Well, news is really always making news ain't it, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore… I guess it makes sense if they are doing 'it' everyday, my family is growing bigger and bigger right in front of my eyes.
So let me expand a bit— Ava had learned that she's pregnant, well I don't know if I'm going to have a little brother or sister yet, but sure enough the house is going to start getting lively. Oh man it's going to be lively as hell.
For a couple of years now, Ava had been a little worried about her ability to do the you know what and have babies, I mean it has already been like ten years since her last child. I would sometimes mutter or sigh in the middle of the night saying something like "I'm not sure if I can have children anymore…"
But recently, for a couple of months, her cravings for food skyrocketed even more than before… Vomiting and tiredness also became more common, in the case of her mood, it really changed a lot, she not only became less jumpy, she also was always in a foul mood… One more thing to add on, I also heard her say that she didn't have her period for months. Hey I mean that pretty damn well represents what I was taught in school, all the points match up.
About a week ago, Mother went to the doctor to check for any anomalies, I guess now my analysis is proven, the visit to the doctor just further proves it.
A few days after, father came back, it's really not a surprise when you count in the rather big event for Ava to have another child… Throughout the house there were loads of discussions going on, amongst the maids they would talk about if the child would be a hassle like Claire. There were talks about names for the baby if it was another boy or another girl.
The week was filled to the brim with laughter and excitement, it wasn't all that quiet to say, even at night there would be hisses coming from the hallway, yapping about where would the baby sleep? There was really no end for topics being discussed…
I'm hoping that I would get a little sister, I would be fine with a little brother but still a sister just felt different…
//
Things never died down, the frequent chatter just became louder by day, it was more of the same things, the maid started to make more nutritious meals for Mother which she hated eating, acting like a child whenever and needing Father to convince her to eat, sometimes even feed her…
It was quite funny when this ever happened at the dinner table, it was the childish side of Mother that I loved the most, it almost feels relatable… I guess when you are like what? Forty something, stuck in a kid's body you would feel that way.
Later Iris came to the mansion holding a large duffle bag, she almost looks like a drug dealer. Wait… Was she wearing something different? I thought looking at her up and down, there was something off, it wasn't the normal outfit she wears…
I tilted my head trying to figure out what differences were in her outfit.
…
Sweat!
Abs!
Thighs!
Boobies!
Iris was looking really hot today… A drop of drool leaked down from my mouth as I saw her unusually exposed body covered in sweat. My bad, my otaku brain took over for a little bit. Iris was wearing a white tight bra which 'covered' her breasts, I can't really say it covered them… The nipples poked through the white cloth creating a spike. She was also wearing short white pants? Does that even count as pants?
The beads of sweat coming down from her body made some parts of her 'outfit' transparent, well I'm not complaining that just adds to the spiciness. I'm sure that when my you know what grows up I could bust a few times just from imagining this sweaty version of Iris.
…
Second surprise came?
So this version of Iris is living with us now? Well that was unexpected? Iris was said to be here to take care of Mother while she bears the baby, I guess it makes sense seeing their rather close relationship, mother very much trusts Iris more than anyone, other than father of course.
I'm very much welcome to this turn of events, maybe I would even get lucky and get a main character moment where I bump into her bathing, you never know, right?
Just from that the mansion once again got livelier.
//
I might just be the main character from this… And of course I called it a week before it happened. It's been about a week or two since Iris came by to live with us, it wasn't what I expected at first, I was sure that lessons would be delayed when she has to take care of mother…
It was the complete opposite, everyday early in the morning, I would be woken up by loud knocks on my door.
Tak–Tak–Tak–
"Gryne, I'll be waiting for you down at the dirt yard."
Sigh— I turned around in my bed before groaning.
My voice muffled by the soft pillow which I laid upon, "At least I get to see Iris sweaty in that outfit… That's a reward I guess…"
I flopped on the ground, face up, "Aghhh… Why can't I even get a rest day for god's sake."
We began training, it was blazing hot. The temperature difference between winter and summer was immense, it could really just go from 40 degrees on one day then on the next it would fly down to 10 degrees… I think I have read about places like this in Geography class back then… Uhhh… Places like Russia and Mongolia have a big difference between the temperatures from day to day right? Yeah it should be correct, and it's because of the place being in land which is the cause of these fluctuations. If my predictions are correct, right now we should be decently far away from the ocean.
