Illya remained held in Xia Yu's arms just like that.
"Please have some tea," the homunculus Sella, acting as the head maid responsible for Illya's care, respectfully served Xia Yu a cup of black tea.
To the side, Leysritt stood with a tense body, watching the scene with predatory intensity.
They were the homunculi closest to Illya. Sella possessed excellent Magic Circuits and served as Illya's magecraft instructor as a first-class magus; however, due to her fragile physical body, she was unsuited for combat and usually managed the castle grounds.
In contrast, Leysritt was taciturn and expressionless, lacking self-awareness but possessing formidable combat capabilities, specializing in the use of a giant magic halberd and close-quarters magecraft. She was life-synchronized with Illya, handling daily cooking, patrolling, and guarding duties.
Furthermore, she was one of the components of the Dress of Heaven used to manifest the Holy Grail. When Illya needed to don the Heaven's Feel Dress, she would transform into that mystic code, bidding a final farewell to this world alongside Illya.
Hmph, magi.
Magi are truly such a cold-blooded and ruthless group.
As for that Acht—the fellow Xia Yu had just blasted to death with a shot of Might of An-Utu—he deserved his end and more. After confirming that Emiya Kiritsugu had destroyed the Holy Grail after winning it in the Fourth Holy Grail War, he had flown into a rage and branded him a traitor.
In the intervening years, he had not only refused to allow Emiya Kiritsugu entry to the castle but had also brainwashed Illya with the notion that he was a disgraceful traitor.
How ridiculous. If the Einzbern family hadn't tried to be clever during the Third Holy Grail War by summoning Angra Mainyu, would things have spiraled so far out of control?
Then again, as a magus, he didn't care what consequences the leakage of All the World's Evil would cause; he only cared about reaching The Root and completing The Third Magic.
Illya's treatment wasn't much better either. Having inherited the traits of the Lesser Grail from her mother, she was raised entirely as a tool. For instance, even though the Holy Grail War was still two months away, Einzbern was conducting a premature summoning.
This was intended to let Illya's body acclimate to the presence of a Servant, but it would also cause her immense pain... not to mention that he would subsequently force Illya to take her Servant into life-and-death battles against various familiars.
If not for Berserker being reliable, Illya might have actually met with disaster if she had summoned a weaker Heroic Spirit.
Thus, Xia Yu hadn't bothered to listen to a word he said, shattering him with a single stroke of her sword.
Now, the entire Einzbern castle was as if facing a great enemy. Their patriarch was dead, the magecraft workshop passed down through eight generations was utterly breached, and this long-standing magus family was practically defenseless before this unknown Servant.
Sella carefully observed the seemingly harmless girl before her... Despite such a delicate appearance, she had managed such a feat with a casual strike...
Indeed, as a member of the Einzbern family, she could clearly distinguish that the attack which had burned a massive hollow into the sky was not a Noble Phantasm at all!
Without a doubt, Einzbern had drawn a trump card.
It was just that this trump card... was a bit too much of a trump card.
Faced with the teacup presented to her, Xia Yu picked it up and took a light sip. Mmm, the taste was excellent.
"As expected of a great family with a long heritage," she nodded with satisfaction, "the taste is truly refined."
To be honest, she had never had proper black tea before. Even in Nagazora City, Rita had used her keen observation to prepare nothing but Shenzhou Cuisine for her.
"I am glad it is to your liking," Sella breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Of course, this tea wasn't brewed by her, but by the expressionless Leysritt beside her.
The latter was the one specialized in culinary arts.
"Master, what is your name?" Xia Yu deliberately reached out to pinch Illya's cheek as she asked.
"Illya. Big sister, my name is Illya," the latter endured her displeasure and looked up to give Xia Yu a sweet smile. "Illyasviel von Einzbern."
"Mhm, what a lovely name, it suits you well," Xia Yu withdrew her hand from the girl's cheek. "My name is Firefly. Illya, you can just call me Firefly from now on."
"Mhm, Sister Firefly," Illya nodded obediently. Endure!
She had to figure out her True Name first!
"But, it seems there are no heroes by that name in history," she looked up again, asking with a face full of innocence.
"How should I put it, I don't quite understand it either," Xia Yu showed a hint of distress upon hearing this. "To think the humans of this era haven't even left their home planet. I suppose the Throne of Heroes is in a form I'm unfamiliar with..."
