Chapter 19: Day 6 ③

Holding a paper bag containing four taiyaki (fish-shaped cakes) in my right hand, and a shopping bag in my left, I walked toward the exit of the shopping street. I was walking, but... my gaze was involuntarily drawn downwards, and the moment I registered the sight, my throat automatically gulped.

"Hmm. Was there any place where we could sit down and relax?"

"If we don't hurry, the taiyaki will get cold."

A wonderful aroma wafted from the paper bag clutched to my chest. Ever since I smelled this fragrance, my appetite has been increasing without limit, knowing no bounds. Furthermore, the source of this scent is perishable—its flavor will diminish when it cools—which added a time limit, making me feel like a dog told to "wait."

Perhaps seeing my state, Shirou suggested, "How about we eat them now while they're still delicious?" which was a good idea, but there wasn't a suitable place to settle down.

"Alto. I know it smells delicious. I know you really want to eat them hot and freshly baked. But you absolutely can't eat them while walking."

"Then Shirou should find a place to settle down as quickly as possible."

"Even if you say that, was there a good spot nearby? Uhh..."

"Big brother, there's a park right there."

"Ah, that's right. Then let's go there—!?"

"Greetings first, big brother. Hello."

Before I knew it, a small girl in purple clothes was standing next to Shirou. She lightly lifted the hem of her clothes and gave a small curtsy toward the poised Shirou. It was Illya, looking up and smiling sweetly at Shirou.

Meanwhile, I, who should have been the Servant, hadn't noticed the approach of another Master at all.

It seems my attention was completely distracted. I don't know what will happen to me if Lia finds out that I carelessly allowed another Master to get close to Shirou. No, the fact that I didn't notice was also due to Illya having no malicious intent whatsoever. It was absolutely, definitely not because I was preoccupied with taiyaki.

"Why are you here! Are you planning to fight this early in the day?!"

"What are you saying, big brother? We're not supposed to fight during the daytime."

"Huh? Ah..."

Shirou stared blankly at the girl, struck by her utterly innocent words.

I understand how Shirou feels. I had a similar reaction myself. Indeed, facing the current Illya, one wouldn't think she was the same person as the Master of that Berserker. It's understandable that he's stunned when such a reasonable statement comes from the person who coldly ordered Berserker to kill us.

"Alto! Please don't lay a hand on this child."

In front of Illya, who is supposedly an enemy Master, I, the Servant, was just standing there without any particular vigilance. Seeing this, Shirou seemed to realize something and quickly stepped between us, gesturing for me to move back with his hand.

"Shirou. I do not wield my sword against those who have no intention of fighting. Your concern is unnecessary."

"...Ah, right. My mistake. Lia is the type who immediately tries to attack the moment she sees an enemy Master, so I just assumed you would too, Alto."

"Ah. I completely understand."

When I first met Lia, she seemed to have reacted to my presence and attacked, even while injured. It seems Lia really is just like the Saber I know. I empathized with Shirou's words and couldn't help but agree.

"That's right. I think Lia should be a little more open to 'discussion,' if you know what I mean, before resorting to fighting."

"However, Shirou, most Masters have no intention of discussing things. You must be careful, or you yourself could lose your life."

I understand the desire to end the conflict, but I definitely want to avoid that outcome.

If he isn't aware of the danger himself, there's a limit to how hard I can protect him. If he deliberately jumps into danger, there's nothing I can do. —Wait? Wasn't that exactly what Saber said to me once?

"But if we can avoid fighting, isn't that the best outcome?"

"Not all Masters think like you, Shirou. Besides, as I told you earlier, Servants also have wishes, so they must make sure their Master wins no matter what. They will stop at nothing."

"Ah, that's probably true. But I am—"

"Hey, big brother. Are you going to ignore me?"

"Eh, ah. No. Sorry. I didn't mean to."

Illya's voice came from the side. We must have gotten a little carried away while talking, and we neglected Illya.

In any case, my way of thinking seems to be aligning with Lia's. It's not that I think enemies should be defeated unconditionally. I also believe that avoiding conflict is the best option.

It's just that Shirou seems completely unaware of how dangerous what he's saying is. I probably only noticed this because my position has changed.

Anyway, if we're going to talk, it's better to do it somewhere quiet, not on the side of the road.

"Shirou, let's go to the park. We can talk there."

"...For a Servant, you're quite flexible, aren't you?"

