IBHJ 1255

"She's who I'm most concerned about," he admitted. "She sacrificed her life to disrupt the Lord of Salvation's plan. Though we understand her actions, she still can't forgive herself. And now, just as she's finally breaking free from her cycle of self-hatred, she meets this Incarnation who comes for revenge... I'm really worried about her."

"Don't worry too much," Vivian said with a reassuring smile. "Mordred is stronger than you think."

 He looked at her with surprise. "You sound quite confident about that."

"Although you and Artoria are her parents, I understand her better than anyone. And unlike you, my King, I'm not oblivious to these things," she said with a playful glint in her eyes.

"Oblivious? You're calling me oblivious?" he exclaimed, pointing at her while laughing. "Perhaps you don’t care about your hair anymore!"

"Are you planning to do something to it?" she asked, twirling a strand of hair around her finger and smiling at him.

"On second thought, that wouldn't be a proper way to treat a lady," he said, shaking his head.

She paused for a moment, looking at the man standing before her. She no longer wanted to dwell on the past or harbor regrets. Taking a deep breath to gather her courage, she began, "My King..."

"Yes? What is it?"

"……It's getting rather late. If there's nothing urgent, you should spend some time with your sister. After all, you two have only just reunited. If you don't make an effort to reconnect, she might think you don't care about her and become upset."

"You're absolutely right—I completely forgot," he said, lightly tapping his forehead before departing with a smile.

Vivian watched as Shirou walked away, then shook her head. "I’m being selfish... This isn't the right moment. When everything is finally resolved, I'll speak the words I've kept hidden for a thousand years. It doesn't matter if I'm rejected... I just don't want to live with regrets anymore."

Then she too departed.

Shortly afterward, Mordred's head cautiously emerged from the riverbank.

She fished the black crown from the water and stared at it silently.

—What do you intend to do now, Mordred?

The Grail asked.

"Did you expect this to happen?" she questioned.

—If I had such foresight, would I still be at your mercy?

The Grail replied.

She quietly tucked the black crown against her chest and spoke with firm resolve: "Between her and me... this has to end once and for all!"

…

Following Vivian's suggestion, Shirou realized what he needed to do. With no pressing matters to attend to, he went to spend time with Ritsuka, talking about everything that had happened over the years.

"I had no idea all this happened while I was gone. I've really failed you as a brother," he said with genuine regret.

As Ritsuka explained, after their city was attacked, Sakura had joined Tiamat and Gaia's team. She never came home, only watching over Ritsuka from a distance, which led Ritsuka to believe that Sakura had disappeared just like Shirou had.

During that time, Fuyuki City had been completely destroyed. Their parents, the Fujimaru couple, rushed back only to find everything reduced to ashes. They wanted to leave this painful place behind, but Ritsuka stubbornly refused to go, convinced that both Shirou and Sakura would eventually return.

While they were at this standstill, Marisbury, who had been commissioned by the United Nations to establish Chaldea, approached them with Gilgamesh, Solomon, Artoria, Gray, and others. He claimed that Ritsuka showed exceptional talent for being a Master and Magus, and wanted to develop these abilities.

The Fujimaru parents initially wanted to refuse, but by then the existence of magic had already been revealed to the world, and the invasion had taught everyone a harsh lesson about reality. Eventually, they set aside their reservations and entrusted Ritsuka to Artoria, who had been staying with Shirou for some time.

From then on, Ritsuka lived at Chaldea, where she developed her magical talents and formed close friendships with Olga Marie and Mash. So essentially, she was raised by Artoria and Gray.

As time would prove, the Fujimaru parents had made the right decision. In 2012, after Gaia was sealed away by her siblings, the Council lost all restraint and began destroying the Foundation of Human Order. People worldwide began to disappear, but Ritsuka survived within Chaldea and joined the fight to save humanity.

Then came a shocking turn of events—her good friend Olga Marie became a Beast and attempted to destroy Chaldea. Ritsuka had no choice but to fight against her own friend, and the battle ended with Olga Marie falling into a deep coma.

Not long after this painful experience, Ritsuka and Mash launched an attack on the first Connection Point. There, she noticed traces of Kama and decided to follow them, which led to an unexpected encounter with Goetia.

During that confrontation, Mash was knocked unconscious by Goetia. Fortunately, King Hassan was at that Connection Point. But surprisingly, the one who defeated Goetia wasn't King Hassan but Ritsuka.

The truth was that Ritsuka had been able to defeat Olga Marie because Beast VII had found a more suitable vessel—Ritsuka herself.

However, due to Olga Marie's resistance, Ritsuka had only absorbed half of Beast VII's power and wasn't completely controlled by it. To protect Mash, her last remaining friend, from harm, Ritsuka dissolved their contract and began operating alone. Eventually, she became known throughout Chaldea as their most valuable asset.

Soon after, Mash and Gray traveled together to the Connection Point in Romania, and that's when the entire chain of events truly began.

...

"If I had come back sooner, you wouldn't have had to endure all of this. I've really failed you as a brother..." Shirou sighed deeply. He had left with the invader to create a safe and beautiful home for his family and friends, but because he hadn't completed his job properly, his sister had been forced to undertake this difficult journey instead.

"That's not true. To me, you're the best brother anyone could have. You're like a lighthouse guiding me through a dark sea."

"You've really grown up, even learning how to comfort people... Hmm? Wait a minute. Why does that phrase sound so familiar?" His expression suddenly changed. Something about those words made him feel strangely embarrassed. He looked at her with suspicion. "Where exactly did you hear that from?"

"From this book," she replied, pulling out a copy of 'Eternal King Can't Possibly Be a True Ancestor Girl.' "That line comes from Chapter 13, where the imprisoned True Ancestor girl Eternal King comforts the injured Hunter Arcueid. And then later, she gets completely ravished by the wild Arcueid until she's trembling like a flower in the wind."

"Where did you get that book?" His expression changed dramatically.

"I borrowed it from Illya-neesan."

Shirou's face immediately twitched. That wretched golden cockroach deserves a thousand spankings!

"Give that to me right now!"

"No way!"

She nimbly dodged his grab, turned around to playfully pat her bottom at him, stuck out her tongue, and laughed. "I'm all grown up now. You can't tell me what to do anymore, nyah nyah nyah!"

Then she spun around and ran away, leaving Shirou standing there with his eye twitching.

As he watched her disappear, his expression became complicated. He shook his head and said softly, "She... really has grown up."

He understood that Ritsuka had deliberately shown that book to help heal and bridge the rift between them. Because of the Beast's influence, she couldn't fully control her emotions, which made her seem impulsive and careless at times. But there was no denying that she could sense what others were feeling. And this was her clumsy attempt at trying to get along with him.