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

Chapter 22: Gremlin Days, Knightly Nights

Noticing that all eyes were on me, I coughed into my hand and tried to play it cool, ignoring Irisviel and Aoi’s teasing smiles, as well as the daggers Sakura and Kiara were glaring at Tamamo other over my shoulders.

Tamamo giggled quietly to herself at my embarrassment ignoring Sakura and Kiara as she snuggled to my side with a contented sigh.

“Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, there are some things we need to settle in this world before moving on,” I said firmly, then turned toward Irisviel, giving her a look. She smiled back knowingly.

“And those are?” Saber asked, her brow arched in that knightly way of hers.

Smiling slightly, I met her gaze. “It has to do with the reason I was able to convince Irisviel to switch sides.”

Saber leaned forward, curious. “And that is?”

“Rescuing her daughter, Illyasviel,” I said calmly.

Saber’s eyes widened, but after a beat she nodded with a new kind of gravity.

“Speaking of daughters…” My smile faded into a frown as I turned toward Aoi and Sakura. “There’s a high chance that Tokiomi perished in the war along with the original Aoi. If so, Rin is alone now.”

“I can confirm that right now, actually.” Pulling up the Bounty Tracker, I searched both of their names. Seconds later, I dismissed it with a sigh. “Yep. Their definitely both dead.”

Saber blinked at the word original when I’d mentioned Aoi earlier, clearly wanting to ask, but her knightly instincts told her there was more to it than met the eye.

“I had a feeling that might be the case,” Aoi said quietly, her expression blank, her voice calm in that unsettling way that suggested she’d already accepted the truth.

Sakura was even less reactive, snuggled into my side, eyes closed, ignoring Tamamo’s futile attempts to get her to let go of me.

Saber, still frowning, finally asked, “Original…?”

I gave her the answer straight. “This Aoi is from another reality.” It was better than explaining the Company clone thing.

Her eyes widened slightly, but she only nodded after a moment, already starting to fit the idea of parallel worlds from what I’d shared with her earlier.

“Our immediate plan is this,” I continued evenly. “We meet with Rider in a few days. Aoi takes custody of Rin. Then, we go to Germany to rescue Illya from her grandfather.”

Silence fell as the pieces settled into place, until Saber raised her voice. “W-What about Kiritsugu? And Maiya?”

At her question, Irisviel’s happy smile vanished like a candle snuffed out. She turned her face away, lips pressed tight.

My expression went cold as steel. “Kiritsugu tried to kill me and my companions multiple times this war. I’ll answer accordingly. I’m only waiting until your contract with him ends.”

Saber stiffened, then frowned deeply before turning to Irisviel. “Irisviel… this is your husband. Don’t you have anything to say about this?”

There was a long, painful silence. Then Irisviel drew in a deep breath. “The moment I chose to join Sieg-san, I accepted the fate that awaited him. As long as I can save Illya, I have no regrets. And knowing him… he won’t either.”

Her voice was calm, but the way her hands clenched betrayed the cost of those words.

Saber’s eyes went wide. She shot to her feet in outrage. “Irisviel! How can you say that about your own husband!?”

Tamamo’s tails bristled and one of them slid around me protectively, ready to lash out if Saber made a move.

Finally, Irisviel turned back, eyes glistening with unshed tears. Her voice was sharp, cold. “Would a normal husband try to kill his wife multiple times?”

The words cut through the room like a blade. Saber flinched, her mouth falling open, but no defense came. Clearly recalling being forced to point her blade at Irisviel mere hours ago.

“I know Kiritsugu better than anyone,” Irisviel continued, her voice breaking just slightly. “If it helped him reach his goal of ‘saving humanity,’ he would not hesitate to kill me or his own daughter.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. She rose suddenly, whispered a shaky excuse, and left the room.

The silence afterward was crushing.

“I… I apologize,” Saber said after a moment, bowing her head low. “I spoke out of turn without knowing all the details.”

I waved a hand dismissively, forcing myself to relax. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just… continue.”

Saber gave a subdued nod, though her eyes kept flickering to the door Irisviel had gone through, her guilt plain on her face.

=====

Hours Later

After discussing our plans for our remaining time in this world, me, Tamamo, Aoi, and Sakura left the safety of the Demiplane and went back to Fuyuki to confirm what had happened with Tokiomi and look for Rin.

I had tried to get Sakura to stay, only to be immediately rejected by the girl as she clung to me and refused to let go. In the end, I let her come, realizing she was probably just trying to spend as much time with me as possible now that the war was over and our departure was drawing close.

Tamamo seemed to realize that as well, begrudgingly allowing Sakura to do as she pleased without making much effort to pry her away from my side.

It didn’t take us long to reach the home Rin and Aoi had been staying in during the war. We now stood outside its front door.

