Then there's Lilia.
A dystocia, a premature birth.
Rudy suddenly felt that he woke up just in time, otherwise there was a high probability that Zenith would not have survived.
Before his magic power was exhausted, his younger sister was successfully brought into the world.
Zenith's daughter was named Norn, and Lilia's daughter was named Aisha.
Although Rudy already knew their names, he was still very happy to see them born.
Counting this in his third life, this was probably his first delivery experience.
...
Time continued ticking.
Rudy turned seven.
However, the family's finances were in crisis, not only due to money problems but also because of poor arithmetic skills.
He could help with that. It was nothing more than adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, and calculating income and expenses.
Paul was a knight employed by the village with a fixed salary, and Zenith worked as a healer in the village.
With the addition of two younger sisters, the financial burden on the family had clearly increased.
Although there were many ways to make money, Rudy, who had organized a massive chamber of commerce after the destruction of the Uchiha clan by secretly using modern commodities as bargaining chips, chose not to show his business acumen yet.
Considering Alice, he didn't plan to display his business talents before becoming a tutor.
[What's the best way to hint to Paul? Although Sylphy is also very attached to me, I've intentionally controlled things so that she hasn't acted excessively. She's still a little girl, so it wouldn't be appropriate for anything excessive to happen between us.]
[The reasoning for breaking things off between Sylphy and me doesn't seem valid.]
[Maybe the reason is that I want to increase my knowledge and hope to make money in a bigger city?]
[Since Paul already understands that he can't beat me, he should let me leave soon.]
[However, before that, I must plant the Flying Thunder God seal. Forget about Paul— even if he can't prevent the mass teleportation, he won't be in danger.]
The so-called "mass teleportation" was a disaster caused by an overflow of summoning magic in the Fittoa region. It manifested as a tragic catastrophe that transformed non-human objects into magic power and transported people all across the world.
Although Rudy already had a preliminary plan to deal with this disaster, he knew that he needed to be cautious.
Sometimes, a single layer of insurance wasn't enough; two layers were better.
The cries of Aisha and Norn rang out once again.
Rudy quickly got up from the yard. Inside the house, Zenith and Lilia had already picked up the children.
"There, there, it's okay."
"Don't cry, don't cry."
Human babies are difficult subjects to tame; they cry at the slightest discomfort.
But Rudy's two younger sisters were close to him. As soon as they saw their brother approach, they stopped crying and started laughing.
"Bleh, bleh." Rudy made a funny face, and sure enough, his two sisters stopped crying and giggled.
...
Since Rudy woke up, the attitudes of Zenith and Lilia had shifted.
Zenith was finally relieved.
From the excitement of discovering Rudy's immense talents compared to other children, to the worry that his abilities were too powerful.
As a first-time mother, she even wondered whether Rudy looked down on his parents and didn't like the family.
But after Rudy exposed his hidden talents without hesitation, Zenith realized how important the family was to him.
At the very least, Rudy cared enough to unsheathe his sword and face Paul to express his anger for her sake.
As for Lilia, she was grateful.
Had she been kicked out of the house, her fate would have been grim.
It would have been almost certain death for her and her daughter on the road.
But Rudy, in his own unexpected way, used his strength to mend the rift in the family.
Since Roxy left, Rudy had begun studying all sorts of strange magic.
What Paul and Zenith saw was just one side of things. Only Lilia knew that the magic Rudy experimented with in his room went far beyond what was publicly displayed.
She kept that secret, never telling anyone.
Lilia once thought that Rudy's magical research was perhaps a performance for Roxy or a skill to use in case of danger.
Because Rudy never performed his tricks in front of others, it seemed those spells weren't important.
There was no arrogance about surpassing others in talent, unlike the royals Lilia had seen in the palace.
Had it been them, they would have boasted about their skills everywhere.
When Lilia became pregnant, Rudy's reaction was surprisingly calm.
Then came the beating Paul received.
In the end, Rudy punished Paul for his mistakes in his own way.
It also led to Zenith taking the initiative to request that Lilia stay.
Lilia kept that kindness close to her heart.
So, when Rudy called her to his room alone, she didn't hesitate.
"This is a kind of magic," Rudy said, standing on the bed to reach Lilia's neck.
Lilia turned her back to him and felt a brief cool sensation on her neck, which disappeared as quickly as it came.
"Master Rudy, what does this magic do?"
"It's hard to explain. It's a type of protection." Rudy didn't elaborate, and Lilia didn't press him.
"I see."
Since Rudy didn't explain further, Lilia understood it was magic that needed to be kept secret.
Later, when she was heading downstairs, Lilia noticed Rudy standing on a stool, patting Zenith's neck when she wasn't paying attention.
"Ah, there was a bug—good thing I killed it." Rudy shook his hands, but no bug fell.
"Yeah, it's the season for mosquitoes," Zenith agreed, showing no doubt.
"By the way, I have something to announce. I'll tell everyone at dinner when we're all gathered," Rudy said lightly, stunning Paul, who had just entered the room.