So, Papa, Mama, why did you both look so sad? Why was Kiritsugu looking at Mama with tears in his eyes?
My body hurt so much. When would the adjustments be over? Grandpa Acht's expression was so scary...
Though she had yet to understand the meaning of life, little Illya had already vaguely realized her fate.
If nothing unexpected happened, she would grow up in this cold castle like her mother, waiting for the day she would be "used."
When that time came, would there be someone dependable like Kiritsugu Papa protecting her too?
Somehow, it still felt a little scary.
Staring at a spot in the forest outside the window, Illya suddenly smiled expectantly. She jumped down from the now-empty bed, put on her snow boots, and ran off toward somewhere.
Yet this unchanging life had also changed because of someone's arrival.
—Just like how, after a brief spell of clear skies, a few hints of fresh green had appeared in the forest beyond the window.
Winter's Castle, front courtyard
004: Irisviel von Einzbern Character Information: A homunculus created by the Einzbern Family in preparation for the Fourth Holy Grail War, and Kiritsugu Emiya's wife. Although she was a homunculus, she developed emotions because of Kiritsugu Emiya. She deeply loved and absolutely trusted her husband, Kiritsugu, and supported his ideals. Even if those ideals meant her own destruction, she would not allow them to change. Hidden Information: Conditions insufficient Record Conditions (2/1): 1. Gain Irisviel's approval (Incomplete) 2. Additional condition: Protect the existence known as Irisviel von Einzbern (Unaccepted)
Flipping through the two-hundred-and-fifty-page manual, Sakutsuki stared with the same dead-fish eyes as Kiritsugu. He looked from the panel appearing on his retina to the figure hiding behind the door, a few strands of silver hair visible. He endured it again and again before finally saying helplessly,
"Madam, you're making it very difficult for me to concentrate."
Apparently not expecting to have been discovered, a soft cry came from behind the door. Then the woman in a gorgeous formal dress walked out with her face covered, saying shyly, "Sorry, I was just really curious..."
Curious? Curious about what?
Sakutsuki lowered his head and looked at the two-wheeled beast quietly crouching before him.
The Kawasaki Ninja H2R motorcycle—that was the beast's name, and also the reward the Fates Codex had given Sakutsuki after he was hit by the Origin Bullet and completed the hidden condition.
It was equipped with a 1000cc inline-four, four-stroke, liquid-cooled engine, boasting a maximum output of 310 horsepower, or 326 horsepower under ram-air conditions, and peak torque of 165 Newton-meters. Its unique Supercharged centrifugal supercharger had an impeller speed of 130,000 revolutions per minute, pumping over 200 liters of air into the engine every second and producing up to 2.4 times atmospheric pressure, all without needing an intercooler to cool the compressed air.
Manufacturing technology decades ahead of this world, combined with top-tier aerodynamic design, gave it such terrifying speed that it had surpassed F1 cars, grounded passenger jets, and fighter jets on the Osman Gazi Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey. The title of "land-based aircraft" was well deserved.
To be honest, although Sakutsuki understood that the Fates Codex possessed many strange properties, conjuring a motorcycle that would not be born for decades still exceeded his expectations. After a brief shock, he decisively fell head over heels for it.
Look at those angled carbon-fiber wings! That high-rigidity carbon-fiber fairing! The matte-gray body decorated with green streaks! This was the ultimate man's romance!
And clearly, Sakutsuki was not the only one deeply captivated by the bike. There was also a certain madam who happened to be passing by.
Looking at Irisviel, who covered her face with both hands and pretended to be shy while her red eyes remained fixed on the motorcycle, Sakutsuki's mouth twitched. Then he suddenly remembered another title of hers:
Fuyuki Speedster.
Though she was hopeless with machines, she loved driving the luxury sedan Kiritsugu Emiya had given her through the forests of the Einzbern territory. Her skills were excellent, but she had no concept of speed limits and even lacked basic traffic knowledge. She had once pulled off a perfect drift on a mountain road—there were few pedestrians on Fuyuki Mountain—and treated sports cars like a child treated a beloved toy.
Come to think of it, the Einzbern Family's closed-off environment could not only turn the future Illya into a natural-born devil, but also cultivate a naturally innocent woman like this madam... Though Illya was still a little angel right now.
Whether it was Sakutsuki's or Shirou's sigh echoing in his heart, the young man soon coughed lightly and casually invited her,
"By the way, I heard you have a luxury sedan too, Madam? Since there's still some time before my examination, how about we have a race?"
