Stella stared at the man seated across from her and frowned.

It was Onii-chan. That man was clearly Onii-chan.

Well, his hair was this weird purple color, but Onii-chan had been running around changing his hair color recently anyway. And the man was wearing a mask, but Onii-chan was trying to be incognito, so it wasn't too odd.

Not only that, but Stella just felt like the man sitting there was Onii-chan. There was something about his vibe and general mannerisms that made her think it was impossible for him to be anyone else but Onii-chan.

And yet... he also wasn't.

It was weird.

Everything was telling Stella that the guy was Onii-chan, but at the same time she 'knew' that the guy wasn't.

Maybe since she was super used to Onii-chan's presence?

The man was almost the same, but he was also different. Like...

It was like she was looking at one of those spot the difference pictures. It was the same picture, but just a few enough things were different that you could tell it wasn't *really* the same picture.

And although Stella couldn't see the man's face since he was hiding it, she felt like he was giving her the same sort of stare she was giving him.

They were outside, sitting at a table together in the courtyard. Lively conversation drifted over from inside the house... Mostly scolding from the elf woman who was apparently Sylphy nee-chan's grandmother.

Stella's sister-in-laws were still trying to make dinner for everyone while Aunt Therese and the weird shrine maiden were talking with Norn nee-chan in the living room.

Stella wasn't sure where Paul went. But either way, she was out there with the weird guy who definitely wasn't Onii-chan even though he really felt like Onii-chan from the way he acted and talked... and even the way he placed his hand on his chin while looking at Stella.

Silence.

Stella quietly kicked her legs on her chair while staring at the weird man, waiting for him to continue where he left off.

*I think he's a bad guy, personally.* Fai's voice echoed in Stella's head.

*He's really suspicious... Something about him doesn't seem right. It's almost like the world- No, mana itself is running away from him.* Wata's voice.

...Well. Even then, he can't do anything, right?

Though Stella quietly deducted a few more points from her birth father considering he let a toddler alone with a clearly suspicious stranger without any explanation.

*Yep! Ignore that creepy guy. Rudy's a better Dad anyway!*

*To be fair, time and space was ripped apart so Mister Paul never had a chance to try being Stella's father. ...But I agree. Lord Rudras is still a much better father than that Mister Paul.*

Stella nodded.

Onii-chan was a ridiculous cheat harem isekai protagonist, but he wasn't a pervert. And he actually cared about people, despite lacking common sense.

Paul was just a generic perverted harem protagonist who somehow got laid and started a family.

With an angel.

...Why did it feel like she was the child character in a JRPG where the player forcefully paired up the perverted MC with a likable female character just to see what the children were like-

Wait.

...Were they in a game? Like that one game that Aki used to play a lot... What was it? Flaming Crest? No, F*re Embl*m. He talked about maximizing stats or something by choosing the optimal character pairings for the post-timeskip children character...

...That would definitely explain Onii-chan. Especially since his reaction made it seem like he got randomly reincarnated and not sent here by a god like most isekais.

Though maybe she should stop thinking about her life in terms of pop culture. Even if it felt like her life was a light novel now, it was still reality.

And speaking of reality...

A long time had passed and fake Onii-chan still hadn't talked.

Since that was the case, Stella decided to speak up.

"Who are you anyway? And how do you know that name?"

The man tilted his head and then waved his hand. "Sorry. Just..." He paused and then placed his hand on his chin, thinking. "...This is really weird. If Nanahoshi didn't have to stress about how to return home and fully embraced this world, would she have turned out like this too? She did seem to be a bit of an otaku."

Stella pouted and said, "Stop talking about me like I'm not here! Don't make me get Onii-chan to beat you up!"

The man laughed and then said, "Old habit. And I guess I have to listen, huh? Wouldn't want to have to go and fight another Rudeus Greyrat to the death."

Wait, what?

"Anyway." The man tilted his head to the side, as if listening to something, and then he started talking again in Japanese. "I know your name because your past self is... was? A very important component in resolving the timeloop this entire world is stuck in." He paused and tilted his head, staring at Stella. "At least, you *should* be a very important component. But the fact that you're reincarnated here instead of transported is weird."

Stella blinked and then spoke in Japanese as well. "What do you mean it's weird? Am I not supposed to be reincarnated?"

"You're not." The man straightened and said, "Shizuka Nanahoshi is meant to be transported to this world through the combined forces of certain individuals in the farflung future, creating a closed timeloop to resolve the battle with Hitogami. But..." He tilted his head and said, "If you're reincarnated like this, it means you died and didn't get transported. But that should be impossible."

