The Blonde Girl

Perhaps if Kaoru Sakura had been allowed to attend school normally, none of this would have happened.

Sasuke had no desire to meddle in other people's affairs, but his "foolish" younger sister was far too concerned about Illya.

Therefore, if Illya truly wished to understand Shirou Emiya, tonight might be the perfect opportunity.

After all, Illya, Shirou Emiya, and Rin Tohsaka now shared a common enemy.

That enemy was the Caster and Assassin of Ryudou Temple.

Illya could not force her way into Ryudou Temple, and on the surface, Caster was the greatest obstacle standing in her path.

As for Shirou Emiya, he had joined forces with Rin Tohsaka; judging by what Sasuke had just heard, they likely wanted him to help them deal with Caster.

Looking at the current situation, Illya and Shirou Emiya had a common enemy.

As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend; until Caster was defeated, they could coexist peacefully.

So, as long as Illya was willing to go to the Emiya Residence with Sasuke and refrain from attacking Shirou Emiya and the others, it would be a golden opportunity.

Illya could not possibly be unaware of this, yet she did not respond, merely standing silently and gazing into the distance.

Seeing this, Sasuke also came to a halt.

The road back to the castle was located on the high ground of Fuyuki City, winding from the city out into the suburban forests, the terrain growing increasingly steep.

From their current vantage point, they could overlook the entirety of Fuyuki City.

The night air had turned somewhat chilly, and Illya loathed the sensation.

Einzbern.

Like the Tohsaka Family and the Matou Family, they were one of the three founding families of the Holy Grail War.

Illya was well aware of her duty.

As far as Illya knew, the Einzberns had already failed four times in the Holy Grail War of Fuyuki City.

In the fourth war, both of Illya's parents had participated.

Having suffered defeat in three previous wars, the Einzberns, in a bid to regain the advantage, hired the Mage Killer Kiritsugu Emiya as their Master and permitted him to join the Einzbern family.

Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel von Einzbern fell in love and united.

The daughter they bore was Illya.

From the moment she appeared in her mother's womb, Illya had been subjected to countless magical procedures, her physical structure replaced by components even less human than those of her mother.

Illya's existence could be called the crystallization of the Einzberns' highest technology.

Eight years after Illya was born, the Fourth Holy Grail War began.

Kiritsugu Emiya took Irisviel to Fuyuki City to participate in the war, leaving young Illya behind to wait at the Einzbern estate.

Before departing, Kiritsugu Emiya promised Illya that he would definitely return.

Illya waited at home for her parents' return, only to eventually receive news that her mother had died, her father had betrayed the family, and he had abandoned her to adopt another child elsewhere.

Over time, Illya's longing for her father turned into hatred.

Upon learning that her father was dead, Illya focused this hatred onto his adopted son in Fuyuki City, Shirou Emiya.

But once Illya arrived in Fuyuki and saw this so-called Shirou Emiya, her feelings became complicated once again.

She did not know if it was anger or hatred; regardless, her heart was in turmoil.

Rather than being dragged into this conflict and revenge, Illya preferred to stay at the Fish Fresh House and play with the carefree Kaoru Sakura.

But Illya knew very well that she did not have that right.

Illya felt that from the moment she was born, she had already lost the chance at a normal life.

Deep in internal conflict, Illya took a deep breath, her expression carrying a rare, bitter smile:

"Please tell Kaoru that I... had a great time today."

"Let's end it here."

"Berserker."

As she spoke, the previously spiritualized Berserker appeared by Illya's side and, the next moment, leaped into the forest with her.

Illya had rejected Sasuke's suggestion, though Sasuke did not wish to say anything more about it.

Since nothing was happening on Illya's end, Sasuke pulled his phone from the pocket of his gray coat to check his messages.

Shirou Emiya had sent his home address to Sasuke via text.

Taking advantage of the night, Sasuke leaped rapidly toward his destination.

The Emiya Residence was located in the northern residential district of Miyama Town in Fuyuki City; for Sasuke, it was not too far, yet not exactly close either.

The mansion looked quite spacious, much like the headquarters of a yakuza clan.

In reality, that was exactly what it was—property held by the yakuza Fujimura Group.

During the Fourth Holy Grail War, Kiritsugu Emiya had obtained the right to use the mansion from the Fujimura Group, and after Kiritsugu Emiya passed away, Shirou Emiya inherited the estate.

Since it was a mage's residence, it was naturally protected by a bounded field.

It wasn't long before someone came to greet Sasuke, who was waiting outside the gate.

The person who arrived was neither Shirou Emiya nor Rin Tohsaka, but a girl wearing the Homurahara Academy uniform.

The girl was strikingly beautiful, with purple hair and eyes, and a red ribbon tied to the side of her lustrous, long purple hair.

Sasuke recognized her as a girl from the same class as Kaoru Sakura, named Sakura.

Although Sasuke had seen Sakura from afar a few times when picking up Kaoru Sakura from school in the past, he had never paid her any particular attention.

Now that they were face-to-face, however, Sasuke noticed something off.

Even upon their first meeting, this girl named Sakura made Sasuke feel that something was strange, or perhaps, that there was an eerie aura about her?

Even though Sakura was currently wearing a healing, gentle smile.

"Are you the Mr. Uchiha that Senpai mentioned?"

Sasuke nodded, responding to Sakura with an expressionless face:

"Emiya and Tohsaka asked me to come over to discuss something."

Hearing this, Sakura nodded politely at Sasuke:

"Please, follow me."

After entering the residence, the spacious courtyard and the detached buildings came into Sasuke's view.

If Kaoru Sakura were here, she would surely be envious, right? Because the area of Fish Fresh House was not large, and only the second floor was habitable.

It could be said to be quite cramped.

Although the Sakura family already had enough money to purchase a mansion in the residential areas of Shinto or Miyama Town, Sakura Masayoshi, who held the financial power, did not agree to it.

This had become a frequent topic of complaint and grumbling for Kaoru Sakura toward Sasuke.

Therefore, Kaoru Sakura's dream was to move out of the shopping district once she started working or went to university.

Sasuke, however, was not particularly fussy about these things; for him, as long as he could continue to live a stable and peaceful life, that was enough to satisfy him.

But clearly, the series of events that had occurred recently did not follow his expectations.

Thinking this, Sasuke followed Sakura into the main house.

Passing through the entryway into the living room, he saw Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka preparing dinner in the kitchen.

Seeing Sasuke arrive, Shirou Emiya was the first to greet him:

"Mr. Uchiha, if you haven't had dinner yet, why not join us?"

Although Sasuke nodded, he was more focused at this moment on the blonde girl sitting at the dining table in the living room.

This feeling—it was definitely a Servant.