191 – The Ster Sister’s Thoughts


    The Greyrat Home... house? Manor?


    ...I still needed to sort out what to call the ce sometime. I guess ''home'' was a good catch-all, but the ce was definitely too big to be called a house...


    Anyway, I headed back to our home in Sharia after Rika''s suggestion. The n was to go prep another pop quiz for my students and then make sure things were squared away for Roxy''s wedding.


    But I forgot that time zones were a thing, and when I got back it was already close to evening.


    Which reminded me that I had irvoyance and definitely had not been using it recently.


    ...Then again, seeing things from an on-high perspective like that all the time could lead to feeling too much like a god, so maybe it was better that I restricted it.


    More on thatter.


    Ah, and mental note: Remember to update the Greyrat Guide for Dummies. Lots of valuable lessons learned recently, so can''t forget to record them.


    Anyway...


    I walked in through the front door this time after warping into the courtyard.


    Thankfully, no one was there. Plus, Eri and Sylphy were still in Arcadia, so I didn''t have to worry about scaring them and causing issues.


    ...Wait. No one was there?


    I frowned and took a look around.


    The house was lit with a fewnterns, but most of the rooms were dark. And not because people were sleeping.


    I didn''t sense anyone in the house except for Ste, who was in her room on the front floor.


    And speaking of Ste, the moment I turned my attention towards her room, the door mmed open and she ran out pointing a wand.


    I blinked and then waved my hand. "Hey, Ste?"


    "Onii-chan?" Ste blinked and then let out a deep sigh of relief. Then she crossed her arms and pouted. "You need to stop doing that! I almost sted you!"


    Iughed and said, "Well, it''s a good way to keep your instincts sharp?"


    "Tch."


    I smiled and then nced around again. After that, I frowned and said, "Are you home? Alone?"


    That was pretty irresponsible. Even if Ste was already... four? Five?


    ...I don''t think we had her big birthday celebration yet, so she was still four.


    Anyway, even if she was four and pretty smart, she was still just a kid with an older kid''s memories.


    At that time, a burst of bubbles appeared next to Ste before Wata materialized, sticking up his paw. "Ste is never alone!"


    A sh of light appeared on the floor next to Ste, and then Leo appeared. He barked and then said, "That''s right!"


    Next, a swirl of mes appeared on Ste''s other side, and Fai appeared. Putting her hands on her waist, she grinned and said, "Prepare for trouble- Wait!" She spun around and said, "You two did it out of order!"


    I stared at the trio of spirits and then looked at Wyn, who quietly materialized on Ste''s head. After that, I gave Ste a nk look.


    Ste coughed, her ears a bright red. After that, she said, "A-Anyway!" She looked at me and said, "What are you doing home? Shouldn''t you be with Rika nee-chan?"


    I took off my Demon Lord coat and regalia, tossing them in my usual pocket space. After that, I stretched and said, "Yeah, but I wanted to make sure things were squared away here- Wait." I looked at Ste and said, "You never said where everyone was."


    Ste walked over to my side and then held my hand, casually swinging it back and forth. "Mom, Mama Lily, and Paul are having a housewarming party with Uncle Laws and Auntie Rose, while Norn, Aisha, and Miko are at the dorms."


    "And they left you alone here?"


    Ste flinched and then looked to the side. "Y-Yes...?"


    "...You snuck out, didn''t you?"


    Ste huffed and said, "It was boring! The adults were just talking about money and stuff! And I wanted to y with Norn and Aisha nee-chan, but Miss Roxy''s security system is too tough."


    I sighed and then scooped Ste up.


    "H-Hey!" Ste blushed and said, "Let me down! I''m not a baby! I can walk!"


    I chuckled and said, "No can do. Since no one is here to watch my cute baby sister, I''ve gotta make sure you stay out of trouble."


    "H-Hmph." Ste puffed her cheeks and looked away.


    I could tell that she was happy though.


    Even if she pretended she was all grown up and mature, she was still just a kid using old memories to act grown-up.


    ...I don''t think that she realized that yet, but the shoe would drop eventually.


    "Fine. I guess I could spend some time with you, Onii-chan." Ste looked at me and then looked away. "...It''s not like I missed you or anything."


    Iughed and then poked her cheek.


