Type-Moon's Problem Child from Collapse

Fu Yuan, hearing this clearly wrong form of address, suddenly grew curious about what Master and Maiya called each other in private. He sighed at his own inadequacies while also marveling at Kiritsugu's behavior.

'You city folk sure know how to have fun.'

'Heh!'

Suddenly, an icy voice rang out in his mind.

Upon hearing this, Fu Yuan's heart stirred with excitement, and he quickly adopted a very sincere attitude of admitting fault.

'Senior Sister, I was wrong! I really know I was wrong?'

Then he waited for a long time, but no second voice came, as if that previous 'Heh!' had been an illusion.

And while Fu Yuan was still in a daze, Irisviel had already pushed open the door of the dessert shop.

Chapter 19: Irisviel's Decision

Kiritsugu Emiya was also quite lost today. When he said this morning that he would go gather intelligence, he had already realized that most of it he had learned through Saber. So what kind of feelings had he harbored when he went out with Maiya?

Was it guilt?

After that incident this morning, Maiya had become noticeably happier. As they wandered, the meal time had already passed.

Maiya was clearly enjoying this atmosphere, but feeling the hunger in her body, she didn't want to break the mood by speaking up.

So conflicted!

Then she spotted a dessert shop ahead—a godsend! A dessert shop, two people... a kitchen knife? No, no, why did I think of that?

Maiya didn't ask for much, just that Kiritsugu would spend more time with her. She shook her head, temporarily casting all irrelevant thoughts out of her mind, then fixed her gaze on the man beside her and spoke.

"Kiritsugu, how about we get lunch first?"

"Mm, mm! It's already meal time, huh."

Snapped back to attention by her question, Kiritsugu felt his body's complaints and became even more conflicted.

"Mm! Want to go eat first? That dessert shop up ahead looks good." Maiya watched the dazed Kiritsugu, not minding his distraction, and instead asked his opinion in a very gentle tone.

Sometimes Maiya also wondered—she had been there first, so why had things turned out like this!

But Maiya quickly nipped that unpleasant thought in the bud. As long as Kiritsugu belonged to her in this moment, that was enough.

"A dessert shop, huh. Okay."

Kiritsugu was human too. His heart was made of flesh, and he had normal emotions—he just usually suppressed them. Feeling Maiya's anticipation now, he couldn't help but want to relax, to temporarily set aside thoughts of justice and the like.

But why did he have this nagging sense of unease!

"This, this, this, this... and this, okay! Mm~ That's all!" Maiya stared at the samples in the display case, her hand rapidly pointing here and there, until she finally swept her gaze across everything and found no more desserts that interested her.

Only after finishing did she remember that Kiritsugu was still beside her. Her face instantly flushed with red, and she looked at him a bit sheepishly.

'Ah! Eating this much, will Kiritsugu dislike me?...'

'...Mm~ I should have held back... but I can't resist when I see desserts!'

'It's all this dessert shop's fault! Hmph!'

With that thought, Maiya glared angrily at the shop owner, then suddenly came to her senses and covered her face with both hands.

Oh dear, oh dear!

Kiritsugu watched Maiya's performance beside him and was utterly amazed.

He had known for a long time that Maiya loved sweets, but he never imagined she could eat this much!

Still, it was just a passing thought. After all, some desserts—how much could they cost? Compared to being able to see Maiya like this, Kiritsugu felt he had come out ahead.

"Very cute, Maiya." Kiritsugu looked at the still-blushing Maiya, his mood suddenly lifting, and spoke quite naturally.

"...Is it that cute, Kiritsugu?"

Then he heard an icy voice from behind him. His entire body froze instantly, and he slowly turned his head, hoping that had just been an auditory hallucination!

Kiritsugu, moving stiffly, didn't notice the looks of contempt from the other customers directed at him as a scumbag. Seeing Illya's curious gaze and Saber's expression of 'fellow sufferer?', he now only had to think about how to survive.

Maiya's face went from red to white, like a magic trick—very amusing.