Illya's gaze toward me was cold. It was a gaze that looked at me like an object. I don't understand why I'm being treated this way... Why is that?

Puzzled, I accompanied Illya toward the park. Shirou sighed but followed us shortly after.

Whether it was because of the cold, or the bad timing, I don't know, but there were no children playing in the park, and with the gray sky, it was a lonely scene.

The three of us sat down on a single bench tucked away in a corner, with Shirou sandwiched between Illya and me.

Normally, as the Servant, I should intervene to protect Shirou, but with Illya as the opponent, it should be fine.

For some unknown reason, Illya doesn't seem to like me, and if I interrupt, I might interfere with their conversation.

"Speaking of which, big brother, what's your name?"

"Ah, I'm Emiya Shirou. And you are..."

"Seriously? I told you my name, and you didn't remember? That's rude. I'm Illyasviel von Einzbern. Illya is fine."

"I see. Then I'll call you Illya. You can just call me Shirou."

"Okay. Shirou. Hmm. It has a nice sound to it."

Illya grinned as she said that. Shirou, seeing her expression, couldn't help but smile too.

Isn't this going much smoother than when I talked to her? For the time being, I'd appreciate it if Shirou would be a little more cautious, especially after the warning I gave him.

"Ah, and this is Alto."

"Pleased to meet you, Illyasviel."

"—"

Since she clearly dislikes me, I tried to greet Illya as cordially as possible, with a smile. ...But when Illya looked at me, she made a face like she had just spotted a Kappa floating down a river. Huh, did I say something weird?

"You're a Servant, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"I've never heard of a Servant greeting an enemy Master so kindly."

"Is that so? ...Well, perhaps you're right. But Illyasviel, you're not accompanied by Berserker, are you? I've also never heard of a Master approaching another Master without a guard."

It was none other than me who was wandering around without a guard once. I remember Saber scolded me severely for that afterward.

"Besides, one cannot call herself a lady if she can't even offer a proper greeting."

A small smile unconsciously escaped my lips. I was reminded of a time when Illya teased Tohsaka about being a lady, so I used the phrase—but I never thought I'd say it to Illya herself.

No... wait, wait, wait. Just who the heck is calling himself a Lady?

I feel like I just said something incredibly dangerous, even if it was meant as a joke.

"....I see. Alto, I think I've taken an interest in you. I'll save killing you and Shirou for last. Oh, if Shirou does what I say, I might specially spare him, you know?"

After staring blankly, Illya smiled innocently. The coldness in her gaze toward me seemed to have softened.

I covered my face with one hand, regretting my slip of the tongue. Hearing her words, I turned back to Illya, but tilted my head, unable to grasp her intention.

Did I say anything that would pique Illya's interest? I feel like I might have blurted out something odd in the heat of the moment, but that's certainly not it, and I don't think anything else was strange.

"I'll put the whole 'killing' thing aside for now. But even if you say 'last,' I don't think it's possible since I'm not Alto's Master or anything."

Leaving me to contemplate, Shirou corrected the seemingly mistaken Illya with a wry smile.

Even when a girl smiles and says she's going to kill you, it doesn't feel real, but Illya possesses the power to do so. It's just that the Illya in front of him doesn't connect with the word 'kill' in his mind.

"...Ah, looking closely, your lines aren't connected, are they? Then, is Alto's Master the one called Tohsaka?"

"That's right. Don't you recognize this outfit?"

I lifted the hem of my red jacket with the white cross for Illya to see. I assumed Illya would recognize this outfit, which is just Rin's clothes scaled down, but Illya just blinked her eyes.

"I feel like someone was wearing something like that, but I don't remember."

She genuinely seemed not to care. Saying that, Illya looked away.

"S-Speaking of which, Alto, that outfit suits you. The color red, like for Tohsaka, really feels like your color."

Perhaps because the topic shifted to clothes, Shirou complimented my outfit, though he was slightly stumbling over his words.

I don't quite understand why he's looking straight ahead instead of at me, but it's probably not just a compliment.

I thought so because Emiya Shirou is not the kind of person who gives insincere compliments.

"Is that so? I don't really see it."

I looked down at my skirt and over-the-knee socks as I spoke. However, the feeling of strangeness I had before leaving the house still hasn't gone away. It somehow feels mismatched.

Does this outfit really not look strange from the outside? I always thought blue or white suited Saber, so this appearance feels unnatural to me, but if it looks good, maybe Shirou's aura is subtly emanating from within me.

