Leon Greyrat: The Second Son – Mushoku Tensei OC

Chapter 131 – A Third Sister

— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —

It was the day after returning home, and after navigating myself out of the arms and legs of my four ladies, I went downstairs to make a quick breakfast for myself, taking the time to watch the sunrise from the backyard.

To be able to eat actual good food… and to breathe in the wonderful air of outside… I would never take such gifts for granted again.

Either way, after cleaning up and getting dressed, I made my way down the snow-covered road towards my dear brother’s house.

While I definitely wanted to see him, as Sylphy had told me about the guilt he felt over my presumed death, there was another bigger reason as to why I wanted to visit.

And that had to do with my sister.

Or rather… Shizuka.

Haa… yes, that was an issue.

While most of Kaito’s memories had been sectioned off, only leaking through little by little over time, or coming up whenever I had a thought related to a memory of ours… it was different when it came to Shizuka.

Perhaps it was due to Kaito already having let some of his feelings through way back then, or maybe it was simply the overwhelming brotherly love he felt for her breaking past any of my mental restrictions, but either way, one thing was for sure.

I loved Shizuka as my sister, and not just because she was with Rudy.

And more than that… I needed to tell her about her brother… which was me… kind of…

Yeah, this was definitely going to be confusing.

Releasing a sigh, I noticed that my feet had taken me all the way to Rudy’s front door while I was stuck in my own world.

Right… let’s do this.

They were home, right?

They should be, at least…

Knocking on the door, I only had to wait a few seconds before it opened to reveal a very familiar twenty-year-old man, who had seemed to have decided to grow a bit of a stubble while I was gone.

Or maybe it was just because it was morning.

“Hey, Rudy… a nice morning, isn’t it?” I asked with a smile.

“‘A nice morning’ you say… yeah, it is,” he said, giving me a smile in return as he walked forward, wrapping his arms around me in a hug. “You’re really alive… I’m… I’m so glad…”

“Yeah… sorry it took a while to get back,” I said, patting his head as he squeezed harder.

I had been saying sorry quite a bit, huh?

Well, from how sad I made them… there wasn’t anything else I could say.

But still…@@novelbin@@

“You don’t seem as surprised as I thought,” I said. “I was expecting a bigger reaction, you know?”

“Heh. Well, when I first learned of it, I was really surprised, you know?” he said, separating from me as he shook his head. “I… was feeling pretty guilty, you know?”

“Rudy…”

“I know,” he said bitterly. “I know that it wasn’t my fault, but still… you get it, right?”

“Yeah… I guess I do,” I replied.

But… when he first learned of it?

When would he have…

Ah.

“Mama and Lilia came by, didn’t they?” I asked.

“Yeah. And after telling us the news, Aisha, Norn, and I all went over to your place to see you, but…” he said, his words trailing off as he wiggled his eyebrows. “You guys were… busy at the time, you know?”

…Oh.

“You heard that?” I asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Well… just be glad that you don’t have any close neighbours… and maybe look at getting some better soundproofing. For the kids, you know?” he said with a wink.

Urgh… to think that he heard all of last night…

“Yeah… yeah, I will,” I replied.

And from his words, that meant that Aisha and Norn did as well…

They were fourteen now, so it wasn’t as if sex was something they had no clue about, but still… no brother wanted their sisters to hear… that.

Especially with how… excited we all ended up getting.

“So, did you come by to say hello?” Rudy asked, moving the conversation forward.

“Yeah… something like that,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “Say… is Shizuka home? I was hoping to talk to her as well… about something I learned in the Dragon World.”

“Ah, yeah, she’s home… and I definitely want to hear how you survived something that Orsted deemed impossible,” he said. “By the way, you should probably go fetch him. He left to live outside the city in some shed when we got back, but I don’t know if he’s moved since.”

“I see… I will, don’t worry,” I said, heading inside as I closed the door behind us. “Do you mind if I talk to her?”

“Sure. Is it… something for me to hear as well?” Rudy asked.

Hmm… while I didn’t really care too much about him knowing… I think it would be best for Shizuka to be the only one to hear, at least at first.

“Maybe not right now… sorry,” I said.

