Chapter 20:

If they didn't award it, the Holy Church would be seen as biased, even though it was the truth. Some things could only be done, not said.

But if they did award it, Saber, with her injured left hand from Lancer's cursed spear, had still managed to defeat Caster, who had come with a horde of familiars.

The cleared street stretched for three kilometers. Such terrifying power from Saber, combined with an additional Command Seal, would be a significant advantage. This made the decision very difficult.

"Let's award it."

Tohsaka Tokiomi's voice sounded tired. He had spent the entire night cleaning up the mess from Caster and Saber's battle and hadn't slept a wink.

"But doing so would give Saber too much of an advantage."

"There are still six Masters and Servants left. The greater Saber's advantage, the more likely she'll become the primary target for everyone. If we can make the remaining Masters focus on Saber, the cost of one Command Seal is worth it."

This was Tohsaka Tokiomi's conclusion after careful consideration. In the Holy Grail War, the stronger a team appeared, the more likely they would be targeted by others.

"However, when you award the Command Seal, make sure to emphasize to the other Masters that Saber's team now has an extra Command Seal."

"I see. As expected of the Tohsaka family head, your insight is unparalleled. Let's proceed with this plan."

Kirei Ryūnosuke praised him and went to award Kiritsugu the Command Seal. He also summoned the familiars of the other Masters to announce Caster's defeat by Saber and the resumption of the Holy Grail War.

"Hmph, trying to steer me toward targeting Saber? I'll target you instead (Fuyuki profanity), damn Tohsaka Tokiomi. I'm coming for you."

This was the genuine thought of Berserker's Master, Kariya Matou. Through Zouken Matou's channels, he knew the Holy Church and the Tohsaka family were in cahoots. He had no intention of targeting Saber and only wanted to go after Tohsaka Tokiomi.

"A king's battle should be fair and honorable!"

This was Rider Iskandar's mindset, unchanged from last night. His Master, Waver Velvet, was too timid to influence his Servant's decisions.

"Miss Sola, please don't..."

As for Lancer, Diarmuid, his Master was now bedridden and useless, while his Master's fiancée was seducing him. The Holy Grail War seemed forgotten by this woman, who only wanted to indulge in his charm.

A well-thought-out strategy was wasted on a group of abnormal individuals. It was utterly ineffective. The only one who fell for it was Kiritsugu Emiya.

The magus killer, thinking along the same lines as Tohsaka Tokiomi, engaged in a battle of wits with thin air, fortifying his base and preparing for an attack from other Masters. He even considered leveraging the terrifying boy next door, Broly.

But in the end, no one came. Broly, whose school was closed for the day, stayed home while Fujimura Taiga went to school. He decided to visit the neighbors to see if he could increase the happiness values of the two new "wives" he had met last night.

As a result, he ended up having lunch at the Emiya household. During the meal, Kiritsugu managed to extract a lot of information from the straightforward Broly—things like being a Saiyan from Planet Vampa. If it weren't for the boy's incredible power and the fact that he had cleared an entire street last night, Kiritsugu might have thought he was being deceived.

Of course, Kiritsugu eventually figured out Broly's true purpose for visiting: the boy was looking for "wives," and one of them was his own wife. This left the magus killer somewhat speechless.

Irisviel, however, found it amusing. "I didn't know I was so charming that even a child would take a liking to me."

"But, little Broly, I can't be your wife."

She told him.

"Why not? Didn't we shake hands?"

Broly asked, confused, as he continued eating.

"Because I already have a husband."

Irisviel explained.

"What's a husband?"

Broly asked curiously.

"You don't know what a husband is? Then what are you looking for a wife for?"

Maiya Hisau couldn't help but interject.

"A husband is the male counterpart to a wife in a marital relationship..."

Irisviel patiently explained to Broly.

"Can't you have two husbands?"

Broly, now understanding, pressed further.

"Unfortunately, the country I'm from practices monogamy, and Kiritsugu is my husband."

Irisviel hugged her husband's arm and introduced him to Broly.

Broly fell into deep thought, his face showing clear distress.

"What's wrong? Did you eat too much?"

Irisviel asked with concern.

"No, I'm still hungry."

"Then why do you look like that?"

"I'm just thinking about whether I should kill your husband."

Broly answered honestly, shocking everyone at the table.

"Why?"

Kiritsugu asked nervously, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"Because if I kill you, your wife can become my wife."

Broly's logic was impeccable, leaving everyone speechless.

"But you seem hesitant."

Kiritsugu pressed.

"Because you gave me food."

This was the source of Broly's dilemma.

The room fell silent. This child had serious issues.

"Broly, why are you so obsessed with finding wives?"

Artoria broke the silence. A child of Broly's age shouldn't be so fixated on women, and his reactions didn't suggest he was motivated by lust.

"Finding wives makes them happy. When I return to Planet Vampa, I'll have food. The more wives I have and the happier they are, the more food I can exchange for."

Broly answered truthfully, but his explanation left everyone even more confused. However, they now understood the real reason behind Broly's quest for wives.

"If that's the case, I have a proposal."

Kiritsugu suddenly said.

"What proposal?"

Broly asked curiously.

"I can't give you my wife, but my daughter Illya is only three years older than you."

