Re:Beginning: A Job-Filled Reincarnation | Chapter Eighteen: The Fiery Red Head and the Abduction of the Magic God
"When I've seen the death of the woman I loved so deeply with my own two eyes. What else can I do but ridicule my inability and weakness."
—I've been given yet another chance, but that doesn't mean anything. I can't do anything for the people I love; no one remembers me, and the strength I've gained is useless.
Author: Rudeus Greyrat
The sun was already half past the sky above us as I sat looking outside the window. The only thing I focused on was the rocking of the carriage. I didn't pay much attention to the woman across from me, nor did she. Ghislaine was a person of few words. That much I knew.
"I didn't think Paul's kid would be as quiet as you are." She looked at me from where she sat. Her arms draped along the length of the seat she was sitting on. Her face was as calm as ever, but there was a faint hint of a smirk on her lips for some reason.
"Father is rather boisterous, but I don't think you're wrong to think I take after him." Sure, I had my proclivities, but I liked to think I sobered up over the years. Still, Paul and I had an awful lot of similarities.
"So what? You a pervert, too?" The woman's face held a knowing look.
"I hold myself back." The only women I would perve on were those I loved, and well…they're gone now.
"Well, that's good. Don't want you running around trying to seduce the lord's granddaughter." The woman sat there for a moment before she suddenly started up again. "Paul has changed quite a bit, though, so maybe you being like him isn't the worst thing. You're still Zenith's kid, too, so you can't be all that bad." The woman probably didn't mean that negatively, but it was hard to tell with her. She was always so forward and blunt with things.
"I can assure you I'm not like my father…" I looked at her for a moment. "In some ways." Paul was a womanizer, and I was more often than not accused of such as well. The apple never fell far from the tree.
The woman gave a short chuckle, and the silence between us resumed. It wasn't atypical of a conversation with Ghislaine to die. The woman spent little energy on conversation and most of it on her duties. Still, it would be better to have a little bit of idle chatter, considering we're still a few hours away from Roa, but Paul decided to not pass a letter to me to kill time. I guess he thought I'd figure it all out by myself.
What a great father I had.
"So, how much do you know about the job?" Surprisingly, the woman was the person to initiate, but I guess even she probably found the long pause too awkward for her tastes. Her uncovered eye looked at me with a gleam. She probably knew I was being thrown into unknown territory and knew nothing besides what I had heard from Paul before we left. Was this her attempt at being nice? I wonder…
"That I'm to tutor a young lady for five years and that somehow that'll pay for myself and Sylphie's tuition for magic school after." That's about all I could reasonably know without giving off red flags. Ghislaine wasn't brilliant, but she wasn't stupid. She was perceptive, and Paul had never mentioned Philip's name—or anything for that matter…he was leaving me out in the dark this time, wasn't he? I guess he thinks too highly of his son, but I haven't been doing all that good at hiding what I could do. So, I think I could understand where he's coming from.
Of course, my whole ploy of going to Ranoa was just that. A ploy. One, I was using to leave Buena. I never intended my job's payment to be fulfilled. The orb was in the sky above Roa, according to Orsted, so the time of my employment being finished would never come. All that was left for me was to confirm its existence. After that, I'd know what I needed to do.
I left Sylphie back in that village. I wasn't going to return. That goodbye was just that. A farewell with the intention of not meeting again. The thought alone makes me sad, but I don't intend to return there. It's for her sake… That's what I have to tell myself.
"So that's your little girlfriend's name." The woman raised an eyebrow as she hit her open hand with a fist as if she just realized something important.
"It wasn't like that." Did that sound angry? I guess it probably did. "I just helped teach her magic alongside our master." From my point of view, that's precisely what I did. I just taught the girl alongside a mentor who was someone I couldn't match. Then I left a few notes to hopefully round her off and called it quits. I was a slacker of a teacher who didn't deserve a student as hardworking as Sylphie.
"You normally don't go out of your way to work a job for another person just because you can." Ghislaine quipped back to me with an amused smile on her face.
"And you don't typically see a Sword King starving to death on a highway with no money." She looked back at me—a scowl on her face. I probably said too much there, didn't I? I guess all of the politicians I was forced to talk to during the later part of my life ruined what sense of humility I had.
A moment passed, "You know, kid… You're not as bad as I thought." Suddenly, the woman laughed, relieving the tension in the air. Ghislaine had a somewhat easygoing smile as she spoke as she reclined further back into her seat. "Sure, you're kinda moppy and all, but at least you're not that much of a buzzkill and have some spine to ya."
I rubbed the back of my head with my free hand. "Well, thank you for thinking so, Miss Ghilsaine." She stuck her hand out toward me.
"You can drop the miss, kid. We'll be working together." With that, the quiet atmosphere returned, but it didn't feel like there was any more need to talk. Everything that needed to be said was.
There were more things I wanted to ask, but those could be answered later. I'd be in Roa for three years at the end of the day. At least, as long as the orb doesn't explode before its due date. Still, I was in no rush. I could figure out some things later. I had time to. Time that I would use.
A couple of hours later, we arrived at the fortress city of Roa. It was just like how I remembered it. It was still an imposing sight from afar, but when you've been on the Chaos Breaker or set foot in the Silver Palace, this place didn't look all that special by comparison. It didn't mean that nothing stirred inside my chest when I saw it. I hadn't seen this place in decades. I couldn't even remember everything about the place. To think this place will be gone in a few years. It was a bitter thought that I didn't want to think about.
From the window, I could see it—the orb… It wasn't small, but it wasn't as big as it had been before it finally gave way. At least from what I could recall, but nonetheless, it was very much there. Orsted's letter said as much, but I hadn't been able to confirm it with my eyes yet. So, seeing it only filled me with a sense that everything happening around me was real.
