Homecoming

"Ghislaine, you don't need to come with us!"

"Eris, my duty is to protect you..."

Eris turned to look at me.

Even if you looked at me so expectantly...

Uh...

I sighed and spoke.

"Ghislaine, things have been a little unsettled around Uncle Saul lately. You should be protecting him now, preferably as his personal bodyguard. Eris is already an Advanced Swordsman; she doesn't need excessive protection anymore."

Seeing that I agreed, Ghislaine could only nod.

"Rudeus, protect Eris well."

"Don't worry! Rudeus will definitely protect me!"

Eris said to Ghislaine with her arms folded across her chest.

So why were you the one answering...?

Just as we had promised that night, I took Eris and prepared to head home for a visit.

Paul would probably be surprised to see me... Coming back with a girl after being gone for three years.

No... He knew who Eris was, so he probably wouldn't be surprised.

During the carriage ride, Eris was anything but settled.

"Rudeus! Look over there!"

"I'm inside, so I can't see it!"

"Then Rudeus should come up too!"

Eris climbed onto the roof of the carriage and looked around in every direction.

It seemed to be her first time traveling so far from home, so she was excited.

"It's too dangerous. You should come down too, Eris."

"Tch! Fine!"

Eris obediently ducked back into the carriage from the roof.

That was easy. I supposed that was what one would expect from an Advanced Swordsman.

As the carriage drew closer and closer to home, I started to feel a little nervous.

How should I greet them after not seeing them for so long...?

Would my sisters still remember me...?

Would Sylphie know I had come back...?

As I thought about these things, the carriage came to a stop.

We got out of the carriage, and before us stood a two-story wooden house.

My home in this world...

Walking to the door, I raised my hand and knocked gently.

The sound of quick little footsteps came from inside, and the door immediately opened.

The one who opened it was a little girl. She wore a small maid outfit somewhat like Lilia's and had reddish-brown hair like Lilia's too...

This was...

"Who are you?"

"Huh?"

No way.

Aisha had forgotten me...

No, that was normal. Aisha had only been one when I left. It would have been stranger if she remembered me.

She should be four by now, right? She had really grown a lot...

I crouched down and instinctively reached out to pat her head.

"I'm your older brother, Rudeus Greyrat."

Aisha froze for a moment, then flashed a smile that revealed her little fang. She turned and ran into the house, shouting at the same time.

"Mom! Big Brother is back!!!"

I gave Eris a wry smile.

"For now, shall we go in?"

And just like that, I was finally reunited with them.

Zenith stood there in a daze for quite some time before coming over to hug me.

"Rudy... You've grown up."

"Mother, you're still as young and beautiful as ever."

"Where did you learn to say things like that? Have you been sweet-talking girls with lines like that every day?"

Zenith tapped my head with her hand.

It seemed she was worried I would become a womanizing scumbag like Paul.

But that was impossible!

"How could that be? I only say things like that to Mother."

"Oh my~ Our Rudy is still as sweet and adorable as ever!"

Zenith hugged me even tighter, making it a little hard to breathe.

Paul did not seem to be home, since he was out on patrol at this hour.

"H-Hello, Auntie! I... I'm... Eris Boreas Greyrat..."

Eris stammered nervously, bent at the waist, and called out directly to Zenith.

Zenith looked at her, then turned back to look at me.

"So you're Eris? You're so cute~"

"Th-Thank you! R-Rudeus has always taken care of me! S-So! I... I prepared a gift!"

With that, Eris took out the gift she had prepared.

It was plain and unadorned: a box of jewelry.

Zenith gave a wry smile, but still reached out and accepted it.

"Thank you for your kindness, Eris."

"You're... you're welcome!"

After saying that, Eris finally relaxed completely.

At that moment, Lilia, who had been standing nearby, also spoke.

"Master Rudeus, welcome home."

"Lilia... You don't need to call me Master. Also... why is Aisha wearing a maid outfit?"

I looked at Aisha, who stood respectfully beside her.

"Because she is to serve Master Rudeus in the future, I thought I should train her from a young age to become a proper maid."

My little sister... becoming my maid?

