She pushed open the door and slowly walked over to the tatami. One hand supported Miyu's head while the other gently pried open the arms wrapped around her neck, then laid her down on the bed.
Only two rooms in the house had been cleaned up so far, so Miyu could only make do with her for now.
Ritsuka first took off Miyu's shoes, then removed the garment that looked like a formal dress. After that, she put some old pajamas on Miyu to keep the little girl from catching a cold by sleeping without clothes at night.
Even though Miyu, as a Divine Child, probably would not be troubled by a cold...
"Good night, Miyu."
After tucking in the blanket, Ritsuka quietly got up and headed out of the room.
The moon was bright and the stars sparse. Ritsuka came alone to the dojo in the courtyard, and the empty Emiya Residence felt inexplicably lonely.
"Kiritsugu, what choice will you make in the end?"
Kiritsugu Emiya, Who Possessed a Miracle
With the ingredients needed for breakfast in her hands, Ritsuka, who had gotten up early, moved around the kitchen with a slightly wandering gaze.
As long as she turned her eyes slightly toward the doorway, she could see the child named Miyu standing there with a toy ball in her arms, quietly watching her. This had been going on for quite some time.
Those red eyes were incomparably clear, frighteningly innocent.
After her usual morning workout, she was naturally drenched in sweat and needed a bath. But when she went back inside to get a change of clothes, she woke Miyu, who had been sleeping under the covers. Ritsuka then had a brief conversation with her and explained a few things.
For example, she told Miyu her own name, as well as the name of the uncle who had rescued Miyu with her. She explained all of it normally.
After that, the situation completely spiraled out of control.
When she took a bath, someone stood outside the door watching.
When she swept the fallen cherry blossom petals from the courtyard, little Miyu "supervised" her from the hallway.
Even when she went to the bathroom midway through, Miyu watched from afar, as though she wanted to monitor her the entire time.
And now, while she was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, Miyu clung to the doorway and silently peeked inside...
With an unconscious sigh, Ritsuka took out the small snacks stored in the refrigerator. She had made them during the housewarming party that night when she found the time. They were sweet enough that children should like them.
"Miyu, come here for a moment."
Pitter-patter, Miyu ran over on her short little legs and looked up at Ritsuka with those slightly inorganic-looking red eyes.
She was so pure it was almost absurd. Ritsuka sighed inwardly.
"These are some little snacks I made before when I had time. Breakfast will still take a while, so Miyu, have these to tide you over first."
At that, Miyu, who did not like speaking, said nothing. She merely nodded lightly, then reached for the snacks on the table, only for Ritsuka to hurriedly stop her.
With a trace of confusion, Miyu tilted her head at Ritsuka, making guilt arise in Ritsuka's heart out of nowhere.
"Um, Miyu, you need to wash your hands before eating."
"Wash hands."
Miyu nodded thoughtfully. She no longer reached for the snacks and calmly stood where she was. Ritsuka then realized what she meant and took her to the sink.
Front, back, left, right, and between every finger—after a full fifteen seconds, the little hands that had touched the toy ball were washed clean. Ritsuka used her own towel to dry Miyu's hands, then placed the plate directly in Miyu's hands.
Smiling, Ritsuka pointed toward the sofa not far away. "Go on. Wait for me over there for a while."
Watching Miyu's little feet pitter-patter across the floor as she ran toward the sofa, Ritsuka picked up the toy ball from the ground and placed it in a corner.
The little girl had forgotten all about her toy the moment she got food.
Using her familiar breakfast recipe, Ritsuka took out the clean leftover rice from yesterday, casually fried three eggs, then began making seafood risotto with the leftover rice.
There was still a small portion of Kichiji fish left. After trimming off the scraps, Ritsuka put the raw fish into the pot.
"Looks like it's not quite enough." Looking at the amount of food in the pot and factoring in Miyu's appetite, Ritsuka realized there was still not enough food. She had to make more.
