33/2/305
I awoke on the floor of my room to find my face covered in slobber and a green fox licking my face.
I guess Sakurai was worried about me after that, eh? So that wasn't purely a dream?
As I slowly got up, I realized I must have fallen out of my bed when I hit the floor in that dream. Sitting up, I felt a weight on my shoulder and something resting on my lap. An oversized leather shoulder holster and a beat-up M45 sidearm was illuminated by a stream of sunset into my room. I slid the otherworldly combo under my bed and petted Sakura, my pet fox inhabited by Sakurai. Wiping off my face, I went into the other room and hopped up on a stool to thoroughly clean the slobber off of my face.
Weirdly however, though definitely mid-morning, nothing seemed to have been touched. Breakfast clearly hadn't been made, and Lilith would have probably awoken me already. I made my way to my parents' door, which was slightly open, giving me enough room to see inside. In my mother's hands was another child, wrapped up tightly in a blanket. I slid away from the door to compile my thoughts. Basically, what had just happened, is that, while I was off in fucking Kirby's dreamland or wherever, my sister was born. And I had no idea. Nice. How wonderful.
I snuck out the back door and began training. I knew if I didn't focus, I would probably accidentally blow up the house, so I just stuck with sword arts. Practicing with Gluttony, I honed my skills while the beads of sweat rolled down my forehead. Extending my range with an air blade was a cakewalk at this point, and my form overall was pretty good.
"Hey, kid. You're getting good at this whole swordfighting thing, but what's got you so tense today. I can feel it while you're wielding me…"
"Uh, well…my sister was born today, and I have no idea what to do, to be honest."
"You're a dumbass."
"What?"
"Go back in there, wipe your sweat off, and greet your new sister. And parents too, while you're at it."
"Fine, after this set…"
After finishing the set, I went back inside and cleaned off the sweat I had secreted with a damp towel. After tidying up my hair and changing clothes, I mustered the courage to knock on the door to the master bedroom. The room where the rest of the family is, including the newest member.
Knock Knock Knock…
After I got the "okay" to come in, I took a deep breath and fully opened the door. A river of gold streamed into the room, and engulfed the white sheets on the master bed. Because my eyes were used to the outside due to having already trained for a little while, I didn't have to squint to see that the golden bath of light was shining on new life. Isn't that auspicious…
Having entered the room, I saw my mom with massive bags under her eyes. I was a bit worried, but I knew giving birth is extremely taxing on the body, so I didn't raise any concern. Besides, my father was already raising enough concern, considering the interactions he was having with Lilith. It seemed like Lilith was already a pro at being a midwife, so I had nothing to worry about. Nor did Dad, but that's just how he is, I guess.
"Come here, Phoenix. Meet Ascilia. Our newest family member."
Shuffling my way towards my mother and newborn sister, I finally got a good look at my new sister's pudgy face. If I'm going to be frank, I kind of think babies kind of just look like an oversized potato, but I knew I couldn't say anything like that.
Turning and smiling at my mother, I exclaimed "Wow! Cilia is so cute!"
Even if I thought she kind of looked like a big, chubby potato. It's not her specifically, it's just what all babies look like. In my humble opinion, of course…and I still love her. And she'll grow up to be really cute.
"Already coming up with nicknames?" My dad chimed in.
"Yep! Cilia seems like a good nickname to me!" I responded, ecstatically.
According to Lilith, it was a smooth birth, and Cilia hardly cried.
I guess that's why I wasn't awoken from my slumber…
I then saw Lilith rewrapping Ascilia, and realized that she would have to resign herself to the same fate I was forced to go through. Who knows how long she'll be stuck in that blanket like I was. Poor her…
^^^^^^^^^
By this point a couple of hours had passed since Cilia was born, and I was getting pretty hungry. Out of desperation, I decided to try and cook something on my own, so I hopped up onto the kitchen countertop and rummaged through the ingredients we had. I found a wheat noodle akin to linguini noodles, as well as seasoning such as salt and pepper. Luckily, most seasonings were similar to Western-style seasoning in the previous world. Hopping off the countertop, I propped open the icebox and found some cheese, cream, and butter as well as something that looked wholly inappropriate but tasted like garlic.