“It’s fine. I’ll get started on breakfast, and she should be up in her room. It’s the third on the left,” he said as he headed into the kitchen.

If I remember correctly, his house was only built for a normal family, so with two more wives than the usual one, and the children that would come from such an arrangement… well, he would probably need to move into a new place pretty soon.

I did not envy his situation, but knowing about my own… well, perhaps I might be in the same boat soon enough, especially if I got another of my wives pregnant.

But I really didn’t want to think about that right now.

Heading up the stairs, I soon found myself in front of Shizuka’s room before I lightly knocked, having it open for me a moment later.

“Rudy? Do you need…” Shizuka’s words trailed off as she stared at me with wide eyes. “So… you’re really alive…”

“I would like to think so,” I replied with a warm smile.

Ah… seeing her in person like this… it really was something else.

The overwhelming emotions of Kaito’s that I had only had experienced a taste of came rushing forward, causing me to nearly instinctively reach out to hug her.

But… I was able to control myself… just barely.

“It’s good that you’re back… you really worried everyone, you know?” she said with a frown.

“Yeah… but I’m back now, Shizuka,” I replied.

Her eyes widened at the softness of my tone.

“I… think there are some things I should explain,” I said, walking inside as I closed the door behind me. “Do you mind?”

“Uh… no, that’s fine. Take the chair,” she said as she went to sit on the bed.

Now… where to start with this.

Taking a seat, I fidgeted with my hands as I tried to think of how to say what I wanted to.

Well, before explaining everything, I guess I should come out with the surprising information.

“You asked me if I had memories of a previous life before, right?” I said, looking up at her. “Well, let’s just say I ended up learning that it is indeed the case… though it isn’t something as simple as reincarnation.”

“R-Really?” she asked, her eyes widening. “That would certainly explain your intelligence when it comes to modern subjects… Do you… remember anything?”

“Yeah… a bit,” I said, taking a breath before I looked into her eyes. “Nanahoshi Kaito… that was my name.”

Her eyes widened, and her body stood straight up.

“Huh…?” she murmured, her hands clenching into fists. “B… Brother?”

“Yeah… it’s me… well, kind of… I’ll need to explain everything if you want the bigger- whoa!”

My words were interrupted as Shizuka launched herself forward, wrapping her arms around my neck in a hug, as my own hands unconsciously reached out to pat her head and hold her back.

Jeez… even in another world, she was still the same as ever, huh?

“I… I always had a feeling! I… I couldn’t explain it, but I knew it was you! Brother!” she cried, squeezing tighter as I felt the relief from her words.

“Yeah… it’s good to see you too… Shizuka,” I replied.

I had just seen her four months ago in my mind, but at the same time, it had been over twenty years.

Having two conflicting memories really made things awkward, huh?

Hopefully it was the importance of Shizuka to Kaito that made things weird.

We remained like that for a while, with me gently patting her head to calm her down, before she eventually took a deep breath and separated from me, a light blush appearing on her cheeks before she sat back down on the bed.

“I… sorry for that, it’s just… I missed you for so, so long…” she said, fixing her shirt as she averted her eyes.

“I know. But… I’m not exactly your brother either… although I definitely feel like it,” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll explain… Rudy must have told you about the fight, right? Well, after that… I suddenly woke up in a white space…”

I then recounted everything I could about the white space and the Dragon World, of course skipping over the months of travel and studying, the time taking over an hour to explain completely, especially in relation to my… kind of previous life.

And by the end…

“Fuck,” Shizuka said, her eyebrows furrowed. “That all… seems so complicated.”

Yeah. ‘Fuck’ was indeed the proper word.

“Right?” I replied with a sigh. “Not only did I nearly have an identity crisis, but now we know that I can’t simply kill the Man-God… we’ll probably have to seal it, and considering your skills, if your hypothesis of the reason for your status if correct…”

“Then to resume aging normally, I would have to find a way to seal the Man-God…” Shizuka said, finishing my words as she brought her hand to her chin. “It seems difficult, and I have no idea where to start, but the basis of the summoning magic I had been working on was through transferring items through space, so if I could reverse engineer it to lock something in space instead… that could work.”