No matter what I did, this would all be gone within a few years. It being there meant that the Displacement Incident would happen, and everyone I had met so far in this life would have their lives uprooted… Everything would be destroyed. How could I even stop it? It floated there, completely unfazed by everything. I can't even begin to understand how that thing works. The object hovered there, unmoving, and it would continue to do so until it would finally activate.
For now, I had better worry about the things infront of me. The things that were better to spend my time on.
The sword Paul gifted me leaned against the carriage wall in its sheath. I didn't prefer swords. I'd learned how to fight with my fists from Orsted, so I preferred that style, but that didn't mean I didn't know how to wield a piece of metal. I had to be able to. Instead of anything special, I simply pulled my bag toward me as our carriage passed the gates into the citadel. Of course, we went through the entrance without a fuss or wait period. The perks of being in a carriage from the manor.
I was in safe territory, but I had to be cautious, and it was always better to be safe than sorry. I opened the bag so Ghislaine couldn't see inside it and rummaged underneath my robe and cannon to pull out the Zaliff gauntlets. Ghislaine's eyes lit up a little when I pulled them out and equipped them, only for the armor to cinch onto my arms as I spoke the incantation. Her expression turned to one of even greater surprise.
"What're those?" She didn't move so much as a muscle as she looked at the armor.
"Gauntlets I made. They help my physical strength." It wasn't good to lie to Ghislaine, of all people. She had a nose for liars, and I didn't consider myself the best at telling fibs. Well, I guess the part about me making them was a lie, but they were originally made by Zanoba and Cliff, to begin with, so there really isn't any way I could get around that.
"I see." She didn't seem wary of me as she nodded with a knowing look. She didn't have her eyepatch off, so she didn't even seem to think it was necessary to check them for any magical shenanigans…she decided to believe me. That was good. I'd be reasonably concerned if I saw a boy whip out a pair of magic gloves, but we're talking about Ghilsaine here. She probably thought they were neat and that she could cut me in two if I did anything funny. But I'm sure Paul told her at least a little about me, so she's probably going off her instinct. That's what I was guessing, at least. I should be okay…as long as I don't comment on her intelligence.
"We'll be arriving in a minute." She eyed me up one last time. "Philip's a sly guy, so I'd say watch yourself, but I'm sure you'll be fine." She looked out the window. "You're gonna teach me, so I'm sure you're smart."
Already placing that much expectation on me? I fear I wouldn't meet your standards if I didn't know as much as I did. This beast woman worked in strange ways, but I'd considered her a friend for many decades, so she wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered her being initially. I thought she was more distant, but maybe it was because I'm who Paul felt was an advanced Water God swordsman.
Is this the respect between swordsmen that Eris always talked about? I guess I can't understand it even now, considering I'm still a magician in my eyes. Roxy was a mage, so that's how I viewed myself. It was a connection I shared with her that I didn't want to lose.
"Here you are." A hot cup of tea was placed infront of me with a quiet thud. "The Young Master should be returning shortly. So, if you'll wait here for the moment." The man stepped away from me quietly.
"Of course, thank you." I lifted up the cup to my mouth and sipped the liquid. It had a nice flavor, but that's what you could expect from the Lord's manor.
Ghislaine stood in a corner, overviewing the room as she remained silent. Alphonse was nowhere to be seen, but there was a butler here. Thomas. The one behind the kidnapping ploy. There would be no way to tell he was up to something with a glimpse. He seemed normal and well-behaved, but I'd met many terrible people like him. So I knew one when I saw one.
That would come later. For now, I had to wait.
"Is he in here?!"
A boisterous voice sounded outside the room. It was loud enough to shake the entire manor as the door to the room slammed open. From the other side walked in a middle-aged man. He was muscular and had a big build. Even though he held himself with fiery dignity, you could tell he was getting older because of the grey strands speckled in his dark brown hair. Even then, he was still undoubtedly healthy for his age.
I remembered him vividly, oddly enough. Sauros was the old man I had known when I was Eris' tutor. Sure, he was a loud and brash man, but he was a good person. It felt good to see him again.
"So you're Paul's brat?!" He jutted a finger toward me as if accusing me of something. He and Eris were similar in that way. Always demanding things at face value and such.
"Yes, sir. I'm Rudeus Greyrat. It's a pleasure to meet you." It didn't take long for me to stand up and bow. Of course, I used the Asuran variant. The only person I ever showed my traditional one to was Orsted, but I knew it would only be seen as impolite to nobility. All of the parties Ariel forced me into helped remarkably regarding such moments.
Sauros' face didn't move. He continued to glare at me, but after a moment, he huffed and turned around. "Awfully polite for Paul's brat! You have my permission to stay here!" With that, he left just as he came. A veritable storm of a man. He didn't bat an eye at my gloves. For a second, I thought I would get into trouble by wearing armor. Well, even if he did, it isn't like I could put them anywhere. My belongings were taken away by a maid as soon as I arrived.
"That would be the liege lord of Fittoa Region, Lord Sauros Boreas Greyrat. He's also Master Paul's uncle." Thomas spoke from where he stood. It seemed he sought to fill me in on the details of the man. Of course, I already knew as much. In fact, I likely knew more about the man than the butler did.
"I see." I gave a proper response anyway. It was important to at least act naive in moments like these.
"What's happening, Thomas? The door is wide open." Through the still-open door walked a thin man with sleek brown hair. He wore a deceitful smile and appeared what could only be described as fox-like—conniving, in other words. "I just saw Father, and he seemed awfully chipper. Did something good happen?" The man glanced over at me for a moment. As he did so, he had a look of realization, but he didn't turn away from the butler.
"I'm sorry, this is the Young Master. The Master was just in and seemed pleased with Lord Rudeus." The butler, without hesitation, gave his briefing.
"Ah—if he's a person even Father likes…maybe I've chosen poorly?" Without a word of greeting, the man sat opposite me on a sofa. Even now, I'm sure he's plotting something or another. Philip was always like that, after all, even till the end.
