Chapter 174: 173 – Side Quests

Wedding preparations were complete.

I had a house, I had rescued Mom and Mama Lily, I had introduced my future wives to my parents (and gotten scolded), and my sisters approved.

The only thing left to do was to actually go through with the weddings.

I had wanted to space the weddings out over the course of the next year, but my lovely fiancees weren't as patient as I was.

After seeing Eri try out wedding gowns, Sylphy demanded to get married soon too. And after that, Rika said that it was important to secure the line of succession and a legitimate 'rule' in Arcadia, so we had to get married soon as well. And then Roxy saw everyone else piling in on me and said she needed to get married soon too or else she wouldn't be able to show her face in Sharia anymore since she got shown up by all these other women.

Considering that she was marrying me after three other wives, I thought it would already be a big reputation hit. But Roxy said she could spin it as her being so attractive she won me over even after marrying three beautiful wives, so it was fine.

...Not sure how that logic checked out, but if Roxy said so, it must be the case.

And so, due to my lovely fiancees, the next month's schedule was set in stone.

We had a week to prep for Eri’s wedding reception. But then the week after that would be Sylphy’s. The week after THAT we’d have to take a trip to Arcadia for a grand reception for Rika.

And then we’d come back the Sharia for the biggest wedding reception Roxy could plan at the end of the month.

Or in other words…

Roxy was taking a whole month to prep for a giant wedding ceremony, Rika was taking three weeks for that, and I’d be doing practically shotgun weddings with both Eri and Sylphy.

I tried to talk them into rescheduling, but Eri was adamant about me putting a ring on her before any other crazy things could happen, and Sylphy wanted babies.

Considering the latter was going to jump me anyway, I managed to talk her down into waiting at least a couple weeks to be legally married…

And so it was that I was sitting at my desk in the magic academy doing logistics while my automated grading system sorted out my student’s papers.

Man, were magical runes useful when combined with programming logic and self-learning modules...

But let's see. What else needs to be tied up before I tie the knot myself?

Orsted and Pierre worked double time to sync up the world's flow of time and clean up the distortions, so intercontinental travel was possible again.

...Kind of.

There was still the issue about random overpowered monster all over the place, but assuming that was resolved, people could travel between continents now.

To make things easier, I had set up some Anywhere Doors for people to cross between continents, but that was just a temporary solution. Still, it worked, so we could call it mostly fixed.

That aside, everyone I knew here in Sharia right not to prep for the weddings.

Laws and Rose were here, having an emotional reunion with Grandma Rostelina and her new baby girl, Lunaria.

...That was still a weird thought. Grandma Rostelina... Then Lunaria would be my aunt?

...I guess it's just about as weird for Stella and my daughters though.

Anyway, Eri's parents were here too. Uncle Philip and Aunt Hilda were hopping back and forth, chatting with Eri and prepping her for everything that came with being a bride.

...I was a bit worried about what exactly those 'preparations' entailed considering I saw a few suspect materials being handed over by Aunt Hilda, but I decided it was better for my sanity to ignore that.

Mom and Mama Lily were spoiling Norn, Aisha, and Stella silly. They were also getting to know Ena, Eos, and Roland, dragging them all around to shop and explore Sharia every chance available.

The kids all seemed to enjoy it though, so it worked out nicely. Well, except for Stella, who seemed a bit exasperated at being treated like a baby by Mom and Mama Lily.

Dad was on a time-out from both the bedroom and the house by Mom and Mama Lily. They both held him responsible for the fact that I was marrying not just multiple wives, but FOUR. Double what Dad did.

Honestly, I thought it was a bit unfair. It wasn't really Dad's fault that I ended up with four fiancee. The plan was always just Eri and Sylphy, but well... things got out of hand quickly.

Dad seemed to be fine with it though.

In fact, he told me that he was proud that I was not only taking proper responsibility and all, but that I had 'now surpassed him in the most important ways possible.'

