As if the hectic events were a lie, time marched on with nothing but peaceful days.

In the morning, Roxy woke up and prepared lesson plans for the day while Paul and Rudy headed out of the house.

...Roxy wondered just what Paul planned to do after the mess he left in Roa as well as the situation with the Notos family. But he kept sending letters to his cousin Philip and it seemed that things were fine there.

Apparently, Philip mentioned that he would 'handle the situation' in order to compensate for the mess his daughter and father had caused. And that Paul could just go back to his usual job.

Roxy personally thought that was suspicious. And the others did as well... but better that they were safe out in the countryside where they could prepare the battlefield and avoid casualties versus the packed inner cities.

But anyway, Paul and Rudy left the house early in the morning. Paul left to go on patrol with Laws while Rudy left to pick up Sylphy and head back.

That was another thing too. Ever since the conversation about how Rudy felt regarding Sylphy... No, ever since the two came back, there was a bit of an awkwardness around them that hadn't been there before.

Both of them were always happy to be around each other. In fact, Roxy would go so far as to call them glowing... especially with how it seemed to affect the two enough to have their mana flash and resonate with each other.

Which was another strange phenomenon.

Those seemed to happen a lot around Rudy these days...

In any case, while awkward, the two were still close. And after a short while spending time together, that awkwardness vanished as they engrossed themselves in fun and games.

With Roxy supervising and joining in, of course. Even though she wasn't officially hired as a magical tutor anymore, since the Greyrats were gracious enough to let her stay and also feed her, it was the least she could do.

So that was how her morning went. Rudy devised a new 'game' to play that was really a new form of mana manipulation or training. Roxy furiously took mental notes while mixing in some proper magic exercises so that they could get some traditional training as well.

...Even if the traditional method might be wrong.

Then in the afternoon, Paul and Laws returned with Miss Rose.

After that, Rudy left with Paul and Laws to practice swordsmanship and overall combat skills outside while Sylphy went to watch.

In the meanwhile, Roxy went to teach magic to Zenith and Rose indoors while Lilia tended to Norn and Aisha by reading them storybooks.

By the time evening rolled around, Sylphy and her family waved goodbye and headed home, Rudy came back to watch over his baby sisters while Zenith prepared dinner, and Lilia went to train her swordsmanship with Paul.

Roxy got a bit of a breather to collect herself while helping Rudy take care of his sisters.

And then it was dinner time, where they all shared a happy and warm meal before turning in for the night.

Well, everyone except for Rudy and Roxy. Like in the past, the two of them talked about magical theory, what 'mana' truly was and its limitations, as well as potential hypotheses to test in the future.

Altogether... It was just like the happy days back when Roxy was first hired. The relaxed and carefree days where she taught her brilliant student. Where she felt like part of the Greyrat family.

...Minus the intimate affairs and moans that used to take place. Those had been replaced by Norn and Aisha's cries as well as a fatigued Paul moving around the house to calm the girls down.

But all-in-all, peaceful days continued and time passed by.

And like that, winter turned to spring.

-LIV-

The faint sounds of birds chirping outside.

Roxy blinked and blearily rubbed her eyes. "Morning already...?"

Sunlight poured in even through the blinds Roxy put up.

Which meant that it was probably already a fair bit into the morning.

Roxy sighed and then started getting ready for the day.

A splash of water on her face to wash off the sleep, a blast of healing magic to get rid of the lingering fatigue, changing into a fresh pair of clothes... and then she was good to go.

After stifling a yawn and doing some light stretches, Roxy glanced at the notes she left on her desk.

Cross-sections of magic circles laced together in a three-dimensional structure. Scribbled notes on the margin with various calculations...

"Oh. That's why I woke up late."

Roxy walked over to tidy up her notes and flipped through them. "Summoning magic... Right. I was working through various hypotheses."

It was something she had been considering ever since Rudy had left with Paul and Sylphy to visit Roa.

That time, things were fine. The mysterious Being W didn't attempt to start any insidious plots or interfere with them. And neither were there any enemies that arrived to try and harm them.

But Roxy couldn't stop thinking about 'what if?'

Paul was fast. Enough to clear the distance between Roa and Buina village in the span of an hour at full speed. And both Rudy and Sylphy were fast as well. Especially since they had started seriously working on flight spells together with Roxy to refine it.

But even then, that took time.

Time that they might not have if a terrifying enemy like Orsted reappeared.

Not only that, but there were too many people to protect. Zenith, Lilia, Norn, Aisha...

Both Paul and Rudy trusted her to protect them. And both Zenith and Lilia had faith in her ability as well to keep them safe.

But Roxy didn't.

She realized it last time. While she was certain that she could hold her own and at least survive against anyone below the Emperor-Rank, that was all.

"Pft." Roxy realized the ridiculousness of that thought and shook her head, tucking her notes in a drawer. "To think the day would come when I would consider being able to survive against King-Ranked opponents as insufficient..."

