No matter how much I wanna say we immediately set out on the journey the very next moment, I'm afraid that's just not realistic. In reality, we sat back down to finish our drinks in peace before lending everyone a spare pair of clothes and the shower. No matter who they are or where they're from, guests are guests, and if they're gonna be staying the night then I assume they'll want to not be sweaty from their travels.
"Puahh!" Issei just got done showering, "That hit the spot, especially after all that traveling we did."
"Thanks again for the spare clothes." Othelia sheepishly yet respectfully said to Anna, "They're your spares, yet you still offered them to us like it's nothing."
"Oh pish, don't worry about it and just enjoy your shower!" Anna smiled as she guided her to the bathroom, "And stop being so formal, geez! You guys are friends, so please don't hesitate to ask for anything else you may need."
"A-Ah, mhm!" Othelia nodded, her cheeks bright Red as she closed the door to the bathroom, "Kyah!"
"Everything alright!?" Issei panicked a bit.
"Rejoice, naked mortal with the silky White hair, for you will be personally assigned to help me bathe!" A child's voice could be heard from inside the bathroom.
"Looks like Aru somehow snuck inside while we weren't looking." I chuckled, "Sorry about this, Othelia. Just toss her out if she's being annoying."
"No, she just startled me, is all." Othelia's voice could be heard muffled from the other side of the door, "She can bathe with me, I don't mind."
Well, looks like our busy house just got way busier all of a sudden... Damn, the water bill is gonna be horrible to have to deal with once everyone gets their turn, so we should really depart for Mount Ivrys as soon as possible. Even though Aru said something kind of scary, I still think we have a fair shot at getting Grim back. Besides, it's not like having more people to talk to is a bad thing in any case. It definitely helps now that Nelly's out of the house.
"Ed, got a minute?" Cecily called out for us to talk privately outside.
"Hm? No problem." I followed her as we made our way downstairs, "What's up?"
Hold on, this mood... Cecily has something on her mind, I can tell from her tone. She was quite excited when she suggested there might be a way to bring Grim back, but now she's like this all of a sudden. Something's weighing on her mind, and that's only made more apparent by the fact she can only talk to me about it. Hope it's nothing too bad...
"I..." She sighed, "I don't think I can leave Cene behind."
"Eh?" I stood there, a bit surprised by her statement, "Well, I get Anna and my folks aren't the best role models out there, but I'm pretty sure they're capable enough to handle a single child."
"No, I'm not saying that." She chuckled, though her laugh felt forced, "I'm thinking it might be best for me to sit this one out. Leaving my son all alone while I go off adventuring like a kid, I dunno, it just seems too irresponsible..."
"What?" I got kind of worried by now, "But we need you! Your strength will help us immensely if we happen to run into some kind of beast, not to mention the bandits who probably have their sights set on the artifacts at the top."
"Trust me, I know." She shook her head, "But if I had to choose between options A and B, with one being to stay with Cene and the other to leave him and go with you, then I'd have to pick the former. With Lune gone, my kids are the only family I have left."
Oof, that stings. I mean, it's true of course, but it still kind of hurts to have her outright state she doesn't see us as family despite how long everyone's lived in this house together. So then, I wonder, what does that make us? Freeloaders? Ugh, this sucks...
"Then... why not choose option C?" I thought.
"Option C?"
"Yeah. Option C, in other words - we'll take Cene with us!" I smiled.
"Absolutely not." She immediately shot the idea down, "Ed, this isn't a joke, are you crazy? The conditions on the poles are harsh for even the most experienced adventurers, so what makes you think bringing a literal three year old there is in any way a good idea?"
"Hmph! Even that is no problem for a Goddess such as I!" Water droplets fell down on the two of us from the window above. Looking up, the wet Purple haired Aru could be seen poking her head out to answer our prayers, "Are you not forgetting that you have the Goddess' favor when you're with me? With my powers, regulating the temperature of the snow, ice and hail around us is but a cinch!"
"Aru, get back inside!" Othelia pulled her back, "Your hair is still wet, you'll catch a cold!"
"Unhand, silky-smooth skinned mortal! I'm currently in the process of flexing my powers at your companions!" She then sneezed, "Achoo! It's too cold, I'll have none of this!"
Now the next description could be up for debate, since neither Cecily nor I could really see what was happening in the bathroom above us, so just take my words with a grain of salt. After Aru said what she said, I heard what can only be described as a child's feeble attempt to snap her fingers, and immediately after, tons of steam started leaving from the window. Not a moment later...
"Kyaaa! Hot!" Othelia cried out, "D-Did you do that, Aru?!"
"Haha! Who else but me, spiffy clean mortal!" Aru's cackling echoed from the room above us.
Looks like they're having fun... Huh, but wait, did that Aru really somehow control the temperature of the water? Don't tell me, is she actually Allucius? Agh, what the hell am I saying? She probably just turned the tap and surprised Othelia with the boiler's hot water. If this brat is seriously the Goddess of Water, then my respect for the Gods will have fallen even lower than when I got disillusioned by Auros.
"Shall we head inside for now?" I laughed.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Yeah, it's kinda cold out." Cecily smiled.
