The Promise to Go See the Sea Together

It looked like Sakura and Taiga's post-meal activity was going to be a snowball fight. What should she do?

Ritsuka fell into thought...

With nothing else to do, Ritsuka went to the storage room at the back of the yard and casually switched on the light.

Clutter was piled everywhere, mostly useless odds and ends. Ritsuka had always used them to practice Reinforcement Magic; even if they had not been damaged, the constant wash of mana had nearly ruined them.

She closed the storage room door behind her. The Crystal Dice floated up from her palm, one of its faces turning toward her.

Alcides (Archer/Avenger)

Synchronization Value (0%)

The dark-skinned giant was not excessively tall, but he still stood at least two meters high. The being known as Alcides was incredibly muscular.

Judging from his somewhat shriveled body, the person represented by the image within the Crystal Dice must have been tremendously powerful at his peak. Just standing there gave off an oppressive feeling. After all, even his shriveled body was steeped in evil.

Like an angry avenger who hated something beyond measure.

"I should look it up. This name sounds familiar. Maybe he was someone who really existed in history."

At the back of the storage room, Ritsuka opened a rather concealed door and stepped into what could practically be called a library.

Thanks to Miyu's personal interests and abilities, a considerable portion of the money Ritsuka had earned over the years had gone toward buying books, resulting in this library.

Of course, enjoying learning was a good thing. Not only would Ritsuka not stop her, she was happy for Miyu.

"Would there be anything on Alcides?"

Muttering to herself, Ritsuka held the floating Crystal Dice in her left hand while her right hand brushed across the spines of the books. Their titles were written there. She should have heard the name Alcides in one of these books, one she had read not long ago.

"Olympians... Greek Mythology..."

Her fingers paused slightly. Her index fingertip landed on a book titled Greek Mythology, and Ritsuka frowned faintly.

She casually pulled the book from the shelf. Her memory of it remained stuck on the last time she had flipped through its account of Pandora. Why had she not seen anything about Pandora's Box?

Back then, she had assumed the myths in this world differed from those of her previous world. Besides, she seemed to remember seeing the name Alcides in this book.

Pulling out the bookmark tucked inside, Ritsuka flipped back through the pages. "No box containing calamity and hope... As for Alcides... Heracles's original name?"

As a fake academic ace and a real academic failure, Ritsuka looked slightly lost before carefully rereading the book.

The last time she had read it, she had probably treated it as a storybook and paid little attention to the details.

Time passed without her noticing. After carefully reading through Heracles's section, Ritsuka was completely dumbfounded. She squatted in a corner, speechless, sinking into a strange silence. Honestly, the book had left her feelings rather complicated.

With an equally complicated expression, she opened the book again and could not help complaining, "Heracles supposedly means 'Hera's glory,' but he's Zeus's kid."

"Children are all Hera's treasures, except Zeus's children."

"That name is really something. Heracles and Queen Hera had such a terrible relationship. Greek Mythology is seriously bizarre."

Ritsuka was speechless. Hera had even sent snakes to bite the infant Heracles to death.

After all, Hera was Zeus's lawful wife. Heracles's mother, Alcmene, was Perseus's granddaughter—meaning Zeus's great-granddaughter—and the wife of Amphitryon, king of Thebes. Zeus seduced and violated her, and she gave birth to the Demigod Heracles.

In short, it was incredibly complicated and involved all sorts of forbidden elements.

Things like qb, yj, ll, wy, ntr, and so on. All she could say was that Zeus truly lived up to his reputation as a man who dared to do anything.

It was not just women. Zeus did not care about status at all. He was a man who even dared to sleep with men, and even things that were not human. In a certain sense, he was an absurdly formidable man.

Even that guy named Zhang Chulan probably could not shed tears of envy for him.

Greek Mythology was thoroughly chaotic. Though Heracles could not exactly be called a man of impeccable character, he was still far better than the other Greek heroes of his era. At the very least, he apparently had never forced himself on a woman.

