IBHJ 1343

The room fell completely silent.

“…B-but—” Saturn started, voice trembling.

Before he could finish, Origin Gaia’s gaze swept calmly across the room. Her tone turned solemn.

“This resolution. Who’s in favor, and who’s against?”

Saturn froze. His mouth snapped shut.

No one else spoke. The chamber fell into complete stillness.

Then, Gaia smiled again—gentle, almost cheerful. “Wonderful. It’s decided, then. I’ll be taking care of most of the heavy lifting, of course, but if any of you have resources that might help… don’t hold out. For instance, that planetary core from Uranus—the one Tethys and little Shirou borrowed? We’ll be holding onto that. It’s not theft. It’s a necessary requisition. All for the sake of interstellar peace.”

Uranus’s eyes went wide. “Gaia!”

“Yes?” she replied sweetly. “Is there a problem, Uranus? This is the council’s decision, after all.”

“You… you—! You thief! I’m never speaking to you again!”

His hand trembled as he pointed at her, face red with rage. Without waiting for a reply, he turned and stormed out of the hall.

One by one, the other planets followed—some silently, others shooting Gaia uneasy glances before leaving without a word.

In the end, only one remained.

Moon-chan clung softly to Gaia’s leg, looking up with wide, worried eyes. “Gaia… Lady Gaia… do we really have to go to war?”

Gaia looked down and gently patted her tiny head. “Yes, we do.”

Moon-chan’s grip tightened. “But… can’t we just not go?”

Gaia’s expression softened. Her voice dropped to a whisper, almost like she was speaking to a frightened child.

“I’m sorry. But this is our best chance to destroy the Golden Universe. If we wait for the Golden Emperor to recover, we’ll lose everything.” She crouched down slightly, brushing Moon-chan’s hair with calm affection. “But don’t worry. I’ll protect you. All of you. Especially you, my sweet little darling.”

“You’re the best, Lady Gaia.” Moon-chan looked up at her, eyes sparkling with pure admiration.

“Well, of course,” Gaia replied with a proud smile. “You’re my daughter, after all. If I don’t protect you, who will?”

She said it so casually, so warmly, like it was the most natural thing in the universe.

Shirou glanced sideways at her. ‘If only you knew,’ he thought. ‘Your sweet little darling is destined to try and conquer Earth one day.’

Before he could dwell on the thought, Gaia turned to him with a sudden smile. “Shirou, I need you to do something for me.”

He blinked. “What is it?”

“There’s someone who’s been acting out of line lately. I want you to go teach her a lesson,” she said, eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

Moon-chan tilted her head. “Is it… Venus?”

Gaia gave a firm nod. “That one hasn’t even shown up to council meetings anymore. And would you believe it—Mercury told me in secret she’s been badmouthing me behind my back.”

Shirou let out a long sigh. “Then why me? Why not just deal with her yourself?”

Gaia rolled her eyes. “Because I’ve already been spoiling you and Tethys so much. If I do everything myself, Uranus might throw another fit. I need to go calm him down, maybe give him some attention.”

“Wait, seriously?!” Moon-chan puffed her cheeks, clearly upset. “But didn’t you promise to stay with me today?”

“Next time, sweetie,” Gaia said sweetly, ruffling her hair again.

“Mmm…” Moon-chan didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t push it either.

Watching the scene unfold, Shirou twitched.

Something about this felt off. Actually, no—this whole situation was off.

‘Wait a second… am I already inside Gaia’s harem?’

As if reading his mind, Gaia suddenly turned to him with a smile. “You want a pat too, Shirou-chan?”

“Nope! I’m good!” he yelped, taking off in a flash.

There was no way—no way—he was letting himself get pulled into her harem!

…

“She really dumped this on me…” Shirou muttered, rubbing his temple with a slow sigh.

He hadn’t expected a quiet trip when Gaia dragged him to the Star Council, but this? Getting ordered to rough up Venus? Sure, he had just awakened [Savior of Mortal]—a terrifying skill strong enough to take on Aristoteles-class threats—but that didn’t mean he was ready to jump into this without thinking. The scale of the mission, the risk of making one wrong move… it was enough to give anyone a headache.

And then there was the personal part. Back at the South American Connection Point, Heaven’s Corpse had been surprisingly kind to him. And now Gaia wanted him to beat her up. In front of her future self, no less.

Apparently, according to Gaia, the future version of Heaven’s Corpse was watching everything right now through the Gate. Which meant this wasn’t just a mission—it was a public slap in the face. Right in front of her. And if he actually went through with this, he could already picture his future self getting absolutely demolished the moment he came back.

“…This isn’t going to end well,” he muttered under his breath. But orders were orders. Gaia wasn’t the type to take no for an answer.

And just to make things even more awkward, there was another problem standing quietly beside him.

He glanced down at the shy blonde girl clutching her sleeve.

That damned Gaia had sent Moon-chan along with him to confront Venus.

“T-that’s where she lives,” Moon-chan murmured, pointing toward the distance.

Her voice came out soft and breathy, like her words barely had shape. Even with the help of information-based communication, everything she said still sounded fuzzy—like a whisper smudged at the edges.

“I see it,” Shirou replied curtly.

He didn’t look at her.

While he was close with Arcueid, things were completely different when it came to Crimson Moon. They were enemies, plain and simple. And this small version of her—Moon-chan—could feel that.

Even without him saying a word, she knew.

He didn’t like her.

It made her nervous. But she still agreed to guide him to Venus—not because Gaia told her to, but because she didn’t know how to not listen. Ever since the moment she was created, she had followed Gaia. Not just out of duty, but something deeper. Worship. Dependence. The idea of doing anything else felt… wrong. Like standing without balance.

Even so, there was something she couldn’t stop thinking about.

“…Um,” she mumbled, hesitating for a moment before looking up at him. “M-Mister Shirou, in the future… is Gaia… are the others… all gone?”

Shirou didn’t answer right away. His expression didn’t change, but his voice softened slightly when he finally spoke. “Not exactly, Gaia still exists. So do the rest of you… just not in the same form anymore.”

He paused, then continued. “But Tethys and the others… they’re gone. Earth was left on its own. Ever since then, it’s been under constant attack from forces beyond the stars.”

He gave her a sidelong glance. “You, though… aside from your mental condition, you’ve stayed mostly intact.”

“Really?” she blinked, eyes wide with surprise. “Gaia’s always protected me. So if there ever comes a day when Gaia grows weak, then—I’ll be the one to protect her!”

Her voice was full of conviction, so innocent it was almost touching.

Shirou gave a quiet nod. “…Sure.”

But deep down, he couldn’t help thinking. ‘If that day ever comes… the first one to try and claim Earth probably won’t be an enemy from beyond the stars. It’ll be you.’