I opened my eyes only to find myself in a very familiar room… It was Elise's room.

 

I was alone in this room. There was a strange smell permeating the room… It was very familiar, but I couldn’t find out what it was...

 

I tried to raise my upper body but it felt really heavy and sluggish…

 

"Damn… I feel like I was hit by a truck…" I muttered while still trying to raise my upper body.

 

It took me a few moments, but I managed to raise my upper body.

 

I looked towards the window, the two suns were already high in the sky.

 

"I wonder how long I have been asleep… Wait a minute… We were fighting that guy with the curved sword! Where is everyone!?" I panicked as soon as I remembered what I was supposed to be doing.

 

(Calm down, everything went well Ru.) Electra spoke in my mind.

 

"Is that so…? But then why don't I remember anything?" I asked Electra with confusion.

 

The last thing I remember is that I attacked the guy with my gladius and he blocked the attack…

 

(Well… That's a bit complicated… I would like to explain it to you, but…-) Electra was suddenly interrupted.

 

(Don't bother, I'm on my way to Elise's room. I'll explain in detail.) Astera spoke with a very serious tone.

 

Hearing a serious Astera is a bit weird…

 

(I'll pretend that I didn't hear that.) She said with annoyance.

 

(Sorry…) I apologized to her.

 

(I'll check up on you later, Ru.) Electra spoke with an awkward tone.

 

Seriously, what happened to me…?

 

After a few moments waiting, the door was finally opened.

 

Astera, Junko, Nozomi and Suika came into the room.

 

Nozomi was holding a tray with food and drinks.

 

Astera and Suika had very serious expressions. Suika looked a bit dejected for some reason.

 

Junko was looking very intently at me with a serious expression.

 

I could only smile at her even if she had that serious expression. I was really glad to see Junko unharmed.

 

Well she seemed equally glad to see me, because she immediately jumped at me.

 

My body felt way too heavy and sluggish to fight back, so I ended up being buried underneath Junko.

 

Junko immediately hugged me very tightly.

 

She didn't say a word and kept hugging me…

 

Of course, I returned the hug. I even started patting her head, which made her wag her tail vigorously.

 

"I'm so glad that you're okay…" Junko said with an expression of pure relief.

 

"I can say the same about you, Junko. I'm really glad that you're unharmed." I said before kissing her cheek.

 

"Ru…" Junko looked a bit embarrassed.

 

I started pampering her for a bit before continuing our conversation.

 

"Are the others alright? Where's Elise?" I asked Junko.

 

"They are alive and well thanks to you, Ru!" Junko looked at me with a loving expression.

 

She started hugging me even tightly.

 

"Elise, her party members, Laura and Rob are currently having a private party with the Guild Master and his thugs at the Castle. Your sisters are also there with them. Lara and Mara are helping Rose to clean all the spiderwebs Tomoko set up last night. Silvia, Sae and Tomoko are currently away having a girl's talk or something like that. They said that they will return late." Astera explained everything with a blank tone.

 

I see… So everything went well last night...

 

"What about Arrat and Electra?" I asked.

 

"They are patching some bugs in the SYSTEM caused by a certain someone…" Astera looked a bit pissed off…

 

I noticed that Suika was trembling a bit.

 

"No talking about serious stuff in front of the patient!" Nozomi said with an angry expression. 

 

She seemed a bit more confident.

 

Nozomi then walked towards the bed and showed me the tray full of food.

 

"I made you lunch, please eat everything out and recover quickly, okay?" Nozomi smiled at me.

 

I was a bit confused because she normally acts more shyly…

 

(She has been taking care of you the last three days. We all have taken turns to take care of you, but she insisted on being your caretaker. Junko has been teaching her a thing or two while you were unconscious.) Astera explained in my mind…

 

(Three whole days… Wow… Just what even happened to me? Also, that doesn't really explain her change in personality though...) I was completely dumbfounded.

 

(We'll get to that soon. Well, don't tell her that you know this because she will get very embarrassed, but she has been talking to you while you were sleeping. It seemed like she was trying to practice how to properly talk to other people.) Astera explained with a flat tone.

 

Oh… I guess that does explain why she seems more confident.

 

"Junko, please move! We need to feed the patient!" Nozomi said with a very intense expression.

 

"Five more minutes…" Junko kept hugging me tightly.

 

"Junko!" Nozomi looked a bit pissed off.

 

Junko ignored Nozomi and then kissed my cheek.

 

"Well, it seems like you're all busy, so how about I go back to…-" Suika spoke with a very suspicious tone.

 

"Stay right there, criminal." Astera interrupted Suika.

 

A single glare of Astera left Suika trembling…

 

It took a while for Nozomi to get Junko to stop hugging me.

 

"Say 'aaah'!" Nozomi was holding a spoon filled with scrambled eggs.

