Rudeus doesn't know his ED isn't cured yet bahaha. Also, Rudeus was about 14 in the last chapter since it actually happened in K 421, not K 420. Sara is also 16 at this point. In this timeline, she was one of Paul's kids before he met Zenith.
In this story, Elise (20) is the older half-sister of Eris (16) through Philip. Eris is actually named after her in this story.
This is Ch 1.5 because it is a bit of a gap chapter between LN 7 and 8.
Chapter 1.5 The Rise of the Crimson Greyrats.
K 421,
Rudeus Greyrat POV
Rosenburg
I was surrounded by three crying women who accepted the offer.
But with enough alcohol and shitty situations, I have adopted a family. I was willing to go up against the world. After all, I helped invade the royal castle in Shirone to save my little sister.
We exited the room to find a dumbstruck Soldat, who was apparently eavesdropping on our conversation.
The two women he hired were right behind him, and they signaled something to Elise. It seemed positive because Soldat wasn't shooed away this time.
"Only you, Quagmire, could somehow find family yet again in the middle of your business with Elise." Soldat looked at the scene and shook his head. "And you still have your sister to deal with."
"Now, how the hell should we fix this." Soldat turned the conversation around.
"You just adopted three women, and while they have one of the best reputations around for their beauty and quality, you probably made enemies with a lot of wealthy men and nobles around the area." Soldat was undeterred in his assessment of the situation.
"Not only that, but you also committed to trying to get your sister back in your life. I wouldn't know if she would forgive you or take the next trip to Begaritt in shame." Another harsh statement from Soldat.
"You heard the man. You don't need to take us in; you would only cause far more trouble for yourself, Rudeus," Elise said as the mood around the room subdued.
I was thinking about it, but the more I was afraid, the more worried I was that I would turn into the old, fat, and disgusting man I was in my last life: no family, no friends, no home to go back to.
I took a long gulp of the bottle next to me, shook my head, and decided to go against the world.
"And what have they got on me? I have money, I'm also a Greyrat, and I was even powerful enough to injure the Dragon God himself!" I raised a fist and continued.
"I even took over a castle and deposed a prince to rescue my younger sister and her mother!" Well, I wasn't the only one around, but I don't want to think about Eris and Ruijerd at the moment.
The girls looked at me with even more awe as they took what I said as it was.
Soldat, on the other hand, had other plans.
"Well, if you're so sure about this, let's get the paperwork done and celebrate!"
Soldat brought us out to the counter, and after a surprisingly cheap offer, I spent a moderate amount of my accumulated savings on buying out Elise, Saura, and Paula's contracts.
Profen had a soft spot for the three girls, or more likely; He was getting tired of the attention and bids he was receiving from long-time clients that he couldn't choose over another. He felt that handing off the girls to Quagmire was the safest long-term choice.
After a quick goodbye from Elise and her younger sister to the other girls of the establishment,
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That moment passed by like a blur; I knew that once I sobered up, I'd be having a long conversation with the three girls I brought along with me, especially since I bet they didn't tell me their whole story, but I wanted to enjoy the fruits of my alcoholic decisions.
I walked out of the pleasure district with three more people than we entered with.
While Saura and Paula wore coats over their bathing suits, Elise forgot to bring one to the pleasure house, so she was wearing mine.
We were walking together with Soldat a short distance ahead of us and with Paula and Elise looping their arms around mine. In the coldness of the night, the warmth of their breasts (or at least Elise's large breasts) was a nice sensation around my arms.
"Do you really get it though?" Soldat asked, doubtful of my ability to deal with the aftermath of my adoption. "Taking home three women —" He stopped in his tracks and looked to the side.
"That's no problem for me, a couple of high-level quests and I'd have enough money to settle down in Ranoa with these three girls. Do you know if your party is willing to take a freelancer like me? I don't know how Counter Arrow would be able to get the missions I need for this if they even want to see my face."
No reply.
"C'mon Soldat, don't you agree? After the mess with Sara, I don't know how I could show my face and mend things with her until—" I saw who Soldat was looking at, his eyes were fixed on people at the corner, and he had an "Oh shit" look on his face.
I saw Suzanne clad in her steel breastplate and gauntlets, looking ready to go on a quest…
And Sara…
She looked at me and the three girls with revulsion and contempt and ran away. Suzanne also gave me a disappointed look and crushed what was left of my resolve.
Suzanne ran after her, but my legs felt like lead. The courage I built up over several pints of beer and questionable types of liquor faded away, but I had to keep a strong face.
I tried to move forward, but Soldat stopped me this time, he shook his head and said, "Give it some time. You already have three girls to take care of." Soldat paused and looked at the girls. "You need to know when something is a lost cause."
Elise, Saura, and Paula looked at me. Was I about to run after someone else and leave them behind?
I took their hands and brought them to my room.
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Before leaving Rosenburg
I had a fitful night. My sister's cold rejection dampened my happiness at rescuing the three girls. Now, their panicked expressions and nervous demeanor frightened me. Was I really worthy of taking care of them?
Could I truly keep them safe?
Would they leave me behind when I outlive my usefulness to them? Like Eris did?
Those three girls grabbed the opportunity to get free. Of course, they could make a sob story to take advantage of the first man who could help them. Most men think with their lower heads rather than their upper heads when they're surrounded by wonderful women and drowning in a sea of alcohol.
Were they using me? Was I such a pushover?
Was Sara right that I was just a boy so easily led by base desires?
I drank myself to sleep and hoped that would stave off the problems or at least make it tomorrow's Rudeus job to deal with.
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As I dreamed that night, I was back in that stupid white room.
In my awful ugly fat old body.
"I know, I know, my gorgeous presence makes you feel insecure in that body."
I knew it, Man-God.
"Know what? You barely seem to know what's going on around you right now."
Why would you care about that? It's been over a year since you last talked to me.
"I've been busy."
It would have helped if you had told me where Zenith was. I've been trying to call you all this time.
"There are some other places that obscure my vision, such as the deepest and most magically infested labyrinths or anything that reeks too much of that awful Dragon God's presence."
For a naked mosaic claiming to be a god, he sure has a lot of excuses and limitations.
"Hey, we're not here to talk about me. We're here to talk about you."
What about me? My sister is disgusted by me. I have three cousins who may just be liars scamming a rich "boy" like me, and I still can't find my mother.
"I'm absolutely sure they're Philip's children, and they're just scared because the local nobles would kill to get them. Those nobles are sore losers who hate anyone that gets over them, especially since the heir to Neris himself tried to claim Elise's maidenhood."
They're not making it up? Really? But what could a broken man like me do for them?
"You undersell yourself. You're smart and powerful. You even faced the Dragon God and lived to tell the tale. You just lack confidence in yourself."
Confidence in myself? Is that why I couldn't get it up?
"Oh silly, aren't they related to you? Did you get it up when you cleaned up Aisha's naked mess? Or Zenith's breasts?"
I was subconsciously feeling myself to prove a point when.
"Ewwww! Hey, don't touch that thing in front of me!"
Okay, I had the shame of being embarrassed about that.
"I'll give you actual advice: if you don't help the three sisters wholeheartedly, you will regret it."
Regret it? Why?
"I can't exactly say, but I can give you advice to make it work. Trust the girls. They will help you reunite your family. They may have their secrets, but they will reveal it eventually."
Make what work, and how would they help? It would add more drama and chaos to the family. Your reasoning sounds too weak. What would I do with three girls I barely know, even if they're somewhat related to me? I've been with Sara longer, and I can't even keep her around me. Did I just scam myself of several months of work to free Elise and her sisters?
Hitogami just shook his head and looked genuinely frustrated.
Come on, if you have real advice, give it to me.
"Rudeus, go forth with the girls to Ranoa and enroll at the University of Magic. If you do this, not only will you regain your family, you will also regain your confidence and abilities as a man."
Huh? What does that even mean? Why would the university help me become a man? I'm also too late to join the enrollment this year; what would I do in betweeee.
My thoughts echoed as my consciousness faded.
