Chapter 343

Yoshiko stroked Miyu's head and couldn't help but laugh as she looked at the picture on the wall.

Thinking about it carefully, I rarely take Miyu; it's mostly Ivia who takes her. No wonder this doodle, which I've been working on for so long, is only being seen by me now.

However, the next second, something happened that Yoshiko had not anticipated—

Finally, her daughter, Miyu Satsuki, spoke.

"... Yes, Mom."

A month before Miyu Satsuki's sixth Birthday, Sakatsuki Hiyori heard this cry from her own child.

This was the first time Yoshiko had ever heard such a sound as a child, and the first time she had ever seen such Miyu.

Therefore, Sakatsuki Hiyori suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia. As she watched the flocks of birds flying towards the mountains reddened by the setting sun, she thought of her mother and herself, and the seven years they had spent in this boring yet deeply missed Bounded Field.

This is Bounded Field that Protection or binds the Sakatsuki.

The lush, verdant forest within the Bounded Field, which has stood for hundreds of years, is the Guardian Forest of the Sakatsuki.

"When will it be available, Miyu?"

After making eye contact with Miyu, Yoshiko asked.

"Just."

"Haha, is that so?"

Yoshiko giggled as she hugged Miyu again, "Ivia might be surprised by what Miyu said later, it's kind of funny to think about."

"No, you can't, tell him now."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Yoshiko frowned in confusion. "Why is that?"

"... Because, my Birthday is a month from now..."

With a blank expression, Miyu fidgeted with her fingers, searching for an excuse, "A gift..."

"So you're going to speak to Ivia as your Birthday present? Miyu, you're so amazing! I can't even compare to you, Mom! But it's okay, it's really wonderful!"

Yoshiko naturally came up with a reason instead of the hesitant and timid Miyu.

"No, it's just that it would be better that way..."

"It's okay! That would be great! Miyu, do your best! Make sure you say something amazing! Mom, I'll film that moment!"

Sakatsuki Hiyori excitedly clenched her fists and gave Miyu a little encouragement.

Seeing her mother's radiant smile, and thinking about celebrating her Birthday in a lively atmosphere a month from now, Miyu was also happy.

Then, the Black-Haired Girl's indifferent expression finally softened, turning into a smile, and she nodded gently.

"Um."

Then, Miyu turned her back to Yoshiko and faced the sky painted on the graffiti-covered wall.

Summer's end is a little lonely, but a new summer will surely come.

Even after the new year, I think I'll still be with him, along with my mother, and then I can finally leave this place.

So, this is my Birthday wish for next year:

When summer comes, let's go see the real sea together.

One month later, on July 20th of that year.

At this very moment, inside the Sakatsuki, Miyu took a bath in the afternoon, especially for her Birthday.

Inside the Bathroom, the girl closed her eyes tightly and let the Waterflow from the showerhead flow over her head, torso, and legs.

The feeling of the flowing water reminded her of the past, of herself and Ivia getting soaking wet together in the Bathroom.

Even now, when she thinks back to that time, she still feels a little shy. Although it was just a normal bath, like her mother, she still can't help but feel embarrassed when she thinks about it now.

Ivia is a 'thing' similar to herself. From the moment she first saw him in that 'world of destruction' with her mother, Miyu had this thought. Moreover, she could deeply feel that in terms of scale and authority, he was far superior to her.

However, her mother had promised that such a person would take care of her and instructed the two to spend time together. At first, she didn't show it, but she was instinctively afraid, only—

Mingming always felt most relaxed when she was with her mother; if she were with other people, she felt like she wasn't herself anymore.

This has always been what Miyu Satsuki thought.

But without realizing it, this person, just like my mother, illuminated my world, painted fairy tales by my bedside, became a habit I relied on, the one I ran towards when playing, and whose smile was etched in my memory day and night...

So, while swinging on the swings, while sitting on the seesaw, and while enjoying Ivia's Miyu, I realized that this person had unknowingly gotten so close to me. If that's the case, why am I still me?

It was hard to understand, so Miyu told herself that they were "similar beings," or perhaps, "Miyu is my 'Galaxy'."

"Um, Miyu, what are you doing? You've been soaking for almost an hour! I've picked up your kimono and turned it over and over a dozen times already!"

The Bathroom door clicked open, and Yoshiko stood there holding a small kimono.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"Perhaps she's lost in thought about something, Mom? I understand. So hurry up and put on your kimono so Ivia can see that my Miyu is the cutest girl in the world!"

Yoshiko stared at Miyu wiping her body with Towel, then jumped up and clenched her fists, looking nothing like a grown-up.

"Although I made an excuse to send that guy to the Forest to look for flowers, so I couldn't see you in a Miyu right away, Miyu, don't be sad. There's still plenty of time. I'll be waiting for you outside."

Yoshiko abruptly ended the conversation, closed the Bathroom Great Gate, and watched her leave. Miyu quickly dried herself off, put on her underwear, came out, and obediently sat down in front of Yoshiko. The floor was cool in the summer due to the temperature difference, so the chill reached the girl's body.

"Has Miyu decided what to say to Ivia as a gift?"

As Yoshiko helped Miyu put on her kimono, she jokingly asked...

"I've thought it through."

"What is it that you wanted to say? Can you tell my mom?"

"No."

"Could it be something very private that you don't want to tell your mom? But it's okay, I'll record it anyway, hahaha..."

Yoshiko laughed as if it were a matter of course, "I wonder if the grown-up Miyu will be shy or indifferent when she sees this. I'm really looking forward to it!"

