Chapter 18

I've gone out.Lessons have been canceled for today.I'll be back before nightfall.If something comes up, follow the smoke.—Rudeus.I considered the brief letter I had written before, with a thought and a bit of mana, it went up in flames. A bit of wind sent the ash and smoke out my bedroom window. Gathering up my bladed staff, I cast a look at the bed and the pair still sleeping there—red and green hair making a mess on my pillow where Sylphie and Eris had closed the distance between themselves and cuddled each other after I'd gotten up.Yeah, I had two bed partners now.Sylphie had come back from one of her visits to Buena a bit teary eyed, one weekend. Between Hilda's doting, Phillip's worry, and Sauros loudly declaring that he would be paying Buena a visit to find out what the hell was going on, I finally managed to coax what happened out of her. She and her father had gotten into an argument over Elin and Sylphie teaching her sister magic. Laws was firmly against the idea. Sylvia was fully in support of it. When pressed by both his wife and eldest daughter, Laws had finally snapped and yelled at Sylphie that he didn't want his youngest turning out like her and she'd be easier for him to handle if she couldn't just dismiss him as a parent with a flick of the fingers and a bit of magic.Sylphie had basically disowned herself after that. Or more accurately, disowned her father specifically, because she didn't want to cut ties with her mother and sister. She offered to find Sylvia and Elin a place in Roa. Surprisingly, Sylvia took her up on it. Now the two were staying in town, in a nice little house in the noble district that Sylphie had bought flat out. Well, more like I loaned her the money—Okay, I basically forced the money on her and told her to use it when she told me she was looking to find a place for her mother and sister in the commoner district. Mostly because somehow, I had a feeling that this was my fault. Yeah, Laws pissed in his bed and now he could lie in it, but I had tipped over the first domino in this chain of events by convincing Roxy to take Sylphie in and I'd feel kind of shitty if Sylvia and Elin suffered as a result of my actions, considering they were basically family at this point—especially since I didn't regret taking those actions in the slightest. Sylphie promised that she would pay me back, but I didn't really care if I never saw a cent of it.Sylphie felt responsible for breaking up her family, and an emotionally distraught Sylphie was a clingy Sylphie. When she wasn't spending the night with Sylvia and Elin, she was spending it in my bed.Eris saw this one night, rushed off to her room, and came back in her sleepwear. Her reasoning behind this?Eris, in tsundere defiant pose number three (pointing at someone and glaring at them), had declared to Sylphie, "You've already got a head start! I won't let you beat me!"Sylphie minded not in the least. I think she just enjoyed the physical attention, considering Eris cuddled her almost as much as me. As for myself, well, it was easier to put up with Eris' antics sometimes than fight her on it. It had nothing to do with the fact that she felt nice pressed against my side, with those curves coming along nicely and all that soft, smooth skin.Looking up as I entered the kitchen, I picked up a quick breakfast I could eat in a napkin while I made my way outside. I slipped onto my bike and drove into town. I had finally taken the time to upgrade my own bike to match the looks of the others, so it had the same racing motorcycle look as theirs. The biggest differences were that I didn't bother with fancy lighting effects and mine had a mount for the ultralight delta wing attachment, and the dark gray paint scheme.Stopping by the Guild, I made my way inside and waved to the staff on duty before checking out the job board, skipping over the C-Ranks entirely and checking out the B-ranks.Job: Monster Elimination.Location: Buena Village, Fittoa Region, Asura Kingdom, Central Continent.Contact: Paul Greyrat or Zenith Greyrat.Pay: Standard plus bonus per proof of kill.Description: Monsters are swarming in the forest outside Buena Village and taking livestock. Two villagers, a man and a child, were killed this month. The job is to sweep the forest bordering Buena Village for monsters and eliminate them all.I picked up the quest, whistling quietly as I read the description. "Hey Sprite?" I asked, pulling my phone from my pocket. The spirit chirped and I said, "Give me a map of Buena and the surrounding area."The hologram sprang to life above the phone and I eyeballed the distance the forest in question took up. "Yeah, that's… a lot of ground to cover."Making my way up to the counter, I passed the marker over along with my card. "I want to go ahead and register this one for my party, [Morning Star]."I had let Eris pick the name, but wound up vetoing the first few. Not just because I sucked at naming things, but because this whole 'adventurer' thing had been about her in the first place."Sure thing," the young woman at the counter smiled down at me and began to fill out the appropriate paperwork. "Here you go, sweetie."Saying my thanks, I left the Guild and made my way back home. I found Sylphie and Eris dressed and eating breakfast with Ghislaine when I returned. Making my way over to the big cat-woman, I handed her the paperwork for the job. Ghislaine flipped it open and held it with one hand while she ate. I was proud to see that she had advanced to the point of being able to speed-read its contents.Looking up from her breakfast, finishing off the sausage in her mouth, Ghislaine sent me a look. "What?" I asked. "It's a legitimate quest so it's fair game."Eris and Sylphie shared a look between themselves before the redhead asked, "What is?""A monster extermination quest for Buena Village."Sylphie stilled at my answer, before turning pleading eyes towards Ghislaine. "Can we go? Please Ms. Ghislaine?"The big woman sighed, before her look at me turned annoyed. "You were supposed to stay here for your birthday."Eris snorted quietly. "Oh please. We can go there, kill the monsters, and be back in time for lunch!""The forest is actually pretty big. Dinner, more likely," I clarified for her. "Depending on how much of it they want to save."Pushing her seat back, Ghislaine stood and set her hand on my shoulder, grabbing a fist full of my shirt and vest. "Come with