I, yet again, stood and bowed. Nobles loved having their egos stroked in this world. Of course, I didn't have to do much of that for Philip or Sauros, but it was still better to make a good first impression. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir, my name is Rudeus Greyrat."
"Philip Boreas Greyrat." He looked me up and down. "To think Paul's child would know etiquette." He seemed almost stunned at the mere notion of the word. Not that I blame him.
"Mother taught me, and we have a maid who used to work in the palace before she was hired by our family. So I know a thing or two." His eyes never left mine as he nodded slightly.
He reclined slightly as he spoke. "Then, Rudeus, how much do you know about your job?" This question again? Well, I guess it can't be helped.
"I'm supposed to help the Young Mistress with her studies for five years, and then I'll be given the money to enroll in the University of Magic." It was the abridged version of what I knew, but I'm sure Philip was already well-informed about Paul's lack of information sharing.
"Only that much?" Philip let out a quiet scoff. "I guess it is Paul we're talking about here." The man looked to the ceiling briefly, then faced me again. A gleam in his eyes as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Do you like girls?"
"Not as much as Father." That was almost certainly a lie, but I at least liked to think I was tied down. At least, I used to be.
"Then you're good enough." His face seemed to relax.
"I'll have you know I can restrain myself when it comes to a job." I could already tell where he was going with this.
"Oh, I'm sure you can, but you can't blame a father for worrying about his daughter's chastity." He shrugged his shoulders in a lazy motion. "Paul would go out of his way to please any cute girl he saw." That much was very accurate. "But, I guess I won't know if you're any different until I see what you can do."
"No faith in me?"
"None at all, but it's not often when you meet a child good in the sword and an academic." He circled his thumb around the edge of the cup infront of him as he spoke. "It's also been a while since I've seen a kid as conniving as you." His smirk only seemed to grow wider.
That last comment caught me off guard. Did I already mess up somewhere? Was it the mention of my mother teaching me etiquette? "Why would you think that?"
"Your eyes." It was like he was simply stating the truth. "You remind me of when I was young."
"I see."
His grin grew. "Maybe you are someone I can trust this with." He looked at the doorway. "My daughter has only taken a fancy toward Edna, her etiquette instructor, and Ghislaine, her sword instructor." He glanced over to the woman standing quietly in the corner. "She's a problematic girl who's already lost five other teachers. So…any ideas on how to gain her favor?
"The Young Mistress sounds like something alright." I knew how to deal with Eris, but now she was back to being a brat. Something I hadn't needed to deal with for decades. It was honestly a blessing none of our kids turned out like that.
So now I guess the question is how I'll deal with her. "Forge a fake kidnapping; I'll help her return from there. By doing so, I'll show her everything that knowledge can do for her in the long run. By the time we get back, she'll want to learn." The kidnapping strategy didn't go to plan last time, and it probably wouldn't happen again this time, but that was beside the point.
Philip's mouth opened then closed as he thought in his head momentarily. "That may just work." His eyes locked with mine. "Did Paul teach you that for catching girls or something?"
"Father would never need something like that to get a girl to like him." Philip nodded along.
"You're quite right about that. Women would always pile up on him no matter what he did." He stroked his chin as he continued to nod. "But that idea of yours doesn't seem all that bad. Of course, I don't know if it could work until you see my daughter."
"Speaking of dealing with her. How much can I do to deal with the Young Mistress?"
His gaze turned sinister as he looked back at me, but maybe because of how I looked at him, he decided to back down. "Anything short of hurting her."
"I'm a Water God practitioner, so there's no need to worry yourself." Philip nodded his head slightly as he gave a nod.
With that, Philip turned his head back to the butler. "If you'll lead Rudeus to her, Thomas."
"Of course." The man responded with a bow.
Intense. That was the first thing I thought of when I saw her.
It'd been a while since I last laid eyes on her. Of course, this wasn't the person I had known. Not even close, but she was still, at the very least, the person she used to be. Which to me meant I owed her. She was still Eris, even if she wasn't who I had known.
"I'm Rudeus Greyrat. A pleasure to meet you, Young Lady." Eris didn't like formalities, but there was no way I would just forgo the image I'd built up for myself thus far.
She stood there, her feet far apart at about shoulder width, and her arms crossed over her chest. It was the same old pose I'd seen her in countless times. I even felt a smile threatening to surface by just looking at her. "Hmph!" Her head turned upward as her long hair moved slightly from the movement. "He's younger than me, and you expect him to teach me? Quit joking around!" Whatever moment I was having was ruined when she started shouting.
"I don't believe age has much to do with anything, Miss—"
"You got a problem with me or something?!" Before I could even finish speaking, she was already screaming back at me. This was bound to be a fun day.
"No, I'm just saying that even if I am younger than you, it doesn't mean I can't do things you can't."
Her hair abruptly flared upward as if she was transforming. She was getting angry. That much was plain as day. She's still as scary as ever. This Eris would be nothing to the one I knew, but I would be lying if the girl hadn't always scared me throughout my life. She was just intimidating, and I didn't much like intimidating people.
"You're certainly full of yourself! Who do you think I am?!" It sounds mean, but trying to talk to Eris as you would any reasonable person was not the way to converse with her. I was going to get nowhere doing it like this. So, I guess I needed to swallow whatever courage I had.
I took a deep breath and spoke with my resolve firmed. "A girl who's too much to deal with." Her fist clenched. Scary. If you thought she was angry a moment ago, that was just a preamble.
A fist came in and threatened to smash my face. It was a sloppy punch. It didn't have any particular technique about it. It was just a punch, meaning to bash someone's teeth in. In other words, it was a punch I was very used to. I had been hit with that very punch innumerable times in my past life.
I brought my hand up and brushed it aside before it reached me. Unsurprisingly, she was still pretty strong, but I guess I was kind of cheating when I had gloves meant for improving my strength on hand.
She looked at me, almost as if she was offended by what I did. "Don't block my punches! Take what you deserve!" Yet again, she threw another, and I blocked it again.
