— Rudeus Greyrat —
"Ninety-eight… ninety-nine… one hundred!"
Collapsing to the floor, I took in a deep breath of the crisp morning air as I waited for the pain in my arms to fade, filling a cup with water to drink as I leaned against the living room wall.
"Well done today… my two babies…" I mumbled, looking down at my arms.
They had done well on this fine morning.
While my morning workouts weren't much compared to the crazy training regimens of the swordsmen in my family, they were still important to me, both for keeping me fit and toned, and for providing me the perfect way to wake up with a jolt of energy.
It was hard to find the motivation to get out of bed when you had a beautiful woman snuggled up to both of your sides, after all.
Haa… really, I was truly blessed.
If I could see myself as I was now back in my old world, I would have surely called myself a bastard in scathing jealousy.
But I wasn't that miserable, pathetic sack of shit anymore.
No, I was Rudeus Greyrat, the Emperor-ranked magician, the lover of two beauties, and the father of two cute children, with a third on the way.
If I hadn't changed long before now, my circumstances would have forced me to in order to keep this amazing life of mine intact.
But still, the pathetic me from before was still me… somewhat, and I didn't want to risk the chance of that ever coming back, hence the morning exercise.
"Dad… hungy…"
Hearing that soft voice from behind me, I turned to see Lana groggily leaving her room, with one hand rubbing her eyes as the other held the small blanket my mother had knitted for her.
"You're hungry, huh? Well, let's get you something to eat," I said, walking over to her before picking her up. "Unfortunately, your mother is still asleep, so you'll have to bear with your old man's cooking."
"Mmm… okay…" she mumbled, resting her head on my shoulder.
Yep, she definitely was the cutest.
Now that I had some 'training' in fatherhood, so to speak, I had to say that it was just as rewarding as Leon told me… although I still found it hard to remember that fact whenever little Sieg woke up in the middle of the night.
Walking into the kitchen, I shot a bout of flames into the fireplace, setting the wood on fire in an attempt to warm up the place.
"So, what do you want, Lana? It'll have to be quick since I have…"
I caught myself as I was about to say 'have classes'.
After all, that wasn't the case any more as I had just graduated from the university yesterday, as well as obtaining a distinction in the mages guild for submitting a thesis on chantless magic.
It wasn't anything special.
It was basically most of what Leon and I had formulated through our shared experiences, both from ourselves, and from him teaching Aria.
I say 'mostly' as there were still some parts of our magic discoveries that we wanted to keep in the family, especially those related to science.
I mean, it wouldn't exactly be good if the Man-God was given another powerful pawn due to us sharing our knowledge.
"Hmm? Dad?" Lana asked.
"Nothing, sweetie. How about I make a nice breakfast for everyone, hmm? Do eggs and meat sound good?" I asked, placing her onto the sofa.
"Yeah… that's good," she said, rubbing her eyes.
Jeez, at this rate, she'll be back asleep by the time I finished.
Oh, well.
Turning back into the kitchen, I opened the fridge, a magic item Shizuka and I had brought to this world together, and pulled out some meat as I thought about what to do today.
Now that I was no longer a student, I had a lot of free time on my hands.
…Wait.
I wasn't really training right now, aside from my regular magic and combat practice, nor was I employed.
Shit. I… I'm a NEET right now, aren't I!?
That's… unacceptable!
No way would I fall into that again!
Even Aisha was working basically as the prime minister for the most powerful nation in the world, while Norn was the student council president for the greatest school!
I couldn't fall behind!
"Dad…? Something wrong?" Lana asked, peeking her head above the couch to look at me with worried eyes.
"N-Nothing sweetie… just thinking, is all," I replied with a smile.
Right… I wasn't like I was back then. I had a family, money, and most importantly, had lost my virginity many times over.
But still… it wouldn't be good for me to simply laze around doing nothing.
Hmm… there was always the magic tower, and I'm sure the university would love to have me as a teacher… or maybe I could help with Orsted and Leon's plan to fight Laplace and the Man-God?
It was my family that was in the most danger, after all.
And speaking of the Man-God… I should use that now, right?
Especially if I was planning to go on any extended trips…
Yeah, I think today would be a good day to do that.
I mean, what better protector would there be than one of the greatest summoning spells crafted by the Dragon King Perugius?
— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —
"So… this summoning circle will pop out a spirit guardian to watch over the house?" I asked, watching as Rudy laid out the large piece of paper.
