Chapter 52: Chapter 42: A Talk Between Fellow Earthlings.

Echoes of Fire and Shadows

Chapter 42: A Talk Between Fellow Earthlings.

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-----Sarana's POV-----

My name is Sarana and I am a foxkin who lives in the city of Mutm and a student of the Imperial Academy. I am also a reincarnator and an apostle of the Goddess of Love, Catris-sama.

Before I came to this world, I was a half-American half-Japanese 16-year-old high school student. My name used to be Kobayashi Satsuki. 

"So fluffy! I'm in heaven…" A black-haired boy was rubbing his face against one of my tails.

"Fufufu~! How adorable~. Don't hold back and play with my tails as much as you want!" I said with a smile while patting his cute little head.

The boy that was sitting on my lap and rubbing his face so happily against one of my many tails had been brought to my room a few minutes ago by my younger half-sister from my previous life.

Hehehe! I, Kobayashi Satsuki, have been living the isekai dream that all otakus have for the last 22 years of my new life!

After meeting a miserable end in an unfortunate accident where my lovely neck met the edge of my bathtub, I woke up in a white dimension alongside the sister I didn't know I had and met a genuine Goddess.

First, allow me to say that the anime and manga don't do actual gods any justice! She was so freaking beautiful! I swear that I almost had a heart attack when she talked to me, who used to be a classic plain-looking loner high school otaku!

Seriously! Saying that she was just beautiful is a big insult! She's much more than that! I had never seen someone so beautiful in my life!

Oh! Sorry, I got a little sidetracked! 

In any case, things proceeded like in the classic isekai anime fashion, we were offered a second chance at life in a world with swords and magic and all of that good stuff that comes with it with the little condition that we would have to help Catris-sama with something at some point when she needed us.

Surprisingly, she didn't ask us to become heroes to beat the big bad evil demon king or save the world from calamity or anything like that, which meant that we were going to have a slow isekai life!

At first, I was like: "Is this actually happening? Nai wa!" 

Hehehe! I always wanted to say that!

Anyway, long story short, I decided that I was going to be reincarnated as a very attractive nine-tailed kitsune (a fox, my favorite animal) while my half-sister, Kim Jinhee, decided that she was going to reincarnate as your typical beautiful and graceful elf!

I'm not gonna lie, that was probably the most difficult choice in my life. Lives? Death? It was a pretty difficult choice, okay? I couldn't decide which subrace of the beastfolk I'd rather be! It was almost impossible to choose between catkin and foxkin! Heck, I wanted to try living like a dragon too!

Why are there so many races and I can't be reincarnated as all of them!? I wanted to experience life with all of those races!

"Hehehe~! I can't believe how fluffy they are! It almost seems like they are made out of cotton!" The greedy black-haired boy was burying his face in one of my tails and using his hands to play with a few others.

Well, thanks to this little guy, I'm convinced that I made a really good choice! It is not like I regretted it in the first place, though.

"That makes your Onee-san very happy, you know?" I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear thanks to the cutie sitting in my lap.

"Nee-san, do you mind? We were about to have a serious discussion…" my little sister, Jinhee, or Laura, as she goes by in this world, looked at me with annoyance.

"What? Are you jealous that I'm not spoiling you instead?" I asked with an amused expression.

"O-O-Of course not! I'm actually pissed off! If you were awake this whole time you could have just said so instead of pretending that you were asleep!" Jinhee crossed his arms and said angrily.

Fufufu~! My little sister is such a tsundere~! She could just ask and I would pamper her too!

"I couldn't help it, you know? It was very cute to see you being teased by this adorable thing~." I explained as I pulled the black-haired boy's adorable round cheek.

Since he was still having fun playing with my fluffy tails, he didn't seem to mind what I did to him.

"Sigh… At the very least you're fully clothed this time… It would have been a disaster if Julius came into the room and you were still naked... As always, your magic is very convenient." Jinhee complained a little.

