Durandal likes cats, or rather, she has very low resistance to cute things.
Takatsuki had forgotten how he knew about this.
But it proved that he hadn't remembered incorrectly.
Most of the cats in the cat cafe were very well-behaved, and more importantly, almost none of them were afraid of people.
This cat cafe was quite a large establishment, and almost all common types of cats could be found here.
Durandal sat on the sofa, petting a Ragdoll cat.
Whether it was its nature or Durandal's embrace was too comfortable, Takatsuki could clearly see the Ragdoll cat close its eyes and start purring.
Ai, on the other hand, reached out to stroke a Persian cat lying on the table in front of her. The cat remained motionless, allowing Ai's small hands to stroke it all over, occasionally letting out a yawn.
And An?
She was staring at a Maine Coon cat lying in front of her. One side was silent, and the other just watched it.
It could be said to be a perfect match.
Takatsuki himself had no great interest in cats. If he were alone, he probably wouldn't enter a cat cafe in this lifetime.
In the eyes of cat lovers who don't own cats themselves, cat cafes have a strong appeal.
At least Durandal was engrossed in petting cats for a long time, and even bought many small treats to feed the numerous cats, enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by them.
This cat cafe closed at 9 PM, and they actually stayed until 8:30 PM.
They even had dinner at the cat cafe.
Although he couldn't understand why it was so appealing, as long as Durandal was happy, that was all that mattered.
And his two daughters were also very well-behaved, unlike other mischievous children their age.
Ai was relatively lively, but An stared at that Maine Coon cat until it couldn't take it anymore and left, without moving at all.
While being quiet was good, this was a bit too quiet…
When they left the cat cafe, Takatsuki also bought some souvenirs. Although they could be bought elsewhere and cheaper, there was no need.
"Daddy, Daddy, can we get a cat?"
On the way back, Ai suddenly said, playing with the cat pendant on her wrist.
As soon as Ai finished speaking, Durandal also looked over.
Clearly, she was also very tempted, but for some reason, she hadn't said anything.
"Cough, cough, owning a cat is very troublesome. You need to prepare cat litter, cat food needs to be carefully formulated, and you have to clean frequently and play with it."
"I'll do all of that!"
Durandal suddenly spoke up just after he finished.
"…" Takatsuki was silent for a moment. "Alright then, later we'll go to a pet shop to pick one…"
"Daddy, it's not that much trouble, isn't there a cat right there?"
Ai suddenly pointed to a dark corner.
Under the streetlamp beside the unavoidable path home, there was a small box, and inside the box lay a cat. It was entirely white, with a tuft of black fur on its head, looking very young, as if it had just been abandoned after birth.
Its four small paws were also black, like it was wearing black gloves.
"Then…" Looking at Durandal's hopeful eyes, Takatsuki agreed to adopt the abandoned kitten.
When Durandal picked up the kitten, Takatsuki saw that it also had a tuft of black fur on its chest, forming a heart-shaped pattern.
"…"
And so, a new family member arrived at Takatsuki's home.
Black and white…
Originally, Takatsuki intended to name it Shiro, but then he was "beaten" by Durandal.
Ultimately, his daughter "respected" Takatsuki's suggestion and named it Sumiyuki.
Sumi means ink black, and Yuki means snow.
It just so happened to match the colors on Sumiyuki's body.
Durandal's enthusiasm for raising a cat was not a fleeting three-minute wonder like a child's; she had abundant passion and initiative.
She even rejected Takatsuki's suggestion to buy ready-made cat food, choosing instead to research how to make cat food at home herself.
Sumiyuki was very well-behaved, just like his daughters, and basically didn't require too much effort from the family.
Time passed quickly, like a white steed flashing past a crack.
In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed.
However, the daily life of the family hadn't changed much, except that Takatsuki's new work was published and his old work was animated, adding another IP to this world.
Although it influenced the childhoods of some people, it didn't have much impact on this small family.
And time quickly arrived at Ai and An's birthday.
The two children's birthday party was not just a four-person affair at home.
Or rather, they wanted it to be, but others wouldn't allow it.
Among them, the most emotional was An's godmother, Irisviel.
Because An and Irisviel looked so much alike, Takatsuki had once even suspected whether he and Durandal had taken the wrong child.
