Seigyou Tensei - Legitimately Employed Reincarnation
37
Commissioned by kyo amamoto.
"Is he always like this?"
"Sometimes," Eris admitted. "Trust me, it's not as bad as it could be."
Roxy nodded. "Rudy could be very… withdrawn at times, as a child. Very talkative when we were together, but just as happy to just sit and read together. I never saw him under stress like this though."
"It happened once before," Lilia murmured, and the others looked to her. "Right after you left, Roxy. He withdrew into himself for about a week. Threw himself into his training and studies to the exclusion of all else. Then he snapped out of it, went out to collect Sylphiette, and began spending much of his time with her."
Frowning, Therese peered into the room where Rudy was studying an illusion—a map of the Begaritt continent and an ever growing series of points of view from above the continent. Bird's eye views, moving faster than any bird Therese had ever heard of. It was… amazing, really. A positively astounding amount of information was available to her nephew as he scoured the continent for her missing sister and niece. Roxy, one of her nephew's fiancees, had explained the concept of 'drones' to her—flying magical relics that relayed what they saw back to Rudy's summoned spirit Sprite, by way of spells, who then took all of that disparate data and made something useful of it.
"If this isn't as bad as it could be, what is?" Therese asked, curiosity in her voice.
Eris, Roxy, and Lilia traded a look before Eris sighed. "He has nightmares sometimes. Has, since the Fittoa disaster. Sometimes, he wakes up swinging."
"So that's what you meant about black eyes," Roxy murmured, and Eris nodded.
"Yeah. You're welcome, by the way. Almost got one yourself the other night. I caught him before he could. He hasn't been actually sleeping like he should, since. He naps," Eris complained. "I think he's trying not to let it happen again. Which is great and all, but eventually he's going to crash. Again. And the usual method isn't working this time. I think he'd just too wound up, knowing they're this close and still out of reach."
"'The usual method?'"
Eris leered. "Fucking to unconsciousness."
Roxy turned a frown on her red-headed sister-wife. "So you're the reason he can outlast all of us."
"Nope! Rudeus was already like that! You can't blame me for that shit," she shook her head. "Anyway. So as I was saying…"
Therese listened as Eris told her more about what happened on the demon continent. Eventually, she nodded and hummed to herself. "Okay."
Eris, Roxy, and Lilia watched as she walked into the room and just… picked Rudy up. Threw him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Therese? What are you doing?" he asked tiredly.
"I need my Rudy time~!" the blonde woman announced, carrying him away, down the hall. "I love these bath tubs you've made here. Hot running water with the turn of a knob. It's great. So, wash my back and we'll take a bath together!"
Eris made to follow, only for Lilia to reach out and grab her sleeve. Looking up at the taller redhead, Eris sent her a questioning look. Lilia shook her head. "Let her have some time alone with him. She wasn't able to be with us before now. Duty kept her in Milis."
Eris made a displeased noise, but nodded. "Fine. Roxy! Come spar me!"
Roxy sighed, taking on a put-upon look. "I suppose I should…"
My eyes opened to Roxy squeezing my wrist. She had taken to sleeping either holding my hand or my wrist, so she could wake me up if I started having a nightmare. Apparently, Eris had been coaching her since it had started happening again. Roxy shifted slightly as she settled back down and I leaned in and kissed her lips. A bit of magic extricated me from the middle of the bed and out of the much smaller pile of women than usual therein—really, it was only Roxy and Kishirika. Pulling a set of underwear, pants, socks, and a long sleeved shirt from my dresser, I got dressed silently and left the room.
My feet barely made a sound as I padded down the hall to the elevator. Taking the elevator up to the deck level, I stepped out onto the deck. Cold wind whipped over me and I shivered as I moved to the fore of the ship, all the way to the prow. Stepping up onto the small observation platform set above the figurehead, I grabbed the railing and looked out over the moonlit desert. Below us was a small mountain range—not much of anything at all, really. Like comparing the Appalachians to the Rockies. Not like the Blue Dragon range or the views Sprite was sending of the Dragon King range where the others were traveling.
Per the plan, I had taken the Roxy and one of our refugee ships and split off when we entered the Dragon King Kingdom, while Eris, Ruijerd, Elinalise, Tallhand, and Tona had boarded a newly created ship that had just flown in to join the group from the Demon Continent. We had taken an hour or so to move their things in, create a figurehead in Eris's image, and named it the Eris Boreas Greyrat (and to break in Eris's quarters with a quickie) before our paths parted. The Roxy made her way southwest, over the little islands and sea that separated the Dragon King Kingdom from the Begaritt Continent while the Eris led the rest of our little fleet northwest, along the coastal road to stop at every settlement and collect Fittoa refugees.
Roxy wanted to stay, and I couldn't really fault her. She wanted to hit the dungeon we were coming up on together and try to clear it. And, well, I did promise her that, years ago. I had convinced her to save some for the others, so this was the only one we would be clearing by ourselves.
In addition to Roxy, Lilia and Aisha had stayed as well—Lilia because she didn't want to leave my side and Aisha because according to her, she had already been down the road Eris was taking and wanted to see the Begaritt Continent. That, and she wanted to spend time with her big brother. Therese and her charge had likewise stayed, the former Maiden still not having come up with a name for herself, but she was slowly opening up now at least—smiling and happy as she spent her days with Aisha, or delving into our collection of books, or learning magic from either myself or Aisha. Therese was a lot like Zenith—very touchy-feely. She liked her 'Rudy time' and had some kind of obsession with holding and smelling me—usually with as little in the way of clothing between us as possible.
And now, we were only a few hours out from Labyrinth Town Rapan. We should get there right at dawn, in fact. True dawn, I should say, since the sky was already beginning to lighten.
What are the odds they're in the labyrinth? I mused, wondering if Archer would be that much of a dick. …No. If it were me, I'd have told myself by now. Which means they're on the continent, we just aren't close. And he wants to make sure nothing happens. Probably.
