The Saga of Rudeus the Evil : Vol 1

by Beta Orionis

Rudy and Tanya's past lives switch places. How would the Salaryman live life as Rudy in the Six-Faced world? Covers LN 1 and 2 time period of Mushoku Tensei. Lots of worldbuilding elements at the start, and much of the action comes in the next volume onwards. It will be rewritten before Vol. 2 comes out.

13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Cold War continues and Eris' Tenth Birthday

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay; work and other activities have taken a lot of my time lately. Staying up past 7 am regularly to finish deadlines doesn't help. I recently got inspired after I got my Mushoku Tensei Limited Blu-ray edition, which even comes with a secret story from Philip Boreas Greyrat's POV, which means I have to adjust my characterization of him. However, the butterfly effect still hits him hard.

I will do a minor rewrite of the earlier chapters of this story once I finish Vol 1.

We're at the last 70% of the story and halfway through LN 2 timeline. Rudy starts to "shine" militarily when we get to Vol. 2 of this fanfic. I had to split Chapter 12 into two pieces due to how much detail I needed to place. Chapter 13 would be released several days to two weeks after Chapter 12 is posted. I almost split Chapter 12 into three instead of two chapters due to the sheer detail, but I don't want to fall even further behind.

I want to fix consistency, formatting, and other errors I made when I had less writing experience.

Since this is my first serious fanfic project, I think my style changed over time. I think my crazy pace of updating made my proofreading subpar, too (I have no beta reader). And I made the mistake of trusting Grammarly edits too much at the start of my fanfic project, which led to many sentences and phrases adjusting differently from my original intent.

Funny enough, the earliest chapters had parts almost literally taken from the (official English translated)LN, with edits between sentences, so the formatting issues also come from the LN themselves.

I also placed a few elements in Youjo Senki that would be a lot more apparent in the second volume of this fic, as the first one is more like a long setup to the events that bring out the true crossover elements. However, this chapter should start giving obvious hints of what to expect. For a little hint, let us assume this is more LN/Manga Tanya rather than Anime Tanya.

The upcoming schedule would be Ch. 13 (which would give a Latreia-Greyrat Interaction), Chapter 14 TP-1.2 (Another flashback that shows the butterflies on Roxy gets serious), Ch 15-16, Ch 17 TP 1, Epilogue TP-1.3.

This is a tiny bit of a spoiler; I re-read Roxy gets serious for this chapter and the next one.

At the end of the Epilogue, the story of the NEET in Tanya's Body will begin; I'll take a short break from this and then release Vol. 2 of this story.

Updates are most likely capped a week, although I would suffer serious delays if my business trips or tasks over the next two months demand more time (I have conferences to attend soon).

However, I have commissioned sorcerurii_cc (Instagram) to create some scenes, including two important scenes towards the end of the chapter. betaorionisff is my IG account. I will post those commissions and future fanfic artworks there.

I will also make a QQ and AO3 account once I fix my vol 1 content.

I'm itching to get the main squad a bit older to get proper dialogue and action between them.

(The Significant Faction data would be on the Chapter 13 Author's Notes to prevent spoilers for Ch. 13. It comes with information that Rudy would not know. Keep in mind, he may be well informed but isn't omniscient.)

.

.

.

.

PART 1: Buena's Growth

Mid K 415 Buena, Fittoa Region

Rudeus Greyrat POV (8)

Sylphie has matched my offensive magic progress, at least in terms of control. We both mastered advanced magic in that field and are capped for different reasons. She managed to reach an advanced level in healing and other support spells too.

Sylphie's mana is still developing to the point that she needs a little more training to increase her capacity to cast a Saint-level spell, while my problem is one of mental focus.

Somehow I can't properly form or manage magic which involves "creating something out of nothing" or managing an immeasurably small amount of pieces moving simultaneously, not without serious focus.

Even though my mana capacity is slightly higher than Roxy and Zenith's combined, my attempts to cast Saint-level elemental spells literally blow up, with disastrous effects if it weren't contained in high-powered barriers.

Even my advanced spells become extremely difficult to control once I attempt to cast them on the Quad-core staff.

I blame my modern understanding of science for my conceptual and mental blocks over the higher-level spells.

On the other hand, I can cast Saint-level Heal, Detoxification, and other support spells, just like my Mother and Roxy. In fact, I was confident enough to try it with my Quad-core staff, which led to the current situation in front of me.

Lilia and Grandma Valentina sat beside each other on separate clinic beds. These beds were modified to allow drainage and cleansing from post-detoxification. Roxy and Zenith were seated in chairs beside the two beds. At the corner of the room, Paul, Nymphie, Elinalise, Sylphie, and Sara watched behind a King-class barrier spell Zenith and Roxy made for this occasion.

While they knew how to make a King-class magical and physical barrier from the scroll, we obtained some time ago; it took them until last month to finally create a barrier of this power. For now, they can only cast one each day per person, meaning the two of them were exhausted by the time this was about to start.

"Rudy, it's time to cast your most powerful detoxification spells on Lilia and Valentina. I will then take blood samples from both of them and run them through tests; the potions and equipment are ready." Zenith told me.

While we were confident about this demonstration, there was a tiny chance that Lilia and Valentina's magical poisons would disperse around the room, which was why they made a barrier around our observers.

"Don't worry; I'm sure my favorite grandson would get the job done," Valentina told me with a smile. Her ageless beauty would often make people wonder just how old she was and kept people from assuming she was the supposedly sickly Valentina Notos Greyrat of Milbots region.

Lilia gave me a thumbs up, and Roxy gestured for me to come closer.

I cranked up my touki to its maximum enhancement; at this point, while my body was still somewhere around the intermediate level, my mind had reflexes and processing speeds matching those of an advanced-level enhancement, making me think fast enough to balance the spell reaction in the staff.

"Saint-level detoxification!" While I can do it silently, shouting it during my staff casting helps me retain my focus.

Immediately I felt resistance from Lilia and Valentina, the poisons they were afflicted with were a whole other level of power from the normal poisons, toxins, and status afflictions.

However, my overpowered spell left them glowing for a few seconds until they slowly faded into normality.

Lilia and Valentina were unconscious, but they looked happy.

Zenith immediately drew blood with her tools and tested them in her various equipment, it would take around thirty minutes before she finished the tests, but we could now remove the King-class barrier around the audience.

"There's no more risk of toxin contamination; I'm taking down the barrier," Roxy said as she disabled the runes on the different barrier points.

"I hope this works, I know the previous attempts with Saint-level detoxification spells failed to eliminate their problems fully, but this staff might have enough power to fix it." I looked around, feeling slightly dizzy from the effects of pushing my Touki beyond my safe limits and casting a saint spell simultaneously.

Roxy cast a stream of warm water to wash both Lilia and Valentina, to ensure that the toxins on their skin and body get washed out too. The warm water magic was a melded mix of fire and water, possible due to the silent magic Roxy now wielded. I can do the same thing, too, for lower-level spells, at least when I'm not using the special staff.

We spent the next few minutes making small talk in relative silence. Despite my family's faith in my skill, there was still a nervous tension in the air.

Zenith finished shifting around her notes and smiled.

"Lilia and Valentina are fully detoxified!"

I got caught in a group hug after the announcement. It was too tight!

"I'm happy it worked, but I can't breathe." I struggled out of the hug. After all these years, I'm still not so used to the touchy nature of people around me. It just wasn't in my nature.

A minor warm air spell, which was a mix of fire and wind magic, was done by Sylphie and Nymphie to the two unconscious women to dry them up. Lilia and Valentina were now cleansed from their toxins inside and out. They were slowly waking from their temporary slumber.

We explained the situation to the two women after they became more lucid. Between their tears of joy and the way they fussed over me in gratitude, I was reminded of my eight-year-old body again.

When will I grow up? I want to be in a position to make an impact, plus it's tough being treated like a child all the time.

"I'm free! That assassin's poison is finally out of my system. My body feels much more lively now, and that little fog at the edge of my senses has been removed. Thank you, Rudy!" Lilia told me

"The strange toxic effects of whatever potion Pilemon forced me are gone, too; I feel a lot more energetic now. After this, I hope to stay awake for more than 9 hours a day." Valentina said her cancer was gone by the first time we treated her years ago, but the potions she was force-fed over the past decade left mysterious and unwanted residue. Perhaps that was the result of mixing mysterious demon blood into the potion. Roxy had no idea since humans usually die from ingesting demon (and monster) blood.

We had a great day and a small feast an hour later, with the rest of our family and close friends joining us. Shaggy and Clooper have outdone themselves, making a flawless feast without Lilia's direct supervision.

I saw Norn and Aisha running away from Velma, who was trying to keep them seated for lunch.

The mystery gang's presence exposing my parents' secret affairs made me realize something.

They reminded me of that old American series, Scooby-Doo, except if they were turned into beast people instead. Clooper even had a funny accent since he had difficulty learning the human tongue.

Sometimes I wish someone else from Earth was here to see this.

After the joyous announcement of Lilia and Valentina's recovery, I was seated between them and got caught in the conversation between them and their friends. Aside from our loyal servants and the Greyrat-Dragonroad family, Sara and her family and several rangers were eating with us. Gordon and Bauer declined our invitations, although I rarely saw Gordon outside of city council duties with my parents.

Elinalise also brought in an odd group of adventurers, her favorite party of the newly created Buena Adventurer's guild.

Lilia stayed sharp by regularly training with the rangers, her closest peers in skill and strength. While the household beast people staff are stronger and faster than the average human, they were still young and regularly paired with the Greyrat Youth for training.

I had no idea why the elf twins wore maid outfits to this feast, but it had something to do with a dare involving one of the other guards.

"I told you, little sister, to stop gambling all the time. Now, look at what we have to do." The older twin, Ram, gave a stage whisper to her sister.

"But I thought we'd beat Wayne and Lilym at a pair spar; who knew those new rangers were devious as hell? Besides, I thought we'd get those two to dress up as cat girls and meow at the next event." Rem gave the same exaggerated stage whisper in return.

I heard about those two new rangers; Wayne was a son of a small-time lord at Vista who was sent to toughen up at Buena, and Lilym was his servant who ended up joining him too. He looked like a responsible young man with an uptight follower.

Lilym looked part elf with her white hair and red eyes. Wayne's family replaced Sir Jude as the local town lord, and his presence in Buena is another act of loyalty to the Greyrats in Buena.

"We're here to serve you, great boss-lady." The twins bowed at Lilia, who then whacked them lightly with a loaf of hard bread.

"Stop fooling around, or else I'll make you two clean the stables after feeding the horses extra!" The twins stood upright and made an exaggerated escape, hiding behind the lanky Shaggy.

Valentina and Elinalise got along very well, and it showed with the groups of people they associated with.

"Rudy! I want to introduce you to my favorite party, Counter-Strike. They've been the most active monster hunters in the guild and a fun bunch of people to be with." Elinalise showed me a group of four people around my parents' age.

After a short series of introductions, I learned that Timothy, their leader, and Suzanne used to be part of a different adventurer party in Milbots until the rest of their party died in the monster attacks ravaging the region's borders. Likewise, Patris and Mimir were from a different group that survived the same monster attack.

They formed their party and started searching for missions; Buena was a hotspot for adventurers looking for monster kill quests due to the large amounts of monster activity nearby.

"Timothy here also tends to throw nice parties after Counter-strike hits those nice B-ranked commissions. So he's one of my favorite customers." Valentina owned the restaurant and bar associated with the adventurer's guild.

While Valentina didn't lack for any money and resources, she enjoyed having something to do outside of the high nobility tasks she had before her coma. Between her upbringing as a Boreas Greyrat without the desire to fight for household headship and the acquired Notos Greyrat taste for alcohol, she was a very popular figure at the adventurer's guild.

With Valentina's youthful appearance and "humbler" occupation, my parents believed she wouldn't be exposed as the supposedly incapacitated Valentina Notos Greyrat at Senos.

While we used our city guards to protect Buena and Vista and the route between the towns, the adventurer's guild filled the increasing gap of requests and tasks that the overwhelmed city council failed to account for.

The demands for human soldiers and mages to fill in the ever-larger armies of the various Royal factions made adventurer's guilds in Asura require the permission of the local Duke or Royal approval itself to remain in operation or to establish a new branch. In addition, it provided strict limits on the addition and management of members to prevent deserters from filling in the ranks of adventurers and to regulate the number of humans joining the adventurer's guild.

There were even talks of using adventurers as mercenaries, but that would violate the neutrality the adventurer's guild nominally has worldwide.

Only family members and staff remained in the room as the small feast ended.

"I'm happy to be freed from the cursed potion of the Man-God; that was the last vestige of that vile being's influence," Valentina said to the people around us.

"I've heard some third-hand rumors from adventurers and traders that Millis continent has gone into full chaos over that Man-God, all the more reason to denounce that demon," Lilia added, drawing from reports given after messengers reached the country after the winter disruption.

"I think that the "gods" are merely extremely powerful beings, but not omnipotent. You can see how malicious they can be when they are out of control." Even in my previous life, I was never the biggest fan of gods and divinity, treating my polytheistic upbringing as more of a cultural norm to follow than an actual belief.

