
Alvin asked calmly.
He noticed that Kayneth's face was dark and his expression looked rather complicated.
"What's wrong?"
"That's what I should be asking you."
Kayneth's voice was low, "Alvin, what exactly did you do?"
Alvin was stunned.
He thought to himself that all he had done was go to Fuyuki and participate in a Holy Grail War... it didn't seem like he had done anything else.
"Aaa?"
At that moment, an extremely pleasant voice suddenly reached his ears.
A head suddenly poked out from behind Kayneth. A pair of bright red star-like eyes looked at Alvin with curiosity.
"Mother?"
The words almost slipped out of Alvin's mouth. Only then did he notice that Kayneth's body seemed somewhat stiff.
When this woman first entered the office, Kayneth had not realized how serious the situation was.
However, when he tried to sense her magical energy, he felt as though he was about to be swallowed by endless magical power.
Moreover, this woman had stated that she was here looking for someone.
After some careful probing, Kayneth finally realized who she was and who she had come to find.
'The goddess Tiamat...'
'Why would the primordial mother goddess from Mesopotamian mythology appear at the Clock Tower?'
Looking at Kayneth's pale expression, Alvin coughed lightly.
"Teacher, it's a long story..."
Kayneth took a deep breath, "Then don't tell it yet. Come over and help me sit down first."
'Does this primordial mother goddess not realize how much pressure she put on people by standing behind them the whole time?'
Only then did Alvin understand. He quickly stepped forward and helped Kayneth sit down.
Kayneth shot Alvin a cold glance and was about to question him.
But at that moment, he suddenly noticed the woman beside him blinking her lively eyes and looking at him curiously, as if asking. 'What do you want to say?'
"Gulp!"
Kayneth silently withdrew his gaze and gave a light cough.
"Alvin, go ahead and explain what happened during this period."
Alvin hesitated for a moment before giving a rough account of everything that had happened, though he left out the part about being summoned as a Heroic Spirit.
After hearing the whole story, Kayneth roughly understood what had happened. He calmed himself and said, "So, during your time in Fuyuki, you accidentally discovered that the goddess Tiamat had descended into the present world, and later you promised that you would keep her by your side in the future?"
"Yes...", Alvin hesitated.
"Is it inconvenient?"
'More than inconvenient. If the rest of the Clock Tower found out about this, the entire place would explode on the spot.'
Kayneth frowned inwardly.
Stare—
Beside Alvin, Tiamat was looking directly at him with a pair of exceptionally clear red eyes.
Though countless thoughts ran through his mind, in the end the man only said two words, "It's fine."
"It may be a little troublesome... but as long as her identity isn't exposed, there shouldn't be any problems."
After saying that, Kayneth changed the subject.
"By the way, has Reines come back yet?"
Reines had run away from home in secret this time, and there had been no news from her after she went to Fuyuki. Even as her older brother, Kayneth was at least somewhat concerned about his younger sister.
"She should already be on her way back."
Alvin secretly let out a sigh of relief.
At first, he thought it would take some effort to convince Kayneth, but from the look of it, his teacher was actually quite kind...
A smile appeared on Alvin's face.
A chilly wind drifted in through the window. Alvin turned his head and looked at the bare branches outside and the thick snow covering them.
For some reason, he suddenly thought of the bits of snow that had risen with Morgan's skirt when she turned around not long ago, and also the snow-like feel of Matou Sakura's skin.
But unfortunately... this was the timeline ten years later. He would soon return to his original timeline.
Then again, it was a good thing it was another timeline. Otherwise, this save file would probably already be ruined.
In Fuyuki, he had exchanged magical energy with Rin, Sakura, Manaka, Artoria, and the others.
If they ever came knocking on his door, wouldn't he explode on the spot?
"Alvin!"
Kayneth knocked on the desk. His eyes were sharp.
"Did you hear what I just said? When Reines comes back, tell her to come see me. I want to have a proper talk with her."
"Okay, I got it..."
Just as Alvin said that, he suddenly felt a very unusual and dangerous magical power approaching.
He abruptly turned toward the office door and subconsciously said, "Did you hear something?"
Kayneth frowned slightly.
"What sound? Did you hear wrong—"
"I'll go take a look!"
Before Kayneth could finish speaking, Alvin turned and rushed out of the office. He crossed the courtyard, passed through the square, and quickly arrived at the Clock Tower's main entrance.
Sunlight shone down between the Clock Tower's tall buildings. Dust drifted through the beams of light.
"Senpai..."
A soft voice called out under the sunlight.
The speaker was a girl wearing a school uniform skirt. Her long hair hung loose, with a white ribbon tied among the strands. At first glance, she gave off a very pure and gentle impression.
"Sakura... Rin?"
The words almost slipped out of Alvin's mouth.
Soon after, he noticed Illya and Irisviel standing not far behind the two girls.
At that moment, Alvin's brain completely stopped working.
"Looks like you're done playing hide-and-seek~?"
Before he could recover, a clear and pleasant girl's voice suddenly came from beside him.
Alvin's body stiffened. He slowly turned his head like a machine.
Sajyou Manaka stood below the steps holding a black umbrella. She tilted her head and smiled.
"Didn't expect this, did you, Saber?"
Illya hid behind Irisviel. The mother and daughter stood together as a trace of complicated emotion flickered in her beautiful red eyes.
"If Mr. Merlin hadn't told me, I probably never would have guessed... that Big Brother was actually a mage in the modern world."
"Looks like you had quite an enjoyable trip to Fuyuki, Alvin."
Reines walked out from behind a stone pillar nearby, looking completely ready to enjoy the show.
Gray stood quietly behind her.
She looked Alvin over and said softly, "We'll meet again... That's what I was planning to tell you back then, but you disappeared before I could finish, Alvin~"
When Morgan's familiar voice suddenly came from Gray's body, Alvin saw a special Holy Grail mark appear on the back of Reines' hand.
Artoria was descending through the contract.
BOOM!
Alvin finally reacted. His eyes slowly widened, and it felt as though thunder had exploded beside his ears, leaving him completely stunned.
'Why are they at the Clock Tower?'
'Even catching someone cheating shouldn't happen this fast, right?'
The little soul inside Alvin had already started roaring.
Then he remembered the key name Illya had mentioned earlier.
'Merlin? MERLIN!'
That guy had already caused trouble for him once back in Britain. He never expected him to pull something like this again.
Under normal circumstances, Alvin would probably have panicked by now.
But at this moment, he felt strangely calm.
After all, this timeline was about to end soon. As long as he waited until then...
[Ding, congratulations, Host. Full CG collection completed!]
At that moment, a line of small text slowly appeared before his eyes.
[The requirements for unlocking the Full CG Achievement have been met!]
The instant the system's electronic voice exploded inside Alvin's head, a notification window quietly appeared.
[Achievement Reward: Timeline Convergence Initiated]
[Timeline merging in progress...]
[Ding! Timeline merge successful!]
Looking at the girls who were steadily approaching him, the smile on Alvin's face gradually froze.
"So this is where the last CG was waiting for me..."
Tiamat, who had just caught up to him, gently patted his shoulder and softly called out, "Aaaaa? (Do you need me to take you away from here?)"
"No need."
Alvin finally came back to his senses and forced a relaxed smile.
"No matter what ending awaits, I should face it directly."
"And if things really go badly... you can rescue me from the basement again."
After saying that, he strode toward the group.
(The End)
[T/N: Hope you all enjoyed it. Leave a review and have a great day~]