This was like one of those light novels I had read in my previous life.

In stories like that, the little sister usually turned out to be a cousin in the end, then got together with her older brother. It was an extremely cliché plot.

A little-sister maid... I could not accept that.

"No... I won't allow it."

With that, I walked straight over to Aisha and picked her up.

"Eek?!"

Aisha let out an adorable little cry.

"Aisha is my little sister, not a maid. And you are not a maid either... Lilia, you are family."

Lilia opened her mouth, then closed it again.

"See? Rudy says so too, which is why I told you not to dress her like that!"

Zenith spoke up at that moment.

"Sorry, Rudy. Aisha doesn't normally dress like this. It's just that Lilia has always wanted her to... um... serve you. She only dressed her like this today to see how you would react. And normally, Lilia and I do the housework together! But Lilia just likes dressing this way."

"I see... I misunderstood."

"It's Lilia's fault."

Zenith said this to Lilia with a hint of reproach.

I reached out and pinched Aisha's little cheek. She closed her eyes and smiled, looking as if she would let me do whatever I wanted.

She was almost four... She had grown so fast, and she was so cute.

"Where are Norn and Paul?"

"She insisted on going on patrol with Paul today. That child is very attached to her father."

"I see..."

"Rudy, should we let Sylphie know you're back?"

Zenith asked with a smile on her face.

But I could not see even a trace of amusement in her eyes... That terrifying expression again.

"Mm... Tell her..."

After saying that, I carried Aisha out into the yard.

Eris was stopped by Zenith, who eagerly questioned her about me.

My mother... was kind of nosy.

"Big Brother!"

"Hmm?"

"I missed you so much!"

Huh? Aisha remembered me?

"You remembered me all along?"

"I remembered Big Brother! I just didn't recognize you when I first saw you, but now you seem more and more familiar!"

"Oh... Oh! You have such a good memory."

"How long will Big Brother stay this time?"

Aisha smiled, her little fang visible again.

"Maybe one or two weeks?"

"Huh~? You're not going to become the young lady's tutor for another three years, are you?"

"Probably... not. I'll come back often from now on."

"That's good. Aisha will wait for Big Brother to come home!"

What an... what an amazing little sister...

Just Aisha alone made my heart feel this warm. If Norn came back too...

Let me drown in this blissful haven called little sisters for the rest of my life.

"Ugh..."

"It's your big brother..."

"Uh... Big Brother..."

After saying that in such a tiny voice, Norn ran straight to her room.

W-Why?!

"Sorry, Rudy. Norn is a little shy around strangers."

Paul scratched his head as he spoke to me.

"Father, don't you have anything else to say to me?"

"Uh... I'm sorry..."

Just as I had said before, I did not really care that much about it.

The only thing that annoyed me was that Paul had not properly discussed it with me.

I sighed.

"Fine, I'll forgive you this once, Father."

"Rudy...!"

Paul immediately hugged me.

Only then did I notice Sylphie standing behind Paul.

She fidgeted awkwardly, too embarrassed to speak.

I pushed Paul away directly and, ignoring his stunned expression, spoke to Sylphie.

"Sylphie... I'm sorry... Uh... Before... I didn't know."

"It's okay... B-Because... I was the one who didn't tell Rudy the truth..."

"Uh..."

Anyway, this was a little awkward.

Now that I knew Sylphie was a girl, looking at her again made her seem unbelievably cute.

Uh...

I had always thought of Sylphie as an obedient, good friend...

Who would have thought...

"Hello! I'm Eris Boreas Greyrat, Rudeus's student! What's your name?"

When we were at a bit of a loss for words, Eris suddenly appeared.

Her voice was as loud as ever, and she spoke to Sylphie with a somewhat condescending air.

"Eris, you can't be so rude."

"Hmph!"

"It... it's okay... I'm... Sylphiette... Rudy's childhood friend... and also Rudy's student... Nice to meet you, Miss Eris..."

Eris nodded in satisfaction.

"Hmm... It's perfectly normal for Rudeus to have three students. After all, Rudeus is amazing!"

Three? It seemed Eris was counting Ghislaine as one of my students too.

