Paul came home early.
The situation was dire, so he wanted to keep searching. Especially since Laws' kid was still missing despite all the others being found.
But the guys forced him back. Since he was their main combat force, they wanted to make sure he was in top shape in case anything happened.
At first, Paul didn't want to agree.
It was too dangerous. And every second counted.
But then he remembered something. Or rather, someone.
Rudy.
Paul might play around as being arrogant and overconfident, but he knew his limits. While he was Advanced-rank in the three major sword styles, that was only good for fighting one-on-one and cutting down enemies in front of him. Finding and protecting people who might be in danger... he wasn't good at that.
...And it pissed him off.
Zenith was right. If he had trained a bit harder and reached the Saint-rank. If he could be that much faster...
No. It wasn't good to think in what ifs.
Besides, there was still a chance.
Laws' kid, Luffy... No, 'Sylphiette' was her full name.
Sylphiette and the other children had gone missing since noon last night.
Right now, they had found everyone except for her.
They had been wandering around in the forest, dazed and confused. And when questioned, they said they didn't know what happened.
Of course, Paul could guess.
Sylphiette had green hair. And because of that green hair she was different from other children. While she didn't have the signature jewel eye in the middle of her forehead, Sylphiette did have the same hair color as the feared Supard Demon race. And children would latch on to that as an excuse to bully her.
Paul knew. He'd seen the same things done when he was younger by children and for less.
Considering the way the kids clammed up when questioned about why they were out in the forest as well...
Paul didn't want to fear the worst. But whatever the case, he knew that he needed help.
Stopping outside the gate to his house after sprinting back from the forest, Paul let out a sigh and muttered, "Dammit. I hate having to rely on him, but..."
Rudy was perfect for this.
Paul didn't know exactly what spells his son had learned from Roxy, but he knew that Rudy was smart. A real genius. Even if he didn't have the right spell to sort things out, he'd be able to figure out a way to make things work.
Unlike Paul, who could only cut down what was in front of him and sweet talk women, Rudy could think things through and come up with a plan.
So that was why Paul came back.
He didn't know what to do, but his son would be able to help. He was sure of it.
Like that, Paul entered his house and called out. "Rudy? Are you home? I need to-"
"Welcome back, Husband."
A cold and sharp voice. A familiar one, but completely unfamiliar in the tone.
Zenith's. His lovely wife.
Paul blinked and noticed that she was seated at the dining room table across from Lilia.
Lilia looked at Paul, but she quickly looked away, lowering her head.
And more than that, there was a whole arrangement of food left untouched on the table. Bread that had turned dry from being left out, along with soup that looked like it turned cold a while ago.
While the house was warm and well-lit by the afternoon sun... Paul couldn't help but notice that the atmosphere was a bit frosty.
Shutting the door behind him, Paul put on a smile and let out a nervous laugh. "Y-Yeah. I'm back, Zenith. Um..." He looked around the house and said, "Is Rudy home? There's something I wanted to talk with him about."
Zenith shook her head. "Our son is out playing in the forest right now."
"The forest?"
Paul blinked.
Was it coincidence? No, knowing his son, Rudy probably figured that something was up. And Paul did briefly mention that there was a situation to Rudy before he left the house...
Anyway, that was good. Paul didn't have the chance to explain the situation, but if Rudy headed that way, the others would fill him in.
Great.
Now... Paul just had to deal with the situation in front of him.
Zenith looked mad- No. That wasn't anger. She looked... not just disappointed either. Instead, it was indifferent. Apathetic.
That sight wasn't new to Paul. He's tried out enough approaches with enough women to be familiar with the entire range of reactions. But it was definitely a first time seeing it on his wife.
Zenith stared at Paul and then pointed to a seat at the head of the table. The side between both Zenith and Lilia.
Paul gulped and then sat down. His throat felt dry, so he grabbed a bowl of soup and slurped down a bit. After that, he looked at Zenith and said, "S-So... What's this about, Honey?"
Zenith glared at him and said, "Don't 'honey' me, Husband."
Oh. That wasn't good. Calling Paul by 'husband' instead of by name or another nickname... and not affectionately like she had in the beginning...
Paul's first instinct was to crack a joke and play it off. But he had a feeling that would end poorly... not to mention that Lilia was sitting there looking depressed. So instead, Paul held up his hands and said, "I haven't touched another woman! Promise!"