"Exactly! Do you… want to have one as well?" Rudy said. "I tried copying it, but it was too complicated… but I'm sure one of Perugius or Orsted could get you one if you asked."
Hmm… I hadn't really considered using a summoned spirit.
After all, between myself, Eris, Sylphy, and to a lesser extent, Roxy, there wasn't anyone or anything I could depend on more with the safety of our family, both in terms of strength and trust.
But… considering how my training with Orsted was bearing some fruit… I would soon need to leave to gather my ally for fighting Laplace, and according to Orsted, the North God might take some time to find if we're unlucky.
Hmm…
"I'll consider it," I said, turning to look at Sara and Linia, who had both come outside for the occasion. "That aside… how are things, you two?"
Sara gave me a kind smile. "Things are well, Leon. I just hope you're ready to be an uncle of three soon."
"Of course I am, especially if they end up as cute as little Lana here," I said, rubbing the head of the girl that had given me a big hug as soon as she ran out the door. "And you, Linia? How is having a kid?"
I was surprised, to be honest.
That irresponsible, bratty girl had seemingly turned into a mature woman before I could even notice a change.
Perhaps being a mother could change people even more than I thought.
"Eh? It's great! Even better since little Sieg is a boy!" she said, gently rubbing the kid's cat ears as she held him against her chest. "And the nights are good too! The Greyrat line truly is something to respect in bed!"
…Never mind.
She was still the same old Linia, even if she was now my sister-in-law and the mother of my nephew.
"Anyway… why did you want me here, Rudy?" I asked.
"Well… while I trust Lord Perugius, it still would be best to make sure nothing bad happens, right?" he said, having finished laying out the magic circle.
So… he wanted me here in case his summoned protector went berserk.
I guess I could accept that.
"Alright, could you hurry it up though? Eris wanted to spar with me today," I said.
"Ah, of course. It's done now," he said, crouching down and placing his hand on the paper. "Well… here goes nothing."
With my hand on my sword in preparation, I watched as the circle began to glow as Rudy inserted his mana, the lines shining brightly before they all erupted in a giant flash.
And at the centre of that flash…
"Woof!"
Was… a dog.
"Uhh… a dog?" Rudy voiced, confused. "Did… did something go wrong?"
"Don't ask me," I said, shrugging.
Watching as the large, white-haired dog sauntered over to Rudy and began sniffing his leg, I suddenly had a flash of realization.
"Isn't this-"
"The Sacred Beast!?" Linia shouted in surprise.
Yes… that dog that I rescued back in the Millis Continent… what the hell was it doing here?
And equally confusing, why was it considered a 'guardian'?
Wasn't this thing supposed to summon a spirit like Arumanfi?
"Ah! So it's you!" Rudy exclaimed, rubbing his hand along the dog's head. "You've grown quite a bit, huh? And your fur is just as wonderful as I remember!"
"Rudy! Why is the Sacred Beast here?" Linia said, walking up to the two, her fur standing on end as she held Sieghart close to her chest.
As I stood back with Lana, I noticed Sara walk up to us, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Leon… do you know what's going on?" she asked.
"No… not really," I said.
Why exactly was the beastfolk's deity-like figure here?
Honestly, this could be quite troublesome.
Would the tribe be angry with us, even though we had no intention of taking it away?
I mean, we had Tersena and Minitona here, as well as Linia, so we should be fine diplomatically speaking as long as-
"He is!?" Linia shouted, the volume making me wince.
Looking over at her, I noticed that she was crouched in front of the dog, an uncharacteristic expression of seriousness plastered on her face.
"Woof!"
The dog simply did as dogs did.
But for Linia… she seemed to understand it.
Ah, right. I had forgotten, but those beastfolk could actually understand what this Sacred Beast was saying, couldn't they?
It wasn't some telepathy or magic, as my demon eye had never noticed anything… so it must be something instinctual.
"S-So Seig… he's really the hero?" Linia muttered. "Is that why you appeared here?"
"Woof!"
Uhh, I think I missed something.
"Rudy, what is she talking about?" I asked.
"Don't ask me! I'm just as confused," he said, turning back to Linia. "Um, Linia? What do you mean by Sieg being a hero? It's a little too early for that, right? Haha!"
Linia didn't laugh it off, instead, she simply looked down at the baby in her arms with a smile of pride.
"No… it's not that… I'll explain it to you later," she said, shaking her head. "So, Sacred Beast… is Sieg the one you'll be accompanying?"