...Actually, I think I was getting why Mom and Mama Lily put him on a time-out now...

A clock ticked in the distance. Papers shuffled as the auto-grader flipped through the students' essays.

I didn't really have much to do, so I twiddled my thumbs a bit and thought about what I should do for the weddings. Maybe start working on a proper wedding guest list?

I didn't have that many friends though...

There was Ruijerd. Cliff... kinda counted. The White Knights definitely didn't.

...Huh.

Was this where the whole 'kings don't have friends' trope came from? It really is hard to make friends when you're busy working on building a country, taking care of your family, and dealing with a homicidal god who's perfectly fine with the world as collateral damage.

...Well, at least I had my wives?

A knock echoed on my door. After that, Aisha's voice called out. "Rui? May I come in?"

I waved my hand, opening my door. After that, I smiled and said, "Come in, Ai-chan. Always have time for my cute little sister."

Aisha walked in and took a look around my office. She was wearing her academy uniform, so it looked like she just got off from classes-

Wait, it was the weekend.

...Man. Time really was an illusion...

Aisha walked over to stand in front of my desk and then glanced at the self-grading papers. She frowned and said, "Are you even properly grading our work?"

"Of course." I nodded and waved at the papers. "This is a self-contained system with learning modules that-" I paused and said, "On second thought, you probably wouldn't understand."

There was a lot of background context involving converting semantic knowledge, statistical analysis of sets of information, recursive feedback loops... Enough to cover a whole semester's worth of content.

I really didn't feel up for it right now, especially considering the gleam I was seeing in Aisha's eyes. Definitely would be here for hours if I dove too deep into it.

Aisha puffed her chest out and said, "Try me! I'm the student council and honor student of Ranoa Magic Academy for a reason, Rui!"

I laugh and reach out to pat her head. "Maybe some other time, Ai-chan."

Aisha blushed and then stepped away. "Stop doing that! I'm not a kid anymore!"

I laugh and say, "You and Stella react the same way. It's kind of funny. But you know?" I let out a soft smile and said, "You, Stella, and Norn will always be my cute baby sisters, no matter how big you get."

Aisha stared at me and then sighed.

I frowned. "What?"

Aisha shook her head and said, "You are going to be in so much trouble when you have daughters, Rui."

"Probably." I got up from my chair and stretched. "But that's a problem for future me. But anyway, what brings you here? And all dressed up too?"

Aisha coughed and her ears turned red. "I... just want to spend a bit of time with my older brother." She glanced at me and said, "I think I'm overdue for some time with you, right? And it isn't fair that you spend so much time with Stella and Norn."

I frowned and did a quick mental calculation of the time I spent with my sisters.

...No, I definitely spent an equal amount with them all. But if Aisha is acting like this...

"Stella's been bragging again, hasn't she?"

My cute little imouto has been recently getting into the habit of flexing the fact that she grew up and spent her childhood with me to tease her big sisters.

It seemed like it was finally starting to get a bit on Aisha's nerves. And case in point...

Aisha's face turned a bright red and she said, "N-No! I-It's not like I'm jealous or anything. I just..." She coughed and said, "I just want to know more about my big brother." She lowered her gaze and said, "Unlike Norn, I don't remember much about those days..."

Oh right.

I took it for granted that Norn remembered, and Stella was Stella. But Aisha HAD been a toddler. Plus, unlike Norn, she didn't have any of her parents to rely on. Or any of her family actually.

I could see how that would take a toll on her memory at such a young age.

Aisha looked up and said, "Is... it no good?"

I walked around to pat her head and said, "Of course I'll spend some time with you. I haven't had a chance to catch up with my cute little sister either, you know?"

Aisha stepped back and pouted, fixing her hair. "Could you stop that? It take a lot of time to fix up my hair, you know?"

