Beta read by Shigiya, FabledLife and Paragon of Awesomeness
Had to separate chapter in 2 parts cause of word limit... Damn. So bonus part 4 is gonna be in chapter 31.5. Reminder that it's not an omake, it's an even that actually happened in the main story.
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-Sainan-
His eons as a Counter Guardian had on many occasions given Emiya the chance to encounter notable individuals from unique cultures across all manner of different periods. Even his many summonings in the Fuyuki's fifth Holy Grail War often saw him facing Servants that were not part of the usual roster.
Powerful individuals with unique personalities and abilities. This was on top of various Noble Phantasms, some of which summoned large structures or hordes of armies to fight in their stead. At other times, it was something more subtle, unseen to the eyes, and affected one's mind more than anything - yet they had the potential to be just as dangerous in his opinion.
The concept of facing a Noble Phantasm that centered around personal charm and worked by alluring one's opponent was not a foreign concept to Emiya, and he had been on the receiving end of such abilities a few times. Not all interactions went the same, and many times, the outcome did not play out in his favor.
Regardless, individuals with charm abilities were people he preferred to avoid. Tricky to deal with and they always knew how to use words in the most effective way possible even against a superior foe in combat. The eldest of the Gorgon sisters came to mind, and unfortunately, her sisters were even more proficient with that particular power. Other instances were nothing but clouded memories of the distant past.
Yet here he was, serving his own homemade food to an individual who possessed a similar charm ability whilst wearing his clothes just to top it all off. The woman who gave birth to the troublesome eldest princess who thankfully did not possess her allure abilities, and Gid's wife - Sephie Michaela Deviluke. The Empress of Planet Deviluke.
A person who could be described as a carbon copy of Lala in terms of appearance, albeit physically more mature. Even if she had her veil on right now, it did little to hide some of her traits.
"Mmmmmnn! I've never had food that tasted this wonderful, no wonder my daughters all love staying here so much~!"
The same person who caused Zastin to faint on the kitchen floor he just cleaned this morning, foaming at the mouth. Somehow his brother was unaffected... that was a question for another time.
"Glad you think so as well, my siblings helped me with the preparations." He spoke curtly, neither being too formal nor informal.
"..."
"..."
Of course, Mikan and Rito remained silent the entire time, focusing all their attention on their plates while letting him do all the talking. They couldn't be more obvious about how nervous they were feeling.
The same applied to the twins as well, anxious and uncertain, especially Momo who had become completely silent the entire time whenever she was near her mother. The eldest sister was the only one unaffected by the empress' presence from the looks of it.
"See? I told you Shirou is amongst the best in the entire galaxy! If you keep eating his meals, you will want to stay here forever!"
Please don't tempt fate, he very much did not want that outcome to happen. Three princesses were dangerous enough, but an empress? That was just begging for all sorts of trouble.
"You shouldn't be loitering around the house all without doing anything to help, Lala. Especially since this is your fiancé's house"
"I help around the house whenever I can! Tell her, Shirou!"
Well, he could not deny her words. Other than using alien technology to make chores easier for him, she also helped Mikan and Rito with various personal things as well. "She's doing good, I wouldn't have let her stay here for so long if she was nothing but a burden to us, even with Gid's decree. Now if you don't mind me asking, is there a reason why you decided to visit?"
Not wanting to beat around the bush, he asked the one question that had been swimming in his mind for the past hour.
"Ara, well it's obviously to come check on my beautiful little angels." Her hand went to caress Nana's hair, the latter immediately leaning against her mother, seeking more of the comforting gesture. Momo was quick to do the same, albeit with a bit of hesitation as she kept glancing back and forth between him and Sephie for some reason.
Lala on the other hand was more than content sitting next to him as she usually did.
"It has been very quiet inside the main palace these past few weeks. It gets depressing living in such a large castle with no one to talk to about things outside of work. Gid meanwhile has been very busy conquering other worlds, squashing rebellions, and dealing with foreign affairs. So, since I found I could leave managing the empire's government to its ministers for a time, I thought I'd come to visit you all on Earth and see how you were doing."
That explanation made sense to both Rito and Mikan who were more than happy to welcome Sephie and even applauded her for making the time and effort to come all the way out to the space boonies simply to see her daughters.
"Lala has been living here for a while now," said Mikan with a smile. "So I'm glad to see that her parents take enough of an interest in her life to come to see how she's doing and check up on her. Now that Momo and Nana also practically live here, then your visit makes even more sense."
