The Direction Forward

In the days after the disturbance died down, the atmosphere in the Greyrat household gradually returned to its usual calm.

Paul kept his promise and began abstaining.

Although he occasionally wore a troubled expression, at least he did not cause any more trouble.

However, according to Hilde and Rudeus's private speculation, it was possible Zenith might help him resolve it in other ways.

How enviable...

Ahem.

On the other side, Zenith and Lilia's morning sickness grew more and more obvious, forcing Paul to take on more of the housework.

After all, this was all trouble he had brought on himself.

In that regard, he had no room to complain.

A subtle understanding and tacit harmony formed between the two pregnant women.

One clear morning, Hilde practiced her sword swings in the yard.

Sunlight spilled over the blade, reflecting a dazzling gleam.

Her naturally tough constitution gave her more energy to devote to sword training, and by now, she had already grasped the essentials of swordsmanship. The basic moves of the Sword God Style and Water God Style were carved into her bones, and her form was so proper that no fault could be found with it.

Paul leaned against the doorframe and watched for a while.

For once, he did not use onomatopoeia like "whoosh" or "swish" to instruct her. He only smiled and nodded.

"Not bad."

Hilde sheathed her sword and wiped the sweat from the corner of her brow. "Just not bad?"

"Mm... For your age, you're already quite outstanding."

Paul was rarely this serious as he stroked his chin and commented.

"You've got very good talent with the sword. At the very least, I definitely couldn't do this much when I was your age."

"What about me?" Rudeus asked curiously.

"Mm... Rudeus has improved a lot too. Your future is promising."

"..."

A promising future—could that really be counted as praise?

Rudeus smiled helplessly, but he was not too discouraged.

He would not give up on sword training.

"As for Rudeus, just keep training at this pace. Dripping water wears through stone; one day, you'll see obvious results. As for Hilde, your training from here on needs a different approach."

"A different approach?"

"Mm. We'll talk about that after you finish training."

After saying that, Paul turned and went back inside.

Hilde raised an eyebrow and continued her practice.

After the morning sword training ended, Hilde and Rudeus shoved at each other as they returned indoors, preparing to take a bath.

As soon as they entered, they found Lilia waiting in the hallway.

"Master Rudeus, Miss Hilde."

Lilia bowed slightly. "After you finish bathing, would it be convenient for me to take a little of your time?"

Hilde and Rudeus exchanged a glance, then nodded.

"Splash—"

The rising water covered Rudeus and Hilde's bodies below the neck. The two leaned against the edges of the bathtub face-to-face, and all they could see in each other's eyes were faintly flushed faces, along with bare bodies beneath the surface of the water.

As the two of them gradually grew older, the once-spacious bathtub had become somewhat cramped again.

In another two years or so, they would probably have to switch to an even bigger tub, or bathe separately.

"Move your feet in. They're in the way."

"You've got some nerve saying that. You're obviously taking up more space than I am."

"I'm the little sister. You should give way to me."

"You only remember you're the little sister at times like this?!"

The two of them bickered idly.

Rudeus found the feeling very strange. In his previous life, he had once even done the deed to nude photos of his niece, and every day he fantasized about doing this and that with little girls. Yet now, a girl his own age was sitting naked right in front of him, and he had no reaction at all.

Was it because he was young, or because they were related by blood...

"The water's getting a little cold," Hilde suddenly said, cutting off Rudeus's thoughts.

The latter sighed and casually used magic to heat the water.

Forget it. Whatever the reason was, it was fine.

This feeling wasn't bad either.

After bathing, the two of them went to Lilia's room.

Lilia had already been waiting there for a long time. When she saw them enter, she took the initiative to stand and bowed deeply.

"About what happened before," Lilia said very softly, "thank you very much."

Rudeus turned to look at Hilde.

Hilde said, "That was actually Rudeus's suggestion. He did it to keep this family from falling apart. Otherwise, I would have been more inclined to have you leave."

"I understand. After all, in truth, I was the one who seduced Master Paul," Lilia said.

"...?!"

