The saying that happy times fly by is true, but time spent doing nothing doesn't exactly drag either. Aside from slowly deciphering the world's rules and building rapport with the host of little lolis—while moonlighting as a kindergarten teacher to mediate their squabbles—Lin Luo quickly settled into a half-month routine at the Tohsaka residence.

When he woke the next morning, Lin Luo immediately immersed his consciousness within the Contract Book... Half a month hadn't passed; there was no sign of a stay limit.

"So, unlike the previous time with the A Certain Magical Index plane, the duration we can stay here will be quite long," a sense of relief washed over Lin Luo. If he had only been allowed to stay for one month, he wouldn't have known how to break the news to Rin. Having finally found an opportunity to change the trajectory of tragedy, it would be too cruel to miss it simply because of a time constraint.

But now, he could seemingly relax. As for the three possibilities mentioned before, since the first one had been ruled out, provided nothing unexpected happened, they could remain in the world of Nasuverse at least until the Fourth Holy Grail War concluded... Right, that was seven and a half months, by the end of the year.

Intervening in the Fourth Holy Grail War was a certainty, but there were many things he needed to accomplish before then. Although, as a Transmigrator, Lin Luo already held a significant advantage before the war even began—for instance, possessing data on all seven Magus pairs and their Servants—he didn't believe this alone guaranteed victory. After all, the power of Heroic Spirits far surpassed that of mere humans. Without Saber Alter being deployable and his Rule Power being unusable, facing any single Heroic Spirit would lead only to ruin.

With only eight months left, achieving both conditions would undoubtedly be incredibly difficult.

"Materialize."

A flash of light, and the Contract Book appeared before Lin Luo in a solid form, hovering in the void. Originally pure black, the Contract Book changed subtly with every World Heart he contracted; by now, it looked drastically different.

The Heart of Goodness manifested as an immaculate, pristine sanctuary; the Heart of Charm shimmered like a sea of stars; the Heart of Corruption was a dark, empty abyss of sin... Having integrated these attributes, the Contract Book, now the size of two palms, was a patchwork of ash-grey and white. Seven streams of rainbow starlight flowed across its cover like water ripples, vibrant and alive.

Though not the first time he had materialized it, Lin Luo realized this was the first time he had ever observed the Contract Book so closely. Completely unlike an ordinary book, its physical composition was shrouded in mystery; both the cover and the inner pages were imbued with the white, grey, and flowing light attributes of the World Hearts.

As he gazed, a strange illusion gripped Lin Luo... Are the Contract Book and the World Hearts inherently one, forming a world unto themselves?

"Hmm... Unlikely, isn't it?" Lin Luo murmured to himself, feeling his thought borders on absurdity. Yet, among all the Heart Tomes, his Contract Book was unique: it didn't require absorption of a World Heart; it upgraded merely by contracting with the Heart's owner and could resonate with the World Heart... It was as distinct and unique as that guy Xili.

Lin Luo truly felt fortunate. What if the artifact attached to him had been one of the other Heart Tomes? Given his deep affection for the worlds of anime and manga, he seriously doubted he could ever bring himself to harm characters like Misaka or Rin, even if they were right in front of him... Indeed, the selection of a Heart Tome's owner must align with the contractor's own attributes.

Subconsciously, he took a few steps back, viewing the Contract Book from several meters away. The feeling intensified, yet he still felt something essential was missing...

"What is it?" Leaning against the windowsill, Lin Luo rested one elbow on the sill, propping his chin in his hand, frowning in thought.

Knock-knock-knock-knock.

A light tapping sounded from outside the door, followed by a little girl's voice: "Brother Lin Luo."

"Yes, come in."

As Lin Luo spoke, the door cracked open, and a small head peeked in. "Brother Lin Luo, Mother asked me to call you for breakfast."

"Oh, it's Sakura. I know, I'll be right down. You eat first," Lin Luo glanced briefly at the girl, then quickly refocused on the Contract Book, lost in his contemplation.

The Contract Book, like any ordinary book, could not be broken or torn, and ordinary people couldn't see it unless they were the host of a World Heart, so Lin Luo paid little mind to Tohsaka Sakura's appearance.

"Why aren't you leaving yet?" After about a minute, Lin Luo noticed Tohsaka Sakura hadn't gone and was still peering curiously at him. He asked.

"Brother Lin Luo," the little girl called out, then blinked, asking with a mix of curiosity and innocence, "Are you pretending to be deep?"

Pfft.

Lin Luo stumbled, nearly face-planting, his eye twitching slightly as he asked, "Who taught you to say that?"

"Our teacher at school. She said grown-ups always like to act profound to trick girls." Sakura replied earnestly.

