146 – Children of the Beast Race – I


    A bright and peaceful morning.


    Ste blinked her bleary eyes open and then let out a small yawn before sitting up in her bed.


    For a brief moment, she was confused. The surroundings were unfamiliar. Even the bed she was sleeping in was different. A bit too firm and not like thefy one that Onii-chan made for her.


    And then Ste remembered. ''Right. We aren''t in Arcadia any more.''


    She took a look around and then gathered her bearings.


    It was a small room. Basic, without many personal belongings or furniture. But it was supposed to be that way.


    "Onii-chan. You''re a pretty boring person, huh?"


    The room was a recreation of the one that Onii-chan had at their old house. The same house where Ste had been born.


    It didn''t have everything. After all, a lot of their belongings had vanished in the spacetime copse that whisked their family all over the world.


    But Onii-chan was a cheat who could make things from just his imagination and memories, so it was pretty much the same.


    Because of that... and because of how bare it was, Ste shook her head.


    Even if he was a reincarnated genius or something, you''d think he would have some toys or souvenirs, but there wasn''t anything decorating the room.


    Then again, Onii-chan was the sort of person who valued the intangible things like knowledge, skills, and stuff like that.


    Except for when it came to women.


    Ste slipped out of her bed and sighed. "At least Onii-chan knows how to keep them quiet."


    After that, she thought about what to do for the day.


    Onii-chan said that they were probably going to start heading back to their hometown soon, but she wasn''t sure if they were leaving today or not. And even if they were, Onii-chan coulde by and pick her up whenever. So...


    A glimmer of crimson sparks appeared in front of Ste, and then a girl with ming orange hair appeared next to her.


    Ste blinked and then sighed before saying, "Are you going to follow me around everywhere like that now, Fai?"


    Fai rubbed her eyes and then smiled. "Of course!" She smoothed down her simple white dress and said, "You''re big now, so I get to be big too!"


    A white mist shimmered next to Ste before a tabby gray cat appeared, floating in the air. It shook its body for a bit, causing some mist to leave its fur and turn it pure white. After that, the cat looked at Ste with its clear blue eyes and said, "Did you n on going on an adventure today, Ste?"


    Ste walked over to pick up her bag, carefully rummaging through her belongings.


    Her notebook filled with various example magic arrays that she learned from watching Onii-chan. A makeshift wand made from a magic stone Onii-chan gave her to y with and some scrap metal that Fai and Wata helped find. Some spare clothes, snacks that Onii-chan gave her...


    And since Wata could always conjure water, that should be enough.


    Ste closed up her bag and slung it over her shoulders before turning back to Wata. "We probably won''t be here much longer, so we should go explore while we have the chance, right?"


    A small breeze shifted Ste''s blonde hair before a tiny green fairy appeared on her head. Wearing a green one-piece dress, Wyn yawned and said, "Can''t we just rx?" She nced off to the side and said, "The winds are hectic today. It might be bad to go."


    Ste rolled her eyes and said, "The winds are always bad, Wyn. Just like how you''re always sleepy." She paused and said, "Why *are* you always sleepy anyway?"


    Wyn stretched and said, "Because you make me work so hard." The small fairy puffed her cheeks and said, "Do you know how many times a weirdo keeps trying to steal your Fate?"


    Ste blinked. "...What?"


    Wyn yawned and then looked over at Wata and Fai. "I''m going back to sleep. Don''t let Fai get Ste into trouble, Wata."


    Fai huffed and said, "I am not trouble!"


    Wata nodded. "I won''t."


    Ste shook her head and said, "You three always make it seem like I''m going to get into some big mess." After saying that, Ste opened the door and walked out of her room.


    Wata floated behind her and said, "Because you''re a trouble ma like Rudy but a lot weaker."


    "I am *not* as bad as Onii-chan." Ste huffed and walked down the hall to the living room. "He breaks the world andmonsense wherever he goes. I''m perfectly normal."


    Fai walked beside Ste and nodded. "Yeah!" She looked at Wata and said, "Ste is a normal girl, not a weirdo!"


    "...Normally I''d be happy, buting from you, Fai..." Ste sighed and then shook her head.


    The house was empty, mostly because it was still pretty early.


    Ste''s father had gone off somewherest night after chatting with Onii-chan. As for Onii-chan, he was still asleep with his ero wives... Or maybe up to hi things since that silence formation was covering their bedroom. Either way, they weren''t around.


