Shichen walked out of Kiritsugu Emiya's room with a faint smile on his face. He raised his left hand—on the back of it was a Command Seal identical to Kiritsugu's.
Just a crystalLeysrittation of mana. Transferring it was nothing for him.
Honestly, he'd been ready to use force if necessary, but it turned out that this so-called "hero of justice" was surprisingly easy to convince.
Faced with an uncertain future—and the reality Shichen laid out—Kiritsugu clearly didn't trust himself anymore. Even if he won the Holy Grail War, there was no guarantee he'd get his wish... or even win at all.
Shichen barely had to show off before Kiritsugu gave up.
As for whether he believed Shichen would save the world in his place? Maybe not entirely. But the fact that Shichen didn't strong-arm him into anything was reason enough to let it happen.
Also, Shichen figured out the current timeline: 1989.
Still a year away from the Fourth Holy Grail War. If he remembered right, this was right around the time that poor girl was supposed to meet her tragic end.
Good. He could still make it in time.
…
"Daddy, are you done?"
The moment he stepped into the courtyard, Illya spotted him and ran over, wrapping herself around his legs.
Shichen picked her up with a grin and walked toward Frieren, who was staring blankly into the distance. "Yup. All done."
"Then can we play now?"
"Of course."
"Yay!" Illya hugged his neck tight and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Huh?" Shichen blinked.
"W-Was that not okay?" Illya asked, looking up nervously.
"It's totally okay." He smiled at her.
"Then the other side too!" Illya kissed the other cheek with a cute chu~.
"Such a good girl~" Shichen couldn't help rubbing his cheek against her soft face.
"Hehe~"
When they reached Frieren, she was still spaced out, staring at the snowy landscape. Shichen followed her gaze—just a sea of white.
"What're you looking at?"
"Nothing really…" she muttered.
"Never seen snow before?"
"Of course I have."
"Not the kind of view you were expecting?"
"Something like that…"
"Don't worry, this place is kind of dull. I'll take you to the city soon."
"The city?" Frieren raised an eyebrow.
"You'll see. It'll blow your mind."
"I doubt that," she scoffed.
"We'll see about that."
"Daddy, are you going somewhere? You're not leaving again, right?" Illya asked quickly, panicking.
"Nope, just heading out for a bit."
"Then I'm coming too!"
"Uh... this isn't the kind of outing for kids, you know?"
"I don't care! Wherever Daddy goes, I go too!" Illya puffed her cheeks, clinging to him even tighter.
Shichen was no match for her puppy-dog eyes.
"Sigh... okay, okay. You win. I'll take you."
"Yay! I love you, Daddy!"
"Aww, I love you too, Illya."
Frieren rolled her eyes at the overly sweet exchange. "..."
Just then, a voice interrupted them.
Shichen turned to see Leysritt approaching with Sella right behind her.
"What's up, Leysritt?"
"Oh~ you recognized me just like that?" Leysritt said, surprised.
"Pretty easy, honestly," Shichen replied casually.
"Really?" She glanced at Sella, then at herself. "I don't see how we're that different…"
"Something you wanted?" he asked.
"Well... are you really Illya's dad?"
"As real as it gets," he nodded.
"Daddy is Daddy!" Illya chimed in proudly.
"Really? That's great." Leysritt smiled, clearly happy for her.
"Mmhmm!" Illya beamed.
"You hear that, Sella? This guy's the real deal."
"I heard you the first time," Sella muttered, shooting Leysritt a glare. Then she turned to Shichen and lowered her head. "Sorry about earlier."
"It's fine. You were just doing your job. I should be thanking you both—Illya's safe thanks to you two."
"Daddy, Leysritt and Sella always play with me and take care of me!"
"Is that so? You like them a lot?"
"Yup!" Illya nodded vigorously.
"Illya…" Sella's usually stiff expression actually softened for a moment.
"Shichen..." Irisviel walked over.
"Mommy~!"
"Hey, Iri. What's up?"
"I-Iri?" Irisviel froze for a second, caught off guard by the nickname.
