Without Jiang You's orders, Melusine had already stepped forward and shredded all the bullets into pieces. To her, these things were simply too slow.
"A Servant!?" Kiritsugu mistook the non-human Melusine for a Servant. He felt extremely uneasy. As a Master, fighting a Servant under such circumstances had practically no chance of victory. He wanted to withdraw from the battlefield, but his movements seemed to be locked down by some spell. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Kirei Kotomine in the same situation. It seemed to be the spell of this suddenly intruding young man.
"Strictly speaking, Melusine is not a Servant. I'm not really interested in the Holy Grail. Also, I can probably guess what you were thinking when you fired." Jiang You had encountered similar plot developments before, and Kiritsugu was even more extreme in this regard. "But this Illya is not the current Illya, but the Illya from ten years later. Now she is actually an adult. As for you, Father-in-law, you made a move on her when she hadn't even reached one step. What right do you have to criticize me?"
Kiritsugu had to admit Jiang You was right, but his face showed little shame. Besides, Irisviel was already dead, so what point was there in saying this now? However, ten years later? Kiritsugu did not immediately believe Jiang You's words. Even in the face of complete suppression, he showed no obvious hostility.
"That look on your face means you don't believe me, right?" It wasn't actually that difficult to convince Kiritsugu; he just needed to take him for a walk outside. However, that wasn't Jiang You's purpose for this trip. "Actually, it doesn't matter to me. Even if I wanted to take you with me, it wouldn't be now. To ensure the worldline remains intact, this memory won't exist for you. I came here to take Irisviel. Illya waited alone at the Einzbern house for ten years all because you didn't fulfill your responsibilities as a father!"
"For the sake of world peace, right?" Illya looked at Kiritsugu with a mocking gaze. As a child, she had thought her father was the best, but now only disappointment remained. Jiang You had previously asked if they should bring Kiritsugu back with them, but now it seemed unnecessary. It was just that her mother definitely wouldn't want to leave Kiritsugu behind, so Illya decided to pull him over when he was about to die. This man could only regain the humanity he should have had after his dreams were shattered. No matter how much she hated him, she had to consider her mother's feelings. "A guy who abandons his family to save the world is the absolute worst! There's no room for me or Mommy in the future you've envisioned, right!"
Kiritsugu fell silent. In the future he had envisioned, Illya was there, but now that Irisviel was dead, any excuses he made were pale and powerless.
"What a magnificent drama," Kirei Kotomine mused. He had remained silent only because the spectacle was too entertaining to interrupt. Now that Kiritsugu was spiraling into turmoil, he decided to stoke the flames. "Kiritsugu Emiya, the man who vowed to save the world, yet cannot even be understood by his own family. Tell me, where has your iron will gone? Is your resolve to save others so fragile? How pathetic. And haven't you realized it yet? No matter how prettily they put it, these three are only after the Holy Grail."
"The Holy Grail?" Jiang You's interest was piqued. He immediately crafted one from thin air. A massive aggregate of magical power materialized in his hands, though its shape differed from the tall, golden chalice—it was a simple glass cup. "I can make as many of these as I want," he said. "They function exactly like the original, perhaps even more powerfully."
Whether Jiang You spoke the truth or not, the sheer magnitude of his magical power—nearly infinite—was undeniable. Even the King of Heroes lacked such terrifying reserves. This unknown young man truly possessed the power to end the game unilaterally. For a moment, Kiritsugu found himself believing. Their claims of time travel might actually be true. But why would beings of this caliber be involved with Illya?
After thinking it over, Kiritsugu felt there was only one possibility: "I won this Holy Grail War, didn't I?"
Illya let out a disdainful sneer and turned her head away.
"Fantasizing again, aren't you? Fantasizing that you won the Holy Grail War." Jiang You, who shared the same stance as Illya, naturally wouldn't act too warmly. "Although you're about to forget, I'll still tell you. The Fuyuki Holy Grail you pinned your hopes on has actually been corrupted, and what flows inside is malice toward the world. And even if it were the true Holy Grail, or even my upgraded version, it still couldn't fulfill your boring wish. After all, what kind of good solution could a guy like you, whose only understanding of world peace is slaughter and sacrifice, possibly come up with?"
Faced with Jiang You's mockery, Kiritsugu's face turned slightly pale. His subconscious told him this was true, but he was still an old man who wouldn't give up until he hit rock bottom, and he hadn't abandoned his current thoughts yet. He only gripped the weapon in his hand more tightly.
Jiang You sighed. He had one other method: forced brainwashing to construct false memories. However, after discussing it with him, Illya had still given up on that idea. That wouldn't be Kiritsugu anymore, and Illya didn't need someone else who just bore Kiritsugu's name. "I didn't plan on convincing you, either. Time will prove me right, because these are all things that have already happened. Just continue, then. When you leave, this memory will also disappear. I'll come to get you when your life reaches its end, and we can talk then. At that time, I'll bring your mother-in-law along."
Jiang You waved to Illya and Melusine and walked toward Irisviel's body.
"Aren't they trying to seize the Grail? Lord Emiya, your wife is the Lesser Grail, they really didn't plan to..." Kirei Kotomine was still babbling when Jiang You simply clapped his hands, temporarily depriving him of the organ known as a mouth. This was a family matter now; outsiders had no right tobutt in.
Kiritsugu also ignored that guy. He wouldn't believe a single word from someone who killed his own mentor for his own selfish desires. He looked at Illya, who was clinging tightly to Jiang You's arm and being glared at by Melusine with hostility, and opened his mouth.
"Illya!" Kiritsugu finally managed to shout. He realized he still couldn't let go of Illya, and couldn't help but worry about how she'd be faring in ten years. Even if Jiang You was very strong, he still couldn't accept the idea of his daughter fighting another man over a man. Besides, this "person" named Melusine was far too powerful for Illya to handle. "From your eyes, I know you must hate me. I can't predict the future, so I can only do my best in the present. But I still really want to know... are you happy with this man?"
"Even though this guy isn't very bright, likes to lie, is quite a flirt, and even teases me," Illya listed Jiang You's shortcomings as if he were nothing but a nuisance. "But he cares about me more than anyone else, even more than you. He understands my troubles and takes me to aquariums. Did you know he already took me to see Illyas from other worlds? The 'me' in his current world hasn't lost her mother yet, and sometimes I'm even a bit jealous... Anyway, he's still a little bit worse than Mommy. Either way, I won't be alone like before anymore, so I'm very happy. No matter what he does, I will support him."
"Anything? So, am I an officially recognized mistress now?" Melusine suddenly leaned in.
"Shut up!"