157 – The Ster Sister takes the Lead – III


    Ste kicked open the door to Rudy''s room and then walked in, arms crossed. "Onii-chan! We need to talk!"


    Silence.


    Miko walked up behind Ste and looked around the room. "I don''t think Rudy is here right now, Ste."


    Norn walked in as well and nodded. "It looks like Big Brother is on a trip again."


    "Awe on!" Ste huffed and stomped her foot on the floor. "Why is Onii-chan always doing side quests?! He''s already strong enough as he is!"


    Norn blinked and said, "Side quests?"


    Ste sighed and waved her hand. "Never mind..." After that, she took a look around the room.


    Unlike Ste, who had a giant fancy tree house all to herself because she was a special hero, Rudy just had a small and simple studio apartment on the outskirts of the vige.


    ...Which was odd in itself considering that it looked like it literally got pulled away from Earth and stuck in the middle of nowhere.


    A pristine ss sliding window. A light switch with fluorescent light bulbs. A desk, fold-up futon, wardrobe...


    Did Onii-chan unlock a portable home system off-screen or something?


    No. That wasn''t important.


    Ste walked over to Rudy''s desk and started flipping through the papers there.


    Norn''s eyes widened and she quickly walked over. "S-Ste! You shouldn''t do that!"


    Ste pulled the papers away from Norn''s outstretched hands and huffed. "I''m doing what I want! What''s so important that Onii-chan keeps ignoring us any-"


    A stray parchment fell onto the floor. But not just a parchment, a colored print. One of a silver-haired elf with green eyes, ckce, and-


    "@#$@#$@!"


    Ste quickly picked up the print, stuffed it back in the pile of papers and chucked everything in the desk drawer.


    Norn''s face turned a bright red and she ced her hands on her cheeks.


    Miko blushed and her eyes kept ncing towards the drawer. "W-Was that-"


    "WE DIDN''T SEE ANYTHING, OKAY?!"


    Ste felt her face heat up and she quickly wiped what she saw from her memory.


    Dammit! She knew that Onii-chan was a secret super pervert!


    "Really now?"


    Ste froze and slowly turned to the side.


    When she did, Norn and Miko slowly followed suit.


    Rudy was standing there in the doorway, leaning against it with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. He was wearing some of his fancier clothes again, a ck dress shirt and white cloak, but his hair and eyes were still the average brown and green that he used as a disguise. "Judging from your reactions... it seems Sylphy left me a ''gift'' again, huh? Hah..." He shook his head and said, "I keep telling her the kids are around."


    Ste blinked.


    Gift? Then that paper...


    ...Sylphy really was an erofu, wasn''t she?


    And it seemed like Ste was going to have lots of nieces and nephews in the future at this rate...


    "Anyway." Rudy waved his hand, vanishing the desk and bed before recing them withfy looking beanbag cushions. "Did you girls need something? It must be serious if you barged in here without being scared of what would happen if Sylphy caught you."


    Ste froze.


    R-Right. If Sylphy nee-chan had been in here...


    "Just kidding." Rudy winked and said, "She''s too busy catching up with Ghyine and Eri right now." He walked inside and sat down on thin air.


    Like, literally. Rudy sat down and then just floated there.


    But as if it was perfectly natural, Rudy continued talking and said, "Apparently, Eri''s parents and Sylphy''s parents met up and started conquering the Strife Zone together. Ghyine was with them, so she''s telling how everything unfolded."


    Norn''s eyes widened and she said, "Aunt Rosie is okay?"


    "Mmhm." Rudy nodded. "Her, Laws, Philip, and Hilda are all fine. Even that old Sauros is kicking around- Ah, but I don''t think any of you''ve met him." He paused and tilted his head. "I wonder if kicking him out that window straightened him out a bit..."


    Miko walked over to sit on one of the cushions and then smiled. "It''s good to hear that the people you knew are safe, Rudy."


    "Mm. For the most part. But enough about that." He looked at Ste and said, "I''m guessing you''re the leader of this party, Ste." He grinned and said, "Did you get bored and decided to set out on an adventure like a proper ''yuusha'' now?"


    Ste flopped onto a cushion and crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks. "Shut up, Onii-chan. I''m in this mess because of you!"


    "Now, now. I''m not the one who decided to go y magical girl and save a bunch of kidnapped children." Rudy chuckled before materializing a tter of chocte chip cookies. "Have some treats, by the way."


    Norn''s eyes lit up and she took one. "Thanks, Rui!" Nibbling on it with a content smile, she took a seat on the remaining cushion.


    Miko eyed the cookies and then pursed her lips, subtly tugging her tight blouse.


    Rudy noticed and then said, "Oh yeah. Forgot most people don''t burn through calories like nothing because of their raw mana output... Here." He waved his hand and then materialized another tter of cookies in front of Miko. "Those should be fine to eat."


    Miko looked at Rudy and said, "Really?"


    "Really."


    "Then... okay." With a hesitant nod, Miko started eating the cookies as well.


    Ste rolled her eyes and said, "Stop distracting everyone with sweets, Onii-chan!"


    Rudy took a bite out of a cookie and said, "I just want to make sure my baby sisters and their friend are having a good time."


    Dammit! This guy...!


    Like always, Onii-chan was marching to his own beat. If Ste wasn''t careful, he''d end up going off on a tangent and then leave again before she had a chance to talk!


    So, before then!


    Ste pointed at Rudy and said, "Take us sight seeing!"


    Rudy blinked and tilted his head. "...What?"


