Previously in NWC-
After having checked on their companions to find them drunk, Reno and Luna decide to return home. Luna explains that in this universe, people with more magical aptitude live longer lives. After some idle banter about dragons and Medusa, they decide to call it a night...
The next morning Reno wakes up, ready to conquer the day. He waits for Medusa to let him go and quickly gets ready. He walks Medusa to the FTG before leaving with Luna to shower at the mayor's house. They knock and enter, greeting the mayor. "Good morning, old man! Could we bother you to-" The mayor is already happily pointing in the direction of the bathroom before Reno is able to finish his question. Luna and Reno stand outside of the bathroom. Suddenly, Luna stops, freezing in place. "What's wrong? It's just a shower; it won't kill you."
Luna slowly turns around and glares at Reno. "I'm showering first."
Reno shakes his head slightly in confusion. "Okay, and?"
"You are to wait out here!"
Reno shrugs his shoulders with indifference. "Well, yeah. Do you take me for some sort of weirdo? You should know better by now."
Luna's eyes widen slightly, his response throwing her off. She clears her throat before speaking. "Ah, well, a lady can't be too careful nowadays. You understand, right?"
Reno snickers and looks down at her. "It's good to have confidence, but the only people who would want you belong in jail."
"Drowning or bludgeoning?" Luna's voice comes out in a monotone, almost robotic.
Reno blinks as he processes her words. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Luna smiles innocently as she looks up at him, he line delivered with a cutesy tone. "Would you prefer I drown you or beat you to death?"
Reno's eyes shoot open with alarm. "Wow, amazing even! Luna, how'd you get your hair so soft and pretty and awesome?!! Blue is a great color on you!"
"Heh…" Luna crosses her arms and nods her head. "You'd do well to remember your place, mortal. Lest you desire to face the wrath of a mighty goddess!" Luna enters the bathroom, closing it and locking it behind her. Reno decides to check on Ben, entering the main room.
"Hey, old man."
Ben turns and smiles, ushering Reno to sit across from him. "It feels like I see less and less of you! You're getting to be quite the busy young man, aren't you?"
Reno lets out an exaggerated sigh as he sinks into the chair. "Tell me about it. It feels like ever since the bandit attack my life has been a full sprint. I went from that to exploring ancient ruins and now I'm going on a trip of unknown length to try and establish trade routes."
Ben chuckles, nodding his head. "That does sound like quite the challenging schedule you've built for yourself! Is it fulfilling at least?
"I guess? I'm clearly doing a lot, and I'm making pretty good progress on my goals. But, at the same time, it feels like I'm not doing enough."
"It can be overwhelming when you set lofty goals. What is your goal, if you don't me asking?"
Reno thinks for a moment, trying to think of the best way to word things without giving away he's from another world. "Well, I need to get back home, but I have to get stronger before I can do that."
Ben's face turns slightly disappointed as he leans forward. "You want to return home? It sounded like you were confident you would be staying in Bambadale. Did something change your mind?"
Reno shakes his head, scratching the back of his neck. "I guess it's not so much I want to get home, more like I want to get my younger brother away from home."
"Ah yes, your younger brother. His name was Arthur, correct?"
"Yeah! I'm surprised you remembered it!"
Ben grins confidently. "I may be an old man, but my memory is still as strong as ever. Originally, you said you wanted him to think you're cool or something along those lines. But now you're saying you want to get him away from home. Young Reno, you know you can trust me, right?"
Reno's eyebrows raise slightly in confusion. "Eh?"
"I feel like you're tryina' beat around the bush. I'm not saying you're lying, but it feels like you haven't exactly told me the truth at the same time."
Reno's heart fills with guilt. "(The old man's been really supportive and even given me free stuff. But I don't even have the courtesy to be honest with him? What kind of example would that be for Arthur?" Reno nods his head solemnly, too ashamed to look Ben directly in the eyes. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."
The mayor shakes his head slowly, offering to console Reno rather than scold him. "There's no need to apologize! I understand that some things aren't easy to talk about. I'm here if you ever do decide you want to talk about it!"