me. We're going to see the old man." Sylphie and Eris made to rise. "You two stay here."Sylphie pouted and Eris glared, but I waved them off and allowed myself to be dragged out of the room. Once we were in the hall, Ghislaine let go. "You put me in a bad position, Rudeus.""Sorry Ghislaine, but not really. You don't need to make the call either way, just let Sauros handle it."The woman grunted, before nodding. "That was the plan. Fine. I understand how you feel. It must have been frustrating these past months, knowing the problem is getting worse but being unable to do anything about it. That's just how you are."I sent the woman an amused look. "I'm glad you understand."Ghislaine ignored the subtle sarcasm like a pro. "It's official now though, which means Zenith probably talked sense into Paul before things got too bad. If those two are asking for help, then I don't mind lending a hand." She turned and leveled a stern look at me. "Next time, ask first. Okay?""Okay," I agreed, understanding where she was coming from. I didn't enjoy being volunteered for things either, even if I would have agreed to them if someone had asked.We stopped at the door to Sauros' office and Ghislaine knocked. "Enter!" the old man bellowed, and we piled in. "Ghislaine, Rudeus. Good morning." Turning a grin on me, he added, "Happy birthday, Rudeus.""Thank you."The old man nodded before asking, "What have you come for today?"Ghislaine passed him the mission papers. "Rudeus picked up a mission in town.""Oh?" Sauros hummed and began reading over the paper. A frown formed as he read further. Finally, he set the paper down and propped his elbows on the desk, resting his chin against his fingers as he considered us.Nice Gendo pose, but you don't have the right beard for it."I see," the old man murmured. "Yes, I suppose it's not an overreach if you took the quest on behalf of the Guild, in your role as an adventurer. If you had just gone off and taken care of it yourself, you would have stepped on several sets of toes—mine included. It sends a bad message, if we have a rogue mage just doing whatever he likes. But now that my stubborn nephew as finally asked for help, I can do something about it in an official capacity."Sauros reached into a desk drawer and took out a clean sheet of paper, then began to pen out a letter or form of some kind. As he wrote, he spoke. "This deputizes you to act in my name and on my behalf as the Lord of Fittoa, Rudeus. Go to Buena Village, assess the situation, determine whether the local knight and town watch handled the situation appropriately, and find a way to keep it from happening again."He stamped the bottom of the page with his official seal and passed it over to me, where I dried it with wind magic, folded it up, and put it in my breast pocket. "I shouldn't need to say this, but just in case… That forest is the primary source of lumber for Buena Village. Please do not burn it down. However, so long as it's still standing and the monsters are dead, I'll consider your mission on behalf of the Guild a success."I sent the old man a wry look. "What makes you think I was planning to just—""Every letter you've ever left, telling us that if we need to find you it would be fastest to follow the destruction.""Elemental dragons," Ghislaine supplied.Scratching the back of my head in embarrassment as I remembered burning just such a letter this morning, I chuckled quietly. "Yeah, okay. Fair enough."Turning his attention to the tanned beast-kin woman, Sauros said, "Make sure no one interferes. And get back before nightfall if at all possible.""Mm. Sure," the woman agreed."Ghislaine, I mean it," Sauros sent her a stern look. "No one."The woman blinked before nodding slowly. "Understood."Taking that as a dismissal, we left, finding Eris and Sylphie waiting nearby. The limette's ears twitched and she looked bashful, while Eris grinned. "So, we're leaving now, right?""You shouldn't drop eaves," Ghislaine reached out and knuckled the girl's head, earning a wince. "Yes, we're leaving now."I grinned, sending her a side-eyed look. "So, we're flying, right?""Yes!" Eris cheered.Ghislaine nearly stumbled. "No," she vehemently disagreed."Aww," Sylphie pouted."It wouldn't take much to modify—""Absolutely not. We'll stay on the ground.""Damn," Eris grumbled.I had made some modifications since the first time I'd used my bike as an ultralight. I had spent the past seven months improving the design off and on, as I had time.The wing and engine were now one piece and joined securely in place at two points in the rear of the bike. The struts I had been using had been integrated into the bike itself, standing in place like a pair of angled mufflers. I had done away with the fan engine and moved to a purely magical, wind based ramjet style engine—essentially, an air scoop that caught air in one end, compressed it in the middle, and pushed it out at greater pressure from the rear to provide thrust. The controls were completely redone and changed from a fly-by-wire design to magically controlled.I had worked out each individual control surface—ailerons, elevators, and rudder—then I'd built in actual controls. Basically, pedals, a set of two control sticks recessed into where the gas can would typically be that extended to the left and right of the frame when in use, and a throttle that wasn't mounted on the handlebars. I'd added a more aerodynamic faring and seat, making the bike look more along the lines of those I'd made for Eris and the others. The front wheel locked into place in flight with a steel pin and the rim had been changed to a more solid design. Then, I'd spent even more time learning to fly it without needing to resort to bailing out and catching it before it hit the ground.Eris absolutely loved it. Ghislaine had flown with me exactly once before declaring, "Never again," and staying resolutely ground-bound ever since. Phillip refused to leave the ground while Sauros took after his granddaughter—save that where Eris took simple pleasure in flying, Sauros had me survey the land with him so he could see the area from above for himself. Sylphie had been afraid at first, but after the initial flight, she had decided it was safe enough since she could get herself down if something happened. Surprisingly, Hilda was actually the most enthusiastic about it—even more so than her daughter and father-in-law. Any time we had a chance, she asked