Chapter 13

The crisis is everywhere

Hey! This is Lucy here. It seems we talked again inside my head. Yeah right, I talk to myself so what? I need something to distract myself from all this tedious work!

What am I doing? Well,l plowing the field. Feeding the livestock. Harvest some berries and most importantly, plow the field. Why does it so much? Well, it is the planting season so I need to do it a lot. Like a lot.

God, it's already been more than 3 months! That means Paul's punishment is over! But I still have 9 months left for the other 3 punishments. That means I only got around 3 to 4 hours to do my training. Oh, I take back the thing about doing the farm work will help me train.

God Damn it is not easy but mostly manageable. But it didn't help increase my stamina, my muscles, or anything. It was just a drag at this point but oh well it was punishment.

Oh, look at this! I was so busy talking in my head that the sky was already dark and it seemed that the rain would fall. Welp I already finished today's work so I could just go back, but….

There is this new training method that I've been thinking about for a while. Because my sword training with Paul started to stagnate. It seems I reached the limit of what I could do with a child's body.

My muscles have not formed properly and I can feel that my mass is not growing. What I need right now is to steadily train my body and not overwork it. So it can grow. Right now I'm 8 years old so it is almost time for my growth-sprout.

So I came up with a training method that would train me in both body and mind. Well, the mind is kinda vague but I think it should work. Oh and as for the mana covering body? I test to try to coat my body with mana and let's say...The result is...kind of a dud?

I mean except for freezing my whole arm and having to dip it in boiling water to thaw it off then it was almost successful? I mean I punched the stone Paul carried for me in half. I never did that before.

So to train, I decide what I'm about to do is the best.

Right now, I'm in the forest near the village. It was a place where nobody came and it had enough trees to block the rain but let it in enough to not dry the land.

In front of me is the training ground I create using magic. (God damn is it convenient) it's flat ground with a little earth poll stuck out. It is around 10 cm in length and around 5 cm in width. So it was perfect for me to fall off without hurting myself but still hard enough to balance in.

I create around 100 of them and place them around 5 cm off each other. It was a lot of work but it was worth it. It is a plus that it is raining today cus it makes it more slippery so that will give me more training.

Why did I create this? Well, I noticed one weakness of a swordsman. It is unsteady terrain. If it is muddy then we become slower, if it is sandy then we slip a lot.

So how to fix it? Training that is! Training will fix anything! ….Shit I start to become like that muscle head Paul! Ahh! This is why I should have stayed with Zenith more!

Haha...will I grow up full of muscle like him? And become a blockhead adventurer who only brings trouble for the party? Ugh...just thinking about me being so muscular is giving me a creep.

That's why I need balance! After all, what is the point of having a cute face if it is full of muscle! Yes, I know I sound like a narcissistic person. But I mean in my last life I have a good-looking face too, ya know? But it all ruined the moment I decided to apply to nursing school. Lack of sleep, long hour work shift. No weekend and most importantly! I ruin my health by smoking.

Can't say I didn't regret it. My boyfriend at that time even broke up with me but he was only with me for the money anyway so who cares?

Ah...I think about it again...Let's forget about depressing thoughts and focus on training, yeah. And with that, I jump onto the poll and start to test-swing my sword.

Hmm...it is more slippery than I thought. But if I balance myself carefully enough then I will manage. Alright! Let's start training!

…

Haa! That was good training! I didn't realize how much time had passed since it was already evening! Well well, Can't blame me.

"I'm back-...why is she crying?"

What I see in front of me isn't Zenith and Lilia who are preparing the dinner. But Zenith who is comforting Sylphiette and Lilia having trouble face near her.

Behind them, I saw Rudy with a shocked face and Paul scratching his head behind him.

"Eh? Did I miss something? What's wrong, Sylphiette? Why are you crying?" I walk toward her and slowly pat her head. Well, I won't say that after the incident we became close but It seems she likes me a bit. Though sometimes she acts scared around me but yeah she is just a kid.

"Big sister...R-rudy thought I was a boy and stripped me! U-uwaaa!" Eh? I look between Rudy and Paul then between Zenith and Lilia. Rudy had his head hung down but the rest of them nodded their heads.

