— Roxy Migurdia —
I was currently reading outside, which is how I often spent my time on such a beautiful day like this one.
While the winter months were cold, as were most of the months here in Sharia, with a warm coat wrapped around me and the sun shining above, it was a pleasant time nonetheless, and it served as a good way to get out of the house.
Sitting in a chair next to the well-tended grave of Leon's late mother, I took a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air as I began to reminisce about the past year.
I now had a daughter.
If you had asked me three years ago if I could imagine myself in such a situation, I would have firmly denied the possibility.
Actually… embarrassingly enough, I did have a few fantasies about the grown up Leon and me at that time… so perhaps it would be better to say ten years ago.
Yes, ten years ago, I would have never thought that having a child would be possible.
After all, back then, I hated children.
They were annoying, they didn't listen, and they couldn't care for themselves at all.
But now… well, I had grown, you could say.
Aria… Aria Greyrat.
She was… beautiful.
With her endearing brown eyes from her father, and her blue hair that she got from me, she was extremely pleasant to look at, and it filled my heart with joy each time I did.
Of course, I was still saddened by what Aria might face in the future due to her hair colour, but now that it was beginning to grow longer, I couldn't deny that it was extremely adorable.
Especially when she tried to copy my fidgeting… that was simply the cutest.
I wonder, when it grew a bit longer, would she want to have braids like me?
I hoped so, and if she did, I could leave that to her father, much like I had been leaving the care of my own hair to him lately.
Anyway, while I liked teaching Rudy and Leon when they were kids, and even that prince when he wasn't trying to grope me, seeing Aria grow each passing day filled me with a completely unmatched sense of fulfillment.
And the love I felt for her… it was inexpressible.
It was a warmth different from the one Leon gave me, and it was different from the one I felt for him.
It was much more… pure and… unrequited.
That love… it must be what my parents felt for me, huh?
I always knew that, and despite hating my homeland, I always loved them.
But coming home to see their faces of despair as I would lament about my loneliness… it was heartbreaking for me.
And so, I left. Beginning my journey across the Demon Continent that then led me to Ranoa.
I never regretted it.
After all, because of that, I was able to experience so many new things, and that path led me to now, where I had a lover, a family, and a home… a place where I truly felt accepted.
But now that I had a daughter… I could also imagine her leaving, and how agonizing that would feel.
My parents, did they… feel that way?
I had decided to run away to lessen their pain, but… did I just make it worse?
Either way, now that I had matured, I did want to visit them.
Leon said he met them during his first week on the Demon Continent, and according to him, there was a teleportation ruin not too far from the village, so we could definitely go visit.
After all, they should meet their granddaughter and son-in-law.
And now that I felt so accepted and love… the pain of the past wouldn't feel nearly as bad, especially with Leon and Aria at my side when I visited.
But not yet.
Aria was much too young to bear such a journey, after all.
Maybe in a few years, either when Eris returned to help Sylphy protect her princess, or after Leon had helped her become queen.
Urgh… that was surely going to be annoying.
I guess even after the Displacement Incident, this family was simply attracted to trouble.
A family that I was now a part of… now wasn't that a pleasant thought?
My family… yeah, I was proud to call it that.
Sylphy was as good of a girl as I remembered her as, though she had certainly grown a bit more… perverted.
But she was extremely pleasant to be around, and with how much she helped with Aria and Leon's desires, I couldn't imagine her not being with us.
I was a little worried about Eris, though.
I had never met her, after all.
But for now, I would trust Sylphy, Leon, and his sisters' words that she was a good girl.
Anyway, my new daughter and family was definitely the biggest change of my life so far, but that wasn't the only thing that was different.
I was now… a teacher.
It had taken a lot to swallow down my pride and ask Jinas, my old master, for a position, but after a few tense greetings, we both apologized for our mistakes in the past and moved on like nothing had happened.
I could understand him now, after all.
Having a talented student surpass you… it was vexing, but I was proud to say that I continued to train despite Leon and Rudy's talents, and while I still couldn't match them, I was now able to cast any magic up to the Saint rank without an incantation.
I was proud of my achievement, but with my new domestic life, I had decided to dedicate most of my time to my family instead of increasing my strength.
After all, with us building a family and hoping to settle down together, there was no need for me to become a Water Emperor or anything of the sort.
But despite not aiming for power, I was still as desperate as ever for knowledge.
I suppose that curiosity was one of my core traits, and since Leon found it so attractive, I was glad to have it.
It was this thirst for knowledge that led to me learning 'disturb magic' from Leon after my pregnancy.
Truly… as a mage, it was a horrifying technique.
Mages were already considered quite fragile in battle, and while I had mitigated this fact with chantless casting, that became nothing when the spells I formed could be nullified in an instant.