Moving away from the prow, I stopped in the middle of the deck and forced myself to relax, slipping into a breathing exercise as I began to move through a magical martial arts kata—this one for wind, since it was easiest to practice without disturbing anyone… or leaving behind evidence. I flowed through movements, dancing into the air above the deck as I let my mind wander. There seemed to be two things I couldn't shake from my thoughts: the ever-present problem of Zenith and Norn, and the new worry about Eris.
Eris. My second soon-to-be wife and constant companion for the last few years. The girl—no, the woman who had kept me sane. Who put up with my shit and, when I was at my worst, had—in that special Eris way of hers—done what she could to help. I owed her a lot. When this was all said and done, I'd have to do something nice for her. And for the first time in years, we were apart. I knew she could take care of herself, but… I missed her.
Not like giving her her own ship wasn't nice, I rolled my eyes. She loved the ship named for herself, loved having a figurehead of herself on the front. It stroked that big ego of hers in a way she enjoyed. But, I suppose that ego isn't completely unfounded…
I looked down and spotted a figure standing in the little awning over the elevator exit that provided shade and shelter against rain. I should talk to Sprite and see about enclosing it and putting in actual glass, for the aesthetic and for getting sun. Make a little shelter area for being outside when it rains, I mused as I completed another revolution and lowered myself to the deck.
As I'd suspected, I found Lilia waiting there, clad in her sheer red night gown and holding a blanket to her chest. I sighed, a bit of fond exasperation slipping through as I made my way over to her. "Lilia, you didn't have to come up."
"And yet, I did," she murmured, unfolding the blanket and pulling it around us as I came up to her, before pulling me into a hug against her body. She was cold and shivered a bit as I held her.
"You're going to get sick," I grumbled. A bit of shifting around had the redheaded woman gathered in my arms with a quiet noise of surprise from her as I carried her inside. "Come on, let's get you back to bed."
"And you as well, master Rudeus," Lilia looked up at me sternly from where she lay in my arms.
"Sure," I agreed, knowing it was better not to argue.
As I carried her inside towards her room, Lilia pointed to a room I knew was unoccupied at the moment. Reserved for Hilda, actually. "In here." When I sent her a raised eyebrow, Lilia explained, "I don't want to wake Aisha."
"Alright," I agreed. The door opened at my approach. The lights didn't come on, but the walls, floor, and ceiling seemingly disappeared as they began to display our surroundings. Moving over to the bed, I peeled back the covers and laid Lilia down. The woman grasped my shirt as I made to pull away.
"Come to bed with me. You'll wake Roxy and Kishirika if you go back like you are. Too cold," she said.
I rolled my eyes and nodded. With that, she let go of my shirt and reached up to remove her glasses, before placing them on the night stand. I took a moment to pull off my clothes, save for my boxers, before slipping inside. Lilia pressed herself into my chest, wrapping her arms around me as she buried her face in the crook of my neck. Her hair smelled nice and, as I held her and slowly ran my hands over her back and arms, her soft body began to warm up.
Lilia had been doing things like this a lot recently, actually. Ever since that first night she found me outside. No, when I thought about it, it actually started when we were first reunited. At first, it had been just being more openly affectionate. Little touches and hugs. Sometimes, just laying her hand on me. That little smile she wore when she watched me and Aisha work together, or just play. Lately, she had been joining us in the big bath for 'family bath time' (which was pretty much just me, my women, Tona, herself, Aisha, Therese, and the former Maiden) and seemed to have worked out some kind of agreement with the girls because she was the one usually washing my back (unless Therese kidnapped me for her 'Rudy time'). Now, when she caught me outside because I couldn't sleep, or rather because I didn't want to wake the others or accidentally hurt someone, she brought a blanket and we held each other while I napped. It seemed she had escalated—or just decided that a bed was more practical.
Lilia was opening up and it seemed she had accepted me. It was a far cry from those days of my childhood, when the woman was scared of me, or just didn't trust me. I couldn't say I disliked it, either. Lilia was a beautiful older woman and I loved her as family. She was soft and warm in my arms and I'll admit, I enjoyed the attention and affection. It helped take my mind off of things.
As I slowly began to drift into a light sleep, I felt Lilia's lips press against my neck. That wasn't exactly uncommon these days. Her hot tongue flicking out to slowly lick at my neck was however. Sleepy as I was, my eyes still cracked open slightly and I squeezed her a little tighter as my cock throbbed. "Lilia, you keep that up and you're going to get in trouble," I threatened tiredly. I wouldn't actually do anything, but I wanted her to know that she was treading a dangerous path here. Especially considering our past and her initial impressions of me. I didn't want to scare her off by proving that I was what she'd feared all those years ago.
Lilia's response startled me into wakefulness. "I'm going to divorce Paul, when we return to Asura. I told him, before we left."
"What?" I asked, trying to pull her back to look her in the eye, but Lilia didn't want to be moved and clung on tightly enough that I gave it up after a few tries. "Lilia, why?"
The woman hummed quietly, kissing my neck again before she answered. "He isn't the man I married anymore… and I realized that I made a mistake in marrying him. Not in having Aisha."
"But—"
"Your father has many faults, Rudeus. Many that I accepted or overlooked for years. I would have continued to overlook them, had he not attempted to kill you. You and I both know that's what it was. I couldn't stand it."
Sighing, I held her tighter. "What about Aisha?"
Lilia shook her head. "Her father is still her father. She's conflicted. In her mind, she knows you're in the right. But in her heart…"
"Yeah." Shaking my head, I said, "Well, you're still family Lilia. You don't have to worry about anything. I'll make sure you're taken care of. You don't have to decide now, but be thinking about what you want to do. Where you want to go, when we get back. Whether that's settling back down in Buena Village, or moving to Roa, or something else—"
"My place is at your side, master Rudeus," the woman murmured.
"Yeah, I figured you'd say that. Okay. You do realize you don't actually have to work for me? You've done enough for us. Let us take care of you."
Lilia chuckled, shaking her head. "I would get bored without something to do, and I enjoy taking care of you and the others."
Rolling my eyes, I gave her another squeeze. "Alright, fine. I guess you're coming with me. Now, get some sleep."
