Chapter 103: 103 – Castling

The perimeter of Buina village, near the forest. There, Paul sheathed his sword and then stared at the pile of monster corpses stacked in front of him. Frowning, he turned his head back and said, "Hey, Laws. You've been patrolling longer than me. Is it normal to have this many monsters around?"

Laws placed his bow on his back and then walked over, frowning. The elven man ruffled his blonde hair and said, "No. And stranger still, Miss Roxy has continually placed barriers throughout the area on our patrols to prevent mana from accumulating."

"...Which means that these monsters probably weren't created here, huh?" Paul's frown deepened. "Dammit, what's going on?"

Laws looked at Paul and said, "Perhaps it is because of your guests?"

Paul glanced at him and snorted. "As if." He turned his attention back to the monster corpses and said, "These guys would be running in fear from the Dragon God, not running towards him. Not only that..." He flipped one of the monster corpses over to take a better look at it.

Since they were attacking all at once, Paul didn't really take a close look. But now that they were all dead and he had the chance...

"...These aren't from around here."

A mixed mess of monsters. Instead of mutated animals, like the Terminate Boars and Feral Bears, these monsters were actual monsters. Kobolds, orcs, some reptilian creatures...

Paul recognized them from his adventuring days. And because of that, he also recognized that they weren't from around here.

Laws frowned and said, "Could a dungeon have formed?"

Paul focused, shifting his vision to observe the ambient mana. And then he shook his head. "It's not that. Nothing's out of the ordinary in terms of mana..." He glanced back at the monster corpses and frowned. "...So how did these guys get here?"

A few of the monsters in the pile were from the Milis continent. For them to be all the way here in the Fedoa region, let alone in Buina village...

Paul shook his head. "Whatever. We'll just have to keep a closer eye out." After saying that, he swung his sword and ripped the corpses apart, shredding them until nothing was left but a faint crimson mist.

Laws gave Paul a pointed stare.

"What?"

Laws shook his head. "Nothing. Now, shall we continue with our patrol?"

-LIV-

On the other side of Buina village, near the open plains facing the Citadel of Roa. There, Roxy knelt on the ground, carefully checking her barrier spells.

*sching?*

Mercy floated next to her, shifting into a silver question mark.

Roxy glanced over and frowned. "I'm also confused, Mercy."

It was the usual morning patrol. While Laws and Paul went out to hunt for monsters, Roxy went around to do maintenance on the barrier spells she laid down to both disperse ambient mana and to act as an emergency fortress wall.

Usually, there was nothing wrong. Her calculations and formations were perfect. Unchanged and undamaged.

But today was different.

"...How odd." Roxy muttered while taking a closer look.

The barriers spells were still whole. The magic circles she drew weren't distorted or disturbed. Not only that, but the spells were still active. And yet...

"Why are there cracks?"

Gaps in the spell's structure. Portions that seemed transparent for some reason, and yet unaffected by the change. Almost as if it was just an illusion.

Nothing was wrong. And yet, Roxy knew that something was off. But it wasn't the mana or the flow of mana.

Roxy carefully examined the magic circles and then made a stone tablet with matching markings to study later with Rudy.

*sching!*

"Hm?"

Roxy looked up to see Mercy pointing off into the distance with an arrow. And in that direction...

"Monsters?"

Roxy furrowed her brow.

There weren't too many. She counted about a dozen shapes in the distance, all emitting the usual magic stone glow indicative of monsters. And considering the increased monster population over the past few months, it wasn't too surprising.

...Except for the fact that they seemed to appear out of nowhere on an open field where adventurers from Roa would definitely have been sent to route them.

*sching! sching!*

Mercy bounced up and down in the air before turning into a blade, pointing straight at the monsters.

Roxy brushed off her robes and nodded. "Alright. No harm in a little morning exercise." After that, Roxy stepped forward, her refined <Magic Arrays> flaring to life in front of her.

-LIV-

Was it because the days were fun, or because I was busy? Or both?

Either way, before I knew it, a week had passed since Orsted and our other guests had first arrived.

And resulting from that week...

Orsted and I were standing in the open fields a fair distance away from both houses, purposefully facing the mountains in the distance.

"I see." Orsted carefully examined the magic circle floating in front of him and said, "So there was some merit to that Demon Lord's magic system after all."

"...Yes. Though, I don't think it was meant to be used like that..."

A crash course on magical barriers, magic circles, and how to both disperse and condense mana through said magic barriers and magic circles.

Originally, I just taught Orsted how to make the barrier spells to disperse Being W's mana. But I really underestimated how much talent the guy had.

