Not giving it would make the Holy Church look like biased referees. That was the truth, but some things could be done and not said.
On the other hand, if they did give it, then even with Saber's left hand wounded by Lancer's cursed spear, she had still wiped out Caster, who had brazenly marched in with a whole army of familiars.
That cleared street ran for a full three kilometers. A Saber that terrifying, given another Command Seal, was as good as helping the enemy. It was a hard choice.
"Give it."
Tokiomi Tohsaka's voice sounded tired. He had spent all night cleaning up the mess from Caster and Saber's battle and had not slept at all.
"But that makes Saber's side far too strong."
"There are still six Master–Servant pairs left. The stronger Saber looks, the more likely everyone will prioritize her as a target. If we can get the remaining Masters to turn against Saber, a single Command Seal isn't much of a price."
This was Tokiomi's conclusion after careful thought. In the Holy Grail War, a little battle royale ritual, the more powerful a pair appeared, the more every other participant would see them as the top target to remove.
"Just be sure, when you hand over the Command Seal, to make it clear to the other Masters that Saber's side now has one more than everyone else."
"I see. As expected of the Tohsaka head—you see straight through things. We'll do it that way."
Risei Kotomine offered his praise, then went to bestow a Command Seal on Kiritsugu Emiya. At the same time, he summoned the other Masters' familiars, publicly announcing that Caster had been defeated by Saber and that the Grail War was restarting.
"Hmph, try and steer me against Saber, will you? I'll go after you, you bastard. Damn you, Tokiomi Tohsaka—I'm coming for you."
That was Berserker's Master, Kariya Matou's real reaction on receiving the news. Through Zouken Matou's channels, he knew full well that the Church and the Tohsaka family were in bed together. He had no interest in targeting Saber—only in targeting Tokiomi.
"A king must fight a fair and open battle!"
That was still Rider Iskandar's stance, unchanged from the previous night. His Master, Waver Velvet, was too meek to sway him.
"Miss Sola, you mustn't be like this…"
As for Lancer's Diarmuid, his own lord was now a cripple in a hospital bed, and that lord's fiancée was actively seducing him. The Holy Grail War seemed to have been forgotten by that woman entirely; she only wanted to indulge herself in his good looks.
In the end, a carefully thought-out scheme had been shown to a group of people who simply did not play along. It was useless—utterly useless. The only one it had any effect on was Kiritsugu Emiya.
The magus killer's thinking aligned with Tokiomi's. He dutifully shadowboxed with the air, shoring up defenses in his base and preparing for a coalition assault by the other Masters. He even thought about leveraging the terrifying boy next door from the Fujimura family.
In reality, no one came. And since school was canceled that day, Broly did not go to class. While Taiga Fujimura had to go to school, he went over to the neighbor's to see if he could raise the Happiness Values of the two new wives he had met last night.
He ended up mooching lunch at the Emiya house. During the meal, Kiritsugu got a lot out of Broly's straightforward mouth—things like being a Saiyan from Planet Vampa. If the boy had not been so absurdly strong, having wiped out an entire street the previous night, he would have thought he was being lied to.
Of course, Kiritsugu also eventually figured out why Broly had come to visit: the kid was looking for wives. And one of those wives he was after happened to be Kiritsugu's own wife, which was… difficult for the magus killer to keep a straight face over.
Irisviel, however, only laughed.
"Didn't think I was still so charming that even a child would fall for me."
"But little Broly, I can't be your wife."
She told him.
"Why not? You shook my hand."
Broly was confused, asking as he shoveled rice into his mouth.
"Because I already have a husband."
Irisviel explained.
"What's a husband?"
He asked curiously.
"You don't know what a husband is, and you're out here looking for a wife?"
It begged for a snarky comment, and Maiya Hisau provided it.
"A husband is what you call the man when a man and a woman become a married couple. It's the male side of the husband-and-wife pair."
Irisviel patiently explained.
"Can't you have two husbands?"
Broly understood, then immediately followed up.
"Unfortunately, my country only permits monogamy. And Kiritsugu Emiya is my husband."
Irisviel hugged Kiritsugu's arm as she introduced him.
Broly fell into thought, then his face crumpled into troubled contemplation.
"What's wrong? Did you overeat?"
Irisviel asked in concern.
"No. I'm not full yet."
"Then what's with that face?"
"I'm just thinking… should I get rid of your husband."
Broly stated this as plainly as anything. The entire table froze.
"Why?"
Sweat beaded on Kiritsugu's forehead as he asked carefully.
"Because if I get rid of you, I can make your wife my wife."
Broly answered seriously, with logic no one could actually refute.
"But you seem hesitant."
Kiritsugu said.
"Because you fed me."
That was what he was wrestling with.
Silence fell. Something was profoundly wrong with this child.
"Broly, why are you so fixated on finding wives anyway?"
Artoria broke the silence. For a child his age, it clearly was not lust, and he did not act like it was.
"I find wives and make them happy. Then when I go back to Planet Vampa, I get food. The more wives, the more happiness, the more food I can trade for."
He spoke just as frankly as before. It made little sense to those listening, but at least they now knew his real reason for chasing wives.
