"...Huh?" He wondered why I didn't get my chest shot through, "What the-? This thing jammed!"

The Sinus Wave saved me again, luckily. Though upon inspecting the gun, one could easily ascertain that it didn't jam, but rather had no bullets in it to begin with. How odd, he had no reason to scare me like this, but he's also definitely not the type to make such a crucial mistake as to go to this place without loading it. But damn, didn't I tell those guys to make sure he throws away all his weapons? I would have died had it not been for this blunder of his...

"Heh, you all owe me ten bucks, suckers." A smug maidenly voice echoed from the entrance.

"That voice...! Othelia!" I looked over to the crowd forming around us.

"For the record, I also didn't wanna blindly trust this guy to not try and pull something on Meil." Eleanor raised her hand, "So, ehe, you guys owe me too."

"Whatever, it was me who took the magazine out when he wasn't looking." Othelia crossed her arms.

"What!? Othelia...!"

"Hey now, just split it 50/50." Issei tried intervening.

"Hell no, she didn't do jack." Othelia hissed.

"Alright, then 25/75."

"What? I call favoritism!" Eleanor pouted.

Issei had now finally realized that the issue of dating two women at the same time means he has to deal with both of their bullcrap as well. I cannot speak from experience, but I don't exactly think the sex is worth it when you counterweigh it with this.

"Heh, hypocrite." Rotriko found himself cornered, so he begrudgingly got up and even helped me up as well, "You told me to trust you and not pull anything, yet here you are calling your all your co-conspirators to beat me up."

"I did not-!"

"Shut up, will ya'?" He grabbed his head, "The deal's still on, right?"

"Bahahah!" Nelly laughed in his face, "You almost killed Meil, and you still have the gall to ask such a stupid question?!"

"If you wish for us to resolve this matter peacefully, I would be more than happy to re-offer you the money." I nodded in spite of that, "Rotriko Cochère, was it? What I am offering you is illegal, despicable, and most probably highly embarrassing on your end if you wish to accept due to your job. I am offering you a bribe, or rather, a trade - All this money here, that could easily buy you an entire island resort and then some, but in exchange you give all of us a pass on this entire situation."

"Yeah." Lune and Edward agreed, "Nelly, he just wants to continue his peaceful days with everyone. The people he killed back then were out to get him, and he only did so because he felt he had no other choice."

Well, looking back, I had a ton of alternative less lethal choices I could have made in regards to Aguilar and Heffer. But then again, back then I didn't have these guys to turn me away from that bloody path. Yeah, if I hadn't called Edward and Lune, if Issei didn't happen to stumble across us with his harem, if Lee and Nelly hadn't moved in when they did, and many more of my friends and allies had helped me in my time of need... I would have killed Rotriko mercilessly, just like I did Aguilar's group.

"Tch, I still feel like he deserves at least some degree of ass-whooping." Lee clicked his tongue, "The bastard got past Ed and I like that! Why'd he have to be diplomatic now of all times?"

"Is that even a question at this point?" Even Rotriko joined in on the comedic conversation, "I have no allies of my own, I'm surrounded by the enemies who will either beat me up or pay me with a larger fraction of Simpleton's funds, and most of all - I can finally buy a proper detective's office and start my own company."

"Cheh, you're gonna need the money, in that case." Lune smirked, "But hey, don't go investigating us again as soon as you do set up shop. Otherwise you'll be in for a world of hurt."

"Yeah, I heard ya'." He picked up a single byte off the floor, "But I wonder, with all this money, wouldn't you agree that it could potentially be a burden more than a blessing?"

"...No, there is simply no way that is the case." I said flat out after a long pause.

"Well then, I guess this place is mine now, then." He turned around before anticlimactically shooing us away, "Leave or I'll call the police."

And so, we settled yet another issue like that, but it doesn't really feel like we've won all that much. Whilst it's true that I no longer have to worry about spending my money constantly, and Rotriko is no longer an enemy, or at least not an active one, I still can't help but curse myself for not at least taking even a single backpack's worth of terabytes for the road. You see, now that I gave him all my money, I don't exactly have the funds to pay for even the food in the house anymore, much less the house's monthly expenses in general.

"Oh shut up and stop worrying already!" Nelly shouted as soon as we opened the front door to my house, "We did it! We won, so now we gotta throw a party to celebrate!"

"YAAAA-!" Eleanor shot her arms up into the air immediately before realizing no one else was feeling it, "-aaay..."

"Well, we can certainly call over everyone else for a fun little get-together..." Ed scratched his head before turning to Issei, "But you're gonna need to stop dawdling and truthfully tell me when my sister's gonna be leaving this world."

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***

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"Huh? Bro?" Eleanor yelped.

"Wait, this is weird." Lune furrowed his brows, "Ed's actually condoning these two's relationship?"

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"Uh-huh." Lee nodded before whispering over to Nelly and me, "So what'd I miss?"

"A heck ton." Nelly summed it up a bit too briefly.

"H-Hold on a sec, Ed. What's going on here?" Even Issei let out a confused and anxious whimper.