Intuitive mana control, even more so than mine. The sort where his will actually was mana, causing it to flow directly how he wanted it to.

That, combined with a repository of magical knowledge that Orsted had in his head meant that he didn't just learn the spells I taught him. Instead...

Orsted tilted his head thoughtfully and then clenched his fist. The magic circle floating in front of him condensed and shot back to his arm, wrapping tightly around it like a bracelet. After that, he threw a punch. And when he did-

*KABOOM*

-An explosion erupted. A shockwave that blew away all the mana in front of Orsted. Not only that, but one that somehow turned the elemental mana into colorless threads that quickly dissolved into a transparent mist.

Orsted smiled, looking satisfied. After that, he reached over to pat my head. "You are an excellent teacher, Rudeus."

"...Sure. Let's go with that."

Seriously. What was up with me teaching people and them suddenly improving in leaps and bounds beyond my initial lessons?

Was I that good of a teacher?

Orsted patted my head again and then pulled his hand away. After that, he stared off into space and muttered, "Battle Aura and magic are separate concepts. But if magic circles are utilized, a bridge can be formed. And so..." He trailed off and started making more magic circles in front of him.

...I think I started to get why Master Roxy was so exasperated in teaching me now.

Seeing Orsted trail off and go into his own world testing various hypotheses, I decided to leave him to his own devices and take a look around.

It was morning.

Since Eris's parents were here, they were hogging her time so she wasn't around. Sylphy was confused and curious about Miss Rostelina's... Husband? Husband.

Anyway, Sylphy was prying into Miss Rostelina's husband, so she was busy pestering- *investigating* him to see if he was actually cursed or not with that mask.

Dad, Mister Laws, and Roxy were on patrol... and the rest of the adults were keeping an eye on Princess Ariel playing with my sisters at the playground.

Speaking of Princess Ariel, I had a feeling that she didn't get out much or have many friends considering how quickly she got along with Norn and Aisha.

But that was about it. As usual, I was left out... mostly because everybody was probably still paranoid about Orsted.

He was a good guy, really. Just needed to make him look less like a 'final boss' and more like a proper hero. Or at least a decent person.

Couldn't do much about his facial expressions, but maybe his outfit...

Footsteps from behind. Purposefully made so as to not alarm me.

...Except there was nobody there before, so that really didn't help.

I sighed and turned around to look at the visitor. "You know, it really isn't helping you be less suspicious when you're near impossible to detect, Mister Perry."

Perry Dragonroad. Miss Rostelina's husband. A mysterious man with violet hair, a pure white mask over his face, a typical adventurer's outfit... and a wreath of light blue flowers around his neck?

Orsted paused and looked over. Seeing the flowers around Perry's neck, he smiled. "A gift from your grandchild?"

Perry nodded and then held up his hands, like he was exasperated.

I frowned and said, "Where is Sylphy, anyway?"

She wasn't around, so did that guy give him the slip?

Perry paused, tilting his head. After that, he mimed opening a book.

And then he struck a perfect pose of Eris being annoyed and waving her fist around.

"Pft." I shook my head. "So Sylphy's playing teacher today, huh?"

Perry stuck his thumb up and nodded.

Orsted stared at Perry and then said, "You should consider theater. Or the role of a jester."

Perry drew his shoulders back, like he gasped. And then he waved his fist at Orsted and crossed his arms.

Alright. So Orsted had a sense of humor after all.

Don't worry bud. We'd get you back to normal soon enough-

Ah, wait. Since Orsted was stuck in a time loop though it might not be good for him to loosen up...

No, we'd just have to make sure we won so he wouldn't have to keep looping. Then-

A soft poke on my forehead.

I blinked and noticed Perry was crouched in front of me, staring at me with that blank mask.

I frowned and said, "What was that for?"

Perry leaned back and wagged his finger. After that, he tapped his temple and shook his head. Following that, he mimed opening a book and writing something in it.

"...You want me to write things down? Make a journal?"

Perry stuck his thumb up and nodded. After that, he reached over to pat my head.

It was sincere. He was acting like a supportive teacher or uncle. But...

Why the hell did I feel like I was being trolled right now?

Perry stepped back and then leaned his head back. As he did, his shoulders started convulsing... Wait. Was that guy laughing at me?

Orsted stared at Perry and said, "You are enjoying this far too much."

Perry shrugged and then waved his hand. After that, he pointed at me and then mimed waving a magic wand. He also tapped on his sword and then crossed his arms in an 'X.'