Zenith narrowed her eyes and said, "That's the sign of a guilty conscience, Husband."
The same words that Rudy said to him before.
Paul flinched and instinctively looked at Lilia. "T-That's..."
Lilia looked up at Paul and then looked away.
A tense silence.
It was eventually broken by Zenith tapping her fingernails against the table. Looking at Paul, she said, "Rudy told me something very interesting earlier, Husband."
Paul froze.
That...
Dammit! Rudy! That was a man-to-man talk! You weren't supposed to spill the beans!
Paul wished he could grab Rudy and shake him at that time. But whether because his son made a tactical retreat or because he wanted his old man to suffer a bit, the kid wasn't around.
...Probably a bit of both, knowing him.
Paul let out a nervous laugh. "R-Really now?" His eyes scanned the room and then noticed a new tree out in the distance. He ran past it, not thinking much of it at the time. But now that he was there... and looking for anything to change the topic, Paul said, "Does it have to do with that new tree we have?"
"Paul."
Paul flinched and lowered his head. "...Yes, Zenith?"
"You've been stealing glances at Lilia."
Paul lowered his head more. "...Yes, Zenith."
"You've been paying less attention to me."
...Had he? Paul hadn't realized it, but that might be true. "...Yes, Zenith."
"...You're falling in love with Lilia. Aren't you?"
"Ye-" Paul's eyes widened and he forcibly bit his tongue to stop his words. But it was too late.
In the corner of his eyes, he saw Lilia turn red.
And in front of him... he saw his wife's expression dim.
Paul immediately slammed his head down on the table and kowtowed. "I'm sorry, Zenith! I didn't mean to! I love you, I really do! But... But Lilia...!"
Silence.
Paul didn't dare look up. Instead, he quickly started talking, fearing that Zenith would come to the wrong conclusion.
"I love you the most, Zenith! But I did something really bad to Lilia when I was younger. I thought I could fix that by giving her the job and everything was fine. But the more I thought about how lonely she might be and then the fact that she took such good care of Rudy, I felt really guilty. You always told me to be responsible and I've been trying to change since I married you but then this came up and I've been really conflicted and Lilia's just so damned hot and sexy, plus she's so beautiful when she has that motherly gaze just like you were when Rudy was born and I-"
"Enough."
Paul flinched. "Y-Yes Ma'am!"
Zenith let out a deep sigh and said, "Look at me, Paul."
Paul did.
Zenith had turned her chair to face him. Her arms were crossed and her usual ponytail was gone. She was beautiful as always. But she also seemed a bit distant.
Paul had a bad feeling.
"Do you remember what I asked of you when we first did it?"
"...Yes."
"I said that you could sleep with me only if you never sleep with any woman again."
"...Yes."
Paul remembered that. At the time, he was going to break his promise. But when it turned out that she was pregnant... he couldn't.
As much as he hated his dad and the lessons he tried to beat into Paul's head, there were three rules that Paul agreed with.
1. Treat girls nicely.
2. Use your strength to protect the weak.
3. Take responsibility for your mistakes.
They were good rules. The proper rules that all men should follow.
And so when he found out that Zenith was pregnant, he took responsibility. He decided to make up for his mistake and not run away.
....Not like with Lilia.
So he made a promise to himself. Even if he wanted to flirt with other women. Even if he felt like chasing skirts again... the only woman for him from that day forward would be Zenith.
...Though he had to admit that he had fantasized about taking a few of the village maidens for a run every now and then.
But it was only a fantasy. And that promise he made to himself was even stronger after Rudy was born. Because he wanted to set a good example.
He didn't want to be like his dad who laid down all sorts of rules but didn't follow them. He didn't want to be someone that Rudy would be ashamed of saying was his father.
Paul could accept being made fun of. But at the least he wanted to have some good parts to make up for it.
But then there was Lilia. The girl who he broke all three rules with. Someone who he treated the worst, used his strength to take advantage of, and then ran away from his mistake.
It didn't cross his mind at first when he hired her to help out in the house. But now as the years had gone by and Paul started to rethink his life with seeing Rudy grow up...
Zenith tapped her fingernails on the table and said, "Milis teaches that a couple must only love each other. And since we've been with each other, I've never loved anyone else. Right?"
Paul nodded. "Right."