    Eos, Ena, and Rnd''s bedrooms were upstairs, and Ste''s... nieces and nephew? Nee-chans and Nii-chan?


    Family rtionships were always soplicated when time-travel was involved.


    Hah. Seriously, was Onii-chan the protagonist of a science fiction novel or something before he got reincarnated? He said he came from Japan too, but Ste was seriously starting to have doubts about if they came from the same Earth.


    Anyway, they were all asleep, or at least not downstairs yet.


    Norn nee-chan was probably asleep too since her room was still closed. So was Auntie Therese.


    Since that was the case, Ste scribbled a quick note saying that she was going exploring before cing it on the dining room table. After that, she headed outside, Fai and Wata following her. And then-


    "Are you leaving?"


    -A soft female voice called out to her.


    ''?!@#!@''


    Ste jumped and spun around to see a slightly chubby blonde girl standing there.


    The girl''s blue eyes stared at Ste with unnatural pink diamond pupils, almost as if peering into Ste''s soul-


    No, the girl was actually doing that judging from the waves of mana rippling towards Ste.


    Ste watched those waves bounce away as the ne Onii-chan gave her shed. After that, she huffed and said, "How many times have I said to stop trying to read my mind, Miko?"


    "Yeah!" Fai pointed at Miko and said, "That''s rude!"


    The girl, Miko, lowered her gaze and said, "I''m sorry."


    Wata floated over and bopped Fai''s head. "You''re the rude one here, Fai."


    "Ow!"


    Ste shook her head and said, "Whatever. I''m going out to y today. Do you wannae with?"


    Miko tilted her head and said, "Is that okay? You''re still really small..."


    "I am not small!" Ste huffed and said, "I''m a big girl now!"


    "...Yes?"


    "Anyway!" Ste spun towards the door and said, "I''m going with or without you! Come on Fai!"


    "A-Ah!" Miko quickly started walking after Ste. "W-Wait for me!"


    -SNG-


    Saint Port. Apparently, it was supposed to be simr to the Wind Port back on the Magic Continent. Of course, since that ce had been destroyed by a big distortion, Ste never got to see what it was really like.


    But walking around the area...


    ''This ce really is a fantasy world, isn''t it?''


    Of course, there had been demons, beastkin, and other fantasy creatures back in Arcadia, but everyone there was normal. Or maybe it was because the ce was something Onii-chan built up?


    Either way, it didn''t feel like a real parallel world.


    But here...


    Looking around, Ste could see adventurers chatting and merchants hawking their wares. Some sailors were walking around, stumbling back after a long night drinking... Altogether, it was like a real fantasy setting.


    And since Ste was finally off by herself, it was even more exciting. Now, if only she could have a chance encounter and start a quest or something-


    "Hm?"


    Ste paused, noticing something off in the distance, hidden between dark alleyways.


    A sh of white, darting into the darkness.


    Wata paused as well and then followed Ste''s gaze. "Did you see something interesting, Ste?"


    "...I think so." Ste pulled out her wand from her bag and then started walking over there.


    Miko quickly followed, hugging her white robe. "U-Um... I don''t think we should-"


    "It''ll be fine! I''m not a baby anymore!"


    Right. Ste was grown up now and she could solve her own problems. Plus, it was time for her to show Onii-chan that he didn''t need to fuss so much worrying about her.


    "Let''s go, everyone!"


    Now, to see what that white sh was...


    -RNG-


    "Hm?"


    I sat up and then nced off to the side.


    Eri and Sylphy were still fast asleep,pletely exhausted.


    Scanning around the house, my kids were sleeping, Norn was studying, Aunt Therese was sleeping too...


    Dad was knocked out at an inn nearby, watched over by Pierre and Rostelina...


    But Ste was missing.


    She wasn''t in danger. And when I focused on her, it seemed like she was just out having fun with her friends walking around in town.


    But then she suddenly ducked into a side-alley, chasing after a fluffy white dog.


    A fluffy white dog that was almost blinding with the amount of golden holy mana radiating from it.


    "...Trouble really does run in the family, huh?"


    I carefully slipped out from Eri and Sylphy before heading out the window and trailing after Ste.


    It should be fine, but it was always good to have an overpowered NPC on a tutorial mission, right?