me to take her out at night and we'd spend some time flying over the area and talking.Yeah, maybe flying over Roa wasn't a great idea. Ever since the first flight, we'd had mages coming and going, trying to catch a glimpse of the 'unidentified monster,' since rumor spread pretty quickly. One intrepid (read: too dumb to live) mage thought it would be a good idea to try to bring me down with a microburst. I had actually crashed that time and wound up hurting myself since I too fast to actually bail out and was low enough that I didn't have time to get out of the harness. Luckily, no one was flying with me at the time.Then the dickhead had the gall to try to claim my ultralight for his own as I was digging myself out of the wreckage and healing up. I told him to go piss up a rope, he told me he'd fuck my mother. He chanted out his Advanced-level fire spell, I very politely allowed him time to get it off and shielded with a dome of earth. I summoned up a dozen Elementary-level fireballs. He died screaming (bringing my count up to four) when his own earthen shield melted into slag and collapsed on top of him when I dumped more mana into my 'Elementary-level' fireballs in the temperature variable stage and they went white-hot.Good times.I stopped by my room to pick up my riding goggles and pack as a force of habit, rejoining the others outside shortly after and setting off for Buena Village. It was roughly a little over an hour ride to Buena Village from Roa, at an average of fifty miles per hour over my raised road and looking out for people or monsters on the road. At around one-fifty as the crow flies with clear skies, that would have been about twenty or so minutes. Oh well, it's not like I minded a nice morning ride.Our group of four bikes passed nearly silently through the town, to looks of surprise from the villagers as they moved out of the way of Ghislaine as she lead the way up the road, past the buildings, and out the other side of town. We finally pulled up just outside the fence surrounding my—the Greyrat home.I pulled up my goggles and pulled off my pack and rested it against the bike as I unhooked my staff from the rack securing it to the bike while the others similarly dismounted and stretched. It was kind of awkward to try to ride with a five foot length of wood, steel, and monster core in any position but parallel to the ground and pointed forward, so the mount I'd made was an arm that extended out from the rear, just behind my seat, and allowed me to lock the staff in place at my side where I could grab it and pull it out if needed.Focusing on what I wanted next, I summoned a small, delta-shaped object to my hands from the lab. It was roughly a foot long and three feet wide, and looked very much like the delta wing for my ultralight in miniature. In the center was a single forced air engine like the one on the ultralight, along with a small monster core to power it. Charging it up, I summoned the usual wind spirit I used for the job and let it sink into the small drone. Then, I pulled out my phone and let go of the drone, allowing the spirit to keep it at a hover in the air."Okay, Sprite, I need you to have the drone circle the forest and scan for monsters. Let me know when you're done, right?" The spirit in my phone gave a confirmation chirp and the drone took off with a blast of pressurized air as it climbed.This was a routine that had become pretty common over the last month. I had decided that if we were going to be doing missions hunting for specific monsters, it would help if we had eyes in the sky to track them down ahead of time instead of trying to find them. Thus, a drone. I'd enchanted it with many of the same spells I'd used on the phone, along with the prototype drone, allowing Sprite to remote control it in conjunction with a wind spirit doing the heavy lifting for moving it around. Light spells worked on every spectrum of light, including infrared and ultraviolet. Meaning that unless it was cold blooded, it couldn't hide from Sprite. And even then, larger cold blooded monsters tended to produce a certain level of heat that set them apart from their environment.The front door opened behind us. "What in the world?" a familiar voice called from the house. I turned towards the source of the voice. "Rudy? Rudy!"Zenith practically crushed me into her breasts as she lifted me up and spun around. I was growing quickly these days (maybe a little faster than I should, considering I'd had to let out the hems of my pants recently), but she was still a good head taller than me. "Hey."The last time I had spoken to her, I had been pissed at her running her mouth to Paul. I'd sent letters, but never anything specifically to anyone in the house. No one here ever sent anything back, likely Paul's doing. We hadn't exactly reconciled—The blonde woman cried as she kissed my cheeks, forehead, and even planted a sloppy, chaste kiss on my lips. "I'm sorry, Rudy."I shook my head. "It's fine. I'm over it. I'm sorry for overreacting."Zenith pulled me back into a tight hug and I felt her fingers running through my hair. I relaxed a bit and hugged her back. No, I couldn't ever see her as my mom and I was done trying, but she was still family. It was good to finally get a chance to see her again. I missed this.A moment later, we were joined by a second set of arms and I looked over to find the redheaded Lilia. "Good morning, master Rudeus. Happy birthday.""Thanks, Lilia," I smiled at her. "So, how are my sisters?""They have a fever."I frowned, looking at Zenith. "I haven't been able to fix it with Detoxification magic," the blonde explained.Coughing quietly nearby, Eris demanded, "Well? Aren't you going to introduce us?!"Sylphie and Ghislaine chuckled as Zenith and Lilia detached themselves and took in the other three women. "Ghislaine, good to see you again," Zenith greeted, quickly moving over and giving the larger woman a hug. Then she let go and moved on to Sylphie. "Sylphie! Welcome back!""Eris, these are Zenith and Lilia. My mom and… step-mom?" I asked the redhead for clarification.Zenith sighed, turning a conflicted look on me. "Mother is fine, Rudy.""Call me as you wish, Master Rudeus," Lilia deferred.I considered the woman. As much as I liked her and didn't want to make her feel excluded, I also didn't really feel like I should legitimize Paul's fuckup any more than I already had. I could barely manage calling Zenith 'mom' or 'mother' to her face, I'd never be able to fake it convincingly for Lilia. She was too sharp, as she had proven in the past. I had a feeling she'd appreciate honesty better anyway. "I'll stick to Lilia, if you don't mind?"The redhead smiled and nodded. "That's fine."Moving over to Eris, I took her by the shoulders and pushed her forward. "And this is Eris, my student in Roa."Zenith smiled while Lilia studied the redhead and nodded. The trio exchanged greetings before we got down to business.I took out the Guild paperwork and opened it up. "So, what can you tell us about—"We were interrupted by a third voice. "Rudy?" Paul called from the door to the house.Fuck. I sent a polite wave. "Hey.""What are you doing here?