It didn't take long at the airport before a luxurious car drove up to Shirou Emiya.
The car door opened, and Lisephyr jumped out joyfully.
> "Miss Lisephyr, please be careful!"
A deep, magnetic male voice called from within the car.
> "Shirou-kun!"
Lisephyr waved happily and ran toward him.
Today, she wore a white aristocratic hat and a long dress fit for a princess—sky blue at the hem with pale golden embroidery. As always, she looked noble and elegant.
> "Lisephyr looks beautiful as ever today,"
Shirou praised with a smile.
What a cute little tsundere!
> "R-Really?"
A blush appeared on Lisephyr's snow-white cheeks. She clearly enjoyed his compliment.
But at that moment, an unpleasant voice interrupted the scene.
> "So, you're that adopted child of the Yorifis family?"
Shirou glanced briefly at the speaker, said nothing, and headed toward the plane.
Noka, somewhat panicked, quickly grabbed the luggage and followed, not daring to speak further.
Inwardly, he cursed Kushuri's entire family.
> "Does this guy even know who he's talking to?! He may have a death wish, but I don't!"
Kushuri was annoyed by Shirou's attitude, but he held his tongue. Seeing Lisephyr follow after Shirou, he also trailed behind her silently.
---
On the Plane
Originally, Noka was supposed to sit next to Shirou, but Lisephyr had swapped seats with him.
As the future head of the Animusphere family, the idea of her sitting next to a mere adopted child was outrageous to Kushuri.
> "Shirou, what fun things are there in Fuyuki City?"
It was Lisephyr's first time traveling so far from home. She had never left the Animusphere estate before. After much coaxing and pleading, her father finally agreed to let her travel—on the condition that Kushuri would accompany her and ensure her safety.
> "Fuyuki has great food," Shirou said after a pause. "And the beaches there are beautiful."
> "You look really happy today, Lisephyr."
> "Mhm! I've never gone traveling before!"
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
As he watched her childlike joy, Shirou's mind drifted elsewhere.
He thought of another little girl who would never grow up—Illyasviel von Einzbern, who should be about eight years old now. Shirou was seven.
This trip to Fuyuki wasn't just about saving Sakura. He also planned to sneak into the Einzbern stronghold in Germany to meet Illya—a little girl so adorable she could melt anyone's heart, a girl whose tragic fate he vowed to rewrite.
With his current abilities, he should be able to reach the Einzbern Castle unnoticed. But first, he needed to figure out what to do with Lisephyr.
After the Fourth Holy Grail War, Illya's father—Kiritsugu Emiya—would disappear from her life forever.
After that, the Einzbern family would continue modifying Illya's body, dissecting and stitching her back together again and again. Eventually, she would be forced to participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War.
But this time, Shirou would change all of it. Fate had already been too cruel to Illya. He wouldn't let her fall back into darkness after Kiritsugu's departure.
However, for Irisviel von Einzbern, Illya's mother, he knew he could do nothing.
Irisviel was a homunculus—an artificial being born with a predetermined purpose: to serve as the vessel for the Holy Grail.
Raised like a doll, she was never meant to feel emotions. No one ever taught her happiness, sorrow, or love. Those feelings were deemed meaningless for a tool. She existed only to fulfill her function.
But when Illya was born, she smiled—a truly happy smile.
Even though she couldn't live a normal life, even though she might've cursed herself for giving birth as an artificial lifeform, she still loved her daughter with all her heart.
Illya had already undergone magical modification in the womb. Her birth had been engineered. Her body was literally composed of magical circuits.
Her fate had been decided before she was even born.
Even so, Irisviel was overjoyed at Illya's existence.
She knew that one day, Kiritsugu would kill her. She accepted this long ago.
But she understood Kiritsugu's ideals. Her heart shared the same wish.
They had talked about it many times. Kiritsugu had cried countless times, cursing himself for what he had to do. Irisviel forgave him every time.
To save one hundred lives, he would sacrifice one without hesitation.
That was Kiritsugu Emiya—the man who would stop at nothing to save the world.
To him, lives had no rank, no identity, no privilege or poverty. Everyone was a number in an equation.
He saved them equally—without judgment.
And if he had to sacrifice someone he loved to save many others, he would.
Even if that person was his wife. His daughter. His parents.
He would still kill them—without hesitation.
> "Hero of Justice"—yes, that was what Kiritsugu aspired to be.
That was his unwavering conviction. A justice that never faltered.
Yet… he couldn't abandon his humanity.
When forced to sacrifice someone he loved, he would still grieve.
And perhaps that grief… was his greatest punishment.
Because Irisviel understood his ideals and shared his wish, she wasn't just a doll anymore.
She had found meaning in life.
To be born from the same ideal, to die for the same ideal—that was Irisviel's love for Kiritsugu Emiya.
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