After measuring out the ingredients and getting my cooking utensils ready, I heated the water with magic and quickly brought it to a boil. By this point, I had learned how to control heat without the use of an open flame which was extremely helpful. After putting all the noodles into the pot of boiling water, I went to work on the sauce. Carefully measuring out the seasonings, I mixed it all up in a small dish. After bringing the cream and butter to a simmer, I lightly seasoned the sauce and cut the cheese and the garlic-like vegetable. After mincing the garlic, I tossed it into the saucepan and let the aroma fill the room. After a couple minutes, I threw in the cheese and let it melt to thicken the sauce up. As the cheese melted, I turned off the heat to the noodles and dumped the water out with the help of wind magic. Once I had put all of the noodles into a large pot, I took the saucepan off the heat and let it rest for a couple minutes to thicken. After about two minutes or so passed, I dumped all of the sauce into the bowl and let it mix, basically creating a rudimentary Linguini Alfredo.
As I was about to dig into the massive bowl of food, Mom walked into the room and asked me what I was doing.
"About to eat the food I cooked…" I responded, somewhat apprehensively.
"What did you even make?"
"Pasta?"
"What's pasta?"
Apparently, in this world, the idea of pasta either had a different name or just wasn't invented yet.
"I boiled the noodles and made a creamy sauce"
"Where did you get that idea? Nobody boils those things…They are just salted and eaten as a crunchy snack…"
Are you serious? That seems nasty…
"Well, uh, it just seemed right? I don't know…"
"Let me try it. The sauce smells good at least, but I don't know about the soggy noodles…" my mom responded, somewhat curious.
"Okay, let me grab a plate real quick."
I hopped off my chair and grabbed a small plate from the cabinet, and returned to the table. Plating the pasta, she curiously stared at the noodles drooping from the fork and spoon I was using. Handing her the plate and some eating utensils, I watched as she took a bite of pasta, slightly nervous from the upcoming reaction. She put a mouthful of pasta in her mouth and began chewing.
"Well…" I stuttered. "I-is it good?"
A couple seconds of silence went by. And then a couple more.
Shit…does she not like it?
"Wow! This is amazing! You should teach Lilith how to make it!"
Letting out a sigh of relief, I smiled and took my first bite. I hadn't even gotten a chance to taste my own creation yet! When I put the fork in my mouth, the flavors burst forth and I was filled with nostalgia. It had been about five years since I tasted something like this. While the food in this world was good, and Lilith was an excellent chef, you can't beat nostalgia trips like that.
Wolfing down my food, I finished the entire bowl of pasta, save for the little plate I gave to my mother. After filling myself up, I was getting drowsy. Plus, it was starting to get dark outside, so it was the perfect time to turn in for the night. I hopped into bed and let my slumber take me wherever it felt.
^^^^^^^^^
Tonight, I was greeted with the normal, peaceful, emerald fields and a bright, azure sky instead of the Non-Euclidean train like last night. Floating towards the typical meeting place under the Gazebo to have afternoon tea, I saw Sakurai sitting there, just being her usual self. Which was nice, at least compared to last night.
Plopping myself onto the metal lawn chair, I surveyed the scene. Everything was mostly normal, however some of the china had hairline cracks running through them. Materializing a box of cigarettes out of thin air, I put one up to my mouth and lit it with a Zippo Lighter.
"Well," I exhaled, smoke emanating from my lips, "Are you going to tell me what this is all about? The fractured cups today? And the sanctuary yesterday?"
Sakurai just smiled at me silently, but I could tell her eyes weren't smiling. Something was clearly eating away at her mentally. Sitting up, I materialized an ashtray and set my cigarette down.
"You've become fairly proficient at magic, y'know. Both in here, and out there."
"Well, I've been practicing, as you've probably seen."
"Yes, that's true. Also, congrats on getting a little sister. Make sure to take care of her properly."
"I'll do my best," I said, taking another drag from my cigarette.
After a few minutes of silence, only broken by the occasional clinking of porcelain cups on porcelain plates, Sakurai looked me directly in the eyes.
"You should let me try whatever dish that you made. It smelled really good."
Furrowing my eyebrows, I responded saying "Yeah, sure, but you still haven't addressed the elephant in the room."
Placing both my arms on the table and locking my eyes with hers, I asked "What's going on here? I know something's wrong. You can't hide that fact."
Sighing a breath of defeat, her shoulders slumped. "Do you want the short version or the long version. Or both?"
"Well, we clearly have time, but sure, hit me with both," I responded, arms outstretched.
"Short Version - Monoliths are starting to act up a bit. It's not noticeable in your world yet, but as a god with omniscience, it…well…" she trailed off.
"Well, I get it. Triggered some memories, I'm assuming? Tell me the long version."
"Yes, well. That's right. There's really not much to add, looking back retrospectively, but, yes. They triggered some memories. And they manifested into what you experienced last night. Though your experiences were heavily influenced on your thoughts and history. What I can see is slightly different from what you would see. Though the basic premise would be the same."