"Huh? Really?" Red eyes identical to Illya's immediately lit up. Irisviel excitedly clenched her fists. "I don't know why Mister Shirou keeps calling me Madam, but if it's a race, I won't lose, okay?"
"My pleasure, Lady." Sakutsuki bowed with flawless elegance, and beneath the shadows, the corner of his mouth curled into a mischievous grin.
If a certain assassin hiding behind the eaves saw that expression, he would definitely turn and run without hesitation, wouldn't he?
Unfortunately, by the time Kiritsugu Emiya realized what was happening, he had already appeared in front of Irisviel.
"Then surely this knight who has silently protected his beloved would be delighted to fight alongside Lady Irisviel, right?" Having used Displacement Magic, Sakutsuki looked at the stunned Kiritsugu and the expectant Irisviel, making no effort to hide the teasing smile on his face.
Even the Knight King had been terrified by her driving skills. What would Kiritsugu Papa think of them?
"Big Brother Shirou! Papa and Mama, you played without me! I'm angry, hmph!" A tiny figure came running over in a huff and clung to Sakutsuki like a koala. "I want to play too! You promised me, Big Brother!"
Now Sakutsuki could not laugh anymore.
"Even Illya is joining? Damn it, Mama doesn't want to lose either!" Irisviel turned around, and the look she gave Kiritsugu immediately became pitiful and pleading. "Kiritsugu~~"
"..." Kiritsugu Emiya's mouth twitched. His wandering gaze met Sakutsuki's, who was currently being pestered by Illya.
The two men sharing the same misery wore equally delighted expressions.
Einzbern Forest, entrance
A luxury sedan and a racing motorcycle stood side by side, their engines letting out restless roars like two beasts poised to strike.
Inside the Mercedes-Benz, Irisviel sat in the driver's seat with the window rolled down, waving outside with a bright smile. Kiritsugu Papa sat in the passenger seat without saying a word, silently adjusting his seatbelt over and over again...
"Illya, do your best. Mama won't go easy on you."
"Illya doesn't need Mama to go easy on her! Big Brother Shirou is the strongest!"
The little girl shouted from the back seat. A band of azure magical energy was tied around her waist, connecting her to Sakutsuki and preventing the wind pressure from blowing her away.
Momentarily dazed by Illya's words before quickly growing fired up, Sakutsuki put on his helmet and laughed loudly. "Ready, Madam—"
"Of course. Right, Kiritsugu?" Rolling up the window, Irisviel took a deep breath. A rare, unladylike smile of excitement appeared on her face.
"Contestants, get ready!" With dark circles under his eyes, Jubstacheit von Einzbern, whom Sakutsuki had forcibly dragged over, waved the little flag down with a viciously expressionless face.
"Einzbern's first racing competition begins!"
"Woohoo—!"
He switched on the ignition, pulled the clutch, and kicked into gear. The motorcycle beneath him began to roar. Amid Sakutsuki's excited shout, the 1000cc engine unleashed 310 horsepower, violently dragging the monstrous machine forward like it was flying!
A few moments later...
"...We lost." At the finish line, Sakutsuki held Illya in his arms as they leaned against the Kawasaki Ninja H2R, both with their mouths half-open as though their souls had left their bodies.
"Yay, we won, Kiritsugu!" On the other side, smoke still hissed from the sports car's tires as Irisviel grabbed Kiritsugu and began shaking him. Her triumphant expression made her look even more like a child than Illya.
As for Kiritsugu... The handsome man who always wore a coat and presented himself with a cool, aloof demeanor was now being flung around like a rag doll by his wife. His entire color palette had turned gray and white.
To render the great Magus Killer incapable of fighting, the Fuyuki Speedster was truly terrifying.
As for how a sedan from the nineties could beat a motorcycle whose performance far surpassed it, that was because of the driver's sheer power... No, sheer terror.
Having grown up in Einzbern from childhood, Irisviel naturally knew the forest far better than Sakutsuki did.
After Sakutsuki left her far behind at the start, Irisviel decisively spun the wheel and charged into a side path.
It was a shortcut she had discovered by accident. Though it could reach the finish line faster, it was extremely dangerous for a large sedan. One wrong move and it would crash into a tree, with disastrous consequences.
Even before this, Irisviel had never dared to try it. But today, for the sake of victory, she bravely challenged the difficulty!
Perhaps the title of Fuyuki Speedster was well deserved, or perhaps heaven favored her. Irisviel made it through without incident and ultimately used the shortcut to overtake Sakutsuki, reaching the finish line first.
...At least, that was how the naturally innocent madam saw the race.
Naturally, the other three involved saw things very differently.
