Next, Shen Er, what's your business?

Chapter 135 Hello, Irisviel, I'm Yustisa

Irisviel von Einzbern is the crucial "Little Holy Grail" of this Holy Grail War, which is known to anyone who has some knowledge of the Holy Grail War system.But inside the Einzbern house, there is a difference between Irisviel and the "Little Holy Grail".

The "Little Holy Grail" is the body of Alice Fern that stored the alchemy crystals passed down by the Einzbern family for more than 2000 years.The personality of Irisviel is called the "Guardian of the Holy Grail", and her mission is to keep and carry the "Little Holy Grail".

In the last Holy Grail War, the Einzbern camp was not only defeated in the Servant battle, but the most important "Little Holy Grail" was also destroyed in the melee.Because the "Little Holy Grail" was lost before the winner was determined, the third Holy Grail War ended in vain.

Because of this failure, Patriarch Ahad decided to install a humanoid shell with self-management ability on the "Little Holy Grail" this time, endowing the "Little Holy Grail" with the instinct of survival, allowing it to automatically avoid various dangers, and achieve the goal of achieving the Holy Grail Purpose, this is the impersonation called "Irisviel".

As the Holy Grail War progressed, the "Little Holy Grail" began to function as it should, and began to oppress the redundant armor.Just like a computer with insufficient memory, in order to ensure the operation of important programs, the memory space occupied by unnecessary programs will be compressed.

It is manifested in Irisviel that the functions of human beings are getting weaker and weaker, and the functions of the object belonging to the "Little Holy Grail" are getting stronger and stronger.

Every time a new follower is eliminated, Irisviel's body will become weaker. After Caster's death, Irisviel began to feel weak all over, and couldn't hold water cups and carry such ordinary things as a phone. After Lancer's death, Irisviel had difficulty even walking. If "Avalon" guarded her, her condition might be better.But after returning "Avalon" to Saber, she had to lie in a designated spell to sleep for a long time.

When Irisviel opened her eyes next time, the sunset dyed orange had already shot in through the small lighting window of the warehouse.

The severance of consciousness felt as if the entire day of the day didn't exist at all.Irisviel's sleep was so deep.This body has gradually lost its function, and the dormancy of the body is not so much sleep as it is closer to a state of suspended animation.

My physical condition has improved a lot, and it seems that rest seems to have some effect.Although I still can't stand up, at least I can talk to people without hindrance.

Looking to the side, Hisu Maiya was as quiet as a shadow portrait, sitting motionless in the corner by the wall.The position and posture were exactly the same as the last time Irisviel saw it.But her always lowered gaze is as sharp as a sharp knife out of its scabbard, and with 12 energies, she stares keenly at a certain place in midair.

Although it made people feel extremely trustworthy, she didn't look like a living human being, but more like a familiar or a robot. Even Irisviel couldn't help but feel a certain sense of fear.Irisviel couldn't have imagined what kind of rigorous training and strong mental strength it was to maintain such an astonishing concentration.

With a feeling of awe, Irisviel suddenly thought—this woman named Hisau Maiya may have demonstrated the way of life he expected more thoroughly than Emiya Kiritsugu himself.

"—Miss Maiya."

Called out with a sound that was almost like a sigh.

Maiya looked at Irisviel swiftly and quietly like a hound hearing a dog whistle.

Irisviel felt a little sorry, she just wanted to have a casual chat with Maiya.

"Why are you fighting for Kiritsugu?"

"...Because I have nothing else."

Know that the protected object does not feel uncomfortable or inconvenient in any way, but just wants to talk.Maiya let herself relax a little bit, and replied after thinking quietly for a while.

"I can't remember anything about my family, I don't even remember my own name. The name Hisu Maiya is the name used on the first fake passport that Kiritsugu made for me."

"--what?"

Seeing Irisviel's surprised expression, Maiya smiled slightly.For her who is absolutely indistinct in her emotions and anger, this is her greatest friendliness.

"I just remember that it was a very poor country with no hope and no future. It could only rely on mutual hatred and plunder to get food for survival. There were always endless wars, and it was obvious that even the army There is no funds, but the flames of war have never stopped... I don’t know who came up with an idea, instead of recruiting soldiers for training, it’s faster and cheaper to catch children and let them go to the battlefield with guns.”

"..."

"Aim at the enemy and pull the trigger. Only these functions are left, and all the others are discarded... The children who can't do it will die earlier than the children who can do it. In order to prolong their lives, they can only keep killing. So I no longer I remember what happened before I picked up the gun, and lived like this mechanically until I met Kiritsugu."

Maiya said while looking down at her hands.The slender fingers do not have the softness that is unique to women, only the sharpness reminiscent of a murder weapon.