 

"Aaah." I opened my mouth and allowed Nozomi to feed me.

 

She has really taken her caretaker role very seriously.

 

"Now have some fresh orange juice!" She said while making me drink from a glass filled to the brim with juice…

 

It was very tasty. I really like oranges from this place.

 

"So? What happened to me?" I asked Astera while Nozomi was still feeding me

 

"Suika…" Astera looked at the mousekin beside her and smiled.

 

"Yes… In short, the fact that you don't remember anything is my fault." Suika smiled bitterly.

 

Oh…

 

"What did you do?" I asked with concern.

 

"Sigh… It is a bit of a long story so I will try to make it short and simple." Suika had an awkward expression.

 

She then closed her eyes and prepared herself to speak.

 

"I was working with the King of Ruthenes who used to be an old friend of mine. He has the blood of a beastkin, but he doesn't have any animal traits from the species his ancestor belonged to. He is basically one hundred percent human. He wanted me to develop a spell or a potion that would grant him the power of his beastkin ancestor. I agreed in exchange for a safe place for Nozomi and I to stay." Suika explained with her eyes closed.

 

A human king who wants to become a beastkin huh… 

 

"And as you already know, Nozomi was kidnapped and I immediately left to look for her." Suika opened her eyes.

 

She looked at her daughter who was still trying to feed me without interrupting the story.

 

"I immediately quit my job and told the king to fuck off for not fulfilling his part of the deal. You see… I still had the notes about the spell I managed to develop." Suika smiled bitterly.

 

"So, does it grant the powers of a beastkin? Is that what happened to me?" I asked.

 

Suika shook her head.

 

"Nope. It doesn't do that. I messed up in a crucial step and it now has a different effect. I once tested the spell on a horned rabbit when I was looking for Nozomi. The rabbit evolved into a Double Horned Rabbit King." Suika explained.

 

What…? The rabbit evolved…?

 

"Even though this spell was created by a mistake, you could say that it was a success since the objective of this spell is to bring out the true power of an individual."

 

So the spell causes an evolution in order to bring out the potential of an individual… What an outrageous spell...

 

"Indeed." Astera nodded in agreement after reading my mind. She was looking very intently at Suika.

 

"Last night, I saw that you guys were in trouble after we managed to capture Leon and I decided to use that spell on you to help you out." Suika seemed a bit uncomfortable thanks to Astera's gaze.

 

"Does that mean that I evolved? What did I look like?" I asked.

 

Junko immediately raised her hand.

 

"You looked beautiful and cool!" She was wagging her tail with a lot of excitement

 

"You became very tall, grew another horn, and your skin turned red and your hair turned white." Suika described the appearance of my evolution.

 

"I see…" I tried to imagine what I looked like.

 

"Suika's explanation is not entirely accurate though. Yes, the spell did make you evolve, but that wasn't actually you." Astera explained.

 

"Not actually me?" I tilted my head.

 

"That sounds a bit confusing, Lady Astera…" Junko nodded to herself.

 

"It is more accurate to say that the spell exploited an error in the system and brought a Ru who had managed to reach that evolution from a future which might or might not happen." Astera explained while rubbing her chin.

 

"I don't get it…"

 

"Me neither…"

 

Junko and Nozomi were really confused.

 

To be fair, I am also a bit confused.

 

"Bringing individuals from a possible future… To think I would manage to develop such a thing!" Suika seemed very happy and overjoyed.

 

"Show remorse! We now have work to patch that error ASAP!" Astera flicked Suika.

 

"Owww!" Suika yelped in pain. Her forehead immediately turned completely red.

 

"Anyway, the spell will no longer work, so don't rely on it in your next battle. Ah. That reminds me that you have leveled up enough to evolve again. Prepare yourself for that Trial! I will allow you to take the trial when you have fully recovered! Hehehe!" Astera giggled.

 

I felt shivers down my spine thanks to her innocent giggling.

 

I… I don't think she has anything good planned for my next trial…

 

I guess I should check my status now…

---

[STATUS]

NAME: Ru

RACE: Hobgoblin

AGE: 18 days old

LEVEL: 16 / EXP: 1000/3200

JOB: HERO

TITLES: Novice Hunter / Survivalist / Irresistible Lover / Hero / Apex of the Forest / Bear Killer / Bane of the Ligers / Relentless Defender / Beastkin Tamer

---

[STATS]

HP: 430/450

MP: 340/340

STAMINA: 25,000/25,000

NATURAL DEFENSE: 190

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 65

MAGICAL ATTACK: 92

PHYSICAL ATTACK: 260

INTELLIGENCE: 240

---

[NORMAL SKILLS]