I was a little upset that he waited so long to teach me, especially when he had already taught Sylphy and Rudy, but according to him, he didn't want me to overexert myself with Aria still in my belly.
Really… his overprotectiveness was a bit much sometimes, but knowing it was out of his unconditional love for me… well, it just left a warm feeling in my chest that washed away any frustration.
Leon… what an annoyingly good man.
I was honestly a little scared of him, as not only did he have the looks and strength to ensnare any woman he wished, but with his caring side, he could keep them too.
I was glad he was so loyal, and with three women already promised to him, I didn't have to worry about him being unsatisfied.
Though… that princess has sure been acting weird lately…
But I would leave that possibly troublesome situation to Sylphy.
And speaking of Leon… he should be with his parents right about now, right?
I wonder how that's going.
Ah, and I should probably pay my new brother-in-law a visit sometime later.
I just hope that Aria gets along with her new uncle.
— Leon Greyrat —
With Lilia successfully giving birth to my new baby brother, Alaric, we had decided to have the whole family get together, and had planned to do so for every future weekend.
After all, Rudy and I were now starting our own families, and Norn and Aisha were becoming increasingly independent as they grew older, so we now had to put in some effort to remain close as a family.
"Wow… he really has my hair!" Aisha said, looking down at the wrapped-up Alaric, who was sleeping in Lilia's arms.
"That he does," Lilia said, smiling gently. "But he doesn't have your eyes."
"Mmm… too bad for him," Aisha said, smirking confidently.
Just as Lilia had said, Alaric had both of Lilia's most striking features in her red hair and purple eyes, and mixed with the faces of his two parents, I had the feeling he was going to be a real ladykiller.
I would have to make sure Paul didn't influence him too much.
And me as well, now that I thought about it.
"I guess you'll have to watch out for your uncle, huh?" I said, stacking a block onto the tower Aria had proudly built.
"Un?" she questioned, turning back to me. "Dada!"
"Yep, that's me," I said, smiling as I kissed her head.
With her nearing her first year, Aria had begun speaking a few words, though her vocabulary was extremely restricted.
Sadly for me, 'Mama' had been her first word, which she had first used when she wanted Roxy to pick her up. But not a few days later, she had said her second word… the most pleasant one I could hope to hear…
'Dada'.
Yes… I was now Dada.
"Un!" she then said, lifting her arms up.
"You want to stand?" I asked, seeing her smile widen as I lifted her to her feet. "There… is that good?"
"Dada!" she said, not answering my question.
Well, at least she was happy.
With her now standing with my help, and her little legs supporting her more and more each time, it wouldn't be long before my little girl would be running around the house.
That… was going to be something.
Even with her crawling, she was already a very adventurous thing, always exploring the wide world laid out before her which, for the moment, was generally restricted to the first floor of our house.
But thinking of how my little girl was growing bigger, as well as the fact Sylphy was going to bless me with a second child soon… well, I was a pretty happy man.
"How's school going, you two?" I said, looking at Norn and Aisha as I returned to stacking blocks with Aria.
I had a feeling it wouldn't be long before she knocked it down, however.
My daughter absolutely adored pranking me, the silly little troublemaker.
"It's fine," Norn said, shrugging. "I'm an Intermediate-rank in the Sword God and Water God now, so I think I'll be taking your class next term, Brother."
"I can't wait," I said. "But anything else other than the sword? Do you… have anything you want to do?"
"Hmm…" she said, tilting her head in thought. "I… guess I like reading? Oh, and writing too. Stories are… fun to watch grow, I guess."
"Is that so… do you want to be a writer?" I asked.
Maybe she would be like that adventurer who taught Roxy magic, who also wrote Wandering the World, the book we used to have back in Buena Village which detailed a lot of the various places in the world.
"I'm not sure," she said. "I've been writing about our journey across the Demon Continent, but that was mostly so I wouldn't forget anything. But one of my friends read it and said it would make an interesting book, so I might do something with that."
"That sounds great, honey!" Mama said, pulling Norn into a hug.
"It does," I added before turning to my other sister. "And what about you, Aisha?"
"School? It's fine, I guess," she said, taking Julius from her mother's arms. "I like the gardening class, but I'm mostly focused on helping Princess Ariel."
"And? Do you… like it?" I asked.
After all, even if I agreed to help Ariel, and let my sister do so as well, I wouldn't allow her to get stuck doing something that she didn't enjoy.
"Oh, I love it!" she said, smiling widely. "Playing with people is so fun, don't you think?"
I saw everyone's face deadpan, except for Lilia, who nodded proudly at her daughter.
That… was a bit troubling, but if she enjoyed it… I guess it was fine.
"A-Anyway… what about you, Rudy?" I said, turning to him. "I know you've been helping Zanoba with something, but is there anything else that's going on?"
