Leon Greyrat: The Second Son – Mushoku Tensei OC

Chapter 50 – We Will Be Reunited: A Fallen Noble

— Leon Greyrat —

“Eris!”

The girl in question stood stock still as a pair of arms wrapped around her.

“Y-You’re alive… you came back to us… I’m so glad…” Philip said, tightening his grasp as he began to tear up.

Eris turned her head to me, her confusion clear on her face as she tried to process her current situation.

Well, I had to say, I was quite surprised too.

While I always knew that underneath his cunning facade, Philip truly cared for Eris, I never expected him to be so… open about it.

It wasn’t a bad change, though.

“Ahem! Sorry, I was just… I’m really glad you’re okay, Eris,” the man in question said, letting go of his daughter. “Ah, and you as well, Leon. Though I knew you could handle everything short of the Seven Great Powers.”

…He didn’t know just how right those words were.

Philip then sat back down behind his paper-covered desk as he gestured for us to sit on the couch before him, which the four of us did, though I needed to pull Eris down next to me as she was still frozen in shock.

“So… while I am curious about your story, especially after hearing that you got sent to the Demon Continent, I’m willing to answer your questions first,” Philip said, leaning forward as he steepled his fingers. “Now… ask away.”

With Eris still unresponsive, and Norn and Aisha not caring, I decided to speak up.

“First… I believe Ghislaine mentioned Lady Hilda being in her room, but where is Lord Sauros?” I asked.

I was a bit worried for the old man, as his unruliness had caused him problems even before the teleportation incident, which his opponents could now use as a weapon to finish him off.

“Ah, no need for the ‘Lady’ and ‘Lord’,” Philip said, surprising me. “And as for my father, he is currently out working on repairing one of the granaries.”

Now that was an even bigger shock.

So much so that Eris snapped out of her daze.

That walking, punching, yelling ball of noble pride? Working as a construction worker? 

That was just ridiculous.

“Umm… why?” I asked. “Why would a noble be doing such… peasant-like work?”

Philip’s lips quirked up in a small grin. “What noble?”

…Huh?

“I’m just teasing you. But my words are not wrong either,” he said as he leaned back in his chair. “I suppose to explain, I should introduce myself properly. I am Philip Greyrat, acting mayor of the new city of Roa and the chief of the Fittoan Restoration Project.”

Contrary to what I had expected with my years working alongside the man, Philip didn’t bow as he introduced himself, nor did he state the middle name that distinguished him as a possible heir.

“Philip… Greyrat…” I said, voicing out the lack of a certain name.

“Yes,” he nodded. “You see… I am no longer a member of the Boreas family. Nor any noble family for that matter. This also goes for my wife, my father, and you as well, Eris. Essentially… we are now like your father, Paul. Disgraced nobles, having cast away our name and lineage.”

…Wow.

“So you’re a… commoner now?” I asked, slightly worried that my question would be considered insensitive.

“Indeed!” he nodded. “Though I still do have enough influence to command respect among the common folk. After all, I am currently the acting mayor.”

“I see…” I said.

At least my worries about being rude seemed to be for naught, seeing the smile still on Philip’s face.

Looking over at Eris, I noticed that she was wearing a wide smile and, meeting my eyes, that smile grew.

“Eris Greyrat… doesn’t that sound nice, Leon?”

I flushed lightly at the implication.

What was she doing, thinking about that now?

She just lost her nobility!

Well… luckily she wouldn’t have to get used to anything once we were married.

At least that was nice.

“A-Anyway, so you’re no longer a noble… what happened for that outcome to occur?” I asked.

Philip, who had been smiling fondly at our display, nodded.

“Well, I’ll keep it short for now, and if you want a more detailed explanation, that can wait until dinner,” he said. “Essentially, Hilda, Ghislaine, and I were teleported to the Strife Zone, just east of here.”

I nodded. Paul had already informed me of some of the basics of his story.

“It wasn’t long before we came into contact with a local army, and after Ghislaine dispatched a few of their finest fighters, we were brought back to meet their king.”

…I felt like he was skipping a lot of steps there, but I nodded at him to continue nonetheless.

“After that, I explained my situation, knowing that if I returned, we would simply be executed for my failing to protect my holdings. Or, more accurately, we would be executed so that my opponents to gain some political power while the nation itself saved some face after such a disaster.”

