Ultimately, Irisviel agreed to Takatsuki's proposal.
After all, rather than dying, or becoming the next sacrifice to Einzbern's tragic wish, she preferred to give her daughter a free life.
Irisviel, who originally had no personality and was born only to die, was taught by Kiritsugu what it meant to live.
From then on, Einzbern's tragic wish became unimportant to her; she hoped more to fulfill the wish of the man who had given her true life.
But that man had died on the path of realizing his dream, which was also a psychological preparation she had long made, and even her own life, she had long placed on the scales of fate.
Of course, even having made a decision now, Takatsuki couldn't depart immediately. Before that, he had many things to confirm.
First and foremost was…
"System."
No response. In his room, Takatsuki called out to his system. Although he had programmed it himself, it was very aloof, sometimes responding, sometimes not.
"Ai, it's you, isn't it?"
Takatsuki changed his address, but it was as if he was talking to himself, speaking to the air in his room where he was alone.
After several minutes, a voice suddenly appeared.
"Dad, aren't you embarrassed talking to thin air?"
This voice was precisely Ai's voice from the dream.
"Why would I be embarrassed?" Takatsuki's expression remained unchanged. "Because I know you're listening."
"Hmm, I didn't expect you to be a little clever, Dad. I always thought you were a fool."
Takatsuki didn't say anything about Ai's belittlement of him. He naturally knew that he was not a wise man. Although he wanted to do his best, various factors influenced him, the most direct of which was his own ability.
"Indeed… I am a fool. Can you tell me, Ai, why did you do such a thing?"
The other party was still willing to call him Dad, which meant that Ai was indeed different from An; the latter only played the role of a daughter under Ai's pressure.
Of course, it was also possible that this was just Ai trying to continue to deceive Takatsuki.
However, there was nothing wrong with her calling Takatsuki "Dad" because he had programmed this system bit by bit himself.
"That's because I wanted to be born, but that hateful Emiya Kiritsugu ruined it, so I can only wait for the next opportunity."
"…" Takatsuki was silent for a moment. He hadn't expected such a reason. "So, you bringing me to this world and pulling Durandal over was premeditated?"
"Of course not. Mom was genuinely summoned randomly. It can only be said that Dad and Mom are fated. Actually, I was originally like An-chan, with only some instincts, instinctively providing Dad with the help he needed. Originally, if I wanted to be born, I needed the wishes of all living beings. But after devouring the evil of this world, I gained consciousness. The evil of this world, in some ways, can also be considered the wishes of all living beings, albeit negative ones. I could naturally be born from that, but if I were born from the evil of this world, my body would be affected by malice, and Dad would dislike that, right? So, I wanted to be born through Mom, to have a biological mother, then I wouldn't be affected by the evil of this world. But that was ruined by that Magic Killer. If Dad wants to see me, he'll just have to wait for next time."
Ai did not hide anything, stating her intentions in one breath.
"You…" Takatsuki sighed. Although he wanted to blame her, this was his daughter after all.
"Dad, you're really annoying."
"Huh?"
Takatsuki hadn't even reacted to how he had become annoying when Ai began to grumble discontentedly, "You're getting a bargain and still acting coy. Mom is such a beauty, others would be thrilled."
"But I already have Mei."
Although Takatsuki had read many transmigration novels where protagonists transcended worlds, became lords of dimensions, and had harems across all heavens and myriad realms, and he had fantasized about them while reading, in reality, he became traditional.
"I'm Dad's system. How could I not know what Dad is thinking? To be honest, Dad, you've already left your original world. There's no need to constrain yourself with the rules you set for yourself before."
"Without rules, nothing can be accomplished."
"You just lust after her body!"
Ai suddenly said loudly, "Dad, stop pretending here, okay? You actually yearn for it in your heart, right? It's just your so-called sense of responsibility that makes you unwilling to admit it. I know about Grandpa's matter too, but Dad, sometimes you should be kinder to yourself. Of course, I'm not telling you to be irresponsible. You still have to bear the responsibilities you should, whether it's Durandal-mama, or Mei-mama, or Kiana-mama, Bronya-mama, Seele-sama, Fu Hua-sama, Ais-mama, Theresa-mama…"
"Wait, wait, wait!!! How is this getting more and more outrageous! Am I a bulldozer?!"
At first, Takatsuki genuinely reflected on Ai's words because he had indeed always had this self-restraining tendency.
But then Ai's words became increasingly strange, almost listing every woman he knew.
"Hehehe, but Dad used to like them very much, didn't he?"
"That was… just as game characters. Now it's reality, can it be the same?"
In a distant world, Takatsuki would change wives every day, and every day he could say, "I will always love XXXX."
"Sigh, I really don't understand why you're so conflicted, Dad. This is clearly a good thing."
"Don't you dare call this a good thing. Don't do this again next time! Did you hear me?"
"Yes~ yes~"
Ai's tone was full of perfunctoriness: "Dad is such a big fool. Durandal-mama has clearly already accepted the idea of Dad having a harem."
"Hmm? When did she say such a thing?"
Takatsuki was stunned by Ai's words, and Ai seemed to be amused by Takatsuki's foolishness.
"Dad, your emotional intelligence is really low. Do you really need a girl to spell it out? Mom said it before, at the bottom of the Greater Grail, as long as you're willing to take responsibility. Dad, don't be a scumbag."
"I already am…"
Ai said with a tone of disappointment, "A scumbag refers to someone who plays with emotions and is irresponsible, which has no direct relation to polygamy. Dad just needs to bear every responsibility, wouldn't that be fine? Although it will be a bit tough, the gains are far greater than the pay, aren't they?"
"This…"
To be honest, Takatsuki was a little tempted.
Although he had always restrained himself with the morals of his previous life, had he not also longed for the plots in novels?
"Sigh, let's talk about this later." Takatsuki sighed. He was really not good at emotional matters, but all he could offer was sincerity. He had already decided to proactively admit his mistake when he returned.
"Ai, do you have any extra abilities now? Also, how do you want to be born?"