"I am very delighted to meet you, Rudy." Princess Ariel sipped on her cup of tea and smiled. "Nanny spoke a great deal about you. As did Lord Paul."

I smiled back and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Princess. Though unexpected..."

I glanced at my Dad standing off to the side.

We were back at our house. Well, the second house.

Needed to get a better naming scheme for that at some point...

Anyway, we were at the house that we built from scratch, seated around the dining room and waiting for dinner to be ready.

By 'we', that meant me, Dad, and two guests.

Dad was leaning on the wall off to my right, keeping an eye on things and looking visibly uncomfortable.

Didn't blame him- Actually, that was a lie. I did blame him.

It seemed like things sorted themselves out over in Milbotts, but some unexpected things happened in the aftermath. Unexpected things which involved unexpected people.

And our guests were among those unexpected people.

First was Princess Ariel. Apparently, Mama Lily was her maid up until shortly before she came to join our family. Because of that, and because she missed Mama Lily, the princess decided to take a trip all the way down to Buina Village.

Completely made no sense, especially considering the fact that she was a strong contender for the throne. Even if Dad, Philip, and Sauros pulled off some impressive feats to rescue that noble girl or whatever, it shouldn't be enough to entrust them with such a VIP.

But when I took into account the second guest, it made sense.

I shifted my gaze over to the aloof and intimidating man standing beside Princess Ariel and nodded. "I didn't expect to see you again too, Mister Orsted."

Dragon God Orsted. The one that Older Rudeus said was the key to reaching Being W. Someone who apparently had the power to either know the future or turn back time with how much he knew. The strongest person in the world, someone who was absolutely hostile to Being W... Or rather, Hitogami, and someone who tried to kill Older Rudeus.

Also me, but we managed to hash things out. And last time, he said he wanted to team up with me... but I didn't think he'd randomly show up to help Dad out.

Orsted cracked a smile and said, "Yes. But an opportunity presented itself and so I decided to take advantage of it."

"An opportunity, huh?"

Yeah. Considering that the weird mana Being W had stuck to Orsted was gone somehow and that Orsted's mana seemed to be flowing again, it looked like he decided to take a more active role in things instead of working in the background like Older Rudeus said he probably did.

Which reminded me of just how much BS that guy's memory was. Like, come on man. You figured out time travel, so you should have realized that it would cause all sorts of wacky things to happen. At least think through *some* possibilities to warn me.

...Though I guess he couldn't really account for the ripple effect/joker that was 'me' of all people.

Princess Ariel looked at Orsted and smiled. "Mister Orsted kindly offered to escort me to visit Nanny's home and to return me to the capital afterwards." She looked at me and said, "I hope you do not mind us intruding."

...Just what the heck went on over there?

Ariel was deferring to me when Dad was standing right there. And Orsted looked like he had tossed his chips in with her... So did that mean he was planning to take over the Asura Kingdom or something?

Argh, my head hurt.

We can think about that later.

For now...

I smiled at Ariel and said, "Of course not. But I'm not sure there's much for a princess to be entertained with all the way out here."

Ariel shook her head and said, "No worries. I simply wish to observe Nanny's family life and get to know you better."

I paused and quickly glanced at my dad.

He didn't set me up *again*, did he?

Dad noticed my look and quickly shook his head.

Ah. Seemed like he was using his head more if he picked up on that. But then what was Ariel talking about?

An awkward silence.

Dad was keeping his mouth shut because it seemed like he learned his lesson about running it.

Orsted was comfortable with silence, content to just stand there menacingly.

And Ariel was unashamedly staring at me, as if trying to pick my brains from just looking.

...Well. Whatever plans I had about future events were definitely thrown off at this point. Pretty sure that I was going to be high on the list of priorities for the bigwig nobles in the future now. Especially with Ariel calling Dad 'Lord' Paul.

At that time, Sylphy walked over from the kitchen, carrying a stack of cups and a crystal water pitcher. "Dinner's ready, Rudy!" She set the pitcher and the cups on the table while giving a pointed stare at Ariel. After that, she took a seat on my lap.

Ariel's polite smile widened at that, though her eyes seemed a bit thoughtful.

...Where was Eris when I needed her? At least she'd be able to break up this weird atmosphere instead of turning it cold like Sylphy was doing...

