บท 98: Stars Align
I laughed at Eris's pouting face. It couldn't be helped. Her usually brash and stand-offish expression had been turned into a watery-eyed pout that reminded me of a certain useless blue-haired goddess.
Of course, it didn't start out that way.
After the first game of basketball, Eris was still determined. She was still her spunky, competitive, and energetic self.
And then she kept losing. Losing, but refusing to accept defeat.
I also had to give her credit. Because she was so stubborn, I didn't have time to do anything but create more sports equipment and compete against her.
And so I spent a week doing nothing but creating new sports grounds, equipment, and teaching Eris how to play various sports while she tried to beat me, doubling down on bets each time.
Today was the seventh day. And the sport of the day was tennis. Something that should be right up her alley.
After all, swinging a racket around wasn't much different than a sword.
Or so I thought.
But...
Eris stared at me with her watery eyes and then pointed at me with her racket. "You're terrible, Rudy! Terrible!"
I walked over to her side of the court and shook my head. "I'm sorry, Eri. But you're just too fun to tease." I reached out to pat her head like I did with Sylphy to cheer her up.
Eris flinched and moved as if she was trying to dodge my hand. But then she huffed and stood still instead, pretending to endure the humiliation. Though, considering she was blushing instead of turning red from anger or embarrassment, it seemed that she like it.
...Still wasn't entirely sure why she did, but I wasn't about to complain when I had an easy way to defuse an otherwise violent tsundere.
While Eris was calming down, I set my racket down on the side and took a look around.
We were in the back of the second house. Specifically, we were on the tennis court that I made in the back of the second house.
It was actually a bit weird now that I took a look at everything. I'd been too busy hustling Eris on bets that I didn't pay attention, but it seemed that I accidentally made our house look like something straight out of Hollywood.
There was a fenced area with an Olympic-size swimming pool, the basketball court I made the first day of our competition, this tennis court, a sand volleyball court...
In short, a super luxurious place that looked like it belonged to some A-list celebrity back on Earth.
...Which meant that it stuck out like a sore thumb here in this fantasy world that had nothing but rolling green hills and farmland all around.
Though, the second house wasn't the only one that looked a bit off now.
I glanced back at our first house and stared at the new addition I made for Norn and Aisha.
A tiny jungle gym set with short monkey bars and a few Olympic rings. A mini gazebo with various slides. A swing set... and then a deep bed of soft wooden chips underneath everything to break any falls.
In short, a cute little playground for my energetic younger sisters to play at and not drive Mom, Master Roxy, or Miss Rose up the wall.
And it looked like they were already up and at it with Aisha chasing Norn around while Miss Rostelina sat on a bench and watched them.
"Hmph!" Eris huffed and then jabbed a finger in my chest. "You're ignoring me again!"
I laughed and said, "I'm not ignoring you. I'm just giving you a bit of space to cool down. You worked up a bit of a sweat running around like that, you know?"
Eris crossed her arms and said, "That's because you cheated! There's no way a ball can just spin off to the sides like that when they hit the ground!"
"They totally can. And I showed you already." I pulled out a tennis ball from my pocket and then picked up my racket. "You just have to hit the ball at an angle... Like this."
I tossed the ball and sliced my racket through the air, brushing the side of the ball.
A yellow arc flew over the net, the ball spinning through the air. And then when it hit the ground, it curved even more, shooting off to the side.
"See?"
Eris stared at the ball. Then she looked at me and tossed her head to the side, flicking her crimson hair. "...Stupid show-off."
I smiled.
At that time, the door to our house opened and Sylphy walked out with a stack of cups and an ice pitcher of water. She glanced at Eris and then giggled. "Looks like you two are having a lot of fun again!"
Eris huffed and said, "You mean Rudy keeps bullying me again."
Sylphy poured a cup of water and handed it to Eris. "It's all in good fun, Eri. And you're enjoying it too, aren't you?"
Eris took the cup and scoffed. "Me? Enjoy playing with that guy? Never."
So she said, but Eris couldn't hide the way her eyes lit up at the answer.
Definitely a big tsundere. Though surprisingly more 'dere' than 'tsun' like how she was in the other timeline.
Was that because of Sylphy being here too? The fact that I was undeniably stronger than Eris? Or the fact that our relationship dynamic wasn't a student-teacher, but friends hanging out together every day?
After all, I wasn't forcing Eris to do any studying... Except for when I snuck in fun games to teach her stuff like basic arithmetic to keep track of scores, or when I taught letters by disguising it as a game similar to 'Pig' when we were shooting hoops.
Sylphy giggled and then poured a cup of water out for me. "Here you go, Rudy!"
