Leon Greyrat: The Second Son – Mushoku Tensei OC

Chapter 75 – A Tour of Asura

— Leon Greyrat —

“So… you said this place was where you needed to go before Roa?” Vierra asked as she rode alongside me.

“Yeah,” I said. “There’s one more thing to do here in the south, but after that, we’ll be going to the Fittoa Region.”

“And I’m guessing that has to do with your odd magic that brought us down here?” she asked.

“Something like that…” I shrugged.

As luck would have it, there was a teleportation ruin from Nanahoshi’s journal to the south of the kingdom, only a few days travel away from my first stop.

Thinking about it now, this was probably the ruin her and Orsted used before our confrontation where I had been nearly killed, but I decided to ignore that little fact for my own sanity.

As we veered off the main highway onto a familiar path, I let the sound of our galloping horses calm my increasing heart rate as the dilapidated and burned ruins of a village came into view.

I was back here again… but I felt a little better this time.

As we got closer, we slowed to a trot as I navigated to the place I needed to go.

“This place… what is this, Leon?” Vierra asked, confused.

“My home,” I answered smoothly as I got off the horse. “I only need to pick something up, so feel free to have lunch or something. I should only be a few minutes.”

Tying up the horse against a nearby pole, I then walked around the wooden shack to where a very important stone was laid.

“Hey… it’s me again,” I said.

This time, I didn’t break down in tears.

After all, this was a happy occasion, as from now onward, I wouldn’t be apart from her.

“Just as promised, I’m here to take you back,” I said, crouching down. “I… got my current family back, and I even was able to meet my two other future wives along the way.”

I wonder… would she be like Mama, disappointed that I hadn’t committed myself to only one woman?

Sadly, I would never know.

I generated some water, washing off the accumulated dirt and grime from the stone.

“I have a home now,” I continued. “And I also have a child on the way. With Roxy, my old teacher. They will surely be cute, and I’m sure you would love them.”

Smiling, I then looked up, seeing the sun plastered in the clear blue sky.

It really was quite a beautiful day outside, and with the south of the kingdom being in the middle of fall, it was a perfectly balanced temperature as well.

Too bad I would be leaving soon.

“So now… I guess it’s time to start a family, huh? Since we’re all settled now,” I said. “They’ll still be my priority to keep safe, but now that we’re all together… I think I can start on that second promise I gave to you, it’s just… I’m unsure how to do it.”

My promise to help people… that was still troubling me.

During my travels, I had seen a lot of disgusting things, and that was all without actively looking for it.

So… even if I couldn’t change the world, if I could just change a few lives for the better… that would be fine, right?

But helping others… saving others… while at first a seemingly simple thing, it was difficult to truly save someone.

Something like defending a passing merchant from a bandit attack… sure, that was a simple solution, but I couldn’t defend all merchants, nor could I wipe out all bandits.

Plus, that would take too long, as I still had my family to focus on.

Instead… even if there are fewer people I affected… I wanted to protect them without going on a long journey, giving them a life worth living as well.

I still didn’t know what to do, but…

“I’ll try my best,” I affirmed. “I just… hope you would be proud of me.”

I’d like to think she would be.

Hearing a few footsteps, I then looked back to see Vierra and Shierra hesitantly making their way over, their heads tilting in confusion as they saw the gravestone in front of me.

“Leon, is that…”

“Yes, it’s my mother,” I said, turning back as I started my work. “Her name was Alice, and she was a humble basket weaver.”

Placing my hand on the ground, I focused on the nearby dirt, moving it to condense as a small pit began to form around me.

“I see…” Vierra said. “Can I ask how?”

“Bandits,” I said, my face twisting into a snarl. “I was probably a year old when it happened, but I still remember it.”

The blood, the pain, the dying rasps… and then the overwhelming sense of loss and the grief of the time I wouldn’t be able to share with her.

If I could go back in time, I would definitely save her in an instant, but… because of her, I was able to get a taste of death, and after making my promise to not let such a thing happen to my family again, I had yet to break it.

