Post-Epilogue Chapter 26: Brief Partings, Belated Reunions, and Career Changes

The day had finally arrived. We (and by that I meant pretty much everyone that mattered in the HNC) gathered in the portal chamber of the base. The entirety of the Ordo Draconis was there on the left, from the newest squires to the Entitled Knight, all in their finest uniforms. Similarly, all the Fauns, from the core of Brang and co. (now all promoted to officers) to fresh recruits from the New Noble Alliance, were lined up on the right, dressed in full armour and carrying fancy ceremonial weapons. Then we had the whole Research Division clustered in the back, right next to the Assembly's diplomatic corps stationed in the base, led by Lord Barnabas. Heck, even Jaakobah and the original members of the Praetorian Guard were here.

The whole situation kind of reminded me of the grand reception from back when we finally returned from the Abyss. The long, overblown one. At least there wasn’t any music or flowers this time. I shook the memory out of my head and focused on the present and the reason why everyone gathered here.

"Thank you, you're most kind," Roland spoke mechanically in front of the Gateway to the Abyss. He just accepted yet another gift basket full of premium sweets and alcohol, the latest one coming from the Draconic Federation officials he often worked with as my second-in-command. Now that job will fall on Arnwald. Speaking of which, he was also present, but he was talking to the other star of this event.

"Make sure you don't over-exert yourself. It's bad for the child," he told the awkwardly shuffling Tajana, and she sheepishly nodded along.

"Also, make sure you sleep plenty," Morgana chimed in next, standing by Arnwald's side and carrying a separate gift basket, this one filled with childcare products, specifically for babies.

"T-Thank you. For everything," Tajana muttered and tried to bow, but Arnwald stopped her.

"No need for that. We're far from strangers."

Considering that we lived under the same roof for months, that was an understatement. More importantly, Penny skipped over to Morgana's side and took the basket from her, only to then dash to the table set up by the gateway and hand it over to a dapperly dressed Abyssal man accompanying my other sister. He looked a bit butler-ish, so he might've been assigned to the newly engaged couple by the New Noble Alliance, while Snowy was… helping, I guess?

As for why Tajana wasn't taking care of the gifts herself, it was due to her belly already showing under her loose (yet still inexplicably gothic) dress. I didn't pry, but some nosy birds already went out of their way to tweet the news that they're going to be having twins into my ears. That sounded like quite the hassle, but I'm sure they were up for the task. Mostly sure. More or less.

…

Maybe I should look into World of Mystics aware housekeeping and nanny services. Just in case.

Anyhow, Penny kept helping with the gifts delivered by the stream of well-wishing guests, while my other sister was helping with sorting them out and passing them through the gateway. I lingered in the back for the time being; we already held a farewell party in private the night before, so I didn't feel the need to insert myself into the scene. As for the girls, they went a step further and didn't even attend this event, for various reasons that will become relevant later.

To be fair, I couldn't help but feel that we were making way too big of a hubbub about these two leaving. I mean, sure, Roland stepping down from his position in the Ordo Draconis and moving to the Abyss to be together with the spymaster of House Inanna was certainly a major event from the perspective of the Draconic Federation and the New Noble Alliance and so on, but… The Gateway was right here. They could come over any day, and we can visit them any time as well. And that's not even counting my Phasing!

Heck, knowing Roland, I would put money on him showing up in my office tomorrow as if nothing happened, and then start pestering me with paperwork again. Not if I could help it, though.

But that was a worry for later. Right now, I just let them enjoy the attention without stealing their spotlight, and after a while, the stream of well-wishers and their gift baskets (seriously, did they agree on those in advance?) slowly dwindled, and… why was everyone looking at me?

"Brother?" And then Penny whispered at me with a frown, all the while wildly gesturing at the couple in front of the Gateway. "Say something!"

"Do I have to?"

This time she outright glared at me and then rushed away… only to return with Snowy in tow.

"You pull, I push!" my knightly sister declared, and to my shock and surprise, my other sister went along with it and grabbed my hands, limply pulling me forward while Penny put both her hands on the small of my back and shoved me hard enough that I nearly stumbled.