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked over our group. "How did you even get here?""We rode here," I gestured at the bikes with a grin. "Neat, huh?"Paul palmed his face with a sigh. "Go back to Roa, Rudy. You need to leave. And we need to get going, Zenith."The blonde stood, frowning as she crossed her own arms. "Paul, wait. They're here on—"Paul shook his head. "I'm not going to argue about this. Rudy, go and take your friends with you. You're not supposed to be back for another two years." Turning to Ghislaine, he frowned. "He talked you into this mess, huh?"Ghislaine shrugged. "Here on official business."Before Paul could ask her more, I shook my head. "I didn't agree to that and we're already here. Now, what's the rush?""We don't have time—""Paul. They have the Guild job," Zenith cut Paul off. "We could use the help.""Absolutely not.""Rudeus is a powerful mage, Paul. You know that. And he has Sylphiette and Ghislaine with him. Why should we turn their help down?""Because he'll just use it as an excuse to stick around."I moved between the pair, walked up to Paul, and slapped him in the chest with the paperwork. "You don't get a choice. When we take a job, we finish the joband we get paid. Now, either help or shut up, but we're done arguing about this."Paul fell silent at that, his jaw and fist clenching. Taking the paperwork, he unfolded it and read it. "We decline your party's services. I'll sort it out with the guild and they'll send someone else. Now go.""No." Digging into the breast pocket of my jacket, I fished out the second set of paperwork. This one, I didn't let him touch, but held it up so he could read it. "This authorizes me to be here and, in fact, gives me authority that surpasses your own. Now stand down and get out of my way, or you can leave. Either by choice or by force."When Paul looked like he was seriously considering swinging a fist, Ghislaine approached and put a hand on his shoulder. From the way he flinched, she didn't hold back when she squeezed. "Rudeus has the old man's approval to be here and do the job. He instructed me to make sure that no one interfered.""That doesn't mean me—""It especially means you," Ghislaine countered the man's protest. "Help, or don't. But if you get in the way, it's Sauros you'll have to answer to. I'll subdue you if I have to, Paul. Don't make me."Paul's eye twitched as he looked between Ghislaine and where she'd put herself between him and me, as I put away my paperwork. "So, he got to you too."The woman raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?""Nothing." Shoving her hand off his shoulder, Paul stomped away and turned his back, crossing his arms over his chest and ignoring us. He looked so much like a petulant child that I couldn't believe the man was in his mid-twenties. Quietly, he muttered, "Hiding behind a woman's skirt again.""I'm not hiding. As I said, we're here on business on behalf of the Lord of Fittoa. Your, you know, boss." Paul made no comment at that.My phone chirped and I pulled it out. "All done?" I asked, getting an affirmative response. "Hover mode, large display." I tossed the phone out ahead of me, where it stopped a few feet away and hovered—Telekinesis at work as Sprite moved it under her own power. The hologram that popped up this time was much larger, and drew the eyes of everyone present. Even Paul turned his head to take it in. Looking at the blobs of red, I whistled. "That's a lot of monsters. No people in there, right?""No, master," Sprite answered quietly, startling Zenith and Lilia."What was that?" Zenith asked, confusion on her face as she studied the map. "And is that the forest?""Mm! That's Sprite, she's a spirit Rudy summoned," Sylphie explained. "She's showing a view from the air. The red spots are monsters."Gathering mana, I eyed the area of the forest and focused on a combined spell—a Saint-level wind spell and Sending to send it to the location I was eyeballing. Nothing visibly happened as I felt the mana settle into place and do what I wanted as the spell activated."So, can we go in and fight yet?" Eris asked, fingers eagerly drumming on the hilt of her short sword. "That should be fun.""'Fun?'" Paul echoed. "Absolutely not. It's no place for children. This confirms that there are hundreds of monsters in there. It's more than I've ever seen in any one place. They've probably killed all the local wildlife just to reproduce faster—and it explains why they've been snatching up all the livestock they can. The mission has changed. That's a job for multiple A-Ranked parties, at the very least. Not three kids, one caster, and two people who can swing a sword reliably."Turning to shoot a glare at me, he added, "You're still my son, Rudeus. I don't want to see you throw your life away on something stupid."I grinned. "Well, it's a good thing I don't intend to, then. I can kill them all without setting foot in the forest."Paul sighed. "How? Burn it all down? I'm sure the old man explained, but we need the lumber. If you burn it down, you kill the village just as surely as if you'd let the monsters run wild."Sighing, I sent a questioning look at Sylphie and Eris. "When have I ever—""There was that time—" Eris began, but I cut her off."We agreed that never happened!"Apparently, it's possible to sleep-cast. It's especially bad if your dreams are filled with anime magical girls who like to cast large scale destructive spells. Like 'Explosion.'And I would never, ever be introducing Eris to the idea of that particular spell. I didn't need the Shana wannabe flinging around Megumin's go-to like candy. She was enough of a pyromaniac as it was.Zenith giggled while Lilia sighed. "Master