This is the story of a boy named Shirou Emiya.
A boy who lost his entire family, including his biological parents, during the attack of a giant sea monster.
Even now, I can still clearly remember their faces.
My adoptive parents cried when they hugged me for the first time.
But they weren't tears of despair or sadness — they were happy.
Genuinely happy.
They looked so happy while tightly embracing me during that first meeting, as if they were holding a precious treasure. It almost made me think they were the ones being adopted, not me, even though both of us were alive and well.
After discovering that I was the only child in the orphanage whose parents and relatives were all dead, they seemed to silently thank someone. Then, in a tone that made even me, trapped in complete despair, feel as though I had been saved, they said they were glad I was alive.
They were smiling.
And yet, tears of sorrow still streamed down their faces at the same time.
And then, finally, I — who had become completely numb — also started crying in their arms.
After losing all my family...
I gained a family once again.
It's been about five years since I was adopted.
During that time, I met an absurdly handsome man named Arthur.
Seriously, he's ridiculously handsome.
Sometimes I look at him and think it should be illegal for someone to be born looking like that.
He also has some strange habits. For example, he's always wearing golden accessories, especially the earrings he apparently never takes off.
There was also a period where he kept staring at me silently.
It was like he was searching for something on my face.
At first, I thought I had done something wrong, or maybe I had food stuck in my teeth.
Or maybe my hair looked weird.
But no, he would just keep staring at me seriously for no apparent reason.
And then, in the end, he would always let out a deep sigh and say something like:
"That's just how life is…"
And then he would simply turn around and go do something else.
Honestly, I still have no idea what that means.
Honestly, I still don't know what he wants from me, but if I ever figure out what he needs, I'd gladly give it to him as a gift.
Since Kiritsugu and Maiya said Arthur was the hero who saved all of Fuyuki City, I guess he saved my life at some point too.
Although, to be honest...
He doesn't really look like a hero.
Heroes usually seem more serious, or maybe more majestic.
Arthur feels more like an eccentric, ridiculously rich womanizer who seems to be trying to turn his own house into some kind of club.
Then there are the two — yes, TWO — wives he has.
From what I heard, he has more, but I only know these two.
The first is a beautiful blonde woman named Artoria.
And the other is named Irisviel.
I heard that Irisviel used to be Kiritsugu's wife.
...My family is complicated.
Actually, "complicated" might be far too kind a word for the situation surrounding this strange family.
Even now, I still don't fully understand how this relationship works.
But apparently everyone is happy, so I guess it's fine.
Besides them, Arthur is also followed around by several girls who call him "big brother," despite him very clearly not being related to them.
According to him, they're his "family."
Honestly, I already gave up trying to understand his standards.
First there's Hisui. She's extremely quiet.
Like… terrifyingly quiet.
Sometimes she appears behind me out of nowhere without making a single sound.
One time I almost threw a frying pan at her out of pure reflex.
She simply tilted her head and calmly asked:
"Shirou, what are you doing?"
I almost died from shock.
Then there's Kohaku, who's the complete opposite of her sister. She's energetic.
Way too energetic.
Seriously, I'm scared of her. She smiles all the time.
ALL THE TIME.
Even when something explodes in the kitchen.
Especially when something explodes in the kitchen.
And for some reason, that happens with alarming frequency.
Then there's Fujino.
She's… difficult to explain.
She speaks very little and almost never shows emotion.
But at the same time, she's kind in a strange, quiet sort of way.
One time she calmly asked me if I wanted tea.
The next second, a spoon bent itself on the table.
I decided not to ask any questions.
My survival depends on making wise decisions sometimes.
Then comes Caren.
...I honestly don't know how to describe Caren.
She has a beautiful face, a gentle smile, a calm voice, and the personality of a tiny demon.
She enjoys teasing people.
Every time she smiles while looking directly into my eyes, I feel like something terrible is about to happen.
And usually, it does.
But somehow, in her own strange way, she also cares a lot about everyone.
Which generally involves insulting someone while helping them.
There's Sakura. Even though she's not energetic like Kohaku, she's a very fun girl.
Then there's Rin, her sister. Let's just say she's not exactly easy to get along with, but there's one relatively concerning thing about her.
She's obsessed with making Arthur her husband.
That usually causes arguments between all the other girls.
Personally, I don't understand how that guy manages to be so popular with children, especially with that group of girls.
Finally, there's Illya.
Arthur's adopted daughter.
Who is actually Kiritsugu and Irisviel's biological daughter.
...Yeah.
Like I said, this family is weird.
But Illya is amazing.
She's energetic, bossy, terrifying when she wants to be, and for some reason loves treating me like her personal servant.
According to Arthur, this "builds character."
I'm almost certain that's just some kind of abuse.
But since she's a cute girl and technically my older sister, I can deal with it.
Every now and then, they simply disappear for weeks and suddenly come back as if nothing happened.
One time I met another one of Arthur's sons, a little boy named Vergil. He had white hair very similar to Irisviel's.
So much so that I asked if he was Irisviel's son, but that wasn't the case. He was Arthur's first son with another woman.
Actually, from what I heard, he also has two more children with yet another woman.
At first, I thought that would cause some kind of family conflict, but apparently neither Artoria nor Iri cared about it.
I don't think I'll ever get used to this bizarre family.
Besides that... recently Arthur and Artoria's daughter was born.
A baby named Angelica.
And to be completely honest, she's terrifying.
Not in a bad way.
She's just way too cute.
Like, absurdly cute.
She literally looks like a female baby version of Arthur.
The same golden hair, the same eyes, and the same confident expression, despite being a baby.
Seriously, sometimes she looks at people as if she's judging the value of their existence.
And she still can't even walk.
The other day I saw Arthur holding her in his arms while she stared at Kiritsugu in complete silence.
Kiritsugu became uncomfortable.
A BABY MADE KIRITSUGU EMIYA FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE.
That should be impossible.
And even worse, everyone in the house acts as if this is normal.
"She takes after her father."
THAT'S WHAT ARTORIA SAID PROUDLY.
Honestly, I no longer know what's considered normal in this family.
(End of Chapter)