"..."
"..."
Facing the words spoken by the fox demon, Gareth did not respond immediately. After all, this was her first time seeing Tamamo-no-Mae. Moreover, the other person's tone made Gareth feel that something was not quite right—it was as if she were speaking to them as her father's wife. But the young knight didn't dare to simply dismiss the other person's words. So, as the older sister, she instead asked her younger sister with her eyes.
And Mordred wasn't foolish; she quickly understood what her sister Gareth's look meant.
"Are you...?" As the youngest of the Knights of the Round Table, Mordred bravely spoke up. "Are you serious? Do you really have things about Father to tell us?"
This was exactly what she was waiting for. Gareth, who hadn't spoken, also looked at the fox demon in front of them—implying that she and her sister had the same thoughts. Perhaps she had long anticipated that the two of them would have such questions, as Tamamo-no-Mae's expression was very calm. She gently swayed her tail, then nodded and replied, "Yes, that's what I mean. Mordred... no, I should say the Master's daughters, you wouldn't think I would joke about something like this, would you?"
"..." Mordred looked at Tamamo-no-Mae in front of her and finally agreed with her. "Alright, I understand."
Ten minutes later, the three of them arrived in a certain room in Chaldea. This was Tamamo-no-Mae's personal living space—it was originally a room for Master candidates, but after the explosion, it became her own residence. Yes. Tamamo-no-Mae did not cling to Ian and insist on living with him. Because she knew she shouldn't be a bother to him. As the owner of the room, Tamamo-no-Mae had used her magic to decorate it, so its style was completely different from Chaldea's, more like a corner of a Heian-era Japanese mansion.
"Come in," Tamamo-no-Mae invited the two knights.
"Okay," Gareth took off her shoes and followed the fox demon inside. After a moment of hesitation, Mordred also followed suit and entered the room.
"What kind of tea would you like?" Tamamo-no-Mae asked, then pulled out a large box from the side and placed it in front of them. Inside, there was a dazzling array of teas. "I have... many kinds of tea here."
"Eh?" Hearing Tamamo-no-Mae's words, Gareth was stunned. Having just felt the scarcity of resources in Chaldea from Mash, she didn't dare to so casually enjoy what the fox demon had brought out. After all, if everyone else was suffering while she was enjoying herself, that would be selfishness. As a knight of Britain, Gareth absolutely did not want to become like that. It went against her personal principles.
But—as if she could read Gareth and Mordred's minds, Tamamo-no-Mae quickly explained, "Please do not feel any burden. This... is a part of the dowry I brought when I married Master, and it does not, in principle, belong to Chaldea. So you don't have to worry about wasting it or anything—this is just a small sharing from me."
"..." Mordred was silent. And Gareth was completely frozen. She pinched her cheek, and after confirming that she wasn't dreaming, she replied, "You're not joking, are you—Father, did he marry you?!"
"Yes," Tamamo-no-Mae replied, her face slightly flushed at Gareth's question. "I... just got married to Master. In principle, I might be considered your mother now."
"However," Tamamo-no-Mae smiled slightly, looking at the two British "daughters" with incredibly gentle eyes. "I don't require you to think of me that way—that's too much to ask."
"..."
"..."
Tamamo-no-Mae's words weren't forceful, but they deeply shocked the two girls in front of her. They just stared at the fox demon, who was from a completely different era, unable to say a single word for a long time. After a while, Gareth, having regained her composure, remembered to ask Mordred to confirm the truthfulness of the fox demon's words.
"Mordred. Is this true? Did Father really marry her?"
"..." Recalling the slightly shabby wedding that night and her experience of eavesdropping with Olga Marie and the others outside the door, Mordred's heart didn't really accept Tamamo-no-Mae, but she still nodded honestly. After all, she cared about her father. "Yes, it's true. Father really did marry her—but he didn't make me call her 'mother'!"
But this kind of defense was meaningless. If their father had really married the fox demon, then she was indeed their mother in name. That was something that would never change. Gareth patted her cheeks, adjusting her emotions.
Let's ignore all that for now! No matter what her identity was, what she needed to understand now were the "things about Father" she mentioned.
"Well," the young knight looked at the fox demon in front of her, her tone becoming cautious because of the "mother" status. "So, your name is..."
"Tamamo-no-Mae," the fox demon introduced herself very seriously. It was clear that she wanted to leave a good impression on Mordred and Gareth. "Of course. You can also call me Tama or Tamamo, just like Master. I think that's a great name too."
"..." Gareth looked at Tamamo-no-Mae and nodded thoughtfully. The other person had fuzzy ears and a fluffy tail that most people didn't have, but her appearance was very similar to her and Mordred's age. From this perspective, it was more like their slightly older father, Ian, had married a young, spoiled wife.
"I see. So—" Gareth moved a little closer to her sister beside her, finding some sense of security. "Tamamo-no-Mae, what exactly do you want to tell us—I feel like I don't know any less about Father than you do, right?"
This wasn't a difficult thing to understand. After all, as one of Ian's daughters, Gareth had truly fought alongside him against Vortigern. From this point of view, she felt that her understanding of her father would not lose to anyone—and that, of course, included Tamamo-no-Mae.
"Mm... if we're looking at it from your perspective, I really shouldn't know more than you."
