Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, more than four months had already passed since they returned from the Einzbern main house.
Starting last month, Irisviel's stomach had begun to show a slight curve.
At first, Shirou had been a little worried. What if the child in her womb wasn't a normal baby? Now, though, it seemed that worry had been unnecessary.
Illya was growing healthily inside her mother's womb.
"Although you've passed the most dangerous stage and entered the stable period, considering the lady's physical condition… Shirou, sexual contact is absolutely forbidden."
Sella's statement made Shirou's expression change. "Huh? Like I'd ever make a move on a pregnant Iri. No, I mean… we haven't done anything like that since we got back from Germany, okay?"
"Exactly! Shirou and I are in a loving, pure family relationship now!" Irisviel protested loudly as well.
"…Really?"
Sella frowned, her sharp gaze moving back and forth between Shirou and Irisviel's faces.
"…"
The two guilty parties hurriedly lowered their heads.
In the end, Irisviel declared, with perfect righteousness, the famous line of former U.S. President Clinton.
"It was only oral. It was passive. So that does not count!!"
"If Shirou truly cannot endure it, Sella can help him."
Leysritt appeared out of nowhere behind Sella and said so, making Sella's face turn bright red. "W-what are you saying in front of the lady, Leysritt!"
Shirou felt it was about time.
For now, Irisviel could still hide her belly with loose clothing, but it would only become more obvious from here on. One day, someone was bound to notice.
So one day, when Sakura Matou came over to help, Shirou took the chance to tell her about Irisviel's pregnancy.
"Congratulations, Aunt Irisviel…!"
"Hehe, thank you, Sakura."
Irisviel reached out and stroked Sakura Matou's hair.
A few years ago, she still had to bend over slightly to touch Sakura's head, but ever since Sakura entered middle school, she had started growing quickly. Recently, she was already close to Irisviel's height.
"Aunt Irisviel, who is the baby's father?"
Sakura Matou blinked and asked curiously.
Shirou silently turned his face away.
Irisviel glanced at Shirou, then forced out a smile and answered.
"Well… actually, he was a man I happened to meet while receiving treatment in Germany…"
"A man you happened to meet?"
As a girl raised in East Asian culture, Sakura Matou clearly did not quite understand. "Where is he? Did he not come to Japan with you? He is the child's father, after all."
The corner of Irisviel's mouth twitched. "Well… there are some very complicated circumstances behind that…"
"Ah…"
Sakura Matou suddenly understood.
So… that was what happened?
Sakura Matou began imagining a somewhat adult romance story.
While Irisviel was overseas for treatment, she had grown lonely because she had no one to talk to. Just then, a handsome and outstanding man happened to step into her world.
Then the two of them were like dry kindling meeting flame…
After her treatment ended, Irisviel had intended to leave that memory as a beautiful keepsake, only to discover after returning to Japan that she was already pregnant.
This was a child conceived from a one-night stand…
Sakura Matou asked nervously, "Aunt Irisviel, what are you going to do?"
Irisviel touched her cheek and gave a wry smile. "Well, well. The child is innocent, after all. This child may not have a father, and life in the future will probably be difficult, but… we still have Shirou, don't we?"
As she spoke, she pulled the red-haired boy into her arms. "Shirou, you need to properly take on your responsibilities as an older brother, all right?"
"Ugh… I understand," Shirou answered with a bitter expression.
You really know how to bully people, Iri.
Hehe~ You bullied me for so long so I could conceive this child, so let me bully you once in a while too, Shirou.
Sakura Matou did not notice the exchange of looks between the two people in front of her.
As if she had steeled herself, she clenched her fists. "Aunt Irisviel, please tell me if you ever have any trouble. I'll help too!"
"Oh my, how reliable you are, Sakura."
Sakura Matou puffed out her cheeks. Senpai's younger sibling is my younger sibling too. I'll care for that child as if they were Senpai's own child!
...
The next day, during a break from archery club activities, Sakura Matou told Ayako Mitsuzuri about it.
"Huh? Shirou's mom is pregnant… No wonder that guy hasn't been showing up at club lately. So he's going to be an older brother."
Ayako Mitsuzuri had also been looked after by Irisviel before, so she decided to visit the Amamiya household after school that day to offer her congratulations.
"Should we invite Tohsaka?" Ayako Mitsuzuri asked casually.
"Sis… Tohsaka-senpai?" Sakura Matou looked troubled.
To be honest, she really wanted her relationship with Rin Tohsaka to go back to the way it had been when they were children.
At the welcome party a few months ago, she had exchanged a few words with her older sister, and that alone had made her happy for days.
But their relationship now was…
Ayako Mitsuzuri saw what was on her junior's mind and smiled as she patted her shoulder.
"All right, I'll invite Tohsaka."
After ending club activities early, Ayako Mitsuzuri took Sakura and found Rin, who was still lingering on campus, then invited her to visit Shirou's house with them.