"Makes sense, this place is a liminal space, after all," I said, taking another drag from my cigarette. "So, do you know why this happened? Specifically, I mean."
"Yes, well. The monoliths are acting up, as I said before, and, well, if I am going to be honest, you're probably going to need to set out on your journey a bit earlier than I had hoped for. I was hoping for you to have fully grown up before that, but evidently, that was a bit too optimistic. Of course, you'll still be able to live a couple more years at home, but by around ten or so, you may have to start your journey."
"Age 10, eh?"
"Yeah, sadly. Though slightly early, it's not super uncommon for that to happen. Especially with kids deemed to be smarter. And those on the frontier."
"Well," I said, sitting up. "That can't be helped then, can it…"
Taking one last puff from the cigarette, I put it out on the ashtray.
"And you're gonna be around, aren't you. In the form of the little pet fox though."
"Yes. I will," she responded.
As I stood up and started leaving the sanctuary to wake up, I heard her call to me.
"Oh! I can shapeshift by the way!"
"What? Why haven't you done so already?"
"I can't do it around your parents, y'know!"
And then I woke up. Though luckily this time, I was actually on my bed. And not on the floor.
^^^^^^^^^
21/3/305
On my fifth birthday, I woke up at a normal time with the soft sunlight streaming through the window on the back side of the room. Sluggishly attempting to get out of my comfortable bed, I almost gave up. You see, my bed was extremely soft and comfortable. Finally gaining the will to hop out of bed, I took off my pajamas and stretched a bit before throwing on some clothes.
My daily routine consisted of some light stretching after I wake up, getting ready, and then maintaining both Gluttony and Envy. One day, I hope to obtain the entire collection, but that's probably going to take a while. I would eat breakfast and then train for a while if I wasn't going out to town with my parents.
But because it was my birthday, my routine would be broken. And I probably wouldn't be able to train today. Of course, Lilith prepared a lavish breakfast which I was a fan of. Actually, I was just a fan of her cooking. It was definitely God-tier. No question. But for special occasions like this, she would go all out. And in turn, I would go all out eating.
Today, she made one of my favorite dishes. Beef Stew. Apparently, she started preparing it soon after I went to bed, as the stew has to simmer and slow cook for hours to get the meat soft enough. A thick beef broth complemented the potatoes and carrots, while some heavy cream on top added some extra depth to the flavors. And of course, the meat, which just soaks up the soup and melts away in your mouth in an explosion of flavors. I wolfed it all down and asked for seconds. Which I wolfed down just as fast.
After breakfast, or more like brunch today, I was presented with some more practical gifts. At least compared to years prior. I got a dresser for my small collection of clothes, as well as a bookshelf for the few books I owned. Of course, these were for future proofing. I also got a battle dummy to help me train my swordsmanship and magic (though I'd have to tone my magic down if I didn't want it to get completely decimated). The final thing I got was actually from the guild which was in an officially sealed envelope. Inside was both a status plate, inducting me into the adventurers guild, as well as a commendation for heroic behavior when I protected those in the guild hall a couple months ago. Finally, a dog tag-like porcelain necklace fell out of the envelope, with my name and a II engraved on it.
"Wow? Already a Porcelain Rank?"
"Porcelain II," my father corrected. "Son, you've skipped four full ranks. All of wood, as well as Porcelain I. With some work and quests, you can rise up the ranks in no time."
"What rank are you guys?" I was curious, after all.
"Oh, I am Diamond II. And your mom is Diamond III," my dad responded, seeming somewhat proud.
"If we kept going," my mother chimed in, "we could probably be a higher rank, but we wanted to retire and have you and your four week old sister."
"I see…" I said, trailing off. "Well, I am going to beat you guys someday!"
Apparently, that comment was cute in the eyes of the adults, as they got a laugh out of it, but knowing that I was actually now 35 deep down, it felt somewhat weird and cringey. And Sakura seemed to agree, as she stopped wagging her tail and whimpered slightly.
"We ate a lot today, so let's relax, but tomorrow, I have to teach you some of the technicalities of being an adventurer."
"Okay" I responded, smiling at Dad.
^^^^^^^^^
22/3/305
After waking up and doing my morning routine, I trained for a little while and wiped the sweat off my body with a damp towel. Apparently, the idea of bathtubs in this world were still non-existent. Once I get enough money from quests, I am totally buying a large firestone to heat some water and make an outdoor bath.
