— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —
The year was now K428, and I had found myself as a 23-year-old man, now with a light stubble on my face, and six children to my na.
As it turned out, my wives quite liked the slightly more rugged look on , although the kids always complained of how prickly it was, especially when I gave them kisses on the cheek and forehead.
Anyway, with winter nearing its end as we entered the fifth month of the year, it also ant that two of the Greyrat family children had reached the age of five, marking their first birthday celebration.
Alaric’s had already happened nearly two months ago now, where Paul, Zenith, and Lilia had set up a party with the neighbourhood kids, as well as my children that were his age.
A crying Alice, sleeping Emilia, and a Roana that was just learning to speak wouldn’t exactly be the best company, after all.
We got my youngest brother a few things from each of us, with Eris getting him a short sword with a dulled edge, Roxy and Sylphy getting him a book, and from Ariel and , we got him a pretty good set of model creation tools from the capital.
As it turned out, my little brother had quite the interest in buildings, so with our present, he could go from happily looking at them to actually making so miniature designs of his own.
While at the mont it was simply his main interest, perhaps in the future he would end up being an architect. Luckily, our family’s comfortable situation ant that all the kids could pursue whatever career they wanted without worry of failing.
And then, a month after that celebration, there was Lana’s fifth birthday, where we had a bigger party as many of Rudy’s friends ca over, as well as Sara’s from both the university and her adventuring days.
Lana still didn’t have a specific interest quite yet, unlike Aria with her magic and Anna with her swordsmanship, but she would probably start looking into different pursuits soon at Rudy’s behest, as he wanted her to try lots of things before finding her path.
But I wasn’t too worried about her.
She was smart and optimistic, and from how she thanked so earnestly for the pendant I got her, she was quite good at valuing things.
Maybe she would end up as a collector? A rchant?
I wasn’t sure, but it was fun to think of how she would end up.
Either way, aside from the birthdays, my ti since returning ho had been quite calm, save for revealing my return to certain people.
First, it was Ruijerd, and wanting to calm the likely guilt he felt, I teleported over to the Superd village where he was quite relieved to see that I was alive.
Then, after him, it was the kingdom that was notified of my return, although in that case, my passing had only co from vague rumours and only a few of Ariel’s confidants knew the truth of my assud death.
But with Ariel revealing to the public as the newly-appointed fourth ranked power, all those worries were quelled, and it also served as a show of force that any enemies that wanted to attack the Kingdom of Asura would need to be strong enough to contend against one of the higher ranked world powers.
And of course, with revealed as the fourth ranked power… there was also that matter.
The news of Laplace’s death, that being done at the hands of our small group, which was now being nad the new ‘party of heroes’, had spread throughout the world as fast as the rchants could reach.
While usually such a claim would be thought of as nothing but a fairy tale, with Perugius confirming it to the public, it was treated as the truth, only to be confird further by the change in the world power rankings, at least by those who knew about them.
Thankfully, even with our new status as the heroes that defeated Laplace, Rudy and I’s lives hadn’t been too affected, and more importantly, Ruijerd Superdia’s na had been circulated as a mber of the party.
While the years of instinctual discrimination against the Superd’s had not been completely removed, at least now, when the na of their race was brought up, people were thinking of Ruijerd as the one who finally put an end to Laplace first, rather than the fear of their past actions.
Quite the big change.
And with Ruijerd beginning the initial steps to open the Superd village to the world, I could only hope that his people’s reputation would be renewed.
And then, there was of course the discourse about the enigmatic Dragon God finally making his mark on the world… even if he didn’t fight that much.
But either way, hearing that through his apostles would surely anger the Man-God, who had… still not made a move ever since the Asura Kingdom debacle.
Orsted had originally theorized that he saw my death due to Laplace and simply let fate take its course, but knowing now that it wasn’t the case… just what could he be planning?
The most probable explanation would be him gathering influence in different countries, but with Ariel’s spies and diplomats spread throughout the civilized world, we knew that this was most likely not the case.
Unless… he was aiming for a smaller, elite force.
It made sense, as anything less than an Emperor-ranked threat would be useless on a battlefield with Orsted and I, but still… just who could match up to us?
A part of did want to find out and take down the problem before it ca up, but then again, staying here was the best place to be, as I wouldn’t need to worry about my family being threatened while I was gone.
And even if I did go out to explore the world and counteract the Man-God’s sche, I would have no clue where to start, and would probably end up wandering around uselessly.
Besides… I wanted to spend more ti with my family-
“Eep!” I shouted, feeling sothing cold brush against the back of my neck as I sat up straight in surprise.
“What’s with that? Is this really the fad Elental God?” Roxy teased with a light giggle, moving to stand beside as she held a cup out. “Here. It’s Philip’s new batch, and he wants us to try it.”
Ah… right. Philip’s new endeavour.
While he had remained as the university’s advisor ever since coming here, it seems that he had felt unfulfilled with only that, and in the last year, he had started up brewing as a hobby.
I guess that was a result of getting older?
I an, I could see myself getting a few other interests after the children grew older and the Man-God was dealt with.