Huh? Wait, why am I panicking?

Maiya suddenly figured something out. She hadn't done anything all morning, had she? Right, why was she panicking! What was this feeling like being caught cheating!

"Mrs., please calm down first. We didn't do anything all morning." Maiya suddenly spoke up to explain. After all, letting Kiritsugu suffer because of something like this would be truly wrong!

Kiritsugu's eyes lit up beside her. Right, they hadn't done anything! He silently gave Maiya a mental thumbs-up.

"Irisviel, we really didn't do anything."

Fu Yuan slapped his hand over his face with a smack, barely suppressing the urge to burst out laughing. Was this whole family a bunch of idiots!

"Didn't do anything?" Irisviel's face suddenly calmed, and she asked again.

"Mm-hmm! Didn't do anything!" ×2

"Just wandered around all morning?"

"Mm... mm?" ×2

Kiritsugu suddenly snapped to attention, his expression turning grim—there was no way to bluff his way out of this one.

'Irisviel, you've changed.'

Beside him, Maiya fell into self-doubt—had she been dumbed down just now?

"Pfft!..."

Fu Yuan, off to the side, innocently started whistling before their gazes could land on him.

Sure enough, joy and sorrow don't mix between people—at least right now, watching them so miserable, Fu Yuan suddenly felt pretty happy!

Su Mei, who hadn't spoken in a long time, silently extended her perception. No particular reason—just wanted to see what they'd do next.

"Did Dad go on a date with Sister Maiya this morning?" Little Illya used a word she hadn't quite mastered yet, delivering the final blow with her childish tone.

"Pfft..." Fu Yuan turned his head away and resumed whistling, as if nothing had happened.

Kiritsugu's heart sank as he watched Irisviel's face go completely blank, expressionless.

Irisviel suddenly took Little Illya's hand and started walking out, then, as if resigned, her face twisted like she'd bitten into a fly as she said, bitterly:

"Two, Four, Six—I won't interfere."

Fu Yuan: ???

Su Mei: ???

Kiritsugu ∪ Maiya: !!!

"So this is the magnanimity of the main wife!" Fu Yuan was stunned for a long moment before recovering from his shock, then said with a hint of pointed meaning.

Watching Irisviel walk off into the distance, Fu Yuan jogged after her.

How to put it? Unexpected, yet predictable—given Irisviel's personality, there was a good chance she'd make this call.

But Fu Yuan had always thought it wouldn't happen until after the Holy Grail War ended—he never expected it to come so soon.

Thinking about it, Kiritsugu really was a winner in life, at least for now.

At that thought, Fu Yuan, who'd just been feeling cheerful, suddenly got a bit down o3o.

Jogging behind Irisviel, he could clearly sense she wasn't in a good mood—but Fu Yuan really didn't know how to comfort people! Every girl he'd met before was either a Lily or a freak—he had zero experience with this!

"A Yuan, do you think I did the right thing?" Irisviel stopped abruptly, asking with a bitter tone.

"...I don't know, but I think you already have the answer in your heart." Fu Yuan forced himself to stop, looked at Irisviel, whose eyes were already glistening, stood on tiptoe, and reached up to pat her head.

"But it hurts so much! Why! I already accepted it long ago, didn't I? Why does it still hurt this much!"

Irisviel, as if she'd found someone to vent to, suddenly burst into loud sobs, not even minding Illya standing nearby.

"Don't cry, don't cry... Irisviel is the best." Fu Yuan fumbled a bit in the face of this, but eventually steadied himself, pulled her into his arms, and gently patted her back with his small hand, over and over.

Fu Yuan wasn't great at comforting people, but what Irisviel needed right now wasn't comfort—just an outlet for her emotions. Illya clearly wasn't suited for that, so it had to be him.

"Mom, don't cry. Illya will always be with Mom." Little Illya, seeing her mother cry, got flustered too, then wrapped her arms around her and tried to console her.

After a long while, Fu Yuan felt Irisviel's emotions gradually calm down and finally relaxed.