"What's going on?"
"Oh! Tohsaka, have you heard? Apparently that Amamiya guy is about to become an older brother."
"Huh?"
Rin Tohsaka looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
Beside her, Sakura Matou explained, "Aunt Irisviel is pregnant."
"Uh…!"
Rin Tohsaka made an expression so exaggerated it could almost be called reaction art.
So that's the move they're going with!
Ugh, what a terrible man…
It's clearly his own child, yet they're announcing it to everyone as his younger sibling… That's the darkness of the Amamiya family.
It sounds like the setup for one of those family mystery novels where incest is the central puzzle!
Well, I suppose I can understand Irisviel's reasoning.
After all, Shirou Amamiya is the victor of the Fourth Holy Grail War, a First-Generation Magus powerful enough to defy common sense, to the point that existing Magecraft theories cannot even explain him.
If they can add his genetic factors to their family lineage, it would certainly help the Einzbern family's future development.
That Amamiya guy does not even realize he is being used…
He is a boy, after all. It is only natural that he could not resist the charm of a Homunculus, though it is still a little disappointing.
Hmph…
Since he treats Sakura well, I thought he would be a more decent boy… Ah, I completely misjudged him!
"Rin?"
Ayako Mitsuzuri called her name, and Rin Tohsaka came back to herself.
"Ah, right. I'll go too."
Rin decided she would have to tease Shirou properly later.
In the end, although they had only planned to congratulate Irisviel and leave, her warm hospitality kept them there for dinner after all.
Dinner, prepared by Shirou and the maids, was lavish.
By the time the three of them left, it was already past seven in the evening.
"Amamiya-kun, it's already late. Could I ask you to walk Sakura home?"
"Sure, no problem."
"See you tomorrow, Sakura."
"Okay! See you tomorrow, Tohsaka-senpai!"
Sakura gave her a bright, happy smile.
After saying goodbye to everyone, Rin Tohsaka set off alone on the road home.
I got to talk with Sakura a little during dinner today too. It really was fun.
At school, both of us hold back too much, but at Amamiya-kun's house, there's none of that hesitation at all…
Now that I think about it, that place really is strange…
Mm, I can understand a little better why Sakura always likes going there.
Rin Tohsaka wondered whether she should find chances to show her face at Amamiya-kun's house from now on.
That way, she would be able to talk to Sakura more often. She definitely had no other impure motives!
"Hah…"
Rin Tohsaka let out a long breath, white in the cold air.
She stopped at the corner of an intersection.
After confirming there were no unrelated bystanders nearby, Rin Tohsaka spoke into the empty space behind her.
"You can show yourself now. Just how long are you planning to follow me?"
"————"
After a brief silence, the sound of high heels striking the ground rang out from the darkness.
"As expected of the daughter of Tokiomi Tohsaka. How sharp."
Rin Tohsaka frowned, then turned and got a clear look at the figure who had revealed herself.
She was a tall, beautiful woman in Chinese-style attire, roughly thirty years old.
The woman wore a dark blue cheongsam decorated with sequins, its cut perfectly outlining her voluptuous figure. Her sensual, mature air was enough to make even Rin, another girl, feel her face heat up.
Her proud chest swayed bewitchingly with each step, and the red spider lily tattoo that stretched from her shoulder deep into her cleavage shifted with it, like a fragrant carnivorous flower.
More than the woman's beauty and allure, what put Rin Tohsaka on guard was the eerie doll she held in her arms.
Not Western Magecraft or an ushi no toki mairi doll, but a Ritual Gear related to "Taoist arts"…?
Rin Tohsaka's frown deepened.
The woman observed the girl in front of her, who was clearly wary, and let out a soft laugh.
She shifted the doll to the crook of her arm, clasped her hands in salute, and said, "I am Ye Sizhen of the Spiral Manor's Watchtower of Possession. I look forward to making your acquaintance."
Spiral Manor.
Rin Tohsaka had heard that name before.
It was an organization whose sphere of influence lay mainly on the mainland and in several Chinese communities across Southeast Asia, founded on the study of "Thought Magecraft." Its base was a museum composed of ten towers.
It was a massive Magecraft organization that could rival the Clock Tower. In sheer number of members, it even surpassed it.
Although Japan had been deeply influenced by Chinese culture since ancient times, in the modern era, especially starting from the Meiji Restoration, it had absorbed large amounts of Western technology and culture. That was reflected in Magecraft as well.
In present-day Japan, Western Magecraft, like that practiced by the Tohsaka Family, was still the overwhelming mainstream. To find native forms of Magecraft, one would have to search deep in the mountains or in old temples. Exchanges with "Thought Magecraft" and the "Spiral Manor" were virtually nonexistent.