...Alright. Maybe 'suspicious' wasn't the right word for Mister Perry here. 'Eccentric' was better.

I could see him being the crazy treasure hunter sort who dove into dungeons trying to find magical items and accidentally getting one that restored Miss Rostelina's memory.

Maybe the butterfly effect caused someone like that to come across Miss Rostelina and break her curse?

Though it was still weird that Perry's mana was all fuzzy and out of focus when I tried staring at him. Not to mention the weird sense of deja vu he constantly gave off.

Maybe he was-

*poke*

"Ow!" I glared at Perry.

He let out another silent laugh before running off into the distance.

Weirdo. Who did he think he was, Rosw*ll from Re:Ze*ro or something? Acting like a clown when-

Wait.

I stared at Perry's back, fading in the distance.

...If multiverse theory was a thing and as annoying as Rudeus made it out to be the first time I met him-

"Rui!"

A happy and cheerful girl's voice echoing in the distance. Norn's.

"Big bro! Play!"

And there was Aisha's.

I glanced over at the house to see my sisters being walked over by Miss Rostelina.

Seeing them, I took another look at Perry and then shook my head.

The guy was weird, but I had more important things to deal with than him.

Like spending time with my cute sisters.

-LIV-

A yellow blur, shooting towards Eris's head. She clicked her tongue and then swung her racket, sending the blur flying over the net back towards her opponent.

Sylphy laughed and swung her own racket, sending the tennis ball back to Eris. "Power isn't everything, Eri."

A curved arc.

Eris focused and dashed to the side before adjusting her grip and swinging frame of her racket at the ball.

Like Sylphy said, power wasn't everything. And like Rudy said, it was about control. And if she controlled the angle, adjusting the spin like he kept talking about with basketball, then-

A *swoosh* echoing through the air. The ball flying towards the ground, but also spinning backwards at a high speed. And then it hit the ground and bounced. But instead of going forward or to the side...

"E-Eh?"

Sylphy ran forward to try and catch the ball, but it was too late.

A soft rustle. The ball flying back to hit the net. And like that...

"Game!"

Applause filled the air... Well, the sound of a pair of people clapping did. Eris's Mom and Dad.

She grinned and wiped the sweat off her brow. "I did it!"

Sylphy laughed and walked over to pick up the ball. Smiling, she nodded and said, "You did! Great job, Eri!"

"It's Eris!"

Sylphy raised an eyebrow and said, "You'll have to beat me a few more times than that, Eri."

Eris frowned. But before she could think much on it, someone pulled her into a hug. Hilda.

"Mother knew you could do it, Eris!"

"M-Mom!" Eris squirmed, trying to get her face out of the way to get some air. "S-Stop that!"

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Philip chuckled and adjusted his shirt. After that, he looked over at Sylphy and said, "Thank you for spending time with our daughter, Sylphy."

"No problem, Mister Philip!" Sylphy smiled and said, "Eri's a great friend, so it's always fun playing with her!"

"Good." Philip nodded. "That's good."

Eris broke away from her mother and then looked at her father. "What's with talking like that? Are you and Mom going back or something now?"

"Yes."

Eris blinked. "Wait. Really? It's only been a week..."

Philip shook his head. "Not 'only', Eris. 'Already.'"

Eris's eyes widened and then she bit her lip.

Right. It was already a week.

Eris forgot. Her dad was the mayor of Roa. Not only that, but her mom had to be there with him to show solidarity.

"...Stupid nobles." She looked up at her dad and said, "Can't you just... retire? Stay here with us and have fun? Uncle Paul did, and he's like Grandpa Sauros, right? The head of Notus or whatever?"

Philip smiled and walked over to pat Eris's head.

She flinched and lowered her gaze.

"I'm sorry, Eris. But I promise... Dad promises that he'll make it up to you later, alright? There are just a few more affairs that I have to settle first."

"...Stupid Dad. That's what you always said."

Philip flinched. But then he let out a sigh and said, "I know. But this time for sure. I swear on my life. Okay?"

"...Hmph." Eris stepped away from Philip and averted her gaze.

Hilda saw that and let out a sigh. After that, she walked up to hug Eris one more time. "Be good, okay, Eris? We'll come visit every now and then."

"...Promise?"

"Promise. So do your best to get along with Rudy and Sylphy, okay?"

"...Fine."

And with those brief farewells, Philip and Hilda headed off to the carriage parked outside the Greyrat household.

Eris watched them leave and saw that Ghyslaine was already waiting there. Which meant that her parents were already planning to leave since she started her game with Sylphy, but waited for her to finish.