Well, I was still naked when the two of them came into the room and I was hiding under my bedsheets. It was a really good thing that Jinhee was able to bring me some clean clothes. 

I was able to put them on without moving in the slightest by teleporting them onto me!

It was like in video games where you can easily equip armor or weapons instantly!

"You have no idea." I nodded in agreement.

Hehe, Spatial Magic sure is crazily convenient on so many levels... Well, not just Spatial Magic, but magic in general, as well as the Status System, are way too convenient! As expected of a world that is just like an RPG!

My outfit is very comfortable, although I usually try to wear more clothing. Just like my little sister, I'm currently wearing a white tank top and a cute blue skirt as well as a pair of black tights.

I'd like to wear a sweater or something to cover myself a little more, but even Spatial Magic can't pull a miracle when all of my clothes are dirty… So it is what it is!

"Alright, can we continue our serious talk now that you have joined too, Nee-san?" Jinhee asked.

"Ehh… I wanted to play with this cutie a little more…" I couldn't help but pout in response. I was having a lot of fun pinching and poking Julius' soft tender cheeks.

He kept trying to bury his face deeper into my tail's fur, so he didn't care that I was having my own fun playing with his cheeks. He wasn't even paying attention to our conversation that clearly involved him too.

"Nee-san… You do remember what Granny Arentia told us when she discovered that we were reincarnators, right? Julius could be in danger if we don't warn him now." Jinhee looked at me with a serious expression.

"Alright, alright! Jeez! It is not the end of the world, Jinhee! Nothing has happened to him so far, right?" I reluctantly agreed after seeing how serious my sister was.

Sheesh… I genuinely wish Jinhee had met each other in our previous life… I think she'd have been disappointed thanks to what I looked like and how I used to be, but still, I would have loved to have a little sibling like her in my previous life. 

Perhaps, that way things in my life would have been different…

"Laura. Call me by my name from this world, Satsuki nee-san." Jinhee got a little annoyed again.

"Hehehe! Sorry about that, but I really love your name from Earth!" I said with a teasing smile. "Anyway, before we have a serious talk and all, do you want something to drink?" I asked Jinhee.

"Give me some fruit juice, please. I want something refreshing and sweet." Jinhee had already decided what she wanted.

"Okie-Dokie! What about you cutie? What do you wanna drink?" I said while gently pulling Julius away from my tail. 

For a moment, Julius looked at me with disappointment since he clearly wanted to keep playing with my tails, however, that adorable face of his became so flushed that he almost looked like the main character of a harem anime when a girl is confessing their feelings to them! He was clearly extremely embarrassed and it was so funny and cute!

"Umm… What drinks do you have?" He asked while averting his gaze to hide his embarrassment.

"Good question! I have several types of tea, three types of fruit juice, water, and coffee. Which one would you like?" I smiled while patting his head.

"Coffee!? You actually have coffee!? Give me some!!! I'll sell you my kidney and even my firstborn for a cup of coffee!" Julius' embarrassed expression immediately changed as he suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders. He looked very ecstatic.

"Really~? Maybe I'll take you up on your offer and come to have your firstborn when you're older~." I winked at him.

Someone should tell this little cutie that he should never ever make a deal with the Fey! Perhaps I'll even take his name too if he is not careful~!

Ah, I couldn't resist making a Mazes & Wyverns joke! Hehehe, It's been a while since I last played. Hmm… I kinda wanna play a campaign right now…

Though, I think that the joke is quite ironic on so many levels since according to my Status, I'm technically a half-spirit foxkin. 

Yep, even in my second life, I am a mixed-race child… At least things are way better this time around.

Anyway, as expected, Julius was blushing furiously and was at a loss for words because of what I had said to him. He was opening and closing his mouth but no words came out. 

He really is such a cutie, isn't he~? 

"Nee-san." Jinhee looked at me with a deadpan expression.

"Yeah?" I tilted my head with curiosity.

"Stop being a creep!" She suddenly karate chopped my forehead.