For example, a certain Magus Killer who had used Time Alter several times, was aching all over, and still had to be shaken around by his wife.
For example, a little girl who had ridden through it like a roller coaster, nearly been flung out several times, and had almost cried from fright.
And a certain young man whose Displacement and Projection Magic had never stopped, who had leveled the road in advance so the sedan could safely pass, only to suffer a magical energy malfunction that nearly sent Illya flying and scared him half to death.
Only Madam's happy world had been completed.jpg
Thus, with four votes in favor and one against, Einzbern's first and final racing competition came to an end.
"Oh, right, Mister Shirou~" Irisviel, supporting Kiritsugu Emiya and Illya as she prepared to return to the room and rest, seemed to remember something. She turned toward Sakutsuki with a brilliant smile.
"Even though I still don't know what Mister Shirou's purpose is, I believe you're a good person!"
After the Emiya family of this world left, Sakutsuki looked at his hand and could not help smiling.
He could accept being handed a good-person card, but if someone wanted to call him a "good person," then that was unnecessary.
What he had inherited was not Shirou Emiya, who longed to become an "ally of justice," but another possibility—one who would defy the world for his younger sister.
Even Sakutsuki knew he could not bear such heavy praise.
But whenever he remembered Irisviel and Illya's pure, flawless smiles, even he would feel the urge to protect something, wouldn't he?
Additional condition accepted. Reward issued. Reward obtained: Third Magic Fragment! Codex record updated 004: Irisviel von Einzbern Character Information: A homunculus created by the Einzbern Family in preparation for the Fourth Holy Grail War... Hidden Information: Passionate about cooking, mainly the dark-cuisine variety. Since she was a homunculus, she had accumulated only nine years of life experience in emotional matters. As a result, she possessed both the elegance of a noblewoman and the innocence of a child, becoming a somewhat troublesome princess. Note: In other words, although Madam's physical development was mature, her actual mental age was only nine. So our Kiritsugu Papa... Record Conditions (2/1): 1. Gain Irisviel's approval (Completed) 2. Additional condition: Protect the existence known as Irisviel von Einzbern (Completed)
A tiny fragment radiating colorless light appeared within Sakutsuki's consciousness, flickering and pulsing like a brilliant star.
With a single thought, Sakutsuki could gain an opportunity to come into contact with the Third Magic, one of the five great Magics that still existed in the world. Such a generous gift was enough to drive countless magi mad.
Yet Sakutsuki had no intention of using the fragment now. If the Third Magic were so easy to comprehend, the Einzbern Family would not have pursued it fruitlessly for a thousand years.
Right now, he had a more serious matter to resolve.
Looking at his palm again, this time blue particles seemed to flow within the reflection in Sakutsuki's golden eyes.
During the race, his magical energy output had stopped for an instant—this was why Illya had nearly been thrown out, and why Sakutsuki had fallen behind Irisviel.
If he had to describe it, it was as though his consciousness had gone blank for an instant. By the time he reacted, Illya was already crying out as she slipped out of her seat.
He had to figure out the abnormality within himself.
Unknown fear lingered in his heart. Sakutsuki turned to Jubstacheit von Einzbern, and an unintentional chill entered his voice.
"I hope Einzbern won't disappoint me. Let's go."
"Hmph. Just follow this old man."
Possessing the world's most advanced puppet-making technology, Einzbern naturally also possessed the most advanced examination equipment of the era. Before long, Jubstacheit von Einzbern handed Sakutsuki a report he had personally written.
"Your hands are trembling, Jubstacheit von Einzbern." The golden-eyed young man took the report and coldly warned him, "If I feel that greed in your eyes again, I think Einzbern should find itself another head."
The old man who had lived for two hundred years said nothing. He merely lowered his head deeply, preventing Sakutsuki from seeing the emotions churning in his eyes.
Only then did Sakutsuki secretly take a deep breath and look at the paper in his hands.
"Following three rounds of magical energy stimulation, it can be concluded that the test subject possesses magical energy reserves exceeding standard parameters by a hundredfold, with the possibility of being connected to the Greater Source. No, perhaps it is more than that..."
"No primate factors detected. Ability parameters surpass all recorded data. Suspected Phantasmal Species..."
"There was an overload magical energy output within the past five hours, causing an abnormal reaction in the body. This adverse reaction will end in two hours."
"Activities are driven at the cost of magical energy consumption. Aside from being able to use magecraft despite possessing no Magic Circuits, all other physiological responses are no different from those of an ordinary person. If overload operation does not resume, activity is expected to cease after eight thousand five hundred and twenty hours."
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