"There's a difference between 'gods' and 'Gods'; you must be careful with how you say it, Rudy. I'm still a Saint Millis purist at heart; despite the heretic version in Asura and the unholy version the Cathedral faction supports, I still believe in the teachings of the blessed Saint Millis. Other people would be much less forgiving if they heard your opinion on this." Zenith answered with a frown; she hated the Man-God like everyone else in the room but was raised as a Saint Millis believer.

There was some commotion at the dining room door; Daphne opened it to let an adventurer in. Judging by their attire, it was either an A-ranked party or a party full of nobles. Four town guards escorted them into the room.

"Pardon our interruption Lord Greyrat; we were instructed that the message was to be delivered directly to Lady Zenith; it is a sanctioned A-rank mission with the proper documentation." The lead adventurer spoke while the adventurers were disarmed upon entry; their armor had unfamiliar insignia.

A three-headed figure with a crown, helmet and feathered cap on top of a sword with its tip diagonally facing the lower left side superimposed on a golden six-ray sun. More details looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't identify them.

Zenith received the bundle of letters, over a dozen scrolls, and a chest of items.

She smiled as she looked more closely and said.

"It's been more than three years since my family sent me messages; I wonder what took them so long."

The adventurers in front of her shifted uncomfortably.

"You seem to know something; say it," Paul said with a twinge of annoyance on his face.

"It isn't our place to say Lord Greyrat, but Millis entered a state of open civil war two years ago, and communications with the west have been severely curtailed due to the hostilities King Dragon Realm displayed to the Kingdom of Millis prevented news of this from reaching Asura. However, there is more information on the letters you received."

I knew that Millis continent had a shadow war behind the scenes where the Pope and the Cardinals often assassinated each other's supporters or raided towns but never to the point of open war. This was unexpected news for me.

The lead adventurer bowed and took his leave, saying their party was headed to the capital to meet another party that delivered messages.

The horrified look on my Mother's face was a full reversal of her happy mood today.

Father told me to stay with Valentina and my sisters while he went with Zenith and Lilia to his room; they would have some serious discussion later.

Norn wanted Valentina to read a story before sleeping, while Aisha was her usual inquisitive self.

"Hey, big brother, why is mommy Zenith sad?"

"Those are tears of Joy, Aisha; she got letters from her family for the first time in years." I hope that white lie held up.

"People cry when they are happy? I only cry when I'm sad or angry. Grownups are weird. Can you piggyback me to the room?" Aisha gave me those puppy-dog eyes. My father glanced at me; I think he was signaling me to go with the girls.

She rode my back on the way to her room, where we saw Norn listen to our Grandmother's stories.

It was about when Paul rescued a noble with his party over ten years ago. Valentina said that the woman he rescued was the younger sister of the second queen, Padme Whitespider. What surprised me was that she was also my aunt, the wife of Pilemon Notos Greyrat.

Despite her marriage to the horrible man that was my uncle, Valentina said that Padme was a good woman and that someday, we could meet her.

Valentina gave an interesting tale about how the Fangs of the Black Wolf supported each other as they fought the bandits seeking to attack the Whitespider caravan. By the way, she described the bandits; they made Sir Jude and his minions look like a small time group.

I can see why my Grandmother was such a hit at her restaurant; she wove a convincing tale of how Paul's bravery and Elinalise's defense held the line while Ghislaine faced off the bandit leader and his lieutenant farther away. Zenith was healing Talhand, who was targeted by the bandits first since he was a mage. She managed to make it interesting to my younger sisters and me. Eventually, Norn and Aisha fell asleep.

I walked to my room with my Grandmother.

I was still surprised at how fast my parents rose through the ranks in the adventurer's guild; it only took four years for Paul's party to hit S-rank from scratch. The B-ranked Counter-strike showed me what happens to a more normal party my parents' age.

"Have a good night, Rudy." Valentina embraced me

"Good night, too, Grandmother."

I hope my parents sort things out.

.

.

.

.

Paul Greyrat POV (27)

I had to help Zenith; she was crying on my shoulder after reading the first three letters.

Lilia was off to the side, reading the other messages and sorting materials out. While she was also dear to Zenith, she knew less about the Millis issues than I did.

" Your family lost their house in Millishion, but at least they are all alive and together at West Port." I'm bad at dealing with this; I was always the 'actions' man, not the emotional one.

"But those unholy Man God believers are destroying my homeland. Saint Millis was right in allowing Non-humans to co-exist with Humans. We were the only humans in our party, and everything was perfect despite that." Zenith said while sniffing

I knew Zenith still had strong beliefs in her faith, despite her willingness to allow Lilia as a second wife or Valentina's awful experiences with Pilemon.

"The Man God isn't Saint Millis, and we know that. It's unforgivable that being destroyed the centuries-long peace in the Millis continent." I added.

I wasn't the most religious man myself, but even I can acknowledge how Pope Grimoire improved relations between Humans and Non-humans to levels better than anything post-Laplace war.

In fact, with all the Hybrids and Non-humans around Buena and everything they've done for the town and family, I owe a lot to them.

Human supremacy makes no sense when the most powerful beings in the world are all non-human.

"I know, but it still hurts. Maybe we should've stayed in Millis after I got pregnant; we might have made a difference with our party around pushing the Cardinal faction back." Zenith said, slightly calmer than earlier.

We knew that would've been impossible, but people can dream.

"Or maybe not; we wouldn't have been able to be with Lilia or end up in all the circumstances that led to where we are now," Zenith answered her own question.

Honestly, I think Lilia and Zenith are more in love with each other than with me sometimes. Do women have an innate tendency to partner up against a guy?

Deep inside, I still think I'm a scumbag, no matter how much-misplaced faith Rudy placed in me.

"Paul, Zenith, look at this." Lilia held a letter, smaller than the rest. It was lodged inside one of the items inside the chest. A book filled with healing and other Millis spells.

Zenith,

Hey big sis! Edgar and I are headed to the Asuran Kingdom to lead a delegation of the Kingdom of Millis to the capital. Our parents didn't want you or Paul (specifically that knucklehead) to do anything stupid and expose yourself, so they wanted me to keep this a secret from you.

I'll try to see you next year.

Your favorite little sister,

Therese

P.S. I hope you like the latest set of spells we stole from the Millis Church; we're several years overdue, so I spent the time making the notes bound in a book

"So that's where you find all those high-level spells of yours," I told Zenith with a smirk.

She's been hiding her source of spells for the last few years.

While she ran away from home and joined our party, she had a happy reunion with her family a few times during our times at the Millis continent.

They kept in touch with yearly letters before the civil war but never had a good word for me, thinking I was a good-for-nothing slacker of a Greyrat. My reputation as a deviant already spread around the noble circles of the Human world shortly after I was cast out of the Notos Greyrat house.

At least they were helping her out in their own special way.

"Hehe, it took you almost ten years." She stuck her tongue out, her tears gone as she turned into her mischievous self.

"More than that, that means we're seeing Therese soon! You know how stubborn she can be when she wants something." Zenith was happy again.

I remember how stubborn Therese was; she was barely a ten-year-old when our party first visited their home at Milishion.

She wanted to imitate her older sister and become an adventurer, even going as far as to challenge me to a duel.

She lost, of course, but insisted that I spend every free time with her to train. I hope she learned a few things from me.

"Yes, that sounds great. Although that makes me wonder why they're even going to the capital in the first place." Given the current situation of the nobles and the king, it's nearly impossible to convince them to aid a far away kingdom.

"Yes, they are seeking an audience with the King and the other High Nobles for aid and other choice pieces of information," Lilia added, showing another letter.

It was a more formal letter written by Carlyte, Zenith's father.

He explained that the Kingdom of Millis was formed over two years ago when the religious civil war reached a new level.

Up to five years ago, Nobles were able to stay away from the conflict, using their power and prestige to present a neutral front to the Millis church factions. They occasionally sent representatives and vassals to join the crusades into the forest, but the nobles were more concerned about protecting themselves and their possessions in the conflict.

Two years later, the Man-God/Cardinal faction declared that all nobles who declared neutrality were no more than demon-loving heretics who deserved to die. That led to the nobles suddenly swinging towards the Pope faction in hopes of self-preservation.

While some nobles joined the Man-God/Cardinal faction, they were often the more brutal or less refined type, those known to keep non-humans as slaves in large numbers.

This was also when the Latreia family moved their possessions, personnel, and everything they could to their properties in West Port, where they had a significant presence due to the foresight Carlyte and Claire had years ago. Zenith's parents are smart and cunning.

Most nobles and merchants managed to escape the purges in Milishion, as their combined forces with the Pope held the city's western section. However, the Three other sections of the city were ravaged by relentless Imperium crusader waves that recklessly destroyed the city.

By this point, the Old Millis King and most of his family died when the God-Level barrier surrounding the city shattered due to the Imperium forces destroying five of the seven white towers surrounding the palace. As a result, the White Palace exploded with a large part of the inner city, and the only child of the King left was a woman in West Port, Princess Fia, who married a minor prince from the King Dragon Realm. As a dowry, they were originally given control of the city.

The Pope declared that Princess Fia was ineligible to rule the Kingdom due to her external marriage and that the Kingdom would default to the Pope as part of a Holy Realm; a large portion of the council agreed to this declaration, and the Holy Country of Millis was turned into a full theocracy.

The Latreia family and other nobles, merchants, and soldiers decided to move west and join the newly proclaimed Queen Fia. Unfortunately, their alliance with the Pope was more of an alliance of convenience that couldn't hold longer.

While the Holy Country of Millis and the Kingdom of Millis had an uneasy truce with each other, the King Dragon Realm was frosty towards the Kingdom of Millis when their attempts to claim Queen Fia as a vassal of the Dragon King failed.

The Imperium of Man God was in a two-front war between the Holy Country of Millis and the Great Forest Federation, a coalition of all non-humans in the great forest, the natural result of a decade of human crusades in their region.

I remember they were already quite hostile to my party ten years ago despite Ghislaine's presence and connection to the Chief of the Federation; I was spared from an ignoble end because I was the only human in the party back then (Zenith wasn't part of the team yet and we were still a raw A-ranked party).

"Is this what I think it is?" I asked my wives. I trusted in their strategic thinking more than my own; I was a tactics guy. I wish Laws were here to pick my head; even Geese had some interesting plans back in the day.

"It seems the Kingdom of Millis wants the Asuran Kingdom's aid, but for what? Recognition? Are they seeking intervention? We'd have to go through the King Dragon Realm and their vassals before anything can be sent in large numbers, and based on what the letter says, we wouldn't even have a chance to assist them peacefully." Lilia spoke up.

"Considering how well the King Dragon Realm suppressed news of the war, I think they would be violently against any aid to the Millis continent for as long as the Kingdom of Millis doesn't submit to the Dragon King," Zenith said. She also stifled a yawn, reminding me we needed to sleep soon if we wanted to stay alert for our duties tomorrow.

"I think we need to rest, it's been a long night, and we can handle this with a clearer head tomorrow. Besides, we can get the rest of the adults to help us out." I told my wives.

They agreed, and we went to the bedroom. Ever since we got caught by a bunch of meddling kids, Lilia joined us in bed. Originally to keep us from making more mischief at night, but eventually, she folded and joined us in our nightly activities.

We slept immediately.

.

.

.

.

Dawn broke, and it was time to eat together. Today was one of those days when the Dragonroads went over to our house for shared breakfast before half the group trained in magic under Roxy and Zenith, and the rest went off to their duties.

Speaking of Roxy, she spent the last few weeks staying with Elinalise at her new home on the top floor of the Adventurer's guild in Buena. Between the antics of the horny elf and my mother, Roxy had to play the responsible unofficial mother of the adventurer's in the area.

That was also the unofficial reason she was given an S-rank to match our classification. The official reason, of course, was the fact that she was a King-class mage and deserved the promotion due to sheer power. Even though Roxy was the youngest among the three grannies (a nickname that got me in trouble), beating my mother by a few months, she was the most responsible.

Breakfast was an assortment of pastries, meats, and cheeses laid in front of us. We were given a choice of tea or the exotic drinks Rudy and Roxy insisted on having, Coffee and Chocolate. How those two even heard about exotic beans from the south of Millis was a little mystery to me.

A hot start to the morning would keep us refreshed for our activities. Shaggy loved to prepare more varieties of food than Lilia would.

I saw Aisha and Norn arguing over a muffin and carried them both, telling them to share.

My quick hands stole a muffin from Roxy and gave it to Aisha.

Norn and Aisha happily ate a whole muffin each.

My little girls are adorable. What kind of Father won't melt seeing them?

They also made me feel more adequate as Rudy has been far too perfect and proper for any normal child to be.

Roxy glared at me but stopped when she saw Aisha enjoying the muffin.

On the other side of the table, Rudy and Sylphie talked about some magical stuff when I saw an unexpected visitor.

Ghislaine was munching greedily on the sandwiches in front of her. Elinalise was patting her back, watching as some dust flew around her.

