The air suddenly fell silent.
"Shirou, I think I'm pregnant."
The moment the silver-haired Homunculus said those words, Shirou's mind went blank. His head felt as if it had exploded into a white void.
"Hey, Shirou. Don't just stare into space. I'm talking about something serious here."
Irisviel waved a hand in front of the boy's eyes, finally pulling him back to reality.
"Gulp."
Shirou swallowed hard.
His hands were trembling. So was his back.
For some reason, he remembered a scene from a very, very long time ago, the first time he had killed someone in the Fairy Kingdom.
This situation was the exact opposite of that one.
This time, it was not about killing someone. It was about...
"Iri, you're... pregnant?"
"Mm-hmm."
Irisviel nodded shyly.
Shirou swallowed again, then asked carefully, "Just to check... you're not drunk, right?"
Irisviel frowned in displeasure. "Of course not. I only had a little beer. I don't get drunk that easily."
"No... but..."
Shirou looked toward Sella beside him, but Irisviel took his cheeks in both hands.
"Why are you looking at Sella? Shirou, look me in the eye when you talk to me!"
"..."
Shirou had no idea what to say.
After living for thousands of years, very few things could still count as a first experience for him.
He struggled for a long moment before asking, "Um, Iri... does that mean you're carrying my child?"
The instant the words left his mouth, Shirou regretted them and realized he was probably about to get hit.
But Irisviel did not slap him. Instead, she narrowed her eyes in happiness and smiled as she answered.
"Yes. I'm carrying Shirou's child."
...
"So this is..."
Shirou stared blankly at the white plastic stick Sella handed him.
On the little window of this thing called a "pregnancy test," two clear horizontal lines had appeared.
Apparently, that meant a "positive result." In other words, it confirmed she was pregnant.
"Wait, but... Irisviel, it's only been about a month since then, right?"
"A full month without any contraception. This outcome is only natural," Sella said.
"Oh."
Shirou nodded. "So when you went to the bathroom to throw up earlier, Iri, that was morning sickness..."
"No, that was just because I drank too much."
Shirou: "..."
Still, could a pregnancy really be detected after only one month?
Shirou looked at Irisviel's abdomen. Of course, there was no sign of a bump.
The Homunculus maid continued, "A pregnancy test can indeed detect pregnancy from as early as one month."
Irisviel touched her cheek, looking embarrassed. "Actually, ever since that night, since Shirou's first...
Ever since our first night together, I've been taking a pregnancy test every day.
Then during tonight's routine test, I noticed the result was different."
"I see. So you've been testing every day for an entire month..."
"Y-yes."
Seeing Irisviel's bashful expression, Shirou did not even know where to begin.
That was how badly she wanted to become pregnant.
In fact, back then, every night when she accepted Shirou's seed, Irisviel would nervously ask him again and again, "Will this really get me pregnant?" "Should I tape it shut? Are you sure I don't need to?" "Should we do it a few more times tonight?"
"Counting backward, fertilization and implantation must have happened on the very first night."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Judging by the timing, yes."
"Then I guess Shirou and I are really compatible...♡"
Shirou and Irisviel looked at each other, then both lowered their heads in embarrassment.
"Shirou, do you want to touch it?"
"Can I?"
"Of course. It's your child, after all."
Shirou held his breath and reached his trembling hand toward Irisviel's abdomen.
Of course, there was no swelling.
That was only natural when she was just one month pregnant.
And yet, for some reason... Shirou wanted to keep touching her like this forever.
"...Ahem."
Sella's soft cough made Shirou hurriedly pull his hand back.
"Shirou, please do not forget. All of this is for the sake of extending Lady Irisviel's lifespan."
"I know that! I understand even without you saying it. Sella, why do you keep picking on me today?"
Shirou complained.
"...Pfft."
Watching the two of them argue, Irisviel covered her mouth and giggled.
She reached out, stroked Shirou's hair, and said softly,
"Then please take good care of this child from now on too, 'big brother.'"
"...Ah."
Shirou suddenly snapped out of his dreamlike happiness.
That was right. He could not be this child's father.
After all, Shirou Amamiya was still an elementary school student...
Shirou's only role could be the child's "adoptive older brother."
That was the decision he and Irisviel had reached after a long discussion.
Shirou had merely provided the genetic material. Irisviel did not want him to take responsibility.
That was part of it, but more importantly, if they wanted to protect the "Amamiya family" and the place where the two of them belonged, this was the only way.
"..."
"What's wrong, Shirou?"
"No, it's nothing."
"Honestly, that's not the face of someone who's fine."
Irisviel opened her arms and gently embraced Shirou.
"Don't worry, Shirou... Once this child is a little older, I'll explain everything to her.
I'll tell her exactly who her real father is...
So until then, Shirou, please bear with it for a little while."
"I understand. Yeah."
Shirou buried his face against Irisviel's chest and closed his eyes.
Just then,
"Clack."
A strange sound came from outside the door.
"!!!"
Shirou jerked in surprise, raised his head, and met Irisviel's eyes.
Someone was outside. They had overheard our conversation!
"..."
Shirou stood up, moved silently to the door, and suddenly pulled it open.
There was no one outside.
No, they must have run away.
"Shirou, what do we do?"
Irisviel looked at him for help. Shirou reassured her, "It's all right. Leave it to me," then left the room.
Shirou hurried down the corridor in the dark.
Who had been eavesdropping outside the door just now?
Issei Ryuudou had already gone home. The guests still at the Amamiya residence were...
Sakura Matou, Shinji Matou, Rin Tohsaka, Ayako Mitsuzuri, and Taiga Fujimura. One of those five.
Fuji-nee was not the type to silently eavesdrop outside a door and then run away... No, wait.