    "Gah!" Ste red at me and then said, "Stop that!"


    I chuckled and said, "I can''t help it. My cute baby sister is trying out different personalities right now, and it''s funny."


    Ste''s face turned a deep red and she said, "A-Am not! This is just the way I am! Baka!"


    I smiled and started walking over to the kitchen. "Then you should reconsider being a tsundere. It just makes people want to bully you when you''re that cute." I paused. "...Though I guess that would round out the group. Aisha is the hime student council type, and Norn is the yandere genki type, so you being a genius tsundere would line things up pretty well."


    Ste narrowed her eyes and then said, "Hypocrite. You told me to not look at the world like it was an anime, Onii-chan."


    "First of all, it''s well established that I''m a hypocrite." I walked over to the kitchen table and set Ste down on a chair there, conjuring a mug of hot cocoa for her.


    Ste grabbed it and then puffed out her cheeks.


    I smiled and then said, "Second of all, I just use them for shorthand. People are more rounded than simple archetypes, but those archetypes are useful as a general model. It''s like how atoms aren''t really clusters of orbiting matter, but it gets close enough that it''s useful to think of them like that."


    Ste took a sip from her hot cocoa and then said, "I still think you''re lying to me about not being a super evil viin from a different world, Onii-chan."


    I poked Ste''s cheek again and said, "If I was, I would have taken over this world a long time ago, Ste." I paused and then realized that Ste''s spirit friends were being polite and quiet.


    It seemed like they had learned to read the room too. Nice!


    Good job, past me. Giving Ste spirit friends was smart.


    Clearly, my baby sister didn''t really have a conscious or stop on her curiosity, so giving her a rounded-out group of pals helped her grow.


    "...Anyway." I ruffled Ste''s hair and said, "Sit tight. I''ll cook up a snack."


    Ste set her cup of hot cocoa down and then said, "I''m not hungry!"


    *rumble*


    Ste froze.


    I raised an eyebrow.


    Wata sighed and said, "You shouldn''t lie about being hungry, Ste."


    Leo nodded. "Food is food. Wan."


    Fai hopped into the chair next to Ste and said, "Some for me too, Master Rudy!"


    I chuckled and said, "Coming right up."


    Now, something tasty, but also light. It was gettingte, and I didn''t want Ste to get a tummy ache for eating so close to bedtime.


    Mm... A souffle would be good, right?


    -SNG-


    Was it because he got married, or because his wives were having babies soon?


    Either way, Ste noticed that her Onii-chan seemed a lot cooler and more reliable than before. Definitely more like a Dad, at least.


    Ste had always known that he was mature since he raised her all by himself. But Onii-chan had also always been a bit... extreme? Out there?


    He definitely seemed like a guy withoutmon sense.


    But Ste noticed that he was acting more like a normal grown-up now.


    ...And also treating her more like a daughter than his baby sister.


    "Now remember that you can''t eat sweets all the time." Rudy slid a freshly baked souffle in front of Ste, along with a ss of cold milk. "It''s fine when I make them since I can bnce the nutrition and taste, but too much of normal sweets will make you chubby."


    Ste puffed her cheeks and said, "I know! Sheesh!"


    ...A-And it definitely wasn''t because she noticed that her cute clothes weren''t fitting her anymore. Definitely not.


    Rudyughed and then ruffled Ste''s hair. "Alright. Then eat up. I''ll whip something up for your friends too and then we can sit and rx."


    Fai pumped a fist in the air and said, "Yay! Master Rudy is the best!"


    Wata''s eyes sparkled and he said, "Can I have a fluffy cake with blueberries?!"


    Leo barked and said, "Chocte! Wan!"


    Rudy blinked and looked back at Leo. "...Won''t that kill you?"


    "Wan!" Leo wagged his tail and said, "What doesn''t kill me makes me stronger! Wan! And tasty chocte is worth it!"


    Rudy paused and then looked at Ste. "...Have you been feeding Leo chocte?"


    Ste paused in the middle of poking her souffle with a fork and then said, "Was I not supposed to?"


    "...Dogs can''t eat chocte. Actually, most animals can''t."


    Ste''s eyes widened. "But it''s so tasty?!"


    Rudy stared at Ste and then chuckled.


