It was an embarrassing arrival back at home. Not because I was embarrassed by Sylphy carrying me-

Okay, that was a lie. I was a little embarrassed at that. But she seemed really happy doing it and it was also nice being carried around. So I didn't mind that.

No, what I was embarrassed at was my family's reaction.

Apparently, since I left in a hurry that morning, Dad and Mom decided to wait a bit until I got back before heading out to work.

Which meant that when we arrived, everyone was waiting outside to greet us.

Which meant that everyone saw Sylphy carrying me like a princess while landing on the ground like a certain comic book character from Krypt*n.

...Which meant that Dad teased the crap out of me, that Mom almost smothered me with a hug squealing how cute I was, and that Mama Lily teased me about secretly wanting to rely on someone else.

Then there was the confusion that Norn and Aisha had about whether I was a hero or a princess... And Master Roxy trying her best to hold back her laughter...

But anyway, we arrived back at my home. After that, Mom and Dad went to work and Master Roxy went on her usual patrol.

That left me and Sylphy with Mama Lily and my two cute younger sisters.

Since it was a beautiful day, we decided to go outside and enjoy the weather instead of cooping ourselves up inside.

And like that, we made our way into the courtyard outside, with me taking the lead.

...Mostly to try and regain some dignity and composure. But before I could take two steps out the door, I felt a light tug on my shirt.

"Rui?" Norn looked at me with her wide green eyes and then held out her arms. "Up?"

I smiled and then lifted Norn into my arms. "You really like being carried around, huh Norn?"

Norn just gave me a happy smile and then nuzzled against me.

I shook my head and walked out of the house.

Sylphy's giggles echoed from behind and she moved to my right side. As she did, she laced her hands around her back and smiled at me. "I think Norn just likes her big brother." She looked at Norn and said, "Don't you, Norn?"

Norn let out a bright smile and then nodded her head. "Un! Luv Rui!"

Gah. Baby sisters were dangerous weapons. Especially ones as cute as Norn and Aisha.

Sylphy noticed my reaction and laughed. Poking my cheek, she said, "Someone's happy~!"

I felt my face heat up. Which meant that I was definitely blushing. But I kept cool and kept walking, ignoring Sylphy.

But then Mama Lily laughed as well and walked over to my left side, leading Aisha along with her left hand. Looking at me, she said, "It is fine for you to be more honest with your feelings, Rudy."

Aisha nodded from Mama Lily's side and then leaned over to look at me. "Yeah! Big bro happy ok!"

I coughed and said, "I-It's a bit embarrassing, okay?"

"And it is fine to be embarrassed, Rudy." Mama Lily smiled and said, "You do not need to be perfect or strong all the time."

I sighed and said, "I know, I know. But it's hard to not want to show off for my cute sisters, you know?" I smiled and then poked Norn's cheeks.

She giggled and then nuzzled against me.

Sylphy pouted and then leaned against me too.

Seeing that, Mama Lily sighed and muttered, "The future is going to be difficult."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, Rudy." Mama Lily smiled and then walked over to a grassy part of the courtyard before sitting down.

I walked over as well and then set Norn down. The moment I did, Aisha ran over and grabbed Norn's hand.

"Big sis! Play!"

"P-Play?"

"Yeah! Play! Cash me!" Giggling, Aisha started running away.

"A-Ai! Too fas!" Norn tried to run after Aisha, but she stumbled and landed on the ground. Her eyes started to tear up and she started to sniff.

I frowned and moved over to pick her up. But before I could, Aisha ran back and helped Norn up. "Big sis hurt?"

Norn sniffed and rubbed her tears, nodding.

Aisha patted Norn's head and nodded. "Kay. Play pah cake!"

"Pah cake?" Norn blinked away her tears and tilted her head.

Aisha nodded and then started clapping. "Pah! Pah! Cake!" She smiled and then held her hands out to Norn. "Big sis, pah!"

Norn looked confused and then hesitantly held out her hands. "Pah?"

"Pah!" Aisha giggled and then clapped her hands to Norn's.

Norn was still confused. But seeing Aisha giggling, Norn started to giggle too and then copied Aisha.

Aisha looked over at Sylphy and waved. "Sifi! Play!"

Sylphy smiled and walked over. "What do you want me to do, Aisha?"