"Mm," she murmured, before those lips kissed my neck again. Followed, once more, by her hot tongue brushing over my skin in a way that brought my cock from where I'd managed to fight it down to half mast up to a throbbing, hot rod she definitely felt pressing against her thighs. "There is one more thing, master Rudeus."
"What?" I whined, already dreading the case of blueballs she was going to give me. I'd definitely be slipping back into my bedroom to wake Roxy and Kishirika up with morning sex at this rate.
One of Lilia's hands trailed down, her short nails grazing my chest and stomach, before she pulled open my boxers and her cool hand settled around my cock. I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say—not the specifics, but the general gist of it. She couldn't have been any more straightforward, really.
"There is a way we can take care of each other," she murmured against my neck as she began to slowly pump my cock.
"Lilia," I growled quietly, my hands trailing down, pulling up her night gown before resting on her pale, round, firm ass and giving it a squeeze. "Last warning."
Lilia chuckled. "You need not warn me, master Rudeus. Sprite, would you tell him for me?"
I blinked at that, and a moment later, my summoned spirit's voice filled the cabin. "Before everyone split up, Lilia had a talk with your fiancees. She doesn't want to marry you, master—she feels that would confuse Aisha. Lilia wants you to take her as your mistress, and everyone agreed to it."
"Do what?" I asked, incredulously.
"Mhmm!"
Lilia's hand pulled my boxers the rest of the way down as she shifted around, pulling them off and tossing them towards my pile of folded clothes. Then, the redhead pushed me onto my back and straddled my waist. Smiling down on me, she took my hands and guided them up to her large, heavy breasts before reaching down, taking hold of my cock, and lifting herself up. I should have probably said or done something to stop her, to tell her that she didn't have to, that it was wrong—especially when she was still married to my father…
But if I'm being honest with myself, I wanted her. I'd thought she was beautiful, a sexy older woman since I first laid eyes on her. And the fact that she was married to my father still, well… an ugly part of me I wasn't entirely comfortable with enjoyed the fact that Paul's woman was even now slowly sliding her hot, wet, furry red cunt down onto my cock inch by delicious inch. Dirty old man brain reminded me that this was the third of the man's supposed women I'd fucked, if not outright taken for myself. Ghislaine and Elinalise weren't actually Paul's to take—they'd fucked him once upon a time and that had been it, but it would have pissed him off to know regardless. But Lilia? Lilia was one of his wives, and my step-mother.
And then the thought was put on the back burner to deal with later as Lilia leaned down and kissed me. Slowly. Lovingly. Those soft, plush lips of hers pressing against my own as her hot tongue explored my mouth. I slipped one of my hands under her night gown to explore her titties directly, while the other explored the rest of her body. A bit of magic told me all of her body's secrets and I began using them against her, touching here, stroking there, shifting the angle of my hips just so and drawing a ragged moan from her lips as her red eyes fluttered closed.
Lilia's hands weren't idle, as she explored my own body—running over my stomach, chest, arms, cupping my face, running through my short hair. Her hips slowly swished back and forth as she rode me at an easy pace, her titties gently swaying with the motion. Lilia's tits were huge. Big and soft, with large, fat, sensitive nipples that she enjoyed having teased. Her body was still somewhat muscular from where she had once trained with the sword and had been a guard—one of Ariel's, actually (and had, in fact, protected Ariel with her life, which had led to the injury that caused her to leave the castle)… but there was a deliciously soft layer of fat there. That of a fertile older woman who'd had one child already but whose body was ready for more.
The redhead squirmed a bit as I teased the pudge on her belly, coming down a little harder on her next down stroke. I chuckled into her mouth before my wandering hand moved between her thighs and began to gently stroke her clit—listening to her body's feedback through my spell, relayed from Sprite. Lilia grunted quietly as she came, her cunt leaking more hot, clear fluid as she clenched and sucked at my cock. She continued to shudder and clench intermittently in aftershocks long after she came and never had a chance to fully come down before I rolled her over and settled myself between her legs.
I broke our kiss to assault her ear as I slowly pumped into her. "Is this what you want, Lilia?"
"Yes~ Rudeus," she moaned, her legs coming up to wrap around my waist as her hands explored my back. "Take me as your woman~."
"I'm going to knock you up, you know," I warned.
Lilia nodded, her red hair, loose from where she had taken it down to go to sleep, sticking to her sweaty neck and face. "Yes, put a child in me Rudeus. Give Aisha a little sister, master."
Leaning down, I took one of those fat nipples into my mouth as I pumped into her harder, listening to her body to tell me what would make her come. I felt myself getting close and, as I did, I took ruthless advantage of her body's secrets to bring her off hard and fast.
"Mm~! Master Rudeus!" I let myself go, hilting myself fully inside her, pressing the head of my cock against the entrance to her womb as I filled her with my seed.
Lilia sighed beneath me, staring up at me lovingly with those pretty red eyes—darker than Eris's own by a few shades. One of her hands came up to tenderly stroke my face, while the other went down to rub her belly. "I feel your seed inside me, master. I hope I conceive," she sent me a heated smile. Then, she wrapped her arms around my hips and pulled me down onto her fully. "Sleep now."
I didn't have it in me to argue as Lilia rolled us onto our sides, her hand coming up to stroke my head as the other held me tightly, her legs intertwined with my own and her heavy breasts pressing into my chest. I drifted off as she began to hum quietly. It was a familiar tune that I remembered hearing, once upon a time, only a few times in my early childhood here before I hadn't heard it again…
Oh. She used to hum it when she would rock me to sleep. Before I scared her off.
"Rudeus!"
I braced myself as Hilda tried to squeeze the life out of me. My back popped, but so did hers as I squeezed my future mother-in-law back. Hilda hadn't changed much in the last few years—about the only thing that had changed was that she was dressed as a commoner now, instead of wearing noble garb. By which I meant she was wearing a light blouse, pants, and boots and her long, bright red hair was pulled back and tied off in a tail as opposed to a fancy dress and the tiara thing she used to use to keep her hair out of the way.
"Hilda, it's good to see you again."
The woman's lips found my cheek and she pulled back, glaring at me. "None of that. You're marrying my Eris soon, so you'll call me mother."
I chuckled, before nodding. "Fine, fine. Mother."
