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

Chapter 39: The Road to Chaldea

Upon waking from my impromptu nap, I found my head resting on a familiar pair of thighs. I looked up into the warm, golden eyes of Tamamo, who was softly caressing my hair.

She immediately noticed I was awake, her smile brightening. “Did you have a nice nap, Sieg-kun? Would you like something to drink?” she asked sweetly, acting very much like a wife.

“It was good, and I’m fine, thanks,” I answered automatically. As the events that led to this situation replayed in my mind, I silently groaned, both from embarrassment and from the inevitable trouble that would come from so many people vying for my attention.

‘This is one of the reasons I hesitated about having a harem,’ I thought quietly. ‘But my instincts, and the girls themselves, managed to worm their way into my heart. It would be cruel to reject them after they poured their feelings out like that.’

With a resigned sigh, I decided it would be best to simply roll with the punches and accept this new facet of my life.

‘I just hope my harem doesn’t get too big… and that Jeanne doesn’t mind.’

Pushing that worry aside for now, I took in my surroundings. We were in a modest room, with only Tamamo and me present. I lay on the bed with my head in her lap, while she leaned comfortably against the headboard.

“How long was I out for, Tamamo?” I asked, focusing on her face again as I relaxed against her soft thighs.

She continued to gently caress my hair, her touch calming. “Only about half an hour. After I got those homewreckers to back off, I brought you here to rest. Lunch should be ready soon if you’re hungry, Sieg-kun~” she said with a cheerful lilt.

“…I see.”

After a brief pause, I looked her straight in the eyes and finally asked the question that had been weighing on me.

“…Hey, Tamamo?”

“Yes, beloved?” she replied immediately.

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I pressed on. “Are you really okay with this? With me being with more than one woman, I mean?”

I held my breath as I waited for her answer, watching as she blinked and a thoughtful expression crossed her beautiful face.

“Hm. If you had asked me that when we first met, the answer would’ve been no,” she admitted, shaking her head.

My heart sank slightly.

What else did I expect?

Then her expression shifted, softening into one of pure warmth and joy that made my heart skip a beat.

“But now,” she continued, “after getting to know you and everything we’ve been through, I know your heart is big enough for all of us~”

She stopped caressing my hair and instead gently traced my cheek with her fingers.

“It would be incredibly selfish of me to keep you all to myself,” she went on, “especially when I knew from almost the very beginning that you wanted to find the Saint your past life loved and made a promise with.”

“…Tamamo.”

She shook her head slightly, signaling she wasn’t finished. I complied, reaching up to gently take the hand caressing my cheek and intertwining our fingers.

Her smile deepened at the gesture, and she tightened her grip.

“That’s why I don’t want you worrying about hurting my feelings when another girl eventually falls in love with you, or when you fall in love with them,” she said softly. “As long as you promise to always reserve a place for me in your heart, I’ll be content.”

There was no deception in her words. No hesitation.

My eyes widened in awe and disbelief. I closed them, shook my head, and let out a quiet, fond chuckle.

‘This girl is seriously too much for my heart,’ I thought. ‘I don’t deserve her, but I’ll treasure her for as long as she’ll have me.’

Opening my eyes, I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“I promise,” I said without hesitation. “I know I don’t deserve you, but as long as you’ll have me, I promise to love and cherish you, just as much as the others.”

 At my declaration, a flush crept up Tamamo’s cheeks before she swooned in place, holding her cheek with her free hand.

“You always know just the right words to make this fox’s heart melt, hihihi~” she gushed happily. “That’s one of the many reasons I love you sooo much! Mouu, if only I could go back in time and tell my past self to wait patiently, then all her dreams of finding the perfect partner would come true!”

She went on rambling cheerfully, declaring that if she ever ran into the Tamamo Nine or any other versions of herself, she would absolutely brag about me to their faces.

“As long as your Tamamo exists,” she finished with a cutely determined expression, even pumping a fist, “I promise that no matter how many times she’s reincarnated or brought back to life, her heart will always belong to you!”

“Hahahaha, well then,” I replied, amused, “I promise to love every part of you too, no matter how different you are.”

Tamamo blinked at that, clearly about to agree without hesitation… before suddenly growing a little nervous.