Paul told me of this too, the disgusting game of politics and nobles.

I nodded at him to continue.

“So, with our interests aligning, me and the king struck a deal, where I would provide my political insight and land management skills, as well as Ghislaine’s power, to help him gain the region he claimed, and afterwards, he would do everything in his power to convince the King of Asura to hold leniency for me and my family,” he said, smiling with pride. “And so, with the Sword King Ghislaine leading the charge to take over the land, and me ensuring they were held and controlled properly, we found ourselves fulfilling my end of the deal within a year.”

He then massaged his chin, which had grown a short goatee in the time we had been apart.

“Of course, while the political influence of the Strife Zone is pitiable, for a nation that held an entire region, the king’s request was enough to change our punishment from execution to relinquishment of our noble titles. After all, to many nobles, that was one and the same,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “And so, that leaves us here.”

As I took in the information, I felt my eyes narrow at the man.

If there was one word to describe Philip Boreas Greyrat… now just Philip Greyrat, it would be… ambitious.

After all, even after losing his sons, he still tried with all his might to win the battle of the Boreas line’s succession.

So there was no way the man I knew would take this situation lying down.

This must also be why he obtained the temporary mayor position and the leader of the ‘Fittoa Restoration Project’, whatever that was.

Getting up, I leaned over the desk as I glared into his eyes.

“Listen, while I respect the strength of the pen, if you try to pull my family into politics… I’ll show you the strength of the sword,” I said as I released some of my bloodlust, causing Ghislaine who was standing nearby to grip her sword. “...And just so you know, Eris is my family now too. So don’t expect her to play into your schemes.”

Instead of getting angry or laughing off my threat as I had expected, Philip simply smiled happily.

“So it was just like I had guessed…” he said, looking over at his daughter. “I’m glad you found someone, Eris.”

…Huh?

He shook his head before looking back at me. “I understand. However, there is no need to worry, as I want nothing to do with politics anymore.”

…What?

Staring into the man’s eyes, I could tell. 

Those words right then… they were truthful.

“Honestly, even if I did, without a noble title, and with my brother officially succeeding the Boreas name, I have already failed,” he said as he then clenched his fist. “But… after being close to death so many times and surviving my experiences in the Strife Zone by the skin of my teeth… I realized that I wanted to live a simple life. And that’s not even considering how me rejoining any political battle would put Hilda, Eris, and Julius’ lives in danger.”

Oh… I see…

So… he had some sort of catharsis after nearly experiencing death?

I guess if there was a way to change a man, that was certainly one of the more powerful ones.

Huh… who would have thought…

“And? What about being the acting mayor?” I asked.

“That is simply my duty,” he said seriously. “With my brother still in the capital providing connections and funds, someone needed to begin rebuilding this place from its desolate state. Once Roa and the Fittoa region are self-sustaining and rebuilt to an adequate level, I will hand off those positions to my brother. Especially now that I know Eris is safe… there is nothing left for me to do.”

…Wow, this guy really changed.

Just what did he go through to get to this point?

He had well and truly become the epitome of ‘noble’, and all it took was for him to lose that very title…

How ironic.

But, that aside…

“Philip… who is this ‘Julius’ you spoke of?” I asked.

Before he could answer, the door opened to reveal Hilda with a toddler held in her hands.

“Eris!” she said, running over to hug her daughter. “And Leon! And your sisters as well! I’m so glad you’re all okay!”

She then pulled the other three of us into a large group hug, giving me a face-to-face view of the youngest member of our little pack.

He was a little boy, no older than three, with red, curly hair that was a matching shade to Hilda, and sharp, brown eyes that looked just like Philip.

Was this… Julius?

“As you might have guessed,” Philip said. “This is Julius Greyrat. The newest member of my family, and Eris’ little brother.”

Huh… wow.

Those two have been really busy, huh?

“I missed you so much, Eris,” Hilda said, letting go of the four of us as she used the hand not holding Julius to wipe her eyes. “You’ve grown… all of you.”

So… Hilda changed too. And now she had another kid.

Actually, she was always like this, wasn’t she?

It was just the sadness of losing her sons to the battle of succession that made her so… hardened.

