Does a Doll Deserve to Live a Happy Life? (Patreon)

Chapter 4: Onset of War The soft rustle of fabric and the muted glow of morning light greeted me as I slowly opened my eyes. Tamamo was sti

Chapter 4: Onset of War

The soft rustle of fabric and the muted glow of morning light greeted me as I slowly opened my eyes. Tamamo was still beside me, her breathing slow and even, ears twitching faintly with each exhale. At some point during the night, her tail had draped itself over my leg—warm and surprisingly soft.

She stirred a few moments later, golden eyes blinking open as a faint smile tugged at her lips. “Good morning… Master,” she murmured, her voice husky with sleep. “You didn’t run away in the night. I’m flattered.”

I shook my head lightly. “Wouldn’t have been able to, even if I tried. You were holding onto my arm pretty tightly.”

Tamamo sat up slowly, stretching her arms above her head. Her sleeves slipped down in the process, revealing a bit more skin before she adjusted them again with a sleepy huff. “Mmm. Then I suppose I was making sure you didn’t vanish on me. Just in case all of this really was a dream.”

“It’s not,” I replied softly, watching her eyes grow a little gentler. “We’re both still here.”

Her gaze shifted to the back of her hand, where the newly-formed tattoo—the mirror of my own Command Spells—rested like a quiet promise. She ran her fingers across it absently.

“I forgot to mention,” I muttered, sitting up and stretching to shake off the lingering drowsiness. When I noticed her looking at me, I continued, “The symbol can be moved. If you don’t want it on your hand, it can go wherever you like.”

Tamamo tilted her head slightly, considering that. Then she nodded. “Might as well. I don’t feel like letting anyone but you see this anyway.” Her lips curved into a mischievous smile. “By the way, Master… can it be placed anywhere? Like… in my bosom? Or maybe my abdomen?”

My ears flushed red almost instantly. I turned my head away, nodding stiffly. “Yes.”

“Fufufu, then can you guess where I want it?” she asked coyly, lightly touching the spots she’d mentioned with her fingertips.

“…I don’t know,” I said carefully. “It’s your decision.”

“Mou~ You’re no fun~” she pouted playfully, then sighed and offered the real answer. “I want it on my abdomen.”

Nodding at her request, I summoned my Company Phone. With a few quick presses, the Stamp tattoo vanished from the back of her hand.

“Ooh, I felt that,” Tamamo murmured, blinking as she touched her abdomen briefly before looking up at me with a grin. “Fufufu, this way, if you ever want to look at it again, you’ll have to make me fall for you~”

I sighed at her playful tone, but as her tail swished lazily behind her, an unexpected urge bubbled up inside me.

“Hey, Tamamo?” I said cautiously.

She pouted at my non-reaction to her flirtation but blinked curiously at the shift in my tone. “Hmm? What is it, Master?”

“May I… Ahem.” I cleared my throat, struggling to find the right words. “May I brush your tail?”

Her ears twitched, and for a heartbeat she froze.

“Hah!?” she exclaimed, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. But just as quickly, she masked it with a teasing smirk. “Fufufu, don’t tell me you’re already falling for me?”

I looked down, murmuring something under my breath—quiet enough that she couldn’t quite catch it.

“Hmm? What was that~?” she prodded, clearly enjoying herself.

When I finally looked back up, my face slightly flushed, I repeated, “I said… it just looks really soft.”

Her eyes lit up with amusement and approval, the blush on her cheeks deepening slightly as she preened. “Nice of you to notice, Master~ Indeed, my tail is very soft. I take excellent care of it, after all.”

Then, with a proud nod, she slowly extended her tail toward me, the silky fur shimmering faintly in the morning light. “Very well. You may touch it. Consider yourself lucky—no one else has ever been given this privilege.”

She watched me closely as I reached out, her golden eyes fixed on my face, eager to see how I would react to the feel of her most treasured feature.

Carefully, I reached out, fingers grazing the soft, silky fur of her tail. The texture was even more delicate than I had imagined, and I brushed through it slowly, letting the moment linger. Tamamo’s ears flickered at the touch, and she made a small sound of surprise.

“I thought it would be a bit more… rough,” I murmured, captivated by the way her fur shimmered beneath my touch. “It’s so soft.”

Tamamo’s response came as a quiet breath. “I’m glad you like it~”

I kept brushing, letting the gentle rhythm settle into something calming. Her tail twitched once or twice, but she didn’t pull away. If anything, she relaxed more, clearly savoring the contact.

“Does it feel alright?” I asked after a while, glancing at her.

She nodded, cheeks tinged pink, though her expression was one of quiet appreciation. “It does. Thank you, Master.”