But it was a really shitty way to have a learning experience…

“I see… you did say you were a Miko,” Vierra said. “That… must have been hard for you.”

I then felt her gently pat my shoulder, and to my surprise, I felt Shierra’s hand there as well.

“It’s… fine,” I said as I further compressed the dirt into a hardened block.

Mama and Paul had explained that after my mother passed, they cremated her, as one is meant to do with corpses for the fear of undead rising from their bodies.

While the others were unceremoniously left as piles of ashes, Mama had opted to shallowly bury Alice’s near her gravestone, so that was why I would be taking the top layer of dirt here as well.

And then with the gravestone too… well, it was a good thing I packed light.

“Yeah… it’s fine,” I said, taking the block of compressed dirt with one hand and lugging the gravestone over my shoulder with the other as I turned to the two. “Now I’ll get to see her whenever I want, right?”

“…Right,” Vierra said, smiling back at me.

Shierra simply nodded, though I could see a small smile forming on her face as well.

She had really loosened up to me over the time spent together.

Having my hands all over Roxy and Sylphy probably helped, since my gaze never looked at her that way, but it was nice to see regardless.

“Well then… I said it would be a short stop, right?” I said, heading back to where my horse was. “You have a city to return to, and I have a child on the way, so let’s not wait around.”

Yeah… with this, I would be able to live with my family in the truest sense of the word.

It just took a little while to get to this point.

— Leon Greyrat —

Before leaving Sharia, as I knew that Lilia’s family was based somewhere in the south of the Asura Kingdom, I asked her to point out where exactly they were on a map to see if I could fit it into my plans.

Luckily for me, her parents’ dojo was only a couple of days from my birthplace, so it was obvious that I would make the trip to visit them for the first time.

After all, Paul’s parents were dead, and Mama’s parents were nobles of the Holy Country of Millis, so these would be the only grandparents I would be happy to see.

It wasn’t anything grand of a meeting, as I simply showed up, explained who I was, and after getting a hug from Lilia’s mother, Flute, and a heavy pat on the back from her father, Augustus, I then sat down to explain everything that had happened since our family was separated.

After hearing about the Displacement Incident, they were worried about Lilia being hurt, and after her not getting found two years after the disaster, they had all but written her off as dead, so they were quite ecstatic to receive the news that everything had worked out, and they even told me they were happy to call me their grandson.

But of course, as much as I wanted to keep talking with them, I had something else to do, so after thanking Augustus for getting the Water God to teach me, and giving them a letter from Lilia, we left to continue our journey.

I couldn’t help but smile at the memory.

We were unlikely to cross paths again, considering the distance between us, but it was still nice to meet them.

Maybe, if one of my kids ended up wanting to travel the world, I would be able to send them to their great-grandparents for a leg of their journey.

But anyway, there was only one other teleportation circle recorded in Nanahoshi’s journal in Asura, and luckily, it was right in between Roa and the Asuran capital of Ars.

So obviously, we teleported there. Where we then travelled toward the Fittoa Region at a brisk pace, taking only a few weeks on the road compared to the months I took to cross a similar distance before.

Well, I guess with Norn and Aisha being children and us going at a leisurely pace back then, it was obvious we were faster now.

As soon as we passed the city walls, Vierra and Shierra split up, with me saying my goodbyes to the two of them as I then guided my horses towards the castle at the centre of the city, with the hope of meeting Philip and Hilda, and getting a timeline of when they would want to leave the country.

But to my surprise, I received the news that in the nearly two years we had spent apart, they had already transferred their power to Philip’s brother, James.

That… was a bit troubling.

But it also meant that this was somewhat fortunate timing, and if everything worked out, I wouldn’t have to come back here.

From what the guard said, the family was still in the rebuilding Roa and had luckily not skipped town, which now had actual houses starting to pop up, so I should start my search in one of the more developed districts of the city.

