Chapter 608: Revisiting, and Reunion

The note posted on the entrance of Grandpa’s house read: ‘Contact me immediately when you arrive, stupid son.’

I wonder if this has been stuck here ever since they realized what we were up to. It’s dirty in places and even a bit torn. Since this whole area is Grandpa’s property and the neighbors are far away, hardly anyone would have seen it, but… from the note, I feel Mom’s anger, or rather, her obsession of “I absolutely won’t let you escape!” For a moment, I considered ignoring it and pretending, “There was no note?” but it’s clearer than fire that ignoring this would double her rage. I didn’t have the courage to call, so I just typed ‘We arrived…’ in an email and, after hesitating many times, sent it. I actually sent it. If they drive fast, they can get here in about an hour. One hour until the hellish lecture…

“Father, hurry and let’s go inside!”

“Grand Duke! Open the lock~!”

Linne and Allis were making a racket at the entrance, looking like they couldn’t wait. Their energy is high. There’s too much of a gap between them and me.

“Listen, okay? You take off your shoes at the entrance before entering. In Japan, wearing shoes inside is basically strictly prohibited.”

“Okay!”

As I tried to unlock the entrance, I heard Sue and Steph’s voices behind me. Last time, everyone except Yae went up with their shoes on, after all. I unlocked the door and opened it with a clack. The lights flickered on in the dim entryway. When I turned around, Leen was flipping the light switch, and Quun was biting onto that idea.

“Mother, is that an ‘electricity’ switch!?”

“That’s right. With this, lights turn on even in distant places. Just like this.”

Leen was flipping the entrance and hallway lights on and off with a snap-snap. Thanks to that, the children wanted to do it too, and we ended up with the lights flashing snap-snap-flicker-flicker. Stop it. Yumina and the others took the children and guided them through the house. As expected, the TV was popular, and everyone was glued to the screen. I’ve shown them movies, so they should know what it is, though. By the way, since it was morning, the programs were mostly news. Quun seemed interested in various home appliances, opening and closing the microwave lid clack-clack, and opening the rice cooker lid clack-clack. Come to think of it, it was the same last time, but we can’t cook rice for everyone with this rice cooker… Should I buy a commercial rice cooker? No, if I cook multiple times and store it in [Storage] one after another, it shouldn’t be a problem, right? Still, it is twenty people… A large rice cooker might be necessary after all.

“Father, outside! Let’s go outside!”

Perhaps bored of the TV saying only difficult things, Linne pulled on my arm. Yeah, I want to go, you know. But your Father is awaiting sentencing… However, it would be a pity to keep the children cooped up when we finally came to Earth. If there was something to play with…

“Ah, there was a video game that Sue and Sakura played when we came before.”

“Ooh, that one! Umu, let us play with that together!”

At my suggestion, Sue ran up the stairs to the second floor with a dadada. She probably went to get the old video game console and cartridges stored in the closet. Soon, Sue came down holding the box containing the console and cartridges. We connected it to the TV immediately, and she started a match against Sakura.

“Steph! Observe my strength well!”

“Yoshina, you should watch Mother’s strength.”

What the two are playing is a fighting game that was a huge hit a long time ago. Sue chose a Sumo wrestler with Kumadori makeup, and Sakura chose a giant pro wrestler. Why did you pick such quirky characters…? The children were also engrossed in watching the match, which was a back-and-forth battle. Sakura won the first match by landing a piledriver. In the second match, Sue decided the bout with a flurry of continuous slaps.

“Mother, there! Charge in right there!”

“Ununu!”

“Mother, don’t let them get away! Catch them!”

“Gumumu!”

A heated match unfolded, but in the end, Sue’s Sumo wrestler landed a rocket headbutt and became the winner.

“I did it!”

“Unuu…!”