But she must have gotten over that too, whether it be due to the near-death experiences, the birth of Julius, or simply missing Eris… perhaps it was even a culmination of those factors.

Still… it seems that we missed quite a bit.

For Julius to be this big… Hilda must have been pregnant during the teleportation, right?

I would say it might have been after, but I assumed the two were too preoccupied to seriously try for another child.

Then again… it was in such a stressful period that Eris and I consummated our relationship, so I couldn’t say for sure.

Julius raised his arms, trying to grab at Eris as Hilda took a seat next to her.

“He seems to like you… it must be due to your hair looking like mine,” Hilda said, smiling sweetly. “Do you want to hold him?”

“Uhh… sure,” Eris said, taking the boy into her arms with a surprised face.

Aisha and Norn moved closer to the two, looking with interest at the child before them before they both nodded.

“He’s… cute,” Aisha said, extending her finger which was quickly grabbed by the smaller hand.

Indeed. That was quite cute.

“Anyways,” Philip said, making me turn back toward him. “Now that we’re all here, how about you tell us about your adventures? I’m sure that it will be quite the story.”

And so, that’s exactly what we did.

Talking about our story for a few hours, during which Aisha and Norn held the baby Julius, explaining everything we could about our adventure.

The initial panic, meeting Ruijerd, making it to Rikarisu City and becoming adventurers, beginning our journey to Wind Port… we told them everything.

Everything up to our unfortunate meeting with Orsted, causing the three to widen their eyes in shock at the mention of the Dragon God as well as the scars I had to show for it.

Hilda was quite worried, deciding to give me a comforting hug as she assessed the long-since-healed injury with a frown.

I suppose that had awakened some of her ‘mother’s instinct’, huh?

To be honest, it felt very… nice.

…I miss Mama.

Anyway, after getting over the encounter with the second-ranked power, we continued explaining our journey into Asura before our conversation was then cut short by the announcement of dinner.

“Eris, Leon… can I ask you two to stay back for a minute?” Philip asked.

Nodding, I pushed Aisha and Norn to follow Ghislaine and Hilda as they closed the door behind them, leaving Eris, Philip, and I as the only occupants of the room.

“You two… can you tell me what you are at this point? In terms of your relationship, that is,” he said, smiling.

Eris raised her head as she reached her hand down, intertwining her fingers with mine.

“We’re… promised to each other!” she declared resolutely.

“We’re lovers,” I clarified. “And nothing will change that.”

Philip nodded his head proudly, a relieved smile spreading across his face.

“Good. I give you two my blessings,” he said as he smiled at the two of us knowingly. “After all, I would be quite upset if my daughter climbed the stairs of adulthood only to be left behind. I wouldn’t want you to be like your father in that regard, Leon.”

‘Climbed the stairs of adulthood’...

“W-Wait, how do you know!?” I shouted, pointing my finger accusingly at him.

Interestingly, as I looked to my side, I saw that Eris seemed unconcerned about her father knowing of our… activities.

No, in fact, she had a smug smirk on her face!

“Call it intuition,” he said before smirking at Eris. “Now, that aside… I think I’ll leave you two alone. You seem to have something to give to your ‘partner’, don’t you, Eris?”

As he walked past us and headed out the door, I turned to Eris with an eyebrow raised in confusion, watching as the girl shook off her visible surprise at being caught with… something.

…I guess Philip’s ‘intuition’ wasn’t to be looked down upon.

If I’m being honest, it was a little terrifying.

“Is your father correct, Eri?” I asked gently. “You have something to give me?”

She looked into my eyes before quickly averting them, unlatching our hands to cross her arms over her chest, huffing a few times as she stared back at me before turning away in a repeated cycle before finally releasing a sigh.

“Y-Yeah… these.”

She then rummaged through her pocket, taking out a small box and opening it to reveal a set of four matching rings, each holding a gem with a different colour.

Red, green, blue, and yellow… and a silver band for each of them.

Those colours… was this… was this what I thought it was?

“This is yours,” Eris said, placing the yellow ring in my hand. “And this is mine,” she continued, placing the red one onto her finger.

…I think it was.

“...You wanted your old teacher and Sylphy, right?” she said, her tone a bit colder than usual. “Anyway… we’re promised to each other, so it’s only right that others know we’re taken.”

