Chapter 29: The Imposter Saintess

My name is Illya, and I am about to award myself an Oscar.

176:19:11

Leaving Kiritsugu speechless upon our first meeting was a success, but the crucial part is what comes next. The ideology of this "Ally of Justice" is incredibly stubborn. Simply telling him, "I am inside the Holy Grail, and I know it is corrupted," wouldn't work. Given the persona of this Heroic Spirit incarnation and Illya's physical age, I am limited to portraying the Maiden of Winter in her prime; therefore, I cannot possibly know that the current Grail has been tainted by Angra Mainyu. Besides, I am not particularly good at lying, and Kiritsugu has been an "Ally of Justice" long enough that his lie-detection skills are likely quite high. If he catches me in a lie, it will be troublesome later.

[But you just lied and claimed to be the Maiden of Winter?]

"Shut up! The original Maiden of Winter sacrificed herself to the Root to create the Grail, so saying I am her is perfectly fine!"

In any case, I will listen to Kiritsugu’s accusations and respond accordingly.

"Iris is not a clone of you, Caster." Kiritsugu Emiya paused for a moment before responding, "And you are not the original Maiden of Winter. I think you are well aware of that yourself."

That is true. Strictly speaking, all Servants are copies of the original Heroic Spirits located on the Throne of Heroes, essentially high-level "familiars" manifested after having their power adjusted based on their Class and the strength of their Summoner. For instance, that King Arthur, whose gender differs from what most people know—legend says she also possessed a powerful lance, the very one that impaled her son/daughter. If summoned under the Lancer class, she could wield it, and since she would no longer be under the curse of eternal youth, she would show significant physical growth.

"Of course I am aware," I continued with an inscrutable smile, "but I, who should have assimilated with the Root and been devoid of consciousness, heard an interesting wish. She said, 'I want to save more people, even if I have to sacrifice myself.'"

Kiritsugu’s expression remained unchanged. It seems such words either fail to move him or were already within his expectations.

"Perhaps the ability to respond to the summons is because that wish aligns well with the Einzbern creed—after all, it is a vessel for the Third Magic," I continued to bluff. "However, it was unexpected that they would go so far as to hire an outsider as a Master this time."

In previous Holy Grail Wars, the Einzberns had used clones of the Maiden of Winter as Masters, but their combat power and tactical ability were so poor that there was no hope of victory. That is why they hired this "Magus Killer," known for his cunning. In the original timeline, Kiritsugu would have a clash of ideologies with Irisviel, save her from the homunculus death trials, share their hearts, fall in love, marry, and have a daughter—a happy ending, before everything fell apart with the loss of his wife and daughter in this war.

"Iris... does she have a wish of her own?" Kiritsugu’s brows twitched, and his expression softened as if thinking of something.

"The wish shared by all homunculi of the Einzbern family: to bring about the Greater Grail and realize the Third Magic." I put on a proud face. "As for you, your wish to save the world while keeping yourself at a distance is quite surprising."

"Keeping myself at a distance?"

"The Magus Killer, hmm?" I gestured toward the gun in his hand. "When you judge that an action might cause mass casualties, you intervene to stop or eliminate it. Since such actions are mostly caused by magi, you earned that title after killing thirty-seven of them."

"Thirty-three. And many of them were only rendered unable to use magecraft for the rest of their lives."

"Criminal acts aside, if ordinary people engage in large-scale battles where good and evil cannot be determined, you secretly assist the side whose victory would result in fewer deaths," I said, explaining why Kiritsugu always appeared in war-torn regions. "So, on your scale of human life, the only weight that matters is quantity."

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Your behavior is logically consistent; I suppose nothing anyone says would matter." I shook my head. "But I want to ask, if you win and wish upon the Grail to save the world, what happens to you? Are you saved as well?"

"I see. You are asking this on behalf of Lin Hao." Kiritsugu, previously expressionless, nodded as if he had confirmed something.

"Hm?" Well, that wasn't entirely wrong. The incarnation named Lin Hao, acting as Master, was under his control. For now, they were allied due to a shared wish, but if there were fundamental disagreements, a battle would eventually occur.

"The object of salvation cannot include me," Kiritsugu shook his head slightly. "The prerequisite for the Grail's final manifestation is Iris's disappearance. If she cannot be by my side, I could never call myself saved."

[Wow...]

'Invisible dog food is the deadliest. I suddenly want to hit him.'

[Just accept your parents' public display of affection~]

'Very well, I'll hit you instead.'