"From what I understand, you came a long way to arrive at this planet." Emiya accepted her reasoning, even though he was pretty certain there was something else to it. "I hope you did not bring your husband along with you. My previous conversations with him have already left a bad taste in my mouth."
As soon as he said that, she let out a melodious chuckle, "Don't worry about that, Gid won't be coming over to cause any trouble for you anytime soon. I made sure of that." The way she said it so confidently with a smile on her face made him wonder at the kind of person she really was, to be so confident at being able to deal with a person like Gid.
"Still, I've heard so much about you from both him and my daughters that I've been quite excited to see for myself. From some of the tidbits I can recall, it's almost hard to believe that you are a human~!" Sephie said cheerfully, to which the twins nodded in agreement on either side. "Lala has found herself a most interesting fiancé, and I couldn't be happier for her. Now, seeing as we're all going to be family soon, let's be sure to get along well and make many happy memories together."
Her words sounded genuine enough, there was nothing deceptive about her as far as he could tell. But that was the issue with people holding charm magic like her; they were astonishingly good at deceiving others, to the point that not even he could tell for certain if she meant anything she said. Then again, having gained an understanding of Lala's personality, she gave him no reason to believe her mother had something to hide.
Though Momo looked particularly tense for some reason.
Afterward, the dinner went along smoothly without any further incidents. He could not let Zastin continue lying on the floor and salivating all over the place he cleaned just the other day, so the Devilukian bodyguard was dragged away by his men who came to pick him up at Sephie's instruction.
Sephie and her daughters took a few moments together to bond and talk to one another in the living room while he stayed in the kitchen cleaning up, while also keeping an eye on them from afar.
"I've never seen anyone close to being as beautiful as her," Mikan whispered in awe, a statement he did not find himself immediately disagreeing with.
The woman was indeed extremely beautiful, but he was certain a large part of what his sister had to say about said beauty was heavily influenced by that charming effect of hers. Unfortunately, trying to use his Magical Energy and send a small pulse throughout Mikan's body to purge the influence was not an option. Thankfully the charm's effects were minor for now, merely making the woman appear more physically attractive and giving her words a little more weight than they were perhaps due.
"Even with that veil on, I can tell she is easily the most beautiful person I have ever met - I can't imagine how she looks without it. No wonder Lala is so pretty, she got everything from her mother. Who knows, when she grows a bit older she will look even more like her. You're quite lucky, Shirou."
"Wait, you didn't see her face?" He asked, feeling a bit of confusion. In response, his youngest sibling tilted her head slightly.
"What do you mean? Of course we haven't seen her face. Peke mentioned how she is the last of her kind, a species called Charmians, and went so far as to explain some of her abilities that she can and can't control. Nana also told us about the dangers of her incredible beauty, where if her bare face is revealed, an entire population could fall completely in love with her to the point that they become animals since she's all they can think about. His hands went still at that statement.
He was pretty sure upon his arrival that Sephie had taken the liberty to show her face around to the others. If not... "You didn't see her face?"
"Heh, nope! But veil or no veil, it's obvious to anyone how much of a beautiful woman she is."
"Wait, so then why was Zastin passed out on the floor?" He was pretty certain upon returning home that the man had lost consciousness after seeing his empress' face. But now the explanation he was getting was completely different from what he had in mind.
"Him? Oh, he was just trying to help out around the kitchen and ended up spilling some juice which he then slipped on, and knocked himself out from banging his head on the counter as he fell. Personally, I'm just glad he managed not to break anything in the process."
That... sounded exactly like the sort of thing that would happen to Zastin. He did not want to be surprised at this point, yet the man's clumsiness kept surprising him again and again.
"What are you going to do about her?"
"Nothing," he replied honestly. "It's best to just sit back for now. I can't really do anything for that matter, she hasn't done anything that would create trouble and she's been much better than Gid already in the time she's been here."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Sephie spending time with her daughters and watching TV. Without taking into account her title as an empress, she looked more like their eldest sister from a stranger's point of view.
"For now, let's just get done with this." Mikan nodded at his words and they finished with the cleanup soon after. By that time Rito had joined the girls in the living room and thankfully he was there to stop any unfortunate incidents from happening. Emiya feared that by looking away for a single second he would find the boy falling towards Sephie and have his hands make their way inside her clothes somehow.
Even Nana was standing guard around her mother.
"Mau!" In Celine's case, she had taken a liking to the woman. Whether it was because of her weakened charm or just her maternal nature he could not tell. Either way, the little plant girl happily snuggled into her embrace for the rest of the night as he sat with everyone in silence.