She took out vacuum-packed chicken chunks and tossed them into hot oil to make simple fried chicken. This kind of food, known as junk food in her previous life, was quite popular in the Emiya household. Both Ritsuka and Kiritsugu craved this unhealthy fried food.
Once breakfast was ready, Ritsuka put the divided portions onto a large tray and went to Kiritsugu's room. Without knocking, she pushed the door open and walked in.
"Kiritsugu, breakfast is ready." Ritsuka swept her gaze across the room. The desk area was covered in sticky notes, and on closer inspection, every single one contained the word Sakutsuki.
Kiritsugu looked somewhat exhausted. He had probably stayed up all night...
Hearing her, Kiritsugu closed his book and glanced at Ritsuka as she entered. He pointed at the low table in the distance. "Put it there."
"Remember to eat it. Don't wait until it gets cold."
After setting down the food, Ritsuka covered it with a lid to keep too much heat from escaping. It should keep it warm for a while.
After dealing with Kiritsugu's breakfast, Ritsuka got up and headed outside.
"Ritsuka, do you think my choice is right or wrong?"
His voice sounded from behind her. The hoarse, exhausted tone made Ritsuka realize one fact—
Kiritsugu had not drunk any water all night!
? ?
Ritsuka roughly understood what Kiritsugu meant. She simply stepped out of the room and slowly pulled the door shut behind her.
"Different people see things differently. No one can say for sure about something like this..."
"Though personally, I feel that a world which needs to sacrifice a little girl to save itself is truly broken."
No one knew what price lay behind that power. Kiritsugu could not fully decipher the Sakutsuki Clan's secrets. Did this ability to indiscriminately grant the wishes of others require some kind of sacrifice?
Nothing came without a reason. If one gained something, one was bound to lose something. Perhaps the price of saving this world was Miyu herself.
Exchanging one person for the entire world—
It could not be called great at all. It was simply uncomfortable.
"Big sister?"
Ritsuka stood outside Kiritsugu's room. After a moment of silence, she was about to leave, but Miyu suddenly appeared at the end of the hallway, making her pause.
Ritsuka walked over and crouched down to the little girl's height. Their eyes met. "Miyu, why did you come here?"
"To eat."
"...All right, let's go eat."
Taking Miyu's little hand, Ritsuka glanced back at Kiritsugu's tightly shut door before leading Miyu back to the dining table.
She placed the little girl on the somewhat tall chair, then ran into the kitchen and divided the still-warm food under the lid into two portions, placing them into bowls and plates.
Fried eggs, fried chicken chunks, and seafood risotto—and the seafood was expensive Kichiji fish. It was more than adequate for breakfast.
After all, a philosopher surnamed Lu had once said—eat well in the morning, eat your fill at noon, and eat little at night.
Keeping that secret of life in mind would maintain good health. Ritsuka considered this breakfast good enough already. She did not have the money to buy any more high-end ingredients, after all. Not everyone possessed money superpowers.
Ritsuka pressed her hands together in a prayer-like gesture. "I will eat."
Miyu quietly watched Ritsuka's movements, then sat up straight and pressed her hands together in front of herself. "...I will eat."
It was time to do laundry. While Miyu quietly played with toys by herself and Kiritsugu shut himself in his room to conduct research, Ritsuka carried a basin into the courtyard.
Entering the pitch-black storage room, Ritsuka turned on the light, started the washing machine sitting in the corner, sorted the prepared clothes into it, and evenly poured in the laundry detergent.
"Hm? Why isn't it moving?"
Unexpectedly, the washing machine, which looked quite new, showed no response after she pressed the button. It did not move at all. It seemed to be broken.
Ritsuka thought for a moment, then reached out and slapped the washing machine.
Bzzzz—!!
It moved. Sure enough, getting hands-on was the most direct repair method. The ancients had not deceived her.
Just as the great philosopher Master Lu had said—when a machine did not move, it was simply asking to be hit. One slap would fix it!
That was entirely a joke. Actually doing that might make the machine break faster, so Ritsuka had merely given it a "gentle" pat.