"This era? Home planet?!" Illya's voice instantly spiked in volume. "Wait, what do you mean by 'home planet'?"
Is she saying that she's from the future? Is... is this even logical?
"Alright, let's have a formal introduction," Xia Yu looked at Illya, reaching out to take her right hand and giving it a symbolic shake. "I am Firefly, a member of the Glamoth Iron Cavalry."
"What is the Glamoth Iron Cavalry?" Illya asked, her face full of confusion.
"A homunculus? Roughly that type," Xia Yu shrugged. "As for why you summoned me... it's likely because I possess a portion of Heracles's abilities, combined with the trait of being a homunculus."
"After all," she gently ruffled Illya's small head, "looking at you all... though your technology is crude, we're basically in the same boat."
"In the same boat..." Illya froze at those words.
"The Holy Grail, ah, the Holy Grail," Xia Yu habitually rested her chin on top of Illya's head. "Can it really grant any wish? Illya."
"It can. As long as one holds that omnipotent cauldron, any wish can be realized," Illya said excitedly. "And since you come from the future, Sister Firefly, we have an incomparable information advantage. We can definitely—"
"Wait, just because I'm from the future doesn't mean I know anything about the Holy Grail War," Xia Yu quickly interrupted her.
"Huh? But since you're from the future..." Illya was a bit stunned.
"Being from the future doesn't mean I'm clear on everything. Do you know why I asked you if the Holy Grail can truly grant any wish?" Xia Yu looked into Illya's crimson eyes. "Because, historically, there was supposedly an omnipotent wish-granting machine, yet it is completely unknown in the annals of history..."
"The Glamoth Empire was a power that ruled over hundreds of planets, and we never heard of such a thing on our home planet. The universe is very big, Illya. As an interstellar empire, we've seen everything. But a ritual on the home planet that only requires accumulating sixty years of leyline mana and the souls of six Servants to achieve such a thing..."
Xia Yu complained with feigned indifference: "The energy magnitude of any single mothership in the Empire absolutely exceeds sixty years of mana accumulated by the Holy Grail, and we had over two hundred such motherships."
"If that level of energy could really do such a thing, the Glamoth Empire wouldn't have been destroyed by the Swarm."
"So, Illya, I really find it hard to imagine everything you've promised me."
Although she was talking pure nonsense, it didn't stop Illya from being thoroughly bluffed.
The latter thought carefully and realized it did seem to make sense... Of course, she knew the inside story of the Holy Grail War.
This wasn't some omnipotent wish-granting machine at all. The purpose of the Holy Grail ritual was only one: to reach the Root.
Using sixty years of leyline mana as fuel and utilizing the nature of Servant souls to link to the Hall of Heroes outside the world as a coordinate, they would open a hole and take the opportunity to reach the Swirl of the Root outside the world.
The Root was the lifelong pursuit of every magus. Everyone had their own goal; for instance, Einzbern's goal was to reach The Root to perfect The Third Magic, the materialization of the soul.
If you asked whether it could function as a wish-granting machine, it wasn't impossible; within The Root, you could find any answer.
But such a thing was certainly different from how the Heroic Spirits imagined it.
"This... Illya doesn't know either," a flash of guilt crossed Illya's eyes. "That's just what the adults said."
She didn't dare reveal the whole truth. What if the other party flew into a rage? Illya hadn't forgotten how the clan head had vanished into ash just half an hour ago.
Yet she couldn't refute the other's claims. After all, even an interstellar empire had been mentioned; heaven knew what other ridiculous facts were waiting for her.
"I see. Though I don't hold much hope, I'll just treat it as a vacation," Xia Yu didn't expose her, only gently stroking her hair. "Perfect, I'm also quite curious about what the home planet was like in 2004."
"Then does Sister Firefly want to go out for a stroll?" Illya quickly offered a flattering smile. "To see this era?"
"Let's fix the house first," Xia Yu shook her head, looking at the giant hole she had blasted. She blinked and said, "I don't know what happened just now, but there was a sudden impulse I couldn't control."
"Right, I think I killed someone too. Luckily you're fine, Illya. By the way, how was your relationship with him?"
"We... our relationship actually wasn't that good," Illya said truthfully.
She now had a rough idea of why the other party, who seemed quite easy to talk to, would suddenly resort to violence.
