IBHJ Chapter 883

Aqua, noticing him rubbing his stomach, asked, "Master, are you hungry?"

He nodded. "Yes, a bit."

"I understand." She cupped her hands before her chest, closing her eyes as if in prayer.

"What are you doing?" Illya asked, puzzled.

"Praying," Aqua replied.

"Praying for what?"

"Praying for the heavens to send apples to satisfy Master's hunger."

Illya couldn't help but laugh. "This is a desert, where would apples come from?"

But as soon as she finished speaking, the sky grew dark.

What was happening?

Illya looked up, her eyes widening in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me..."

Apples!

Apples rained down from the desert sky, burying Illya beneath them.

"Wow! Food!"

Mordred jumped from Shirou's shoulder, landing in the sea of apples and immediately taking a bite.

"Please help yourself, Master."

But Shirou didn't move. Instead, he stared at the blue-haired girl with a serious expression and asked, "Who are you, really?"

This power to change the heavens and earth... No. This ability to alter the very laws of the planet couldn't possibly belong to an ordinary being.

As far as he knew, only two entities were capable of such a feat: the Enlightened One and the original vessel of the Vortex, Manaka Sajyou. Even Demonic Bodhisattva couldn't do this. Yet, this girl could!

"I am Master's pet companion," the girl said plainly.

Shirou frowned, then slowly relaxed his expression. "Can I take that to mean you're not our enemy, not Chaldea's enemy?"

"I don't understand. I am Master's pet companion, why would I become Master's enemy?" Aqua asked, a puzzled look on her face.

The fact that she, who usually showed no emotion, now appeared confused, clearly indicated his question had indeed stumped her.

Just then, Mordred approached, holding two large red apples, and offered them to him with a bright smile. "Mama, you eat too. They're super sweet. Even sweeter than the ones back at our manor!"

Looking at Mordred, who was presenting the apples like precious treasures, his gaze softened. He took the apples, patting her head gently. "Good girl."

"Hehe," she beamed.

At that moment, Illya emerged from the sea of apples, looking at Aqua with a bead of sweat on her brow. "This is what you call praying? It feels more like a god performing a miracle. But, come to think of it, is your miracle performance 100% successful?"

"No," Aqua shook her head. "It's only a one-eighth probability. However, if you collect my remaining seven fragments, my prayers can reach a 100% success rate."

"Collect seven fragments... Are you Dragon Balls?!" Illya looked at the girl with a exasperated expression.

"Mama, you should eat too."

"It's fine, you eat more, Mordred. I prefer meat," he said with a smile, stroking Mordred's hair.

"Master wants to eat meat? I understand."

Aqua nodded, then cupped her hands over her heart and began to pray again. As she did, the earth seemed to rumble and the entire desert began to churn.

Crackle, crackle, crackle.

Wild sand filled the air.

The ground erupted in a swirling tornado that reached towards the sky.

"Wh-what's happening?!"

With a scream, the desert calmed. In front of everyone, numerous animal carcasses, long buried deep within the desert, now lay exposed. Having been submerged for so long, they had become naturally preserved meat.

Everyone stared at Aqua, unable to help but gulp.

Heaven and earth changed, and then animal carcasses appeared.

All accomplished by a single prayer from the girl.

This...

This was too unbelievable!

"Please enjoy, Master," Aqua said, gesturing towards the animal carcasses.

Illya: "..."

Shirou: "..."

"C-can we eat this?"

Mordred pointed at the animal carcasses that had been unearthed from the desert depths.

...

Morrigan decided she absolutely needed to learn how to read the almanac from Hinako. Lately, her luck had been abysmal.

First, she was startled by her own sister, then her sister and her nemesis Altera mysteriously vanished. She was already worried, and now she was stuck with the person she least wanted to deal with.

"Please, sister!"

Looking at "Shirou," who had cornered her, Morrigan had no idea what face to make.

Hearing her sister call her "sister" earlier, Morrigan had an inkling. If her dimwitted sister could figure out her identity, then her perceptive brother must have seen through her disguise much earlier. In other words, it was time to go.

She had kept it a secret from her friend Hinako, even packing her bags in advance, ready to slip away quietly. But then she heard about her sister and nemesis disappearing. Concerned, she wanted to investigate before leaving, but now, her brother had cornered her.

And the reason was...

"Please teach me how to play games, I beg you!" her brother pleaded, his face dead serious.

Morrigan knew her brother was worried about their sister, who had disappeared while playing a game, and he wanted to try and rescue her through the same game.

Although this method seemed too naive for her clever brother, considering the bond between them, it was likely due to emotional turmoil.

Normally, teaching and recommending games was something she, as an otaku, loved to do. But now that her identity was exposed, she couldn't face her brother and sister, towards whom she felt immense guilt.

Looking at her brother's anxious face, she managed a small smile and nodded. "Okay..."

"Great! Then right here..."

Artoria, beaming with joy, reached out and pulled out a Switch that she had prepared beforehand. Both Shirou and Altera had vanished while playing "Moon-Gazing Beauty," and her plan was simple – to start investigating where they disappeared. She had consulted many gaming experts in Chaldea and learned that the most skilled player of this game was the infamous NEET, her sister, the otaku goddess Morrigan.

Was it rash or urgent? Or perhaps, deep down, she didn't blame Morgan le Fay at all, which is why she came to her without hesitation.

But...

Perfect opportunity!

Seizing the moment Artoria took out the Switch, Morrigan teleported away.

Sorry, Shirou, Artoria... I still can't face you. I'm better suited to working in the shadows...

Unable to confront her brother and sister, she planned to teleport back to her room, grab her luggage, and disappear.

A magical teleportation circle shimmered on the ceiling, and Morrigan began to rise with it.

Though it takes a while to describe, it all happened very quickly. She had used this trick before to escape her sister, who possessed [Instinct] and incredible speed and strength. Escaping her brother, whose physical abilities weren't as exceptional, should be a piece of cake.

However...

The moment she started to float, Artoria moved. As if anticipating Morrigan's escape, she leaped up and grabbed her ankle.

"Gotcha!"

"Huh?"

⊙▽⊙

Morrigan's expression froze, and then she was yanked down by Artoria, landing on the ground with a thud.

"What are you doing! That hurt!" Morrigan rubbed her backside as she lay on the ground.

"I should be asking you that, sister. Didn't you say you'd teach me how to play games? Why are you running away?" Artoria asked, her face stern.

She hated being left hanging the most.

"Well..." Morrigan turned her head away.

As expected, Shirou is even more formidable! she wailed internally. Even her sister, with [Instinct] and superior physical abilities, couldn't react in time, yet her brother, without [Instinct] and weaker physically, caught her easily.

Of course, Morrigan didn't know that the current "Shirou" was actually Artoria, so catching her was a simple task.

"I-I get it, I'll help you, okay?" Morrigan said, rubbing her backside as she stood up.

"That's great." Artoria smiled.

"Is teaching a game really worth being this happy about?" she asked, puzzled.

"No, that's not why I'm happy," Artoria shook her head, then looked at Morrigan and said with a smile, "Before, I wasn't sure if Morrigan was my sister, but now that you've agreed, I'm certain. Morrigan, you really are my sister, Morgan le Fay."

Morrigan's eyes slowly widened.

She realized then that the other party had only suspected her identity, and her earlier agreement had completely confirmed it.

In other words...

She had been completely tricked!

Ahhhhh!

I want to die!

But...

This isn't the first time she's been tricked by Shirou...

Morrigan consoled herself with this thought, but who knows how she would react if she knew that the one who had tricked her was actually the seemingly dim-witted Artoria?