Thanks to her sudden attack I stumbled backward, almost falling to the hard wooden floor…

"Owwiee! It was just a joke! I may be a hardcore otaku at my core, but I am not that kind of pervert!" I complained to my little sister as I rubbed my forehead to relieve the pain.

"I'd like to disagree." Jinhee said coldly. She quickly grabbed the embarrassed Julius by the stomach and dragged him to sit by her side, far away from me. "Just to be safe." She said while looking at me as if I was a criminal.

"Oi! Don't be so mean to your Onee-chan!" I pouted.

"You deserve it. Do you even remember the time when you were temporarily banned from visiting the local orphanage for acting like a suspicious woman giving candy to the children there?" Jinhee frowned.

"It was a silly misunderstanding! It was a misunderstanding and it was cleared! Stop bringing that up!" I was extremely annoyed.

I'm not that kind of pervert! I just wanted to volunteer at the orphanage and play around with those kids! I was also 15 at the time when that happened, for fuck's sake! I just happened to look a bit older at the time!

"Whatever. Just give us our drinks so we can start, okay?" Jinhee decided to change the topic and give me the cold shoulder. "I'm sorry that it took so long to get back into the topic, Julius. Again, I'll ask you the same thing as before. Who exactly are you and why were you on our patio?" Jinhee asked Julius.

"Oh? So if I am the worst pervert ever then what are you? You were the one who brought an unknown child into our room, you know?" I said a little bit pissed off at the hypocrisy of my sister.

Jinhee just glared at me in response to what I said.

I just ignored her icy glare and focused on my magic. It was time to impress our little guest!

With a little bit of my focus and my mana, several objects suddenly appeared on top of our coffee table. An earthenware jug filled with cold fruit juice and ice, a wooden mug, my personal tea set with a few cups, my own selection of leaves as well as a teapot with boiling water, and finally, a large jar filled with a familiar black and bitter liquid.

Hehehe! Spatial Magic truly is amazing! I can store things in my [Item Box] and they will remain in the same state that they were stored in. Naturally, that means that the temperature, flavor, and consistency of any food or liquid I store in there will be the same when I bring them out!

It was really worth all that effort I put into mastering this magic!

"Oh! That smell! I can't believe it!" Julius looked like he was on the verge of shedding tears of joy. 

Without missing a beat, he quickly grabbed the jar and filled one of the cups of my tea set with the coffee he wanted so badly. He took his sweet time enjoying the smell and smiled before taking a few small sips of the hot coffee.

Both Jinhee and I were looking at him with amusement despite throwing those little jabs at each other moments ago.

"Bitter… It is way more bitter than I remember… Perhaps even more than Earth's…" Julius had a deep frown on his face. Yep, you guessed it, he still looked very cute even while frowning.

"Do you want some sugar with it? I have some milk too." I offered as I made those items appear on the table.

"From the bottom of my heart, I thank you… You have no idea how much I have been yearning for this…" Julius seemed like was about to cry and pray thanks to the cup of coffee. " First of all, I'm sorry about helping myself with the coffee without asking… And second, I guess it is time that I answer your questions."  He suddenly composed himself while putting some milk and sugar onto his coffee.

"Don't mind it. As long as you answer everything honestly, it is fine." Said Jinhee as she took the earthenware jug and served herself some cold fruit juice.

"I don't mind either! We are among fellow earthlings, so don't worry!" I giggled before I started preparing my tea with my favorite leaves.

"Thank you." Julius smiled before taking another sip of his coffee. "As for who exactly am I… It is a bit of a long story. So I'll start by answering your other question. I was on your patio because I came to visit and stay in my mother's childhood home." Julius said with a serious expression.

His mother's childhood home? Ah… No way! Could it be that he is…?

"Wait, wait, wait! That isn't possible! Jinhee and I are still pure maidens! There's no way for either of us to have a long-lost child! Also, I think I'd remember giving birth to a child as cute as you are!" I couldn't help myself and decided to react in a very dramatic way.

