The notice on the front door of Grandpa’s house that said, "Contact me as soon as you arrive, you stupid son."
Has it been posted here ever since they noticed us? It’s a bit dirty and even torn in places.
This whole area is on Grandpa’s property, and since the neighbors are far away, no one would have noticed much... but from this notice, I can feel my mother’s anger, or rather, her determination that she will not let us escape!
For a moment, I thought about just ignoring it and thinking, "There was no notice, right?" But ignoring this would only make her anger double, that’s for sure.
I didn’t have the courage to make a phone call, so I hesitated and typed out a simple email saying, "We’ve arrived..." and then sent it after much hesitation. I really sent it.
If they drove fast, it would probably take about an hour to get here. Another hour until the hellish lecture...
"Daddy, hurry up and let go inside!"
"Heh! Unlock the door!"
Linne and Alice, who couldn’t wait, were making a racket at the entrance. Their energy is so high. There’s such a big gap between us.
"Alright? Take off your shoes at the entrance, okay? In Japan, it’s strictly no shoes inside."
"Got it!"
Just as I was about to unlock the door, I heard Steph’s voice behind me. Last time, all of you except for Yae went inside with your shoes on.
I unlocked the door and turned the handle. As the door opened, the dimly lit entrance light flickered on. When I turned around, Leen had turned on the light switch, and Quun was eagerly watching it.
"Mother, is this the 'electric light' switch?"
"Yes, with this, the lights can turn on from a distance. Like this."
Leen kept switching the lights on and off in the entrance and hallway. Naturally, the kids were eager to try it, and the lights started flickering on and off in a flash. Stop it!
Yumina and the others began to show the kids around the house. The most popular thing was the television, and everyone was glued to the screen.
I’ve shown them movies before, so they should have an idea of what it is.
Since it was morning, the program was mostly a news broadcast.
Quun seemed very interested in various household appliances, as she repeatedly opened and closed the microwave lid and the rice cooker lid.
Now that I think about it, last time too, we couldn’t cook enough rice for everyone with this rice cooker... Should I get an industrial-size one? No, I could just cook it multiple times and store it in [Storage], right? But that’s for twenty people... I may really need a bigger rice cooker.
"Daddy, outside! Let’s go outside!"
Maybe tired of the complex stuff on TV, Linne pulled on my arm. Yeah, I’d like to go too, but I’m waiting for the verdict...
Still, since we’ve come all the way to Earth, it’d be a shame if the kids stayed cooped up inside. If only there were something to play with...
"Oh, when we came before, there was a TV game that Sue and Sakura were playing."
"Oh, that one! Yeah, let’s play with that!"
At my suggestion, Sue dashed upstairs, likely to grab the old TV game and cartridges stored in the closet.
Soon, Sue came back down with the console and cartridge box.
She immediately connected it to the TV and started a match with Sakura.
"Steph! Watch well and see my strength!"
"Yoshino, watch your mother’s strength!"
The two were playing a popular fighting game from back in the day.
Sue picked a sumo wrestler with face paint, and Sakura chose a giant professional wrestler. Why did they pick such eccentric characters?
The kids were fully absorbed in the match and were watching the battle intently.
In the first match, Sakura won by performing a piledriver. In the second match, Sue won with a series of slaps.
"Mother, there! You have to go for it there!"
"Ugh!"
"Mother, don’t let her escape! Grab her!"
"Ugh!"
The match got heated, but in the end, Sue’s sumo wrestler won with a rocket headbutt.
"I did it!"
"Ugh...!"
After that, the kids all started to get into the game, shouting to participate.
Before I knew it, it turned into a tournament style, with the rule that whoever loses has to be replaced.
The strongest one, as expected, was Kuon. He calmly read his opponent’s movements and countered them, showing a steady fighting style that suited him. That’s fine, but why did he pick the wild, electric-shocking character?
Watching the kids enjoy the game, I sipped the tea that Lu had made for me, relaxing and feeling at ease.
I noticed that the tea leaves were left out. I guess my mother must have visited this place many times.