Hilda nodded and squeezed me again, before looking over our small party. With me were Roxy, Lilia, Aisha, Kishirika, Therese, and the former maiden. "Where is Eris?"
"We split up so we could cover more ground. We'll rejoin them once we're finished sweeping the continent," Roxy explained.
Therese nodded. "She was sad she couldn't pick you up herself, but little Eris agreed that her duty was more important."
With a sigh, Hilda nodded her agreement. "I understand. Very well. Rudeus, the refugees are all ready to go."
"Alright," I agreed, letting go and stepping back. "A few of us are going to make a run on the dungeon. Shouldn't take too long. In the meantime, why don't you and Lilia browse the market a bit before Sprite takes you up to the ship. Just let her know when you're ready to go. Lilia, you know our tastes, if you wouldn't mind picking up some things for us?"
The redhead smiled and bowed her head slightly. "Of course, master Rudeus. I'll get something nice for everyone."
"I've got a few recommendations," Hilda agreed, before she and Lilia walked away, heading towards the market.
Turning to the group, I grinned and clapped my hands. "Alright! Is everyone ready?"
"Um!" Aisha cheered. Beside her, the little blonde maiden nodded.
"Are you sure this is safe for them, Rudy?" Therese asked, a concerned look on her face as she looked at Aisha and the maiden.
It was Kishirika who answered, waving her hand dismissively. "Please. Between the four of us, nothing in there poses a threat except the boss. And that's not counting Sprite. She won't let anything happen to them."
"And Aisha needs some real world experience fighting," I confirmed.
"Let's go~!" Aisha took off running for the entrance. The rest of us followed at a more sedate pace.
Holding my hand out for Roxy, I sent her a smile. Her face lit up with delight as she accepted and I pulled her into my side. Together, we walked arm in arm into the dungeon. "Remember my promise to you, wife. Together, we're going to clear this thing all the way to the bottom in record time. And along the way, we're going to find a nice little secluded corner to camp in and I'm going to knock you up with our first child. The first of many. I hope you're ready."
Roxy shivered and I felt the excitement coming off of her as she broadcast her thoughts and feelings to me. "I'm more than ready, Rudy."
I kissed her lips and we headed inside.
The dungeon was… disappointingly average.
After dealing with monsters on the Demon Continent, the stuff down here was really just pathetic for the most part. Oh, sure. Therese had a hard time, having to genuinely fight hard against many of the threats once we passed the fifth floor. And the little maiden had tapped out and asked to be escorted out after the end of the first floor, which Sprite had happily done for her. But Roxy was loving every second of it—even if she privately admitted that she kind of felt like it was cheating, with how much and what kind of magic she had access to now, not to mention just how fast she could cast. Kishirika got a chance to practice her own magic now that I was supplying her with mana, along with her demon eyes, and a workout to knock the rust off for her hand to hand combat skills. Aisha… flew through the entire fourth level and took it out solo in a matter of minutes, just to prove she could, using just the beginnings of our aerial combat sword school beaten into her by myself and Eris and her magic.
As for me, well… I cleaned up a little trash here and there and made sure nothing snuck up on us that forced Sprite to act. Additionally, Roxy, Sprite, and I took our time studying and deconstructing the many teleportation traps throughout the labyrinth. Beyond that, I hadn't really bothered with anything down here, because it was all just not worth my time.
Finally, we made it to the seventh floor and the final boss.
"Oh! That's a manatite hydra!" Kishirika exclaimed as Therese grabbed Aisha and backed up well away from the hydra. "See how it's covered in those scales? They make it super resistant to magic. You have to kill or cut off and cauterize all the heads or you can't kill it, and they'll just grow back. What're you going to do, Rudy?!"
I turned to look at Roxy, who simply smiled and gestured at the massive, hissing hydra. "It's all yours, husband."
"Thank you, wife," I pecked her on the lips, one hand trailing down to lay over her belly, causing the Migurd to blush. I had fulfilled her dream a while back, after Aisha cleared the fourth floor, and she had been on cloud nine since.
"So, it'll regenerate if we hurt it, right?" I asked, and Kishirika and Roxy both nodded. "Alright, let's see…"
I studied it and our surroundings for a few moments before I grinned. Kishirika and Roxy both exchanged a look and stepped back. Pointing Aqua Heartia at the overgrown lizard, I channeled mana and cast. Around it, thick walls of steel rose up, converted from the ground. I rose into the air and surveyed it from above as it turned and tested the walls—which held under the slashing of its claws. Nodding to myself, I cast my second spell. From above, a section of the ceiling rushed down, growing straight down and penetrating the beast's back, punching straight through and nailing it to the ground. And sure, there was some disruption where the rock touched its manatite hide, but… that did fuck all for the rest of the mana in the rock formation, or against the formation itself, since it was a solid object. So I pinned its body to the ground and staked it there in several places, making sure its legs, tail, and heads were all pinned individually.
Next, I created a huge fuckoff buster sword from the ground and made my way over. PETA would shit a brick if they found out, but…
Carefully, I started on the tail. Slicing into it, I swiftly cut off the flesh around the tail and pulled it away from the dragon. It began regenerating quickly and I grinned. Ignoring its screaming and thrashing, I quickly skinned the rest of it and let Sprite take the manatite hide for treatment. Sadly, the magic stones that coated its hide didn't immediately grow back. But that was fine. With the manatite actually removed for the moment, I could control my magic in the pieces touching it again.
We collected most of the magic crystals in the room (leaving enough for the hydra because we suspected it had been eating them), along with everything else of value, before heading to the final teleport circle which would take us to the surface. Just before the circle engaged, I freed the hydra.
There was no point in wasting a valuable resource like that when it would eventually regrow its scales.
Once we were on the surface, Sprite hauled us back up to the Roxy and we left Rapan, heading west. Sprite had already cleared the continent, but we wanted to sightsee before we left, so we didn't just cut straight north to rejoin Eris. Besides, there was still the issue of Zenith and Norn's location.
As we flew, my phone pinged. It was a message from Archer—just a set of coordinates, using Sprite's coordinate mapping system. Immediately, the Roxy accelerated, picking up speed and gaining altitude as we streaked northwest.
