...Come to think of it...
From what Liz said, this castle should have a courtyard somewhere.
Sella is the only one who looks after it, so she'd be mad if I just went in of my own accord. If I"m with Illya, though, there shouldn't be a problem.
Illya: "Courtyard? We do have one, but it's pretty boring. If you want to go somewhere to play, don't you think the third floor that Rin messed up would be more fun?"
Shirou: "That's more dangerous than interesting, so no. For now, I just want a carefree day to spend with you, so let's go someplace where we can take a walk."
Illya: "Oh...? Mm, then I grant you special permission to enter the flower garden. Will you be okay wearing that? The courtyard is the coldest place in the castle, so you won't be able to enjoy it for very long without a coat on."
Shirou: "Is that right? Can I borrow a scarf, then?"
Illya: "Sure, I'll bring you my favorite one. I"m going to go get my coat too, so just wait a bit."
[ cut to downstairs ]
Illya: "I said it before, but the courtyard's nothing special. Because the Einzberns come from snowy mountains, we don't have a tradition of growing flowers inside the castle."
Still, Sella seems to have made a flower bed here after realizing that Illya wished for one.
She may seem strict, but deep down, I bet she'd love to pamper Illya a bit.
Illya: "Okay, I'm opening it... I'm repeating myself, but don't be too disappointed, Shirou."
The door opens.
A biting chill, unheard of for autumn, nips at my cheeks.
A gray sky covers the old castle.
Under the dark sunlight of eternal winter, the garden jumps into view.
The breath we exhale turns white.
This is a place where winter really has settled permanently.
The profound silence seems almost like it's engraved into the courtyard itself.
The castle appears to have been built in a "U" shape. The courtyard is probably right in the center.
Illya: "See, you're disappointed, aren't you? Sella tried her best, but when it's so cold you can't really grow any more flowers than this."
Illya's voice lacks confidence.
But, for a commoner like myself, this park-like garden can only be something to be admired.
Shirou: "That's not true. It's large, and yet well-maintained. The colors are vivid. Seeing flowers bloom in spite of this cold is luxury at its greatest."
Illya: "I-I suppose. But its elegance isn't what it could be, I think. there ought to be a lot more decoration than this. Like cover the grounds with fountains, or building a greeeeat big canopy and letting climbing vines grow over it. A big show like that, to make everyone go 'Wow!' That's what we need."
Shirou: "You really go in for extravagance, don't you? I think that letting it be and look natural like this is much more calming though. There's not even a greenhouse. Don't you think Sella planned it out this way?"
Illya: "Y-Yeah. She only decorates it on special occasions, and keeps it like this the rest of the time. You know, Sella's actually really gentle when it comes to plants and animals. She says living things are happiest when they're allowed to live simply and display their natural colors."
Shirou: "...I see. She does say some pretty meaningful things. So does that mean that all the flowers here were already naturally growing in this place?"
Illya: "I think so. When I first came here, this courtyard wasn't maintained that well. But Sella and Liz did a lot to improve the soil. They put the flowers that were already blooming here into more nutritious earth and added slate to the soil that was already here to reinforce it."
She talks as though it happened ages ago.
But even then... The fact that some flowers were still here when Illya came means that, then years ago, this courtyard had been covered with them, probably.
Shirou: "I see. So that means someday, this whole place will have plenty of flowers once again."
Illya: "Yep. And when that happens, I suppose I'll forgive it for lacking in elegance. Sella said she wants to take time raising them, so I'll be looking forward to seeing what they'll be like in another twenty years."
A courtyard grown into a flower garden, huh?
I tell her so myself, but if it really turns out that way, then this will become the most luxurious spot in the whole castle, without a doubt.
We continue our aimless stroll through the courtyard.
Illya is about twice as energetic as usual, running to and fro across the grounds.
Illya: "Look! Look, Shirou! There's a little bird on that branch over there! Wouldn't it be nice if she'd build a nest?! Oh, there's something on the pedestal over here... Let's see now. Date: o/o. On this day, construction of the bed began. May I be able to raise strong and healthy flowers within it... Wooww, I can't believe Sella made a commemorative carving! Oooooh, it's like something out of a girls' comic! That's so unlike her!
Ah, stop, stop! Stay away from there, Shirou! That's a trap for burglars over there. If you step on it, you'll fall straight down into the dungeon!"
Though, it's definitely true that just watching her is making me feel energetic as well.
I could walk all the way to the forest like this.
Illya: "Shirou, Shirou! See that budding branch up there? Know what it is?"
Shirou: "Huh? Ummm, that would be... I wonder what kind it is? I don't think it's walnut, that much I can tell."
Illya: "Bzzzt, wrooooong! That is indeed a budding walnut tree! This one is known as a wingnut, and though you'll note its shape is different, it's a member of the walnut family all the same!"
Shirou: "Shoot, is that right? You sure know your trees, Illya."
Illya: "Yep, I know about different kinds of walnut trees. Kiritsugu was such a sneaky guy, I ended up remembering all this too before I knew it."
Shirou: "Eh— Kiri...tsugu?"
Illya: "Kiritsugu means Kiritsugu, duh. ...Oh, that's right. I shouldn't suddenly bring him up in front of Shirou. The reason I first came here was because I heard about Kiritsugu's son and came to kill him."
Illya's expression turns pensive.
... That was my mistake just now.
Illya was just keeping a light conversation going, and I had to go and screw it up.
Shirou: "......Sorry, that didn't come out quite right. I know you didn't mean anything serious."
Illya: "Heehee, no need to apologize. I was just as careless. Neither of us handled that very well, so let's forgive and forget. And besiiiides, I don't know what to do if you apologize like that... Hehe, you sure are quick to look relieved, aren't you, onii-chan? I'm still sooo upset, after all."
Shirou: "Geh."
This little devil is still in top shape, I see.
But even so, I feel that she's not motivated by hatred, but rather by affection this time. It's the role of the older brother to just accept the situation.
Shirou: "Got it. I'll be more careful. Since I don't want to die just yet, I'll prepare myself so that if you're going to come at me, then I'm ready for you, any time."
Illya: "Okay. Then whenever I feel like being spoiled, I'll come assault you. And no excuses next time."
She answers with a smile that looks like it's about to pounce on me.
...What have I gotten myself into here? I'll really have to double the intensity of my training now...
Shirou: "Ah... But about what you were saying before. What did you mean when you said Kiritsugu was a sneaky guy? Did the old man do something to you, Illya?"
Illya: "Yeah, he did. He was really sneaky, so when we went looking for winter buds together, he would count all kinds of walnut trees I'd never even heard of, like wingnuts and platycarya. I only knew what regular walnut trees looked like, so there was no way I could out-count Kiritsugu. But even though he knew all that, he never told me there are other kinds until I noticed myself!"
Shirou: "Hahaa. You only knew what red walnuts looked like, so you could only count those, but Kiritsugu would count the blue and yellow walnuts, too. That really is totally unfair. How can you hope to win against three to one odds like that? My old man was pretty immature himself."
Illya: "I know! And even though Mother knew, she never told me and I had to figure everything out myself. She even said she was jealous that I got along so well with Kiritsugu. Even though they got along really well themselves and were together all the time."
"Hmmmph!" Illya thrusts her small lips out in a pout.
That gesture just now was really cute—
Shirou: "...Hold on. You said that your mother and Kiritsugu were together all the time—"
From what Saber told me, Kiritsugu was living alone.
Emiya Kiritsugu left his wife and daughter behind and came here to fight alone. That's what she said—
Illya: "Ahh, that. Like I said, Kiritsugu was a sneaky guy. Certainly, during the previous Holy Grail War, Kiritsugu fought alone without leading Saber. But that's a lie. Kiritsugu brought Mother along with him to Japan, and he was definitely using her in a Master's role, having never really talked to Saber. But because of that, Mother died. Kiritsugu decided he would fight alone, win alone, and continue on to the next round alone each time. But no way was everything going to go that smoothly for him, right? In the end, Kiritsugu could not betray himself. He chose to leave my mother, Irisviel — no, both of us behind and fight alone."
Shirou: "—"
Illya's account of the events from ten years ago is awfully fragmented, and I don't think I'm quite getting it all. But what I do understand is...
Shirou: "...So. When Kiritsugu came to Fuyuki, you were left all alone."
And Illya's mother died here in this city.
Illya: "No, that's not it. Even after Kiritsugu left, Mother was always with me. But the woman who died for Kiritsugu's sake in the fourth war was definitely the same Mother who gave birth to me."
Shirou: "...?"
Illya: "And furthermore, I think the one who was really all alone wasn't me, but Saber. I said so before, but Kiritsugu and Saber never understood each other right up to the end."
...Saber told me the same thing.
Kiritsugu never really talked to her, and in the end, without allowing the Holy Grail to take form, he ordered her to destroy it with a Command Spell.
Shirou: "...I see. So that means Saber was acting independently of Kiritsugu?"
Illya: "She'd have had to, wouldn't she? There had to be some times when they worked together, but most of the time they went their separate ways, is what she said. Saber was always really open with me, even knowing that I was Irisviel's child. Oh that Saber, she even thought I was just a standard Einzbern homunculus at first and not Kiritsugu's daughter. Awfully rude of her, don't you think?"
The war of ten years ago.
Even though she remembers it all, Saber obstinately refuses to talk about it.
It is already in the past.
Now that all the participants are gone, there's no reason to dig up the old bones.
...However, there are still those who bear the scars of those times here.
A survivor of the war, and a girl who was left alone in the war of ten years past.
That the two would have the same father, the spiral of fate must still be turning as it always has.
Illya: "Come on, Shirou, don't make that face. We can't forget about the past, but we don't have to drag it back out either, right? We are who we are. It's fine if we just go on living our way."
...There's only honesty in that smiling face.
As though to cheer me up, Illya turns to look straight at me.
Shirou: "Thank you. I'm really happy to hear you say that... But still, it feels like something doesn't add up. You said something about still feeling unsatisfied before."
Illya: "That's another story. There's no changing how things turned out with Kiritsugu, but that doesn't change anything about you, right? Which meeeeeans, that chasing after you, onii-chan, is already my life's work!"
"Thank goodness!" Illya seems to say as she frolics about.
Uuuu. Is this what it feels like to be overflowing with affection for a younger sibling?
Illya: "So, now that we've cleared that up, let's talk about something less boring. We finally have time for ourselves, let's use it properly and go play!"
She pulls my arm to urge me along.
I can definitely agree with that.
Shirou: "Alright, then let's go play until the sun sets. Let's see, why don't we head towards the forest?"
Illya: "Yeah, let's! And I can teach you all about the different kinds of walnut trees while we do. Even though it's far away, this is still the Einzbern Forest. There's probably more walnut buds than we can count out there—"
Illya takes my hand in hers, and together we leave the garden.
A search for walnuts that spans the divide of ten years.
A bond that a man formed with his young daughter long ago.
The baton has now been passed to me.
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