This was too much. Lin Luo was left speechless. Just how inadequate were kindergarten teachers these days, passing on their own heartbreak experiences to children?

Being interrupted by Sakura clearly shattered his focus. With a sigh, Lin Luo walked over, patted her head, and said with earnest advice, "Sakura, what big brother was doing wasn't pretending to be profound; it was being stylish."

"Stylish? What is stylish?" Sakura blinked, continuing her questioning.

"Stylish, hmm... It means handsome."

"What is handsome?"

"Handsome means cool."

"What is cool?"

"Cool means sharp..."

"What is sharp?"

"Sharp means... Are you going to ask forever? Have you turned into a Walking Encyclopedia? Hurry up and go eat!" Mid-sentence, Lin Luo realized the explanation was going nowhere. He quickly put on a stern face, feigning anger.

"Oh..." Sakura nodded weakly, pouting with a look of deep grievance. Under Lin Luo's urging, she reluctantly headed downstairs.

After a brief wash-up, Lin Luo left his room a few minutes later, but he didn't put the Contract Book away, letting it hover near him... As long as it stayed within a ten-meter radius, he could control it freely—it could go to the heavens or the earth—though only within that ten-meter limit.

Descending the stairs, he found everyone already seated at the dining table, seemingly waiting only for him. Upon seeing him, the others remained composed, but Tohsaka Rin frowned. "What are you doing?"

Rin was referring to the Contract Book hovering next to Lin Luo, while Tohsaka Aoi mistook her remark for a reprimand about his tardiness and quietly scolded, "Rin, that is impolite."

Loli Rin looked utterly vexed and sent another mental complaint to Lin Luo: "Hey, you bastard, what are you trying to achieve by flashing that useless book around?"

Useless book? This is the ultimate charm-collection manual!

Lin Luo dismissed Rin's description with profound contempt in his heart. I'm using it for important things, of course. I don't do meaningless things. Besides, normal people can't see it, so why the rush?

"...But I can see it, and I don't have a good feeling about that thing."

Is it because it has your strategy prompts on it? Lin Luo thought inwardly. "Right! I have good news for you: the Contract Book didn't show any time limit. That means we can stay in this world for a very long time!"

"What? R-Really?" Hearing this, Loli Rin became instantly excited, jumping up from her seat and shouting loudly.

"Rin, what are you doing? Where has all your usual upbringing gone?" Seeing Rin's outburst, Tohsaka Aoi immediately delivered another sharp rebuke.

"I..." Loli Rin felt deeply wronged. Although she possessed the near-Level 6 cunning of a dark strategist, this "power" was clearly ineffective against her parents. She could only stew in silent frustration, especially seeing the faint smiles on Lin Luo's and Mikoto's faces. This damned guy is doing this on purpose! Why wait until now to say it?

While eating breakfast, Lin Luo absorbed information transmitted from the Contract Book. His mention of its usefulness wasn't just talk to placate Rin; he had only discovered two days prior that materializing the Contract Book significantly accelerated the process of analyzing world rules.

Since such a shortcut existed, Lin Luo naturally wouldn't ignore it. Materializing the Contract Book didn't even consume Vitality, so why not? The only thing that frustrated him was that even with accelerated analysis, he still had no confidence he could fully decipher the Moonlit World's rules before the Fourth Holy Grail War. This issue was proving quite complicated.

Haste makes waste. Lin Luo could only proceed slowly, mentally guiding the Contract Book until it settled onto the table. The book automatically flipped open, landing on Tohsaka Rin's entry. It had been a while since the girls turned into lolis; he really hadn't checked their status properly.

Contractor: Tohsaka Rin (Tier 1) Race: Human Class: Magus Abilities: Command Spells, Curses, Gemstone Sorcery Status: Normal (Loli Form) Strength: 20 Constitution: 30 Intelligence: 135 Spiritual Power: 3000 Vitality: 500 World Heart: Heart of Charm (11) World Heart Form: Maze World Heart Compatibility: 100% (Indestructible) Heart Battle Technique: None Heart Seal: First Layer Favorability: 95 Overall Combat Rating: AAA ...

The other stats were unremarkable. The drop in Strength and Constitution was normal due to her loli transformation. The Spiritual Power being 1000 higher than before was likely related to signing the Heart Contract and summoning Saber Alter. In short, Tohsaka Rin's status showed nothing unexpected—but...

When he saw the final overall combat rating, Lin Luo was so shocked he nearly spat out the food he was chewing... Even when Mugino transformed into Dark Angel, her rating was only A+. How could Loli Rin, whose combat strength was originally a mere B, suddenly jump to AAA??

What the hell! This is a scam! A!