Like that, I was forcefully volunteered to conclude the farewell party. Joy.

Roland acknowledged my unorthodox arrival with a passive, "Leonard," while Tajana was too overwhelmed by the attention to do more than lightly bow in my general direction. Speaking of attention, now everyone was looking at us expectantly. For what exactly, I couldn't imagine. There was a good reason I hated social gatherings like this; too much gawking and gossip-mongering for my tastes.

Anyhow, my sisters were still flanking me, so I decided to just go along with it and offered a hand to Roland. He took it without hesitation.

"Good luck finding your place in the new environment," I said as casually as I could manage under the scrutiny of everyone present. "The red sky's a bit disconcerting at first, but once you get used to it, it has its own charm."

"No need to worry. I'm used to traveling to new places."

Oh, right. Before settling down here, the Brotherhood was pretty nomadic, moving all over the world and poking the Draconians' defences for vulnerabilities.

"Well, not any more, you won't," I told him frankly, and then added, "In fact, take a few weeks off to acclimatize. Get to know your neighbours and relax a little. It's on me."

Penny blurted out a startled, "Can you do that?"

Lacking a better answer, I just shrugged. I mean, Roland was no longer my second-in-command, but he wasn't quite out of the Draconic Federation's chain of command, was he? If I said he gets a month of paid vacation, who's going to argue with me?

"Normally I'm against abusing my authority," I said, trying to sound nonchalant, "But if it's about giving you guys a belated honeymoon, I don't think anyone's going to light the torches and distribute the pitchforks yet."

"It's not a honeymoon!" Tajana denied just that part, rather vehemently at that, but then she also mumbled, "W-We aren't married yet."

"How about we just accept Leonard's goodwill this time?" Roland coaxed her, and after blinking a bunch (in fact, were they communicating in Morse code?), she quickly relented.

"You're right. Thank you for the sentiment and… all the hospitality from before." She awkwardly shuffled her feet a bit, and then glanced between Roland and me like half a dozen times before she suddenly steeled her expression, balled up her fist, and loudly declared, "I-If one of the kids is a boy, we're naming him after you!"

I responded with a quick and decisive, "Please, don't," and then focused on Roland again. "Just take a break, and make sure she does too. For the kids."

He nodded with a soft grunt, followed by a somewhat conspiratorial, "We all need a break, but considering the recent events, I'm already dreading all the inevitable paperwork I’ll have to deal with once I’m back."

Was he talking about the whole mahou shoujo pseudo-scenario? While it was mostly kept under the lid so far, considering the kids involved, it would've been stranger if the people with fingers on the pulse of the World of Mystics didn't know about it already. Of course, as far as the 'common knowledge' was concerned, it was just a series of harmless incidents that didn't require outside interference, but Roland apparently had a different idea.

I tried to reassure him with a confident, "Don't worry. It's all under control," but it only made him roll his eyes.

"Where have I heard the line before?"

Meanwhile, Tajana was getting visibly confused, so we decided to keep the veiled talk to a minimum, and after a few more generic niceties, the two of them graciously bowed out and headed through the Gateway, surrounded by mild cheering and even more well-wishes.

It took a while for the noise to die down, and I was ready to move on, if not for my sisters.

"Tajana and Roland really moved out, huh?" Penny mused with a hand on her hips and a smirk on her lips.

"It feels a little sad," Snowy admitted, but then she hastily amended, "B-But it's not like we can't visit them anymore."

"Right, right! But that means they moved into a new home, right? Do you know what that means?"

My Abyssal sister cocked her head to the side and echoed, "It means…?"

Penny's smirk bloomed into the full grin, and she threw her hands up with an enthusiastic, "Housewarming party!"

Snowy let out an ambivalent, "Oh," followed by a much less impassive "Owie!" from my other sister when I poked her forehead.

"Pipe down, Kiddo. Everybody's still looking at us."