“Eri…” I said, my shocked expression turning into one of happiness as I caressed her cheek. “Thank you.”

“Hmph!” she huffed, glaring at me. “And no more women after us three, got it? You should be satisfied with three… idiot.”

“...That’s not it, Eri,” I shook my head fondly. “I am already plenty satisfied with just you, it’s just… I still can’t reject my love for those two. And if they wish to reciprocate, I don’t want to refuse them. I want to make all three of you happy.”

Eris pouted a bit at that, so, to turn that frown upside down, I leaned forward to kiss her lips with a quick peck.

“But… thank you for accepting my selfishness… I really appreciate it.”

I then looked down at the ring, taking it in my hand before placing it over my left ring finger, only to find out a moment later… that it didn’t fit.

Actually, I hadn’t cared too much about it before, but weren’t these rings in a set? 

A set that had a shared design… and a shared size.

“Eri…” I voiced calmly, trying to force down my teasing smile. “Not everyone has the same ring size, you know.”

“...Oh.”

Seeing her stunned face, I couldn’t help but chuckle into my fist.

Shoot. I couldn’t hold it in.

“S-Stop that! I-I know I messed up, okay!?” she fumed, glaring at me.

“Sorry! You were just too cute,” I said, shaking my head. “And it’s not a problem. I can just change the shape with earth magic.”

It would be a problem if it was too thin and I didn’t have enough material, but luckily, she had gotten one with a thick band.

And so, morphing the band to expand the ring’s size, I then placed it on my left ring finger, ensuring that it fit perfectly before I pocketed the blue and green rings that Eris had handed to me.

“Thank you, Eri,” I said marvelling at the new physical sign of our relationship. “I guess… we match now.”

“T-That’s the point… idiot,” she huffed, though there was a small smile I could see threatening to break loose.

Smirking at her cuteness, I leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her lips, deepening it as our tongues wandered before we eventually separated, a thin trail of spit connecting us.

“And just so you know,” I said, leaning down to whisper in her ear. “Tonight, we can do whatever you want, and I’ll show you how satisfied I am with you… as long as we’re quiet.”

She rapidly nodded her head.

Well, I suppose I had my plans set for the night.

— Leon Greyrat —

I stood on the sidelines along with Philip, Hilda, and my two sisters who were fawning over baby Julius.

As for what we were here to spectate, well…

“Hngh!”

Eris dropped to the ground, balancing on her hand before she used it to push herself upwards, twisting her body at the same time to send her sword whipping towards Ghislaine’s neck.

“Tsk!”

However, the strike was stopped by Ghislaine’s sword hilt.

The two separated, creating some distance before leaping forward, causing a symphony of clacks to resound across the arena as their wooden swords exchanged blows at speeds too fast to see with the human eye.

“Haa… Haa… Dammit,” Eris spat, wiping the blood from the small cut on her cheek. “You win, Ghislaine.”

“Don’t be so upset, Eris,” the woman said, lowering her sword with a proud smile. “You’ve gotten much stronger.”

She then walked over to where the practice weapons were kept before picking up a piece of cloth and walking back to Eris.

“It’s a good thing I expected this,” she said, placing the leather coat over the stunned Eris’ shoulders. “You can now proudly call yourself a Sword Saint, Eris Greyrat. That was a proper Longsword of Light, though it can still be improved.”

So she did use it… 

Because I had sparred with her throughout the growth of her sword skill, I couldn’t tell when she reached that realm with her constant improvement.

But she did it… well, I was already proud of her, so nothing really changed, but it was nice to see the large smile on her face.

“Eris… do you wish to grow even stronger?” Ghislaine then asked.

Eris narrowed her eyes as she glared at the taller woman. “More than anything.”

Ghislaine nodded. “Then… you must go to the Sword Sanctum. That will be the place where you can gain the most insight into what your sword is. Something that no one, or place, can teach you.”

Eris turned her head down, seemingly pondering over Ghislaine’s words as she walked back to us.

“Wonderful job, Eris,” Hilda said, clapping her hands.

“Your grandfather will be extremely happy to hear of this,” Philip nodded.

Speaking of Sauros, I had met the man last night after he returned from his work, just in time for dinner.

He had definitely changed in some aspects, much like his son, but his boisterous personality and ear-splitting voice were not of those things.