Sigh— Thinking about that doesn't help one bit. I'm still burning, why is today so goddamn hot.
Iris didn't stop for a single second throughout the two hour session, it almost seems like she's pushing herself… I really have no insight into what they're thinking, do I? Maybe she's doing this in order to get better, maybe she's planning to advance into a higher tier, she's a pretty competitive girl after all…
But why am I used as the practice dummy?!
Clank— Our swords clashed once again, the loud clunk blasts wind back, blowing both our hair back. Even with wooden practice swords, Iris is powerful as always, it would be a real pain if I got hit with any of the attacks she's throwing out, maybe I would even break a rib or two.
Clank— I should better play more defensive for now.
Clank—
Iris looked me in the eyes, she seems confused at why I'm backing off, I feel a question coming about now—
"Why are you backing off Gryne? I'm sure that I'm showing a few open weak spots." Iris asked, her eyes focusing back on the battle as she huffed in and out, the words of her question said between each one of the rapid breathes.
I closed my eyes allowing a flow of energy to reach my arms, a loud breath, hiss—
Clank— Iris' sword swings again clashing against the tip of my blade… Swoop… Push… Redirect…
I feel Iris' blade slowly lose power, the sword's momentum flying off to the left side, I opened my eyes, in front of me was no sign of Iris, I guess that means my strategy worked?
Tai Chi… One of the only chinese martial arts passed down from ancient times which was still mostly intact during the modern era… Gramps played with it in his later years, the art is defensive, there weren't much attacking involved, even if there was it was mostly pushing and redirecting… The redirection of attacks is the ultimate defense…
If I could just put these concepts into swordplay I could win—
Confidence builds up inside me, maybe I can finally beat Iris. Now is my chance, my one and only chance, knowing how skilled Iris is, she might even be able to dodge this.
I really want to beat Iris, especially when she's still young, once I turn older, she gets older also, although she's a dark elf, I'm sure aging works the same just a little slower than usual. It would really lose meaning once I become stronger while she becomes weaker, beating her now is a real achievement if I can do it.
I swing my blade, the sideways slice aiming at the weak spot in her stomach, if I hit this I win. Iris' body was off balanced, slanted to one side in an awkward angle, her feet were barely on the ground with the tips of her shoes.
Clank—
She blocked it? A strong force pushed me back, my sword was thrown away from the impact…
"Huh?" My eyes widened in surprise as I felt my sword get swooped up above my head before being thrown down onto the dirt floor… Did she just copy my move???
Isn't that a Tai Chi move?
Dirt scatter everywhere—
I was confused, would it be that this move or something similar exists in the world also, surely not right? I was sure that it took the original guy like a hundred years just to figure out how to use the qi correctly. If it really does exist another problem comes to mind, why did I never see Iris use it?
There is one more answer to the question… Did I just make the Tai Chi push exist in an isekai world?
I lost focus— Shit— I was too late…
Something hard hit the top of my head before I regained the ability to move from the previous impact, I saw myself tumbling face first into the rough dirt ground.
I closed my eyes to prevent the dirt from getting into my eyes, by now I have accepted defeat… I shouldn't have over-thought it… I undo my physical enchant.
Plat—
After the fierce battle, we ended the training session.
"I'm all drained out…" I groaned loudly before sighing as I kneeled down to brush off the dirt stuck on my face and between my joint areas.
"Gryne, where did you learn that move you did just now? You know, the one where you throwed me away." Iris curiously asked her hands on the practice sword imitating the move I did, it was surprisingly easy to talk to her when she uses this unconfronting tone.
I opened my mouth to answer her question. Wait— I can't just say the real reason behind how I learned this move, I bet she would be confused out of her mind if I mention new words like chinese kung fu and tai chi.
I figured that it would be better just to lie on the spot, telling her I got it from my past life in another world wasn't the ideal answer, I really don't think that would be a good answer to any question…
"Uhhh… I just thought that it would work, it was like a freestyle move." I carefully said.
At least half of that was real, not the freestyle part, that was a blatant lie.
"Oh okay…" Iris replied, her voice filled with suspicion.
Shit— Where did I fuck up this time…
Iris then walked away back into the mansion without another word.
Phew— Got out of that one alive. Man that was a close call, I would have spilled the tea if I didn't stop myself last second.
