"Those words, that gesture... You are surprisingly good at flirting! I never expected you to be like this, Illya!"
After hearing Illya's response, Blaze felt that Illya suddenly seemed far more mature than before.
So sweet!
More scenes like this, please!
As for all that gloomy Holy Grail War stuff, it could go sit in a corner somewhere.
"A date invitation brought about by an accident, huh... That is kind of complicated."
Sora commented.
Anyone with eyes could tell that Shirou had only reached out because he was worried Illya might fall.
Yet somehow, through a series of misunderstandings, it had turned into an invitation.
The important thing was that Illya had actually believed it.
What an innocent child.
She looked as adorable as an angel.
At this point, everyone had completely forgotten that Illya had ordered Berserker to kill Shirou just a few days earlier.
"The gears of fate have begun to turn."
As for the meaning behind that outstretched hand, Illya no longer cared.
What she had believed it meant at the time was what it meant.
There was no need to look back and analyze it any further.
After all, what awaited her, Shirou, and the others after this were powerful enemies one after another, along with all sorts of troublesome schemers hiding in the shadows.
After saying that, she fell silent and simply watched the interactions between herself and Shirou.
Seeing this, the others chose not to disturb her.
Instead, they gathered off to the side and continued their discussion.
Mainly because that one sentence from Illya seemed to contain an alarming amount of information.
Combined with everything they had already learned, they still had not finished processing it all.
While discussing things among themselves, they continued watching the scene unfold.
Shirou and Illya walked side by side on the way back to his house.
Compared to Shirou, who was carrying a mountain of groceries, Illya appeared much more energetic.
She would often run a short distance ahead before turning around and waiting for him to catch up.
Other times, she simply circled around him playfully.
It looked as though she was genuinely looking forward to visiting Shirou's home.
Illya might have been excited.
The others, however, were not.
"What!? Shirou, have you lost your mind? You actually brought the enemy home?"
The person with the strongest reaction was Rin.
Shirou had no idea why she happened to be at his house right now, but her voice was loud enough to be genuinely frightening.
It was understandable.
After all, only a few days ago Illya had been directing Berserker in battle against them.
Thinking about it now, Shirou finally realized that what he had done was not all that different from committing suicide.
"Well, it was getting dark. I could not exactly leave a little girl walking around by herself at night, could I?"
Even though he understood the issue, Shirou still tried to come up with an excuse.
Along the way, Illya had repeatedly assured him that she was only coming over for dinner and would leave afterward.
For some reason, her words made him want to trust her.
That was why he had brought her here.
Besides, even if he had refused, it would not have mattered much.
If Illya really wanted to find his house, she could have done so easily.
Judging by her behavior, she seemed to have known about him even before he summoned Saber.
Shirou had never actually asked her about that, so he still did not know the reason.
"A little girl? That little girl could kill you without any difficulty at all, you know?"
At Shirou's response, veins began popping out on Rin's forehead as she clenched her fists.
It looked as though she was only moments away from punching him.
In the end, however, she held herself back.
She knew very well that Shirou was exactly this kind of person.
Say a few convincing words to him and he would believe you.
Besides, Saber and Archer were both here.
Even if Illya wanted to do something, she would have to consider whether Saber and Archer's weapons would reach her first, or whether she could activate a Command Spell faster.
"Do not worry. I only came because Shirou invited me to dinner. I am not planning to do anything."
Seeing everyone's worried expressions, Illya spoke reassuringly.
Then she brought her hands out from behind her back and snapped her fingers.
"But do not get any funny ideas either. Otherwise, Berserker will deal with all of you."
The moment the snap echoed through the air, a massive figure suddenly appeared in the courtyard.
It was Berserker.
Unlike the furious monster they had seen before, he now stood completely motionless, like a giant statue.
Yet simply standing there was enough to place immense pressure on Shirou and Rin.
"Relax, Rin. She does not have any hostile intentions."
Seeing that Rin was already clutching a handful of jewels, Saber finally spoke up after remaining silent for so long.
She had sensed Berserker's presence the moment Illya entered the house.
However, it was obvious that he had no intention of attacking.
Otherwise, he would have already charged in swinging his stone axe the moment he revealed himself.
"Ugh, seriously! Do whatever you want!"
After being stopped, Rin immediately gave up.
She marched back to her seat, poured herself a cup of tea, and downed it in one gulp.
"Ahaha..."
Shirou could only laugh awkwardly.
He then asked Illya to have Berserker hide himself so that he would not frighten anyone before carrying the groceries into the kitchen.
"Hehe~"
After hearing Shirou's request, Illya had Berserker return to spirit form.
Then she found a seat where she could clearly watch Shirou working in the kitchen.
She looked completely at ease.
As though she had returned to her own home.
"..."
Saber simply sat there silently watching Illya.
Her expression did not change, but her eyes were filled with complicated emotions.
Noticing Saber's reaction, Amiya asked curiously,
"Illya, do you know Miss Saber?"
"As for that... perhaps I do. But Servants are not supposed to retain memories from previous summonings..."
Illya thought for a moment before answering.
She was not entirely sure herself.
Generally speaking, Servants should not possess memories from previous summons.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Perhaps Saber was one of those rare cases.
Then again, Saber had never brought it up directly. Maybe she had simply mistaken Illya for one of the other homunculi produced by the Einzbern family.
Or perhaps the Fourth Holy Grail War had left behind quite a few unpleasant memories.
"The fact that he can still devote all of his attention to cooking in a situation like this... that really is Shirou for you."
Croissant did not care much about Saber's reaction.
What impressed her more was that Shirou could calmly continue preparing ingredients despite everything happening around him.
"...Your focus is a little off, is it not?"
Seeing her teammate paying attention to such a strange detail, Texas felt another headache coming on.
Unfortunately, there was no Pocky here.
When Shirou had been shopping earlier, she had seen an entire shelf full of different flavors.
Yet all she could do was watch.
It was surprisingly painful.
"Previous memories? Illya, are you saying that Saber has been summoned before?"
As someone who had been paying close attention to Saber, Talulah was especially curious about this matter.
"About ten years ago, during the Fourth Holy Grail War. At that time, Kiritsugu was hired by the Einzbern family to participate in the war, and Saber was the Servant he summoned."
Asked about it, Illya briefly recalled those events before answering.
For her current self, those memories felt rather distant.
But for the Illya who had once hated Kiritsugu during the Fifth Holy Grail War, they should have been unforgettable.
Just as Saber watched Illya with a complicated gaze, Illya would occasionally look back at Saber with equally mixed feelings.
Combined with Rin, who had completely given up and was now slumped across the table, the atmosphere fell into an awkward silence.
Even the observers outside the scene grew quiet.
After all, they knew what the Fourth Holy Grail War had cost people and how much suffering it had caused.
There was no need to force Illya to dwell on those memories.
"I'm hoooome! What are we having for dinner today?"
The awkward atmosphere was finally shattered by someone pulling open the front door and shouting loudly.
The newcomer wore a safety helmet and carried a bag full of beer.
"Huh? Who is this?"
Remaining frozen in the doorway for several seconds, Taiga finally noticed the unfamiliar girl sitting at the dining table.
The blank expression on her face was honestly quite amusing.
"Uh... one of Kiritsugu's acquaintances! Just like Saber, she is someone Kiritsugu knew overseas."
Hearing Taiga's question, Shirou poked his head out from the kitchen while holding a spatula and hurriedly came up with an excuse.
Sorry, Kiritsugu.
In a certain sense, Shirou had actually guessed correctly.
Saber, Illya, and Kiritsugu were indeed very familiar with one another.
The only problem was that he himself had no idea.
"...My name is Illya. I received an invitation from Shirou, so I came to join everyone for dinner tonight."
Illya seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Shirou's explanation.
She stood up gracefully, lightly lifted the sides of her skirt with both hands, and introduced herself.
Her etiquette was flawless.
Taiga could not find a single fault with it.
At least, she could not find fault with Illya.
"Shirou! I never knew you had this kind of preference! Is it because Sakura and I are around every day that you have lost interest in girls your own age or older?"
The moment she learned that Shirou had invited Illya personally, Taiga turned toward him in complete shock.
It was not entirely her fault for jumping to conclusions.
After all, both Saber, who had recently moved in, and Illya, who had arrived today, looked rather young.
Rin was probably the only one who seemed remotely normal by comparison.
"I just saw that it was getting dark, and since she is someone I know, I brought her home. Was I supposed to leave a child wandering around outside at night?"
Faced with Taiga's accusations, Shirou's expression darkened.
Pointing his spatula in her direction, he immediately defended himself.
"Oh, I see. That makes sense. Fuyuki City has not been very safe lately anyway. There have been murders, gas leaks, and there was even that huge gas explosion at the cemetery near the church."
Taiga accepted Shirou's explanation without any suspicion.
It perfectly matched the way Shirou had always behaved.
And if Illya was the child of someone he knew, then taking care of her was even more understandable.
As for whether Kiritsugu actually knew her or not?
That hardly mattered.
Anyone Shirou brought home had to be trustworthy.
"...Hand over the beer. Do not drink alcohol in front of children."
Once he was sure the misunderstanding had been cleared up, Shirou immediately extended his hand toward Taiga, signaling for her to surrender the bag of beer.
Faced with this painful decision, Taiga hesitated for three full seconds.
In the end, she reluctantly handed it over.
After all, she was a teacher.
She had to set a good example.
If she knew that Illya was possibly older than Shirou himself, she probably would not have thought that way.
"Uwah..."
The members of Penguin Logistics could relate to this scene far too well.
Unlike the current Shirou, who still needed to come up with reasons to stop people from drinking, all it took on their side was a single look from Shirou.
The moment he gave them that look, they would obediently put down their alcohol.
Unless they wanted to eat croissants for all three meals the next day, nobody usually dared to disobey Shirou's instructions.
Although their schedules, eating habits, and overall lifestyles had become much healthier since Shirou arrived, many forms of happiness had disappeared as well.
Just like Taiga now.
Her eyes kept drifting toward the refrigerator from time to time, hoping Shirou would have mercy and bring out a bottle.
Unfortunately for her, with Illya present, there was absolutely no chance of that happening.
In Shirou's eyes, drinking alcohol in front of children was a very bad example to set.
Dinner was served soon afterward.
Although Illya and Rin had unexpectedly joined the meal, Shirou had purchased enough ingredients for everyone.
The only one who suffered a little was Saber, who had to restrain her appetite somewhat.
The meal itself was unusually quiet.
Aside from Taiga, everyone simply focused on eating.
With both Illya and Taiga present, discussing the Holy Grail War was obviously impossible.
And there was also a certain giant standing outside in the courtyard.
Who could comfortably enjoy dinner under those circumstances?
Rin screamed inwardly.
"Shirou, another bowl, please."
Unlike Rin, Saber forgot all of her worries the moment she picked up her chopsticks.
She concentrated entirely on eating.
After being reminded to eat fewer side dishes, she could only compensate by filling her stomach with more rice.
"..."
Seeing this, Rin fell silent for a moment.
Then she started eating as well.
Forget it.
Whatever happens, happens.
She would just trust Archer to keep an eye on Berserker.
The dinner passed peacefully enough.
And true to her word, Illya left the Emiya residence shortly after the meal ended without lingering.
For safety reasons, however, Taiga still insisted that Shirou escort Illya home.
Neither Rin nor Saber accompanied them.
After all, Illya might not be hostile toward Shirou, but the same could not necessarily be said for them.
To be safe, Rin had Archer follow from a distance.
Even though she knew there seemed to be some sort of conflict between him and Shirou, there was not really a better option.
Archer possessed exceptional eyesight and could watch over Shirou from far away.
If something happened, he could provide long-range support and create an opportunity for Shirou to escape.
Besides, Archer was currently the least occupied person available.
He was the ideal choice.
"The food tonight was really delicious, you know?"
Walking down the road, Illya continued skipping and hopping around in front of Shirou.
"Thank you for the compliment."
Shirou did not know much about the Einzbern family, the family that Illya belonged to.
Still, meals prepared by prestigious families were usually not lacking in quality.
Receiving praise from someone like her was genuinely pleasing.
More importantly, the bright smile on her face was, to Shirou, the greatest reward he could have received.