Okay. So it turns out that even I can make bad decisions right after waking up.

Since I saw Stella walking with such confidence and acting so mature, I thought that she was like me and didn't get affected by seeing people die.

Though to be fair, I had taken her with me when fighting off monsters and seeing much more gruesome sights in the past, but it seemed like it was a bit different when you saw a person get turned to red paste compared to a monster.

Definitely should have realized that.

Sheesh. People talked about post-sex clarity, but it sure didn't seem like that for me.

Must be the Greyrat genes. Definitely would explain a lot about Dad.

I sighed and picked up my baby sister before taking a look around the surroundings.

The place was a mess. I definitely didn't expect my opponents to be so weak, so my miscalculation meant that I sprayed the walls red.

I managed to keep the blood away from the children, of course. Though, it seemed like that might have left a worse impression because of it.

Well. First off, let's clean this place up.

I focused on all the gore and viscera before gathering it into a bunch and dissolving it into ambient mana through some handy mass->energy conversion.

The conversion ratio was horrible, of course. But the point wasn't to just get rid of the mess, so that didn't matter.

In the blink of an eye, the room was clear. Of course, only to my eyes.

Since my baby sister fainted, the light orb she had been using to illuminate the surroundings had vanished.

And probably because of that, I could hear and see some of the kidnapped children crying even harder out of sheer dread and despair.

...Yeah. Definitely need to wake up a bit more next time before heading out to do things-

Ah. I should start making that list for my sons in the future.

1. Never leave home without the list of things to keep the Greyrat stupid in check.

2. After getting up, make sure you're completely awake before doing anything that other people can see. Greyrats are prone to bouts of stupidity. Especially after a long night.

3. Don't show children bloody and gruesome sights, even if they seem mature enough to handle it.

...That should be enough for now.

Anyway, dealing with the current situation...

Miko... The Miko? I still wasn't sure if her name was Miko or if that was just a title... But anyway, Miko was terrified and clinging onto Wata for dear life.

Fai was going around opening the cages...

Wyn... was floating around Stella in mana form and protecting her?

Huh. Didn't know she could do that, but good to know.

I picked Stella up and then held her close before walking over to the white dog that I saw earlier.

The dog was still alive, but only just. It seemed like the kidnappers took out their anger on the poor thing for running away and getting help.

"Good work." I crouched down and then patted the dog while healing it.

The dog blearily opened its eyes to look at me and then let out a soft sigh before cozying up to me.

I smiled and then turned to look at Miko. "Are you hurt?"

The young girl looked at me and then slowly shook her head. "I'm... fine, Mister Rudy."

At that time, Wata managed to escape from Miko's grasp and said, "I'm not!" He quickly fixed up his ruffled fur and said, "I might look cute, but I'm not a stuffed animal! Sheesh!"

Miko lowered her gaze and said, "Sorry."

Wata sighed and then floated over to me, looking at Stella with a worried look. "Is she okay, Master Rudy?"

"She'll be fine." I shifted Stella into a princess hold and then looked at the other children who were still staring at me. "The problem is what to do with these guys."

It seemed like they were calming down after Fai went around to free them.

Still naked though. And judging from the fact that they were here at the port on the continent with a church that held power over everything...

...Well. We'd find out if 'that' aspect of the church being corrupt is true after Cliff reports back. But for now...

I snapped my fingers and conjured a basic loose shirt for each of the children, as well as healing any wounds they might have.

The fingersnap wasn't necessary, but appearances were important. And it also let them know that I was the source of the magical situation. Wouldn't want the kids to start panicking now.

I didn't have to worry though. For the most part, all of the kids had calmed down and were looking at me with trust and hope.

...Not sure how it ended up that way after the bloody massacre, but maybe beast and elven kids were different? Must be a cultural thing.

Yeah, the human kids still looked a bit cautious.

But for now...

Hm.

Well, I *was* planning a trip to visit the Great Forest anyway. And Sylphy had been talking about wanting to take care of some kids, right? This could be a good practice run...

-SNG-

Blood splatters. A human body, turned into a crimson smear along the pavement.

Stella recognized it.

The blood-stained high school uniform. Clumps of long dark hair. The sidebag with a cute button that Aki gave her pinned along the side.

It was the accident.

...Right.

That was how she died.

A giant truck blew past a red light, and she ran forward to push Aki out of the way. As a result...

She died.

That must have been how she ended up before she died.

Obviously. A human body versus a giant truck was an inevitable outcome.

Stella stared at the pavement. And as she did, the crimson smear started wriggling before turning back into the bandit that tried to kill her.

...This was a nightmare.

Stella could tell. This was definitely a nightmare.

And like all the nightmares she had, Onii-chan showed up to end it.

...Or so she thought.

But when Onii-chan showed up...

*SPLAT*

Something warm splashed against Stella's face. Looking down, Stella saw a pool of blood flowing towards her. Not only that, but other things flowed with it. Fingers, feet, random body parts...

Rudeus flicked his wrists, splattering the pavement with the blood that had been on his sleeves. After that, he turned to Stella and smiled. "That was pretty fun, wasn't it, Stella?"

Stella didn't respond.

Rudy laughed and started walking towards her. "Come on." He reached out his hand and said, "You should try too. Didn't you want to learn magic? Here, let me show you the cool things you can do with blood-"

A sudden flash of gold light shattered the scene.

Stella gasped and then opened her eyes to see Onii-chan looking down at her.

Then she punched him.

"Gah!" Rudy flinched, clutching his nose. "What was that for?"

"*Baka! Hentai! Kimoi!*" Stella's eyes teared up and she swung her fists again.

"Owowow." Rudy didn't dodge. Instead, he reached out to pick Stella up. "Calm down-"

"I'M CALM! BAKA NII-CHAN!"

Rudy winced, but held onto her anyway. "Right, right. Onii-chan's an idiot who made you see that traumatic sight. You can keep smacking me if it makes you feel better."

"...Hmph." Stella calmed down.

...No. She could feel her heart racing and her body was shaking from being so close to Onii-chan after that nightmare. But she could think things through now.

Because of that, Stella took a look around to see where she was. And she saw that it definitely wasn't the room she had just been in with those kidnapped children.

Instead, it was the room that she had been staying in. The one modeled after Onii-chan's old room.

Seeing that Stella wasn't going to punch him anymore, Rudy set Stella back down on her bed. After that, he pulled out a chair and table from thin air and sat across from Stella.

Stella crossed her arms and stared at Rudy.

Rudy stared back and then waved his hand, causing a pair of steaming mugs to appear on the table. When they did, a delicious smell of chocolate and peppermint filled the air. "Here." He shoved one of the mugs over and said, "Some hot cocoa should help calm your nerves. And don't worry, it's the perfect temperature."

"...Hmph." Stella picked up the mug and took a sip.

Sweet, creamy, and cozy. Something she didn't expect to ever taste again in this fantasy world.

Then again, Onii-chan was Onii-chan, so it didn't surprise her too much. Although...

Stella peeked up at her Onii-chan, watching him through her bangs.

He was sipping on his cocoa as well and looked thoughtful. But after a bit, he looked at Stella and spoke in Japanese. "*I think it's about time we had a chat about everything, my baby sister. Also, there's a few things you should probably know about being reincarnated that you wouldn't realize...*"

Stella tilted her head.