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.

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Chapter 21: How I got a Tutor and a Daughter

I found a teacher. And I was already hating her with a passion.

It took me two weeks to track her down, another two weeks to individually check on her current place to learn under her. The Holy Land of the Sword was quite far from the Capital of the Asura Kingdom, but going solo helped me cut on the times and the expectations to keep a really tight budget for the rest of the group. I promised I would be back as soon as possible, wanting to check if the woman wanted to be my teacher first and... it was a bit more complicated than just that.

Turns out the woman I was looking for was someone that was actually the current Water God. Going for her 40s, the woman that was Reida Reia looked stunningly youthful despite her age. Dark-blue hair, light-blue eyes and some clothes which would make me question if all strongest swordswomen had a thing for revealing outfits. It wasn't enough to make me question my sanity, but Reida was nonetheless a voluptuous woman and some clothes did compliment her frame quite endearingly. And during training that was a bad thing to keep a focus on.

"Aha, caught you again, Bukha!" The woman proclaimed as she swept me from my footing and forced me to trip on the ground, Zenith looking at the current ass-whooping session with an apprehensive look while Ghislaine stared at the Water God in awe as she proceeded to wipe my existence on the floor. The rest of the group was out for shopping or other affairs so... yeah, that's a thing now. "Up again, so I can kick your ass some more."

But how did I convince the Water God to visit the capital and settle there while training me? Well, let's start with the simplest point about this lengthy explanation. The eagerness she was showing at the moment was not there when I first met her. Reida's presence in the Holy Land of the Sword was not one driven by pleasure. And the reason why she had been there was due to a favor.

Well, two favors in one if I have to be precise. I would learn of this later- way later to when the whole event unfolded, but what happened was that Reida's most recent apprentice had grown arrogant and she had asked by the Sword God himself to take action against this. Thus, she brought her granddaughter into this to try and have her solve this herself.

It was supposed to be an easy affair despite the fact her grandkid, Isolte, was quite young and not as inexperienced with the Water God Style. That's not to say she wasn't good enough with it to handle this apprentice, but it was reasonable to see how she was not mature enough to handle tricks if those were involved.

And that was the case when, as I was already looking around for my potential future teacher, I stumbled upon the sight of a large crowd murmuring as the noise of combat could be heard further deep through the multi-layered ranks of people that had formed around a small arena. I was a tourist, so I saw no reason to skip on the chance to see some combat in the Holy Land of the Sword.

But what I found as I approached the fighting scene was not a proper fight. Not when a tall man chuckled over the sight of a weakened girl as she tried to stand up and yet seemed unable to do so. One would think it was some injury that held the girl like that, but... she didn't have any on her. Heck, the few bruises I could see on her arms and some on her legs wouldn't be enough to cause her this sort of fatigue.

I was confused, and even as the crowd drowned most of what was being said in the arena through their heckling, I managed to see what could have caused the issue. A tiny thorn that reflected sunlight currently stuck in her ankle. It was tiny enough to pass unnoticed, but the sun hitting my face as I looked around pretty much highlighted it to me.

That's when I realized it was no mere thorn. I didn't pay much attention to the people's reaction when I stepped into the arena and walked up to the shivering girl. The child looked up at me, seemingly shocked but unable to do much as her tutor screeched something on the side. I didn't care, not when I recognized the 'thorn' as something I had seen by the alchemy shop near home.

I crouched down, slowly grasping the needle-like thing made of glass and smoothly pulled it out of the girl's leg. The blue-haired child looked surprised as her gaze was stolen by the tiny thing.

"W-What's that?"

I blinked. "Your name?"

"Isolte," She gulped nervously and I nodded.

"Isolte, this is a Paralysis bolt," I replied flatly, giving her a nod. "This, Isolte, is normally brought to a cheap alchemist since it's used by hunters to subdue animals that could be sold to the market. In this case... you were to be humiliated with this."

Her eyes burned with growing anger. "H-He cheated!"

I hummed, glancing at the tall guy himself and he looked absolutely nervous now that my explanation was being spread around by the rest of the crowd.

"T-That's ridiculous. You are just some paid actor to make her appear good. I am the next Water God, why should nobody like you have the right to make such an accusation."

"I don't know, why should a tall guy that boasts of being the next Water God be frightened by a girl to the point of relying on poison darts?"

He didn't even try to rebuke that as he turned to strike at us both. I think the irritation and his lack of understanding on what level of expertise I was as a swordsman may have impaired his capacity to see how such a swift but clumsy move would resolve poorly for him. Normally, I would be up to be civil with people. But those that were so stubbornly determined to actually attack without offering a chance to speak- and that also hurt a kid out of spite, didn't deserve that kind of kindness.

