DISCLAIMER

The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Rifujin na Magonote, Shirotaka, Shosetsuka ni Naro, Media Factory, and Studio Bind.

Please support the official releases.

Chapter 6: Sparring and Caring

A month has gone since I beat the crap out of a certain moron, and I have to say that things have been fairly chill.

Maybe I was seeing 'chill' in a different light than I used to a couple of months ago. After all, with the increase of D-Rank cases to handle there has been a legitimate growth for the group within the pace of each mission. Ghislaine had managed to get to E-Rank close to D, while Zen and I were close to tap into C-Rank.

It was a steady rise and one I had nothing to feel but genuine delight. Training was proceeding smoothly as the spar with Paul had left me more motivated to cut myself less slack and push for a more intense schedule. Nothing too intense as to hurt my body, but enough to actually leave a smile on Ghislaine's face as we began sparring more frequently and my skills were getting better and better.

In a way, she got her simple wish of having someone to treat as a milestone in constant growth, one that could also allow her to foster her own skills into getting better and smarter in combat. Yet, it wasn't all sunshine regarding the D-Rank missions. Not when we had to spend a few extra money on camp equipment and other resources when it came to actually leaving town for a long time.

We had three specific missions that left us quite distant from 'home' for two whole days at best, with the rest of those would just burn up a whole day. It was more money, but I reasoned that this was still something I wasn't confident about, especially since I had close to no knowledge on the local region. Sure, I knew a few things about the nearby forests after having spent a while doing missions around those, but I would be lying if I said I was a professional explorer at that point.

Hence why I sought to fix that issue at once: two survivalist books were bought, one which explained local botany, the other explained what resembled legitimate life hacks when trying to get shelter and food without having much resources on myself. Yes, I was now trying to attain the 'Bear Grylls' Class. From the looks of it, it was feasible but not outright simple to accomplish. Training was training after all and it was definitely going to take a few more than just three days to get that whole matter solved for good.

Speaking of matters that needed to be solved, I had a new issue coming up through a certain idiot not taking the hint that the spar we had last time was just one time and within specific reasons that no longer were applicable. Paul Greyrat was a persistent dumbass, and one I was slowly starting to dislike even more as he started to prod for more challenges for me.

Like the perfect action-junkie he was, the blonde was persistently poking at me for another spar, to show that 'he got better' and that 'last time was a fluke'. Nobody cared at the Guild when he boasted about that kind of stuff, especially when duels of that kind weren't meant to be fair. If he treated that fight with little regard, then it was his fault he lost it. Definitely not mine or of some bizarre luck.

But his intense annoyance proved to be fairly enough to eventually get a reaction. Except it wasn't from me. Ghislaine had never appeared so frustrated by someone to that degree, with her teeth bared sharp and her irritation revealed in its purest and unveiled glory. Paul was stunned when she was the one that challenged him, and her tone and behavior had been so particular to everyone, that the pervert just stared at her in shock, unable to look down to her chest as he would usually do when she spoke.

Now, I believe there's a need for some explanation on a very specific point: If Ghislaine had challenged Paul a few months ago, she would have lost. Soundly. It wasn't like I doubted her skills, quite the contrary. But those didn't excel against someone like Paul. His multi-stance style was too troublesome through adaptability, something Ghislaine even at this point couldn't handle. But, training and some insight from me and Zenith left her with a strange development in this regard. And the very reason why, beyond her first sword, she decided to buy a new one.

Instead of taking her time to learn another style to switch up her pace, Ghislaine had adopted what I would call a 'brutally stupid' solution that was still effective in some circumstances: her main sword was for offense, while the other one was to defend her mid-attack. Why not a shield? Well, she reasoned she didn't want her mobility to be too limited with that plan, so a sword sounded like the best idea in her mind to get. And... It worked. Sorta. As the two fighters switched to wooden sticks, the battle proved to still be a close one.

Paul's style was nonetheless vicious regardless of Ghislaine's current solution to hold her mobility and defend herself, some hits passing through due to how vicious Water God Style was when Paul was on the defense, but it would be a lie to say that this was a victory for Paul. Once again, he had to blame his own arrogance for it, but not to the same degree he would with the spar I had with him.

His cockiness was developed by the success he got within the early moments of the fight as he expected to be in a serious advance the moment he spotted Ghislaine's strengths and flaws. He had that very smile like before, but that waned off way faster than it happened with me due to a factor he didn't consider.

Had this been a proper sword fight, Paul would have won since a sword would have caused higher damage than what Ghislaine was capable of delivering due to their different paces, but in this case a wooden stick was not going to offer him that advantage. The beast woman's skin was thick and experienced in handling the punishment she got, while Paul was far from handling the retaliation his opponent threw back at him.

It was still intense as Ghislaine didn't get her win without getting something of a catch. Her body was filled with bruises that would have gotten her stuck in bed for a few days if not for Zenith as she healed our mutual party buddy. And despite the outcome being far from the best one, Ghislaine was ecstatic and eager to get more training going.

That serious sparring gave her a proper grasp of where she had to improve and how she needed to get her dual-wielding skill further expanded on for the time being to 'catch up the quick counters'. Zenith and I could only sigh at her giddy mood, but said nothing against it since it was rightfully deserved. In fact, just as Ghislaine got herself more accustomed with the sword-swinging from her less dominant arm, I decided to spend some time with Zen.

The blonde was happy with this decision, and we used a good part of that time testing out some magic and seeing what kind of low-tier stuff was feasible by the rules or could go beyond that through some experimentation. Water magic was useful in terms of creating a seemingly endless source of water to rely on. Like, one would think that conjuring water would eventually end with it disappearing after an amount of time but... that wasn't the case. I was stunned by the overall potential held within this world's magical system, and I really wanted to test out all the functional purposes that could further curb costs we were meant to pay to keep the party safe and sound everyday.

