"I… I understand. Forgive me, my lady." But between the master abroad and the lady she had to wait on before her, the servant could not but fall silent before heading out without another word of argument.
In the shadows of the lone homunculi Master, a low growl seemed to emanate from the beast in spirit form. The girl was quick to reassure him, giggling quietly at his uncharacteristic show of concern. Or emotion at all for that matter.
"You needn't worry, Berserker. Sella and Liz are as loyal as they are harmless to me. They are good people. Though they would report this all to grandfather, I'm certain he's too preoccupied to deal with our little rebellion."
To rebel… Just the thought of openly acting against her guardian's stringent rules brought a soft smile to her lips. And to think, all it took was being the obedient doll for a few years. She scoffed and heartily chuckled.
"In any case, even if he does try to intervene, I trust you'd protect me to the end. Like you always do, isn't that right, Berserker? You are the strongest Servant, after all."
He didn't respond, remaining quiet and still as a pool. A very large and peaceful sea. But the mana that manifested the surface of his astral state rippled within her, a silent sign of solidarity.
"Thank you, Heracles." The door to the main hall creaked open. Illya, despite her diminutive stature, stood tall and confident, meeting her masked guests with a haughty smile as Sella led them in. "Good day to you, my dear guests. Welcome to Einzbern Castle."
The pair glanced at each other before giving a polite bow. Their uniforms, though seemingly not of any standard military garb, were formal. That they came unarmed compared to their fellows waiting outside spoke of a cordial approach completely absent of hostilities.
It was like they trusted her not to act against her. Meaning—
"Ahem. Might you all be mutual friends of mine and Zero?"
"Our lord and liege sends their regards and expresses their apologies for being unable to meet with you sooner, Lady Einzbern. Forgive us for coming armed and unannounced. Though we are his messengers and soldiers, Master Zero ordered we prioritize avoiding drawing attention to your abode by instigating a fight on your grounds."
—direct confirmation. She was ecstatic to be correct. So much so that she didn't care if Sella would report this to her grandfather later. If they became obstacles or a threat, she'd deal with them herself. She'd be merciful, in part because she quite appreciated their presence and cooperativeness thus far.
But… she had her own obligations to herself. To the pair representing the man who offered her that deal long ago, she gave a small understanding smile back.
"It is forgiven. I have been waiting patiently for quite some time already. A little delay is of no concern. Come. Let us continue in the parlor. Sella."
At her word, the maid quietly nodded and led the way. Liz was likely done preparing, being very meticulous given the importance of the matter. The two guests trailed behind Illya as she acted as the generous host. Once they were settled in the parlor with tea cups each, Illya sat back and drank. Neither of her guests made to touch their teacups nor remove their masks. Instead, they carried on like it was a stiff mission briefing by unlatching the briefcase they brought with them.
"As per the agreements of your alliance with him, Master Zero has asked us to deliver something to you. Information and aid to your faction in this conflict, that is." Sliding the folders halfway across the table, Illya waited for Sella to pick them up and deliver them to her hands. "Firstly, data on the currently known Masters of the war."
"Oh?"
She rifled through the folder and saw a number of labels differentiating Masters and Servants, grouping them by their teams under the name of their respective Servant Class. Drawing one out, she saw that not only did they have the personal file on the Master of Lancer and her current living circumstances, they even had recorded data and postulations as to the identity of Berserker's opponent the night before.
It was quite a thorough collection.
It had barely been a night since the first fight broke out and they already prepared this much. More than that, they had data on five teams including her personal file which she took out to study. It was very detailed. Not in the sense that they had a familiar spying on her 24/7, but more the practical data of who she was, who were related to her, be it her family, her clan, and those she kept around her a majority of the time. The data on Berserker, though not as detailed to have his real identity named, had covered the majority of his combat stats and even had a list of suggestions where his strength was better applied.
A likely contributor to this was the show that was his fight against Lancer. She was impressed.
Skimming through it all, a small sheet of paper appended at the bottom dropped out. Sequestered between data sheets, it was a list with the label 'minders'. Sella and Leysritt's names and faces were tacked onto it, as well as pictures of other homunculi she didn't recognize but could tell were Einzbern-made.
"What is this?" she inquired not acknowledging the momentary widening of Sella's eyes when she saw it.
The second of the pair who'd been quiet all this time spoke.
"Those would be a list of members your faction has deployed under the banner of the Einzberns. Though, Master Zero has instructed us to corroborate with yourself which on the aforementioned list are actually yours."
'Grandfather's spies.' Such was the thought that crossed the girl's mind. With a confident smirk, she used a bit of her mana to burn the bottom half, erasing Liz and Sella's names off the list before handing the rest back to the masked representative. "It seems I have mine accounted for. The rest… I leave up to Zero's discretion."
"Understood, ma'am." The one who accepted back the list of names took one glance at it before it burst into flame, seemingly ignited by the wordless use of magecraft to erase all evidence. "We will inform headquarters and ensure you have access to at least one of our intelligence members to maintain steady contact with Master Zero for the foreseeable future."
"Hoh? So you're going to send me a 'minder' of your own?" she smirked. But the man across from her seemed to be void of humor as he politely declined.
"Not so, Lady Einzbern. As this is a cooperative alliance, Master Zero wishes for you to have someone to keep you informed and in the loop of our operations. As it stands, publicly meeting you is too big of a risk for his plans. But with that in mind, he wishes to offer you as much help as he can provide in order to assure your victory."
From the briefcase, he pulled out a small handheld phone. Brand new and wireless, its technological make was not something Illya, a full-bred magus, was familiar with. Next to it, the masked man placed an instruction manual.
"Master Zero sends you this. The latest of our intelligence department's creation armed with a standard encryption as well as a magical anti-tracer to enable communication between yourself and our agents in the field without worry of eavesdroppers and spies. Should the Master need to reach you directly, he can also call you through it."
"Quite odd. For a magus as yourselves to turn to technology…"
It was a passing comment, a careless remark. But it seemed to rub Zero's representative the wrong way as he stiffened for a bit before replying,
"I'd prefer it if you do not associate us with that kind, Lady Einzbern. Though we do have some in our numbers previously designated as such, collectively, we prefer to not be called by that term. We are above such… monstrosities."
"What my associate means to say is that though we may utilize magecraft, none in our organization are called magi. Many prefer to not be anymore." The second representative, Illya now noticed the voice belonging to a woman, spoke on behalf of her companion. "Master Zero has explained that, like us, you are dissatisfied with the way the world of Magi Clans and the Clock Tower has treated you and yours. It is partly the reason why he has extended a hand to yourself. To offer aid to those who wish to break free from those shackles."
Illya couldn't help but chuckle. In truth, she did search for that, but not in the glorified political sense. It was more a personal freedom back then, when she was lost to the winter cold of her lonely home. All she asked for was an escape. Freedom. One wherein she took her fate in her own hands. But she saw the appeal in their beliefs as much as she sensed the other representative's momentary hate for being called a magus.
However, that was that, this was this.
"I understand. Forgive my slight." She'd rather apologize and make amends now than ruin a perfectly advantageous relationship later. "Returning back on topic, I see that you've gathered quite the comprehensive compilation on the other Masters. Where does this leave me? What does Zero ask of me to bring into our alliance? You can't have come all this way to give me all this help without defining the terms of our agreement, yes?"
The man of the masked pair took the lead. "We have two Masters of note to bring to your attention. One of which is Lord El-Melloi II. As you would glean from our data on the man, he was a participant of the previous Grail War as Master of Rider. Although with a different Servant, he still carries that role and is one of the wariest due to having escaped with his life after the end of the ritual a decade ago. In short, the Clock Tower Lord is the most likely to intervene with the Master's plan."
Illya nodded, familiar with the name and agreeing with their assessment. A Clock Tower Lord was already an agent that was neither against nor for the Einzberns. Just like with the other Clock Tower agent that was the Master of Lancer, they were outsiders to this ritual that has always been held under the control of the Three Families… But two of the said three defunct, interference by those magi was no longer a guess but a certainty.