“Do you want us to accompany you, Aoi-san?” I asked, turning to the woman who had remained silent until now.

Aoi shook her head and gave me a gentle smile. “It’s alright, Sieg-san. I should be the one to break the news to Rin. I am technically her mother, after all.”

She then turned to Sakura, who was holding onto my hand and seemed lost in her own thoughts. “Sakura, do you want to come and say hi to Rin?”

Sakura blinked at being addressed before slightly frowning and shaking her head. “No. I’ll stay here with Sieg-san,” she said firmly, not moved in the slightest.

Aoi gave her a small nod before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door.

A moment later, the door opened to reveal a cute girl with wavy black hair and aqua eyes. Her eyes were slightly puffy, but they widened the instant she saw who was standing there.

“M-Mother!?” Rin exclaimed in shock, eyes wide as saucers.

“Hello Rin, I’m glad you’re doing alright,” Aoi said softly, smiling gently at her daughter.

“B-But you—you…” Rin stammered, letting out a few hiccups before her tears spilled over. Then, with no hesitation, she launched herself at Aoi’s waist and started wailing out loud, not even noticing the rest of us.

“There, there. I’m right here.” Aoi gently took Rin into her arms and stepped inside, gesturing for us to follow. She led us into the sitting room while continuing to soothe her daughter.

We awkwardly followed and found seats on a sofa big enough for the three of us. Tamamo claimed my left side while Sakura nestled herself into my lap, causing Tamamo to click her tongue in annoyance and mutter under her breath to “bear with it for a little longer.”

It took several minutes for Aoi to calm Rin down. The poor girl had likely been in shock, overwhelmed and beyond relieved that her mother was still alive, that she still had a parent left. She had no idea, of course, that the woman she was clinging to was not her original mother but a clone.

‘I don’t want to be here for that discussion,’ I thought silently, relieved Aoi would be the one handling that revelation.

Eventually Rin calmed down enough to realize she wasn’t alone with her mother. She quickly flushed red in embarrassment, pulling away from Aoi. But when her gaze fell on us for the first time, she froze.

Her eyes landed first on Sakura, who was happily snuggling into my chest. “S-Sist—I-I mean, S-Sakura-san! W-What are you doing here?” Rin stammered, correcting herself at the last second.

Then her gaze shifted to me and Tamamo, who was smugly resting her head on my shoulder with a lazy smirk.

“Rin,” Sakura said simply, before closing her eyes and snuggling even deeper into my chest.

“Nice to meet you, Rin Tohsaka. My name is Sieg.” I gave her a small wave with my free hand.

“Another brat, huh?” Tamamo muttered lazily before flashing Rin a somewhat predatory grin. “Well, as long as this new brat knows her place, then all is fine~ My name is Tamamo, by the way, Sieg-kun’s future girlfriend and wife~”

“W-Wha?” Rin squeaked, looking completely confused, which made me chuckle in amusement.

“This will take a while to explain,” Aoi said patiently, patting Rin’s head and earning another blush from her daughter. “You see, Rin…”

We then spent the next half hour explaining to Rin the most important details about the war, and how Aoi was here before her, despite Rin having witnessed her mother’s death, probably at Kirei’s hands.

=====

After our conversation, Rin stayed quiet for a while, clearly processing everything that had been revealed. Finally, she raised her hand, her wide eyes flicking toward me, though she couldn’t seem to ignore the sight of Sakura still snuggled against my side without a care in the world.

“Sieg-san, right?” she asked a bit hesitantly.

“That’s right.” I replied with a patient smile.

To my surprise, Rin rose from her seat and bowed at the waist. “Thank you for saving my sister and for looking out for her and Mother,” she said sincerely.

We’d decided on the explanation that Aoi was from another reality, rather than a “clone,” to simplify matters. Not even a lie, technically.

“There’s no need to bow,” I said with a small wave of my hand, feeling a bit strange at having a seven-year-old show me that level of respect. “It wasn’t any trouble.”

Rin straightened up, though a nervous look flickered across her face before she managed to mask it. “W-What will happen to me going forward?”

“That’s actually why we’re here.” I gave Aoi a nod, and she offered Rin a warm, steadying smile. “If you want, you and Sakura will live with Aoi-san from now on. Should anyone get suspicious, it won’t be much trouble to nudge away the concerns of normal people.”

Rin’s eyes brightened at that, immediately turning toward Aoi for confirmation and she received another reassuring smile in return. Her gaze then slid toward Sakura, who gave her a reluctant, almost grudging nod. It was obvious Sakura wasn’t thrilled at the idea of staying behind, even temporarily.

“W-Where will we live?” Rin pressed.