As I walked down the main road, I kept my eyes peeled in the hopes that I would catch a glimpse of a familiar shade of red hair or even a certain beastfolk swordswoman.

But on the way, I was stopped by the sight of a little kid, no older than my sisters, digging out a nearby trench, his body sweaty and fatigued.

“Hey… what are you doing?” I asked.

“Huh?” he said, turning to me. “I’m doing my job, obviously!”

Why yes, I could see that.

But this… not even a twelve-year-old should be doing work like this, much less through the entire day like he seemed to have.

A kid like him… should be a kid.

Watching his arms trembling from exhaustion, I pressed a hand against his back, healing him from his muscle fatigue and causing him to momentarily pause his work, seemingly shocked at my actions.

“Wow… you’re a healer! I… don’t have any money, though,” he said, backing off in worry.

“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “Why… why are you doing something like this?”

He should be playing, causing trouble with his friends, not something so… grown-up.

Though considering I became a tutor for a noble lady before my second birthday, maybe I wasn’t one to talk.

“Well… my parents died in the disaster, so… I have to do something like this to survive,” he said, shaking his head and pumping his fists. “But thank you, kind mister! I feel much better now!”

And with that, he went back to his work, now with a smile on his face and his body brimming with energy.

I… suppose I did a good thing… so I went back to the task at hand.

As I continued walking down the road, I found that my mind was much too preoccupied with what I had just seen to look out for the fallen nobles.

Kids… should get to be kids, right?

Yeah… that was only obvious.

But kids… they were vulnerable, and easily able to be put in bad situations, whether out of malice, or simply without a proper caregiver, like that boy back then.

So… if I wanted to help people… to save people… wouldn’t that be a way to do it?

An orphanage… yeah, that might just work.

That way, I could let kids be kids, give them a full life worth living, and also possible get some friends for my own children.

And that wasn’t even mentioning that by doing that, I wouldn’t have to worry about being away from home for too long for some long journey to save people.

Yeah… that sounded good-

“Leon?”

Hearing a familiar voice, I looked up to see Ghislaine in her usual attire, only now, she was holding a sack of what looked to be groceries instead of a sword.

“Big Sis?”

— Leon Greyrat —

“-And that’s about it,” I said, using some wind magic to push the toy cart along the makeshift track that Julius had made.

“I see…” Philip said, nodding to himself. “Well, I’m glad to know your family is together once more, and that everyone is safe. Though with Eris at the Sword Sanctum now… I guess we won’t be seeing her for a while.”

Both he and Hilda looked a little sad at that.

“Don’t be too upset,” Ghislaine said, smiling a bit. “It will be good for her. Eris has quite a bit of potential, so it would be a shame to waste it.”

“I suppose,” Hilda said. “And you, Leon… one of your women is already pregnant?”

“Uhh… yeah, Roxy is,” I nodded.

She narrowed her eyes a bit.

“Hmm… just be sure to not forget about my daughter,” she said sternly.

“That could never happen,” I returned seriously. “Anyway, now that you know my side of things… what exactly happened here?”

Philip then leaned back into the couch.

“Well… quite simply, our enemies in the capital trained their eyes on us, which coincides with when you encountered Princess Ariel on your way to the north,” he said. “And so, with my brother returning here, I transferred all the power to him and am now living a simple life with my family… or at least, we’re trying to.”

“Trying to?” I said, raising my brow in question.

“Well… Ghislaine here no longer has any official ties to the Boreas family, and has only been guarding us with a sense of duty, but she is likely the only thing protecting us from outside influence,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “After all, while I have relinquished all my noble titles, many people do not trust that I have given up all ambition… including my enemies.”

I see… just as I thought, it was still dangerous for them to be here. And while Ghislaine was strong, there were still many who could beat her, especially if they employed some unsavoury tactics.

“And that’s including the prime minister Darius, who still has an infatuation with Eris,” Philip continued. “While we are outside the capital, he has been expanding his influence to fill up the noble seats that were lost in the disaster and pressuring James to force me to hand her over. Of course, that won’t happen, but it’s a difficult situation regardless.”

