"So yeah, that's basically how they went." I sighed, "Both died by getting shot. Kind of ironic when you think about it..."

"How so?" Eleanor tilted her head.

"I guess you wouldn't know this, but Grim was actually the person who invented AFPs, which later led to people making other forms of guns." I explained, "I wonder, how would the world look like had he never made them? Would either of them still be alive had he not tinkered with wrong items...?"

"Then..." Issei gulped, "It's all my fault, huh?"

"Issei?" Othelia sounded puzzled.

"Lune, he had the skills to create whatever he wanted. He would have probably made some good things on his own." Issei confessed, "But it was thanks to me that he became the Famed Inventor."

"So, you mean to say..." I gulped.

"Yeah, we met back when he was just starting out, struggling to make ends meet." He spoke nostalgically, "Back then, he actually had imagined some sort of Firestarted prototype, but it was prone to exploding at any given moment. That's when I showed up to help him perfect it with my own practical knowledge."

"So you..." I stammered for a bit, "No, wait. You said he had imagined a prototype on his own. He would've made it no matter what, that's just the kind of person he is, so don't beat yourself up about it."

"Always so quick to defend your man." Eleanor teased, "I don't even think Anna's like that with you."

"Eleanor, not the time." I told her to zip it, "The adults are talking."

"I'm an adult too, dammit!" She got all fuzzy, "I'm only a few years younger! Grr, besides, I'm not a kid, you're just old!"

"I'm in my prime!" I shot back.

"28 is old!" She shouted, angering literally everyone in the room but Cene, "Ah."

"Well if that's the case, daughter dearest..." Our parents loomed over her, "Then what does that make us, I wonder...?"

"Eep! I-I didn't mean it like that!" She almost pissed her pants.

As everyone was busy gritting their teeth at my stupid sister, it seems our guests couldn't help but find the situation humorous. Laughing with a thousand roars, the two actually got so loud they felt the need to stop and apologize.

"I see this house is just as lively as I remember it, no matter who its inhabitants are." Issei cackled, "But man, we really are old aren't we?"

"Hey now." Othelia glared at him.

"I'm just saying, it's already been 12 years since then..." He thought, "12 years since I came to this world, huh...?"

"Eh? You're twelve!?" I jolted.

"No, I'm an old guy to your sister as well." He chuckled, "It's actually why I wanted to come talk to Lune in the first place. I needed some help around a personal endeavor, but it seems that'll have to be done alone."

"Y-You're not alone..." Othelia squirmed in her seat next to him.

"Hm?"

"Ugh, what I'm saying is!" She jumped up from her seat angrily, "Don't just undermine your longest travel companion, dammit! If anyone's gonna reach Mount Ivrys, then it's gonna be us!"

"Mount Ivrys!?" The annoying little brat who promised to patiently wait outside busted our door open, "I wanna go! It's almost time, anyways!"

"Time?" Cecily ignored the dent on the wall the little girl caused, "Time for what?"

"The meet!" She sounded proud, "The meet of the Gods!"

Whoa, this girl sure did her homework to fit the impersonation. It's well-known that the Gods come together on Mount Ivrys every 10 years to keep in touch, but for a little girl like her to know at such a young age... I dunno, it's sort of impressive.

"What's your real goal here?" Issei once again asked just to make sure.

"I told you!" She pouted with all her might, "I am none other than the Water Goddess Allucius!"

"Hm, alright then." Issei shrugged, "But that name really doesn't fit a girl, so I'll just keep it short with a nickname. Would you prefer Aru or Rushi?"

"Neither! Allucius is my name, don't mess it up, mortal!" She got mad, "Hm? How odd, I should be omnipotent about the people of this world, but your identity is strangely foreign..."

"Humu, so you finally understood...!" Issei flashed the flashiest pose you can imagine in the middle of our living room, "That's right, your godlike powers work not on me, Aru, for I am not of this world!"

"..." She glared at him in silence, "Don't call me Aru, mortal."

"But A-loo... Aloushi... A-loo-shasu is such a tough name to pronounce!" He twisted the shit out of his tongue as he confessed, "It's my Japanese accent, I can't say my L's all that well."

"Hmph, fine." She sighed, "But only because you're strangely the only one who believed me from the get-go."

"Right, why the hell would you humor her with this?" I asked.

"Eh, I'm used to it." He chuckled, "The stories of my homeland often had these tropes."

Ah, so we're dealing with another bookworm. Looks like Grim really knows how to pick his studious friends... First it was me, then he often hung out at the library and got closer to Cecily, then he somehow met Meil and managed to get his respect, and now this guy? What the hell, it's like the main secret to success is the friends he's made along the way or some fairy-tale shit like that.

"Hey, why don't I join you guys, then?" I suggested something outlandish.

"Eh!?" Anna and Eleanor were the first to drag me down, "And who's gonna take care of mother and father, then!"

"They're not fucking reprobates, they can live on their own!" I shouted, "Gah, besides, I promised to help finish Grim's journey off properly, which includes tying up all his loose ends, and I intend to follow through with that. At the end of the day, that's what it means to be a true best friend, doesn't it?"

"You just wanna get away from your folks." Issei chuckled, "It's written all over your face, you know?"

"Is that really it, son?" Dad got a bit peeved at me once the cat got let out of the bag, "One would assume you'd come to respect what your parents have done for you after all this, yet you still choose to leave?"

