Chapter 53: A New Stronghold

My name is Lin Hao.

I am currently setting up a defensive barrier.

108:11:39

"Is this what a Japanese-style courtyard looks like, Kiritsugu? Are you sure it's not a garden?"

Irisviel stood in the center of a Japanese-style compound, her hands clasped over her chest as she looked around curiously.

"It was lent to me by an old acquaintance," I heard Kiritsugu say. "I thought it would be a very suitable temporary hideout while we wait for Saber to recover her strength."

I had to admit, Kiritsugu's eye for choosing a new base of operations was quite good.

This Japanese-style residence was located at the very end of a dead-end road, so no casual pedestrians would wander by. Furthermore, the backyard was situated on a cliff directly facing the Mienai River, making surprise attacks by conventional means impossible, and it provided a convenient escape route if the need arose.

Most of the rooms in the entire estate were traditional Japanese *washitsu*, but there were also rooms leaning toward a modern style. The courtyards and corridors were decorated with garden gates, stone lanterns, bright flowers, and lush green foliage. Right in the middle of the courtyard, there was even a koi pond and a *shishi-odoshi* (water-scarer) that channeled flowing water. Two Sabers were watching it—one with pleasant surprise and the other with unconcealed disdain—as the bamboo tube slowly filled with water before dropping with a sudden *thump*.

As for me, I was pushing my wheelchair around with a critical eye, inspecting the premises to see where wheelchair ramps were absolute necessities.

'Come to think of it, who on earth did we borrow this clean, orderly room that looks as if someone's been living in it all along?' I asked the idiot system.

[Judging by the location, it seems to be a samurai residence...] Gaia immediately pulled up a bird's-eye view of Fuyuki City right in front of me.

'Pfft! Doesn't that mean we should prepare for some pest control?' Was it wing-bladed bugs or blade-winged bugs?

[Matou Zouken has already withdrawn...]

'I was just joking, yet you take it seriously. Truly an idiot.'

[Wuwu...]

Although my mention of "wheelchair ramps" was originally meant to intentionally give Kiritsugu a hard time, this residence surprisingly didn't have any areas that particularly required them. At least, I had already navigated the entire base in my wheelchair without needing any magical assistance.

In addition, there was no such thing as a "storehouse that looked completely isolated from the outside world," so this probably wasn't the place where Shirou summoned the genuine Saber—come to think of it, the Fifth Holy Grail War would probably be bypassed altogether?

[Well... if you only take away the "All the Evils of the World" while leaving the Holy Grail behind, the Fifth War should still happen.]

'Forget it. By now, the original plot of Zero has already been blown away to who knows where by the flapping of butterfly wings.'

[The butterfly effect... is largely influenced by the "Will of the World," so actually—]

'Actually, it's your fault.'

[Yes, it's my fault... Huh?]

'Alright, I need to contemplate my subsequent strategy. Be quiet for a moment.'

[Oh...]

————

"Irisviel, is there anything I can help with?"

When I returned to the center of the courtyard after my patrol, Emiya Kiritsugu and Hisau Maiya had already left. Only Irisviel remained, holding a silver, glittering "ball of yarn" and looking rather puzzled as to what to do with it.

"If you don't mind, little Hao, could you help me hang these 'threads' around the courtyard?" The Einzbern homunculus flashed a smile at me. "Kiritsugu said we aren't allowed to set up defensive barriers connected to magic circuits this time."

"Then what is this?" I wheeled closer to Irisviel and took the "ball of yarn," whereupon she produced another one as if by magic.

Judging by my magical knowledge, this should be the "mithril thread" she used to weave giant eagles, flying swords, and protective array patterns. Soft yet tenacious, it had been improved by the Einzbern family's alchemy to become her secret weapon, though for now, its full potential didn't seem to have been completely unlocked.

I tried pulling off a short length of the "thread" and let it drop naturally to the ground. The moment the silvery-white line touched the earth, it melted away like snow, and then a magic pattern almost identical to the posture of its fall flickered on the ground, ultimately lighting up a giant magic array centered on Irisviel's location before fading into nothingness.

"It really doesn't seem to be connected to a magic circuit. I'll do my best to lay them out properly." I smiled at her, placed the ball of yarn on my lap, and pushed the wheels of my chair toward the outer perimeter of the estate.

Unlike the mithril threads the master craftswoman used to weave into various shapes in the past, the ones in my hands had been pre-processed into something resembling conductive wires and triggers. Even if scattered haphazardly, they would automatically evolve into magical nodes and connect to the main array located in the courtyard, and that main array possessed the functions of camouflage and drawing upon ley line magical energy to replenish everyone within its range.

And the reason why such a function was necessary was naturally because—I happened to glance into the dining room as I passed by, and Saber Alter was devouring burgers with the fierce momentum of charging enemy lines, while Saber Lily looked at a pot of steaming rice with brimming anticipation.

As expected... I dropped a piece of "yarn" and continued toward the backyard.

————

'Speaking of which, how is that seventy-two-in-one loli gun doing right now?'

The backyard was quite large. I asked the idiot system while scattering mithril threads along the edge.

[She got severely chewed out by the King of Heroes, and Kirei and Ryuunosuke wouldn't help her, so she ran away from home.]

