Mushoku Tensei : Tanya's Reincarnation Vol 1

by Beta Orionis

Tanya dies fighting Mary over Tiegenhoff. To her surprise, she has another chance to live life. Would she finally get the break she deserves as Tanya Norn Greyrat?

2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes:

I appreciate the rapid support from both old and new readers and followers. I'll do my best to keep consistent with the updates.

Just because Tanya is an expert of magic in Being X world doesn't mean it automatically translates here. It'll be like taking a movie star and making them act on stage for a musical play for the first time; skills would take time to adjust to the differences between the systems.

It took me a while to find canon/ extra MT content that directly and indirectly covered events in Buena during Rudy's stay.

The omake is canon to this story; don't skip it. TP 1 is still a chapter away (or is it).

Chapter 2: Reorienting myself in this new world.

K 415, Buena, Fittoa Region

Tanya Norn Greyrat

"Try to live as long as you can; if you die again, there will be no second reincarnation."A flashback jolted me out of my stupor. At least I got the last laugh against Being X.

Why am I out here training in the yard? I posed the question as I held a wand in my hands, Rudeus' old wand, which was left behind when Paul unceremoniously sent him to Ghislaine. Zenith was about to start her lectures on magic with her sole student, myself.

Paul left the house to go hunting with Laws again. I caught him sneaking two bottles of wine, a large slab of meat, and a block of cheese in his bag. Talk about unsubtle setups.

Even Lilia was with Aisha out in the village doing errands, she was supposed to show Aisha the different shops and what they do.

Zenith would teach me magic, reading, writing, math, and history in the morning; Paul would teach basic fitness in preparation for sword fighting after lunch. It was similar to the schedule Rudeus had as a three-year-old .

Zenith looked like a barely contained bundle of energy; she was holding the large magic textbook, dressed up in something that reminded me of old-fashioned tutors, and even brought out a small table with other notes and materials mostly covered by a metal shield.

"Okay, so I'll demonstrate some magic first and then teach you the basics. Once I get you to learn how to read and write, I'll ask you to study some spells ahead of time." Zenith pulled out a fancy-looking but slightly worn-out wand; it looked like it went through a lot, even though Zenith was only 25.

" Let the vast and blessed waters converge where thou wilt and issue forth a single pure stream thereof – Waterball." As Zenith chanted her incantation, an orb of water the size of a basketball formed over the edge of her wand. She hurtled it past the fence, where it continued flying until it dispersed over the village, making a small comet that left a crater on the other side.

That must have been about 250 feet high and about 500 feet towards the village before it hit; it must have moved around 300 mph. I would've dodged that in aerial combat, especially with some distance and the usual body enhancement formulas, but a normal soldier would've been bludgeoned at close engagement range. It would almost be a death sentence to someone hit by that.

My thinking was interrupted by a comment from my Mother.

"What do you think? Is your mother awesome?" Zenith grinned as she interpreted my thinking as dumbfounded approval.

It was pretty good, especially without a bullet; however, the chanting time made it a poor replacement for the good 'ol rifle.

"That was only a Beginner spell, Waterball. The easiest spell to learn." Zenith said as she went behind me and held my wand arm up.

"Now point that wand in the same direction, far away from my tree and Caravaggio's stable, and repeat the spell," Zenith said encouragingly. Talk about putting me on the spot; how many 2-year-old kids would memorize a sentence spoken a minute ago without being told to memorize it?

" Let the vast and blessed waters converge where thou wilt and issue forth a single pure stream thereof – Waterball." It was a mouthful, but at least I got it right.

I felt a sensation on my wand hand, which was my right hand, and felt a feeling of blood pooling towards that side of my body. I also felt weaker than earlier; it must be from mana use. It differed from the times my mana drained during heavy use in battle, but it wasn't too foreign.

The Waterball formed moved exactly the same as Zenith's spell, further deepening the crater.

Hmmm, does it mean the spell only has one setting? It goes against what Rudy muttered about spell size and speed determination last year.

"Wow, I didn't expect you to copy what I did exactly on the first try. You're just as gifted as your older brother." Zenith cheerfully complimented me.

"Let me know how you feel after doing the spell. There is something Roxy discussed with me before she left, and I want to confirm my hunch," Zenith said as she looked at me.

Should I tell her I felt noticeably weaker after casting one simple spell? A simple Beginner spell when my older brother managed to be a Saint-ranked mage at five ?

"I feel perfectly fine, mother; what should we do next?" I said as I steadied myself.

"O-okay, little Tanya, let's do it again, except now you try to imagine it moving faster and smaller; it hits a lot harder when that happens," Zenith said as she turned to the same location.

" Let the vast and blessed waters converge – Waterball." Zenith abbreviated her spell and cast a volleyball-sized ball that moved twice as fast as the old one.

I heard a much louder whistle through the air as the Waterball hit the countryside roughly twenty feet from the previous craters; this crater was visibly larger, too.

That was almost the speed of sound and would be a massive pain to dodge at closer range in an aerial battle. It would likely hit as hard as a 17th-century cannonball. It wouldn't go through a tank or a battleship, but it would damage most houses and deal with most soldiers. Even weaker mages from my world would have their shields shaken from a spell like this.

She didn't explain how to change the settings of the spell, but I decided to put the numbers in my head; maybe it would be similar to how a computation orb would process the thoughts in my head to formulations that resulted in propulsion. I also noticed that Zenith shortened the incantation; maybe the whole line is said just to get the feeling right the first time.

Let's see, shrinking the ball to a volleyball size and aiming it in an arc reaching 250 ft high, 500 ft forward, and 20 ft to the left of the previous crater at 600 mph, I tried to chant the shortened version of the spell: " Let the vast and blessed waters converge – Waterball." I visualized the formula and the magic spell occurring in a way that I used to do to control my flight magic before.

A much stronger drain occurred, and I felt my right arm go numb; I was dizzy but managed to see the water hit the target exactly as I wanted it to. Either the wand computes the magical formula I placed on its own, or magic here doesn't require constant guidance to launch. That would make things simpler with the limited technology I can access.

Things were dimming around me, and it felt like the early days of the Type 95 test when I was 12,000 feet in the sky and oxygen-deprived.

Was I really this pathetically short of mana? I wouldn't have passed recruitment in my old world with a mana endurance like this.

I stumbled and was about to crash to the ground when Zenith caught me.

"Oh dear, you overexerted yourself," Zenith said with a sad face.

I must have disappointed her so badly; she casually made a beginner spell hit with the force of a wrecking ball toward the crater or maybe even a small old artillery shell. I nearly passed out from the effort of imitating it.

"I'm sorry for not achieving your expectations," I said in a small voice; I tried to make the best impression of a puppy dog face that I sometimes pulled off in my previous life.

"Hey! No need to be so gloomy; even I didn't learn magic until I started school at 8. Paul barely did any spells when he was that age, either. In fact, we can end our magic spell training for today as I test an observation Roxy seemed to have made about Rudy. And compare it with what I know about myself." Zenith said as I tried to keep myself from losing consciousness.

She was now kneeling on the soft grass around the house, with my head on her lap. I haven't had an experience like this since Visha made me a lap pillow while tending to one of my injuries a lifetime ago.

I wonder how she is; I hope she lives peacefully after the war ends.

"Did I just say all that to a two-year-old? Maybe I should use smaller words to get her to pay attention to me properly. How Roxy taught a three-year-old boy so well is such a mystery to me; that young girl must be a truly legendary mage in the making." Zenith mused to herself.

"Don't…worry…mother…I can still understand you…" I said, with barely a groan.

"What a strong little girl! I'll let you have whatever desserts you want later; Lilia is out of the house, so she won't catch us. Mehehe." Zenith said with a conspiratorial smile.

"So the theory Roxy and I talked about was that magic reserves grow over time and that it possibly grows the most in childhood. I think that makes sense. I started school slightly ahead of my classmates and ended up being the best in my class." Zenith paused and continued her monologue; this was a very interesting but plausible theory.

"Roxy said she used to struggle with several Intermediate spells when she was a new adventurer, but she was Saint-ranked by the time she taught Rudy four years ago. She even became King-ranked last year. She looked like she was barely ten years older than Rudeus, too; maybe she's sixteen or seventeen right now. I wonder if she will hit Emperor rank by the time she reaches my age. I got too complacent after I got pregnant with Rudeus. I was also an S-ranked adventurer like your father, you know?" Zenith sighed at the end.