"Nee-san… Do you want me to hit you again? He's obviously not our child, you big dummy! Also, I told you to call me Laura!" Jinhee got pissed off at me again even though I was just joking around…

In contrast to her, Julius just chuckled in response, obviously finding my little joke amusing.

"I wouldn't mind if that was the case, but obviously neither of you are my mother." Julius showed us a playful smile.

"Since you are so young, you couldn't possibly be Granny Arentia's child… Wait, Grandpa did say that she adopted and raised a rather large number of children throughout her life, so maybe, if one of them belonged to a long-lived race, it could be possible that your mother lived here before us, but she had you a while after granny passed away?" Jinhee started talking to herself.

"No, it is actually not as complicated as that... My mom is a human and her name is Lilia. I believe that you should know her." Julius shook his head and just told us the name of his mother, much to our disbelief.

"You're Lilia onee-chan's son!?" Both Jinhee and I screamed in unison as the two of us were left deeply shocked.

I thought Lilia onee-chan couldn't have any more children after she gave birth to the twins… I even remember Granny Arentia comforting her about it too, so there's no way that she could have possibly given birth to him, right? 

Could it be that Granny, the healers, and the midwives were all wrong? 

Nononono, that is simply impossible! 

Biologically speaking, it should be impossible for Lilia onee-chan to have a child with black hair, especially when it is such a rare trait in the whole continent that there are little to no people with black hair here! 

There's also the fact that she was here living in the city three years ago! I don't know how old Julius is exactly, but she couldn't possibly have a child as old as Julius without us knowing!

"Is it really that shocking?" Julius tilted his head and looked a little confused. "I think it is a little funny that she, who was adopted, ended up adopting me." Julius said with a soft smile.

Oh… Adoption… Damn, the shock made me forget that it was a possibility…

I guess that DOES mean that Jinhee and I are his aunties… That's good! 

It looks like I now have a valid pretext to spoil him rotten! Well, I was going to do it either way since he's cute! 

Fufufu! We will be having a lot of fun~!

"Ah… So you were adopted by her… I guess it makes sense since she always said that she wanted to be like our granny and have a big family." Jinhee smiled awkwardly as she came to the same realization I just had.

"Yeah, that sounds like my mom." Julius nodded. "Though if things keep going on like they are, she might have that large family she wants…" Julius mumbled to himself awkwardly.

Unfortunately for him, I could clearly hear everything he said.

(Hmmm~! Now I'm interested in finding out what he meant by that~.) I could barely contain my need to be nosy. 

"Now, as for who I am exactly…" Julius closed his eyes for a second and fell deep into his thoughts for a few moments. "It seems like I can reveal everything to you both. Lia gave me the okay." He said to us as he opened his eyes.

"Wait… Lia? As in Lia-sama, the Dark Goddess? The Goddess of Knowledge and Emotions who supposedly betrayed humanity and sided with the demons at the end of the Thousand Years War?" Jinhee was completely baffled.

"And you're talking about her without using any honorifics too…" I pointed out that small detail.

"Yep, that's her." Julius nodded again. "Though, I would like to say that the stories about her 'betraying' humanity are exaggerated lies to tarnish her image. If anything, she was the one who was betrayed by the other gods." Julius said with a lot of displeasure.

Ever since Jinhee and I recovered our memories from our past lives until our grandmother's death, we were taught by her everything we needed to know about this world.

We learned about the fact that being a person from another world is dangerous whether you're summoned or you are reincarnated, as well as various details about the many deities from this world.

One of her lessons was about Lia-sama, the deity known as the Dark Goddess.

According to the records of the church and many history books that our granny gave to us to study, after the Schism of the Assembly, Lia-sama supposedly had a huge fall out with the majority of the gods of this world and chose to isolate herself. 

You are reading story Echoes of Fire and Shadows at novel35.com

She came out from her self-imposed exile at the end of the Thousand Years War when the founder of the Empire, the Hero Rokkshar, was about to deal the finishing blow on the Demon King Bass. 

