The Journey Home

For nearly a thousand years, the Einzbern, haunted by their obsession, have branded the Emiya name with the mark of a traitor because of this incident.

As for that "hybrid" born from the union of Emiya and the Lesser Grail?

After it was confirmed that Emiya Kiritsugu had "betrayed" the Einzbern family, Kiritsugu's daughter, Illyasviel von Einzbern, was completely reduced to a failure and a piece of trash in the eyes of the Emiya Kiritsugu, Acht.

So--

For a failed product, the landfill is naturally its best destination.

"!"

Just as old man Haid was pondering, a sudden surge of Magic Circuit within his body snapped him out of his daze.

--This is the alarm sounded when the barrier surrounding the "Castle of Winter" was triggered.

"Boom--"

Before Old Man Haid could react, a tremendous roar from outside the castle threw his Magic Circuit into chaos. Enduring the pain caused by the chaos in his Magic Circuit, Old Man Haid Projection the scene outside the castle before his eyes.

--Although there are no other beings in Castle of Winter besides the Einzbern homunculi, and the homunculi are not particularly concerned about their living environment, they are still fortunate to have the barrier set up outside the castle. Even though the castle stands in the fierce wind and snow all year round, it has not been affected by such harsh weather.

Meanwhile, Castle of Winter, the raging snowstorm was relentlessly eroding the outer layer of the castle, and the once neat and clean square in front of the castle was now in ruins.

This means that the barrier that had protected the "Castle of Winter" for hundreds of years was completely destroyed in an instant.

On the now-ruined square, a long spear remained firmly embedded in the ground, unmoved by the fierce wind and snow.

When old man Harald fixed his gaze on the "murder weapon," his pupils, deep-set in his eye sockets, involuntarily shrank to a tiny size.

The culprit behind all this was just a spear?

Before old man Haid could recover, the figure that vaguely appeared in the wind and snow once again attracted his attention.

The figure in the wind and snow became clearer, and soon, a subspecies man with black hair and black eyes appeared in the picture.

Apparently realizing he was being watched, the man in the video flashed a bright white smile and raised his right hand in a universally recognized greeting to the elderly man, Haid.

"!!!"

After retracting his right hand, Wang Xiaoming looked at the Einzbern homunculi that were relentlessly closing in on him and subconsciously remarked:

"Why do they all look so much like Irisviel?"

Despite saying that, after easily pulling the spear that was stuck deep in the ground, Wang Xiaoming

He turned around and ran away.

Watching the snowflakes kicked up by Wang Xiaoming as he ran away, and recalling Wang Xiaoming's raised middle finger, the old man Haid, his face dark with anger, felt for the first time that his core seemed to have experienced a brief overload.

Although their goal was to complete the Third Magic and save humanity, the Einzbern, as a family of homunculus humans, never considered themselves human and had no habits of human society.

After humans die, they are buried in cemeteries; but when androids die—no, it should be said that they lose their functions—they are discarded as "waste products" and thrown into the depths of the forest, waiting for nature to decompose them.

For the homunculus family, which values efficiency and practicality, there's no need to look for another place to dispose of "waste" since they already have one.

As the "waste" piled up, it eventually became the Einzbern Family's designated "graveyard" for their homunculus humans. It was used not only to house the "corpses" of homunculus humans, but also to discard failed products and irreparable homunculus humans from the manufacturing process.

From the moment it was confirmed that Saber had destroyed the Holy Grail, Illya's residence transformed from a warm castle into a cold, dark "graveyard" littered with android parts.

This was almost a hellish nightmare for Illya, who was only nine years old and whose physical development was slower than that of her peers.

There is no barrier here, only the blowing snow from the extreme cold, and the wandering of hungry wolves and vengeful spirits.

However, Illya still survived with great strength. The belief and motivation that supported her to live was the promise Emiya Kiritsugu.

Before Emiya Kiritsugu left Castle of Winter to fight in Fuyuki City, he made a promise to his daughter that he would definitely come back and take her to find Walnut Bud, which was Illya's favorite game.

Whenever she thought of riding on her father's shoulders, running through the woods, with her mother following behind them, watching the happy smiles on their faces, Illya felt an immense surge of motivation that sustained her through this hellish existence.

One day, two days... how many days have passed?

In her tattered clothes, Illya rested her chin on her hand, staring blankly at the sky from a small hut cobbled together from the "parts" of androids.

From the day Kiritsugu and Irisviel left the castle, the little girl began to silently count the days until they were separated:

"Emmm, it's been sixty days already, and Daddy and Mommy still haven't come back. Humph, liars, liars, big liars! Illya has decided not to speak to you for a day, no, for three days... But... but Illya still misses Daddy and Mommy so much."

As she thought about it, two tear tracks unknowingly slid down the little girl's cheeks.

"But it's okay..."

Reaching out to wipe away the tears on her face, Illya's small face showed a determined expression:

"Illya will persevere~, she'll wait for you all to come back, hehehe~"

"Illya ..."

A familiar voice suddenly reached Illya's ears, startling the little girl.

"Kiritsugu?"

