We walked down the jungle trail, not trying to hide our presence. In fact, that was kind of the point. I wanted to give Zenith and Norn time to realize we were there and not enemies. Turns out, that was wasted effort.
I almost missed the ambush. Almost.
Silent as the grave, a figure dropped from the trees behind us. A spear with a steel blade and a monster core embedded just behind the blade shot out in a straight thrust from almost ground level, aiming to punch straight up under Roxy's ribs, aiming for her heart and lungs.
I pulled Roxy aside, twisting her around with me as I swung my staff with my free hand, intercepting the spear and knocking it off course. Our attacker stayed low, dashing to the side, looking to be aiming for Lilia, but my Demon Eye of Foresight told me what was coming. She flicked the spear back to point at me, stepped forward in a thrust, and launched a horizontal tornado of cutting wind at me that would have torn my guts out had it connected.
I countered with wind of my own, exactly matching and countering her rotation and causing the attack to dispel in a breeze. At the same time, I stepped forward and intercepted her spear with my staff, knocking it down and to the side. A water ball from Roxy blasted our attacker off her feet, before judicious application of telekinesis from my blue haired fiancee pinned her to the ground, where we finally got a good look at her as she thrashed, struggled, and screamed against the force holding her down.
She was around Eris's height, maybe a hair shorter. Her hair was long and blonde, but it was hard to tell given that it was a ragged mess intertwined with leaves, sticks, strips of fur, and feathers—no… upon closer inspection, they were braided into her hair to disguise the distinct bright coloration. She wore a dark wooden mask, painted in brown, black, and dark red surrounded by a mane of brown plants and long gray and black feathers. Her body was mostly covered in what looked like hand made furred leather armor—a short, black fur with spots that reminded me of a leopard or jaguar. Additionally, she wore a hooded cloak made of a brighter brown and black leopard pattern skin that hung down to about her waist, minus the tail, which went down to her feet.
"Norn, it's okay—" I began, only to be cut off by a fireball crashing down around us, splashing over Sprite's shield.
"Let her go."
Roxy, Lilia, and I turned to face the newcomer. She was dressed similarly to Norn and carrying another bladed staff with a monster core embedded in it. Lilia stepped forward, standing up straight and holding her hands loosely folded over her stomach. "Zenith," she called.
The second attacker reached up and pulled her mask and hood back, revealing the familiar face of Zenith. She looked between Lilia and Roxy, beautiful green eyes going wide. "Lilia? Roxy? You're, you're really here? Really?"
"We are," Roxy confirmed with a nod, before gesturing with her staff. Norn was levitated up, over us, and gently deposited beside Zenith. The elder blonde reached out and took Norn by the shoulder before she could rush in to attack.
When she was sure Norn wouldn't go flying off again, Zenith slowly approached, looking us over. Her eyes studied my face, my eyes, and she teared up. Dropping her weapon, Zenith ran the rest of the way forward and threw herself into my arms, pulling me into a hug as she sobbed openly. I returned the hug, stroking Zenith's back. "Shh. It's okay. It's over now, mom. Let's go home."
She nodded against me, but only wailed louder as Lilia and Roxy joined in. Turning towards Norn, Lilia held out a hand. Cautiously, the young woman pulled her mask off and studied us with a distrustful glare. She approached slowly, before eventually allowing herself to be pulled in between Zenith and Lilia.
"What took you so long," Norn growled.
"We came as soon as we found you—"
Norn cut Roxy off. "It's been six years! You're telling us you couldn't figure out where we were in all that time? And what about my oh so great brother, huh?! Where the fuck is he in all this? Every night, every single night, mom told me he would come for us! But you know what? He never came!"
"Norn," Lilia sighed as she petted the young girl's head. "Who do you think your mother is clinging to so tightly?"
Norn blinked, before frowning and looking at my face over her mother's shoulder. "I met Rudy. You don't look like him."
I rolled my eyes. "I changed my hair and removed the mole under my eye. I'm me, you brat. Or did stomping you flat without chanting to cast not give it away?"