"Sigh, I really don't wanna have to say goodbye to my sis, but..." He looked at her, "She isn't a kid anymore. If she wants to, and if you and Othelia can promise me that you'll make her happy over there, then I really have no reason to argue on the matter."

"W-Wait, Ed!" Eleanor raised her voice, "I-I've already given up on going with them, it'd make mom and dad sad!"

"Sis." He returned her a melancholic smile, "YOU'LL be sad if you stay here and let them go."

"Ed..."

"Welp, no matter how you slice it, I can't argue against Issei being good guy." Edward chuckled, "He's kind, funny, doesn't let any nonsense get to him, but also cares deeply for the ones he loves. Plus, at least the guys can all attest to his incredible combat mastery. I'm sure you won't get into any trouble with the beasts that lurk in his world."

"Ah, we don't have beasts there." Issei corrected him, "Actually, there's no danger at all if you live in a well-off country, which is like 99% of the Earth."

"Yeah, but the wars must be like, huge."

"Mn, maybe like a hundred years ago. But we live in an era of peace, at least that's how I left it."

"...T-Then, the slavery?" Edward weakly raised his finger.

"That was abolished and made illegal in most countries ages ago." Issei shook his head, "Well, not to say it doesn't still happen, but that's a different culture than the one in Japan."

"Well fuck me, can we come too?!" Edward gave up.

"Hey now, no need to be rash." Lune and I calmed him down.

"Don't touch me!" Edward shook us off before clinging to Issei, Eleanor and Othelia, "You three! Sniffle, you better life a happy life over there!"

"Well yeah, I wouldn't drag them into a hellhole, y'know." Issei joked.

"Dammit, way to ruin the mood..." Eleanor began sobbing, "Idiot Issei."

"Seriously, I'm not good with these emotions." Even Othelia shed a few tears before ruining the enchanting moment, "The last time I was like this was when Issei and I started dating and did it on that rock in the middle of the woods."

"To this day, I still get nightmares about getting wrung dry on that damned rock..." Issei shivered.

So Edward is letting his sister go with Issei and Othelia to another world. What a guy. Honestly, I do not have any siblings, so I can't exactly know for certain what it would feel like to make this decision, but even I know it wasn't easy to make. He must've contemplated it a lot, but I can understand that if he truly wants what's best for his sister, he has to let her go.

"Well, that's sweet and all." Nelly raised an important point, though, "But it's not like you guys are leaving tonight or anything. You can go whenever you want."

"About that, we don't have anything else to do here, and in fact Aru did tell us to leave before the end of the month." Othelia explained.

"That's in 3 days, though." Lee groaned, "Geez, Issei, when did you plan to tell us you were leaving so soon?"

"I was kind of scared to tell you." He glanced at his girls, "And I also didn't know how to deal with convincing Ed to let Eleanor go with us."

"So now you're gonna shift the blame on me, huh?" Edward crossed his arms.

"What? No, I would never-!"

"Psh, once a dick, always a dick." Edward refused to hear him out, "Come on, who's gonna go call everyone else over? Looks like this get-together's turned more into a farewell party than anything."

"I'll let Lemmy know to go look for Kiria, Jelena and the others." Lee nodded.

"But hey, what's the point of a party if there's no drinks and snacks to go along with it?" Lune nudged Edward, "Leave that part to us, our treat!"

"I'll come along too." Issei sheepishly asked to join.

"Dude, leave me be." Edward rejected him, "I'm tired as shit, the least you could do is not make me have to look at your face too much until you pack up and leave."

"W-Wait, brother-in-law!"

"O-Oi, don't call me that!"

And so, they left the house. Confused on the situation presented before us, Eleanor and Othelia sat down on the couch, and Nelly and I on the chairs adjacent to them.

"This has been the craziest past few days in my life." Nelly heaved a long sigh, "And this is coming from the girl who hails from a burning building."

"Trust me, as someone who apparently trekked the entire desert until he got to Oden as a toddler, I can completely understand." I smiled, "Indeed, that just does not compare to what this week entailed."

"The desert?" Othelia and Eleanor seemed intrigued.

"I do not know who my parents are, nor my birthplace." I shook my head, "Actually, the entire reason why I am studying here in Simpleton is to find out more about my past, but I got sidetracked and accidentally left Nelly with the burden."

"...Yeah, it's tough, I still don't even have a single lead." Nelly replied after a short pause, "But I won't give up! I'll definitely find out everything about you one day, Meil!"

"Mhm, I am looking forward to it." I gave her a high five, "Then Nelly, I hope you can continue to take care of me until then."

"Until!? I'll continue to support you even after that!" She pouted, "Until the end of my life, at least!"

"Are you suggesting there is more to life after you die?"

"I sure hope so!" She puffed her cheeks out, "I don't wanna have to say goodbye to you so soon!"

"Ah, these two really remind me of the three of us." Eleanor noted.

"Seriously? What we have pales in comparison to these two." Othelia smirked.

That's... I guess that is true.