The sudden truth left both of them stunned for a moment.

Then Lilia slowly began to explain.

There had been no schemes, nor any malicious intent.

Ever since coming to this house, Lilia had originally only planned to live in peace, make a living from this job, and spend the rest of her life that way. However, every night she had listened to the sounds of Paul and Zenith's passionate battles, falling asleep in that kind of environment night after night, so it was inevitable that a great deal of desire had built up.

At first, she could still take care of it herself.

But after Zenith became pregnant, Lilia's state of mind gradually slipped out of control. She had deliberately left the door to her room not quite shut while wiping herself down with hot water, drawing Paul's attention as he passed through the corridor.

Paul himself was hardly a man of chastity. Before he met Zenith, he had basically spent every day with women in both arms, toying with them. With the desire he had built up during Zenith's pregnancy having nowhere to go, and then seeing such an alluring sight...

So heaven's thunder met earth's fire, and the moment they touched, it exploded.

Afterward... during the so-called sage time, both of them regretted it deeply.

But what had happened had already happened. There was no medicine for regret. And so everyone pretended nothing had happened, treating it as a little secret between the two of them.

None of them had expected that such a melodramatic thing as hitting the mark in one shot would actually happen.

By the time she finished telling the truth, Lilia was already overwhelmed with guilt. She had not even told Paul these things, but only to these two children... she felt she should not hide it.

"Men and women, huh..."

Rudeus could not help sighing, unable to even make a teasing remark.

After thinking it over, Hilde said seriously, "What happened in the past is already over. From now on, please take good care of this family. I'm counting on you, Lilia."

"I will do everything I can," Lilia said just as seriously. "And I will definitely repay this kindness."

"By the way, how was Mother today?"

"Her morning sickness was rather bad in the morning, but she's much better now. I made some light soup, and she drank a little."

"Thank you for your hard work."

The two chatted a little more about household matters, and the atmosphere grew much lighter.

That evening, Paul finished work and came home, then talked with Hilde about swordsmanship.

"At your current pace, if you want to go further, it'd be best for you to enter a dojo or find a more specialized swordsmanship teacher," Paul said.

Hilde's swordsmanship was improving quickly. At this rate, she might even become an advanced swordsman before the age of ten.

If that happened, Paul would no longer be able to teach her.

And to be honest, Paul had some awareness of his own teaching ability. The only reason she was learning this quickly was entirely because Hilde's own comprehension was astonishing.

But once she became an advanced swordsman, it would more or less involve some of the crucial secret techniques within a school.

Most self-taught swordsmen basically stopped at that level.

Since she was going to walk the path of a swordsman, she ought to build a solid foundation from the very beginning—that was what Paul believed.

"So it's about time to make a decision," Paul said. "Hilde, are you willing to go train at a dojo?"

"...I can't answer that question immediately."

Hilde's brows furrowed slightly.

Of course she wanted to improve. This world had magic, nobles, monsters, and all sorts of other messy things. Whether it was to protect herself or to protect the people around her, having power was the best possible choice.

But that would mean separation.

She wanted to cherish this hard-won childhood even more.

If she grew up too early, would she unknowingly lose something along the way?

"I'm not asking you to decide right away. You can continue as you are for a while longer. Or you could be like Rudeus and continue down the path of magic," Paul said.

"I... still need to think about it."

Hilde felt a little conflicted.

She felt that it would be best to discuss this kind of thing with Rudeus too.

Because they were siblings, reincarnators in another world who huddled together for warmth, an alliance of people who knew each other inside and out and could give each other unconditional trust.

That night, after lights-out.

Hilde lay in bed and talked to Rudeus about it.

"Do you think I should leave here and go train at the dojo?" Hilde asked.

Rudeus froze for a moment. "Why are you asking me? Can I make that decision for you?"

"No," Hilde said flatly.

"Then why are you asking me?"

"I just want to hear what you think. I want to know how you see it."

"I..."

Rudeus did not answer.

He thought of his own magic, which had been stagnant for a long time. If Hilde was going to keep moving forward, shouldn't he take a step forward too?