From there, the children excitedly joined the fighting game one after another, shouting “Me too, me too!”. Before I knew it, it had turned into a tournament style where the rule was “switch if you lose”. The strongest was, as expected, Kuon, who fought by calmly reading the opponent’s moves and landing counters. A steady fighting style typical of Kuon. Well, that’s fine, but why did he choose the electric-shock wild child character…? While watching the children noisily enjoying the game like that, I drank the tea Lucia poured for me and relaxed warmly. The tea leaves had been left out. Mom and the others probably visited here many times. That means the utilities like electricity, water, and gas might have been connected by Mom and the others, not God Almighty. While I was thinking about that, I noticed a noisy engine sound approaching from the distance. It… It came…! I ran to the garden window and saw a small red car coming toward us from the bottom of the hill. A Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i. It’s Mom’s beloved car inherited from Grandpa. It’s a car that has been modified in various ways and given an outrageous tune-up by a hobbyist engineer friend of Grandpa’s. That Mini Cooper raced up the hill in the blink of an eye and drifted to a stop in front of the garden. The driving is rough as always!

“What’s that, what’s that!”

“A Magic Power Car… Ether-Vehicle…?”

“It’s a car! So cool!”

The children stuck to the window in excitement. As soon as I saw Mom appearing after forcefully opening the car door, I moved away from the window and hid behind the sofa. It’s a Hannya. A Hannya is there…

“Touyaaa!”

“Hii…!?”

Mom’s footsteps went around the garden and headed toward the entrance. Along with the sound of the door opening with a clack, Mom’s voice flew toward the living room.

“You really…! Whoa!? What is this number of shoes!?”

I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m sorry there are so many shoes. There are twenty of us! The footsteps stopped for a moment, but soon the sound of doka-doka walking down the hallway approached.

“Touya, just what on earth did you…! Eh!?”

Mom, who burst into the living room, froze upon seeing the children and my wives. Well, she would be surprised. With this many children.

“Umm… a daycare center…?”

“It has been a long time, Mother-in-law.”

Yumina stood up and bowed elegantly. Mom, who was dumbfounded, finally rebooted upon seeing that.

“Um, Yumina, right?”

“Yes. Yumina Brunhild… no, I am Mochizuki Yumina. I am happy to be able to meet you like this, not in a dream.”

When Yumina answered with a smile, a voice saying, “Whoa, what are these shoes!?” came from the entrance. It’s Dad. They came together. Since both work from home.

“Tsuzuri-san, Touya-kun is… Eh!? D-Daycare center…?”

His reaction is the same as Mom’s. Similar couple. In the arms of Dad who entered the living room, a little girl blinking her eyes was being held. The girl had her hair in twintails and was wearing cute pink clothes. My younger sister, Fuyuka. She’s gotten big… I think she’s still just under two years old.

“!? You… Are you Touya!?”

“…Crap.”

Fuyuka was so cute that I leaned out from behind the sofa. It’s the child form of her own son. There’s no way she wouldn’t notice.

“Uh, um, long time no see… Ah!?”

Since I was busted, there was no helping it, so I decided to resign myself and greet her… but before I could, hands were firmly inserted under my arms and I was lifted up.

“Touichiro-san! Look! It’s Touya, Touya from when he was a child! Amazing!”

“Well now… It really is. I don’t know what on earth is happening, but I’m happy.”

Mom lifted me up, thrust me out toward Dad, and shook me up and down bun-bun. Sto-stop it…! I’m gonna get sick…! The stuff inside will come out!

“Um, Mother-in-law, that’s enough…”

“Oops, my bad.”

Urged by Yumina, I was finally released. Fuyuka isn’t being treated like this too, right? I won’t be responsible if she goes delinquent in the future.

“Now, how about you explain everything up to now. Let me tell you, if you try to gloss over it…”

“Umm… I will speak concisely…”

Receiving a gaze that made me cower, I finally had to explain this situation to my parents.

◇　◇　◇

“I see… You got permission from God to visit home, and children came from the future… wait, I don’t get it!”

Well, you wouldn’t. Even I still find it hard to believe. Dad opened his mouth while looking around at the children in the living room.

“Umm… does that mean all the children here are mine and Tsuzuri-san’s grandchildren…?”

“Ah, no, Allis over there is the only one who isn’t our child; she’s Kuon’s fiancée next to her.”