CRAFTING / Grade: D / Proficiency: 100/350

TAILORING / Grade: E / Proficiency: 60/100

CLOSE UNARMED COMBAT / Grade: C / Proficiency: 0/600

ARMED COMBAT: SPEAR / Grade: D / Proficiency: 160/350

ARMED COMBAT: SWORD / Grade: C / Proficiency: 340/600

ARMED COMBAT: DAGGER / Grade: D / Proficiency: 190/350

FOOTWORK / Grade: C / Proficiency: 0/600

STEALTH / Grade: D / Proficiency: 201/350

LESSER DETECTION / Grade: D / Proficiency: 140/350

FIRE MAGIC / Grade: D / Proficiency: 90/350

LIGHTNING MAGIC / Grade: E / Proficiency: 10/100

MANA PERCEPTION / Grade: A+ / Proficiency: 0/??? /

---

[PASSIVE SKILLS]

SUPERIOR SENSE OF SMELL / Grade: C / Proficiency: 1,010/3,000

SUPERIOR SENSE OF HEARING / Grade: C / Proficiency: 1,030/3,000

---

[UNIQUE SKILLS]

ENHANCED STAMINA / NO GRADE / NO PROFICIENCY / SKILL ESCALATES WITH LEVELS.

---

[BLESSINGS]

BLESSING OF THE GODDESS OF THUNDERCLOUDS,

LADY ELECTRA

BLESSING OF THE GODDESS OF DESTINY,

LADY ARRAT

BLESSING OF THE GODDESS OF LIFE AND NATURE,

LADY ASTERA

---

 

Wow… I leveled up six times… That Hayato must have been holding back a lot…

 

“Sigh… I must go back to patch that error in the system. Suika, I forbid you from going out of this room until I get back. That will be your punishment.” Astera said with annoyance.

 

“Okay…” Suika said with a dejected expression while rubbing her forehead.

 

“Good girl. Don’t break any rules of nature while I’m gone, okay? Ru, I’ll leave her under your care.” Astera said with a terrifying smile before disappearing completely.

 

Why under my care…?

 

I guess it doesn’t really matter.

 

I kept looking at Suika who was still trembling a bit even though Astera was already gone. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

 

“It looks like you saved yourself from the wrath of a goddess.” Junko smiled bitterly.

 

“It looks like it...  Sigh…” Suika sighed heavily.

 

Suika suddenly started walking towards us and then sat on the bed beside Nozomi and me.

 

“Mother, I’m sure the goddess will forgive you eventually! How about we bake her a cake to show her that you’re genuinely sorry?” Nozomi tilted her head in a very adorable fashion.

 

You could immediately see how everyone in this room was physically melting thanks to the adorable mousekin.

 

“Damn… I definitely raised her right… What an angel…” Suika whispered in a very low volume that I was barely able to hear.

 

“I’m sure Lady Astera will like the cake so much that she will forget about this whole ordeal!” Junko said confidently

 

“That’s right! I will go and get some ingredients!” Nozomi nodded vigorously before running out of the room.

 

She left the tray with the remaining food and juice on top of my legs.

 

She looked extremely excited. Being able to witness her cuteness definitely warms my heart.

 

“Junko, could you stay with her for a bit? I’ll take care of Ru for the time being.” Suika said with a pleading expression.

 

“Sure! I’ll take good care of her! She’s my number one apprentice after all! Please take care of my husband!” Junko said with an excited smile.

 

Suika nodded in agreement.

 

Junko kissed me one more time on the cheek before leaving the room.

 

“I guess I should apologize for using the spell without your consent.” Suika smiled bitterly.

 

“No need. The fact that I'm here means that I won, right? Then there's no need to apologize.” I said to Suika.

 

“Well, I wouldn’t call it a total ‘win’ since the guy escaped, but yes, you won.” Suika started playing with her hair. Her gigantic mouse ears suddenly twitched.

 

So the guy is still alive… I have the feeling that whether I like it or not, I will find him again.

 

“Say, Ru… Are you sure you don’t remember anything from the fight?” Suika asked.

 

I shook my head.

 

“Nothing at all...” I said to Suika while fruitlessly trying to remember anything after that.

 

“I guess that’s a bit unfortunate… Or maybe it is fortunate? It heavily depends on the perspective… Well, since you’re a goblin it might be safe to say that it is fortunate? After all, so many girls eventually will ask for that...” Suika started to speak to herself. She was still playing with her hair.

 

“Sorry, I’m a bit lost…” I smiled bitterly.

 

“Ah! Nevermind that! Here, let me finish giving you your lunch!” Suika grabbed the spoon and immediately shoved some scrambled eggs into my mouth.

 

Nozomi’s cooking is very tasty by the way.

 

“I have a lot to thank you for, you know?” Suika suddenly averted her gaze.

 

Me?

 

“There’s no need to…-” I was interrupted.

 

“Yes there is. First, thank you very much for saving my daughter. I will always feel grateful from the bottom of my heart. And second, thank you for becoming her friend. I really appreciate that.” Suika seemed genuinely thankful.