“…I see. Well, if you need any help, you know you already have Cliff and Zanoba, but I believe Roxy would be of use as well,” I said, a small smile forming on my face. “I know that she’s been wanting to help me with this coming battle, especially after what just happened… so I would appreciate it if you had her join in.”

“Well, she is certainly smart enough, especially with the knowledge that you taught her during your youth,” Shizuka said before narrowing her eyes at me. “Speaking of that… did you really need to start seducing them so young, Brother? You were barely of age when you died, you know… and ignoring Roxy, there’s Sylphiette and Eris too… how old were you when you met them again?”

I really didn’t want to have this conversation right now.

“Hey, and what’s with the four wives, huh? Didn’t you always tell me to be careful about boys? Aren’t you one of the boys you warned me about, huh?” she said, her frown growing as she continued criticizing me.

Haa… was telling her really that great of an idea?

I was kind of regretting it now…

— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —

With my meeting with my third sister… kind of… out of the way, there was now someone else I needed to meet upon last night’s return.

“It is here… right?” I said, using my demon eye to confirm the familiar overwhelmingly powerful presence inside the shack. “But why is he here? Isn’t it more uncomfortable than his place in the palace?”

Honestly, I still had trouble understanding Orsted, and it wasn’t because of his curse.

He was just so… disconnected from everything, even if he had gotten better over our time together.

Though, I guess having gone through the world multiple times, it was only natural for him to be messed up in the head.

Knocking on the door, I opened it a moment later to see Orsted sitting down in a chair with an old wooden table in front of him.

“Leon… it’s… good to see you,” he said, his eyes tracing down to my wrist. “And the treasure…”

So I guess he was expecting me.

“Yeah, I got it,” I said, unlatching the bracelet as I passed it to him. “But you seemed to be waiting for me… did Rudy tell you that I returned?”

“No… I sensed you arrive from the teleportation circle, and even before then, I knew that you had returned, but I decided to let you have your time to return to your family,” he said, a rare smile spreading on his face as he held the sacred treasure in his hand. “But truly… you are a ridiculous human…”

Wait… he already knew?

How did-

“The World Powers,” Orsted said, interrupting my thoughts as he went on to answer my unvoiced question. “It was purely out of luck that I noticed the change, and having recognized the symbol, it was obvious what had happened… congratulations on becoming the fourth world power, Leon Greyrat.”

Right… there was that as well.

“Well… thanks, but I can’t really say I care,” I said, pulling up a chair to sit down opposite him. 

That aside… Orsted right now seemed quite happy.

Yes… happy.

An emotion I had never once seen on him before.

Sure, I had seen him in a good mood whenever there was a possibility of inching closer to his goal, such as when I first learned to imbue elements into my touki, but that was more an emotion akin to relief or assurance.

To think he could wear such a genuine smile… well, he was able to obtain the sacred treasure of Laplace without worrying about losing much mana, so I suppose he was right to be glad.

“Nonetheless… just how did you survive such a situation? I had thought of it as impossible,” Orsted said, moving the conversation forward as he stared at me in interest. “I had been told that it was destroyed… but more than that, how were you able to survive the transport itself? The direct method should only be possible for a dragonfolk to survive…”

“Yeah… normally that would be the case…” I said, tapping my fingers against the table. “I’ll explain that later, but first… in your previous loops, have you ever gone there? To the Dragon World, I mean.”

Orsted narrowed his eyes.

“No… I thought of it as a useless endeavour, as Laplace had already recorded all the texts that could be of use to me… did you find something there, Leon?” he asked.

Oh, I had definitely found something.

“Kind of… aside from the method that I used to get back here, there was also a message… one I believe to be from the First Dragon God,” I explained, watching as Orsted’s eyes widened in surprise.

“My father… but he was killed in his battle against Laplace…” he muttered.

So… Orsted was the First Dragon God’s son?

Well… at least he didn’t seem too shaken, so there was no need to offer condolences.

I should just explain everything.

“He likely did, as the message seemed to have been written hastily in his blood,” I said, closing my eyes as I tried to remember the exact wording. “‘Having assimilated with the Creator God, despite him being our people’s greatest enemy, we must not kill the imposter Hitogami, for his death shall bring the death of the world. If you have returned here, may the fortunes of war be with you, and may fate dictate that the revenge of our Dragon Tribe is sought with justice rather than destruction.’… That is what he wrote, if I remember correctly.”