-LIV-

While Rudy was dealing with an unexpectedly tense development, Eris was handling her own problems.

Namely, giving a status report to her parents on her current relationship with her fiance.

Eris's bedroom, upstairs in the second house from where the others were having dinner.

Because an important discussion was occurring down there... and because her parents wanted a private one of their own, the Boreas family was currently seated around a small table having an intimate dinner.

It wasn't anything too special. Just some roasted boar with potatoes and bread, paired with fruit juice. Something that Eris had gotten used to eating from her time at Buina village.

And also something that she was studying very intently to avoid looking at her parents.

"I must say." Eris's mom, Hilda, cut a piece of the boar and raised it, eyeing the glaze on the meat. "For being out in the middle of nowhere and without many ingredients, Lilia and her friends do a fairly good job at cooking."

Philip speared a potato with his fork and took a bite. After that, he nodded and said, "Indeed. Though with how hopeless my cousin is at cooking, I would hope that his wives are adequate."

Hilda looked at Philip and said, "Did Lilia not mention that Zenith was a good cook as well? A pity. I was hoping to be able to try some of her cooking as well. Though I suppose the fact that she is moving around while with child is impressive enough."

Philip looked at Hilda and raised an eyebrow. "Were you not still dashing around the manor scolding the various servants when merely weeks away from Eris's birth?"

Hilda rolled her eyes. "That is because no one else would set them in order. Both Father-in-law and yourself spoil the staff too much."

"I would disagree with myself... but I do agree that Father takes it easy on them."

Eris quietly ate her food while sneaking glances at her parents.

It was weird. When she left, her father and her mother were practically at each other's throats. At the least, they weren't on speaking terms anymore.

But now they were playfully chatting with each other and even teasing.

Was it because of her? Was the only reason that they were upset because Eris was acting up? And since they managed to get rid of her, they could be happy together again?

Eris pursed her lips, trying to ignore her churning stomach.

"Hm?" Hilda looked over at Eris and said, "Is something the matter, Eris? You do not appear very well."

"...It's nothing." Eris mumbled and then cut a piece of the meat before eating it.

...At least she had good food.

And who cared if her parents didn't want her. She already knew that in the first place. Mom never cared about what she wanted and always tried to make her into a 'proper' lady. Dad was always busy with his work and only threw gifts at her instead of spending time.

Besides, she had a home here now. Rudy didn't care for Eris at first, but since he stopped worrying about whatever he was worrying, he was being nice now. Annoying, but nice.

Then she had Sylphy for a friend too. She was a bit scary, especially when it came to Rudy, but the younger elf girl took the time to play with Eris.

And then both Norn and Aisha looked up to Eris and treated her as their big sister. Miss Zenith was nice too, and Miss Roxy took the time to answer her questions. Not to mention Miss Rose and Miss Rostelina... And Sylphy's dad too.

Though that man always seemed to be busy patrolling the village...

In any case, it was fine. Even if her parents didn't want her, she had a place here in Buina village.

Philip frowned and then said, "Have they not been treating you well?"

Eris resisted the urge to scoff. Instead, she sipped her juice and shook her head. "They've been treating me really well."

Better than either you or Mom ever did.

Eris didn't say that though. Instead, she said, "I've been having a lot of fun, and Rudy's family all treat me like I'm part of the family."

"Well." Philip nodded and said, "Considering that you're betrothed to him, that's inevitable."

Hilda glared at Philip.

Philip raised an eyebrow. "It's true, is it not?"

Hilda shook her head and then looked at Eris. "Tell me something, Eris. Are you happy here? Truly?"

Eris paused to think about it.

Happy... She didn't know. But she did know that she always had fun and felt warm spending time with everyone in Buina village. Seeing the bright smiles of the villagers that she and Sylphy helped, playing with Norn and Aisha, listening to Miss Zenith talk about her adventuring days... Not to mention everyone else too.

It was different. She didn't have as many fancy things like in the Citadel of Roa. There weren't pretty dresses or shiny toys. And most days she collapsed in bed either frustrated from losing to Rudy in games or just exhausted.

But even so, she didn't feel empty. She didn't feel like people were judging her or only listening to her because she was Lord Sauros's granddaughter. So...

"...Yes."

If that was being happy, then Eris was happy.