…That fucking bastard, still causing problems.

Maybe I should make a detail to go kill him?

Ars wasn’t that far from the teleportation ruin, right?

But no… there was something more important.

“Then… would you like to come with me?” I offered. “I have two horses, and a method to get us back to Sharia within a few weeks of travel. And we wouldn’t even need to cross the Dragon’s Upper Maw.”

That place was perfect for assassination attempts, after all.

That was also where I had met Ariel during the ambush.

He widened his eyes. “Such a thing exists? Right… you mentioned that you used a unique way to get to the Begaritt Continent and back…”

Philip massaged his chin in thought before he looked over to Hilda, the woman in question’s eyes sparkling at my words.

“Hilda, do you-”

“We’re going, Philip,” she said resolutely. “Do you know how fearful I am for Julius? Not to mention the prospect of being with Eris again… Leon, we will gladly go to Sharia with you.”

Well, that was all well and good.

“Sounds wonderful,” I nodded. “And what about Sauros? Is he doing okay?”

“Ah, him?” Philip shrugged. “He’s doing fine back in the manor. Even without the disaster messing things up, by this point he would have already handed the family over to James, or at least started the process of it, so he is no longer the lord of Fittoa. Right now, he’s enjoying the noble life once again with the beastfolk maids he was able to rehire, while James is using his trust of the populace to his advantage in exchange, so there is no need to worry about his life being in danger.”

“I… see,” I said.

So I guess Sauros was living his life to the fullest as well, huh?

Good for him.

Well, I didn’t think I needed to meet him, but maybe once Eris and I have our first child together, I’d let him meet his great-grandchild.

As long as his voice didn’t burst their little eardrums, that is.

“And your… sons?” I said, watching as Hilda’s eyes drooped in sadness. “You said that, according to tradition, your brother essentially took them from you. Were you able to… see them again?”

“Unfortunately not,” Philip said, leaning back. “I did ask my brother how they were doing, and they are both currently enrolled in school in the capital, preparing to forge their own path outside of politics.”

“Outside of politics?” I said curiously.

“Exactly,” Philip nodded. “The tradition is to ensure that there are no issues with succession, and the best way to ensure that is for the losers’ children to be removed from politics. Though, the most stable way would be to kill them, so I suppose I should say the situation is rather fortunate rather than unfortunate.”

“I… see,” I said, a bit surprised.

Right… the world of nobility really was disgusting.

I was glad Philip had the sense to leave it now.

But now Sylphy and Aisha had joined it… fucking dammit.

At least I could trust Ariel to be better.

“And is there anything you need to do before leaving?” I asked. “Like this house, for instance.”

“No, this place is only being rented to us by my brother,” Philip shook his head. “And as for leaving… it would be best to do so tomorrow, so no one catches on. Is that alright with you?”

“Yeah, that’s better, actually-”

I was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Master Philip! I finally found her!”

Huh?

“Tashiro? Ah, come in,” Philip said as Ghislaine went to open the front door.

As I looked at the surprise visitor, I was met with the sight of a man, a little shorter than me, with a spear in his hand and some light armour over his body.

In fact… I think I remembered him.

If I was correct, he was that overzealous guard from when I first came to Roa a year and a half ago.

While it was an interesting coincidence, that wasn’t necessarily what was churning my curiosity.

Rather, it was the fact that Vierra was next to him, holding his hand, while Shierra was behind them both.

…What?

“I found her, Master Philip! Or rather, she found me, but… I got her back!” this ‘Tashiro’ said, smiling widely. “I finally found my lover! Meet Vierra!”

…Huh?

That… what the fuck?

“Oh, Leon? You’re here?” Vierra said, noticing my presence.

“Uhh… yeah, I am,” I said, still quite shocked. “Will you guys tell me what’s going on?”

Tashiro and Vierra then explained what had happened.