Eh? Is my brother this Dumb? No, dumb is not the word. Idiot? Yeah, that's right. Is he this idiot? I mean no matter how you look she is a girl. Although she kind of looks like a tomboy but if her voice does not give it away then you are an idiot.

"...Hey Paul, are you sure he is your son? I mean I didn't think he was this stupid about women if he was your son."

"Oi! Don't blame this on me! I thought he already knew about her being a girl." Paul just avoids it like usual and Rudy has his head Hung down even lower.

"...I...am stupid?" I could hear him mutter but well he is stupid yeah.

"Ha...Rudy come here." I signaled him to come and he did as he was told.

Tub!

"Ow! What was that for!?" Rudy said as he held his forehead in pain. Yup, I just flick his forehead.

"That was for being an idiot and not considering her feelings. Now Apologize to her properly. Look, she even stopped crying for you." I show him Sylphiette who still has a tear on her eyes and is still sniffing.

"I...I-I am sorry for making you uncomfortable- ow! What the?!" I flick his head again.

"That's not how you say it isn't it? Do you want to make her cry even more?" I said while giving him a stare. He flinches and then takes a deep breath.

"...I'm sorry. It was my fault for not noticing it from the beginning. Please forgive me." Rudy said while bowing his head down. Mh…I give it 6/10. Well, Apologizing to others is a hard thing. I will give him a pass this time. I nudge Sylphiette and then point at Rudy.

"Look, Sylpiette. Rudy is trying to apologize to you. Will you accept his apologies?" I told Sylphiette. "You can make him do anything for embarrassing you, Ya know?" I whisper like that to tease her but it seems to be more effective than I thought.

Her face turns red with embarrassment and she quickly hides her face in Zenith's chest. Eh? The fuck did I JUST DO! I almost hooked her up with Rudy! Wait…Isn't it good that she and Rudy like each other? That means I don't have to worry about him in the future because Sylphiette is sure to be a good wife. But there is this attachment issue too. She too is attached to Rudy so that she doesn't make any other friends.

Even I have friends. Ann and Luke regularly visit the clinic and….Uhh…and…Wait I only have two friends! I'm a lonely girl too! Why! Oh yeah, My hair then I have my Training and then I only stay at the clinic.

"...U-umm I accept your apology so get your head up, Rudy." Eh…While I have my crisis over here Sylphiette already moves on to the next phase. Wait not the next phase she just accepts his apology. Ok ok... My mind starts to stray again.

"R-really?! Thank you Sylphy! I will not make a mistake like this again!" Rudy replied with a smile. He walked toward Sylphiette and took her hand. "I promise that I will not make another mistake like that again."

"U-um…Please don't do that again." Sylphiette replied. "I will get mad if you do it again," Sylphiette said with a dark look. Wow…She got one of a face. Damn, that kind of reminds me of before. One time When it was Paul's turn to look after me. Paul just ditches me with Zenith and then goes to the whores house. And when Elinalise knows that she makes that exact kind of face. Then the next day I saw Paul coming out of Elinalise's room with a pale face and he was visibly thinner.

That day was the last day Paul ever ditch me. Yeah, I know that Elinalise drains him dry but I didn't think that Paul would be that scared. If Rudy actually marries her then he may need to stop Paul's blood in him.

Ah…Well, good luck? I mean it ends well this time but In the future, I don't think I will be able to stop her. Man, she reminds me of Elinalise somehow.

Hm? What? Why am I the only one in the dining room? Eh? Others leave already? I was having a monologue for so long that they already leave? I mean this happened a lot because I often daydream and they won't stop me from daydreaming so… Wow I need to work on this. Oh well, The peacetime will continue.

…

Hello hello, I take back that the peace will continue. Right now we are all sitting around the table. I was sitting at the far end while Zenith and Lilia were facing each other. Lilia's head hangs down while Zenith is having a Painful face.

And Paul? Well, he is outside the room having his head hung down while looking between us and the darkness in front of him. And Rudy? was next to me with a troubled face. So what happened? Well, let me tell you the Story of our lovable bastard. How Paul Fuck up.

So where Do I start? Hm…Then around this morning then well let's get to the story.