I smiled and held up my hands. "Fine, fine." After making sure my papers were set up... and that the system with my preprepared lectures was rendering my videos properly-

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Mm. Actually, could you call it 'rendering' if it was more projecting a lifelike hologram that gave the illusion I was teaching a class?

Food for thought.

But anyway, after making sure those systems and magic formations were good to go, I looked at Aisha and said, "So where does my cute little Ai-chan want to visit today?"

Aisha let out a sigh and said, "Why are you so flirty all the time?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind." Aisha shook her head and said, "There's this cafe I wanted to visit. It's quiet and has good sandwiches and dessert."

"Sounds good to me." I waved my hand in a sweeping gesture towards the door and said, "After you, Milady."

"...Really, way too flirty. No wonder you're getting married four times in a row..." Aisha shook her head again and walked out of the office.

I cleared my throat and followed after her.

-ANG-

Aisha felt weirdly shy today. Not embarrassed, but... hesitant? Reserved? It was hard for her to pin down that particular emotion.

It was definitely different from the morbid embarrassment she had when Rui revealed that he was her classroom teacher though. Heavens, the number of questions she had that day...

Right now, Aisha and her older brother were walking down the main street towards the commercial district. Aisha was taking the lead, as her older brother requested.

But that was still strange to think about. 'Older Brother'... and the name 'Rui.'

It was nostalgic.

Aisha had to admit that calling Rudy by 'Rui' or by 'Older Brother' made her feel safe and content. It also reminded her a bit of summery fun days in the sun. But it was just the 'feeling.'

Aisha still couldn't remember anything from her childhood days. The earliest she remembered was clinging to her wand, which was apparently Rudy's childhood wand, and following Roxy and Big Sister Sylphy around.

She had always heard stories about her older brother from them, but they were so ridiculous that Aisha found it hard to believe. And yet, now that she had been around her older brother so long now...

Aisha took a sneaky look back at Rudy with the corner of her eyes.

An objectively handsome face. A relaxed smile, but paired with a confident atmosphere. Intense green eyes that seemed to see through everything, but ones that were contrasted by messy and wispy light-brown hair.

An objectively 'cool' person.

Aisha hated to admit it, but her older brother was even cooler than what Big Sis Sylphy and Roxy said in the past.

"Is something wrong, Aisha?"

Aisha flinched and then realized that Rudy had noticed her staring. She coughed and said, "N-No?"

"Oh good." He reached up to fiddle with his hair and said, "I thought my hair dye malfunctioned or something."

Aisha blinked. "Hair dye? ...Malfunction?"

How does a hair dye malfunction?

Doesn't it just stain the hair...?

Rudy nodded and said, "I'm sure you've seen it, but my hair is actually white from mana strain. When I'm out and about in public though, I usually dye it brown to make it look more natural." He paused and said, "...My hair IS still brown, right? Not some weird like red or something?"

Aisha shook her head. "No. It's still brown."

"Good, good." Rudy nodded and said, "Then I guess you're just sneaking glances because you've noticed how cool your big brother is?"

Aisha puffed her cheeks and then spun around to kick Rudy's leg. "Stop- OW!" She knelt down to massage her foot and glared at Rudy. "What the heck are you made of?"

Rudy chuckled and said, "Complicated question there, but nothing a person can't achieve with enough knowledge and training." He reached over to heal Aisha and then said, "Still, you haven't grown out of your little gremlin phase, huh?"

Aisha hopped back to her feet and said, "I am not little, nor am I a gremlin. In fact, I will have you know that I'm only a few years away from becoming a full-fledged adult!"

Rudy paused and then let out a bitter smile. "That's right. Ai-chan's almost a proper adult now, huh? Just in the blink of an eye..."

Aisha didn't know how to respond to that. She felt a bit weird seeing Rudy's expression, so she looked away and started walking again. "Anyway... we're almost there."

Rudy followed after Aisha and said, "Where exactly are we going anyway?"