The bird's-eye view of Fuyuki in the corner of my vision rapidly zoomed in, displaying... Tohsaka Rin and Tohsaka Sakura?

'I knew the two of them had come to Fuyuki, but I was asking about Assassin... Oh, over there.'

Rin and Sakura were arguing about whether they were lost, where their home was, and whether they should cross the bridge. Not far from them stood a little girl whose entire figure was shrouded in shadows.

[She was supposed to wander around aimlessly, but because she had contact with both of them when she was devoid of consciousness, she's been subconsciously following them ever since they crossed paths.]

'Well, it's a truce period anyway, and she completely lacks the characteristics of a Heroic Spirit. It should be fine even if someone notices her—uh.'

Because of some artificial landscaping in the backyard of this estate, it was built in split levels for aesthetic appeal, with the side along the river being two or three steps higher than the inland side, and a wheelchair obviously couldn't be pushed up there.

"What a pain..." I cupped the ball of yarn and put on a distressed expression.

"So, why don't you just let me cure this paralysis? Wouldn't that make things much easier?" Illya's avatar manifested nearby and snatched the ball of yarn right out of my hands.

"No, this must heal naturally." I put on an expression laden with determination.

"Ahahaha..." This idiot system always chuckled whenever it watched me put on a double act, and it never learned even after getting beaten up for it afterwards.

'Don't laugh! I am—'

*Buzz—Buzz—*

Illya had been about to help Lin Hao up those two steps, but the "ball of yarn" in her hand suddenly began to tremble and glow, emitting a very dangerous sound.

'What's going on?!'

[I, I don't know...]

'So useless—Hint, big sister?'

[Hint: The 'mana-infused mithril thread' is about to explode due to overcharging.]

When did it get overcharged?! But there was no time to worry about that now!

Swiftly switching to Illya's avatar, I took a brief aim and hurled the ball of mithril thread across the river.

*BOOM!*

A cyan pillar of light resembling a broken Excalibur shot straight into the clouds.

'Hmph, I hurriedly checked just now and made sure no one was on the other side, but how many people will see this?'

'Because the color isn't too obvious, it didn't cause too much attention, but those who did notice are basically heading toward the location of that previous castle pillar, so—'

The light screen in the corner of the vision switched again, and a bunch of guys holding cameras were rushing in a disorderly mob from the bridgehead toward the spot where the pillar of light had originated.

'Hmph, aside from a crater, they shouldn't find anything else—Huh?'

Tohsaka Rin, who was studying a map, didn't seem to want to be swept away by the crowd, so she grabbed the hand of the little girl beside her and slipped off their inevitable path just before the crowd converged—

Wait, but the one you grabbed is Émile!

————

"Little Hao? Little Hao? Is Caster back?"

I had originally intended to watch what kind of expression Rin would make when she realized she grabbed the wrong person, but perhaps startled by the mithril thread explosion, Irisviel hurried over, her voice preceding her arrival.

Although the reason for making that thing explode was unclear, it still counted as causing trouble, so I directly had Illya's avatar dematerialize and return to the Root... Wait, how was this behavior any different from a mischievous child running away immediately after causing trouble?

"Um, she came back for a moment, but left right away." With no time for other actions, I turned my wheelchair to face Irisviel, who had already stepped into the backyard.

"Tell me the truth, little Hao, what did Illya go off to do earlier?" The homunculus seemed extremely flustered as she walked over, grabbed my arm, and asked in a low voice.

What did she do? Just gave Sola-Ui a magic crest and nothing else...

"You know what she went to do, didn't you?" Irisviel changed her grip to my shoulders, lowering her head to stare intently into my eyes. "Please don't hide it. This is very important."

"Uh, earlier, to get Rider to act, she promised to transfer a magic crest whose family bloodline had died out to Kenneth's fiancée, Sola-Ui. She must have gone to fulfill that promise." I ultimately couldn't withstand the intensity of her gaze and looked away as I spoke.

"Is that so? Just as I thought... That foolish child." Irisviel released her grip, her previously gentle tone turning somewhat... sorrowful?

What the heck? Even if you're her mother, you shouldn't just call your child foolish like that!

"Do you know why those mithril threads exploded just now?" Seeming to notice my expression, the woman looked at the noisy crowd on the opposite bank and said slowly.

'Idiot system, why?'

[Because she frequently stays at the Root. Even though she doesn't absorb it herself, the concentration of magical energy clinging to her body is just too high, and that 'silver thread roll' couldn't withstand it.]

'Silver thread roll, my foot!'

"Even if she became a Heroic Spirit, she couldn't possibly have the ability to transfer another family's magic crest. She most likely used the magic circuits within her own body to convert it, and that kind of conversion causes her magical energy to leak continuously for a certain period of time. That's why the mithril threads, which absorb stray ambient magical energy, ended up..." Irisviel paused before continuing, "Unlike being hit by a bullet like Kiritsugu's, this kind of autonomous magical energy leakage is accompanied by intense pain. Didn't you notice her forcing a smile earlier?"

"..."

Had I not personally picked out that crest at the Root, even I would have believed this logical and well-reasoned analysis.