 

“You don’t really need to thank me for that… It was Elise and the others who found her, I simply helped them care for her with whatever they asked me to do.” I said to Suika with a serious expression.

 

“I already thanked everyone profusely. You were the only one left. Again, I want to thank you for becoming her friend.” She looked extremely serious.

 

“There’s no need to thank me so much, Suika.” I smiled bitterly.

 

“Sigh… Sometimes, I think that it would have been better if she had a normal mother… I held her back too much thanks to my job…” Suika looked at the window with a sad expression.

 

“What do you mean by that? She seems to love you very much.” I tilted my head with confusion.

 

“I’m a bit famous as a witch and an alchemist, although not as much as Silvia, but a lot of people compare me to her.” Suika looked towards the window.

 

Suika had a nostalgic expression on her face.

 

“Thanks to the nature of my job, I need to gather rare ingredients for my potions or spells, so I was always on the move. One day I felt very lonely and went into a bar, met a man and had sex with him. Nine months after that, Nozomi was born.” Suika closed her eyes.

 

Oh…

 

“It is funny because I don’t even remember his name or his appearance. Most of Nozomi’s traits are identical to mine. Hehehe…” She laughed bitterly.

 

They look like sisters...

 

“Anyway, after she was born, I didn’t really stop traveling and ended up dragging Nozomi with me… She never complained and she never asked about her dad… Even when we stayed in one place for quite a while, she never really interacted with other kids… She always chose to help me with my experiments… She never made real friends until she met you guys...” Suika made a very sad expression.

 

…

 

“After nineteen years of traveling around, I decided to settle in one place for her sake. I wanted her to experience a normal life and not a nomad’s life. But I even failed at that… Thanks to me working with the King of Ruthenes, I couldn’t really settle in a city because he wanted my work to be a secret. I asked him for a safe place for the two of us to stay until my job was finished… In the end, Nozomi was kidnapped and ended up experiencing something terrifying.” Suika opened her eyes. tears were already streaming down her cheeks.

 

…

 

“I’m a terrible mother… She deserves a better mother than me… A mother that didn’t steal her childhood for the sake of her job…” Suika looked extremely ashamed.

 

I could only look at her with pity.

 

I raised my arm (sluggishly) and started patting her head.

 

“Ehh?” She looked at me with confusion.

 

“Suika, didn’t you think that the reason why she didn’t complain was because she liked traveling with you?” I said to Suika.

 

I’m not a parent yet, obviously. But I think I can relate to Nozomi.

 

Back on Earth my mother and I would sometimes have to eat only rice for weeks, because we didn't have any money. Despite that, my mother was always smiling, which made me smile. I was happy to share a meal with her and talk with her.

 

I hope she’s doing alright.

 

“Didn’t you think that she chose to help you with your experiments because she found it fun? I don’t think you’re a terrible mother, Suika. If anything, It is the opposite. You raised an angel.” I smiled at her.

 

(Well said, my cute believer!) Electra spoke in my mind.

 

“Ah…” Suika looked at me with confusion, but she suddenly averted her gaze.

 

“You’re a good mother, Suika.” I smiled at her.

 

“...” Suika looked at me again.

 

She suddenly cleared up her tears…

 

“Thank you…” Suika seemed like she still wanted to cry.

 

She suddenly turned around and she lied down… She was using my stomach as a pillow…

 

“Jeez… I can see why you’re surrounded by women.” Suika smiled bitterly.

 

“It is because of my natural sex appeal!” I said jokingly.

 

“Someone’s confident eh?” Suika said with a teasing smile.

 

I nodded.

 

“Hahaha! That’s good! Look… If there’s any way for me to pay you back, just ask me. I’ll do anything.” Suika spoke with an awkward tone.

 

“Well, how about we go out and have some fun? My legs feel numb and I want to stretch for a bit.” I said to her.

 

For me that’s compensation enough. I didn’t really do anything special.

 

“Wouldn’t that be a date?” Suika raised an eyebrow.

 

“Perhaps.” I smiled to her.

 

“Hmm… Are you sure you want that as compensation?” Suika asked.

 

“It is that or feeding me what’s left of my lunch. Your choice.” I said jokingly.

 

“You do know that I cannot leave this room until Astera comes back, right?”

 

(I won’t tell her anything!) Electra shouted with excitement in my mind.

 

(Me neither! Go have some fun! I will cover for you if she ever finds out!) Arrat also seemed excited.

 

“The goddesses have given their permission.” I smiled bitterly.

 

“I guess we are having a date then.” Suika stood up and walked towards the door.

 

She suddenly turned around and smiled.

 

“Thank you, Ru.” She looked really happy.

 

“No problem.” I replied.

 

“It will take a bit of time before I’m ready, so be patient please.” Suika winked before leaving the room.

 

I somehow got a date after sleeping for three days… Life is good!