That was true. Even though Paul was a scumbag like that, Zenith still loved him. And ever since that first time together, she had never looked at anyone else. Even when she was panicked and didn't know what to do, she still turned to him. And only him.
...That was part of the reason why Paul wanted to change.
A beautiful, naive, and innocent noblewoman like Zenith believed in him that much. No, she loved him that much that she swallowed her pride and gave herself to him even knowing that it might be just a lie.
She didn't think about the consequences. No, she did, but she talked herself into ignoring them.
Paul saw that firsthand when she realized that she was pregnant.
And he couldn't take advantage of her like that. Not when someone like that believed in him.
...And like that, Paul had fallen in love with her as well. He fell in love with the innocent and naive healer who turned to him even when she knew he was lying. Who had nowhere else to turn, but still reached out her hand and believed in a piece of trash like him.
Who thought he could be better.
"...But I'm not the only one you love."
And that was the kicker.
...Zenith was right.
He loved her. He loved her more than anything else in the whole world... Well, other than Rudy.
If Paul was being honest, if it came between Zenith and his son, Paul would choose Rudy every time.
...Though mostly because Zenith would beat him up for not choosing Rudy.
Anyway, Paul loved Zenith. And only Zenith.
At first.
But after spending so long around Lilia again... After being used to her gentle presence and her soft smiles. After seeing how Rudy relied on her as well... and how she had forgiven Paul after doing the worst thing a man could to her...
Paul couldn't help it. Before he knew it... Lilia had already taken a piece of his heart. No, she had taken one ever since he ran away from her, even if he didn't know it. While it had been guilt at first, now...
Paul lowered his head and said, "...That's right, Zenith."
He loved Lilia. It wasn't the strong and bright love he had for Zenith where he wanted to be better and do better. But it was a gentle feeling. A soft presence that he wanted to support and protect.
If he had to compare it... if he had to compare them...
Zenith was like a star, bright and inspiring. He wanted to hold her close and run after her. He wanted to make sure that light continued to shine bright forever.
But Lilia... she was like a soft campfire. Dim but warm. Someone that was always there and supporting. Unlike with Zenith where Paul wanted to run after her... Paul just didn't want to leave Lilia.
No. To be more exact, he didn't want to leave Lilia anymore.
He had done that once already. And while she never talked about her life before taking on her job as their maid, he could tell that it hadn't been pretty.
...And it was probably his fault too. She had been the star of the dojo until he arrived. And after what he did... he didn't know, but it seemed like she had been forced to make ends meet one way or another.
Paul clenched his hands on his knee and lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Zenith. I love you, but... I love Lilia too. I know it's wrong. I know it's betraying our wedding vows. But... But I can't just ignore it."
It made his heart churn.
He loved Zenith. But he loved Lilia too.
He loved them both.
But he couldn't love them both.
And he had already chosen Zenith.
He had chosen Zenith, so he couldn't choose Lilia.
But Lilia had suffered so much. And she also didn't have anywhere else to turn. And he didn't want her to leave either.
So...
So...!
A long and deep sigh. Zenith's. "I guess Rudy was right."
Paul froze.
...Rudy? What did he say?
Paul heard Zenith stand up, but he didn't dare to look at her. He couldn't bring himself to after admitting that.
He also felt guilty.
...It was because of him. Because he couldn't control his emotions, their family would be broken up. Either Zenith or Lilia. He had to choose. But no matter who he chose... someone would leave.
How was he going to explain it to Rudy?
The kid already knew just how much of a piece of trash from what he did to Lilia. What would he think if he got back and they had to explain that someone was leaving?
...No. Paul knew what he would think.
It'd be the same.
If Paul was in Rudy's shoes, he would have left. Forget his dad and the maid, he would have clung to his mom and left them both. He'd be hurt, but he'd be more upset at how the two betrayed his mother. His innocent mother who did nothing wrong.
So...
Paul covered his face.
It was over.
Everything was over.
All because...!
"Geez." A soft voice. Zenith's.
Paul looked up and realized that his vision was blurred.
Zenith let out a sad smile and brushed away Paul's tears.
"...Zenith?"
"You know, Paul. You're a lot like Rudy." She pulled her chair over and sat on his right side. After that, she leaned her head against his arm. "You've grown up, but you're still childish at the weirdest times."