Then, without warning, Tamamo’s body stiffened slightly—and before my eyes, two more tails blossomed into existence behind her, identical to the first in color and shape. I froze, my hand still resting against her fur, just as I felt my Company Phone vibrate in my pocket.

‘Wha...?’ I blinked, pulling it out one-handed while still kneeling beside her. A notification had appeared across the screen: Mission Complete — Tamamo-no-Mae Captured.

My eyes widened as I read, realization dawning.

‘Wait… That’s right. The mission said the only conditions for capture were for my soul to be good enough… and touching her tail once. So even with Delayed Response active… Company Missions must override those effects.’

While I tried to wrap my head around that, Tamamo was quietly staring at her hands and the two new tails fluttering behind her. Her expression shifted from confusion to understanding, then settled into a subtle, unspoken relief. Finally, she looked up at me, tilting her head with a faint smirk that couldn’t quite hide the warmth in her eyes.

“Huh. That was much quicker than you predicted, Master~”

Letting a smile tug at my lips as I caught the relieved look in her eyes, I gave a small nod. “It seems our bond has grown stronger, Tamamo.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie… but I definitely wasn’t about to admit that the real reason her power had fully returned was because I’d completed a mission that required me to touch her tail. Knowing her personality, I’d never hear the end of it.

“Hmm…” Tamamo tilted her head, gaze narrowing ever so slightly as if she could sense there was more I wasn’t saying. Thankfully, after a brief pause, she let it go with a soft smile. “Well, with my strength restored, this Grail War might not be so difficult after all~”

“… About that,” I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. In all the excitement, I’d forgotten to actually explain the state of the current war to her. Sure, we stood a real chance now—but only if we played things carefully.

So I took the time to fill her in, outlining what I knew about the other Masters and Servants. I left out the Caster and his Master, of course. That pair was no longer part of the equation—because I had taken their role.

‘Not that I don’t plan on hunting down that murderer as soon as possible, anyway.’ I thought grimly, recalling the atrocities Ryonosuke had caused.

“Auuu~ This is too much for me to deal with so early in the morning~” Tamamo groaned, cradling her head in mild despair as I finished explaining everything.

But just as quickly, she stood up with a dramatic huff, determination flashing in her golden eyes. “Enough of this serious talk, Master! Let your adorable future fox wife handle breakfast. We can tackle all this heavy stuff after you’ve had something delicious to eat.”

With that, she turned on her heel and made her way to the door. “Breakfast will be ready by the time you’re out of the shower!” she called over her shoulder, tail swaying proudly as she disappeared down the hall.

Letting out a sigh, I glanced down at my phone again and noticed the 340 credits now sitting in my account—240 for capturing Tamamo, and another 100 for summoning her into the Nasuverse.

‘With this, we should be able to reinforce our defenses enough to avoid being spotted so easily like we were today.’ The thought made me frown slightly as I began scrolling through the Catalogue, carefully purchasing everything I thought we’d need.

The first order of business was buying Pocket Apartment x2, expanding this place by twice as much, then All Roads Lead to Home, so anybody connected to me could now use the portals that led to this dimension. After that, I bought Template Stacking II for Kiara, raising her tier to 5. Then came the defenses: Mind, Drain, Polymorph, Information x2, and Trace.

Finally, I bought Mapper, Target Tracker, and Bounty Tracker, giving us a huge advantage over everyone else by being able to tell where everyone was at all times.

When I was finally done, I headed to the shower and finished my morning rituals. ‘I’m sure Tamamo will be surprised when I tell her later.’

=====

An hour later, we were all gathered around the kitchen table, enjoying the meal Tamamo had prepared.

“Say aaah~” Tamamo cooed with a bright smile, holding a pair of chopsticks with what looked like a fluffy egg dish.

I opened my mouth and let her feed me, chewing thoughtfully before offering a sincere compliment. “Thank you—it’s delicious.”

Across from us, Aoi and Kiara sat watching the exchange, mild amusement dancing in their eyes.

“It is quite good, Caster-san,” Kiara said, her tone light as she gave me a teasing glance. “But I must admit, Sieg-kun’s cooking was a bit better.”

Aoi remained silent—too polite to agree aloud, though the truth was obvious. Compared to how quickly she’d devoured my food yesterday, today’s pace was much more restrained.

Tamamo blinked at Kiara’s words, then turned to me with a curious tilt of her head. “You can cook, Master?”

“I can,” I nodded slowly, offering her a reassuring smile. “Though, to be fair, it’s mostly thanks to a perk I bought—it’s not really a reflection of my own skill. But if you’d like, once we have enough credits, I can get the same perk for you. I’m sure your cooking will be even better, since you already know what you’re doing.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Master~” she said with a genuine smile, before adopting a thoughtful look. “Hmm… as for your offer, let’s talk about it later. But now I’m really curious to try your cooking~”

“Then I’ll take care of lunch,” I replied simply, my tone soft and calm.

