Takatsuki and Durandal had known each other for nine years. Was it love at first sight?
Perhaps not, or perhaps it was.
Now, Takatsuki couldn't recall the events from that time.
But what does the past matter? What's more important is cherishing the person in front of him.
After experiencing the current happiness, Takatsuki didn't want to let go.
It was like this when he was a mercenary, and it is still like this now.
Living in the present was something Takatsuki had always adhered to.
As a mercenary, he never knew when he might lose his life, so he had to live in the present.
Now, although he would look forward to the future, he cherished the present happiness even more.
A happy family, a stable job—that was enough.
This was the happiness pursued by the existence named Takatsuki.
Stand ability? Defeating villains and saving the world?
These fantasies, they are fantasies because they must be fantasies.
Takatsuki would think it was cool, but if he were to abandon his current happiness to experience the things in his comics, he would refuse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who move forward even without pressure, and those who stop moving forward without pressure.
Takatsuki belonged to the latter.
Since he had already achieved the happiness he yearned for, why bother pursuing illusory things?
Takatsuki had thought this more than once when drawing the Holy Grail War.
Although he could understand these characters born from his pen, he could not accept them.
But precisely because it was imperfect, the story tended towards perfection.
Takatsuki still remembered when his former mercenary friend, Kiritsugu, contacted him and asked what wish he would make if the Holy Grail War in his manga existed and he had a chance to make a wish.
Takatsuki's answer was…
"May this moment last forever…"
Looking at his laughing wife and daughter in the amusement park, Takatsuki still came to the same answer.
"Daddy, Daddy, I want ice cream."
How could Takatsuki, as a father, not fulfill his adorable daughter's request?
Of course, running errands was the father's job.
While waiting in line at the amusement park's ice cream cart, Takatsuki suddenly subconsciously looked in one direction.
"?"
Beside the flowerbed stood a little girl about the same age as Ai.
A special little girl.
She stood there, feeling out of place with the surrounding world and people.
Of course, this sense of being out of place wasn't because of her completely different white hair and red eyes, nor because of the somewhat overly long and ornate dress she wore.
It was a strange, subtle feeling.
Takatsuki didn't know if it was his illusion, but he felt that the little girl had been watching him.
Was she looking at the ice cream cart?
Takatsuki glanced in the direction of the ice cream cart, and when he looked back, the other person had disappeared.
"????"
Although strange, the matter of this little girl did not draw too much of Takatsuki's attention.
Nothing else happened after that.
The family of three happily played all day at the amusement park, resting when tired and eating when hungry.
The only unpleasant thing that happened during that time was Himeko, the editor, calling to rush the manuscript.
But as Takatsuki said, he simply ignored it.
What a joke!
Could drawing manuscripts be more important than spending time with my wife and daughter?!
In the evening, after watching a fireworks display together, the family began their journey home.
Unlike ordinary children, Ai was full of energy.
It was as if she had inherited the physiques of Takatsuki and Durandal.
Most children would be tired and asleep after a day of playing like that.
But Ai showed no signs of sleepiness even on the way back.
When the three returned to their doorstep, Takatsuki saw a familiar figure.
White hair and red eyes, wearing a red and white dress matching her hair and pupils.
"This…"
Before Takatsuki could say anything, he saw his daughter let go of his hand and run to the other person's side: "An-chan, why did you come back alone?"
"An-chan?"
Durandal was also a little confused.
But Ai explained to them: "Mom and Dad, this is my younger sister, An-chan. She was at godmother's house playing earlier, did you forget?"
Sister? We have this girl…
Before Takatsuki could react, a memory suddenly emerged…
An, Ai's twin sister, whose name originally meant peace of mind.
It turned out that during registration, the names were registered in reverse, so the sisters simply used their names in reverse.
"An-chan, why did you come back alone? Didn't Irisviel send you back?"
Durandal also seemed to "remember" this and went to greet her.
Compared to the lively Ai, An's personality was much colder.
"Alright, alright, it's good that you're back. Don't Stand at the door anymore."
Opening the door, Takatsuki led his family back home.
Takatsuki's house had three bedrooms; Ai and An shared one bedroom, while Takatsuki and Durandal slept in separate rooms.
As soon as they got home, Ai pulled An into the room and started chattering away.
However, An remained expressionless, simply nodding or shaking her head, mostly just listening quietly.
"Oh, that child, An-chan."
Durandal looked at the children's bedroom with some concern: "She barely talks now; how will she make friends later?"
"It's fine, they'll make new friends once they start school."
Takatsuki threw himself onto the sofa and turned on the TV with the remote: "I'm a bit tired after playing all day, but Ai still has so much energy."
"You haven't exercised in too long, I guess. I'm going to take a shower first."
Watching Durandal walk into the bathroom, Takatsuki looked at his arm and clenched his fist.
"Haven't exercised in too long? When was the last time I exercised…"
He frowned and thought for a long time without an answer: "When was that?"
Even after Durandal finished her shower, Takatsuki still hadn't figured it out. Of course, it might also be because his mind was completely elsewhere.
Looking at Durandal, who emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel, her makeup completely removed, and water still dripping from her golden hair, she looked like a lotus rising from the water. Although without makeup, she seemed even more captivating than during the day.
Gulp…
A gulping sound emerged from his throat. Durandal, holding the hairdryer, looked at Takatsuki strangely: "What are you looking at me for? Aren't you going to shower?"
"Oh, oh, okay, I'm going now."
He rushed into the bathroom, slightly flustered. Takatsuki didn't know why he was so flustered.
Logically, he should be seeing this sight every day.
If life were only like the first encounter?
He thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out, finally attributing it to the fact that he still loved her too much.
And when Takatsuki had finished showering and changed into his pajamas, he greeted Durandal, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV, and was about to go to his room to rest when Ai suddenly popped out.
"Mom and Dad, why do you sleep in separate rooms every day?"