Three steps were all that I needed. The first one was to shift forward with my sword leaving its sheath to slam the incoming strike away, the second was to stab at his shoulders at a quick enough speed to cause him to hesitate in recoiling for a new attack, and then the third one, right as I passed him, was where he knew he was done for.

I rotated, my sword shifting around and severing his head from his body. Many would be shocked by this move if they weren't familiar with how 'cheats' were treated by this land. There's a bit of honor within the use of tricks in duels, I think there was a code of law to follow in that regard, and using poison darts was not one of those acceptable methods, regardless of how non-lethal it was.

So, this was pretty much serving the expected Death Warrant. Hence why the crowd had no issue about the sight of a man killed like this and so suddenly. I would say they were more surprised by the simplicity of it than anything else. And that should have been it. I was done doing a good deed, and I could go back to the search duty.

Then I was stopped by the particularly youthful woman in her 40s that was carrying around her slowly-recovering granddaughter with her. And I will be honest, I had a hard time believing this woman was indeed Reida Reia. I mean, one thing is to appear a bit younger than she is supposed to be, but to pull a Lisa Lisa and appear so young just felt out of the blue when magic was barely involved in this.

Still, I recognized her now that I looked better at her. Same hairstyle and fierce look as her 'wanted papers' would say. She was surprised by the situation when I was done explaining and was surprisingly open to train me in return for a few things since she was done with her job in the area: First, a place where to stay for herself and her Granddaughter, which she was fine to share a room with if necessary; Second, the chance to say no to normal sessions in case she had other duties to attend; Third, providing her granddaughter with food if Reida was unable to do so.

All of which was quickly accepted and I was soon proud to proclaim myself the apprentice of the Water God... Fast-forward to me getting my ass grilled by a woman that had lost so much from being around a student to kick their ass for education's sake.

The training sessions started right as I returned home with the woman and her granddaughter. And those were as brutal as they sounded. Reida was no slacker, and her ferocity in combat despite the highly-defensive style she relied on was outrageously balanced to leave no openings during her strikes.

Reida turned her body into a fast and flexible machine through decades of training and combat, one that could deflect and block all sorts of attacks thrown her way. I was stunned by seeing this in action, and then I was pissed off because I was expected to find a way to mimic her perfect defense without having a clear understanding on how to do that. I could see some of the blurred actions, but it was just that- a blur after another.

I was stuck in a dilemma, but one that she was happy to extend for as long as possible because of how 'amusing' I was during my thinking. She found me 'interesting' on the basis that I was putting quite a lot of effort compared to other students she had. And that made her 'playful' in combat. Some may translate that as flirty, but it was more her having a sick pleasure in kicking my ass until I was devoid of will to fight. It was an interesting experience, and one that prompted me to come up with a quick solution to get back at her in a harsh manner.

The only thing that prevented me from going full prick at her was the fact that her granddaughter was actually a polite cute thing. Isolte was initially unwilling to leave her grandmother's side, but a week into the trip and she was slowly latching onto me. Zenith mentioned something about me having 'paternal energy' around while dealing with kids. And Isolte picked up on it and quickly acted on it by behaving like a girl around her father.

Which was odd for many to see since I wasn't blood-related with the child, but Reida was fine with how I was treating the kid. The girl trained with us at times, but was given a lesser version of the training I would get. She would assist people around the kitchen, learning more on how to make food and had a curious habit of sitting on my lap for lunch and dinner rather than sit on her seat.

Amusing, and it spared me a seat at the table. Cuddling by the couch was a thing too, and Isolte had also started to spend time around both Zenith and Roxy when they were free, with Elinalise and Ghislaine coming second and Geese being a fixed feature for her to interact with by the kitchen.

Reida kept away from making any bonds with the rest of the party, focusing primarily on me for what she remarked as a normal 'teacher-student relationship'. Which felt quite odd at times to hear her speak of it, but it was more of a tiny hint of unease in the phrasing rather than the tone of voice she used.

So yes, in the span of roughly a month and a half I ended up with a tutor, a kid to treat as mine, a lot of attention from Zenith within the idea of a potential marriage coming soon, and with a letter from the King that requested my presence to speak on an important matter raised by Princess Ariel regarding a recent dismissal.

...Wait, what?

AN

This time around, Ariel got a chance to have her kingly dad indulge her demands regarding what happened with Lilia, which will send more ripples around and set the redhead on a different path altogether.

Speaking of different paths, I did in fact 'deaged' Reida a bit. She is still as old as she says she is, but her body is aging at a slower pace due to the training she put it through. And in her regard, four words related to Scathach can be used to describe what she is up to when it comes to John: Friendship of the Thighs. Things just don't get any easier, but her interest isn't going to be as romantic as one would expect from Zenith, Ghislaine or the rest of the party. She ain't a party member to begin with.

P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c

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