Lia-sama used her powers to save the remaining Demons and all the members of the Dark Races from their certain extinction and took them to an unknown location. After that, she disappeared from the world along with her demons and she would be known henceforth as the Dark Goddess, the protector of the dark races and the demons.

Because of her actions, most people in the continent stopped worshipping her. The few temples Lia-sama still has are given minimum maintenance and no one really insults her openly despite her supposed betrayal since she's still a primordial goddess of this world along with Melius-sama.

People are obviously scared of insulting Lia-sama and having to spend an eternity of suffering in the afterlife for offending her. Because of all of the above reasons, she doesn't have any clergy who serve her either.

Of course, our granny, being a scholar and an eternal pursuer of knowledge, told us that we needed to take those stories with a grain of salt as we weren't there to witness what really happened and we could never be certain of what was the actual truth. She and my grandpa were both worshipers of Lia-sama.

"So… Umm… You were reincarnated by Lia-sama?" I asked Julius.

"That's the funny part of the story, she didn't reincarnate me. I mean, she did in a way, but that was after Melius almost screwed up my reincarnation." Julius chuckled to himself.

Ehh? Melius-sama? As in the God of Light and Creation…? The deity that created this world? And he's talking about him without honorifics too!?

"Oi… Are you telling me that you were reincarnated by the Creator God himself!?" Jinhee was so baffled that she almost dropped her fruit juice.

"Indeed." Julius nodded before taking a sip from his coffee and smiling with satisfaction. "But let's not start the story there, I'll start from the very beginning, okay? My story actually begins when I…-" Julius then began telling us his life story.

Jinhee and I were utterly unprepared for what we were about to hear…

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"And that's pretty much all that has happened in both my previous life and my current one so far." Julius finished his story with a satisfied expression on his face.

"..." As a result of Julius telling us about himself, Jinhee and I were left pretty much speechless…

I can't even properly express how bad I feel for him…  I genuinely want to cry or at least try to comfort him, but I don't know if I'd be able to do that… I know I look pretty playful and confident on the outside, but I don't know what to do in this situation… 

I have never comforted anyone besides Jinhee…

From what he told us, in his previous life was a South American kid who moved a lot from country to country because of his parent's jobs and thanks to his home country falling into a major crisis.

When he and his family finally settled down in Spain when he was seven, he lost his parents while they were on the road for a vacation in a huge forest fire…

After that, he spent a few months under the tutelage of the state in an orphanage until a distant cousin of his mother and her husband, who lived in the same country, took him in and adopted him as their own.

According to him, his life was pretty normal after he was adopted. He got two little sisters, made friends at school, did some extracurricular activities, and even got a girlfriend that he still loves and cares for deeply.

But then, once again, tragedy struck during a New Year's Eve party. He was shot to death by his family and his best friend. They were manipulated by a god from this world, Agmos, the God of Deceit and Treachery.

He had orchestrated the whole event for his own amusement while using his powers to pretend to be his girlfriend, so he could inflict even more suffering upon him…

Julius died when he was twenty. He was four years older than me and five and a half years older than Jinhee.

Then, just like Jinhee and I, he woke up in a white void, and then he met Melius-sama, the Creator God, who offered to reincarnate him in this world in exchange for his liberation. He had been sealed five thousand years ago by Agmos and the gods who were on his side.

Julius accepted his proposal because he had and still has a burning desire for revenge against Agmos for what he did to him and his family…

His eyes were cold, his facial expression was filled with silent rage even though he was trying to hide it…

When he told us all that, everything Jinhee and I thought we knew about this world's religion immediately crumbled…

We couldn't believe that the chief god of this world's pantheon had been sealed away all this time and that the God of Deceit was usurping him…

Julius then went on to explain how he met Lia-sama, how she temporarily blocked his earth's memories, things about his homeland, Gliosis, the country of demons, his life there with his biological family, his role and responsibilities as the firstborn son of the Demon Queen and the reasons why he had to leave his country for his own safety while also blocking his memories from there and regaining his memories from Earth. 