That was something new; I assume an S-ranked adventurer means they were among the best in whatever region they worked in. What a high bar to set.

"Not that I don't mind. I love Rudeus, and I definitely love you, Tanya. It's just that I should've learned more magic when I could; I took some classes under Roxy when we both had spare time. I knew she wanted to raise more funds, and I wanted to improve on my set of spells, too. I managed to get intermediate on all my attack spells to balance out my healing and detoxification spells." Zenith said with increasing energy before she looked at me.

"Oh wait, these are a lot of terms you haven't experienced yet. I think I need to teach you how to read and write before you can understand the terms in my Textbook. Or the random notes Rudy left behind. I'm also waiting for my sister to send me something if she could, but that's a long shot..." Before Zenith continued speaking more, she heard me sigh.

I didn't want to learn how to read the slow and painful way; I was even confident that I could write slowly and in big blocky characters. But how could I pretend to learn fast enough without exposing everything? However, I believed in following the rules so long as they made sense. Most rational people wouldn't expect me to be a reincarnation, and in a world full of magic, they might think I'm possessed by a demon or some other foul creature if I show unnatural growth. Therefore, I had to make the most of my current situation.

"Don't worry, I bet you're as smart as Rudeus. Roxy told me it just took her three months to be confident in Rudy's reading skills and six months to be confident in his writing skills. She also managed to teach him math, accounting, and all sorts of things in the two years she taught him." Zenith said with a really proud face.

I was trying to get past the fact that Rudeus learned how to read and write at three, (probably)basic mathematics at five, and accounting. Talk about an unbelievably gifted kid, and Aisha doesn't seem so far behind either; she managed to seriously approach the developmental milestones I reached, and I had the benefit of reincarnation. Although perhaps some of the things I read about raising young children together in a competitive scenario like that are true. My two siblings would have been the kind of people to enter University at ten and win a Nobel prize by the time I became a director at work in my first world.

I was merely a hardworking, well-educated (I even finished college twice now), and above-average person; I was blessed with an exceptional body in Japan but cursed with a small and weak one in the Empire. My Mana was above average in my past life, but that got cut short. By the time I reach adulthood, all pretenses of my genius will be shattered. Even as a teenager, I may have an impending imposter syndrome as Rudy blows away my expectations and Aisha outstrips me. However, my modern knowledge might keep me ahead for unfair reasons.

Well, I hope by then, I can be wealthy and retire in a peaceful village like this and enjoy a non-competitive life. I guess it's alright that Rudy is the heir to all my family's expectations. I might as well try to be nice to Aisha, too, to prevent a very capable sister from viewing me with some form of resentment.

"I won't let you down, Mother," I said with what could pass off as a smile.

"Couldn't you call me mama or mom for once? Why must all genius kids be so distant from their loving mothers." Zenith made an animated pout, similar to what would happen if I accidentally took Visha's desserts. She also kept hugging me while asking me to call her mama; how could someone be so soft yet so strong?

Sometimes, I think my parents are permanently stuck in puberty.

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Lunch was a happier affair; aside from the bland potatoes and gamey stew, Zenith allowed me to eat some honeyed biscuits, which were apparently meant for dinner. She even let me have some candied nuts, which were saved for special rewards.

I regained a lot of my physical energy after having some of that stew, but I still felt an empty, gnawing feeling in my body, which I associated with the mana drain I had.

Paul entered the house, looking worn out and tired.

I guess that's what happens if you drink that much wine, eat cheese, and have a tryst with that Bishounen Elf-man.

"I'm home! The hunt was more tiring than usual; I have no idea how six Terminator boars showed up together. Laws and I had a close call, and the other guardsmen only managed to stay alive because I took on the beasts directly." Paul said with a tired sigh. I think he wasn't lying; his clothes had a hint of blood on his pants, and he smelled lightly of blood and gore.

I may need to reassess the relationship between Paul and Laws.

Zenith looked at Paul with a lot of concern and then some worry when I looked at them. I was regaining some energy from the training earlier, but I was in no state to fight a monster.

"Are you hurt? I can heal you and the others." Zenith asked Paul as she looked over his body.

"I'm a little tired and bruised, but nobody got injured, so we wouldn't need any healing or detoxification spells today. You know I'd bring them over if they needed help, right?" Paul confidently told Zenith.

Considering how I saw Paul fight Rudeus last year, I wouldn't be too surprised to see some kind of oversized Boars attempt to mow down people outside the forest. They must have some kind of magical reinforcement to make them ignore the square-cube law.

"Although we would like you to detoxify the meat, we managed to bring the six corpses in relatively good condition, and with monster meat, a good detox is the way to prevent a bad stomach. It's currently at the butcher's right now. We'd like it detoxified so he can turn some of it into different meat products and cure the rest for winter," Paul said to Zenith, who stood up from the table.

"Sure, I can do that." Zenith cheerfully stood and walked towards the door until she realized I was still seated. "Wait, we can't just leave Tanya behind; Lilia is still out with Aisha. Plus, she exhausted her mana earlier, so leaving her alone is not good."

"I wanna join," I spoke up, genuinely curious to see more magic in action.

"But the butcher is no place for a little girl," Paul said, shaking his head.

"But Lilia said she would take Aisha around the town and end with a trip to the butcher after lunch to buy meat for dinner. Wouldn't they be watching this too?" I said, remembering what Lilia explained to Zenith before leaving this morning.

"That's right, Paul, plus I remember learning healing magic on injured animals when I was a kid, too. Imagine how Ghislaine would treat you if she heard you say those kinds of stupid things again." Zenith glared at Paul as he also shuddered at her reply.

"Alright, but I'll carry Tanya to the butcher," Paul said as he lifted me up like a backpack. Considering how stiff I felt, I accepted the ride. At least they didn't make me wear a frilly dress this time.

The trip to the Butcher was pretty quick; Zenith and Paul moved effortlessly at a running pace. Paul managed to make such a fast trip feel less painful than it should be; he moved with the natural grace of a high-end athlete. Zenith wasn't a slouch either, keeping up with his pace without sweating. I guess this is what S-rank adventurers have for their endurance.

There was an overwhelming musky odor together with some undertones of blood; it must come from the monster corpses.

A small crowd gathered around the butcher's house; you could see five oversized beast corpses to the side of the house and one inside a patio with a large canvas cover on top. The boar looked like it could stand on two legs and was larger than a Gorilla. Wait, it seems like it had four arms, too; what kind of mutation would lead to that?

"Hey, Paul! Hi Zenith! Just the right people we were looking for." A stocky man with an oversized knife faced us. He was probably the butcher, too. The crowd turned and looked at us, giving way between the butcher and the three of us.

"Mistress! Paul! There you are." Lilia walked towards us, with Aisha walking beside her.

"Hi Daddy, Hi Mistress Zenith," Aisha said as she waved towards us. "Can I ride on your back too?" Aisha said as she looked at Paul with longing eyes. Lilia looked like she was about to silence her, but I decided to prevent this from getting worse; after all, I wouldn't want my prodigal siblings to harbor resentment against me.

"I wanna go down; you can let Aisha ride on your back." I tapped Paul's shoulders as he relented and put me down, letting a happy Aisha slide up Paul's back.

Most of my physical energy was restored after lunch and that short run so I had no problem standing.

Lilia had an awkward face, but Zenith smiled at me, crisis averted.

Zenith was asked to perform detoxification magic on the monster corpses; she said she would do intermediate magic on them just to be sure.

I couldn't concentrate enough to hear her muttered words; it seemed like she had no intention of publicly stating the incantation for the others to hear. It seems like magic may be a closely guarded secret the nobles keep from the masses. Despite my lackluster mana reserves, I should be happy to be one of the privileged few to learn it.

"X-Detoxification!" Zenith shouted the last part; a bluish glow surrounded the monster, and the oppressive smell disappeared; dirt around the monster's fur also disappeared. What a scarily effective spell. Does it mean bacterial and viral infections are easily treatable in this world? Paul mentioned that a good detox is key for a good stomach.

