I'm in Morioh, just joined a chat group for cute girls.

Irisviel placed a smooth egg roll on her daughter's plate and asked curiously, "The milk you gave Mommy last time tasted so good, so sweet, and had such a unique aroma. Today I tried adding honey, maple syrup, and vanilla extract, but it didn't taste the same. What special seasoning did you add?"

"puff--"

Kitagawa Kaimu, who was drinking soup, almost spat it out. Luckily, she covered her mouth with her hand in time, her face turning red and her shoulders trembling.

Ilya's face flushed bright red instantly, like a boiled shrimp.

She glanced subconsciously at Gu Ye, who was eating slowly and methodically across from her, and found that he didn't even lift his eyelids, as if he hadn't heard their conversation at all.

“That…that is…”

Ilya stammered, her eyes darting around, "I...I don't know! I just mixed it up randomly back then, and I don't remember the recipe anymore."

"Really? That's a shame."

Irisviel looked genuinely disappointed. "Well... do you remember roughly what we used? Mom really wants to drink it again."

"No... I don't remember! I don't remember anything at all!"

Ilya buried her head in her bowl, shoveling rice into her mouth, too afraid to look into her mother's eyes.

Mom... that 'special seasoning'... is still competing with Haimeng in my body...

In the afternoon at the Thousand Realms One Journey, after everything was over, Kitagawa Kaimu suddenly had a ridiculous idea and proposed an absurd competition: to see who could hold out the longest and prevent Gu Ye's belongings from falling to the ground. They would then retrieve them together before going to bed that night and see who could preserve more.

Seeing her daughter's embarrassed expression, Irisviel thought she had pressed her too hard, so she stopped asking and just smiled gently: "Okay, it's okay if you can't remember."

The meal ended in an eerie yet harmonious atmosphere.

"I'm stuffed!"

Ilya put down her chopsticks and ran upstairs as if she were fleeing.

"I'm going to my older brother's room to play games!"

"Hey! Wait for me, Elizabeth!"

Kitagawa Kaimu immediately put down her bowl and followed closely behind, shouting, "I want to play too!"

The two girls ran up the stairs one after the other, their small, quick steps with their legs tightly closed looked both comical and adorable.

Irisviel watched their retreating figures, shook her head helplessly, and said to Medea beside her, "Those two are really close, always sticking together."

Medea held her teacup, a knowing smile flashing in her eyes, but she said nothing, only taking a small sip of her black tea.

Upstairs, in Gu Ye's room.

Ilya and Haimeng locked the door, leaned against it, and simultaneously let out a long sigh of relief.

"Scared me……"

Hai Meng patted her ample chest, "I thought Alice was going to find out."

"It's all your fault! You came up with such a weird competition!"

Ilya complained, her face flushed, but her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Hehe, so now... is it time to 'take stock of the spoils'?"

Hai Meng leaned close to Ilya's ear and said with a mischievous grin, "The loser has to accept a punishment, you know?"

Ilya blushed even more, hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded.

……

In Gu Ye's room, upbeat background music from video games played.

"Ah—! Just a little bit more!"

Ilya let out a regretful cry and slammed the small glass bottle she was holding onto the table.

The collected water in the bottle only occupied less than half of its capacity.

Meanwhile, in Kitagawa Kaimu's bottle, the liquid level was noticeably higher.

The outcome of the match is self-evident.

"I won, Ilya-chan~"

Hai Meng proudly waved her "spoils of war".

"Damn it...it's all my fault..."

Ilya puffed out her cheeks, clenched her little hands into fists, and pointed angrily at the hem of her purple dress.

There was a small, dark, wet stain there, the "evidence" of her accidentally slipping out of her body, causing her to fail at the last minute.

"If it hadn't run out on its own, I definitely would have made more than you!"

"A loss is a loss, okay?"

Hai Meng grinned and leaned closer, pinching Ilya's flushed cheeks. "So, as the victor, my request is—"

She paused, then turned her gaze to Ilya, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and anticipation.

"I'd also like to try the 'special blended milk' that Mrs. Alice was talking about so much earlier!"

Ilya was stunned for a moment, then her face started to burn again.

"Sister Haimeng...you heard me..."

"Of course,"

Hai Meng nodded matter-of-factly. "When Mrs. Alice asked, I was wondering what kind of milk could taste so good. But... is it really okay for her to drink that? She's your mother, you know."

Although Hai Meng has a carefree personality, she is not stupid.

She knew exactly where the "milk" came from.

Ilya pouted and gently shook her head.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, her voice lowering, "My mother... she and I were both androids created by the Einzbern family for the Holy Grail War. Our physical structure is a little different from that of ordinary people..."