"Woah, Ghislaine, what's up? Why do you look like you just ran from Roa to Buena?" I said, looking at her more closely. Months of intense running had increased Ghislaine's endurance to allow her to run from Roa to Buena in thirty minutes without breaking a sweat, but at her speed, dust and insects, as well as other random objects, were a bigger threat to her clothes. She had a layer of dust on her that she hadn't fully shaken off yet.

"Need food… will explain in a minute," Ghislaine replied between bites. The downside of her intense long-distance running and the associated Touki use was that she was ravenous and thirsty by the time she arrived at her destination.

Lilia and Zenith arrived a minute later after doing their morning rituals, whatever they may be. I never bothered too much with women's stuff.

"Great timing, so I have a message from Philip to give you," Ghislaine said as she got a scroll that she tossed at me. "And a second scroll you should read first."

"Come on, read it for us." Ghislaine gestured; she still had issues reading human language, but ever since Eris started studying more, Ghislaine had to learn how to read with Eris so that she could read… slowly.

She pointed at the second scroll she tossed at me. Why did she have to be this confusing? It was much finer and fancier, not a thing Philip or Sauros would use to send me messages.

Lord Paul Greyrat of Buena township,

You and your family have been invited to the tenth birthday of Eris Boreas Greyrat. A two-day festival shall occur prior to her celebration, with her party on the third day. I expect you by the start of the festivities. As her gracious uncle, I have sponsored the entire event and have elevated it to the appropriate level, perfect for the sole granddaughter of Sauros of the Boreas Greyrat family.

I have a great many announcements and honored guests invited to the party. The Royal Family, High Nobles, and even Lord Perugius are invited to this event.

Bring a party and preparations suitable for this level of gathering.

Your Overlord,

Duke James Boreas Greyrat of Fittoa, heir of the Boreas Greyrat family

Note. King-Class mage Roxy, as well as the former wife of the Zephyrus Greyrat, Elinalise Dragonroad and her family, are invited too. It was an oversight to have ignored their presence upon my previous visit. You must introduce me to people of interest next time.

That was a second heavy hitter in such a short time.

Elinalise paled at the message while the other adults had various stages of anxiety.

"Yup, that's why I had to send this to you immediately. I volunteered to send the message to give you as much time as possible to prepare for this. Philip didn't even want to invite your group initially, but James insisted." Ghislaine said. "And to get all the bad news out of your system, go read the other letter now."

I nodded while handing the scroll to Elinalise, who was reading the message angrily. Promiscuity aside, Elinalise genuinely cared for her children, at least until they became old enough to fend for themselves, and Laws was her last surviving child that acknowledged her as his mother.

The audacity of Rowen Zephyrus Greyrat to demand Law's castration as a young boy out of tradition to bastard half-elf male Zephyrus Greyrats despite his legal marriage to Elinalise led to her fleeing the Donati region to raise Laws as a child.

She hated that man with a burning passion, and this party was a disaster in the making.

Dear Paul,

Ghislaine sent this letter at great personal risk. Sauros, Hilda, and I are heavily monitored at the castle in Roa. Despite the fact that James is staying at the larger Boreas Greyrat mansion outside the inner city walls, he sent half his personal guard and his personal spies here and has taken the master's bedroom for himself when conducting his business.

He put two and two together with Elinalise's application to head the Buena Town Adventurer's guild application and effectively hamstrung our operations in the meantime.

I barely managed to convince him of our loyalty to his cause. Sauros has volunteered to directly coordinate affairs with James' advisory council to give us more information about their affairs.

While Sauros is still technically the Lord of Fittoa, most of the troops, together with the nobles based in Ars, have considered James lord in all but name. So Sauros has been outmaneuvered and is quietly enraged about it.

You are invited to the party because James wants to set you up with Pilemon; he thinks it will finally answer the question of your identity. Therefore, I would advise avoiding direct or sustained contact with Pilemon or drawing his attention away from you at the party.

Elinalise would also be advised to produce documents that she has lawfully divorced Lord Zephyrus Greyrat under the current King Barbatos as well as in the eyes of the Pope of Millis Church. I believe she has them and that it was dated before the great schism, making it valid proof of her independence from that house. A divorce of that magnitude deserves no less than the highest level of documentation.

However, I fear that she would be used as a political piece in the Boreas Greyrat house; we will advise you upon arrival three days from now.

As a vassal lord, you aren't expected to give fancy gifts to Eris, particularly since outshining the Royals, and High nobles in this party would cause unwanted attention. Although I'm sure, you and your family should know that by now. So if Rudy has anything special for Eris, it has to be given in private, or he may draw too much attention.

He still believes you are an illegitimate son of Sauros and that your value would be more strategic and militaristic. As long as he believes Buena hosts several saint-level resources loyal to him, he would not move against you.

Ghislaine will escort your family to Roa in three days, have "fun."

After this celebration, James and all these other nobles would depart for the capital to conduct their late-year council sessions.

Your coolest "brother,"

Philip

This wasn't pretty at all. We didn't want to move against Pilemon and James until we were confident enough to take down at least two King-ranked threats or higher, probably even three. Not to mention the other high-level mages and fighters at their disposal.

We were lucky that we managed to escape the chaos at Senos; we wouldn't have survived if those emperor-class fighters had targeted us instead. Ghislaine was an exceptional fighter, and her stamina increase would do wonders for her skills, but even she couldn't handle more than a single emperor-class fighter, particularly if she had to protect the rest of our party.

Besides, ever since the Nobles started mobilizing, there have been rumors of secret, dark and ancient magics and techniques being trained and obscure figures being recruited into the deepest, darkest corners of the five factions. The King was obviously supported by his newly declared wife, the Water God Reida Reia, but even she would likely struggle against the concerted might of two or three factions directed at her.

Just because we were the enhanced version of this generation's best adventuring party doesn't make us that special on the large scale of things.

Even Rudy, Sylphie, Eris, and Sara make me feel inadequate as a man, they've been learning skills and techniques that would make them rival our old Party's earlier days, and none of them have hit ten yet. The true monsters of the world have done this and more.

I haven't forgotten the time the Water God put me in my place back at Augusta's dojo; the sheer force of her killing intent made me reassess my value in the world. It even made me desperate enough to drink my fears away and led me to the mistake I made with Lilia.

I don't deserve my wives.

Ghislaine punched me.

"Hello! Paul, you've been staring into nothingness for the past few minutes. Even your wives haven't snapped you out of it." I felt my face; it stung.

"Stop overthinking; you look so weird when you use your brain like that." Zenith teased.

"We were given a shitty hand, but we can't just give up. Think of the kids." Mother told me my personal goddess had reassured me once more. It was still odd to look at her after she got fully healed; she looked just as old as I was.

Why am I thinking this much in the first place? That's the kind of thing Rudy does, not me.

I think a lot better on my feet.

"You're right! We can get through this, just like all our other problems."

I led the party through thick and thin.

All those snotty nobles will regret the day they decided to mess with my family.

.

.

.

.

PART 2: Eris' Birthday

Mid K 415 Roa, Fittoa

Rudeus Greyrat POV

We were off to Roa, riding our carriages. Several rangers and our household staff accompanied us on horseback. The trip took half a day, and we left shortly before the sun rose.

Grandma Valentina was left behind since she was not explicitly invited, nor did we want the other nobles to figure out who she was; her identity would be a lot harder to hide than our own. Of course, it doesn't help that she looked almost exactly the same as she was back at her last public appearance, making the older Nobles bound to recognize Lord Sauros' youngest sister.

Grandma was basically running Buena together with the remainder of the council in our absence.

The road to the city was congested by all the extra traders, people, and even troops stationed outside the city. Despite the five-year deadline given by the king last year and the de-escalation of forces outside the capital, an event of this scale required personal guards for each of the nobles and their groups; the Royal family also needed to display an opulent show of power.

Forces and groups outside the city were camped in colorful tents, with flags proudly showing their house and loyalties. Tens of thousands must have been camped outside the city, with even more followers, merchants, and opportunists surrounding them.

We were fortunate that Philip arranged for a modest house (for a noble) near the castle for our stay.

The adults in our household prepared many things, from the proper attire, our supplies, and gifts all the way to the instructions at and during the event.

I was given strict instructions to publicly downplay my relationship with Eris and avoid any of the higher nobles. Considering how much power the main Greyrat houses had and her status as the only Granddaughter of Lord Sauros, she was basically like a princess of any other nation. Publicly she would be far out of my league.

At the same time, if I were to be cornered by said higher nobility, I had to find a way to get my parents around me for introductions or beg off any and all commitment beyond small talk. I was officially an intermediate-level all-around mage (unless exposed), which was rare for someone my age but not absolutely attention-grabbing.

I had to bring my Quad-core staff around to maintain the impression of pretending to punch above our weight to stay barely relevant to this event. Eris' commissioning of the Quad Core staff attracted the attention of the Asuran Mages Guild, so hiding that staff would be pointless.

It was funny how we were pretending to be slightly better than average mages and fighters who were pretending to be good mages and fighters. This reminds me of companies that try to evade taxes by underreporting profits and success and overstating expenses and other inefficiencies.

It was a business development that was theoretically meant to grab as many venture capitalists as possible without the burden of attracting government taxation. An interesting strategy for the 2010s, but who knows how far it would've gone after I left.

That double-layered deception was something we needed to hold just a little longer. My parents told me that by next year, more active moves would be taken to start taking back the family claim.

Nobles and other invited guests to Eris' birthday festivities were directed to enter the city through the main gate, where Lord James Boreas Greyrat's guards shall escort them.

Commoners were directed to enter the smaller city gates, causing greater congestion on the side roads.

Despite the priority given to the nobles at the main gate, there was still a noticeable slowdown in the last few minutes of the trip. Around a kilometer from the gate, city guards verify the identity and invitation to the event. Apparently, this was another show of force from the Boreas Greyrat family, as James' (human) elites grudgingly work together with Philip's beast scouts to search and inspect the different groups entering the city.

All the high nobles and Royal candidates had already entered the city by the time we arrived; their arrival yesterday was due to their habit of negotiating and posturing with the various factions before the feast day.

The only nobles that arrive this late to an important event are those who are insignificant enough to be of any interest in preliminary negotiations or those who view themselves as full subjects under the inviting overlord, as it is a sign that they have no interest in talking to the other parties.

Sometimes, these lesser nobles camp outside the city or location of the event for several weeks just to wait for the proper time to enter after the preliminary negotiations are over. Those who overstep their privileges often end up humiliated at best.

My parents had no interest whatsoever in exposing us further and decided to play the role of fully loyal Boreas Greyrat subjects.

Sauros authorized us to use the Boreas Greyrat cadet colors, implying that we were either counted as their most loyal subjects or directly descended from the main house within two degrees of separation, albeit not on the main line.

We weren't exactly lying; we were loyal to Philip and Sauros and even related to them, but not in the way we were presenting ourselves to the city.

Ghislaine's presence in our convoy led us through the guards quickly, resulting in some glares from the nearby convoys whose lines we cut.

"Those groups are insignificant; everyone else of importance is already in the city," Roxy commented. She looked tired of the wannabe nobles posturing for special treatment at the checkpoint.

I was in a carriage with Roxy, Sylphie, and the younger members of the household staff, that took turns riding horses and sharing the carriage with us. My parents, as well as Sylphie's parents and grandmother, shared the lead carriage with Ghislaine.

The younger members of the household staff reminded me of an old show; that "mystery" we solved last time made me wonder about the cosmic coincidences across universes. Or was it my mind trying to associate things with the closest thing I could understand?

There was a strange amount of other coincidences that I noticed, such as the resemblance the Millis church had with that western catholic religion or the fact that they even had a pope running things on that side of the world.

But all that thinking would lead to nowhere unless I had plans to return to my Earth, something I wasn't sure of considering the fact that I was somewhere else, in what was possibly another universe. Besides, I was as close to an exiled prince in this world as I could be; that's a far better role than a middle-ranked management on his way up to the Director or even GM level in a corporation.

We mostly stayed silent as we entered the city, the non-humans in my carriage (which was everyone else but me) slightly nervous at the presence of all the other Asuran nobles around. Buena was the most tolerant place in Asura for non and hybrid humans; Roa was a close second.

Fittoa had some hybrid communities on the outskirts of Roa due to all the Boreas Greyrat affairs, but outside of Fittoa, non-humans and hybrid-humans were poorly treated under humans, particularly with the increased slave trade over the past two decades since the Millis religious war started. It doesn't help that the Asuran Millis church was a human-centric institution that supported the King's pro-slavery drive.

While Roa frowned upon abuse on non-humans, nobles and their entourage may view themselves above the local laws and regulations and be likely to appeal to the King if ever they ran afoul with the local Boreas Greyrat enforcers.

That dampened the mood of our group, but we could tolerate a few days of this in exchange for peace in our town.

We reached our assigned housing near the castle within thirty minutes of our entry to the city; the roads to the castle were kept clear for nobles of sufficient rank and importance. Ghislaine's presence was once again invaluable at cutting through the line.

I had some time to rest and freshen up before we had to go to the castle. We were set to join the other loyal town lords under James Boreas Greyrat and have a short introduction to the court and the nobles.