Detoxification spells would be extremely handy on the battlefield; we always suffered from chronic water shortages, even at the fronts along the Vaterland. We also lost a lot of troops to common infections from simple wounds along the trenches; a simple spell like that would've saved hundreds of thousands of lives. More people died in the Great War due to infections and poorly treated wounds rather than from direct combat itself. My previous world hadn't discovered Penicillin or other antibiotic drugs by the time I died, and magical mages were rare and reserved for higher officers and other mages. The Rhine was filled with people who died from tetanus (the closest thing to vaccination against it was still experimental when I died) and cholera, which would've been easily prevented by beginner-level healing and detoxification magic from this world.

I also imagined how useful those water spells would have been in the southern continent campaign; we wouldn't have needed to go through as many loops during the early phases of Operation Pasta. Water was another extremely important thing, and magic would've solved many of our problems if it could do so.

Magic in this world is a lot more versatile and powerful; it might be a substitute for the decreased level of technology in this world compared to my past two worlds, but the potential is immense.

Now, if only I had more mana than a measly two-beginner spell limit. I hope all those theories about increasing mana are true; it would just mean I would have to work harder to increase it.

"Thank you, Zenith! You and your husband are really a godsend to the village." The butcher said as he drew his knife and started cutting up the beast with surprising deftness. Two younger men came in to handle the smaller pieces that the butcher cut up, while an older woman started handling the smaller strips of meat; it looked like she was sorting it up for different parts. I could see jars and pots on the side and a corner with a drawing of meat on it; maybe they store cured meat there. Some meats were heavily seasoned with what I assumed was salt and placed in sacks, and others in barrels.

It was surprisingly fast; perhaps even butchers here have some basic magical reinforcement.

It only took an hour to process the first beast, and several large pots, trays, and a sack of meat were given to Lilia, who brought Caravaggio and the cart to the butcher.

"Here's your share of the hunt, Paul, 30 kg of the finest parts and 12 silver coins, the equivalent tribute for six terminator boars. We're lucky traders keep visiting the town for cheap and purified monster meat nowadays. Terminator boars taste great, but most villages wouldn't have someone like your wife detoxifying them. If you didn't keep on insisting on giving half your entitled tribute back to the village itself, the farmers might have resented the lack of commerce on their end." The butcher said as he told my father.

The crowd around us was a bit thinner than earlier, but only because the others were inside helping the butcher.

As I overheard the conversation further, it seemed like Paul was giving away half the meat and taxes he was supposed to earn from these hunts back to the villagers, which, in a predominantly farm-based town such as this, must be a ridiculous bounty to the farmers. Paul went monster hunting once a week or twice a week recently; that could explain why the people were growing fatter and the children were running around more actively. I wanted to ask how much the average loaf of bread costs or the monthly wages of a laborer, but I lacked the excuse to bring up those questions.

Even the houses around the village look nicer than what I'd expect from a medieval village.

Once the cart was loaded, Zenith, Lilia, Aisha, and I loaded the cart. Paul was riding Caravaggio, who was pulling the cart easily.

"How many people live here?" I asked Zenith, who was sitting beside me.

"About 50 families, or around 200 people, we've had some new migrants from the south join us over the last two years," Zenith said in an off-handed way.

"Ah, I see, and we rule this village?" I asked in return. I didn't want to assume, despite the fact that the butcher gave tribute to Paul, or that the villagers showed a deferential attitude to my family in general, or that we generally looked a cut above the rest, excluding possibly Laws and his family.

"About that." Zenith scratched her head awkwardly. "You see, your father got assigned to lead this village by the Mayor of Roa, who was commanded by the Duke of Fittoa to find a job for Paul. Paul got assigned to guard and run the village defenses while I worked as a healer. Technically, there is a village council in which we have two of the seven positions, but they voted Paul as village chief almost as soon as we moved here. It means he also collects tributes from the village, which we use for our upkeep and for improving the village when we can." Zenith continued to explain with a slightly embarrassed look in her eyes.

Was she trying to cover up higher aspirations or some other embarrassment related to ruling? I never got to ask about my Mother's past, and I guess now wasn't the time to do so either.

"I bet you two are doing a great job at running the village," I said as I did my best sucking-up-to-the-boss smile.

"We do our best, little Tanya, and we will do our best to teach you too! Who knows if you might take over someday, especially if your big brother Rudeus continues to woo the Mayor's daughter. I heard he's already practicing dancing with her for her tenth birthday." Zenith said happily to me.

I see, so is that why Paul had to send Rudy off to that heavily muscled woman, Ghislaine? She must be a retainer for the Duke of Fittoa or at least the Mayor of Roa, but I remember that the Duke of the region was a Greyrat; why was Zenith so impersonal about them? Maybe she didn't want me to know who they were yet?

I smiled passively as we went home; Lilia took the meats back to the storage, where Zenith and Aisha helped (or mostly watched) her sort things out.

Paul and I, on the other hand, brought me out to the yard; it was summer, so we still had several hours to train.

"So you want to be an awesome swordfighter too, like your dad? I learned some new tips and tricks after comparing with a friend of mine this past year, so I'll be an even better teacher than before." Paul said as he did some acrobatically difficult sword moves in front of me.

He moved with the precision of an Olympic gymnast but with the strength that made it all look his sword look like plastic props.

"I'll start by demonstrating basic stretches, positions, and stances. We would only use a stick until you get strong enough to hold a training sword." Paul started showing several stretches, positions, and stances. Paul gave me a small wooden sword that was basically a kid's toy; then again, I was barely two.

We went through a lot of stretches aimed to target many different muscle groups. I was surprised by how thorough it was as he made me stretch the different muscle groups around the body.

If it weren't for the fact that I had to do stretches like this as an Aerial Mage, especially after long flights, I would've struggled to go through these exercises. It also helped that, as a toddler, my body was extremely flexible.

It was also good that my mana exhaustion didn't necessarily affect my body.

He also made me do three basic stances with the wooden sword, as well as seven different positions to go through. Considering his lessons would run the entire afternoon, we had time to burn, especially since these looked like things I had to do repeatedly.

"So what I would do is make you listen to my lessons while I make you repeat the exercises needed to build your body for swordfighting training. We would keep repeating one series at a time, and then we move to the next one." Paul said as I was practicing a basic swing repetitively. My muscles were burning from the sudden exertion, but I had to make myself stronger.

Paul was a very organized teacher, making me relentlessly do the same basic moves and explaining to them as I went through them. Was he this thorough with Rudeus? Was this how you teach a young child from a really early age?

If only I knew how to make my body enhancement magic work in this world. Especially if I could make it chantless and fast-acting, I could try the same formulation in my head and make it run through magic without speaking it. After all, speaking things out was only a mnemonic device that beginner mages going through training often used to remember their magical formula in the Empire.

Perhaps Zenith was using something like that herself, although I remember that Rudeus said that chantless magic was rare in this world and that only the most skilled can do so. Maybe they just didn't know how to actively compute and visualize said spells without a crutch of a name to remember it? I haven't exactly read the spell books yet, so I wouldn't know how spells are formulated; imitating my mother blindly was a risky thing in itself earlier today.

Paul must have noticed my contemplation because he changed the tempo of our training.

Several hours of repetitive basic actions and stances, as well as thorough explanations of why these movements are important, made me extremely tired. Not to mention the earlier mana drain I already experienced this morning; if I weren't used to these situations on the battlefield, I would've called it a day earlier.

He said our physical training was over for today and that he wanted to share a brief introduction about Swordfighting.

Paul mentioned three sword styles and said that the stances he taught me were a combination of the Sword God, Water God, and North God style, one that he jokingly referred to as the "Rat style." Paul amalgamated the three major styles and often confused opponents by countering them at will. He also explained that he was advanced in all three styles, and that was an achievement in itself, as he did it in his teenage years. Paul also said he's training harder now to make up for his complacency.

Paul said that his old friend called him a rat for all the "unfair tricks" he had during their sparring. He also said that contrary to the major schools of thought, it was a lot better to teach someone all three styles at the same level than to make someone master one style at a time and then learn the next one; it would lead to better and more complete development.

"If your opponent is superior to you in one field, beat them in the other," Paul said as he was explaining his story.

"Who was your superior opponent?" I asked Paul, who already seemed scarily proficient in swords.