And then he finished by telling us the story of how he met Fred nii-san and our big sister, Lilia onee-chan. 

He spared no details telling us how happy he has been with them, how happy that he was found by such good people, how much loves them, how much fun he has had with his new older sisters and that he loves them too.

"Wow…" Jinhee was the first one to break the silence between us.

"I know it is a little difficult to believe it all, but everything I have said is the truth." Julius said confidently as he drank the remainder of his coffee.

"I'm not doubting you, it's just… A little too much to process…" Jinhee said awkwardly. 

I immediately nodded in agreement with my sister.

"But I guess I still should ask… Are you okay?" Jinhee asked with concern.

"Hmm? Well, it depends. There are some days where I feel down, but that happens rarely nowadays." He said nonchalantly. "If it wasn't for my family here, I think I'd definitely be in a bad place right now. Or dead… Maybe both." Julius shrugged.

"That's…" My words got stuck in my throat… Again, I wasn't sure of what I should say in this situation.

I wish Granny Arentia was here with us or at least that I was a bit more like her… She was the kind of person that always knew what to say no matter the situation…

This is definitely too much for a loner otaku like me…

While I was desperately wracking my brain to think of something to say to Julius and praying to my granny to help me out, something unexpected happened in front of me…

Jinhee suddenly wrapped his arms around Julius and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Ehh?" Even Julius was a little dumbfounded by the sudden hug.

"Look… I'm not going to pretend that I know what to say, because I have no clue on how to comfort you, but…" Jinhee paused as she noticed a few tears streaming down her cheeks. "Everything will be okay... If you ever need to talk about all of that again or if something is troubling you, I'll gladly listen…" Jinhee was trembling and all. She quickly made her hug tighter so she could hide her tears from Julius.

Right… I forgot how empathetic and sensitive my dear sister could be…

She's the person who started hating our own father with a passion and insulting him constantly because he abandoned me… Even though I didn't really care about it since I was a baby when he left, she still got angry for my sake when we learned about each other after our deaths.

Jeez… I can't stay like this… I'd be a pathetic older sister if I remained watching them…

I quickly moved from my spot closer to Julius and Jinhee, embracing them both and wrapping my tails around them.

(I may not know what to say in this situation, but at least I can do this much, right granny?) I couldn't help but remember my deceased grandmother.

I don't know for how long the three of us were like that, but Julius didn't move nor did he say anything back. He simply hugged the two of us back.

"Phew… I'm sorry if I caught you by surprise with the hug…" After a while, Jinhee broke the heavy silence again and pulled away from Julius and me. She definitely looked a little awkward. 

"Don't worry about it. It did catch me off guard, but I appreciate that you were trying to comfort me, Laura-san. Or would you prefer me to call you Jinhee-san when it is just the three of us?" Julius asked with a warm smile.

Thanks to Jinhee, the atmosphere in our room was way more relaxed and pleasant than before.

"Both of them are fine, and it is fine too if you drop the honorific too, but… I don't really know how I should address you anymore… Just Julius? Julius onii-chan? Onii-chan? Nii-san?" Jinhee said with an awkward expression.

Ah! Now that she mentions it he was older than us when we died on Earth… So that means he is a cool onii-san on the inside despite his childish looks! 

Hehehe! I always wanted to have a little brother to spoil, but I wanted to have an older brother that would spoil me too!

Also, I'm a little pissed that Jinhee insists that I call her Laura but allows Julius to call her by either of her names! That is so unfair!

I guess it can't be helped… She's really a tsundere towards her older sister~!

"You know, I don't really mind if you call me Sara-chan or Tsuki-chan like my friends from primary school used to call me! In return, I'll call you Onii-chan~! How does that sound?" I asked with a playful smile.

Julius didn't say anything back, he just stared blankly at us… Just a few moments later, his blank expression turned into a deep frown.

