Life in Vain: Jobless Reincarnation

Stella nibbled on a potato crepe and stared at the young teenaged girl leading her around. As she did, two things went through her mind.

First, Onee-chan was mean for leaving her behind and running off with Eri nee-chan. Stella thought that her big sister would have a bit more sense than that, especially in a big and unknown city like this. But it seemed like Onee-chan was still a kid at heart and got swept up by all the new shiny sights.

As for Eri nee-chan... well, Onii-chan didn't know how to read the room and promised to hold a big wedding for her as soon as they got settled down in the city, so her head was somewhere else at the moment. Stella didn't blame her.

In the end, it was all Onii-chan's fault again.

'I agree! It's all Rudy's fault!' Fai's voice echoed in Stella's head.

<I don't disagree. But it's not very nice to blame everything on Rudy when he's trying so hard, is it?> Wata's voice.

*Blame whoever you want. It won't change the fact that your life's going to be troublesome in the future.*

'Wyn!'

*What? It's true.* Wyn stifled a yawn and her voice echoed again. *Do you know how hard it is to block the winds of Fate? Especially when that annoying puppy keeps trying to drag Stella to being a hero?*

<Tch. That smug mongrel...>

A lively conversation. It seemed like Stella's elemental pals had a lot to say about her current situation.

Frankly, Stella did too, but it wasn't that productive.

So instead, she let them bicker and focused on her surroundings.

Miss Ai had bought Stella some food after that embarrassing moment of Stella's stomach growling. That was good, because Stella didn't have any money on her and it would cause a big incident if she called for Onii-chan over something small like that.

It was a big oversight though. Out of all the weird things she kept in her expandable backpack that she managed to make with Onii-chan's help, Stella didn't have a single snack. Definitely needed to bug Onii-chan about that later.

Especially since she saw him secretly make chocolate for Onee-chan earlier.

Tch. Playing favorites like that is no good, Onii-chan...

But anyway.

Stella munched on her potato crepe and took a closer look at Miss Ai.

Judging from her neat uniform, she was definitely a student at the academy that Onii-chan was talking about. And she gave off Student Council President vibes too. Especially with how she helped Stella out without question.

Plus that short red hair and pretty violet eyes... yep. Definitely like the main female lead of a magic academy anime that her younger brother used to watch.

Then there was the fact that Miss Ai seemed to have a really good handle on the mana around her too.

Stella was pretty good at magic. She wasn't a straight cheat like Onii-chan, but she was able to handle it pretty well and had a good grasp on theory. Because of that, she could also roughly tell how good other people were at using magic from how mana flowed around and through them.

Eri nee-chan for example was terrible at magic. While she could use mana to fight and create flames, she fumbled around in trying to mold mana into spells.

In comparison, Norn Onee-chan was really good at fighting while casting spells and could intuitively use them while swinging her sword around. And that was because mana seemed to be 'sticky' around Norn and move how she wanted it to.

As expected of Stella's big sister and Rudy's younger sister, of course.

But Miss Ai... was kind of similar?

From how she looked around, it seemed like she could see mana too. And with the look she gave Stella, she probably recognized how good Stella was with magic.

Well, that or she picked up on Fai, Wata, and Wyn. But she'd definitely be freaking out more if she did considering that Stella's elemental friends were apparently on the level of spirit kings or something.

Another fun fact that confirmed that Stella was doomed to not live a normal life, but that was something to think about later.

"Is there something on my face, Stella?"

Ai glanced back at Stella and then reached up to rub her face. "Is my makeup wearing off?"

Stella blinked and then said, "You wear make up, Miss Ai? But you're already super pretty..."

Ai nodded. "That's why I wear it." She sighed and said, "It gets a bit annoying being too pretty when I walk around, so I put a little bit on to dress down... Is it wearing off?"

Stella shook her head. "I don't think so?"

But this was Miss Ai nerfing herself with make-up? How pretty was she without it then?

"Good." Ai let out a relieved sigh and then smiled. "Now, are you enjoying your food?"

"Mmhm!" Stella took another bite out of her potato crepe and said, "It's a bit salty, but it's tasty!"

It was also pretty nostalgic.

Onii-chan had been making a lot of food from Earth, but most of them were either sweets or drinks. When they weren't, it was usually an entrée or something like pizza. A proper meal instead of snacks.

This though...

Stella finished her crepe, smiling at how it reminded her of sneaking away with Aki after school to get some junkfood.

Ai nodded and said, "I'm glad. Hopefully your big sister won't be too upset at the unhealthy snack."

Stella snorted. "You don't have to worry about that. Onee-chan eats way more unhealthy things."