Since she was already in the storage room, she picked up the toolbox from a nearby shelf and crouched before the washing machine, ready to begin her great repair project.
She placed a hand on the machine's casing. Blue patterns spread across the machine that had stopped working again and began reaching deeper into the washing machine, examining the abnormalities inside.
"Structural analysis."
Her free right hand held the instruction manual for the washing machine as she carefully compared the information—
"The wiring seems to be broken in one place."
"There's also a problem with the drum..."
"Yoshi, I've identified it."
Taking out a screwdriver and other tools from the toolbox, Ritsuka set them beside her. She first removed the clothes from the washing machine and soaked them in water, then prepared to repair the machine.
But things did not go as planned. Just as she aimed the screwdriver and was about to begin, a small figure appeared at the storage room entrance.
"Big sister, come play."
Holding the toy ball, Miyu ran up to Ritsuka and gently grabbed her sleeve with one hand. This made Ritsuka hesitate, and she did not know whether she should put down the screwdriver.
As she considered it, the moment she met those ethereal eyes, Ritsuka decisively gave up resisting.
Repairing a washing machine could not compare to playing with a little loli!
"All right, Miyu, go wait nicely outside first. I'll clean this up."
Ritsuka helplessly raised the screwdriver in her hand, indicating that she needed to tidy up the scene first.
Miyu nodded and left the storage room. With a sigh, Ritsuka began cleaning up the mess around her feet.
She first put all the tools away where they belonged, took out the clothes and soaked them in the basin, marked the problems on the instruction manual with a marker, then tossed everything aside.
In the courtyard, after simply sweeping away the fallen flowers on the ground, Ritsuka stood some distance away and watched Miyu throw the toy ball in her hand, sending it through a low arc in the air.
Ritsuka raised a hand and blocked the ball, then gave it a slight kick with her foot, sending it flying back along the same path.
Again and again, the two in the courtyard played to their hearts' content. Yet neither noticed the kimono-clad man silently watching at the end of the distant hallway, smoke curling around him.
Kiritsugu smoked as he watched Ritsuka, who rarely showed such a happy smile, not knowing what he was thinking.
That carefree smile had also been rather rare during the years she had traveled with him. At most, she would show that kind of delight when she caught him smoking and forcibly stuffed a Pocky stick into his mouth.
The cigarette burned out. Kiritsugu removed the butt and held it between his fingers, then suddenly began coughing. He hurriedly covered his mouth with his right hand and lowered the sound, so the two little girls in the courtyard would not notice.
When he spread out his hand, darkened blood stained it, like black mud, radiating a terrifying feeling.
With his right hand hidden behind his back, Kiritsugu took out a Pocky stick and held it in his mouth before silently retreating.
"A miracle... Perhaps Ritsuka's appearance was already a miracle to me..."
"Having already been given such a precious miracle, how could I ask for more?"
The Fated High Jump
Holding several sticky notes in her hand, Ritsuka walked down the streets of Fuyuki City, preparing to buy some things, such as a change of clothes for Miyu.
At this stage, the only clothes Miyu could wear were the pajamas Ritsuka had left over from before, along with the kimono she had been wearing when they found her. She had no other clothes to wear.
Kiritsugu was immersed in ancient texts and could not pull himself away, while Miyu herself could not casually leave the Emiya Residence. An ordinary person's wishes could undoubtedly cause a disturbance, not to mention that Ritsuka had not forgotten the figure who had attacked Miyu when they found her the day before yesterday.
Golden Twin-tails. A girl with waist-length black hair tied up by a black ribbon, an expression even colder than Kiritsugu's, and an age that seemed about the same as Ritsuka's.
"Who exactly was she?"
Ritsuka patted her forehead, feeling a little troubled.
The two of them had retreated quickly at the time. Kiritsugu had already suppressed one of them with his outstanding combat experience, while Ritsuka's outburst had forced them back.
Miyu's identity could not be exposed, and even Miyu's very existence could not be casually revealed. Otherwise, the consequences would be extremely troublesome—
Before you continue