Rudeus, what did you do?""Nothing," I grumbled. Eyeing the map, I watched as various red blobs stopped moving and several of them began to fade to darker colors. Just keep them talking a while longer."So if we're not going in and you're not blowing up the forest," I shot Eris a glare, "how are we dealing with it?""Magic," I answered simply. "I'll handle it."That didn't satisfy the girl, but she took the answer at face value. And by 'not satisfied,' I mean she was clearly disappointed she wouldn't be getting her hands dirty. Unfortunately for her, I happened to agree with Paul. Shit was way too dangerous to just walk into with those kinds of numbers. Maybe if I were solo and could cut loose, but I'd rather not risk it when I had perfectly good magic that worked at range, kept us all safe, and got the job done in a fraction of the time it would take to walk in and track down every single monster.I fell silent as the others talked, watching the map while I held my spell up. Eventually though, someone noticed what I had. "Rudeus, they're going dark," Ghislaine pointed out.I nodded. "Yeah. That looks like the last ones down. I'll leave the spell up for a few more minutes, but it should be safe now. Sprite, would you mind collecting the materials for us?""Of course, master," the spirit answered verbally, the hologram shutting down and the phone drifting back to me. Somewhere above the forest, I spotted a glint in the air from the drone as it dove into the forest to set to work using Telekinesis to start rendering down monsters into parts and burn the corpses. We didn't use her often for this sort of thing, only when monsters were spread out over a large enough area that it would be a pain in the ass to track them all down. It would defeat the purpose of teaching Eris and Sylphie how to do these sorts of jobs if they couldn't do them without aid."Right. Job's done. I'll inspect the village on the way out, but my recommendation is going to be 'build walls,' and suggesting myself and Sylphie do it," I admitted."You've been around Phillip too long. That's something he would do. Making work that you then do yourself for profit," Ghislaine pointed out with an amused look.Eris sighed, sending me an annoyed look. "You take all the fun out of it."I sent her a smile as Sylphie giggled. "It's work. Work should be completed as quickly, efficiently, and accurately as possible. You enjoy killing monsters and need the practice, so I let you. I don't really care one way or another, so if I'm the one doing it, I'm going to do it my way," I gestured in the direction of the forest for emphasis. "Now, let's go inside and see my sisters. Sylphie, think you can fix whatever ails them?""No."Everyone there looked at Paul."Paul?" Zenith asked. "What's the problem?"Crossing his arms over his chest, the man took on a particularly mulish look. "That paper lets you into the village. It lets you deal with monsters. It doesn't let you see my daughters.""Are you fucking retarded?" I blurted out, my brain-to-mouth filter failing entirely as I finally hit my limit for bullshit. "What is your major malfunction? Did your mother drop you on your head as a child? Did you eat lead paint chips or drink out of lead cups? Take one too many blows to the head during your adventurer days? Or do you have to actually work at it to be this stupid?"Zenith put a hand over her mouth, a shocked look on her face. Lilia turned away, hiding the fact that she was fighting down a smile. Ghislaine had no such compunctions and laughed out loud. "Well, I do seem to recall Zenith healing more than one knock to his head."Taking a deep breath, I suggested, "Why don't you all go inside for a bit while father and I talk."It may have been phrased as a question, but the tone sent Sylphie and Eris scurrying off—the first because she had never really seen me angry, the second because she knew the tone from personal experience and it had last preceded her being strung up naked overnight. Lilia followed after, but Zenith and Ghislaine remained behind. I sent a questioning look to the big cat-woman and she shrugged. "Making sure neither of you does something stupid."That was fair enough. As it stood, I was about a Chihuahua's cunt hair from just zapping him and carrying on about my business and I knew from his body language that Paul really wanted to use his fists to make his point.Zenith, on the other hand, had crossed her arms over her breasts and was glaring at the man. "Husband, that's enough. Or do you think it's good for them to grow up not knowing their older brother? I agreed to sending Rudy to Roa because it would be good for him and help him to grow, not to keep him out of our daughters' lives.""I'd rather Rudeus be the big brother they look up to, working diligently away from home than have him meet them once or twice and break their hearts every time he has to leave." Okay, that was fairly sound logic for Paul— "I don't like the idea of him getting into their heads and turning them against me, either."I take that back, he's still an idiot.Sighing, I studied the man across from me and decided to try talking this out one more time. If it failed… I'd burn that bridge when I got to it. "I'll make you a deal. You explain exactly what it is about me that bothers you so much, tell me what the hell I did to lose your trust. And use your words, not grunts and noises. You do that and explain it to my satisfaction, and I'll leave. I'll go back to Roa and stay there. I won't come back to visit my family.""And if I can't explain it in a way you like?"That was a pretty fair question. One I only had one answer to. Well, technically two. "The way I see it, that only goes one of two ways. Either I follow your example and just force my way onto other people…" Paul winced. "Or I'll go back to Roa and I won't come back. Probably take off for Shirone with Sylphie and pick up Roxy when I'm done teaching Eris. Spend a year or two labyrinth diving, then go to the university. When people ask me who I am, I'll tell them I'm just Rudeus. And that will be the end of it.""No! You can't!" Zenith yelled, latching onto me from behind and pulling me against her chest. "Please don't, Rudy.""He's not leaving me much choice," I pointed out.Running a hand over his face, Paul grumbled, "Neither of those are good choices, Rudeus.""You're saying that like I'm the one being unreasonable here, Paul. I just want to