Zenith really wanted Shirou to become a part of the Greyrat family. Even though she had just met him, she wanted to take him in.
Paul didn't mind at all. He seemed to agree with everything his wife decided.
Shirou tried to refuse several times, but he couldn't resist the family's enthusiasm. Eventually, he became a part of the Greyrat family and even got a name: Shirou Greyrat.
However, he didn't really feel like he truly belonged. He still thought of himself as Emiya Shirou.
Time began to pass quickly.
Shirou had been living with the Greyrat family for several months.
The Greyrat family was new. Paul and Zenith used to be adventurers, but they retired after getting married. They chose to settle down in this small village. They also brought a maid named Lilia with them. Now with Shirou, the family was four people.
As time went on, Shirou got used to this world and learned about it. He found out that this place was called Fitoa Territory in the Kingdom of Asura. Paul was a knight in Buena Village, a small village in the territory. He was also a lower-ranking noble, so he was like a small lord.
However, Paul didn't act like a lord should. Most of the people in the village were friendly to him and got along well with him.
This was probably because he had been an adventurer for a long time and still had those habits. He didn't have the pride that nobles usually have.
There was also something called magic in this world. But it was very different from the magic that Shirou knew. In this world, magic didn't need magic circuits or inherited marks. Instead, it depended on how well you could handle magical power and how well you could chant spells.
Shirou didn't know if he had a talent for magic. But his old reinforcement magic and projection magic still worked. Because he had traveled to this world with his physical body, his magic circuits were still there. So he could still use his old magic.
Knowing this gave him the confidence to survive in this world. At least he wouldn't be in a situation where he couldn't do anything.
"Shirou, do you think the baby I'm having will be a boy or a girl?"
Outside the delivery room, Paul was pacing anxiously.
Even though he and Zenith had adopted Shirou and treated him like a real son, Paul was still very nervous about the birth of his first child.
"Who knows? Why don't you just go in and take a look?"
"Are you kidding? I'd just be in the way."
Paul was still thinking clearly. He knew that husbands shouldn't interfere in this kind of thing.
While they were waiting anxiously, a baby's cry came from the delivery room. Paul and Shirou rushed inside without hesitation.
When Paul saw the blonde baby boy in Zenith's arms, he was overjoyed and completely happy.
But when Shirou looked at the newborn baby, he thought the baby's eyes looked a little strange.
Wasn't this baby's gaze a little too mature for a newborn?
But it probably wasn't a big deal.
Shirou quickly stopped thinking about it.
No matter what, this baby was a Greyrat, Paul and Zenith's child. Even though he wasn't a Greyrat by blood, he needed to be a good older brother and guide the baby down the right path.
...
Half a year had passed since the baby was born. Paul and Zenith named him Rudeus Greyrat.
Even though Rudeus seemed a little unusual when he was born, as time went on, he seemed more and more like a normal baby.
But sometimes when Shirou stared at him, he could still sense something different about him. He even felt like Rudeus was thinking about something from time to time.
Of course, as he said before, Shirou didn't care if Rudeus was a weirdo. Since he was his little brother, he would take care of him and guide him.
He had taken good care of Miyu before, so he could definitely take good care of Rudeus.
Besides taking care of his little brother, Shirou never stopped practicing magic. Although he was still too young, so the quality of his reinforcement and projection magic was still low, constantly practicing helped him improve slowly but steadily.
Also, when he was old enough to use a sword, as soon as he could lift a wooden sword, Shirou couldn't wait to learn swordsmanship from Paul.
Even though he had gained a lot of fighting experience from being possessed by a Servant, that was experience from another world. If he wanted to become stronger, he needed to learn more and combine the strengths of different fighting styles.
Even though he had defeated the Ainsworth family and transferred his sister to another world, which could be considered a victory, when he thought about it later, if he had been stronger, if he could have defeated the entire Ainsworth family on his own, and even Angelica who used the Gilgamesh card, then maybe everything would have been better.
Now that he had traveled to another world, he wouldn't let himself experience the same regrets again. He vowed to protect his family this time.
So, after making up his mind, Shirou started formal swordsmanship training with Paul the next day.
"Good kid, that determination is a lot like me."
Paul laughed heartily at Shirou's enthusiasm and taught him swordsmanship seriously.
Swordsmanship practice in this world mainly involved swinging the sword and practicing proper movements.
For example, using a wooden dummy in the yard as an opponent to check proper movements and attack situations, or sparring to train footwork and balance.
Paul seemed to know a lot about swordsmanship. He taught Shirou confidently, "Shirou, the essence of swordsmanship practice is constant repetition. As long as you can be like me..."
As he said this, Paul drew the long sword from his waist and split a rock in half with one strike.
"See? As long as you can do this much, you're good."
"This much is enough?"
Although Shirou thought this wasn't much. He had even broken the body of Berserker Heracles and the treasures summoned by Archer Gilgamesh before. But he still had the body of a child right now. If he wanted to be able to split a rock, he would definitely need to train for a long time.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. He wasn't an impatient person. He would naturally start with training a little bit every day.
Also, now that his body had grown to the point where he could practice swordsmanship, doing housework should also be his responsibility.
So, the next day, Shirou suggested to Zenith that he would take over the responsibility of doing the Greyrat family's housework.
But Zenith was strongly against it.
"Shirou, you're my child. How could I let you do housework?"
"This..."
Seeing how determined Zenith was, Shirou hesitated and finally took a step back. "Then I won't do housework. I'll cook instead. I'm pretty confident in my cooking skills."