Welcome back, everyone!

It seems I caused a bit of confusion in the previous chapter.

Yes, there is a pairing in this story and yes it's set in stone. I'm just having a little fun with reader expectations.

Once again, if you have any questions or if you'd like me to clarify something for you, please leave a review or PM me and I will be happy to respond.

Now on to the story!


Jaune woke up feeling much more refreshed than he ever had since arriving in the Kingdom of Everday.

As Jaune opened his eyes, he immediately realized why; he had finally managed to sleep in! Judging by the position of the sun, he had managed to sleep until eight o'clock.

His day had yet to begin, but he already counted it as a win.

Jaune stretched his arms but paused when he suddenly felt a weight on his legs.

He looked down to see the sleeping form of Salem had shifted with his movements, and now her head lay on his lap. "She must have fallen asleep after our talk," he thought aloud. "Might as well let her rest."

Jaune found himself absentmindedly stroking her hair as he looked out at the slowly waking village of Sevres. One by one, he watched as the scared villagers he had saved yesterday each woke up and adopted a smile as they began to talk and laugh.

It was a beautiful sight.

Jaune smiled, back when he was a fledgling huntsman. He'd never had the opportunity to take part in the joy of the people left behind. He was always concerned with the next big threat; it got to the point where Nora had to force him to take a day off by breaking one of his legs.

He would never forgive Nora for her insurrection.

On that day, he learned a truly important lesson. While it is good to have goals in life, it is just as important to stop and enjoy your life for what it is. You never know when death will come for you.

In his final moments, he regretted many things. He regretted not spending more time with his family, he regretted neglecting his friendships over the years, and most of all, he regretted that in the end, he was never able to change anything.

When the gods revived him, he was cautious but optimistic. Once Jaune realized he had been granted the opportunity to come to terms with his shortcomings, he'd been absolutely ecstatic.

In the past two weeks alone, he'd managed to return to his more positive self, no small part thanks to Salem. Truthfully, he didn't know if he could ever repay her, even if she didn't know how much she'd helped him.

Jaune's thoughts were interrupted as he heard the woman in question begin to stir.


Salem's eyes slowly fluttered open once more. As her vision became clearer, she was met with the sight of the bright light of the open sky, though the sun appeared somewhat dim.

Wait...

Salem's eyes widened as she realized what she was really looking at; it wasn't the sun, but the sun-kissed hair of her best friend.

She froze as she noticed the position they were in; she felt all of her blood rushing to her face. She couldn't help it! She was reminded of a book she had read several times called "Love of Ninjas."

Her mind went blank as she felt his hands brush against the top of her head. It was a scene straight out of her book! The lonely protagonist being comforted by her strong yet mysterious guardian.

"I want you to fu–"

No, no, no, no, no. Nope. Bad thoughts! Stop!

"Are you all right?" The man in question asked now looking down at her. Damn it! He had stopped the heavenly head pats! "Your face is red."

"I'm fine!" she quickly responded. "I'm just a bit hot, that's all." Her words were much louder than strictly necessary.

Jaune gave her a confused look before just shrugged, "You said you wanted to leave at dawn, right? You slept in quite a bit."

No good thing lasts forever. Salem slowly sat up. "It's fine." She said softly. "Perhaps we should go find Ozma. I'm sure Zeus would be grateful."

Jaune laughed at her remark and stood, "I never thought Ozma of all people would be one to obsess over a celebrity."

Salem disagreed. She didn't mind Ozma, but their first meeting hadn't exactly left a fantastic impression. Perhaps she had just gotten too used to Jaune's more laid-back personality.

Jaune offered her a hand. "Come on, the sooner we leave the better." Salem took his hand and stood up. "I doubt you want to camp in a Grimm-infested forest."

Salem hummed, Zeus had mentioned something about an influx of Grimm. "Do you think it will be a problem?" Jaune was far more experienced with Grimm than she was; any knowledge she could glean from him would be incredibly valuable.

Jaune stroked his chin for a moment. "If we continue on our intended path, I doubt it." He cleared his throat before beginning his impromptu Grimm Studies lesson. "We'll be passing through a large forest. Typically, you'll only see Beowolves and Ursas, but occasionally you might come across the odd Creep or Boarbatusk." He raised four fingers at the respective names. "These four types of Grimm gravitate towards forests specifically because that is where they are most effective. They may be mindless beasts, but they do understand their environment."