"Kiritsugu?"

Hearing this, Irisviel was surprised and turned to her husband. Kiritsugu nodded at her, and through their silent communication, Irisviel quickly understood his plan.

"If you're willing, Irisviel and I would like to entrust our daughter to you."

His wife, Irisviel, as the Lesser Grail of the Fourth Holy Grail War, would die once the Holy Grail was summoned.

And he himself might not survive the Holy Grail War to become the final victor.

If both he and Irisviel died, who would take care of their daughter Illya? The Einzbern family?

True, the Einzbern family might take care of their daughter—if Illya had value to them. But now, they had another option.

The boy before them, though not fully understood, undeniably possessed immense power, as they had witnessed last night.

Over the course of a meal, the boy's simplicity was laid bare. His straightforward desire to find wives gave Kiritsugu an idea.

Rather than trusting the Einzbern family to care for their daughter, they could entrust Illya to this monstrous boy.

At the very least, if the boy was willing to stand by their daughter, it would be a success. Having a fiancé with power rivaling a Servant would make their daughter immensely valuable.

Even if they, as parents, perished in the Holy Grail War, the Einzbern family would not easily discard their daughter.

Kiritsugu was making arrangements for his possible death in the Holy Grail War.

Previously, he hadn't made such arrangements because there was no opportunity or connections.

But now, having met Broly, a boy with monstrous strength, and understanding his motivations, Kiritsugu saw a chance to entrust their daughter to him.

"How about it? What do you think?"

[Parental consent, matchmaker's words]

[New target detected: Illya von Einzbern. Current happiness value: 0]

[Prompt: Her parents are willing to entrust her to you. Would you like to invite Illya von Einzbern to become an official member of the Crystal Palace? (Current official members: 0/5)]

Broly was momentarily stunned, but as he looked at Kiritsugu and Irisviel, a line of text suddenly appeared in his mind, and he subconsciously muttered: "Cloth, drifting through life, never finding a true master..."

The moment he agreed, far away in the Einzbern Castle in Germany, a girl who had been missing her parents suddenly saw a line of text appear before her:

[Your father (Kiritsugu Emiya) and your mother (Irisviel von Einzbern) are entrusting you to Broly. Broly has accepted and invites you to become an official member of the Crystal Palace. Illya von Einzbern, will you join the Crystal Palace? Confirm or Decline]

"Huh?!"

Illya didn't fully understand what the Crystal Palace meant, but seeing that it was her parents' decision, and missing them dearly, she hesitated for only a moment before reaching out to tap the confirmation prompt in front of her. However, her finger passed right through the text.

Still, the Crystal Palace had registered her intent to confirm, and the notification changed:

**[You have become an official member of the Crystal Palace. Current number of official members: 1/5. Once 5 official members are reached, the Crystal Palace module will upgrade.]**

Illya blinked, and a small Q-version avatar of a black-haired boy appeared in her field of vision. Beside the avatar was the name **[Broly]** written in German, and below it was a happiness value bar showing **[3→0]**.

On Broly's side, a similar Q-version avatar of a white-haired, red-eyed girl appeared. Beside it was the name **[Illya von Einzbern]** in universal language, and below it was a happiness value bar showing **[2→0]**.

In the top-right corner, there was also a happiness points display. Broly's happiness points were no longer zero; they now showed **200 points**.

This was the result of Illya's happiness value increasing slightly upon hearing news of her parents. After confirming her status as an official member of the Crystal Palace, her happiness value was converted into happiness points.

As her happiness value continued to rise, the happiness points also increased, though not in large increments. Instead, they rose one point at a time. In just a short while, they had already increased by two more points.

Beside Illya's avatar, there was a status note: **[Happiness points are being generated continuously]**, along with a reminder: **[Please maintain your wife's happiness]**, and a further note: **[If your wife feels unhappy, happiness points will stop being generated.]**

"Please tell me, how can I ensure your daughter remains happy?"

Broly was shocked. After using his consciousness to open the exchange shop on the side and seeing the food he had once eaten, his desire to make his yet-to-be-met wife happy exploded.

"Huh?"

Irisviel was stunned, and Kiritsugu was also at a loss. They had just verbally entrusted their daughter to this boy, and now he was looking at them with shining eyes, full of determination to make their daughter happy.

But the problem was, how could their 8-year-old daughter be considered happy?

Kiritsugu and Irisviel exchanged glances, both knowing the answer but hesitant to say it.

Because it was clear that this boy would truly act to ensure their daughter's happiness.

If they said that their daughter's happiness now depended on them staying by her side, Kiritsugu and Irisviel suspected that the boy might just tie them up and throw them back to their daughter.

"Happiness is a complicated thing. Everyone has a different definition of it. Our daughter Illya is still young, and we can't arbitrarily decide what her happiness is. You'll have to get to know her yourself and figure it out."

"Uh, alright."

Broly calmed down from his excited state.

"What about you? Do you want to become my wife?"

Broly turned to the side and asked Artoria, who was still eating.

"My life is dedicated to Britain, to saving my former kingdom. I have no time for romantic entanglements."

Artoria decisively shook her head. She was the King of Britain and would not become someone's wife.

Especially not the wife of a boy who only wanted to eat, and even then, only one of many.