Ultimately, it was determined to be just fate, and it was for this reason that Irisviel became An's godmother.
As for how he had black hair and Durandal had blonde hair, yet they had a white-haired child, Takatsuki could only attribute it to atavism.
That's right, atavism, because Durandal's parents both had white hair. If there was a genetic mutation, it would be Durandal's genes that mutated.
"But, I always feel like something's strange, don't I?"
Takatsuki recalled a few months ago when Siegfried and Cecilia, Durandal's parents, who had been traveling everywhere, suddenly visited, and he had always felt a strong sense of incongruity.
"Takatsuki, what are you thinking about? The banquet is about to begin."
Durandal called Takatsuki back from his reverie.
"Oh, oh, I'm coming."
For Ai and An's birthday banquet, they invited almost everyone with whom the family had a good relationship.
This included Durandal's parents, An's godmother, Takatsuki's old friends, Welt, and Himeko; they were all invited.
Irisviel's daughter, Ilya, and Ai chatted excitedly, with An sandwiched between them.
An was unmoved by the laughter and chatter around her. After so long, the child's personality hadn't changed much, but Takatsuki still noticed that she had undergone some changes.
"I'm sorry, Takatsuki, Kiritsugu might be late."
Irisviel saw Takatsuki walk in and, with hands clasped, said somewhat apologetically in front of Takatsuki.
"Irisviel, no need to apologize. We're just happy you could come."
Takatsuki was a little overwhelmed. "Should we wait for Kiritsugu?"
"No, no, no need to bother with Kiritsugu. We can't make everyone wait for him alone, can we?"
Since Irisviel said so, Takatsuki didn't know what else to say.
Durandal was also chatting with Cecilia on the other side. In fact, it was mostly Durandal and Cecilia talking about their daily lives, as for Siegfried…
He was excluded by the mother and daughter. Takatsuki didn't know why, but even though he looked a bit pitiful, Takatsuki always felt he deserved it.
The birthday party started as scheduled, and everyone celebrated the two little birthday stars with laughter and joy.
"Kiritsugu is here."
Irisviel, sitting next to Takatsuki, suddenly said, looking at her phone.
"He's here? Should I go pick him up?"
Irisviel shook her head. "No, Kiritsugu said he's already coming up."
Just as she finished speaking, a knock sounded from outside the private room.
"Looks like it's Kiritsugu. I'll open the door."
Takatsuki had just heard Irisviel's words when he heard the knock, marveling at how fast it was, and was about to get up to open the door.
"No, no, I'll go. I need to give him a good talking to, being late for such an important banquet."
Irisviel pressed Takatsuki back down, then walked towards the door.
Takatsuki chuckled a little. He knew that although Irisviel usually seemed gentle, she could also be quite serious at times. The key point was that Kiritsugu was also someone who doted on his wife, so he was probably in for a lecture.
Holding his wine glass, Takatsuki walked over to Welt and the others. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a startled cry from the doorway.
"!!!"
When Takatsuki turned around, what he saw was Irisviel pushed to the ground, and Kiritsugu holding a pistol in his hand.
The target Kiritsugu's pistol was aimed at was…
His own daughter!
Just as Takatsuki's feet began to move, Kiritsugu had already pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A deafening gunshot echoed through the private room, causing a flurry of screams, and a blood flower bloomed at the bullet's impact point, accompanied by a cry of pain.
"Bianka!"
Indeed, the one injured was none other than Durandal.
At that critical moment, Bianka burst out with an unnatural speed, instantly shielding the two children, blocking the bullet with her own body.
Crimson blood flowed from her shoulder. The bullet pierced her shoulder, and its trajectory was altered by her body, missing the two children behind her and instead hitting the wall.
"Tsk!"
Kiritsugu let out a displeased sound, casually tossed the gun in his hand aside, and raised the automatic pistol in his other hand.
"Emiya Kiritsugu!"
Before he could pull the trigger, a roar already sounded beside him.
Kiritsugu's peripheral vision caught Takatsuki rushing towards him.
He saw his lips move slightly, seemingly saying something. In Takatsuki's eyes, his speed suddenly accelerated, he changed his posture, moved away from Takatsuki's attack direction, and continued to pull the trigger in the direction he had just shot.