It was... peaceful, strangely enough.
Sephie differed greatly from the kind of person he had in mind for the wife of Gid.
{Break}
(Next morning)
The morning sun bathed the bustling streets of the shopping district, casting a warm glow over the lively market. Sephie, radiating regal composure even when garbed in casual attire, walked ahead with Lala, Momo, and Nana in tow. She acted the same as she did the evening prior with her daughters, behaving as if the fact that he saw her face last night did not happen.
Rito had to do his homework and so did Mikan, leaving only him free to accompany this small group of beautiful alien royalty.
Emiya trailed behind the four women, his arms laden with shopping bags that had already been entrusted to him.
As for Momo, she had been unusually quiet, her gaze flitting back toward him every few moments. Then her pace began to slow down, and soon her steps were in line with his own.
"Alright, Momo, what's on your mind?" Emiya asked with a sigh, finally turning to face her as her sisters and mother paused outside a boutique and began to gush over the many outfits on display before heading inside.
The pink-haired princess crossed her arms, her tone laced with suspicion. "You saw her face... didn't you?"
"So?" Emiya replied curtly, rolling his eyes. "Not like it's an impossible feat to remain unaffected. I bet even Rito would be able to keep his cool if he saw her face... maybe." The boy was almost painfully shy when around real women - especially for how frequently he had clumsy accidents of a perverted nature - and he could not see him have any deviant thoughts about another person, not even Sairenji whom he had a massive crush on. But then again, he could not be certain when charm abilities were at play.
Momo's frown deepened. "So you say, But her charms have affected even the most righteous of gentlemen in the galaxy. And in our galaxy's history, there have been wars on a galactic scale because the leaders of powerful factions desired the beauty of a single Charmian for themselves."
"So what? If I remember correctly, your own father is stated to be immune to her charms. It's not that big of a stretch to assume there are other individuals like him in the world who could resist her charm, and she just had yet to meet another one until now."
"Maybe..." Momo hesitantly admitted. "Honestly, I am fine with you having more women fawning over you, Emiya, but my mother is not someone you can handle. For one, Papa might start a war if he becomes suspicious that you're eyeing his wife."
This girl and her wild imagination, "You make it sound like I am building a harem, and that I'm even planning on stealing other people's partners in order to do so. Don't listen to what Mikan says about my relationships with the girls at my school. We are purely friends. You can also rest assured I don't have any feelings for you or Nana."
"What if I want you to have those feelings?" she suddenly said, making him stop in his tracks and turn to look at her fully.
The girl did not meet his gaze, hands held behind her back as she gazed at her surroundings.
"I have come to notice that there are a surprisingly large number of girls who are very interested in you. Even if you say that you are only friends with each and every one of them, that does not seem to be the kind of relationship they all want to have with you."
"If there are indeed multiple people who want to be my girlfriend then I'd decline them, simple as that." He gave her his honest opinion on the matter, as he truly was not looking to establish any kind of romantic relationship currently.
"But why?" she asked, genuinely confused, finally looking him in the eye. "If you decline any of them, much less all of them, then people will be sad. Everyone will be sad. I don't see that being worth it. So why not just choose the easiest solution where everyone is happy?"
"By making a harem?"
"Yes, a harem." She nodded her head. "Ah!" Only to get a gentle tap on her head from his fist, like he'd rapped his knuckle against a door.
"That's not just a bad idea - it's outright destructive. Even if everyone agreed to it at first, it would fall apart and hurt them way worse than being turned down. A harem means splitting your time and attention between multiple people. Nobody gets enough in the end. And let's be honest, it's just selfish to string multiple people along like that.""
Knowing how stubborn Momo was, he preferred to actually give her an explanation rather than a simple refusal. "A lover tends to be possessive of the person with whom they want to spend the rest of their life. You can imagine they would not want to share someone precious to them with so many other people."
He hoped that she would understand.
"What if it's the girls who want such an outcome?" Momo asked again. "What if that is exactly what they want to achieve, and they are all willing to share so they can all be happy together?"
"You might feel that way, Momo, but can you really speak for everyone else? That simply is not something that can happen. Even if there are cases of functioning harems, they are not built on anything that could possibly be called genuinely loving relationships between equals, and so I have no interest. Also, why would I even want to make a harem when I myself am not interested in starting a romantic relationship at this moment?"
"Will you consider loving someone in the future then?"