Shirou and Irisviel had that kind of relationship in private, and they had even made a child together.
Even with Fuji-nee's incredible mental strength, hearing that would be enough to make her want to run!
Shirou rushed back to the living room as quickly as he could.
"Oh! Shirou, you're back! What took you so long?"
"Where is everyone else?"
Shirou froze. Shinji Matou was the only one in the living room.
"Hm? Sakura and the others all went to the bathroom together."
Good. Shinji was ruled out. That narrowed it down to the four girls.
After that, he could question them indirectly one by one and figure out who had been eavesdropping outside the door.
But if there had been two or more people outside the door, there was also the possibility that they would coordinate their stories.
If Rin Tohsaka had been outside the door, she could use suggestion Magecraft to make someone give her a false alibi.
As for Sakura Matou, while she could not use suggestion Magecraft on Rin, handling Fuji-nee and Ayako would be easy enough for her. And Rin was the sort of hopeless little-sister devotee who would protect her younger sister no matter what...
Shirou returned to Irisviel's room and reported the matter to her.
He had meant to put her at ease, but the answer he received was this.
"Forget it, Shirou… Let's not dwell on who was outside the door back then."
"Why not?"
"Taiga and the others aren't the type to go around blabbing about your secrets, are they?"
"That's true, but just in case…"
"This is enough. I trust they wouldn't do anything to hurt you, Shirou, so there's no need to dig any further."
Irisviel stroked her still-flat stomach. "I don't want you to harm your friends because of this child, Shirou. Am I wrong to think that?"
"If you say so, Iri… I understand."
Shirou nodded, agreeing with Irisviel. Let's just leave today's incident behind us, for the sake of the unborn child.
"Speaking of which, Shirou! I've already decided on a name."
Although Irisviel had the same reproductive ability as a human woman, her womb seemed capable of bearing only girls, from the very start, her fertility had been a strategic consideration for "creating the next Lesser Grail."
So even though it was only a one-month-old embryo, it was already clear it would be a girl with silver hair and red eyes.
It was a little unfortunate that, with the Einzbern traits so dominant, she wouldn't inherit any of Shirou's features…
It would be nice if she ended up a cute girl with a "baby face" like her father, Shirou thought.
"What name are you planning?"
"Illya Amamiya."
"Huh?"
"Just kidding, hehe… Sorry, but this child has to carry the Einzbern surname."
Irisviel smiled. "Her name will be 'Illyasviel.'"
"Illya… sviel…"
Shirou repeated the name to himself.
Illya.
For some reason, a strange wave of emotion welled up in his chest.
"Alright, let's go. If we stay gone too long, they might get suspicious."
"You're right."
Shirou and Irisviel returned to the living room. The girls who had gone to the restroom together arrived around the same time.
Though he didn't intend to pursue the matter further, Shirou was still curious about what exactly they had been eavesdropping on.
He observed the four of them carefully but noticed nothing unusual.
After that, tonight's welcome party officially ended.
Taiga Fujimura, rarely back in Fuyuki, had to make an appearance at the club tonight and would likely stay there for the night.
The other three girls seemed to have agreed to spend the night at Mitsuzuri's place, leaving only Shinji to go home alone…
Shinji said he wanted to stay over at Shirou's place too, but the girls scolded him, saying Shirou had just returned from abroad and they shouldn't trouble him. In the end, he left, dejected.
Sorry, Shinji… no games tonight…
After all, I'm about to become a father.
Shirou felt a thick, sorrowful barrier had risen between him and Shinji.
…
…
"Ah~ I'm so full~"
Ayako Mitsuzuri stretched lazily.
The three girls walked down the street under the streetlights.
"By the way, you two, why are you suddenly so quiet?"
Ayako Mitsuzuri glanced at Sakura and Rin, noticing that both looked uneasy.
"Something feels off…" Sakura Matou murmured.
"What do you mean by 'off,' Sakura?" Ayako asked.
"Ayako-senpai, don't you think the atmosphere between Senpai and Aunt Iri seems… strange?"
"Really? I think it's perfectly normal."
Ayako Mitsuzuri thought for a moment. "Well, Amamiya's a boy. Living with a beautiful foreigner like Aunt Iri, I can understand why his heart might race every day. I even feel a little sorry for him, haha."
Sakura shook her head. She wasn't sure why, but something felt off.
Ayako looked to Rin. "What about you, Rin?"
"..."
Rin Tohsaka bit her lip.
I heard it.
Passing by the entrance to the tatami room, she had accidentally overheard Shirou and Irisviel's conversation.
You really can't judge a book by its cover… And to think I once thought you were honest…
Shirou! You actually got an Einzbern Homunculus pregnant!
And judging by their conversation…
For over a month since leaving Japan, Shirou had been frantically making a child with Irisviel… Waaah!
Rin's cheeks burned bright red.
Just tonight he told me, "I'm not siding with the Einzberns, I'm just acting as their consultant."
And he even said, "If you run into trouble, Rin, you can talk to me"… Talk my ass! You didn't just "talk," you went straight to a woman's bed!
"Haa…"
Rin's worldview felt like it was collapsing.
A boy in her grade actually got a woman pregnant—what is that supposed to mean…
And—
Rin stole a glance at her younger sister.
If Sakura knew… No!
Her instincts screamed that Sakura must not find out about Shirou and Irisviel.
"Eh~ I think it's perfectly normal," Rin said.
"You think so too, Rin-senpai?" Sakura asked, surprised.
Seems I really did misunderstand.
Come to think of it… nothing could possibly happen between them.
Seeing Sakura's relieved expression, Rin let out a sigh of relief.
But… that guy Shirou, he's not going to start with Irisviel the moment we leave, is he… ugh.
Rin briefly imagined the scene, and even her earlobes turned bright red.
***
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