Reno beats himself up internally before speaking. "Well, to be honest, things at home aren't the best." Ben's eyes widen slightly as he leans forward even more, his elbows planted firmly on the table as he listens intently. "It's not like our parents hit us or anything, if that's what you were thinking. It's more like they had kids for the wrong reasons, in my opinion. Growing up, I was an only child for the first half of my life. My parents are very successful and highly educated. We weren't rich in the "10 houses and a yacht" kind of rich, but my parents could retire whenever they wanted and have more than enough money to live comfortably. I wouldn't say life is BAD there, but it's not really a healthy place for a child. They pushed a lot of expectations on to me at a young age. If I wasn't getting perfect scores then I was failing. I already knew I was grounded if I got anything less than a 95. Unfortunately, I'm not some sort of genius like them, and I struggled just to get above average grades in school. I'd be grounded all the time and be forced to study in all of my free time. It got to a point where I just stopped listening. I'd wait for them to turn their backs, then I'd sneak off and do whatever I wanted. After a couple years of this, my parents decided to have another kid. They pretty much gave up on me entirely and let me do whatever I wanted. Eventually, my brother was born. I watched the same process start over, but this time I could do something about it. He would eventually take my place as my parent's primary focus, being forced to study and being punished if he didn't get high marks. The difference between him and I, though, is that he was smart. He was exactly what my parents wanted; a kid who could easily get good grades and they could brag about to all of their upper-class friends. Despite being showered and praised, he never looked truly happy. Maybe it was just me projecting on him, but I felt like a kid shouldn't have to focus their whole life on studying. When my parent's left for an extended business trip and their babysitter had to cancel, they told me to watch him. So, naturally, being the super awesome big brother that I am, I threw his textbooks aside and played games with him for days straight."
Ben chuckles, shaking his head. "This definitely sounds like there's two sides to this story. I'd say your parents were right for being so concerned about your futures, but at the same time, you were right for letting him have a break. How'd he react when you played with him?"
Reno smiles, reminiscing. "He was concerned at first, but he started picking it up really quickly. It was difficult to find things we could both play with him being so young and me already being in high school, but he didn't acre if he lost or not."
"I see! He sounds like a really good kid!"
"He's the best! Despite my parent's warning him that I was a bad example, he always watched me like I was the greatest thing ever. One thing I'll never forget was when he told me 'I wanna be just like you when I grow up.' For some reason it hit me really hard. It made me think about myself and what I was becoming. I'd stopped trying in school, I'd stopped listening to my parents, I'd pretty much given up on pursuing more than the bare minimum, yet he still saw something admirable in me. It made me want to be better. I wanted to be someone I felt was worthy of his admiration. It sounds weird saying I wanted to feel worthy of the respect of a toddler, but it's true."
Ben smiles, shaking his head once more. "There's nothing wrong with that. It's what being family is supposed to be about. The first time my son called me his hero; I was on top of the world. I felt like I could take on the Universe itself. To me, being a father meant being the best version of myself so my son would grow up to be the best version of himself. I'd reckon you feel the same about being a big brother, don't you?"
Reno nods his head excitedly. "Y0u get it then! I wasn't sure about how I felt, in all honesty. When I started trying to better myself so Arthur would do his best, I was conflicted. I asked myself if I was just turning into my parents, and if wanting the best for him made me just as bad as them. Growing up, I hated expectations, but there I was, having expectations for him after telling myself I'd be his savior from my parents."
"Young Reno."
"Huh?"
Ben delivers a sincere smile, finding Reno's inner conflict humorous. "There's a big difference."
"There is?"
"Of course! I can't say for certain, but it sounds like your parents' expectations and your own expectations are quite different in nature. Your parent's want the best FROM young Arthur, but you want what's best FOR him. Your parents' want young Arthur to be the best, but you think he already is the best. Correct?"
Reno's cheeks flush slightly, embarrassed by Ben's words. "Well, I guess I can't really argue with that. I didn't mean to get all gushy."
"Loving your family doesn't make you gushy, young Reno." Reno thinks about Bens' words, letting them sink in. Suddenly, Ben continues. 'So then how did young Luna come to be?"
Reno's thoughts are interrupted, turning back to Ben and giving him a dumb look. "Huh"
"Young Luna. You said she's your younger sister, but she was never mentioned in your story."
"(…Crap.)" Reno's mind begins racing, realizing his grievous mistake.
TO BE CONTINUED...