Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race-Chapter 124 - The Future of Eris

Our group got smaller again, at least this time it was an appropriate farewell.

Without Lilia, our group again seemed a little different, as if something was missing, but we prepared for that unlike when Eidar left us.

We continued our journey, this time, heading toward Fitoa.

Even without entering cities with Ezkalor, we passed by roads, trade trails, and smaller settlements that dotted the central region of the Kingdom of Asura.

It didn't matter how far from the main road we were—the simple silhouette of the vibrant red dragon was enough to cause a commotion.

I lost count of how many merchants abandoned their carts and ran off. Terrified travelers dismounted their mounts in a hurry.

On some occasions, braver warriors prepared to fight... until they realized that there was a group of people in a cart, calmly walking right in front of the creature.

It was always the same cycle: fright, tension, confusion... and then came the explanation.

At first, Rygar took it upon himself to calmly explain that Ezkalor was a tamed dragon, under his command.

He explained how he had managed that, demonstrated with small commands and made it clear, above all, that there was no danger. But as the encounters became more frequent, he began to delegate.

Sometimes, it was Eris who spoke. Other times, he himself. Ghislaine also tried, but neither of the two girls was exactly... communicative.

"He tamed it." said Ghislaine, with a serious expression.

"It's a pet." Eris added, crossing her arms with a proud expression.

Obviously, those answers didn't explain anything.

Fortunately, Aisha was always nearby to translate.

Even at four years old, she already understood the basics of social etiquette and knew how to put into words what the two warriors left hanging in the air.

"Our dragon is not aggressive and doesn't attack anyone without my Master's command! It's like a horse, only much bigger. See? It's obeying perfectly!" she said, excited, her eyes shining as she demonstrated.

No matter how tiring it was, Rygar took the trouble to explain every time—not only to avoid immediate disasters but because he wanted to build a solid reputation.

If in the future Ezkalor were seen in another region, or if he himself were passing by here with him, he wanted people to already know who he was, and that the name of the "tamed dragon" was linked to him.

These merchants and travelers to whom he explained, if only one of them told the story, it wouldn't have much effect, but if they were all of them? People would start to give credibility to the story.

It was at this part of the journey that the nicknames began to emerge.

Because of Sköll, the enormous Ebony Wolf, and now of Ezkalor, some people began to call him the Monster Tamer. Others called him the Beast King.

Rygar didn't mind.

Meanwhile, Ezkalor was progressing in his flight training.

It is worth noting that he had tried to flee by air a few times in the past, but he discovered that it was very dangerous, since Rygar would hit his wings with bursts of ice, wind, earth, among others; either way, that would result in him falling in free fall.

As a young dragon, he was already capable of flying long distances, his endurance was great, but he lacked mastery when it came to taking off and performing more complex maneuvers.

But with encouragement and under Rygar's guidance, he improved every day.

And it was in this process that Rygar had his first success with gravity magic.

He observed the dragon flying for hours, attentive to the movement patterns, to the way the wings managed the construction of the anti-gravity field. Then, he tried to reproduce the theory with his mana several times.

It lasted only for an instant. A light, unstable tug, that made a small stone float just for an instant before dissipating.

But even that small breakthrough was a milestone.

---

We crossed several villages and agricultural fields, and in all regions the pattern repeated—people running, startled by the sight of a dragon.

Until one day, already halfway to the north of Asura, we were intercepted.

A group of knights came within Rygar's senses. There were about twenty of them, armed, with banners of the Kingdom of Asura.

They formed a blockade line in front of the road, hidden in a classic formation to ambush monsters.

They had clearly been sent as an extermination group, probably after alarming reports about the presence of a red dragon traveling around.

But at least the leader was smart.

When we approached and he saw us walking calmly in front of the creature, he signaled for his men not to attack.

Then he cautiously approached the group alone.

His eyes narrowed when he saw Ghislaine, seeming to recognize her.

"Ghislaine Dedoldia..." he hesitated for a second. "Then you must be Rygar Adoldia, are you traveling with this?"

After a long conversation—and a well-controlled demonstration of Ezkalor's obedience—I explained that the dragon was under my command, and that we would take it with us beyond the Kingdom of Asura, to the North of the Central continent.

The knight pondered for a while.

"...Very well. But to ensure there are no problems, five of my men will accompany you until you cross Asura's borders."

I had no objection. With me here, that simply wasn't necessary, but this guy had a mission, so he had to at least do something to report to his superiors.

The five knights began to follow us from a distance, mounted on their horses and always alert.

Meanwhile, our routine continued as normal.

---

Aisha was currently helping Eris with math.