"And what exactly do I deserve?" Even as I spoke, another fist came flying in. She didn't seem to think about giving me any breathing room.
"You're younger than me, and you talk back to me!" A leg came up, and I brushed it away. "That's more than enough reason!" Her fist swung back toward my face, and I pushed it away again.
If I knew one thing about Eris, she'd pay me back tenfold if I took a swing of my own. That was something I wanted to avoid. "Just stop moving already—"
"That's enough, Eris." A voice from the doorway called out. It was Ghislaine. "Your footwork is all wrong. You're not gonna land a punch on him like that." She didn't seem to mind the fact that I was being attacked all that much, but I guess that could be expected. I did notice Ghislaine glance in my direction, though.
"I can see Paul wasn't wrong about you." Was blocking a couple of punches really all she needed to validate Paul's words? Well, I guess seeing it firsthand is better than hearing it by word of mouth, and it wasn't like Eris was particularly weak for her age…she also probably didn't think much of Paul's words anyway.
"But, Ghislaine!" The little girl suddenly let up. Her face still practically screaming with rage whenever she glanced my way.
"Don't even start with me, young lady." The next moment, Ghislaine approached us, grabbed Eris, and dragged her out of the room. "You'll miss your sword lessons at this rate." That seemed to calm her down somewhat. Only somewhat, however.
"I'll come back for you!" Before they were out of eyesight, Eris yelled at me one last time. Her eyes still burning with rage.
That line was reassuring. If not foreboding.
Ghislaine looked, a slight nod and a thumbs up before she exited with the thrashing girl in her hand. Did Ghislaine just throw me a bone? She never did anything like that last time.
The butler in the corner looked at me with a look I could only see as admiration. "I'd like to go see Philip. I have my answer." He nodded, and with that, my first meeting with Eris had concluded with me only making her hate my guts.
So I guess it wasn't all bad. I'm not here to make friends at the end of the day.
"So, what do you think?" Philip sat infront of me. A look of satisfaction on his face.
"I can probably manage." His smile seemed to grow with my response. Either he was surprised that I would willingly throw myself into the proverbial fire that was Eris' tutor, or he was hiding how he felt about all of it. It was probably a mix of both.
"Are you sure?" He cocked his eyebrow. "I mean, I've never seen anyone get out of their first meeting without getting punched at least once, but I'm sure you could do anything else." Was he trying to help me out…? Nah, definitely not. He was just an overprotective parent and didn't want Paul's kid near his daughter. Understandable honestly. I'd have done the same thing.
"If I run back home now, Father will only make fun of me, so that isn't an option." That was only an excuse, but I'm sure Philip didn't really care. "If I can, I'd recommend my plan from earlier."
"The kidnapping ploy?" He rubbed his chin as he thought it over. "If you believe it'll help, then sure."
"Suddenly feel like being generous all of a sudden?"
"No." His gaze was cold but held something like recognition somewhere in his face. "I just want to see what the child Paul keeps lauding can do."
"I guess that means I can't disappoint."
"I suppose it does." Quiet fell between the two of us shortly after he finished speaking. There weren't often times between us that were quiet like this from what I could remember. To be fair, I hadn't had many moments with Eris' family. If the Displacement Incident hadn't happened, I'm sure I would've gotten wrapped up in politics, but I'm sure the Boreas family would've all appreciated having me around.
Still, I'm happy with how it turned out in the end. Because of the mana disaster, I grew as a person, and from then on, my life started to change. Some problems came up, but I managed to deal with them.
I had a life that I was happy with.
"I'm sorry you had to wait so long." My breathing hitched as I remembered that nightmare. I could feel my body quaking now. The mere notion of living a peaceful life made my body seize up.
"You okay?" The only thing that dragged me out of my mind was Philip's voice. He had a questioning look in his eyes as he gazed down at me.
"I'm fine." I placed my hand over my heart as I breathed in and out.
No matter what, I couldn't allow that sight to come true.
"Let me give you the details about what I have planned." Without missing a beat, I continued. Philip, on his side, just looked at me for another moment, then deftly nodded. I could see Thomas perk up a little in the corner of the room after I spoke. It looks like I'd be having to deal with him again.
When I woke up, my head was throbbing. It almost felt like someone took a baseball bat to it… Which someone probably did.
"Isn't one of the mantras of kidnapping to not damage the merchandise?" My voice echoed back into my ears. No matter where I looked, it was dark, and I couldn't move my hands. "Yeah, why not shove a little boy in a box and tie him up? Nothing could go wrong." I deadpanned to myself as I incinerated the ropes binding my hands.
I pushed the lid above me and slowly crawled out of the box. I was met with a dark, damp cellar when I looked around. It was musty, didn't smell the greatest, and had heaps of thrown-away armor piled in a corner. It was very much a space where you would put kidnapped children.
Besides my box was another just like it. No sound came from it, but I could tell who was in it.
Without making much noise, I stepped closer to it and lifted the top off the box. Inside was a girl who I'd met just recently. The same girl who'd come at me intending to bash my face in. Eris Boreas Greyrat.
"Hey." I tapped her on the shoulder. My past self might've thought this was a good time to do something nefarious, but all I saw in the girl infront of me now was someone I needed to protect. "Hey, wake up." I shook her slightly, and her eyes fluttered open slowly.
Her face went from drowsy and confused to thoroughly enraged at the sight of me. "What the hell is—" I put a finger over my mouth and did the same to her.
"It looks like we've been kidnapped. Try to be quiet." She looked at me for a second, then without any regard, she shot up without warning and ran toward the door.
"Ghislaine! Ghislaine, where are you?!" Her shouting was loud. Loud enough that whoever had us captured could most certainly hear. "Ghislaine! Ghislaine, can you hear me—"
"Pipe down you fucking brat!" The door Eris was screaming at was kicked open, sending her flying back toward me.