see my sisters, who have no memory of me beyond whatever they've been told by mom, Lilia, Sylphie, and you. They've never met me and unlike me, I doubt they remember being babies. And if anyone's turning someone against someone else, it's you. Sylphie told me about her dad. I spoke with Sylvia, too. What gave you the right to tell that idiot I that I was a threat to his daughter just because Roxy and I have a thing? Just because she left doesn't mean I started diddling Sylphie as a replacement for Roxy. And letting him spread it around the village? Do you have any idea what most of those people have been saying about me, behind my back? That I'm some kind of child molester or something. I'd actually be worried about my future here, if I intended to come back and live here once I got done with Ranoa. Now I've had to scrap that idea for a happy little place in the country with a wife and kids where I could be with family, because I'd have to worry that those idiots would say something stupid to them.""He—he didn't mean for it to get that out of hand, Rudy," Zenith pleaded in my ear. "People took what they heard and twisted it—""And what if my sisters heard that rumor?" I cut her off and felt Zenith wince against my back. "Why didn't you do something about it?""I have been!" Zenith protested. "But you know how people are once they've made their minds up about something."I sent a meaningful look at Paul. "Yeah, pretty much."Paul sighed. "And this is why I didn't want your mother involved in this. You use some sob story and she'll just give you what you want.""Sounds to me like you suspect I'll do the same things you actually do, except because I'm smarter, I'll do it better than you. I'm not," I almost said 'your mini-me,' "a smaller version of you. I'm my own person. I can make my own mistakes, thanks. Now, spit it out already."Paul went silent as he gave it some thought. "My own wife doesn't trust my judgment anymore, Rudeus. Where you're concerned, she's always second guessing my decisions," he gestured at Zenith."I wonder why that could be," Zenith murmured in an annoyed tone, low enough that I think only Ghislaine and I picked it up.I sent the man a flat look. "To be fair, you fucked up twice—almost three times, if Roxy hadn't stepped in. Your judgment is questionable at best."Paul glared, but didn't deny it. "You hid behind her coat tails instead of taking your punishment like a man.""What punishment?" I asked, incredulous. "For saving Sylphie from bullies? I'll ask again, are you retarded? Or are you just pissed that someone stood up to you and you didn't get to act on your gut instinct?""Maybe I am," he admitted. "When a man comes to you with a problem, you shouldn't let someone else deal with it Rudeus. Even if they're in the wrong, you should face the consequences of it for yourself."Palming my face, I ground out. "Roxy was my master. She was involved in the situation. It was exactly her place to intercede on behalf of her student, the same way I would if someone wanted to come after Eris, Sylphie, or even Ghislaine for something they did that the master themselves approved of. I wasn't hiding behind her coat tails. It's a master's duty to take responsibility for their student.""It's a parent's duty to discipline their child. A master shouldn't stand between a parent and child," Paul waved a hand like he was dismissing my argument. "Then there's Lilia. She thinks you can do no wrong since you stepped in and saved her and Aisha from my mess.""I did what any decent person would do and tried to keep a woman and her kid from being sent out into a blizzard to die because someone couldn't keep it in his pants. I didn't do it to get something over her—""But that's exactly what happened." Giving a rueful chuckle, he turned away as he continued to speak quietly. "She's training up our daughter into some kind of maid, devoted solely to you. I want you to think about that a minute, Rudy. One of my women is training our daughter to serve my son."I shrugged. "I don't see how that one's my fault. I haven't been involved in their lives since I was seven, as you'll recall. And even if it were, it's just housework and stuff. In a few years, I'll be happy to hire Aisha on as a maid if that's what she wants. Better than having her work in a castle or something. The nobles in those places are perverts and I don't want them within a mile of my sister."Paul looked at me like I was an idiot. Behind me, Zenith sucked in a quiet breath. Even Ghislaine looked a bit awkward. Taking a deep breath, he visibly restrained himself. "Rudy, maids usually have sex with their masters."Blinking, I turned a confused look on the taller man. "Do what?" The man nodded. I looked first to Ghislaine then to Zenith, both of whom confirmed that. Studying the blonde, I asked, "Mom, what the fuck?"Zenith winced again. "I've tried to curb the worst of Lilia's… Lilia-ness where Aisha is concerned, but even then she's still getting one parent who says one thing and two more who say another. I don't think it's as bad as Paul makes it out to be.""Huh. Okay. Not really all that surprising, I suppose. I'm not planning to sleep with my half-sister."Lilia is really hot and Aisha is only a half-sister, though…I ignored dirty old man brain. "What else you got? Because those two are firmly not my fault. You brought the first one on yourself and I haven't spoken with Lilia since leaving for Roa, so it's not like I'm telling her how to raise my sister into the perfect sex toy. That's on you and her, and it sounds like you two are doing all you can to keep Lilia from completely skewing Aisha's worldview."Rubbing at his chin, Paul studied the ground at his feet. Some part of him was clearly reluctant to say whatever he wanted to say next, but eventually he spit it out. "I've known people like you before, Rudeus. People who were too smart for their own good, or the good of everyone around them. They thought they were so clever and treated everyone around them like shit. Or worse, they were nice. They used words and pretty smiles to twist the people around them into doing what they wanted. Turned them against friends and family with poisonous thoughts that, once they set in, couldn't be gotten back out. I said it before, but sometimes, you look at us like insects. Like you're looking at me right now. You have a silver tongue, Rudy. Even now, I feel like I'm being an idiot, but