"Z-Zenith?"
What was going on? She... wasn't mad?
She grabbed Paul's right hand and laced it with her left. When she did, her wedding ring flashed in the light. After that, Zenith looked over at Lilia and said, "Lily and I talked for a long time about you. About what you did to her. About how her life ended up after that. And about how you are now compared to how you are back then."
Paul flinched and lowered his head, ashamed. "...I know." He looked over at Lilia and said, "...I did something unforgivable to you, Lilia. That-"
"It's fine." A soft response. The first time Lilia had spoken the entire time.
Paul looked up and saw Lilia giving him a gentle smile. "L-Lilia?"
Lilia shook her head and said, "The bastard who attacked me that night disappeared a long time ago." Her smile widened and she said, "Isn't that right, Master Paul?"
She didn't say it outright. But she didn't need to.
'You've changed.'
'You've done enough already.'
'I forgive you.'
Paul's breath caught in his chest and he lowered his head. "Lilia...!"
An arm wrapped around Paul's shoulder. He blinked and looked over to see Zenith hugging him with a playful smile on her face. Poking his nose, she said, "Well then, Mister Scumbag. If you're feeling that guilty about it... how about you do something to fix that?"
"Eh?" Paul blinked. "...What are you talking about, Zenith?"
"Oh... I dunno." Zenith stood up and crossed her arms behind her back, walking away from Paul. "You basically ruined Lily's life and stole her happiness... so how about you work hard to give it back?"
"...Zenith?"
Zenith's paused, her back turned on Paul.
Silence.
And then Zenith said, "...I hurt a lot, you know? I was really worried that it was because you didn't love me anymore."
Paul jumped out of his chair and said, "That's not true! Zenith, I-!"
"I know." Zenith turned around and let out a soft smile. "My husband is just like that." She walked back over and then hugged Paul. "A wild, dashing man who comes and goes like a storm. A hero who's more like a thug, but someone who does his best to take care of the people he loves. And someone who wears his heart on his sleeve... just like our son."
Paul froze. "Zenith..."
She stepped back and let out an exasperated smile. "I thought I could handle you, but it looks like one woman isn't enough to keep you in check. So just this once, I'll make an exception."
"...Zenith?"
She... she wasn't saying what he was thinking she was saying, right?
Zenith stared into Paul's eyes and said, "You. Me. Lily. And Rudy. We're already like a small family... so why don't you make it official?"
"...I don't understand. No, I think I've been knocked in the head a few times today." Paul shook his head and said, "Can you say that again, Zenith?"
"Geez." Zenith sighed and pulled Paul over to Lilia. Once there, Zenith grabbed Lilia's hand and said, "I'm telling you to take responsibility and marry Lilia, you dummy." After saying that, she placed Lilia's hand in Paul's.
Paul's eyes widened.
Lilia blushed and averted her gaze.
"W-Wait!" Paul looked at Zenith. "Seriously?! Z-Zenith... Y-You aren't divorcing me or something, are you?"
Was this a setup? A polite way to say to live happily together?
No, Zenith didn't look like she was upset enough to leave. And she didn't seem like she had any intention to leave either. And then she mentioned making the family official...
Zenith rolled her eyes. "Of course not, Dummy. Though I did think about it..."
Paul gulped.
Zenith sighed and looked at Lilia. "Both of us decided that it'd be too cruel to break our little family up though... especially to Rudy. So we made a compromise." She poked Paul's chest and said, "You're not marrying Lilia. She's marrying you, okay? It's one-sided. You'll be her husband, but she won't be your wife."
Paul blinked. "Wait. How's that going to work? No, what do you mean she won't be my wife? How? Why?"
Zenith walked back around and hugged Lilia. "Isn't it obvious? That's because Lily's going to be *my* wife. We're just... sharing her."
Sharing... Zenith and Lilia...
Two? Both?
...Together?!
Wait?! How did it end up like this?!
"I swear to god, Dad. If you mess this up after all the work I did, I'm going do some training from hell just so I can beat your ass with a sword."
I muttered under my breath as I used wind magic to dash across the grassy plains and head towards the forest.
It was a big gamble. And the lynchpin to its success was on my dad's sincerity and love for my mom.
To sum things up...
I told my mom about Miss Lilia's situation.
Well, about what I could infer from Miss Lilia's situation.