"Let's go home first, A Yuan, Illya." Irisviel pulled away from Fu Yuan's arms, wiped the tears from her face, and forced herself to speak steadily.

"Mm, whatever you say, Irisviel."

"Illya listens to Mom."

Seeing this, Irisviel felt a little less pained—it had just been a release, after all.

Then she noticed the large wet patch on Fu Yuan's shoulder, sniffled a couple more times, and turned her head away shyly, a bit embarrassed.

"Let's take the side streets—fewer people there."

Fu Yuan seemed to catch on from where her gaze had landed. Then, while Irisviel wasn't looking, he used magic to dry the damp spot, sparing them both the awkwardness.

"Kiritsugu, you should go after Mrs. now, not stay here with me." Maiya, seeing Kiritsugu had no intention of moving, felt a small flicker of happiness inside but still urged him seriously.

"...Irisviel probably doesn't need me there right now." Kiritsugu suddenly felt like absolute garbage—he'd had so many chances to resolve this, yet he'd kept putting it off, dragging it out until now.

Watching Irisviel walk away, he didn't have the courage to chase after her immediately, just stood there like a coward, running away.

'I really am a coward.'

Maiya sensed the torment inside Kiritsugu, then, ignoring the stares of others, pulled him into a tight hug, hoping it would ease his pain even a little—even if just physically.

The shopkeeper stood by, at a loss, watching the situation unfold. Especially now that the pastries were ready—should he interrupt them or not!

Chapter 20: "Dark Magic Swordsman Kariya"

"Nn~" Su Mei sat up as usual, yawning and stretching, completely unconcerned about the other little one in the bed.

"Good morning, Senior Sister." Fu Yuan had grown used to these mornings over the years. The only difference was that, after last night's events, he realized his Senior Sister really did occupy a big place in his heart.

"I'm heading to the Southern Border. Pack your things." Su Mei took the clothes Fu Yuan handed her, marveling at her Junior Disciple Brother's talent as she casually dropped the line.

"Mm, once I go back to the mountain and turn in the mission, I'll go find Senior Sister." Fu Yuan was actually a bit surprised by Senior Sister's invitation, since he'd asked a few times before and been rejected each time.

"..." Su Mei suddenly stopped moving, calmly staring at this ungrateful little Fu Yuan, then her expression returned to normal as if she'd just remembered something and said, "Suddenly remembered something—you don't need to go."

"?"

Fu Yuan sensed Senior Sister's abrupt change and had a guess in his heart. He jumped over and suddenly hugged Su Mei, letting go of her arm, and said in a soft, coaxing tone, "Mm, Master's not in a hurry anyway. I want to go with Senior Sister to the Southern Border, okay, Senior Sister~?"

"Then hurry up and pack your things." Su Mei flicked his head helplessly, suppressing the little smugness rising in her heart, and said casually.

"Mm-hmm, Senior Sister is the best!"

In an alley where no one passed, countless tentacles were locked in battle with a black knight—or rather, it was more accurate to say the black knight was unilaterally slaughtering the tentacles.

Lancelot had rarely taken out 'Sword for My King'. It wasn't that the enemy was strong; it was simply that there were no convenient weapons nearby.

Several twisted tentacles attacked from multiple directions at the now-excited Lancelot.

The air was filled with sonic booms, and combined with the tentacles' own nature, they were far more dangerous than bullets to ordinary people.

Yet none of this made Lancelot stop, nor did he even need to dodge. With A-rank Strength and A+ Agility, these tentacles that would trouble ordinary people were far too weak for him.

Holding his sword in both hands, he swept forward horizontally, and a surge of immense magical power erupted...

"Is this magecraft?" Irisviel suddenly stopped as she passed an intersection and stated a very interesting fact.

Hearing this, Fu Yuan stopped, shielding Irisviel and Illya behind him, and pushed his long-unused talent to its limit.

Fu Yuan frowned. From within came the stench of distortion, madness, and decay—utterly nauseating.

"Yes, there should be two Heroic Spirits fighting inside."