"Tch. Without her helping you, I'd kick your ass."
"Norn," Zenith hiccuped, her sobs dying down. "Stop. It really is Rudy."
"Then I'll ask again. What took you so long?"
Roxy sighed and spoke up before I could. "Sprite, please take us up. Bring their things from the cave."
"Will do," the spirit agreed, and we lifted into the air. Zenith clung on a little tighter as we rose, but she didn't panic. Norn, on the other hand, looked suddenly like she would rather be anywhere else.
After only a few moments, we were above the treetops and being pulled onto the upper deck of the Roxy, where the others were waiting. Therese joined in the hug, along with Aisha and even Hilda. Quietly, Lilia said, "Come. Let's get you two cleaned up and changed."
Hilda managed to extricate me from Zenith's grip, who instead latched onto Roxy and Lilia. I watched as the women made their way inside. Kishirika sent me a smile, moving over and pressing herself into my side. "Feels good?"
"No," I murmured, shaking my head. "Come on."
"Talk to me, Rudy," the demon quietly urged as I moved us to our kitchen and began preparing a meal with help from Sprite. A feast, really.
"Doesn't feel real, for one. For another, I have questions. Norn said it took us six years to get them. It's only been about three."
Kishirika hummed as she leaned against the counter nearby while I worked. "If they were being hidden from Hitogami, that would be one way to do it. Time magic is one of those things that's almost impossible to do, but I've learned that almost impossible for most people just means that for you, it'd be a minor inconvenience. It was hidden from my Demon Eyes too. The entire area. So, you'd basically have to be as strong as Laplace to both hide it and, I dunno, shift it to the side or backwards or something so it's not in this time. Or as strong as you."
"That's my working theory. He contacted me using Sprite just before we met. Directed me to go meet you and how to handle you, actually. Later told me to kill Geese Nukadia."
"Nukadia?" she asked, and I nodded, looking up from cutting vegetables for a moment as she looked thoughtful. "It's a tribe of monkey-like demons."
"Master," Sprite spoke up, spawning a hologram sitting on the counter beside Kishirika. "I've never cataloged another member of a race like him, across the whole of the Demon Continent or anywhere else."
"Huh. Weird. They used to be super common," the demon empress murmured, before shaking her head. "Okay, so we're thinking it was a future Rudy that somehow came back and… obviously knew about the teleport thing. He must've caught Zenith and Norn and locked them away there to keep them safe."
"…It's what I would do, if I knew that some pissed off god wanted to fuck with me through my family."
"So the extra years is probably incidental or something," she shrugged.
"Or a training trip," I muttered. "Norn was good. Really good. Not as good as her sister, but that's a poor comparison since Aisha's—"
"Freakishly, scary smart."
I sent Kishirika an amused look. "Yeah."
We fell silent for a few moments as food flew through the air and prepared itself under my and Sprite's direction. I wasn't breaking out the best stuff, because I was saving that for when we reunited everyone, but I was making a feast fit for a king. Chicken, turkey, boar, deer, and tuna were the meats I'd selected. We made rolls and loaves of fresh bread. Plates of vegetables and fruit—exotic stuff taken from the Great Forest and more common fare found in Milishion. Then I whipped up ice cream, cake, and pie for dessert.
Eventually, Kishirika asked, "What else is bothering you?"
Washing my hands off, I considered her for a moment before admitting, "I think Norn hates me."
Kishirika shook her head. "Doubtful. Resents you? Probably. Just do what you usually do. She'll get over it. Or she won't." I sent her an annoyed look and the curvy little demon shrugged. "What? I mean… she's your sister and Sprite showed us that shitshow with your father. The man's an idiot. A stubborn, prideful fool. Who do you think your sister takes after more? Your father or your mother? There is a very real possibility that she won't be able to forgive you. I know it isn't what you want to hear, but it is what you need to hear, to be prepared for it just in case it comes to pass. Or would you rather I only whisper sweet nothings in your ear?"