The other Greek heroes were, more or less, no different from thugs and bandits. In a sense, Greek Mythology had only two kinds of heroes: Heracles and everyone else...

After putting the bookmark back in place, closing the book, and returning it to its original spot on the shelf, Ritsuka switched off the light and left the storage room.

Now that she knew who Alcides was, she also had some understanding of his abilities. After all, the Crystal Dice's only function now was to replicate the abilities of those within it onto her, even though there had originally been only someone named Emiya Shirou.

He had been a fairly handsome man, but he always made her think, Why does this guy look so constipated?

Since they were both Emiya, perhaps he had some connection to her, though no one by that name could be found in Japanese history.

Ritsuka stepped through the snow and returned to the hallway, her mind constantly turning.

Alcides, Heracles—the Great Greek Hero who had completed twelve impossible labors, the face of Greek Mythology's heroes.

After his death, he had been elevated into a Demigod and had even become a constellation. He was practically a divine being. His strength alone was probably terrifying, considering he had once held up the sky.

But what exactly did the suffix after his name, Archer/Avenger, mean?

Emiya Shirou also had Archer after his name. In English, it meant someone who used a bow, while Avenger meant a person who sought revenge. It was rather concerning.

In the yard, three girls of varying sizes ran around everywhere. Ritsuka noticed that Miyu, who had originally been quietly studying, had apparently been dragged into the snowball fight and snowman building as well. After all, this was a rare heavy snowfall; it had never snowed this much before.

As she walked through the house, Ritsuka, who had shut off the kotatsu, suddenly froze.

Miyu's learning progress was a little too fast. It seemed to have skewed Ritsuka's perception. It would be good for her to play around more at this age.

Children were supposed to be lively. Miyu was only ten, yet she was far too reassuring, mature beyond her years.

Though Ritsuka did not seem to have the right to say that about Miyu.

She took out the Crystal Dice again. A short-barreled pistol and a box were placed on the table. Ritsuka opened the box and took out the bullets one by one, wiping them clean.

Kiritsugu's belongings, and also his trust in Ritsuka. That man, who had been like a father to her, had asked her to take good care of Miyu. She had probably done that properly, right?

A Promise to Go See the Sea Together

Near the storage room, several small snowmen and a castle were gradually being piled up. Taiga's excited voice could be heard even inside the house.

With the kotatsu switched back on, Ritsuka slipped her legs beneath it and sat by the table, wiping down the Origin Bullets. Every bullet could deal immense damage to beings known as Magi.

This was also why Kiritsugu had once been called the Magus Killer.

After cleaning the bullets and the Noble Phantasm, she stored them in the Crystal Dice. The crystalline little trinket flew straight into her palm and vanished in a speck of light.

Alcides's power could not be used for the time being because her Synchronization Value was too low. At this stage, she seemed to have nothing to do.

She suddenly had free time.

Holding a teacup steaming with heat, Ritsuka gently took a sip of black tea. Warm sweetness spread through her mouth.

Footsteps sounded, and the door opened. Miyu walked in, shaking the snow from her body.

She saw Ritsuka sitting beside the kotatsu and paused slightly. "Big Sister, aren't you coming to play with us?"

"No. I'm not really interested in snow. It always gives me a bad feeling."

Ritsuka shook her head, unable to stop the doubt rising in her heart.

She could not explain why, but this heavy snow made her feel rather weighed down. It felt as though something was pressing on her heart, as if something bad was about to happen.

"Big Sister?"

Miyu sat beside Ritsuka and reached out to tug on her sleeve.

That gesture reminded Ritsuka of when Miyu had been little. Back then, Miyu's eyes and heart had both been utterly empty, and she had followed Ritsuka everywhere while holding onto her sleeve.

Ritsuka reached out and rubbed Miyu's small head, smiling faintly. "It's nothing. I probably just haven't rested well lately. My brain isn't working properly."

"I'm glad you're okay."

Miyu let out a breath of relief. Ritsuka's grave expression had made her feel rather depressed as well.