After freezing for a moment, Sylphie seemed to figure out how to communicate with Eris and cautiously asked,

"Could you tell me about Rudy's time in Roa...?"

"Of course! Rudeus was incredible..."

For some reason, the two of them suddenly began chatting happily.

I withdrew from that distinctly girlish conversation. Just as I let out a sigh of relief, someone patted my shoulder.

"Pretty impressive. You've already got two girls fighting over you?"

It was Paul. He had come over as well.

"Father, they aren't fighting."

"They're both talking about you. Which one are you going to marry?"

"If I said I'd marry them both, what would you think?"

"A fine man with Greyrat blood!"

Paul was still the same. Even after three years, it seemed like he hadn't matured at all.

Marry them both... Heh...

If I really had that idea, Zenith would definitely tear me apart.

No... If I married Eris and then married Sylphie, Ghislaine would probably strangle me to death one night.

Better not think about it...

"Big brother! Dad!"

"Oh! Aisha!"

Paul picked Aisha up.

It seemed Paul had a good relationship with Aisha too. He didn't appear to favor either daughter.

That was more like it.

"Big brother! I want to learn magic!"

Aisha said that to me from Paul's arms.

Magic... Aisha was only three and a half, wasn't she?

Well... I started learning when I was three too, so it should be fine.

"Okay, big brother will teach you."

"Yay! Dad, Mom, and Sylphie all said you're an incredibly powerful magician!"

"I suppose I am."

"Oohh~!"

And so, Eris and Sylphie chatted all afternoon while I taught Aisha magic in the yard.

After dinner, I offered to walk Sylphie home.

Eris, meanwhile, naturally stayed at our house.

After leaving the house, Sylphie walked ahead of me in silence, her hands clasped behind her back.

She was so cute. A different kind of cute from Eris. Why had I ever thought she was a boy?

It was nighttime. If this had been the old Sylphie, she definitely would have been hiding behind me in fear.

She had grown a lot too...

We walked in silence until we reached Sylphie's front door.

Then Sylphie spoke.

"Rudy...?"

"I'm here."

"Rudy... Can you still teach me magic?"

"What? Do you think I'm no longer qualified to teach you?"

"No, no! You're Eris's teacher now... I..."

"My student isn't just Eris. When I was in Roa, I was Ghislaine's teacher too."

"Ghislaine...? Who's that?"

"Hmm... You probably haven't met her, but like I said, they're my students. And so are you."

Sylphie fell silent for a while, then drew in a breath as though she had made up her mind.

"Ru... Rudy...! Then... then can you promise me... no matter what... you'll keep teaching me... okay...?"

"Of course."

"It's a promise...?"

"It's a promise."

"Then... then tomorrow! Can you teach me magic under that big tree again...?"

"Of course I can."

"Okay! Then... then see you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow."

Sylphie smiled and waved goodbye to me.

When I returned home, it seemed everyone had already gone to sleep.

As soon as I entered my room, I took a deep breath and inhaled its familiar scent.

It seemed my room had been kept clean. Even though I had returned so suddenly, I couldn't feel any dust anywhere.

Well... I'd said Eris could stay here for a week, but I had no idea what there was to do in this village.

After all, I had spent my childhood studying magic and swordsmanship... Ah, and now my swordsmanship had practically fallen into disuse.

"We'll deal with tomorrow when it comes."

Saying that, I threw myself onto the bed, ready to sleep.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

I said that, and the person who entered was Eris.

"What is it? Can't get used to sleeping here?"

"That's right! So I'm sleeping in your room!"

Eris looked completely justified as she stood on tiptoe and looked around my room.

"Fine. I'll go get another set of bedding."

As soon as I said that, Eris happily pounced onto my bed.

With a wry smile, I left the room to get the bedding.

The moment I opened the door, I found a little figure standing outside.

It was Aisha...

"Aisha? Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"Um... um... I want... want to sleep with big brother..."

Aisha spoke softly and bashfully, swaying her body ever so slightly.

No one could possibly refuse such an adorable sight.

So I nodded and agreed.

"Okay! Go into my room first. I'll go get the bedding."