[Don't... wuwuwu...]

"Since we’re on the subject of wishes, what is yours, Caster? Surely you don't just hope for the Grail to manifest." Kiritsugu changed the subject.

"Hmph, that is none of your business." Was I supposed to say I was collecting 'Doomsday Elements'? "The barrier I set up can temporarily block the Assassins' perception of this place, but are you sure you want to chat here?"

"One last question." Kiritsugu looked around, stepped onto the small boat, and started the engine. "Your Master said you were busy and wouldn't respond to calls without a Command Spell?"

"Ah, yes. Although my Magic Resistance is enough to reject a Command Spell or two, I thought it would be more troublesome if you died, so I interrupted my work to save you." I moved from the engine position to the bow.

"Work?" Kiritsugu started the small speedboat.

"Just delaying the destruction of Fuyuki."

"..."

176:00:04

"Fuyuki will... be destroyed?"

Whether it was because of my casual tone or the horrific content, Kiritsugu didn't ask until he had piloted the boat a distance across the river.

"What? Did you think three consecutive failures of the Holy Grail War would have no side effects?" I pointed at the river water below. "This isn't sixty years of stored magical energy; it's two hundred and forty years."

"So?" Kiritsugu’s tone turned anxious.

Tsk tsk... was he planning to play the savior again?

"So, if you don't make the Grail appear within a certain time, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and terrifying plagues will completely destroy Fuyuki," I said, intentionally describing disasters he couldn't stop. "To be precise, after my calculations, it will happen in 176 hours and 4 minutes."

[Eh? Alaya, how do you know that?] The System sprite suddenly popped up.

'Hey... don't tell me I was right? I was just reading the countdown.'

[Hint: Failure to collect Doomsday Elements will lead to their eruption, resulting in the destruction of the world in ways including but not limited to the preview.]

It wasn't entirely unexpected. Come to think of it, that's what the countdown is for. The only difference from the original work is that if I fail, there won't be any "one week later" or "six months later" epilogue; it will just be a Dead End.

[But don't worry, Alaya. Even if it's destroyed, we'll be fine. We can just move on to the next world.]

'You're flying that flag high... though I'm not afraid of failure, that doesn't mean I'm willing to admit it.'

Now that all Servants and Masters have appeared and their relationships have become clear, acting based on existing conditions to achieve the desired ending is as easy as playing an RPG with a walkthrough!

"—Seven days?" Kiritsugu, once again stunned into silence, quickly regained his composure. "I believe you are monitoring your Master by some means, so what is your stance on our alliance proposal?"

"Hmph, although I tried my best to badmouth you to that girl to make her attitude toward you worse, the fact that you managed to refrain from killing her means we have no choice but to cooperate." I looked back at the "Ally of Justice" piloting the boat. "If you had killed her or stolen her Command Spells earlier, a 'big surprise' would have been waiting for you."

"I feel like you have a prejudice against me?" Kiritsugu’s tone seemed a bit lighter. He wasn't still thinking about how to handle Lin Hao, was he?

"You are a Magus Killer, and I am a magus. How is that for a reason?" I said casually.

"I see." He actually believed it!

As we spoke, the boat crossed the Mion River and docked at a hidden small pier.

"Although that girl spent a Command Spell to save you, she didn't say she would protect you forever." I lifted my skirt hem and jumped off the boat. After walking a few steps, I turned back to look at Kiritsugu. "What are you planning to do next?"

"Return to the safe house to rendezvous with Saber Alter. The magical connection shows she was in a battle, and I need the details." Kiritsugu secured the boat and stepped ashore. "Also, Maiya seems to have been captured by the Tohsaka family; I need to discuss a countermeasure."

Come to think of it, that kid Ryuunosuke really has guts. Hisau Maiya is capable of going head-to-head with the priest Kirei, yet he dared to ambush her. In the past, I had spoiled some things to Ryuunosuke in a way that sounded like fiction, tactically shielding Caster as just a "crazed magus from afar wanting to steal the Grail." I wonder what conclusion he drew to do something so strange.

"Fine. Before I go back to see my Master, I'll escort you to Saber so you don't get hunted down by Assassins again." I brushed some non-existent dust off my sleeves and let my Heroic Spirit incarnation shift into spirit form. "Also, you'd better not take unnecessary risks. Otherwise, it will just be a waste of that girl's Command Spells."

"Caster, you... no, it's nothing."

I don't know what you're imagining, but you would never guess that I am your daughter!

Pah! I am not his daughter!