Given our standing relative to the high nobles and outright Royalty, the introduction goes barely beyond our family, individual names, and lands. A bit into our abilities or skills of note, but it wouldn't matter for the most part since small-time lords rarely get past advanced levels in magic and sword-fighting.

.

.

.

.

The castle at Roa felt much bigger than before; the main hall, usually partially closed and covered in my visits to Roa, was loud, crowded, and glamorous.

Paul led the group in line, together with Zenith on his right and Lilia on his left. I was in the second row holding my sisters, lined up behind their respective mothers—waddling nervously behind our parents.

Elinalise led her family, and Roxy was at the end of the line. In theory, Elinalise officially held a higher house than we did, but as a subject of Buena town, she was technically subservient to Paul.

Roxy was a commoner and a demon at that; if it wasn't for her officially recognized status as a King-ranked mage, she would've been told to stay at the residence with the rest of the servants.

"Now, introducing the Lord of the Village of Buena, Paul Greyrat, a baseborn child of Lord Sauros Boreas Greyrat and a common woman who died after childbirth. Paul is an advanced-ranked swordsman, and his first wife, Zenith Greyrat, is an advanced healer and mage." The herald announced to the high table.

The high table had James Boreas Greyrat at the center, with Saurus seated behind him and Philip standing behind him. The King was seated to his right, and Lord Perugius to his left. The Zephyrus Greyrat and Euros Greyrat heads sat further left to the side of Lord Perugius, and the Notos Greyrat chair was filled by a boy barely older than me, with his mother beside him. To their right was an ugly fat man, Prime Minister Darius Silva Ganius. He reminded me of someone, but I couldn't remember who.

Where was Lord Pilemon?

"His second wife, Lilia Greyrat, is also an advanced rank swordfighter." The high table was starting to look at us with more than bored nods; three advanced users in a small village was enough to get some attention.

"His children are as follows, Rudeus Greyrat, an eight-year-old intermediate-level healer and mage, as well as Norn Greyrat, both issue of Zenith Greyrat, and Aisha Greyrat, of Lilia Greyrat."

Was Lord Perugius and the King looking at me? This wasn't good.

We couldn't downplay our skills too much, as there was only so much we could hide from Lord James but did we still fail in our attempts to hide ourselves?

"We've been hearing rumors that their family may be even more talented than their official designation. A little pride in yourselves shouldn't hurt; after all, the results should be spectacular with Sword-King Ghislaine teaching Town Lord Paul and Mage-King Roxy Migurdia teaching Lady Zenith and Rudeus." James Boreas Greyrat spoke up, drawing the attention of the nobles gathered, especially those around the high table.

Damnit, we got singled out.

The minor nobles farther away from us started to look at our group more intently; the high nobles and royalty had fully monopolized King-class fighters and mages since the conflict started escalating.

Was the Boreas lord trying to one-up the other nobles? I think I saw a slight widening of Uncle Philip's eyes and a glare from Lord Sauros toward James as that was announced.

"Preposterous. Why would a baseborn lordling of a new town have such important people associated with them? Despite the fact that these two aren't human, they should at least work directly under the reigning Boreas lord. Why would they waste their time on this Paul Greyrat?" The Euros Greyrat lord, Michael Euros Greyrat, exclaimed.

"Why are we wasting time with James' posturing? Short of challenging those upstarts to a duel, we wouldn't have proof of their skills." Rowen Zephyrus Greyrat commented.

"Stop wasting our time; continue with the Buena village introduction." The King spoke up, his soft voice surprisingly carrying over the room. Rumors had it that the King had an innate connection with wind and earth magic, but nobody ever witnessed his magical abilities (or lived to tell the tale).

A quick glance of the herald between the King and Lord James, and he continued.

"The head of the Buena Adventurer's guild, S-ranked Adventurer, Lady Elinalise Dragonroad." Elinalise removed the hood covering her head, showing her distinctive elven ears.

Whispers spread around the court; I heard mutters of "whore princess," "slut queen, "and other awful nicknames.

However, that paled in comparison to the looks on Rowen Zephyrus Greyrat's face.

"Elinalise? You dare show yourself in this manner? After abandoning our marriage? I have it within my rights to claim you and your offspring at this moment and take you out of this party!" The tall and solidly-built grey-haired man who looked like a rival to Lord Sauros stood up as he shouted.

"What rights? You vowed in front of all our witnesses that you would treat me as a real wife and give me the same rights, privileges, and treatment a wife should have. I was your first wife, and you treated my child, our offspring, as nothing more than a bastard child!" Elinalise shouted back. I never saw her look like this before; she always treated me as a kindly, mischievous aunt would.

"By all rights, our marriage was null and voided the moment you tried to castrate your heir! Your barbaric tradition of dealing with half-elf male bastards was something you promised to remove upon our marriage, yet you staged an incident to attempt it on your heir!" She continued in her tirade.

Lord James and the King looked amused, while the Euros Greyrat lord was suppressing a twitch on his face. Other minor nobles were torn between staring, muttering silently, or glaring, depending on whose faction they followed.

Lord Perugius looked at Elinalise differently; did he know her too? From what I read about him in legends, he was one of the three heroes who saved Asura from the Demon God Laplace, together with several other figures who no longer appear in the Kingdom.

My Father looked calm on the outside, but I could imagine his temper flaring inside; he hadn't been this silently furious since he found out what happened to Grandmother.

"What a shame; back in the day, the progenitors of the Greyrat houses, the younger children of my friend Kaunis Freean believed in honoring their vows." Lord Perugius glared at Lord Rowen.

The room seemed to freeze over; Lord Perugius was known for his general neutrality over small matters.

"I agree with Lord Perugius; after all, I approved of the divorce over twenty years ago. However, I wonder why you haven't received the letter or announcement. Or did you dare ignore a royal letter?" King Barbatos Morax Asura joined in the admonition.

"You took the word of an Elf? The same race as half of your household slaves over that of a respected man such as Rowen Zephyrus Greyrat? Her noble status of house Dragonroad is all but dead when her entire line got destroyed at the disputed region over a hundred years ago. That is several lifetimes for natural creatures such as ourselves." Michael Euros Greyrat said in his high-pitched voice. His pale skin and long black hair looked oddly familiar.

"You dare speak of unnatural creatures when you and your kind lust for young boys? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black." Lady Padme Notos Greyrat spoke up; I wonder where her husband was. She was technically my aunt and someone my grandmother firmly defended.

" At least I don't have to rely on a golden member to satisfy my desires." Lord Michael fired back.

"Stop this incessant nonsense!" Lord Sauros spoke up. I swear I saw the chandeliers shake from the volume.

While Lord James was technically the active head of the Boreas house, the older nobles still remembered how much power Lord Sauros had behind the scenes.

"Proceed with the introductions; we still have twenty more city and town lords to introduce before we can start the feast. We spent more time on my baseborn child than the major lords of the realm." Sauros continued in his booming voice.

The herald spoke up before the crowd continued.

"R-right, milord. Former wife to Rowen Zephyrus Greyrat, her heir is Laws Dragonroad, an advanced-rank fighter and commander of the 200-strong Buena town guard and rangers." Lord Rowen didn't even look in our direction while the other nobles were sufficiently cowed.

Uncle Laws had a steely gaze on his face; Aunt Nymphie held on to him.

"His wife, Nymphie Dragonroad, and Daughter, Sylphiette Dragonroad. Both are intermediate-ranked healers and mages." Murmurs started surfacing again.

Comments about how powerful an upstart town was were filtered around the room. Other comments related to non-human slurs also permeated the room.

"And last, the Town Councilor, Chief Tutor and Bodyguard of the Buena Greyrats, King-class mage Roxy Migurdia."

Roxy removed her hood, her bluish-green hair shining under the yellow light.

It caused a small panic when people realized a demon of such power was in the room.

Lord Perugius gave a terrifying glare at Roxy but otherwise remained silent. Roxy looked back with a steely gaze.

We bowed to the high table and walked to our assigned location, a table moderately far away from the center, surrounded by Boreas Greyrat loyalists.

People mostly ignored our group since the Boreas Greyrat loyalists treated us with cold envious glares, while other nobles lacked the opportunity to get past the loyalists to talk to us.

In the end, only the beast women servers gave us a warm reception as the feast devolved to eating and a loud, chorused cheer for Eris.

Speaking of my unfortunate cousin, she was seated beside Uncle Philip, a close distance from the high table. She looked like she wanted to cast the largest fireball she could make with the glare in her eyes.

Her dress looked uncomfortable and gaudy to the extreme, and the likelihood that she would be forced to stay there for the last half day or so would have pushed her temper to the limit.

She couldn't see us from this angle, and those around her constantly took her attention. I think I see a group of kids and young teens around her; they must be heirs of the higher nobles or the princes and princesses themselves.

"Master Rudeus, I saved some of that special pie for you." One of the beast women passed by, giving me something found on the High Lord's table. I think her name was Nene or something, one of the newer servers in the household.

Our group generally had better meals and drinks than those around us, courtesy of the best women knowing and liking our group. Ghislaine also sat with us while gobbling chicken in both hands, while Norn and Aisha were hanging on her arms, staying entertained despite the tiring night.

The ruckus did us no favors with the nearby nobles, but at this point, we didn't care about what they thought about us. We had bigger fish to fry.

.

.

.

.

The next morning, Mother woke me up early, gave me strict instructions to stay away from the castle, and busy myself with Sylphie and the mystery gang. Lilia took Norn and Aisha and stayed with the beast women servants away from everyone else.

The adults, including my parents, Sylphie's parents, Elinalise, and Roxy, were stuck with the nobles at court; they drew too much attention last night and were subject to the scrutiny and attention it brought.

This left me with Sylphie and the "Mystery gang," who were advised to act as our bodyguards as we went around the city.

It was a strange experience, going around Roa with Sylphie. We were almost the same age on the outside, but I was a lot more comfortable with my other escorts around me. Shaggy and Fred took point while Clooper, Daphne, and Velma stayed beside or behind us.

As the only pure human around, I would stand out, although Sylphie made some effort to appear purely human to the crowds.

Velma told us that the safest place to go around in events like these are those meant for rich merchants and middling nobles, away from the attention the high-class nobles have and from the chaos the masses would bring as they feast in Eris' name.

Sylphie was nervously walking beside me; despite our efforts to go around and buy some street food or random trinkets, savvy merchants seemed to judge our upbringing too highly and tried scamming us with overpriced goods. I guess the not-so-discreet presence of all these hybrid humans around me let them assume I was from the direct branch of the Boreas Greyrats instead.

"Rudy, can we go to the bookstore? I see one out of the way over there." Sylphie tugged at my sleeve as she pointed to a cozy-looking bookstore in a relatively isolated corner.

It looked private enough for us to spend some time inside.

"Sure, let's go there," I told her; in return, I signaled the Mystery gang, and they joined us.

The woman at the counter barely acknowledged our presence as she was busy sorting out boxes of new books.

I looked around and saw decent-quality books, similar to the library we slowly built up at home. When I was a toddler, we only had five or six books. Five years and a town later, we probably had closer to four dozen.

Books were a pricey investment and a sign of status and wealth; knowledge was definitely connected to power in this world.

These books were generally too pricey for a middling noble or a rich merchant to buy in bulk; based on what Roxy told me, potential customers often called the person at the counter, had a long talk with them about the specific book they wanted, showed proof of their ability to buy and then got led into the appropriate section of the bookstore.

The fact that the shopkeeper let us in this casually made me a little suspicious; these books are expensive, after all.

I heard Sylphie yelp on the other side of the store.

I ran and saw her surrounded by the mystery gang.

"Eeep! What is this book about?!" Sylphie said in a panicked tone.

I saw her stare at a cross-section of a book where there was a drawing of a muscular human man in the middle of a compromising position with a dwarf, and was that a monkey man?

"Ah - ah – ah, lady Sylphie, you shouldn't be looking at these kinds of books," Shaggy said, with a mild blush on his long face.

" Y-yeah, they are, uhm, books… for… older people." Fred stammered.

Daphne pulled me to the corner and whispered to me while the rest of the gang was around Sylphie.

" I believe your Father may want to see this; pardon me for what I would say next, but I think it may concern his old adventurer's party." She told me with a severe look on her face.

Everyone directly working under Lilia had some inkling that our house was more than what meets the eye, but this was the first time I saw this teenager give me a look worthy of Lilia's apprentice.

She passed me a copy of the book, and the title alone gave me pause.

"Make-out Paradise"

"Under the Forbidden love franchise."

"Written by Bloody Kant and Trobairitz"

In smaller letters below, it said.

"A tale of the forbidden love affairs of Paul Notos Greyrat and his companions, Geese of Nukadia and Talhand of the Clifftop."

Oh…

My Father should know about this.

"I appreciate this, Daphne. I think we need to use the emergency gold coins to buy a copy. This isn't something that my parents should be unaware of."

I walked towards the counter and saw a small group of nobles; a tall young man with long hair, together with a beautiful girl and boy, walked to the shop and confidently got a copy of the novel series I intended to buy. The girl and boy attempted to pass off as poorer nobles with their relatively old clothing, but they looked far too confident to be unimportant.