This time, Aoi took the lead. “With some distant relatives. Luckily, the Tohsaka family is still well-off. If we’re careful, we’ll be fine for a decade or two without needing to work.”

Rin’s face soured briefly at the mention of “relatives” before slipping into reluctant acceptance.

‘The Edelfelts, maybe?’ I mused privately, catching that flicker of distaste.

“And my magic training?” she asked, her voice more subdued now, no doubt remembering that Tokiomi had been the one guiding her before.

“Don’t worry about that,” Aoi said with a smile. “Thanks to Sieg-san’s gift, I’ll be handling both your training and Sakura’s.” To drive the point home, she produced a small staff and conjured a fireball at its tip, making Rin gasp.

“I-Isn’t that Father’s!?” Rin asked in astonishment.

“It wasn’t difficult to replicate,” Aoi replied with the faintest smirk.

I looked away with a nervous smile, unwilling to explain that I’d given her a Zelretch template. Rin would be in for quite a shock when she found out.

More reassured now, Rin nodded, looking calmer than she had all evening. “So what happens now?”

“Now,” I said firmly, “we go back to my home and keep out of sight of the Church’s enforcers or the Clock Tower’s spies. With the war finished, they’ll be nosing around to find out what happened and frankly, I’d rather avoid that headache.”

I glanced around. “For now, let’s pack up everything you’ll need and bring it back home with us.”

Everyone nodded, and we set about the task. Rin already looked more at ease than when she had first opened the door.

‘Now if only Sakura would stop giving her sister the cold shoulder,’ I thought, glancing down at the girl still glued to my side. ‘Though I can hardly blame her… after being abandoned by her parents in Rin’s favor, then thrown to Zouken to endure hell, I’d be a bit bitter too.’

=====

Several Days Later — Demiplane

“SIEG!! Can I have a superpower now!?”

“Nee-san! Leave Sieg-san alone!”

“Both of you brats leave Sieg-kun alone!”

It hadn’t taken Rin long to put two and two together. Once she realized Aoi hadn’t had magic before and remembered her mentioning it was a “gift” from me, the girl immediately sniffed out the truth, I could grant powers.

And of course, the very first thing she did was demand one for herself.

Since I’d already planned to give both her and Sakura a power-up, not wanting to leave them without a way to defend themselves, I told her she’d have to wait until I had the proper conditions (read: credits).

That didn’t stop her. Every day since, Rin had pestered me with the same request. Which, naturally, made Sakura jealous, sparking daily squabbles about who was hogging my attention. Add Sakura clinging to me like a limpet almost every waking moment, and Tamamo’s jealousy flaring in turn, and I had a three-way storm of a fox spirit and two brats constantly circling me.

Not to mention Rin had also insisted on being Stamped once she saw Sakura and Aoi’s marks. She hadn’t wanted to be left out, and I hadn’t seen a reason to deny her.

I was pulled from my musings as Rin, Sakura, and Tamamo finally reached me interrupting my training with Artoria. The trio immediately honed in on me.

“Sorry, Rin, but you’ll have to wait a little longer,” I said with the same nervous smile, and the same answer, I’d been giving her all week.

“See? I told you so.” Sakura huffed, pouting as she glowered at her sister with narrowed eyes. Rin scratched the back of her head, retreating a step.

“R-Right…” Rin muttered, wilting under Sakura’s glare.

“You two brats are always bothering Sieg-kun.” Tamamo crossed her arms under her chest, smirking when both sisters scowled at her jab. “Give it a rest already.”

“We’ll call it a rest for today,” Saber cut in, saving Rin from another argument. “It’s nearly lunchtime anyway.”

For the past few days I’d been training hard under Saber and Berserker. More often Saber, really. She’d sharpened my swordsmanship and technique, pushing me to grow steadily stronger.

For her part, Saber had mellowed a great deal. She’d rekindled her friendship with Irisviel and treated me with consistent cordiality, always taking our sparring seriously and more often than not kicking my ass on a daily.

I even caught her enjoying herself once or twice. Though, in my humble opinion, that probably had less to do with me and more to do with my cooking.

The fastest road to Artoria’s heart… is undoubtedly through her stomach.

Case in point: a thunderous growl suddenly echoed across the training field, closer to a lion’s roar than a stomach rumble. Everyone turned at once to see Artoria blushing furiously, clutching her abdomen.

“You’re just hungry again, aren’t you?” Tamamo deadpanned.

Artoria’s deepening blush and silence gave us our answer.

With that, sparring was over. Together we headed inside, Tamamo and Sakura quickly flanking me to help prepare another feast.

As the kitchen filled with chatter, I found myself thinking about tomorrow, about Rider, our trip to Germany, and what came next.

‘After we meet with Rider, we leave Japan, rescue Illya… and then it’ll finally be time to say goodbye to this world.’