BRAND NEW WORLD

Chapter 68: The Father Who Returned from New Memories

The magic circle faded, and before me now stood the house I knew so well. I heard a girl’s voice calling out. I saw Daisy running toward me from the edge of the lake.

"Mother!" Daisy cried.

Daisy approached and hugged me. Abiyasa followed behind her.

"Hey, sweetheart! Were you waiting for me?"

"Mm!" Daisy nodded in reply.

"Sorry, I came home late. Mother had some business to take care of."

"Mm!" Daisy shook her head. "What matters is that you came back."

"Hehe... I’m home!"

"Welcome back!" Daisy answered, smiling.

"Lun, who is this child? Why does she call you mother?" Ringgamana asked.

"Ah! Right... Ringga, she is—" I began, but someone else cut me off.

"My Lady... why did you have to bring this useless cat?" Abiyasa said, glaring sarcastically at Anandita.

"Oh, my Lady! You should just throw this scruffy black cat away. She’ll only bring bad luck," Anandita retorted.

"What did you say!?" Abiyasa exclaimed, his eyes piercing sharply at Anandita.

Anandita returned his gaze just as sharply, an aura of hostility emanating from her.

*Haahh... I never imagined their personalities would become like this after turning into real people. In their in-game descriptions, it said they were competitive with each other, but not competitive like this...*

I snapped my fingers, and two energy fists appeared above Abiyasa’s and Anandita’s heads, then struck them.

"OWW!" they both cried out, clutching their bruised heads.

"Sweetheart, could you cover your ears for just a moment?"

"Okay," Daisy replied.

"Listen carefully. I do not want to see or hear the two of you arguing in this house. It sets a bad example for Daisy. Do you understand?"

"U-understand," they both answered, bowing their heads as they sat seiza.

"Lady Luna! Welcome back!" someone greeted.

"Lu, I’m home!"

"Them..." Lusserina said, looking at Abiyasa and Anandita sitting on the ground.

I then explained what had happened.

"As the head butler of this house, I want you to teach them not to fight anymore and to become better."

"Don’t you worry, my Lady. I guarantee I will educate them to become better," Lusserina replied, smiling slyly as she looked at the two of them.

"Then, let’s go inside, sweetheart."

With that, I stepped into the house with Daisy beside me.

Hmm... why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?

"What’s wrong, Mother?" Daisy asked.

"Ah, it’s nothing, sweetheart."

Hm... maybe it’s just my imagination.

"Let’s go inside."

"..."

Just as I was about to open the front door...

"Mother... that uncle..." Daisy said.

Ah! I forgot about Ringga.

• •

After everyone had come back inside (including Ringgamana), Lusserina immediately began cooking dinner, assisted by Abiyasa and Anandita. While I bathed with Daisy, Ringgamana sat waiting in the dining room. After finishing our bath and getting dressed, Daisy and I went back downstairs.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Do you want to take a bath too?"

"Oh!" Ringga just stood there staring at me, his mouth slightly agape.

"What? Is there something wrong with my clothes?"

"Ah, no, it’s just... "You look so beautiful," Ringgamana said before going off to bathe.

Hearing that made my heart suddenly pound wildly. I also felt a warm sensation in my chest and on my face.

"Mother?" Daisy called.

Daisy’s voice instantly brought me back to my senses.

"Y-yes, sweetheart?"

"Are you sick?" Daisy asked.

"Sick? No, Mother’s not sick. Why do you ask?"

"Because your face is red, like someone who’s sick," Daisy said innocently.

I quickly took out a mirror.

Ah! It really is red! I didn’t realize it. Is this because of Ringga’s compliment just now? But many people have complimented me before, and I never felt anything. My heart is also pounding wildly. Ah, I really don’t understand.

"L-let’s wait at the dining table."

While we were waiting in the dining room, Abi and Ana kept arguing, almost coming to blows. However, it never lasted long before being stopped by a glare from Lusserina. Not long after...