She'd be happier still if Rudy would take her seriously and actually teach her things, but she could settle for spending time with him and memorizing the random treasures of information he let slip.

Hilda stared at Eris.

Eris stared back at her mother.

And then Hilda sighed. "...Well. If my daughter is truly happy and not merely being sent away..."

Philip cut a piece of meat from his boar and took a bite. After that, he looked at Hilda and said, "As I said, this is better for her. See how calm our Eris has become?"

Eris blinked and then frowned. "Hey! What are you talking about, Dad?"

Philip paused and then raised an eyebrow. "...Dad?"

Eris froze.

Hilda laughed and then let out a mischievous smile. "Well, well! It seems that you're right, Husband." She looked at Eris and said, "Our Eris has calmed down a great deal to be calling you so casually again."

"Ugh." Eris felt her face heat up and started stuffing her face with food. "...Forget about it."

Stupid parents. Stupid Rudy running away and leaving her to deal with this mess. Stupid Paul for bringing her parents back to visit.

Why couldn't they just keep having fun and practicing magic and stuff in peace? Stupid adults coming in and ruining everything...

-LIV-

I narrowed my eyes and kicked off the ground, slashing my sword at sonic speed.

A *boom* echoed as my sword ripped the air apart and shot towards my opponent's neck. But before it hit-

"Getting faster, Rudy, but still not good enough!" Dad laughed and moved just out of range. The following explosion ruffled his hair, but he wasn't fazed. Instead, he charged forward to tackle me with his shoulder.

I growled and spun around on my right heel, whipping my leg at him.

It connected, sending my dad veering off to the side. But it wasn't a solid blow. Instead of him being shoved away, he took the force of the blow and used it to spin around faster, stealing the momentum for his own attack.

I felt my eye twitch when I saw that.

This guy... Since when did he start fighting like a video game character?! All I did was pass him some pointers...

I swear to god, there must be something in the air turning people around me into monsters. Was it my mana? Was I really emitting mana radiation or something that was causing everybody to rank up?

...Or was this a counterbalance because something big was coming around the corner.

God I hoped it was the first option, because the second-

"You're distracted!"

"Gah! Dammit, Dad!"

I raised my sword to parry and was sent flying back from the force of the blow.

A flash of light. My dad stepping in for a follow-up.

I kicked off the ground and forced a gap, taking the time to survey my surroundings.

It was late at night, under the light of the full moon.

After that mess from earlier was finished, I dragged Dad outside and demanded a 'training session' to let off steam.

Really, I just wanted to smack him around a bit and test out some recent hypothesis on Battle Aura.

But I didn't expect him to have leveled up so much from that trip.

What was this, seriously? A video game? Dad leaves for a trip and suddenly he has all these new tricks up his sleeves and his stats suddenly seem ten times higher than normal with how fast he's moving...

What next? Will it be the end of disc 1 or something where we all get separated so that I'll have to hard carry some weak party members on my own while Dad has his own arc?

"Hm." Dad looked at me for a bit and then smiled. "I was worried there for a bit, but it looks like you loosened up a bit since I left. Did spending time with three cute girls finally work their magic on you?"

"Very funny Dad. And for your information, I just decided that it was better to not worry about what I couldn't control."

Especially since a crazy guy like Older Rudeus who bruteforced reverse-engineered time travel magic while figuring out the axiom that magic was omnipotent still wasn't able to change his past.

Trying to play chessmaster in a chaotic situation like this definitely didn't seem to be the play. Nope, I was just going to roll with the punches from here on out.

Especially since random things like Orsted showing up with Princess Ariel kept happening. Princess Ariel, the supposed lynchpin in everything that was going to take place in the future according to Older Rudeus... and also the one who was supposed to be protected by Sylphy.

...Maybe this was a hard course correct by the world or something? With how things were going, Sylphy wouldn't have any reason to want to head to Asura Kingdom or help out any nobles.

Ah, getting sidetracked again.

I focused my attention back on Dad and said, "What happened over there anyway? I thought you just went to go rescue a noble's daughter or something to teach me a lesson."

Dad coughed and said, "W-Well. The best laid plans never survive contact with the enemy?"

"...Uh-huh." I gave him a blank look and said, "Third time's the charm then?"