"I couldn't ask earlier, but why are you wearing those clothes? ...Well, I have a general idea, though."

"Rin told me to. She said it was in exchange for causing trouble..."

"It was Tohsaka, after all... I hope she doesn't have any weird hobbies, does she?"

"I can't say..."

I don't think she does, but even if she did, how would I know?

In fact, it would be troublesome if she did. Given my position, the one who would undoubtedly suffer the most consequences would be me.

"Illya, you should be careful of Tohsaka too."

"What I don't know what you're talking about, but she's an enemy Master, so of course, I'm going to be careful."

"Shirou, you don't have to tell Illya that."

More importantly, if this somehow reached Rin's ears, it would be disastrous. Truly, he is fearless in every sense of the word.

Since the conversation seemed to have reached a pause, I opened the bag containing the taiyaki. I gave one to Shirou. And one to Illya.

The one I gave to Illya was originally bought for Lia and Rin, but I can just buy more later.

"What is this?"

Illya looked at the taiyaki she was handed with a look of wonder. Now that I think about it, last time she also looked at the dorayaki (red bean pancakes) in wonder.

"Ah, this is called taiyaki. See, it's baked in the shape of a sea bream, right?"

"Hmm. Is this delicious?"

"Of course. Illyasviel will surely like it."

"I see. Well, I'll say thank you just in case. Thank you, Alto. And you can just call me Illya."

"You're welcome, Illya."

"I bought those with my money, though... Oh, well."

Ignoring Shirou's grumbling, Illya stared intently at the taiyaki in her hand, then, as if making up her mind, she took a bite.

Illya chewed the food, not bothering to hide her puzzled expression, but gradually, a smile began to bloom on her face.

"It's sweet! And this is delicious, Shirou!"

Perhaps due to the preconceived notion of the fish shape, she apparently hadn't expected it to be sweet.

Illya's eyes widened when she took a bite; she looked her age and was very cute.

"I'm glad to hear that."

Shirou also seemed relieved, having been worried about whether it would suit the palate of a girl who seemed like a refined young lady. Since she also enjoyed the dorayaki last time, I wasn't too worried, but I'm glad she liked it.

"Even so, why did they put anko (red bean paste) inside a fish?"

Illya, who was gazing at the filling of the taiyaki, suddenly brought that up. Shirou, who had opened his mouth to take a bite, stopped and turned to Illya.

"Come to think of it, why is that? I just took it for granted that this is how they were made, so I never thought about it."

Shirou placed his hand on his chin and looked up at the sky, starting to ponder, and Illya followed suit, looking up as well.

Steam was rising from the taiyaki in Illya's hand. Seeing the steam rise, I anxiously pulled a taiyaki out of the bag.

"Isn't it enough that it's delicious? While it's certainly not satisfying to not know, it doesn't change the flavor."

Exactly. We don't have time for such leisurely thoughts. We can look up the origin of taiyaki later, but we can only eat freshly baked taiyaki now.

"Itadakimasu."

After reverently muttering, as if in a ritual, I resolutely bit into the taiyaki held in both hands.

Suddenly, I felt a tingling sensation, like an electric current running through my head. What filled my mouth was the savory aroma and the unique sweetness of the anko. With every bite, a smile unintentionally spread across my face.

"Ah... it's delicious. Sweet, and so soft."

Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. I closed my eyes to savor every detail, finding absolutely no flaws. The anko is not too sweet, making it edible even for those who don't like sweets, yet the exquisite flavor is satisfying even for sweet-lovers.

And I confirm it. My sense of taste really has changed.

I wasn't very interested in sweet things before. I had eaten taiyaki from this place before, but I never found it this delicious.

"...This is the taste of happiness."

If not exactly like this, I wonder if I can at least make something similar at home.

Thinking I should read a baking book when I got back, I took the next bite.

"Hey, Shirou. Alto is weird. Why is she crying while eating taiyaki?"

"Hmm? Ah, she says that when she eats something really delicious, she's so moved that tears just flow. Illya, don't disturb her."

"O-Okay. I understand. She's a little scary..."

"Is she? I think it's heartwarming, seeing her eat so enthusiastically."

"...Hmm, now that you mention it, maybe it's cute, like a small child."

Shirou and Illya seemed to be saying something, but of course, it didn't register in my ears, as I was completely absorbed in the taiyaki. All my nerves were dedicated to enjoying the flavor and simultaneously attempting to analyze the recipe.