"Thanks Sylphy." I took the cup and sipped on it.
Refreshing. The water was pure, cold, and clear. Probably because Sylphy conjured it up instead of drawing it from our usual water well.
Magic was definitely convenient like that...
Which reminded me that I needed to experiment making food sometimes. Or at the least basic ingredients like salt and sugar. Never knew when something like that might come in handy.
Sylphy formed a crystal chair and then sat down, pouring herself a cup of water. After that, she tossed the pitcher to the side, turning it into a shimmering mist.
Eris noticed and frowned. "...You're a show-off too, Sylphy."
"Hm?" Sylphy tilted her head. "Show-off?"
"...Nothing." Eris sighed and took another sip from her cup. After that, she looked at me and frowned. "So what are you going to make me do today, Rudy? Write more numbers? Read more books? Do something even more embarrassing?"
I made a pair of chairs, one for myself and one across from me for Eris.
She noticed and sat down, pursing her lips.
I sat down too and said, "I'm not *that* mean, Eri."
Her eye twitched.
Seemed like she still didn't like being called that... Tough luck though. A bet was a bet.
"Anyway." I took a sip from my cup and said, "Since you lost today..."
I hummed, thinking about a productive use of our time.
It had been fun just relaxing for a while and messing with Eris. And it was hilarious watching our various spectators react to Eris's exaggerated facial expressions.
It had also been adorable hearing Norn and Aisha cheer for either me or Eris depending on the day.
Not to mention all the practice I got making things out of pure mana from having to accommodate all of Eris's stubborn challenges.
But as much as I enjoyed all of that, plus how it helped me lighten up after all the stress, it was about time I got back to work prepping on things.
Not completely, of course. Spending time with friends and family were just as important as preparing for the future.
Didn't want to fall into the trap Being W set to make me a demonic overlord holding onto everyone with an iron fist.
But for now...
At that time, I noticed Master Roxy walking back from the distance, finishing with her morning patrol.
And then I had an idea.
I looked at Eris again.
She wasn't mad, but she looked super irritated- No, resigned. Morale at an all time low, despite me trying to cheer her up a bit with that head pat.
In that case...
"You wanted to learn that 'swishswish' move, right, Eri?"
Eris paused. And then her eyes widened and she jumped out of her chair. "Really?!" She grabbed my hand and said, "You're going to teach me?!"
I did my best to not smile at the irony of her saying that and instead nodded. "That's right. And I think it's about time we all had some proper magic lessons again too."
Now to rope Master Roxy in to see if we could turn Eris into some kind of magic swordswoman to keep her preoccupied for a while so that I could work on other stuff again...
-LIV-
On the outskirts of the Citadel of Roa, a pair of carriages were lined up, having just stopped by for a resupply and rest stop.
Sitting at the front of one of those carriages, Paul took a long drink from a pint of mead and then shook his head, glancing at their tagalongs from Milbotts. And when he did, he sighed and took another long drink from his mead.
"So these are the lands you have come to call your home, Nanny?"
A beautiful and refined girl's voice echoed.
Lilia let out a somewhat strained smile and nodded. "Indeed. Though I am no longer your Nanny, Princess."
The Second Princess of the Asura Kingdom, Ariel Anemoi Asura. A beautiful young girl with light blonde hair and clear blue eyes.
Sitting on Lilia's lap, she shook her head and said, "Nanny is Nanny. And I still owe you a life debt for saving me."
Lilia's smile grew more strained at that.
Paul shifted his gaze away from them and towards the other occupant in the carriage. Specifically, the one responsible for this entire mess of having Princess Ariel come to visit the far-off Buina Village.
Orsted looked up at Paul, his gaze as stern and harsh as always. "What?"
"...Nothing."
Paul turned his gaze back to the front and prepared to set off.
...He blamed Rudy.
For Dragon God Orsted to make a public appearance and declare Princess Ariel under his protection, then to align himself with Paul and support him as the proper head of the Notos family... and finally to personally escort Princess Ariel on a summer vacation trip to and from Buina village... The same princess who wanted to see with her own eyes the boy who took her Nanny away from her.
It was a mess.
But on the bright side, Paul would get to spend time with his cute baby girls again and goof-off for a while.
And rub it in Rudy's face about how nothing terrible happened and how the entire situation with the Notos family had been cleaned up, leaving them in the clear for things to go back to normal.
Unless Princess Ariel wasn't happy about things. Though Paul did rescue the princess's best friend, so things wouldn't devolve 'too' much...
...Dammit. Maybe he really should train more seriously like Gal said, if only to figure out how to get to that Being Whatchamcallit and smack him in the face for making Paul's life so complicated.
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