"That hurt! I'll clobber you!" The man had a big build. Certainly, no one you'd find appealing, and he had a specific stench that only made you turn your head away.
"Shut up, you stupid brat!" His arm came up, and a fist met Eris' face. It was a sick sound. One I didn't want to hear.
Even then, I stood still.
The punch's force sent Eris flying as she landed a few feet away from where she had stood with a thud. "I'll tell grandfather about this—" She lurched forward after she had made contact with the ground. The anger in her eyes was real and burning, but the man was already standing over her before she could get up and retaliate. Then, he started stomping on her without a second thought.
"Just shut up already!" I just stood there and watched. Unfortunately, I left my gauntlets in my room in the manor. It wasn't like they'd let me keep them anyway, but even without them, I knew I could take this guy down. The only reason I didn't move was because I knew Eris needed this sort of wake-up call. That was what was saving this man. That was the only reason he wasn't already dead.
His beating stopped as a whimper left her lips. He looked down at her almost as if admiring his work, and a second later, spit flew out of his mouth toward her. "That oughta teach ya." With his point made, he turned toward me next. His gaze was annoyed with a twinge of anger. A fist came down on me a moment later, but only once. "Depressing little shit." With that, he left and slammed the door behind him.
"Asshole." I spat out the word in a whisper as I went over to Eris. Some of her teeth were knocked out, and a good number of her bones were probably broken. However, even though she could barely breathe, she kept whispering about getting revenge. Typical Eris, really. The only thing atypical was that she was beaten by a couple of nobodies, but that could be excused. She wasn't the person I knew.
I reached out to touch her, and she winced. Anger flashed through her face again, but it was pointed at me this time. "Stay still; I'll heal you." With a quick incantation, her injuries faded and closed.
By the time I was finished, she was already trying to stand up, only to fall back down. "What's the deal? I'm still injured over here. Heal me all the way!" Her breathing was ragged, but the only response I could give her was a decline.
The truth is I healed her for the most part. I couldn't have her screaming her head off right off the bat and getting herself killed. "If I heal you, you'll just start yelling again…" I knew that if she could, she would. "Ghislaine can't hear you from here, so that must mean we're far from Roa if I had to guess, and anyway, if you knew how, you could just heal yourself."
"But that's why you're my tutor—"
"I haven't been hired yet because a certain person didn't like me. So I'm not obligated to give you my aid." That was a full-blown lie, but I wasn't about to admit to that.
She winced at herself as she propped her body against the wall. She was still in pain, but I'd seen the girl shrug off getting her arm cut off, so I'm sure she'd manage the discomfort. Right now, I just had to focus on sticking to the plan.
There were only two exits to the room. The door in which our kidnappers lay behind or the bared window in our room. Obviously, that meant that the only logical exit we could take was the window. No matter what, I needed to show Eris that violence isn't the only solution. Of course, it solved a lot of things, and I knew she wouldn't abandon that idealogy, but as long as I could get it into her head that it didn't mean everything, I would consider this a success. "Now, if you excuse me, I don't intend to die today, so I'll be taking my leave." With a quick burst of magic, the stone around the bars crumbled. Letting me slip through.
"Don't leave me here!" Her voice, while pained, was still loud. Which only meant one thing.
"I said be quiet, you brat!" The man's voice called out from behind the door, but as soon as he was going to bash the door open, I blockaded it with stone. "What the hell?! It won't open!"
"What do you mean?!" Another man's voice flitted through the air. From everyone else's point of view, two grown kidnappers versus two children was a settled matchup.
I was hoping Eris would realize that as well.
"Well, I'll be leaving now." I started to leave as I threw the bars that were once securing the window onto the ground. The pounding on the door only grew louder as I did so.
"Don't leave me here!" She wheezed as she clutched her side. She was in no shape to move, but even now, she settled on demands.
"If you listen to me, I'll help you. But promise me you won't yell. I don't want you getting us caught."
"I don't have to listen to you—"
"Can you really get back by yourself?" How long was it going to take her to just give? I can't imagine it being that hard to say a simple please, but we are talking about Eris here.
"I'll take care of this." One of the men spoke in a low tone. Then, the slamming stopped a moment later. It looked like they were going to make their entrance.
"Can you promise that you won't be violent or shout?" Her face twisted in annoyance, but I saw fear flash in her eyes as she looked back to the doorway. There were two straightforward options she had. It was either swallow her pride or die.
"I promise not to be loud." So she swallowed her pride… Good job, Eris.
"Good. Let's get out of here."
"X-Healing." The green glow from my hands disappeared as the spell ended.
After I was done, she stretched her arms, ensuring everything seemed in order. I knew it was, but she still seemed to be a little apprehensive of me since I hadn't healed her all the way the first time.
"Good! This'll do!"
"Didn't you just promise to be quiet?" I whispered back. I wasn't worried about the kidnappers finding us, but the entire point of this plan was to prove a point… Well, if push comes to shove, I'll just kill the men. They hurt Eris and intend to pawn us off to Darius after all. So they were enemies in my eyes, at least.
"Why should I have to keep a promise to you?!" Great, she's right back to how she was acting. I guess removing the tsun from the dere is more challenging than I thought. Well, I did just meet her today. Or I guess now it's yesterday, considering it's past midnight now.
"If you're gonna be like that, I'll just leave." It wasn't good to push her buttons, but she understood when she was grandstanding a little too hard. "Good luck." Without so much as another glance toward her, I started walking away.
"Hmph!" Her arms were crossed over her chest in her usual defiant pose.
"Where the hell did you brats go?! Get out here!" Distant shouting was all that could be heard throughout the streets of our town. I don't really understand why you'd be shouting if you're looking for kidnapped people, though. Wouldn't that betray the purpose of trying to find us? It's not like we'd willingly return to them after all that.
