What Holy Grail War? Let's Play Cards!

With the battle concluded, Illya and Irisviel returned to their original positions, and the system displayed a notification:

[Your reward—three copies of [Illyasviel von Einzbern]—has been sent to your mailbox. Please claim it promptly.]

"Nice, Illya! But wait, isn't this card already in my deck? So this was just a trial deck, and it gets taken back after the story ends. Then what about my Blue-Eyes? Give me back my Blue-Eyes!"

Ignoring Jiang You's dramatic outburst, Irisviel quickly ran to Kiritsugu, pried him out of the wall, and helped him up.

Surprisingly, aside from the heavy damage to his face, Kiritsugu's body was almost unscathed. The impact, which should have been enough to break a person in two, had only affected the wall.

"Don't move, I'll heal you." Irisviel activated her healing magic, soft green light covering Kiritsugu's injured face.

"I'm fine. Good thing the shadow Game's rules weren't fully established earlier, or I would've suffered a backlash. As expected of a Servant's Noble Phantasm—without magic resistance, even a Command Seal's effects could be distorted." Kiritsugu waved her off, stopping her from continuing the treatment.

Since Jiang You didn't press the attack further, Kiritsugu took a moment to assess the situation.

This Servant seemed to have the ability to forcefully rewrite battles or hostility into card duels. In a way, that was an incredibly powerful ability—so long as an opponent couldn't break through this Noble Phantasm, no matter how strong they were, he could drag them into a nearly equal fight.

The real headache now was how to deal with Caster's inevitable dissatisfaction. Kiritsugu had indeed been prepared to sacrifice Irisviel or Illya if necessary, but as a husband and father, he still had his limits. Plus, Jiang You's eccentric personality was hard to predict.

"Whatever, let's just push the main storyline forward. According to the rules of Yu-Gi-Oh!, winning a duel gives me some control over the situation."

Muttering to himself, Jiang You walked over to Kiritsugu. "No need to be nervous, ma'am. I don't mean any harm. But since I won, I should be calling the shots in this team, right?"

"That is fair, but Illya..." Irisviel tried to push back.

"Oh, right, the battle reward. I thought the system's email covered it, but I guess not. Hand over Illya. I already have the standard version at max copies, so give me [Illyasviel von Einzbern - Dress of Heaven] instead."

Hearing Illya's name, Irisviel's heart clenched—until she realized what he meant. The full title left her speechless.

"No problem, but wasn't that just generated by your Noble Phantasm?" Seeing that Jiang You only wanted a card, Kiritsugu was both relieved and speechless, handing it over while subtly trying to gather intelligence on the Servant's abilities.

Jiang You, now with an expanded deck, was in high spirits. He couldn't understand what kind of crazy logic the programmers behind this simulation were using, but he didn't care.

"I have no idea either. Probably just for consistency in the setting. But that's not important—so, when are we heading to Fuyuki?"

"The soonest would be in two days. The entry procedures aren't done yet, and there are still some arrangements to be made in Fuyuki."

Just as Jiang You was about to fast-forward through the wait, a mission prompt popped up—a 48-hour real-time countdown.

"100% real-time simulation, huh? Classic Konami. Always making things unnecessarily complicated. What other game company does this?" Jiang You felt an urgent need to give this game a one-star review.

"Don't move. I'll be right back after leaving some harsh feedback."

Jiang You admitted the game was fun. A virtual reality this realistic was one of a kind, but the pacing was absurd.

"Logout!"

At his command, Jiang You instantly vanished without a trace.

-

"Bad review… Does that mean we failed to meet his expectations?" Irisviel couldn't make sense of the erratic thought process of Heroic Spirits. Their emotions fluctuated wildly, their logic was near incomprehensible.

"There was probably a misunderstanding earlier. It's normal for him to be dissatisfied with us. Heroic Spirits from history tend to have eccentric personalities," Kiritsugu analyzed. His face changed slightly as he checked his connection to Jiang You, but seeing that his Command Seals remained intact, he relaxed. "It's a technique more advanced than Spirit Form. His concealment is even stronger than A-rank Presence Concealment. His displayed name is likely false, and his status screen data can't be trusted either."

"So that's why he treats the Holy Grail War like a game… I'll go get you some ice. Right now, Illya is so attached to you, but ten years later, she was so furious that she hit you this hard—she must've suffered a lot." Irisviel stood up and walked toward the door. Her steps slowed, and in the end, she turned back under the moonlight.

"Kiritsugu, even if we lose this time, you must escape. Illya has been waiting for you to come for her."

Kiritsugu's body tensed slightly. His dark eyes gazed at Irisviel, deep in thought.

For a long time—

"I will."

Irisviel smiled, her silver hair glowing under the moonlight.

-

"Was it a dream?"

Illya woke up, touching the corner of her eyes. They felt sore, damp.

She was wearing ordinary sleepwear, but the sensation of the Dress of Heaven was so vivid. The magic didn't feel like something from a dream.

The Fifth Holy Grail War was about to begin. Illya looked up at the bright moon. She had originally prepared the relic of Heracles, a hero of ancient Greece whose strength was undeniable. But now, she had other thoughts.

Like a dream reflecting one's waking thoughts, the young man in her dream was Caster. His class had abilities beyond conventional combat. Maybe—just maybe—he could summon the figures of her parents. Then she could finally demand answers from Kiritsugu.

Why did he choose to adopt some stray child instead of coming to see her?

And maybe… just maybe… she could hug her mother once more.

The warmth in that dream had been so comforting.

"I should do some research."

Eager, her small feet touched the ground.

-

"Real-world floors feel so much more solid! VR always feels floaty!" Jiang You commented as he stepped out of the immersion pod.

After stretching, he opened the Yu-Gi-Oh! game forum, ready to roast Konami's poor game design.

But just as he was about to type up a lengthy rant, a post caught his eye.

"Shocking! Konami's Immersion Pods Have Hidden Versions with Special Crossover Testing!"

The post claimed that Konami had secretly included 100 modified immersion pods with special crossover interfaces. These would automatically connect to the crossover world on first use, along with a paid testing contract to help refine the mechanics.

Below, users were debating—some skeptical, some claiming to have drawn the lucky pod, others confirming the theory.

The original poster even listed ways to identify the special pods. Jiang You checked his, and sure enough, there was a red symbol on the bottom of the white machine.

"Was this there during assembly? I didn't even notice."

Upon confirming, he opened the email linked to his immersion pod—and there it was, an official contract with a confidentiality agreement.

After checking the compensation, Jiang You let out a cheer. It was even better than his current salary!

"Now this is what I call getting paid to play games! Who needs Blue-Eyes White Dragon? I don't even know it!"

Grinning, he climbed back into the immersion pod, determined to take the crossover experience seriously.

"Fate/Zero, launch!"