Stretching out her slender legs, Miyu no longer wanted to play in the snow outside. She sat pressed against Ritsuka beside the kotatsu, warmth wrapping around her lower body.

"Mmm—"

Letting out a comfortable hum, Miyu took out the book she had just bought and placed it on the table. She resumed the studying Taiga had interrupted, and the entire room fell quiet for a time.

Ritsuka silently took another sip of black tea.

"By the way, Miyu, do you want to go out somewhere when you have time?"

"...Big Sister?"

Having suddenly thought of something, Ritsuka gently set her cup back in its place and turned her head slightly.

Miyu stared with wide eyes, a hint of excitement and confusion rising within her. The Emiya family's routine was always the same: school and the Emiya Residence were the entirety of Miyu's world.

Because Miyu's identity was too special.

Unable to fulfill the needs of a normal child, Ritsuka had no choice but to work part-time to earn money, and she had always felt guilty toward Miyu.

But whenever she remembered the enemy who had been able to suppress even Kiritsugu, she could never make up her mind. Even though Miyu's power as a Divine Child had been gone for a long time, Ritsuka still did not dare let her linger outside too much.

Seeing the fleeting excitement on Miyu's face, Ritsuka fell silent.

"It feels like this is really unfair to Miyu. Children should be free to play to their hearts' content."

"Sorry for bringing it up so suddenly. It must be troubling for you, right? After all, it's always just school or home..."

"I want to see the sea."

Ritsuka's voice came to an abrupt halt as the excited Miyu interrupted her.

The little girl's excitement was impossible to suppress, like a child who had studied hard for an exam, received a good score, and successfully asked her parents for a gift.

The wish to see the sea must have taken root in Miyu's heart a long time ago...

"Okay. Then we'll go see the sea. It's not far from here, anyway."

Ritsuka stood and went to the television, taking out a map of Fuyuki City. She returned to the kotatsu with it in hand.

She spread it over the table. The blue representing the sea immediately captured Miyu's attention. Fuyuki City bordered the ocean; whether at the docks or the harbor, they could see the sea. Ritsuka and Kiritsugu had returned to Fuyuki City through the docks back then.

Crossing Fuyuki Bridge, it was close enough to reach even on foot.

"Let's make a promise."

Sitting across from Miyu, Ritsuka held out her right hand, raising her little finger.

"When the exams are over and vacation starts, we'll go see the sea together. Okay?"

Their little fingers hooked together. In the warmth of the kotatsu, Miyu's cheeks turned faintly red.

Ritsuka's slender right hand rested on Miyu's hair, gently stroking it. Then she took out a Pocky stick and handed it to Miyu.

"Hey, hey, are you two coming out to play? You need to move around more..."

Taiga barged into the room, taking the lead with a leap and making a rather amusing entrance.

But in the next instant, Ritsuka flicked out a biscuit stick, smashing it hard against Taiga's forehead. The energetic Tiger of Fuyuki immediately collapsed to the floor.

Sakura followed close behind. Looking at Taiga lying on the floor with tears in her eyes, then at Ritsuka, she could not help but smile wryly—

"Ms. Taiga really is the same as ever."

Because of Taiga's loud commotion, Miyu, who had already fallen asleep, frowned.

Ritsuka took another Pocky stick from the box and held it between her lips. Extending a finger, she gently stroked Miyu, who was asleep with her head resting on Ritsuka's lap.

Her eyelashes trembled. Miyu, her legs curled beneath the kotatsu, rubbed her cheek against Ritsuka's smooth thigh.

"Ritsuka..."

"Shh, Taiga, be quiet."

"Tch. Siscon."

Taiga curled her lips. The tears on her face had already completely vanished. A hit from a mere Pocky stick could not possibly hurt.

Ritsuka was not a Demigod, after all.

All that could be said was that Taiga loved making a fuss too much. She was like a husky.

"Oh, right, Taiga. Tomorrow morning, remember to wake Shinji up, or that guy will definitely be late."

"Mmm... so sleepy. Why hasn't he come yet?"