"F-fine. I'll be quiet—a-and I won't hit you." Eris spoke in a hushed voice. It seemed the yelling had gotten to her. She was still a kid, so I'm sure the beating she got was something she wasn't going to forget anytime soon. Hell, I'd be pissing myself right now if I didn't know what was happening—and wasn't secretly a hundred-year-old man in a child's body.
"I'll do my best to get us back to Roa then. Just stay close. You never know if they're—"
"Come on out, you brats!" The voices, which had been distant, had suddenly become closer. Close enough that they'd see us if we weren't careful.
"Eris! In here." I pointed toward an outhouse. It was our best option to avoid them. It wasn't like they were going to check a toilet for children.
"S-seriously?" She didn't seem to like the idea, however.
"Yes, seriously. Quickly!" Even though I was whispering, it was hard to not feel my heart in my throat. The entire situation was something I hadn't been in a lot. Most of the time, it was me doing the talking and manhandling, but now I was on the run from some kidnappers. Hell, at one point, I did the kidnapping, but that was beside the point, and the circumstances were completely different.
I pushed Eris inside and closed the door behind us. A minute later, running was heard outside. "They can't have gotten far! Keep looking!"
"I swear to god, if they are, I'll gut them!" That was the bald man who stunk to high hell. It didn't sound like he was all too happy at our escape.
"Don't forget we need one of them alive." The other sounded more reasonable, but it wasn't like I would go out there and try to diplomacy my way out of the situation.
Suddenly, I felt a tug at my shirt. It was Eris. Her body was shaking. She must be afraid. Their footsteps grew distant a moment later as they ran off in another direction. "We should be fine now." With a gesture, I opened the door, and we exited.
When we exited, she seemed to get a grip and let go of me. "You good now?"
"Pff… Why wouldn't I be?!" Irritated, she shouted. Only to cover her mouth in a worried fashion.
"You're fine." It was good that she took her promise seriously, but she was probably more worried about herself than anything. "First, we need to find a carriage, then somewhere to stay for the night."
"W-we're not going back to Roa?" She seemed even more worried about that thought.
"There's no way we can make it back before morning, and even if we could, no carriage would be willing to bring two children to Roa in the middle of the night." She didn't seem to like the idea of staying in some place that wasn't her home, but she was going to have to suck it up for one night.
"Come on. Let's find a carriage to figure out fare to the next town over." From what I could tell, we were roughly a few hours away from Roa. We're probably around two or so towns away from the city. So we'll need to manage our finances for the time being. Sure, I probably could've taken a magic crystal from my pouch, but it wasn't like anybody would have enough money to exchange a crystal for coins in some rinky-dink village.
"Whatever you say." She seemed out of it, probably from her drowsiness and adrenaline rushing through her body. I, however, was fine. That was perhaps the only reason she was willing to listen to me.
We walked through the town for a little bit. It was obviously quiet. Only a few people were up; if they were, it was either by pure happenstance or they had some business they needed to take care of.
"Do you see that?" I pointed toward a wage sign. It simply stated the fare for a coach ride to neighboring towns.
"I can't read." The way she said it almost made me laugh, but she sounded so seriously irritated that I even asked the question that I held back.
"It's a sign for the fare to neighboring towns."
"And why do I need to know that?"
"It's important if you're ever traveling to be able to calculate your money and be able to finance properly. Reading is a core skill necessary for that."
"Calcu—late? Can't you just do it for me?"
"I've still not been hired by your father, so I'm afraid I can't." Eris gave me an uneasy look. "Today, however, my hand seems to be forced."
"Why do you talk like that?" Her expression, which had seemed to sour over time, now had its usual annoyed appearance.
"Like what?"
"Like Father." Did I talk like Philip? I guess he did say something like that when we spoke, but seriously? Maybe it's because I usually tried to sound like a conman whenever I did any sort of public speaking. Or perhaps it was just my inner schemer coming out.
"My parents have always called me a little weird."
"Did they also say that you always look sad?" Her tone was harsh and derogatory. It seemed she wanted to poke fun at me a little.
"A couple of times."
"I see." She stopped speaking with that said. It seemed my answer caught her off guard. It wasn't like I hadn't noticed how my attitude affected Paul and Zenith. It was apparent that my being there made them more and more worried for me. That was another reason I decided to come to Roa, even though I had no intention of going to Ranoa.
"I get what you're saying, though." One of her eyebrows raised as I said that. "Honestly, you probably won't need to know how to read. You'll probably have someone who can do it for you."
"That's what I was telling Father. I don't need a stupid tutor or anything. All I need is the sword—"
"I'm sure you'll become a great swordswoman, but even Ghislaine has had problems in her adventuring days because she didn't know how to do math or read."
"Even Ghislaine?" Did she really think that a brolic woman could do anything?
"Yes, even Ghislaine. Actually, that's another reason I'm here. I'm supposed to be teaching her as well… Magic as well, of course." Eris' attention perked up a little.
"Magic? Why would she need that?"
"Well, it's never bad to be able to light a fire or make water to drink whenever you want." She didn't seem all that interested in that aspect. "You want to become an adventurer or something when you're older, right?"
Her eyes grew wide. "Uh, yeah—I do, but it's not like Mother or Father will let me—"
"I'm sure Philip would let you if you convinced him. It's not like a noblewoman to practice swordplay, to begin with, so maybe that's what he's aiming for." I knew that to be a fact, but I could tell from the look in Eris' eyes that she didn't. Instead, it looked like I was almost piecing the puzzle together for her. "I can tell you'll make a good adventurer. But there's bound to be a time when you'll need to know how to read or do some math. Otherwise, you'll eat monster dung in the middle of nowhere."
You'd think after hearing that, the girl would be reeling with disgust, but instead, it seemed I only piqued her interest even more. "That's a story Ghislaine told me, by the way." The girl beamed with even more excitement.
For a moment, I forgot that we were on the run from kidnappers. It felt like I had returned to the days in Roa. The ones where I would chat with Eris about things and have Ghislaine tell us stories.