Roxy joined me on the deck, looking down at the scenery whipping by faster than it had any time before. "You found her?"
"I got a message telling me where she should be."
My blue haired future wife nodded, leaning against my side as we waited together. Finally, after only an hour or so, the flat, empty desert ahead of us shimmered… and an entire mountain range faded into view like a mirage. "Sprite?"
"That wasn't there before, master. It was hidden from me. From everyone, really. I'm detecting trace magic… it's yours."
"Not surprised," I grunted.
"I have a visual on them," Sprite reported a moment later as we passed over the mountains.
"Show us."
Commissioned by kyo amamoto.
We walked down the jungle trail, not trying to hide our presence. In fact, that was kind of the point. I wanted to give Zenith and Norn time to realize we were there and not enemies. Turns out, that was wasted effort.
I almost missed the ambush. Almost.
Silent as the grave, a figure dropped from the trees behind us. A spear with a steel blade and a monster core embedded just behind the blade shot out in a straight thrust from almost ground level, aiming to punch straight up under Roxy's ribs, aiming for her heart and lungs.
I pulled Roxy aside, twisting her around with me as I swung my staff with my free hand, intercepting the spear and knocking it off course. Our attacker stayed low, dashing to the side, looking to be aiming for Lilia, but my Demon Eye of Foresight told me what was coming. She flicked the spear back to point at me, stepped forward in a thrust, and launched a horizontal tornado of cutting wind at me that would have torn my guts out had it connected.
I countered with wind of my own, exactly matching and countering her rotation and causing the attack to dispel in a breeze. At the same time, I stepped forward and intercepted her spear with my staff, knocking it down and to the side. A water ball from Roxy blasted our attacker off her feet, before judicious application of telekinesis from my blue haired fiancee pinned her to the ground, where we finally got a good look at her as she thrashed, struggled, and screamed against the force holding her down.
She was around Eris's height, maybe a hair shorter. Her hair was long and blonde, but it was hard to tell given that it was a ragged mess intertwined with leaves, sticks, strips of fur, and feathers—no… upon closer inspection, they were braided into her hair to disguise the distinct bright coloration. She wore a dark wooden mask, painted in brown, black, and dark red surrounded by a mane of brown plants and long gray and black feathers. Her body was mostly covered in what looked like hand made furred leather armor—a short, black fur with spots that reminded me of a leopard or jaguar. Additionally, she wore a hooded cloak made of a brighter brown and black leopard pattern skin that hung down to about her waist, minus the tail, which went down to her feet.
"Norn, it's okay—" I began, only to be cut off by a fireball crashing down around us, splashing over Sprite's shield.
"Let her go."
Roxy, Lilia, and I turned to face the newcomer. She was dressed similarly to Norn and carrying another bladed staff with a monster core embedded in it. Lilia stepped forward, standing up straight and holding her hands loosely folded over her stomach. "Zenith," she called.
The second attacker reached up and pulled her mask and hood back, revealing the familiar face of Zenith. She looked between Lilia and Roxy, beautiful green eyes going wide. "Lilia? Roxy? You're, you're really here? Really?"
"We are," Roxy confirmed with a nod, before gesturing with her staff. Norn was levitated up, over us, and gently deposited beside Zenith. The elder blonde reached out and took Norn by the shoulder before she could rush in to attack.
When she was sure Norn wouldn't go flying off again, Zenith slowly approached, looking us over. Her eyes studied my face, my eyes, and she teared up. Dropping her weapon, Zenith ran the rest of the way forward and threw herself into my arms, pulling me into a hug as she sobbed openly. I returned the hug, stroking Zenith's back. "Shh. It's okay. It's over now, mom. Let's go home."
She nodded against me, but only wailed louder as Lilia and Roxy joined in. Turning towards Norn, Lilia held out a hand. Cautiously, the young woman pulled her mask off and studied us with a distrustful glare. She approached slowly, before eventually allowing herself to be pulled in between Zenith and Lilia.
"What took you so long," Norn growled.
"We came as soon as we found you—"
Norn cut Roxy off. "It's been six years! You're telling us you couldn't figure out where we were in all that time? And what about my oh so great brother, huh?! Where the fuck is he in all this? Every night, every single night, mom told me he would come for us! But you know what? He never came!"
"Norn," Lilia sighed as she petted the young girl's head. "Who do you think your mother is clinging to so tightly?"
Norn blinked, before frowning and looking at my face over her mother's shoulder. "I met Rudy. You don't look like him."
I rolled my eyes. "I changed my hair and removed the mole under my eye. I'm me, you brat. Or did stomping you flat without chanting to cast not give it away?"
"Tch. Without her helping you, I'd kick your ass."
"Norn," Zenith hiccuped, her sobs dying down. "Stop. It really is Rudy."
"Then I'll ask again. What took you so long?"
Roxy sighed and spoke up before I could. "Sprite, please take us up. Bring their things from the cave."
"Will do," the spirit agreed, and we lifted into the air. Zenith clung on a little tighter as we rose, but she didn't panic. Norn, on the other hand, looked suddenly like she would rather be anywhere else.
After only a few moments, we were above the treetops and being pulled onto the upper deck of the Roxy, where the others were waiting. Therese joined in the hug, along with Aisha and even Hilda. Quietly, Lilia said, "Come. Let's get you two cleaned up and changed."
Hilda managed to extricate me from Zenith's grip, who instead latched onto Roxy and Lilia. I watched as the women made their way inside. Kishirika sent me a smile, moving over and pressing herself into my side. "Feels good?"
"No," I murmured, shaking my head. "Come on."
"Talk to me, Rudy," the demon quietly urged as I moved us to our kitchen and began preparing a meal with help from Sprite. A feast, really.
"Doesn't feel real, for one. For another, I have questions. Norn said it took us six years to get them. It's only been about three."
Kishirika hummed as she leaned against the counter nearby while I worked. "If they were being hidden from Hitogami, that would be one way to do it. Time magic is one of those things that's almost impossible to do, but I've learned that almost impossible for most people just means that for you, it'd be a minor inconvenience. It was hidden from my Demon Eyes too. The entire area. So, you'd basically have to be as strong as Laplace to both hide it and, I dunno, shift it to the side or backwards or something so it's not in this time. Or as strong as you."
