IBHJ 1322

Skadi said, "I came to see Scathach. Where is she?"

"She's probably off hunting some beasts somewhere," Morrigan replied with a hint of uncertainty. "That woman just can't sit still for more than five minutes."

Skadi nodded knowingly. Given Scathach's personality, that sounded exactly right.

Morrigan slipped on her white high heels at the door, then glanced back at everyone. "Need me to grab anything while I'm out?"

Both Mordred and Shirou shook their heads.

"We're out of garbage bags," Kama called out. "If you pass by the supermarket, could you get some? Buy the bulk pack, it's more cost-effective."

Morrigan nodded in acknowledgment.

"Get me some nuclear warheads!" Arcueid piped up. "I want to blow up the publishing house!"

"Oh sure, tell me where exactly I can buy nuclear warheads?" Morrigan shot back sarcastically. Before Arcueid could start pestering her further, she turned and left.

After Arcueid finally cleaned up the sofa area, she gestured for Skadi to sit down. Mordred immediately plopped down beside her, peppering the goddess with questions about the Nordic connection point.

Meanwhile, Kama emerged from the kitchen carrying a bowl of soup and presented it to Shirou.

"What are you up to this time, Sakura?" Shirou asked with a weary look.

"Your super cute sister made some special chicken soup for you! Don't you want to try it?"

"If this can even be called soup..." He stared helplessly at the 'chicken soup' in her hands. There wasn't a drop of broth or piece of chicken in sight, just a bowl completely packed with wolfberries and ginseng slices.

"Brother's body was sustained by All the World's Evil for years. You should realize your body has been completely drained," Kama explained gently. "The reason you're fine now is only because black mud has filled in the gaps. But that's just a temporary fix. You need to replenish everything that's been lost. Now drink it all up."

Shirou: "..."

He stared at the bowl full of wolfberries and felt his stomach turn.

Half a year!

An entire half year!

Every single day, Kama had been forcing these supplements on him - as soup, as wolfberry ice cream, popsicles, mixed into cookies... While he appreciated his sister's loving concern, he was reaching his breaking point. If simple words could stop her, he wouldn't have been stuck eating wolfberries for six months straight.

"Ah—I just remembered." He suddenly shot to his feet, giving Mordred a serious look. "You should be doing your homework, Mordred."

"What—!?" Mordred, who was busy chatting with Skadi while gaming with Arcueid, stared at him in confusion.

"Let's go, homework time. I'll personally tutor you!" He grabbed her collar before snatching the bowl from Kama's hands. "I'll drink this while tutoring Mordred."

Without waiting for a response, he dragged the struggling Mordred the stairs and into his second-floor room, completely ignoring her protests.

Once inside his room, he locked the door behind them, set the dreaded chicken soup on his desk, and let out a huge sigh of relief.

"You're too despicable, too selfish!" Mordred flopped onto the bed with her arms crossed, shooting him an annoyed look and pouting. "If you wanted to escape, fine! But why drag me into it? I'm telling you, I'm mad! Really mad! So mad that nothing you say will make it better!"

He gestured to the computer on his desk. "What if we play some two-player fighting games?"

Her anger instantly melted away as she clapped her hands together, beaming. "Now we're talking! I call DPS, you're on support!"

"Why? That's totally unfair!"

"First come, first served!" She'd already claimed the computer chair, grinning triumphantly. "I got here first, so I'm DPS!"

"Fine, whatever..." he sighed in defeat, muttering under his breath: "And you call me despicable?"

After a few hours of gaming, Mordred finally grew tired. She pulled out her homework from her backpack and sprawled across his bed, her legs in pink socks swinging lazily in the air as she worked through her assignments.

Shirou leaned back in his chair, a gentle smile playing on his lips as he watched her. Anyone who knew the Mordred's true identity would have their minds blown seeing her like this - just a regular girl doing homework, kicking her feet without a care in the world.

But this was exactly what she wanted. To simply grow up as an ordinary girl.

Even the Holy Grail couldn't grant such a miracle, could it? And they had the Ideal King to thank for all of this. That person who claimed to hate Mordred... though deep down, that wasn't really the case at all.

Shirou picked up the chicken soup and took a sip. His sister's cooking was actually fantastic. Sure, she went overboard with the wolfberries and ginseng, but he couldn't let her heartfelt effort go to waste. The thought made him smile softly.

"Ew! That's so creepy!" Mordred's face scrunched up in revulsion.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You're smiling while staring at your daughter's legs! That's beyond gross! I'm still young and innocent, you know. You better not have any weird ideas about me - I'll totally call the cops!"

"..."

His expression darkened immediately. "Just do your homework!"

She huffed indignantly before turning back to her assignments.

Just then, the computer chimed with an incoming message.

He clicked it open - it was from Gilgamesh.

[Happy birthday, mongrel.]

—From Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and Arthur."

Shirou blinked in surprise. He glanced at the bottom right corner of his screen - April 15th.

Oh, right.

Today...

Today was his birthday!

Without Gilgamesh's reminder, he'd completely forgotten. Though how the King of Heroes knew his birthday must have come from Chaldea's files - he was their largest shareholder, after all.

He turned to watch Mordred humming softly as she worked on her homework, a smile tugging at his lips. Then he typed back:

[Thank you, mongrel. —Fujimaru Shirou.]

"Dinner's ready, Brother!" Kama called from outside the door.

He stood up and looked at Mordred. "Leave that for later. Let's go eat."

"'Kay." She nodded, setting her homework aside.

As he pushed open the door, two loud pops filled the air. Kama and Arcueid stood on either side of the doorway, confetti cannons in hand. Colorful ribbons rained down, landing in his hair and on his shoulders.

"Happy birthday, Brother!"

"Happy birthday, Shirou!"

He froze in place, stunned. Mordred nudged him forward from behind, grinning. "Happy birthday, Dad!"

She kept pushing until he stumbled into the hallway. Looking around, he realized the entire mansion had been transformed - balloons floated everywhere, and congratulatory banners decorated the walls.

And somehow, the house had filled with people.

Miyu, Illya, Irisviel, Pandora, Angelica, Emiya, Rin, Luvia, Ayaka, Kiara... Everyone he knew who'd chosen to stay in Fuyuki City had gathered around him, clapping and singing the birthday song with warm smiles on their faces.

Skadi smiled warmly beside the group. "Happy birthday, Shirou."

"Thank you," he replied with a smile. "I was wondering why you made the trip from the Nordic connection point today. So it wasn't just to visit Scathach after all - you came for my birthday."

"Who says she’s not here to see me?" Scathach emerged from the crowd, looking sharp in her suit. She smiled and extended something toward him. "Happy birthday, Shirou. This is for you."

She handed him a golden bow etched with intricate Fairy Arts inscriptions.

He accepted the gift, examining it curiously. "What's this?"

"A birthday present from Vivian and me."

"Thank you so much."

"She wanted to come herself, but you know how fairies are - she can't leave the Inner Sea of the Planet."

"Please give her my thanks," he said warmly.

The crowd parted as Artoria and Gray carried a massive cake to the table, both beaming. "Happy birthday, Shirou!"

Morrigan carefully lit each candle before placing a birthday crown on his head with a playful grin. "Happy birthday, little brother."

"So that's what you went out to buy, sis," he laughed.

"Shirou, Shirou! Make a wish already!" Arcueid bounced excitedly.

"Alright." He nodded, clasped his hands together, and declared: "I want a mountain of gold."

Everyone's smiles froze into confused expressions: "?????"

Mordred buried her face in her hands, this was so embarrassing!