I know I'm right. If you can make me doubt myself…" He trailed off, shaking his head with a frustrated look."That's because you are being an idiot, husband," Zenith countered.Ghislaine nodded. "Definitely. I've never once seen Rudeus do any of that, and we both know who you're talking about. He's not like Geese.""Him or the Notos Greyrat family," I guessed, and Paul nodded. "I'm not your old party member, running off with everyone's money to go gambling. I'm not one of the degenerate Notos nobles. Nor am I looking to screw over everyone around me. If all you see when you look at me is either Geese, the bad part of the family, or yourself then the problem lies with you—not me. Can you point to one thingI've done that would justify this? Can you name one thing that justifies keeping me away from my sisters, or convincing Laws I'm such a threat to his daughter that he has to keep me away at all costs when I've been nothing but kind to her? The man went from treating me like a future son-in-law to a stranger. What evidence do you have that justifies his family breaking up?"With a quiet 'tch,' Paul turned away. "Aside from going behind our backs to talk to Sylphie when we told you not to?""I never agreed to that. I said I wouldn't put messages in her lesson plans.""See what I mean? Twisting the truth," Paul grumbled."If you mean 'not blindly obeying you' or 'telling you what you want to hear then ignoring you while I do what I have to,' then sure. Now, do you have anything else?""Nothing that we know of.""So your gut tells you I'm trouble and you refuse to believe any evidence to the contrary? Is that honestly how you feel?" I asked, and the man jerkily nodded, refusing to meet my eyes.I considered it for a few moments before shaking my head and gently pushing Zenith off of me. "Not good enough. Now, I'm going to go see my sisters—"Paul's hand dropped to the hilt of his sword.Well, if that's how you want to play it, okay then.Lightning danced between my fingers and over my staff. That was the obvious threat. The less obvious threat was the band of Telekinesis I'd slipped around his waist and was getting ready to use to hoist him into the air. I'd found that if you take away a swordsman's traction, he couldn't do much unless he either had some sort of energy attack like Ghislaine or threw his sword like a fucking idiot. A normal swordsman anyway—Eris, Sylphie, and myself notwithstanding."I really don't want to resort to your method of just brute forcing whatever I want from people. Last chance to see reason. Move or I'm going through you.""I won't let you, Rudeus."Before we could settle things one way or another, and it looked very much like Ghislaine had taken Zenith by the arm and pulled her away so we could do exactly that, the front door to the house burst open and two little almost four year old girls came bounding out. I dispelled my lightning as my eyes turned towards my sisters—Sylphie, Eris, and Lilia trailing after them."Big brother!" the redhead of the two yelled, crashing into my knees and hugging with a force that nearly popped the joint.The blonde of the two looked between me and Paul before latching onto Paul's leg. "Why does everyone look angry at papa?" she demanded, glaring at me."Well sweetie," I began."Rudy, be quiet. Norn, we weren't—""It's because papa thinks I've done something bad, or might do something bad, and doesn't want me to see you," I gave the simplest answer as Eris, Sylphie, and Lilia came to stand with me and Aisha. The former maid ran a hand through her daughter's hair fondly, before reaching out and pulling the both of us against her."Damnit Rudeus," Paul tossed my way.Norn looked between me and Paul before turning a questioning look at Zenith. "Did he, mama?""No, dear. It's a misunderstanding on your father's part—"Paul shook his head, putting his hand on top of Norn's head. "I didn't misunderstand."Wish a tired sigh, I asked, "How about we ask the supposed aggrieved party? Sylphie, what do you say? Did I ever do anything bad to you?"Sylphie hummed, putting a finger to her lips and pretending to consider it. From the smile on her lips, I could see she was teasing a bit. "Well, Rudy was very rough sometimes in training. And his water spells were always so cold.""I've noticed that," Eris agreed, sending me a glare."It taught you to dodge, didn't it?" I grinned.The girl grumbled but nodded. Sylphie smiled. "Beyond that, no. Rudy never did anything bad. The village thinks he pushed me down and did things to me, but he didn't.""Rudeus buried me up to my neck in the dirt and made me drink out of a dog bowl and pee myself when I needed to use the bathroom." Everyone present save for Ghislaine and myself stared at Eris. Seemingly oblivious to this, she continued, "Then he stripped me naked and left me outside overnight.""Eris, you're not helping," I found myself facepalming again. "Just stop talking.""What? It's true," she shrugged. "I… It sucks to admit it, but I kind of needed the wake-up call. When Rudeus first showed up, I thought he was just some know-it-all brat looking down on me, so I tried to attack him like some mad dog. He… kicked my ass up and down the halls, stuck me in the ground, and told me that ladies get to eat at the table but dogs eat from a bowl on the ground and gave me the choice of which one I wanted to be. I tried to attack someone I had just met just because he said something that made me mad. I don't even remember what it was. Probably something stupid."Sighing, she added, "I was so stupid that I got us kidnapped and it took getting beaten twice and Rudy threatening to leave me for the kidnappers to find for me to pull my head out of my ass. If he's done anything bad to me, it's because I deserved it or needed it so I would stop being bad." Reaching down, she hesitantly patted Aisha on the head, causing the girl to start a bit before leaning into it as she began cautiously scratching Aisha's scalp in much the same way one would a cat. "I wish I'd had a brother like Rudeus growing up, but both of mine were taken from me. I don't even remember their faces."Her red eyed gaze turned to glare at Paul. "That's why this whole thing pisses me off! Where do you get off trying to separate siblings over something so stupid?! Are you trying to be like my uncle? Because that's what it looks like!"Paul sighed. "You're both too young to understand.""I'm twelve. I understand," Eris