I'll wait for you, okay? So make sure to not make me wait too long. You know how I am when it comes to that. An image of her flashed through my head. An image of Eris laying infront of me. Her grey-speckled red hair flowed over her shoulders.
That was the last time I saw her. Those were the last words she gave me before we fell asleep together that night.
"Rudeus, you okay?" The girl next to me shook me violently with one hand.
"Sorry, I was… I was spacing out." The image didn't leave me. It wouldn't. That one stood out most prominently, like everything I've failed to do. My unfulfilled promise to her. To the girl infront of me.
"Don't do that! You gotta help me here!" Yet again, she shouted, but this time, she didn't apologetically cover her mouth.
"Sorry." She nodded along, seemingly satisfied with my answer. I guess I was just a pushover no matter the life.
"Thanks for earlier, though." She didn't meet my eyes as I looked back at her.
"Earlier?" Like how earlier? When I was blocking her punches or something? That was just me trying not to get brain damage at the tender age of seven.
"The whole adventurer thing." She was uncharacteristically quiet. "No one's said anything like that. Not even Ghislaine." She fidgeted, almost as if she was uncomfortable by just standing where she was. "S-so, thanks."
The ever-rare Eris, thank you. I'd have to commit this moment to memory.
"Stop looking at me like that… I'll hit you!" And she was back to being the same old Eris I knew. So much for the pleasant moment. I was just starting to get Christina vibes.
Not that I'd ever see that adorable little girl again… I paused for a moment. I've got to stop remembering everything. This is no time to get sentimental, Rudeus! Let's just finish this up.
"Let's go and get someplace to stay. I'll take care of the money."
"Umm, sure." With a little taken aback motion, Eris followed me.
Finding a place to stay wasn't all that hard. What was hard, however, were the beds. Or, I guess, the hastily put-together straw mats they just happened to call beds. By the time I woke up, Eris was still sitting, fidgeting. It seemed she didn't get much shut-eye, but I didn't get much myself. My body could handle operating on little sleep. That didn't mean I didn't try to get adequate rest nowadays, though. I was a growing boy, so every bit of sleep I could get was more than welcome.
We set out without delay, only a short time after I woke up. At one point, a couple of cloaked riders passed by our carriage. Other than that, it was an uneventful couple of hours.
When we arrived back at Roa in the early morning, I knew that was when the real fight would begin. My sense of time for the travel was off, apparently. My estimate of a couple of hours literally meant two. So we arrived at Roa right before the crack of dawn.
Travel time didn't mean much to me, considering I could probably just fly there in a fraction of the time it would require anyone else to get there by horse.
"We're almost there, Eris." You could see the manor from where we stood. It wouldn't be much longer till we were at its gates.
It was then that he appeared in front of us. Carrying a lantern while looking particularly shady. It was Thomas, the butler from the manor. In hindsight, this was so painfully obvious that I'm surprised Philip hadn't already dealt with him, but knowing the man, he probably assumed he could get some blackmail in some shape or form on someone else by leaving him be.
"You're from the manor!" I knew they were here. Watching us from the shadows in the alleys adjacent to the street we were on. The detection magic I had made that all the more apparent to me. They were just waiting for their opportunity to strike.
I started running off toward the man, and with a sigh of relief and a brief stagger to her step, Eris followed, but before she could say anything, she was hoisted up and stolen in a split second.
I looked back just in time to see her red hair dart into an alleyway. Needless to say, I gave chase.
When I got to where I saw her, I could see the two men's backs clear as day. Eris was draped over one of their shoulders as they ran away. This was the part I had been waiting for. Everything depended on this. They turned a corner, and I followed. By the time I got around, they were closer than they had been. It seemed Eris wasn't making their job any more straightforward than needed. That's good. It made my part a whole lot easier.
I shot magic through my legs as I forced an earthen wall to form infront of them. The two stopped abruptly infront of it. They looked around for a moment. An annoyed tone painted their voices as they turned to face me.
"What is it, brat? You could've just gone home if you stayed put." The longer-haired man looked back toward me as he drew his sword.
"Let go of me—" She covered her mouth before she could finish yelling. It looks like she intended to keep her promise to me even now. Though, honestly, I wouldn't mind her yelling in this scenario. Ghislaine would come running if she did, and I wouldn't have to get my hands dirty, but it was a good sign that she decided to trust me with this.
The man holding her drew his sword and put it up to her face. An open threat he didn't intend to go through with. "Let the girl go." With an open hand, I formed a fireball. One I had every intention of launching into the air as soon as I thought the time had come.
"I can't do that." A voice spoke from behind. It was Thomas, the butler. Who could've guessed the guy was working for the bad guys all along? "The little Lady Eris needs to go somewhere for me." The look in his eyes was most undoubtedly sinister.
He had a cocky smile on his face like he had everything figured out. Something about it made me just want to punch the guy. "What? To Darius, no doubt?" His face shifted to confusion a moment later. It looks like I caught him red-handed.
"It looks like you're better at magic than I thought. How about you join us? We'll give you a cut. I'm sure a kid as bright as you know money's value. If you're even a kid, that is, and not some halfling pretending to be one. People always look down on you guys, so a little money could never be that bad, right?" He sounded desperate. I guess I could understand why. They were on their way to a big payday, and they weren't running away right now because a boy had a fireball pointed at them. They were getting antsy. It wouldn't be long before the sun fully rose.
"A tempting offer." There was only one option for me here.
"That girl has only given me trouble since I started working at the manor. She'll only give you trouble after you become her tutor." Thomas clearly had some kind of vendetta he wanted to settle. Eris tended to be violent. Unrightfully so most of the time, but that was how she was. Unfortunately, someone as gullible as him had become employed under the Boreas.
"If you understand, you should raise your hand slowly." The guy infront of me kept waving his sword everywhere. He was trying to defuse the situation so he could cut me down. I'd seen the look in his eyes hundreds of times.