The woman at the counter snapped out of her task as she saw customers approach her.

"Excellent taste, my lords and lady." She looked at that party as they held both the Make-out Paradise and Make-out Violence books for purchase.

This young group's sheer confidence made me assume they were more than mere middling nobles. Those books aren't cheap.

"And you too, my lord. I caught your party looking at the same books too. Judging by your companions, I assume you must be related to the Boreas Greyrats? These books are a mere three gold coins each, a huge discount compared to other books of similar size and quality." She looked at me with interest too.

The party ahead of me also looked intently toward me. I think I saw them during the gathering at the castle last night, but they were too far away from the Boreas side for me to pay attention to.

I just hope they didn't remember me from the introductions last night.

I signaled Daphne to continue negotiating and paying for the two books.

I turned towards the unknown party of nobles as I heard the girl call me out.

"By any chance, would you be related to the baseborn Greyrat Lord that caused a stir last night?" The girl asked me. At a closer glance, she looked to be about Eris' age; perhaps she thought I could be a pushover at my outward age.

The look on the faces beside her made me realize that lying was futile.

"If that may be the case, may I ask why someone so obviously related to high nobility is in such a place like this?" I asked her in return.

I remember one of my favorite books giving advice: "When a reporter asks me a tough question, I try to frame a positive answer, even if that means shifting the ground."

It's time for the Art of the Deal.

"Suppose that we are. Would you understand why honesty would be an important policy?" She spoke in return.

Okay, she was good for her age. But I've dealt with smartass employees before.

"Of course, although people of such station would understand the value of privacy and secrecy. After all, your magical artifact would fool most people's senses and blur the perception of your face and those of your companions." It was a bluff, I had no experience with magical illusions, but there was a noticeable amount of mana coming from the three of them and no active spells in action. If I had more time, the mystery gang might be able to tell me something's off with their enhanced sense, but all I can do now is hope the bluff worked.

The two boys with her cracked first.

"Then you must be more than an intermediate mage that you claimed to be; the finest enchanters crafted this in Asura's mage guild." The hotheaded younger boy spoke to the visible frustration of the girl with him.

"Then let us go our own ways and keep this to ourselves, Rudeus, son of Paul Greyrat." The girl spoke and abruptly left, six gold coins deposited on the counter and books nicely wrapped and kept in a bag carried by the young man.

The woman at the counter called my attention just as that trio left the store.

"My Lord, the books are ready and paid for. Your servants know how to drive a hard bargain. In the end, I even added a set of books made for the merchants, valued at five silver coins each. Your servants seem well-read and might appreciate it, plus this is very good business today. These books just arrived from Millis and are bound to be a best seller just like it was there." The shopkeeper gave a pleasant smile.

"Please give a good word to the Lord Mayor of the city for me too." She looked at my companions and me.

The beast people with me made her assume I was a Boreas Greyrat.

"Of course, I will." One way or another, Uncle Philip would find out about these books and this bookshop.

I'm not so sure how amused my parents would be to hear these kinds of stories taken as "facts" or even romanticized in a novel series.

We had a more peaceful time around the city after we left the shop; more people around the shops gave us more anonymity as we went around the booths. We also lucked out by going to the stalls run by Roa residents, who were a lot nicer to hybrids and beast people, particularly when they assumed they came from the Boreas Greyrat household.

Lord Sauros has enough illegitimate children that almost any rich noble surrounded by beast people was assumed to be related to him.

There were games and events sponsored by the various high lords and even the King, from casual affairs such as horseshoe tossing in one of the plazas all the way to a scheduled melee tournament (up to advanced class only) in one of the smaller arenas in the town. I heard there was a stone-tossing contest outside of town, but I couldn't go too far away from the middle-level district of the city.

Towards late afternoon we took a break at one of the shops Uncle Philip owned in the city; it sold the newly introduced coffee and chocolate drinks we sold from Buena to Roa. A good cup of hot coffee is something I need at the moment. It was equal to half a month's pay for a peasant at one silver coin per set, but that was well within our budget for the day.

As we were served coffee, Lyes approached us. We waved at each other as she approached us.

"Hello Rudy, it's time to return to the manor." She said as I was sipping coffee. It wasn't a bad adaptation; they must have taken notes from the time I was stuck at the castle a few months ago.

"Your parents are probably stuck with the nobles until way past your bedtime, but the coast is clear for you to go back without any added obligations." She looked at Sylphie, who was enjoying her mug of cocoa, and at me. I saw her use some discreet magic to cool her cup, and she flushed at the sight of being caught doing something so carelessly; old habits really die hard.

"I'm sorry" Sylphie yelped, as she put her hands away from the colder mug. Lyes gave her a kind smile and told her the coast was clear.

As we got back to the manor, I felt a different kind of tiredness. I was used to repetitive, intensely physical, and magical activities due to all the training I've done with everyone at home over the years.

However, this was the first time I participated in a festival of this scale in my lifetime. Even the experience during Eris' fifth birthday was a lot shorter and more private than this one.

I was used to a rigid order of actions and interactions from my previous life; even when it came to festivals and events, I usually took a step back and observed things from a safe distance. Even the activities I regularly did in Buena generally followed a schedule.

The previous night's events and the encounter with the strange nobles at the bookstore made me consider the possibility of well-made plans going awry.

We got home to find no single adult member of the family around.

"All the adult guests, including Lilia, are having dinner at Lord James' manor outside the city. Every noble above ten is present; you barely missed by a technicality." Lyes explained as I asked about it.

"That said, Master Rudeus, I believe it is time for you to clean up and sleep. You and Sylphie have another long day to go around the city again," Lyes said in her no-nonsense tone.

"I'll go ahead, Rudy," Sylphie told us as she went to her room to clean up and sleep.

I asked Lyes a few questions after Sylphie left hearing range.

"Is there anything we need to watch out for? Or any interesting news while I was out in the city?" I asked, with a little anxiety visible on my face.

Lyes has always looked out for me whenever I was in Roa; I guess she was sent here to help our group out while the adults were out "playing their games." She wasn't the head of the beast women servants in the Boreas household for nothing.

"Of course, there are, although several interesting things happened while you and Sylphie were roaming the merchant district." She sat on the nearby couch and gestured for me to follow, the mystery gang already busy with their tasks.

" The Zephyrus and Euros Greyrat families and their supporters have publicly stayed among themselves in relative silence, but we've heard rumors that they are threatening to multiply the tariffs and transit fees through their regions." She started with that news.

"Don't they hold the only chokepoints leading to the kingdom? That's a dangerous move." I replied while the Greyrat Dukes of the four regions had a lot of autonomy, that was bound to affect the entire kingdom.

"That's true, although you know they are heavily trying to influence people's support in favor of the Second Prince, particularly when they would most likely offer preferential rates to his merchants and supporters in the capital. At least that's what Lord Philip explained to me when I asked about the regions too." Lyes continued after.

"In exchange, rumors from the Ars region are circulating that they are restricting the exports of premium horses and news from the Prime Minister's Six Nobles faction of restricting the export of enchanted coach parts." Lyes paused and waited for my response.

"Wouldn't that make high-speed transport around the kingdom nearly impossible? All this would do is choke trade and deliveries; despite the well-made road system connecting the regions in the kingdom, most people couldn't ride on normal carriages for days on end with the premium horses running at full speed. On the other hand, no premium horses mean they would be left with second-rate horses that couldn't sustain travel speeds for more than an hour." I replied; I couldn't give a proper estimate in modern-day terms, but I was sure these horses sustained a prolonged pace at least three times faster than horses on earth; I could feel a steady breeze as we traveled from Buena to Roa. Poorer merchants and families normally used second-rate horses with less endurance and speed to travel from town to town in a region. The cheapest horses were the ones relegated to farm work or other errands.

"Yes, although you shouldn't worry about that young master Rudy. The Fittoa region can handle things independently, and our tentative partnership with Milbots, due to Lord James' actions, has ensured that we would have a steady target for our luxury exports for the time being. Your parents are dealing with other issues they can tell you about tomorrow; you should get to rest now." After Lyes spoke, she passed me something that looked like a whistle.

"This is for you, in case you discreetly need the aid of the beast people; blow into this as hard as you can; we can hear some sounds normal humans cannot. But please do not use this frivolously; it is irritating to our ears." She explained what appeared to be a dog whistle to me.

"Thank you, Lyes, I appreciate it. I'll clean up at get to bed now."

I had a refreshing bath in the large wooden tub given to me and went to bed after.

.

.

.

.

The next day was another trip around the middle level of the city to avoid the groups of nobles strutting around the upper-class district or the swarms of masses enjoying the festivities and giveaways from the Boreas Greyrat household.

I wonder why James Boreas Greyrat would go to this much expense for his niece's birthday party, even if she is the only female Boreas Greyrat in the main household.

The clear skies provided ideal weather for the festivities, and I could see Sylphie running ahead with most of the mystery gang. Shaggy and Clooper were showing her all the nice places to eat, and she was enjoying the various street food together with them.

"Look at that!" I heard a random bystander shout.

"Is that Lord Perugius' flying carriage?" Another person spoke beside the bystander.

I looked at where the crowd was staring and saw a massive two-story carriage that looked more like a floating train carriage than any horse-operated carriage.

This was the legendary floating carriage Lord Perugius started using to travel around the Asura Kingdom ever since he landed his castle on the western Asuran coast. Bringing an entire castle would be an unwieldy and threatening move, particularly in an event like this.

Ever since Perugius' intervention around the capital using the God-level barriers erected by his castle, people have treated his castle with more than a healthy dose of fear. Since there were no humans left alive to witness his actions in the Laplace war, and historical accounts have largely mythicized the actions of the heroes in the war, peoples' opinions about the Legendary hero have been affected due to the show of force.

"Did this happen yesterday?" I asked Daphne who had the best visual awareness in the group.

"No, in fact, I remember that carriage was about a ten-minute horse ride away to the east of the city two days ago." She replied as she went into her thinking pose.

"Strange, I wonder why he would make it go over the city; I think he landed it in the middle of the castle's courtyard," I said as the carriage went to that familiar part of the city.

"Rudy, do you think he uses the same kind of magic we do to fly?" Sylphie quietly asked me as she stealthily appeared by my side.

"I'm not sure; I don't notice any large wind currents or any visible magical disruption. Is he using Gravity magic?" I replied, barely audible beyond her eyes (and the sensitive hearing of our companions).

"What's gravity magic?" Sylphie asked.

"Ah, I'm not sure, Roxy told us that was something theoretical in the Ranoa academy, but she never figured it out herself too. I think Perugius knows how to manipulate it." I was also curious about it, especially since it was difficult for me to control wind magic well enough for a sustained flight.

Maybe I can make a hot air balloon or a zeppelin? Between protection spells and well-modulated wind and fire magic, even a simple cloth balloon should be far more effective than anything in the early 19th century as long as there is sufficient magic to maintain the setup.

"I have an idea I want to try out once we get back to Buena," I said while we walked towards the café we visited yesterday. Our line of conversation was sensitive, and we needed a relatively secure location to talk about it.

"Oh, another one of your inventions again? Sure, Rudy." Sylphie liked the things I introduced over the years; the games, foods, and other ideas I brought to the household generally hit her interests.

At the café, I decided to do a little nonverbal earth magic to make a miniature hot air balloon model; considering that almost all the other tables were empty, our group could reasonably relax our closely guarded skillset.

"What is that? Is that what you want to work on at Buena?" Sylphie asked as she analyzed the model.

"Yes, I want to test some scientific principles with magic and see if this would work. If you remember the basic lessons, Roxy gave us when we started manipulating intermediate fire spells." I replied, thinking about Roxy's lesson involving the "push" that came from higher-level fire magic that had a noticeable effect on the environment.

I remember some kind of relationship between Pressure, Volume, and Temperature back in high school, but I never put that much thought into it until now. I think I'll need a bit of trial and error to get the relationship correctly, but that was the reason why fire, or heat in particular, could cause an updraft needed for flight. This wasn't the kind of thing people in management would know or care about; even my interest in 20th-century military history doesn't tackle things like these.

"You can keep the model, Sylphie; we have a lot more to play with once we get back home," I told her.

She smiled as she put the hot air balloon model in her bag; I was confident enough that it would be reasonably durable since I had reinforced it.

I looked at my steaming cup of coffee, and it clicked. Pressure and Volume are directly proportional to Temperature. I only got confused because water somehow expands when it gets frozen.

I could see Sylphie messing around by making small ice cubes land on her mug of cocoa; I taught her the ice cubes trick on one of our hangouts months ago. Non-verbal magic really opens the door for endless magical permutations, although I still struggle to visualize higher-end magic.

I think the mental and emotional flexibility of someone younger makes it easier to learn magic or even harness touki in combat. I was mentally older than Roxy and Zenith, and if I wasn't raised in a different world, I might have struggled even further to question established magical laws. Sylphie was a bona fide magical genius, while Eris and Sara were physically gifted. I was merely an above-average adult reborn; would my advantages end once I got older?

