Part 341: Lorelei

"Aren't we having stew for lunch? You said so earlier."
"OOh yeah. It's good if it's decided. Sakura makes white stew, so let's go look at the chicken meat."



We head to the familiar butcher.
We're buying three days worth of groceries after all.
We can't waste money, so we have to walk around to find cheap, high-quality goods.

Music: Bright Melody (Realta Nua)




"Aha, we bought a lot, Shirou!"
Ilya looked bored while we shopped, but she's laughing now with the groceries in hand.

"I'm sorry, I bought too much. Are those too heavy, Ilya?
This bag is lighter, so let's swap."
I hold out the lightest of the seven bags I'm holding.


"No, it's not heavy, so I'm fine.


Should I carry one more bag? You're carrying lots of bags and you look like grapes."

"Well, I'm fine too, but grapes? That's a weird comparison."


"Yeah. You're more like a clown with balloons, but grapes are cuter, right?"

Ilya chatters happily, then starts running.
"Hey, wait, Ilya. It's not heavy, but it's hard to run with these."



…So I follow after Ilya while being careful with what I'm carrying.
Ilya must like it,





because she looks really happy.

Music: Stop

Video: Lorelei (mirror)



Music: 'Die Lorelei' - Philipp Friedrich Silcher



"♪Die Luft ist kühl und es dunkelt,
　　 　Und ruhig fließt der Rhein.
　　 　Der Gipfel des Berges funkelt
　　 　Im Abendsonnenschein♪"



Ilya's singing.
It's a familiar melody.
I think I heard this song in school when I was a kid.

"♪Die schönste Jungfran sitzet
　　 　Dort oben wunderbar.
　　 Ihr goldnes Geschmeide blitzet,
　　　 Sie kämmt ihr goldenes Haar♪"



I can't see her expression since we're walking side by side.
There's no way for me to check…
what kind of a face she's making as she sings,
or how she's feeling as she walks back home.



"♪Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe
　 　　Ergreift es mit wildem Weh.
　 　　Er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe
　 　　Er schaut nur hinauf in Höh♪"



A familiar melody.
The simple song is easy and kind, but because of that, it sounds lonely.
Ilya's probably happy.
That's why she's singing as we walk home.



"♪lch glaube die Wellen verschlingen
　　 　Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn
　 　　Und das hat mit ihrem Singen
　　　Die Lorelei getan♪"





""
It's nothing.
It looks like normal siblings going home after shopping.
It looks so natural that it makes me imagine.
…What if Kiritsugu were between the boy holding the bags and the singing girl?
How happy would that be?



Music: Stop



She turns back innocently.
…That's because she's suppressing her true feelings.

Music: Ever-present Feeling



That's why we can hang out like this.
Because Ilya can't smile like this unless she keeps her true self hidden.

""
I'm the same way.
I'm postponing something I already know.
I'm running away from what I have to say.
I just went along with Ilya's lie.



If Ilya likes this relationship and wants to keep ignoring that, I won't lose anyone.
But still…

"Ilya. If you have no place to go back to after the war"

There's something wrong with me.
I'm about to say something I don't have to.
But I have to say it while I still can.



…I'm going to go crazy.
I'm going to go crazy, so…

"Ilya. Do you want to live at my place?"



I have to ask her before I go crazy.



…She stops.
Ilya answers in an emotionless voice…

"You mean that as Kiritsugu's son?"
…Looking quietly at my face.

""
Kiritsugu's son.
What Kiritsugu couldn't do, what Kiritsugu abandoned.
I'm Kiritsugu's son, even if I'm not blood-related, so I must assume his duties.
I have to face this girl not as Emiya Shirou, but as Emiya Kiritsugu's son.

That's what Ilya is asking me.
And of course

"Yeah. I'm my father's son, and I like you. That's the only reason I want to live with you."
"Are you serious? Are you going to take Kiritsugu's place?"
"No. I can't be Kiritsugu, and I can't take his place. Kiritsugu and I are two different people. There's nothing I can give you as Kiritsugu."

"But I like my father. I want to do what he couldn't.
So despite how much you hate him, if you could bring yourself to forgive him, even a little"



Can we make up for what we couldn't do until now? I'm fine with the way things are right now, so can't we live together?"

…There's no reply.
Ilya looks down, and after shaking her head…



She refuses me with a bright smile.

"Can't… live long?"


"You know that already, right?
…Yes, one of us might be able to live a bit longer if the other is sacrificed. But I think having both of us is impossible. If I'm alive after the war, that means you're dead."



This is the saddest screenshot.

""
Ilya's voice contains conviction.
The silver-haired girl describes an ominous fate like a prophet.


"…Heehee. But it's a bit vexing. I wish you'd said it a bit sooner.



If you had… fate might've taken a different turn."



I don't get what Ilya's saying.
I don't get why one of us has to die, or why she has given up and can say such things with a smile.





The projection of the gem sword. You can't reproduce the Tohsaka heirloom using Rin's method."



"Because your projection isn't projection magic.
Normal projection magic would let us layer a projection onto something that's close to the original and strengthen it.
But your projection is different. You can't give something form unless you create it from scratch based on your image.
Because your magic is not projection, but putting shape to your mind."

"Whathow do you know that?"
How does she know the nature of Archer's magic?


"…That's why it's impossible. You have to use Archer's arm to make what Rin needs. But you already know what that means.
…It won't just be partial loss of memory like earlier. If you use it even once, you won't be yourself anymore."



So I'll forget about your offer.
You know it too, right? You can't choose all, and you can only save one."