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That was a very difficult dream to remember. Hitogami was a lot fainter than usual. The main part I could remember was.
"Rudeus, go forth with the girls to Ranoa and enroll at the University of Magic. If you do this, not only will you regain your family, you will also regain your confidence and abilities as a man."
He also gave me the impression that I should trust these girls and that they were instrumental in reuniting my family, even if they had a lot of secrets and trauma of their own. They'll eventually open up to me in time.
Or perhaps Hitogami didn't say much, I was very tired and emotionally drained the night before, and treated his visit like an unwanted neighbor banging on my door while i'm hungover. Did I even get his message right? I think I forgot something very important.
I prayed to the holy relic and asked for confidence. I had to convince the girls to join me to Ranoa University. It would be a tight fit, but we're leaving for Ranoa immediately.
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I said my goodbyes to Soldat and thanked him for his life-changing advice, but I decided against staying with the Stepped leader as a long-term freelancer. After last night's events, I didn't bother to visit Counter Arrow since I didn't want to open more old wounds.
Ranoa was where I wanted to settle down with the three sisters since we all needed an education and a stable place to stay, And if Hitogami's advice was true, it would do more than that.
Soldat offered to accompany me if I waited for another week, even letting me join his party for a few months, but given how I felt and the potential risks my new family had, I wanted to leave as soon as possible.
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K 421,
Rudeus Greyrat POV
Gyuranza, Neris
We spent three months traveling from town to town as we quickly moved to Ranoa, usually stopping by to post more bulletins looking for my mother.
We spent a week at Gyuranza, the capital of the Duchy of Neris, to continue posting more requests for information about my mother, Zenith as well as gather more supplies.
Another reason for our delay was that Soldat and his party, the Stepped leader, arrived right before we were supposed to leave.
Soldat offered a high-paying, S-ranked mission that wasn't too much of a bother. My magical skills added enough firepower to the group that the rest of his party understood my inclusion in the mission.
They welcomed me, albeit with expressions that seemed to say, "Oh boy, is that the young man Soldat had a fight with last time?". They didn't seem to know, or at least didn't comment about the life-changing events I had with him a few months ago, and maintained a respectable distance from me.
I had no idea what happened to the members of Counter Arrow, nor did Soldat or his party mates say anything else about them. Honestly, after everything calmed down, I wish I had the chance to talk to Sara again. Soldat kept clamming up whenever I tried to bring the up the topic.
The S-ranked mission added more to my respectable purse, which took a hit from buying the freedom of the three girls in my group. While they were low-maintenance and extremely helpful, I also took an extra measure for our security and speed by getting us a horse and carriage.
Elise, Saura, and Paula showed an interesting range of skills outside stereotypical adventurer skills and an interesting background once they opened up to me. From being skilled apothecaries to talented makeup artists and cutthroat hagglers, they taught me a lot of subtle tricks and skills that made me reassess how I viewed the world.
While I had useful intermediate healing magic and some degree of detoxification spells, common ailments such as headaches, fever, or even indigestion weren't automatically solved by my spells. These girls had ways to help solve those minor inconveniences. They told me they even knew something people would kill for but would only talk about it once we settled down somewhere safe in Ranoa. They even made creams that smoothened the skin and dealt with imperfections and various cosmetic wonders. Stuff that was essential for a long career in their former industry. Elise even showed me a natural contraceptive concoction she drank before she went to a high-value client, just in case.
Elise's beginner level detoxification magic was enough to counter the effects of wearing said makeup, as she uses it on her or her sisters after wearing it. Surprise surprise, I didn't know she was that knowledgeable and skilled, but more on that later.
Their makeup skills also kept me from being recognized when needed, as I only revealed myself as Quagmire Rudeus when I posted requests looking for my mother, Zenith. Otherwise, I hid my identity after the realization that I was, in fact, a runaway noble from the Notos house, something Paul and Philip never really explained the implications of. Come to think of it, Paul's presence in Millis caused a huge stir, too. I was also technically with illegitimate Boreas kids, which would cause quite a bit of trouble, to say the least. Ranoa was a refuge for nobles in exile, the right place for someone like our group to disappear and blend in easily. The angry nobles and merchantmen from Neris would also stop chasing after Elise and her sisters once we establish ourselves in the magical city.
This whole nobility thing wouldn't have pressed that hard on my mind if our group hadn't started hearing rumors of Eris Greyrat's demise beyond the ones that spread after she ran away from Fittoa. As much as I don't want to think about her, hearing rumors of her death after running away made us a lot more paranoid. What could I do with my newfound cousins if Ghislaine wasn't powerful enough to protect her? Despite our resentment towards Eris, we still had a moment of silence in the camp as Elise, Paula, and Saura prayed for their lost half-sister. If I still had Eris' hair, I would've burned it at the fire, but I already gave it up months ago.
Elise explained why they were even more worried about our connection to nobility. Before the displacement incident, they lived in Ars, the capital of the Asura kingdom. While they weren't acknowledged as Philip's children or even their mother as his mistress, they pretended to be children of a wealthy trader instead. Elise was even halfway through her education at the Asura Royal Academy, focusing on beginner-level detoxification and potion creation.
Elise was surprised at how I could do magic chantlessly. Her education at Ars exposed her enough to know this was a very rare feat, one she only heard rumors about from Ranoa itself. Saura had just started trade school before fleeing Ars, learning how to run an apothecary business while interning at the largest apothecary in Ars, while Paula was too young to attend education outside homeschooling before it was cut off. Still, Elise and Paula tutored her after they fled Ars. They all knew some beginner sword fighting skills in the Water God style, but it got mixed with the common self-defense courtesans were taught when adventurers tried to force themselves on the girls. It wasn't exactly oriented for adventuring, but it was self-defense nonetheless.
Going back to their connections in Ars, their mother also used to be one of Philip's spies. She ran a restaurant in Ars that catered to merchants and higher-ranking servants of nobility. Due to the extreme costs in Ars, and their relatively affordable price point, their business barely made any profit and was supported by Philip every few weeks. The girls learned how to be attentive despite their cute or pretty appearances, and whatever they told their mom got back to Philip through letters or whatever discreet meetups their mother had with Philip.
Since Philip was hiding his identity from outsiders, he rarely visited their family. He often wore heavy disguises when visiting the restaurant, or he usually sent his assistant Gustaf to deliver letters for him. They heard enough stories from Philip and especially their mother about how dirty nobles were in Ars, from the assassination attempts, slavery, human trade, all the awful practices, and outright sexual assault they did to their servants or even lower-ranked nobles and merchants. They knew the Prime Minister, Darius Ganius, tried to kidnap Eris at one point as well as the covert movement to restore Paul to the Notos Greyrat leadership, at least before they fled Ars.
Wait, does Dad actually have supporters for the Notos Greyrat leadership? No wonder Uncle Philip thought I had a shot at helping him win the Boreas Greyrat succession.
However, shortly after the displacement incident, something wrong happened to their mother. She suddenly turned very paranoid and seemed to have lost much of her information-gathering skills. All the random things she knew about the Asura Kingdom and more information she seemed to get late at night were suddenly cut off. Their mother even lost all of their savings shortly after fleering Asura when she invested it in a stupid get-rich-quick scheme with some odd demon folk guy who claimed it was for some sort of religious cause; they didn't know the specifics, but they heard "god" often enough. Perhaps it was a local folk god from the north? Their mother got duped, and their family was plunged into debt. When Elise sold herself to pay off the debt two years ago, it was the last straw for their mother, whose memories of her traumatic past resurfaced. Their mother lost the will to live and died the previous winter.
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Disguising ourselves became another added mechanism for self-defense. I thought applying makeup was a complicated, mysterious art, but it was surprisingly similar to how I colored my figurines. With Elise, Saura, and Paula giving me clothing and styling tips that kept me from standing out when we traveled incognito. Who knew that simple contouring, highlighting, and angling makeup in specific directions could make the difference between alluring people and scaring them off?
Sometimes, Paula dressed up as a young boy, making our group look like two boys and two girls, a caravan less likely to be attacked by bandits. Paula had a flat chest and a tomboyish demeanor, so she could still pass off as a young boy. However, I was starting to figure out how to tell a girl disguised as a boy and vice versa. She was also interested in learning more about sword fighting from me, which I decided to teach her despite my physical limitations.
Paula seemed to be a natural at this and didn't have any annoying anger or pride issues when I taught her. I wish I taught her instea…. No, let's not get back into those unpleasant memories of Eris. Even the three girls with me didn't want to talk about her.
Other times, it was more convenient that we looked like a group of traveling maidens to Ranoa in safer places where such a party would likely get aid, sympathy, or an easier source of gossip. I usually stayed silent, but hiding under makeup and Elise's dresses felt weird. I felt like that Chinese communist spy who was a total trap from the French diplomat years ago. I can't remember his name anymore, but it was a big deal back when I was a child.
It didn't help my self-esteem that my voice hadn't broken yet, so people who didn't know me fell for the disguise. It was annoying and unusual, but I could see the benefits. It reminded me of the days in my past life when some guys pretended to be girls in the MMORPGs I played to take advantage of men… men like me. It was my turn to do the same thing.
Their cutthroat haggling was also why our purse stayed intact. Despite the pricy carriage and the initial investment needed to make a mobile apothecary, it paid off as we became traveling merchants, making us make a small profit during our trip. My adventurer quests returned most of our initial expenses, and we were making good time for Ranoa. Who would've thought that Sisters of the Night were skilled at convincing people to give their best offers possible? Then again, with how they strung out adventurers of their wealth, it was only natural that they applied their abilities outside. I tried to use better language to call their former profession, especially with how sensitive and painful it was for them.
Was this how it felt like to have a functional family? In my previous life, I shut myself off from the world when I was 14. In this life, I got kicked out by Paul when I was 7, while my life in Roa got cut short right after things were getting much better by the displacement incident. Would my older siblings in my past life be like Elise and Saura? No, my brothers wouldn't drag me to makeup or all this stuff, but maybe my older sister would. I imagined Paula would have been my idealized younger sister from my past life, but I barely talked to her before I shut myself off from the world.
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K 421,
Rudeus Greyrat POV
Pipin, Basherant
"Huff, huff, huff!" I was running after Paula, Saura and Elise.
"This is so unfair! Wait for me!" I shouted at them.
They joined my daily exercise routines as we traveled, and even though they made adjustments at first, within a month, they matched my endurance, and after another ten weeks, they made me struggle to keep up with them.
No matter how hard I tried, I could never get the hang of harnessing Touki, which was what made the three girls get so strong and fast in such a short time. Or maybe these girls inherited their strength from her grandfather, Sauros, since I really can't imagine Philip being strong and fit… oh wait, he did manage to survive Sauros' frequent punches and beatdowns despite the damage it did to the nearby walls and furniture, so maybe Philip wasn't as weak as he looked. Perhaps I just held everyone up to an unrealistic standard since I grew up surrounded by powerful figures.
"Last one to finish the laps has to do the laundry!" Saura shouted as she kept a ten-meter gap in front of me.
The three girls started pacing themselves just a bit faster than I could handle, to give me false hope or to make me struggle even harder, I don't know. They gave me another stark reminder that they needed strong bodies in order to handle rough adventurers, especially when they faced the possibility of said adventurers crossing the line. So, adapting to my workout routine wasn't too difficult for them once they got the hang of it.
"Where's your so-called Hulk and Hercules now, Big Bro!" Paula teased as she ran back to me to slap me on the back and ran forward away from my reach again. They didn't get the reference but noticed I was calling my muscles names.
I had an athletic physique, but I still couldn't measure up to these girls' lithe, superhuman strength right next to me.
"Are you sure you want Rudeus to handle the laundry? Maybe he'd worship our underwear next." Elise joked as she led the pack through the forest.
The girls discovered my Holy relic early on, as our carriage had limited space, and I carelessly stored the relic on top of my clothes.
I thought they'd mock me or call me a pervert for my religion, but all they did was tease me a little bit and then leave me to it. They said they were used to men and women with even stranger interests. At least they didn't see me get turned on by even weirder things. As long as I didn't start sniffing their underwear or worshiping it together with Roxy's, they'd probably let me off the hook.
"Nah, after all the times we made him wear dresses and disguises, we would have noticed if he was that interested, am I right?" Saura pointed that out. It was a strange but probably good fact. I didn't want to get beaten up for perverted things. After all, they are still Eris' sisters and would pack a nasty punch.
I was somehow utterly unable to be aroused near them. Maybe my body treated them like sisters, the same way Aisha's naked body didn't arouse me, or how thinking about my mother's breasts and how good her breastmilk tasted never got my flagpole up. I couldn't get it up no matter what I tried when I was with Sara on that disastrous night. Then again, Elise did all my kinks and more but still couldn't get a rise out of me. I couldn't give her kittens when my crouching tiger stayed in place…
Given how tight our camping space was, especially in the dangerous forests between towns, we couldn't separate much for our natural necessities. Since I saw Elise naked and her sisters nearly naked the first time I met them, or perhaps it was just the reality of their industry, they didn't mind stripping themselves or doing their personal needs around me.
It wasn't like the time I traveled with Eris and Ruijerd, where Ruijerd was powerful enough to save Eris even if she went far away to get the privacy she wanted, or back in the days of Counter Arrow, where Suzanne and Sara went off together when dealing with their physical needs. I had to keep watch over the group as the only one with significant traveling experience. I wasn't blind; they were still very pretty and knew how to look perfect around men when needed. It's just that my turnip wouldn't sprout despite all the fertile fields I saw…
Yet, no matter how attractive they were, it didn't work. I never had that problem with Roxy or Sylphie before. Heck, even Eris was… I should stop thinking about her! She caused nothing but pain, not just for me but for Elise, Saura, and Paula. I have to let my thoughts of Eris rest in peace.
I was panting heavily by the time we ended our run through the forest. Elise already had the laundry basket ready.
I lost the race and ended up doing the laundry, although Paula was around to "supervise" me… or just make sure I wasn't actually sniffing their underwear. Not that it worked for me the last time I discreetly tried. The ripe scent of beautiful girls' panties wasn't enough to summon little Rudeus…
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We used this time in Pipin to restock our supplies and, once again, post a notice for my mother. Despite our efforts to appear as different anonymous traders and traveling maidens, news about the Quagmire and his "night flowers" was already spreading.
Purchasing the freedom of the immensely popular Elise, as well as her sisters Saura and Paula, angered the nearby nobles in Neris, and only through the concerted effort of the pleasure district, such as promising to boycott their services if the nobles thought they could violate time-honored pacts such as buying out a contract, did the nobles stop their attempt to torture or interrogate Profen the proprietor of the Blue Rose house, as the adventurer's guild was tight-lipped about my identity.
Thankfully, the angry nobles only knew me as the Quagmire. While I sometimes introduced myself as Rudeus Greyrat, people tend to forget my name or only call me Quagmire Rudeus. After all, the adventurer's guild didn't want to lose one of their most effective mages to angry Neris nobles, not to mention they had the wrong impression that I was a legitimate Greyrat noble who was "just adventuring for fun" and the powerful Greyrat houses still held enough sway this far North. No matter how tightlipped the guild girls were, rumors still spread that made other adventurers think I was a runaway noble who wanted a harem to serve and follow me instead.
Despite the increased food prices up north, as farmlands were increasingly barren and monsters more common, I didn't want us to go wanting for food, especially with how hungry the three girls got ever since they started training with me more often, adventurers ate two to three times more food on average. Hearing Paula's stomach make the cute ugu-ugu sound when she was hungry pulled my heartstrings. The potions, creams, and tonics they sold at the apothecaries and shops we passed by were often enough to make up for their added expenses and more. Their habit of collecting various herbs along our travels also helped reduce the costs of their potion-making.
"Alright, time to split up," I told the three girls. They would stay together and shop, and I would go to the adventurer's guild to post another notice for Zenith while keeping an eye out for the latest news about angry Neris nobles.
"Bye!" The three girls waved at me.
The adventurer's guild in Gyuranza was in the middle of the town, a place where the rugged types gathered. The three sisters stayed away from this town's adventurer's guild to avoid drawing unwanted attention toward me or them. Although their sword fighting, at least what I could teach them, was starting to get good enough that I was struggling to keep up in a pure one-on-one swordfight if I didn't use my eye of foresight while all three of them attacking me in concert meant I needed to use that eye and even a few beginner spells to keep them off my back.
Saura and Paula's magical training was going a lot slower, but they insisted on learning beginner-level healing magic first, before anything else, so they were still learning slowly, Elise understood it sooner since it was similar to detoxification magic. Teaching Saura and Paula was like teaching Ghislaine how to make a fire ball; no amount of brute force training can immediately make a good heal spell happen. Still, they wanted a well-rounded magical and physical skillset just in case they got separated from me.
It was frustrating for them, especially with their knowledge of healing potions and the like, but they're slowly getting there. Maybe Ranoa's magic university can teach them better.
"Yo, Rudeus, I've been trying to catch you again. How are you so slippery? We need your help dealing with the Red Wyrm spotted up north!" Soldat loudly called me out in front of the guild.
Well, there goes my cover.
Soldat Heckler was an S-ranked adventurer with Advanced-tier skills in Sword God Style and Intermediate skills in Water God Style. He was famous around these parts and was the leader of the S-ranked party Stepped leader.
Other adventurers started talking about my flower girls, but I paid them no mind. Wipe your tears, little boys. I had the coolest and hottest women traveling around me… was what I would've said if they weren't alternating between angels and devils in disguise.
"This Red Wyrm was recently sighted up north, really close to this town, and this is our first big job in weeks. Everyone wants to go, but we need more firepower. Even my party of seven would struggle to make a dent, and that's with another S-ranked and three A-ranked parties interested in this quest." Soldat pointed out the assembled group of rough-looking adventurers who were perking up at my presence; oh look, a group of girls too. "A thousand gold coins, who wouldn't want to split that bounty."
I guess if they weren't jealous of me, they wanted to use me or something like that.
On the other hand, any extra money could go a long way to setting up an appropriate home and environment for the three girls, as well as funding our plans to study in Ranoa while I continue to find more information about my mother on this side of the continent.
Multiple parties always carried out Dragon slaying quests, as it would be suicide to do it alone. Typically, seven or eight A to S-ranked parties were needed to take out a dragon, and heavy casualties were expected. Even Saint-ranked adventurers had at least one party around them to support them against a dragon, especially if other monsters were around to interfere. I wonder if Paul's old party could handle a dragon alone. Ghislaine and Paul seemed pretty strong, and if everyone else at the party was around their level,
In another world, Quagmire Rudeus' reputation would've grown alongside the Stepped leader, making other parties more confident to join the dragon-killing quest…
However, in this timeline…
"I'm out! I don't want to be dragon food," A woman declared; she was from the S-ranked party called the Amazons.
"Stepped leader is an overrated S-ranked party anyway; their leader is only an advanced Sword God swordsman." A rough man from The Drunkard's Nonsense declared.
All the other A-ranked parties backed out, leaving a disinterested S-ranked The Amazons party with a pleading Soldat. There seemed to be something else at play, but I couldn't see it.
"But Quagmire here is a Saint-ranked water mage who crossed the demon continent on his own when he was ten," Soldat explained.
"Bullshit, this boy here who still sounds like a girl crossed the demon continent when he was ten? Wasn't that all talk so he could join random parties? Why isn't he an S-ranked adventurer by now? Noblemen are all the same, especially that one." Mary, the current leader of The Amazons, commented. She looked equally annoyed at Soldat and me. Oh great, another woman who hated noblemen. Were they all really that scummy?
The Amazons were not only a party filled with women, but many of the women in the party hated, or at least disliked, men, whether it was due to bad experiences with them or their own preferences. Elise told me a few weeks ago that some female adventurers frequented the brothels, too. Although they often wore heavy disguises to avoid being singled out by the more Millis-oriented adventurers, Mary was probably one of them with her cropped hair and boyish looks. She looked close to Zenith's age and was probably a veteran of many battles.
Mary kept glaring at me as if she wanted to burn me alive. Sheesh, angry lesbians sure are scary. Did I remind her of something?
"Yeah, that fancy staff of yours is probably the only reason why you can cast those strong spells; we know you're a runaway noble or something. Your clothes and actions don't even hide it. A dragon quest isn't as easy as your Lord Father whatever told you. Buying those poor girls doesn't help with your reputation, you know." Alisa, the youngest member of their party, told me. She was kinder to me back at Rosenburg. I guess their party took those awful rumors of me seriously.
Living with the three girls must have boosted my self-esteem since I was visibly getting frustrated at the continued questions about my ability. I'll go kill the dragon myself, damnit!
"Hey! I didn't buy them for…" I was interrupted by Soldat, who spoke up for me.
"Stop spreading those nasty rumors about Rudeus. You all heard what I told Sara back then. He rescued his cousins from a lifetime of indignity and has been traveling with them to protect them while looking for his mother. " Soldat huffed as he stared at Mary and The Amazons.
Bros over hoes, thank you very much, Soldat. You blew off your chances to sleep with any of the Amazons interested in men, but you did your bro good. I owe you one.
"Yes, what he said. I owe their father a lot. He took me in after I was kicked out by my own father when I was seven. I may have worked for him as a servant, but he was willing to adopt me in his family after my tenth birthday. They reminded me a lot about how important family is and how I shouldn't take them for granted. I already lost too many people I care about." I felt tears forming in my eyes but wiped them away, I couldn't afford to show weakness this close to an important quest. I also thought I had to prove myself to Paula, Saura, and Elise.
I heard Mary murmur halfway through my story but couldn't make out the words.
"Besides! Young Quagmire here can't even get it up when he had four hot girls in a night." Soldat slung his arm around me.
Foot in mouth disease Soldat…
"Shut up, that's not funny!" I punched Soldat in the gut, although it lacked actual malice, and it was like punching a brick wall. Soldat must have been working out harder. At this point, self-deprecating humor was the best way to get over my disastrous night with Sara.
"Hmmmm, you convinced me, boy. At least of your motives, it seems like the other rumors spreading around the towns about your night flower harem are lies after all… But still, how can you prove your magical skills." Mary stared me down; she didn't seem to trust me at all, but something in her changed a little after I told my story.
I melded magic silently above my hand.
"Impressive. I know you could do magic chantlessly, but I never saw you do it without a staff." Alisa commented. "Still, do you have any spells with serious power behind them?" She continued.
I scratched the back of my head and tried to recall my most powerful spells. What could I say that could impress them?
I did learn that saint-ranked water spell cumulonimbus at five when Roxy taught me after my birthday, but I haven't used it since my tenth birthday. There's also the supercharged stone canon I did that injured the Dragon God, even though that was futile. The nuclear spell I had damaged his dragon wyrm gate thing, but he still took me out in the end.
I didn't notice I was thinking out loud until.
"Rudeus, you know we can hear your mumbling, right?" Leon, the other swordsman in Stepped Leader, said behind me.
Soldat grabbed me by my shoulders and asked. "Rudeus, look me in the eye. Are you telling me that you fought the Dragon God, injured him, AND LIVED?!" his question turned into a shout towards the end, but the silence around the square already attracted enough attention.
"Not only that, but you claim to be a saint-ranked mage at five? What nonsense are you sprouting?" Mary cast doubts at my ability again.
I used to downplay my skills and abilities in order to fit in with the other mages around, but the three sisters told me a few days ago that if I wanted to be famous enough to get my mother's attention or even famous enough to protect them from further harm from the Neris nobles, I continued to assert myself.
"I never lied about my skills, even if I didn't use them all in battle. I would be foolish to use a cumulonimbus up here. Do you want me to cause a thunderstorm in the north? It would turn into an awful blizzard. I also knew what happened the last time I activated the heating spell for the whole town back in Rosenburg last winter. I'd take away jobs from other adventurers and draw resentment instead of fame." I looked around as I defended myself. If I took this job with the Red Wyrm, perhaps I could finally gain enough renown for rumors to reach my mother in whatever dungeon or party she's with. She was a pretty good adventurer herself.
"Soldat and his party believe in my abilities, even without knowing my whole story. I'll go with him to eliminate the dragon, even if I have to cast the same thing I did against the Dragon God himself."
Mary shook her head and kept her arms crossed but nodded at us. "Fine, we will join the Stepped Leader in hunting that Red Wyrm down, but if Rudeus here shows the first sign of hesitation, we will return and leave you behind. A thousand gold coins for only fifteen people isn't a bad deal."
"Rudeus, as much as I trust you, I hope you're not leading us to our deaths," Soldat whispered.
Two S-ranked parties nervously joined me as we walked to the barren lands of the Northern Region. It was the middle of summer, and trees were still green; however, daytime was getting shorter. Since it was Soldat's idea and heavy insistence to hunt the Red Wyrm, he was the leader, and The Amazons were trailing behind us as the reserve group.
We didn't face any resistance around the area, which was a sign that we were close to the Red Wyrm. The dragon probably ate all the nearby monsters that didn't flee yet.
"Rudeus, scout for us. If you see anything, feel free to take it out from long range," Soldat ordered.
"Sure".
I conjured a pillar to boost myself into the air. There it was, a Red Wyrm resting at three o'clock. With the pile of freshly charred, stripped, and rotting bones nearby, it seemed to have recently eaten. Dragons tend to conserve energy and rest right after meals to process whatever they eat. They were durable enough to withstand most first strikes from whatever foolish human or creature tries to attack them in their sleep and kill them afterward.
Soldat told me to take out threats from long range. Maybe I should use my stone bullet. If I damaged the dragon now, the party would have a much easier time taking it down. I needed to injure it as badly as possible. Whatever I did against Orsted, I can probably do better now.
I held my staff tightly and started preparing my stone bullet.
I charged it with as much mana as I could, straining to keep it as dense and fast-spinning as possible.
"What are you doing, Rudeus?" Soldat asked from below, although I wasn't paying much attention since I was focusing it all on the stone bullet.
I had one shot to get this through.
Projectile: Solid and incredibly hard.
Modifications: Rapid rotation.
Velocity: Maximum
"Taking out the threat."
I fired the spell.
My bullet tore through the air with a powerful screeching whine. I didn't feel any recoil, which was the case for magic spells.
The stone slammed into the Red Wyrm with an enormous bang, and the entire forest around the dragon crashed, too.
When I turned around, I saw the Stepped Leader and the Amazons staring at me in total silence.
I felt like cringing.
Nobody was even moving.
"Damn, Quagmire, you really are strong." Soldat broke the silence as he walked towards the dragon.
"I always thought you were strong, but I can't believe you took it out in a single hit." One of the mages at Soldat's party commented,
"Unbelievable, my mana-detecting eye got blinded by the sheer display of power. I never saw anything like it," one of the Amazons commented, rubbing her left eye.
I knew arrogance would breed discord, and before letting my inflated ego get in my way, I didn't let the praise go to my head.
"Well, I still can't do this alone. If there were other monsters or creatures around while I was charging my spell, I would've been monster food by now. Anyway, help me butcher this dragon and divide up the spoils. Everyone, take what you can."
"Are you sure? You killed it all by yourself; it's a shame if we took anything from you." Mary, the skeptical leader of the Amazons, looked embarrassed to admit I wasn't a steaming pile of male trash. "He's not what I expected from that kind of man."
Hey lady, I'm not deaf, still, it wasn't worth another argument.
"Nonsense, I couldn't carry all this alone, and once again, a good mage is vulnerable to all the other fast-moving monsters and creatures around. If luster grizzlies or dire wolves popped up, I would be dead if they surrounded me. The Dragon was resting when I hit it, a perfect assassination shot. Besides, I don't want the corpse to turn into a dragon Zombie.
We walked towards the dragon; the swordfighters led the vanguard.
"Errrm, boss, there isn't much left of the dragon." Leon, the other swordsman in the Stepped Leader, commented, as he pointed out there was barely more than the head and limbs remaining. My stone bullet must have blown it apart.
We at least had proof that the dragon was dead, even though we didn't have much to show for it but news spread very quickly around the town anyway. We did an extremely risky quest in just half a day and even got double the reward from the local noble. However, everyone insisted on giving me the extra one thousand gold coins as the local adventurers scurried away from me.
Was I really that scary?
"Thanks a lot, Rudeus. We needed the money to keep our clan afloat, and now we could even have the extra coin to improve our equipment. I'll be a much better man the next time we meet. I sure have a lot of catching up to do." Soldat messed my hair up and waved goodbye; he looked like he wanted to say more but closed his mouth and gave me a smirk instead. Mary even grabbed my shoulder and muttered to keep safe and not be a scummy nobleman; she had a weird look on her face as she said that.
Soldat's party took 333 gold coins, and so did the Amazons. The other women at that party didn't even look me in the eye, except for Alisa, who was nice to me even before she joined their group. She went up to me and kissed me on the cheek.
Her perky chest and warm body felt nice against my arm. Alisa was pretty cute, after all… huh, why isn't my comrade saluting? Maybe I was too tired to care.
"My hero!" Alisa teased. At least I can say I kissed a future legend." She had completely changed from her cold personality earlier. Girls are really turbulent and unpredictable creatures.
I felt like a hero, even for that brief moment. My confidence in finding my mother and protecting the three sisters increased once more.
I got back to the inn we rented for our group after a short visit to the baths.
Rudeus' legendary feat gained him a new nickname, the Dragon-slayer, and word spread far and wide, bringing his reputation and renown to unheard-of levels.
However, whenever I heard that, I felt chills. I hope Orsted does not seek me out for that…
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When I came back, looking all refreshed after a long bath, which got extended due to the "free massage" I got from some grateful townswomen, I got back to the Inn closer to what would be 22:00 if we had a clock, although it was a hazy dusk, as summer was still going strong in the North.
I saw Elise, Saura, and Paula looking at me with their arms crossed and eyes glaring at me. They had puffy red eyes, and were those recently dried tears?
I can hear it in my head.
*Stare* *Stare* *Stare*
They scared me more than the Red Wyrm.
"Why did you risk your life on such a dangerous mission?!" Elise glared at me that Lilia would've given me if she caught me doing something stupid as a toddler.
"I thought you were just supposed to post another notice to find your mother or maybe take a quick quest. Not an S-ranked mission that usually takes three dozen or more adventurers to complete!" Saura added to the raw emotions in the room.
"Hey! No fair. At least Big Bro was powerful enough to take out the dragon in one boom!" Paula said, with less enthusiasm than usual.
"You were extremely lucky, you know. Not everyone could have a shot at a resting dragon, let alone the power to kill it in one blow. We heard about your quest to find the dragon shortly after you left, and you got us worried sick." Elise tried to hold her tears back.
I didn't know what to say, I did the quest to get the funds to help us buy a house in Ranoa, as well as start a business. I also wanted more attention for me so that it could reach Zenith, just in case she was anywhere around the region.
"We care about you, Rudeus. You're not just our protector or the one who freed us from a life of painful servitude, but you gave us hope. I really thought we would end up like our ancestors before us since even our father couldn't save us from our fate. But not. This has been the best life we've had in years. I don't want this family to end just because of foolish bravado or a desire to show off. You know better than that." Elise held me as she cried on my shoulder.
Even her sisters couldn't hold their tears back.
"I'm sorry; I know we needed the money, and I need my mom to hear news about me, but I should've been a lot more careful. I didn't even think about the risks when I joined along. We would've been in a lot more trouble if I hadn't had the unbelievable luck of seeing a dragon that had recently eaten and was sluggish and sleepy." I shook my head as I tried to justify my situation.
These girls were a lot more cautious than the headstrong and reckless party with their half-sister.
But maybe caution and responsibility were better than reckless bravado. Considering how Sauros, Eris, and even their mother died, thinking twice before doing something risky sounded like a wise choice.
"Yes, we know that, and we're sorry that you have to do all this for our sake. We owe you more and more, and we're getting too embarrassed to stay as deadweights." Elise said as even Saura and Paula agreed.
"No, no, you've been helping me more than you think. The three of you pulled me up from one of the worst nights of my life, and you've stuck with me despite how difficult and risky it is to take all these detours just so I can ask about my mother. I told you I owed your father a lot, and freeing the three of you was only just the start. He took me in when I needed a home. Now it's my turn to do the same for you."
We stayed silent for a while as we sat together, thinking about our situation.
Paula snapped us out of our stupor.
"Let's stop being silly about this. We all care about each other. That's what matters. The Crimson Greyrats can do anything we set our hearts to." She declared as she gave our group a name.
"Crimson Greyrats?" Saura asked. "Why?"
"Simple! We're all Greyrats, and we're passionate, intense, and hot!" Paula gave off an excellent chuunibyo impression as she explained our new name.
"I think that sounds like a great name," Elise commented as she smiled for the first time that night.
Well, anything sounds better than the increasingly controversial and infamous names people have been giving our group. Crimson Greyrats sounds like a much better choice.
"Let's call our group the Crimson Greyrats!" I declared.
After we reconciled, we planned our next move.
We decided to go to Ranoa before the weather got too cold.
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K 421,
Rudeus Greyrat POV
Sharia, Ranoa
Ranoa kingdom was the largest of the three magical countries in the Central Continent's Northern region, with a scale and power similar to that of the Shirone Kingdom to the south. Its alliance with Neris and Basherant, as well as its close ties to the Magicians' Guild, made Ranoa the leader of the Three Magic Nations.
The three nations invest tremendous amounts of time, resources, and effort into magical research, drawing exceptional people from around the world.
The Magic City of Sharia was made on the border of the Ranoa Kingdom with Neris. The Ranoa University, Neris Magical Implements shop as well as the Magician's Guild HQ were all placed in the thriving city that was the center of the Magic Nations.
The Crimson Greyrats rented a small apartment in the Lodging district. It was good for A-ranked adventurers staying for several months or traveling merchants with some funds. It came fully furnished with simple yet durable furniture, and it even had a magically powered heating system if we poured mana into it. However, some apartment residents hired mages to charge up the system daily if they wanted to live through winter in relative comfort and luxury.
It was too late for us to start schooling this year at Ranoa University, even though we had enough funds to enroll. Three Asuran gold needed to study here per person was equal to thirty gold coins from the Magic nations, and we still had over 1,200 gold coins even after paying a half-year deposit on the apartment. Once we settled down and prepared for the Ranoa University entrance exams, we could find a permanent place to stay as a family.
Family.
I was really starting to think of them as family.
I wonder what Paul and the others would think when they find out I adopted these girls, or maybe they adopted me. I replaced Eris with her sisters…
He'd probably say that I have a magical way with girls, and then he would encourage me to get on with them while Zenith fussed over them and become their adorable mother. Lilia might make them… well I'm not sure what she would want to do with them. Maybe her treatment of Aisha was because they were forced to be Pax's servants for several years. I hope Paul treated them better; Elise and her sisters still have some odd quirks they said they got after working in their field for a few years only.
Did Pax force himself on Lilia? I know women would not want to admit to being abused, especially to someone they view as a son, or at least Elise brought that up when I told her about what exactly I did in Shirone a few years ago. The next time I see him, I'll blast his Pax Junior to bits with a stone bullet, then cauterize the stump with a fireball.
I hope Zenith is doing alright on her own. My mother is beautiful, and if she ends up stuck with someone like Pax or worse, I'll never forgive myself.
I went to the adventurer's guild for the first time since I arrived and placed a quest to send letters looking for a Zenith Greyrat, as well as a detailed description of her and a figurine I made of her to twenty adventurer's guilds around the Magical Nations. It cost me a couple of gold coins as a downpayment, but it was a great start and a more active way to find her.
Rudeus "Dragon-slayer" Greyrat was looking for his mom, and the prize for finding and bringing her safely to Ranoa or to Paul Greyrat, or even the Latreia family in Millis, was an eyewatering 500 gold coins, or 50 asura gold coins.
I hope our apothecary and trading business pays off, or else I'd have to take more risky S-ranked and A-ranked missions to keep us afloat for the next few years at the Magic University since we still need to pay for our food and necessities after all.
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A few weeks later, we could set up a larger-scale potions and apothecary workshop on the first floor of our house and even get a provisional permit from the city to create an apothecary shop. The merchants guild accepted our entry after a significant deposit of 50 gold coins, but we took the B-rank that came along with it to have more autonomy with the products we'd sell. The Crimson Greyrat sisters told me they had a
I discovered what they were hiding, a secret they claimed people would kill for…
Elise closed our shop early that day and opened a chest, which had a thin booklet and a bunch of notes written beside it.
"So… Rudeus, remember when we talked about a big secret we were hiding? Something people would kill for?"
Paula and Saura were mixing a bunch of strange-smelling ingredients in a giant cauldron.
That flower looks familiar; wasn't that the one from Buena… the Vatirus flower.
"Uhmm, yes? What exactly was it that you can't share despite sharing most of your background with me already." I was worried about what kind of secret it was for them not to share it, despite talking about the secret stuff their mother did for Philip. Or how they don't mind disrobing around me and other stuff.
"It wasn't that we couldn't trust you with it, not after all we've been through over the past year… It's that." Elise visibly blushed as she continued.
"We just couldn't make it work… we're trying to make one of the most important export products of Fittoa…."
Wait a minute, I know what this is…
"The Aphrodisiac!"
Hitogami was right!
The Aphrodisiac disappeared when Fittoa was destroyed years ago. Anyone who still had remaining bottles could sell them for a massive fortune.
These girls had liquid gold in their hands and with this…
I would regain my abilities and confidence as a man!
Praise the Man-God for leading me into the light.
Do you think he would appreciate it if I prayed to him beside the Holy Relic?
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OxOxOxOxOxOxOxOOxOxOxOxOxOxOxOOxOxOxOxOxOxOxOOxOxOxOxOxOxOxOOxOxOxOxOxOxOxO
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Flashback: Soldat talks to Sara
K421, a few days after Rudeus left Rosenburg
Soldat POV
Rosenburg
I knew I shouldn't have listened to Leon's request for new armor. We could've left a week ago and had Quagmire helping us with a string of challenging missions, but instead, here I am, drinking increasingly poor booze at the pub, waiting for Leon and everyone else to finish their last-minute orders.
This pub was usually empty at this time since it was out of the way; people only went here on weekends when the night markets opened, and their sales boomed. On off-days like these, they were happy enough to sell their stock at a lower price, which is why I stayed here.
At this rate, we wouldn't be able to raise enough funds for the clan and a set of upgraded equipment for all of us, the kind of thing that would make us go beyond a mere veteran S-ranked party into one of those elite S-ranked parties, the ones guaranteed a great bonus by whatever client who could afford us.
I was starting to run out of budget for good booze, although perhaps I shouldn't have blown my excess funds on a pretty girl from Profen's establishment; what was her name again? Ughh, I can't even remember it. It's not that it matters; it was definitely fake.
What was I doing hiring her at the most expensive brothel in Neris? Quagmire owes me one because if my mother knew I spent my gift money for her on a woman like that, she'd pull me by the ear, beat me up, and make me sleep naked in the slums for a night. My mom and her party were powerful enough to keep my party from rescuing me; if she ever did that, the Amazons were a fearsome lot.
My mother and her older brother always used to tell me that they grew in the slums, although she moved up north when she got tired of all the men nearby bothering her. She used to be sickly as a child, but after she gave birth to me, she trained endlessly in various sword fighting styles with her older brother, Uncle Rudd. She was advanced in both Sword God and Water God styles and intermediate in North God. She said it wasn't enough, but she struggled to learn more before she peaked, focusing her efforts on learning other skills needed to run an Elite party.
She's not even that much older than me since she gave birth at, like, thirteen or something.
Still, age was something she didn't want to get reminded of, and she never let anyone outside her party or mine know the exact nature of our relationship. We just looked like a bunch of squabbling S-ranked Asurans from Milbots at the bar.
"I can't believe … That lowlife, that complete and utter scumbag! I don't even want to be related to him!" That whiny voice was familiar.
I looked past my drink and saw…
Oh, her. She was slurring and looked just as drunk as I was, but who wouldn't be shitfaced drunk if they found out they were about to have sex with their long-lost brother.
Sara… or was it Sara Notos Greyrat, from what I heard from Rudeus a week ago, had the unbelievable luck to fall in love with the kind of person she would hate. If she ever quit the Counter Arrow party, she would make a great fit at The Amazons; the kind of drama she had with her first love was the kind of thing those men-hating women loved.
I never got along well with Counter Arrow before, especially when Rudeus acted like a smug, fake nobleman who looked down on everyone around him.
I could understand why Mother hated noblemen. Most of them were arrogant toerags who sometimes bought a higher rank than they deserved and treated quests like a stroll in the park. Sometimes, their noble parents or other relatives even made bogus S-ranked quests. At least they never got into S-ranked parties unless they truly deserved it, other S-ranked parties would bully or harass any fake S-ranked parties that came in, and nobles usually know better than to piss off all their best adventurers.
Rumor has it that the disputed regions used to be a larger united kingdom until a spoiled prince pissed off all the most powerful adventurers by ordering them to join his party and let him play adventurer with them. The adventurers' guild supposedly left the region for an entire generation and came back to a fractured set of realms, as their departure from that region also started an exodus of many competent knights and soldiers who hated the incompetence of that spoiled prince.
Alcohol brought out the academic in me, which was funny since I hated staying in place and only learned to read and write because my mother beat me up when I didn't pay attention. She said I'd be a useless slum dweller if I didn't know my numbers and letters and that if she could do it, I could, too.
I was shaken out of my thoughts by a smelly, sticky, and wet person in front of me.
"And you! You're the one who started all this! Why did you bring Rudeus to a brothel and get him to hire a harem!" Sara demanded as she smelled of stale ale and unwashed clothing. Was that beer down her clothes? Where was her party? That overprotective Suzanne usually watched over her? Oh, right, an A-ranked party needed some extra manpower for a temporary job. Suzanne and that prick Timothy joined them.
She grabbed me by the collar and demanded answers.
"I'll start off with a little something I told Rudeus that night. Women are more like cats. Men are more like dogs. There's no way we can understand what the other is thinking, right? As my mom told me before, if a girl wants a guy to understand anything, it has to be loud and clear. So let me say this to you." Sara loosened her grip on me and just sat awkwardly close to me on the bench. Her red-rimmed eyes reminded me of Rudeus' pain that night.
"Ughh, let me get my thoughts in order."
I grabbed a pitcher of water and doused myself in it, pouring half of it on Sara, who squawked angrily.
"We both smell awful; you should thank me for this."
"Grrrr." was the intelligent reply I got from Sara.
"First off, his old girlfriend, his first love, or whatever you want to call it, left him after she gave him his first time. What was worse was she convinced him to get on with her by asking him to be a part of her family." I raised my finger to match the first point.
"Second, if you look at how drunk and shitfaced you are, imagine how he felt when the second woman he fell in love with was actually his sister." I raised my second finger… yes that was it. The cold water made my mind work again.
Sara started sobbing again, covering her face with one of her hands and holding onto me with the other.
"And third, Rudeus freed those girls from an awful contract after finding out they were half-sisters of the girl who abandoned him. He did that out of the goodness of his own heart and a ridiculous amount of gold coins, and you could see how he ate through A and S-ranked missions and had a lot of money even before arriving up north. He could have chosen revenge and left them to their fate, but chose to free them and flee the country after finding out nobles would go after him."
Sara mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "Then why did he leave me?"
"If you saw the look on your face that day, you would've left too. Rudeus was drunk, tired, hurt, and felt abandoned by yet another person he considered family. And it was right after he considered himself a hero. He rescued three girls from their fate, and the first two people who saw him, people he trusted and cared about in these cold lands, looked at him, judged him poorly, and didn't even give him a chance to defend himself."
I wanted to lay all the blame on Sara; she had made Rudeus's night even worse. Not only that, but she was also part of the reason why I got into a brawl with the surprisingly strong mage and blew twenty gold coins, which were worth two Asura gold coins, on a top-tier escort. It was a great night, but it wasn't worth a month's worth of hard questing, and a large part of that would go to Profen and his protectors rather than the girl.
"B-but, I wanted to talk to him. We may not be lovers, but I wanted to connect with him as family. I've been an orphan for almost five years now. I just didn't know what to do." Sara pleaded as her cries fell on deaf ears.
It wasn't like I could just run up to Rudeus and tell him Sara wanted to talk to him again. That was the worst thing to bring up since I needed his help to raise funds to keep my clan afloat and replace the amount I spent at the Blue Rose.
"And what makes you think I know what to do? I don't have any siblings, and it's been years since I've seen my uncle or my cousins. My mother seems to know who my father is but never even brings it up. Saying his name is a curse upon mankind. In fact, he's the only thing she hates more than noblemen in general, which makes me think he's a noble, too."
I felt the air chill behind me as a shadow fell over my head.
"What's this talk about mothers or family? Didn't I teach you to respect your mother and mind your own business?"
That was my mother, Mary, although, to most people, she was the head of the Elite S-ranked squad, The Amazons, an all-girls group filled with angry women.
"Y-you're re—mmphh." Mary's hands covered Sara's mouth until Alisa signaled an all-clear.
"We're going to need a lot more drinks and privacy. Close the bar." Mary ordered. S-ranked adventurers like her usually get what they want, especially in places like these.
A few awkward minutes later, Sara wanted to ask the obvious question, was the famous leader of the Amazons actually related to the young scoundrel leading the Stepped leader?
"Don't ask, don't tell. If you know the answer, you're smart enough to shut up about it." I tiredly told Sara.
"Aaaanyway, what's this about long-lost family? You're Sara, right? The promising young archer from Counter Arrow, what are you doing here in this godforsaken bar? Only veteran adventurers and those without much to do in their lives go here. My invitation to join the Amazons is still open, you know. Alisa already joined us a few days ago."
Alisa was one of the younger adventurers who showed a lot of promise in a fast-rising B-ranked party. Unfortunately, they took one too many risks and left with enough casualties to disband the party. Alisa joined the Amazons in a heartbeat.
"No, thank you. Counter Arrow is the only family I need. Not some stupid half-brother who can't see, but I wanted to be with him too! He ditched me for his distant cousins from his former lover and left without saying goodbye." Sara regained a measure of defiance and a clear look that she didn't pay attention to half the stuff I said; then again, I was getting buzzed enough to barely remember what I said, too.
"But family is important. You wouldn't know what you're missing until they're gone. Didn't you lose your parents a few years ago?" Mary asked.
Oh no, I don't like the direction this is going.
*Sniff* " Yes." *Sniff* Sara said as she started overthinking while drinking.
"B-but it's also those stupid nobles that ruined everything!" Sara pushed the button I didn't want to see.
"YES! THOSE STUPID NOBLES ALWAYS RUIN EVERYTHING!" There she blows, Mary the Amazon, formerly known as Mary Anne.
She went on a long-winded rant for a few minutes on how nobles promise everything and string you up for everything you could give them, then leave you once it's convenient.
"And that's why noblemen are scum!" Mary ended her rant.
"What about their children?" Sara asked…
I just downed a beer that I swiped off one of the Amazons.
"Hey! That's mine," The girl yelled until she saw why I wanted to drink.
"That depends… their heirs and spares? Utterly disgusting, they live an easy life and take from everyone under them. Even the ones who pretend to be nice and care about the poor? They only do that until they get tired of you." Mary spoke with an extra element of bitterness.
I know Pilemon was an awful and incompetent lord of Milbotts, but my mother seemed to hate the Notos Greyrat house personally, even though she had a general disdain for nobility.
"Yes, it was thanks to that useless lord that I lost my mom and … father? Four years ago." Sara said, with an added pause at the end. I guess the confusion increased ever since she met Rudeus.
"Where do you come from again? I would like to show that scumbag noble a piece of my mind." Mary demanded. Normally, S-ranked adventurers had a bit of leverage, particularly with lower nobles, although I don't think she'd like who's involved.
"...Milbotts…" Sara looked down in shame.
"MILBOTTS! OF COURSE IT'S THE NO-GOOD NOTOS GREYRATS. ALL OF THEIR SPAWN ARE ROTTEN TO THE CORE," Mary shouted, as Sara paled. "well, maybe except, mumble mumble," my mother continued in an uncharacteristically soft whisper.
"Why are you getting pale… oh you must be cold from all that water on your clothes… that is water… right?" Mary gave a tentative sniff around the pale Sara, whom I doused with water a few minutes ago.
"It's because." Sara didn't know what to say; she was a spawn of a "No-good Notos," after all.
"Because what?" Mary asked, her temper drained as she was a lot more tender towards her. "Don't tell me one of those Notos Greyrats tried to take you in bed! Those men would stick it to anything with a hole."
Sara continued to pale even further.
"It's not like that. I didn't have sex with a Notos Greyrat!" Sara defended herself, although Mary knew something was wrong and was about to destroy the bottle she was holding.
I might as well cut through the chase. All this cat-talk makes my inner dog get more confused.
"What she means to say is that the Notos Greyrat she tried to have sex with couldn't get it up, no matter what she tried. Only for her to find out that the said Notos Greyrat is her half-brother! There, why can't you women get the story straight." My beer-fueled mind knew no bounds. What a brilliant move there, Soldat.
"A-a, Notos…. Greyrat? Tell me, who is your father?" Mary said, a lot more silently than I expected, although she gave me a look that promised pain for me later.
"P-Paul… Notos Greyrat, I guess. But he's not my father; my real father was Isaac; he was the one who married my mother and raised me until they died years ago. Paul probably doesn't know I exist. I didn't even know Rudeus was Paul's son until that night, and the way he talked about his family, he was probably raised by Paul." Sara tentatively explained.
Mary suddenly hugged Sara after saying that.
"Oh, there, there, you dodged What could have been an Arrow through the heart," Mary said as she spoke to Sara with a tenderness she didn't show me. Hey, who does she think she is, Sara's mother?
"Hey! Paul kicked out Rudeus, too." I weakly countered, remembering the conversation I overheard at the brothel a week ago. I couldn't say he wasn't raised as a spoiled rich noble kid since he had been part of the Boreas Greyrat household instead.
"Don't bother; look at what they're doing," Alisa told me, pointing at what Sara and Mary were doing.
It didn't seem to matter at that point; the two women were too engaged in their grief and depression.
It made me wonder why my mother hated the Notos Greyrats so much.
Mother was surprisingly a lot nicer to me later that day.
Author's notes
Thanks to Rudy's VA staying the same throughout the whole S2, I get to use his voice to make a "fun" femboydeus disguise.
Thanks, Enro, for giving me the inspiration to make Rudeus touch himself in front of Hitogami. Check Arrow Through the Heart for more context. (It's also a Rudy X Sara story minus the incest?) another fun one is What could've been, by Oldeus, which is also a Rudy X Sara story with a twist.
Rudeus and the three sisters don't know the whole story behind the Greyrat politics, let alone other noble affairs. Still, with their shared trauma involving noble houses and recent context, they are a lot more paranoid than canon Rudy. The girls are also a lot more competent when they're not limited to playing as courtesans and their assistants. (Or maybe I got too much inspiration from Apothecary diaries).
Asura Royal Academy is the same school Derrick Redbat graduated from (I think there's more than one version of the name, but I'll stick to this one.)
Gustaf is a very minor character in LN 5, an information broker at Ars.
Elise's mom knows a lot of things she wasn't supposed to know, and suddenly lost that ability right after the displacement incident… I wonder why? Oh, look, Rudeus met a certain useless god in his dreams right after. Three's the limit, right? Like almost anyone working with that featureless god, Elise's mom met a bad fate. Geese scams their mom shortly after the displacement incident, lol.
I know Philip was not that altruistic towards Rudeus, and he didn't even treat Paul that well when Paul needed his help at the start. It was Sauros who changed things. However, only a few people know exactly what happened, and the ones remaining tell it through rose-colored lenses. (Sauros and Thomas are dead, Paul and Zenith owe Philip, and Philip wants to sound like the hero when he tells the story.)
Rudy traveled far faster than LN 7 canon, meaning he managed to get to Ranoa before Elinalise reached the city and before the magical academy could send an invitation. He's still too late to join Sylphie's batch, but he has time to burn in the city. After all, they were third-year students by the time Rudeus came in canon.
Eris isn't dead, but even canon LN 7 or 8 had rumors of Eris' death spreading around. She was part of a prominent family, after all, and her sudden disappearance right after appearing at Fittoa has blown up rumors.
Rudeus is a lot more low-key and disguised in his travels because he thinks the girls would be in trouble if he exposes himself too much, at least until they get to Ranoa. So he's been doing a delicate balance of building his fame and reputation enough to get his mom's attention while avoiding issues from the nobles who were after him and the girls.
Elinalise only heard about Rudeus and the Red Wyrm in canon during K422/late K421, but in this timeline, she's still on the way to Ranoa when Rudeus travels to Ranoa quickly.
Ah, no, Rudeus, your ED isn't because of incest or anything, lol.
Rudeus didn't accept much money in canon except for big missions after his incident with Sara, apparently focusing more on getting attention for his mom's details and spreading the word about his quest to find her.
Since the Red Wyrm mission happened earlier, Soldat's other magician hasn't died (yet?).
Fitz and Ariel (enrolled in K420) are two years ahead of Canon Rudeus, and Zanoba Cliff is a year ahead (enrolled in K421) of Canon Rudeus at Ranoa University.
I deleted most of the Saga of Rudeus the Evil since I'm rewriting it, but I modified that set of aphrodisiac ingredients and will use it in this universe, lol.
Mary Anne, Soldat's mother here, is Paul's first girlfriend; you can find her in Paul Gaiden. In canon, he leaves her behind as he goes to Lilia's dojo. Mary Anne suddenly gets sick shortly before this time, and Paul says he doesn't want someone to "slow him down," although he sees his sickly mother too much in Mary Anne, so he doesn't want her to die for him. In Paul Gaiden canon, she never marries anyone despite attracting a lot of men. It's easy just to make her "sickness" here pregnancy related, and that she Soldat from that; the timing is right, and it's easy to make Mary a little bit closer to Paul in this timeline. Her main problem with Paul in this timeline is that he never looked for her, and another issue or two that I'll show in the future. Thanks Nazarick1234 from the Mushoku Tensei server for pointing her out to me.
Roxy gets serious shows how Fia, as an unimportant princess from the Millis region, gets a bogus S-ranked quest that was more of an E-ranked quest but had massive security concerns, at least for the noble involved. Other adventures would obviously envy those kinds of quests that bring "easy" money for little effort. More cynical ones think it's just how nobles "donate" to the adventurer's guild and get free credentials in return.
Soldat doesn't have a perfect recollection of Rudy's stories, or his eavesdropping of the three sisters at the brothel, plus he's drunk here too, so he's not totally accurate.
I think it's justified to assume Mary Anne doesn't like Paul at all, especially in a situation like this, assuming the rest of Paul Gaiden happens without her.
Soldat and even Rudeus don't know that Rudeus actually has ED, particularly since Rudeus thinks he's just unattracted to his relatives, so Rudy's ED arc is changed into "unattracted by incest" arc.
Sara will appear again in the future.