"But—" The fox demon's eyes became much gentler. It was a kind of emotion that came from remembering certain things. "But if I told you that I was saved by Master, you would believe me, wouldn't you?"
"Saved?" Gareth understood the words but couldn't comprehend their meaning. She leaned close to Mordred's ear and whispered, "Mordred, do you know when Father saved her?"
"Eh?" Mordred truly didn't know anything about this. She scratched her face and said, feeling a little wronged, "Sister, if you don't know, how would I?"
"But—" Mordred looked at Tamamo-no-Mae. "Since Father could summon her, I think their relationship must be extraordinary."
"Huh?!" Gareth suddenly realized that she seemed to have unconsciously overlooked something. "Mordred... is Tamamo-no-Mae a Servant summoned by Father?"
"Yes," the fox demon naturally took over the conversation. "I did hear Master's voice and was able to come to Chaldea because of it. Although I suffered a lot before that—it was all worth it."
"..."
"..."
Gareth and Mordred looked at each other. After all, their summoning had been completely peaceful. In comparison, the "suffering" that Tamamo-no-Mae mentioned made them curious—was there such a thing as a non-peaceful summoning?
"Then—" Mordred's tone softened a lot—after all, this was the first time she had learned of such a thing. "Can I take it to mean that you spent a lot of effort to find our father and then marry him?"
"Yes," Tamamo-no-Mae nodded, her eyes filled with nostalgia for the past. "It took me several lifetimes to finally reunite with Master, your father."
"This..." Mordred looked at Tamamo-no-Mae's incredibly sincere eyes and knew that she wasn't making up a story to deceive her and her sister. And Gareth, on the side, also noticed. But compared to her sister, she was a little more cautious, having lived in the British countryside.
"Then—"
"What exactly did Father do that made you so unforgettable—to the point where you would search for him for several lifetimes?" Gareth's question was perfectly timed, and Mordred followed suit.
"Yeah, yeah! What did Father do to make you so unforgettable—did he save your life?!"
Mordred's mind didn't have much of a romantic side; the only kind of answer she could come up with was at this level. But as always, her luck was with her. Even such a casual answer landed right in Tamamo-no-Mae's heart.
"Yes. Mordred, you are not wrong," Tamamo-no-Mae's expression became incredibly moved. "Master... he did save me."
"What's going on?! / What do you mean?!" Gareth and Mordred shouted almost at the same time.
"Mm..." Tamamo-no-Mae's gaze swept over the two girls, and the scene in front of her returned to that street in Heian-kyō where she first met Ian. That was when the fox demon was most terrified and wanted to kill herself. And his slight nod at that time gave her the hope to continue living.
"Although you may not believe me," she said. "But in the past... I once wandered alone for a very long time. It was your father who saved me, gave me the hope to live on, and also made me realize that my fate was not unchangeable. So—" Tamamo-no-Mae looked at the two girls, her eyes already misty. "No matter what, I must repay him by giving myself to him and becoming his eternal wife. Otherwise—I can't think of any other way to repay Master's kindness."
After saying this, Tamamo-no-Mae wiped away her tears, seemingly recalling some deeply moving memories. This kind of reaction was impossible to fake.
"This..." Gareth and Mordred weren't fools. They could see that Tamamo-no-Mae's reaction was genuine, born from deep emotion. Yes. Their father must have done something to save her.
At this moment, Mordred also recalled the unified evaluation of their father from their two mothers, the very different Artoria and Morgan. "He is a true hero." Thinking of this, a smile appeared on her face. After all, for the rowdy child Mordred, this was what a good father was in her mind, a true British man who stood tall and firm.
"I'm sorry," Tamamo-no-Mae said, wiping away her tears. "I was rude... if I made you uncomfortable, I'm truly sorry."
Mordred shook her head. "It's nothing. I... believe that Father is indeed the kind of person who would work hard to protect others. After all—everyone else in Chaldea evaluates Father the same way, right?"
"Mordred..." Tamamo-no-Mae looked at Mordred, her eyes now filled with gratitude. "It's so good that you can understand me."
"So—" Gareth looked at the fox demon. "You figured out that I was Father's daughter by talking to Mordred?"
"Mm," the fox demon nodded. "That's what I thought. Of course, I initially considered other possibilities, but in the end, I felt the status of 'daughter' was the most fitting."
"Eh... oh." Gareth's face turned red at this. After all, just a little while ago, she had almost had intercourse with her father. It was a good thing Mash came to the rescue in time to prevent a huge mistake. Gareth held her cheeks and shook her head for a while before she was able to drive that terrible memory out of her mind.
She gave her approval. "I understand. Although I don't know how Father met you and saved you, your demeanor is very sincere—I believe there's no mistake; Father must have gone through something with you. But—" Gareth held Mordred's hand, her tone becoming a bit more cautious. "I'll say this first, I'm not doubting you. It's just—did you seek us out just to tell us that Father saved you? That... seems a little strange."
"Of course not," Tamamo-no-Mae shook her head. "I have another purpose."
"Another purpose?"
"Yes," Tamamo-no-Mae nodded, then straightened her posture and put on a serious expression. "I... as Master's wife, am making the most sincere request to you. Please allow your father to have unlimited intercourse with his girlfriends in Chaldea."