growled."Alright, that's enough," Zenith called. "Paul, Lilia, Ghislaine, why don't we go inside and catch up? Let the kids play for a while.""No—""Now, Paul." Paul flinched at the tone. I did too. I remembered it well, because I'd only heard it once, the last time Zenith got fed up with Paul's bullshit. This time, I wasn't going to step in and intervene on his behalf. I could hear Paul's teeth grinding as he turned and marched for the house. Zenith followed beside him, after pushing Norn in our general direction.As they went, I heard Zenith say, "This stops now. No, don't give me that look. You won't convince me again. I've heard your side of things and I've heard theirs. Ghislaine can answer questions for us, but from what I've seen, you're worried about nothing. And if you don't stop, things are going to turn out like they did for Laws. Is that what you want?"The door closed behind the last of the 'adults' and I sent a look down to Aisha and Norn. "So…"I had no idea where to start. Sylphie, on the other hand, asked, "Why don't you tell your brother which of the toys he sent you is your favorite?"Norn looked unsure and a little surly. "The pony with the horn.""That's a unicorn," I corrected. With a bit of magic, I had a stone table and chairs rising from the ground for us to sit in. Aisha looked like Christmas had come early while Norn… looked slightly impressed but was trying mightily to hide it."I like the fox," Aisha beamed, claiming my lap as soon as I sat down. Norn opted to sit across from me, while Sylphie took the left and Eris the right. "I thought the red was pretty."It wasn't quite the right color of red, being some paint I'd had left over from making Eris' bike, but as long as she liked it I wasn't going to complain. "What kind of—""Why don't you visit?" Norn interrupted me.I winced. Aisha turned on my lap to study my face. "Because our father doesn't want me to.""Then why are you here now?" the little blonde asked belligerently.Sylphie fielded that one. "Because the village was in danger. Even then, Mr. Paul didn't want Rudy in the village.""My grandfather is the lord of the region. He gave Rudy permission to be here and your father still tried to keep you from seeing him. What do you think would've happened if he had just showed up out of the blue? I mean, it's not like he couldn't," Eris asked."Is that why it looked like you were going to fight?" Norn glared my way."Pretty much. We're both stubborn in our own way. I may not want to fight him, but if it was to see you, I would. I never agreed to this whole 'no contact' thing. At first, it was just to keep me from seeing Sylphie, but I guess at some point that came to include you as well. I wouldn't have left if I thought this was going to happen."Norn and Aisha shared a look before Aisha asked, "Why are you teaching Ms. Eris?""Because I asked our father to see if he could get me a job, so I could make enough money to pay for Sylphie and I to go to Ranoa College of Magic. Her parents couldn't afford it and at the time it looked to be the best option. Now? I could probably pay for tuition for all of us and not notice the money was gone. I've already sent off a letter asking after their fees so I can set aside money for the two of you to go.""Okay," Aisha nodded, "but why are you teaching her? Isn't she older than you?"Eris had the decency to blush at that. I sent the older redhead an amused look. "Well, you see, Eris was a very bad girl," Eris' blush deepened and I earmarked that phrase for later exploration in a more lewd situation, maybe in a few years, "and she kept running off her teachers.""Rudeus was the only one other than Ghislaine who stood up to me," Eris supplied quietly. "The rest weren't worth my time. But your brother has been great." Surprising me to the point of shock, Eris bowed in her seat. "Thank you for letting me borrow him."Huh, so she does know the meaning of the words 'best behavior.' And actually has a 'best behavior' to be on. This day's just full of surprises.Norn and Aisha were quiet for a few, before they traded another of those looks. Finally, Norn asked, "What's it like in the city?""Crowded, stinking, loud, and generally messy. But it can be fun. I'd rather be here, but I don't think I can convince Eris' dad to ship her off out to the country for her to learn. Or rather, her grandfather," I corrected myself, earning a quiet laugh and a nod from Eris."What do you do for fun?" Aisha asked."How about we take turns asking things about each other? That way, it's not just one-sided," I suggested.Aisha and Norn nodded before Norn added, "As long as we both each get a question."I nodded in agreement. "That's fine. Now, as for fun… I like to play with magic and build things, mostly with magic. Has Sylphie shown you her bike?" They both nodded. "I made those. Oh! Here, I made these too." Focusing on what I wanted, I summoned a pair of phones from the lab and handed one to each girl. "These are for you. Now, we can talk any time we want. Keep them on you and don't let anyone take them, okay?"And so, for the first time in years, I got to spend the day with my sisters.I was a bit disappointed when Ghislaine came out, Lilia and Zenith trailing her, and informed me that we needed to head back soon. Lilia presented me with a cloth wrapped bundle containing a set of what looked like gauntlets or something for my birthday, apparently from the three of them. I gave a phone each to Zenith and Lilia and traded hugs all around before we left.Sprite directed us out of the village, to a small hill overlooking the forest, where we found a large pile of furs, fangs, claws, and monster cores. The prize of the batch was a large red core half the size of my fist that Sprite said came from some sort of big fire bear, along with said bear's fur. I Sent the whole pile back to the bunker with the drone.As we made our way back, I wondered what I could do to improve the situation. Doesn't really sound like I can do anything other than avoid dealing with Paul. Write him off and call it a day. All future dealings go through Zenith or Lilia alone. I've already given everyone that matters a phone, and Sprite can just Send them back to Norn or Aisha if Paul tries to take them away.It sucked that our relationship had soured that much, but I knew from experience that sometimes, you had to cut your losses and walk away.Or set the bridge on fire and watch it burn.