If it was her past self, she would have been thrilled to think that she had become that powerful. Ecstatic that her magic had grown enough to where the only ones she had to fear were the elite few that barely numbered a hundred in the entire world.

It was a wish come true.

Roxy was certain that if she walked out and offered her services, she could get accepted as a Royal Magician in any kingdom. Barring that, she could go adventuring and become an S-Ranked adventurer in no time due to the versatility of her refined <Magic Arrays>.

Her past self would be over the moon. It was the recognition that she always wanted. The accolades she could take back to show her Shisho how she knew better after all.

But she had a different wish now. Different goals.

Roxy wanted to protect them. The family she had gained, the friends she made. The reckless genius disciple of hers who always pushed himself too hard and needed to be reined in at times.

But she was aware of her limits. Unlike Rudy and Sylphy who seemed to be able to store boundless amounts of mana within their bodies as well as use ambient mana, Roxy could only store a small amount.

More than the average magician, for sure. And she made up for it with her carefully constructed <Magic Arrays> system that took full advantage of ambient mana and external mana sources.

Still, it wasn't enough. The amount of effort she would need to be able to use elements as freely as Sylphy or to manipulate raw mana like Rudy was astronomical.

Roxy could see how it would be done. But she didn't have enough time to achieve that level before chaos unfolded.

After all, while Being W had been silent, there was no assurance that he wasn't plotting and making moves behind the scenes.

Roxy was worried. If that Being W had been plotting since the time she first met Rudy... which seemed to be the case as the monsters near Buina village started acting up around the same time. And if that Being W had as many resources as Roxy feared judging from how he had been present in Shirone Kingdom...

The odds were high that something would happen soon. Something big.

Rudy had continually foiled that entity's plans. And it seemed like that entity was determined to either break up Rudy's family or get rid of them all entirely.

Which meant they were short on time. There wasn't enough for Roxy to waste trying to reach the same level as Rudy and Sylphy. Perhaps if she had started what she was doing now when she was a child... But whatever the case, she didn't have time to waste.

So Roxy thought about it. How could she compensate for the lack of mana? The lack of innate affinity? No, what was the best way to utilize her abilities?

She was smart. Roxy was confident in her intelligence. While not to the level of Rudy who made leaps in logic that were completely unfathomable, she was certain that she didn't lose out.

She was also diligent and meticulous. When it came to magical studies and research, Roxy had graduated top of her class.

So when taking those two major strengths into consideration... what could she do? What could she work on that would provide the most value and aid?

And so far, the answer seemed to be summoning magic.

A complicated magical system that was heavily reliant on magic circles instead of chants. One where a single error could mean disaster. But also one where success could result in something miraculous.

Like summoning a powerful spirit to protect them from Being W's influence.

Or like being able to send everyone away to a safe location through a reverse summoning by using a magical circle as an anchor point.

It was possible. Roxy was sure it was possible. And since she managed to take a summoning magic primer with her from her time in Shirone Kingdom, she was making progress.

But she just didn't have enough *time*!

A soft knock at Roxy's door, along with a soft giggle. After that, a cute baby girl's voice called out. "Rossy! No seep! Up, up!"

Another baby girl's voice echoed afterwards. "U-Up?"

Roxy blinked and then smiled. Walking over to the door, she carefully opened it.

Two cute baby girls were standing there.

One had soft blonde hair tied up in twin tails. Her clear green eyes shyly looked away when Roxy stared at her.

The other had wavy red hair tied up in a short ponytail. Her crimson eyes shone with mischief and she confidently met Roxy's gaze, unlike the other girl.

Norn and Aisha.

Roxy bent down to eye level with the girls and said, "Did you two naughty girls sneak out again?"

Norn's face turned red and she shook her head, hiding behind Aisha. "N-No..."

Aisha giggled and said, "Yeah! No seeping! Up!"

Roxy put on a stern face and said, "That's no good. It's dangerous to go around by yourself."

Norn tilted her head, confused.

But Aisha shook her head and hugged Norn. "Got big sis!"

Roxy poked Aisha's head and said, "You might be younger, but you shouldn't drag your big sister into these sorts of things, Aisha."

"Kay~"

Roxy sighed and then reached out to carry Norn.

The blonde baby girl shyly clung onto Roxy's shirt.

Aisha pouted and said, "Me! Me!"

Roxy shook her head. "Bad girls don't get rewards. Now come on." She took Aisha's hand and started walking off. "We should find your mothers... Where are they right now anyway?"

"Norn? Sweetie?! Where are you?" Zenith's concerned voice echoed from outside.

"Aisha!" Lilia's sharp voice called out. "Where have you gone, you little gremlin?"

Norn's eyes widened and she trembled, holding onto Roxy tighter.

Aisha just giggled.

Roxy sighed.

...Well. At least Rudy's sisters were just smart children and not monstrous geniuses who overturned the known rules of magic.

Hopefully.