Throne of Heroes

CHAPTER 1.5 - SNOW PRINCESS RESCUE PLAN

It was late at night, and Kiritsugu and Irisviel sat in the living room, each holding a cup of tea. The day had brought them numerous revelations, leaving Kiritsugu in need of something to calm his mind. He would have preferred coffee, but Irisviel insisted on tea, claiming that late-night coffee would be a bad idea.

After silently sipping from his cup, Kiritsugu set it down and broached a sensitive topic. "Iri, about Illya..."

Irisviel's eyes flickered with anger for a moment. "We will bring her back, Acht..." Her voice dripped with venom as she mentioned the name. "...or rather, Jubstacheit von Einzbern won't lay a hand on Illya. I won't allow it"

Irisviel raised her gaze. "The Einzbern have lost their access to the Grail, which means Jubstacheit can no longer create a Lesser Grail that could be connected to the Greater Grail."

Kiritsugu wasn't sure if that was good news. "So, he won't have any reason to turn Illya into a Lesser Grail?"

Irisviel shook her head. "No, Kiri. Think about it. He doesn't know that he can't connect the Lesser Grail to the Greater Grail anymore. Best-case scenario, it fails. But the worst-case scenario..." Irisviel paused for a moment. "If it does connect, it's only because Angra Mainyu allows it."

The implications were not lost on Kiritsugu. "The corrupted Grail still needs a Lesser Grail..."

"...and it no longer has one. It will either attempt to create one or corrupt an existing one," Irisviel continued.

Irisviel clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "I will never allow my baby to come anywhere near that despicable thing."

Kiritsugu concealed his anger beneath a calm facade, but his eyes burned with determination. However, there was one obstacle that prevented him from storming and guns blazing the Einzbern Castle head-on—the curse slowly eating away at his body.

Pain spiked through Kiritsugu, and he winced. Irisviel looked at him knowingly, her eyes filled with sadness. She knew about his curse. After all, she or perhaps Angra Mainyu, who had taken control of her, had cursed him.

Taking a deep breath, Kiritsugu exhaled slowly. "How much time do I have left?"

Irisviel bit her lower lip. "Six to seven years, maybe eight if we force you into bed rest and intensive care."

Kiritsugu chuckled bitterly. "That won't be happening."

"I know..."

There was no way he would sit idly by when his daughter was waiting for him to come.

"In any case, rescuing Illya should be our top priority," Kiritsugu declared firmly.

"Yes, with my connection to Shirou, I'll be able to tap into the energy needed to brute force through the castle's bounded field," Irisviel stated with confidence. "Once I disable the field, we'll retrieve Illya and make a swift escape."

"No need."

"...eh?" Irisviel tilted her head in confusion. What did Kiritsugu mean by "no need"? Didn't he understand the intricacy, power, and age of the Einzberns' bounded field?

Kiritsugu chuckled, a touch of amusement in his voice. "I already placed a backdoor access in their bounded field when we were there."

"...when?" Irisviel's bafflement grew as she looked at her husband, dumbfounded.

"When they hired me, I asked to add my own bounded field on top of the Einzberns'. To my surprise, the bastard agreed," Kiritsugu explained, still somewhat amused by the audacity of it all.

Magi and their foolish pride of their own craft. Most likely, they never thought that a third-rate magus could outwit a centuries-old magus family.

Irisviel massaged her forehead. "...that's certainly advantageous for us, but Kiri, sometimes you scare me."

Kiritsugu simply shrugged in response. Being prepared for every possible scenario was second nature to him.

Irisviel sighed, but then a bright smile appeared on her face. "Well, that's why I love you."

She continued, a bit sheepishly, "So, what's the plan? Clearly, you're better at planning than I am."

"The backdoor access I created will only grant me a temporary shutdown of the bounded field, and it can only be activated once. That's the extent of it."

Adding anything more intricate would risk detection by the Einzberns.

"...if we forcefully shut it down, we'll have about fifteen minutes, give or take," Irisviel murmured. "It's a tight window, but enough if we act swiftly."

"Then it's settled. We'll go to Germany as soon as possible, rescue Illya, bring her back, and perhaps destroy the Einzbern Castle if we can," Kiritsugu declared. "We just need to find a babysitter for Shirou. Maybe I'll ask Taiga to do it...."

Upon hearing that, Irisviel perked up. "Oh, Kiri, you don't need to find someone."

"Hm?"

Instead of answering, Irisviel stood up and gestured for Kiritsugu to follow her. Silently, she led him to Shirou's room. As they approached, the sound of Shirou's voice became clearer. Irisviel stopped at the entrance and slid the door open.

Inside, Shirou sat on his futon, engaged in conversation with a woman who possessed fox ears and a tail. Kiritsugu's eyes twitched. It certainly had been an eventful day, filled with mind-boggling and extraordinary things happening. Both Shirou and the fox girl noticed Kiritsugu and Irisviel entering the room.

"Ah, Dad, Iri!" Shirou greeted them happily.

It didn't take long for Irisviel to rocketed towards Shirou and embrace him tightly. "Shirooouu!!! I can finally hug you! Oh, and from now on, you can call me Mom! Or Mama, if you prefer. That's fine too."

Shirou seemed taken aback by his supposed ghost, spirit, or imaginary friend suddenly wanting to be called "Mom." Kiritsugu sighed at how childlike his wife could be at times. Then his attention turned to the elephant, or fox to be more precise, in the room.

"And who are you?" Kiritsugu asked cautiously.

The fox girl adjusted her posture and offered a gentle, elegant bow. "Servant, Caster class, Tamamo no Mae. I have arrived to support my young master in eradicating All the World's Evils."