“W-Well, I guess that’s fine,” she muttered, averting her gaze slightly, “as long as we don’t run into Tamamo Cat anytime soon.”

She quickly shook her head and smiled again.

“Anyway, Sieg-kun,” she continued, “while I don’t really mind if you take other lovers, could you not tell the others about this conversation?” she asked, pouting slightly. “I don’t want that brat Sakura, or those other two brats, now that I think about it, to get any ideas.”

Blinking at her sudden shift in tone, I could only nod. “Sure, Tamamo. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good~” she nodded in satisfaction. “Now we should head downstairs before the others come barging in and interrupt our alone time.”

She reluctantly let go of my hand as we stood up, only to immediately grab it again once we were on our feet.

“Sounds good,” I said with a nod. “There are a few things I need to tell the others about where we’re going next, and some purchases I need to make beforehand.”

I started leading her toward the door, but before we could reach it, I felt Tamamo tug on my hand.

I stopped and turned, only to find her already inches away. She pulled me into a kiss that lingered for several moments.

When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathing a little harder. Tamamo’s cheeks were flushed again as she leaned close and whispered against my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Just so we’re clear, beloved,” she murmured, eyes burning with determination. “Even if I’m okay with you having other lovers, that doesn’t mean I’ll let those homewreckers take your first time.”

Her grip tightened slightly.

“That belongs only to me. Okay~?”

My face burned as I slowly nodded, completely caught off guard by how devastatingly attractive she looked, hair slightly disheveled, eyes bright, and cheeks flushed with confidence.

Tamamo nodded, looking extremely pleased with herself, and we resumed walking. Just as I was about to open the door, it swung open on its own, revealing a familiar head of purple hair.

“Caster! It’s my turn to watch over Senpai!” Sakura declared with a small frown, only to blink when she noticed me. The frown instantly melted into a bright smile as she threw herself into my arms.

“Senpai~ You’re awake!” she cheered happily, snuggling against my chest much to Tamamo’s irritation.

‘Senpai? Since when did she start calling me that?’ I thought curiously. Still, I didn’t push her away. Instead, I patted her head, which only made her smile widen.

“Senpai?” I echoed aloud, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh!” Sakura pulled back just enough to look up at me, her cheeks flushing. “I-It’s just… it didn’t feel right to keep calling you Sieg-san, and the word Senpai feels really appropriate when I think about you.” She hesitated for a moment. “I-I hope that’s okay?”

Smiling, I nodded, and she visibly relaxed.

“Don’t worry, Sakura. I don’t mind, I was just curious,” I said gently. “Now, how about we head downstairs? I’m sure everyone’s waiting for us.”

“Thank you, Senpai~!” she beamed. “And yes, the food is ready! We should hurry if we don’t want Saber-san to finish everything before we get there!”

She grabbed my hand—and Tamamo, who was still holding my other hand, was forced to follow us—as she practically dragged us out of the room and down toward the kitchen completely ignoring Tamamo’s presence.

Tamamo listened to everything with a twitching eyebrow, clearly filing this away for later.

As we entered the dining area, we were greeted by the sight of everyone gathered around the large table, which was somehow still standing despite the sheer amount of food piled on top of it. There was easily enough there to feed thirty or forty people, though with Artoria’s appetite, it might only last until dinner.

Sure enough, Artoria was already eating at an impressive pace, food disappearing almost as quickly as she refilled her plate. The others watched her with varying degrees of astonishment while eating at their own, far more reasonable speeds. Conversations overlapped, laughter filled the room, and the atmosphere was warm and lively.

It was a scene I had often imagined back in my first life, what it would be like to be part of a big family, all gathered together for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or some other special occasion.

A smile spread across my face on its own as I took it all in, chaos and all.

Eri was the first to spot me and quickly waved my way, a bit of food smeared on her cheeks that somehow only made her look cuter.

“Sieg-san~ You’re awake! Are you okay now?” Eri asked, her expression shifting into one of concern.

Her voice finally caught everyone else’s attention, and they greeted me with smiles as well. Kiara developed a shy blush on her cheeks, though she still smiled warmly in greeting.

“I’m fine now, Eri. Don’t worry,” I said with a reassuring smile, earning one in return.

As I sat down, Sakura and Tamamo were quick to take the seats beside me. Soon after, we all dug into the food and joined in the conversation.

