The old truck was shaking violently. The car was bouncing on every bump, and Arthur's ass was aching from the pain.

"I shouted so vigorously that I had to make a lot of money, but I couldn't even rent a decent car... I ran out of all the money from the sale of stuff from Arno's workshop. By the way, I'm sorry about that, buddy."

When the sun went down, Arthur drove back home. The guy, of course, wanted to keep killing monsters and earning more experience. But the danger in the woods at night was greatly increased, so he decided not to play the idiot hero and leave the No Man's Land as soon as possible.

"Hey, Selina, do you want a riddle? Ten soldiers dead on the field, dressed in white, killed by three eyes, black as night. What happened?"

Selina, turned to him, responding to her name, but when she heard the idiotic question,  crawled under the car seat and hid.

"You don't have to answer that, Selina.  I know you can't do it. It's...bowling! The ball knocked out ten pins." - he laughed, enjoying his wit. But noticing that the spider was gone, the guy coughed, cleared his throat, and continued in a serious tone:

"War is bowling. You know what I mean?  Somebody always throws the ball and somebody gets knocked down... But while war is a terrible thing, it's also a great chance for you and me to make money...  I want to be the guy who sells drinks at this bowling alley."

Arthur's words may have sounded strange, but their meaning was very simple. The peace and relative tranquility of Eridan's world was about to be shattered, war was about to break out.

Geographically, this world was divided into just two continents. The western continent, where Arthur lived, was home to three major nations. The eastern continent, on the other hand, was entirely occupied by the single Republic of Azark.

And a powerful invasion of the east coast of the Western Continent by her soldiers was imminent.

In the novel, this event does not directly affect the protagonist Erik.  But indirectly it complicates his life considerably, as all the possible cultists and other secret societies become even more active.

Arthur held the steering wheel with one hand and typed on his communicator with the other.  He was interested in the latest news.

"Emperor Leonard III of the Helios Empire made an address to the concerned citizens of the world on behalf of the three nations.  He stated that the negotiations were successful, and the strong friendship between our countries will continue..." - said the pretty girl announcer. Arthur only smirked at this news and shook his head.

"That's so ironic.  They declare that there will be no war, but the invasion will begin in two weeks..."

It was a great chance to make millions practically by selling air.

Mana Stones.  Unlike the mana cores of beasts, much less demon cores, these mana carriers were incredibly cheap.

But what if the world's largest power, the Republic of Azark, suddenly stopped supplying them? What if a commonplace item, used almost universally, suddenly ceased to be generally available?

"I'll buy the dirt and sell it as gold.  God, there's nothing easier in this world." - All the way through, while Arthur was dreaming of his imminent riches, a sly, self-satisfied smile never left his face.

"If I want to properly form a mana core in my body, it will require a colossal amount of credits...  And it's going to take a lot of money to upgrade you, Selina."

After driving for a few more hours, Arthur drove into town.  Then he finally made it to his house.

"I'm home."  - He announced his arrival when he stepped inside.

"Welcome home, my love."

Arthur did not have time to react in time.  He caught a glimpse of something pink flying toward him.

"Ouch...  it hurts." - he groaned. But something else caught his attention right away. His body was pressed firmly to the floor, and he felt something heavy on his stomach.

"Sophia, were you trying to kill me?"

"No, no way, I would never do that... with someone I love."

He felt the hot breath on his face, and a melodious, velvety whisper came straight to his ears. That enchanting voice alone had such an effect that the blood immediately rushed to an important part of his body.

'Maybe I'm an audiophile?' thought Arthur as he felt his body begin to heat up.

"Then what were you trying to do?"

"This is my greeting... Welcome home, very busy husband lately."

The wet touch of her tongue made Arthur's body shudder.  Sophia licked him seductively.

'Gosh, Arthur, calm down... you haven't been a virgin for a long time. It's just a girl... a good-looking girl... maybe a very beautiful girl... who the fuck am I trying to kid, she's a goddess.'

"How long are you gonna play newlyweds? It's about to start. Come here quickly." - Elia's irritation, when she said it, seemed like you could touch it with your hands.  There was so much of it.