Luckily, he seemed considerate enough to tone it down once he noticed Norn wincing.

Good. I didn’t want to have to threaten my grandfather-in-law to lower his voice.

Either way, he was quite ecstatic to see that we had all survived and showed his affections on his sleeve with a giant hug, nearly cracking by back from his still-impressive strength. 

But come morning, he went back to the wall where he was acting as a foreman, chipping in with the manual labour here and there with his monstrous strength, just as he had done for most of the days after losing his nobility.

Returning to the present, Ghislaine then looked towards me, her narrowed eyes telling me all I needed to know about her unvoiced request.

Taking the practice sword from Eris, I walked over to stand opposite Ghislaine, the two of us narrowing our eyes at each other as the breeze swept past, rustling my hair.

It all happened in an instant.

Extending my touki towards Ghislaine, building up the tension in my legs, the pockets of compressed air beneath my feet, ready to explode…

And then, there was my touki, and how I wrapped it over my body and sword. 

While I hadn’t been able to manipulate it into ‘threads’ like Orsted, I was able to form plates that could overlap, increasing my defensive capabilities and overall enhancement as I did the same within my body.

The culmination of my efforts since my battle with Orsted came together, all to create a better version of the Longsword of Light. 

A version that was mine, and mine alone.

There was no time to notice the colour fade from my vision as Ghislaine and I stepped past each other, crossing the distance in an instant as a rumble resounded through the arena, evidence of the destruction of our respective sound barriers.

And then, an instant later, Ghislaine’s wooden sword shattered into splinters and a small cut appeared on her cheek.

“...Congratulations, Leon,” she said, standing up as she turned to face me with a proud smile. “You win. I’m glad I can leave the protection of Eris to you.”

“I was going to protect her anyway,” I said, also turning back. “Not that she needs it.”

“Ha. No, I suppose she does not,” Ghislaine chuckled. “That aside… I am a Sword King, and although it was only a spar, you defeated me. I can’t officially give you the designation of a Sword King, but you should consider yourself one.”

“It’s fine, someone else already called me a ‘King’... though I would prefer to not meet him again,” I said, remembering what Orsted had said before leaving, according to Eris. “But I prefer being called an ‘Elemental King’. It’s the name of my path, after all.”

“...I see,” she nodded.

“That aside, do you want me to heal your cut?” I asked.

“No, I want to keep this,” she said, wiping a bit of blood off her cheek. “It’s a sign that my student has surpassed me. A sign of pride.”

Somehow, I had expected that she would say something like that.

Oh well.

Ah, but now that I won, I should probably tell her about that, right?

“Big Sis…” I said, a bit hesitant. “One of these days… I think you should visit your homeland.”

She raised her eyebrow in question. “What brought this on?”

“Remember how we mentioned stopping by the Great Forest?” I asked, to which she slowly nodded. “Well… we met your father and brother, Gustav and Gyes, and… well, I think you guys should meet again. After all, it’s been years since you last saw each other.”

She frowned slightly as she crossed her arms.

“I’m… not sure that they would want to meet me again. I told you how I was a troublesome child, right?”

Yeah… troublesome is one way to word the gremlin I had heard so many stories about.

Still…

“I think you’d be surprised,” I said. “Family is the main reason I’ve grown stronger. My will to keep them safe is my driving force. So… I think you should at least meet again.”

She looked at me for a few moments before sighing.

“Yes… I suppose it has been a while,” she said. “Though it will have to wait until my duty here is finished. Perhaps you can tell me more about your experiences in my homeland over dinner tonight.”

“Of course!” I smiled.

— Leon Greyrat —

A few weeks had passed since we had arrived at Roa, and our group had used the time to enjoy a well-deserved break from travelling.

Norn and Aisha had both been fairly active, with Norn using the time to train her swordsmanship even more, sometimes receiving lessons from Ghislaine, while Aisha, surprisingly, had decided to watch Philip do his work and have him teach her a bit about his unique skills.

I knew she was clever, but I never expected her to get into that side of things. 

Still, she seemed eager to learn, so I didn’t bother her.

Eris had decided to use the time to train with Ghislaine, as well as spend some much-needed family time with her parents and new brother. 

I was happy for her.

Without politics and noble customs getting in the way, it seemed that their relationship had gotten much better and… warmer.