That means, the utilities like electricity, water, and gas were probably connected by mother, not the World God.
While thinking about that, I noticed a loud engine sound approaching from afar.
There are here...
I rushed to the garden window and saw a small red car coming toward us from down the hill.
A Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i. It’s my mother’s beloved car, passed down from Grandpa. It had been heavily modified by Grandpa’s friend, an engineer with a passion for tinkering.
The Mini Cooper quickly drove up the hill and drifted into the yard, screeching to a halt. As usual, the driving was rough!
"What’s that? What’s that!?"
"A magic-powered passenger car, Ether Vehicle...?"
"A car! Cool!"
The children excitedly pressed themselves against the window. As soon as I saw my mother step out of the car and open the door, I moved away from the window and hid behind the sofa. It’s the Hannya mask... The Hannya mask is here...
"Tōuya!"
"Yikes...!?"
The sound of my mother’s footsteps circled around the yard and headed toward the entrance. Along with the sound of the door opening with a click, my mother’s voice came flying into the living room.
"You...! Ugh!? What with all these shoes!?"
Sorry, sorry. I’m sorry for all the shoes. There are twenty of us, you see!
For a moment, her footsteps stopped, but then I heard her stomping down the hallway.
"Tōuya, what on earth are you...! Huh!?"
My mother burst into the living room and froze upon seeing the children and the wives. I guess it would be a surprise, seeing all these children.
"Eh, uh... daycare...?"
"Long time no see, Mother-in-law."
Yumina stood up and elegantly bowed. My mother, who had been dumbfounded, finally rebooted after seeing that.
"Uh, Yumina, right?"
"Yes. Yumina Brunhild... no, Mochizuki Yumina. I’m so happy we could meet like this, not just in a dream."
Yumina answered cheerfully, and from the entrance, I heard a voice shouting, "What is all these shoes!?" It’s my father. He came along too. Both of them work from home, after all.
"Tsuzuri-san, Tōuya-kun is... huh!? D-Daycare...?"
My mother and father are reacting the same. What a couple of similar people.
In my father’s arms was a little girl with big, blinking eyes.
She had her hair in twin tails and was wearing a cute pink outfit. It was my younger sister, Fuyuka. She’s grown so much... She must still be around two years old.
"!? Is that... Tōuya!?"
"...Oh no."
Fuyuka was so cute that I leaned out from behind the sofa. It’s her son’s child form. How could she not notice?
"Uh, um, long time no see...!"
It was inevitable that I’d been caught, so I decided to greet her... just as I was about to, I was suddenly picked up with both my sides grabbed.
"Fuyichirō! Look! It’s Tōuya, Tōuya when he was a child! Amazing!"
"Ah... Really. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s so nice!"
My mother picked me up and held me out to my father, shaking me up and down. Stop, stop...! I’m going to feel sick...! The things inside me are going to spill out!
"Um, Mother-in-law, maybe...?"
"Oh, right, sorry."
Thanks to Yumina’s prompt, I was finally let go. I really hope Fuyuka isn’t being treated like this too... If she ends up rebellious in the future, I wouldn’t be surprised.
"Now then, let’s have you explain everything that’s happened so far. Just so you know, if you try to gloss over anything..."
"Uh, well... I’ll try to keep it brief..."
Under the heavy, piercing gaze, I finally began to explain the situation to my parents.
◇ ◇ ◇
"I see... So, with permission from the God, you were able to come back to your hometown, and children from the future came... Wait, I don’t get it!"
Well, it’s hard to understand. Even I still have trouble believing it.
My father looked around at the children in the living room as he spoke.
"Uh... So, all the children here are... my and Tsudzuri’s grandchildren... is that it?"
"Ah, no, only Alice over there is not our child. She’s Kuon’s fiancée."
"Fiancée!? At that age, she already has a marriage partner!? Wait, Kuon?"
Well, of course, that’s a concern. They have the same name as Grandpa. When my mother turned her gaze to Kuon, he stood up straight and bowed respectfully.
"Nice to meet you, Grandpa and Grandma. I am Mochizuki Touya’s eldest son, Mochizuki Kuon. I’m truly happy to meet both of you."