The two stood up.  With a bright smile on her face, Sophia grabbed his arm, wrapped her small and very feminine hand around his palm, and pulled him along.

"What is it?"  - Arthur said, trying to sound serious.  But the body pressed against him, with its alluring figure, kept his voice from taking on the right tone.

Elia cast a glance at him. But no sisterly tenderness was evident in him at all.  Only solid hostility.

"Eric will be performing soon.  Their team is number thirteen."

The television was showing a tournament that was extremely popular all over the western continent. The Celestial Chariot Tournament is named after the favorite weapon and vehicle of the first emperor of the Helios Empire.

It was held annually, drawing millions of fans to the screens. Its organizational structure was incredibly simple, but at the same time highly convenient.

This is well illustrated by the fact that even though Eric was only of rank E at this point, he was already able to take part in the competition and even have a chance to tag as a winner.

The competitors were divided into groups based on their rank of the competitors. It meant that the rank A competed only against the rank A.

The tournament had no special rules.  There were one-on-one, three-on-three battles, and a special monster hunt. It was the last one that was being shown on TV now.

"He's got a pretty strong team. I think there's even a chance he could win this year."  - Elia said.

'Good liar.  If I didn't know you'd seen it all before, I never would have guessed... We both know that an attack by the cultists from Forgotten Truth won't let him win.'

"Did you call Eric?"  - Sophia asked in a soft voice.  She rested her head on his shoulder still gently holding his hand.

"... No."

'Shit.  This is my mistake. I probably should have called him. Arno really cared about his brother.' thought a confused Arthur.

"I just decided not to throw him off the winning mood..."

'God, what a load of rubbish I'm talking.'

"Yeah, that's why I didn't call either." - Nodded in agreement Elia.

"Eric doesn't like all this pep talk.  He gets uncomfortable. Especially before such an important event."

'Thank you, for your support, beloved sister,' the boy exhaled in relief.

The competition began. An experienced commentator announced the arrival of the 13th team. The attention of all three in the room was immediately riveted to the screen.

"And here he comes... my brother and the protagonist of the whole novel. "

A close-up of the figure of the leader of the participating team was shown on stage. Eric Mann.

His high well-built body was strikingly contrasted with that of his younger brother. Arthur even felt black envy in his heart for a second.

His blue eyes, golden hair in a ponytail, and very attractive appearance earned him fans among thousands of girls. And this is even though the social stratification in the empire was much stronger and commoners like Erik were usually simply despised.

'So...  The attack will happen when Erik is second in the standings in mana beasts killed... Still, a long way to go.'

The camera periodically showed Erik and his team during the hunt. As the main character is supposed to be, he stood out very much from his teammates.

He killed over 70% by himself, using his divine bloodline, while still managing to help others.

'They pick the most incompetent extras on purpose? But what a badass Eric is now,' Arthur thought sarcastically.

But after a while, all three lost interest in the match. Elia already knew everything very well, since she was living her life for the second time.  Arthur had already read about it. And Sofia... well, Sofia just didn't care.

At this time she was busy rubbing her cute little nose on her husband's cheek, making what sounded like a cat's purr.

Arthur, on the other hand, was immersed in his thoughts about future plans.  He was studying on his phone a list of companies that buy, store, or process mana stones.  His goal was to buy their stock cheaply before prices skyrocketed.

He also planned to buy more of the stones, rent a large warehouse and sell them himself. Arthur hoped to make the resource even more scarce during the war.

However, the problem of not having enough money to buy all this remained an open question. All of his plans required a significant initial investment.

Arthur puzzled over how to proceed.  One option was to sell Arno's latest development [Blade of Void].  He was sure he could profit handsomely from it, but...

There were so many dangerous and powerful organizations in this world that Arthur worried for his safety.  This weapon wasn't like a nuclear missile from Earth, but at the same time, it could also bring a bit of chaos to this world.

And the last thing Arthur wanted to do was die because of his stupidity.

So he chose another option to get a large number of credits - selling the demon core.

Killing a demon was an incredibly difficult task.  Only an experienced group of at least a few D ranks could attempt to attack the weakest of them.

