Chapter 172

It was a cold night in Fuyuki, but Illya didn't feel the temperature, encased in her Servant's arms as they soared through the air back to the mansion in the forest on the outskirts of the city. The wind passed her face as they sailed through the air, but having spent most of her life in the freezing wastes of the Einzbern land located somewhere in Germany, it did little to her except ruffle the white hair that escaped the purple fur ushanka she wore.

They were rapidly covering distance despite how far away the Magus Association's safehouse was from the Einzbern mansion, and she was free to think back on the events that occurred earlier while Ecchan traveled, her eyes vigilant as they dipped to the surface and jumped back into the air on the tops of the many high-rise buildings that dotted the landscape.

After talking with El-Melloi and establishing a working relationship with their faction, the pair had been about to go home when Archer had served up food to the starving members of the Magus faction that had barely anything to eat after the battles they had been through. On top of that, they had just had their main base of operations wrecked and trashed, turning into a battleground for a free for all between the various Masters in the Holy Grail War. It was a disaster for their side, losing the advantages the base had granted them, as well as the assets and resources stored there. Though they were far from done, it was still a major setback to their plans, and it weakened their positions against the other forces at play in this war as well. Thus, it was reasonable for them to feel depressed and tired from the problems that were besieging them on all sides. To top it off, they had lost Kairi Sisigou as well, with his status unknown to them, so it was hard not to be discouraged or at least a little frustrated.

A warm meal was highly welcome to them, and they had immediately dug in after a quick 'itadakimasu' from Rin. Archer had also prepared a meal for Illya, to her surprise, and she found no reason to refuse it, so she ate along with them. To her even greater surprise, it was actually quite decent, at least on par with the skill that the chef maid and manservant homunculi back at her mansion displayed, if not more so. Ecchan was also unable to hold back, shimmering back into physical form and stealing a few bites from Illya's meal. She had instantly demanded Archer cook more for her, and the Servant had obliged, more easily than Illya would have thought. She chalked it up to Archer liking cooking, or perhaps Ecchan was his type.

Then Ecchan had requested another dish, and another, and one more, until Illya almost felt compelled to bring out her Command Seals to stop her Servant. Thankfully, Archer seemed to know how to deal with Berserker, seemingly familiar with her type on some level. Instead of cooking her more food after the third dish of curry, he had instead pulled out manjū, filled with chestnut jam no less. Ecchan had quieted down after that, munching on the chewy Japanese sweet instead of asking for thirds and fourths. Illya had no idea where they had come from, but she was grateful for Archer averting the problem. Causing problems for her tentative allies right after negotiating an alliance was not the best idea.

After that little incident, Gray had come down, the Master of Assassin, and the two had become acquainted. She had forgotten to wear her hood in her carelessness, especially after waking up from a deep sleep, and Illya was able to get a good long look at her face. Her heart clenched a bit, even now when she thought back to it.

It was just like the face of her father's Servant, just like Ecchan who was carrying her right now, and just like almost every other Servant in the war, though minor variations existed between them.

While she no longer really minded seeing those faces, it still inevitably led her back to thinking of her father, since these faces were all Saber's, Kiritsugu's Servant in the Fourth Holy Grail War. In addition, the real Saber herself was also here, though she didn't seem to recognize Illya herself despite having met her before when she was young. Her appearance hadn't changed much, so she supposed it was normal to not recognize her, considering how much time had passed since they had last met. A normal person wouldn't be in this childish body, unaging with the proportions of a kid under twelve. In return, she hadn't given any indication that she had recognized Saber either, letting the Servant believe that they had never met.

She did want to ask Saber about her father though, but she also needed to get rid of the adopted son who had miraculously wound up as her Master. Perhaps she could take their contract by force and make Saber hers. In that case, her alliance with the mages would prove useful. Though Saber might have allied with Caster, she believed Berserker was strong enough to face both of them at once, and with Assassin and Archer, their victory was all but assured.

Her small, pale lips curved into an eager smile at the thought of meeting the boy in battle again, the red hair and amber eyes fresh in her memory, an image that she would be hard-pressed to forget.

"Shirou…"

She tasted the name on her lips, of the one who had stolen everything precious from her. It was too bad that he seemed like a decent guy too, and ignorant of what he had done as well. He would just have to die, clueless of what he had done to her. She would try to make his death quick and painless, though she didn't know if she could hold back when it came to it.

Or maybe it would be fine to toy with him for a while.