171 Chapter 170: Rescuing the Loli Illya
Although the goal of the Einzbern family, creators of the Third Magic, was to aid humanity, they never considered themselves as human nor adopted human societal customs.
When a human dies, they are buried in a grave. When an artificial human dies, or rather, loses its functionality, it is directly discarded and abandoned in a designated location, left to decompose naturally. The so-called "graveyard of artificial humans" is merely a term used privately by those who know it. The official designation given by the Einzbern family to that place is the "junkyard."
The junkyard is not only used to store the "bodies" of artificial humans but also serves as a dumping ground for failed creations and irreparable artificial humans. For the pragmatic and utilitarian Einzbern family, anything useless is considered garbage and should be discarded.
In the eyes of Acht, the head of the family, Illyasviel von Einzbern, the daughter of Kiritsugu Emiya the betrayer of the clan, is deemed a failed creation, nothing more than trash. Trash should be thrown into the junkyard. From the moment Saber destroyed the Holy Grail, Illya's residence transformed from a warm castle into a cold, damp junkyard filled with scattered artificial human parts.
For the small, nine-year-old Illya, whose physical development lags behind her peers, it is akin to a hellish nightmare. However, Illya managed to survive, fueled by the belief and promise she made to her father, Kiritsugu Emiya.
Before Kiritsugu left the "City of Winter" to participate in the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, he made a promise to his daughter—a promise that he would come back and take her to search for the nutmeg, Illya's favorite game.
Whenever she thinks about riding on her father's shoulders, running through the woods, with her mother following behind, and witnessing the happiness on both their faces, an infinite well of motivation surges within Illya, supporting her in surviving in this hellish place.
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-Today marks the thirtieth day since Dad left. I've been thrown into this place. There are many people here, but none of them move. It's so cold, and Illya is so hungry...
-Today marks the thirty-second day since Dad left. I made a bed using the clothes of the broken sisters. Finally, I'm not cold anymore.
-Today marks the fortieth day since Dad left. One of the sisters, who is about to break, told me that the fresh parts around us are edible. Although they don't taste good, I'll try my best to eat them. So, Dad, please come back quickly.
-Today marks the fiftieth day since Dad left. Another sister was thrown in here. She told me there was a frozen wolf outside the junkyard. The wolf is big, and I struggled to drag it in. Now I can eat for several days.
-Today marks the sixtieth day since Dad left—
Illya, in tattered clothes, sits in a makeshift nest built from artificial human parts, resting her chin on her hands, gazing absentmindedly at the sky.
A few snowflakes twirled and drifted into her small nest, brushing against her fair face. The icy cold sensation awakened Illya's bewildered consciousness.
She tightened the "blanket" around her and murmured softly:
"Dad and Mom haven't come back yet. Hmph, liars, big liars. Illya has decided not to talk to you for one day, no, three days... sniffle... But still, I miss Dad and Mom."
"It's okay, Illya will hold on. I'll wait for you to come back, hehe."
"I'm a bit hungry. Let's eat something. This is the last meal of wolf meat. Tomorrow, I'll have to start eating parts again."
"Okay~ Today, I'll eat slowly."
Illya stretched lazily and crawled out of her "nest." With eyes as red as her mother's, she carefully surveyed her surroundings.
The junkyard had no protective barriers and was not safe. Wild beasts often roamed around, and the weak Illya had to be cautious. When she first arrived, she almost got caught by a black bear. Fortunately, she managed to squeeze into a crevice in the garbage pile, and the bear couldn't get in, saving her from danger.
Just as she confirmed that there was nothing unusual around and breathed a sigh of relief, she suddenly heard a voice:
"Ah, found you."
"Who's there!" Illya jumped up in fright like a startled rabbit.
"Sorry if I scared you."
As soon as the voice fell, the air in front of Illya suddenly distorted, and a boy much taller than her walked out of the distortion.
"You must be Illya."
"Yes, Illyasviel von Einzbern." Despite her tattered attire, Illya still performed a curtsey and knee bend in a ladylike manner. "Who are you, big brother?"
"I'm Shinji Matou. Your father asked me to come and pick you up."