"Ah, uh...?"
"Well, um..."
My parents were stunned by Kuon’s fluent greeting. Yeah, when I first met Kuon, I was probably just as speechless.
While reminiscing, my mother suddenly yanked my arm.
"Wait, wait, wait, Tōuya! Is this kid really your son!?"
"That’s kind of rude... Does that mean you think he doesn’t look like your own bloodline? Maybe he takes after Dad’s side of the family more? Ow! That hurt!?"
"Too many words."
A fist landed on my head. What the heck, I was just stating the facts!
But honestly, in terms of personality, I think he’s a lot like my mom. The lack of mercy toward enemies and the ruthlessness in cornering someone completely...
"Kuon... You named him after your grandfather, huh?"
"Seems like it. It was the future me who named him, so I can’t really say for sure."
"So, this child is Touya’s and who’s...?"
"It’s mine. He’s my son with Tōuya-san. He’s well-mannered, full of justice, kind to girls, and a very well-behaved, proud son of mine!"
"Mu-fu!" Yumina puffed out her chest with a smug expression. Perhaps inspired by her, the other wives also began introducing their children, eager to go first.
"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law! This is my and Tōuya-sama’s daughter, Arcia!"
"This is my and Tōuya’s daughter, Steph!"
"This is my and my husband’s daughter, Yakumo. The eldest daughter of the Mochizuki family..."
From there, it turned into a full-on introduction time. My parents, flustered, began patting each child’s head one by one.
I also introduced Alice last, and with that, all the introductions were officially done.
It was a little amusing to see my mother, who had been called “Grandma” and “Grandmother,” make a slightly awkward face.
"Um, let’s see... from the top, we have Yakumo, Frei, Quun, Yoshino, Arcia, Elna, Linne, Kuon, Steph. And then Kuon’s fiancée, Alice... Got it, I remembered."
My mother looked around at everyone, nodding repeatedly as if to confirm. My father nodded quietly next to her.
"It feels like I’ve become a daycare teacher or something."
My father said with a slight smile, as if half-amused. Well, it is a lot, isn’t it... Since there are so many wives, it’s only natural, though.
"By the way, you came in that form before too, but why are you in your child form?"
Now my mother was questioning my appearance, as if finally noticing. The "before" she mentioned is probably related to that investigation done by some detective or something.
"Well, technically, I’m supposed to be dead in this world. If someone who’s supposed to be dead starts wandering around, it’d cause a huge stir and go against the rules of this world. I really need you to keep this a secret. If this gets out, I’ll never be able to come back to Earth again."
This is the important part. This return trip is a favor from the World God, and I can’t break that. After I stressed that, my father nodded deeply.
"I see... Yeah, there’s no other way to explain it. A dead person coming back to life would definitely seem like a divine miracle."
"Well, if your heart just stopped, there might still be a chance of revival... but you were completely cremated and buried, you know..."
"Ah, apparently, those bones are fake. The God took my body and soul from the coffin before it was cremated, brought them to the divine realm, and placed a fake body in the coffin."
Both of my parents stared at me wide-eyed after hearing my explanation. Well, it’s understandable that they’d be shocked. I was also surprised when I heard this recently.
I suppose, because my body was summoned to the divine realm and repaired, I ended up with massive amounts of magical power and all attributes, which made my body nearly god-like. That was the World God’s serious mistake.
"Wait, wait a minute!? Then whose bones are in our family grave!?"
"Tōuya-kun, I think it’s a bit much for unknown bones to be in our family grave…"
The two of them spoke up, flustered. I already said it’s fake! It’s not real bones. They’re artificial!
After hearing this, they both sighed in relief and visibly relaxed.
While we were talking about this, I suddenly heard a growling sound coming from somewhere.
The wives all turned their gaze to Yae in unison.
"It wasn’t me, I swear!?"
"Daddy, I’m hungry..."
Steph looked at me with a somewhat downcast voice. So that was Steph’s stomach growling.
Looking at the clock, it was almost lunchtime. I guess I’m getting hungry too.