My dad finally got into his gear a couple minutes after, and we'd go into the forest down the road to hunt some wild animals together, and if we came across any monsters, he'd teach me how to actually get credit for the kill. Apparently, most animals have other parts you can sell and get some extra income. But I didn't know that because I'd use overwhelming force on monsters that wouldn't even drop anything worth selling anyway as they'd just fade away like dust in the wind.
I had lightly trained with a bow, so I had some basic understanding, but I wasn't great at it. The only thing that actually made it look like I was decent at the bow was my latent sharpshooter skill that carried over from the previous life. But as it was a stat booster, not a catch-all skill, I needed some basic understanding of the bow and arrow. Retrospectively, while training, I'd felt as if I'd obtain skills abnormally quickly. Maybe it was because of the coprocessor, or maybe it was some other reason, but it was extremely helpful, and I'm definitely not complaining about that.
Anywho, after trekking down the main road opposite of the forest, my dad and I set up a small camp as a place to rendezvous in place of emergencies. One of the highest priorities as an adventurer was to have a secondary plan to fall back to if things go South. And to be semi-self sufficient, at least enough to take care of yourself if you get separated from the main party. Of course, today's little adventure was going to be fairly lightweight, and not for training. It's more showing me the ropes behind adventuring rather than hardcore skill grinding, as I kind of already got that under control.
As we rounded a corner and found a little trail into the forest, we were scanning the area for a little clearing to set up a small camp to drop off materials and, of course, set up the rendezvous point if we get separated. After a couple minutes off the beaten path, we found a small clearing and set down our bags and set up camp. Well, I say camp, but it was just a fire ring with some wood and a magically expandable chest that would store our raw materials until we could extract and sell them at the guild.
After getting all of that set up, we went further into the forest to hunt some wildlife for upcoming meals. Apparently, Dad would do this almost every day to keep food on the table, which gave me a newfound respect for him. After all, he was slightly aloof and easily surprised most of the time. Furthermore, while we were hunting, his persona was almost a polar opposite compared to what I was actually used to. He was focused, calm, cool, and collected. And he knew exactly how to navigate the terrain. It was almost like when I was doing mountain recce in my previous life. Only difference was that I didn't have a firearm, I had a whole arsenal of magic at my disposal.
As we meandered through the trees, masking our presence by avoiding stepping on twigs and branches, we caught sight of our first prey of the day. Finding a pair of boars trotting along, completely unaware of our presence, my father and I mentally communicated which one we'd take. My dad knocked an arrow on his magical bow, and I got ready to cast a low level, high speed water spell I had come up with about a month prior. Using my previous knowledge of physics, I knew that a high enough pressure output can be used to cleanly cut through steel. As this spell was similar to a bullet, at least at the speeds it was using, I decided to call it Water Bullet. As it was really just a small amount of water being output at high pressure, it only took a minimal amount of mana to cast, as well as an almost instant cast time. Since I had a hand free, I was able to signal when we should fire.
Three…Two…One…Fire!
As I brought my hand down, both wild boars dropped instantaneously, thus securing our first successful hunt of the day. After dragging both boars back to camp and throwing them in the chest, we repeated that method with different types of prey. At range, we picked off enough wild animals to feed the family for the next couple of days.
My father also taught me the different roles in a party, just in case I'd find myself in one. Broken up into vanguard and rearguard, there were up to eight main roles in a party, with variance in each. The four vanguard roles include Vanguards, Guards, Defenders (or Tanks), and Casters (though they can be fluid and attack as part of the Rearguard. Inheriting the division name, Vanguards typically get in the first attack and then back off, gathering intel for the rest of the party. Guards tend to be the main source of melee damage over longer intervals, however there are some exceptions. Defenders soak up damage, whether magically or physically. Casters, well, fairly obviously, cast magic attacks. The four rearguard roles are Medics, Snipers, Support, and finally Specialists. Medics, well, they heal injured party members. Snipers provide long range support fire, often magically, though some skilled marksman don't need magic. Support units also use magic, but rather than directly attacking enemies, they debuff enemies while buffing friendlies. Finally Specialists have the highest in-class variance, as they specialize in an area that doesn't fall into one of the other seven categories. Most specialists tend to be attached to the rearguard, however some, of course, are a part of the Vanguard, or even both. Party members can even fulfill multiple roles, sometimes even at once, though that can decrease efficiency heavily over time. An optimal party has around one of each class, or at least, a party member that can fulfill each role (meaning that a party of six with two members who can fulfill two roles can be potent), however, higher level parties tend to have tweaked members, especially depending on mission specialties.
