Night still enveloped the Einzbern Forest, dark and silent.
The traces of fierce fighting were everywhere, and the castle that had been cleaned up by maids brought from their home country was severely damaged in the battle between Emiya Kiritsugu and Kayneth. Even if they wanted to repair it, the maids who were responsible for the chores had already returned home.
Irisviel sighed as she walked through the corridor, trying her best to ignore the ruined scene.
Fortunately, there were still a few bedrooms that had not been attacked, and Hisau Maiya was resting in one of them. Although Irisviel had cast healing magic on her, Einzbern's healing magic was a considerable burden on the injured, because it evolved from alchemy and did not regenerate the injured's body, but used magic power to create new tissue for transplantation.
If the other party was a cyborg, there would be no problem, but now it was a treatment for a human being, which, according to modern medicine, was equivalent to a major surgery like an organ transplant. Exhausted, Maiya was in a coma, and it would take a long time for her to regain consciousness and move her body freely.
Irisviel, who had just finished the operation, had no time to rest. Kiritsugu Emiya and Saber were still waiting for her in the restaurant.
The atmosphere in the restaurant, which served as a temporary meeting room, was terribly heavy.
Emiya Kiritsugu sat in front of a long table maintaining his guns, while Saber stood opposite her with her hands behind her back, motionless like a sculpture.
Irisviel was used to such situations. The master and servant had always had a bad relationship because of their different philosophies. Emiya Kiritsugu thought the Knight King was old-fashioned and naive, while the Knight King thought Emiya Kiritsugu was a mean person. Irisviel tried to reconcile the two several times, but to no avail.
Now, Irisviel only hoped that there would be no conflict between the two of them, and she would be satisfied.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was eased by the arrival of Irisviel, who is Kiritsugu Emiya's beloved wife and the "princess" whom Saber is willing to protect. Her innocence and strength can infect people's hearts.
Irisviel sat opposite Kiritsugu as usual, in the seat closest to Saber.
"When can Maiya be used?" As soon as Kiritsugu asked, Saber frowned.
What do you mean by usable? This is a person, not a weapon in your hand!
Irisviel did not dwell on Kiritsugu's tone. After this period of contact, she had already felt the bond between her husband and Hisau Maiya that outsiders could not understand. She just said truthfully: "She can't move for a day or two."
"Really? I'll act alone from now on. You guys just stay here." Kiritsugu said as he closed the suitcase that contained the sniper rifle and was about to get up and leave.
"Hey, Kiritsugu, do you think Ahadeon sent other masters to join the battle besides us?"
Hearing his wife's question, Kiritsugu's cold expression finally showed a slight change.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, I met someone before. She fought off Kotomine Kirei and saved me and Ms. Maiya... She looks exactly like me. She must be a cyborg of the same model as me."
"... ... "
Kiritsugu fell silent, and after a long while he confirmed it again with doubt.
"You mean someone who looks like you saved you and fought off Kotomine Kirei?"
"Yes, that's right." Irisviel nodded.
"Please describe her attire in detail, as well as how she defeated Kotomine Kirei, from her appearance to her departure. Describe as much as possible. I want to know every detail."
Kiritsugu had a feeling that an invisible hand was reaching out to them.
... ...
"She looks like you, uses special threads as weapons, and can manipulate your metal threads. It seems that she is indeed an Einzbern android—Ellie. Have you taught your 'life form' to others?"
"I haven't told anyone except Illya." Even Kiritsugu didn't know that Irisviel had developed combat magic, so how could he tell others? "And I feel that her manipulation of silk threads is much better than mine. If possible, I really want to learn from her for a while."
"Indeed, being able to defeat Kotomine Kirei proves that her magic skills and combat experience are both top-notch, but that doesn't make sense."
Kiritsugu had lived in the Einzbern family for nine years and knew the family very well. In his opinion, this matter itself was full of doubts.
Suspicion 1: That woman's unusual fighting ability. The Einzbern family is really not good at fighting. As long as he is well prepared, Kiritsugu is sure to destroy the Einzbern family by himself.
At first, Kiritsugu thought that someone was disguising herself or that his wife was under a genjutsu, but he quickly rejected that idea. Appearance was easy to disguise, but the nature of magic was difficult. Under the protection of the barrier, the possibility of Irisviel being under a genjutsu was extremely low. Everything proved that the woman was really from the Einzbern family.
This fact itself is the second doubt.
Kiritsugu had read Einzbern's information before. The manufacturing process of the Lesser Holy Grail model androids was complicated and the cost was extremely high. Even the wealthy Einzbern family could not afford to manufacture more than one at a time, and there was no need for repeated manufacturing.
Yahad said that there is only one Little Holy Grail, Irisviel, and she must be well protected. Yahad would not lie, nor did he need to lie. Since he said so, there must be only one Little Holy Grail model android, Irisviel, so where did that woman come from? Was she an early model of Irisviel? Or was she an abandoned failure
Putting aside her origins, why did this woman want to save Irisviel
As for sisterhood, it was impossible. How could there be any feelings between two people who had never met each other? Besides, except for Irisviel, the other androids of Einzbern were not much different from machines. Did they really know what feelings were
Putting aside these two doubts that could not be answered for the time being, there was another thing that Kiritsugu was very concerned about—Assassin's actions.
It's not surprising that Assassin can avoid detection by the barrier. This job is characterized by stealth and mobility. The queen of the Shadow Kingdom is a top-level warrior and magician, so it's not difficult for her to break such a barrier. The question is, why did she appear with that woman
coincide
Kiritsugu didn't believe it, that woman was very likely related to Assassin. This would explain why Assassin's Master ordered Assassin to help Saber last night, and why that woman fought back Kotomine Kirei tonight.
But this way, it is impossible to explain Assassin's action of stopping Kiritsugu from killing Kayneth. He helped Irisviel while saving Kayneth? Isn't this a contradiction? It can't be like Saber said, "help Saber once, help Lancer once". This is a war, not a game, and the queen of the Kingdom of Shadows is not a knight.