He shrugged. "Maybe, right now I just want to live as I currently am. I don't want to rush, as I can tell this peaceful part of my life will not last forever... I want to cherish it as much as I can while I still have it."
"...Are you perhaps more interested in mature women?" The girl whispered quietly, looking at herself and squeezing her chest. "These are not as big as Onee-sama's or Mama's, but I still have room to grow, you know..."
"Did you say something?"
"Nothing. I'm just wondering if I should change my way of approach. As long as it does not change your current lifestyle, and the relationships are between loving equals, huh..." She admitted with hesitation, though all it earned from him was a dismissive hum.
"Just don't go around spreading any kind of misunderstanding."
Heading inside the boutique, they saw Lala and Nana darting toward a display of accessories, leaving Sephie and Momo to linger by the racks of dresses. Sephie's elegant fingers skimmed the fabric as she examined an array of gowns, her every movement exuding grace. Thankfully, they only spent around an hour inside the shop, and before the clock hit noon they were on their way out and heading to get lunch.
"This was fun. While this planet is several centuries behind Deviluke in terms of technology, there are still plenty of wonderful things to do here! Even on our homeworld, it is hard to find clothes as pretty as these, yet here they're available to everyone."
Well, she was certainly very different from her husband, and so far had not caused him any trouble. It was a welcome turn of events, one where he finally felt he could enjoy the tranquility of the moment, and not have to constantly be looking over his shoulders for fear that something stupid was about to happen and ruin everything the moment he let his guard down.
"Oooooooh! What a beautiful woman! Even with your face hidden, I can feel the well of beauty and sexiness coming from you!"
He spoke too soon.
"What the hell is that fat pig doing here!?" Emiya watched in disbelief as the man who he used as a wrecking ball not that long ago and subsequently should have been hospitalized for the better part of two months was now walking the streets. However, he was somewhat glad to see that the old pervert was still covered head to toe in bandages and holding an IV fluid bag with a tube still attached to his arm.
"Hahaha! I knew my senses were not lying! Now please, fair lady, let us enjoy each other's embrace and share our warmth!"
That man escaped from the hospital because he somehow sensed Sephie's beauty!? That didn't make sense!
"...Should I just kill him? No, too many witnesses... I can make sure he will no longer be able to get aroused at least." As much as the first option sounded ideal, It was too much of a grisly sight to present in front of so many people and the girls. But if he continued with such behavior even after having his manhood crippled, then at that point he would have no other options.
For now though, a well-placed thrust was all he needed. It didn't even need to be sharp, just the right amount of blunt force trauma would get the job done. With a metal pole ready in his grasp, he rushed in front of Sephie and prepared to strike.
"Oh my, what a passionate person. It would be admirable of you to channel this much energy into something that benefits the world around you and the people living in it more than anything else. With enthusiasm like yours, I'm certain you could bring some positive change to the world." Suddenly, her voice rang from behind, and immediately the perverted principal came to a standstill right as Emiya was about to thrust with his improvised weapon.
Much to Emiya's disbelief, the obese principal lost his perverted smile and adjusted his glasses. Turning around and walking away with the IV fluid still attached to his arm.
"I see, you speak the truth. My current behavior has not been fair to the people around me. I should go back to the hospital and apologize to the wonderful people who took care of me before starting my new journey. Have a good day." The crowd made way for him to pass through until his figure disappeared around the corner.
"H-Huh?"
Never in his current life did he ever dream of seeing such a drastic change in such a contemptible person. He would've put the same level of expectation on something like this happening as Alaya announcing that it was voluntarily freeing him from his duties as a Counter Guardian. An impossible scenario.
But this miracle had happened right before his very eyes, and he did not know what to say.
"What a peculiar man," Sephie mused with a gentle laugh. "Though I suppose everyone deserves a chance to better themselves. With that much enthusiasm, he might actually do some good in the world once he channels it properly."
Those words were no different from those of an angel, and the way he viewed the woman behind him had changed completely.
No longer did he see her as Gid's wife, empress of an empire spanning across the galaxy, or Lala's mother - but rather as the savior of this doomed city filled with twisted people like that disgrace of a principal.
"You," without so much of a thought, he approached Sephie and grabbed her shoulders.
"E-Eh?"
His action caught her off guard as well, But he did not care because she needed to hear this.
"You are more than welcome to stay in my house as long as you want to," he declared earnestly, having never been so certain about such a decision with any of her daughters in the past.
"Emiya!?"
"I knew Shirou would understand!"
"Mama is off limits!"