"That's my working theory. He contacted me using Sprite just before we met. Directed me to go meet you and how to handle you, actually. Later told me to kill Geese Nukadia."
"Nukadia?" she asked, and I nodded, looking up from cutting vegetables for a moment as she looked thoughtful. "It's a tribe of monkey-like demons."
"Master," Sprite spoke up, spawning a hologram sitting on the counter beside Kishirika. "I've never cataloged another member of a race like him, across the whole of the Demon Continent or anywhere else."
"Huh. Weird. They used to be super common," the demon empress murmured, before shaking her head. "Okay, so we're thinking it was a future Rudy that somehow came back and… obviously knew about the teleport thing. He must've caught Zenith and Norn and locked them away there to keep them safe."
"…It's what I would do, if I knew that some pissed off god wanted to fuck with me through my family."
"So the extra years is probably incidental or something," she shrugged.
"Or a training trip," I muttered. "Norn was good. Really good. Not as good as her sister, but that's a poor comparison since Aisha's—"
"Freakishly, scary smart."
I sent Kishirika an amused look. "Yeah."
We fell silent for a few moments as food flew through the air and prepared itself under my and Sprite's direction. I wasn't breaking out the best stuff, because I was saving that for when we reunited everyone, but I was making a feast fit for a king. Chicken, turkey, boar, deer, and tuna were the meats I'd selected. We made rolls and loaves of fresh bread. Plates of vegetables and fruit—exotic stuff taken from the Great Forest and more common fare found in Milishion. Then I whipped up ice cream, cake, and pie for dessert.
Eventually, Kishirika asked, "What else is bothering you?"
Washing my hands off, I considered her for a moment before admitting, "I think Norn hates me."
Kishirika shook her head. "Doubtful. Resents you? Probably. Just do what you usually do. She'll get over it. Or she won't." I sent her an annoyed look and the curvy little demon shrugged. "What? I mean… she's your sister and Sprite showed us that shitshow with your father. The man's an idiot. A stubborn, prideful fool. Who do you think your sister takes after more? Your father or your mother? There is a very real possibility that she won't be able to forgive you. I know it isn't what you want to hear, but it is what you need to hear, to be prepared for it just in case it comes to pass. Or would you rather I only whisper sweet nothings in your ear?"
"I prefer honesty. Even if the truth sucks," I grumbled.
"And that, my dear Rudeus, is why one day, you'll make a fine replacement for my Badigadi." Her left eye spun in her head and she grinned. "They're still catching up, so we've got a little time."
Reaching up, she unzipped her leather top and let it fall to the ground, followed by her leather booty shorts and boots. Dropping to her knees in front of me, she undid my pants and dropped them around my knees. Rubbing her face on my cock, Kishirika stared up at me with her mismatched eyes and a grin. "Now, let's make sure you're all nice and relaxed when they get done. Grab hold of my horns and just fuck my face to your heart's content."
Reaching down, I petted her hair, sending her a thankful smile before I grabbed her horns and did just that.
Then, a grin spread across my face. "Sprite, you've got eyes on Paul, don't you?"
"Yes, master," she agreed, watching me and Kishirika intently. "He's on a horse, between Milishion and the Milis West Port."
"Give me a hologram to him. But uh, make sure you just make it look like I'm standing here, or on the deck. Don't want him actually seeing Kishirika. She's actually his type, so I don't want him getting the wrong idea."
"Sending… You're live in three."
A hologram of Paul popped up in front of us, sitting on the back of his horse, as though I was standing and keeping pace to his left. He looked up a moment later, blinking as he saw me. A frown crossed over his face and he turned away, urging his horse on a little faster—not that it did any good. After a full minute of that, and Kishirika silently running her tongue over my cock, he spoke up. "What do you want, Rudy?"
"I found them." Paul's eyes went wide as he turned to me. "Picked them up less than an hour ago."
"How," he swallowed on a suddenly dry throat. "How are they?"
"About how you'd expect. Intact and healthy physically. The rest, I'm not too sure on. Looks like they were being hidden away and there was some sort of time magic going on. If my guess is right, they were hidden away for twice as long as it's been since they vanished. So—"
"Six years," he muttered, and I nodded. "Let me speak to them."
I considered him. Silently, as I petted Kishirika's head with one hand and directed her bobbing on my cock with the other. Long enough that he glared and started to open his mouth and repeat himself. I cut him off. "This is the point where, if I were a petty bastard, I would tell you no. I would tell you that it's too dangerous for their mental well-being to speak with you for the next five years. Then, when you eventually do show up, I threaten to kick your ass, but let you talk to them for a couple of hours. After which, I teleport you to the Demon Continent and make you walk backbefore you're allowed to see them again. But I'd stop you right before you met them, tell you they're just within your grasp, and then I'd try to kill you because I don't trust you."
Paul had looked away the moment I mentioned their mental health, knowing exactly where I was going with this little rant. That I was bringing up all the shit he had done to me, or which had happened to us all. And when finally having his nose truly rubbed in what he had done, with no recourse other than to sit there and ride his fucking horse and wait for months to get back to Fittoa on foot, I think he actually began to see the error of his ways.
"Well, it turns out that I really am a petty shitheel. I'm just not a manipulative bastard like you seem to think I am. I'll give you what you wouldn't give me, Paul. Trust, and all the time in the world you'd like to talk to your family. And one day, when you're old and gray you'll look back on this—on all of this—and realize how stupid you've been. You'll never meet your grandchildren, Paul. They'll know who you are, I'll at least give them that, but you won't know them except through holograms like this one. I'll send you a new picture every time we have one and on their birthdays, just so you'll know what you're missing out on. You'll beg to be allowed to apologize. And I'll let you choke on it and die with those regrets. Congratulations Paul, you've become your own father. So, do you understand?"
