To love a sword

Chapter 31: Sephie Michaela Deviluke + Bonus Part 4

Beta read by Shigiya, FabledLife and Paragon of Awesomeness

18k words and Bonus part is now at the end of the chapter as I want to avoid any confusions. And I should have done that from the beginning..

Also reminder that the bonus part is not an omake. It actually happened in the main story but I forgot to include that arc in the previous chapters.

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-Sainan-

His eons as a Counter Guardian had on many occasions given Emiya the chance to encounter notable individuals from unique cultures across all manner of different periods. Even his many summonings in the Fuyuki's fifth Holy Grail War often saw him facing Servants that were not part of the usual roster.

Powerful individuals with unique personalities and abilities. This was on top of various Noble Phantasms, some of which summoned large structures or hordes of armies to fight in their stead. At other times, it was something more subtle, unseen to the eyes, and affected one's mind more than anything - yet they had the potential to be just as dangerous in his opinion.

The concept of facing a Noble Phantasm that centered around personal charm and worked by alluring one's opponent was not a foreign concept to Emiya, and he had been on the receiving end of such abilities a few times. Not all interactions went the same, and many times, the outcome did not play out in his favor.

Regardless, individuals with charm abilities were people he preferred to avoid. Tricky to deal with and they always knew how to use words in the most effective way possible even against a superior foe in combat. The eldest of the Gorgon sisters came to mind, and unfortunately, her sisters were even more proficient with that particular power. Other instances were nothing but clouded memories of the distant past.

Yet here he was, serving his own homemade food to an individual who possessed a similar charm ability whilst wearing his clothes just to top it all off. The woman who gave birth to the troublesome eldest princess who thankfully did not possess her allure abilities, and Gid's wife - Sephie Michaela Deviluke. The Empress of Planet Deviluke.

A person who could be described as a carbon copy of Lala in terms of appearance, albeit physically more mature. Even if she had her veil on right now, it did little to hide some of her traits.

"Mmmmmnn! I've never had food that tasted this wonderful, no wonder my daughters all love staying here so much~!"

The same person who caused Zastin to faint on the kitchen floor he just cleaned this morning, foaming at the mouth. Somehow his brother was unaffected... that was a question for another time.

"Glad you think so as well, my siblings helped me with the preparations." He spoke curtly, neither being too formal nor informal.

"..."

"..."

Of course, Mikan and Rito remained silent the entire time, focusing all their attention on their plates while letting him do all the talking. They couldn't be more obvious about how nervous they were feeling.

The same applied to the twins as well, anxious and uncertain, especially Momo who had become completely silent the entire time whenever she was near her mother. The eldest sister was the only one unaffected by the empress' presence from the looks of it.

"See? I told you Shirou is amongst the best in the entire galaxy! If you keep eating his meals, you will want to stay here forever!"

Please don't tempt fate, he very much did not want that outcome to happen. Three princesses were dangerous enough, but an empress? That was just begging for all sorts of trouble.