After achieving a rampage with a single sentence and reaching godlike status, Jack ran back to Shinji's side, looking at him with an innocent smile and expectant gaze, at Shinji she liked second best.
"Daddy, Mommy is waiting for you."
"Waiting for me?"
Shinji was momentarily stunned.
His first reaction was that it was impossible.
Jack was a Counter Guardian, independent of the space-time continuum, so crossing parallel worlds wasn't out of the question. But Jack's mother, Reika Rikudou, was an ordinary person without any magical abilities—how could she possibly traverse parallel worlds?
Could it be some scheme by Zelretch?
No, that didn't make sense. That old man might like to pull strings from the shadows, always working mysteriously, but everything he did was always on a grand scale. Reika wouldn't even be on his radar.
Could it be the Reika of this world?
No, that didn't add up either. After returning from the parallel world, Shinji had asked his father to privately investigate, and there was no record of a Reika Rikudou working in the red-light districts around Tokyo or its neighboring areas. Don't misunderstand—it wasn't out of any ill intentions. He simply wanted to help, just like he had helped himself and Sakura in the parallel world.
Given Byakuya's connections in these circles and among drivers, if he said there wasn't anyone by that name, it was almost guaranteed there wasn't. This result could only mean one of two things: either this world had no Reika Rikudou, or the Reika Rikudou of this world didn't fall into poverty and enter the red-light district—meaning she didn't need his help.
The former needed no explanation. As for the latter—without such a tragic life experience, would Reika still accept little Jack? Would she still become Jack's mother just because of one instinctive word from the child?
Shinji didn't think so. A person's environment has a massive impact on them. The most typical example of this was the difference between the hero of justice, Emiya Shirou, and the current 27th generation of Muramasa.
When Shinji realized all his lines of reasoning were blocked, he simply gave up on thinking. After all, the truth would be clear once they met.
"Jack, where is your mother waiting for me?"
"We don't know."
Jack shook her head.
"Mommy just said that if Daddy is still the Daddy from before, you'll find her. If you don't find her before sunrise, it means you're no longer the Daddy from before, and Mommy won't see you again."
"Before sunrise…"
Shinji glanced at the time on his communicator.
"There's less than three hours left."
"Daddy, you have to find Mommy."
Jack pitifully tugged at Shinji's clothes, and Shinji patted her head in return.
"Daddy will find her. As long as Jack is willing to help, Daddy will find her quickly."
Jack shook her head again.
"No, Mommy said we can't help Daddy."
"I see."
Shinji wasn't surprised. With the bond between them, locating someone wouldn't be difficult. He had just asked casually.
"Touko, Sakura, please take care of Jack for me. I'll explain everything when I get back. If you can't wait, you can ask Justeaze—she knows most things about Jack."
With a leap, Shinji's shoes kicked up dust as he dashed through the air.
Medea rubbed her chin thoughtfully, drawing a tracking rune with a flick of her fingers, but Touko waved her hand to stop her.
"Let's forget it this time. You can't push men too hard, or it'll backfire."
Medea raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You know men well?"
"Who knows?"
Touko lit another cigarette.
"It's just a feeling that this is the right way."
Jack pulled out a burning twig and held it up.
"Mommy Touko, light."
Touko naturally brought her cigarette closer to the flame, not denying the title.
Fiore clapped her hands a few times.
"That's it for now, everyone, go rest. I'll notify you all about the reward and the follow-up ceremony later. Dismissed."
With that, she grabbed Ciel with her left hand and Caren with her right, heading down the mountain.
As she walked away from the group, a sly and alluring smile played at the corner of her lips, as if she could already see the troubled expression on Shinji's face.
...
Shinji was indeed troubled, by the puzzle set by Reika Rikudou.
Based on what Jack had said, Reika must be waiting somewhere familiar to both of them.
There were many such places. For instance, Millenia Castle, or the small temporary village outside Trifas—but those places couldn't be reached in such a short time, so they were ruled out.
If they limited the search to Fuyuki, Shinji could only think of one place: the location where he had saved Reika Rikudou and summoned Jack.
But that wasn't possible either, because that was the mountain villa on Mount Enzou. The Matou family had bought up all the land in the area and converted it into a separate estate. Touko and Justeaze had built a workshop there and set up a powerful bounded field. If Reika appeared there, Justeaze would know immediately—she had met Reika before.
On the way back to the city, Shinji had already contacted Justeaze, and her feedback was that everything was normal, meaning Reika wasn't there.
So where else could she be?
After arriving in Fuyuki, Shinji had gone to the Matou residence, and then the Tohsaka residence, but neither had any connection to Reika or Jack.
Was there somewhere he had overlooked? Somewhere he had been but forgotten?
No, after stepping into the realm of magic, the possibility of forgetting was almost zero. It had to be something he had overlooked.
He mentally retraced his steps.
He left Trifas, following the leyline flow to Fuyuki.
Emerging from the summoning circle, he killed Sagara Hyouma, saved Reika, summoned Jack, and then summoned Artoria.
He left the mountain villa for the Matou residence—that's when he and Reika parted ways with Jack.
Due to the urgency and the need to avoid attention, they hadn't called for a car. He and Artoria had carried people down the mountain by foot, all the way to the residential area at the foot of the mountain.
Wait, the residential area?
Jack had mentioned just now that "Daddy, Mommy, and Jack are a happy family." Reika had also mentioned more than once that she wanted to start a family with him and their daughter.
Compared to the mountain villa, which was filled with memories of near-death, the residential area did indeed have more of a home feel. Plus, it was one of those ordinary places that his surveillance system didn't cover.
—This had to be it. The question of whether he was still the same person as before must refer to his attitude toward Jack—whether he truly regarded her as his daughter, as family, rather than just being impulsive due to her cuteness or some other fleeting emotion.
There's a saying that parents often forget their affairs, but they remember every detail of their children's lives.
Reika was truly the perfect mother. In comparison, as Jack's father… As Shinji sighed, he found himself standing at the entrance to the residential area from his memories.
Now, all he had to do was find Reika's specific location among these hundreds of homes.
...
Ah, no need. She was already there.