Eris pursed her lips again and looked away.

"...It's not fair. How come they can't just stay here too?"

Who cared about being nobles? Who cared about stupid other people? They were her mom and dad. Shouldn't they listen to her? What she wanted? It wasn't-!

A soft pat on her head.

Eris flinched and blinked away her tears.

Sylphy was standing there, a soft smile on her face. "It's okay to cry, Eri."

Eris sniffed and looked away. "W-Who's crying, huh? I-I just got water in my eyes!"

"Okay. Then... Here." Sylphy brushed away Eris's tears and said, "How about we play another game? After that, we can get Rudy and have some fun together. Is that okay?"

"...F-Fine."

Sylphy gave Eris a quick hug and then stepped back. After that, she grabbed Eris's hand and said, "Before that... Did you know? Rudy made a lot of candies in secret."

Eris wiped away her tears and then looked at Sylphy. "Candies?"

"Mmhm! He was working on them with Miss Roxy for a surprise, but how about we steal a few first. He won't mind, right?" A mischievous smile, making Sylphy look more like a demon than an elf.

"Pft." Eris laughed and then nodded. "Yeah! Let's teach him a lesson for not playing with us more."

"Right? Now come on. After that, we can have fun playing something else."

Eris followed after Sylphy.

...Yeah. This was fine.

Even if her parents weren't around, she had family here too. And a best friend that always tried to cheer her up.

Eris sniffed and wiped her nose with her sleeve. After that, she smiled and said, "So what kinds of candies were there?"

"Well~ Miss Roxy told me that Rudy was experimenting with honey..."

-LIV-

Ariel was amused.

"El! Up, up!" Norn waved at Ariel and held up her hands.

"No! Me! Up!" Standing next to her, Aisha did the same.

A pair of cute little girls, vying for her attention. But not because she was the princess. Instead, it was because of sincere affection. The sweet innocence that only children could give.

"Now, now." A mature elven woman walked over and hugged the girls, one in each arm. "You shouldn't pressure the pretty princess."

Ariel tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and shook her head. After that, she smiled and said, "It's fine, Miss Rostelina."

Rostelina smiled and said, "You can just call me Lina, Dear."

Another sincere expression. Treating Ariel as an ordinary girl instead of royalty, despite her words.

It was strange.

Ariel had wondered how Miss Lilia's life was in the countryside and why she chose to stay there. Of course, there was the fact that she was a target due to the assassination attempt. Even so, compared to the lavish inner palace, this should be nothing.

But Ariel could understand the appeal now after having stayed for over a week.

Warm and pleasant people. Sincerity, kindness. Peaceful days that seemed to last forever without a shred of concern.

No disgusting nobles staring at her with ambition, lust, or greed in their eyes.

No pressuring chancellors and tutors dictating how a princess should act, what a princess could do.

No callous older brother who saw her as just an eyesore.

Just... peace. Peace, happiness, and fun.

"Princess?" Rostelina called out to Ariel.

She blinked and shook her head. "I am fine, Miss Lina." After that, she looked at Norn and Aisha. "I would love to lift you both up, but I am quite frail, you know? Instead... Shall we play tag?"

"Yay!"

"Tag!"

Norn broke free from Rostelina and then poked Ariel. "Got you!" After that, she giggled and ran off towards the playground.

"Wait for me, Big Sis!" Aisha broke free and ran away as well.

Rostelina laughed and said, "You'd better hurry!" She looked at Ariel and said, "It looks like the princess is upset." After that she winked.

Ariel blinked and then she smiled. Shifting her gaze to Norn and Aisha, she brushed off her dress and said, "Daring to run away from me?"

Norn ducked behind a slide, staring at Ariel.

Aisha giggled and quickly tried hiding behind a pole.

Ariel shook her head and then ran off after them.

A pleasant and carefree day.

They wouldn't last forever. But until then...

-LIV-

Time marched on.

Rudy, his friends, and his family were all enjoying a peaceful reprieve from everything. Splendid, idyllic summer days.

Eris's parents headed back to Roa with Ghyslaine, returning to their normal duties.

Paul and Laws continued with their job of patrolling and getting rid of stray monsters. And to hone her skills, Roxy joined them.

Princess Ariel enjoyed her vacation from the inner palace life making friends with everyone and just playing as the child she couldn't be in the Asura Kingdom.

Orsted continued experimenting and bouncing ideas off Rudy, learning as much as he could. At the same time, he relaxed as well by spending time with the kids, losing a bit of his gloomy aura.