Basically, I came up with a story about how Dad told me that he stole Miss Lilia's first time and ran off. Also that he regretted it to this day and that the guilt was eating him up on the inside.
After that, I spun a tale about Miss Lilia's life after that encounter from what she had told me throughout the years.
How Dad's actions resulted in her being kicked out of the dojo.
How since she was disgraced there was no guy who would take her.
How she had nowhere left to go and turned in desperation to work at the Asura Kingdom's inner palace as one of those maids.
How she was forced to do unsavory things and how her eyes always turned blank when she brought it up before quickly changing the subject.
And finally how even now her family didn't accept her, but she still sent money back as a way to apologize for their daughter ending up that way.
Then I turned on the waterworks and said how Miss Lilia had nowhere to go and no family. But I thought of her as family... and I thought of all of us as family. And I told her how I wanted us to be a real family. All four of us... and then how I'd be the luckiest kid ever to have two moms.
Finally, to top it all off, I played the guilt trip about how Miss Lilia loved Mom a lot too and was doing her best to not let it bother her. But that it wasn't fair. Mom looked so happy with Dad, and I wanted Miss Lilia to be happy too... so wouldn't it be okay? They already were like sisters, so wasn't it fine?
...Logically, it made zero sense. Well, the reasoning behind Mom accepting Miss Lilia. After all, while I didn't know the customs about marriage in this world, I knew that Mom had every right to just send Miss Lilia packing if it put the marriage between Mom and Dad at risk.
But emotionally...
Well, I didn't have to pretend very hard to turn on the water works.
I really didn't want Miss Lilia to leave. And I really did think of her like another mom.
...If I was being honest, I always did want to call her Mom too. But I couldn't do that to my real Mom.
Ah, Zenith, I mean.
But anyway... I dropped a tactical nuke on my mom's emotional barrier to the whole monogamy thing. She was still resisting it a bit, but I was about 90% sure that she would fold unless my dad did something astronomically stupid.
Which wasn't that unlikely...
But I believed in him.
And if things went super bad... I could always throw a giant temper tantrum and lock them together in a room until they made up/made out.
Considering how horny Dad was, how thick the sexual tension was between him and Miss Lilia, and how into it Mom got after just one kiss, it'd work out somehow. Plus, this was all taking place before the worst case scenario where Dad already snuck in with Miss Lilia and got her pregnant.
If *that* had happened, I didn't even know what the hell I'd do.
Maybe make up some BS about Dad attacking Miss Lilia in the middle of the night and pin the blame on him? But Mom would definitely be completely heartbroken, so I didn't even know where to begin fixing that. Especially since Mom still didn't have any signs of being pregnant despite all her... ahem. Hard work.
Anyway, it should work out. Even if there was a heated argument and someone decided to leave, they'd never do it until I got back. I was sure of that. All of them loved and cared for me too much.
...Which was a strange thing to think about considering that I was probably just making their lives complicated and didn't really do anything that they could be proud of yet. But they did, and I loved them back.
...What was I doing again?
Oh, right.
Dad mentioned this morning that some kids had gone missing in the forest.
I didn't think too much of it at the time, but I noticed that the stupid white mist was hovering around Miss Lilia earlier and shot off after I put my plan into action.
Maybe since that holy tree I made repelled spirits. It was a work in progress since I didn't know how to properly imbue mana traits into objects, let alone living things... but it worked. Kind of.
That tree's make up was similar to a blue rose in that it had changed because I pumped a particular type of mana into it. Like how a white rose changed blue after feeding it dyed water. Because I fed the acorn mana, that mana being the 'Divine Attack' or 'Holy' mana and healing mana, it grew up with a changed nature.
...To be honest, I didn't really know how it worked. Kind of like with Master Roxy's gift, I just cobbled together a bunch of things and prayed it would work. And somehow it did.
Though that was making me think real hard about the nature of magic again considering that it was the second time something like this worked...
Anyway, the forest!
There were kids missing, and that sinister white mist... entity... thing.
You know what? Let's just call it Whitey. No, the voice had been male, so let's call 'him' Whitey.
Anyway, Whitey had flown off towards the forest after I dispelled him from Lilia. Because of that, and because it seemed to be targeting me and my family for some reason, I chased after it.