"No, you can't, that..."

Miyu's face, already warm from soaking in the bath for so long, turned even redder, and she could only unconsciously clench her temari tightly in her hand.

"What do you mean by 'that, 'Miyu?"

Yoshiko continued to tease, but at the same time, her gaze darted around, and she seemed troubled.

Because in recent days she has sensed a huge fluctuation in the Od of Fuyuki City, which is clearly beyond the normal value.

Could it be that the other three companies are doing something...? Hopefully, it's not too outrageous.

In an instant, Yoshiko saw the Raven on the eaves fly away, leaving behind a faint light.

No, that wasn't light.

It was like dark 'mud' emerging from the Fuyuki, and without warning, it broke through the Bounded Field of the Sakatsuki.

This caused a look of anxiety to appear on Yoshiko's face. Then, her body acted far faster than her brain could think, and she shoved Miyu aside.

Then, something rose up in waves from the dark abyss.

Like Mermaid leaping from the sea at night.

Like a black cannonball, it instantly enveloped half of the Sakatsuki's ancestral home, along with Yoshiko's body.

"... Mother?"

Miyu Satsuki stared blankly at the now massively damaged interior of her house and her suddenly vanished mother, murmuring to herself.

At the same time, the dark 'mud' rushed towards her—

Just then, the Divine Child who stepped out of the Bounded Field heard a 'voice' coming from nearby.

Please.

I don't want to die.

"Who's coming? Who's coming..."

"Eliminate that darkness."

When faced with a great disaster, people's wishes surged like a raging tide to reach Miyu Satsuki, and since she has not yet lost the power of the Divine Child, she will do everything in her power to fulfill people's wishes.

And so, the power of desire descended like the Sun.

Vast, distant, boundless Divinity, pure power.

It almost makes one feel that in an endless landscape—everything becomes pure white.

Heaven and earth were all one color, a light that illuminated everything. It was the power of the Divine Child, who had not yet fallen from God to man, that dispelled the darkness.

However, for Miyu Satsuki, who had unleashed this power, at this moment she was curled up in a ball, in so much pain that she stopped breathing.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

"It's over."

Hearing the voice amidst her pain, Miyu suppressed her own voice. Although cold sweat continued to pour down her forehead, she tried her best to lift her head and smile at the source of the voice. At the same time, she felt Temari, who was originally in her hand, fly away uncontrollably.

"Mom, she..."

"So, Miyu, you can talk now? Come to think of it, it's about time. I'm quite happy about that."

At that moment, the silver-haired boy's innocent face was still smiling.

It was a demonic laugh that seemed to suck even the stars into it, a laugh that could not possibly exist in reality.

As they were talking, Ivia caught Temari flying towards her and tossed her back as she usually did, but because of Miyu's current condition, she couldn't reach out to catch her and could only let Temari gently return to her hand as she slumped to the ground.

"Not going to continue playing? Yeah, it's all over."

Ivia sighed, then Miyu, came up behind her, and reached out to fix the slightly loose Taiko Knot on the back of her kimono.

"Alright, the deadline for my wish has passed, and I should go now."

After saying that, he got up and walked away in another direction, leaving Miyu, whose body was no longer in pain, staring blankly at his Miyu.

A few seconds later, the Black-Haired Girl, belatedly realizing what was happening, finally stood up, maintaining her swaying body, and reached out her hand towards Ivia. However, before she could say anything, Ivia turned around, still smiling.

"I almost forgot to mention, this kimono suits you very well."

And that was Ivia's final answer.

Finally, the girl, her eyes vacant, hugged Temari and sat blankly on the remaining floor.

"... fraud."

At the same time.

Deep in the mountains near the Sakatsuki's residence, Shirou Emiya, who had come to investigate the strange occurrences there, saw a person with Silver Hair slowly emerge from within.

That was a silver-haired boy who seemed to be a perfect match for Maosen's Bamboo Grove.

Even though the Bamboo Grove would make sounds with just a gust of wind, a rustling and rustling sound, along with the cicadas chirping in the daytime, Shirou Emiya almost didn't notice this person. If it weren't for that murmur, he probably wouldn't have noticed him at all.

"Strange, I actually wanted Martha to beat me up, but there's no way I could be beaten up now, and she couldn't possibly beat me either..."

In fact, just as the Ritual of the Sakatsuki were meant to cause the gods to fall into manhood, the years Novia spent being 'educated' by Martha during her time in Rome could also be seen as a similar Ritual, to prevent her from being a central air conditioner who doesn't handle related matters...

Otherwise, when Martha ran off to preach on her own at the age of fourteen, Paul wouldn't have exclaimed, "It was all thanks to Martha's teachings!"

If it were the adult Novia, she probably wouldn't have abandoned Miyu, but for her Lily Form, taking care of Miyu Satsuki was simply a 'mission'. Once the mission was over, she would leave. It was that simple. After all, there were so many people in the world, and to Ivia, they were all the same, with little difference.

Simply put, because I've become smaller, my mindset has also changed.

Perhaps Ivia needs to be beaten up by Martha again, or rather, by someone using Martha's power, before she can show any 'remorse'.

But why would I think that way?

Shirou Emiya looked in the direction of the sound and saw a boy with extremely rare Silver Hair who appeared to be about the same age as him.

However, more than his appearance, what is most immediately noticeable is a sense of calm, an aura of peace; being around him makes one feel relaxed.

"Um, you are...?"

Shirou Emiya still thought the boy in front of him was the one who had just resolved the crisis in Fuyuki.