Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"I'm fine, Sapphire."

Although I really want to believe that you're alright, Miyu-sama, you don't look like you're okay no matter how you look at it. The most obvious thing is that you've become more talkative...

Sapphire could already see the intense disgust and anger deep in the black-haired girl's pupils.

"Yes, but-"

"But I can't let anyone else go through what I went through."

Then, Miyu said the following words without any expression.

"Don't worry, I will succeed."

Next, Meiyou demonstrated her proficiency in mathematics, art, cooking, and sports in various classes, giving her peers the illusion that she was a perfect superhero.

Soon, it was time for the last class, which was also physical education class. As Ilya changed her clothes, Kurihara Suzuka waved to her and whispered, "Ilya, Ilya, the transfer student is stealing the spotlight from us. I hope we can at least beat her in sports."

"Ilya's two legs are our last hope."

Faced with her friends' requests, Ilya could only nod helplessly.

"I'll try my best..."

"If the transfer student is too outstanding and Ivia gets attracted to him, then all your efforts over the past few months will have been in vain."

"Such a thing is absolutely impossible."

Ilya blinked at Ryuko's words, showing no sign of surprise. She spoke slowly and deliberately, as if trying to expel all the air from her lungs, before leaving the classroom.

"Wow...you're so confident, Ilya."

"Is this the pressure of the number one position? Could it be that it's developing rapidly in ways we're unaware of?"

"It's all thanks to us delaying Ms. Karen! Even though it's only for a dozen seconds, it's actually quite significant..."

After a while, with the sound of gunshots from Taiga, who was the physical education teacher, the students started running in pairs. Ilya and Miyu ended up as a pair.

"Ilya, do your best!"

"Come on!"

"Keep your arms tight and punch like you're twisting a screw!"

Listening to her friends' voices, Ilya took a deep breath, feeling a little nervous.

Perhaps he realized that Miyu was not only better than him in combat, but also so powerful in many other aspects that he was no match for her. However, even so, he could not allow her to continue bullying Ivia in the future. This was not a matter of ability, but something that was completely unacceptable!

Therefore, before the race started, Ilya checked on Miyu's appearance, and she remained expressionless, as if she didn't care about anything.

A gentle breeze swept by.

The black-haired girl brushed the hair away from her cheek, momentarily revealing a lonely expression, but quickly regained her composure.

"I'm doing this for your own good."

Miyu sensed that Illya was looking at her, so she spoke up.

"I will absolutely not lose to you!"

"..."

Miyu paused for a moment before continuing, "I understand."

The two adjusted their posture, bent their knees slightly, and prepared to exert force, their eyes fixed on the finish line ahead.

"On your marks—get set!"

As Dahe shouted, the whistle blew across the playground, and the two girls shot off like arrows.

Ilya exerted all her strength, leaning forward and her legs working at high speed like an engine, but this also caused her breathing to become more and more rapid, and sweat to begin to bead on her forehead, glistening in the sunlight.

However, despite Ilya's full strength, she was ultimately overtaken by Miyu, who possessed overwhelming power. She could only follow closely behind, and when she crossed the finish line, she used up almost all her strength, her legs went weak, and she almost fell to the ground.

Ilya stopped, put her hands on her knees, gasped for breath, and looked on incredulously.

"No, it's impossible..."

She couldn't believe that her usually proud athletic abilities had been suppressed, and she even felt like crying.

"Would you like a drink? It's a thank-you gift from this morning."

Ilya was surprised to be handed a bottle of water by Ivia as soon as she looked up. She exclaimed "Eh~" in surprise, her cheeks slightly flushed, and she drank it all in one gulp. After about ten seconds, she put down the bottle, wiped her mouth, and asked seemingly casually:

Where did you go just now?

Earlier, when Ilya was about to go for a run, she looked around and realized that Ivia was not there. She wondered where Ivia had gone.

"I was thinking of returning the gift, and since you always come in first place in the race, Illya, I felt really tired, so I went and bought a bottle of water for you."

"I failed to run this time..."

Upon hearing this, Ilya's expression became somewhat uneasy.

"There's always next time. Maybe next time it will be okay."

"That's so perfunctory... but since you put it that way, I guess I'll just have to believe you for now."

The uneasy girl's expression softened slightly.

In response to Ivia's trust in me, I must also fulfill my responsibilities as a friend.

As Illya watched the black-haired girl silently leave after witnessing this scene and return to the classroom, her resolve was strengthened once again.

……

After school in the afternoon, after dealing with the love letter with Ilya, Ivia walked a distance from the school gate and then parted ways with her. She headed towards the small park where she lived. The bustling city gradually became dull.

The once-grand streets gradually transformed into quaint electronics and accessory shops, eventually becoming deserted streets.