"Well, that would be Sword-King Ghislaine; you see, I am only an advanced swordsman in all three styles; Ghislaine is King-ranked in Sword God style and would beat me hands-down in a fair Sword God fight. She's the fourth strongest Sword God fighter in the world. However, I could read her emotions and guess her moves with my Water God style and counter her whenever I could; and since I couldn't keep up with counters alone, I also pulled out the North God style to keep her constantly off balance." Paul responded with a shrug.

I remember Ghislaine, that large, muscular beast woman who took Rudeus to Roa, was a King-ranked swordfighter; she must be extremely powerful herself. Paul holding her off just increased my estimation of him.

"While she beats me more often than not in our practice spars, she would lose those spars if Elinalise joins my side in the match, although there was that time I definitely dominated them both," Paul said with a strange look on his mind. It better not be any lewd thoughts because that sounded pretty nasty. Maybe it was because he took Zenith from Ghislaine? I wonder who Elinalise is; I assume she's another female swordfighter due to the name.

"If you use a sword and one of the three primary styles, then you are a swordsman. If you use a different style but still use a sword, you are a warrior. If you use one of the styles but don't use a sword, then you're also a warrior." Paul explained as he looked at me. "Although technically you could also be a North God Swordsman even though you use other weapons, as the main point of that style also involves the utilization of anyone possible in a fight, it is more of a style of fighting than a direct sword fighting style itself."

"Ooh, so that means swordsman is a special title," I asked Paul after hearing all his other statements and stories earlier. I wanted to ask more questions, but he was on a roll earlier.

He paused as Lilia came out to give us some drinks and biscuits. She gave me a knowing look towards me, correctly suspecting I had some earlier, but she still wiped off my sweat as I asked the question.

"Not exactly; anyone with an interest can learn beginner-level swordsman skills of any given school, usually Water God style in Asura." Paul shrugged before continuing. "The Water God style is officially taught in Asura, while the Sword God style is taught around the north at the Sword Sanctum. North God style is more of a combination of experience and tactics as it is a bit difficult to chase after the disciples of the North God nowadays."

"What's the difference between a Knight and a Swordsman? Aren't you a Knight?" I continued to ask Paul.

"A Knight is a Knight. Knights are appointed by the King or liege lords. They are educated in reading and arithmetic. Some of them can even use simple magic. Since many of them are nobles, they're also full of pride." Paul said as he spat on the ground.

"While I may be a Knight, it was only after I was appointed by Philip, the Mayor of Roa; it's more of a job to me than any noble position. I just want a peaceful life with my family here in this beautiful village. Although the monster attacks are getting pretty annoying over here." Paul continued his explanation to me. "Most nobles are scum, they live off the position their ancestors got them, and they look down on anyone they perceive as lower than them. I even told Rudeus to avoid studying at the capital because they'd view a child of a knight from the middle of nowhere to be an upstart regardless of his phenomenal Saint-level magic skills or his ability to cast chantless magic."

Paul turned around as he looked towards his horse, Caravaggio, and muttered. "Those pompous fools would've begged and scraped at his feet if they knew exactly who they were talking to."

I had good hearing and more comprehension than the average two-year-old. I decided to play the role of an inquisitive kid and ask the painfully awkward question. Paul looked at me with a strange look in his eyes,

"What do you mean if they knew exactly who they were talking to? Is it because we're Greyrats? I remember the Duke of Fittoa is a Greyrat; is he your Father? Is he my Grandpa?" I hope I wasn't overplaying it; I remember it from Rudy's bedtime stories a year ago since I wasn't able to open the chest containing the books to read them myself. I'll try to make an excuse to know how I got the name.

Paul barked a laugh as he wiped some tears from his eyes.

"No, although most people assume that is the case, due to my position as a mere Knight and the lack of the specific identifier as to which Greyrat house I am in, they assume that I am an illegitimate child of Uncle Sauros. For the sake of keeping a peaceful family life, I keep my mouth shut. His sister, Valentina Boreas Greyrat, was my Mother, and my Father was actually Amarant Notos Greyrat. I wasn't supposed to tell you or Rudeus until Rudy turned ten, but I'd rather not lie directly to my child." Again was the unspoken word with the look on his face.

A short pause as Paul looked at me with a piercing gaze.

"I think you're too young to understand this, despite being as smart as Rudy was back then, but under no circumstances should you talk about this outside of your parents, or I guess Lilia too. Ghislaine and my old party mates would know, too, but they're nowhere near here. It's an awfully sensitive political situation. Could we pretend we didn't talk about it yet? I don't want to explain to Zenith and Lilia why I said all this." Paul awkwardly shook his head.

"Of course, Father, I promise." I gave my trademark war propaganda smile.

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The next few weeks were a slog; Zenith kept making me cast water balls until I got tired. We used the abbreviated form of chanting, although she kept making the water balls vary in size, speed, and trajectory. Zenith told me she wanted to test their theory about mana growth before moving on to the next spells. Three weeks in, and I could already cast it dozens of times without feeling tired at all, even when I kept shifting the parameters of the spell.

Zenith was amazed at the obvious growth of my mana capacity and said that I was extremely lucky to have trained this young. She said that at this rate, I might even outstrip her mana capacity in a few months. She said she was also slowly growing stronger, but it was nowhere near as fast as I was improving.

"I really need to get my hands on some advanced spells soon; we both have the capacity to cast them at this rate," Zenith said as we closed our training.

I wanted to ask her about chantless magic but decided to talk about it once she properly brought up the topic. Perhaps she wanted me to get more proficient with magic before I tried to move on to more advanced magic. For now, she kept using abbreviated forms of casting magic, often reducing it to half or sometimes even a third of the original incantation. She was paraphrasing it.

Zenith also never failed to cast magic before asking me to do it, although recently, it seemed to be pointed and cast in ways that it watered the various farms around the area, dispersing in the air to make droplets rather than damaging the ground around us. The farmers must really appreciate their benevolent lords, who even deign to provide them water in this dry summer season. It also meant the water balls were getting very large, but it was an effective way to increase my mana.

Zenith told me that even simple things, such as our consistent water spells around the farms, helped the townspeople a lot. Zenith told me that Roxy revolutionized the village by offering her magic services to help deal with many problems, ranging from water shortages to stubborn soils.

Even damaged trees can instantly get repaired and even sprout fruits with a proper heal spell, something Zenith mentioned happening after Roxy accidentally hit her favorite tree once during Rudy's first day of learning magic from Roxy.

She still didn't let me try healing magic or detoxification and told me that I needed to show I could read and write well before making me read her notes for healing and detoxification magic.

I had too many flashbacks of what happens when I try to learn and test things too fast. Dr. Schugel and the madhouse of his religious research division made me intimately know what happens when magical rules get broken and bent.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, but I decided to "learn" how to read and write in three months, just to match the same speed as Rudy.

It's not like I need to worry for another ten or so more years, right?

I wouldn't want to be a ten-year-old and fight for my life over a brutal battlefield again.

I just need to stand out well enough to get a cushy position, maybe even the village if my older brother is off to a better future, and live a happy, peaceful life. I am a peace-loving capitalist, after all. I might make myself rich by reinventing some modern things.

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A little over a month passed, two months into my intense education efforts and two-thirds of the way into "learning" reading and writing, and I was seated beside Aisha at the table. I had reading and writing classes twice a week whenever Paul went on a hunt, and Zenith accompanied him and his party for support.

Lilia taught me and Aisha how to read and write; at least I had to fine-tune my hand-eye coordination in the process of learning how to write the Human Language so I wouldn't totally fake my illiteracy. The Human language had just about as many characters as a Western language did; it was slightly harder to write than the Imperial script, but it was easier to memorize than the various Japanese characters.

Aisha was groaning again; she made a mistake in writing down a passage from Wandering the World we were assigned to copy today. She didn't like it when she made a mistake, which was something even my clumsy two-year-old hands struggled to avoid and frequently tried to look at my handiwork.

I tried to help her out, which made Lilia smile at me. But I frequently got a scowl from Aisha instead.

I hoped she would outgrow her immaturity. the more I knew about this family, the more I wanted to avoid any upcoming drama. I would rather have her as a Visha instead of a Mary Sue. I wonder if I can use any of my HR or Military psychology lessons to develop Aisha into a capable and stable sister; it won't hurt to start trying.