"I prefer honesty. Even if the truth sucks," I grumbled.
"And that, my dear Rudeus, is why one day, you'll make a fine replacement for my Badigadi." Her left eye spun in her head and she grinned. "They're still catching up, so we've got a little time."
Reaching up, she unzipped her leather top and let it fall to the ground, followed by her leather booty shorts and boots. Dropping to her knees in front of me, she undid my pants and dropped them around my knees. Rubbing her face on my cock, Kishirika stared up at me with her mismatched eyes and a grin. "Now, let's make sure you're all nice and relaxed when they get done. Grab hold of my horns and just fuck my face to your heart's content."
Reaching down, I petted her hair, sending her a thankful smile before I grabbed her horns and did just that.
Then, a grin spread across my face. "Sprite, you've got eyes on Paul, don't you?"
"Yes, master," she agreed, watching me and Kishirika intently. "He's on a horse, between Milishion and the Milis West Port."
"Give me a hologram to him. But uh, make sure you just make it look like I'm standing here, or on the deck. Don't want him actually seeing Kishirika. She's actually his type, so I don't want him getting the wrong idea."
"Sending… You're live in three."
A hologram of Paul popped up in front of us, sitting on the back of his horse, as though I was standing and keeping pace to his left. He looked up a moment later, blinking as he saw me. A frown crossed over his face and he turned away, urging his horse on a little faster—not that it did any good. After a full minute of that, and Kishirika silently running her tongue over my cock, he spoke up. "What do you want, Rudy?"
"I found them." Paul's eyes went wide as he turned to me. "Picked them up less than an hour ago."
"How," he swallowed on a suddenly dry throat. "How are they?"
"About how you'd expect. Intact and healthy physically. The rest, I'm not too sure on. Looks like they were being hidden away and there was some sort of time magic going on. If my guess is right, they were hidden away for twice as long as it's been since they vanished. So—"
"Six years," he muttered, and I nodded. "Let me speak to them."
I considered him. Silently, as I petted Kishirika's head with one hand and directed her bobbing on my cock with the other. Long enough that he glared and started to open his mouth and repeat himself. I cut him off. "This is the point where, if I were a petty bastard, I would tell you no. I would tell you that it's too dangerous for their mental well-being to speak with you for the next five years. Then, when you eventually do show up, I threaten to kick your ass, but let you talk to them for a couple of hours. After which, I teleport you to the Demon Continent and make you walk back before you're allowed to see them again. But I'd stop you right before you met them, tell you they're just within your grasp, and then I'd try to kill you because I don't trust you."
Paul had looked away the moment I mentioned their mental health, knowing exactly where I was going with this little rant. That I was bringing up all the shit he had done to me, or which had happened to us all. And when finally having his nose truly rubbed in what he had done, with no recourse other than to sit there and ride his fucking horse and wait for months to get back to Fittoa on foot, I think he actually began to see the error of his ways.
"Well, it turns out that I really am a petty shitheel. I'm just not a manipulative bastard like you seem to think I am. I'll give you what you wouldn't give me, Paul. Trust, and all the time in the world you'd like to talk to your family. And one day, when you're old and gray you'll look back on this—on all of this—and realize how stupid you've been. You'll never meet your grandchildren, Paul. They'll know who you are, I'll at least give them that, but you won't know them except through holograms like this one. I'll send you a new picture every time we have one and on their birthdays, just so you'll know what you're missing out on. You'll beg to be allowed to apologize. And I'll let you choke on it and die with those regrets. Congratulations Paul, you've become your own father. So, do you understand?"
Paul was silent as he paled. I let him stew on that one. "There's a lake ahead and to your north, just about an hour off the road. Go get cleaned up and make camp for the night. I'll call you back when we're ready. Try not to look like a fucking bum when we do. I don't want to disappoint my mom and sisters."
With that, I cut the call. Kishirika, who had been quiet and only just providing enough attention to keep me going, suddenly started drooling and slurping on my cock—bobbing enthusiastically. I took the hint and grabbed both her horns as I thrust down her throat.