"Me? Not really," he shrugged. "Sara's nearly ready to give birth, so I've made sure to have a free schedule for whenever she goes into labour."
"I see… where is she right now, by the way?" Paul asked, joining in on the conversation.
"She's with Suzanne and Timothy," he explained. "Suzanne has been working as a midwife for a few months, so she's been giving her a bunch of advice."
Well… that was good.
I wasn't that close with the two, but they seemed to have ended up quite happy with their kid, and considering that they were Sara's parental figures, it made me quite pleased.
"Yeah, well… at least you're all figured out," Paul said. "I was a mess when Zenith was pregnant."
"That's one way to put it," I said, shaking my head. "But at least you took responsibility and got a job… even if you were still scum."
"Hey! I've changed!" he said, pointing at me. "And you're looking at a Knight Captain of Sharia, you know? So don't be too disrespectful~"
Right… well, at least he liked his job, and it paid pretty well, so I knew that my parents would be fine long into their lives.
With Mama finding some work at the hospital, it was now only Lilia who was unemployed, but considering she took the brunt of the housework, I suppose she still considered herself the maid of the household, even if she didn't wear the uniform anymore.
Though, with from how my father bragged about his love life the last time Rudy and I joined him for our weekly drink together, it seemed Lilia kept it for… other purposes.
Sometimes, I really wish my family wasn't so open about their nighttime activities.
— Leon Greyrat —
"Sara… isn't she beautiful?" Rudy said, looking down at the crying baby with a wide smile.
"Yeah… so… Lana, right?" Sara said, her breathing calming as I eased her pain with healing magic.
"If you're still fine with it," Rudy said. "But wow… if you held them like this, I can understand why you dote on Aria and our sisters so much, brother."
It was the fourth month of the year, and as one might expect, Rudy and Sara had just given birth to their child.
One Lana Greyrat.
Incidentally, she was born a week before Aria's birthday, and a few weeks after Alaric's, so I could only hope the three would grow up to be a good group of friends.
Anyway, with Lilia and Suzanne acting as experienced midwives, me there to facilitate any healing magic, and Mama off to the side to assist with water and towels, the birth was extremely easy.
"Congratulations, you two," I said, looking over at the new family with a smile.
"Yeah… thank you, Leon," Sara said, looking down at the wrapped-up girl in her arms.
"My pleasure," I said, washing my hands with water magic as I got to my feet.
"Now… I'll leave you two alone for now," I said, walking back to the door and patting Rudy on the back as I passed. "Make sure you're a good father, okay?"
"Yeah… I promise to be," he said, looking down at Sara and Lana with warm eyes before he turned to me. "Because family… is most important, isn't that right, brother?"
"Yeah… that's right," I said, Mama peeking over my shoulder at her new granddaughter.
I hope she would be able to hold in her excitement.
Sara was exhausted, after all.
"And… I'm sorry, Leon. To you too, Mother," Rudy said, causing Mama and me to pause in confusion.
"What are you talking about, sweetie?" Mama asked.
"Yeah. If it's about the birth, don't apologize. We wanted to help," I reassured him.
"No, it's just… you're my mom… and you're my brother… I just realized that now," he said, looking at us with a small grin.
Uh… I didn't really understand, but… I guess that's good.
"Well… you're definitely my little brother, so it's nice that we're on the same page," I said, patting his head. "Now go spend some time with your wife and daughter. I'll make sure the school knows you'll be gone for a bit."
"Right… thanks," he said, shaking his head.
And so, like that, the Greyrat family grew a bit bigger.
— Eris Greyrat —
"Enough."
With the Sword God's words resounding through the training hall, I looked down at the beaten form of my friend, Nina Farion, her body sprawled across the floor as her chest rose and fell with shaky breaths.
It was nothing special.
Over the past two years, I had fought with Nina countless times, and had won every single spar, and as for Isolte, while she had been troublesome at first, my speed was eventually able to reach a point where I would win over half of our spars.
So beating Nina in a duel… it was nothing special.
But this time… it was a bit different from normal.
"Congratulations, brat. You're a Sword King now," the Sword God said. "To be honest, you're quite a bit stronger than that, though. What do you say? Do you want to try to become an Emperor? Or even challenge me and take my title?"
Looking over to him, I slowly shook my head.
"No. I don't care about that shit," I said. "Just… I'm strong enough now, right? If we're doing this…"
The Sword God looked down at me, his smirk widening as he crossed his arms.
"Heh. Yeah. That kid's a monster, but if it's the current you… you can definitely stand beside him," he said resolutely.
I see… good.
Leon had always said that separation would make feelings grow stronger, and now that I had experienced it, I wholeheartedly agreed.
I… wanted to be with him.
I wanted to be with him badly, especially now that I had found my sword.
Finding my sword… that was something that was hard to do, but once I did, it was easy to replicate.