Party members can also be very fluid. Most party members have a core team with others that come and go with the mission needs. My parents along with two of their friends had a core team of four, with others that would come and go if they were traveling in the same direction, etc. Some high level parties even have contracts with national militaries, and operate either cooperatively or parallel to military activities, though the unwritten rule states that adventurers won't help with subjugation of other peoples. Even the most nefarious adventurers uphold that code of honor, though they are able to assist in defending their homelands from enemy armies.
After gathering a sizable amount of meat, we also went looking for naturally growing herbs, mushrooms and other wild crops. Learning how to eat in the field was important, as if you were cut off from your party and/or your food supply, you could keep on living off the land if need be. He taught me which weeds and mushrooms were poisonous, and which crops and herbs I could eat safely without cooking. A lot of it tasted bad when uncooked, however. After again gathering a sizable amount of spices, herbs, and mushrooms, we circled back to our camp and began packing up for the day, but then we heard a scream in the distance.
We quickly turned around and hoped to hear it again in order to pinpoint the location. Drawing Gluttony, I peered into the silence of the misty forest. For some reason, the forest seemed increasingly impervious rather than the tranquility I felt when I first stepped onto the path just hours earlier. Again, trying to boost my senses, I sat down in the center of the camp and cleared my mind. As another scream echoed through the silent forest, I was able to pinpoint the direction it was coming from. I jumped up and pressed the ball of my foot into the ground while casting a wind spell to boost my speed and strength. Pushing off, I sped through the forest, narrowly avoiding trees as I went, my father in tow. As I neared the scene, I felt the presence of multiple small, hostile targets as well as the smell of human blood. By this point, my father had caught up to me, and I was able to relay the information to him.
Through the noise of the wind, I yelled "There's multiple hostile presences. Crescent Formation. Numbering from as few as seven to upwards of thirty. I think there's an injured non-combatant on target, too."
"Okay, son. You got a game plan?"
"Yeah, but you're going to need to trust me on this one."
"Of course, you're my son. Whatcha need."
"I'm going to need ranged support. I can't rely on magic here as I don't know the situation fully. My magic may cause more harm to the victim, so I'm going to go in using sword arts. There's a tree around 100 meters Northwest to the site. You can easily pick them off from that range, yeah?"
"Of course. I've been doing this for a while. You got it."
"Just make sure that none get past my defensive style."
At that, we split up and he disappeared into the brush to my right.
I hope I get there in time…
As my foot dug into the soft earth, I propelled myself even further forward, hoping to make it through the trees and into the clearing where an injured person was about to be massacred. As I finally cleared the sea of trees, I extended Gluttony's range with a wind spell and wiped out around a third of the little green creatures with primitive weapons and clothing. Blade stained crimson, I put myself in between the fifteen or so creatures remaining and the little girl with sapphire hair and a massive gash down her leg.
Raising my sword, I goaded the creatures to come and get me. Clearly taking offense to my provocation, spittle flew from their mouths as they screeched and began charging at me. Easily taking them on as they kind of charged one-by-one, I parried and slashed, easily culling their numbers. However, the last six rushed me at once, and one got through my defense. However, Dad came in clutch and shot the last one through the temple, allowing me to finish off the rest of them. I planted my foot into the ground, and air slashed the rest of them after once again extending the range of my blade using wind magic.
Flicking my blade to get rid of the excess blood, I turned around and knelt beside the girl, inspecting her wound.
"They got you good, didn't they? Don't worry, it's nothing I can't handle," I said, smiling at the girl.
"Th-thank you…" she quietly croaked, with tears in her eyes.
I opened my pack and took out a first aid kit I had personally created the best I could. Taking out an emergency surgical kit, bandages, gauze & alcohol, as well as a little vial with a red liquid in it, I laid it all out on a small blanket.
Handing her the small red vial, I said, "Drink this. It's a healing potion mixed with some natural pain killers. It'll get the healing process started, but a wound this deep needs some more work than that potion."
I unraveled a small piece of gauze and soaked it in some alcohol I had found in a cabinet at home. It was akin to Isopropyl Alcohol back home, so I knew I could use it to disinfect her wound.
"This is going to sting a bit, so just bear with me," I said, holding out my free hand for her to grasp onto as I disinfected her leg wound.
As I dabbed the gauze on her leg, she winced a little bit and squeezed my hand, but still took it like a champ. As I was packing the wound with some more gauze and waiting for the bleeding to stop, my dad emerged from the treeline.