"What?"

The man scratched his head and muttered, "I knew that the ripples were going to be big since I stepped in personally this time, but I didn't think it would result in *this.* Did someone else change things here too?"

...Okay.

So this man knew about Stella's past life because she was supposed to help break some weird timeloop by being isekai'd. But instead, she died and was reincarnated in this new life which was making things weird.

Huh. That would definitely explain the monster attack when she was born.

And going along that line...

Well, if she was transported here directly in her past life after saving Aki, she probably would have been desperate to get back.

It would have been hard though since she wouldn't know the language and would probably be suspicious of everyone.

Then if she met Onii-chan...

Hm.

Honestly, she probably would have fallen for a guy like Onii-chan pretty hard and forgotten all about Aki considering how handsome, kind, and smart Onii-chan was...

...T-That aside, the masked man talked about a closed timeloop. He also joked about fighting 'Rudeus Greyrat' to the death...

Wait.

Stella quickly scrambled out of her seat and pointed at the man while grabbing her necklace with the other. "You're an agent of the world's will trying to get rid of Onii-chan!"

Fire and wind immediately started flowing around Stella, forming a protective fire shield. At the same time, the surroundings started to glitter as frost formed from thin air.

This was bad! She *knew* Onii-chan was too ridiculous. Did he use his cheat too much?

Wait, he actually didn't have a cheat apparently since he was reincarnated naturally, so... Did he just become too much of a cheat?

Either way...

*I'll protect you, Stella!* Fai's voice echoed.

*'yawn.' I don't know what's happening, but I guess he's a bad guy?* Wyn.

*Whatever he is, if he's Stella's enemy, I'll end him!* Wata.

The man slowly tilted his head. As he did, the surroundings flickered. Almost like the space around them was suddenly cut off from the rest of the world.

Stella's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to scream.

But then she suddenly couldn't move.

"Huh. So it's more than just a 'Space sword' that Paul made. What a crazy bastard. No wonder his 'destiny' is supposed to be cut short."

Stella felt a surge of panic in her chest.

With every sentence, the man was starting to sound more and more like the super powerful anime villain... And Stella was the side character that he was going to use to set an example.

But just as she had that thought, the surroundings went back to normal.

"You know, Pierre." Paul walked over, carrying a bottle of apple juice in his left hand and a pair of mugs filled with apple cider in his right. "At this rate, you're going to get a worse reputation than me if you cut off space to have a private chat with my adorable baby daughter."

Stella could suddenly move again. And since she could, she instinctively ran over to Paul, ducking behind him.

Paul blinked and looked down at Stella.

Stella flinched and said, "D-Don't get me wrong! You're still a pervert! B-But..." She glanced back at the masked man.

Paul might be a pervert and someone Stella didn't want to associate with, but he also genuinely cared about his children. At least, he had to, considering that both Norn nee-chan and Onii-chan hadn't broken off their relationships from him.

Stella could trust him to keep her safe at least.

But the masked man...

...On the other hand, Paul was the one who left Stella with that guy, so...

Just as Stella was wondering about whether to make a scream and try to get Eris nee-chan and Sylphy nee-chan to come help instead, Paul placed his hand on Stella's head.

At the same time, his entire demeanor changed.

The goofy smile he had and his usual relaxed posture sharpened. His bright green eyes turned frosty and...

Was it Stella's imagination, but did the bottle Paul was holding suddenly change into a sword? When did that happen?

Either way, the incredibly unreliable and pathetic excuse for a guy that Stella thought Paul was had vanished, replaced by a reliable person who reminded Stella a lot of her Onii-chan.

...Ah. That explained a lot.

Paul smiled at the masked man and said, "Making Stella this scared... I've trusted you up to this point, but I'm really starting to wonder if you really have our best intentions in mind, Pierre."

Pierre groaned and held up his hands. "This is a misunderstanding. Honestly." He sighed and muttered, "Lina's right. I need to relax more. And I need to have that chat with Rudy to clear things up before things get worse."

Paul subtly moved Stella behind him and said, "So... you aren't a complete degenerate who wants to set his paws on my adorable baby daughter?"

"What the hell do you think I am? That fat prime minister?"

