New Moon Miyu.
A child barely over five years old, the young child of a god.
She is the Divine Child who has inherited the secrets of the New Moon clan to this day; New Moon Miyu is the descendant of this generation's New Moon.
A Barrier was set up in the house, where even birth and child-rearing were completed inside. Only when the Divine Child completely loses their power at the age of six can they escape this isolation from the world.
The power of the Sakatsuki Family, which is to 'grant people's wishes indiscriminately', is a miracle comparable to the Omnipotent Cauldron.
The Barrier can block people's thoughts carrying their inner wishes. This ensures that the power of the Sakatsuki Family is not misused. The mother, under strict information control, is responsible for raising the Sakatsuki children until they are six.
Six years is enough time for the Divine Child to shed that touch of divine aura and become an ordinary child of man.
Possessing such powerful strength, what did the adults of the Sakatsuki Family do?
They made the wishes that any father or mother would have—
...The light falling on her face was a bit stinging. Ritsuka slowly opened her eyes. The slight dampness on her forehead made her head feel a bit heavy, but it was cool and quite comfortable.
Looking around, the place she was lying was clearly not the ruins of the Sakatsuki Family from before; a familiar ceiling came into view.
She had returned to the Emiya Residence.
"What happened to me?" Feeling a bit thirsty, Ritsuka licked her dry lips and struggled to climb up.
Ow, ow, ow... It hurts!
Wailing in her heart, Ritsuka felt pain all over her body, even her face. She almost rolled on the ground, her eyes rolling back, completely unable to stay calm.
With a thud, the sound of a book closing came from nearby. Kiritsugu, holding the Sakatsuki Family's ancient records, walked over. "Don't move."
"Your body has suffered severe damage because you used your Mage Circuits too intensely. You're lucky you didn't die on the spot."
Understanding almost nothing about healing spells, Kiritsugu could only use some basic healing magic to ease Ritsuka's pain and wait for her to recover on her own. Overdrawing Mage Circuits was no simple matter.
Fortunately, Ritsuka pulled through, and as a first-generation Magician, her Mage Circuits were exceptionally excellent.
Kiritsugu sat on the floor and poked the bandage on Ritsuka's cheek with his finger. Because she had overused the mana in her body, Ritsuka was covered in injuries from the backlash. As for the bandages, they were all wrapped by him haphazardly.
After all, besides him, the only adult here, even if he wanted the other little one to help, she looked like she didn't quite understand.
"Don't touch!... Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow..."
Awoo—!!
Having her cheek poked 'accidentally' and hard, Ritsuka felt a wave of incredibly intense pain. She couldn't help but open her mouth and bite toward Kiritsugu's annoying finger. Her sharp canine teeth showed no respect for Uncle Kiritsugu, being 'fast, accurate, and ruthless'.
Incidentally, even though her Mage Circuits were in great pain, Ritsuka still applied a Reinforcement Magic buff to her teeth... For a moment, the two people in the room, one big and one small, who were hurting each other, rolled around, and Kiritsugu's finger was bitten until it bled.
Ritsuka showed a satisfied smile, baring her sharp little canine teeth.
Trying to bully her while she was injured? Not a chance!
—Oh no! It hurts my face to smile!
...'When will my body recover?' Ritsuka closed her eyes and lay quietly on the floor mat, like a salted fish.
In the room, Kiritsugu stayed up late investigating the ancient records found from the Sakatsuki Family, analyzing the mystery belonging to the New Moon clan. The sky outside had already turned dark.
Rub, rub.
Ritsuka suddenly felt her nose itch. She opened her eyes and looked at the scene before her. Miyu, whom she and Kiritsugu had found and rescued from the ruins of the Sakatsuki Family, was rubbing the tip of her nose with a feather.
Suddenly, as if hearing something, Miyu was slightly stunned, and the feather in her hand fell to the ground.
"You guys..."
The terrifying wave of mana left Kiritsugu dumbfounded. The erupting energy enveloped the small room. A pure white, holy light sent Kiritsugu and everything around him flying, leaving only Ritsuka in her salted fish state lying in front of Miyu.
That was Miyu's power, the power belonging to the New Moon name, which could indiscriminately grant any wish.
"Miyu?"
Ritsuka's eyes widened. She felt warm all over, and the pain in her body was gone, as if all her injuries had been healed by a miracle in an instant.
—'When will my body recover?'
She seemed to have complained like that in her heart... "A miracle. This is undoubtedly a miracle, the miracle named New Moon, named Miyu."
Her body went limp, and Miyu, looking exhausted, fell toward Ritsuka. Kiritsugu, who was lying on the ground not far away, also hurriedly got up and ran over.
Manually tearing off the haphazardly tied bandages on her arms, Ritsuka opened her arms and caught Miyu, who had mysteriously fallen asleep after performing the miracle. The little one fell directly into her arms, wrapping her hands around Ritsuka's neck and hanging on her like a koala.
Kiritsugu walked over and sat on the floor beside Ritsuka. The two of them silently looked at the sleeping Little girl, Miyu.
"Kiritsugu, I think I've figured out how to make a wish."
Ritsuka's tone was a bit complex. She held Miyu's body, which could slide to the side at any moment, letting her lean completely against her own body, her gaze fixed on Kiritsugu's face.
The book Kiritsugu was reading earlier was the ancient record kept in the Sakatsuki Family. Kiritsugu's goal was to find a way to make a wish.
As it turned out, it was revealed in such a coincidental way.
Kiritsugu, who had a cigarette in his mouth again at some point, had a somewhat hollow gaze and seemed quite hesitant. Accustomed to weighing everyone on a scale, he had already hesitated twice today... "There's still one month left. I'll be the one to use this power..."
Finally making up his mind, the man about to retire looked a bit old. He got up to leave the room, his back looking quite lonely.
Perhaps he wouldn't be understood. After all, he and Ritsuka were two completely different people. He wanted to save the world (everyone), while Ritsuka's gaze was always fixed only on the person in front of her.
"I will be the one to save humanity here."
"We have one month left."
Kiritsugu's voice gradually faded, leaving only a few echoes, as if announcing that Miyu's life as a human had at most one month left.
Sighing, Ritsuka held her left hand out, and a black short sword appeared in her grip.
gan jiang and mo ye, famous swords passed down in China.
These yin and yang, male and female pair of swords based on Onmyodo—the black one is the Yang sword Gan Jiang, and the white one is the Yin sword Mo Ye—are the close-combat weapons Heroic Spirit Emiya likes to project most as an Archer.
At least, her bodily instincts told her so.
Although she didn't quite understand what an Archer was... with her synchronization value already reaching 30%, she was able to master Projection Magic after its significant decrease, projecting the armament most commonly used by Heroic Spirit Emiya. The downside was that the mana consumption was a bit high.
"Well, why isn't it a longer weapon? I don't really like this one."
It was really a bit too short. She felt that if a battle occurred, she might not be able to reach the enemy, which would be quite funny. It was only slightly longer than the daggers she usually used.
Shrugging, Ritsuka turned the black sword Gan Jiang in her hand back into mana and waved her hand to disperse it.
Using both hands to pick up Miyu, Ritsuka marveled at how light Miyu's body was as she walked toward her own room.
Pushing open the door, she walked slowly to the tatami. With one hand supporting Miyu's head and the other gently prying open the girl's arms that were wrapped around her neck, she laid her down on the bed.
Since only two rooms had been tidied up in the house, Miyu would have to make do with sharing a room with her for now.
Ritsuka first took off Miyu's shoes, then removed the garment that looked like a ceremonial dress. She then put her own old pajamas on Miyu to prevent the Little girl from catching a cold by sleeping without clothes during the night.
Even though Miyu, as a Divine Child, likely wouldn't be troubled by a common cold... "Goodnight, Miyu."
After tucking in the quilt, Ritsuka stood up on tiptoe and walked out of the room.
Under the bright moon and sparse stars, Ritsuka went alone to the dojo in the yard. The empty Emiya Residence felt strangely lonely.
"Kiritsugu, what choice will you ultimately make?"