"My human heart is dead, only the external container is still active, maintaining the familiar functions. That is my 'life'. The person who picked up this life is Kiritsugu, so I can let him Use...that's why I'm here."

Although she had vaguely noticed that Maiya had a tragic past, Alice Viel did not expect that Maiya's life experience would be so heavy.

Irisviel was silent and speechless, but Maiya spoke in order to avoid embarrassment.

"Compared to me, Ma'am, your enthusiasm surprised me even more."

"--what?"

Irisviel, who hadn't expected Maiya to say that at all, couldn't help being surprised.

"You have been locked in a closed castle and isolated from the world, so you will fight desperately for Kiritsugu's ideal of changing the world."

"I……"

Maiya's words made Irisviel reflect on herself again.

Her husband Emiya Kiritsugu acts based on the ideal of "saving the world".Seeing how he risked his life in pursuit of the Holy Grail, can he still say that he has the exact same dream as him?

"—Yes. Actually, I don't really understand Kiritsugu's ideals."

That's right.the answer is negative.

"In the end, I just pretended to understand. Maybe I just want to be with the one I love. Like you said, I don't understand the world that Kiritsugu wants to change. My ideal is just to put everything together." Si's ideals are used to learn and sell."

"……is that so?"

"Yes, but you can't tell Kiritsugu."

For Irisviel, this was an incredible feeling.She didn't expect that there would be a person who could make her easily say something in her heart that she could never express in front of her husband.

"I always told Kiritsugu that he was right, that his ideals had the value to make me dedicate my life. I kept pretending that I could understand her. Compared to a woman who simply died for her husband, having the same ideals as her husband , a woman who died for her ideal, so that she won't be a burden to Kiritsugu, right?"

"I see."

This feeling of dependence is different from love for Kiritsugu and trust in Saber. Could this feeling that Irisviel experienced for the first time be the feeling called "friendship"?
"But ma'am, don't you have any wishes of your own?"

Hearing Maiya's second question, Irisviel couldn't help recalling the battle with Maiya in the forest. At that time, in front of the overwhelmingly powerful presence of Kotomine Kirei, the fighting spirit surged up in her , where did it come from?
"Wish... No, I do have a wish. I hope that Kiritsugu and Saber will win in the end, and I hope that both of them will get the Holy Grail."

This also represented the death of Irisviel and the farewell to Kiritsugu.

Even so, this wish was the source of the courage that surged in Irisviel's heart.

"Is this... the so-called achievement of the third magic, Einzbern's long-cherished wish?"

"No, it doesn't matter if you don't have the Great Holy Grail of Da Justesa. My hope is that there will never be a war. If the structure of the world changes according to Kiritsugu's expectations and all battles end, here in Fuyuki is the war to seek the Holy Grail It should be no exception. I hope that this fourth battle will be the last Holy Grail War, and I hope that I will be the last of the artificial humans who died as the container of the Holy Grail."

At this point, Maiya finally understood the meaning hidden in Irisviel's words.

"Is it for the lady?"

"Yes."

Ilyasphil von Einsbern.The product of alchemy that was fertilized by a magician in the womb of an artificial human.Although Maiya has never met Illya in person, she has heard about her.

"I heard that according to the master's plan, the 'Guardian of the Holy Grail' after me will become an artificial life body with more refined functions. Not only will the Holy Grail be hidden in the body, but the newly added magic circuit will be installed in the body. In addition to the physical body, let the physical body itself function as a 'holy grail container'. The Grand Master had already predicted that the "fifth war" might occur long before the start of the fourth war, so he let me give birth to Illya .If Kiritsugu and I fail, then that child will be used as a test bed for the 'Clothing of Heaven', which is for the most important battle 60 years later."

The calm tone of speaking began to have some tenderness at this time.

This is the proof that Irisviel is definitely not just living as a puppet.She has a heart, loves others, smiles when she is happy, and sheds tears when she is sad.Irisviel has this kind of ordinary warmth in her heart like ordinary people.

"When I was holding that child and breastfeeding her, I knew very well in my heart that this child could not escape the fate of becoming a container in the end. A mother must give up her dearest child in this way. How can you feel like this? understood?"

"..."

Maiya remained silent, carefully appreciating the emotion revealed by Irisviel.

"But this is the fate that the artificial life forms of the Einzbern family are forced to bear. That child, and my granddaughter too, everyone will experience this pain when they give birth to a daughter. This chain will It will continue until the time when the Holy Grail of Fuyuki falls. So I hope that I am the last person, and I want to use my own body to end Einzbern's obsession. If this wish can be fulfilled, my daughter can escape her fate , that child can live a life that is not destined for the Holy Grail, and end his life as a human being."