I watched Sylphy playing with my younger sisters and smiled. Seeing that they were having fun together, I made my way over to Mama Lily and sat beside her.

The moment I did, Mama Lily looked over and gave me a strange expression. A wistful smile that seemed almost like she didn't believe what she was seeing.

I frowned and then shifted closer to her. "Is something wrong, Mama Lily?"

"No." She shook her head and then glanced over at Sylphy and my sisters. "I'm just grateful."

"Grateful?" I frowned. "For what?"

"Well." Mama Lily pulled me into a one-armed hug and said, "There are many reasons. But above all..." She smiled at me and said, "I'm happy that my Rudy is growing up along side Aisha and Norn."

I blinked and said, "Well of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Mama Lily paused and then shook her head, seeming confused. "There's no real reason. I just... felt a bit anxious. With you being unconscious for so long... Well." She smiled and said, "It's in the past now."

I leaned against Mama Lily and said, "Don't worry. I'm not like Dad, you know? I won't cause any trouble any time soon."

She laughed and then poked my cheeks. "Of course. It's that adorable face of yours that's going to cause trouble in the future."

"H-Huh?" I frowned and rubbed my face. "...I guess I do have a spooky appearance now."

Since my hair had turned silver and my eyes were a bright green, I could be mistaken as a ghost. Or maybe even a member of the demon race... somehow.

Prejudices were a thing, and since this place was fantasy-based, probably worse.

Mama Lily blinked and then let out an exasperated sigh. "Perhaps I should have treated you more sternly after all. Coddling you seems to have dimmed your wits quite a bit over the years..."

I frowned. "What do you mean, coddled? Weren't you the one who made me do chores, Mama Lily?"

"And I should have made you do more to appreciate your genius."

I rolled my eyes.

Mama Lily laughed and then looked over at Sylphy and the girls with a fond gaze. "Still. I'm glad. My Rudy seems to have found some happiness and contentment these days."

I coughed and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Mama Lily simply smiled and patted my head.

Since that was the case, I turned my attention back to Sylphy and my sisters.

At some point, Sylphy had gone to performing fun magic for the girls instead of playing patty cake. Floating water bubbles, spinning leaves and drifting blades of grass...

Aisha and Norn both watched with rapt attention, carefully staring at it.

...Which made me wonder if they could see mana. The fact that their eyes seemed to be tracking the mana bubbles seemed to imply it, but-

"Rui!" Norn waved at me and said, "Play!"

I smiled and walked over. "Alright. But remember, big brother can't do magic right now, so..."

-LIV-

The day went by. The sun flew past its highest point and began to sink into the horizon. Morning turned to noon, and now noon was turning into evening.

Which meant that Paul's patrol was over. He stretched and then let out a grin as he looked at his patrol buddies.

There were two people with him. The first was Laws, his best friend and fellow father. The second was Roxy, their practically adopted magical prodigy of a daughter... who was actually older than him.

Still a weird thing to wrap his head around, but Paul didn't mind it too much. Weirder things had happened in life.

Like literally everything since Rudy was born.

But anyway, the trio walked out of the forest, finishing their patrol. As they did, Paul turned to the others and grinned. "Finally! We can all head back home and have some rest and relaxation now!"

Laws shook his head and said, "Speak for yourself. These days, my home has been far from relaxing..."

"Oh yeah." Paul nodded and said, "Your long lost mother came to visit, right? How is she?"

"You would know better than I, Paul."

"Huh?"

Laws groaned and covered his face. "Please don't inquire further. I have been doing my utmost best to not dwell much about the potential ramifications of all of these relationships and how convoluted things are going to become due to how you and my mother know each other."

Paul blinked. "...I know your mother?" He frowned, thinking.

There had been a lot of women in his life before Zenith and Lilia... but he didn't really remember any that could be Laws's mother.

Well, there was Elinalise. But a woman like that having an upright guy like Laws? Yeah right.

Roxy sighed and said, "Please refrain from reminiscing on past exploits with other women, Paul. Especially when Zenith is pregnant with your next child. Considering how adept she is with magic now, she may just decide to end any potential of future heirs with her new capabilities."

Paul paled and said, "Y-Yeah. Good point."

Things were on the up and up, so there was no point thinking about it too hard and ruining everything.