"Woof!" the dog barked with a nod.
…
"I'm confused," I said.
"I… am as well," Sara said with a frown.
Well, while I was still interested in summoning a guardian, if it ended up like this… it almost seemed like it was more trouble than it was worth.
— Rudeus Greyrat —
It turned out that my son, the little Sieghart Greyrat, was the fated hero that the Doldia tribe had been waiting for.
I… wasn't quite sure how to feel about that, but I guess it wasn't the worst thing in the world.
But a hero… that sounds troublesome.
And dangerous.
I think I'll ask Leon to train Sieg with the sword once he becomes old enough, not that he wouldn't do that anyway.
At least with his training, I knew my son would be strong enough to stay safe from whatever stuff comes at him in the future.
But Leon was pretty adamant about training the kids enough to defend themselves, so I'm sure the same would go for Aisha, Norn, and Alaric's kids once they got to that age.
So yes… Sieg was apparently to be a hero, and the Sacred Beast of the beastfolk, that lovable ball of fur, was to be his guardian and partner.
Not what I had expected when I woke up this morning, that's for sure.
"What are you thinking about?" Shizuka asked me.
"Oh, nothing. Just… about life and the future, I suppose," I responded.
"That's quite deep," she said.
I had just finished checking up on her mana, ensuring that she didn't end up with 'drain syndrome' once more. Something that we had been doing monthly.
In fact, I had begun to see Shizuka more often ever since we got back from the floating fortress, and even weirder, it had rarely been for helping with her research, which had been the case before.
Instead, she would visit my house where we would just… talk, or sometimes we would try to create inventions from our past world and submit them to the Mage's Guild, and other such things.
It was… fun, doing stuff with her.
But still, I was quite curious.
"Hey… why haven't you been researching summoning magic lately?" I asked.
She paused.
"Why do you ask?" she returned.
"Just curious. I mean, isn't that how we originally got this close?" I said with a shrug. "It feels odd for you to stop when you were so focused on it… Did something happen like, you know… before?"
I was referring to the time she had gotten really down in the dumps, of course.
She frowned. "No, I am fine mentally, thank you very much."
Well, that was good to know.
"That's good… So then, why?" I asked.
"Well… first, do you remember what I said about 'fate' or another power keeping me here for some reason?" she asked.
I nodded.
But what was-
Ah, I see!
"So you think that the same 'fate' would make it so you couldn't leave?" I asked.
She nodded. "I can only presume so. That also lines up with how some theoretically sound magic circles were having issues."
That made sense, as long as we ignored the… weirdness of fate.
I didn't even want to think about all that stuff.
"Okay… is that all, then?" I asked.
I would be a little surprised if so.
After all, Shizuka was probably the most dedicated people I knew, with the only one matching her in effort being my brother and his desire of protecting our family and growing stronger.
While I was definitely proud of what I had become over the years… there were definitely some amazing people I could still look up to.
"W-Well… you know…" she said, sending me an oddly… embarrassed gaze. "You could say that I… lost some motivation, is all."
"Lost motivation… how so?" I asked.
She pouted, glaring at me with reddened cheeks.
…Wait.
This odd feeling… I think I had felt it before.
It was when I was travelling the northern territories with Counter Arrow back in the day, when Sara had invited me to her room, where we ended up cementing our relationship.
The sign of attraction.
But… that was impossible, right?
"A-Are you really going to make me spell it out for you?" she growled.
I-It was!?
"I-I have a wife, you know… two of them, in fact," I stammered.
"Yeah, I know that, dammit," she said, standing up as she pressed her hand to her forehead.
She released a large sigh once more as she shook her head.
"I… really didn't want this to happen, you know? I recognized the signs, but I didn't… never mind… but yeah… it's like this," she said, sitting back down on the couch as she looked up at me.
"A-And you already have two wives… right?" she said. "S-So… what's one more?"
Seeing her usually pale white cheeks tainted red in a light blush, her finger twirling the end of her long, black hair, and those upturned eyes that were glancing at me furtively with a mix of apprehension and desire… I couldn't help but feel a certain tingle that only two others in this world were able to elicit in me.
Oh… oh shit…
I… think I will get a stern talking to from my lovely Sara when I get home, won't I?
But as Shizuka had hinted… maybe getting a third would be fine?
— Nanahoshi Shizuka —
Lying in the bed with the sheets surrounding me like a cocoon, I slowly opened my eyes as the morning light crept through the windows and onto my face.