Basically, it was becoming 'one with the sword', but not in terms of it being an extension of the body, but rather… it was an extension of the entire self.
A single-minded will focused into the blade and used with every swing.
That was the core of finding your sword, and I had done so quite easily compared to most swordsmen.
After all, I just needed to think about why I was swinging.
Why I would want to cut down an enemy in front of me.
I put my feelings of love and warmth… the feelings of when I was with Leon and when I was apart… the feelings of family and the need to protect it… I put that into every single swing, and as a result…
My eyes drifted to the end of the hall where the wall had been blown apart due to my final attack, the splinters littering the floor from the destruction.
Mmm… I was definitely stronger.
Especially now that I actually knew what I was doing, and could somewhat use that 'touki' everyone talked about.
So now… I just needed to go back home.
I couldn't wait to see Leon.
Over the past year, I had gotten a few letters from him, and in the latest one, he mentioned how Sylphy was pregnant, which meant that I needed to catch up with my co-wives on that side of things.
Even Rudy had a kid now, apparently.
I may have lost on the first and second child… but I could at least hope to be the first to birth a boy, if everything went well.
I just needed to get back there and spend the nights with Leon until we got lucky.
"Kagh… you damn savage woman," Nina said, groaning as she got to her feet.
I hadn't cut her, of course, and she hadn't taken the brunt of my last attack, but a sword could still hurt without doing any fatal damage.
"Do you think that Leon will still want you like this?" she asked, trying to get a rise out of me. "And I know you won't be bathing on your way back."
"Hmph!" I huffed, smirking pridefully at her. "Actually, Leon loves me the way that I am. Especially when I act 'savage' in bed. And as for the bathing… well, he can just wash me when we meet again."
Her eye twitched.
"Right… I forgot you two were perverts," she said, shaking her head.
We were not perverts.
We were just… proud to express our love.
And she was the one that always asked about my 'experience', so if anyone was the pervert, it was her!
"Aside from that… congratulations, Eris," Isolte said, nodding at me. "I am sure you're eager to go back to your lover? Especially since he seems to have a nice place waiting for you."
"Yeah…" I whispered, my lips curling into a wide smile. "I'm excited."
Ten rooms… with enough time, I would definitely fill all of them.
"I bet," she said, giggling. "But… are you certain you're fine with sharing? I know you aren't a member of the Millis Church, but-"
"It's fine," I said, cutting Isolte off. "I know he loves me, and I love him, so that… is enough. He made it quite clear in his letters that he had more than enough love to give me."
"I-I see… if you say so, then that's fine with me," she said, smiling at me. "If you ever find the need to visit Ars, you can always come to me. I'll be sure to show you around and provide you a nice place to stay. For both you and your family."
"Right… maybe in a few years, but I need to get a baby in me first," I said, looking down to rub my stomach. "If he fills me up for a whole night… I wonder if I can get pregnant as soon as I get back?"
Isolte and Nina's faces both flushed at my words, their eyes darting away as the Sword God simply massaged his forehead.
"Millis… someone like you becoming a mother…" he mumbled, shaking his head, before he called out to me. "Anyway, you're leaving tomorrow, right? Well, come grab a little parting gift from your dear master before you go."
Raising my eyebrow, I followed him past the raised stage and into his room, where three swords were laid out on the floor.
Even to someone like me, who was quite ignorant of what made a good blade, I could tell that these were among the finest swords I had ever seen, and likely ever would see.
They were from the Sword God's personal collection, after all.
"Ghislaine still has Flat Core, right? These are similar," he said, nodding down at the three. "I'd kill myself before I let a student of mine use their techniques with a low-quality blade, so pick out the one you like the most."
I then did as he asked, testing each of the swords.
How they felt in my hand, how it felt to cut through the air, as well as how my touki could flow into the blade, and eventually, I found the one I liked the most.
"This one," I said, holding it in my hand.
"The Phoenix Elegant Dragon Sword, huh?" the Sword God said, rubbing his chin. "That's a good one. It can nullify, or at least weaken, the touki it cuts through, so you might actually be able to harm the Dragon God with this."
Huh? This had something so impressive?
"Is that so? Well… thanks," I said, sheathing the sword as I latched it to my belt. "Is there anything else?"
"You're in quite the hurry, huh? Well… I guess not, no," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "You can leave when you want, and you still have a horse at the stable. What? Can't wait to get back to your lover?"
My eyes narrowed seriously.
"Yeah… I can't wait," I said. "We're going to make a bunch of babies for our big family."
"Uhh… right," he said, at a loss for words.
I didn't expect him to understand, though.
And so, after a night of rest, I set off the next day towards Sharia, my face set into a wide smile the entire time.
Leon… your Eris is coming back to you, just as promised.
I hope you're proud of how strong I've become.