If you steal other worlds' protagonists, of course others will steal yours too.
Oh, wait—no.
Chronologically speaking, it was Emiya Kiritsugu and other protagonists who disappeared from the Type-Moon world first. When the Root could no longer find them within itself, it then realized that other worlds might exist outside. Only after exploring beyond did it confirm the existence of other worlds and began snatching their protagonists.
Looked at that way, it was actually the victim here.
But can the flow of time between different worlds really be equated?
Doesn't matter, I guess.
At any rate, from what the Root implied, it only started exploring the outside after its own protagonists vanished from within.
"Let me ask one thing first—you didn't toss those people out yourself, did you? To study the rules of other worlds?"
"...No. Even if I wanted to throw living beings from my world into another, I'd never throw out protagonists, would I?"
「Touko's」 expression was utterly exasperated.
"You've got plenty of protagonists, don't you? Every parallel world has at least one—no, probably more than just one, but many. Tossing out a few wouldn't hurt."
Roy wasn't so quick to believe it.
"That's not the issue," 「Touko」 shook her head.
"It's a matter of rules. Protagonists carry the densest traces of their world's rules. If I threw them out, wouldn't that be like offering meat to a dog? Just asking for trouble."
Ah, made sense.
That was a fair point.
Roy fell into thought.
"You're also misunderstanding something else, so let me clarify. For example, every being living within my world carries traces of its operational rules to some degree—protagonists, being the most prominent, bear the heaviest imprints. So, no matter who I might throw out, it'd never be a protagonist."
"And it's not just living beings. Even a weapon, or a mere pebble, carries traces of a world's rules—just in varying amounts. If another world got hold of them, it'd inevitably empower them. Plus, many of my power systems only work within my own world and might fail elsewhere. So I'd never willingly discard my own people. That's why I need someone like you—with adaptive traits—to send out instead."
At this, 「Touko」 gave Roy a strange look.
"Someone like you, who had zero rule traces when you first descended into my world, is practically an impossibility. Your case suggests you might not belong to any world at all. And the fact that you adapted to my world without any interference from me is even more unbelievable..."
Wait, really?
When he first arrived, he had no rule traces at all?
Roy kept his expression neutral but filed this detail away in his mind.
What's the big deal? I'm a transmigrator—having some special traits is normal!
Naturally, the Root was also deeply curious about Roy.
Many mysteries still surrounded him.
It had even wondered if Roy might be an infiltrator sent by a world more powerful than itself. But on second thought, someone with such an incredible adaptive ability would be far too precious to risk as a spy.
Even if he was a spy, there was nothing to be done—if another world had sent him here, it meant they were already targeting it. The only way to survive was to grow stronger, and to grow stronger, it had to rely on Roy. The logic looped right back.
So, no matter what, it had to maintain a good transactional relationship with him.
"Then I have another question," Roy pondered before voicing his second doubt.
"If you can just snatch people from other worlds, why even send me over?"
If it could grab people like Kasumigaoka Utaha and the others on its own, why bother sending him out? Wouldn't that be redundant?
"First, the efficiency is completely different. Sending you to adapt to another world's rules and then having you return to nourish me is the most effective method. Second, snatching people can provoke resistance."
「Touko」 shrugged indifferently.
"Take that curse spirit world, for example. After I stole one of its major figures, it's become hostile toward me. Grabbing more people from it now is difficult, and my research on that curse spirit's rules has hit a bottleneck. In cases like this, smuggling you in is the perfect solution."
With his adaptive traits, Roy wouldn't be flagged as an outsider—he'd essentially gain local "citizenship" the moment he arrived.
Was there any spy more perfect than that?
"Alright then."
At this point, Roy had a pretty clear understanding.
"Once I get to another world, what do you need me to do?"
His response was practically an agreement to the deal.
Hearing this, 「Touko」 visibly relaxed.
"Nothing specific."
"You can act however you like. Once you've adapted to the other world's rules, you could even jump in front of its consciousness—if you've got a death wish. Leave the rest to me. When the time comes, I'll recall you."
Oh ho.
The job description was pretty freeform.
Not bad at all!
"Then, pleasant cooperation!"
Roy extended his hand with a friendly smile.
"Pleasant cooperation!"
「Touko」 smiled back and shook his hand.
The moment their hands clasped, Roy suddenly punched it in the forehead.
…And yet again, nothing happened.
"Tch!"
Roy clicked his tongue.
「Touko」 chuckled.
"I'll notify you when it's time to depart. Until then, prepare yourself."
With a wave of its hand—
Like time reversing, the boundless scenery around them rapidly receded. The familiar timelessness of the void returned, only to fade just as quickly.
By the time Roy regained his senses, he was already back in his own world.
Before him was the front garden of the Aozaki residence—the main entrance straight ahead, flanked by grassy lawns and vegetable patches, with a storage shed not far away. A completely ordinary, familiar sight.
For some reason, it felt like a lifetime had passed.
Gotta admit, the teleportation was pinpoint accurate.
Roy shook his head. Just moments ago, he'd been in that vast, empty expanse beyond the world, and now he was back in this… well, "idyllic" might be stretching it, but still, the abrupt shift left him slightly disoriented.
Pushing aside his wandering thoughts, he stepped forward onto the brick path, his footsteps tapping lightly against the stone as he headed toward the mansion.
***
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