Like tons of sugary sweets, chocolate, and almost nothing but meat.

She blamed Eri nee-chan.

Ai laughed and said, "Even so, you're still growing, so you have to make sure to eat a bit healthier as well. Fruits and veggies... even if they're bitter and you don't like them."

"Mm." Stella gave a light nod and then brushed off her hands before grabbing the hem of Ai's shirt.

When Stella did, Ai pulled her close and continued walking. While keeping an eye on their surroundings, Ai said, "So what brings you and your sister to Sharia? Are you two traveling alone?"

Stella shook her head. "No. We're here with Onii-chan- I mean, with my big brother too. But he's busy registering us at school or something with my sister-in-law and best friend."

Ai frowned and said, "And he let you and your sister wander off alone?"

Stella shrugged. "Onii-chan is a cheat. I'm pretty sure that even if something bad happened, he'd spin back time to undo it."

She was about... 95% sure of that at this point. Considering that Onii-chan could teleport them all over the place and kept scribbling equations and diagrams that looked a lot like the theoretical time-travel black-hole stuff she saw on TV once, Stella wouldn't put it past her Onii-chan to be able to do time-stop or time rewind stuff.

Like, he was practically a god already anyway now with how many people kept worshipping him.

But besides that...

"And even if he couldn't, I'm strong too!" Stella puffed out her chest and said, "I beat up a group of bandits!"

Well. She *almost* beat up a group of bandits. Onii-chan showed up to finish them off and turned everything into a gorefest, but Stella was... doing okay.

And she made contingency plans for next time. Like always having a barrier spell up and getting better at dodging. Also a lot of mental strength training by sparring with Onee-chan.

Ai frowned and said, "Even so, that's a bit reckless. For both your big brother and big sister. If I had a baby sister as cute as you, I wouldn't let you out of my sight."

Stella nodded. "I didn't say it wasn't."

Objectively, Stella was cute. Super adorable. There were still times that she stared at her reflection and didn't believe it was her.

Pudgy cheeks. Sparkling green eyes. Golden blonde hair and a a face that had a super great puppy dog look to guilt trip people into doing what she wanted.

Not only that, but judging from Eos and Ena, as well as Aunt Therese, Stella was definitely going to be a drop-dead beauty in the future.

Obviously, you would take every precaution to protect a girl like that because bad guys the world over would try to snatch her away or do terrible things.

But of course, nobody in Stella's family thought like that.

...Though that was mostly because Onii-chan would tear time and space apart to reach her before anything bad could happen.

Wait. Was *that* why all his entrances whenever Stella called for Onii-chan was so dramatic? Was that guy literally cutting time and space apart with his sword to reach her?

...More on that later.

Stella shook her head to clear her thoughts and then put on a smile with her cute face. Looking back up at Ai, she said, "What are you doing here, Miss Ai?"

"I live here with my big sister."

"You have a big sister too?"

"Mm. She's not really my sister, but she's close enough." Ai fiddled with the ribbon on her shirt and said, "Maybe more like a Mom? She raised me since I was small, so..."

"Ooh! That's like me and Onii-chan!"

Ai blinked. "Really now?"

"Mmhm!" Stella nodded and said, "After the big time space thingy, Onii-chan was teleported with me. I was just a baby, so he had to do a lot of things to take care of me."

Ai smiled and said, "It looks like he raised you well then considering how smart you are."

"Mm..."

Stella paused to think about that.

In recent years, that would definitely be a 'no' considering the shenanigans they were wrapped up in. But Stella could give that a pass since it was because her ecchi nee-chans showed up and started hogging Onii-chan.

When Stella was small though...

"...Yeah. Onii-chan worked really hard."

Making sure she was safe and well-fed. Keeping an eye on her all the time and singing lullabies when she couldn't sleep. Changing her diapers, reading her stories, chatting with her in Japanese when she still didn't understand the world around them to calm her down...

Stella was definitely glad that her Onii-chan was Rudy. If it was anyone else... Well, she definitely wouldn't be as carefree as she was now.

Knowing her, Stella had a feeling that she would have been extremely paranoid about everything and anything around her. She probably would have walled herself off too and focused desperately on trying to get back home or do the impossible and resurrect herself back on Earth.

But because Rudy was here, and because of everything that he did, she could accept herself as Stella, along with her new family.

Well, except for her dad. She still refused to believe that man was her biological father, no matter how ridiculously talented in the sword he might be or how much he looked like Onii-chan.

Stella glanced up at Ai and said, "But your big sister did a good job with you too, Miss Ai."