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Yeah, that's precisely the case." I laughed, "The only thing you did is help me survive, I've come to learn that. But surviving isn't everything, I wanna live."

"And we made sure you did...!" Mom tried to speak up.

"Like hell you did!" I got up, "You only tied me down to our shithole little village! It was Grim who taught me there's way more to the world than just waiting for yet another day to pass! Besides, none of this would ever have come to pass had Grim and I not chosen to leave back then! This house, Anna, Cecily, Nelly, hell even the money used to pay for Nelly's education! None of it would be here had I stayed with you, so if you'll excuse me, I'd like to see what else the world has to offer!"

"Son..."

"Hehee~...!" Aru giggled, "I like you, mortal! You've got spunk!"

"Hearing that from a literal child, God or not, is really not a compliment." I shivered, "Well, if I'm to go with these two, then I guess I have no other choice but to believe you as well, Water Goddess Aru."

"That's not my name!" She got fussy.

"Yeah, yeah." I lifted her up by the pits as I mounted her on my neck, "I'm still kind of scared of possibly using the Goddess' name in vain, so bear with it."

"Then I'll be joining in as well." Cecily's Eyes gleamed, "With all the Gods at one place at the same time, I might be able to get Lune back if I'm lucky."

"Oh, ohhh!" I gave her an excited high five, "That's genius! If anyone can do it, then surely it's gotta be the guys that made this world!"

"Nah, that got patched." Aru said in a dead tone, her Eyes resembling a dead fish, "Ever since Selzion started his project, the other Gods kind of lost jurisdiction of the dead. If you want your husband back, I'm afraid you should give up."

"I..." Cecily seemed saddened before psyching herself up resolutely, "I'm not gonna let the words of a little girl discourage me!"

"Oi, I'm older than all of you mortals combined times a googol!" She remarked, "Then again, time is irrelevant, so who cares how many zeroes go behind the first few numbers?"

This twerp really does sound confident in her knowledge, maybe she really is...? Heh, like that could be the case. I'd eat my words if she was actually the Water Goddess Allucius. But still, getting Lune back is of course an important part of this journey, but I have another side-quest in mind...

"So hey, if you really are Allucius, then you would surely know where Prylos is, right?" I felt it needed to be asked.

"Why should I know? The Gods are omnipotent about mortals, since we created you, but we know nothing of each other when we separate." She clicked her tongue at me, "Use your brain, mortal - Why would we even meet every ten years at the furthest reaches of the world if we could just telepathically speak to each other at all times?"

"Fair point..." I felt pretty stupid.

"And not only that, but why would I even ask a stupid mortal like you if you were my dearest if I knew for a fact where he was?" She kept adding insult to injury, "Of course I knew who you were, Edward Saint, but under each and every single one of you could lie my dear Ouroboras, so I just had no other choice but to make sure."

"She's got you there, dude." Issei teased in a friendly manner, "Then, the party's all set? Othelia, Ed, Cecily, Aru and I will be going, anyone else wish to tag along?"

My family is obviously feeling pretty lonely right now. They finally assembled together after all these years, only for their ungrateful son to leave just like he did before. Well, I don't intend on taking them or Anna to a potentially perilous journey, but I do have one girl in mind who's prowess I simply cannot overlook.

"I nominate sis." I pointed to a startled Eleanor, "She's taking up cartography, so if anyone knows the fastest route there, it's gotta be her."

"Me!?" She darted her Eyes around the room, "B-But, mom and dad, they'll be...!"

"Don't worry about it, I'll be sure to take good care of them!" Anna flashed her a type of thumbs up that only a sister-in-law can achieve, "Leave it to me!"

"Ah, but of course, we won't take you if not everyone is in agreement." I turned to our lovingly strict parents, "What do you guys say? Care to finally let your daughter see the world once in a while?"

"Son, you're taking yet another one of our children with you..." Dad got angry.

"Dear, I think Eleanor is old enough to make her own decisions." Mom came to the rescue, "Eleanor dear, you know we love you and only want the best for you, so choose now who you're picking - us or your brother?"

Waiting on her to answer felt like ages, but that's just the kind of girl my sister is. She's studious and booksmart, but it takes her a while to wrack her brain before she comes up with an answer. But when she does finally speak up, I can rest easy in knowing that she said the right thing. That type of not-so-critical but still correct line of thinking is exactly what we need in a journey where we've got all the time that we need.

"Why'd you gotta phrase it like that...?" She sighed, "Fine, I'm coming with, but only because Annie's staying here to protect mom and dad. Gods know I need to take care of my brother, otherwise he'd cause all sorts of trouble for the rest of the team."

"Of course I know!" Aru suddenly piped up, "He's got such a weak aura, the only times he can be successful are when he piggybacks off of Lune and company! Ahaha!"

"Oi, zip it. You're opening an old wound on my heart." I spun around in place to throw her off balance.

Well, I guess that's that. The party is decided with me, Issei and Cecily as the fighters, Othelia and Eleanor on map duty among other things, and we'll be bringing Aru along just in the slightest chance she can actually help take us to the Gods. This serves as both a way to help Issei and Othelia finish their honeymoon trip around the world, as well as to find out once and for all if seeing Lune alive and well again is possible! Don't get discouraged, don't get discouraged!