"You're really good at first aid, son. I'm proud of you. As well as handling that situation impeccably. Great job."
I kind of chuckled awkwardly, not knowing how to respond as I just fell back into old habits, but he wouldn't know that. After a couple more minutes, the bleeding slowed enough to finally sew up the wound.
Turning back to the girl, I asked "What's your name? I'm Phoenix by the way. Phoenix Hammerwulf."
"H-Hammerwulf?" she immediately tried to prostrate herself, but I stopped her before she could reopen her wound. "I-I'm so sorry to impose on you, young lord!"
"Hey dad, what's she talking about? Why's she treating me like royalty?"
"I'll get into that on the way home, but the sun is starting to set. We should start heading home soon."
I sewed up her wound and wrapped it in bandages so it wouldn't open up as easily.
"So, first things first, you never told me your name…"
"Oh. Everyone calls me Kris. But my full name is Krisven…"
"Okay, Kris. Can you tell us what you were doing here?"
"Uhm…My…my sister. We were picking medicinal herbs. And those goblins attacked us. I don't know where my sister is. Can you help me find her?"
I looked back at my dad, and the answer was fairly obvious.
"Alright, Kris. Can you tell me which direction you and your sister were coming from?"
I sat down and once again heightened my senses, trying to find any presence possible. After a few eternal moments, I was able to pinpoint somebody, though it seemed somewhat cloudy.
Opening my eyes, I once again locked eyes with my father. It was our way of communicating without words, and it worked fairly well. We nodded to each other, and I turned back towards Kris.
"My dad, Steele, is going to take you back to our little camp area. Wait there for me, okay?"
She timidly nodded, and her hair slipped forward slightly, revealing a pointy ear that had been slashed through some time ago. I patted her head, and stood back up. I made my way to my father and whispered in his ear some of my concerns.
"I think she's in a cave of some sort. I am going to clear it with fire magic, so if you see a big plume of smoke, don't worry about it. That's me. If I'm in dire straits, I'll send a red signal flare into the sky. Green means I've successfully rescued her sister. You know what to do."
He just nodded in approval, satisfied with my backup plan. Once again pushing off the ball of my foot, I flew through the trees and found the mouth of the cave only a couple hundred meters in the direction Kris pointed to. The mouth of the cave was extremely dark and foreboding, but I knew what had to be done. Using the most basic Light magic spell, Lux, I was able to generate enough light to navigate the cave. Knowing how caving can be fairly dangerous, especially if you get lost, I affixed a metal stake to the wall and tied some rope around it to use as a lifeline.
Quietly making my way deeper into the cave, I noticed that it split into two paths. Taking the right path, I found a couple of goblins which I incinerated with fire magic. The cores that were left behind were small and of almost no use to me, but I pocketed them, so I could hopefully get some extra cash.
After a couple of repeats of the same scene, the tunnel system finally opened up into a larger cavern. In the center, unconscious, was another girl that looked like Kris, but just about the same age as me. Around her were a dozen goblins along with a goblin shaman, clearly about to perform some sort of ritual.
Using my water bullet, I swiftly eliminated the shaman, and the rest of the goblins turned and tried to attack me, but with no weapons, they were easily dealt with. After neutralizing all threats, I went to check on the unconscious girl. Knowing this wasn't a safe enough space to try and wake her, I had to drag her out of the cave, and then torch the place. Before leaving, of course, I nicked the shaman's necklace, staff, and the cores on the ground for some extra cash. What can I say? It's free money!
As I went to pick her up, I noticed the same cut left ear that Krisven had. Slinger her over my shoulder, kind of like a fireman's carry, I followed the rope I had laid down while lighting the cave on fire behind me. Once I had made it to the entrance, I set her down against a tree and then cast a final explosive spell into the mouth of the cave. After the cave was definitely lifeless inside, I cast a green signal flare into the sky, and once again slung the beast girl over my shoulder.
Since I had an extra weight on my shoulders, it took a bit longer to get back to camp, but I finally made it back where Dad and Krisven were waiting for me. Kris tried to run up and hug her sister, but I motioned for her to stay quiet as her sister was unconscious still. Also, her wounded leg would definitely reopen if she ran like that.
Dad and I switched places, so we could get home faster as the sun had started to set, after all. While I was gone, Dad had collected all the cores and left ears of the goblins in order to sell them, as well as packed up our camp. Before we left, however, he tossed me a small bag of jerky to recharge my batteries as I'd used a lot of magic and strength that we weren't prepared for. After quickly eating it, I propped Kris on my body so she could put minimal amounts of pressure on her leg while my dad carried her sister on his back.