“I see…” I said, hesitantly taking the ale as I pouted towards her. “And what was with that? Trying to scare ?”
“I just thought you were quite lost in thought, so I took the chance presented to ,” Roxy said, pushing against the chair as she took a seat on my lap. “So? Do you wish to share with , husband?”
It was dangerous, to have her look up at like that with such an innocent face… it made want to take her upstairs right away.
“It wasn’t anything serious… just wondering what I should do now,” I said, taking a hesitant sip.
Smooth… but still a bit too bitter for my taste.
Father did say that I would end up liking ale and beer the more I had it, but still… I preferred ad at the mont.
“Nothing serious… really? Would thinking about ‘nothing serious’ make you unable to sense opening the door?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Just the future, is all… and weren’t you ant to et with Shizuka?” I asked.
The two of them, much to my thanks, had begun the work on creating a seal for the Man-God, so hopefully, by the ti we were prepared to pay him a visit, his new prison would be ready.
“She went to get so advice from Perugius, and as you know, he doesn’t take kindly to being in his palace, so here I am,” she said, leaning against . “Do you hate it?”
“No… I do not,” I said, taking a larger gulp as I felt her roll her hips against my groin.
Roxy… did she want to get it on right now?
I an, I wasn’t opposed, but…
Who was that?
“Leon?” Roxy asked, giving a worried glance as I stood up, having moved her off of .
“We have a visitor… and quite the strong one at that,” I said, activating my demon eye as I looked towards the front entrance.
It was a woman, with a familiarly constant flow of touki through her body, and with that potency… she was likely sowhere between Paul and Eris in terms of skill.
Normally, such an unknown yet powerful fighter would make weary, but considering the child that was in their arms… I couldn’t find myself threatened.
“Well, let’s go greet them,” I said, turning to look at Roxy. “Do you want to carry you?”
“Please. I’m an adult woman,” she said with a frown.
“That wasn’t a no,” I replied with a smirk.
She simply shook her head before standing up, walking behind as we headed inside and towards the front door.
And opening said door…
“This was the place, right? Urgh, please tell this is the place!”
“Mama…”
“Hm? What is it, Nel? I know the trip was hard, but we’re fine now. Even if we can’t find Eris today, we can at least rest in an inn.”
“No… soone at the door…”
“Really!?”
Yes, really.
Watching as the blue-haired woman turned to face , an image from the past ca forth, one from all the way back when I visited Eris at the Sword Sanctum, before even Aria was born.
“Nina… right? What brings you here?” I asked, watching as the woman’s eyes widened in surprise.
I then looked down at the little boy in her arms, being no older than three years old with short dark blue hair and tired green eyes, though his evident fatigue might be due to the travel they seed to have just finished.
“O-Oh… Leon… so this is the place, right? Wow… Eris did brag about having a big house, but I didn’t expect this,” Nina said, looking up at the house with wide eyes.
“Yes, this is indeed our ho… did you co here all the way from the Sword Sanctum?” I asked.
“Yep! I an, Eris always told to visit, and Nel’s old enough now,” she said, looking down at the boy with a smile. “Besides… while Jino’s a very loving husband, he still has a slight fear of leaving the Sword Sanctum… I don’t want our kids to not see the outside world as well.”
Hmm… I see.
“Well, Eris is with Ariel and Sylphy right now, but they should be back pretty soon, so for now, co on inside,” I said, inviting them in. “Ah, and if you’re staying for a while… you two don’t mind sharing a bed, do you?”
“No! Of course not, that would be great!” Nina said, nodding her head as she followed inside. “And… I’m guessing this Ariel and Sylphy are both your wives as well?”
“Mhmm. And Roxy too, who is already inside. They’re the light of my life, and I’m sure you’ll see why,” I said with a smile.
Right… Eris ntioned that her old friend wasn’t too happy about my… plethora of love, but I hoped that with enough exposure, she would change her mind.
It worked on Isolte, after all, and she was much more conservative about such things.
“Oh? I see we have a guest… I’ll prepare so tea,” Roxy said, coming out of the living room. “And I am Roxy Greyrat… it’s nice to et you.”
“A-Ah… yeah, nice to et you too…” Nina said, setting down Nel as she peered into the living room. “And… those must be your children… I see that Eris got her wish as well.”
Following her gaze to where Aria, Anna, and Ars were playing, a small smile settled on my lips.
“Indeed… but it must have been quite the lonely journey, especially for little Nel here… why don’t you play with them?” I said, kneeling down to look at the boy.
“Uhm… okay,” he said, hesitantly gripping his coat as he looked at my kids, before looking back to . “And mister… are you… stronger than my father? My mother said sothing about that…”
“Well… I’m pretty sure I am, but your father is plenty strong to be proud of,” I said, gently rustling his hair. “Being a Sword Saint is quite amazing, you know?”
But Nel just tilted his head, his expression confused.
Umm… his father was Jino, right?
Eris said that he was one of the three Sword Saints while she was there, although he didn’t have as much motivation as her and Nina.
So what… did he beco a Sword Emperor or sothing?