Like what Rudy mentioned to him one time. If something wasn't broken, don't try to fix it.

After all, all of Paul's mistakes had been trying to fix something that was going fine.

...Well, his recent mistakes.

Laws blinked and said, "Zenith is pregnant again?"

Paul winked. "There's been a lot of stress built up recently, if you know what I-"

Roxy interrupted and said, "Do I need to remind you of what happened the last time that you talked about your bedtime exploits with your wife, Paul?"

Paul instantly shut up and started to sweat. "N-No need, Roxy. I won't-" He paused and said, "Wait. How do you know about that?"

Roxy patted the silver blob floating over her right shoulder and said, "Us girls talked about quite a bit while you were gallivanting in Roa planning a crusade against the branch of an ancient noble family."

Paul coughed. "R-Right."

Yeah. Zenith and Lilia probably did a lot of venting around that time...

Laws shook his head and smiled. "Well. In any case, congratulations, Paul."

Paul smiled back and said, "Thanks, best buddy."

Laws nodded. "Of course. Though I hope that you have considered the financial burdens that come along with another child and set aside the appropriate funds."

"U-Um..."

Laws blinked. And then he let out a deep sigh. "You did not think that through, did you?"

Paul rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I-I've got a decent amount saved up for us! I think... R-Right, Roxy?"

Roxy sighed and said, "Considering that you've cut back on your drinking, there should be enough. But you should be more careful. Despite it all, you are still just a low-ranking knight."

"Well, all the more reason to go take over the Notos family then, right?"

He *was* the rightful heir, so-

A sharp thud on his head.

"Ow!" Paul rubbed his head and glared at the person who hit him. "What was that for?!"

"I am simply reciting some psalms to push out those ingrained noble beliefs, my dear friend." Laws cracked his knuckles and said, "Reason seems to enter your mind only through violence, so I figured that a few more lines from my hands would help you see things straight."

Paul rolled his eyes. "Fine. I won't go run off on a bloody rampage... Not like I was going to in the first place." Paul turned serious and rubbed his stubbled chin. "I can't let Rudy think that's an okay option. That kid's too eager to jump to bloodshed. I mean, I knew that he had a hell of a natural tendency towards killing intent, but..."

It was dangerous. Rudy was a genius, no matter how you looked at it. But at the same time, he was a child. The two led to a weird mix where he understood things at a level that was unthinkable... but also took other things for granted.

Like the fact that he was a genius.

His own intelligence blinded him to the fact that there were things that just weren't true for other people. But not only that, there were things that he took as facts and didn't question at all.

Like how he thought that it was perfectly fine crushing people under your feet if they stood against you.

Paul would be a hypocrite if he didn't agree with that line of thinking. After all, he would be the first to jump and attack scum.

But Paul was also just above average. He could fight with a sword and maybe take out a small troop at this point. But he wasn't on the level of Rudy who could and would ruin an entire kingdom if he wasn't kept in check.

After all, his son was someone who could impress the second World Power. Someone who might even be on the list at this point.

And Rudy was still just eight.

What about the future? What about when he turned twelve, like Paul? If Rudy inherited Paul's temper and stubbornness which he definitely did, considering how he had acted in the past. Since that was the case, it was possible Rudy might decide to do something impulsive like Paul did when he was around that age.

Rudy cared for them all too much to do anything that would hurt the family. But that was a double-edged sword. For his family, Rudy would do anything.

Paul rubbed his chin and muttered, "Maybe I should send Rudy to school or take him adventuring..."

Laws blinked. "Rudy? School?"

Roxy laughed. "Sending Rudy to school... Do you want to cause a bloodbath, Paul? It might be fine if it was a place like my alma mater, but a noble academy..."

Paul winced. "Yeah. That... wouldn't end well, would it?"

As smart as Rudy was, he would find a way to justify killing people who annoyed him or rubbed him the wrong way.

Hell, hadn't he beaten Uncle Sauros up to a pulp and kicked him out a window back in Roa?

If Rudy was willing to go that far to the Region Lord of Fedoa, he wouldn't bow his head to anyone.

He didn't even bow down to Orsted of all people, so...

Not to mention that there was that mysterious Being W involved in everything as well. And if he was as manipulative as he seemed to be, it would be easy for everything to be used to turn Rudy into a demon lord.