"In that case, I have a proposal."
Kiritsugu spoke up.
"What proposal?"
Broly asked.
"My wife can't be yours. But my daughter, Illya, is only three years older than you."
"Kiritsugu?"
At that, Irisviel turned and stared at him. He nodded; a glance was enough for her to grasp his thinking.
"If you're willing, Irisviel and I would like to entrust our daughter to you."
As the Lesser Grail of this Fourth Holy Grail War, Irisviel's life would end the moment the Grail descended.
And there was no guarantee Kiritsugu himself would survive to the end and claim the Grail.
If both he and Irisviel died, who would be there for Illya? The Einzbern family?
Yes, the Einzberns might look after her—if she had value to them. But now, seated across from them, was an alternative.
They did not know this boy well, but there was no doubt he wielded tremendous power. They had witnessed it the night before.
In the course of one meal, his sheer simplicity and honesty had been laid bare—the child really was just chasing wives for food. That gave Kiritsugu an idea.
Rather than trust the Einzberns to care for Illya, it might be better to entrust her here to this monster of a boy.
Say nothing of anything else; if this boy was willing to stand behind their daughter, that was already a win. With a fiancé whose power rivaled a Servant's, their daughter would be precious.
Even if they both died in this war, the Einzbern family would not easily discard Illya.
Kiritsugu was also making arrangements for after his own potential death—for leaving something behind, for a child.
He had not done so earlier because he had neither the opportunity nor the person to entrust her to.
Now, he had met Broly.
After understanding the boy's thinking, the idea to entrust Illya to him had taken shape.
"So, what do you think?"
Father's command, matchmaker's mediation.
New target found: Illya von Einzbern. Current Happiness Value: 0.
Notice: Her parents are willing to entrust her to you. Invite Illya von Einzbern to become an official member of the Crystal Palace? (Current official members: 0/5)
Broly blinked. As he looked at Kiritsugu and Irisviel, a line of text rose in his mind, and he found himself reciting it:
"Bu, drifting all his life, never once meeting a worthy lord…"
At the moment he agreed, far away in the Einzbern castle in Germany, a girl who had been missing her parents suddenly saw text appear in front of her:
Your father (Kiritsugu Emiya) and your mother (Irisviel) are entrusting you to Broly. Broly has accepted and invites you to become an official member of the Crystal Palace. Illya von Einzbern, do you wish to join the Crystal Palace? Confirm or Decline.
"Eh?!"
Illya did not really understand what "Crystal Palace" meant. But seeing that it was a decision from her parents, and with them so much on her mind, she hesitated only a moment before reaching out toward "Confirm"—only for her finger to pass right through the words.
But the intent to confirm had reached the Crystal Palace, and the message changed:
You are now an official member of the Crystal Palace. Current official members: 1/5. When the number reaches 5, the Crystal Palace module will upgrade.
Illya blinked and saw a chibi avatar of a black‑haired boy appear in her vision. Next to it, in German, was "Broglie," and below that was an entry for Happiness Value showing "3 → 0."
Back on Broly's side, a similar chibi avatar of a white‑haired red‑eyed girl appeared in front of him. Beside it, in Chinese, it read "Illya von Einzbern," with a Happiness Value entry showing "2 → 0."
In the top right corner was a Happiness Points counter. For the first time, it was no longer zero—he now had 200 points.
That came from the way Illya's Happiness Value had risen upon hearing something from her parents. After she confirmed her official membership, that value had been converted into Happiness Points.
As her Happiness Value continued to rise, the points kept ticking up—not by the hundred, but one at a time. In just these few moments, it had increased by another two.
Beside Illya's avatar it also said "Happiness Points generating continuously" and "Please keep your wife happy," followed by the warning "If your wife becomes unhappy, Happiness Points will stop generating."
"Please tell me how to keep your daughter happy all the time."
Broly was stunned. When he opened the exchange shop in the side menu and saw all the foods he had tasted before, his desire to make a wife he had not even met yet happy went through the roof.
"Ah…"
Irisviel was taken aback. Kiritsugu, too, found himself at a loss. They had barely finished entrusting their daughter in words, and already this boy's eyes were shining, full of eagerness to make her happy.
But what did happiness even mean for their eight-year-old daughter?
Kiritsugu and Irisviel exchanged a look. They knew the answer in their hearts but could not say it.
One glance at the boy and you knew he would absolutely act for their daughter's "happiness."
If they told him that what would make Illya happy now was for them to stay by her side, they really suspected he might actually kidnap them and dump them back in front of her.
"Happiness is… hard to define. Everyone has their own idea of it. Our daughter is still young. We can't presume to say what her happiness is. You'll have to get to know her yourself someday to really understand."
"Uh… okay."
Broly gradually calmed down.
"Then what about you? Do you want to be my wife?"
He turned to the side and asked Artoria, who was still quietly eating.
"This life was given to Britain. My only purpose is to save my former country, not to chase so‑called romance."
Artoria shook her head decisively. As Britain's monarch, she would not become anyone's wife.
Least of all a wife to a boy whose only real desire was to eat more food—and one among many, at that.
Broly was disappointed. She had a full 7 points of Happiness Value.
__________
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