"That got added into my Status… Why am I suddenly your Onii-chan, if you two are obviously older than me…?" Julius said with a flat tone while looking at the two of us.

"Julius onii-chan, has anybody told you not to talk about a lady's age?" Jinhee immediately pinched his cheek a little hard to show her irritation.

"I was told that I shouldn't ask about a lady's age… Also, my resistance to pain is quite high, so that doesn't actually hurt me." Julius just shrugged while Jinhee continued to pinch his cheek.

"Oh, c'mon! It is not so bad! You were older than the two of us on Earth, so that makes you our onii-chan!" I explained in an exaggerated manner.

"I don't know about that, Nee-san… Julius onii-chan, when did you die? Do you remember the exact year?" Jinhee said with an inquisitive tone.

"1st of January, 2044." He said with a flat tone.

2044!? That's like almost 26 years after we died!? We are actually older than him after all! If we hadn't died, Jinhee and I would be in our forties by that time!

Naturally, both Jinhee and I shared a look of disbelief.

"What about you two? When was the date of your demise?" Julius asked, trying to give the topic a humorous touch.

"We both died on the same day… We died on the 19th of July of 2018." Jinhee replied, a little dejected that she was older than him.

Me? Well, I'm truly shocked and a little disappointed that he isn't actually a cool onii-san that would spoil me… But, I guess it isn't that bad since I can still treat him like a cute little brother and spoil him instead!

"Oh? 2018… That's strange… I wonder why there was such a large gap between our deaths?" Julius was tactful and didn't even point out that we were actually older than him on both worlds. "Ah… I see... That does make sense." He suddenly started talking to himself.

"Are you talking with Lia-sama, right now?" I asked with a curious tone.

"Yep. Apparently, Catris kept both of your souls in her divine realm for a few thousand years while she found bodies that suited what you had asked for your reincarnations since she couldn't be bothered to use her powers to create new bodies for you two." Julius just nodded in response.

Huh… Catris-sama never mentioned that to us… 

Wait… So a few thousand years have passed in this world since we died and met Catris-sama, but it has only been twenty-four years on Earth? That's so crazy to think about!

"Well, at the very least, you didn't have to go through the global pandemic, a few wars in Europe, the fall of all cryptocurrencies and their re-rise, or the second and third American civil wars. Oh! There was also the Second Great Emu War and that weird American senator who for some reason flew to Pakistan with a giant crab robot to fight a cyborg ninja while spouting some nonsense about memes. Man, the 2020s and the early 2030s were crazy now that I think about it." Julius said nonchalantly while rubbing his chin.

Hold up… WHAT! What the hell!? All that happened after we died!? Holy shit! 

Also, an American senator with the crab robot fighting a cyborg ninja…? Isn't that just the plot of…-?

"Umm… Did you make all of that up?" Jinhee asked with a baffled expression.

"Okay, I made the one about the senator with the crab robot up… It is actually the plot of an old video game my girlfriend liked, but the rest actually happened, believe it or not." Julius chuckled to himself after noticing our expressions of disbelief. "Anyway, since I told you my story, it is time you two tell me yours, don't you think?" Julius said playfully while serving himself more coffee.

"Well, I guess it is only fair…" My sister said after letting out a heavy sigh. She was clearly overwhelmed by what Julius had just told us. "I still have one more question though." Jinhee said while looking at Julius with a very serious expression.

"Go ahead." Julius smiled warmly at her.

"Does anyone else besides us know about the fact that you're a reincarnator?" My sister finally asked him the most important question we had.

"Yeah. Pretty much everyone in my family knows. My fiancées know about it too." Julius nodded again.  

He told his family about his reincarnation!? Is he crazy!? 

Hold up a fucking minute!? Fiancées…? Plural!? This guy has a freaking harem!? A real one!? Like the ones I have seen on the street while I wished death to those normies!?