…

3 months have already passed since That incident. Rudy and Sylphiette already make up and go back to being friends. Today I was training with Paul. Zenith is inside resting because she just got pregnant. Around 1 to 2 months I think? Lilia is the same doing housework. Though I notice that she is gaining some weight. And sometimes I see her in the kitchen with a bit of a pale face. I asked her if she was alright. a lot but she only replied weakly and nodded saying she was ok.

At that time I didn't think much of it. I just thought that it was her period day or something but well. It was during the night. Snow has already fallen. Because it was winter. We all eat our lunch late and just talk about things. Then it happened. Lilia quickly got up in the middle of our talk.

She goes toward the kitchen and then a sound of Puke comes out. She continues to puke for a while. And when she finishes she walks out with a pale face and bows down.

"I have had this strange illness for a while. I thought it was just the flu but it seems That was wrong. It appears That I was pregnant." At that word, we all know what happened and look in the same direction.

Paul drops his spoon and his head down toward the table. "Sorry! It was probably my child!"

Hey, I will give him a point for honesty and then minus it for being dishonest too. But damn He actually accepts it instead of denying it.

Ah…We are going to break apart again, isn't it?

…

And that was the gist of the story. Hahaha….This is really a fucking crisis huh? Zenith and Lilia don't talk. And when Paul tried to say something he got shut up by Zenith and just remained silent.

I understand why Zenith is angry. I mean she was betrayed by one of her only friends in this village, betrayed by her husband. And now she doesn't know what to do.

I know she loves Lilia like a sister. After all, she and Lilia are inseparable all the time. But...How do I say this...I...feel sorry for her. This is either going to end in 1 way or another. Either Lilia leaves or Zenith leaves.

All of this happened because Paul couldn't control his junk. Now here is the golden question!

What can I do to salvage the situation? Honestly, I don't know how. The only thing I can advise is to beat the shit out of Paul.

I mean it is his fault so he should take responsibility. But right now what is important is to appease Zenith.

The fact that she is a believer in Milis is not helping at all. Millis Faith is all about having one lover and hating on demon race. Well, Zenith is from the Latreia family a count family in Millis. So she a big deal. And what is Latreia famous for? That right hating the demon race.

Well, it's not about that right now. What I need is how to salvage the situation, not have useless thoughts.

"So...What are you planning after this?" Zenith asks in an abnormally cold voice.

"After helping Madam deliver. I plan to go back to My family and raise my child there."

Clench…

I could hear Zenith clenching her teeth. I'm surprised, to be honest. About the fact that she can stay calm like this. Well, she probably expects Paul to cheat on her. After all, she knows Paul better than all of us.

But she probably didn't expect that it would be Lilia who Paul cheated with. Well, I didn't expect it either, but now that I think about it. It really was possible.

After all, Lilia is still a woman in her early 20's. She didn't have a love life before and hearing Paul and Zenith do it every night certainly didn't help with the hormone.

Ahhh! This is all such a mess!

Think Lucy! Think about what to do! Damn, that useless Paul and his hyperactive night activity! Wait, Paul? Can't I just blame this on Paul? I mean he is at fault right so I can just blame him?

Well, I would feel sorry if I didn't know about his past behavior. Anyway...What can I use Paul for? He and Lilia are old friends. But where do they meet? The only answer I could come up with was in Asura. Or to be specific. The Water god Dojo that Paul learned before running away at 12.

Why would he run away? From his house? Or from the water god Reida? Well, probably both. Hehehe...now I know what to do. I probably hate myself for this. But this is for the best.

I...Don't want them to be separate anymore. I don't want the family to break apart. Like with our old Party. Lilia is a good person.

"Hey...Zenith. Do we really need to blame Lilia for this? " I said, pinching my voice for some dramatic effect.

"What do you mean, Lucy?" Zenith looked me dead in the eyes.

"I mean Paul and Lilia met at Water god Dojo, right? And how old is he? 12? That was just before he ran away."

"And?" I could hear the sound of a chair moving outside. Paul probably knows what is going to happen. I sigh. I really hate this.

This is why I hate muscle heads like Paul. Sometimes he is abnormally sharp about this thing. And myself for taking advantage of a situation like this.

"Lilia, you said before that you used to work as a maid for the Princess of Asura, right? And leave because you got injured while protecting her?"

