"..."
Artoria slowly turned her head, finally looking at the man beside her.
"Mr. Ian, are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious." In Ian's vision, Illya was holding Ibaraki Doji's hand, happily recounting her life to the remnants of her mother's will on Mount Enzou. "Illya needs a place to go eventually, doesn't she? And—" The man looked at the girl beside him, a hint of heartache in his eyes. "You've always felt guilty towards Illya, haven't you?"
"..." The girl averted her gaze, her expression filled with remorse. "Mr. Ian, you're right. If I had been stronger then... perhaps the outcome wouldn't be like this now."
"It has nothing to do with being strong or not, Lily. You tried very hard." The man gently hugged Artoria, softly stroking her head, hoping to lessen her worries. "How about we go over there and see?"
"Go over and see?" Artoria looked up, her eyes a little surprised. "Mr. Ian, this is..."
"Take me to meet your good friend," the man smiled slightly. "I haven't met her yet." Without waiting for the girl's response, Ian directly led her towards Illya. He knew that if he didn't meet Irisviel now, a deep shadow would surely remain in Artoria's heart.
[You led Artoria over.]
[Because of Illya's summoning, Ibaraki Doji was not only very capable but also highly adaptable.]
[You two met Irisviel.]
As soon as they met, Artoria became a little nervous. She found herself more reluctant to face Irisviel than she had imagined. After all—just seeing that face made the young knight recall her dereliction of duty during the Fourth Holy Grail War. It was an unspeakable matter that even Ian's comfort couldn't change.
But what Artoria hadn't expected was that while she was still hesitating about how to speak, Irisviel took the initiative to strike up a conversation.
"Lily. You came too?" Irisviel's tone was so gentle, yet so cheerful, as if she was completely unaware that she had died. However—even so, Artoria still dared not answer her. But Irisviel seemed unwilling to give up on her friend just like that. Soon, she called out the other's name again: "Lily, after only ten years apart, you don't recognize me anymore? Oh dear, deceased people are truly easily forgotten, aren't they?"
These two sentences clearly demonstrated Irisviel's state of mind at the moment. She knew she was dead. But—this lady of the Einzbern family was not dejected by it. On the contrary, she was quite happy to be able to see her old friend.
Artoria's eyes welled up. From the day she saw Illya, she had wondered if Irisviel resented her greatly. She had promised to protect her life, but in the end... However, it seemed now—Irisviel held no resentment about it. Even in her current state of demise, she still regarded her as her best friend.
"Not at all," the girl wiped her eyes. "How could I ever forget you, Iris?"
"Then why didn't you say anything just now—!" Irisviel put her hands on her hips, pouting, looking displeased. "I thought after ten years, Lily, you had forgotten all about me!"
"It, it was just difficult to adjust for a moment," Artoria said, a little embarrassed.
"Oh, it's probably still uncomfortable seeing a dead person, isn't it?" Irisviel joked about herself. "But... Lily, I'm very happy to see you here~"
"Me too!" Artoria immediately replied.
"That's good," Irisviel smiled slightly. "Oh, by the way—!" The lady's gaze fell on Ian. "This is..."
"Eh..." Artoria's expression became a little awkward—she really didn't know how to describe her current relationship with Ian.
[Despite the late-night encounter, your relationship with Artoria was still a bit awkward.]
[However, you still remembered her reaction when facing the locals' misunderstandings along the way.]
[You realized that she actually wished to be treated specially just once.]
[So why not do it?]
The girl was still hesitating how to answer her old friend's question when she felt her hand gently taken. She turned her head and saw a smiling Ian. Immediately, Artoria realized that he was "explaining" their relationship through his actions. Frankly, the girl felt that perhaps she shouldn't be doing this. But—looking at their clasped hands, Artoria found that she actually couldn't bear to let go. After all, there was no one else here. Doing this... it should be fine, right? The girl's subtle thoughts were fully displayed at this moment. And all of this was seen by Irisviel.
"Oh~" she nodded in sudden understanding. "So that's how it is. Then I completely understand—!"
"What's your name again?" Irisviel looked at the man and asked.
"Ian."
Irisviel became even more excited. "So you're the one Lily kept talking about! So handsome—! No wonder Lily spent day and night telling stories about you! Oh, now I understand even more!"
"..." Ian laughed, while Artoria was completely flushed with embarrassment.
"Iris! Please stop! If you say any more... I won't be able to face Mr. Ian."
"Alright, alright~" Irisviel shrugged. "There's no helping you. Let's end this topic here. But—I have a new topic." Irisviel's gaze fell on Illya, her expression quickly shifting from a casual jest between friends to a mother's concern for her child. "How did you... bring Illya to find me?"
[This is not something worth hiding.]
[You decided to tell Irisviel the entire process.]
"..." Irisviel looked at Illya, who was still happily introducing her mother to Berserker, her expression momentarily complex. "Illya summoned Berserker and participated in this Holy Grail War just to find me?"
"Yes," Ian nodded. "Her longing for you... is far deeper than imagined."