"So, you said you'd tell me. Why'd Kris treat us like royalty?"
"Well, son. It has to do with our family line."
"Obviously, but why?"
"The Hammerwulf clan was one of the five ancient heroic clans. We helped take down the demon lord at the time. There hasn't been an appearance of a demon lord or hero since, so, in this peace-addled world, we kind of lost some of our glory. But you can still throw some weight around by using your last name."
"If you want people to hate you, then sure…"
"Yeah, that's why me and your mother don't do that."
"Makes sense."
"The hero allegedly had the same frost white hair as you do, actually. And he was a prodigy at both magic and sword arts. His blood may run through yours…"
"Huh…I see"
The rest of the trek was fairly silent, and we made it back home as the sun's last light was shining over the nearby misty mountains. As we walked through the door, both Mom and Lilith were somewhat surprised by the two guests we brought home, but quickly regained their composure after seeing how young and injured they were. I sat Kris on the couch, and took her sister from my father and laid her in my bed, hoping she'd wake up sooner rather than later. Kris was clearly uneasy and pretty fidgety.
To try and distract her, I talked to her about various things. I learned that her sister's name was Leora, and they traveled everywhere together. Furthermore, I learned that because Kris had an anomalous power, she was banished from the clan, thus resulting in the cut left ear. Leora chose to be banished with her sister because she couldn't bear to leave Krisven behind (or at least, that's what I inferred). They traveled and lived off the land together until the events of today. Apparently, this was the first time she had a roof over her head since they were banished from their tribe.
Eventually, Kris fell asleep and we had a family meeting in order to decide what to do with the two of them. Of course, I opted for them to live with us, as they were betrayed by their own clan. And betrayal pisses me off. I'd even gone as far and said that I'd leave if they were kicked out, and my dad backed me up by saying that he has the skills and intelligence to do so. But, I think I didn't even really need to go that far because my mom thought they were cute and her word is law in this household.
As I was exhausted by today's activities, I went to sleep in my room, but since my bed was currently occupied, I laid out an extra blanket and slept on it.
^^^^^^^^^
I once again appeared in the grassy hillside of Sakurai's Sanctuary, not far from the gazebo under which we always meet. Sakurai was already sitting in a chair, so I plopped myself down and materialized my box of cigarettes and lit one. As I took a long drag, I noticed that the cups had no cracks in them like yesterday. Speaking of which, I have started appearing in this dreamland almost every night now.
"Cups are fixed today," I started, breaking the silence.
"Yes. They are."
"So, you saw them. Those wolf girls. What do you think of them?"
"I think they're cute."
"That's not what I meant, but yeah. I agree. At least Kris is. Not so sure about Leora, though."
"Well, she hasn't awoken yet."
"That's right."
"You're going to have to deal with some extra…issues…if you keep them around."
"That's fine. Clubbing bad guys is my specialty after all," I said, puffing smoke rings into the air.
"Good work on those goblins today."
"Thanks."
"Anyways, you're in imminent danger. Good luck."
"What?"
And then everything faded away.
^^^^^^^^^
Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the blinds in a small wooden bedroom. The golden light reflected off of a blade, clasped between two hands. A pool of sweat soaked the blanket, and a dragon-like ire engulfed the room.
"Hey! Can you like, not try to slice me in half first thing in the morning? That'd be great!"
"Where am I? And what did you do to my little sister?!"
"Chill Out! Relax! She's sleeping in the other room! Can you put the blade down?"
"How do I know you're not lying?!?!"
"Why would I lie about that? And look where you are? Would you be in a bed so nice while your supposed captor is sleeping on the floor?"
"I guess…" she said, finally releasing the blade.
Right at that moment, Kris burst through the door and bear-hugged Leora. Leaving them to their sisterly embrace, I quietly snuck out of the room to begin my morning training.
"You got yourself two cuties, kid."
"Shut up, Gluttony. They're children."
"You say that like you're not a child…"
"You know I'm not. At least you should know that."
"I mean mentally you're not, but physically you are."
"Anyway, what kind of five year old is thinking about that kinda stuff, you dull blade."
"Hey kid, no need to get so defensive, it's just a joke."
"Whatever…"
"Oh, also," Gluttony started, "Envy envies me. She wants you to use her more. And you know what happens when she gets like that…"
Gulping, I just nodded in silence.
"Just train a bit with her. That'll keep her happy enough."
"Alright…I can do that."