Lilia was very capable in her lessons, giving us a steady stream of materials and showing a lot of skills for a maid. I even saw her teach Aisha some basics in sword fighting during the times I was learning magic with Zenith but on the other side of the yard. Since I finished my writing quota for today, I decided to ask Lilia about her background.

"Miss Lilia, how do you know so much? You know how to read, write, do math, and even swordfighting. If it isn't too strange to ask, why are you a maid?" I asked directly, trying to make sense of why she would work in the middle of nowhere as a maid.

"Well, that's a long story, which I can tell you when you grow older. However, what I can say is that I learned sword fighting with Paul at my father's dojo for a while, and even though we parted ways, I eventually needed to find a job. To my surprise, I found a listing in Roa that had Paul looking for a maid. You see, I had an injury from my old job, which kept me from turning into an adventurer or a hired guard; at the same time, most households wouldn't afford the salary I would want for my skills. Paul paid me a lot when he hired me." Lilia then smiled at me and Aisha, who was still busy scribbling her lines while listening to the story Lilia gave.

I could tell that Lilia skipped a lot of uncomfortable particulars but decided to avoid pressing the matter.

"Although he stopped paying me ever since Zenith insisted on making me a full part of the household. While Zenith still manages the finances, she treats me and Aisha the same way as her children out of the love and generosity of her heart; she even gives me enough extra money to send back to my parents. That reminds me, Master Rudy learned accounting from his former master Roxy before his fifth birthday. As soon as both of you are deemed proficient enough in writing, I shall teach you numbers, and then we can proceed to teach accounting."

Lilia checked Aisha's writing tablet and saw no mistakes in the assigned lines. Aisha squealed happily when she got it right and then stuck her tongue out at me. I smiled back at her and hoped it all played out well.

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Speak softly and carry a big stick.

Sword training with Paul was also going smoothly. I noticed that Paul usually preferred to lead by example, showing me techniques with a minimum amount of explanation. Since I was a pretty experienced adult in a child's body, even these lessons weren't too difficult.

I had to make some adjustments compared to my old melee training from the Empire, but overall, it wasn't too difficult to adjust, especially since mages were taught to use magic to augment their bodies for close-range combat and stealth operations.

He rarely spoke during the training aside from the times he told stories about his past adventuring, which made me learn a lot about the various tactics and strategies needed to survive as an adventurer. while I wanted to live a peaceful life, the recent increase in monster attacks has made me realize just how important it is to stay armed and well-trained.

Heinlein once said, "An armed society is a polite society." While I don't fully believe those words, having enough power to ensure people stay polite around me sounds like a good idea in a world that likely treats noblewomen as breeding stock.

If I needed to be powerful in order to become free, then I would become powerful enough to fight for my freedom and go against any self-proclaimed god.

I felt that my body was getting magically stronger and faster without the need for spell formulation. However, I would only try my magically induced enhancement spells once Zenith lets me read her notes; I wouldn't want to turn into a vegetable just because I assumed magic operates the same way on the body across worlds. The magic I used to increase my perception and speed modified the speed of my nervous system and brain, after all.

I was clearly faster and stronger than any two-and-a-half-year-old had any business being, but I would still get beaten by my ten-year-old past self… Without any magical enhancement, let alone fully trained adults. I had a long road to go before dealing with the problems outside.

Discussions at the dinner table over the last few weeks, however, took a darker turn. While the adults usually tried to feed us happily and talk with a cheerful voice to keep us from panicking, the contents of their words betrayed the severity of the situation. Aisha might still be too young to understand that there was bad news all over between the smiles and laughs in the conversation, but on my end, I understood it all. Most adults wouldn't expect a two-year-old to pay attention to these kinds of conversations. However, Aisha was pretty sneaky herself. Sometimes, she asks me questions about the adult conversations when we're alone in the room; I try to explain a more child-friendly version of the events, but her constant questions are sometimes frustrating.

The monster attacks continued to increase in intensity to the point that it was usually only Paul, Laws, and Zenith who didn't go back to the village looking battered. Even Lilia had to limit her lessons with Aisha and me in order to teach the guardsmen how to do intermediate sword fighting, which she was still able to teach despite her condition.

All guardsmen in Buena (at least the ten of them aside from Laws and Paul) were Beginner-level due to Paul's initial training; however, Paul had other duties to fulfill and couldn't teach ten people beyond that point. Besides, he was actively teaching Laws some advanced lessons which he said I wasn't ready for. He expected Laws to become an advanced rank North God warrior ( at least to deal with the monsters together with Paul)

Lilia, however, had experience assisting her Father in their dojo; she had a good idea of how to teach a group of people at the same time and put it to good use. She taught them across the road outside the fence twice a week. Despite her injuries, she was still a scary instructor and still beat a normal guardsman one-on-one; although she normally appreciated Zenith healing her up after training, her injuries, aggravated by the high-ranked remaining poison, were just too much to remove even with Intermediate magic.

I heard Lilia was an intermediate-level Water God practicer and that such defensive styles are useful for the defense-oriented guardsmen anyway. She could've succeeded her father in his dojo but gave it up for another one of her siblings instead.

Buena had a massive overabundance of high-quality (monster) meat; it also had a very large harvest; years of magical irrigation and hydration have made yields much higher than its neighbors. Some other nearby villages already prohibited their inhabitants from moving over the Buena, although they were too scared to lodge a complaint directly against Paul Greyrat .

Still, the extra money they were making from all the monster meat sales and excess harvest was making them consider hiring some adventurers to help them clear out the area around Buena.

Paul insisted that they could still handle it on their own but would ask Philip to send for reinforcements after winter if things didn't improve.

I tried to act oblivious to their conversations, but I sometimes had the feeling that someone was watching me.

On the other hand, today, we heard news that Rudy made some waves at his sponsor's place.

"Did you read Philip's letter? It said that Rudy's been very effective at training both Ghislaine and Eris; not only did he manage to teach those two meatheads." Paul paused as Zenith glared at him.

"Hey, Philip used those words himself too, ehem, teach those two meatheads how to read, write and do basic mathematics; he managed to learn the Beast God language, teach Ghislaine and Eris how to make a Fire Ball, although the maids are complaining about those two women random fires around the castle… He also taught Eris how to dance."

Zenith smiled at the good news from Paul.

"As expected of Master Rudy, he sure makes us all proud. That means you two girls shouldn't slack off either." Lilia looked at us.

Paul continued to read the letter with a grimace clear in his eyes.

"However, Philip said that Rudy got too much attention during Eris' tenth birthday party. When she struggled to dance with some of the more prominent noble kids, Rudy stepped up and led her to a magnificent dance… That drew the attention of the other nobles, who immediately assumed he was an illegitimate child of Sauros. I'm sorry we have to muddle the details of your family once more, but I think you'd appreciate it if we kept it that way."

Zenith also frowned, which caused Aisha to stop what she was doing and look towards the adults. Lilia was about to stand up and move us both away, but Paul shook his head. He continued to read the letter. Zenith seemed to read his mind and gave a look that implied that the kids should stay.

"However, our offer is still open; with your help and the help of a Saint-Ranked mage such as Rudeus, we would be able to restore what we both lost. I can have my sons back, and you can live without the fear of your brother sending assassins in the middle of the night. Eris seems very interested in Rudy already, and he seems interested in her, too. As Asurans and nobles, it wouldn't be difficult for him to even get that Elf girl as a second wife, too, if she still wants him in several years." Paul had a pinched face as he continued reading once more.

"Father still has a lot of influence among the nobles who dislike the current state of affairs. He also has a large amount of wealth stored in Roa, and you know that I've been holding evidence against Prime Minister Darius that we can use as leverage to keep him neutral during the takeover. We can talk about it more as Rudeus' tenth birthday approaches. " Paul passed the letter to Zenith, who then reread the contents and frowned; Lilia also looked at it with a severe expression on her face.

"What's wrong? Why are you sad? What does "Assassin" mean?" Aisha started sprouting a bunch of questions while the room was quiet.

"Don't worry about this; your parents are sorting out a small, grown-up matter. I'm sure they will make the right choice and keep the family safe and happy. However, I think it is time for you to go to bed." Lilia gave a non-answer to Aisha.

"Before we do that, I think we just need to reassure the kids that we are safe and that everything is okay. These two little girls seem as smart as Rudeus was, and we can't keep hiding this from them forever." Paul said with a serious voice.

