Author's Notes:
Thanks to LugawAlchemist for the Beta work. Check out their fanfic "Mushoku Tensei: Reclaiming My Birthright in Another World" for an interesting MT AU dealing with politics and worldbuilding.
The omake at the bottom is a non-canon omake made from Wardrobe_Magician and Jungle Cat (AO 3 profiles) requesting to make a Geese X Roxy story. Enjoy it at your own risk.
Check betaorionisff on IG for fanfic art "Tanya's Mindscape" and "Tanya being lifted by Sauros".
Chapter 6: The Mad Duke of Fittoa
Part 1: Inner conflict
K 417, Skies Over Western Conflict Zone
Tanya Norn Greyrat
"If the youth are going calmly to the killing fields, an adult should at the very least go along to lead them." - Anson Sue, O Fatherland, Long may you live.
I needed space; the endless cycle of activities, planning, and working to get utterly exhausted was only a temporary reprieve.
I even lost my composure when I forced Paul to let me fly to Roa. I was confident in my flight skills and navigation abilities, so that wasn't the main issue of my flight. Still, my emotional stability was approaching levels closer to a post-Type 95 exposure.
It seems like my current body had problems dealing with the emotional stress of destroying the camp, fleeing over hundreds of kilometers in a grueling daily schedule, and killing monsters far more dangerous than those around Buena.
Who knew Dinosaurs existed in this world? The first time I saw it, Paul so casually just called them a Karen, short for Karentosauros. It gave me weird thoughts of a middle-aged white woman who demanded to see the manager but on a giant lizard.
Still, it made me more reflective of my past lives; my first life had a lot of mental complexes and emotional problems underneath my supposedly calm exterior.
My second life felt like I was given a blank slate; while I had my past existence as a salaryman imprinted on Tanya von Degurechaff's body, it made the previous complexes and emotional problems fade and subdued.
Instead, I had random impulses where I was more dramatic and vain than in my first life. I would never have danced and twirled around my office after getting a promotion or salary raise at work, no matter how drunk you'd get me.
Despite the few years I've experienced, this life was like driving a tank through an emotional wall. My emotions and feelings would take a little longer to arise, but it was far more difficult to suppress when they rose.
To add to all those problems, ever since I spent so much mana in one day, memories of events I never knew before kept filling my head; a great deal of it was even more nonsensical.
I know the Type 95 took away a lot of my memories during combat and corrupted my actions in battle, but these other suppressed memories made me wonder if I lost even more of my second life.
One vivid example was all the experiences I had with good food and meals that I never remembered before, like the celery root soup Visha made for my colds or the nice meal I shared with Lergen where he even appreciated my support for the war, even the time I wanted to have wine with General Von Rudersdorf. Still, he changed to non-alcoholic juice at the last minute.
However, I also didn't like the idea of grated cheese and honey stuffed up my nose as a folk medicine for my colds. Or the time I wanted to go to the chocolate appreciation party, which Weiss even went to, but ended up in a room full of sweaty, muscular men as their mascot.
It added a lot more to the culinary memories I had from my life in the Empire, where I assumed I mostly ate K-brot, ersatz coffee, and the awful meals supplied by the military command. If the generals themselves ate those disgusting meals at their opulent dining hall, everyone below them ate just as poorly. It probably explained why I was a lot more interested in food in this current life, or perhaps Norn's mind and body just cared about food more than Tanya did.
But even more unbelievable are the memories of being sent to yet another world to a Japanese-styled high school of all places. I was surrounded by fantasy characters surrounding "normal Japanese men" who were also sent to another world; if my new memories served me right, I was even friends with an Undead Skeleton of all things, a fellow Salaryman from the future who suddenly found himself in a very different body from his original one.
We even had a short trip to one more world where we dealt with even more people sent to another world, including an Imperial who turned into a Unified States spy. More ridiculous memories flooded my head, and I reached a breaking point.
While flying at a cruising speed of a little over 300 mph, I blacked out for a moment and woke up in a bright conference room.
Tanya's mindscape : Check betaorionisff on IG
My first thoughts were about my situation in the air; I was roughly over 30,000 ft, cocooned in my warm air spell, cruising at speeds that would match a slower passenger plane of my first life. It was guaranteed to be an 8-hour flight from East Ars Fort to Roa, and I was merely in my first half hour.