Three different reactions came from all three princesses. Spanning from panic, joy, and jealousy.
(Several hours later)
With the clock ticking by and evening turning into night, everyone went to bed one by one. Sephie mentioned she was going to stay over in her daughter's room, and he didn't see any issues with that.
Hopefully that meant Lala would not be sneaking into his room for at least this one night.
Taking this rare opportunity where he could, kind of, be all by himself, Emiya went to his shed with a small child anchored to his head. One who refused to let go and showed no signs of drowsiness. In fact her eyes had practically turned into stars the moment he indulged her weird desire of going inside this place for some reason.
"Oooooh! Maaaaauu..." He couldn't tell what she was trying to say exactly, but seeing the look of awe and wonder on her face - it was quite easy to figure out what was going through her little head.
"Careful now, don't go over there."
The moment he placed Celine on the table she tried to walk towards the wall of swords, hands stretched out and a giant smile on her face. She stubbornly tried to reach them even when he pulled her back, and she ended up staring at him with puppy dog eyes while pouting cutely.
"That won't work on me, especially not when you want to do something clearly dangerous. You'll get hurt playing around with those things. I don't even understand why a plant of all things is interested in blades. You're an odd little one aren't you..."
"Mau!" she laughed, her tiny hands gripping his shirt, crawling upwards until she reached his shoulders and took a seat up there. "Mau... mau mau!"
"Alright, I'll make you something. But nothing dangerous. Also, you'll need to wear these," he said, Projecting a small pair of earmuffs and a little visor.
"Mau!" Celine smiled while he placed the protective equipment on her.
Even though she could not speak any actual words for him to understand, somehow he felt he had a good understanding of what would make her happy. The fact that she then hugged his face and now looked like a ball of energy made it obvious that he was spot on.
Maybe he was a bad influence on her, that she had such interests at her age.
And so, despite the late hour, a series of sounds within the shed as hammer met anvil over and over again. Thanks to Lala's technology the sound never reached the house, leaving him comfortable to go all out if he wanted to. He was fully focused on the glowing piece of metal in front of him aside from periodically checking on Celine.
She had gone completely silent the moment he started the process. But of course, at the end of the day she was still a child, so as time went on she sought to distract herself from the boredom of a task far longer than her attention span, she saw fit to entertain herself in other ways.
"Stop chewing my ear, you're not teething as far as I know and they are not chew toys." He quickly Projected a simple pacifier and gave it to the girl, which proved good enough to make her stop treating his ears as a toy.
A few hours later, he was done with the final step as he set his engraving tools aside and gave a considering look at the tempered piece of metal. It was no weapon made to use for offensive purposes nor was it a piece of armor.
"Alright, just hold still a moment."
With a simple braided string attached to it, he gently fastened it around the green-haired child's neck after exiting his forge.
"Mau?"
"See it for yourself. It's not a sword like you probably wanted, but I feel it's close enough, don't you?" He chuckled, seeing her grab the small necklace he made in the shape of a miniature ceremonial dagger. Dulled of course, and big enough that she'd have a hard time fitting it inside her mouth while also being made from a lighter metal so it wouldn't be too difficult for her to wear. He'd also used this opportunity to work on his abilities in designing small and intricate details with small vine-like patterns etched onto its surface. A process that did not take as long as he expected.
"Like it?"
He got his answer with her jumping towards him and hugging his neck, excitedly rubbing her head against him as he held onto her. He was pretty sure this meant yes, that she indeed liked his small present.
"I was not aware you were capable of forging jewelry as well." A voice came from behind as he sat on the porch near the garden. Celine immediately perked up and left his grasp to run towards the newest arrival.
"Mau!"
"Oh my, something you want to show me, Celine? I see, it is quite beautiful I must say. I am very tempted to ask for one myself." Even without looking at Sephie, her voice naturally dripped with honey, perhaps another aspect of her Charmian heritage. "Mind if I take a seat?"
"Go ahead."
The woman came to a halt next to him, holding the Plantas girl in her arms and gently rocking her to sleep. It didn't take long, Celine was already tired from staying up this late and he watched as her eyes slowly closed while sucking on the handle of the little trinket he made for her.
"Never would I imagine that a species like the Plantas would be capable of taking such a form. It's strange, and it's not normal, that much I can say for certain. It's not something that happens randomly. Either this planet is having a unique effect on her or the ones raising her are. Could it be related to what you feed her?"