"So, what's your game plan?" I thought to ask before we reconvened with the others, "Just as a heads up, I'd like to leave as early as tomorrow morning, so please think about it carefully."
"That early, huh?" She groaned jokingly, "Always in a hurry, are you. But I guess... I guess it's good to think outside the box every once in a while."
"Huh, so that means...!"
"Yep!" She walked over to Cene's crib and picked him up in her arms, "We'll be taking Cene with us!"
"Nooooo!" Anna was the first to react to that, "Don't take my baby from me~!"
"He's not your baby, Annie..." Eleanor sighed next to her, "It's the mother's choice what she does with her children, though even I have to admit it's not at all smart."
"Why not?" Cecily started dancing around the room, rocking her son with every step, "He's mine and Lune's son, he can handle a little cold. Besides, Aru said something while we were outside - She said we have the favor of the Gods on our side."
"That is correct." Aru made a rather awkward entrance by carefully sliding down the stairs' wooden handrails, "Ahem, it is as I said! As long as I am with you, no harm shall befall any one of you, for that is the power of the favor of the Gods!"
Ignoring her rather unflashy entrance, not to mention the fact that she was wearing some of Nelly's old hand-me-downs, she really did speak like a God just now. Now this may sound crazy, but I'm inclined to believe her. If I recall correctly, Auros said something similar after the storming of Carmen castle, a battle which had zero casualties on our side, somehow. It's a bit of a gamble to believe her, but if she truly is speaking the truth, then we're golden. Which makes me wonder...
"Ed, where are you going?" Cecily noticed me going into the kitchen and grabbing a knife, "No, wait-!"
"Ed!" Anna shouted at the top of her lungs once she saw me plunging the knife straight into my shoulder.
"Son!?" My parents almost got a heart attack from witnessing this, "This idiot...!"
"Ah, I see." Aru smiled as she toddled over to me, "Ever since we've met, you've done nothing but impress me with your ceaseless daring actions, Edward Saint. Quite a genius way to prove I am who I am."
"What are you...!?" Cecily looked on as Aru put her hand on me, only for the knife wound to immediately disappear, "Huh...?"
"You got lucky. Just a few centimeters lower and you would've hit a critical spot. There'd be no saving you then, but I guess that also serves as a way for me to prove the Gods' favor is a real thing."
"Aru, what's going on here...?" Anna slowly made her way over to me, dumbfounded, "Y-You... healed him."
"Wrongo, I just sent his body back in time by a few seconds." Aru corrected her, "The Gods can do that much to anyone, but in order to do so, we'd have to exchange our own lifetime by that amount."
"So, you're gonna die sooner, is that it?" I asked.
"What? No, are you stupid?" She rolled her Eyes at me, "The Gods are not mortals, we do not have a finite lifespan. Gods just dislike tampering with the natural course of the timeline, so we rarely get involved with mortals. Still, this much should be fine, I only did it because the wound was so new."
What the hell? Then why even bother explaining how you Healed me if you have no ramifications for it? What the hell is up with this twerp...
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"But still!" I chuckled, "Now I have proven for a fact that you are...!"
"I am~?" She smiled.
"You are...!" I shouted after pausing for dramatic effect, "Not the Goddess Allucius!"
"Whaaaaat~!?" She cried out, "What the hell, how much more proof do you need, stupid mortal!?"
"I saw it! While you were Healing me, your Eyes glew Green, just like Grim's did!" I explained, "You're no Goddess of Water, you're just an Iro Wielder!"
"Uuuugh, stupid mortal! We Gods invented Iros, as well as their Abilities, because we wanted this Universe Cycle to be more interesting!" She groaned, "Don't you get it? Every time your friend cast Heal, he unknowingly shortened his own lifetime bit by bit!"
"Grim did?" I stopped to think, "But then..."
"I already know what you're gonna ask, so I'll answer the question ahead of time - No, it wasn't by much." She shook her head, "He rarely reverted his or other people's lifespans by much, so realistically he only shortened it by a few days. Even still, that rule only applies to him if he died of old age. Getting killed prematurely by Vivia had nothing to do with it."
She knows who Vivia is? Damn, I don't remember anyone talking about it with her, there's just no way she would know about this... It's getting tougher and tougher to believe her, but on the other hand I need her to be the Goddess so we can bring Cecily and Cene with us...!
"You guys..." Issei finally showed up, wearing my spare indoor clothes, "What the hell happened here? Why is your kitchen all bloodied up?"
"Long story short, I stabbed myself." I showed him the hole in my shirt where my shoulder is.
"That's a horrible shortened abbreviation!" He shouted, "B-But your wound isn't there... Don't tell me - Did Aru Heal you up with her Goddess powers so that she could prove to everyone her true identity?"
"This kid's way too quick on the uptake." Aru chuckled.
"How the hell did you guess that correctly?" I asked him with a befuddled expression.
"Ha-ha, these types of tropes are way too common in my home world's stories." He bashfully scratched his cheek, "Though usually the main character awakens to some form of godlike powers."
In that moment, there was a short pause. Everyone turned to look at me expectantly, after which I turned to Aru with an equally expectant gaze. She sighed with a quick chuckle before breaking the news that that is, in fact, not going to happen. Shame.