I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

"Hmm..." Jill said, biting into her popsicle, "Hey Blackie, I have a question for you."

"What does Brother Jill want to know?" Little Black asked, seemingly in a good mood.

"Have you ever resented your parents?" Jill's question silenced Xiao Hei.

The air fell silent, with only the sound of the wind remaining.

"Hmm..." After a long while, Xiao Hei's voice finally rang out, "I did hate my mother who sealed me away."

"Do you mean Irisviel von Einzbern?" Gilles asked.

"Yes... does Brother Jill know Mom?"

“Well, compared to other worlds, Irisviel is quite fortunate in this one.” Jill took a bite of her popsicle. “Do you want to know about your mother’s story in other worlds?”

"One of the homunculus created by Irisviel von Einzbern based on Rieslesch Justessa von Einzbern."

Although the purpose of the Einzbern homunculi was determined during the design phase, and their bodies and minds would be produced in the best possible condition according to their purpose... because her identity is—the Lesser Grail that everyone is vying for in the Holy Grail War.” Gilles said expressionlessly, ignoring the fact that the little black creature hadn’t yet said whether he was listening or not.

"...The Lesser Holy Grail..." Xiao Hei was a little stunned.

The Lesser Grail is essentially a "wish-granting machine." The Greater Grail, on the other hand, is the foundation that sustains the entire Holy Grail War and bears the ultimate purpose of the war.

“Yes, the Lesser Grail.” Jill nodded. “In that world, Irisviel is already dead.”

"Then there was another Holy Grail War, in which two of me appeared. One was Archer, left over from ten years ago, who, by the way, was an older, chuunibyou with a terrible personality..." Gilles said, pausing for a moment. "Don't look at me like that, Kuro. I'm not talking about myself... no, it seems like I am talking about myself... well, never mind. Anyway, who was the Lesser Grail in that war?"

Jill looked at Little Black. "Do you want to know?"

Xiao Hei opened his mouth, "Could it be..."

“Well, it’s Ilya.” Gil’s words made Black’s pupils contract slightly.

“If Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel had chosen to participate in the Holy Grail War back then, then Irisviel would have died, Kiritsugu Emiya would have died… and even…” Gilles stared at Kuro with his crimson eyes, “you would have died too.”

“Sometimes, what parents do to their children isn’t necessarily bad; it can also be a form of protection…” Jill said, pausing in her tracks.

They had arrived in front of the park at this moment.

“There it is,” Jill said. “Would you like to go and see?”

Xiao Hei followed Jill's gaze, its amber pupils contracting slightly.

In the direction Jill was looking, there stood a silver-haired figure.

The moonlight cast a dreamlike glow on the silver-haired figure.

Her face was so beautiful and perfectly crafted that it resembled a doll's, with ruby-red pupils and long, shimmering silver hair. She wore a purplish-red dress and a white skirt, which were not commonly seen in Fuyuki City.

At this moment, she was looking at the little black dog next to Jill.

"Oh my, it's Illya-chan... no, I should say Chloe-chan..." Irisviel looked at Kuro and smiled.

“How could this be… Brother Gil…” Little Black looked at Gil, “You…”

"It's alright, it's just to let you meet... I'm not some tyrant. I prioritize the feelings of those around me more than things like profit."

Jill patted Little Black's head. "If you don't want to go back, that's fine too. You're always welcome here."

"And you've always wanted to see your mother, haven't you?"

“No…no!” Xiao Hei retorted loudly, “I’m just someone who’s been abandoned, discarded, and unwanted!”

After saying these words, Xiao Hei's clothes suddenly changed, turning into a red and black outfit that was somewhat revealing.

She picked up two knives and then hurled them at Irisviel.

"Fire!" another voice rang out, and a beam of magical light knocked the black and white swords down.

"What are you doing?!" The owner of this voice was a girl with an adorable, doll-like appearance.

If you look closely, the girl and Xiao Hei look exactly alike, with the only slight differences being their skin color, hair color, and eye color.

“Ilya?” Jill was a little surprised. Shouldn’t only Irisviel be here tonight?

"Why did you hit Mom?" Ilya asked, standing in front of Irisviel.

"Yes, Mom... ten years ago, my good mother sealed me away!" Xiao Hei's tone was filled with anger. "Ten years ago, my mother sealed me away, abandoned me, and completely denied me!"

After saying this, Xiao Hei turned around and quickly fled the scene.

“…” Jill remained silent for a long time, then sighed, “As for Xiao Hei, I’ll go and try to persuade her. It seems she won’t accept you so quickly.”

After saying that, Jill turned around, then looked back as if she had remembered something. "Speaking of this... Ilya, if there's anything you don't understand or don't get clear about, just ask your mother—that's all I have to say."

After saying that, Jill turned around.

Just as he had expected, Blackie wouldn't accept Irisviel's advances so easily...

After all, this is quite normal.

Just then, the phone rang.

"...Who could it be? Rin Tohsaka or Luvia?" Gil muttered to himself, taking out his phone.

……

When Jill got home, she noticed that Blackie's shoes weren't in the entryway, and she frowned.