Not to forget, one is a survivor of a Grail War. There had been very few survivors of past Grail Wars and even if they did live, they didn't compete again. Not for lack of trying. The gaps between the cycles was always a generational barrier. Save for one she cared little about because the bug-man was reportedly dead, Waver Velvet was a veteran. And to have picked up a Servant of a similar class to his previous one… It was definitely an issue.
An alliance between Rider and Lancer was not a problem for Berserker. Heracles was stronger than anything. But it would be frustrating if they got in the way.
"I got it. Berserker and I will handle Rider and her Master when we can. And?" she pressed after acknowledging their message and drinking tea. "Who is the second issue?"
The two shared a glance this time, a moment's hesitation passing before the woman stood up, taking out a sealed folder from her person with the red label 'confirmed' imprinted on it diagonally.
"Just this morning, our intelligence division caught the mana signatures of a summoning around the area where Rider was last spotted." Sliding the folder halfway to her, Sella took the initiative to accept it in her stead. "We believe it'd be best if you handle this one. Considering your familiarity."
"What? Is it someone I know?" Illya placed her teacup on her saucer and set them on the table as she waited for Sella to hand her the papers. But giving her a side glance, Illya noted the frozen expression on Sella's face. Snatching the folder from her, she felt a tense struggle from her maid, as though she did not want her liege to see what was on it. "Sella, knock it off! What are you—"
She'd pried the documents out of Sella's hands. In that instant, two photos slid out and she almost failed to catch the first. The second one slipped away from her, however. Too lost was she staring down on the student photo ID. On it, the face of a red-haired boy with steely bronze eyes stared back at her. A sharp contrast to the friendly smile he offered her whenever he stopped by the café.
"Newly designated Master of Saber." The woman continued, not noticing the internal turmoil her words instilled in the homunculus girl. "Emiya Shirou."
Illya did not flinch. She did not allow her face to give away anything. In fact, she stared down on the floor where a sharply enhanced aerial photo of a blond-haired swordswoman stared up at the camera while clad in a dark dress and armor.
Familiar as day though clad in the darkest of night, she recognized the face of the Servant who had left with her mother and father, never to return...
…
…
…
The meeting continued. They prattled on about a scheduled meeting with Zero in due time, coordination efforts against other Masters, and providing explanations on what Illya could do should she need their assistance personally. Illya just nodded along.
She only paid half her attention to them, her mind more preoccupied with the earlier revelation and what it meant for her goal.
Zero's representatives departed cordially soon after, leaving Illya with much to study up on with their gifts and information as well as a lot to think about come the evening. But as she lay on her couch, legs swung over the arm, dangling as she kicked air, the girl couldn't help but smile in her loneliness. She didn't even bother to pay any heed to the gaudy mask atop a fancily-lettered invitation also left by her guests.
Her mind was locked on to one thing and one thing alone.
To think that the terrible man she sought revenge after not only damned her and her adopted sibling, but even his Servant had pulled her young naïve sibling into this war…
'Kiritsugu, you continue to be a curse for innocent people like us. And poor little Shirou is now a Master like you were… Are you trying to win what you lost the last time by sacrificing him? Just how cruel must you be…?'
It wasn't enough that fate damned her a short life to live. That even Shirou would… No. It wasn't just fate. That man had been the bane of her existence from the start. First, he took her mother. Then, he abandoned her in that cold, cold place. Now… now the consequences of his actions had cursed another like her… cursed Shirou…
'Well, it matters little.' The little girl hopped off the couch. "Berserker. Let's go for a walk."
Climbing the shoulders of a materializing Berserker, she let the giant carry her to the outside of the castle. She was too busy steaming to think about anything. She'd vent on the forest for the time being, then… She'd begin planning how to save her little brother.
'I shall get my freedom, my life, and I'll use it to protect that boy from you before your legacy breaks him further. Do not worry, my bastard father, I will take responsibility for your mess and put you in the dirt myself. Alongside your blonde bitch Servant.'