Salem intently listened to his words; so far the only Grimm she had ever encountered were Beowolves. "What are these Grimm like?"

Jaune raised his index finger. "Ursais are large beasts with extreme upper-body strength. They will mostly attack you with a flurry of quick swiping attacks." Jaune then raised his middle finger. "Creeps are two-legged beasts; they can be powerful, but their biggest advantage is their speed." Jaune finally raised his ring finger. "Boarbatusks are much smaller creatures, but they have the strength of an Ursai and the speed of a Creep. Unlike the other two Grimm, they have a crippling weakness; if you can get a solid strike to their stomach, they die."

Salem's mind absorbed the knowledge like a sponge, trying to picture what each of the Grimm looked like. The beasts did sound powerful, but she was confident that with Jaune and Ozma at her side, nothing short of an ancient Grimm could defeat them.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Zeus's shouting. The pair turned to see a very exasperated Zeus approaching them, with a very excited Ozma talking his ear off. "And the story of your fight against the ancient Manticore taught me that wind magic is much more useful than..." Zeus finally snapped at Ozma and hit him over the head with his cane, knocking him out instantly.

Jaune couldn't stop himself from laughing uncontrollably at the sight; even Salem had joined in.

"Lady Salem," he said, "while I do trust your judgment, I wish you had chosen a quieter knight."

Salem reined herself in, just allowing an amused smile to cross her face before speaking. "He may be a handful, but he's strong."

Zeus sighed at her words and grumbled something along the lines of "Kids these days." Before he could clear his throat and speak again, "My children have managed to spare enough supplies for the three of you to safely make it to Chaville." The old man reached inside his robes, pulled out a letter, and offered it to Salem. "Once you reach Chaville, give this to a man named Hades. My brother will help you along."

Both Salem and Jaune bowed their heads in respect. "Thank you, Zeus of Sevres," Salem said, rising and locking eyes with the shorter man. "I swear upon my name as the Princess of Everday to never forget your kindness."

Zeus laughed. "Your mother said those same words to me." He placed a firm hand on her arm. "She would be proud of the woman you've become."

A bittersweet smile crossed Salem's face. If she had more time, she would have loved to stay in Sevres and beg to hear as many stories about her mother that the old man had to offer. Alas, Salem had a destination; she could not falter now.

The moment was ruined when Jaune gave Ozma a hearty kick. "Wake up, Oz, it's time to move."

The man in question didn't respond. Jaune looked at Salem, relaying a wordless request. She obliged.

Ozma jumped nearly two feet in the air as he felt ice-cold water wash over him. He looked up to see both of his companions and Zeus laughing at him. He was beyond embarrassed.

Zeus spoke up before Ozma could begin ranting. "Come," he said, "let me see you on your way."

The group of four walked down the mostly intact main pathway through Sevres. As they passed by other villagers, Salem noticed something odd; each of the villagers never referred to Zeus as Mayor. Instead, they called him Father. She was confused; she didn't think Zeus was a priest.

Jaune had also noticed this, and his eyes widened with what Salem could only describe as growing shock and awe. "Are all these people really…?"

Ozma cut him off before Jaune could finish his sentence. "Yes! Lord Zeus was quite popular with the ladies during his time in the Capital." Ozma stated proudly. "He's an inspiration!"

Salem felt as though she were missing something, but before she could ask, they reached the edge of the village.

"I wish you three the best of luck on your journey," Zeus spoke. "Exercise extreme caution once you enter the forest surrounding Chaville. Reports of Grimm attacks have increased tenfold in recent months."

Salem nodded. "Understood. Well, be careful." She bowed her head. "Once again, allow me to thank you for your assistance."

The old man shook his head. "Think nothing of it, my lady," he said. "I have served your family for a long time; it comes naturally to me now."

Salem absorbed the extra supplies with her space magic and looked back to her companions. "Ready to go?" she asked with an undeniable undertone of excitement.

The two knights nodded, and the three began their journey once more. They made it all of twenty steps before Jaune spoke up.