"No, no, older sister! It's sixteen! If you had to divide sixty-four coins among four people, it would be impossible to give thirty to each!"

Eris frowned, visibly irritated.

"That's boring! I already know how to add and subtract! These divisions and multiplications are useless!"

"But it's important!" Aisha insisted.

Ghislaine and I watched from afar, until Eris huffed:

"I'm not going to use this for anything! I have Rygar and you to do these calculations!"

Aisha puffed out her cheeks. Even at four years old, she mastered all the basic calculations with impressive ease.

"But we won't always be there! And if you're alone?!"

Eris crossed her arms and said in a triumphant tone:

"Then I can call Rygar! Even in another city, he will listen to me!"

Aisha was shocked by the logic.

Meanwhile, Ghislaine and I talked about other things.

"It's incomprehensible why people put such individuals in power..." I commented, with a certain disdain in my voice.

"I mean, even an advanced level warrior could kill most of the Asuran nobles and even the King if left unchecked!"

We were talking about the nobles and important figures of the Kingdom of Asura, and even of the other kingdoms.

Ghislaine, with half-closed eyes, replied, "Once Lord Philip told me that there were two basic paths in life, that of the strong and that of the intellectuals; he told me that the strong always ended up serving the intellectuals."

I raised an eyebrow, "That's ridiculous, the ideal for a leader is to be strong and intelligent."

Ghislaine seemed to think, then said, "So, if you could choose only one, would you say that to be a good leader, someone needs to be stronger or more intelligent?"

I fell silent for a moment before answering, "Intelligent..."

Ghislaine smiled victoriously, "Asura and other kingdoms have remained that way for a long time."

I sighed, that was true, I myself wanted to go to Asura and kill everyone I disliked, but I wasn't able.

Ars might be rotten to the core, but he knew there were many dangers there—the Water Goddess, the Emperors of the North and of the Water, king-level fighters... and who knows how many secret magics hidden under the palace or protected by unknown items.

After all, it was the capital of the greatest kingdom in the world. I couldn't simply invade and kill them all now. But maybe... maybe I could in the future.

My eyes turned to the horizon, as if they could pierce mountains and walls and see directly into the rotten heart of the Kingdom of Asura.

"If, for example, Reida Reia woke up one day and wanted to change who was in power... how easy would it be for her to do that?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

Ghislaine just smiled.

"Few people think like you in the entire world... killing kings is a very big deal."

I returned the smile with one of my own. "Maybe..."

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---

After a few more days of travel, we finally entered the region of Fittoa.

The knights continued following them from a distance, without making contact.

The place was now deserted and silent. The atmosphere was oppressive.

Almost two months had passed since the encounter with the Dragon God.

During that time, after the mourning, after the pain... everyone resumed their training with redoubled determination.

No one talked much about what had happened. But the absence of Eidar still weighed heavily.

And with Lilia's departure, the group seemed even emptier.

Even so... there was something different in those who remained.

After everything, there was a new shine in them. A conviction that wasn't there before.

Even little Aisha was training her magic with more dedication.

Eris came to me frequently, asking me to heal her fatigue after long training sessions—and as soon as she felt her strength return, she went back to training without hesitation.

Ghislaine and I didn't stop either. Our training continued with even greater intensity.

Eris frequently challenged me and I faced her without using my Touki, as promised.

She was improving faster than ever.

With Aisha, things were even better.

I finished teaching all the elemental and intermediate spells of attack magic.

She learned at a surprising speed, so we began Barrier, Healing, Detoxification, and Divine Attack magic.

She showed a special affinity for Barrier, Healing, Earth, and Water magic, in that order.

---

In the carriage, as we followed the empty roads, we finally saw the Fitoa refugee camp in the distance.

I think it was where Roa was before the disaster.

We got close and I left Skoll and Ezkalor outside the refugee camp, I didn't worry about locking up the red dragon or anything like that.

I had already captured him in even tougher situations, and he had long since convinced himself that he could never escape; it seemed he had already adapted to this life.

Then, we entered the refugee camp. Aisha, as always, looked at everything with curiosity.

Eris said: "Ghislaine, this is..."

Eris pointed to a mural.

At the top of the mural was the name "Lord Sovereign of Fittoa, James Boreas Greyrat", and beside it, "Search Situation Information: Deceased or Missing."

Below were the names of the missing after the incident, listed in alphabetical order, by village and city.

Ghislaine said: "Let's look at that later."

And Eris nodded: "Yes."

The list of the dead was incredibly long. Moreover, the Lord Sovereign mentioned in the header of the document was no longer Sauros, since he was dead.

We headed into the building.