He hummed, "There is a chance for the first one to be the truth. Despite most aliens being happy to write Earth off as a primitive backwater, I've heard a few of them comment on the fostering nature of this planet. As for the food, it's just regular dishes I or Mikan would make, much like the ones you've had today. I don't see why or how that would have such an effect on her. Then again, I know nothing about alien plants."
"Yet here you are indulging her in the middle of the night in much the same way a devoted father would. You may not know much about them, but you certainly have taken a liking to her."
Well, that he could not argue against.
By now, or more accurately since the moment he started feeding her before she transformed - the alien plant had long since become a part of the family in a way. He found himself worrying about her just like he would for Rito or Mikan.
And the way she was now, it brought him back to the days when he would take care of Mikan as a child as well. Though Celine still wasn't quite as clingy as his sister had been in her youth.
"You can say that I suppose, if not us then I don't see anyone else being able to take responsibility."
"You could always entrust her to us if you wish. We have a city-sized garden back on Planet Deviluke, and I am sure Celine would enjoy liv-"
"-No." He shot down that idea as soon as it started to come out of her mouth. Staring at the woman in the eyes with a slight frown, he made his position clear. "She is perfectly content here, Celine does not need to live in a palace on an alien planet."
His answer only made Sephie chuckle fondly.
"Fufufufu~ how protective you are of her. I can see now why Lala keeps calling you a softie. Despite your gruff outward appearance, you care a lot more than you let on. Can you say the same thing when it comes to my daughters?" she wondered, never breaking her gaze even behind the veil.
He was once again faced with the reality of just how different this person was from Lala despite her face being nearly identical to hers. It was honestly a bit off-putting to imagine Lala ever becoming like this, as opposed to her easygoing, child-like self.
"I made a promise with Lala. She knows she can stay here for as long as it takes for this entire fiancé candidate mess to end."
"Is that all?" Sephie tilted her head, her eyes narrowing playfully as her smile grew wider. "To me, it sounds more like an excuse. Were this fiancé candidate arrangement to no longer exist, I want to believe that you would let her live here regardless."
"For someone who just met me the other day, you sure act as though you know me well," he said back, neither denying nor confirming her prior statement.
The woman in turn hummed in amusement. "I don't know you as well as my daughters, I admit. But, a part of me now understands a bit more as to why my husband is also so curious about you. You have a few overlapping similarities with him, after all."
"Are you honestly comparing me to a warmongering ruler of a galaxy-spanning empire who destroys planets and conquers countless worlds out of boredom? No offense."
"None taken. And, no, maybe not that part, but you are one of the very... very few who did not have a reaction to seeing my face in all its beauty."
"Hm?" He raised his eyebrow, wondering just what he meant by that. However, he became wary the next moment when Sephie, on her own accord, took off the veil to show her face to him. Their eyes met one another for a second time with nothing obstructing them.
The next few seconds passed in complete silence.
"What are you trying to accomplish exactly?" he asked the woman, feeling like she was laying a trap for him.
"When I first came to meet Lala, Momo, and Nana, we decided to have a bath together. While nowhere near as big as the royal bath back home, I had fun enjoying such a private moment with all my daughters somewhere where it was just the four of us. So much so that when I finally left, I completely forgot to put my veil back on. Then out of nowhere, you showed up."
So Mikan was telling the truth about not seeing her face after all. He just ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Remembering his luck, Emiya wanted to sigh but could only silently accept the hand fate had dealt him.
"I was terrified, Emiya. Absolutely mortified that I let my guard down and allowed a man to see my face. My mind raced with the worst possibilities - that my daughter's fiancé would lose all control at the sight of my beauty. That you would force yourself upon me right then and there, tearing off my clothes with wild abandon as I futilely tried to resist before giving in. That you would ravage me mercilessly in front of my own daughters as I cried out your name in shameful ecstasy while you violated my body, running those rough, callous hands over my bosoms. That I would end up on my hands and knees while you take me from behind, begging for more like a common wh-"
"Enough!" Emiya cut her off sharply, his brow twitching in irritation. "You've made your point, quite vividly I have to say. Give me and the rest of humanity a little credit - we're not mindless beasts slobbering at the mouth, ready to pounce at the mere glimpse of a beautiful face." He crossed his arms and fixed her with a flat stare, clearly unamused by the unnecessary detail she had delved into with her imagined worst-case scenario.
"Oh my, you really have no idea how that's exactly what almost happens whenever men of any species have seen my face in the past and how much effort my bodyguards had to make to protect me. Even animals are affected. For humans who already bend their wills just to the allure of my voice, I saw no reason to suspect otherwise. Except for your brother, he was surprisingly suspicious of me during our first meeting, even after I introduced myself."