That night, everyone gathered at the table. Roxy sat to my right, with Zenith claiming the seat to my immediate left. Therese sat to Zenith's left with Hilda on her left. Kishirika sat beside Roxy. Norn, Aisha, and the former maiden all had a little 'kids' table' all to themselves nearby. Lilia, of course, was stubbornly refusing to sit down and help herself until everyone else had their plates.
That is, until I got up, physically picked Lilia up by the hips, deposited her in a chair, and began putting food on her plate—to laughter from everyone at the table. "Sit. Eat. You're not a maid tonight."
"But—"
"Up up up," I shushed her. "No backtalk. Keep that up and you'll earn yourself a spanking."
Zenith covered her mouth as she giggled. "Ahh~ this is nice! It's, it's so wonderful," her eyes teared up and Therese pulled her into a side-on hug.
"It really is," my aunt agreed as I moved back around the table to sit down.
"Sprite? Is he ready?" I asked, and my summon made a hologram for herself at my side.
"He is."
"Alright. Put him on the end of the table." A moment later, a hologram of Paul appeared at the far end of the table. He looked around for just a moment as Zenith gasped.
"Paul?!"
"Zenith," the man breathed, looking suddenly years older, but like some great burden he had been carrying had finally been released.
Norn stood up and rushed over, followed a moment later by Aisha—who looked conflicted, but was keeping quiet. Zenith likewise left her seat to go sit beside Paul. Lilia got up and directed Zenith into her chair, before moving down to sit in Zenith's place. We rearranged everyone a bit and I even convinced the former maiden to squeeze in between myself and Roxy.
"Alright. Mom, why don't you tell us all what happened?"
Zenith nodded and, in between bites, she began to tell her story.
"I was out showing Norn how to cast a spell from her spellbook when I saw the light coming for us. I held on tightly to her and tried to shield, but…"
"Yeah, it didn't work for us either," I agreed.
"After that, we woke up in the valley. There were predators and monsters everywhere. We tried to leave, at first. It was dangerous and we were attacked multiple times, but eventually we made it to the mountains. I found a small pass and we tried walking through, only to be teleported to the other side of the valley. We tried a few more times with the same result, before I determined we were completely locked in. We found a small natural cave, but it was occupied by a pack of monsters. We cleared them out over the course of a day and moved in. From there, we just… lived. We went out and foraged for food. I taught Norn how to fight. I had to relearn a lot of things myself. I even managed to break through and learn how to cast silently. Years passed. The monsters kept adapting and forcing us to adapt with them. We weren't entirely alone, however. One day, early in the beginning, a man showed up. He brought food and some basic weapons with him, monster cores too. Then, every once in a while, he would either come by to bring food, or he would attack us. He always fought us until we couldn't continue, then stopped. It took a time or two, but I realized he was training us."
"What did he look like?" Paul demanded. "Do you think he's the one who kept you there?"
"Probably," Zenith admitted. "And I don't know. He wore clothes that hid everything about him. He used a caster's bladed staff I've never seen before." She shot a look at me before adding, "He could cast silently."
Kishirika spoke up at that. "This may surprise you, but Rudy isn't the only one who can cast silently. Just the first person born in modern times who figured it out and taught it to others. Back when I was running around with Laplace, it was basically the difference between being a real caster and a part-timer. Laplace could do it. I can do it. I'm sure a few of the immortal demon generals from back then are still around and can do it too."
"People to be on the lookout for, then," I murmured, distracted as I was. The truth was, I was thinking about her description. I actually had a bladed staff that I never really used, confiscated way back in Roa from some pretty mage I'd had to kill. What are the odds Archer had to stick around to keep the place locked down and wanted to help out? Fairly high.
People started asking for details and I sat back and listened as Zenith and Norn gave them. Then, we filled her in on what had been going on with us. I let Paul get his story out of the way first, then Roxy and Lilia shared their own stories, followed by Hilda, and finally myself with some input from the others every now and then. By some miracle, Paul didn't mention our confrontation in Milishion. When Lilia didn't bring it up either, and Aisha kept quiet… I decided to keep my mouth shut on it. If Zenith wanted to know, I'd tell her. But just this once, I was willing to keep her out of it because I didn't want to bother her on her first night back.