Paul was silent as he paled. I let him stew on that one. "There's a lake ahead and to your north, just about an hour off the road. Go get cleaned up and make camp for the night. I'll call you back when we're ready. Try not to look like a fucking bum when we do. I don't want to disappoint my mom and sisters."
With that, I cut the call. Kishirika, who had been quiet and only just providing enough attention to keep me going, suddenly started drooling and slurping on my cock—bobbing enthusiastically. I took the hint and grabbed both her horns as I thrust down her throat.
That night, everyone gathered at the table. Roxy sat to my right, with Zenith claiming the seat to my immediate left. Therese sat to Zenith's left with Hilda on her left. Kishirika sat beside Roxy. Norn, Aisha, and the former maiden all had a little 'kids' table' all to themselves nearby. Lilia, of course, was stubbornly refusing to sit down and help herself until everyone else had their plates.
That is, until I got up, physically picked Lilia up by the hips, deposited her in a chair, and began putting food on her plate—to laughter from everyone at the table. "Sit. Eat. You're not a maid tonight."
"But—"
"Up up up," I shushed her. "No backtalk. Keep that up and you'll earn yourself a spanking."
Zenith covered her mouth as she giggled. "Ahh~ this is nice! It's, it's so wonderful," her eyes teared up and Therese pulled her into a side-on hug.
"It really is," my aunt agreed as I moved back around the table to sit down.
"Sprite? Is he ready?" I asked, and my summon made a hologram for herself at my side.
"He is."
"Alright. Put him on the end of the table." A moment later, a hologram of Paul appeared at the far end of the table. He looked around for just a moment as Zenith gasped.
"Paul?!"
"Zenith," the man breathed, looking suddenly years older, but like some great burden he had been carrying had finally been released.
Norn stood up and rushed over, followed a moment later by Aisha—who looked conflicted, but was keeping quiet. Zenith likewise left her seat to go sit beside Paul. Lilia got up and directed Zenith into her chair, before moving down to sit in Zenith's place. We rearranged everyone a bit and I even convinced the former maiden to squeeze in between myself and Roxy.
"Alright. Mom, why don't you tell us all what happened?"
Zenith nodded and, in between bites, she began to tell her story.
"I was out showing Norn how to cast a spell from her spellbook when I saw the light coming for us. I held on tightly to her and tried to shield, but…"
"Yeah, it didn't work for us either," I agreed.
"After that, we woke up in the valley. There were predators and monsters everywhere. We tried to leave, at first. It was dangerous and we were attacked multiple times, but eventually we made it to the mountains. I found a small pass and we tried walking through, only to be teleported to the other side of the valley. We tried a few more times with the same result, before I determined we were completely locked in. We found a small natural cave, but it was occupied by a pack of monsters. We cleared them out over the course of a day and moved in. From there, we just… lived. We went out and foraged for food. I taught Norn how to fight. I had to relearn a lot of things myself. I even managed to break through and learn how to cast silently. Years passed. The monsters kept adapting and forcing us to adapt with them. We weren't entirely alone, however. One day, early in the beginning, a man showed up. He brought food and some basic weapons with him, monster cores too. Then, every once in a while, he would either come by to bring food, or he would attack us. He always fought us until we couldn't continue, then stopped. It took a time or two, but I realized he was training us."
"What did he look like?" Paul demanded. "Do you think he's the one who kept you there?"
"Probably," Zenith admitted. "And I don't know. He wore clothes that hid everything about him. He used a caster's bladed staff I've never seen before." She shot a look at me before adding, "He could cast silently."
Kishirika spoke up at that. "This may surprise you, but Rudy isn't the only one who can cast silently. Just the first person born in modern times who figured it out and taught it to others. Back when I was running around with Laplace, it was basically the difference between being a real caster and a part-timer. Laplace could do it. I can do it. I'm sure a few of the immortal demon generals from back then are still around and can do it too."
"People to be on the lookout for, then," I murmured, distracted as I was. The truth was, I was thinking about her description. I actually had a bladed staff that I never really used, confiscated way back in Roa from some pretty mage I'd had to kill. What are the odds Archer had to stick around to keep the place locked down and wanted to help out? Fairly high.
People started asking for details and I sat back and listened as Zenith and Norn gave them. Then, we filled her in on what had been going on with us. I let Paul get his story out of the way first, then Roxy and Lilia shared their own stories, followed by Hilda, and finally myself with some input from the others every now and then. By some miracle, Paul didn't mention our confrontation in Milishion. When Lilia didn't bring it up either, and Aisha kept quiet… I decided to keep my mouth shut on it. If Zenith wanted to know, I'd tell her. But just this once, I was willing to keep her out of it because I didn't want to bother her on her first night back.
The woman only just got back and I didn't want to force her to have to deal with her family falling apart. Her husband couldn't trust her son and had tried to kill me. I disowned myself and wanted nothing to do with Paul. Her sister-wife was planning to divorce their husband and was already sleeping with her son. …Yeah, I think Zenith's head might just explode.
Or she was going to kill someone.
Either/or.
Probably the second one, given the last time this shit happened. She's going to be pissed when she does find out though, I mentally sighed as I mostly listened and watched while the others talked.
It was well into the night before Norn and Aisha finally dropped out and had to be carried to bed—long after the former maiden went under her own power. After that, Roxy and Kishirika disappeared, followed by Therese and Hilda. Lilia stood and rested her hands on my shoulders, gently squeezing my shoulders and neck as I sat there, watching Zenith and Paul catch up. The man noticed, and while he looked briefly annoyed, he gave it up and focused on talking with Zenith. Until eventually, when everyone was yawning and it was late into the night, or early in the morning, they said their goodbyes for the night.
Lilia urged me to my feet and Zenith got up, wiping at her teary eyes as she pressed herself into my other side and we headed for our quarters. I was somewhat surprised when Lilia led us straight to my bedroom, where Roxy and Kishirika were already there, along with Therese and Hilda. The bed had clearly been either swapped out or added to at some point during the day.
Lilia sent me to bed and she and Zenith left, before coming back a few moments later, both wearing sheer night gowns—Lilia's, I recognized from the previous night. They climbed in and Zenith snuggled up against me, pulling my face basically into her tits as we held each other. I felt her quietly weeping and rubbed her back, Lilia spooning her, and Roxy rolling over to curl up against my back as we slowly fell asleep.