I didn't know what it was doing or what it planned, but it couldn't be good. And while it didn't seem able to influence anything directly, that whole mind reading/possession thing was spooky-
Huh. Actually, maybe Caspar was a better name?
...Nah. That guy definitely wasn't friendly like the good boy ghost.
Ah, sidetracking again.
Right. So after the whole emotional appeal to my mom and leaving her to sort things out with Miss Lilia while waiting for Dad, I chased after Whitey with my wand in hand.
Wind at my heels, the blue sky above... and a dense white mist slowly shrouding the forest.
Damn.
Whitey was plotting something. I could feel it.
Seeing that, I sped up my pace... making sure to keep a bunch of barrier spells up just in case I missed and smacked into something.
And after a few minutes, I arrived at the forest.
...I think I saw my dad run past me, but he seemed to be lost in thought, so he didn't notice me.
Good luck, Dad! I'm kicking your ass with magic if you mess this up!
...Anyway, I landed on the ground at the edge of the forest.
There were a bunch of people around. All guys and all armed.
"Who's there!?"
A male archer immediately turned towards me, notching an arrow on his bow. Said archer was also an elf.
Realizing that and definitely not willing to risk finding out if that elf was as good as most elves were said to be at shooting, I held up my hand and said, "Rudeus Greyrat! I'm Paul's kid!"
"Rudeus... Rudy?" The man... elf... Elf man? Anyway, the guy lowered his bow and sighed. "Sorry. I'm just... I'm just a bit stressed." He let out a tired smile and held out his hand. "I'm Laws. Your dad and I do patrols in the forest every now and then."
I shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mister Laws!" I took a look around and tilted my head. "What's happening though? My dad said that there was something this morning, but he didn't say much else."
"Hm?" Laws tilted his head and said, "Didn't you run into Paul on his way back?"
"I think we missed each other. But..." I drew my wand and looked into the forest. "Do you need my help? I'm not Master Roxy, but I'm pretty good at magic now."
Laws hesitated. "That's..."
"Laws!" A village guard walked over and said, "We think we've found it, but we can't get in! There's a strange mist that keeps sending our guys out. But a few people said they've seen a small figure running through the mist, so..."
"Luffy?!" Laws ran up to the guy and grabbed the man's shirt. "You've seen her? Where?!"
I blinked. "...Luffy?"
And a her? That was a weird name for a girl...
Laws looked back at me and hesitated again. He seemed like he wanted to ask me something.
And then a shrill scream cut through the air. A young girl's.
Laws' eyes widened and he started running into the forest.
"Wait! Laws!" The village guard tried to grab him, but Laws brushed the man's hand off.
"I don't care! It's because of your kids that she's in there!"
The village guard flinched. "That's..."
Because of their kids...?
Wait.
Whitey, elf girl, kids...
"Argh, think later, dummy!" I scolded myself and waved my wand, gathering wind at my feet.
There was someone's life at stake here! I could think about how and why later!
After that, I kicked off the ground and flew into the air, landing on the tree branches.
Laws noticed me. This time he didn't hesitate. "Rudy! Please! Please save my daughter!"
"Don't worry, Mister Laws!" I waved at him and said, "I'll find her!"
Now... that village guard said that there was a strange mist.
Whitey was usually invisible, so that meant that it had to be an area where his mana was particularly thick. And so...
"There."
I saw it.
A small patch deep in the middle of the forest, completely blanked out by white fog.
Every second counted, so...
"I sure as hell hope these barrier spells work... and that if they don't, that <Healing X> works on broken bones..." I gulped and then waved my wand with my right hand.
Six magic circles flashed. All of them wind magic.
At the same time, I held out my left hand and formed five barrier magic circles on each finger, before activating each. And then...
"Here goes noth- AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
*Get out of here, you demon!*
They were words Sylphiette heard over and over again.
*Haha! Look! The demon's so weak!*
Ridicule. Pain. Humiliation.
She couldn't understand it. Why did they make fun of her? Why her?
*Oh! Let's throw the demon into the woods!*
*Yeah! The others will thank us!*
*Let's go!*
They took her. Carried her against her will while she struggled and ran deep into the forest. Then they left her there and ran away.
Cold. Hungry. Thirsty.
Sylphiette was lost and scared. The day turned to night and night turned to day again. And if not for the fact that she had her father's lunch with her, she would have starved.
She didn't understand.