“Fiancée!? He already has a marriage partner at that age!? Wait, Kuon?”

Well, he would be curious. It’s the same name as Grandpa. When Mom turned her gaze to Kuon, Kuon stood up straight and bowed pekori.

“Nice to meet you, Grandfather, Grandmother. I am the eldest son of Mochizuki Touya, called Mochizuki Kuon. I am extremely happy to be able to meet you two on this occasion.”

“Ah, haah…”

“H-Hello…”

The two were dumbfounded by Kuon’s fluent greeting. Yeah, I was like that too when I first met Kuon. As I was immersed in memories like that, my arm was yanked by Mom.

“Wait wait wait, Touya! Is this child really your son!?”

“That’s somewhat rude… Does that mean you don’t think he’s of your bloodline? Didn’t Dad’s blood just come out stronger? Ouch!?”

“One word too many.”

A fist was dropped on my head. What the hell, I just stated a fact! But I think personality-wise, he has parts close to Mom too. Like having no mercy for enemies, or the cold-heartedness to corner opponents thoroughly.

“Kuon… You named him after Father-in-law.”

“Seems so. The one who named him was the future me, so I can’t really say, though.”

“Umm, who is this child’s mother…”

“It is me. He is Touya-san and my son. Polite, overflowing with a sense of justice, and kind to girls; he is a very well-made son I am proud of!”

Muhu! Yumina puffed out her chest with a smug face. Perhaps inspired by that, the other wives started introducing their own children one after another.

“Father-in-law, Mother-in-law! This child is mine and Touya-sama’s daughter, Arcia!”

“This child is mine and Touya’s daughter, Steph!”

“This is my and Danna-sama’s daughter, Yakumo. The eldest daughter of the Mochizuki family…”

From there, it was a rapid-fire introduction time. Dad and Mom were flustered as they patted each one’s head. I also introduced Allis at the end, and with this, everyone’s introduction was tentatively finished. It was a bit funny that Mom made a complicated face when being called ‘Grandma’ or ‘Grandmother’.

“Umm, from the top: Yakumo, Frei, Quun, Yoshina, Arcia, Elna, Linne, Kuon, Steph. And Kuon’s fiancée Allis… Okay, I memorized them.”

Mom looked over everyone and nodded repeatedly as if confirming. Beside her, Dad was also nodding slightly.

“It’s like I’ve become a nursery school teacher or something.”

Dad said that with a slight bitter smile. Well yeah, there are a lot… Since there are many wives, it’s only natural, so to speak.

“By the way, it seems you came in that form last time too, but why the child form?”

Mom threw a question about my appearance at me, although late in the game. By “last time,” she probably means the report she had a detective or someone investigate.

“Technically, I’m supposed to be dead in this world, right? If such a person were wandering around, it would cause a huge uproar, and it touches upon the rules of this world. I want you to keep this absolutely secret. If this gets out to the public, I won’t be able to come to Earth ever again.”

This is the important part. This homecoming is strictly due to God Almighty’s kindness. I cannot break that. When I emphasized that, Dad nodded deeply.

“I see… Indeed, a dead person coming back to life can only be called a miracle of God.”

“Right, if your heart just stopped there might still be a possibility of resuscitation… but we completely cremated you, and even interred the bones…”

“Ah, apparently those bones are fake. God pulled my body and soul to the Divine Realm from the coffin before my remains were burned, and put fakes in there.”

Hearing my explanation, the two widened their eyes. Well, they would be surprised. I was surprised hearing it recently too. Well, because he pulled the body to the Divine Realm and repaired it, I ended up in a state close to a god’s body with enormous magic power and all attributes. It was God Almighty’s painful mistake.

“Wa-Wait a minute!? Then whose bones are inside our grave!?”

“Touya-kun, as expected, having the bones of a complete stranger together in our grave is a bit…”

The two spoke to me in a panic. No, I said they were fake. They aren’t real bones. They are constructs. Hearing that, the two stroked their chests in relief. As we were talking about that, Kuuuu… a sound of a stomach rumbling came from somewhere. My wives turned their gazes to Yae in unison.