Now, they looked like a true family, though there was still some awkwardness here and there.

…As I thought, nobility was just a load of trouble.

But despite the trouble… it was, unfortunately, a strength.

A strength some people wielded expertly.

But… I would just have to get stronger to make up for the lack of influence that being a commoner brings.

And to do that, I had also been training during this time, mostly to get more experience with my new combat style in sparring with Ghislaine.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, despite me winning our first spar, we were still evenly matched in terms of abilities, with her instincts and experience being able to stand up against my unique touki utilization and magic, while our sword skills themselves were evenly matched, with her being better at the Sword God Style, and me having the wider breadth of knowledge in the Water God and North God.

Still, I had been lacking a sparring partner that made me bring out all of my tactics and skills, so fighting with Ghislaine had allowed me to grow quite a bit during our short time here.

Of course, I wasn’t only spending the time sparring.

While there was no lack of magicians who had been given jobs for the reconstruction of the region, earth spells could only do so much with their predetermined rigidity. 

So, with my silent spellcasting, as well as my ability to manipulate the earth at will, I was able to create many structures that would otherwise need to be done by hand.

But still, despite how nice it was to be back here, at the place where I first met Eris, both as a toddler and a child, this wasn’t the end of our journey.

And so, here we were, the four of us standing outside the city gates, waiting to depart and start travelling to the north, with two horses packed full of supplies.

Unlike before, there would be no carriage this time, as there were often issues with the terrain and road quality once you left Asura that carts often found difficult to navigate, if not outright stuck.

But hopefully, the change wouldn’t be too uncomfortable.

“Leon!”

Wincing at the noise, I turned back to see Sauros, still standing tall with his arms crossed in his usual pose, though he was now wearing a plain shirt and pants similar to mine rather than his previous noble attire.

In fact, I had noticed that Philip and Hilda also dressed more casually now.

I was glad that all three of them seemed to realize the importance of life rather than the petty pride and pretentious presentations they were locked into before.

“You’ve done a swell job thus far, but remember to protect Eri!” he shouted as he looked at my left hand. “...Though it seems you already have that duty… So don’t forget it!”

“Of course, Sauros,” I nodded.

“Hmph! Call me Grandfather, brat!”

And with that, he turned and left, having already said his goodbyes to Eris and my sisters.

Despite not being a noble, he still had quite a bit of pride. 

But it was that very pride that forced him with his sense of duty to act and help rebuild the city, even with his bare hands if need be.

While the nobility system was rife with corruption and entitlement, with the right people in charge… I could see some of the appeal.

I then turned my head to Eris, who was finishing her hug with her family.

“Don’t forget to eat well, Eris. And remember those things I told you about,” Hilda said.

“I will,” Eris nodded before glancing at me with lidded eyes. “I’ll surely put them into practice, Mother.”

…What were ‘those things’?

I felt a little scared, but at the same time… excited?

Arousal was confusing.

“We still have work to do in rebuilding the region, so we will remain here for a while,” Philip said. “But once we are finished… we will find you, and we can be a true family.”

Eris’ eyes widened, her face scrunching up in emotion before she gave the two one final hug. “Then… don’t take too long.”

“Of course, dear,” Hilda said sweetly as Philip nodded alongside her.

“Eri!” Julius said, extending his arms to his sister.

“I have to go, Julius,” Eris said, patting his head. “Don’t cause too much trouble, and grow up strong. Next time we meet, I’ll teach you some swordsmanship, okay?”

Oh… I’m so sorry, Julius.

I’ll be sure to practice my healing magic to help the future you, but… you’ll have to bear with it.

Eris was able to hold back enough to not kill her opponent, but… that was about it.

After all, pain was simply a sign of growth, no matter how much her opponent screamed.

My dear brother already knew that fact very well.

“Eris,” Ghislaine said.

After a long two weeks, and a lot of nagging, Eris had finally convinced Ghislaine to call her by her name outside of training, much to her delight.

“I will tell you once more… If you wish to get stronger, the best place to go is the Sword Sanctum. You have immense potential, but there are few out there who can properly mould you into your best self,” she said, finishing her words by hugging Eris.

The Sword Sanctum… well, it was in the northwest of the continent, so we would be travelling the same path out of Asura together still if she wanted to go.