Looking in the direction of the sound, to Illya's delight, Emiya Kiritsugu appeared in the forest not far away.

"Kiritsugu! It's Kiritsugu!"

The moment she saw Kiritsugu, Illya disregarded her weakened state and, like a little rabbit, hopped into her father's arms.

"Ah... it's me."

Feeling the coldness of his daughter's body in his arms, Kiritsugu quickly took off his down jacket and wrapped it around Illya. For Illya, a men's down jacket was practically a dress, completely covering her. Then Kiritsugu pulled her into his arms.

"So warm~"

Nestled in Kiritsugu's arms, Illya squinted her eyes and smiled at Kiritsugu.

Looking at Illya's happy and content expression in his arms, Kiritsugu a lump in his throat. He began to regret not coming here sooner and taking her away sooner.

However, now also

"Hey, Illya."

"What's wrong, Kiritsugu?"

Illya looked at her father with her red eyes.

"Shall we go home?"

"Home?"

A question mark appeared on Illya's little head, "Isn't this our home?"

"Mom is waiting for you to come home there."

"Oh~"

In Illya's simple mind, home is wherever her parents are.

"No, but..."

"What's wrong?"

Seeing his daughter's hesitant expression, Kiritsugu asked with concern.

Do you have Walnut Bud?

"Hmm, Dad doesn't know either."

Seeing Illya's expression visibly turn aggrieved, Kiritsugu chuckled and ruffled her hair, saying:

"But we can look for it together later."

"And what about Mom?"

"Mom's going too."

"That's great! (≧▽≦)"

"Maybe Illya can even make some good friends there."

"Oh~?ω?"

As the sounds of their conversation faded into the distance, the figures of the father and daughter also vanished into the misty landscape, leaving no trace.

I guess today's update will be a bit slow _(:з"∠)_

(Hands in hands, runs away)

Also, it's not Cardin.

Chapter 151. The Return Journey

"This flight is about to arrive at Tokyo Haneda International Airport. Please take your carry-on luggage with you..."

Amid greetings from the flight crew over the loudspeaker, an Austria flight slowly landed on a runway at Tokyo's international airport.

"Ah--"

Wang Xiaoming couldn't help but yawn as he stepped off the plane, and at the same time, a pretty little girl next to him did the same.

"Uncle, have we arrived?"

Forcing herself to stay awake, Illya looked up at Wang Xiaoming beside her and asked. Ever since getting off the plane, the boy had been listless; clearly, his first close encounter with the sky hadn't been a pleasant experience for Illya.

"Yes, we've arrived. Illya will soon be able to see her mother."

Seeing that Illya was listless, Wang Xiaoming reached out and hugged Illya, then softly said to her:

"Before that, Illya should get some more rest. Make sure you meet her looking your best."

"Oh, okay~ (??ω??)"

After hearing Wang Xiaoming's words, Illya responded and then nestled comfortably in his arms, closing her eyes.

Listening to the girl's soft breathing in his arms, Wang Xiaoming smiled silently and then slowed his pace as he walked out of the airport.

As Wang Xiaoming exited the terminal, the first thing he noticed was a slender figure in orange standing out in the crowd. Upon seeing Wang Xiaoming emerge from the airport, the woman approached and greeted him.

"Yo~"

Touko Aozaki had just received Wang Xiaoming's call, arrived at the airport exit early before the flight arrived. However, judging from Touko Aozaki's attention, it was clear that her purpose was not to come for the man.

"So this is the Emiya family's child? A child born from the union of a homunculus and a human... How intriguing."

After gazing at the sleeping Illya in Wang Xiaoming's arms with great interest for a while, Touko Aozaki looked up at the man in front of her and asked for his permission, "Can I hold her?"

Unexpectedly, Wang Xiaoming gave Touko Aozaki a disdainful look and then turned away to avoid her gaze.

"Forget about it. The Einzbern artificial human materials are with Emiya. Once he gets back, you can go and wreak havoc on those things."

"You're questioning me as a woman. This child is so adorable, how could I possibly harm her?"

Pushing up her glasses, Aozaki Touko's tone seemed somewhat resentful.

"Come on, I just trusted your professionalism too much."

Clearly, Wang Xiaoming wasn't buying it.

"Tsk--"

Seeing that her "plan" had failed, Touko Aozaki didn't dwell on it. She pursed her lips and turned to walk towards the parking lot outside the airport.

Watching Touko Aozaki's graceful figure disappear into the distance, Wang Xiaoming shook his head and followed her.

"It seems you've gained a lot during your trip."

Once back in the car, after watching Wang Xiaoming carefully place Illya into the back seat through the rearview mirror, Touko Aozaki suddenly spoke to him.

"You could tell that?"

Upon hearing Touko Aozaki's question, Wang Xiaoming was slightly taken aback and subconsciously asked.

Are you doubting my eyesight?

Touko Aozaki's increasingly cold tone seemed to express her dissatisfaction with Wang Xiaoming's questioning. However, despite saying that, Touko Aozaki subconsciously lowered her voice in the relatively confined space of the car.

"Without--"