After standing there for a while, he turned around and asked the 'empty' street.

"Sakuzuki Miyu, even though you've already made that wish, since you're here, let's meet you. I'll stay right behind you."

"No, call me by that name."

The black-haired girl slowly emerged from the corner and responded in an extremely indifferent tone.

This gave Sapphire, who was in the backpack, the illusion that Miyu might pull out her power and use it directly at any moment.

However, the next second, before Ivia could answer, Miyu asked the first question:

"When do you plan to abandon Illyasviel von Einzbern, one year and eight months from now?"

"Nope."

Standing in front of Miyu, Ivia was neither bothered nor troubled by this, as if she were just talking about something ordinary.

His words surprised the expressionless girl slightly.

"Although this is also Fuyuki, the world itself is very different. However, the climate is the same in all four seasons, so when you think about it, there really isn't much difference."

The silver-haired boy looked up at the sky as seen between the buildings.

It is the twilight that is present in Fuyuki and in Fuyuki in a parallel world.

"I never expected you to have learned to lie."

"No, I wasn't lying."

Of course, Miyu knew that this person had not lied, and that it was just her own unconscious words.

Why.

Is she better than me? I can't tell at all.

why.

Thinking of this, a flame of jealousy ignited in Miyu's heart.

Of course, she had already made a wish 'never to see this person again,' so her jealousy was only a tiny bit.

perhaps.

I just hope there won't be anyone like me.

The black-haired girl thought to herself.

"I thought Miyu would be my second chance, but it seems that's not the case now."

Ivia glanced at Miyu thoughtfully. "But it doesn't matter. Even if it's not the Third Guild, it doesn't matter. As long as we're still here when everything is over, that's enough."

Ivia's words were somewhat inexplicable, but they were irrelevant to Miyu at this point.

"I will never do that again."

Miyu's voice grew increasingly cold.

"...If she is beyond saving, I'll wait and see her expression on that day."

As she spoke, she regained her expressionless demeanor, quickly turned around, and left.

Ivia smiled as she watched Meiyou's departing figure.

Oh, so that's what it is. It's too ordinary, so he couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Unable to attend the first meeting of Shengmiao, I was still able to hear the Dharma at the second meeting... It seems that the second meeting should still be 'Ilya'."

……

After parting ways with Ivia, Ilya walked home in the sunset-reddened sun, constantly thinking about the day's events.

"Although I was comforted, that guy's oppressive aura is still too strong..."

As Ilya walked home with her schoolbag on her back, she muttered to herself, and then she saw Miyu standing in front of her, looking down with an imposing aura.

However, she sensed that something was wrong, so she quickened her pace. But after only a few steps, Miyu raised her head. Although her face was still expressionless, she looked like she was in some discomfort.

"that……"

"fraud."

A heavy blow knocked Ilya to the spot.

Miyu's words were accompanied by a deep sense of disgust and sadness deep within her eyes.

"Liars are the worst."

……

Afterwards, back home, Ilya looked at the mansion across the street that had been completed that day from the second floor and fell into deep thought.

Why did Miyu make that face...? It looked like she'd been bullied. Shouldn't she be the one bullying? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding something?

"That's strange, I actually got home with Ilya."

“…Ah, indeed.”

Hearing Ruby say that, Ilya thought about it. She and Ivia dealt with love letters every day after school, which took up some time. So why would Miyu be delayed?

"Maybe they're secretly following you and Ivia, since the timing just happens."

"what!"

Ilya jumped to her feet, a look of horror on her face. "If that's the case, could it be... could it be—"

Miyu is planning to find a private moment to bully Ivia?! Is that why Ruby said that? Probably not, but the thought of such a calm girl bullying someone is really quite a contrast, especially since she's a magical girl…

"I always feel like Ilya has some secrets I don't know about."

Ruby shook it. "But it's okay if you don't tell me. It's normal for girls to have their own little secrets. But I'll let little Ilya tell me in her sleep when I get the chance!"

"Be a little more serious, Ruby."

After complaining about the ruby, Ilya looked out the window again, "Even if we didn't see it just now, we'll see it tonight, right?"

Rin Tohsaka has already written to Illya asking her to come to the park under the bridge at midnight tonight for the second card collection.

However, when Ilya looked out the window, she heard a faint sound of footsteps.

It sounded just like Ilya's own footsteps.

...is it me?

In an instant, an impression that Ilya had never had before arose in her mind.

This ambiguous and vague feeling surfaced in the girl's mind, startling her. However, when she turned around, only Ruby was there, and then she heard footsteps behind her. Ilya instinctively turned her head back to the window—

In an instant, my whole body went cold, as if my physical body had ceased to exist.