Orsted clenched his fist, closing his eyes as he digested the words.

“Assimilated with the Creator God… is that even possible?” he muttered.

“I’m not sure… I’m not sure about any of that,” I said, frowning a bit. “I’d rather leave that side of things to you, but I am curious… just what did it mean by the Man-God being an ‘imposter’?”

“It… means that the Man-God… Hitogami… he is not the true God of Humans, but instead, he stole the title… at least, that is what Laplace explained in his records,” Orsted said, bringing a hand to his chin in thought. “But those words… Leon, explain everything that happened there. Please.”

Haa… right, I expected this.

“Are you sure? It’s a long story,” I said, leaning back against the chair.

“I have time,” he answered.

“Fine… but I’m leaving soon to head back home. I can’t exactly leave the trouble of a newborn to only my wives,” I said, watching as Orsted nodded in agreement. “Alright then… well, at first…”

And then I did just as I was asked, going through the beginning of the transportation where I was in that white space, to when I discovered the giant pyramid, right up until I used the laboratory to teleport back here.

It took a while.

So long, in fact, that the sun was beginning to set by the time I was done, and my belly had grumbled in hunger.

“That is… quite unbelievable. The land you described is truly nothing like the Dragon World I had read about…” Orsted said, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, before he looked up at me. “Thank you, Leon… you have given me much to think about.”

“Then, if that’s all… I think I’ll be heading home,” I said, getting up from my seat as I leaned back to stretch.

And hopefully, I would get to eat some delicious cooking from my beloved Sylphy, or maybe even Ariel if she decided to join in.

Ah… but before I forgot…

“Orsted… about the Man-God… we won’t be killing him, alright?” I said, turning to look at the Dragon God with not quite a glare, but a serious gaze. “I already have asked Shizuka to work on a seal along with Roxy, so until it’s done… we will not be killing him, or I will become your enemy rather than your ally.”

After all, I wanted to rid the world of the Man-God because he was a constantly annoying threat to our family, and while I was confident in being able to protect my family from his schemes, that was only if we were all centralized in one place.

For now, that was fine, but when my kids grew older and wanted to experience the world… well, I didn’t want to lock them in a cage, nor did I want them to be targeted as soon as they left my protection, so the Man-God needed to go.

But between having that constant threat looming over my family’s heads, and the assured destruction of the Six-Faced World… well, it was obvious what I would choose, even if I had to fight Orsted to do so.

“…Okay. I will wait until then, Leon Greyrat,” Orsted said, nodding to me.

Good.

And with that, I turned around to head back home, a slight skip in my step as I awaited my future days of relaxing fun days with my family now that I had given Orsted my status update.

Mmm… I really hope it was corn chowder tonight.

And now that this was dealt with… it was about time that I went over to my family’s house to pay a visit to my parents, as well as my dear sisters, who seemed to have missed me quite a bit from what my wives told me.

And they were also the dear sisters that had apparently overheard the intense lovemaking of last night… I would just have to try not to think about that when I met their eyes.

— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —

“Alice… just what are you doing?” I asked.

“Abaa!” she replied, looking over at me before returning to the toy I was holding, waving her arms towards it with interest.

Honestly… she had only been alive for a couple of months, but in that time, we had quickly discovered rather quickly that she was quite the adventurous spirit, having found herself wanting to explore the world even though she hardly had any motor skills.

Just what would she be like when she learned to walk?

I was a little afraid, to be honest.

As I continued holding the girl, I looked down at her face, smiling at how perfect my baby girl was.

With Eris’ red hair beginning to grow from her head, and warm brown eyes from me, I couldn’t help but find myself simply staring at her for minutes at a time, thinking about how she would grow up in the future and finding amusement in the little things she did.

Well… that amusement usually vanished whenever I noticed that she needed her diaper changed… but I digress.

She wasn’t really special in this regard, considering that I had done the same with all of my children, but it was still a great way to pass the time.

And speaking of that…

Looking outside, I watched as the kids combined their skills to create a giant snowball that they were pushing across the backyard, with Roxy and Ariel supervising them with calm smiles.