The woman only just got back and I didn't want to force her to have to deal with her family falling apart. Her husband couldn't trust her son and had tried to kill me. I disowned myself and wanted nothing to do with Paul. Her sister-wife was planning to divorce their husband and was already sleeping with her son. …Yeah, I think Zenith's head might just explode.
Or she was going to kill someone.
Either/or.
Probably the second one, given the last time this shit happened. She's going to be pissed when she does find out though, I mentally sighed as I mostly listened and watched while the others talked.
It was well into the night before Norn and Aisha finally dropped out and had to be carried to bed—long after the former maiden went under her own power. After that, Roxy and Kishirika disappeared, followed by Therese and Hilda. Lilia stood and rested her hands on my shoulders, gently squeezing my shoulders and neck as I sat there, watching Zenith and Paul catch up. The man noticed, and while he looked briefly annoyed, he gave it up and focused on talking with Zenith. Until eventually, when everyone was yawning and it was late into the night, or early in the morning, they said their goodbyes for the night.
Lilia urged me to my feet and Zenith got up, wiping at her teary eyes as she pressed herself into my other side and we headed for our quarters. I was somewhat surprised when Lilia led us straight to my bedroom, where Roxy and Kishirika were already there, along with Therese and Hilda. The bed had clearly been either swapped out or added to at some point during the day.
Lilia sent me to bed and she and Zenith left, before coming back a few moments later, both wearing sheer night gowns—Lilia's, I recognized from the previous night. They climbed in and Zenith snuggled up against me, pulling my face basically into her tits as we held each other. I felt her quietly weeping and rubbed her back, Lilia spooning her, and Roxy rolling over to curl up against my back as we slowly fell asleep.
I was almost asleep when I felt Zenith shift. Her lips brushed my cheek in a kiss. "Thank you Rudy. I knew you would come for us. I knew it. You've done so much for not just us, but so many others. I spoke with Lilia and Roxy and I know you did everything you could. I know Norn's angry and she doesn't realize it now, but she will one day. Please have patience with her. I love you, and I'm so proud of you."
I shifted a bit and kissed her forehead, before resting my forehead against hers so I could look into her eyes. "I missed you."
Zenith nodded. "You were worried. We all were. But we're together again now. And you've grown so much. Nothing is going to separate us again."
Snorting quietly, I sent her an amused look. "If you say so."
Something in my tone must have given away my thoughts as she frowned. Reaching down, she poked me in the stomach. "Tell me."
"Not tonight. I just want to enjoy having you back. And you should be happy to be back. I don't want to spoil that."
"Rudy. Not knowing is just going to make me worry. Tell me. Or I'll wake up Roxy and make her tell me. That Lilia didn't already and the way she's been acting, well, you've pretty much hung the moon for her. I don't think she would tell if I asked, without your permission. But Roxy's a good girl and she'd definitely tell her mother-in-law what's going on."
Closing my eyes, I sighed and sent her an annoyed look. "I'll get Sprite to show you the recording later. Paul—"
"Your father."
"Paul." When she saw I wasn't budging on that, she winced. "We told you we met up in Milishion. We left out the part where he tried to kill me."
Zenith's eyes went wide. "No. He, your father wouldn't— You have to be mistaken, Rudy! Surely it was just a test or something?"
"Mom. I can tell the difference between sparring, or a test, and between trying to kill someone."
Zenith closed her eyes and shook her head as she shivered, breaking into fresh tears. "No. No, no, no, no, no~. Please no—!"
She fell asleep softly sobbing in my arms. I couldn't sleep knowing I'd destroyed her happy family, but I didn't have the heart to leave either.
My head jerked up from where I'd been napping. The chairs Sprite had made recently were ridiculously comfortable and I was dead tired, so I'd passed out while looking over live feeds of the progress in Fittoa.