"So you brought her here?" Irisviel continued to ask.
"It wasn't exactly 'us'," Ian looked at the path they had come from—due to Ibaraki Doji's 'baking', there were now several black, charred spots on the ground. "It was you, Mrs. Iris, who called out to Lily in the past, allowing us to come here. In a sense... you brought Illya to yourself."
"..." Irisviel was silent at first, then smiled, a hint of her daughter's aura in her brow. "Ian, you truly have a way with words."
"Not at all," Ian shook his head. "I'm just speaking the truth. By the way, Mrs. Iris... I actually came here with another matter I wanted to consult you about."
"It's about how to settle Illya, right?" Irisviel said.
"Eh, Iris, you already knew?" Artoria was very surprised.
"I guessed," Irisviel's gaze swept over the two of them. "After all—you two, capable of such things, must be Servants. You will eventually leave Fuyuki City—and Illya can't do that." Perhaps realizing this might not be ideal, Irisviel quickly reverted to her previous lively tone. "Tell me, what are you planning to do?"
With the topic open, Ian no longer beat around the bush. "Mrs. Iris. We plan to have the Tohsaka family adopt Illya after this Holy Grail War ends."
"The Tohsaka family?" Irisviel paused, seemingly recalling something. "Is its head Tokiomi Tohsaka?"
"Um—" Artoria carefully replied, "He's already dead."
"I know... so it must be the same family, then." Irisviel's tone became a little worried. "Can you truly ensure that Illya won't be bullied there?"
"No problem," Ian nodded very seriously. "I will do my best to guarantee it. No matter what—I will ensure she has as normal a life as possible. But speaking of which..." Ian glanced at the little lolis playing nearby. "I want to know why she has such complex Magic Circuits?"
"Because she, like me, underwent modifications from the family. However—" Irisviel stopped short.
"However what?"
"..." Irisviel hesitated for a moment, then finally decided to reveal everything. After all, Ian had made such a promise. "However, Illya's modifications seem to have only been partially completed—she might remain this way permanently."
"Why would that happen?" Ian was a little confused.
"Perhaps it was mine and Kiritsugu's failure... that made the family realize our method wouldn't work," Irisviel looked at the two before her. "If that's the case, are you still willing to help Illya?"
"Of course. / I am willing," Ian and Artoria said almost simultaneously. The two looked at each other, and in an instant, understood each other's intentions.
"Mrs. Iris," Ian summarized his and Artoria's thoughts. "No matter what... we will help Illya. As long as you are willing to trust us."
"..." Irisviel was startled at first, then smiled. "Oh, my. You... why are your words always so reassuring?"
"Then—I'm entrusting this child to you!"
"Please rest assured," Ian nodded. "But speaking of which... how should we tell Illya about your death?"
"Huh?" Irisviel blinked, looking quite confused. "What are you talking about? Illya already knows."
"What?!" Ian and Artoria were both stunned. "She knows?"
"Yes," Irisviel tilted her head slightly, appearing unable to comprehend their reaction. "What on earth made you think she didn't know? Did she cry? No—how could a child of the Einzbern family be so fragile?"
"..." Ian and Artoria thought it over carefully and realized that Illya really hadn't said she didn't know. From beginning to end, her goal was "to find Mama," not "to know where Mama was buried." But the two weren't sad about this misunderstanding. On the contrary, they breathed a sigh of relief—because it meant a tricky problem had been solved.
"That's wonderful," Artoria clutched her chest. "Mr. Ian, now we truly don't have to worry about Illya's problem."
"Indeed." Ian took Artoria's hand. "Now it's just about how to tell Rin and Sakura—but it shouldn't be a big problem, Mrs. Aoi likes Illya very much. And as a magus, Illya should be quite promising as well."
"Of course!" Irisviel's voice was full of pride. "That's Kiritsugu's and my child—naturally, she has talent in that area. Oh, by the way," Irisviel recalled something. "Although I'm still unclear about the situation in this Holy Grail War, you must be careful of someone named Kotomine Kirei."
"..." Hearing that name, Ian paused, then quickly asked, "What about him?"
"He's the one who killed me," Irisviel clutched her chest, appearing to recall some terrible images. "And if my memory serves me right—Tokiomi Tohsaka was likely also killed by him on the night of the final battle."
"..." "..."
"What's wrong?" Irisviel looked at Ian and Artoria's reactions, somewhat bewildered. "What do your expressions mean?"
"Mrs. Iris," Ian took a deep breath, calming himself. "This person you're talking about... is now the master of Rin Tohsaka, the eldest daughter of the Tohsaka family."
"Huh?" Irisviel was stunned. "How can that be?"
But even more unexpected things were yet to come. Just then, Ian's phone rang—it was something Sakura Tohsaka had provided for him. However, the caller was not Sakura Tohsaka but Rin Tohsaka. She said on the phone:
"Ian, where are you? Something big has happened. Kirei has been killed... and that old master, Li Shuwen, has also disappeared."
"What?!"