I was almost asleep when I felt Zenith shift. Her lips brushed my cheek in a kiss. "Thank you Rudy. I knew you would come for us. I knew it. You've done so much for not just us, but so many others. I spoke with Lilia and Roxy and I know you did everything you could. I know Norn's angry and she doesn't realize it now, but she will one day. Please have patience with her. I love you, and I'm so proud of you."
I shifted a bit and kissed her forehead, before resting my forehead against hers so I could look into her eyes. "I missed you."
Zenith nodded. "You were worried. We all were. But we're together again now. And you've grown so much. Nothing is going to separate us again."
Snorting quietly, I sent her an amused look. "If you say so."
Something in my tone must have given away my thoughts as she frowned. Reaching down, she poked me in the stomach. "Tell me."
"Not tonight. I just want to enjoy having you back. And you should be happy to be back. I don't want to spoil that."
"Rudy. Not knowing is just going to make me worry. Tell me. Or I'll wake up Roxy and make her tell me. That Lilia didn't already and the way she's been acting, well, you've pretty much hung the moon for her. I don't think she would tell if I asked, without your permission. But Roxy's a good girl and she'd definitely tell her mother-in-law what's going on."
Closing my eyes, I sighed and sent her an annoyed look. "I'll get Sprite to show you the recording later. Paul—"
"Your father."
"Paul." When she saw I wasn't budging on that, she winced. "We told you we met up in Milishion. We left out the part where he tried to kill me."
Zenith's eyes went wide. "No. He, your father wouldn't—You have to be mistaken, Rudy! Surely it was just a test or something?"
"Mom. I can tell the difference between sparring, or a test, and between trying to kill someone."
Zenith closed her eyes and shook her head as she shivered, breaking into fresh tears. "No. No, no, no, no, no~. Please no—!"
She fell asleep softly sobbing in my arms. I couldn't sleep knowing I'd destroyed her happy family, but I didn't have the heart to leave either.
My head jerked up from where I'd been napping. The chairs Sprite had made recently were ridiculously comfortable and I was dead tired, so I'd passed out while looking over live feeds of the progress in Fittoa.
Opening my eyes, I found my arms full of curvy woman. Curvy blonde woman.
Zenith hugged me and pressed her head into my chest. I returned the hug and closed my eyes again.
"What are you working on?"
Yawning quietly, I gestured towards the holograms filling the room and covering the walls and floor. "Fittoa. Sprite's working hard to get the region put back together before we arrive. She's done with the terrain, topsoil, trees, plants, and animals. Now we're moving on to villages. Putting everything back better than it was. Also, building villages for our new settlers."
"This is amazing. I don't think even Perugius could have done all of this, in the tales…"
I shrugged. "It's just a matter of mana and remote spell application by a summoned spirit. I'm sure he could now, even if he couldn't then."
Zenith shifted slightly, just enough to flick my nose and send me an annoyed look. "Rudy, what you're doing here is nothing short of world changing. You've got ships that fly through the sky and carry more people, faster, and safer than the largest passenger boats. You've gone from building our plumbing so we could have hot water and adding a wing on to the house when Lilia and I got pregnant, to rebuilding an entire region of the Asuran kingdom quite literally from the ground up. One of your fiancees is the new queen of Asura. Don't sell yourself short."
"Yeah, but it sounds ridiculous when you say it like that. I'm still just Rudy, mom," I sighed, leaning in and brushing her hair aside to kiss her neck, earning a happy little sound as she kissed me back. Zenith couldn't contain her touchy-feely nature for long, after all—even now, her hands had pulled up my shirt and were resting on my back and stomach.
"We haven't put Buena back together yet, but I plan to have Sprite remake the house basically as it was when I left. When we do, is there anything you want to change?"
Zenith nodded. "There is." When I sent her a curious look, she continued. "Move Mrs. Ada's home to the other side of the village. I want you to put a place for yourself and everyone else where her home was."
I winced, before slowly shaking my head. "Mom, there's… we're not going to live there. We can't. Between everything that happened with Sylphie, the village turning against me, and Paul being a shit we aren't going to come back."
"What? No!" Zenith shook her head, her eyes growing watery. "I need you there with me, Rudy! I, I need my family." Her eyes narrowed into a small glare, as she reached up and began grinding her fist into the top of my head.
"Ow."
"Rudy, you went from two to four."
"Oops?"
"Mou," Zenith made a little unhappy sound.
"Actually, the count varies depending on how you make it," Sprite supplied, popping up nearby. I sent her a glare and a 'shut up' motion, but the little brat just smiled wider as Zenith's attention shifted to her. "If you're talking about fiancees, then yes. Roxy, Eris, Sylphie, and Ariel. If you count long term sexual commitments, there are also Elinalise and Kishirika. Possibly also Tona, as a future such commitment, seeing as Eris is trying her best to convince her to join. You know how the Boreas are."
"Sprite," my tone was warning.
"If you count individual sexual encounters, there's also Ghislaine."
"Sprite…"
"Then there's myself. Eventually, I will join with master as well," Sprite nodded to herself, beaming a smile at Zenith.
The blonde in my arms slowly turned back to level a flat look at me. "What happened to the little boy I raised?"
I sent her a raised eyebrow. "You mean the little boy who seduced his older, Migurd teacher?"
Zenith sighed. "It's the Greyrat in you. You were doomed from the start," she muttered. "No one in my family is like that."
"Also, there's the matter of Lilia."
Blinking, Zenith turned and looked at the spirit. "What about Lilia?"
"Sprite, no."
"Sorry, master," Sprite apologized. "Everyone talked about it. They decided it was best to, as mistress Roxy said, 'Rip the bandage off fast.'"
"So. Many. Spankings," I grumbled.
"Sprite? What's this about Lilia?"
The spirit smiled a bit sheepishly. "She's getting a divorce from your husband… and becoming master's mistress."
Zenith leapt from the chair, grabbed me by the arm, and proceeded to drag me from the room. "Lilia!"
…Well, it could have been worse.