Taking a moment to get used to the unfamiliar scenery, I took a quick glance to my left, noticing that a certain man had already left, thankfully leaving me a glass of water at his bedside, and then, I felt the dull thrum in my core, the lingering remnants of the sensations from last night bringing the accompanying memories to my mind.
"Haa… what the hell did I do…" I mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
I had simply meant to confess my feelings to the one that had annoyingly kept me tethered to this world I had thought to only be a prison, and I had expected to perhaps bear the brunt of his wives' anger, but instead… they had accepted me quite openly.
And before I knew it, I had found myself in his clutches… and I didn't want out of them for a moment.
Rudeus… he was quite skilled in bed, huh?
I guess it was only natural, considering his experience in this world, compared to me, who was struggling just to keep my breath during the whole thing.
Dammit… just how did it come to this?
To think I would fall for him… at least our ages weren't as different when compared to his wives, and even then he had told me that his mental age was not a simple addition of his two lives' years due to the effect of a child's brain and experiences.
But still… was this a mistake?
It was simple interest at first, as I just wanted to have someone that reminded me of home next to me and someone who could help me get back.
But somewhere along the way… those feelings changed.
Something began to flicker within him that called to me… or maybe it was something within me that called to him… either way, it was a feeling that was difficult to describe, but if there was a word for it, I would say that Rudy gave me a sense of comfort.
Or maybe stability?
Haa… I didn't know.
But what I did know was that last night proved that I was way out of my depth with such things.
Well… it wasn't completely my fault.
Akito and I had only done it once before, and with the two of us being so inexperienced, it was only natural that the experience was… less than amazing.
And speaking of him… from what I could theorize, he was probably arriving later, at least if what I understood about this world's timeline was true.
Whether it be a year from now, or fifty, if I ended up meeting him… I would need to apologize for finding another man.
But did it still count as cheating when we had been separated for so long?
Probably.
But then again, he was having an awfully fun time with Hana before I got summoned here, and knowing him, I was sure that guy would find some princess to seduce, so I couldn't feel too bad.
Besides, from the argument we had before everything… well, he should understand.
Gently raising my head, I spotted my folded clothes in the nearby chair, and getting out of bed, I slowly began dressing myself as the sounds of children echoed from below, the most prominent voice evidently belonging to the ever-optimistic Lana.
Another thing that had changed over the years.
Before, I would never think I could come to like children, much less the prospect of having one, but over time… well, those thoughts had shifted as well.
Though, for better or worse, I doubted that I could get pregnant with my current suspended aging state.
But enough thinking about that.
Now that my feelings in regard to romance were settled, and my worries about being trapped in this world lessened due to the emergence of what I could hope to be a new relationship, there was something else I had to turn my mind to.
Leon Greyrat… who was now something of a brother-in-law to me, as odd as it was to think.
I had always assumed that Leon was someone from my world, from earth, but I simply didn't know who.
His knowledge of modern science and how to mix it with his magic was simply much too good to be a product of second-hand knowledge from Rudy.
Yes, he certainly had to be someone from my world.
But… the way he patted my head… that odd protectiveness he had for me… it made me feel a way I hadn't felt in quite some time.
Previously, I would think it was impossible, but knowing the magical nature of this world… how this place and earth were seemingly connected… and then Rudy's reincarnation…
My brother had died, that was something I was forced to accept all those years ago, despite the days spent crying in my room.
But thinking about it now… he had died around two years before I was summoned here, and with the knowledge that Rudy's past life was that of the man that tried to push me out of the way, that meant it was two years before Rudy was reincarnated.
And in this world, Leon was born two years before Rudy.
Was it coincidence?
Most would say most likely, but with how it all connected… could Leon be my brother?
That was the thought that had been itching at my mind for a while now, other than the… distractions.
But no… despite how great that would be, it was impossible.
My brother would never lie about not having a past, and more than that, he was much too affectionate with me to not reveal himself to me.
And besides, my brother wasn't some womanizing bastard like that guy is.
Shaking my head, I lightly slapped my cheeks before standing up, taking a deep breath of the fresh, cold morning air to clear my mind.
Right, there was no need to care about that.
Instead…
"Nanahoshi! Breakfast is ready if you're up!" Linia shouted from below.
Instead… I had something else to focus my attention to.
Such was the consequences of my decisions… I was definitely going to complain to Rudy about this later.
How dare he leave me alone like this?