“Enkidu, hasn’t Little Black returned?” Gil asked.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Enkidu asked.

“…No, it’s nothing,” Jill said. “I’m just going out for a bit.”

Is Xiao Hei not here?

Gilda frowned. The Omniscient and Omnipotent Star was activated, and he sighed.

“They’re such little kids…” Jill sighed.

If someone else saw this, they would definitely say, "Are you a child too?"

After all, Jill's current physical age is only ten years old, and she looks about the same age as Ilya and the others.

Knowing what she wanted to find, Jill didn't linger and pushed open the door to leave once again.

Chapter 201 Persuasion

Jill freed Hermes from his boots and took to the air.

He was very fast because the Hermes Boots had the attribute that "the higher the user's agility, the faster their flight speed." (ps1)

Jill arrived at the place where they had captured Little Black that day—

That's the forest.

Jill landed and began to walk. Her shoes rustled on the ground, occasionally punctuated by the snapping sound of a tree branch breaking.

Such sounds coming from the forest at night are bound to send chills down one's spine.

But Jill remained unmoved and continued walking forward.

“Little Black—I know you’re angry with me, aren’t you?” Gil stopped in his tracks and said.

Jill's gaze was fixed on the large tree.

There was a rope-like thing hanging from the branch, which looked like the tree where Ilya had been tied to.

The air was quiet, and Jill could hear, besides her own breathing, the faint sound of his own slightly rapid breathing.

"...Well then, let me tell you."

Jill let out a breath.

Little Black is very mischievous. Just now, Jill could sense that Little Black had already shown signs of being wronged and unhappy.

According to Jill's hearing, Blackie is right behind that big tree.

"Xiao Hei, for a person, the people who understand him/her best in this world, apart from friends and lovers, must be his/her family."

Irisviel sealed away your past self only so you could have a better life. She did this not to abandon you, but rather to express her love for you, whether it was Black or Illya; she loved them both deeply.

After a long silence, Xiao Hei's aggrieved voice finally rang out, "Then why... can't I be? Why do I have to be sealed away?"

"I also want a peaceful life, I also want to live like a normal person. I know my mother is doing this for my own good, so why... why must I be sealed away just because I have the memories of the Holy Grail War? Does having these memories mean I can't live like a normal girl?"

“…” Jill remained silent for a long time, then sighed, “Magicians are a bunch of madmen who will stop at nothing to reach the Root, and the magic world is a bloody and insane world. You are a huge sacrifice created by this world!”

"Do you know what Ilya said to me in that parallel world? I simply said, 'The Einzbern family has protected you so well,' but what she said to me was—"

"What everyone's protecting is just Einzbern's work, just the Lesser Grail!" — What a joke!

Jill's voice was filled with undisguised anger. "Having a personality, being able to laugh, being able to cry—what else is that but a human being! If you were a parent, would you want your child to live their entire life carrying the thought that 'I'm just a tool that was created'?!"

"But... isn't there a part of me in that memory too? This memory, which gave me a personality, isn't it just that I was abandoned?"

“Then aren’t you Ilya too?” Jill said. “Didn’t you say you were Ilya too?”

"But..." Little Black was about to say something when Jill interrupted him.

"There are no 'buts', right? If you were Ilya, Irisviel would be your family too, and you should also have that happiness. Right now, you're denying yourself! Denying that you can have that happiness!"

“If you see yourself as merely a fake, burdened by that painful memory, that sorrowful imposter…” Jill’s tone softened slightly, “then, Blackie, you are truly pathetic…”

"And think about it, Rin and Luvia's mission was to retrieve Class Cards. They knew Archer's Class Card was inside you, but they still kept it a secret for you. They were thinking of you too! How can everyone bear your current thoughts!"

"not like this……"

"Xiao Hei, if fate has given this memory a personality and allowed you to appear, then fate is naturally telling you that you have a reason to live and the right to live!"

If even you deny your own existence... then isn't it pathetic that you, the original Ilya, are like this, little black one?

“I know you were originally Ilya, but if you really become like that in the parallel world…” Gil opened his mouth, paused for a moment, and then spoke again, “If that Ilya hadn’t met me, then that Ilya would have died—no one would remember her anymore… I also know it’s hard for you, it’s hard to replenish your magic power just to exist in this world…”

“But now your real family, your real happiness that is within your grasp, is right before your eyes—” Jill sighed, “Do you want to truly grasp this happiness with your own hands, or do you want to give up the happiness that is within your grasp and abandon it?”

After a long silence, Xiao Hei spoke again, this time with a sob in her voice, "Do I really deserve this happiness...? I'm just... an imposter..."

"You're not... You have a personality, an independent body, and your own consciousness—doesn't that mean you're human? Of course, Xiao Hei is human, right? Aren't all humans allowed to pursue their own happiness?"

After Jill finished speaking, she waited quietly for Xiao Hei's reaction.

Xiao Hei sobbed as she stood up and emerged from behind the tree, her amber eyes still glistening with tears and her eye sockets red and swollen.

Jill breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, Blackie, you've finally come out."