Not on my watch, I was given a new opportunity to truly stand out in ways I couldn't back in my old world.

"A copper coin for your thoughts?" A strangely familiar voice distracted me.

I saw the mysterious girl and her two companions again; she was accompanied by another girl who looked similar to her and a woman who looked older than any of her companions, perhaps a bit older than Zenith.

"I'd rather sell my thoughts for a Gold coin, but greetings, mysterious noble and her group. What brings you here?" I asked as I looked at the unfamiliar figures. I was sure that the staff in the café was already sending a discreet message to Lyes or any of the senior Boreas household staff in case this situation devolved.

"Nothing much, you are an interesting person, and I merely wished to add you to my dance card at the ball tomorrow." She held out a scented high-quality booklet with intricate borders and design.

That was unexpected.

Was she trying to flirt with me?

This was the first time anyone tried to flirt with me.

I had to keep my cool; a prepubescent girl isn't supposed to get any reaction from me. Thankfully my body agreed with my mind.

"Sure, although I have no idea how to find you when I get there, how would I recognize you?" I needed to fish her identity before I made any unwanted commitments.

"That's easy; I would seek you out and introduce myself properly before the opening dance. Thank you for the open agreement." She winked and turned away to her companions.

I saw one of her original companions talk to Sylphie too. Was he trying to get on her dance card too?

"Word of advice, young Rudy, be extremely careful when you give your consent, particularly within high society. You have unwittingly agreed to be her opening dance partner and, therefore, one of her most important dance companions for the night. Your girlfriend over there might not take it so lightly." The unfamiliar woman told me as she looked towards Sylphie, who was blushing lightly at the conversation she was having with the boy.

"Don't worry; my son wouldn't steal your girlfriend." The woman continued as I reddened at the joke.

"However, we are on a tight schedule and have to leave now. See you tomorrow!" She patted me on the head and grabbed a quick hug as she left with her group.

Who was that woman, and why was she uncomfortably familiar with me? I hope she isn't one of those creepy child groomers or anything, but I think this is more political than anything.

They disappeared very quickly into the crowd, and Sylphie breathed out her anxiety.

"Rudy, I'm sorry." Sylphie paused a little bit and then continued. "I ended up giving my opening dance to that boy from earlier."

"Don't worry about it; I think they planned this. I also ended up giving my opening dance to that mysterious girl. I was going to apologize to you too about it. How about we call it even?" I told her we had a lot more pressing problems.

"We need to talk to our parents later; this just went beyond our pay grade," I told Sylphie.

Lyes appeared and spoke up.

"The staff here told me about those strange nobles that came in a while ago. Not only were they using expensive magical artifacts to conceal their identity, they even had the special Roan scent-neutralizing perfume. The rare blend that the Boreas Greyrats sometimes use when they want some privacy from their beast maids. They also either have the touki of an advanced fighter or some enchanted equipment to make them run away from the café faster than any of the staff could track. Our Advanced level scouts are busy with their missions away from here." Lyes even looked at the mystery gang; I didn't notice them earlier.

"We tried to find any identifying markers or even track them down after they disappeared, but we ended up bumping into Lyes as we hit a dead end." Fred and Clooper looked disheveled, while the three others were in various states of dejection.

"Those are nobles with deep pockets, although I couldn't tell which house they are from either," Lyes spoke up. "We should get back to the manor immediately; we'll keep it in lockdown until you or your parents arrive."

.

.

.

.

Back at the Manor, I saw my parents and the other adults looking more drained and depressed than ever.

After a short moment to clean up and set ourselves up for dinner, we explained the events at the café, together with the immense difficulty we had in determining who those mysterious nobles were.

Paul groaned at the unexpected situation and ranted: " We spent two days being ostracized by James' loyalists, hounded not-so-subtly by other factions, and cut off from Philip and Sauros only for our children to be targeted instead." Paul took a deep gulp of ale after speaking.

"Not to mention the further controversy caused when nobles made a fuss about my Mother's activities with men. I wonder how you even managed to sneak your affairs with Sauros." Laws said as he sat beside Paul.

"I have my ways; besides, I need to do this daily while Sauros claims his masculinity would wither and die if he didn't do it daily too. I am doing us a favor, win-win." Elinalise's attempt to joke fell flat as they looked at Sylphie and me.

"Back to the matter on hand, some high nobles must have been staking out potential arrangements with Rudy and Sylphie. Our controversial introduction has brought our families to their unwanted attention. I don't understand why they would go through all this secrecy if they wanted to get a dance card. They will reveal themselves by the dance itself." Paul told the group.

"Thankfully, my Mother looks soft and delicate, while Amarant looks a lot like Uncle Sauros. It isn't too difficult to pass off as his illegitimate child, while "Paul Notos Greyrat" is off with his all-male party in the Demon continent." Paul continued while holding up the Make-out series books.

"So I suspect that these unknown nobles merely want to offer our families anything from a well-paid defection to favorable deals involving our methods of making Buena develop faster than anyone's expectations." Paul finished his thoughts.

No wonder why he was the leader of an S-ranked Adventurer Party; he sure knows how to handle a crisis.

We eventually talked about what Sylphie and I were supposed to do at the dance.

We were to take our dances with no outward suspicion and play a friendly face, fishing for information but giving no commitment whatsoever. It would be easier to catch them unaware or gather information if we appeared vulnerable and in an unfamiliar situation. The nobles considered us as merely up-jumped illegitimate descendants who were elevated beyond their station thanks to the Buena Charter.

A glance at Paul's exhausted face reminded me of my own tiredness. It was getting late, and the adults seemed to have other things to discuss.

"It's time for you kids to get to bed; you have to be on your best appearance and behavior at Eris' party and the dance itself," Zenith said as she guided us towards our rooms.

It was a fitful yet dreamless night.

.

.

.

.

On Eris's birthday, the large reception hall and conjoining courtyard was opened to the party.

Presents poured in from all over, and almost all the relevant nobles of Asura were represented in attendance. Sauros was the boorish military type, and if the initial plan for Eris' birthday followed his way, the party would be a self-service, standing buffet.

James intervened and turned it into a fancy feast with a high table and a dance party to create opportunities for the local, less wealthy nobles to communicate and attempt deals with each other.

The manor was bustling with frantic movement. Maids with dog ears rushed to and fro in the hallways. Of course, maids weren't supposed to run in general, but apparently, the situation around the household was critical enough that normal decorum was ignored in favor of swift service, as a few minutes delay could be considered a cardinal offense to the high nobility present.

Some maids were full-on sprinting even, going fast enough that they sometimes bounced off the walls as they were rounding the corners and while rocketing around the castle. Their physical advantages compared to a normal, unenhanced human were in clear view as they deftly carried what they needed around the castle without a single accident.

It seems that even James loved Beastwomen as much as the rest of his family.

Eris was out of sight, probably in one of the backrooms being prepared for her birthday. I wonder if she can hold her temper in check. She was frequently complaining about her etiquette teacher over her letters. However, she seemed to have a negative view of all of her teachers, aside from Roxy and Ghislaine.

I met Edna, the Etiquette teacher of, Eris, a few times during my stay in Roa. Eris frequently tried to find excuses to avoid her lessons, but I expected that Eris would learn at least the basics of her role in this society.

The whole party was already stuffy enough; if someone tried to do the same kind of manipulation on Eris that they attempted on Sylphie and me, it would end with much more confrontation and chaos. She was a poor sport when things didn't go her way, even when she was on her best behavior at Buena. I couldn't imagine this to be anywhere near her comfort zone.

Our families were seated on the corner near the door, surrounded once more by loyal (James) Boreas Greyrat supporters. Thankfully we had our own small table to prevent us from having more awkward conversations with them.

During the opening ceremony, I saw Philip and Hilda deftly handling the poorer and lesser nobles that swarmed around the party. They conducted themselves so impressively that no one could find an opening to slip through them; I wonder why they were relegated to such a role while their daughter was seated up front.

If someone did happen to get through, they would be faced with Sauros himself. They would quickly look for ways to make their escape once they found themselves on the receiving end of his booming voice as he looked even grumpier than ever. I guess he also had a terrible time being sidelined at his own house and home.

Eris was all dolled up and seated like a princess, seated at the middle of the high table beside Lord James and the King Himself. Lord Perugius was seated to the left of the King, although his face was stony and grim.

Nobles deemed worthy enough brought their sons along to introduce to her; young and middle-aged men with good upbringings. Some were our age, but almost all of them were loud and obnoxious. They were definitely living up to the sleazy and show-offy stereotype incompetent nobles appear to be.

The nobles should know better that they would have to present a reasonable offer to get one of the kingdom's most famous and powerful daughters.

Whenever these nobles tried to talk directly to Eris, who had no authority whatsoever and was a closely guarded puppet of James in this event, they got nothing for their efforts. She turned into a robot that parroted the words, "Please tell my Uncle, Lord James," whenever offers beyond the usual pleasantries were brought up.

It was time to dance.

As the music began playing, Eris stood up and turned rigid with nervousness. Her assigned dance partner was the First Prince Grabell Zafin Asura, the man whose faction the Boreas Greyrat faction followed. He was twice the age of Eris, at twenty years old. If the Asurans celebrated their birthday yearly, rather than at five, ten, and fifteen years old, the First Prince would have been celebrating his birthday too.

He was well-built and supposedly looked like a young version of the King in his prime. His martial talents and a basic set of magical skills have kept him popular among the nobles, particularly those with traditional views on religion and politics.

There was no way they could dance properly like this; the height and size gap between the Prince and Eris was such that Eris was treated as a child in a condescending manner that she would despise.

The Prince tried to lead the dance, following a quick style that involved plenty of lifting and spinning, one where the male partner had plenty of room to control the female partner. It is often also a style used for the nobles implying they are being paired with an inferior partner or house, or sometimes between an adult and a child. Did Lord James think that this dance would be a good signal for the Prince the Boreas faction was supporting?

Eris may be a rough and blunt girl, but even she could see what the Prince was doing.

There was no way they could dance properly like this. Forget that; she might actually try to knock the First Prince out and take off running. Her sword skills, intense physical training from Ghislaine, and her time at Buena made her a much stronger girl than her frame belied.

However, the First Prince was no pushover; like most noblemen of this generation, he started training with his retainers and tutors intensely towards magic and swordplay. Even though we probably had some of the best instructors in the Kingdom, Royal training was no slouch.

Despite Eris' attempts to resist and take control of the dance, the Prince deftly returned each maneuver and returned the favor. His physical skills must at least be decent to casually hold off Eris's intermediate Touki usage, which was subtly used to enhance her movements. Eris immediately set her lips to a pout while this happened.

It became a clear wrestle to those who knew their Touki exercises and was a whirlwind of motion to the untrained eye. A glorious dance for the unknowing nobles and a strange sign of defiance for those in the know.

I was assuming they were trying to arrange Eris' betrothal to the First Prince, considering the alliance between the Boreas and his faction, but this delivers a different message.

In his graceful manner, Uncle Philip noticed the spectacle and stepped in to stop the dance, remarking that the birthday celebrant needed her break.

Lord James, sensing an opportunity, used it as a signal to invite everyone else to the dance floor. I noticed the eerie similarity between James and Philip as they stood beside each other for the first time at the high table. Lord James was the spitting image of his younger brother, Philip, and their only difference was in their eyes.

James had Eris' eyes.

The dance floor opened to everyone else, and nobles started rising toward their partners.

This was it, my dance card would be called, and I would have to face my first dance, a mystery noble.

I raised my dance card on a pole near my seat, signaling my intention to wait for a mystery dancer. This was highly unusual due to the fact that it was usually men or boys who normally initiated the dance. It was also usually a sign of a massive power disparity, where the woman in question was supposed to be of a far superior house and upbringing to the man she asks, therefore having the dominant and initiatory position in the dance.

I walked towards the side of the dancefloor close to the hall entrance and somewhat near my family's table and looked at my parents one more time. They kept a cool face, but Paul was lined with more wrinkles and stress than I ever saw him before. I wonder what was eating him up.

Paul gestured to me, subtly pointing in a certain direction; I think he was pointing at my partner.

Why was he paling?

This wasn't good.

The party turned quiet for a split second, then murmurs exploded.

Luke Notos Greyrat, the second son of Pilemon Notos Greyrat and one of the most desirable bachelors in the Kingdom, asked Sylphie to be her first dance. He was also the boy at the café. This wasn't good news at all. He muttered something to Sylphie; however, my ears weren't trained to pick it up.

The sound of bending metal could be heard from Laws' knife. Those elven ears are really handy, aren't they?

"Why is he going with that half-breed mongrel?" "What demonic magics did that Elf do to the poor boy?" "Did her Grandmother share her whoring curse with her?" Maybe awful whispers spread around the hall.

Elinalise, who was standing beside Sauros, turned dangerously red, and the nobles nearby felt power charging around her and walked away carefully.

However, she quickly clamped down her display of power after Sauros laid a reassuring glance.

I, however, was not as lucky.

I heard a rustle in my direction and turned to see my mystery partner.