It must have been the Mad Enhancement curse the clan head added to the contract that messed things up. It failed to completely erase the other's sanity but instead turned the Servant into an uncontrollable bomb that could explode at any moment.
At that thought, Illya was nearly moved to tears.
She counted on her fingers; she still had to stay with her for two months and seven days... Every moment she had to be cautious, not daring to provoke the other... What kind of worldly suffering was this?
And Command Spells didn't even work on her! Heaven knows why. Now she only had two strokes left... a disastrous start!
How was she supposed to fight the Holy Grail War? Even though the Servant's performance was so superior—able to completely demolish a magecraft workshop operated for generations by an ancient magus family with a single hit without even using a Noble Phantasm—if she were just a bit more normal, wouldn't the victory already be locked in?
The other party didn't even believe in the power of the Holy Grail, so she couldn't even entice her with a wish. Illya thought and thought, only to despairingly realize she had no way to deal with her.
She was no sweet little angel; she was quite devious inside. A cute little girl on the surface, but after ten years of cruel education by the Einzbern family, her heart was quite twisted.
If nothing else, her hatred for Emiya Kiritsugu alone was enough to warp someone's personality. You promised to come get me... but you abandoned me in the end...
For ten years, leaving her in this cruel family... Illya was no good girl now.
If Xia Yu hadn't attacked without a word at the start, she surely would have seen her arrogant side.
Now, though—sweet and soft Illya, hehe...
Little Illya is practically in the palm of my hand!
Watching Illya's obedient expression in her arms, Xia Yu felt a surge of satisfaction.
As for the Mad Enhancement curse?
Sorry, I didn't even know that existed.
She wasn't even afraid of the binding of Command Spells, so why would she fear that?
And most importantly, she found she couldn't undergo spiritualization. Yes, just like Saber.
The latter was because she had made a contract with the Counter Force right before her death, so strictly speaking, she was still a living person and couldn't spiritualize... presumably, the same applied to her?
In any case, Xia Yu didn't recall ever dying.
While happily cuddling the Illya in her arms, Xia Yu began to plan her next moves.
The Fifth Holy Grail War. Ha, with Sam's mechanical performance combined with the extreme output of Shamash, won't it be a piece of cake?
Let's see the opponents. Saber is nothing to fear; if she pulled out the ahoge on her head, I'd give her some respect, but the Saber in Emiya Shirou's hands is so mana-starved she'll explode. Who knows how many times she can fire off her Noble Phantasm.
Archer is even less worth mentioning. With his strength, trying to clash with Shamash is a guaranteed death sentence.
Cu Chulainn... is an opponent worth taking seriously, mainly because his Noble Phantasm is ridiculous. Causality types are just like that.
Mhm, decided. When we meet, I'll just fire Might of An-Utu. Using ultimates as basic attacks. Anyway, Shamash isn't powered by me. The Honkai Energy skimmed off Mei has filled the Great Runes to the brim. This is Honkai Energy sufficient to trigger a disaster no smaller than the Second Great Honkai Eruption; I could spam Might of An-Utu as a basic attack for the whole war without an issue!
As for Medea, after a Might of An-Utu, come and see if you can trade Arts with me.
Sasaki Kojiro, your Tsubame Gaeshi is interesting, but if I spam Might of An-Utu from a kilometer away, how will you respond, sir?
I don't know if Medusa's Mystic Eyes of Petrification will work on me. Mainly, Xia Yu's situation is strange; she can't see her own status screen at all and doesn't know how high her Magic Resistance is.
Mhm, I won't be careless then. Just use Might of An-Utu.
Oh, and there's also Mr. Gold. What moves does he have?
Enkidu? It made Heracles suffer greatly, but I don't have Divinity, so I have nothing to fear. Gate of Babylon? Hmph, just a rain of Noble Phantasms. As a battle-hardened interstellar veteran, Firefly's combat experience—just like the Tarnished's—is inherited. It'll be an easy win.
EA? That one is indeed powerful. Better use Might of An-Utu...
Shamash is just too useful!
When the time comes, I'll just go into Complete Combustion, pick up Shamash, and start hacking. It'll be a blast.
It's just a pity I don't have two copies of Shamash. Sam uses dual swords, so it's a bit asymmetrical.
By the way, since I've already taken Usurper of the Celestial Wind, it would be a waste not to use it.
Should I fleece Mr. Gold for a bit?