"Shall we go shopping now?"
"I’d like to see the local ingredients!"
At Lou’s words, Arshia raised her hand enthusiastically, "Yes, yes!" Hmm, if we go buy ingredients and then cook, it’s going to take some time. Maybe we should just buy some bento?
I thought about ordering pizza too, but this is technically an unused house. Maybe we should avoid drawing attention...?
I was debating it when my mother casually interrupted.
"It doesn’t matter, does it? They’re all our relatives’ children. While their parents are on a trip, we’re just taking care of them here. It’s not even really a lie."
"I see. So they’re the relatives’ kids."
Big sisters and little brothers and sisters, huh? That might work. If the actual owner of the house is here, there shouldn’t be any problem.
So, I decided to order pizza, and Dad opened the pizza shop website on the laptop he had in the car, letting the kids pick whatever they wanted.
In the meantime, I decided to consult with my mother for a bit.
"We’re planning to stay for two weeks, but do you think it will be difficult to take everyone to various places?"
"It might be hard to get them on the train... I think driving is the easiest, but our car is..."
My mother’s beloved Mini Cooper only fits four people. There’s no way that’s going to work. Even if we rent a bigger car, renting a twenty-seater would basically mean a bus.
I guess the safest option is for me to go to the destination alone and then use transfer magic to bring everyone. It’s a bit dull, but it seems the most practical.
Still, I’d like to at least take them on a train ride once. Well, I guess they’ve ridden a magical train before...
As we were talking, my mother’s eyes went wide in surprise.
"Wait a minute. You can use magic?"
"Eh? Ah, yeah, everyone can use it. On Earth, it's just small things like making fire or water. I’ve told the kids not to use it here on Earth, though."
"The fact that my son has somehow become a magician..."
"...That sounds like it means something else, so please stop."
Well, it's surprising. Magic doesn't exist in this world, so of course they'd be shocked. I have to make sure this doesn’t get out, though. Whenever I use magic, I need to use divine energy to block recognition...
"Huh?"
I suddenly looked towards the hallway and saw a large white dog sitting at the entrance of the house. That dog... did I bring it with me?
I walked over and spoke to it.
"Uh... are you the subordinate god...?"
"Long time no see, Tōuya-sama. Here, I’ve been given the name 'Blanca.'"
A telepathic message came from the white dog.
Blanca...? Oh, right, that's the name of the pure white female wolf from "The Seaton Animal Chronicles," isn't it?
It was probably Dad who named her. If it had been Mom, she would’ve probably gone for something simple like "Shiro" or "Pochi."
This dog is the transformed form of the subordinate god who was the superior of the one we defeated.
Since it was to atone for the sins of her subordinate, she volunteered to be Fuyuka’s bodyguard, and she seems to have blended in well as a family member.
"Is everything alright?"
"Nothing in particular. I will certainly protect Fuyuka-sama and your family."
Ah, that’s reassuring. Even though she’s a lower-ranked god, a god is a god. She's truly a guardian deity.
"Ah! A dog!"
While I was talking to the subordinate god... Blanca, Steph, who had keenly spotted the dog, rushed over and hugged Blanca.
"Gu-huh!?"
Although she didn’t use [Accel], Blanca let out a scream from the force of the tackle. That just now... wasn’t through telepathy, but actual sound, right?
"T-Tōuya-sama, who is this...?!"
"Ah... my daughter."
"What!?!"
As they were making a fuss at the entrance, Alice and Linne, who had finished choosing the pizza, peered over and, upon seeing Blanca, their eyes lit up and they ran toward her.
"A dog!"
"A doggie!"
"Wait, wait...!?"
Blanca was relentlessly petted by six hands. These kids are stronger than most adults... Sorry, Blanca, hang in there...
"Eh, what, a dog?"
"It’s a dog!"
"A puppy...!"
Hearing the commotion, Yoshino, Frei, and Elna joined in, and eventually, everyone began petting Blanca.
Amid the storm of petting, Blanca's eyes were spinning. Kids, just so you know, that puppy is actually a god...
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