"That's true, plus we are still in the middle of nowhere, nobles wouldn't bother us, and Rudeus is safe with Sword King Ghislaine near him. Philip is just trying to strike a hard bargain because Eris turned ten already, only five more years before she becomes an adult and subject to the deals James might make in the Boreas Greyrat name. Rest assured that we have no real obligation to guarantee Rudy, let alone reveal his true identity on his tenth birthday." Zenith said as she reassured Paul; she held his arm tenderly.

"That's true, plus Pilemon is a young, unproven lord who is currently very low on funds himself; the money he spent keeping the nobles from demanding more from him when he took over Milbots as a ten-year-old is enough to drain the Notos Greyrat coffers dry. To think he even had to get twins at ten in order to show he had an heir to the Milbots nobles shows how much breathing room we have." Lilia said as she read the letter too.

"He wouldn't be able to afford a squad of Saint-ranked assassins needed to take our family out, nor would he be able to pay North Emperor Auber enough to hire his services to take Rudy out in Roa either. Water God Reida wouldn't deign to interfere for something as local as this either, not with what Pilemon would be limited to offer." Paul showed his military assessment skills as he described the possible threats to the family.

I decided to intervene and make them less panicked; normally, a calm answer would help. I just need to steer the conversation towards the most peaceful outcome; I don't want to die even younger than my past life.

"Don't worry, based on what you said, we have several years in order to prepare ourselves for any upcoming problems. If it only took Rudy a little over two years to reach Saint rank under heavy training, maybe I can reach that, too. Plus, couldn't you try to hit Saint-rank too, mother and father?" I looked at Paul and Zenith, who looked at me with a fire in their eyes.

The best defense against these problems is to be powerful enough to stop it from happening; the Empire managed to hold itself out against the might of Europa despite its limited resources and smaller size and population due to much better training and preparation.

While I certainly didn't want to be part of a doomed cause, if we played our cards right, we could be strong enough to keep anyone else from bothering us.

"Both of you are S-ranked adventurers, right? I'm sure it won't be too difficult to train upwards. Maybe if you improve your healing magic, you might even be able to cure Miss Lilia and help her, too. Maybe Rudy would even be King-ranked by the time he turns ten, like his Master before him. It shouldn't be impossible to get his spell knowledge, too, right?" I stated the obvious when I realized that Rudeus probably knew more about magic than our mother does at this point; Zenith paused her development for her children.

"Besides, with all the monsters you fight, I'm sure you would keep getting stronger and more powerful with a bit more effort."

Tanya failed to notice that the adults were staring at her in disbelief; she was saying things that a normal young child wouldn't express with such confidence. She continued her monologue as the adults were wondering what was going on.

"In fact, why won't we go to Roa, learn Sword fighting from Sword King Ghislaine, Magic from Rudy, and prepare for the worst. We would be in a better position to set terms on whatever agreement Lord Philip would want to create if we produce more Advanced and Saint-level Mages and Sword Fighters in the Family. We can still stay peaceful and avoid any of the affairs with the nobles but get strong enough to protect ourselves." Tanya paused for a moment to reposition herself.

Tanya gave a dramatic pose for a two-year-old on top of the table and said: "Speak softly and carry a big stick, we will go far."

As Tanya continued her spiel, the parents were talking to each other.

"She's just like Rudeus, saying things that make me feel like he's the parent," Paul whispered to Zenith.

"I'm just so proud that our kids got their smarts from their mothers," Zenith said as Paul tried to smack her lightly when Lilia nodded at that remark.

Tanya finished her spiel with her parents more focused on comparing her with Rudy. Aisha was the one who broke her off her speech.

"Tanya, I think they're agreeing to what you said. See, they're nodding. But you have to tell me more about whatever this training regime you have is about. I want to learn and get stronger like you and big brother Rudy! Mother always tells me that I should be strong like him." Aisha snapped me out of my reply about the current issue we have.

"I guess little Tanya is right; we just need to work harder and smarter. I like that phrase she said: speak softly and carry a big stick. It seems like I need to increase the intensity of our sword training. Aisha should start joining, too." Paul said with a grin on his face.

Aisha smiled happily as she would have a chance to join her Father in sword training.

Did I just sign myself up for more work?

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Canon Omake: Etiquette with Sylphiette

K 416, Buena, Fittoa Region

Winter came, and I finally proved to Zenith that I knew how to read and write. Aisha wasn't there yet, but she even found her way into the training sessions I had with Zenith. She let me read the Textbook of Magic and told me to study the parts about basic attack spells. She also told me that once I mastered beginner-level attack magic in the four elements, she would start teaching me healing and detoxification magic. She also told me that the notes Rudy left behind didn't make any sense, so she would save her questions for Rudy when they see each other sometime next year.

We were outside despite the snowy winter because we had an ample supply of wood; Paul and his party cut down so many Treants during their hunts that they had enough wood to expand the house, build a palisade around Buena, and have enough firewood for everyone to have hot houses throughout the winter comfortably.

In this case, we had a large open-air fire in our yard. Treant wood was harder and burned hotter than normal firewood, so it was warm and cozy outside. A perfect place to practice magic rather than the fragile insides of a house.

"How about chantless magic? You told me that my older brother could do that. Can you teach me how to do the same thing, too? It would make casting magic a lot easier and better for self-defense." I raised the topic to Zenith now that I saw the book was extremely vague on the topic. "The book says only very powerful mages can do it, but if my older brother can do it, and his friend Sylphie, shouldn't we be able to do it?" I wasn't sure how or when I knew Sylphie could do chantless magic, but I hope it wasn't just from that offhanded remark from Rudy two years ago.

Zenith made a big "doh" face and facepalmed.

"Of course, how could I forget about Sylphie? Rudy taught her how to use chantless magic, and I heard she still keeps going to the hill she and Rudy played at. Why didn't I ever ask her how to do magic that way? I should ask her nicely," Zenith spoke to me with a 'eureka moment.'

Speaking of the devil, Lilia was walking home with an unexpected visitor.

Sylphie hasn't shown herself around the house ever since she fired her spells at Paul the day Rudy was kicked out; she was probably too embarrassed to visit for that reason. However, we see her around town, especially when she goes to Zenith's clinic for errands.

Lilia waved at us as Sylphie gave a shy greeting.

"Uh-uh, hello, Madam Greyrat, hello, Tanya, I hope I'm not bothering you today. I thought you would be at the clinic today?" Sylphie said as she walked towards the house. She looked strangely well dressed for the occasion and even walked in… was that high-heeled clogs?

"I had no patients today, so I decided to sneak an extra training day for Tanya and Aisha here," Zenith said as she looked curiously at Sylphie.

Lilia answered the unspoken question."I am teaching etiquette to Miss Sylphiette. When she will become Rudeus's wife, it will be necessary for her."

"Ara, Sylphie, you want to become the wife of our Rudeus?" When Zenith said this while smiling, Sylphie's face suddenly turned red and thin. Was my mother really alright with setting up another wife for Rudeus?

"Father said that if I wanted to be with Rudy, I would have to learn it," said the little green-haired girl.

Zenith saw her expression and smiled even more. She looked really happy." Sylphie, you really are cute! Yosh, if it turns like this, I will help, too. In fact, before I became an adventurer, I was a lady from a nice place in the Holy Kingdom of Millis."

Was my Mother saying random Japanese expressions? Just what kind of world is this?

"I fled because it was so stifling, but at school, I had good grades and was said to be the model of all ladies," Zenith said with a proud smile.

"I can't imagine it," Lilia said quietly.

"I think so too; she hugs and dolls me up too many times to be a proper lady." I also said quietly.

"Hey! What are you saying?" Zenith scowled at us.

"How about we both teach the three girls about Etiquette today, Lilia? And then brush up on magic with Sylphie, too. After all, Rudy's future wife should be an excellent mage, too." Zenith continued, looking excited towards Sylphie.

Sylphie looked like a tomato, with a red face and green hair. It was entertaining to watch. Ah, the joys of living in a peaceful, war-free land.

We went to the living room, where Sylphie, Aisha, and I were told to stand in attention and watch the lessons from Lilia. Zenith said that she would add her input while observing Lilia.

Sylphie and I were ready for Lilia to demonstrate, but Aisha's eyes were wandering on Sylphie instead.