Especially since he seemed to actually have some Demon God mana of sorts, according to Roxy.

Roxy hummed. "Adventuring though... Rudy certainly is powerful and mature enough. But I'm not sure that's a good idea." She frowned and said, "We still don't know if Rudy's trigger is linked to violence, anger, or bloodlust. If his mana flow changes again like before..."

"Well, Rudy likes you, so you could probably just stop him with a kiss, right Roxy?"

Roxy's eyes widened and she turned red. She smacked Paul's arm with her staff and said, "W-What in the world are you suggesting, you dimwit?"

"What?" Paul rubbed his arm and said, "It's true, isn't it? Even if he turned to some demon lord or something, I'm sure a kiss from his beloved master would either stun him enough to knock him out or just pull him out of it entirely."

Laws sighed. "Your mind continues to go to the strangest places, Paul."

"And I still think you guys are all too uptight about these sorts of things."

The trio arrived at Laws's house.

The plan was to go in and say hi to Rose and Laws's mother before heading back to the Greyrat household. An ordinary turn of events.

But something was off when they arrived.

"Hm?" Laws frowned and stared at the carriage near by his home. "I was not expecting to receive visitors today..."

Paul frowned and rested his hand over his sword. He glanced over at Roxy and said, "Any sign of our meddlesome white guy from on high?"

Roxy blinked. "That... is a strange way of addressing that person. But no." She looked towards the house and said, "There do not appear to be any signs of that person around."

"And I don't sense any battle aura or mana being used, so... I guess we've just got some guests. Though." Paul stared at the carriage and frowned. "That's a pretty fancy carriage..."

There weren't any markings on it. However, there were a few luxurious chests in the back of the carriage that Paul could see.

Laws frowned and then nodded. "I will leave my back to you two then." With that, he quickly walked over to the front door.

"O-Oi!" Paul went after him and said, "Hold on there, Laws! You can't just-"

Laws threw the door open and walked in.

Paul dashed after him. And then when he saw the people inside, he froze.

"Yo!" A familiar man with a monkey-like face and wind-swept dark hair. Gisu Nukadia, the thief in Paul's former adventurer party.

"Mm? So you were out on patrol, Paul." A beauty of a warrior with a perfectly honed body, with skin the color of chocolate and a mane of wild silver hair. Ghyslaine Dedoldia, the vanguard swordswoman in Paul's adventurer party.

"My, my. Long time no see, Paul. It's good to see that the cute boy finally learned to be a man." An elven beauty with curled light blonde hair and crimson eyes. A thin but provocative body that hid immense strength... isn't what Paul saw. Instead of her usual lewd attire, the woman was wearing a modest grey robe that covered her entire body. Even so, Paul recognized her.

Elinalise Dragonroad, the frontline tank in their party.

Half of the <Fangs of the Black Wolf> were sitting around Laws's house, relaxing. And with Paul there and Zenith at home, that meant that only one person out of their whole party was missing.

But while that was curious, it wasn't what caught Paul's attention. Instead, it was the frowning young girl with crimson hair and a sword sheathed at her side sitting next to Ghyslaine.

Eris saw Paul staring and said, "What? Aren't you my father-in-law or something? Why are you so surprised to see me?"

Gisu laughed and said, "So Red says, Paul. But you know, I'm starting to think that you Greyrat males have a jinx with beautiful women. Things never seem to go well, eh?"

Elinalise sighed. "You and your jinxes, Gisu... Superstitions are good, but they can trap you into doing things you don't like, you know?"

Gisu looked at her and said, "Maybe. But considering how even you changed so much after I taught Zenith how to cook, I think that they have *some* weight."

Elinalise smiled and placed her hand over her chest. "Changed? Me?"

Ghyslaine nodded and said, "Gisu is right, Elinalise- Ah, it's Rostelina now, isn't it?"

At that time, Rose walked out of the kitchen, brushing flour off her hands. "Please stop playing coy, Mother-in-law. And welcome back Dear. And you two as well, Paul and Roxy." She smiled and said, "The house is a bit lively right now, so pardon the mess."

Paul waved his hand. "I-It's fine. Just..." He looked at the group of people scattered around Laws's home and sighed. "...It's going to be one of those days, huh?"