Polite, smart, and good-natured. Maybe a bit naive considering she was taking the fact that Stella was definitely *not* a normal five year old in stride, but otherwise Miss Ai was definitely a model example of what a respectable teenaged daughter should be.

Ai laughed and said, "I'm sure that she would appreciate hearing that."

Stella smiled and said, "Well, I'm definitely going to tell her that! Miss Ai is great!"

Ai smiled back and said, "You're pretty incredible yourself, Stella. Now... I think we've arrived."

"Hm?"

Stella looked around and then realized that they had left the crowded streets and arrived at a fancy looking building.

There were still people walking around, but most of them looked like adventurers- No, they definitely were adventurers from the way they carried themselves.

Ai reached down to grab Stella's hand and then started leading her toward the building. "We'll take a quick look inside and see if anyone's seen your sister. If not, I'll take you back to meet my big sister. She'll definitely be able to help."

Stella nodded and followed after Ai. But as she did, the front doors of the building opened.

Norn and Eris walked out, both reading over a bundle of parchments.

The moment that Stella saw that, she broke free from Ai and then ran over to kick Norn's shin.

"Ow!"

Norn winced and then looked around. "Who- Stella?"

"Dumb Onee-chan! I told you to take me with you when you go to the Adventurer's Guild!"

"Huh? But you said that you wanted to take a look around for a bit-"

"You're supposed to wait for me! Baka! Dummy! Idiot!"

Eris looked over at Stella and let out an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Stella. I should have noticed... Did you get lost?"

"Hmph." Stella stepped back and said, "I'll forgive you, Eri nee-chan. Onii-chan was being dumb, so you have a lot on your mind. But you!" She pointed at Norn and said, "Onee-chan- No. Norn Notus Greyrat! How could you leave a kid like me and run off with-"

"Wait."

A voice cut through Stella's tirade. Ai's, sounding confused and in disbelief.

Stella glanced back and huffed. "What is it-"

"Nornie?"

Norn let out a sharp gasp and then pointed at Ai. "No way?! Aisha? Sis?"

Eris gave Stella a blank stare.

Stella tilted her head. "What?"

"...You really have a talent for finding your family members at the strangest times, don't you?"

"???"

*Told you.*

????????

-RNG-

I stood in front of the looming pair of double doors and then reached up to adjust my tie. After that, I looked to my right at Sylphy and said, "You remember the plan, right?"

My lovely elf fiancée smiled and said, "Smile and be pretty like the trophy wife I am!"

I groaned and reached up to pinch the bridge of my nose, staving off a budding headache. "I'm going to beat the crap out of dad for introducing you to those books when we get back."

Dammit. It's one thing to have your fetishes, but it's another to try and pass them off to your son's wife. Especially going out of your way to secretly supply her with BDSM noble/slave relationship smut.

"Um. Don't hit him too hard? I'm the one who asked him..."

I reached up to fix Sylphy's silver hair, lacing a light blue ribbon through it.

She leaned into me with a smile and let out a content sigh.

Seeing that, I let out a sigh of my own and said, "How did my sweet Sylphy become such a lewd person?"

"I just love you that much?"

"...No. Pretty sure this is Dad's fault. Did he show you some porn or something when you were young? He must have... Or maybe he talked about some weird kinky stuff that happened in the Asura Kingdom? I think he was doing stupid things like that around the time he rattled on about my betrothal to Eri-"

"Ahem."

A soft cough. Miko, clearing her throat from beside us.

I finished up fixing Sylphy's hair and then let out an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Miko."

She glanced towards Sylphy and then turned a beet red after making eye contact. "D-Don't worry about it, Mister Rudy. B-B-But I think we should hurry up."

...Let's not think about what Miko saw from Sylphy with her passive mind-reading mystic eyes that made her turn beet red.

Instead...

"Yeah." I made sure my clothes were pristine one last time and then reached for the door. "Let's meet this infamous headmaster everyone's talking about."

A soft click. The door handle turning. Me pushing through the door and walking in-

And then immediately walking back and pulling the door shut in front of me after I saw the person sitting at the desk.

Sylphy blinked. "Um. Rudy?"

"I have made a terrible miscalculation."

"What-"

An explosion erupted, blowing the doors off their hinges. At the same time, a blue blur rushed towards me.

Sylphy tried to intercept, but she was blown away by a thousand-fold magic array and glued to the wall.

Miko gasped and then was immediately warped away into the office, suddenly reappearing behind the desk.

And as for the one responsible for all of that...

"My. Is that how you greet your Master after all this time, my dearest student?"

"Ahaha... Good to see you again, Master Roxy? And, uh... I can explain?"