(One Year Later)
"No, Mordred, stop that! Get down from there!" Artoria grabbed Mordred as she was somehow climbing up a bookshelf. But just as she did, a loud crash was heard. Artoria sat —well, more like threw —Mordred onto a couch before she turned around to see what had happened.
"Arthur, why are you trying to eat at this time?! We just fed you! Come on, get away from the plate." Artoria picked up Arthur and took him away from the broken plate on the ground.
"Morgan, Souji, Jeanne, Jr, Lily, you five should teach Mordred and Arthur your manners," Shuna said while helping dress the five of them up.
It had been one entire year since Artoria and Shuna's lives had taken a massive step. As soon as the news of their seven children's births spread across the empire, a massive empire-wide festival was held to celebrate their births. It lasted an entire week, and everyone important came to the festivities. Despite the preparations made in anticipation of so many people, it still wasn't enough. The scale of the festival, combined with the improbability of seven children being born, only served to add to the allure of the celebration.
But that was a year ago. Now, the city had expanded a lot more. Passenger rail made travel between the cities and towns of the empire much faster and more convenient. Artoria's goal of a rail empire had been accomplished. Cargo trains were connected to Dwargon, North Ingrassia, Milim's Domain, Frey's country, Carrion country, Sorcerious Dynasty, Blummond, and the new Eastern Empire. Of course, she, or the empire, owned all ownership rights to it. After that, passenger rail had been rapidly constructed.
Another advancement made was the different sports arenas and venues. The main sport of the empire was equestrian events, and Artoria's idea of regional leagues had taken effect. In fact, Artoria and Shuna were dressing up the seven little kids in preparation for not only the yearly birthday festival, but also the first race of the empire's triple crown. It was a big coincidence, which also brought issues with the people who would visit, not only for the festival, but also for the race.
"Shuna, do you have those five ready?" Artoria asked as she fixed up Mordred and Arthur. She could understand Mordred being as rowdy and hard to control as she is, but Arthur? Artoria thought he would be easier to control. Turns out, he wasn't. The other five might've been calmer, but Mordred and Arthur made up for that. Whenever Jr, Morgan, Jeanne, Souji, and Lily cried or made a fuss, it was for a reason. Whether they were hungry, cold, lonely, or just wanted attention. Mordred and Arthur, on the other hand? They seemed to cry just for the sake of crying.
"Yes, they're ready. What about Mordred and Arthur?"
Artoria finished tying up a ribbon and a bowtie. "Now, they're ready. Okay, let's go. Shuna, please make sure to keep an eye on them."
"Don't worry, you can count on me."
Before they left, Artoria looked at Rain and Misery. "You two, clean up this house while we're gone."
Rain and Misery nodded. Before the seven kids, the house would always be clean, but after? It was like a tornado came through every day. No matter how much they cleaned, the mess never seemed to go away.
"Alright, are y'all excited to see horse racing?" Artoria tried to excite them, but they all just stared at her.
"Alright, uh, come on."
"Artoria, they might not be old enough to understand."
"They simply haven't seen it. This is the first triple crown race after all the setup needed. It's going to be exciting." Artoira looked back at the children, but again, there was no reaction.
'Is this how I was when my parents tried to make me excited for something?'
"Uh, anyway, come on."
And so, Artoria and Shuna, and their seven kids, ventured outside to make a trip to one of the newly built venues that would host the first race of the imperial triple crown. The Verdant Cup at The Field of Logres.
Contrary to the belief that they would be crowded and swarmed, it was quite the opposite. They had a lot of space. It was out of respect for them that it made the trip a lot easier for them. Eventually, they made it to the field and through a special entrance for them.
As they got settled into their special viewing box, they could see the many horses that would take part in the race. It was large dirt racetrack. Though the main event was the triple crown, there were other races that would also take place.
"Alright, kids, we're going to cheer for two horses named Oh! Tengo Suerte and Neon Moon. Now, they're a bit too young for the main event, but they're participating in a race for young horses. It's not an intense race, but only something to ease them for later in their careers."
Artoria tried to get them into it, but she saw that there were only five listening, or pretending to listen to her.
"Huh?" She looked around to see where Arthur and Mordred were, only to see them already eating the food that had been prepared for all of them. And it was a lot, an absurd amount. She put a hand to her face and pinched her nose. "Right, right, those two are like me in that regard."
It was true. The kitchen in their house was a warzone in trying to feed all of them. Rain and Misery worked more in single breakfast, lunch, and dinner sessions than they ever did for Guy. Constant requests for extra servings, the sheer amount of food they needed to prepare and cook, and, of course, the random and sudden cravings. One week, a certain food would be devoured into nothingness, only for that same food to be left completely alone the next week; there was no pattern or reason to it.
"Wait, are you all hungry?"
All of them nodded.
Artoria let out a sigh. "Of course. Well, the races won't start for a while longer, so go at it. I'll make sure the food is refilled when it gets low."
At her words, all of them got up and stormed the food on the table.
"Shuna, how much did we spend on food last week?"
"It was the largest expense of the week. Our next biggest doesn't come close."
"I'd say they get this from me, but I'll cope by saying their growing bodies need it. Let's enjoy the races. They might not be as excited for the races, but they should be for the opening ceremony. The bright colors, flashy lights, and performances should be more than enough for thier attention."