It was the same girl as the one at the bookshop; her features, however, were a lot clearer now that there was no magical interference meddling with my perception and memory of her appearance.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance, Saint-ranked mage Rudeus Greyrat. I am the intermediate-ranked mage, Ariel." She said loudly. Ariel then gave a short pause as everyone focused their attention on us.

How did she know my true power?

This isn't going to end well.

"Also known as the Second Princess, Ariel Anemoi Asura." She spoke after the dramatic pause; I have to give props to her speaking skills and impeccable timing.

If my gut didn't skydive after hearing that.

I remember she was firmly in the Notos Greyrat faction and, therefore, one of the people I should never, ever work with.

I looked around quickly and saw my parents talking quietly but frantically; the high table had Pilemon Notos and James Boreas Greyrat staring daggers at us. This was outside their expectations.

The King appeared indifferent. However, Lord Perugius gave me a soul-piercing gaze.

This was the exact opposite of our goals.

"It is rude to keep a lady waiting." Princess Ariel broke me out of my panicked state.

"Many Pardons, Princess Ariel, I would be pleased to have the honor of this dance." Unfortunately, I had to play this by wire.

I would consider myself relatively proficient at dancing; I learned the basics in university as part of my goal to round out my skills, while I also learned more during the times I worked with my Mother, Zenith, as she was fond of dancing during her free time. In addition, she frequently got me as a partner as she played around when I was younger, and Paul was busy with his duties.

However, I was still worried that one single misstep would lead to my family's immediate downfall or even death, and the Dragonroads too.

We danced gracefully around the floor as I adjusted to the styles and forms the Princess led; by unspoken rules and etiquette, she had full control over the flow of the dance, considering the massive social disparity of our positions, and I had to be creative as I followed in her footsteps.

"You are keeping up despite my constant shift in styles; not bad for a mere son of a town lord," Ariel commented to me.

"I live to serve, your highness." I had to give my most simpering comment for my own safety.

"Nonsense, Saint-ranked mages and above have the privilege to be treated like ranking nobility. Call me Ariel, young Rudeus." She replied to me.

I was in a damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don't situation.

I knew that if I called her by her preferred name, I would be acknowledging that I was not a mere intermediate mage.

On the other hand, if I didn't call her that, I would be defying a direct Royal order, one that I did not have the standing to survive.

I'll try to be creative.

"Yes, Princess Ariel. As you wish." I hope what I said worked.

She led me around in an Ars Waltz, which was similar to Viennese Waltz styles in its fast pace, but differed in the interlude, where one would somehow do fast-paced gymnastics showing a "wind form." This would've been impossible for all but the best dancers and gymnasts on Earth to perform, but the liberal use of Touki, even at a basic level which Nobles learn in school, is enough to overcome such limitations. It felt more like an Olympic-level gymnastics performance than a mere dance.

The knowledge of touki and magic sets nobility and the wealthy merchants class apart from the untrained peasants, after all.

"I'm sure your father would appreciate the opportunity for his heir to have… Royal Patronage, it would provide far more honor and prestige for one Illegitimate child of an Asuran noble for his heir to receive such an honor." Ariel offered.

I had no interest in tying myself up to Notos Greyrat politics, particularly when my house was visibly connected to Boreas Greyrat's actions and approval.

Nobles at the high table looked infuriated at her actions. Taking a saint-ranked mage was the equivalent of at least a thousand soldiers or a hundred mages. It doesn't help that she so blatantly went for the "illegitimate nephew" of the Boreas Greyrats, one who associates themselves publicly with the First Prince.

The First Prince looked murderous toward us while Lord James was signaling something to me.

Was he telling me to accept or deny it? I don't understand Boreas Greyrat Eyebrow speak.

"I would, of course, follow Royal orders and directives as given by his Majesty, King Barbatos Morax Asura, Princess Ariel. If your family so honors me with such an opportunity, who am I, an heir to a lowly town noble, to deny such boon." I spoke in the most formal tone I could give.

I hope that will work out.

Ariel smirked at the declaration, although our dance was interrupted by a shout.

"You won't take Rudy away from me!" Eris cried as she shot up from the high table. She spoke out of turn, and both James and Philip panicked at her side.

"This is your birthday, and while I shall forgive this indiscretion, we shall have words, young lady," James spoke imperiously as he grabbed Eris from her place standing on the table, he forced her down on her seat.

"I am her Father and should be responsible for her discipline." Philip angrily replied.

"If you were any more disciplined, you would've been in charge of Fittoa." One of the other nobles said at the high table. The unfortunate noble received death glares from the Boreas Greyrat brothers.

Sauros came in and took away Eris, leaving the two brothers fuming at each other.

Grandstanding over, my partner took my hand and told me.

"It appears our card is over; many thanks for the interesting dance we had. I would collect your pledge by your tenth birthday." Princess Ariel walked towards the high table with a light glide.

I turned and walked towards my parents, who gestured for me to continue while Paul looked like he was conversing with some unknown woman.

Was I supposed to act like that outburst didn't happen?

I turned around and found a young girl in front of me.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance," she said before offering me her name. She was the daughter of one of the minor nobles supporting James Boreas.

Her name was so long I couldn't remember the whole thing. "Won't you share a dance with me?" she asked.

I took her hand and did a slower Fittoan dance that the performers tactfully played after the heated start.

Several more women, from the nobles serving the Boreas Greyrat family, took turns dancing with me, each more forgettable than the previous one. It seems that James doesn't want me going off to anyone else and causing another stir. Was I that popular with the women, or were they ordered to keep me occupied?

Sylphie was seated at the table between her parents; she looked tired after consecutive dances with older men.

The High Table still had most of the older men present, with James talking to Pilemon, who kept sneaking glances at Ariel while the King was talking to Lord Perugius.

Eris was still missing.

"I do ask that you refrain from following Paul's example by not sleeping with every single woman you meet, lest you stain the noble name of our house," Philip whispered as he appeared beside me.

I gave an awkward chuckle as my Uncle gave a joke at my Father's expense. At least it didn't involve men.

"Of course, Uncle Philip," I said as we walked towards the table.

"I managed to calm Eris down from her outburst, it was very ill-timed, but she was already on the verge of losing her temper this entire week. Princess Ariel isn't the only person provoking her this whole time. She overheard a conversation between some of James' other supporters about how they wanted to take Paul and your family and the Dragonroads to their lands for 'better use.'" Philip said as he poured me a glass of wine.

"Drink; that'll take the edge off your stress." Philip passed me the glass, and I drank, treating it the same way my boss would at work parties back in Japan.

Wines in this part of the Kingdom are very sweet and fortified. The latter was a characteristic of Greyrat wines in general.

I muttered a quiet "kampai" and drank quickly to sate my thirst.

"You have a taste for wines, I see. Even Eris struggles to take more than a sip at a time. Just keep in mind that the legal age to drink is still fifteen," Philip said as I swore a curse mentally. My Salaryman habits came up at an inopportune time.

"Maybe it's just the Greyrat in me," I said in return.

"Haha, that's my boy. Now for the matter on hand. Eris has returned to the party and has started taking dances. You would be the last person on her card; we promised her that you could dance with her, and this opportunity would also ensure that Princess Ariel does not upstage the birthday celebrant." Philip gestured towards the middle of the floor where Eris was dancing with the First Prince.

Since the Boreas Greyrat family was publicly allied with the First Prince faction, it made sense to see him dance with the celebrant several times, including the first and middle dances.

"Yes, Uncle Philip. I will keep my head down until then." I told my Uncle.

He left with a nod, and I stayed at the table. Where I would wait for about an hour for my turn with Eris, I used this time to eat and focus on the party.

The rest of my family were either busy on the dance floor or talking to other guests at other parts of the room.

Even Sylphie seemed to have excused herself for the rest of the night, according to the beast women who served me dinner.

I didn't have that kind of opportunity to leave, thanks to Eris wanting a dance with me. Why was she that attached to me anyway? I know I was one of her closest friends, but it would be a lot of unwanted attention if she tried to do more than that.

Roxy sat beside me; it was the first time I had talked to her in days. She asked me to dance with her to a song performed by a woman with pink hair. That's pretty unusual.

We just went along with the motions of the song, releasing our stress until it ended.

The pink-haired performer disappeared right after.

"Could you walk with me to the courtyard for a few minutes, Rudy?" Roxy asked as she held out her hand.

I nodded and walked her there, she looked even more exhausted than Paul was, and that was saying something. Paul looked like he had aged five years in the last month alone. The stress of his work and position must be getting to him.

We were at the outskirts of the party, away from prying ears and closer to the tree the maids went to when they gossiped. Was it darker than expected here, or was it just that bright at the party?

"Thank you, Rudy. You are the first boy I danced with tonight that had no intentions of taking my hand or using me as a pawn in their schemes. The last noble I danced even dared to assume that Paul sleeps with me when I am not busy teaching you. The kind of things people tell me here makes me almost want to leave the Asura Kingdom altogether. My old master told me that people in the Central continent could be bad to demons or beast people, but it was never like this." Roxy paused, looking at me with reddish eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept well in a week.

"As much as I tried to stay with your family or with the Dragonroads over the past few days, nobles around the kingdom kept propositioning me with more and more ridiculous offers. It somehow gets more and more offensive, too, as I hear them. I wanted to go around the world, learn and experience the good things in life and have better meals than I had back home, but money isn't everything." She continued to speak while I was looking around the courtyard to find out if we had enough privacy. Aside from the beast women who serve Philip, the coast was clear.

"I even had my own hopes and dreams for romance, but I'll live long enough to find one if I wanted to. And as much as I'd like to take the chance to explore and have freedom, the world has turned more and more hostile to people like me. Your family and Buena is the only place I can safely live life; it isn't something I would trade for a measly stash of gold coins. What good would that do if I were too miserable to enjoy it." Roxy seemed lost in her thoughts as she spoke to me. Was she drinking wine too? Roxy returned a goblet to the nearby beast woman; yes, she was.

"When the nobles found out that I am a King-ranked mage, I fear for the day someone might try and take me away. And they might be too strong for even our group to fight off. That is why I keep on training you and the others to get even stronger than we are." Roxy said as she leaned a little toward me.

Migurdians look like they're perpetually at the start of puberty for most of their long life, and Roxy was no longer that much taller than I was.

I nodded toward her, but my social capacity for the night was spent.

"Thank you for being a great teacher, Roxy. I think you should take a break, for your sake". I graciously told the rapidly tiring Roxy. She had a weakness to alcohol, and despite my silently casted detoxification and healing spells, emotional fatigue after a stressful week wasn't something that could easily magically be cured, at least without detrimental side effects afterward.

I signaled Lyes, who was lurking around the corner, to take Roxy to our house in the city. I think it was a safer choice.

"Thanks for helping me out, Rudy," Roxy said as she waved farewell to me; Lyes carried her off. Her small frame and Lyes' strength and agility made it an easier task than it appeared.

I walked back to the party, watching the other participants on the dance floor.

My Father was dancing with Zenith and Lilia in a three-person dance, while Sylphie's parents were not around. Elinalise was dancing with Sauros, and Rowen Zephyrus Greyrat looked darkly at the sight.

Eris was awkwardly dancing with the "Zeroth" Prince Alexander Leon or the alleged son of the King and Water God Reida. Despite their claims of his parentage, many nobles still found the declaration to be questionable. The talents and skills Alexander and his Mother display are what keep dissenting voices away from outright discontent. Being a Water Emperor himself, Alexander was an even more imposing figure than the First Prince.

The Zeroth Prince was somewhere between the age of my Father and Mother and commanded the King's standing army.

Eris was a lot more subdued in this dance compared to the first one with Prince Grabell and awkwardly went along with the flow.

She caught me looking at her and gave me a bright smile. I waved back at her and continued to look around the room.

Eris had to complete her remaining dances with important people from the various factions in order to maintain a semblance of friendliness to all the important guests.

Her next partner was the old, stout-looking Prime Minister, who seemed to have an unhealthy and undisguised interest in Eris. Darius Ganius appeared to be a cross between Benito Mussolini and Lavrentiy Beria, both in appearance and, apparently, preferences.

Eris had a slightly frightened look on her face; while she looked calm on the outside, she only gave that kind of face to our group when she was terrified to do something wrong. The glare from James' red eyes seemed to have kept her compliant.

Princess Ariel was dancing with the Bluewolf heir, Jacob. He was several years older and a head taller than her, although she managed to keep her composure well. She looked like a master at this kind of manipulation.

Despite my mental age advantage and the benefits of modern education and work culture, I was unsure that I could accomplish the same level of grace and control she had towards her aggressive partner.

His dark hair, tanned skin, and mature appearance, despite his teenage self, made him a popular boy among the noblewomen. He was even rumored to have some sliver of a beast man heritage, although the Bluewolfs usually denied that.

Even the mystery gang was not immune to the gossip talking about him.

Between Princess Ariel's grace and beauty and Jacob Bluewolf's striking aura, people were torn between noticing them and the birthday celebrant herself.

I wonder what the Bluewolfs plan to do with this.