“That’s not me!?”

“Daddy, I’m hungry…”

Steph looked at me with a voice lacking energy. That was Steph’s stomach sound just now. Looking at the clock, it was almost noon. No wonder they’re hungry.

“Shall we go shopping now?”

“I want to see the ingredients over here!”

At Lucia’s words, “Yes yes!” Arcia raised her hand. Hmm, if we buy ingredients and cook now, it will take time. Should we buy bento boxes? I thought ordering pizza was an option too, but technically this is an unused house. Should we avoid being conspicuous…? While I was worrying Mmm, Mom intervened blankly.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it? Just say they are all relatives’ children, and while the parents are on a trip, we are looking after them here. It’s not entirely a lie.”

“I see. Relatives’ children.”

Big sisters and small brothers and sisters. That works. Since the homeowners are here, there is no problem. We decided to order pizza for the time being; Dad opened a pizza shop’s site on the laptop he had in the car and let the children choose what they liked. In the meantime, I decided to consult a bit with Mom.

“Technically we plan to stay for two weeks, but is it difficult to take this number of people to various places?” “Putting them on a train might be tough too… Moving by car is the easiest after all, but with our car…”

Mom’s beloved Mini Cooper is a four-seater. No matter how you think about it, it’s impossible. Even if we rent a large car, a twenty-seater would be a bus. As expected, is the method where only I go to the destination and bring everyone with transfer magic the safest? It’s a bit dull though. But I want to let them ride a train at least once. No, they have ridden the Magic Train… When we were talking about that, Mom widened her eyes in surprise.

“…Wait a second. You can use magic?”

“Eh? Ah, everyone can use it, you know? On Earth, it’s just at the level of producing a tiny bit of fire or water though. I’ve told the children strictly not to use it on Earth… over here.”

“The matter regarding my son becoming a wizard before I knew it.”

“…That sounds like a different meaning, so stop it.”

Well, she would be surprised. Since magic doesn’t exist in this world. I have to make sure this doesn’t get exposed either. When using it, I must use cognitive hindrance via divine energy…

“Huh?”

When I casually turned my eyes toward the hallway, I saw a large white dog sitting on the tataki (concrete floor) of the house entrance. That child is… they brought her along. I approached and called out.

“Umm… You are the Dependent God…”

“It has been a long time. Touya-sama. Over here, I was given the name ‘Blanka’.”

Telepathy flew from the white dog. Blanka…? Ah, was that the name of the pure white female wolf that appears in Seton Animal Chronicles? Dad probably named her. Mom would give a simple name like ‘Shiro’ or ‘Pochi’. This child is the form taken by the Dependent God who was the superior of the Dependent God we defeated. To atone for her subordinate’s sins, she volunteered to be Fuyuka’s bodyguard, and it seems she has blended in as a family member without issues.

“Any problems?”

“None in particular. I will protect Fuyuka-sama and the family without fail.”

Ooh, reliable. Although the lowest rank, a god is a god. Truly a guardian deity.

“Ah! It’s a doggy!”

While I was talking to the Dependent God… Blanka, Steph, who sharply spotted her, ran up and hugged Blanka.

‘Guffu!?’

She didn’t use [Accel], but Blanka let out a scream at the considerable tackle. That just now, wasn’t telepathy, it came out of her mouth normally, right?

“T-Touya-sama, this person is…!?”

“Ah… my daughter.”

“What!?”

As we were making noise at the entrance, Allis and Linne, who finished choosing pizza, peeked over, and upon finding Blanka, their eyes sparkled and they ran over.

“It’s a dog!”

“Doggy~!”

“Wa-, wai…!? “

Blanka was being patted rudely washa-washa by six hands. These kids are stronger than the average adult around there… Sorry, please endure it…

“Eh, what, a dog?”

“It’s a dog!”

“Puppy…!”

Hearing the commotion, Yoshina, Frei, and Elna further participated, and eventually, everyone was petting Blanka all over. Blanka’s eyes were spinning from the storm of petting. Children, technically that puppy is also a God…