"He was?" That caught him off guard. With Mikan he could understand, but with Rito it was another story entirely.
"Yes~! He even asked me if I came here to cause you any harm. My husband left a bad impression on everyone from the looks of it, how unfortunate. It warms my heart to see your brother care so much about you that it overpowered his other desires. Maybe."
"..."
Though he did not show it, Emiya did feel some fondness at Sephie's words about Rito. For all his faults, Rito was a genuinely kind boy and it frustrated him deeply at times at how that aspect kept getting overshadowed by his supernatural perverted clumsiness in the eyes of many.
He could not even blame them.
"Are you not feeling the urge to claim me right now, even as you gaze upon my unparalleled beauty in all its glory? Despite knowing that I'm a wife and a mother?"
The eye twitching returned, "What's with you asking such questions? And why do you have to phrase it like that?"
"So I can get a headstart and run away as soon as possible if putting my veil back on does not help~!"
Alright, his prior impression of the woman was wrong. She may behave more maturely than her daughters, but right now her behavior was no different from Lala and Momo in some aspects.
"Trust me, I will throw you out of the house myself if your charms start to have any kind of effect on me or anyone else for that matter... Though I'm most concerned about how it'd affect my siblings." He did not care if she used her abilities on others or even Zastin, they were not his concern. "But it would be a shame to lose someone who has the ability to change an unrepentant raging pervert into a gentleman."
"Oh my, the more you behave like that, the more I'm drawing parallels between you two."
"Hah... believe what you want then. I don't have the means or the need to change your mind, only the hope that you will see the truth with your own eyes."
"Why don't we do so right now?" She tapped the space next to her. "Come join me, I want to have someone to stargaze with. I cannot remember the last time I had someone other than one of my daughters or Gid keep me company like this. And I want to get to know just what kind of person my future son-in-law truly is and how he managed to make my usually impulsive and flippant daughters all fall in love with him."
"..."
It was not an unreasonable request, so he entertained her for now. Going over and taking a seat next to her with the woman who in turn scooched closer to him with her body now almost touching his. But he noted she still kept some distance, perhaps still uncertain whether or not her pheromones would have any effect on him.
He preferred it that way. He was not worried about her charm anymore since he still felt nothing; he didn't even feel the need to cycle his Magical Energy to ward off the effects. Still, he preferred to have respectable boundaries between them.
"The stars you can see from this planet are truly beautiful. The sky is different from the one on my homeworld, but it's just as beautiful," Sephie whispered, wearing a gentle, genuine smile on her face. "You know, I have not given you my thanks for keeping my daughter happy all this time. While I did not particularly approve of how the fiancé candidate business was put together by Gid, I could see why he did so. Lala is... different from the rest of us. While she is still growing into it, I can tell she has inherited my beauty, Gid's strength, and great intelligence beyond either of her parents. But despite all of that, she is still terribly naive when it comes to many aspects of life. We were afraid that she would end up being taken advantage of if left alone sooner or later."
"And so you tried forcing her to marry random alien princes who have proven themselves to be willing to take part in all manner of deceit so they can have her as a prize was your plan? A rather terrible one I must say," he commented, finding a great many flaws in their way of thinking.
"You speak of truths most unfortunate, yet... I do not believe it's quite as bad as you say. Gid believed that eventually, a candidate would emerge who would prove themselves strong enough to eliminate all of the treacherous competition and be someone who in turn would care more about Lala herself than whatever benefits or prestige that marrying her might offer. And I must agree with him on that."
"How am I wrong? It could have all too easily been yet another warmongering prince who got to her in the end. Lacospo is simply the most recent example that comes to mind."
"Yet just as Gid hoped, someone strong was there to halt his nefarious schemes and protect Lala along with everyone else. Someone who managed to attain great power through unknown means and is completely uninterested in Lala's identity as the crown princess of Deviluke. Isn't that right?" She turned her attention to him, a sly smile on her face as if he had walked straight into her trap.
Emiya opened his mouth wanting to deny that, but realized that she was right. Even if it was a stroke of pure luck that Lala landed in his house of all places, it still went as Gid intended.
"Had I not been here... things would have gone very differently, and not at all like what you're saying, Sephie."
"Call me Mother or Mother-in-law, Shirou."
"I refuse."