Why were they like this?
Her father said that they were just afraid. But she couldn't do anything to them, so why were they afraid?
Her mother said that she would find someone who would accept her for who she was one day.
And Sylphiette believed her.
But it looked like that day wouldn't come.
Her clothes were caked with mud and grime. She was hungry because she finished all of her food.
And she was terrified.
Something was following her.
She wasn't sure what, but something was following her through the forest.
At first she thought it was just something small. A tiny animal.
But it wasn't.
She could see it through the mist.
A towering shadow slowly moving after her.
So she ran. She ran away from the shadow, hoping to lose it. But no matter how fast or how far she ran, the shadow didn't disappear. And it was always slowly approaching her. Slowly getting closer.
"Please, go away. Please go away...!" Sylphiette muttered under her breath as she sprinted through the forest.
It was misty, white obscuring her vision except what was directly in front of her.
A few times, she heard people nearby. Villagers calling out for her. But every time she answered back and ran towards them, they would suddenly run away.
She didn't understand.
Were they with the other children? Did they want her to disappear too?
It was cruel.
It was scary.
She didn't want to disappear! She didn't want to leave her mother and father! It wasn't fair!
A crack. Sylphiette didn't see a tree branch and then tripped. But since she was going so fast, her foot bent at a weird angle.
Pain.
Sylphiette collided on the ground and rolled a few times before coming to rest against a tree.
It hurt all over. She cried and then huddled up against the tree. "I want to go home...! Mommy! Daddy!"
She cried out. But no one came.
Instead, the shadow got closer.
And when it did, Sylphiette could finally make out its features.
A bear. And not an ordinary one. This bear was the size of a small tree, lumbering through the forest. Crimson eyes and a maw with foaming drool dripping from it... The bear looked feral.
But there was a light in those eyes that showed it wasn't mindless.
Looking at Sylphiette, the bear trembled. Its shoulders heaved up and down, as if it was laughing. And then it lumbered forward.
Sylphiette tried to back away. But she couldn't. When she moved, the pain in her ankle stopped her.
Even then, she knew.
She couldn't escape it.
Despite the heavy fog, despite Sylphiette running away the entire time, the bear caught up with her.
There was no one coming to save her.
There was nothing that could save her.
"No...!" Sylphiette backed up and then screamed. "I DON'T WANT TO DISAPPEAR!"
A shrill and desperate plea for help.
The bear's shoulders shuddered again. The bear... No, the monster laughing at Sylphiette's plight.
And then it froze.
"...So Hitogami is this desperate, is he?"
A cold male voice.
"E-Eh?" Sylphiette turned to look towards the voice.
It was a man.
A long white coat and silver hair. Sharp eyes and a stern face... He was a man that seemed set to go against the entire world. And there was a presence around him that gave off that aura. That he would cut down any and everything in his path.
Sylphiette gulped.
He was scary. The man was scary.
...But compared to the bear, he didn't seem that scary...?
The man turned to look at Sylphiette.
Sylphitte froze, afraid that the man would be like the others who wanted her to disappear. But a strange emotion flashed through his eyes.
Before Sylphiette could figure out what it was, the man turned towards the bear.
"A magical creature this powerful shouldn't exist here at this time. Are you a result of an apostle's meddling?"
The bear stiffened. No, it went on guard. Rising up to its hind legs, the monster snarled.
The man held out his hand causing and said, "No matter." He glanced back to Sylphiette and said, "Sylphiette Greyrat... No. At this time you are just Sylphiette... and I suppose you may not become a Greyrat in this timeline. That will depend on his decision..."
"...Mister?" Sylphiette tilted her head, confused. "Um... A-Are you saving me?"
"...No." The man shook his head. "I can't save you. Not this time. But someone will be here soon that can. For now..." The man swept his left hand across the air, causing a crimson katana to emerge.
The bear snarled and ran forward.
The man smirked. "You should try something else, Hitogami. Direct attempts to change the future like this won't work." He swung his sword.
Sylphiette gasped.
It was beautiful. A crimson arc swept through the air. And where it moved, space cracked.
Like the area in front of the man was a picture etched in glass, hundreds of crimson lines spread out, tracing out what looked like a tree.
And then it broke.
The sound of glass shattering echoed in the air, followed by a muffle explosion. With those sounds, the man vanished, along with the fog.