Lilia caught Aisha.

"Aisha, take a good look; you will have to learn this too."

"Roger!" Aisha did a passable imitation of a salute; she imitated me.

Lilia started by teaching how Aristocrats in Asura greeted each other. She said there were key differences in the way you walk, talk, greet, and eat depending on your social status, age, and gender. There were a lot of things to remember, and it normally took several years, even for a noble child, to learn.

Lilia also mentioned that she used to be a Royal Guard Maid (no wonder she was so skilled) and that she was taught etiquette for Aristocrats and Royals in order to sniff out who was masquerading their positions and find other hidden messages and signals passed around the castle and events.

"We would start with greetings. If greetings are given in the same situation, compared to the commoners who have to bend their knees lower, aristocrats can have their heads higher, but not higher than the royal family who is authorized to stand. In short, this kind of etiquette needs to focus a lot on the middle waist. There are many things that are difficult to keep the posture, and naturally, it requires a great strength of the core."

Lilia demonstrated an aristocratic greeting. She bowed at the hips, keeping her back straight and face level. It was a different demeanor from her usual submissive maid act with Zenith and Paul; her knees and feet were also placed in a reasonably stable position, and she looked like she could stay in place for minutes on end.

Now, the three of you have to do it.

As a hard-working perfectionist, I did my best to imitate what Lilia did. It was different from the bows and greetings I learned in Japan, especially as a girl, yet it was also different from the ones taught at the War College in Berun. Despite getting a minor noble in my previous life, I rarely had any interest or time to join the Aristocratic events of the Empire, especially if I had to be in a stuffy and constricting dress.

"That's right, keep your back straight and fold your hips. Gracefully, never look subservient." Lilia was inspecting Sylphie.

"L-Like this?" The timid girl replied.

"Your back is not straight; your knees are also bent. Pay more attention to your feet... yes, that's fine." Lilia tapped Sylphie's back with a small stick.

"B-But, this posture, it's painful…" Sylphie said as she struggled to balance herself.

"One must suffer to be beautiful... Good, keep this posture for 30 seconds." Lilia said as she turned to me.

"You're a fast learner, Tanya. However, you're as stiff as a board; these aren't Paul's lessons, and you aren't a knight. You are a future lady who needs to show some finesse; unless you truly wish to go through the path of the Sword Fighter, you would need to move more gracefully as you bow…. Like so," Lilia demonstrated the greeting at a more leisurely and less military tempo.

I was too used to greeting military officers quickly; the Kaiser and the Junkers would've been offended if I greeted them like that as a noblewoman. However, they treated me more like a little girl playing as a war hero.

Although I was irritated at the reminder that I was a girl once more, I didn't live long enough to truly experience the inconveniences of a woman that much; the stress, poor diet, and lack of sleep I had, together with my overall lack of size and weight kept me from having that monthly… inconvenience frequently, but I hated the feeling anyway.

I was still in the proper greeting position, holding myself for the last couple of seconds. Aisha was trying and struggling to imitate us, although Lilia seemed to have just given up and told her that it would do for now.

"Oh well, you can learn this again when you're five, but nice try," Lilia said to the disappointed face of Aisha, who tried to bow once more but tumbled forward instead.

"Hmmmm, I don't exactly remember it that way. I'll set an example, so copy and remember it." Zenith interrupted us after looking at us for a couple of seconds.

Sylphie was still holding her bow in place, with sweat dripping off her forehead.

Zenith set down lightly, bent her elbows, and shaped her fingers with the intention of lifting her dress. She lowered her right leg slightly backward and lowered her head to pull her chin. It was so natural it looked like she had kept doing it for dozens of years; that was an elegant posture.

"Wow," Sylphie said with a look of amazement.

I noticed the differences and wondered who was right. It may be a regional difference.

"Hehe, how's that Lilia? It's been a while, but I'm still good at it, right?" Zenith said while smirking at Lilia.

"That... Madam, it is hard to say." However, Lilia had the look of somebody who wasn't impressed. She had a scrunched look on her face, which reminded me of Lergen, complete with the glasses.

"Your feet, aren't they inverted?"

"Aah?" Zenith looked at her feet with a scared face. Her legs were crossed, such as her left foot at the front and her right foot at the back.

"Huh? It's not inverted."

"No, the right foot goes at the front," Lilia said to Zenith.

"That's not the case. I was told the left foot was ahead. Women are supposed to do this, men do it the other way." As Zenith defended herself.

"It is common sense that in all etiquettes, the right foot is at the front. It is to signal a good day ahead; a left foot forward showed hostility and malice." Lilia said matter-of-factly.

"Ah? Was it like this? Hmm, it's been a long time since I have done it, so maybe I forgot." Zenith looked more surprised than anything.

"But the movements were very beautiful. Even when I was working at the royal palace, I had never seen anyone move as beautifully as Madam."

"Isn't it? My mother was a person who rarely praised me, but she praised me on this by letting me free to do what I want." Zenith was a little shocked but nodded with satisfaction.

We continued with more examples of greetings, walking, talking, and even how to sit and eat.

It didn't take long for problems to start appearing.

It was clear as day that Millis and Asura had different traditions and etiquette, but Zenith and Lilia were only talking to each other at this point and ignoring the rest of us.

"Madam, you are mistaken again. Your hand should be placed higher. You are not a commoner."

"I told you, it should be under the navel, any higher, and it would be vulgar and suggestive for a woman," Zenith said as she started jabbing her large breasts. At least I had no attraction to my own family; it was difficult to deal with weirdly conflicting feelings whenever Visha or her friend went too close to me, especially when they stripped their clothes around me.

"No, It should be around the epigastrium like this." Lilia pointed her hand in a less awkward position for a woman of her… assets.

"It can't be!" Zenith shouted back.

Zenith's movements were beautiful, while Lilia's were calculated and utterly professional, but after that, "mistakes" and inconsistencies were scattered everywhere. It was a trivial difference. If they were in public, nobody would really pay attention to it. But when teaching for a lady to learn formal etiquette, they had to agree on what to teach us.

For both Zenith and Lilia, the etiquette they remembered was the right one. And it was quickly turning into a quarrel.

"I'm no longer an aristocrat, and I didn't want to tell you, but Lilia, your etiquette is a little wrong as a maid."

"Could you give me an example?"

"When you're serving the meal, Paul should be served first, you're right, but after that, you serve me second; shouldn't that be Rudeus? Normally, it should be the first son before me. I remember that clearly every meal time in Millis, Father, then Edgar was served first, followed by Mother and then the daughters. It was even stated by Saint Millis himself. He said, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, for the husband is the head of the wife." Zenith said something that sounded oddly Biblical; I barely read it as a Japanese man, but I believe the version in Europa was almost the same, and the nuns at the orphanage forced us to read the Bible every night.

"No, first is Master, then Madam, the guests, and finally the children; that's the right order! The King and Queen of Asura have been doing this ever since the Kingdom was founded; I should know; I served their meals at least once a week! Any noble guests worthy enough to sit at the King's table is served ahead of the Princes and Princesses." Lilia said with her hands on her hips.

Sylphie simply looked grateful to the two who were quarreling loudly over that. She appreciated the break from the difficult poses and unfamiliar actions for the young daughter of a hunter.

Aisha also had an anxious look on her face, not knowing what to do, as she didn't expect Zenith and Lilia to argue about this.

Sylphie looked like she wanted to tell the two to stop, but in front of two adults quarreling with loud voices, her words just didn't come out. She had tears in her eyes, too. Why would she cry over this?

I was about to speak up and stop this embarrassing quarrel when the door opened.

Paul arrived, although I think he had been watching the argument since earlier through the window. I recently learned what caused his awkwardness with Zenith and Lilia.

Ever since he cheated on Zenith with Lilia, he had a weak position at home. Paul looked too worried about breaking into the quarrel between his two wives. But when he saw Sylphie crying, he finally decided to come in.

From Sylphie's point of view, he looked like a savior.

To me, he looked like an opportunist. Frankly, I would've done that myself if I caught Generals Zettour and Rudersdorf in an argument, too.

"Master Paul, you have returned! Excuse me for not welcoming you properly." Lilia turned towards the door.

"Honey!" Zenith called with a conspiratorial smile, hooking her arm around Paul's arm.