"Kiritsugu?" Illya's eyes lit up.
Using her father's name as a form of address was not proper etiquette in Shinji's view, but since both father and daughter were willing, he didn't say much and simply nodded.
"Yes."
"Why should I trust you?" Illya took a step back, and the joy in her ruby-like eyes faded, replaced by a layer of caution.
Shinji paused for a moment, quickly realizing that this was the normal reaction. Illya had been abandoned in the junkyard for so many days, and if she didn't have enough vigilance, she would have died long ago.
"You want proof, right? Your father's name is Kiritsugu Emiya, and your mother is Irisviel. Your father is tall, with black hair and black eyes, and your mother..."
As Shinji described, Illya's wariness gradually turned into trust.
"I believe you now."
"Then let's go." Shinji reached out his hand to Illya.
"Okay!"
Illya placed her hand in Shinji's hand. Her hand was icy, almost devoid of warmth.
Shinji glanced at her makeshift "nest" and then at her tattered clothes, feeling a pang of sadness. He began to regret why he didn't come here earlier and take her away sooner.
"Shinji, why aren't we leaving?" Illya asked innocently.
"Just wait a moment, little sister."
Shinji quickly took off his down jacket and wrapped it around Illya, then lifted her in his arms.
"Big brother?"
"Are you still cold?"
"I'm not cold anymore. It's warm and comfortable." Illya's smile was purer than the surrounding snow. "Thank you, big brother Shinji."
"Illya, you're sensible."
The more sensible Illya was, the worse Shinji's impression of the Einzbern family became.
If Shinji hadn't come here, Illya would have continued to suffer this miserable fate for nearly ten years, until the eve of the Fifth Holy Grail War. In this decade of hellish life, her heart would have gradually sunk into despair. She would have turned her father's love into hatred and become stronger amidst despair and hell. But the price of this strength would have been too cruel. Fortunately, everything is different now. The future Illya will no longer feel "cold."
"Let's go. I'll take you home."
"Home? Isn't this my home?"
"No, this isn't home. Home is where there's a father, a mother, and a warm place."
"Then where is Illya's home?"
"It's in a place called Fuyuki. Your father bought a big mansion there, and your mother is waiting for you to come back."
"Is there snow there?"
"Yes, there is."
"Are there walnut sprouts?"
"Hmm, I don't know about walnut sprouts, so I'm not sure."
"Then Illya will teach you. Illya is good at finding walnut sprouts."
"Sure, I'm looking forward to it, little sister."
...
The cloak enveloping the two children gradually receded into the distance, disappearing into the wind and snow, leaving no trace behind.
PS: Just a few words. Normally, it takes 60 years to accumulate enough mana for one Holy Grail War. The reason why there was only a ten-year gap between the Fourth and Fifth Wars is that no one made a wish, so a large amount of mana was not used, shortening the time needed to accumulate mana accordingly. This was an unexpected result for everyone. Additionally, Illya's lifespan is short, and she cannot live for another 60 years. In the eyes of the Einzberns, she is merely an experimental subject, a vessel for creating a higher-performance Lesser Grail than Irisviel. Based on Illya's treatment in the Einzbern household after the Fourth War and the mechanical and rigid nature of the Einzbern family, it is believed that Illya was likely abandoned to fend for herself until the Head discovered the impending Fifth Holy Grail War and brought her back for further modifications to participate as the Lesser Grail. The evidence is that the Einzbern family assigned a maid to Illya before she participated in the war, which was an unused prop before but became a useful tool after she became the Lesser Grail.
PS2: In Fate/Zero, Kiritsugu didn't immediately go to retrieve Illya. One reason is that he probably didn't expect his daughter's situation to be so bad. Another reason is that Kiritsugu is a pragmatist, so he would prioritize taking care of the people in front of him, first Shirou in the original timeline, and now his wife. As for Shinji not immediately going to the Einzbern family, there are two reasons: firstly, Irisviel's condition was not good, and he naively believed that Illya could survive until the Fifth War with some hardship, and secondly, apart from the fact that he didn't want to interfere as an outsider, Illya's father didn't make any moves to retrieve her.
PS: Is there an urge to dismantle the Einzbern family?
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