"Emiya, when are you planning to marry us?"
Acheron had asked this question back when they were still on Azure Star, but at that time Emiya had talked his way around it. Plus, she herself didn't really want to face it, so she didn't bring it up again.
But with Zoe's birth, the number of girls at home had grown to three. And even Emiya didn't know how many Guardians there would end up being.
Things had reached the point where they had no choice but to face it. The three girls huddled together and discussed it seriously for a long time, finally coming up with a solution that everyone could accept.
"I already said, wait until I kill the Nihility Aeon, wait until I master a power I can trust, wait until I..."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait until the Year of the End, huh!" Acheron snapped, yanking Emiya's cheek so hard it stretched long, almost to the point of drawing blood, before she let go.
"It's exactly that attitude that forced us to resort to this plan!"
"You can fool around with other women outside, but you have to marry us first. I'm the eldest, Vera is second, Zoe is third. As for the others, whether they become mistresses or wives, that's up to the later Guardians to fight over!"
The three of them were independent girls, each with things they liked to do, each wanting time for themselves. All they asked was that they could each have some guaranteed time with Emiya.
Of course, since they were the first ones, their place in the family had to be secured. If Emiya dared to let newcomers take precedence, they wouldn't hesitate to hang him up together with the newcomer and beat them both.
"Uh…" Emiya's face was covered in black lines. He really hadn't expected things to turn out this way. "I can barely split myself between you three already, where would I find time for a fourth or fifth?"
"Hmph, having different women by your side all the time, isn't that every man's ultimate dream!" Acheron snorted.
"Do I look like the kind of man who has that kind of 'great dream'?"
Emiya's face darkened, and his tone turned serious. "Right now, I only have two dreams, killing the Nihility Aeon for you, and mastering a power I can trust to keep you safe."
The room fell silent. Silent enough to hear both their heartbeats. Silent enough to hear the sound of tears dripping onto the floor.
"Guardians can't leave you. For the good of this family, you have to learn to have that dream."
Acheron paused for a long moment before finally forcing the words out. "Unless you want to see the family filled with smoke and flames, broken apart over belonging."
"You bastard! If something like that really happened, I'd be the first to kill you!"
In this family, Vera and the Guardians were indispensable. Acheron had long since come to see them as her most important family.
Acheron truly loved her family. If she had to say it, compared to Emiya, she probably liked Vera and Zoe even more. Emiya's role was more like the bond that tied the family together.
So as long as the family could always stay close and loving, it didn't matter how many wives Emiya had, as long as the few of them could always be together.
Emiya fell silent. In his previous life, on that worldline, he had been busy being a "champion of justice." Forget King Arthur as a Heroic Spirit, even Rin Tohsaka had only been a very close friend.
After leaving the Clock Tower and saying goodbye to Rin, he wandered the world saving people. Later, during the nuclear power plant incident, he accepted Alaya's power.
And later, Emiya was hanged by the very people he had saved. Because of his contract with Alaya, he was forced to become a Heroic Spirit, enduring countless years of torment, until Rin finally summoned him and he became a Servant, able to spend at least some time more normally.
So, even though Emiya had lived longer than everyone else, he wasn't really a normal person. His life had been even more twisted than Acheron's.
After being reborn and meeting Acheron and Vera, Emiya had been working hard to learn how to be normal, and only recently had he barely gotten on track.
"Sorry, Acheron, I really never thought that far." Emiya sighed inwardly. Looked like he still had a long way to go before becoming a normal person.
"Anyway, Emiya, remember this, if you want to fool around outside, you have to hold the wedding with us first."
Acheron grabbed Emiya's hand and repeated once again, "I'm the eldest, Vera is second, Zoe is third. On this point, there's no compromise!"
"Fine, I promise you." Emiya sighed again. He felt like he had sighed enough in this single day to last a year. "But can you stop trying to match me up with other women?"
"No way!" Acheron grinned slyly. "There are so many sweet and beautiful flowers outside. As soon as you marry us, you can go pick them however you like."
Resting her hand over Emiya's heart, Acheron's smile grew brighter. "For example, that mother-daughter pair, Bronya and Cocolia, double..."
"Stop right there! If you keep this up, I'll grab you and spank you!" Emiya rubbed his aching forehead. "I already told you, today Cocolia came to perform her initiation ceremony!"
"Fine, fine, I won't say it anymore." Acheron knew better than to push Emiya too far. After all, there was always tomorrow. "Come sit, I'll massage you."
"Massage my ass!" Emiya flicked Acheron hard on the forehead. "You've almost drained all my magic already, I won't even have enough left to control my physical state soon!"
"Isn't that perfect then!"
"No fooling around. Lie down properly and finish absorbing the energy. I'm going to sleep."
After carefully reminding Acheron of a dozen precautions, Emiya finally dragged his utterly exhausted body back home. Only after locking the door with all three locks did he collapse onto the bed and close his eyes.
———
He slept for an entire day. It wasn't until Gepard and Bronya came knocking that he finally forced himself out of bed.
"Emiya, are you sick?"
Seeing his messy hair, panda eyes, weak voice, and overall appearance of severe kidney deficiency, Bronya secretly clicked her tongue. Had this guy gone out stealing cows last night?
"No, I'm not sick. I just botched my inner training last night and almost killed myself with it."
As he spoke, Emiya kept glancing, intentionally or not, toward his three girls, until they grew so guilty they buried their heads like ostriches. Only then did he stop.
"Oh, then maybe we should come back tomorrow!" Bronya said, still confused but taking it seriously.
"It's fine. I'll help you deal with the prey later. That'll also help me regulate my energy."
Handling one hundred prey took him less than two hours, consuming only two magic slots, but earning 200 magic slots and 200 mission points. The reward was absurdly generous.
Too bad only a hundred prey per month counted for rewards. Otherwise, Emiya would definitely have gone hunting himself and given the prey freely to all the people of Belobog.
"Emiya, your complexion really did improve, what's the principle behind this?"
Bronya had been staring at Emiya the whole time, watching his complexion visibly brighten, and that familiar faint smile finally returned to his face.
"Haha, that's a trade secret!" Emiya patted the curious girl's head indulgently. Now that there was hope for the future, Bronya too seemed a lot more cheerful than before.
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