“Hehe~ well, that isn’t exactly true anymore,” Nina said with a proud smirk. “After all, having beat my father in a duel, Jino is now the Sword God.”
…Oh.
But… how?
Eris said that Jino wasn’t anything special, and Gal Farion, while now weaker than , was an extrely strong swordsman.
But… then again… I knew that with enough motivation, people could do quite amazing things.
I guess his position as a husband and a father had forced him to change.
“I see…” I mumbled before my eyes widened.
Wait… the motivation… did it have to be through family?
And Orsted did ntion that the Man-God could grant powers to his followers…
“Nina… does the word ‘Man-God’ ring any bells?” I asked, having stood back up to stare into the woman’s eyes.
“Uh… no? Why?” she asked, visibly confused.
“Then… has your husband acted oddly recently?” I continued.
“Well… ever since Eris left, he started focusing on getting stronger and… um… seducing ,” she said as a blush appeared on her cheeks. “But anyway! He’s still the sa old Jino. Although… Father did end up leaving the Sword Sanctum, even though he wasn’t killed in the duel…”
The forr Sword God left?
Why?
But… if Jino was apparently unchanged, and his motivations truly had to do with romance…
Well, I couldn’t be sure of anything, but perhaps I should consult with Orsted about him being a possible apostle.
And Gal Farion as well, I suppose…
“And do you know where your father has gone?” I asked.
“Not really,” Nina replied with a shrug. “He said he wanted to ‘rediscover his sword’, whatever that ant, and has been missing ever since. But in my opinion, I think he’s just upset that Jino grew from a Saint to defeating him in just a year.”
I see… well, thoughts for later, I suppose.
“Eris should be returning soon, so please treat yourself as you wish in the anti,” I said, watching as Nel and the kids awkwardly began to introduce themselves.
That was, of course, until a certain soone broke the ice.
“Whoa! You have hair like ! That’s aweso!” Aria cheered, greeting Nel with a wide smile.
“Umm… yeah, it’s from my mother…” he replied, recoiling slightly from her energy.
“Sa! Mama has blue hair too!” Aria replied as she walked up to the three-year-old, obviously towering over him due to her age, before suddenly being pulled back.
“Aria… don’t crowd guests… you’re too much for most people,” Anna replied.
“What!? How an!” Aria replied, looking over to . “Dada, tell her she’s wrong!”
Oh dear… another sibling fight to deal with…
I could only thank every deity in existence that these two troublemakers didn’t make use of their impressive power for their age whenever they did so.
“Just… give him so space, Aria… why don’t you introduce your siblings to him first?” I said.
“Ah! Okay!” she said, a cheerful smile on her face as she looked back down at the younger boy.
Honestly… but it was that cheerfulness that made so proud of her, especially from what Roxy and Sylphy told about her during my ti away.
She was a strong girl… if a little overbearing.
“They seem lively,” Nina comnted with a smile. “And that red-haired one is awfully quiet for being Eris’. I thought that he would be the source of trouble.”
“Surprisingly, Ars is simply a ball of joy,” I said, watching as my only son giggled at his two sisters’ antics. “Though, I can only imagine how puberty will go-”
Ah… they were here.
“Hey! Leon, we’re back!” Eris voice resounded from the basent.
“Huh?” Nina voiced, confused.
Wait… I forgot… she didn’t know about those teleportation circles, did she?
Well… I could only hope she didn’t really care.
“Ariel and Sylphy are coming ho a bit later, but… wait,” Eris said, widening her eyes as she ca up the stairs. “Nina? The hell are you doing here?”
“W-Well, you always said I could visit, right?” Nina replied, crossing her arms.
“I’m not against it, I just thought you would send a letter first,” Eris said, walking up to her with a wide smile. “Anyway, it’s good to see you! Are you staying for a while?”
“Just a few weeks, if you’ll have us… I just wanted to get out of that place for a small visit,” Nina replied with a smile. “And it’s good to see you… I see that you’ve found your happiness.”
“Heh… yeah, you could say that… but ‘us’?” Eris said, her gaze moving to the living room, where Anna was slowly getting Nel involved in their little ga, as a flash of recognition appeared in her eyes. “Huh. Damn… so, did Jino finally grow so balls?”
“Haha! Yeah, you could say that. He even went as far as to beat up my father to do so!” she said.
“No way! Here, I need to feed Alice, so co on upstairs. I’ll show you all the rooms, and you can tell all about what I missed!” Eris said, taking Nina’s hand with an excited smile.
“As long as you tell everything that happened, too! Honestly… I don’t hear much of the outside world, but becoming part of the royal family of Asura? That’s sothing else!” Nina replied.
And then, the two went upstairs, their cheerful voices growing muffled as they continued to chat.
“I… guess they’re having fun, huh? It’s nice to see Eris with a close friend that isn’t one of us,” Roxy said, coming out of the kitchen with a tray. “Although… that Nina woman completely forgot about the tea.”
“I can bring it up to them,” I said, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead. “That aside, they must have been travelling for a while. Do you mind adding their clothes to the wash?”
“Of course,” she replied.
But still… it was nice to see an old friend… even if they weren’t mine.
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