After completing my regimen, I wiped off the sweat and changed clothes outside. As I was making my way back inside, I was greeted by Leora, who was bowing profusely.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't know you saved Kris from the goblins! And then me after that! Please punish me as you see fit!"
"Uh, don't worry about it. It's fine…"
"It's all my fault. The way I treated you this morning!"
"I said it was fine. Let's go inside and eat breakfast."
Leora followed behind me and sat down at the table right next to me.
Dude, can I have some personal space here? I swear, is she just going to follow me around like that? Please don't make me regret vouching for you…
Lilith had once again prepared a feast to welcome our two guests who would probably be staying indefinitely. After waiting for me to take my first bite, Leora wolfed down her food as if she hasn't had good food in who knows how long. And then Kris just confirmed that suspicion.
"Leora is good at fighting, but sucks at cooking, y'know!"
I started cracking up, as the timing was truly perfect, but then I saw Leora's face. It was completely tomato red, sealing the truth into stone. And then she hit me with her bowl. At least it was empty since she ate it so fast, but still, it hurt.
"I can tell, Kris…I can tell…" I responded through the throbbing pain.
I think I know what Sakurai was talking about last night. The issues and the imminent danger. And that's how I gained three sisters in the span of a month. What a large family this is becoming.
^^^^^^^^^
Over the next few uneventful months, I watched my blood sister Cilia grow up and start to talk a bit. Every day, I would train, and Leora would watch. Sometimes she'd join in too. Kris was as exuberant as ever. As it became summer, the sun was warm, the wind was calm, and the water was cool. Perfect for swimming. At least, that's what I thought when I suggested we should go swimming in the lake. Apparently, Leora was deathly afraid of the water. At least large pools of it. But I didn't know that until we had actually got there.
After changing into a pair of trunks, I jumped into the crystal clear lake water. The cooling sensation on my skin after training and then hiking down to the shore was bliss. Even in the previous world, floating in the water always eased and relaxed me. As the current slowly took me out to the middle of the lake, I peered towards the shore and noticed a terrified Leora. She'd attempt to put her toes in the water, and then jump when the water lapped her toes. On the other hand, Krisven was having the time of her life, splashing water wherever her airhead decided to take her.
As a little prank, I dove under the water and swam right up to Leora who was clearly distracted and broke through the surface of the water, scaring her. Out of reflex, she whacked me on the top of the head and I fell backwards, losing consciousness for a couple of seconds. While unconscious, I swear I just pictured Sakurai snickering and saying "you deserved it." Moments later, I came to and just started laughing and the whole family joined in. Even stone faced Lilith.
"Is your automatic reflex always set to hitting people?" I asked jovially.
"Hmph."
"Well, whatever. Do you want to learn how to swim? I can teach you."
After a few moments, Leora reluctantly agreed and I took her by the hand and walked her into some slightly deeper waters.
"Okay, first thing's first. We have to get over your fear of water. I'll dive with you, so let's try and dip our heads under the water."
Leora nodded and we both descended at the same time, however, Leora started panicking and pushed back up. Not going to be as easy as that, eh?
"Okay, this time, just look me in the eyes. Don't break eye contact, okay?"
I leaned back and went under first, taking her with me. As I went under, she followed just moments after. This time, she was doing a good job of not panicking and just looked me in the eyes. After about fifteen seconds, we both stood back up and caught our breath. Leora didn't really say anything, but her little tail told me otherwise. She was clearly happy. We repeated that exercise a couple more times until she didn't need me to go under the water with her.
"Alright, let's try actually swimming now"
"Wait, that wasn't swimming?"
"No no, that's more like floating. I was trying to help you get over your fear of water."
"Oh. Ok…" Leora said, clearly dejected.
"Cheer up, that's probably the hardest part. Learning how to float and breathe properly."
She smiled and nodded, and I took her out to even deeper waters.
"Okay. Just hold onto my hands. I'm not going to let you go. And just kick your feet to move forward."
She put her face down into the water and started kicking, and I followed suit, just in front of her. Eventually, after directing her to the shallower area, I just let go and she swam herself back to the shore.
Once she stood back up on the shore, I congratulated her.
"Well. That's really all there is to it."
"Wait? I swam?"
"Yep, you did. And for that last stretch, without my help."
"Wow! I did it! Phoenix, I did it!"
"Yes you did."
Somewhat exhausted, I plopped myself down on the quilt and started sun-drying a bit. With the sun slightly beating down on my back, I dozed in and out of consciousness. This truly was paradise. But I knew this couldn't last forever. I knew both Kris and Leora trusted me as I woke up to both sleeping next to me.