"Okay!"

Aisha nodded happily and ran into the room.

When I came back with the bedding, I found that somehow, Aisha and Eris had already gotten along. The two of them were lying together on my bed.

When she saw me enter, Aisha raised her hand.

"Big brother! Big sister Eris told me lots of things about you!"

"She didn't say anything bad about me, did she?"

"No! Big sister Eris said you're amazing! And really handsome too!"

"Oho, so that's what you say about me when I'm not around, Eris~"

Eris's cheeks reddened slightly. She huffed and said,

"I was just stating the facts!"

I smiled and spread out the bedding on the floor.

"Then Aisha can sleep with Eris tonight. I'll sleep on the floor."

"Okay!"

Aisha nodded happily, completely forgetting that she had just said she wanted to sleep with her big brother.

So you've already forgotten how good your big brother is...

After turning out the lights, I lay down as well.

Before long, I heard Aisha's soft breathing.

Children really could sleep well...

"Rudeus..."

Eris called my name in a lowered voice.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Um... Today... that friend of yours... Sylphie... Uh... do you like her...?"

The kind of liking Eris meant was probably romantic affection.

Did I like Sylphie? I didn't think so. No matter what, Sylphie was only ten years old now. Between my previous life and this one, I was nearly thirty. It really wouldn't be right to fall for a ten-year-old girl.

But Eris was just a child. She probably only had a vague understanding of these things.

After thinking for a while, I spoke.

"If you mean now... I'm not really sure. But in the past, I think I did like her a lot. The way you like a friend."

"She told me that you always thought she was a boy before."

"Yeah... Her hair was short back then, and when I said I wanted to put her through manly training, she never objected. So naturally, I ended up completely treating her like a boy."

"That really doesn't sound like you, Rudeus."

"Hehe~ What about you two? What did you talk about?"

"Girl talk, and a promise between girls."

"Sounds like a promise I'm not allowed to know about."

"Indeed. Rudeus isn't allowed to know."

I smiled and didn't respond.

After falling silent for a while, Eris spoke softly again.

"Rudeus... Then what about me...? Uh... do you like me...?"

She gripped her blanket tightly with both hands.

It seemed asking that question had taken a great deal of courage.

But how should I put it...? Hearing that question felt like a weight had been lifted from my heart.

Before, I had thought Eris's "confession" had been an impulsive one because she knew I was leaving... In short, I had believed it was an impulse born from her dependence on me, not simply because she liked or loved me.

But afterward, I thought about it for a long time. There was really nothing strange about a twelve-year-old girl beginning to experience love and falling for a ten-year-old boy...

What about me, then? How should I respond?

All this time, I had treated Eris as a child.

A student.

I had always looked down on Eris from an adult's perspective. Could someone like me really be with her...?

That was a double standard. I had just been thinking that, because of my age, I shouldn't have much interest in girls around ten years old, yet I was seriously considering this when it came to Eris.

Then again, did I really like Eris? I had always thought my care for Eris was the kind a teacher gave a student. But if Eris married some noble, I probably wouldn't be able to accept it...

Was this that thing? Possessiveness... I had that kind of possessiveness toward Eris...

Just admit it... Despite having an adult mentality, I felt possessive toward a twelve-year-old girl...

"Yeah... I... like Eris..."

I just had to admit it...

I had never really been in love in my previous life, but I knew how I felt now.

If Eris were taken away by some noble, I would definitely kill that noble...

Even if it wasn't love, I still had to take responsibility for my possessiveness...

That's right. Responsibility.

As though deceiving myself, I repeated that word in my heart.

"Really!?"

Eris's voice suddenly grew louder.

Then, perhaps realizing she might wake Aisha, she lowered her voice again.

"Really...?"

"Yeah."

"Th-then... can we... get married? Like Mom and Dad..."

Eris sat up from the bed, somewhat incoherent, her hands gesturing helplessly at something.

"...Tomorrow... I-I-I'll go talk to Aunt Zenith... a-and then...!"

"Eris, there's no need to rush. We're still young."

"Ah... okay... then... it's a promise?"

"Yeah, it's a promise."

A promise...