"Kurogane."
That's the name of the blacksmith shop that is my family home.
The first floor is the workshop and weapon store, and the second floor is our living space.
It also comes with a decently sized yard.
I remember building lots of snowmen with Mom and Dad during the winter.
That house, filled with so many memories...
"Huh!?"
...had changed drastically.
It went from a two-story to a three-story house.
Even the overall lot size seemed to have doubled.
"What? What? …What is this?"
"Our house."
"Even if you say that… Did you renovate it?"
"Yeah. Had to, for a few reasons."
"?"
What kind of reason would call for this?
The old house wasn’t particularly big, but it was more than enough space for just Mom and Dad.
It had been standing for a while, sure, but it wasn’t nearly old enough to need rebuilding.
So why…?
"Oh my, I thought I heard a familiar voice… Welcome home, Fate-chan."
"Ah, Mom!"
Such a nostalgic voice.
Just hearing that gentle tone nearly brought tears to my eyes.
But I held them back.
It’d be pathetic for a man to cry like that.
Instead, I smiled and turned around—
"I’m home, Mo—Whaaaaaaat!?"
My warm greeting turned into a shout of surprise.
Amira Stuart.
She’s shorter than me.
On top of that, she has such a youthful face that if someone saw her and Dad together, they’d probably think something illegal was going on.
And that Mom… was holding a baby.
Since the baby could hold up their head, they were probably at least six months old.
"Wait, wait, wait… um… who’s that?"
"This is little Lutecia!"
Uh, no—I didn’t ask for the name.
The name is important, sure, but I kind of need to know who she is first.
Mom was as laid-back as ever.
It was reassuring to see her acting like herself, but I still had way more questions than answers.
"Are you… babysitting a neighbor’s kid or something?"
"Oh my, Fate-chan. That’s no way to talk about your own little sister."
"S-sorry! That’s not what I meant— Wait, sister?"
"Yes, your sister."
"That baby?"
"Of course."
"…"
My mind went completely blank for a whole minute.
And then—
"Eeeeeeeeeehhh!?"
My shocked voice apparently echoed through the entire town.
――――――――――
"Hey now, no need to be that surprised, right?"
"Of course I'm surprised..."
After that, we went inside the house, and I had the situation explained to me properly.
Apparently, after I left Snowlake, Mom and Dad continued living as usual.
But... not having a child around made things feel lonely.
So they thought—why not just grow the family?
It seems they went all-in on that idea.
Well, they worked hard in their own way.
As a result, about half a year ago, my little sister—Lutecia—was born.
With a new child in the house, the place started to feel cramped.
If I ever came back home, there just wouldn’t be enough room or space for everyone.
So, they decided to go big and renovate.
"You really went all out with this, huh."
"Well, yeah. But look—Fate’s home now. And not just that, he brought some lovely young ladies with him."
When Dad called them “lovely,” Sofia blushed a little.
"So, you see? Renovating was the right call, wasn’t it?"
"I mean, yeah... but wow. You haven’t changed a bit, Dad. Your energy’s unreal."
He’s the kind of guy who acts the moment he gets an idea...
Dad pretty much never overthinks things.
He acts on what feels right—like he’s guided by instinct or something.
And yet, he almost never fails.
In fact, he tends to succeed in just about everything he does.
I honestly think that’s pretty amazing.
"Hey hey, Fate-chan. Will you tell us some stories?"
"What kind of adventures have you had?"
"Ah... yeah, sure."
Their smiles were warm. Familiar. Comforting...
And honestly, at that moment—I nearly cried again.
But I held back.
While keeping the tears at bay, I began telling them everything that had happened.
I left out the part where I was made a slave, since I didn’t want to worry them...
Instead, I focused on everything that happened after I met Sofia.
And to my surprise, the story got everyone really into it—
Before we knew it, we had all stayed up way past midnight.
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