Aisha glanced back and said, "<Lost Index>. Like I said, it's a cafe with good sandwiches and desserts. It's also pretty popular for the fact that it has stories you can check out and read while you're there- Hm?" Aisha paused and then realized that Rudy had stopped following her at some point. "Rui?"

Rudy had stopped in front of a non-descript shop with an unmarked sign. Staring at it, he frowned and said, "Hey Aisha. Do you know what kind of shop this is?"

Aisha walked back and took a closer look. Seeing the unmarked signs, she nodded and said, "That should be a slave shop. Big Sis Roxy never let me visit one, but it should be where you can buy people you need."

"...People you need, huh? That's a pretty way of dressing that up." Rudy frowned and said, "Still, when the world's like this, they're still in business?"

"Rui?" Aisha tilted her head. "...Is something wrong?"

Rudy tapped his fingers on his leg and said, "I could ignore this. But since she reacted like that... And I also have the power to fix it too..."

Aisha was starting to get a bad feeling. Her instincts were telling her something was about to go down. "Um. Big Brother, I think that we should-"

Rudy patted Aisha's shoulder and said, "Wait here. I'll be right back- Ah. Actually." He snapped his fingers.

Light flickered and bent. And then a beautiful female knight with short pink hair appeared. Sticking out two fingers to the side of her face, she winked and said, "Yahoo! It's been a while, Master Rudy!"

"E-Eh?"

Wait. Did her older brother just casually summon a person from somewhere else? No, Mom explained that he visited a whole different timeline to rescue them, so it was within the scope of things.

But still, that didn't abide by any of the laws of metastasis or summoning magic. There was barely any mana usage, no incantations, no fluctuations of any kind-

"Keep an eye on Aisha here for a bit. I'm going to do some cleaning."

Aisha blinked and then realized Rudy was already walking away. "W-Wait!" She ran after him and grabbed his hand. "I'm coming too!"

Rudy paused and then looked at her. "It's going to be pretty disturbing in there. Dark stuff."

Aisha frowned and said, "I told you, I'm not a child."

Rudy stared at her for a while and then sighed. "Right. My cute baby sister has grown up..." He looked up at the sky, thinking. But then he nodded and said, "Fine. It might get ugly though." He looked back at Aisha and said, "By the way, do you know a bit about this city and kingdom?"

Aisha blinked. "Yes...?"

"Okay." Rudy nodded and said, "HYPOTHETICALLY... what would happen if I destroyed the slave industry here? Would the entire kingdom declare war against me?"

"Obviously." Aisha frowned and said, "Slavery is an integral part of the Ranoa Kingdom's economy. Not to mention that it's a core trade with the Asura Kingdom. In terms of morality, I can see the concern, but it would be more harm by removing the income and negatively affecting the kingdom's economy, wouldn't it?"

Rudy stared at Aisha for a long while.

Aisha frowned, feeling a bit uncomfortable by the intense gaze.

And then Rudy sighed. "Okay, I get what Dad was trying to teach me back then now. Really isn't too good being too rational and objective..."

"Huh?"

Rudy cracked his neck and said, "Well, whatever. I can actually blame this on Dad this time." He walked towards the building and said, "Keep an eye on Aisha, Astolfo."

"Got it, Boss!"

"W-Wait." Aisha looked at Rudy and then the shop and said, "You aren't seriously-"

*BANG*

"OPEN UP! THIS IS THE ORDER OF THE TEMPLE! WE'VE COME IN THE NAME OF MILIS TO DEMOLISH THIS OBSCENE PRACTICE!"

Astolfo giggled, and then started cackling when a platoon of knights in blue armor and the emblem of Milis appeared behind Rudy.

"Oh dear heavens above." Aisha stared at Rudy marching in with the knights and said, "...He's serious about this."

Astolfo patted Aisha's shoulder and said, "Boss is always serious! Now, come on! Let's go see him being cool!"

"W-Wait a minute, Miss Astolfo. I REALLY don't think this is a good- AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

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