Apparently, before the Displacement Incident, the three of Shierra, Vierra, and Tashiro were in an adventuring party, with Vierra and Tashiro being romantically involved, and were then separated when the disaster occurred.

I already know Vierra and Shierra’s stories, where they were rescued by my father and then helped him through the last four years, but I was more curious about Tashiro’s.

The man himself had been sent to the strife zone, where he was immediately captured.

In fact, he was about to be killed for some backwards ritual before Philip conquered that tribe, rescuing him from captivity.

Tashiro then decided to help Philip in order to repay him, becoming his most loyal guard after Ghislaine as he followed him all the way back to Roa… which explained why he was the guard back then, and also so loyal.

Tashiro was originally planning to go and find Vierra once he returned to the Asura Kingdom. But once he realized she was safe from the list of missing people, and that Philip would still need protecting here in Asura, he decided to protect the man until his duty was finished, where he would then go towards Millishion to link up with the Fittoa Search and Rescue group that she was a part of.

Luckily, Vierra found him at the guild first, so they didn’t end up missing each other.

That would have surely been a mess.

I was happy for them. Vierra and Shierra of all people deserved a happy ending.

Anyway, with Tashiro telling Philip that he would now be focusing on settling down with Vierra and wouldn’t be able to help as much, Philip let him go with a smile as the day slowly turned to night.

“Well… that worked out quite well, no?” Philip said, pouring himself a glass of wine. “If there is nothing else for you to do, Leon, then we will be leaving tomorrow. Would you care to share a glass for our eventual departure?”

“Uhh, no, thank you,” I said, waving my hand. “I’m quite tired.”

And not to mention the past four times I’ve had alcohol, I ended up bedding Roxy or Sylphy that very night, so I had no need to get unnecessarily excited from the memories of past drunken escapades.

I would save that for when I returned, as long as they were willing.

And knowing Sylphy… that was basically a certainty more than a possibility.

“Then… I can sleep with little Julius, and Leon can use my bed,” Ghislaine said, picking up the yawning child. “Is that alright?”

“Yes, thank you, Ghislaine,” Hilda smiled.

And with that, my first day visiting Roa after nearly two years came to an end.

— Leon Greyrat —

It was the next day, the day of our departure, and with Philip and Hilda using one horse, and Julius sat in front of me on mine, I quickly realized a mistake.

“I… guess we need to get a horse for Big Sis,” I said, scratching my cheek in embarrassment.

I totally forgot about that… whoops.

“No need,” Ghislaine said, shaking her head. “I won’t be going with you, after all.”

Uhh… what?

“You won’t?” I asked. 

“No,” she said. “You told me I should visit my homeland, right? I believe I can trust the safety of those three to you, so I will be going to the Great Forest.”

“Oh… I see,” I said.

“Lainey… leaving?” Julius said, his bottom lip sticking out in a pout.

“I have to, little Julius,” she said, walking over to rub his head. “But you’ll be able to live happily and safely, and you will be able to meet your big sister in due time.”

Seeing that her words didn’t comfort the child, she continued, “I will be returning to Sharia in three years, so this will only be a temporary separation. Be well, little Julius.”

It seems that the two of them were quite close.

Well, I of all people know how comforting Ghislaine was as a child, so I understood Julius’ reluctance.

Maybe I should give him Ghislaine’s ring?

Yeah… I’ll do that once we got on the road to cheer him up.

I only needed one ring, after all.

Giving him a final nod, she then turned to me.

“And Leon… I want to thank you for keeping Eris safe and happy,” she said, smiling at me. “And also… for taking care of yourself. I hope that by the time we meet again, Eris will have a child on the way.”

“I’ll, uhh… try, Big Sis,” I said.

Talking about impregnating Eris right in front of her parents and little brother… even I felt a little embarrassed about that.

“Good. Then… take care,” she said before turning away.

And with that, our time in Roa officially came to an end, as I snapped the reins of the horse and began our trek back to the teleportation ruin.