Da da da da da da!!!!
"!!!!"
Kiritsugu stared in surprise at his gun barrel, which had lost its aim due to external interference.
He then looked at his palm, which had been shot through from pressing against the gun barrel and forcibly pushing it upwards.
He couldn't understand how Takatsuki, who should have been an ordinary person at this moment, could have done it, despite him using Time Alter.
The other party clearly hadn't recalled those memories, because he was certain that if the other party had remembered, he wouldn't have used his body to forcibly change the gun's direction.
Instead, he would have instantly blown him up, or… supported his actions.
"E↓miya Kiritsugu♦"
The pain seemed to have made Takatsuki's voice hoarse, like a demon crawling out of hell. His uninjured left hand clenched into a fist and struck Kiritsugu's chin.
"Ugh!"
This punch was merely at the level of an ordinary person.
Kiritsugu made his judgment.
"Wake up! Takatsuki! Do you know what you're doing!"
Kiritsugu's physique was much better than Takatsuki had imagined; at least after this punch, the other party could still speak.
"You bastard! You're hitting my wife and daughter!"
Enduring the pain, Takatsuki kicked him down. Just as he was about to throw another punch, a gunshot and the sound of shattering glass rang out simultaneously.
And at this moment, the world suddenly came to a standstill.
"Ah, I originally wanted more worlds, but it seems I can only stop here."
In this frozen world, only two out-of-place beings remained active.
An sat silently in her seat, watching the golden-haired woman who was shielding her, and paused.
She stretched out her right hand, but then put it down.
"An-chan cares about Mama now, so good, so good."
Watching An's actions, Ai happily hugged An's head and stroked it like a small animal. An didn't speak, merely letting her do so.
After stroking for a while, Ai finally let go and looked at the frozen world before her.
Durandal, standing firmly in front of her, the sniper bullet just a few meters from An, Takatsuki, with a ferocious expression, beating Kiritsugu, and the surrounding people who were panicked and at a loss due to the sudden situation, along with Cecilia and Siegfried, who wanted to come up and protect their daughter.
"Although it's just a dream constructed from memories, this memory is by no means a false existence."
Saying this, Ai waved her hand, and everyone else except Takatsuki's family and Kiritsugu vanished.
She reached out and touched Durandal's wound.
The pierced wound disappeared in an instant: "If it's not dealt with properly, you'll really get hurt when you go out."
"Thank you, Mama."
After a gentle hug, Ai reluctantly let go of Durandal and walked towards Takatsuki and Kiritsugu.
She didn't look at Takatsuki, but at Kiritsugu, who had been kicked down by Takatsuki.
"Emiya Kiritsugu, Emiya Kiritsugu, why are you in such a hurry to die?"
She shook her head: "I originally planned to save you too, but since you're in such a hurry to die, then so be it. Although it was interrupted, it's fine, some things were still preserved."
With that, Ai waved her hand, as if doing something and yet doing nothing at all.
A cat appeared in her hand.
"Yuki, Yuki, I'll leave it to you while I'm gone."
Even though it was a frozen world, this black and white cat still meowed in response.
Placing Yuki on Durandal's shoulder, Ai finally walked towards An.
"An-chan, about what I said before, fulfilling your wish to be born, but in return, I will take away those unnecessary things. Do you have any objections? Since you've been my sister for half a year, I'll give you a choice."
An… no, it should be Angola, who had a blank personality forcibly constructed, looked at Ai: "Do I have a choice?"
"Of course, you can wait for the next opportunity."
To this, she merely shook her head.
To be honest, if she could choose, she wouldn't want to be Angra. Or rather, she was no longer Angra Mainyu. This body came from the original Winter Saintess, and its personality was a pure blank, originally without any thoughts of its own, only the instinct to be born. But besides Angola, she had no other identity to choose from.
She was a blank personality forcibly created by the person in front of her.
"Since you've made your decision, then this dream should end. We are fated… no, we probably won't have a chance to meet again. Goodbye, An-chan."
As Ai snapped her fingers, this world suddenly shattered.
And the two people lying at the bottom of the Greater Grail suddenly opened their eyes.