Ding!

The doorbell rang, signaling that someone had opened the door.

"I’m home!" a woman’s voice called out.

"Welcome back, Rima!" I replied.

"Oh, so you’re already back too," Rima said.

Rima then sat down at the dining table with me.

"So, how did the search go?" Rima asked.

"Erm... about that..."

Before I could finish my sentence, we heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Hey, Lun, did you—" Ringgamana stopped mid-sentence when he saw Rima.

"AH!" Rima exclaimed.

Seeing Ringga, I immediately used my hand to block Daisy’s view. Then I glared at him sharply.

"H-hey! Why aren’t you wearing a shirt and instead standing there bare-chested!?" I asked through telepathy.

"It’s my house, I can wear whatever I want, right?" Ringga replied (also through telepathy), smirking slyly.

"But there’s a little child here! Go change, now!"

"Fine, fine..." Ringga answered lazily.

Ringga then went back upstairs.

"Lun... did I just see wrong? That wasn’t a ghost, was it?" Rima asked.

"See wrong? You mean Ringga?"

Rima nodded.

"No, you didn’t see wrong. He’s real." I answered with a smile.

"Thank goodness he’s back. I thought I’d have to keep sleeping with you forever. Hahaha," Rima laughed.

"Oh! If you don’t like sleeping with me, you’re welcome to move out of this house," I retorted.

"Hey, I was just joking... joking," Rima said with a wry smile.

"..."

"Oh, I’ll go pick up the children. They’re sure to love the surprise. Hehe," Rima said, then disappeared with magic.

"Wai—"

Before long, Ringga came back down, this time wearing a white shirt and black pants.

"Where’s Rima?" Ringga asked.

"She... went to pick up the children."

"Children?" Ringga murmured, confused.

"You know, my other NPC characters," I said through telepathy.

"Ah, them..." Ringga replied (also through telepathy).

Ringga then joined us at the dining table.

"Lun... this is..." Ringga glanced at Daisy.

"This is Daisy. I adopted her after an incident. Daisy, introduce yourself."

"Da-Daisy, nice to meet you," Daisy said softly.

"Oh, how sweet... Nice to meet you, Daisy. My name is Ringgamana, but you can call me Ringga," Ringga replied.

Daisy turned to me as if asking for permission, and I responded with a nod.

"Lun... is she the child from that destroyed village?" Ringga asked.

*Hah? How does he know that? I haven’t told him yet...*

I immediately furrowed my brow and stared at him.

"How do you know that?"

"Ah... err... I was just guessing, hehe," Ringga answered with a wry smile.

"Were you there too, back then?"

"No, no, I was just watching from afar. Oops!" Ringga immediately covered his mouth with his hand.

"Oh! So, you just watched from the sidelines and didn’t help me!?" I asked with a cold tone.

"I-it’s not like that. I only watched after you had already defeated the monster, and I wanted to let you adapt to this world," Ringga replied with a wry smile.

Haahh... even if I confront him, he’ll just keep making excuses.

"S-so? Have you adapted to this world yet?" Ringga asked.

"Are you trying to change the subject?"

"N-no, I’m genuinely worried about you," Ringga replied.

Haahh... fine, I’ll set this aside for now.

"Yes, I’ve more or less adapted to this world and this new body. However, there are still many unanswered questions, like why we are in this world, or why the game world of New World Online (NWO) became reality."

"As for that... I haven’t found the answer yet either. Besides, I’m still trying to figure out why there are new memories that we ourselves don’t know or have never experienced, yet it feels as if we did experience them," Ringga said.

"Exactly, that!" I exclaimed. "Speaking of memories, do you also have a memory from just before we set off to fight the demon lord?"

"From just before we set off to fight the demon lord?" Ringga murmured, lost in thought.

"Yes, did you get that memory too?"

"..."

"Is that memory about us becoming parents who were separated from three small children, Rima, and Lusserina?" Ringga said.