"Is this the feeling of being a mother..."

Asked by Maiya, Irisviel realized that she had revealed too much of her inner feelings just now, so she smiled wryly in embarrassment.

"Maybe. It might be hard for you, Maiya, to understand."

"It's not too difficult. I've been a mother too."

"--what?"

This sentence was so unexpected that Irisviel wondered if her ears had heard it wrong.

Maiya softened her tone as if apologizing for scaring Irisviel.

"I, in fact, have experience in pregnancy and childbirth, although it can be said to be just an accident."

"... have you ever been married?"

"No, I don't even know who my father is. On the battlefield, all our female soldiers were raped by male soldiers every night in the barracks. I don't know when... Anyway, I was pregnant shortly after the onset of menstruation. .I can't even name the kid. I don't know if I'm still alive. If he isn't dead, the kid must be killing on the battlefield. The kid there has been going to the battlefield with a gun since he was five years old .”

"how so……"

The past told by the woman who had been a boy soldier was too tragic, and it deeply shocked Irisviel's unstained heart.

"Are you surprised? But such things are definitely not new in today's world. Now terrorist organizations and guerrillas know the benefits of using juvenile soldiers. Because there are early success stories like mine, so now The number of children who have had the same experience as mine has not decreased, but has become more and more."

Maiya spoke calmly, her eyes getting colder and colder.There was no anger or sadness in her tone of voice.Among the scenes she recalled, I am afraid that there is only endless despair that has nothing to do with those living feelings.

"Ma'am, maybe for you, the world you saw for the first time is very beautiful, and you envy the happy people living in this world. But for me, I am very envious of growing up in that castle. You, because you don’t need to see the ugliness and horror of this world.”

Although Maiya's emotion was not a complaint, when she said these thoughts, it was inevitable that she blamed Irisviel for being naive.

Afterwards, Maiya herself might have noticed this, and shook her head as if to deny what she said earlier, and ended with more resolute words.

"If such a world can really be changed...if it is Kiritsugu who fulfills this wish...no matter how I use my life, it doesn't matter."

Nothing but fighting.Maiya described herself in this way.There was no exaggeration in her words.In her heart, there are no ideals, no long-cherished wishes, just like scorched earth that has been completely burned, there is only a void of nothingness.

Although her inner world is completely opposite to Kiritsugu's, as a warrior, the two are extremely similar.This contradiction made Irisviel's chest ache.Maiya's existence reminds Kiritsugu and at the same time sets an example for him. It is precisely because of her being by his side that Kiritsugu can block his own contradictions and make himself a ruthless hunting machine.

"After Kiritsugu fulfills his dream, what are you going to do...?"

For the first time, Irisviel's question caused Maiya's eyes to wander because of confusion.

"I never thought that I could survive. Even if I really saved my life, it would be meaningless for me to live. The world changed because of Kiritsugu must be a place that doesn't need me."

There is no place for a man who knows only how to survive in the flames of war in a world where war is completely eradicated.For Maiya, such negative thoughts were a natural conclusion.

This was too sad and unacceptable, Irisviel couldn't help but blurted out.

"That's not the case. Maiya-san, you still have things to do after the war is over."

"..."

Facing the female warrior's puzzled eyes, Irisviel said firmly.

"You have to go and find your family and your own name, and where your children are. These are things that should not be forgotten. These are things that should be remembered."

"is that so……"

Contrary to Irisviel's enthusiasm, Maiya's tone was skeptical and still indifferent.

"If the age of peace really comes, the memories of people like me will be nothing more than a nightmare, which will only tear open the healed wounds and bring pain. Seeds of hatred."

"It's not like this. Because your life is not a dream, but a fact that actually happened. The peace created by burying it all in the dark is a sinful deception. A truly peaceful world is not simply forgetting the past Those pains, but to prevent myself from repeating the same mistakes, and seriously mourn the pain and sacrifices of the past, in order to create a peaceful new world."

"..."

Maiya watched Irisviel silently, and after a while, her face became bright.

"You should have said these words to Kiritsugu earlier. Then maybe he will have a better life than now."

Maiya's thoughts brought joy and loneliness to Irisviel at the same time, and she may never have the chance to talk to her husband as she gradually weakens.

"—Then Maiya-san, please convey these words to him, and say that I said it..."

"No, you should say it yourself."

Similar voices, accompanied by the golden and white light of the spirit, condensed a figure that was almost identical to Irisviel.

"Hello, Irisviel von Einzbern, I'm Justissa, Justissa Lizleich von Einzbern, your prototype—"

(End of this chapter)