Peaceful, happy times for everyone around.

But it couldn't last forever.

Eventually, it was time for Ariel to head back to the palace and Orsted accompanied her.

And after that, late at night...

"It's been a month already, huh?" 'Perry' removed his mask and stared at the starry night sky.

It was invisible to the naked eye. And even to people who could see mana, nothing would have changed.

But he could see it.

Perry. Pierre Greyrat. Both aliases for Technique God Laplace. The one and true outsider to the world who managed to reach it due to a technicality and weaving within the folds of Destiny.

At the moment, he was constrained. Due to Being W's... Due to Hitogami's desperation, too many things were in flux. Every move that 'Laplace' made right now would drastically alter the future. So much that the natural corrective forces of the world would force him out until he threaded his way back in.

Even so, because of his nature and how he arrived, he could see it.

A distortion. Not in mana, but in destiny, time, and space. A result of Hitogami's direct interference... but also because of the ripple effect from Rudy's presence and the 'wish' that was being sent from the distant future.

Laplace narrowed his eyes, observing all the invisible cracks spreading across the land... No, the world, and muttered, "It begins tonight, huh?"

He wasn't sure how that desperate bastard was going to respond, but he could guess. At a minimum, he would try to recreate the 'future' that he knew by separating everyone and killing off those who were supposed to die in the future.

Laplace couldn't stop that. At least, not without paying a heavy price now that everything was so volatile. And after that, it would be up to Rudy to sort things out. At least for a few years.

But...

"So you're out here, Master?"

A charming and seductive female voice. Rostelina.

Laplace glanced back and said, "Aren't you supposed to be helping Zenith as the midwife?"

"I was. But Lily and Rudy said they could handle it." She laughed and said, "I guess my dear husband made me too suspicious for them."

"Mm. That's fair." After nodding, he shifted his gaze back at the sky.

Rostelina walked to his side and grabbed his right arm, leaning against it. After that, she looked up as well. "Are you worried?"

"A little. Being this powerless gives me bad memories."

"Well, maybe you should just have a little more faith, Master. Not all stories end in tragedy."

"True." Laplace rested his left hand on the hilt of his sword. "...I just find it hard to trust in people after all I've been through."

"You've got me!"

Laplace chuckled and then said, "Yes. I suppose I do."

Silence.

Laplace continued staring at the starry sky, watching the cracks expand.

Rostelina was quiet as well. But eventually, she said, "Are you going to leave again?"

"Probably."

"...Master's quite cruel, you know?"

"I know. But every arc comes to an end before a new one can begin. I'll be back, promise."

At that time, a shooting star shot across the sky. And then from the Greyrat household, a baby's cries echoed.

"It's time." Laplace shook off Rostelina and then drew his sword.

The invisible cracks flashed, emitting white mist. At the same time, towering shadowy figures flickered into existence. Mythical creatures never before seen on the surface.

A seven-headed hydra with obsidian scales.

A serpentine monster with glowing yellow eyes.

An ancient crimson wyvern with a scar over its left eye.

And it wasn't only here.

In the distance, the night sky lit up as white lightning struck, resulting in monsters appearing wherever it did.

Rostelina clicked her tongue, glaring at the monsters. "That's cheating."

"He always does." Laplace stepped forward, eyeing the unranked monsters slowly advancing. "Take care of yourself. I'll be back in a few years."

"Wait!"

Laplace paused.

Rostelina ran up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Remember. You promised."

Laplace smiled. "Right. I promise."

"Good." Rostelina nodded and then said, "I want a baby when you do! You owe me a fairytale ending!"

"Wait a minute. I never said-"

Before he could finish, seven rays of light shot out towards him, one for each color of the rainbow.

"Tch." Laplace sheathed his sword, glaring at the light. "Fine. Just don't die, Lina."

Crimson flashed, shattering the rainbow barrage.

"I won't!" Rostelina waved and ran back to the house. "Love you!"

"That girl..." Laplace shook his head and then focused. "I promised her a fairytale ending. My role here might be finished for now... But you're thinking too highly of yourself if that means you can change the plot now, you bastards."

Monstrous roars filled the air, echoing throughout the night.

Laplace narrowed his eyes, causing them to flash green. "Alright, Rudy. Don't waste the advantage I gave you now. I won't forgive you if you make the same mistakes he did."

Muttering those words, Laplace stepped forward, swinging his crimson sword. One that looked all too similar to the one that Paul wielded in Milbotts. And one swung with a slash that looked all too similar to the one Paul devised when rescuing Tristina.

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