"Hey Ozma, Zeus mentioned Salem's mother quite a lot," Jaune stroked his chin. "Do you think Salem might be...?"

Ozma interrupted him with a strike to the head. "Lord Zeus would never do such a thing."

Salem sighed; she was certain she was missing something.


The trio traveled at a respectable pace before finally stopping as the sun disappeared from the horizon. At their current speed, it would take them another full day and a half of travel before they would reach Chaville.

After they had set up camp, Salem sat in front of the fire. "Jaune," she said, "I have neglected my duty as your magic instructor for far too long. I shall rectify that mistake now."

Truthfully, Jaune hadn't even realized it until that exact moment; he'd been training on his own.

Ozma spoke up. "Do you mind if I watch, Lady Salem? I'd love to see how you teach this barbarian." Jaune tactfully ignored the verbal jab.

Salem thought for a moment, "I don't mind. What I will be covering is still rather basic mana manipulation. I doubt you would take anything from it."

Salem clapped her hands together and locked eyes with Jaune. "Today I'll be teaching you Mana Reinforcement," she said. "This technique allows you to strengthen specific parts of your body."

Jaune awkwardly coughed and averted his gaze. "Um... I figured out how to do that already."

Salem stared at him for an entire minute before screaming, "What?! When? How?!"

It wasn't his fault! Having an Aura before Mana was basically a cheat code for progress.

Jaune raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry?" That sounded much more like a question than he intended. "I just kind of figured it out."

Salem nearly pulled her hair out at that remark. Figured it out. How does one simply figure out a mana technique?

She took a deep breath. Salem knew Jaune was a prodigy when it came to Mana manipulation, but his rate of progress was just unfair.

Salem composed herself before she spoke again. "Alright then, since you grasp concepts so quickly, why don't we move on to something more advanced?" Jaune felt a wave of dread wash over him; that statement sounded like a threat.

"I'm going to teach you how to manipulate natural mana," Salem said with a smile that turned vicious. "For that I will need an assistant. Ozma, would you be so kind?"

Ozma laughed at Jaune's misfortune. "I would be more than happy to help Lady Salem," he said. Jaune's eyes twitched; there was something going on here that he didn't know about.

"When someone casts a spell, they convert their mana into the natural force of their choosing," Salem explained. "Once that mana is converted, it ceases to be the caster's mana."

Jaune nodded in understanding; that was pretty simple for something Salem called advanced. He paled as her smile grew wider.

"It is not possible to convert natural mana back into your own mana pool. The art of natural mana manipulation allows you to redirect the flow of natural mana." Salem gave a short demonstration by tossing a small ball of fire back and forth between her hands. "Since you have become so much better at mana manipulation, I think it's best that you get a... practical lesson. Ozma, keep shooting fire magic at him until he figures it out."

No matter what anyone said, Salem absolutely did not watch her pupil be repeated set on fire for several hours. Anyone who suggested such a thing would hear from her.

Jaune's screams could be heard for miles.


Chapter done!

The first ancestor has been introduced! Ninjas of Love transcends time!

This chapter has a bit more fluff to make up for the slightly depressing previous chapter.

Also some nice character development!

Now onto the reviews!

Xyrothor: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

Splash43: That's a very good question. When this story first started I had no plans on bringing Jaune back to the future, but a lot of people have been asking for it. I'm thinking about posting some alternate endings in Ripples In Time.

TheSlySage: I'm glad to hear it! I'm sure you'll love this chapter in particular. Don't worry, my friend, there are many more "must protect" moments for Jaune in this fic's future.

Absolute Fury: You beat me to the punch on the Zeus joke! I'm glad to see someone picked up on it, I intend to make these OCs share some similarities to their namesakes.

SaucyHandles: I agree with your stance on harems. They are often difficult to read just because of how brazenly unrealistic they are.

bwburke94: It's nice to see a fellow Konosuba enjoyer. Alas, I didn't base the Eris from this story on Konosuba Eris.

Kodus: The main reason why I don't have everyone from the past speak in a more medieval style dialect is mainly for reader comprehension. I didn't want the story to sound completely foreign and alienate any readers. I might write a proper medieval fic in the future, who knows?

That's all of the reviews.

For now, I think I'm going to go start my first new game plus run of Jedi Survivor.

Until next time!