//
I still have some time before lunch, maybe I could do some magic training, maybe some healing magic? I got a few scratches on my body right now, it would be a good chance to practice. I mean I would have to practice at least a little, Rias was growing at a rapid speed, there were no longer any roadblocks in her path, who wants a master that can't teach them, right?
I walked into my bedroom, a foul stench filled my nostrils as I walked in the enclosed room…
…
Is it me? I thought as I looked down at my clothes which were completely drenched in sweat… I put my head next to my armpit…
Sniff—
I felt dizzy…
Slightly shaken up, "I guess I should take a bath before doing anything else, maybe the bathhouse would be free, I'm sure that nobody would be using it at this time of the day, I could take a quick drop and maybe go for a little swim." I muttered as I lifted my head away from my sweaty body.
It's been a while since I last used the bathhouse, it's really not a surprise when all the maids use that bath, I don't want to invade their privacy, even though I'm sure that they wouldn't mind if a child got into the same bath as them… It just feels morally wrong doing that, it's like taking advantage of someone, I'm a nice guy, okay?
//
With my change of clothes in my arms I headed down to the bathhouse…
It was pretty quiet, there wasn't any noise coming from inside. I can go inside, right? I walked into the dressing area, there weren't signs of any of the maids, there weren't panties in the clothes baskets.
I can finally get a swim. I walked into the bathhouse, my body completely naked, in my hands was a long white towel…
"Ahh—" I sighed as I dripped into the warm water, the water was about 35 degrees, the perfect temperature for a bath.
The bathhouse was a big place, it was made for twenty to thirty people so it makes sense being this big, there were four pools total, in the center was the big one, it was in the shape of a rectangle, I would say it was about the size of an unprofessional swimming pool, still really impressive for one that's inside the house.
It was unusually quiet, it felt off, in my guts I felt something was about to happen… No way in hell I'm bouta get a lucky main character lecher moment, right?
Shriek— I heard a sharp screeching sound, I turned around to see the door to the dressing area wide open.
I swear I closed it—
I saw a figure amidst the steamy mist, a dark shine… Silver hair… Dark skin…
There's only one person in this whole mansion with those…
Iris trotted closer to the pool I was in, as she approached I could see her naked body fully exposed, her defined muscles and conditioned body. Hmm? What's that? I looked at her hand, she was holding onto something, a bottle of sorts.
"Gryne?" She asked.
I was taken aback, I was staring at her… Shit— This might be bad…
"Oh, you are here also?"
"Yeah…" I replied, trying my best to not look at her body, I felt a tinge of excitement build up inside me… No, get down, this isn't the time for that. I quickly grabbed the towel next to me to hide it.
"Ahh—" Iris satisfiedly sighed as she dropped her body into the bath next to me.
She was making herself comfortable… She had a bottle in her hands, a glass one. Is that wine? She took off the cap of the tall bottle, putting it against her lips then drinking a mouthful.
"Ahh— Nothing beats a sip of wine in a hot bath." She uttered as she moved closer to me, her face flushed red… She was already drunk…
"Oh Gryne— You are such a cutie," she said, her head leaning down onto my shoulder as her hand rubbed my abs.
Is this what sober Iris is like, actually I haven't seen her drink before, during my fifth birthday she didn't drink any wine either. Shit— her hands were moving down, in a short time it would touch… Is this finally my time? Is this finally the time where I become a real adult?
//
Nope it's not, I ran off as soon as she reached close to my pole…
I then took a bath in my own bathroom.
As I remember I am still only seven, even if I did it with Iris, wouldn't it still be taking advantage of her? Sigh— If I died today, I would still have remaining regrets then…
//
I walked out of the mansion once again, sitting on the step of the front door I looked into the distance, there was always tall grass and big trees standing outside of the gates, I loved looking at them, maybe it was because of the fact that I almost never looked at them throughout the fifteen plus years that I was stuck inside.
From the mansion to the Royal Capital was about a month's distance by a fast horse, the journey would be passing through the tall grasslands and agricultural area of Feris. The Royal Capital as I heard was a crowded place, Rena said she didn't like it there in a pigeon delivered mail.
I don't think I mentioned that I kept in contact with Rena, in her mail she always told me her adventures and I would sometimes ask her questions on magic through the mail also.
Gallop— Gallop— Gallop—
I heard the clicking of horseshoes from a distance, from the sound I could tell that it was approaching the mansion…