"...Ah. Yes, I used to be a maid for Princess Ariel. I had to leave because of my leg injury." Lilia said with her face full of confusion. She doesn't know why I ask such a thing.

"Yeah, I mean a maid like her is hard to come by, you know? And why would she come to work with us? With her background, she could have gone to any noble house." I said.

"She could have gone anywhere but even so she still choose our house right? Yeah maybe she just wants to use Paul's old favor and land a job but do you really think That she can resit Paul if he wants to? He is of noble blood and still has a tie with Boreas Family and most of all he may be holding some of Lilia's secrets right?"

"Oi, What do you mean, Lucy! I Never-"

"You Just shut up and Sit down!" Before Paul finished his sentence Zenith quickly shut him down.

"...Is that true, Lilia?" Nice she took the bait. Zenith doesn't want Lilia to go. After all, if she really want to why would she be in such agony right now? She is mad right now, So the best course of action is to divert it to someone else. That's right, It's the lovable Bastard Paul. Being the punching bag again.

"No, That is not true at all…" Lilia said shaking her head in denial. But I'm not gonna let her do that. Not after I do something I hate like this.

"See, Zenith. Lilia must not be able to talk about it right?" I continue to press about it. I nudge Rudy lightly when Zenith looks at Lilia with a sorry face. "help me here." I whisper so that only he can hear. He nod his head and began to think. That's right think of what you should say so she can take her anger out on Paul.

"That's right, Mother. The other day when I was walking toward the toilet the other day when I pass by Lilia's room, I heard Father saying "If you don't want anyone to know Then spread your leg!" That's what I heard."

"Oi! Y-you too Rudy!?" Paul really starts to sweat now. And honestly? he kind of funny to look at. Well, He deserves it.

"So Lilia isn't doing any wrong, Right Mother?" Rudy continues to press it. Damn, if only Zenith didn't believe in Millis then this would be much easier.

"Right…" Zenith reply weakly and grab both her arm in a tight hug. I hate seeing this. Seeing people going through something like this. Damn it. But this is for the good of our family.

If Lilia leaves, Zenith will feel guilt over letting her go right after she just gave birth and possibly kill or injure both mother and child. And while waiting for the child to be born both of them will live in tension and both will become uncomfortable. If they feel too much stress then it may endanger the child inside.

That is why, We should make them make-up instead. That was the best possible outcome. Even though it might not be the same. They may be more disagreement and fight between them but…I believe that both of them will bond even further. Both of them think of each other as sisters. I can see that from how long I have been with them.

"What more, Zenith. Both of them are Rudy's siblings. Don't you think that he should be with them? To protect them?" I said while grabbing one of Zenith's arms. She tried to resist but still let me grab it.

"Huuu…ha…What am I going to do with you two acting like this? Ok ok, I give up. There's no way I'm going to win against you two!" Zenith said as she took both me and Rudy into a hug. I could hear a faint crying sound from her.

Sorry…But this is the best way I can come up with to deal with this. I hate myself for making you hurt like this. Please forgive me. Although you won't hear this…Ha…

"You heard that right, Lilia? From now on you are Part of our family and your Duty is to raise Lucy and Rudy's siblings! I won't allow you to escape from here, Because…You are part of our family now." Zenith said. While looking back at Paul. "And you…I will have you spill every bean tonight. So prepare yourself."

Her voice is cold to the point that I can feel the room temperature dropping. let's never anger Zenith. That was one thing I will remember for the rest of my life.

Sob…

The sobbing sound of Lilia reaches us. I take one look at her and She was a sobbing mess. crying silently. "Ha…let's go, Rudy. Let's go say sorry to Zenith ok?" I grab Rudy's hand and walk up the stair. It was a Crisis averted. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth somehow.

Let's hope that Zenith's anger is relieved to some degree now.

…

"OW! Please don't take your anger out on me Father!" Right now Paul is beating up Rudy with the excuse of sword training. Last night after I and Rudy go to apologize to Zenith. Although she accepts it she is still mad at Paul so he still gets a mouthful of beating from her. But no injury can be seen because? Magic!

Well, let's add the list of Women that Paul is scared of to two people. Anyway, it ends well. Although both Zenith and Lilia still have some tension it will go away in no time. I believe in that. After all, they both are strong women.