“I think it’s about time you get your first taste of outside, huh?” I said, looking back down at Alice.

With Sylphy, Roxy, and I’s proficiency in detoxification magic, there wasn’t necessarily any worry about disease, which caused many parents to keep their child indoors for the first few months of life, and we could also control her temperature with magic, so that wasn’t an issue either.

But still, we didn’t want to overwhelm her with brand-new surroundings so early into her life, but now that she seems to have settled down… yeah, I think it was about time.

And she would even be able to experience her first snowfall at the same time.

“Ahh! Gggbb…” she babbled in response, opting to chew on her hand.

Very eloquent.

Bringing my finger to her lips, I idly flicked her lips to keep her occupied with her own amusement as I began to snuggle her up in a blanket, and with her all rolled up, I then set out to take her outside.

“Oh? Did you bring Alice, darling?” Ariel asked as I opened the door, a cool breeze brushing past my face.

“Yeah… she seems interested enough,” I replied, looking down to see Alice staring at the sky with wide eyes, blinking as a snowflake landed on her nose, causing her to stare at it in utter amazement.

How cute.

“I see… she does indeed,” Ariel said with a smile. “As for the kids, they’re… well, as you can see, they’re having quite a bit of fun.”

I glanced over in their direction, noticing that their snowball had crumbled under the size of itself, covering all of them in snow, as Roxy began brushing off the upset Roana while the rest of them laughed in glee.

And Ars… was somehow upside down.

“That’s good. Today seems like a good day for snow, so Rudy and I are thinking of taking everyone sledding today,” I said, rocking Alice in my arms as I headed over to Ariel. 

“That does seem like fun… are we using the same hill as last year?” she asked.

“Perhaps,” I replied with a shrug.

Turning my attention away from the kids, I then sent out a gust of wind to blow off the snow from my mother’s gravestone, a small smile settling on my face as I read the engraved name.

Alice… it was good to have her name continue and preserve the memory of her.

The sentimentality… it was comforting.

“Leon,” Eris said from behind me, causing me to turn around. “You got Alice with you?”

“Yeah… sure do. Here, go see your mother,” I said, handing the wrapped baby over to Eris.

She went without issue, although she did try to reach up and grab Eris’ hair.

“What were you doing?” I asked.

“Just training Julian. Have to make sure he keeps up his swordsmanship,” she said, smiling as she took Alice into her arms. “And don’t think you’ll be saved from that, just because you’re a girl, sweet little Alice~”

That… was slightly scary to hear.

“I see… I hope you didn’t go too hard on him,” I said.

She didn’t answer.

Julian… dear brother-in-law… my apologies.

Watching as Eris continued holding Alice, I noticed that her gaze had fallen onto my mother’s grave, her lips twisting into a small frown as she did so.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“Mmm… no. It’s just… I was worried,” she mumbled, shaking her head before she looked down at Alice. “I promised her to stay with you and keep you safe… yet I almost failed. Actually, considering what happened, I did fail… so it sucks.”

Ah… right.

I guess she still wasn’t completely over my disappearance… and neither was I.

Past the new appreciation for food and fresh air, the despair and loss they might have felt at learning of my ‘death’… it was something I never wanted to make them feel ever again.

“I already said this, didn’t I? You didn’t fail… and you never would,” I said, walking over to wrap my arms around her midsection that had returned to its usual form after she resumed training. “All you need to do is to be my reason for returning…”

Not that Eris would accept that.

“Hmph. Those fancy words won’t work on me, Leon,” she said, sending me a glare from the side. “I’m… not letting you go alone… Never again.”

She moved closer to me, using her hand to grab the clothes on my arm.

“Yeah… you won’t have to worry about that ever again,” I replied.

Well… perhaps against the Man-God, that might be a different story… but that wouldn’t be happening for a while.

“If you get that… then good,” she said, releasing her hold on me. “Now, I briefly overheard something about going sledding earlier… when is that?”

“Later in the afternoon… and we can also ice skate, if you would like,” I said with a smile.

She liked both of those winter activities an awful lot, sometimes even more than the kids.

Well… Eris was still a bit of a child at heart… but that just made me love her more.

Indeed… this normal, unexciting family time… it was more precious than ever, now that I had experienced so long without it.