"Hmm, so that's what this is…"
Rin Tohsaka gave a sharp little smile. "You thought you could come seize Fuyuki's Spiritual Land just because Father isn't here? The Tohsaka Family has really been looked down on."
There was no doubt about it. The woman was an outsider Magus hostile to them, here to invade and seize the land of Fuyuki City.
Such things were not actually rare.
They saw that the Magus managing the land was only an underage girl, and that the Church had gone years without dispatching anyone, so they came to try their luck.
Rin Tohsaka had already dealt with several such people over the years.
Only… tonight's enemy was obviously on a completely different level from the ones before.
"…"
Faced with Rin's accusation, Ye Sizhen neither confirmed nor denied it. She only let the curve of her lips grow wider.
That attitude, like she didn't take Rin seriously at all… I'll make sure you can never smile like that again!
Rin chose to strike first.
The instant she lowered her body slightly, the girl dashed forward.
Her slender legs, enhanced by Magecraft, moved with lightning speed. Rin Tohsaka became an arrow loosed from a bowstring, like a crimson trail of taillights cutting through the night.
In only a few steps, she crossed the twenty meters between them. Then she leaped into the air, instantly switching from a horizontal sprint to a vertical maneuver.
"Anfang (Setup)!"
As the girl flipped through the air, she released a rapid volley of pitch-black spell bullets.
"Gandr? How unusual."
The Thought Magecraft Magus, Ye Sizhen, did not move. She simply stood there and raised the hand that was not holding the doll.
A closed seashell appeared between her slender fingers.
"Open and Close (Let this be the beginning)."
This was the Chant (Spell) used to connect her self to the Thought Disk.
In method, it resembled Self-Modification, one of the two broad categories of Chants in Western Magecraft.
At Ye Sizhen's command, the shell opened. The ritual formula hidden inside the shell traced lines over her delicate, unadorned face.
Her full lips were painted vermilion, and blue-purple color was drawn around her almond-shaped eyes.
Almost at the same time, the pitch-black spell bullet that had closed in on her forehead suddenly vanished into nothing.
"What…!?"
Rin was startled.
Gandr was not exactly powerful Magecraft. It would not have been strange for it to be blocked, but…
Her Magecraft had not been blocked just now. It had been erased instantly.
Ye Sizhen said calmly, "This is something similar to the Mora paritta. A curse of that paltry level could never pass through it."
A possession-type Thought Magecraft that drew "power" from within herself through makeup.
Even within the Spiral Manor's Watchtower of Possession, it was an extremely rare type of spell, but it suited Ye Sizhen's traits perfectly.
Since ancient times, makeup had possessed an aspect of warding off evil. In particular, applying makeup around the eyes carried great significance as a way to keep curses and disease away. Depending on the region, it had even been a privilege reserved for priests and other members of the upper class.
Feeble Magecraft could not withstand even a glance from Ye Sizhen.
Even ritual-class Grand Magecraft (Ten-bar) prepared through complex procedures could not harm her in the slightest.
"That was only a greeting. I understand."
Unlike Rin Tohsaka, who landed back on the ground in a sorry state, not even the hem of Ye Sizhen's cheongsam had stirred.
She touched her refined chin and spoke.
"However, suddenly attacking someone you have only just met. Are the people of this country all so barbaric and impolite? Or… is it only you, Miss Tohsaka?"
Rin Tohsaka's forehead twitched, and she snapped back loudly, "You came onto someone else's territory without permission and stalked me from behind, and you have the nerve to talk about manners?"
Ye Sizhen said, "That is a misunderstanding, Miss Tohsaka. I have no intention of starting a war with you. Please hear me out first, if you would, and then decide again."
Rin Tohsaka crossed her arms and gave a huff. "Fine. I'll hear it. What do you want?"
Ye Sizhen lazily played with the ends of her hair as she answered.
"The victor of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Shirou Amamiya. I want information on him."
"…"
Seeing that Rin Tohsaka was expressionless and gave no reaction, the Magus in the cheongsam continued.
"If I am not mistaken, he is the chief culprit who humiliated the Tohsaka Family during that ritual, isn't he? Your father, Tokiomi Tohsaka, has become quite the laughingstock in London. A failure defeated by an outsider Magus, who abandoned Magecraft to become a businessman and left the mess behind for his underage daughter… That is how the world speaks of him."
Rin Tohsaka lowered her head and clenched her small fists.
Ye Sizhen smiled bewitchingly and invited her. "Well? Would you like to work with me and defeat Shirou Amamiya together?"
"——————"
When Rin Tohsaka raised her head again, Ye Sizhen saw the fearless smile on the girl's face.
"Yes, I followed proper etiquette and listened to everything you had to say."
"And your answer?"
In Rin Tohsaka's mind, she saw the smiles Shirou and Sakura had shown during dinner that night.
"And my answer is this. I will absolutely never let you meet Amamiya-kun."
***
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