I'm really not a top magician

There was no conversation between the two people who left the castle to retreat and walked in the forest of barrier.

Indeed, Maiya didn’t seem to be the type to enjoy small talk, but that complete silence was too much for Irisviel.

Will she respond if I speak first?

There's nothing to lose by giving it a try.

The two were now in a safe area isolated from the fighting and were not in a critical situation where they needed to remain silent.

In this case....

Just as she was about to muster up the courage to speak but didn't know what to say, Irisviel suppressed her words again.

There are so many things I want to ask, like a mountain.

Her encounter with Kiritsugu, the memories of the time they spent together, and Kiritsugu's character in Maiya's eyes...

Each question concerned her, but Irisviel hesitated no matter which one she asked.

What she didn't know about Emiya Kiritsugu, Kuu Maiya knew.

If the answer Maiya utters is shocking enough to destroy the image of her husband in Irisviel's heart...

The silence continued as he went around in that annoying circle.

Despite the obviously awkward atmosphere, Maiya continued walking silently, completely unconcerned.

I'm really not good at dealing with this woman.

As I lowered my head and sighed deeply, an alarm flashed through Irisviel's mind.

“....!?”

Maiya looked at Irisviel who suddenly stiffened and stopped with a surprised look on her face.

"What's the matter, ma'am?"

"There are new invaders. They're just ahead of us. We'll meet them if we keep going this way."

This was something that was expected when it came true, and Hisau Maiya simply nodded calmly and suggested:

"Then let's go around in a roundabout way. It will be very safe if we go northward from here."

Irisviel, lost in thought as she used her clairvoyance magic to examine the intruder, did not respond immediately.

She was wearing a British-style school uniform, had a tall and straight figure, and had long bangs covering her forehead, but she looked like a good girl.

However, Irisviel had also seen this person in the information collected by Emiya Kiritsugu.

She seems to be the follower of Sajo Aika - Lisa Portman

Regarding this girl's background, Irisviel didn't know much at first.

However, after Emiya Kiritsugu confirmed his true and false master plan, in order to make herself behave more like a master on the battlefield, Irisviel also spent a long time carefully studying the information Kiritsugu had collected.

After seeing the information about this child, Irisviel also sighed.

When Kiritsugu was still the cold-blooded magician killer, he received a mission to eliminate the Portman family, a powerful family in Northern Europe.

The Portman family excels at studying the relationship between the human body and the soul, so in order to explore the mysteries, they inevitably conducted some human experiments. However, according to later reports, all the people who were experimented with were people who had signed an agreement with the Portman family in advance, and those people were all patients with terminal illnesses and were about to die.

The Magic Association was also aware of this experimental method, but the Portman family's procedures were very standardized, so there was no criticism from the association.

For example, the Portman family's human experiments are more similar to the donation of organs and bodies by the deceased in modern medical care.

However, such an investigation report was not obtained until several years after the incident. At that time, the report Kiritsugu Emiya received was only about human experiments.

So, according to Kiritsugu Emiya's habit, he assassinated the entire family at the wedding of the eldest son of the Portman family, including many well-known magicians who came to attend the banquet.

This assassination also made the name of the magician killer Emiya Kiritsugu resound throughout the entire magic circle.

However, afterwards, Emiya Kiritsugu also entered the Einzbern family for the Holy Grail War.

The youngest daughter was the only one left in the Portman family.

This is Lisa Portman's story.

After learning about this story, Irisviel even felt pity for the child.

If Kiritsugu had done more research at that time to confirm the authenticity of the information,

This child wouldn't have such a miserable life.

But sympathy is just sympathy.

After learning that Lisa Portman had come to participate in the Holy Grail War and that Kiritsugu had been attacked by a puppet yesterday,

Irisviel understood instantly.

This man is here for revenge!

Although Irisviel sympathized with her situation, she was not so enthusiastic as to donate her husband to her.

And this Holy Grail War is also very important.

Lisa Portman, who came to claim his life, would undoubtedly become an obstacle for Kiritsugu Emiya.

This was the only thing Irisviel needed to do.

“The one who comes is Lisa Portman.” As soon as Irisviel finished speaking, she noticed the change in Maiya’s expression.

A woman whose face was always as expressionless as ice, unable to reveal any emotion—Irisviel had originally thought that Maiya must be as cold as ice in her heart.

But Maiya's expression was a mixture of anxiety and anger, and what could be seen there was a sense of crisis that was completely different from terror.

What she feared was not the enemy, but the meaning represented by the appearance of Lisa Portman, who belonged to the Sajo Aika camp.

When she noticed this, Irisviel realized it. Although it was abrupt, Irisviel understood the inner thoughts of this woman, Kuu Maiya.

"Ms. Maiya, the order you received from Kiritsugu was to ensure my safety, right?"

“Yes, but…”

"But what? You're thinking about not letting Sajo Aika's men attack Kiritsugu?"

After Irisviel pointed out her thoughts with a slightly evil smile. Maiya was speechless for a moment.