We talked about many things, including what the girls had been up to over the past ten years. One by one, they excitedly explained that aside from attending school like normal, traveling to various parts of the world, and enjoying vacations, they had spent most of their time studying magecraft under Aoi, who I had given her a Zelretch Template before leaving.

Under her tutelage, all five of them had progressed in the art of magecraft by leaps and bounds. At this point, they would be considered fairly powerful mages by the Clock Tower’s standards.

“Speaking of that,” I began once they finished. “There’s something I want to share with all of you, assuming you still plan on coming with me.”

“You already know my answer, Senpai~” Sakura replied immediately from beside me, smiling brightly. Her choice of words caused a few raised eyebrows around the table, particularly from Rin and Illya.

“If Sakura’s going, then so am I,” Rin said next, looking off to the side with a faint blush.

“I already gave you my answer last time, Sieg, if you recall,” Irisviel added with a soft giggle, continuing to eat as if the decision were the most natural thing in the world.

“Hmph! As if I’d let Mother wander off alone with a perverted dragon,” Illya declared, crossing her arms and lifting her chin haughtily.

“Well, you’ve heard everyone, Sieg-san,” Aoi said last, smiling gently. “It seems we’ll be living together again going forward.”

“I’m not trying to dissuade anyone,” I replied, my expression turning serious. “I just want everyone to understand how dangerous the place we’re going really is.”

Seeing my expression, everyone took my words more seriously and straightened in their seats. Even the girls who had accompanied me did the same, since I had been mostly quiet about the subject until now.

“Now that we’re on the topic,” Scáthach said calmly as she set her food aside and crossed her arms, “mind explaining in more detail what we should expect, Sieg?”

“That’s right,” Artoria added, slowing the pace at which she was eating. “You only explained that you needed my strength for such a place, but never really said what we would be facing.”

With everyone’s attention on me, I took a deep breath before continuing.

“The place we’re going to is actually a branching timeline of this universe, one where certain events played out differently.”

“A parallel world, then?” Aoi asked immediately. Thanks to the Zelretch Template I had given her, she grasped the concept right away.

“I see,” Illya murmured with an excited gleam in her eyes, mirrored by Rin beside her. “So not only do other universes exist beyond the Root, but different timelines as well. Fascinating~”

“Yes,” I nodded. “In this timeline, an organization was created called the Organization for the Preservation of Human Order, Finis Chaldea, or simply Chaldea. It’s a secret agency founded for the sole purpose of preventing the extinction of humanity.”

As I spoke, my gaze drifted toward Eri, and I felt a slight frown tug at my expression not wanting to expose her to such ominous things. I met Kiara’s eyes briefly and tilted my head toward the girl.

She understood immediately.

Kiara gently pulled Eri into her lap, distracting her with soft words and attention before she could get too curious.

Grateful, I continued.

“I don’t know the technical details of how everything works, so please don’t ask me for specifics,” I said honestly. “What’s important is this: someone inside the organization will eventually betray them. Almost everyone will be killed, and shortly after, humanity itself is eradicated, along with the world.”

The room fell silent for a moment before chaos erupted around the table.

Chaldea, in that future, would become the last refuge of mankind.

“What!?”

“How!?”

“Is that even possible!?”

“Who was responsible?”

The questions came all at once.

“I don’t know all the specifics,” I said with a frown. “But I do know that time itself plays a major role.”

Finally, I turned toward the last question, meeting Scáthach’s serious gaze and answering with a grim expression.

“The Demon Gods mentioned in the legends of Solomon.”

Silence settled over the table once more as everyone absorbed the gravity of the situation. Even Artoria had completely stopped eating.

“All is not lost, though,” I continued, offering a small, reassuring smile. “There is a way to restore humanity. By traveling to several different points across the world where history was altered by the one responsible, we can correct those deviations and restore Proper Human History.”

Almost immediately, smiles returned and determined expressions formed around the table. Seeing that resolve reflected in everyone’s eyes made my own smile widen.

“My plan,” I said firmly, “is to travel about a month into the past, get recruited into Chaldea, and then do everything in my power to prevent the extinction of humanity.”

The words hung in the air—not as a burden, but as a challenge.

And this time, none of us would face it alone.