"Yes, that one!" I exclaimed.

Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps was heard, and then...

CREAK!

An elven man and a woman opened the back door. They were Radhimar and Rania.

**Their faces** instantly turned pale, **their** hearts tightened, **their** eyes widened, sweat poured from **their** foreheads, and then both fell silent, as if frozen in place after seeing the figure of Ringga before them. Bartasz, who arrived late, was also startled and fell silent when he saw Ringga.

[A Short While Earlier]

In the principal’s office, Radhimar and Bartasz sat on a plush sofa, watching Rania as she worked on her reports.

"Sis, are you almost done? We’re going to be late at this rate," Radhimar said.

"Can’t you be more patient? I’m trying to finish quickly. If you want it done faster, then come here and help," Rania answered, annoyed.

"F-fine, I’ll wait," Radhimar replied with a wry smile.

"Brother... just relax, we’ll definitely make it in time," Bartasz added.

After that, there was only small talk between Radhimar and Bartasz, accompanied by the sound of a pen scratching on paper. Before long...

CLICK!

The door opened, and the figure of Rima appeared before them.

"Mama Rima?" the three exclaimed.

"Oh, good, you’re all here. Saves me time," Rima said.

Hearing this, Radhimar and Bartasz exchanged glances.

"What’s going on, Mom?" Bartasz asked.

"Today, you’re all having dinner at home, alright?" Rima said.

"At home?" the three murmured.

"Yes! Because there’s someone you absolutely must meet," Rima said, smiling slyly.

"Don’t tell me this is another one of Mama Rima’s pranks," Radhimar said.

"Don’t worry, this isn’t a prank," Rima replied.

Even so, doubt still lingered on **their** faces.

"I’m serious. Rania, are you still working on that report?" Rima asked, approaching Rania’s desk.

"Yes, why?" Rania replied.

"Enough, just leave it. Finish it tomorrow. **Now**, let’s **go** straight to Lake Dewata," Rima said, pulling Rania’s hand.

"Ah, I don’t trust Mama Rima anymore," Rania said, pulling free from Rima’s grasp.

Rania sat back down and continued working on her report.

"Ow! That really hurts my feelings," Rima replied, clutching her chest.

"Fine. I was going to keep it a secret, but it seems there’s no other way. The person you must meet is... your father," Rima said, her tone serious.

Hearing this made Rania stop writing instantly, her hand trembling uncontrollably. All three **of their** bodies tensed in place. The room fell silent.

"..."

"See? Mama Rima’s joking again," Radhimar said with a wry smile.

"No, I’m not joking. Your mother brought him back home this afternoon," Rima replied with a serious expression.

"..."

"Fine, if you don’t want to come, I’ll just head home then, alright?" Rima said nonchalantly, walking toward the door.

"Wait!" Rania called out, standing from her chair.

Rima smiled from behind the door.

Radhimar, Rania, and Bartasz glanced at each other.

"Are you serious?" Radhimar whispered.

"I... I’m still not sure either, but it seems like Mama Rima is serious this time. Besides, even if she’s lying, we can just ask Mother to teleport us back home," Rania whispered back.

"I agree with Sis," Bartasz added, nodding.

"..."

"Fine, we’ll come," Rania said.

"Good children! I promise you won’t regret it."

After gathering together in the corner of the room, Rima snapped her fingers. Light enveloped the four of them before they disappeared.

[Back at Lake Dewata]

A magic circle appeared in the backyard, and from it emerged Rima, Radhimar, Rania, and Bartasz. However, for some reason, Radhimar, Rania, and Bartasz remained frozen in place.

"Why are you all just standing there? Come on in!" Rima said, then led the way.

The three glanced at each other once more before slowly walking toward the back door. Rima’s steps halted, and instead of entering first, she gestured for the three to go ahead.

Rania’s heart pounded wildly, sweat dripped from her forehead, and her hands trembled as she reached for the doorknob. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath before steeling herself to open the door.

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