I should talk to her though…

“Got it, Ghislaine,” she said with a serious expression. “I’ll… consider it.”

As Eris said her final goodbyes to Hilda and Ghislaine, I turned to Philip who had walked toward me with a serious expression.

“Leon,” he said with narrowed eyes. “I decided not to tell you until now so as to not cause you unneeded stress, but… do you remember Darius?”

“Yeah…” I said, my eyes narrowing at the mention of the man. “What about him?”

“Well, I am simply urging you to take caution,” Philip said. “Now that Eris is confirmed to be alive, it is unlikely that he has forgotten his… desire. And unlike before, we no longer have any political standing to shield her with.”

…So the bastard was still alive.

Hmm… maybe we could take a detour into the capital? Just for a quick stop?

I wanted to see if Sylphy was still there and if she was okay anyway.

That aside…

“Philip, do you remember what I told you when we first reunited?” I said. “If anyone tries to get to my family, the might of the pen won’t be able to stop my sword... He may be an influential minister, but he still bleeds when he’s cut.”

Philip widened his eyes before breaking out into a smile. 

“Then I was worried for nothing,” he said, reaching out to pat my shoulder. “I’m glad that you are on Eris’ side. It’s very reassuring.”

“Right… just don’t stir up trouble so I have to come save you,” I warned.

“I don’t plan on it,” he chuckled. “Well… good luck finding your family, Leon. We should all have a feast together once everything is over. After all, while only cousins, I am related to Paul.”

…Did he really have to bring that up?

I had forgotten, but even before promising myself to Eris, we were already related, though it was distant.

…Oh well.

Ignoring my newly realized, slightly incestuous relationship with Eris, I smiled, extending my hand to shake Philip’s extended one. 

“Gladly.”

With everyone having said their final farewells, I hoisted Norn onto one of the horses before climbing up to sit behind her, while Eris did the same with Aisha on the other.

“Well… we’re off!” I said, waving my hand.

“Be safe!” Hilda shouted.

And with that, we departed the rebuilding city of Roa, continuing our journey that we had detoured for a rest.

As we trotted down the road, I looked over to Eris, who had been oddly quiet ever since Ghislaine’s words.

Hmm…

I was originally going to ask her if she wanted to stay with her family, but seeing her face like that… I think it was something else.

“Do you want to go?” I asked.

“Hm?” Eris said, snapping her head up to look at me. “G-Go where?”

Did she think I didn’t know?

“The Sword Sanctum,” I said, smiling slightly. “I know you’re conflicted. Care to tell me what you want to do?”

Eris scrunched her eyebrows together in thought as she pondered.

“...I don’t know,” she said. “I… want to get stronger… but I don’t want to leave you either…”

I didn’t say anything as we continued trotting down the road, deciding to let Eris finish her thoughts on her own.

“I’ll at least help you get your sisters to Sharia, but after that…” she said, her words trailing off at the end.

So she wanted to go, huh?

Well, I was also interested, but I doubted it would be worth missing my family for that long.

Still…

“I won’t stop you if you want to go,” I said. “I’d be sad and I’d miss you, but I know that you want to get stronger, so I won’t stop you.”

After all, after we dropped my sisters off, I would be departing for Begaritt, and then after that, likely stopping in the capital to see if Sylphy was still there, so it would be wrong of me to ask her to join me with such a selfish request.

I was selfish for her love, and selfish for her body… but I would never be selfish for her desires.

Seeing Eris nod in understanding, I continued, “But… please don’t just get up and leave. I would be sad if I couldn’t say goodbye.”

I then looked down at my sisters, seeing that Norn was drifting off to sleep while Aisha was engrossed in a book.

“And… when you do go… I’ll ‘send you off’ properly,” I said, trying to get my point across as I traced Eris’ body with my eyes.

“Ah… okay,” she nodded, a faint blush crawling up her neck.

She then also looked up and down at my body before zeroing in between my legs before… licking her lips.

…What was that shiver I just felt?

It wasn’t the cold, was it?

No… I don’t think it was.

Anyway, with the city of Roa fading into the distance behind us, our group continued towards the north, where our long journey’s final destination lay.

The magic city of Sharia.

Rudy… your brother is very excited to see you.

I wonder how much you’ve grown.

— End of Arc 3 - Return —