"Oi! Are you a lunatic!? If they have even the slightest slip of tongue is game over for you! You'll become a slave of the royal family like all the heroes of the past!" Jinhee grabbed Julius by the shoulders and started shaking him.

"Hey! What do you mean by fiancées!? Do you have a harem!? Teach me how you did it! I want to have one too!" In turn, I was freaking out for an entirely different yet very important reason.

"Can you at least stop shaking me?" Julius said with a blank expression on his face.

"Not until I knock some common sense into you!!! Do you have any idea of the danger you're in!?" Jinhee was panicking.

"I am aware of the danger. Mom and Lia already told me about the whole royalty enslaving otherworlders situation." Julius was acting in a nonchalant manner despite his current predicament. "The fact that you're freaking out like this means that mom doesn't know about your past lives, right?" He asked with an inquisitive tone.

"No! Of course not! The only people that know about our identities are our grandpa, our defunct Granny Arentia, Catris-sama, and you! Besides those people, no one else knows! we have done everything in our power to keep our past lives a secret! We don't wanna become slaves!" Jinhee replied, getting a little irritated by Julius' nonchalant attitude about this serious matter.

"You also haven't answered my question!" I was also getting a little fired up…

This gal wants a harem of good-looking boys too! Why is the world so unfair!? At least two or three decently hot guys would be enough for me! C'mon Catris-sama!

Jinhee and I kept shaking Julius for a while, trying to get some answers out of him and scolding him for having done something so stupid.

However, the three of us were completely unaware of the presence of the person that was watching the situation with a smile on her face. It wasn't until she opened her mouth that we all realized that she came into the room…

"Sheesh… What am I gonna do with you, Julius? We haven't even been here for a day and you're already seducing both of your aunties just like you did with Tiria… You really do have a thing for older women, don't you~?" Lilia onee-chan's playful voice made the three of us freeze in our spots.

As we turned our heads, there she was… Our older sister, standing in front of our door with a sweet smile on her face after having easily dispelled Jinhee's barrier. 

Even though Lilia onee-chan was close to her forties, she had a very youthful aura around her. No… She practically looked as if she hadn't aged at all after her twenties! She was wearing a simple white sweater and a blue long skirt as well as a pair of riding boots.

"Mom! What are you even saying!? I'm not trying to do such a thing!" Julius' face quickly became deep red due to how embarrassed he was.

Julius was the first one to react to her presence.

"But you don't deny the fact that you tried to seduce Tiria?" Lilia onee-chan tilted her head and asked with a seemingly innocent expression.

Tiria? That crazy menacing gal who was the groomswoman of Lilia onee-chan's wedding? 

He tried to make a pass at her!? Does Julius actually have some kind of death wish!?

"I-I-I didn't! She was the one who asked first!" Julius whined while trying to hide his embarrassment from his mother.

"Whatever you say, sweetie~! I'm just glad that you three are already getting along!" Onee-chan said in a teasing tone. "Now then… Do you mind if I join this conversation? There are a few things that came to light that I'd like to talk about with my little sisters now." Onee-chan quickly walked over to us and sat on the floor in between Jinhee and me. She swiftly stole Julius from us and sat him on her lap.

"Umm… Onee-chan… For how long have you been here?" Jinhee was sweating bullets thanks to our older sister's presence.

"Hmmm? I think it was around the time when my sweet boy offered his kidney and his firstborn to Sarana in exchange for a cup of this… I believe you called it coffee, and she accepted. Care to explain that?" Lilia onee-chan said with a sweet smile while looking at me.

The moment she laid her eyes on me, I knew Jinhee and I were in trouble… The two of us were sweating bullets at this point and I was getting increasingly flustered because of onee-chan's gaze…

"I think that the four of us need to have a long and nice talk. It has been a while since I spent some time with you two, after all~." Lilia onee-chan said with visible excitement in her eyes.

Yep… We are doomed… Welp! I guess I'm gonna be a dragon in my next life!

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Chapter 42: A Talk Between Fellow Earthlings.

END

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