If Hestia had really been "eaten" by Izumi that day, Avrora probably wouldn't like her blood anymore.
For now, Hestia and Avrora got along quite well.
But who knew? One day Avrora might suddenly start disliking her.
A fragile, plastic sisterhood—that was the best way to describe their relationship.
Avrora was a very realistic little girl, after all.
When Avrora mentioned that they were going to pick someone up—Izumi's companions—Hestia became extremely curious.
She had heard about his teammates before.
They were probably very strong as well.
Thinking about that, her interest only grew.
The group headed toward the central plaza, and before long they arrived.
Right then, a magic circle lit up.
A moment later, Le Fay and the others appeared.
The instant Avrora saw them, her eyes lit up. She ran forward excitedly.
"Asia-chan! You're finally here!"
It had been quite some time since she had last seen Asia Argento, and she immediately threw herself into the girl's arms.
Asia laughed happily as she hugged her back.
The two began chatting non-stop, their cheerful voices overlapping.
Meanwhile, Le Fay and the others spotted Izumi and hurried over to greet him.
Seeing Izumi instantly surrounded by a group of girls, Hestia froze in shock.
No way.
Were all of Izumi's teammates beauties?
And their potential…
As a goddess, she could tell at a glance.
Each of these girls possessed extraordinary talent.
Especially Rin Tōsaka.
From Rin, Hestia sensed a strangely familiar aura.
At the same time, Rin herself frowned slightly.
For some reason, ever since she arrived in this world, she felt as if something was calling to her.
Was it just her imagination?
This was her first time here. How could anything be drawing her in?
And why did the feeling irritate her so much?
Unable to figure it out, she stopped thinking about it.
What she didn't know was that the convergence of worldlines had begun to affect her.
Because of it, she had started to inherit fragments of power from her parallel self.
In the world of Fate/stay night, Rin had once been possessed by a Heroic Spirit.
Now, that same spirit was being stimulated by a divine presence of equivalent rank in this world.
Her power was slowly awakening.
After all, the goddess Ishtar who had merged with her had been dormant until now.
But encountering the existence of this world's counterpart stirred her deeply.
And not only Ishtar.
Another presence—Ereshkigal—was also beginning to awaken, though still suppressed.
Rin herself remained completely unaware.
Even Izumi hadn't noticed the change.
"Alright, let's head back to our base first," Izumi said.
"This isn't a good place to talk."
Everyone agreed.
So Izumi led the group toward the headquarters of the Hestia Familia.
He had spent a huge amount of money building it.
The girls, who had just arrived in this world, looked around with bright curiosity as they walked.
When they finally reached the entrance, they were stunned to see several young girls standing guard.
Le Fay immediately spoke up.
"Izumi-sama, are you exploiting child labor?"
"You're actually making children guard the gate?"
Izumi sighed helplessly.
"I didn't arrange that."
"They insisted on it themselves."
"They said they didn't want to live as useless freeloaders, so they wanted to contribute too."
Some of the children Izumi had saved ventured into the Dungeon.
Others stayed in Orario to handle support work.
These were the ones less suited for combat.
Under Rentarō Satomi's younger sister figure—Enju Aihara—and the others' planning, they even rotated shifts.
They patrolled the territory regularly.
As soon as Izumi returned, the girls on patrol noticed him and ran over.
"Onii-chan!"
"Welcome back!"
"And welcome back too, Hestia-chan, Avrora-chan, Ophis-chan!"
One soft-looking silver-haired girl dropped her weapon and greeted them cheerfully.
Izumi's heart nearly melted.
These children really were his greatest treasure.
He gently patted her head and smiled.
"Are Kayo and the others back yet?"
The girl nodded.
"Yes! They're in the main hall."
"They had a great haul today. I heard they've already reached the 25th floor!"
Kayo's group was still a fixed team.
They were the strongest front-line squad in the Familia.
Some of them had even developed unique skills.
Enju, for example, had finally gained the magic she had always dreamed of.
Even if it was only a small fireball, she was incredibly happy.
And Kayo herself had obtained abilities related to strategy and leadership.
She truly had a natural talent for command.
That was why Izumi trusted her with managing the Familia.
After giving the silver-haired girl a lollipop, he led everyone inside.
Le Fay looked around curiously.
"Do all the children live here?"
"There are hundreds of thousands, right? This place couldn't possibly fit them all."
Izumi nodded.
"I haven't brought everyone out."
"Otherwise, Orario would have been completely overrun."
"Some children aren't suited for combat, so they remain in my personal world."
"Even now, this place can't hold everyone. At night, Kayo sends some of them back."
With the number of children he had saved, this headquarters alone was far from enough.
Le Fay nodded in understanding.
When they entered the main hall, Kayo and several others were organizing today's loot.
Hearing footsteps, they looked up.
The moment they saw Le Fay and the others, they dropped everything and ran over.
"Le Fay-onee-sama! Megumi-onee-sama! Eriri-onee-sama! Sakura-onee-sama! Rin-onee-sama! Asia-onee-sama! You're here!"
Enju ran the fastest, leaping straight into Le Fay's arms.
After all, she was a real magical girl.
Of course she adored her.
The reunion was lively and warm.
Once everyone sat down, the girls excitedly began recounting their adventures in the Dungeon.
Word quickly spread.
Before long, the rest of the Familia's girls rushed over.
They abandoned their tasks and crowded into the hall.
In an instant, Le Fay and the others were completely surrounded by a sea of cheerful little sisters.