"That's right. Honey, from now on, Lilia and I will apologize in a polite manner, so

please take a look." Zenith said as she moved back.

"That's right. Master, would you please allow me." Lilia said with a strange smile; she was also giving alluring looks at Paul.

"What are you asking me so suddenly?" Paul asked; his opinions were usually ignored in less serious conversations at home when his two wives argued with each other.

"Don't be nitpicky! Because you were also an aristocrat, you should know about the manner of apologizing, don't you?" Zenith glared at him, his momentary superiority broken once more.

"Well, if it's only that much." Paul shrugged.

"Then it's all good. Now look." Lilia ordered Paul, who listened to his maid/wife anyway.

Despite Paul's embarrassment, Zenith and Lilia lined up in front of him. Then, alternately, they showed the etiquette that started the quarrel. They both showed the manner of an aristocratic lady apologizing to her superior.

Zenith would have looked graceful to everyone, and they would all say that she wasn't a countryside resident in a knight's house but more of a royal palace; she must be the daughter of a well-known aristocrat. It was obvious that she, too, was a higher noble like Paul, although I never got to find out which house in Millis.

Lilia looked cold and calculated; the movement itself was perfect, and we could see at a glance that she worked at a royal palace before. She, too, would've fit in with the higher nobles with her cold and emotionless demeanor in public. However, she looked like a noble apologizing to another one with her current apology.

"Well, how is it?" Both women asked Paul at the same time.

"Well... it was beautiful. You both were. I could see Zenith was a lady before. Lilia seemed unused to the aristocratic way of apologizing, looking more like a guardian handmaiden. However, she can even apologize to aristocrats. That's amazing."

Paul gave his answer with a full rotation of his chest. This method of complementing them as fairly as possible was perfect for a pandering politician faced with a bad situation in a TV interview. But that was not the best for this situation. The answer his wives expected was not that.

"That's not it! We asked you to tell us which was the right etiquette." The wives angrily told him.

"Both, both are correct," Paul said while awkwardly looking at the floor.

"What are you saying? There's only one way for a lady to apologize properly!" Zenith glared at her husband.

"That's right. Master, no matter how much you neglect to study etiquette, don't say something that would suit both of us. That doesn't make sense." Lilia also glared at her husband.

An awkward pause filled the air for a few seconds before Zenith spoke again.

"Then you can tell which one is incorrect, can't you?" Zenith gave Paul a look that questioned his knowledge of Etiquette.

"I tell you, you are both correct; Zenith has the proper Milis etiquette, while Lilia has the

one from Asura. Isn't it normal that from different countries come different ways of

Apologizing." Paul said without skipping a beat.

I knew it.

To those words, Zenith and Lilia stopped moving and watched each other's faces for a few seconds. They corrected their posture as if they had agreed and bowed their heads with graceful movements.

"Sorry, because of my misunderstanding, I ended up saying terrible things. Would you forgive me?" Zenith said while holding Lilia's hands

"No need to apologize. Even though Madam said she was from Milis, I have not listened to her. I deserve a punishment." Lilia said with a blush.

A few seconds later, they raised their heads while their shoulder started to shiver.

"Huhuhu!"

"Hahaha!"

And they both started to laugh. Seriously, all the adults in my family act like a bunch of overgrown teenagers.

"What was that…" Paul started to scratch his head and suddenly noticed the girls beside him.

"In any case, that must be tough for you to learn from both of them. Do your best, Sylphie, Tanya, and Aisha!" Paul said as he walked towards his room.

"Yes!" We all said in unison.

Thus, from that day, the three of us started to learn both Milis and Asura etiquettes. Sylphie also started joining us for magic lessons.

(More on that next chapter)

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Author's Notes:

I think I made my previous crossover too AU; this would be a lot less far off into the AU. It also means my other crossover would be on a prolonged hiatus since it's too difficult to rewrite and string the plot together properly.

I want to address how, in most media, most older side characters stagnate in ability, I think that isn't always the case and that certain things trigger growth and change. Plus, it helps that Norn is a far easier-to-manage child here, giving Paul and Zenith more time for themselves to grow, too.

A slight AU would be Zenith spending some time each week learning magic from Roxy; I think it was an oversight from Magonote to ignore the fact that Zenith, who really likes magic, would ignore the opportunity to learn from a young and adorable Saint-ranked mage who lives in her house, although the lessons are sporadic.

Roxy doesn't know everything Rudy does, especially since he kept some of his most important magical stuff secret from her, but Roxy isn't dumb and should be able to guess some things.

Roxy struggled with intermediate spells at Roxy gets serious, which isn't the LN, but it's still a Canon manga as far as it doesn't directly contradict LN in my point of view. I think mana growth once puberty hits slows down to linear rather than exponential/geometric growth.

Zenith and Roxy aren't 100% correct with their theory, although they're working on more incomplete evidence than Rudy.

It really doesn't make sense to make Zenith an S-ranked adventurer if she can only do Elementary rank attack magic and intermediate healing magic. She won't be as strong as Roxy or Sylphie in terms of offensive magic, but I'll still make her something worthy of an S-ranked title. Roxy spent decades as an adventurer and still stayed at A-rank until she hit Saint/king ranked, so we have to fix Zenith, whose skill levels are the odd ones out in her party. (Talhand will be adjusted accordingly, too, in other attributes.)

So in this case, Zenith is a very adaptable adventurer, even if her spells might be limited to intermediate, she can adjust the size and speed of the spell (it was noted on a Textbook of magic that spells can have adjusted size and speed, Zenith owns that book so she should know). She might have some advanced spells under her arsenal, but that is to be determined.

Zenith isn't exactly the best teacher, even from the very limited canon material (the Sylphie and etiquette extra chapter) so it shows here. She's nowhere near as grounded as Roxy and would have extremely unrealistic expectations of Tanya. she's not as bad as Paul's whoosh lessons with Rudy, but she's closer to him than Roxy.

Paul also had some character growth after reflecting on how he failed as Rudy's teacher; he obviously taught the people in his Fittoa search and rescue squad something, so there must be some transition where he started improving as a leader and a teacher.

Therese knows all about Rudeus from Zenith, which means Zenith had the means to communicate with each other and the rest of the Latreia family before the displacement incident.

Paul and Zenith thought Rudy learned all his skills from Roxy, and they thought she was a young teenage girl, so they also thought she was a child genius at that point.

I also think Paul and Zenith have the maturity of a teenage couple and that Lilia is the one forced to take care of them, too. Although Lilia is pretty immature too

Operation Pasta is a funny YS OVA about Tanya's African campaign.

Tanya uses feet since the Empire used feet for their distance calculations. I assumed feet and mph are her default measurements due to its use in aerial combat in the LN source materials. However, longer-term calculations would make her use the metric system because Tanya spent the longest time as a Japanese Salaryman. The anime uses Metric while LN uses Imperial, so what I would do instead is use Imperial units when Tanya does magical stuff, but I will set the limits to the (higher) metric system. BUT I may scale magical feats to YS Manga, which is significantly stronger than LN and a bit stronger than Anime; this is just to make the gap between YS and MT a bit smaller.

Yup, monster attacks are already increasing. But Paul is still extremely capable, and all that monster meat is providing a large net surplus to Buena. It's funny that due to the Detox spell haxx and Paul's OP skills, the agricultural town of Buena is a large Net Meat Exporter; Paul is already generously reducing taxes, giving back half the tribute, and overpaying his fellow guardsmen in his small village and things are getting better… for now.

Tanya is also overthinking touki, like Rudy did, except she actually managed to enhance herself in her past life, so she may not be as hopeless as Rudy.

I think it's realistic to assume Paul, Zenith, and Lilia are all overcompensating with their childrearing since they had an "exceptional genius" of a child Rudy, and now they have two more geniuses on the way with Tanya and Aisha.

Sylphie learning Etiquette from Lilia, Zenith, and Paul is apparently canon; no wonder she made it through the Asuran Royal courts. But I added and changed some of the translated dialog to not make it a total copy/paste

Excerpts From

Rifujin na Magonote Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Light Novel) Vol. 1

Rifujin na Magonote Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Light Novel) Vol. 2

Sylphie and Etiquette (MT Anime Short stories, translated by imData but edited by myself)

Mushoku Tensei : Jobless Reincarnation (Anime) Season 1 Episode 4