"Something wrong with that?" Shichen teased with a wink.
"N-No, it's fine…"
She glanced at Illya waving happily at her, then looked away, blushing a little.
"Your rooms are ready—yours and Frieren's. Want to check them out?"
"Sure. C'mon, Frieren."
"…Okay." Frieren followed, as expressionless as ever.
Once they were gone, Leysritt and Sella stood in the courtyard, looking at each other.
"…Are we seriously getting a new man of the house?"
"Don't ask me."
Irisviel didn't know what Shichen and Frieren's relationship was, so she gave them separate rooms—comfy beds, fully furnished, more like someone moving in than just visiting.
Truth was, she hoped they would stay longer. Otherwise... Illya might get taken away again.
"Shichen, your hand…"
While they were looking over the rooms, Irisviel noticed the Command Seal glowing on the back of his hand.
"Yeah, Kiritsugu agreed."
"But how did you get a Command Seal? Don't tell me you... killed—?"
"No way. Kiritsugu's alive and well. I just transferred it over. It's a trick I can do."
"You can do that? That's nuts…"
"It's not as complicated as it sounds."
"…I see."
"Frieren, how's the room?" Shichen asked as she stared blankly at the bed.
"It's fine. I could just lay here all day."
"You sure you don't wanna come see the big city? Try something new?"
"You go first. Then come back and tell me."
"Nope. You're coming with me."
"…Ugh."
"Frieren?" Irisviel looked confused.
"She's a total homebody," Shichen sighed. "If she can stay in bed, she will."
"Homebody? But she looks about Illya's age…"
"Don't let that fool you. She's probably several decades—or centuries—old."
"You're joking." Irisviel covered her mouth, stunned.
"Not at all. Frieren's an elf."
"An... elf?! Elves exist in this world?"
"Well, even if they don't here, they do somewhere."
"Somewhere?"
"That's a story for another day."
"…Alright." Irisviel bit her lip, curiosity clearly killing her.
"Hey Iri, mind grabbing us some warm clothes? It's still freezing out."
"Of course! I'll get right on it!"
She turned to leave, but paused at the doorway.
"Oh—do you want to join us for lunch?"
"That'd be great."
"You're welcome anytime."
Lunch was impressive. The Einzbern family was loaded—no surprise, considering they were one of the founding families behind the Holy Grail system in Fuyuki.
Kiritsugu didn't show. He slipped out that afternoon without telling anyone.
He still had his own ideals to chase—saving the world his own way, still clinging to that "hero of justice" dream.
Later that day, Irisviel reported everything to the Einzbern family head—a white-haired old man Shichen didn't know.
Not that it mattered. The guy approved of Shichen, even promised to help him find a catalyst for summoning a Servant.
Shichen was looking forward to that, actually.
But for now, his top priority was bonding with Illya—making up for all the lost time and giving her the fatherly love she deserved.
Illya was way too adorable, and super clingy—Shichen couldn't get enough of her. They played all afternoon, right up until dinner. Frieren didn't seem to mind; she just laid in bed reading through the world's history.
After dinner, Illya asked to bathe with Shichen, but he gently turned her down. Mainly because she wanted to bring Irisviel in too.
And he... wasn't quite there with Irisviel yet.
Still, after her bath, Illya dragged him into Irisviel's room.
"Sh-Shichen? What are you doing here?" Irisviel sat on the bed in a white nightgown, her long pale hair flowing down. She instinctively pulled the blanket over herself.
"Illya, this isn't your room…" Shichen blinked.
"I sleep with Mommy!"
"…Then I'll just go back to mine—"
"Daddy, don't go!"
"But—"
"Illya," Irisviel said softly. "Let Shichen go, okay? He can't sleep here with us."
"Mom, what are you talking about? Of course Daddy should sleep here!"
"Uh…"
"Daddy?"
"That's a question for your mom." Shichen quickly passed the problem to Irisviel.
"Mommy?" Illya looked at her with those big pleading eyes.
~~~
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