"I'm not asking that kind of question."
Akatsuki looked at Illya, "What I want to ask is what your plans are after the Holy Grail War ends."
Meeting Akatsuki's faintly expectant gaze, Illya looked away. Before she was eight, she had once dreamed of being with her parents forever, but at some point, that dream had vanished without a trace.
"It's a meaningless topic. You clearly know I can't possibly live until then."
"Is that so? Is it meaningless to you?"
Akatsuki took a pack of Dragon Smoke from her pocket and started smoking, completely ignoring Illya beside her. "Illya, this won't do."
"Recreating the Third Magic—Heaven's Feel—to save all of humanity is just the Einzbern Family's sorrowful obsession. You don't need to pay the price for your ancestors' obsession."
Illya frowned, "I am the Master of the Einzbern Family, and also the 'Vessel' for this Holy Grail War. My birth was for the completion of the Third Magic. My Magecraft Crest and magic circuits were all created to realize the Third Magic. For that, I have an obligation to fulfill my mission!"
"Phew..."
Akatsuki exhaled a puff of smoke. Even though she had lived a lifetime longer than others, she still didn't understand why some people always clung to meaningless things. In Akatsuki's eyes, the Einzbern Family's obsession had taken countless lives, taken Illya's parents, and taken Illya's life. So why didn't Illya hate this obsession?
"This is my destiny. As the greatest masterpiece of the Einzbern Family besides Lady Hustiza, I will either complete the Third Magic or die in the Holy Grail War as a failure."
"That's not how a human should live." Akatsuki looked at Illya with a sharp gaze.
"Human?" Illya bit her lip and gave a helpless, bitter smile. "I'm not human. I'm just a hybrid of a Homunculus and a human created by the Einzbern Family for the Third Magic—a consumable covered in magic circuits."
"No, it's not like your entire body is just magic circuits."
Akatsuki walked up to Illya and crouched down to look her in the eye. "At least your heart isn't. I mean your soul, not the physical heart."
Illya trembled, looking blankly at Akatsuki who was right in front of her.
"Although your sense of ethics is weak and you treat life according to your whims, you're already much better than most humans."
Looking at the silver-haired, red-eyed Illya's dazed expression, Akatsuki lifted her chin and said solemnly, "In any case, I won't let a Little Loli like you die in front of me."
"Thank you for saying that." Illya looked directly at Akatsuki. This woman, who had once stood before her at night and used overwhelming power to force her to give up the raid on Shirou Emiya, now displayed a sense of maturity that didn't match her appearance.
"But it's useless. As the Holy Grail War progresses and Servants are eliminated, I will gradually lose my human appearance and turn back into what I originally was."
"I told you, I won't let you die in front of me. I don't say these things lightly."
Messing up Illya's silver hair, Akatsuki gave a carefree smile. "I don't hate lolis. In fact, I love them! The legal kind!"
"Ugh... what are you doing all of a sudden..."
Illya was startled by Akatsuki's sudden action, but since she had no power to resist Akatsuki right now, she could only protest while putting up a meaningless struggle.
"Hmm? Why does it feel like I can't stop..."
Silver hair, soft to the touch, and those red eyes full of frustration. A strange urge suddenly appeared in Akatsuki's heart. She let out a weird laugh and kept rubbing Illya's head with both hands.
To an outsider, she looked like an older sister taking advantage of her size to bully her younger sister.
"Heh, hehe..."
"Wait! Stop it!"
"Hehehe, hehehehe, jie-jie-jie! Jie-jie-jie-jie-jie-jie!"
A few minutes later, Akatsuki was apologetically combing Illya's hair.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away thinking about a real-life loli being right in front of me."
"..."
Illya puffed out her cheeks, seemingly still angry about what happened.
"Anyway, let's go back and find Shirou Emiya and the others. If we stay here and Caster shows up with Saber, it'll be trouble. To be honest, I don't want to take an Excalibur to the face again..."
After experiencing the power of her relative, the Holy Sword of the Planet, Akatsuki decided she must take Saber back the next time she saw Caster.
"Shirou..."
"Right, you probably have questions for Shirou Emiya too."
Akatsuki grabbed Illya's hand without taking no for an answer and said as they walked toward the Emiya Residence, "After the Holy Grail War, you should stay in Fuyuki City, Illya. Since you didn't get the Holy Grail, the head of the Einzbern Family will probably cut off the power anyway. Instead of going back to that freezing castle, you're better off staying in Fuyuki City."
"Eh?"
"'Eh?' what?" Akatsuki seemed to think of something and suddenly looked serious. "True... if you're going to stay here, residency, daily expenses, and school will be issues... but those aren't big problems. I'll use some gold from the Millennium Castle to bribe the relevant officials later. If that doesn't work, I'll have Rin contact the Mages Association to have them officially recognize you as the head of the Einzbern Family. Then you can publish some of the less important research on homunculi as a thesis in the Mages Association. That should solve the problem."
"It would be great if we could bypass the Church. After all, those clergymen won't listen to a word I say..."
Illya didn't know how to respond for a moment because what Akatsuki was saying felt too distant. Even if she survived the Holy Grail War, she had less than a year to live. Illya felt she needed to make this clear to Akatsuki.
"By the way, Illya, do you want to go to Shirou Emiya and Tohsaka Rin's school, or another high school?"
"Hmm? Why aren't you saying anything? Well... there's no rush. You still have a long life ahead of you. It's a bit early to worry about these things."
"Huh? Are you still saying you're not human? Listen up, that's a forbidden phrase from now on! Staking my status as True Ancestor Royalty and the name of Akatsuki Brunestud, I will definitely make sure you live!"
By the moonlight, Illya could see Akatsuki's smile. It was as if she had obtained some treasure, or perhaps found a long-lost one.
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