They were part of the eleven High noble houses comprising the highest echelon in Asuran society. While these six houses have been somewhat sidelined by the combined Greyrat and Asura house politics over the past two generations, they still held formidable power and have shown that in their blatant support of Prime Minister Darius Ganius, which kept him in power despite the combined dislike and distrust of the Greyrat and Asura houses.

These six houses apparently wanted to be more than just a source of spouses for the Greyrats and Asura families.

Time went by a little bit more, and the signal was given for the final dance.

I approached Eris.

It seemed even she was exhausted after attending her first-ever dance party and being approached by unfamiliar adults, one after the other. Yet she still seemed excited, perhaps because the party was ending and she would finally dance with a familiar face.

Gone was her appearance of aloofness, annoyance, or even outright hostility, which she barely contained during her dance with the Prime Minister.

Instead, she held herself as gracefully as the other girls who approached me earlier.

I took her hand, and we headed into the hall. As we moved to the center of the dance floor, Eris looked around and giggled lightly, all prim and proper. Suddenly, a song with an irregular, fast-paced rhythm began playing, one we had never practiced before. What were the musicians thinking? The last dance isn't supposed to go like this.

"Uh, what…" That one metaphorical punch was enough to throw Eris off. All because she was putting on her weird act. She looked pleadingly at me, and I began making movements that matched the rhythm of the music. It had an irregular beat, and it made coordination with Eris all the more difficult.

She struggled to find the dance moves, as the song was far from the Asuran norm, and she was trying not to stumble. I already had to practice some of my dodging skills to avoid being stepped on or even tackled by her aggressive interpretation of the song.

"I instructed the musicians to play one of those beast people songs that the Boreas seem so fond of; I hope that makes a fitting last dance for the birthday girl." Announced the Prime Minister.

That was a vile move from him.

I held her hand and moved in and out as we did during sword practice and combat exercises in Buena. We matched our movements to the music, but they were still erratic. We probably looked quite peculiar to the onlookers.

Eris looked like she was enjoying herself. She was finally laughing like a girl her age should, rather than being sullen and pouty as she was during the week. Just seeing that was enough to make me feel like the improvisation worked.

Applause erupted when the dance finished. Sauros came running over, lifted the both of us onto his shoulders, and ran around the courtyard laughing the whole way.

He dropped us off at a discreet portion of the castle, probably buying us a few precious seconds to talk in private.

"Thank you for that dance, Rudeus. I spent the whole night being forced around at a party I didn't want to attend. What kind of birthday isn't made for a celebrant anyway?" She ranted quietly.

"Unfortunately, the older we grow, the less we would want to celebrate our birthdays," I said, speaking out of experience as I dreaded every year past thirty in my old life.

"Your father told me to be discreet when giving my gift to you, and I wish we had more time to talk, but here it is," I said as I gave Eris my gift.

It was a golden-coated necklace with a red dual-core orb in the middle. It was my own experiment in the field of enchantment and something that was very limited in its current application.

She looked at it with wide eyes and hugged me tightly.

" I experimented over the past few weeks with what I had, particularly with the help of the three old women. This necklace can draw upon your mana or touki and create a barrier spell. The more you pour, the stronger the barrier. I know you struggled with these lessons at Buena, so I hope this makes things a lot easier for you." I explained the basics of the necklace, leaving out details of why I chose such materials or the craftsmanship involved. Walls here might have ears.

Ghislaine appeared beside us.

"Happy Birthday Eris; unfortunately, I must take Rudeus back to his parents before anyone else makes unwanted assumptions," Ghislaine said as she escorted me away from Eris.

Eris was carried back to the party by a loud Sauros that seemed to sweep in at exactly the right time.

She wasn't even able to say goodbye, but she was waving back at me.

I waved back before walking to my temporary abode in the city.

"You know, I also have something I wear for protection," Ghislaine said as she walked me home.

"Hm." She thought for a moment, then slipped off one of the rings on her finger. It was a wooden ring, quite worn with scratches all over it. It reflected a slight greenish light.

"This ring is a talisman passed down in my clan. They say it protects the bearer from being attacked by bad wolves at night. I wonder if you can make something to help Eris' family and me too." Ghislaine spoke as we passed the inner ring.

"That sounds like a smart idea; I'll just have to find a way to make it work under less sensitive conditions. Eris's orb only works because she can do the most basic wordless spells. I would need to adjust a lot of things to make it work for those limited to spoken magic." I told Ghislaine in return.

We continued to walk silently towards our residence, where I saw my parents waiting for me.

Ghislaine's belly suddenly rumbled, and the tension broke.

They fed her, and we relaxed a little bit.

I was pleased to know that Eris's tenth birthday came safely to an end.

Some parts were taken from :

Rifujin na Magonote. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Light Novel) Vol. 2 (p. 111). Seven Seas. Kindle Edition.

Author's Note

Just some comments on Canon deviation that isn't really a required read.

Counter Arrow had members around Paul and Zenith's age (aside from Sara in the Original MT); I guess that would be a party of more "normal-but-decent" adventurers of their generation. Since Sara and her family left for Buena years before the monster attacks worsened, the original members don't have an archer to get an Arrow from, so they're Counter-Strike in this story. Surprisingly, circumstances leading to their formation haven't really changed yet, and Buena would be a hotspot for guild commissions due to the monster activity and the gold flowing in the town.

The Salaryman implied he was nominally polytheistic and went along with the Japanese norm for beliefs; I interpret it as more of going along with the cultural norms than any sincere beliefs. While he didn't have an inflammatory meeting with Being X, Man God's malicious actions have affected his family and the rest of the world. The Salaryman's personality in this story tends to lean towards the Manga side because I accidentally bought all the manga off Amazon rather than the LN.

The Kingdom of Millis flag replaces the Anime Millis flag Papal hat with three figures representing the nobility, military, and merchants

Aisha and Norn will be the same people as canon, despite Aisha's different parentage. I want to keep the story recognizable rather than make them in OCs, but they will have developmental differences. Aisha still takes heavily from Lilia, like in canon and Pilemon is closely enough related to Paul that appearance differences are negligible. At least a hypothetical Ars situation would be less incestuous than canon. (not that I'd do this ship anyway)

Since the Author stated that Aisha had King class swordsman and Saint class mage potential in a timeline without NEET Rudy, you can imagine how things would go if she had a different brother.

Therese and the Latreia family kept in touch with Zenith even in canon; under these circumstances, they're bound to stay in touch too.

Since the Millis Nobility stayed out of the Religious wars early on, Therese was expressly forbidden from joining any of those military groups (including the order of the Temple, which Carlyte and the Latreia family left when the Cardinal faction went radically Man-God) and eventually joined the Kingdom of Millis Army, under a noble role, of course.

If it's not obvious, the whole court scene is James' powerplay to upset the nobles, and the Zephyrus and Euros combined camp is in serious trouble. Unlike Canon Mushoku Tensei, the nobles here are in a situation where their subtlety and skills have a chance to be used, rather than the brute force approach that happens when Rudy is around later in LN. Someone may have subtly used the Boreas Greyrat potions stores in the process too.

Ever since the TP – 1 incident, things have started moving in a different direction. Canon MT people seem to adapt to change quickly when given the right stimulus; case in point, the three years Nanahoshi had to get wealthy and make a ton of changes around Ranoa and the Central continent (and all the way to even the Death God's restaurant).

I don't think all of the nobles are stupid, especially when given the right set of events and stimuli and the time to adapt to it. This is why the noble court would have more moves to adapt to the past two decades of changes. They are not as complacent as they could be. Obviously, they would still be overwhelmed by someone like Orsted, but he's not around.

Paul isn't stupid either, in between his efforts leading the fittoa rescue team and his adventurer's party, although the stress might be getting to him.

I remember reading it on the LN (vol 2), and in the anime (Ep 7), It was mentioned that Eris had an older AND younger brother taken by James; I would adjust that continuity error in my previous chapters (if I mentioned it) after I finish vol 1.

Rudy never taught Eris how to dance in this world, and less skilled nobles would've struggled.

Yes, that Fia, Roxy's friend ends up as the ruler of the Kingdom of Millis, however, she is heavily limited by the factions that propped her up.

Roxy's friends in her earlier days really got far; Trobairitz and Bloody Kant eventually decided to collaborate together due to radically altered circumstances starting K 397 around Millis, which is roughly the time Roxy met them in Millis. This gets explained in more detail next chapter. If Paul and his wives had more time to read the contents in the chest, references to the book and its development would've been discussed there. Alas, they may find out once they get back. Speaking of which, if Roxy wasn't drinking, she might have noticed the pink-haired performer was someone she knew.

No cookies for those who figure out where the Salaryman learned that particular quote from but considering his personality and how he outwardly wanted to treat his subordinates, he might have something in common with a certain fruit-colored leader.

In a world without photographs, it wouldn't be easy for Rudy to recognize Princess Ariel (or the other Royals and nobles, for that matter, unless they wear their house banners), especially when she was out of sight during the introductions the previous night. Her companions would be pretty obvious for anyone who reads the canon MT (or even just this chapter). Once again, under an intelligent magical and physical disguise, it wouldn't be obvious to Rudy just who they were. Rudy learns his lesson soon after his first encounter and gets the mystery crew to tell him descriptions of the major nobles off-screen. To add to the ones he already knew before the party.

Yes, LN Vol. 2 canon states that the Drinking age in Asura is fifteen.

And Yes, Eris' gift looks like the Elenium Type 97 orb (to keep the crossover elements), and it is still a crude prototype with many limitations and restrictions. It was made specifically to increase Eris' protective/barrier spell skills and works largely because it can help align her non-verbal protection spell thoughts with actual casting. Could it make her fly? Maybe, but Salaryman! Rudy never designed it with that in mind, but the orb is upgradeable. Think of how Original Rudeus had the Aqua Heartia to help with his water spell casting; this is similar, if more limited. It cannot be used for other spell enhancements, and spoken spells don't work with it well. Rudy might be able to make mass-production variants that are less sensitive in the future, but not anytime soon.

With the world set at 4.4x Earth's surface area, even if the seas were clear of monsters, sailing from one end of the world to another would be an extremely dangerous trip. As explained in the previous updates, Horses in the Mushoku Tensei world are clearly enhanced; no Earthly horse can run at full speeds for ten or so hours at a time.

Considering how carriages and coaches can look like in Anime, I also took the liberty of ensuring that carriages and coaches that can sustain long-distance travel by "super horse" need enchantments to do so, restricting inter-region travel to the wealthier or those who save a substantial amount of money (which adds more realism to the difficulty and scale of canon! Rudy and Eris' travel around the world, or how Lilia would've struggled to travel with a baby if she was kicked out of the Greyrat household in canon.)

Yes, James Boreas Greyrat looks exactly like Philip, except he has Eris' red eyes; if you didn't know any better, you might think Hilda was disloyal or that James is the true father of Eris, although the nobles may draw a different conclusion. And since Canon James Boreas Greyrat looks just exactly like Philip but with Red eyes, his desire to marry

Keep in mind, this whole thing is from the Salaryman's perspective, he tends to have some unique ways of reading people, and while he notes a lot of detail, his interpretation isn't exactly the most accurate sometimes. Keep in mind that as he is only eight years old, his parents haven't fully discussed their plans or worries with him; he doesn't know the full story of the letters received from Millis or from the Boreas Greyrats and was surprised several times due to that.

I think the baseline Demon races, Dragon races, Elves, Dwarves, and Beast people races are physically (or even mentally in some cases) superior to Humans, although different factors have kept them from dominating the world; I would base the long-term reasons why on canon, but for those holes not obvious in the LN or anime, I would adapt into the story.

Considering that baseline education (at least for wealthy people and nobles) seems to have beginner-level magic and physical training, I think that is one of the many reasons they would be a clear class above the "normal peasants."

SPOILER +++++ DO NOT LOOK IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS+++

.
Taking a potion with Kishirika Kishirisu's blood has strong pros and cons; Valentina took the equivalent of a highly toxic elixir of life that would've killed her if not for the healing bed she was on in Senos, even after stopping the potion, the debilitating effects of the poison would have killed her if it wasn't for the continued high-level healing magic Rudy, Zenith and Roxy apply to her several times a day. This is a luxury almost nobody in the entire world could receive. Now that she's fully detoxified, there are some interesting side effects and research to be conducted, eventually. This doesn't mean she automatically gains the powers of the Demon Empress, but she gets some benefits, plus the Greyrat (and Zenith's Latreia Line) definitely must have had something special to make a child like Rudy have that much of a Laplace factor. A "plain" normal human would've died to the treatment she had years ago.

Kishirika Kishirisu's physical and magical capabilities are rarely explained beyond her magical eyes, but considering how she had no problem casually physically overpowering Rudy during his eye implants despite being freshly revived would give a hint of her strength, she also does more intense physical feats later in canon. Her mana is also considered to be at least on the level of a legendary beast and likely closer to Rudy/Laplace's level at her prime.

Considering that her immorality/respawn and all the other benefits she has, it wouldn't be too far-fetched that something can be made out of her, although with horrific side effects and specific conditions.

.
SPOILER +++++ DO NOT LOOK IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS+++