Chapter 39: Departure: Fuyuki City!

After the Einzbern really held a banquet, letting the homunculi also experience the flavor of mortal life, the next day, Shirou and Illya set off for Fuyuki City.

At this moment, there should still be five days until Tohsaka Rin summons her Servant, and roughly one week until the Dumb King appears.

As for why they're departing early, there's no need to elaborate.

Besides picking up Medea, it's also to use Medea's Noble Phantasm: Rule Breaker, to first cancel his contract with Illya, then reestablish it.

Through a formal contract, Illya won't suffer backlash. Relatively, Shirou can also act more freely.

Magic power with quality comparable to Command Seals would make him one of the people in this Holy Grail War who lack mana the least, aside from Sakura's route's blackened Sakura.

In addition, he wasn't sure when Medea would appear at Ryuudou Temple.

So, he had to wait like a hunter by the tree.

"Eh? Berserker wants to cancel the contract with me and then reestablish it? And you even want to borrow help from a vixen, and even have me contract her?", Just off the plane, before she could enjoy the novelty of the surroundings, Illya, upon hearing Shirou's words, puffed her cheeks in anger.

"Berserker!", Although she was angry, facing the current Shirou, Illya's reaction was more like a little tantrum.

And it was at the level of "pat her head and it'll be fine."

"Sorry, Illya. I just don't want you to be in pain. And you know, I only want to protect you," Shirou patted her head.

"Hmph!", Illya enjoyed it while replying, "I don't want to cancel the contract with Berserker even for a moment. And how does Berserker know Caster has a Noble Phantasm that can cancel our contract?"

Facing Illya's questioning, Shirou calmly and openly replied, "I found out unintentionally. It might also be misinformation. Either way, it's worth confirming."

"It's that important?"

"It's very important. It may even greatly affect my plans later," Shirou answered seriously.

Medea was a key figure in determining whether there were any anomalies in this Holy Grail War.

If Caster wasn't her, Shirou would jump high immediately to make sure no crusty old coin appeared.

If it was her, everything could be discussed.

The plan could proceed as expected.

"Fine then," Illya wasn't an unreasonable person. Since Shirou said it so seriously, it must be important. She could only reluctantly agree.

"As compensation, you must play with Illya, starting now."

Looking at Illya, who was enthusiastic about everything around her, Shirou, though worried about bumping into this timeline's Emiya Shirou, didn't refuse.

If someone gives their trust without hesitation, they deserve a return.

Illya didn't ask a single question, trusting him without hesitation. Then Shirou wouldn't betray that trust. Even if they really did run into this timeline's Emiya Shirou and his identity was exposed.

Then let it be exposed. At the very least, he couldn't betray this expectation and trust.

"Yay," Illya cheered while holding his hand, "Let's go quickly, Berserker."

"Illya-sama, we have to go to the castle first!", Sella had a headache, "And what if a Servant attacks us?"

"You just go, Sella," Illya skipped ahead, "It's daytime, and I have Berserker protecting me. Nothing will happen."

"No way!", Sella sternly refused, "The Holy Grail War is no joke. For the sake of Einzbern's long-cherished wish, please be more mature."

She even used "you" formally, proof that Sella was being serious.

Illya had no choice but to reluctantly give up her desire to go play, "Sella is so boring, stingy! Housekeeper!"

Sella was unfazed, even saying, "Illya-sama can insult me however she wants. As long as we win the Holy Grail War, I don't care at all."

"Hmph!", Illya angrily hugged Shirou's arm and ignored Sella.

Liz whispered, "Illya-sama… don't be mad. Sella… for your sake."

Illya muttered, "Sella isn't doing it for me. She's just doing it for the Holy Grail."

Shirou patted her head, "It's okay. There will be more chances to go out later. Let's just listen to Sella for now."

After a bit of comforting, Illya calmed down.

They took two cars, he and Illya in one, Sella and Liz in the other, heading to the Einzbern castle located on the outskirts of Fuyuki City.

The reason: Illya didn't want to ride with Sella.

The taxi drove for over an hour before reaching the outskirts. And this still wasn't the Einzbern castle, it was just the outer area of the Einzbern Forest. Only by passing through this forest could one formally reach the Einzbern castle.

Reportedly, the castle was modeled after the Château de Brissac in France, with a history of over five hundred years.

It had been magically transported by the Einzbern to the outskirts of Fuyuki City. An extravagant move.

Entering the forest, Shirou carried Illya, using his A-rank agility to accelerate the journey.

———

Twenty minutes later, the castle was close.

Shirou put Illya down. Through the perfectly natural-looking forest, he looked at the Einzbern castle.

Due to the barrier, ordinary people couldn't see the castle's true form, they'd just think it was a regular forest.

He followed Illya inside and arrived at the front courtyard.

Illya had no interest in the castle's scenery, not even the ruined forest inside.

"Berserker," She tugged at Shirou's sleeve and looked up, "I'm tired. I want to sleep."

After speaking, she even yawned.

"Alright, go to sleep," Shirou took her to the bedroom, cleaning up at lightning speed.

"Want to take a bath before sleeping?", Shirou laid out the bed.

Upon hearing "bath," Illya's big eyes sparkled as she asked, "Will Berserker bathe with me?"

"No," Shirou pinched her little nose, "Illya is a big girl now. She can't bathe with a boy."

"But Berserker is a Servant."

"A Servant is also a male Servant. No negotiation."

"Fine then," Illya pouted.

"I'll go see if there's hot water… Do you want any desserts?"

"Pudding."

After tasting Sella's pudding, Illya became obsessed with it.

"Alright. I'll go out later to buy ingredients. When you wake up, you can eat it."

"Illya wants to go out too," The girl propped her cute little face and sighed.

"No way," Shirou looked at her, "Of course, if Illya can convince Sella…"

"Totally impossible," Illya gave up without trying, "Sella is stubborn like a witch. She won't care about Illya."

"What a weird comparison. Sella would definitely be angry if she heard that."

"She made me mad first!", Thinking of her shopping request being denied, Illya angrily rolled around on the bed.

"So boring. Illya wants to go out and play!"

"Seriously," Facing Illya's whining, Shirou held his forehead, "Just this once. After I go out and confirm it's safe, I'll try to talk to Sella."

"I'll leave it to you, Berserker," Her plan succeeding, Illya beamed, "Go check the hot water quickly. I want to bathe."

"Then don't fall asleep," Shirou reminded before leaving.

"Mm," Illya lay on the bed, stretched out her finger, and hummed a children's song Irisviel once taught her.

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