"Dad! Dad! Wake up!"
It was still morning when Shichen was jolted awake by Illya's voice. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was her cute, delicate little face. Just that alone was enough to put him in a good mood for the whole day.
He sat up, wrapped an arm around her back, and kissed her soft cheek. "Morning, Illya."
"Morning, Daddy!" she giggled, leaning down to kiss him back.
There was something about a little girl's kiss that woke him up instantly. In a heartbeat, he was fully awake, holding her close and rubbing his cheek against hers in a doting tone. "So, why are you up so early?"
"It's not early! Morning's almost over!" Illya sat sweetly in his lap, arms around his neck.
"It's noon already?"
"Not yet—it's still morning."
"Oh? Then you must be hungry?"
"Well… a little. But that's not why I woke you up."
"Then what is it? Bad dream?"
"Of course not! How could I have nightmares with Daddy here?" she said proudly, tilting her head back.
"So I'm that amazing, huh?"
"Daddy's the best!"
"Alright then, why wake me up?"
"Daddy—who's she?" Illya pointed to the other side of him.
"Huh?"
Shichen turned his head and only then noticed the girl sleeping peacefully beside him—a girl with long, snowy–white hair.
She wasn't wearing anything… well, except for a pair of black thigh–high socks. Her skin was pale and almost luminous, and the rest of her… well, it was the kind of sight that could turn any man into an animal.
She wasn't a stranger, either—there was only one girl he knew who'd sleep wearing nothing but thigh–highs: Est.
"Who's she?" Illya asked again.
"Oh, her name's Est."
"Est? Weird name. What's she to you?" Illya eyed her curiously.
"She's… kind of like my little sister."
"Another sister? Definitely not a real one."
"You're too smart for your own good." He tapped her forehead.
"Hehe~ So, Daddy, why does Est sleep like that?"
"Mm… she just doesn't like wearing clothes to bed."
"Oh… then why keep the socks on?"
"She's shy about people seeing her feet."
"So it's like us wearing underwear?"
"That's… close enough, I guess."
"I get it. But don't worry, Daddy—even if I didn't wear underwear, I wouldn't mind you seeing."
"Underwear?" Sakura's voice suddenly chimed in.
Shichen looked over to see her sitting up, groggily rubbing her eyes.
"Did we wake you?"
"No… I'd already woken up once," she murmured.
"When?" He set Illya on one leg and pulled Sakura onto the other.
"Before you two even got up," she said, resting her head on his chest with a faint smile.
"That early?"
"Mm. Just went to the bathroom."
"I see…"
"Onii-chan, what were you and Illya talking about with underwear?"
"Me and Daddy were talking about wearing underwear to cover up," Illya answered.
"Still talking about that—" Shichen chuckled.
"I see. Then do you want mine, Onii-chan?"
"…Why would I want it?"
"Don't guys like girls' underwear? I heard some smell it, wear it on their heads, or even put it on."
"…Seriously?" Illya blinked in surprise.
"Where'd you hear that?" Shichen asked.
"My sister told me. Is it true?" Sakura tilted her head innocently.
"Well… not necessarily. Not all guys are like that."
"Then are you?"
"Of course not!" he said firmly.
"Really, Daddy? I was even thinking of taking mine off for you," Illya said, a little disappointed.
"You really don't want mine?" Sakura pressed.
"Definitely not! And this isn't even what we were talking about," Shichen said quickly.
"It's not?"
"Nope. Sakura, look over here." Illya pulled her hand toward Est.
"Wow… she's beautiful." One glance and Sakura couldn't help but sigh.
"Her name's Est. She's Daddy's sister," Illya said.
"Then she's my sister too?" Sakura didn't sound jealous at all.
"She's not his real sister. Let's just say she's separate."
"Is that okay?" Sakura looked to Shichen.
"Sure. You can be friends."
"Great! Another friend—and her hair's the same color as mine," Illya said excitedly. Before Shichen came into her life, she hadn't had a single friend her age, stuck in that castle all the time.
"Maybe I should dye my hair white too," Sakura mused.
"Yes! Yes!" Illya nodded quickly.
"Better not," Shichen said flatly.
"Why not?"
"Natural's best. Your black hair's cute, and it makes you different from them."
"You're right. I should stand out."
"Aww… you're no fun…"
"What's going on so early?" At that moment, Irisviel finally stirred awake.
They'd been up late the night before—very late—so she'd slept deeply.
"Mom, you're awake! You slept in, lazybones," Illya teased.
"I was up too late last night…" Irisviel sat up, glancing at Shichen. Meeting his eyes, her cheeks warmed as last night's memories came flooding back.
"Mom, why's your face red?"
"Huh? Oh… maybe it's just warm."
"Really? Then why not sleep naked like Est?"
"What? No way! And who's Est?"
"She's right here." Illya shifted so Irisviel could see.
"…Who's she?"
"Mmm… so noisy in the morning…" Est slowly sat up, silver hair falling forward but covering nothing.
"Good morning, Onii-chan."
Ten minutes later, everyone was gathered in the living room, even Frieren and Saber.
Shichen had planned to introduce Est to everyone at once, but as soon as Saber stepped out, Est ran to her and hugged her tightly.
"Artoria! It's been so long!"
"Huh?"
Saber froze, then glanced at Shichen in confusion.
"Saber, her name's Est—she's a spirit," Shichen explained.
"A spirit?" Saber studied her and recognized the same aura she'd once felt from the Lady of the Lake.
"Artoria," Est said again, rubbing her head against Saber's stomach.
"…Est, how do you know my name?" Saber asked. She hadn't told anyone here.
"Of course I know your name," Est replied as if it were obvious.
"Did you tell her?" Saber looked at Shichen.
"Of course not," he said. He'd given up asking Est questions long ago—she never answered. But this only confirmed his suspicion.
"Frieren, don't you have any thoughts?" Shichen asked the still–sleepy Spirit.
"Hm? About what?" she mumbled.
"Est's a Spirit. Don't you want to be friends?"
"Spirit?"
(Bleam: Elf and Spirit / 精灵 can be translated as spirit, fairy, elf, sprite, or genie, depending on the context.)
Frieren finally opened her eyes and looked at Est, but frowned.
"She's… not like me."
"Of course not. You're different kinds of elves/spirits." In truth, Est was more like a sword spirit, while Frieren was a true elf.
"I see." Frieren nodded. She'd read enough fantasy manga lately to understand right away.
"Frieren?" Est suddenly turned toward her, also frowning.
"Hi," Frieren said, lifting a hand in greeting.
But Est's next words caught Shichen off guard.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Frieren…"
"That's impossible. I don't know you," Est said, disbelief in her voice.
~~~
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