Due to his own quirky tastes, Ethan didn't deliberately adjust the time flow to bring Ryu back instantly.
He even intentionally slowed down the flow of time so that he could periodically check on Ryu's situation. How was Ryu living in that world? Was he successfully improving his strength? How was he interfering with the plot? What kind of changes was he causing?
Essentially, Ethan treated Ryu's reincarnation experience like a long-running serialized TV drama.
After arranging his first "reincarnator," Ethan met up with Cú Chulainn, who had finally managed to corner him, and passed along a message from Shirou.
"Take good care of the house." (Simplified message.)
"Huh?"
Then Ethan left, leaving Cú Chulainn completely confused and at a loss for what had just happened.
Instead of returning directly after leaving the Nasuverse, Ethan entered a very ordinary world, bought some supplies, and spent half a day busying himself aboard the Artemis before returning to the Harry Potter world.
"I brought you all something."
At breakfast the next morning, Ethan casually placed a few items on the table.
"Phones?"
Everyone recognized them. Although smartphones didn't exist in the era Tohsaka Rin and Illya came from, after spending time on the Artemis and seeing more advanced equipment, these full-screen smartphones no longer seemed unfamiliar.
"Why'd you bring these for us?"
They were currently living in 1990s Britain. It wasn't as if they could use smartphones for much entertainment, right? At best, they were glorified game consoles that drained battery power.
"I made some basic modifications. Now these devices have a nano-structure and special batteries, so they're resistant to damage and don't need charging."
Of course, that wasn't the main point.
"They can connect to the internet."
"Oh? That's not bad."
Logan was the most bored. He was purely passing time. With his childlike appearance, he couldn't really do anything—not even go back to visit Atlanna.
Although he wasn't addicted to phones, he had lived through the digital era of the "future" and knew how to use one to kill time.
"Is it connected to Tony's network?"
"No. It's from a normal world with no magic at all."
That was a world Ethan had carefully selected. It was very similar to the one he had lived in during his past life, though it was missing some elements, somewhat like the parallel worlds described in web novels.
The reason Ethan picked that kind of world was due to his personal quirky taste: the phones came preloaded with a specific mobile game, and he was waiting to see how the others would react.
"What's this? Fate… Grand… Order?"
Illya was smart. After being exposed to more advanced technology, she quickly learned how to use a touchscreen and got the hang of the phone.
Rin wasn't as good. She was still stuck on the basic interface, trying to figure out what all the small icons meant.
"It's a game. Very suitable for passing time."
"Oh? Is it fun?" Hearing that it was a game, Rin didn't think too much. But the character on the icon… "Isn't that Artoria?"
Everyone rolled their eyes, but each had a different reaction.
Illya's look said, "You just noticed?"
Logan glanced at Ethan with a look that said, "Here you go again."
Ethan smiled as if to say, "Isn't this fun?"
He answered Rin's question. "Hard to say if it's fun or not. The game hasn't officially launched yet. You'll have to wait another two days."
To make sure the "network connection" functioned smoothly, without fluctuation or anomalies, Ethan had specifically enhanced the space-time connection and stabilized the flow between the two worlds. So when he said "two days," it truly meant two days, not "two days passed in the blink of an eye."
"Is there an introduction to the game?"
"Yes."
Ethan casually gave them a website address. Illya quickly typed it in, accessed the page, and was stunned.
Rin was still struggling to figure out how to get to the site. After fiddling for a while and getting nowhere, Selene helped her. Once Rin finally opened the website, she was also stunned.
"What is this? Holy Grail? Saving humanity? Master? Servant?"
Even if those familiar terms weren't enough, the promotional images showed plenty of familiar faces.
"Artoria and Emiya?"
For Logan, Selene, and the others, the game wasn't particularly interesting. Selene glanced at it a few times and then lost interest. Logan didn't even bother opening his phone, just peeked at Rin's screen for a moment and continued eating. His own phone sat untouched.
Illya and Rin, on the other hand, were very invested. They stared at their screens intently, clearly intrigued by the game.
"Looks kind of interesting."
Scáthach was also intrigued, especially when she saw Medea, Cú Chulainn, Sasaki Kojirō, and others. According to the intro, these Heroic Spirits also appeared in the game.
Even though she didn't fully understand what was going on, she decided to give it a try. She had been bored lately. Although teasing Ethan was fun, doing it every day got old. Taking a break now and then would make teasing him even more entertaining next time. Overdoing it would only have the opposite effect.
Of course, if Ethan was willing to feed her, that would be another story. She believed she could have a very fulfilling summer vacation. However, she was now sure that Ethan had no interest in girls who looked too young. The way he looked at her had clearly changed.
The meal ended quietly. The next two days passed peacefully as well, until the game officially launched. Illya, Rin, and Scáthach jumped into it immediately. Leah was also pulled in, even though she would have preferred to spend that time studying with her teacher.
Selene, who was utterly bored, also joined in. Only Logan remained disinterested. Pouting while chewing on some unidentifiable plant leaves, he didn't touch the game. He used his phone to listen to music instead, although he was a bit disappointed at the limited selection.
With a game to play, and because of its unique storyline and mechanics—especially the presence of familiar Heroic Spirits and Servants—the "otherworld players" led by Illya and Rin took the game seriously and began thinking deeply about its content, gradually realizing a few things.
Was this game describing a parallel world similar to their own?
When Rin asked that question, Ethan simply replied, "You already know the answer, don't you?"
Ethan had specifically brought this game back for them to think and understand things.
Just like how Tony Stark had seen comics of himself in the Transformers world and begun to reflect on things, Rin and Illya were both smart. They could figure it out.
As for Scáthach, someone who had lived for who knows how many years, there was little that could surprise her. She had her own understanding of what the game implied. She was just playing for fun.
Perhaps because the game was so good at killing time, Ethan did almost nothing during this holiday. He ate, played games, read books, slept, and used the rest of his time to teach Leah.
As his only official student, Leah received his full attention. Taking advantage of this relatively quiet period, Ethan devoted himself to teaching her.
Basic courses had already been covered aboard the Artemis. Now, he was teaching her more advanced content, including practical combat.
With the Mirror Dimension and illusion concealment, they didn't need to worry about anyone monitoring them.
Leah's rapid improvement indirectly pushed Rin and Illya. While Illya could ask Ethan for guidance directly, Rin didn't know how to approach it. So she shamelessly tagged along during Illya's lessons, pretending to be an "auditor" who just happened to be there.
It wasn't until Scáthach got bored one day and casually gave Rin some tips that Rin finally realized she had another mentor at hand. She had nearly forgotten that Scáthach was a powerful demigod who had trained Cú Chulainn, a warrior skilled in both magic and martial arts.
Having such a resource nearby and not using it would be a waste.
Once everyone got serious, teaching was no longer limited to one-on-one. Ethan, Scáthach, and even Logan all took turns instructing, while Illya, Rin, and Leah sat in on lessons. Occasionally, the students sparred with one another or even dueled with the teachers.
"Hmph! You hit me that hard just because I pulled Emiya and you couldn't pull the Berserker you kept bragging about! Did you forget he's not even in the game yet!"
After a daily sparring session, Rin rubbed her stomach and glared at Illya. Her clothes had a large tear, and there was a bloodstain on her pale belly. She could still feel the impact from Illya's magic attack, and it wasn't a pleasant memory.
She was used to it by now. With Ethan watching, even if they "died" during practice, he could resurrect them. Over time, Rin gradually realized just how powerful Ethan really was.
"When I get the chance, I'll personally go find the game developer and make them add Berserker to the gacha pool. I swear I'll pull him!"
(To be continued.)