Dad let out a nervous laugh and said, "Yeah, yeah. Your old man's learned his lesson about meddling in things. ...And talking. Mostly talking." He frowned and said, "The world seems to have a grudge against me or something."

"That's karma for your misspent youth."

Dad gave a serious nod. "Probably."

I sighed and made a pair of chairs. "Here. Let's just chat."

Dad looked at me and smirked. "What? Give up on fighting your old man already?"

"Hell yeah." I glared at him and said, "What kind of crazy monster are you anyway- No, correction. What kind of crazy things did you fight over there to get so much stronger so quickly?"

Dad pulled one of the chairs and sat down. After that, he waved his hand and said, "Oh, a few thugs, this crazy guy who was way too interested in his own sword, a crazy lady who kept saying stuff about 'flow', and then a bunch of cheating assassins." He paused and said, "Mostly cheating assassins."

"...What are you, some Shounen protagonist?"

"Hm?"

I sighed. "Nothing Dad. Water?"

"As long as you don't spray it in my face."

I conjured a pair of cups and filled them with water. After that, I handed one to my dad.

He took it and nodded. "Thanks, Rudy."

"Nn."

Dad laughed and took a sip.

After that, we sat in silence for a while.

And then Dad spoke up. "Hey, Rudy."

"Yeah?"

Dad took a sip from his glass of water and then said, "Trying to be a hero sucks."

"I'm well aware." I sipped my own water and said, "People always want something from you."

Dad laughed and said, "Isn't that right? Going on that trip and dealing with all the nobles made me remember why I wanted to retire to a peaceful place like this with Zenny." He took a long drink from his water and then said, "I just wanted my kids to grow up having fun without worrying about anything in the world."

"And then you had me."

"And then we had you." Dad nodded and looked at me, a weird expression on his face. A mix of concern and pride. "My genius son who knows too much for his own good, who's about twice as mature as me-"

"Only twice?"

Dad laughed. "Maybe three times. Though you suck at talking with the ladies, so I'm knocking it down by one."

"...Fair."

"Anyway." He looked up at the moon and said, "...I really do wonder if the world's out against us. There's that Being W guy, sure. But even before then..." He sipped on his glass and said, "Maybe I should have apologized to the old man."

"Hm?" I frowned and said, "Who? Sauros?"

"Pft. That guy? No. I'm talking about my dad. Your gramps."

I frowned.

My 'gramps'... So Dad's dad.

Right. Dad did mention that he ran away from home. And since the situation was the way it was in the Notos family...

Hm. Yeah, Grandpa would have had a lot of stress. Probably regret too. And from Dad's expression, it seemed like they never reconciled.

And considering that the only thing a good father wanted for their child was to make sure they were safe and happy...

I sighed. "Yeah, this is totally your fault, Dad. You've got too much bad karma going on in your life."

"Yeah, well... She's a bitch."

"Aaand that's how you're going to have reality smacked in your face."

Dad laughed. "Maybe. But that's what you're for, right? The only thing going for your old man is his sword, but you're smart. I'm sure you'll figure things out."

"What, so you're bailing out on being the parent now that you think I'm competent enough? You do realize I'm still just eight, right?"

"Don't get me wrong." Dad looked at me and said, "I'm still going to do everything I can to clean up any messes my genius son makes. And I'm going to help the best I can if you need me. But... Well." He looked up at the sky and said, "Let's just say Dad figured something important out when he came back."

"...Mom yelled at you, didn't she?"

"You got me."

I sighed. "Well. Minus the princess and Orsted hanging around and both of Eris's parents visiting, things will be back to normal now, right? Being W didn't do any crazy things to you guys over there?"

"Other than the monster invasion, nope."

"...Monster invasion?"

"Oh yeah." Dad nodded and said, "These weird spatial rifts popped up in the distance when we were chasing after the Tristina girl and the knights went a bit crazy pinning the blame on various parties. Orsted and Pierre managed to sort things out though." He paused and said, "The prime minister and a banished prince of some small kingdom made a fuss trying to blame it on us, but it worked out in the end."

"...Dad?"

"Yeah, Rudy?"

"...Never mind."

I sighed and looked up at the sky.

As I did, I saw a shooting star pass by.

Nice. In that case...

'Please let time just pass by normally for a while. I could really use a break...'

Clasping my hands together and closing my eyes, I made a small wish.