"A-Awawa…"

In the meantime, the guests slowly started to leave the Portalport, and I had no reason to idle around either, so I flagged down Arnwald and Morgana, leaving the rest in their capable hands before unceremoniously bowing out myself. Not for no reason either; by a strange quirk, or maybe the rules of timing acting up again, we had a bit of a scheduling conflict going on, and after locking onto Judy's mark, I casually Phased out of the base and appeared in the lavish parlour of the Dracis mansion, filled with the chatter of a couple dozen people.

"Hi, Dormouse. Am I late?"

My dear assistant, currently idling near the fireplace while wearing a subdued business-casual outfit, looked up at me without a hint of surprise and flatly told me, "You know you're not."

"Yeah, but it's polite to ask, and…"

Before I could finish that sentence, I was hijacked by my other girlfriend, dressed in a mirror image of Judy's outfit, grabbing me by the arm.

"Hi, Leo! How was the farewell party?"

My plain, "As expected," didn't please her, so I had to elaborate. "Lots of congratulations and well-wishes, more gift baskets than I can shake a cane at, and they left without an incident." Then, a pause later, I added, "Also, I gave Roland some paid vacation on impulse."

Judy slightly inclined her head with a "Sounds good," and then the whole topic was forgotten when the kids appeared.

"Ah, Ue-sama's here!"/"Senior Brother Leonard!"/"Uncle Polemos!"

Their approach drew a few glances from the people in the parlour, mostly comprised of Eastern Draconian members of the Draconic Federation, but everyone was already used to the children's antics, so their attention didn't last long. But speaking of them, the three kids came to a screeching halt in front of us, all three dressed formally for the occasion in tiny little tuxedos. As in, all three of them, including Ichiko and Xiao. Why? I hadn't the faintest idea, but they were cute, so did it really matter?

"Ue-sama? Are they here yet? Are they?"

As usual, the little miko took the lead, pestering me with upturned eyes and her hands clasped in front of her chest. I couldn't say no to that, so I inhaled deeply, closed my eyes, and then a quick Far Glance later I told them, "The limousine is just around the corner. They'll be here in a few minutes."

Ichiko let out an elated, "Yay!" while Ollie grinned and told Xiao, "You see? I told you Uncle Polemos knows everything."

Judy was also listening closely to the conversation, and she asked, "Should we move over?"

"Melinda will announce when they arrive, so it should be…" the princess began, only to fall silent when the main entrance of the parlour opened, and the familiar chambermaid walked in. Speak of the devil, huh?

"The guests of honor are to arrive momentarily," she announced, and then immediately bowed out and left the way she came.

Elly waited until she closed the doors behind her, then continued her previous sentence with, "… so it should be fine to move now!" as if nothing happened.

We didn't argue, and made our way over to the spot left conspicuously empty near the entrance. Speaking of which, while this was supposed to be a welcome banquet, the atmosphere was way more formal and stiff than the farewell one I just came from. Probably because, ignoring the kids and us, the average age of the participants was in the fifties.

Anyhow, the doors opened again before long, this time by the twin maids whose names I still haven't learned, because at this point it would’ve felt awkward to bring it up. More importantly, in walked Melinda again, with Sebastian at her side, and the two of them stopped by the sides of the door.

"The hosts have arrived!" the old dragon announced in a voice loud enough that it made me wonder if he somehow got his hands on one of my voice amplification artifacts without my knowledge. "Abram Dracis and Emese Dracis!"

That was beside the point though, since just as he announced, my in-laws entered the parlour. Emese was trying her best to appear solemn and dignified, but it only made the fact that Dad-in-law was grinning ear to ear and casually waving at us all the more apparent. Then, the actual stars of this banquet made their appearance, also announced by Sebastian.

"The guests of honor have arrived!" he exclaimed in the same loud yet dignified voice, followed by, "Naoren Feilong and Rinne Feilong!"