Her gaze drifted to the window, where she could almost see her father, Kiritsugu Emiya, standing forlornly in the darkness.

"And... Dad passed away a long time ago. Mom is actually very lonely."

Ilya's voice carried a maturity and sadness beyond her years, "But what's done is done, and all I can do is keep it a secret. Please, Sister Haimeng, don't tell anyone, okay?"

Seeing Ilya's reddened eyes, Haimeng's heart softened.

Spare ㈨ 0① 2㈥ 0

She sat down next to Ilya, reached out and pulled the little girl into her arms, gently patting her back.

"Don't worry, I'm not that stupid. Of course, this kind of thing should be kept secret."

Hai Meng comforted her in a big sisterly tone, "Besides, you didn't do it on purpose, it was just an accident."

"Um……"

Ilya snuggled into Haimeng's warm embrace, her mood calming down a bit, but the thought of the "mistake" she had unintentionally made still made her frown. "I... will never let this happen again."

"Okay, okay,"

Hai Meng released her, her bright smile returning. "Now, can you make me, the victor, a hot cup of 'special milk'?"

"……Um."

Ilya blushed and nodded. She went into the ensuite bathroom in the room, and a moment later came out carrying a cup containing a warm white liquid, which she handed to Haimeng.

Hai Meng took it curiously and smelled it first.

Without hesitation, she tilted her head back and took a big gulp.

"Well--!"

Hai Meng's eyes lit up instantly.

"Wow, that's amazing! It's really... completely different from regular milk! The texture is so smooth, and... it's sweet and so comforting..."

She looked at Ilya with amazement, as if she had discovered a new world. "Ilya-chan, you're amazing!"

Ilya was a little embarrassed by the praise and whispered, "I'm glad you like it, Sister Haimeng..."

"It's more than just liking it! It's absolutely delicious!"

Hai Meng took another sip and squinted her eyes contentedly.

Just then, the room door was pushed open.

"What are you all playing? It's so lively."

Gu Ye walked in carrying a glass of water. He had just finished showering, and his hair was still a little wet.

He immediately spotted two girls huddled around a cup, with Hai Meng still looking like she wanted more.

"Ah, Gu Yejun/Big Brother!"

The two girls shouted at the same time. Ilya instinctively tried to hide the cup behind her back, but it was too late.

Gu Ye's gaze fell on the cup, then he looked at their tense expressions and casually asked, "Ilya, are you making milk for your sister Haimeng?"

"No, no!"

Ilya immediately retorted, but her ears, which turned bright red in an instant, completely betrayed her.

"Yes, it's yogurt! Yes, it's a new flavor of yogurt!"

Hai Meng immediately chimed in, trying to bluff her way out, "Ilya said it's her new creation, and it tastes amazing!"

Gu Ye watched as one of them blushed to the roots of her ears, and the other desperately tried to smooth things over. He knew exactly what was going on, but he didn't expose this little lie that was so easily debunked.

"Really? Then I'll try some too?"

"no!"

Ilya refused without hesitation, then realized she had overreacted and quickly added, "This, this is for girls only! Boys will get diarrhea if they drink it!"

"That's right!"

Hai Meng nodded frantically in agreement.

Xianxun: The Overlord's Memory of the Soul of the Jiujiu ③ Qiba

Gu Ye smiled helplessly, shook his head, and didn't ask any further questions.

He walked to the computer, sat down, and picked up the controller: "Want to play again? Want to start a game?"

"Play!"

The two girls were immediately distracted, forgetting about the "milk" incident, and excitedly gathered around.

The room was soon filled with laughter and game sound effects again.

We were playing until almost 10 o'clock when there was a knock on the door.

"Ilya, it's time to sleep."

Irisviel's gentle voice came from outside the door.

"Know it--"

Ilya reluctantly agreed and put down the controller.

Irisviel pushed open the door and walked in, smiling and nodding to Gu Ye and Hai Meng. Then she took Ilya's hand and said, "Come on, Mom will help you prepare your bath."

Goodnight, big brother, Haimeng sister.

"Good night."

After Illya left, Irisviel went into the room as usual and picked up the purple dress that Illya had changed out of and was preparing to wash.

This was something she did every day: she would collect her daughter's dirty clothes and hand them over to the maids, Sera and Lizzie, to handle.

But today, when her fingertips touched the hem of her skirt, she felt a strange, sticky sensation.

"Ok?"

She held the dress up in front of her eyes, examining it closely under the room's light.

There was indeed a palm-sized mark on the hem of the skirt, its color darker than the surrounding fabric. The edges were dry, but the center was still damp.

She brought that spot to her nose and smelled it.

A familiar scent... mixed with the fresh fragrance of laundry detergent, but underneath, there was another scent... that made her heart skip a beat.