Her pout was exactly the same as Lala's. Yet while she made such a face, her body was less tense and she looked more relaxed. Most likely she was starting to understand that her charms really did not have the effects she believed they would have upon him. He hoped Lala would not awaken such a power in the future... then he recalled the changes the girl showed when she used that device to accelerate her aging temporarily and grew very worried.
"Please?"
"No," he rolled his eyes as even her voice started to become a tiny bit whiny.
"Hmph, spoilsport," Sephie muttered with puffed cheeks.
"Lala and I are not seriously engaged with one another, this is just to play along with this fiasco you and your husband created. Otherwise he's going to blow up my planet, need I remind you."
"Is that so?" She sounded unconvinced but did not continue insisting on the matter. In fact, in that moment he felt the woman lean her head against his shoulder and let out a soft yawn. "Well at the very least, I want you to know that I would like to have three grandkids per daughter."
"...I won't even comment on that."
"You drive a hard bargain, young man. Hmm... two grandchildren with each of my girls? It gets quite lonely in the palace. Celine already counts as one child between you and either Momo or Lala, after all, so you only have five more to go. Hopefully, the girls won't inherit their grandmother's curse of perfect beauty. Plus I would love to see a few redheads running around the palace hallways."
Suddenly the idea of throwing her out of the house resurfaced in his mind, and this time it had nothing to do with her charm abilities. She was an empress, so booking a hotel for the night would not be hard for her.
"About whether or not Lala would have found you regardless of the time and place. I cannot give you an answer to that. It is easy to ask an infinite number of 'what if' questions, to wonder about a past that could have been. But at the end of the day, what happened is that Lala found you, and so here we are. It does not serve anyone any purpose to wonder the kind of path life might have taken if you had not crossed paths with her. I also like to believe that one way or another, she would have found a way to break free from her chains - she is my daughter after all."
"..."
"If it is of any value to you, know that I am most glad she found you, and so is Gid. We can rest easy at night knowing our daughters found someone who can protect them and give them a loving family."
He would have silently agreed with her had it not been for a single point she kept bringing up. "You make it sound like I am going to marry all three of them. What kind of mother is so eager to hand over all her children to a stranger she just met?"
"..."
This time, he was the one who did not get an answer. The silence continued and all he could hear was the sound of her breathing. A quick look showed him that just like Celine sleeping in her arms, Sephie had also dozed off with more of her weight leaning on him.
Emiya shook his head, continuing to speak despite knowing she could no longer hear him. "You misunderstand, I know full well how Lala feels about me. But I am pretty sure the same sentiment is not shared with your other daughters." With only silence as an answer, Emiya sighed at the realization that he would need to pick Sephie up and bring her to Lala's room. Plus there was the matter of putting Celine to bed without jostling her too much.
He stayed there for a few more minutes, at some point the Empress and the Plantas duo managed to find their way to using his thighs as a pillow with Celine drooling all over his leg.
"What is going on here?"
"-!"
Momo's voice came from behind, awakening Sephie who immediately jolted back up while Celine just groaned lightly in her sleep, but thankfully did not wake up.
Emiya saw Sephie look behind and found Momo staring at them suspiciously from the corner of the entrance. The empress most likely never intended to doze off like this and was panicking slightly, barely managing to put up a smile and get back on her feet.
"Would you look at the time! You're still not sleeping, Momo? That's not good for your health, my dear daughter. Let's go to bed, we have a long day tomorrow. Good night, Shirou." She quickly walked by, only to be stopped by Momo who grabbed her sleeves.
"You forgot your veil, Mama." She pointed at the piece of fabric that was lying on his lap, being chewed on by a sleeping Celine.
"..."
Sephie's smile became even more strained, and she swiftly walked back to grab the partially wet fabric and almost ran away from the scene after putting it on and gently taking Celine in her arms, leaving him all alone with Momo who continued to stare at him.
"I get the feeling that you are having a terrible misunderstanding right now, Momo."
Rather than answering, Momo strode over and dropped to her knees beside him, gripping his face between her hands as she stared intently into his eyes. "Look, if you're feeling frustrated, you can have your way with me instead - anywhere, anytime, however you want it. I'll happily expand the harem plans to add more girls so we can all work together to satisfy your desires, but Mama is absolutely off limits! Even I know that's a losing battle. No one could possibly measure up to that!"
Clearly, Momo had conjured up some wild fantasy in that overactive imagination of hers that now involves her mother, while ignoring the fact that she's married to her father.
"For the love of... Nothing happened and nothing's going to happen! Get your mind out of the gutter, you troublesome girl!"
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.