For Emiya Kiritsugu, it was not much good news that Kenneth took the initiative to get entangled with Danic because of this old grudge.
Whether it is Darnic, who has lived for hundreds of years and is known for his insidiousness, or Kenneth, who has been dubbed a child prodigy since he was a child and many people believe that he will be regarded as the top magician in the future, they are all famous magicians.
Even though he is known as the magician killer and has the absolute killing weapon of the Origin Bullet, Kiritsugu Emiya must still deal with it carefully and take advantage of the opponent's carelessness to create the most appropriate killing plan.
Although he is just a mediocre person who uses magic as a tool, he is still a magician. Because of this, he knows how difficult it is to deal with a great magician.
"In short, in this Holy Grail battle, I will try my best to make Danic my first priority. If there is no chance, I will consider Tohsaka and Matou. Irisviel, when you control the Heroic Spirits, just use these two as your first strategy."
"I see."
Although she represents Einzbern's surveillance and support for Emiya Kiritsugu, strategically, Irisviel, who is not good at fighting, has no intention of interfering with Emiya Kiritsugu's choices. Let professionals do professional things. This is the strategy chosen by Einzbern after many failures.
"Including you, there are six of them, right? Is there still one Master that we haven't heard from yet?"
"No, after all, the truth of the Holy Grail War was not exposed under the protection of the Three Great Families. If it weren't for the two people in the Clock Tower, the attention it received would have been lower. However, the quality of these magi who were chosen at the last minute is generally not very outstanding. They may perish on their own without our help."
"I hope so."
Irisviel turned her head again and looked out the French window, ending the conversation.
In the momentary silence, Emiya Kiritsugu sighed silently, stood up, and after being several steps away from Irisviel, he also stood in front of the French window.
Against the white ground, the nearby forest also had a grayish tone. He didn't even need to look carefully to spot the girl running freely in the snow.
Irisviel was distracted before because of her.
"Are you watching Illya again? That kid likes to go out and play every time the snow stops."
Perhaps noticing Irisviel's complicated expression, Emiya Kiritsugu said softly that in the Einzbern family composed of androids, Irisviel, who had humanity, was one of the few people he could chat with.
"That's right. Look, Kiritsugu. Even though the child isn't wearing much, he's not afraid of the cold at all."
Emiya Kiritsugu looked over when he heard it, and indeed, the little girl who was playing in the snow, looking like a little deer, was only wearing a purple coat and a velvet hat of the same color. Even if the child was not afraid of the cold, this kind of dress was very scary in the current environment.
This was an area that was covered in snow all year round. Even in the warm castle, Kiritsugu was wearing a winter windbreaker. If he were outside, even if he was wrapped up tightly, his body temperature would drop to freezing point within a few hours.
But Illya seemed not to feel the cold, and danced freely like an elf in the snow.
While the two were staring at her, Illya seemed to have discovered something. She squatted down, two blushes appeared on her face, and then, with a gentle blow, a scorching line of fire came out of her mouth, instantly melting the snow around her, revealing the charred ground.
Even chanting is not needed to achieve this level. After seeing this scene, it is no wonder that Irisviel, who always loves her children, did not stop Illya from running out in such thin clothes.
"Is this technology from Einzbern? It's amazing..."
Seeing this scene, Kiritsugu couldn't help but feel a palpitation in his heart, and subconsciously looked at Irisviel. If this winter beauty could also do such a thing, the scene was still a little shocking.
But despite saying so, Kiritsugu Emiya did not show it on his face. He had long known that the core of Einzbern was the technology of artificial humans. Irisviel was the Lesser Holy Grail of this year, and Illya was the backup for the next one. Both their magic circuits and growth conditions had been adjusted. Irisviel, who looked like a noble lady, was actually not even one-third of his age.
Although Illya is an artificial human, she was conceived by Irisviel alone and is said to have no father. She is usually under strict supervision, and Kiritsugu Emiya has basically no contact with her situation. However, seeing that Irisviel seems to have something to hide, he also became curious.
"Is this impossible?"
"Of course I can't. This child was born from me. Although I shouldn't say that, her performance is far superior to mine, but it is limited to the Einzbern technology. Everything about her is normal, but she has also shown many abilities that I didn't expect."
Irisviel subconsciously put it on her collar and clenched it tightly, using this action to ease the anxiety in her heart.
"Although her growth cycle and weight are the same as in theory, she was able to control fire when she was very young. She is not afraid of cold and has a high resistance to fire. She only needs to expend some physical strength to use attacks comparable to the level of great magic."
"Moreover, her physical abilities are obviously not specialized, but even without using any magic, she is still superior to most combat maids... Even when I asked my great grandfather, I only got a vague answer like this is normal."
Irisviel became more and more excited as she spoke, with tears glistening in her pupils.
"But there's nothing else wrong with this, right? This should be a good thing, right?"
Although he could understand Irisviel's feelings as a mother, Emiya Kiritsugu, who had no children of his own, still spoke his mind from a conventional practical perspective.
"Is it a good thing?" Alice smiled bitterly, and finally seemed to have made up her mind.
"Kiritsugu, I will reveal some of the secrets of Einzbern to you. In exchange, I hope you will win this Holy Grail War. Otherwise, Illya…"
"That was my goal in the first place, Irisviel."
Emiya Kiritsugu's eyes also turned serious. Even though Einzbern had opened up a lot of information to him, as an outsider employed by the company, there were still some things he couldn't access.
"You should know that Illya is not just a cyborg, but a child I conceived like an ordinary person. However, apart from me as the mother, what really gave her those strange abilities was what my great grandfather obtained in the last Holy Grail War."
Irisviel took a deep breath, subconsciously touched her abdomen, and recalled with some nostalgia.
"That is not some tangible power, but simply the remnant of traces of magic. Great Grandfather intercepted these remnants and used them as a model to create Illya."
"But this power does not come from the Heroic Spirit, nor is it any tangible thing that I can understand at present. It is a ball of invisible gas. There is no process. When the ball of gas attached to me, combined with the technology of Einzbern, Illya was born in my belly."
"…"
Emiya Kiritsugu tried his best to pretend to be indifferent, but because the content was too absurd, he wanted to interrupt several times to confirm whether it was a joke, but Irisviel's serious expression had already denied this.
"And now, as the Holy Grail War draws closer, as the child's mother, I can feel something is wrong. She has not yet been infused with the knowledge of the Holy Grail. Recently, she has always unconsciously looked in the direction of Fuyuki. I asked the child, but I couldn't get any useful information."
"There is no doubt that my great grandfather must have obtained something in the last Holy Grail War. Recently, I have been looking up the data of the last Holy Grail War and came to a somewhat incredible conclusion."
Irisviel put down her hands, put them behind her back, and said seriously: "I know you may not believe it, because this is just my guess, but I think - the last Holy Grail War was cursed."
"There is an invisible spirit, or demon, that uses the connection of the Holy Grail War to travel between the Master and the Holy Grail."
Irisviel's voice was as soft as a mosquito's, and in the end, only her lips were moving silently.
But during his many years of war, Kiritsugu Emiya, who had already honed the skill of lip reading, still understood what Irisviel was saying.
——I suspect that the invisible demon is attached to my great-grandfather.