But in his place...
"Owowowow..."
...A young boy appeared.
Light brown hair and bright green eyes. A handknitted gray scarf wrapped around his neck and fluttering in the wind. Neatly tailored white dress shirt and black pants, tattered around the edges. A wand with six glittering stones held on his waist.
He stood up from a small crater in the ground, shaking his left hand. As he did, light spilled down from the hole he made in the forest canopy.
The boy was different from the man. Compared to that person, his demeanor was lighter. Friendlier. And not only that, but where the man looked invincible, the boy looked weak and small.
But he was warm.
The boy lowered his hand and looked back at Sylphiette. When he did, his eyes lit up and he let out a bright smile. "You must be Luffy!" He turned around and laughed. "Great! I made it in time."
"U-Um..." Sylphiette blinked, unsure about what was happening.
First there was the bear, then the man, then the boy... Was any of this real?
She was starting to think that it was all just a dream. That this was just an illusion she was seeing from not being able to eat or drink for a day.
But then the boy reached her and held out his hand. "Here. Let's get you back to Mister Laws... Oh wait. You're probably injured. One sec." He lowered his hand and then grabbed his wand, waving it.
The moment he did, Sylphiette felt a warmth spread through her body. The pain in her twisted ankle vanished. Not only that, but the chill and fatigue she felt disappeared as well.
"There." The boy smiled and held his left hand out again. "Now come on."
Sylphiette looked at the boy's hand, hesitating. And then she saw the bear behind the boy and pointed. "Behind you!"
"Oh. Right. Should probably take care of that thing." The boy muttered and turned around.
And in that time the boy turned, the bear arrived, swinging its claws at the boy's head.
Sylphiette screamed and covered her eyes, not wanting to see the boy get hurt.
But nothing happened.
There wasn't any tearing sound. No splashing of blood. No scream of pain.
Even the bear's snarls were gone.
Realizing that, Sylphiette slowly opened her eyes. And then they widened when she saw what was in front of her.
The boy was fine. The bear's claws were inches away from his head, but no more. And the reason for that...
"...Whoa. Stacking ice magic is scary."
...Was the dense ice completely enveloping the bear's body.
The boy walked forward and then reached out with his wand, lightly tapping the ice on the bear. When he did, the ice shattered, turning into white dust.
But that wasn't the only thing that shattered.
The bear broke apart as well, turning into red mist that flew off into the distance.
"...Yeah. Definitely scary." The boy shook his head and then turned back to Sylphiette. "Anyway, danger's gone." He smiled and held out his hand. "*Now* let's go."
Sylphiette blinked.
The bear's attack happened in an instant. So fast that Sylphiette thought for sure the boy would die.
But he didn't. Not only that, but he easily beat the monster without being scared. Throughout the entire thing, he was completely relaxed. If anything worried him, it was Sylphiette. But he was never worried about his own life.
Seeing that, Sylphiette could only say one thing.
"...Cool."
"Huh?"
Sylphiette blushed and turned away.
The boy blinked. And then he laughed. "Nice. I like puns. They're fun."
Sylphiette giggled.
The boy smiled and said, "So... You coming with? Ah, I'm Rudy by the way."
"...Sylphiette."
"Eh?" The boy... Rudy blinked. "Wait, so you're not Luffy?" He started to panic. "W-Wait. Th-Then... Did I get the wrong person? Oh crap. Um..."
Sylphiette giggled again and took his hand, pulling herself up. "No. My parents call me Luffy too."
"Phew." Rudy lowered his hand and sighed. "Almost gave me a heart attack there, Luffy. ...Luffy?" He frowned and said, "...Know what? I'm calling you Sylphy. Luffy is too weird for a cute elf girl."
"C-Cute?"
"Anyway, let's go." Rudy started walking, leading Sylphy along. "Mister Laws- I mean, your dad should be coming this way... Wait. Maybe not? I ran off without him... Er... Let's send a signal flare. That should let him know."
Rudy held up his hand, causing a magic circle to appear. And then a loud *boom* echoed, along with a surge of flames.
But even though they were in the forest, the flames didn't touch a single leaf.
Seeing that, Sylphiette... No, Sylphy nodded to herself, confirming something.
Rudy was amazing.
And like that, she forgot all about the strange silver-haired man who appeared before Rudy did.
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