"With that out of the way," Anathasia said, stretching her arms over her head.
"There's only Roselia we need to keep an eye on now. Especially with how volatile she's been lately."
She turned to me—
Then suddenly dove forward, wrapping her arms around my waist and burying her face against my stomach.
"…You just talked to the Original Creator a second ago…"
She tilted her head up to look at me.
"And?" she added. "She wanted advice, so I gave her some."
I let out a small sigh, running a hand through her hair as I leaned back against the couch. She slumped comfortably on top of me.
"You're really impossible…" I muttered. "No wonder the other gods are terrified of you…"
"Like who?"
"Egrathiel," I replied, absentmindedly bringing a strand of her hair closer while my other hand rested against her back.
"She always goes pale whenever you get pissed off… like you might accidentally erase everything during one of your emotional spikes—"
Anathasia reached up and covered my mouth with her hand.
"Our cosmology isn't that fragile, you know," she said, resting her cheek against my chest as she pressed closer.
"Sure, maybe I could compress it into something else…"
She paused.
"But you'd kill me if I did that."
Anathasia lifted her head again, looking up at me.
"Anyway, we still have to go to Christmas next month—"
"You mean two weeks from now," I cut in dryly, lightly pinching her cheek as she froze.
"Wait, what? Did I lose track of time?"
"Kinda," I replied, my other hand still rubbing her back. "It's already late November."
Her eyes widened.
"…Wait, seriously?"
I nodded.
"Seriously."
Anathasia slumped back onto my chest, my chin resting on top of her head as she grumbled.
"I genuinely almost forgot… and I didn't even binge-read anything these past few days…"
A small smile tugged at my lips as I gently patted her head.
"We've been all over the place lately."
"And all over each other as well," a voice suddenly cut in.
The next second, Lena and Francesca materialized on the other couch.
Lena folded her arms.
We both looked at them.
"Oh… hey, girls…" I said, forcing a smile.
"Looks like Mom and Dad really can't keep their hands off each other, huh…" Lena continued, that same exasperated look on her face.
"What makes it worse is that you both look like you're in your twenties… when you're already in your late thirties."
She let out a sigh, staring at us.
"Anyway… what's Mom planning to do about Aunt Roselia?"
"Oh, you heard?" Anathasia tilted her head slightly.
"Yes. Every single word. From start to finish," Lena replied. "I'm worried about the people in Kazar… especially those in the Nutriscu Duchy."
"As of now…" Francesca chimed in, her eyes slowly glowing gold. "Aunt Roselia is sitting inside her Ducal House."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"She just waved at me too…"
Anathasia and I froze, staring at her.
"You can already reach that far…?" I muttered.
"Aegea exists within an entirely different Demiurge's Image…" Anathasia's voice dropped to a whisper.
"If you can already see that far…"
She suddenly pushed herself up, sitting on my lower abdomen, her eyes locked onto Francesca.
"Have you tried using other aspects of your authority?" she asked. "Like manipulating properties? Creating totalities with a thought?"
"Ngh… Anathasia, you're a bit heavy—"
"Shut up," she said casually, covering my mouth with her hand.
"Our daughter's starting to get the hang of her authority here."
Francesca recoiled slightly, her eyes widening at the sudden intensity.
"Um… not yet…? I haven't really tried…"
Anathasia nodded, pulling her hand back before crossing her arms, still seated on top of me.
"I see… even so…" she murmured.
"Her awareness alone is already something else…"
She swung her other leg over, settling properly on the couch and leaning back against it, her brows furrowing slightly.
"As for Roselia…"
She waved her hand dismissively.
"Let's just give her space for now. I'm too lazy to deal with someone who refuses to listen."
The three of us went silent, staring at her.
"That's… actually a good call," I said.
"Aunt Roselia doesn't seem like she'd listen to anything we say," Lena added.
"Mhm," Francesca hummed softly. "I think… it's best if we let her process her own trauma."
She lifted her gaze, meeting mine.
"From what I can see, Aunt Roselia's behavior points to one thing."
"Trauma?" I tilted my head.
"Fear of abandonment, Dad."
Lena looked down, gently rubbing her chin as she stared at the table. Anathasia leaned forward slightly, her hands clasped together.
"There's definitely no easy fix for that…" she muttered, inhaling sharply.
"Gosh… why are Outer Gods either unstable or just straight-up weird?"
The room immediately fell silent.
All eyes turned to her.
She blinked, then shot us an incredulous look.
"What?"
Her brows knitted together.