Yep. The two of them were finally back from their extended honeymoon, after touring like half of China, all the major tourist traps of Japan, and then making a couple of pit stops in the big cities of Europe on the way back here. Naoren looked the same as usual; prim, proper, gentlemanly, and so on, while Mountain Girl was…

"Did Rinne put on a few kilos?" The question slipped out of my mouth, only to get elbowed by both my girlfriend at once. "Ow. Hey! I was just making an observation!"

But back to the scene, since we didn't yet have Portalports everywhere, the two of them arrived at Critias on a plane, and my in-laws went out to pick them up and bring them to this welcome party. Seriously, if I had to describe the things that united Eastern and Western Draconians in three words, it would've been duels, conferences, and banquets, and this was apparently as good an excuse as any for the third one.

Then, just as I was wondering how this serious and dignified dinner party would proceed from here, the atmosphere was shattered when Ichiko dashed into the new arrivals with an ear-to-ear grin.

"Rinne-san! Welcome back!"

"Ah, Ichiko-neesan!" Mountain girl greeted her back, only for the little miko to be nearly knocked over when she stopped too abruptly, and Xiao ran into her.

"Ah! Careful!" Ollie yelped and grabbed onto both of them, trying to keep them steady, but he somehow managed to yank them in the other direction instead, and the three of them collapsed into a giggling heap.

After the first surprise, Naoren let out a chuckle and approached them, quickly followed by his wife and my in-laws, and before long, everyone was chatting in a considerably less reserved mood.

"Rinne-san, Rinne-san! Guess what! I made a lot of new friends in school!"

"Right, right!" Xiao joined in, nodding so hard I was afraid her hair buns would get undone. "We have a brand-new friend, right, Ollie?"

"Yeah! Her name is Purin, and she's funny," the little Beansprout declared with a grin, making Dad-in-law laugh out loud, and even Mom-in-law seemed amused.

"We're in the pointy teeth gang!" Ichiko explained, much to everyone's confusion, except for Rinne's, who just nodded along like what she just said made perfect sense.

Naoren used the opportunity to slip away while everyone's attention was on the kids, and he approached us.

"Brother Leonard, Lady Judy, Lady Eleanor," he greeted us solemnly, only to immediately drop the formalities and say, "I'm glad to see you're in good health, as always."

I responded with a plain, "Same here, same here," and looked him over. Unlike Rinne, he looked like he might've lost a little weight, so I couldn't help but ask, "So? How was the honeymoon?"

"Exhausting," he said, earning a surprised giggle from the princess. "But also very enjoyable."

"Let me guess: she made you try out every local cuisine wherever you went."

Naoren's eyes opened a bit wider behind the glasses, then he sheepishly admitted, "You know Rinne very well indeed," the words accompanied by a soft sigh.

"Is there a problem?" Judy asked right away, picking up on the subtle hints in his body language, and Naoren exhaled another sigh.

"Keeping the ears of the ladies in the audience in mind, let's just say that, despite my best efforts, we have yet to secure an heir."

That… was one odd way to humble-brag about doing the horizontal tango a whole lot, but I wasn't going to judge him over it.

"There's no need to rush it, right?" Elly tried to cheer him up and went as far as to pat him on the arm. "You'll have plenty of opportunities in the future!"

"True, but…"

Just as we were about to continue that train of thought, we were abruptly interrupted by Rinne marching over to us, with the three kids in tow.

"Leonard-dono! Rinne is back, ready to resume Rinne's duties!"

"As… the acting head of the Kage Clan?" I ventured a guess, but then she looked at me like I was an idiot. “As my retainer?” She reflexively nodded, but then shook her head. Which was it?! “Then…”

"No. Rinne is obviously talking about Rinne's job as a teacher."

"That's the other thing," Naoren grumbled while raising his glasses with one hand and massaging the bridge of his nose with the other. "Listen, dear wife. I told you that you don't need to work at Blue Cherry High anymore."

"But Rinne likes teaching the children," she argued back, and while that sounded like it could start an argument, she immediately pivoted and said, "And Rinne must also keep the evil yokai away from them."

"Evil youkai," Judy repeated after her by reflex, and Mountain Girl nodded with gusto.