Opening my eyes, I found my arms full of curvy woman. Curvy blonde woman.
Zenith hugged me and pressed her head into my chest. I returned the hug and closed my eyes again.
"What are you working on?"
Yawning quietly, I gestured towards the holograms filling the room and covering the walls and floor. "Fittoa. Sprite's working hard to get the region put back together before we arrive. She's done with the terrain, topsoil, trees, plants, and animals. Now we're moving on to villages. Putting everything back better than it was. Also, building villages for our new settlers."
"This is amazing. I don't think even Perugius could have done all of this, in the tales…"
I shrugged. "It's just a matter of mana and remote spell application by a summoned spirit. I'm sure he could now, even if he couldn't then."
Zenith shifted slightly, just enough to flick my nose and send me an annoyed look. "Rudy, what you're doing here is nothing short of world changing. You've got ships that fly through the sky and carry more people, faster, and safer than the largest passenger boats. You've gone from building our plumbing so we could have hot water and adding a wing on to the house when Lilia and I got pregnant, to rebuilding an entire region of the Asuran kingdom quite literally from the ground up. One of your fiancees is the new queen of Asura. Don't sell yourself short."
"Yeah, but it sounds ridiculous when you say it like that. I'm still just Rudy, mom," I sighed, leaning in and brushing her hair aside to kiss her neck, earning a happy little sound as she kissed me back. Zenith couldn't contain her touchy-feely nature for long, after all—even now, her hands had pulled up my shirt and were resting on my back and stomach.
"We haven't put Buena back together yet, but I plan to have Sprite remake the house basically as it was when I left. When we do, is there anything you want to change?"
Zenith nodded. "There is." When I sent her a curious look, she continued. "Move Mrs. Ada's home to the other side of the village. I want you to put a place for yourself and everyone else where her home was."
I winced, before slowly shaking my head. "Mom, there's… we're not going to live there. We can't. Between everything that happened with Sylphie, the village turning against me, and Paul being a shit we aren't going to come back."
"What? No!" Zenith shook her head, her eyes growing watery. "I need you there with me, Rudy! I, I need my family." Her eyes narrowed into a small glare, as she reached up and began grinding her fist into the top of my head.
"Ow."
"Rudy, you went from two to four."
"Oops?"
"Mou," Zenith made a little unhappy sound.
"Actually, the count varies depending on how you make it," Sprite supplied, popping up nearby. I sent her a glare and a 'shut up' motion, but the little brat just smiled wider as Zenith's attention shifted to her. "If you're talking about fiancees, then yes. Roxy, Eris, Sylphie, and Ariel. If you count long term sexual commitments, there are also Elinalise and Kishirika. Possibly also Tona, as a future such commitment, seeing as Eris is trying her best to convince her to join. You know how the Boreas are."
"Sprite," my tone was warning.
"If you count individual sexual encounters, there's also Ghislaine."
"Sprite…"
"Then there's myself. Eventually, I will join with master as well," Sprite nodded to herself, beaming a smile at Zenith.
The blonde in my arms slowly turned back to level a flat look at me. "What happened to the little boy I raised?"
I sent her a raised eyebrow. "You mean the little boy who seduced his older, Migurd teacher?"
Zenith sighed. "It's the Greyrat in you. You were doomed from the start," she muttered. "No one in my family is like that."
"Also, there's the matter of Lilia."
Blinking, Zenith turned and looked at the spirit. "What about Lilia?"
"Sprite, no."
"Sorry, master," Sprite apologized. "Everyone talked about it. They decided it was best to, as mistress Roxy said, 'Rip the bandage off fast.'"
"So. Many. Spankings," I grumbled.
"Sprite? What's this about Lilia?"
The spirit smiled a bit sheepishly. "She's getting a divorce from your husband… and becoming master's mistress."
Zenith leapt from the chair, grabbed me by the arm, and proceeded to drag me from the room. "Lilia!"
…Well, it could have been worse.