When we gave the names of Eris, Ghislaine, and Aisha at the counter, the middle-aged woman attending quickly slid back.

Then she returned with a middle-aged man in her wake.

He was bearded and had white hair, wearing clothes that seemed a little fancier than those of a common citizen.

Ghislaine greeted him: "Alphonse..."

"Miss Ghislaine. Lady Eris," he bowed briefly to Eris and looked at me.

"Lord Rygar, I've heard a lot about you. On behalf of the Boreas family, I thank you for helping Lady Eris return. I will ensure that you are duly rewarded."

I said: "There's no need."

I looked at Ghislaine.

"If you know about me, you must know that Ghislaine Dedoldia is now my wife. I hope you choose your words carefully in the conversation that follows, because I don't care about Asuran nobility."

I released a small pressure. He began to sweat cold and looked at Ghislaine, who did not refute Rygar's words, and after that:

"O-of course... Let's come in."

They then went further into the building. Aisha went along.

I only warned him now because Ghislaine told me that he was a loyal servant of the Boreas family, so it would be better if he at least knew that he wouldn't have much choice here.

We sat around a table. Ghislaine looked at him and said:

"Have you had any news of Lady Hilda?"

Alphonse hesitated, and then said:

"Lady Hilda remains missing... As you may already know, Lord Sauros Boreas Greyrat and Philemon Boreas Greyrat are dead."

Eris clenched her fists. I just watched in silence while I played with Aisha.

The butler looked at Ghislaine and hesitated for a moment, and finally said:

"I am the last servant of the Boreas Greyrat house."

Ghislaine raised an eyebrow and said:

"And all the others?"

"They returned to their families or are dead. After all, we no longer have any real power to keep them..."

Ghislaine pondered and asked:

"Which do you think would be the best course of action for Eris?"

The butler looked at me and said directly:

"There are two options that I consider valid... First, it must be said that Lord James, the current ruler of Fittoa, will not accept her in his house. But Lord Philemon Notos Greyrat contacted me saying that if Eris had nowhere to go when she returned, he would take her as his concubine..."

Ghislaine frowned and murderous intent leaked out.

"He was one of those responsible for Sauros's death!"

The butler remained calm and said:

"Even so, for us, only the political power he now holds is important. That would be the best for the region of Fittoa and for the Boreas house in the long run, since the faction of the 2nd Princess has lost its power and she recently fled the Kingdom. Minister Darius is gaining power, and Lord Philemon seems to be on good terms with him."

Eris became extremely nervous and the tension in the room built up.

Meanwhile, I thought, 'Are people blind? First Ghislaine, a Sword King, serving a random noble, the Water Goddess Reida Reia serving the crown, and now they want to bury Eris's talent by having her marry a random noble to obtain political power?'

'I must be the crazy one here... why does everyone seem to think that makes sense?'

The tension remained until I looked at him and naturally said:

"Forget that idea, Eris is not going to marry any noble to help save the name of a family that doesn't even exist anymore, and the region of Fittoa is not her responsibility."

Eris looked at me, somewhat surprised.

The butler frowned and then said:

"There is a second option... in which Eris marries you, Lord Rygar."

Ghislaine and I were shocked, but Eris was even more so. She was in shock and asked:

"H-ho-how is that possible?!"

Aisha asked innocently:

"Master, are we all going to marry you eventually?"

Eris blushed, and Rygar came to his senses and said to Aisha:

"Cut the nonsense. Hey, where did you get that idea?"

Alphonse explained calmly:

"I know your power, Lord Rygar, but I'm more interested in your military organization. From the latest information I obtained, you forged an alliance with the Kingdom of the Dragon King, right?"

Eris was still red-faced, but calmed down.

I didn't answer, and he continued.

"Even if you are not human, the children you would have would also be of the Boreas lineage. And I am sure it wouldn't be a problem to help the region of Fittoa rebuild. The stories about the Great Stone Fortress built in Tinaver with your magic extend here to the Kingdom of Asura, and I'm sure that the Kingdom of the Dragon King would help if you asked."

Eris became redder and redder as she thought more about the idea.

Ghislaine found it funny and looked at me, who was confused.

Until I remembered my original objective when I came here and regained my senses. 'Right, I only intended to say that I would take Eris away, how did it come to this?!'

I looked at the butler. 'This guy really caught me off guard with that.'

I said:

"We will evaluate the options. Let's go, girls."

Ghislaine stood up and Eris strangely got up, avoiding looking at Rygar. Aisha ran ahead.

If Rygar knew exactly what Eris's fate would be after marrying Philemon, things might not have ended so well for the butler.

-----

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