And Arthur was going to do it alone, while still on the G-rank.

"Hey, you two... Stop flirting.  Why aren't you watching?"  - Elia shouted angrily and threw a pillow in their direction. Then she stood up abruptly and defiantly walked out of the room.

'What's the matter with her?'

"Don't worry, she's not mad at you.  She's just worried about Eric." - Sophia said uncertainly.

'Unlike Elia, you don't know how to lie at all.  It's all over your face,' Arthur chuckled.

-"I know.  All I can think about is Eric, too. I hope he wins."

"So all you think about is Eric... what about me?" - Sophia asked with sad eyes.

"You..."

No sooner had he finished his sentence than the television showed explosions of fire. There was a commotion and turmoil in the commentator's box. And then the broadcast was turned off.

'Here comes the attack... just like clockwork.  Well, good luck to you Eric Mann... even though you don't need it.'

"What happened out there?"  - Arthur asked, feigning fear for his brother.

"Hmm?  Where?... You mean the TV... probably technical problems..." - Sophia smiled awkwardly, she didn't want her husband to worry.

'Why did Elia even want him to watch this?  Where had she gone?  What am I supposed to do now?' the girl thought, biting her lip.

"And the explosions?  It wasn't an attack?"

"An attack... no, that's impossible.  Absolutely impossible..."

Suddenly Elia returned to the room, and Sophia let out a loud sigh full of joy.

'Now Elia will solve everything... Yay.'

"Yes, it really was an attack. I just read the news.  The first reports came in that it was the work of the Forgotten Truth faction."

Sophia jumped up, and, oblivious to any secrecy, she stepped close to Eli and whispered:

"What are you doing? Why are you telling him this?  Arno will worry half the night..."

"Why are you so foolish? That's the way it's supposed to be.  He will be worried about his brother, but you will be there for him. Don't you want to affectionately comfort your husband? "

Lights of understanding lit up in Sophia's eyes when she heard this one.  She tossed Elia, confirming her agreement.

"Yes, beloved.  Eric seems to be in danger... what do we do?"

'I don't understand what's going on here. But your acting is the worst I've ever seen,' the boy thought with a dumbfounded look as he watched the scene unfold before him.

But when Sophia started acting even more affectionate toward him, and Elia stopped crumbling the atmosphere, Arthur joined in the game, too. He desperately pretended to be worried about Eric's fate.

He enjoyed what was going on until the action finally moved into the bedroom.

'Yeah, what's wrong with tonight?  You've been playing with me all night and now you just refuse?'

"Arno, let's be patient. The doctor told us that your condition is not stable right now. He asked us to refrain from making love for a week. Please, my love."  - Sophia said, holding his cheeks in her hands and looking directly into his eyes.

"Then why did you tease me all night?"

"I... I...  I just want warmth, too. And you were gone so long, I missed you, and..."

Arthur just collapsed backward on the bed. He was sick of it all.

'This is how husbands feel after years of marriage.  Hell, I always knew marriage was evil.'

Arthur closed his eyes in disappointment and prepared to go to sleep.  But two small hands rested on his chest, and then someone's head followed.  Sophia nestled on the bed, cuddling him in her arms.

'Okay... I'm not greedy, I have plenty of time.  She said only a week.'

Arthur hugged her back and they both drifted off to sleep.

He suddenly opened his eyes.  The room was still dark.  There was a silver moon outside the window.

'Is it still night?' thought Arthur, and checked his phone.  The clock showed three o'clock in the morning.

'Strange...  I've always had trouble sleeping. But when I got here I always slept like a baby... Too bad, and I was just glad that there was at least some upside to the transmigration.'

Arthur noticed that a female figure was still curled up on his chest.  She was covered head to toe with a blanket.  Only a peaceful sniffling could be heard from beneath it.

'I can't help but admit it, but she's very cute... I can't believe that a girl who can't lie and behaves so fondly could do anything bad to Arno... I can't resist, I want to look at her face with just one look...'

He gently, so as not to wake her up, pulled back part of the blanket and...

'What the fuck?  Why is Elia here?'