Shinji Matou At Your Service

Chapter 159: The Survivors (Part 5) (Bonus)

"What?"

"Have you come up with a solution?"

"Is this true?"

In Shinji's mind, there were three faces in front of him from left to right: the poker-faced Emiya Kiritsugu, the icy beauty Maiya, and the naturally pure Irisviel.

Of course, these were Shinji's impressions of the three individuals in their usual states. Now, their expressions were surprisingly unified. Their eyes widened, pupils contracted, mouths slightly open—it was as if the only thing missing was the word "excitement" written on their foreheads.

"It seems like birds of a feather flock together."

Shinji silently commented in his mind, patiently explaining.

"I said I came up with a possible solution, but it doesn't mean it's guaranteed to work or be successful."

"That's okay. Having a direction is better than having none. Shinji, just say it already, don't keep us in suspense," urged Justeaze.

After the Holy Grail War, due to Justeaze's relationship with Irisviel, the Matou and Emiya families grow closer, and Shinji becomes a frequent guest in the Emiya household.

"I plan to find a body for Miss Irisviel."

"A body?" The three members of the Emiya household exclaimed in unison.

"Yes, a body. The soul and the physical body are the two fundamental elements of a human. Those of us who study magecraft know that the soul is the content, and the body is the vessel. One cannot exist without the other. Without the content, the vessel is just an empty shell, and without the vessel, the content loses its object of reliance and disappears from the world, just like this water."

As Shinji spoke, he picked up a teacup and poured the tea onto the coffee table.

"The water scatters and evaporates without the cup, but if I do this..."

He moved his fingers, tracing an ice rune, and the warm tea quickly froze.

"The tea is now fixed in place. This is the only known exception—the 'Third Magic,' 'Materialization of the Soul.' Miracles related to it, such as summoning Heroic Spirits, the contract I made with Lady Justeaze, and even Miss Irisviel. Unfortunately, lady Justeaze's 'Third Magic' is not complete. It's more manageable when casting it on oneself, allowing for adjustments at any time. However, for Miss Irisviel, it's not possible to be so precise, which is why she is currently unstable."

Shinji placed the teacup down and infused magic into the ice, using the Matou family's fluid manipulation magecraft to shape the spread-out ice into an unattractive cylinder.

His intention was clear—the water represented Irisviel's soul, the teacup represented the body, and the formation of the ice column represented Justeaze's Third Magic. However, there were still some differences between the shape of the ice column and the original form of the water in the teacup.

"So, to solve this situation, the best way is to put the water back into the teacup."

"But the soul is not actual tea water; it can't be poured into any cup. If you change the container casually, it will become like a dirty inkstone—" Souls are delicate and fragile. Even a slight mismatch in the container can cause damage to both parties. In the end, it will turn into a "decaying living dead" like a dirty inkstone.

Justeaze's concerns were understood by Shinji. Since he dared to propose this suggestion, he naturally had a solution. He pointed to the tray in the center of the coffee table, which contained several identical teacups.

"What if it's the same container?"

"You mean—"

Justeaze clapped her hands.

"Yes, Miss Irisviel's body was created by Jubstacheit von Einzbern. If he can create one, he can create another."

"Can doesn't mean he's willing to." Kiritsugu wasn't as optimistic as Justeaze. "The cost of creating Iri's body is high, and it's a burden for the Einzbern family. Moreover, I am likely already considered a traitor by the Einzbern family."

The Einzbern family is isolated from the world, with very limited sources of information. Their understanding of the Fourth Holy Grail War probably only goes as far as "Saber destroyed the Holy Grail." Without knowing the details, it's normal for them to conclude that "Kiritsugu Emiya betrayed them."

This was confirmed in "Fate/Zero." The novel describes the Fourth Holy Grail War ending with Saber destroying the Holy Grail. After that, Kiritsugu was considered a traitor by the Einzbern family. Although he didn't suffer direct retaliation, he never set foot in the Einzbern family's stronghold, Winter Castle, again, and never had the chance to see his daughter Illyasviel until his death. Nowadays, Kiritsugu's intelligence network hasn't received any news about the Einzbern main family, indicating the Einzbern family's stance.

What's more troublesome is that the nature of the Homunculi determines that the members of this family are impervious to persuasion or coercion that works on humans. Even if Justeaze, who holds a special position within the family, intervenes, there's no guarantee she can convince the highest decision-maker, the central control artificial intelligence Golem Jubstacheit. On the contrary, there's a possibility that the loyal Golem Jubstacheit might target her and cause a series of troubles. That's why Shinji is reluctant to deal with the Einzbern main family.

The more he analyzed, the colder Kiritsugu's heart became. In that case, it might be better to maintain the current situation and find a way to stabilize Irisviel's magical supply first before directly storming into Einzbern Castle to rescue his daughter Illyasviel.

"Why haven't I thought of learning the Einzbern alchemy in these nine years?"

At the end of his distress, Kiritsugu buried his head and murmured a meaningless self-reproach. His self-blame made Irisviel and Maiya's hearts sink as well.

Seeing this scene, Shinji touched his nose and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Um, you seem to have misunderstood. I didn't say I wanted to find the Einzbern family. I'm looking for someone else. This person's alchemy may not be comparable to the Einzberns, but her puppet-making skills are superior to theirs."

The puppets made by this person allowed Shirou Emiya, who reached a similar state as Irisviel in the "Fate/Stay Night: Heaven's Feel" route's finale, to be "resurrected" as a human.

The puppets made by this person do not carry any genetic factors of the physical body. The shaping of the puppets is entirely based on the individual information carried by the soul, including but not limited to memories and magical circuits—these pieces of information are stored in the soul, not the brain. Irisviel, Justeaze, and even the Heroic Spirits can materialize into physical entities because of the influence of this information. The physical body adjusts itself according to the soul, achieving perfect harmony.

"Who is this person you're talking about?" Kiritsugu asked directly.

"Touko Aozaki, a magus recognized by the Clock Tower as the 'Grand'; the world's number one puppeteer."

=====

Support Me At /AbsoluteCode

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.Com