    "W-What?" Ste felt her face heat up. "How was I supposed to know?!"


    Rudy walked off into the kitchen and said, "It''s fine. Just a reminder that you really are just a kid."


    Ste huffed and started eating her souffle.


    Stupid Onii-chan. She wasn''t a kid, she was a grown woman!


    ...Technically!


    Her agesbined definitely put her in her twenties!


    And she mightck some life experience, but she was smart! Top of her ss, even!


    A few minutes passed as Rudy baked some more treats in the kitchen.


    ...And Ste just realized that Onii-chan was definitely doing something impossible since you absolutely could not bake a cake in two minutes.


    Leave it to Onii-chan to do something ridiculous like that just for convenience.


    But in a bit, Rudy had set up the table on the other side for Ste''s spirit friends and then sat across from Ste with his own souffle.


    Ste nced at him but then looked away, stabbing her souffle with a fork to rip chunks of it off to eat.


    ...At least she tried. But when she stabbed it, the fork just went through and started cutting the soft pastry up.


    Rudyughed and then picked up a spoon. "You eat warm souffles like this, Ste." He grabbed a fork as well and then dug into the souffle a bit before shoving some onto his spoon. After that, he took a bite and smiled. "See?"


    Ste felt her face heat up. "I-I knew that!" She immediately did the same thing and took a bite.


    Fluffy, a little sweet and savory...


    It was yummy.


    ...Dammit. Why did Onii-chan have to be perfect at everything?"


    "You like it?"


    Ste nodded, but stubbornly refused to respond.


    Rudyughed and then started eating his souffle as well.


    Afortable silence ensued.


    Well, other than the sounds of Fai stuffing her face, but Ste could ignore that.


    After a bit eating her souffle and drinking some milk, Ste looked over to Rudy and said, "Hey, Onii-chan."


    "Yeah, Ste?" He smiled and said, "What''s up?"


    Ste stared at her Onii-chan, wondering just what exactly was different about him.


    It wasn''t like he looked any different. And he didn''t really act much different either.


    He was still stupidly cool and made fun of her a lot.


    But...


    Ah.


    "Are you happy now?"


    Rudy paused. "Happy, huh?"


    That was the difference.


    Ste remembered how hard Rudy had worked since she was born. And while he had been acting carefree, there was always a bit of ''something'' behind his actions. Like he couldn''tpletely rx.


    But right now, as Rudy sat across from her...


    Rudy smiled. "Yeah. I''m happy. ...Though I might not be in a few days, depending on how Roxy''s wedding and the aftermath goes."


    Ste scoffed and sipped on her milk. After that, she said, "Well, maybe you shouldn''t have married four beautiful women who could each beat you up."


    Rudyughed.


    Ste smiled. "...I''m happy that you''re happy though, Onii-chan."


    "Thanks, Ste. Love you too."


    Ste blushed and said, "I didn''t say that!"


    "But you mean it~"


    "Gah! Dummy!" Ste looked away and started stabbing her souffle.


    Dumb Onii-chan. Why does he have to be all cool and supportive and a great guy like that?


    He''s even cooler now that he''s a dad! It''s not fair!


    Rudy chuckled. "Anyway, it''s been a bit since we chatted. How''ve you been, Ste? Anything fun recently?"


    Ste huffed.


    "Oh. Are you pouting~?"


    "I hate you. But fine." Ste sighed and said, "I met Mister Zanoba again and he made me a cool knight figurine. I also met Akito and practiced making some magic circles- Ah!" Ste pointed at Rudy and said, "I forgot! Why is Akito here!?"


    "Oh yeah." Rudy rubbed his chin and said, "I forgot to mention that your parallel timeline self sent her boyfriend her for safe-keeping until we do the final boss raid."


    "...What?"


    "Oh? Did I forget to tell you that I met Shizuka Nanahoshi when we were over there? It''s funny, she acts mature, but she''s actually really childish like you."


    "...I''m telling Norn nee-chan you made hot cocoa in secret again and didn''t tell her."


    "H-Hey! You don''t need to go that far!"


    "And I''m telling Aisha nee-chan that you bullied me."


    "Steaaa! I''m just teasing!"


    "Baka."


    Serves him right.