"Yes! Everyone knows that schools are where one's most likely to encounter yokai and other evil entities. Just like when Rinne was in school."

Oh? Was that a hint of genre-awareness I've heard there? Nah, that couldn't have been it.

"That's right!" Ichiko chimed in with a fist raised. "That's why we also investigated Red Lake Elementary for yokai activity, too!"

"Ah. Rinne is glad to see that Ichiko-neesan protected the children while Rinne was away," Mountain Girl declared with a nod, then flashed a creepy grin that I haven't seen in quite a while when she asked, "How many evil yokais have Ichiko-neesan exterminated?"

"We… only investigated them," Xiao interjected from the side, and it gave Ollie the opportunity to say, "We saw some scary things, but… um… n-nothing conclusive."

Meanwhile, Naoren casually reached over and put a finger on Rinne's cheek, then gently rearranged her grin into a less disturbing one, without her reacting in the slightest. Once done, he turned to me.

"Is this related to those rumors I've heard as of late?" he asked, and seeing that he was unsubtly glancing at the children, it was obvious what he was getting at.

"The two things are unrelated, and it's perfect under con–"

I couldn't finish saying that, because Rinne exclaimed, "Ah! Naoren-san! Do you know what that means?" she asked with eager eyes, even while her husband kept poking her face.

He uttered a resigned, "What?" and it made Mountain Girl cross her arms.

"Rinne's presence in Blue Cherry High must've made the evil yokais so afraid they escaped elsewhere! This won't do! Rinne has no choice but to transfer to Ichiko-neesan's school."

"As a PE teacher?" I asked, and she firmly nodded.

"Yay! Big Sister Rinne is going to be our teacher!" Xiao exclaimed before anyone else could get a word in, and the two other kids joined her with their own 'Yay!s', though in Ollie's case, it was obvious he was only going with the flow. More importantly…

"Dear wife, I still think that this is a…" Naoren started, but then seeing that he wasn't going to get through her, he turned to me instead. "Brother Leonard?"

I figured he was going to ask me to persuade her in his stead, so I gave him the go with a subdued, "Yes?"

"This Red Lake Elementary school we're talking about. You have already installed your men there to ensure Xiao Xiao's safety, right?"

That wasn't the only (or even the chief) reason, and it wasn't like I owned the place or anything, but it was true that I arranged some generous donations to convince the school board to approve the previous principal's early retirement, meaning…

"You could say that, yes. Why?"

"To be frank with you, allowing my wife to work on her own, outside the clan’s jurisdiction, would be endlessly scrutinized by the elders, and I really can't bear to listen to their nagging just after our honeymoon, so…"

"… So?"

Naoren lightly cleared his throat, then said, "I do happen to have a minor in classical literature. Do you believe it's enough?"

"Enough for…" '...what?', I wanted to ask, but somehow the kids beat me to the realisation, and Xiao threw her fists into the air.

"Big Brother Naoren's going to come and teach us too? Yay!"

She was followed by more 'Yay!s' from the other two, with Ollie still just vibing along, and…

"Naoren-san, you don't need to do this. You're already busy," Rinne objected, but her husband took her hand and shook his head.

"Don't worry, wife. In our wedding vows, we promised to stand by each other's side, come drought or high water. If your heart yearns for the school, it is only right and proper that I follow."

And then the two of them looked at each other with that weird, starry-eyed gaze that invited all the bishi-sparkles and other special effects, ignoring the confused whispers of the Draconian dignitaries and the celebrating kids and…

"Dormouse?" I uttered, but before I could get another word in, my dear assistant flashed her phone in my direction with a cheeky, "Already working on it."

That wasn't why I called out to her, but at this point everyone was so into the idea, there was no turning back. It's just that, if our mahou shoujo pseudo-scenario got the green light and picked up the pace again, wouldn't the presence of these two in the school cause more complications? Will I have to involve them? Or work around them? Either way, this was going to be a huge…

"Huh," I blurted out, drawing Elly's attention.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just…" Exhaling hard, I whispered, "I hate how Roland's predictions are always right..."