"Ma'am, you?"

"It's a coincidence. I think the same as you."

Sand strip love song.

This opponent is the biggest threat to Kiritsugu, and Maiya's reaction to hearing the name alone can tell.

Although Irisviel is an artificial human, she can fall in love, develop human emotions, and even become a mother.

As a result, she gained a super sense that humans possess, which is a woman's intuition, which is incomprehensible to dolls.

"We'll just have to stop Lisa Portman here, okay, Ms. Maiya?"

After a moment of hesitation, Maiya nodded with a strange expression.

"I'm so sorry. But please be prepared, ma'am."

"It's okay. Don't worry about me. You perform your duties. It's not an order from Kiritsugu, but what you think is necessary."

"Yes."

In retrospect, maybe I had already noticed it. That’s why I’m afraid to confirm.

Now Irisviel understood. The reason she avoided Maiya wasn't because she was afraid of her, but because she was afraid of knowing her inner thoughts.

He was afraid of the fact that he was not the only woman who cared about Emiya Kiritsugu.

Irisviel couldn't help but laugh in the excitement of approaching a fight to the death. Maiya took out the Calico submachine gun and glanced at her with a surprised expression.

"What's wrong?"

“The human heart is truly incredible.” Irisviel smirked.

The fact that there was someone other than herself who was so determined that Kiritsugu could risk his life on her.

It should have been such a worrying answer.

Now that fact feels incredibly reliable.

And at this moment, the two women stood on the same front!

Chapter 205 Lisa is attacked

For Aika Sajo, it wasn't difficult to guess the next course of action the Einzbern camp would choose.

If other masters target him and he also points his spearhead at Saber, then Teacher Kenneth will definitely take the opportunity to fish in troubled waters and attack Kiritsugu Emiya.

In order to prevent his wife from getting hurt,

Emiya Kiritsugu would definitely choose to let Hisau Maiya take Irisviel and leave in the direction where Saber was fighting.

"Just as Sajo-san initially speculated, the eastern part of the forest has become a battlefield."

Lisa muttered. She had been waiting for the battle to begin in the west of the forest as instructed by Aika Sajo from the beginning.

Aika Sajo specially arranged Lisa here,

However, this step was not intended to ambush Irisviel as she was about to leave.

It was to guard against Assassin Emiya who had just appeared not long ago.

According to Sajo Aika's judgment, Emiya Assassin, as a righteous partner, should have the same goal as hers, which is to stop the Holy Grail War.

If we continue to judge along this line of thought, coupled with Emiya Assassin's specific thinking mode,

His goal was very clear.

That was Irisviel, who held the Lesser Holy Grail.

In this case, considering the distribution of combat power, sending Mashu from the beginning should be a better choice.

As the Shield Servant, she can't be said to have defeated the assassin, but at least she can play a good protective role at critical moments.

However, Aika Sajo considered that if she sent a Heroic Spirit there, what if she failed to reach a reconciliation with Irisviel and instead caused a greater conflict? If a fight really broke out, wouldn't that be exactly what Assassin Emiya wanted?

So after thinking about this, Aika Sajo finally let Lisa go over and used a large number of automatic attack dolls to protect Irisviel in secret.

As long as the person does not lose his head in the end, Aika Sajo can use the Avalon in his body to save her.

"However, if Sajo-senpai knew that Emiya Kiritsugu was my enemy, she wouldn't dare to use me."

Lisa muttered as she thought about what was going to happen next in her mind.

Judging from the flares released by Aika Sajo inside the castle, Irisviel had already evacuated the castle.

At this point, of course, we should use the eastern battlefield where the Servant is fighting as our retreat route. If we do that, we might run into Irisviel.

And the assassin Assassin Emiya who is hiding in the dark

Just in case, Lisa started preparing for war in advance.

However, when Lisa thought of her current situation, she couldn't help but laugh at herself on her originally stern face.

"Emiya Kiritsugu is clearly my enemy, but now I want to protect his wife for the sake of the greater good?"

That's really funny.

As for Kiritsugu Emiya, Lisa couldn't help but shoot him dead.

But to be honest, Lisa didn't have that much hatred towards his wife, Irisviel.

After all, what happened back then had nothing to do with her.

But now, when Lisa thought about protecting Kiritsugu Emiya's wife, she felt a little unhappy.

Sometimes an idea would pop up in her mind: Why not kill his wife and let him feel the pain she had suffered for so many years?

However, when he thought about the fact that Irisviel was innocent, and Aika Sajo's earnest reminder that this person was the key to this Holy Grail War and must be protected.

Maybe the latter factor is more important.

This allows Lisa to always turn back from the brink of losing control.

"At least let me deal with you properly then, Emiya Assassin..."

Just as she was thinking this,

Because of the full precautions taken in advance, the body remained tense from the beginning and responded to the murderous intent very quickly.

While sighing, Lisa mobilized a puppet to stand behind her to block the bullets.