"I do…" I slowly raised my hand to the air. "I understand that there are some things that money can't solve."
"Cut the crap!"
"It's not crap." I looked him in the eyes.
"What?!" He was pissed now. It wouldn't take him much longer to come charging at me.
"No matter how much money I have, it won't do anything for me. It'll never bring them back, so our discussion here is done."
"Huh?!"
Without another word from my mouth, I released the fireball in my hand into the sky. Catapulting it above the rooftops and having it explode in a flurry of colors. It was a distraction and an alert to Ghislaine. Still, the primary purpose of it was to blind everyone in the area.
I, however, was ready. I started to run toward the two swordsmen. Typically, I'd hold back, but this time wasn't the same. They had a hostage I needed to save, no matter what. One that I wouldn't mind killing to get out of harm's way. "Not so fast!" The man who'd been speaking to me was the first to react to me. He was still too slow.
I only used two Earth Lances… That was all I needed. I placed them right beneath the two men, and a second later, the earth shot up from the ground like spears.
In the next moment, the two men were impaled as I caught Eris from falling onto the ground. I glanced back, and I saw them. They were dead. No doubt about that, but this wasn't my first time killing someone anymore. I wasn't the same person back when I came to this world. People in this world would kill people for no good reason and do it without remorse. While I couldn't do that, I would if it meant someone I cared about being hurt. This fell under that category.
"You good?" I looked at Eris. Her face was still mesmerized by the sky. She always said how much she liked the look of fire magic, after all.
"I-I'm fine." She pushed herself off of me. We were safe now, so I guess that was only to be expected.
"W-what?" Thomas, however, seemed to be at an utter lack of words as he stumbled backward, falling onto the ground behind him.
A moment later, I heard a deft thud behind us. It was Ghislaine. She got here faster than I thought she would. "Ghislaine! Ghislaine!" Eris immediately ran over to her as fast as she could. All that energy she had from yesterday came right back when she saw her sword instructor. I could understand why. Just looking at Ghislaine gave you a sense of courage in a way.
"Is this all of them?" She nodded her head towards the bodies. I didn't bother to look at them. I didn't particularly like to see bodies.
"Yeah, those were the two that kidnapped us." I turned my attention to Thomas. "It looks like he's the one behind it though." She nodded her head.
"You know, I came to look after I saw that explosion, but I guess you had it handled." She looked down at me and offered her hand.
A handshake? I guess I wasn't in much of a position to refuse. "Paul really was right about you after all. Good job." Eris looked at the two of us. A look of bewilderment in her eyes. Maybe this would raise her opinion of me a little. As long as she'd listen to my teaching, I didn't much care for anything else.
"You can fill Philip in on the details back at the manor." The woman nonchalantly looked at the bodies and then at the still frozen-in-place Thomas with disinterested eyes.
With that, the night of the kidnapping came to an end.
"Eris!" Philip came rushing out when we were back inside the manor's walls. "You're back awfully late…" He ran over to Eris as she slouched down onto the ground. Her legs gave out from underneath her. She hadn't slept last night, so she was probably utterly exhausted. Philip looked at his daughter's tired expression and then back to Ghislaine and me. "What happened?" His tone came off as threatening. The kind of threatening you wouldn't want to figure out entailed.
Without a word, Ghislaine threw the hogtied Thomas forward infront of Philip. "Lord Philip, it isn't how it looks! It's all just a misunderstanding!" He must've known that he just sounded desperate.
Philip looked at him for a moment. Then back to Eris, and after another moment, he spoke. "Take him away." With a nod to Ghislaine, the woman moved and grabbed him again.
"Lord Philip! Lord Philip!" Thomas screamed as he was taken away. I had no doubt some kind of torture probably awaited him. Most likely execution as well, but I wouldn't pry into those matters.
"Eris, are you okay?" Philip reached out toward his daughter as Ghislaine walked away, only to be swatted away by her hand.
"Our promise was only until we got back, right? So I can talk now?" She seemed thoroughly fed up with everything that happened.
"Of course." She didn't look back at me as she walked off. She was undoubtedly angry at me, but I could sense she was slightly grateful for what I did. Or maybe that was just me hoping for it all to end well.
I had gone about what I previously did in a fairly identical way, but I still felt like something was different. I was worried that, for some reason, I'd change something I didn't want to. That I'd do something I would regret.
Without missing a beat, Eris turned around and assumed her defiant pose. "I give you special permission to call me 'Eris'! Special permission, understand?!" She was awfully dramatic for something so small. At one point, I even called her by name, but maybe she'd already forgotten that. It was best if she did. I didn't want to be on her bad side.
I looked back at Philip, who gave me a simple shrug. "So you mean it's okay? I can work here?"
"Hmph!" She turned away from me.
"Thank you, Lady Eris."
"No 'Lady'! Just 'Eris'!" This was the same, wasn't it? The same way it had all happened before. It's been so long that I can't even begin to remember how this all played out, but for some reason, this felt right. Like I was on the right path. I'd rather use formalities to keep my distance, but I knew she'd just hit me if I didn't, so I guess I had no choice.
At the very least, my meeting with Eris didn't go poorly. She was safe, and that's all that mattered to me.
Now, I just had to make sure Eris would be strong enough to face anything. Even alone, but that would come later. For right now, I had to teach her how to read.
That was an entirely different monster.
That day, I became employed under the Boreas family in Roa and officially became Eris Boreas Greyrat's tutor.
Author's Note: Another Monday, another chapter. Finally, we've arrived at Roa. Everything is going well so far, but who knows how long Rudeus can keep up the fake smile without drawing attention to himself. This chapter is my second longest right beside chapter two, so I'm fairly happy with how it turned out. Of course, I'm sure everyone can realize that most of the things turned out how they did in canon, but I didn't really see the need to change too much about the kidnapping.
As always feedback is greatly appreciated.