Once that testing session was over, we were lying on the grass, one beside the other and staring at the sky as we recovered from the mana we used. Zenith sighed, basking under the shade of the tree right above us, while I alternated my glance between the blue but cloudy sky and the dark-green leaves from that very tree. There was silence for a while... but I think Zenith found this a good chance to talk with me and bring up stuff she had been holding onto for a while now.

"John... Do you miss your family?"

The question came up without notice, thus leaving me a bit surprised and reluctant to quickly answer as I glanced to the side, Zenith looking a bit uneasy for making that question up so suddenly. I considered if I should tell her something about it or not, being quite unsure of how good that would be on me and... maybe it would be. After all, it's been a long while since I've last seen the others.

"Yes. I do."

"...If you had the means to get back to them, even for just a day, would you take it?"

I blinked. "For a day, I guess that would be fine."

"What if it was more?" She pressed on. "What if... it was a stop to the adventure, to the party?"

Would I do it? I wasn't quite sure. I just... didn't want this to end. Sure, I was taken away without being given a choice, but I made bonds with people there that I knew relied on me and it would have been a coward's move to just go out of this because things were dangerous. Things were going to be dangerous for Zen and Ghislaine if I was out of the picture, mostly because the three of us worked together in an harmonious manner. If one of us was out, the other two would struggle to keep up with other responsibilities. And... I couldn't just afford to let them suffer because of my own selfish desires.

"I would not leave."

Zen finally looked at me, showing some surprise.

"You wouldn't?"

"Yep."

...

"Why?"

"Why should I leave you two, Zen?"

"We're not-"

"You are precious people to me, you and Ghislaine. Regardless of what value I give to people, there is also a matter of responsibility," I interrupted calmly. "We're both adults, we both have responsibilities as such. We can't just back away from trouble like children do, we no longer have that luxury. No, we are... bound by our own decisions and personal rules. That's why I would go there for a day to tell them I'm alright, but also that I have a duty to people I trust and care for. One I can't just refuse like that."

...

"That... makes sense."

"Now, what brought that one up?" I asked, the girl tensing up at the question. "Something troubling your mind?"

Zen hesitated for a while, but eventually let out the true reason behind that subject. "I miss mine. A bit."

"Well, that sounds about right. People tend to miss their family after not being with them for a long while," I muttered while nodding, seeing why she wanted to bring up this topic.

"...But what if it's not to the point I'm sad about it?"

I paused over that query as it sounded quite suspicious, and I was looking at her once more. "How so?"

"Well, I miss them and I miss some of that life I had back home but... I just don't regret it. Even though I should. I'm... my religion says one should always respect their parents."

"So does mine," I rebuked flatly. "But that rule is purposely vague because it has to be interpreted depending on the situation."

Zenith's eyes narrowed. "How so?"

"The rule goes like 'Honor your Father and Mother', but that doesn't mean this rule applies all the time. What if one or both parents are bad? What if they want to hurt you or others? Are you forced by religion to be obedient to them? What about one's free will?" I argued strongly, thinking back at Christianity and how many fuck-ups it has attached to it due to the efforts to impose a specific line of thought that created rigid systems in the past. "Plus, that sounds to me like they put you through something you find even now enough to not consider going back."

Her expression changed into something more uneasy. "They..." She paused, closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them so she could stare back at me. "My full name is Zenith Latreia, I'm the second daughter of a Millis Earl and was expected to marry the son of another Earl before I ran away from home. I ran away from responsibility towards my house, I shunned my family for not hearing me out and I became an adventurer out of spite. What does that make me?"

My lips twitched. "A human being."

Her mouth opened at that response, but no sound left it for a while.

"W-What?"

"Everyone is born with a different mind and set of morals other than just appearance. We can become one person or another through education, but our core traits will still linger regardless of how we grow up. You grew up a noble, with privileges but also duties. I can tell your parents had used religion and family's needs to motivate many sacrifices you had to make. May it be to do something a noble lady shouldn't do and even the arranged marriage itself," I elaborated in high detail. "You are Zenith, last name or not you are still someone with a definite name and soul. You are someone with wishes and desires that were ignored because your parents guilt-tripped you 'for the good of the family'. How many of those things really would have damaged the family's reputation? How many of those would have really warranted as sins within the Millis Religion? As far as I'm concerned, you're not a spiteful person, Zen, you're just tired of hearing the same unwarranted spiel of you being wrong when others are. You are not a bad person, you are a human being, just like me and Ghislaine."

I knew what I was saying would have gotten a strong reaction, but I was definitely caught unprepared when the girl just reached out and tightly wrapped her arms around my neck, sobbing against it and thanking me profusely while snuggling onto me. I wrapped my arms around her waist and returned the gesture softly, smiling as I waited for her to tire out the tears and get some much needed rest from that nerve-wracking talk. Things were good, I had nothing to really complain about...

Only one thing left me annoyed to no end.

"I want to join your party!" Paul exclaimed and as Ghislaine groaned and Zenith facepalmed, I synthesized their thoughts and mine on the matter within two words.

"Sod off."

AN

Ah, the feels! Zenith needed to get that talk and she will only grow through that. Paul? The pest has yet to fully unleash its full potential, and soon a new individual is going to come up to make things more interesting. And it's going to add more flavor to the group.

P.S. Before next Main story chapter, there's going to be a FFN/QQ unique one about a special event. After all, Ghislaine's Mating Season is soon to come~.