“Fufufu, I can’t wait~”

With that, our morning resumed peacefully as we talked amongst ourselves about the incoming war and who to watch out for—namely, Saber and her Master, Archer and his Master, and Berserker and his Master.

“Fighting Archer might prove difficult for me due to my nature, Master,” Tamamo muttered with a faint grimace.

“That’s alright. I’ll be there as well,” I said quietly, my expression serious. “I don’t know how much help my meager strength will be, but I’m willing to fight.”

Tamamo didn’t seem reassured by those words but ultimately remained silent, already aware of my ability to access Siegfried’s powers.

“…Very well, Master. In the meantime, you mentioned planning to rescue a girl?”

“Yes,” I nodded, my thoughts turning to Sakura and Zouken. “As soon as the new perks become available—which should be tomorrow—we’ll be able to pinpoint the location of every person of interest in the city and begin planning Sakura’s rescue.”

Aoi, who had perked up at the mention of her ‘daughter,’ nodded gratefully. “Thank you again for doing this, Sieg-san,” she said with a small bow.

“Think nothing of it. We already had this conversation yesterday, Aoi-san, and I’ve already promised to help,” I replied, waving off her thanks before turning back to Tamamo.

“By the way, Tamamo— I don’t mind you calling me ‘Master’ outside this place, but could you please call me ‘Sieg’ while we’re within the safety of this personal dimension?” I looked at her with a pleading smile. “This war won’t last forever, and honestly, it feels a bit unfair that I get to call you by name when you don’t do the same for me.”

Tamamo blinked, clearly surprised by the request, before offering me a bright smile, her ears twitching in delight. “Fufufu, very well, Sieg-kun~ If that is your wish, then your Tamamo will gladly accept it.”

Her tails swished behind her playfully, betraying her true feelings, making me close my eyes in quiet amusement.

‘It seems your tails are very honest, Tamamo.’

“Thank you,” I said sincerely.

With that, the rest of the day came and went, with Tamamo and Kiara keeping a watchful eye on me as I practiced basic Reinforcement and Projection Magecraft.

Thanks to my Dragon Heritage, with Magic as my elemental affinity, the spells came naturally. Within a few hours, I had reached a respectable level of proficiency—at least according to Tamamo.

Maybe, with enough time, I could pull off the kinds of ridiculous stunts Shirou and Emiya were known for. But that was still a long way off. For now, I was simply glad to have added a few more abilities to my arsenal.

Lunch was a highlight—especially seeing Tamamo’s reaction when she tasted my cooking. She looked utterly blissful, clearly enjoying the meal, but also a little crestfallen that I outdid her. Honestly, it was adorable.

Feeling bad, I offered to teach her how to cook, and that seemed to do the trick. She immediately pulled me into a hug, happily rambling about cooking together as husband and wife or something along those lines.

Before we knew it, the day had ended. Tamamo was once again sleeping beside me, her tails wrapped snugly around my body.

Surprisingly, it was incredibly comfortable—even if it was a little embarrassing.

=====

Apartment Building – Night

In the dim light of a sparsely furnished hotel room, a dark-haired man sat at the edge of a low table, quietly cleaning a sniper rifle with practiced, mechanical precision. His expression was unreadable, eyes narrowed in thought as he ran a cloth along the barrel. He didn’t look up when the door opened.

A middle-aged woman with black hair stepped inside, shutting the door behind her with a soft click. She leaned casually against the wall, arms folded.

“Did you find anything, Maiya?” the man asked, his voice low and even.

Maiya shook her head, her expression tight. “No. Every trace vanishes after they enter the school. It’s like they disappeared into thin air.”

Kiritsugu Emiya finally paused, setting the rifle aside with a quiet sigh.

“So we still have no idea who he is,” he muttered. “No name, no background, and nothing from the Church about a new Master appearing.”

“Could be an independent,” Maiya offered, tilting her head. “Someone operating off the grid.”

Kiritsugu’s expression darkened. “Or someone powerful enough not to care about being found.”

A heavy silence settled between them.

“I don’t like it,” he said at last. “This Grail War is already shaping up to be unpredictable, and now someone shows up out of nowhere—with a Servant that’s likely Japanese—giving them a massive advantage.”

Maiya didn’t respond. She knew well the kind of unease that anomalies like this stirred in Kiritsugu.

He stood slowly, walking to the window and staring out over the city below.

“Keep watching the school,” he said quietly. “We may not know who he is yet… but he won’t stay hidden forever.”