"Anathasia…" I said flatly.
"You should be the last person to say that."
Her expression flattened.
"…Right," she muttered, sinking back into the couch as she stared at the ceiling. "Let's just think about Christmas a few weeks from now."
She glanced back at us, her expression softening slightly.
"We have Rania over there. We can trust her to handle things for now."
With a collective nod, the conversation ended there as we carried on with our day.
—
Roughly two weeks later…
"Mnh…!" Anathasia inhaled sharply, stretching her arms as Lena and Francesca stepped out of the car.
I followed behind, my gaze settling on the same humble house I grew up in.
Another car was parked a short distance ahead of ours.
Probably Rose's.
"Mhm… it's been years since we last visited, hasn't it?" Anathasia murmured.
"Almost a decade," I added, walking past her as Lena and Francesca followed. "Maybe more."
As we stepped inside, everyone else was already there. Chatting among themselves. The soft clinking of porcelain plates and spoons drifted in from the kitchen.
Dad noticed me first.
His face lit up almost instantly.
"Ruzen—you're finally here," he said, walking over with open arms before pulling me into a hug.
"Yeah," I laughed lightly. "Big sis brought an entire convoy just to drag me here… you know how she is."
He pulled away, shaking his head with a smile.
"Tsk, Rose, huh… that girl's always blowing things out of proportion."
"Dad, I heard that," a voice called from the kitchen.
She peeked out from the doorway.
"I'm not deaf, you know?"
Rose stood there in an apron. Red, familiar, her hair tied up neatly.
Everyone else had moved toward the cottage behind the house, likely to drink, leaving Rose and a few of our cousins to handle the food.
"That reminds me," Dad said suddenly. "Where are my granddaughters?"
"We're here, Grandpa," Francesca chimed, stepping out from behind me. She reached for his hand, gently pressing it against her forehead.
"And big sis too," she added, glancing behind her as Lena walked in.
For a moment, Dad froze.
His gaze shifted from Lena… to me.
Eyes wide.
"That's Carthanalenia now?"
I raised a brow, glancing back at Lena.
"Well… yeah."
He didn't respond.
Even as Lena stepped forward and mirrored Francesca's gesture, pressing her forehead lightly against the back of his hand.
"It's been a long time since we visited, Grandad," she said softly, offering a smile.
That alone was enough to make him completely stiffen.
A moment later—
"How's it going, everyone??"
Anathasia casually barged in, dressed in her usual cardigan, a simple shirt underneath, and a long skirt. She looked almost too prim and proper for the way she carried herself.
Her eyes darted around the room before landing on my dad.
With a smile, she stepped forward, gently taking his hand and pressing the back of it against her forehead.
"Long time no see, Father-in-law."
Dad just stared at her as she pulled away.
"How many times do I have to tell you that 'Dad' is fine?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
Anathasia looked away, whistling as if she hadn't heard a thing. Then her gaze shifted toward the kitchen, and she started walking off.
"I'll help with the dishes~"
Dad watched her disappear before turning back to me.
"…For an Outer God, your wife sure loves ignoring things she doesn't want to hear."
He shook his head.
"Kind of like you back in the day."
Francesca immediately looked up at me, while Lena had already started walking toward the kitchen.
"I'll help too."
"So Dad was troublesome back then?" Francesca asked, tilting her head.
"Oh, he was," Dad chuckled, patting her head. "Always came home with scrapes after playing with the neighbor's kids."
I stayed silent, running a hand down my face as he kept going.
While Lena and Anathasia helped in the kitchen, I left Francesca with Dad and headed toward the small cottage behind the house.
—
Out back, a few of my cousins were gathered, sitting around and chatting.
"Yeah, so our co-workers went—"
"Oh, it's Kyle," one of them said, making the others turn toward me as I approached.
"How's it been, man?" another added. "Heard you and your wife own a company now? That's awesome. Congrats."
"You don't look a day over twenty," one of them teased. "Did you even age?"
I laughed it off and took a seat on one of the empty chairs.
"By the way," one of them leaned forward slightly.
"Is it true?"
"Hm?" I tilted my head, smiling a little. "What about it?"
"You and your wife being multimillionaires," he said. "Word is your company's so big you barely even check on it."
"Wait, seriously?" one of my female cousins leaned in.
"Yeah," the first one continued. "Even Rose said it's bigger than the one she runs with her husband."
Silence followed.
Their eyes slowly shifted toward me.
I just sat there.
…Yeah.
I think I already know where this is going.