After quite a long while, Cocolia finally calmed down.
She absentmindedly tugged at her collar, pressed her huge fullness down on the table, and leaned over like a little kid, quietly poking at the dishes and taking small bites.
She kept eating until her stomach was stuffed full, her belly bulging high under the dress, only then did she reluctantly stop.
"Hic!"
Letting out a drunken burp, Cocolia lazily leaned back in her chair, quietly gazing at Emiya.
She stared at him until he could no longer withstand the burning gaze, and when he finally set down his chopsticks and looked back, Cocolia's cheeks turned red as she softly asked, "Do I... like this… look like some crude marketplace auntie?"
"So what if you do? You're someone I personally chose. Do you think I'd dislike you for that?" Emiya said calmly.
"That's true… You really never seem to care about things like this."
Brushing the loose strands of hair behind her ear, Cocolia took a deep breath, hugged her round belly, and with some effort stood up from the chair. "Let's go."
"I'll walk you to your door. If someone saw you like this, it wouldn't be good."
Without waiting for her reply, Emiya scooped her up in a princess carry, activated concealment magic, and flew straight toward her quarters.
Through the flickering city lights, Cocolia's gaze grew hazy. She wanted to wrap her arms around Emiya's neck, even go a step further.
But in the end, she did nothing. She knew, this was good enough. If things could just stay like this forever, that would be fine too.
———
After a long and exhausting day, Emiya returned home, quickly showered, then collapsed on the sofa and instantly fell asleep.
In his hazy dream, he saw Acheron once again turn black and white. She held a blade he had never seen before, silently standing amidst the ruins of the world.
Beyond the world, the Nihility Aeon's eerie power spread silently, seeming to cover everything at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Emiya… Emiya…" Acheron's pretty face flushed red like a ripe apple as she gently shook his arm.
"Mm, I'm awake." Emiya rubbed his drowsy eyes, looking at Acheron. At this moment, she was only wrapped in a snow-white bath towel, her small face and large expanse of bare skin flushed bright red.
"What's going on, am I hallucinating? Or am I still dreaming?" Emiya rubbed his eyes again.
"It's not an illusion." Acheron's mosquito-like voice carried a faint numbing sweetness that tickled his heart. "It's been so long since you gave me that… I'm at my limit…"
"Sorry, I forgot…" Emiya pretended to rub his aching forehead, covering his furious eyes with his large palm.
There's no way he forgot. But he couldn't let Acheron know how desperately anxious he really was.
"It's fine. I'll wait for you in the bathroom."
Her legs weak, Acheron walked into the bathroom, feeling like her heart was a war drum pounding loudly, thump, thump, thump.
Breathing heavily, she lay in the bathtub, lifting and then lowering her hair; unwrapping her towel, then feeling it was improper, tying it back again, then worrying Emiya might misunderstand that she didn't want him to see.
Back and forth she hesitated for a long while, before suddenly realizing, she hadn't even filled the tub yet.
Ice-cold water poured over her burning skin, and Acheron finally calmed down for the moment.
"Ahh… even though we've done this so many times already, why am I still this nervous…" She sighed heavily, forcing herself to blame it on the influence of Nihility's power.
'Damn IX, your list of sins just grew longer. One day I'll chop you up and flush you down the toilet!'
Hearing the water running in the bathroom, Emiya's towering fury could no longer be contained. His eyes instantly filled with blood-red veins.
He slapped himself hard, his cheeks swelling up, and still unsatisfied, he raised his hand again and again, until blood sprayed from his mouth before he finally stopped.
'I can't be hasty. Rushing at the Nihility Aeon now is suicide. I mustn't lose control. Damn Nihility Aeon!!!'
Every time he dreamed of that scene, Emiya's heart would be shaken for a long while. But now he wasn't alone, he couldn't act recklessly.
As the head of the household, every step had to be cautious. His life was essentially the same as the life of this whole family.
After venting his rage, the madness clawing at his heart finally calmed. Emiya used magic to restore his face, then tied a black cloth tightly over his eyes before pushing open the bathroom door.
"Emiya, why are you covering your eyes again? I-I-I told you I don't mind…"
"I mind." Emiya grinned, flashing his white teeth.
"When you're dressed you already make me lose my mind. If I saw you like this now, I wouldn't trust myself to hold back."
"Hmph, you're getting more and more slick-tongued." Acheron snorted, feigning anger. "Look at your calm breathing and steady face, where's the lack of control you're talking about!"
"Haha, recently I've been studying magic more deeply, so the first thing I learned was how to control heartbeat, breathing, and blood flow."
Pride showed on Emiya's face. After mastering this skill, he no longer had to worry about nosebleeds at the wrong time, or… other reactions that would make things awkward.
"Sometimes your talent is really infuriating." Acheron pouted high, feeling like she was the only one left embarrassed.
"Hold your breath and focus. Best if you untie the towel, it'll help with absorption. I'm about to start."
"I… I already untied it… No, wait, I'm untying it now…"
After waiting for Acheron to fuss for a while, Emiya activated the energy within him, letting it draw out as much as possible from the sheath's power, then cut his wrist, letting the blood slowly flow into the bath.
Unlike the crackling sparks at the beginning, Acheron's body and mind had slowly begun to accept Emiya. His blood was no longer being rejected.
Once in the water, the blood drifted of its own accord into her limbs and bones, cleansing the parts corroded by Nihility's power, then clinging there, constantly forging solid barriers within and without her body.
As the number of absorptions increased, so too did the amount her body could take in. Now, she could absorb for up to three hours at a time.
———
"Perfect, there's still plenty of time. Tell me properly, what exactly have the three of you been up to lately!"
Ever since Zoe was born in the blizzards of Jarilo, Acheron and Vera's attitude toward Emiya had taken a complete turn.
Before, they couldn't wait to share a bed with him. But now, they went out of their way to dig him a separate room, pushing him to live farther away.
In the past, when Acheron saw other women trying to get close to Emiya, she would immediately jump out like a bristling kitten to declare her claim. But now, together with Vera, she kept creating chances for him to spend time with other women.
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