"True." Paul nodded and said, "Considering you're married to Lina, you're a man of mature taste. But you're also a man who's continuously showed that he knows too much and isn't sharing any information beyond what's necessary. Plus." He looked back at Stella and said, "For my genius baby daughter to be this terrified when that monstrous kid of mine can be here in an instant..." He looked at Pierre and said, "So. Would you mind finally taking that mask off and saying who you really are?"

Pierre let out a deep sigh. "Fine. I'll give a more detailed explanation when Rudy gets back, but my real name is-" He paused, suddenly glancing off to the side. "Actually, hold that thought."

And then he vanished.

Stella blinked.

...What the hell was this development?

-SSG-

Roland slowly lowered his bloodstained sword, doing his best to stop his trembling body and ignore the familiar faces lying dead at his feet.

It was hard. But he remained calm and managed to do it. And the reason for that...

Roland shifted his gaze and stared at the ghostly figure of the petite young woman standing next to him.

Messy blue hair, sleepy eyes... It was Lara. His older sister from Blue Mama.

"Can you hear me now, Sieg?"

Roland nodded, doing his best to not stare at the unmoving doppelganger lying on the ground somewhere up ahead. "I can. And since you're here..."

"Yep! This is a dream. Although..." She turned to look around and said, "...Your dreams are pretty violent. Do you still get nightmares?"

Roland laughed. "They're usually much more pleasant than this."

Especially after helping so many people since he arrived in this world.

The reason that he was stuck in such a setting...

Roland wiped the smile off his face and frowned, glancing at the ruins of Arcadia all around him. "...And it seems that I let my guard down a bit too much because of that."

If it was him from before, he would never have been fooled. That Gisu definitely lured him into a trap.

It seemed like being around the father of this time was making Roland a bit too dependent again. Or maybe it was just the fact that he was young again in general.

He shook his head and then looked at Lara. "But what are you doing here, Big Sis? Did you finally develop a spell to dreamwalk or something?"

Lara blinked. "...No. What made you think that?"

"You and Lily inherited the Migurd telepathy powers, right? I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard."

Lara stared at Roland.

Roland stared back.

"...I think your standard of 'possible' has become a bit skewed, Lil Bro."

"Says the person visiting me in a dream from an alternate future."

"Oh. So you know about that. Great." Lara nodded and said, "This will make things easier then. I don't have much time since I wasted so much pulling you out from that mess..."

"I would have done it myself! ...Eventually!"

Lara gave Roland a blank stare.

He coughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"...Anyway. Let the Papa in that world know that Grandma Zenith and Grandma Lilia are over here right now. They're completely safe, but it's going to be hard to calibrate the time if-"

Lara suddenly fizzled out and vanished.

In her place, a man with violet hair and a white mask appeared. "That was a close one. She almost triggered an incursion there... People really need to stop messing with time travel without understanding multiverse theory."

Roland blinked.

A familiar aura. But also one mixed with energies that he didn't recognize.

Roland immediately drew his sword and said, "Are you the one responsible for this?"

"Hm?" The man looked over and said, "No. That would be Dark King Vita. I'm just here to make sure your sisters don't trigger the automatic pruning process. Though..." He stared off into space and frowned. "...It seems like I have a lot of misinformation. I thought 'that' future branched from this, but it looks like a different trunk entirely."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it." The man waved his hand and said, "We'll talk more when we get you out of here. Can't have Rudy getting upset at me and making me his enemy by a misunderstanding again. ...Though this Rudy seems like a calm and reasonable person, unlike some of the others..." He shook his head and then drew his sword.

Roland flinched and raised his to block.

But then the man swung it off to the side. "Nice try, Hitogami. But you should honestly give up now. This won't change anything, even if you're working with your future self to try and alters the past."

The world shattered. And when it came back...

An irate blonde woman was swinging her hand towards Roland's face.

His eyes widened and he moved to dodge. But the woman expected that and moved with him, slapping his face.

"You bastard! What kind of older brother are you, running off and leaving me alone like that?! Do you know how many creeps and perverts I had to deal with? The embarrassment I dealt with when I accidentally picked up Father as an escort for a date?!"

"W-What?"

Roland blinked.

Off to the side, Rudy sighed and said, "Yep. Definitely a genetic thing. Note to self: remind your sons about how often male Greyrats tend to get into situations upsetting the girls closest to them and start writing a playbook on how to deal with them..."

HappyVainGlory

Not quite what I was going for this chapter, but it's close enough for now. Lots of pieces are moving in the background while Rudy's doing some slice of life stuff. Not sure how to balance all of that... But we'll see how it goes, I guess. :sweat: