chsdbacks Chapter 133 – A Matter of Siblings
Chapter 133 – A Matter of Siblings
Chapter 133 – A Matter of Siblings
— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —
Nearly four months had passed since Nina had visited, and after two weeks, she had returned with her son back to the Sword Sanctum.
She had calmed down quite a bit since I met her all those years ago, but I suppose the passing of time, as well as gaining a family, would make anyone more mature.
While I wouldn’t necessarily call her a close friend, we had talked quite a bit during her time with us, and we got along quite well, especially if Eris was with us.
But either way, regardless of the friendship between the two of us, considering how her visit had been quite fun for Eris, as well as how Anna was able to gain a new friend in her son, I was glad that she had come to visit, and I had invited her to come whenever she wanted.
It was tough for quiet introverts like Anna to gain friendship, after all, but since Nel seemed to be very similar, they got along quite well.
Anyway, with Eris promising to visit them around the same time next year, they departed with happy smiles... after I had used a teleportation circle to get them near the Sword Sanctum, cutting their returning trip down to but a few days.
I had asked Nina to not spread the knowledge to anyone, preferably from Jino as well, and thankfully, she agreed... although, that didn’t really matter, since she already knew about it once Eris came home from the basement on her first day in our home.
And as for the possibility of Jino being an apostle... Orsted told me not to worry too much, as Jino’s commitment to his family wouldn’t make him a good pawn.
But the former Sword God, on the other hand... well, I suppose only time would tell, since no one knew where he was at the moment.
But past that, today marked quite an important event.
After all... it wasn’t every day that my two little sisters became an adult.
And so, with the ninth month of the year upon us...
“Happy birthday!”
There was quite the celebration to be had for the two’s fifteenth birthday.
The party was quite relaxed, with only our close family present, although the girls had already had spent all yesterday together as a sort of ‘girls’ night’, including most of Aisha and Norn’s friends.
As for what they did?
Well... those were secrets that men like me were not privy to, but from the many bags I helped them take back afterwards, as well as how Sylphy and Roxy dragged me to their rooms once they came back with the scent of alcohol on their breath, I think they had quite the fun night.
But interestingly enough, while the party was supposed to be only composed of our close family... there was one person present that did not fit that description.
At least... not yet.
“Brother, I... no, we... have something to say,” Norn said nervously, clutching the hand of the person at her side.
And that very person was Nico... the younger brother of Clara, who had maintained her position as director of the orphanage for all these years.
I see... so it had come to this... I can’t say it wasn’t expected, but still... I felt a bit of pain at seeing them together.
“We... we wanted to introduce our relationship... formally,” Nico added, keeping his chin held high in front of me.
“Y-Yes... and we wanted to wait until I was an adult in order to finalize things... so...” Norn said, her gaze trained directly on me.
Mhmm... how responsible... yes, how very responsible...
“Haha! Wanted to wait? But didn’t I catch you two going at each other’s lips just a few weeks-”
“Shut it, Aisha!” Norn said, racing over to cover Aisha’s mouth, who had appeared from the side.
...So they were already at that point...
No, Norn was fifteen, and is a healthy and beautiful young woman, so something like this was only natural...
“It’s fine... there’s no need to try to hide it...” I said, closing my eyes as I thought over this situation. “But you two... together... interesting...”
I just needed a moment to think... but as for what I should do as Norn’s big brother, that was obvious.
“You two... I trust both of you, especially you, Norn,” I said, placing my hands on each of their shoulders as I turned to Nico, my eyes narrowing. “I trust you, yes... but, if you betray that trust... if you betray her... well, there will be consequences, understood?”
His back straightening, Nico hesitantly nodded his head.
“Good... I won’t tell you to never hurt her, since that is bound to happen, but at the very least... treat her well, and don’t break her heart,” I said, giving him a final pat before letting go.
“Brother...” Norn said with a pout.@@@@
“I know! I just needed to make that clear,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “But... if the two of you are happy... then, congratulations.”
Norn’s pout turned into a smile as she nodded her head.
“Thank you...” she said.
“Don’t mention it... but, do you have any plans?” I asked.
They were both finished with their education, after all.
Although, Nico’s was simply an apprenticeship with a local trader.
“Yes. For now, we plan to move to Ars in a month or so, and while I continue my writing, we are also going to open a library,” Norn said, looking over to my wives who were sharing a drink with Lilia. “Thankfully, we don’t have to worry about anything, as Ariel’s present for me was an old shop that had been abandoned and remodelled under the royal family’s name, while Eris, Roxy, and Sylphy all got me some books to stock the shelves.”
I see... so that’s why they were so secretive about their gifts... so they wouldn’t tell me about Norn’s little secret plan here.
But, well... if she was happy, then that was fine.
I would have been worried about how much she was investing into something right off the bat, but Norn always had an appreciation for books, so I wasn’t too concerned.
But dammit... I was a bit annoyed that they didn’t tell me.
“Well... in comparison to that, my gift might look bad, but here...” I said, handing my present over to her. “It might be something cheap compared to what such a day deserves, but you already know you can come for me for anything, so... I hope you like it.”
The present in question was a medium-sized stuffed animal of a brown bear, one very similar to the old gift I had gotten her so long ago, that had long since worn out of its use.
“B-Brother... this...” she muttered, some tears forming at her eyes as she took the gift. “Thank you...”
Watching her pull the gift into her arms with such a warm expression, I found myself patting myself on the back.
Nice one, me.
“Your old one is quite the antique at this point, so I thought it was time you got a new one,” I said, my gaze moving over to Nico as a slight frown formed on my face. “Although... I guess... in the future... you might want to use it for... your children... I suppose...”
No... don’t gnash your teeth, Leon... keep it together...
“Oh, calm down, Leon,” Eris said, appearing from behind me as she lightly slapped my back before she wrapped her arm around my waist. “She’s an adult now, so she needs to start thinking about those things seriously. And you, as her brother, need to accept it.”
“I... I get that, but... thanks, Eris,” I said, accepting her hug.
She was always great at comforting me... but I might need some more ‘comfort’ later tonight, thinking about how my little sister was leaving the nest already.
“Y-You two! Just what are you talking about so openly!” Norn said, causing me to look back to see her embarrassed face. “T-Talking about kids and stuff...”
Ah... right.
“Hey... Big Brother... you know, I’m an adult now, right?” she said. “So... do you like what you see?”
She then looked down at her chest, causing my eyes to follow her gaze to where her breasts were currently pressed against me.
Well... she really was Lilia’s daughter... but still, I wouldn’t get aroused by such a thing.
“Can you stop making fun of me?” I said, narrowing my eyes at her as I raised my gaze.
“Hehe~ Sorry for trying! But alright, I’ll let you go for now~!” she said, giggling as she hugged me tighter. “And hey... Big Brother... can you sleep over tonight? I plan on moving to Ars like Norn after this, so it would be the last time we can sleep together in this room...”
“Yeah... I can do that,” I said, gently patting her head.
Although... it was a bit troublesome with what she had implied by saying ‘in this room’... but I suppose, just for today, I could ignore it.
It was her birthday, after all.
Even if it ended up being a slightly weird one...
— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —
A few weeks had passed since the... birthday incident, as I would call it, and with Aisha and Norn having both moved to Ars, the city of Sharia felt a little more... empty.
But that wasn’t the matter at hand today.
Instead, it was Anna’s fifth birthday.
And with her interests so obvious... well, there was only one obvious gift to give her.
“Anna... while it may be too big for you at the moment, this is now your sword,” I said, handing her the sheathed blade, my eyes narrowed in seriousness as I knelt down in front of her.
There weren’t many people here for her birthday, consisting only of our family, as the only friend Anna really had outside of us would be Nina’s boy, if you could count that, and he was still in the Sword Sanctum, so unfortunately he couldn’t come.
“Wow! Can I... hold it?” she asked, eyes alight in excitement.
“Yes... but it’s quite heavy. This is meant for when you get older, so you’ll grow into it,” I said, slowly unsheathing the sword, revealing a sleek, double-edged blade, with the handle bearing a large red gem.
This sure brought back memories... yes, this was the old sword I had used until I began using the one the former Sword God gifted to me, and this was the sword that Eris had gifted me for my tenth birthday all those years ago.
I was originally planning to wait until later... but I doubt there was a need to.
After all, Anna loved swordsmanship, and she would likely be the one to inherit my Elemental God style... even though I didn’t really care about passing it on.
But if it protected Anna and made her happy, then I would do it in a heartbeat, and it would be great if this sword got a new owner rather than simply hanging on the wall.
“Woah... and my mana feels funny,” she said, gently gripping the ornate handle.
“Yeah... it helps with that, but you won’t be using this for a while, so for now, just focus on taking care of it while you grow up. I’ll show you how to maintain it later,” I said, gently patting her head as she nodded to me. “And speaking of that... if you still want to learn swordsmanship, then from now on, I will start training you seriously. But it will not be easy... understood?”
“Yes... please, Papa,” she said, looking up to smile at me. “I want to get better, so please train me!”
“Of course... I’ll make you a wonderful swordsman,” I said with a smile.
But if she wanted to use my style, she would definitely need to train her magic too, if not to use magic, then at least to form a better connection with mana and touki.
It would be hard, but... if anyone could do it, it would be my daughter.
— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —
It was the beginning of the year K429, and as a present for my 24th birthday, I was granted with the best news a husband could get.
“Leon... I’m pregnant,” Sylphy said, cupping my face with her hand as she gave me a beaming smile.
Hi pregnant, I’m dad.
No... control yourself, Leon. Don’t fall to such temptations. That’s something that Paul would say.
Instead, I simply wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close as I planted a soft kiss on her nose.
“Congratulations...” I said, returning her smile as she hummed in happiness.
Indeed, she was ecstatic at the news, as she had been quite worried about not getting another chance at getting pregnant after Anna.
She had reason to be, as we had been going at it ‘natural’ style ever since Ars had been born, yet to no avail until now.
I suppose it was only a matter of time before we broke through the barrier of her race’s fertility rate.
“That is wonderful, don’t you think? Now ours will get to be close in age. Practically twins!” Ariel added, joining in on the hug as she looked lovingly down at her belly.
Yes... Ariel was pregnant as well, although we had gotten the news a few weeks ago.
According to Ariel, she was equally happy for the new baby as she was for having an excuse to not be swamped with the kingdom’s issues for around a year, as she would be staying home with us during the later stages of her pregnancy, as well as the first few months of our new child’s life.
Watching the two of them excitedly exchange the possibilities of raising a pair of sisters or brothers, I found myself smiling widely as I pulled them both tighter against my chest.
Of course, I was extremely happy as well.
Although... with two more members joining the family at approximately the same time... there were some... logistical concerns that I needed to think about.
Mainly concerning the house.
It was big, yes... but big enough for four wives with two children from each of them?
That... that was another question.
There were ten rooms in this house, two of them being very large ones, four being large ones, and four being average sized.
One of the very large rooms acted as my room, but was also used for sleeping with all of my wives, including our private activities, and each of Roxy, Sylphy, Ariel, and Eris had one of the four large rooms to themselves, which was sometimes used for sleeping by themselves, but mostly for having their own space in the house.
And as for the kids, each of them had their own rooms, with Roana taking the very large room while the rest had an average sized room, and while Alice was currently sleeping in either my room or Eris’ in her bassinet, once she got old enough, she would end up sharing with Roana.
But now, having two more kids, when Aria and Anna weren’t even close to the age for moving out... that would complicate things.
“What’s the problem, darling?” Ariel said, having apparently noticed my current state. “You look lost in thought... what are you thinking about?”
“Just... wondering what the room situation will look like. Should I look to build an extension to the house?” I said, resting my chin on Sylphy’s head.
“Well... I had been thinking about that as well... but can’t I just share a room with Sylphy?” Ariel said with a smile. “We both usually sleep in your room anyway, and as for having our own space... well, we have the entire palace to ourselves, so there really is no need for that.”
“I know... but this is your home too,” I said.
And her being a Queen didn’t change that.
“It’s our home because we’re all here, silly, not because we get our own rooms,” Sylphy said this time, planting a kiss on my neck. “So I’m more than fine with sharing with Ariel. And then the two younger ones can move into Ariel’s room, right? Easy fix!”
“I... guess that works...” I mumbled.
Right... by the time Ariel and Sylphy’s youngest got old enough to start wanting independence, Aria and Anna should be about ready to move out by then, so they could take those rooms.
Haa... but still, those were all plans for the future, and there was no need to get stuck thinking about them now.