    Ste felt her face heat up from embarrassment, but she continued and said, "Y-You keep running off on your stupid side quests or being loveydovey with our ero nee-chans! Would it kill you to y with me and Norn for once?"


    Silence.


    Norn slowly lowered her cookie and looked up at Rudy, mixed emotions on her face.


    Miko sat there awkwardly, looking between Rudy and Ste.


    As for Rudy himself...


    "Hm." He finished his cookie and then brushed off the crumbs. "I was going to wait until we got to Ranoa Kingdom for us to go have fun together, but I guess I''ve pretty much cleared away all the important stuff here. I even left a proper Mana Sword to choose a proper heroter in the future, so... Sure."


    Ste blinked and said, "Wait, what was that about a Mana-"


    Rudy pped his hands together and then smiled. "Now... How about we go smack around some monsters? Oh, and you can stay here and rx, Miko. I''ll leave a few story books for you to read along with a fridge- I mean, an icebox filled with calorie-free goodies."


    Miko''s eyes shed a bit, activating as if trying to peer into Rudy''s thoughts.


    Rudy''s eyes shed as well, but they quickly returned to the casual green color he was using.


    After that, Miko turned to Ste and ced her hands on Ste''s shoulders.


    "M-Mikochi?!"


    "Ste." Miko let out a bright smile and said, "Your big brother is the best."


    "Um... Okay...?"


    "Great!" Rudy pped his hands again before reaching out to grab Norn and Ste''s shoulders. "Then, no time like the present! Adventure time!"


    "Wait, Onii-!"


    *pop*


    Miko blinked, looking around the now empty room. And then she blinked again, staring at the sleek metallic box that just appeared in front of her as well as the stack of books on the floor next to it.


    She hestitated for a bit, but then she opened the box. And when she did...


    "...Even if Lady Therese is right about Rudy being the devil..." She pulled out a small ice cream cup along with a tiny gold spoon and scooped up a bite. "...Things that taste this good can''t be bad for you, right?"


    -C.G-


    "We''ve taken care of thest of the rebels, Your Holiness!"


    Cliff sighed and set down the stack of papers he was looking through at his desk. ncing at the fully armored knight kneeling on the ground in front of him, Cliff waved his hand and said, "I keep telling everyone, just call me Cliff." He frowned and said, "I''m still a farcry from being qualified to be called ''Your Holiness.''"


    After all, whenpared to Father-inw and even Ena...


    Yes. There was still arge gap to cross.


    Cliff shook his head and then looked back at the messenger. "That aside... So you''ve hunted down thest of them?"


    "Yes!" The knight stood up and smacked his fist against his chest. "The false prophet was imprisoned and those that follow the false human god have been locked away! Sir Astolfo is interrogating them as we speak!"


    "I see."


    Cliff shifted his gaze back to his papers, organizing his thoughts.


    There probably wouldn''t be much new information from them, but it was good to tie up any loose ends.


    Still...


    Cliff rapped his fingers on his desk while recalling what the Cardinal said before they executed him.


    ''You fools! Lord Perugius is on our side! You will all regret choosing to stand with Lace!''


    "...What did that man mean?"


    "Your Holiness?"


    "...Nothing." Cliff shook his head.


    It wasn''t something he should be concerned with. To the people, to the nobles, and to the knights, their victory was won by the grace of Saint Milis with Cliff as the Saint''s mortal incarnation.


    For now...


    ''There is much to be done if I am to be a man worthy of Ena.''


    With that thought, Cliff gathered up his papers and went back to work.


    -LIV-


    In the floating castle Chaos Breaker, a stern man with wild silver hair, sharp golden eyes, and an aura of nobility looked down from his throne. "...Are you certain this time, Arumanfi?" He narrowed his eyes and said, "We cannot risk a single mistake when ites to this matter."


    A man with golden hair and a fox mask nodded and said, "I am certain, Lord Perugius." Arumanfi clenched his fists and said, "Lace has broken free from his seal and is hidden among the human kingdoms. And while I could not find him during the revolt, I saw his traces all over Millishion in the recent battle."


    "I see."


    Perugius was silent for a few moments and then said, "Two years."


    "Lord Perugius?"


    Perugius slowly stood up and said, "We will prepare for two years." Turning his head to look out at the distant clouds, he said, "If Lace has truly broken free... If he has grown strong and wily enough to manipte the humans and hide among them... And if that man was telling the truth..."


    Silence.


    "...Well." Perugius spoke again and quietly said, "We will see who is telling the truth and who is telling a lie soon enough."


    -LIV-


    "Patience. Patience..."


    In an endless void, a figure wreathed in white mist muttered to himself while staring at a model of all the continents in the world.


    "Even if that bastard is cheating and modifying the records somehow, it will all work out. This time, I have pieces that I never even considered using before."


    Hitogami clenched his hand into a fist and said, "Rudeus Notus Greyrat... Don''t think you''ll have a happy ending. Even if I can''t kill *you*, everyone else... hehehe. HAHAHAHAHA!"


    -LIV-


    Somewhere in the Asura Kingdom, a nondescript man wearing a travel cloak stopped and raised his left hand. A soft beep echoed from his wrist watch and he muttered, "Two years." He reached out to press a button with his right hand and said, "For better or for worse, that''s when everything ends. ...I hope your calctions were right, Shizuka."


    A soft breeze blew the hood off the man''s cloak, revealing his features.


    ck hair, foreign-looking almond eyes, a young face that looked to be in the early twenties...


    Pulling his hood back over his head, Shinohara Akito sighed and said, "Time travel and isekai really aren''t as fun as all the light novels make it out to be..."