The back of the conference room was a confusing haze, an explosion of magic and emotions that I didn't want to stare at.
It was disconcerting that in front of me was a screen showing I was still flying past the mountain range. It seemed like my body was going on autopilot, and an overwhelming urge to look at the figures around me made me turn around.
I saw Tanya on one side, wearing her Imperial uniform, a slightly older version of Norn on the other side, crying beside me… She's reminding me that we miss our family… Would I have to grow up and face two sets of female teenage emotional and mental turmoil? Or three… As I looked to the corner.
Was that Visha and Lergen? What are they doing here? They looked a little different and quite fuzzy.
I looked at myself; I was back as a Salaryman. A little scruffier than usual, looking more like I came out of a company karaoke night than fresh for work. I didn't even wear the same clothes I had when I died; I looked more like a fresh college graduate than a mid-thirties worker. But I didn't dwell on that/
I was a salaryman facing an existential crisis.
I felt like a Salaryman, yet I also felt like everyone else in the room. We are now Tanya Norn Greyrat.
Worldlessly, we knew what the other figures represented.
I was the core being, the experiences of three decades of life in modern Japan and the foundational basis of our life experiences. With all the complexes and worries, all the passion and adult activities, there was a lot that got glossed over when Being X messed with my mind multiple times.
Tanya represented our second life, at least a large portion of it, growing up as an orphan, joining a war at a young age, and dying barely past thirteen. Despite the shortness of that life, Tanya had a lot of powerful and, admittedly, traumatic experiences, many of those locked away or corrupted by the Type 95's side effects.
Those effects were fading, although Visha and Lergen still looked fuzzy and glitchy to me.
Visha represented the happier parts of our life in the Empire, all the happier memories from my life in the Empire that Being X tried to erase. I couldn't believe we had the time to enjoy meals with Lergen, Visha, and even her friend Eyra, the men of the 203rd, all the way to the Generals themselves. That kind of self-reflection made me understand why they cared more about me. Even the time I mistakenly joined the muscular men competition instead of the chocolate exhibit was funny in hindsight.
Being X tried to detach me from the people of my second life, to make me view them as nothing more than expendable meat shields and stepping stones. Taking away all the camaraderie and joy of having a healthy working relationship with my fellow workers and bosses. Trying hard to isolate me and make me rely only on him. That was exactly the same tactic abusive partners do to their victims.
Granted, I would still treat most other humans around as assets and statistics.
Lergen, on the other hand, was still quite fuzzy but also a mystery; he represented a strange another set of memories.
It seems that I spent several years magically transported into a high school and forced to comply with the rules and regulations of that place. What's even more unbelievable was that my closest subordinates from the 203rd and Colonel Lergen were transported along with me. The principal and vice principal, Generals Zettour and Rudersdorf, were even more shocking, although they never explained to me how that situation even happened in the first place.
There were more details, like the fact that we were a hodgepodge of groups that had one Japanese man sent to their world, although myself and Ainz stretched that definition nowadays.
I looked at the last person in the room…
Norn looks slightly older than our outer body but is still clearly shorter and smaller than even Tanya herself. She looked stressed and worried and was probably burdened by the weight of her past lives and the crisis facing our current life.
We could feel that she was the main representative of this life, the addition of Norn's stubbornness and determination, her loyalty to her family, and her desire to make an independent and successful life. She was forced to mature early and hopefully would survive the weight of the upcoming challenges.
What would we do with these unlocked memories? We didn't know yet, but we agreed to work together for our ultimate goal.
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Meanwhile, in the Fittoa Refugee Camp on the same day.
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Alphonse was overwhelmed; he was a man of many connections and talents and managed to gather enough workers and supplies to start a refugee camp in the former city of Roa.
He was fortunate enough to appear on the Boreas Mansion grounds in Ars while intelligent and observant enough to witness, even for a second, the destruction of Roa before he was teleported.
He was assigned to scout and rebuild any damages to Roa by an irate and distressed James Boreas Greyrat.
However, as Alphonse traveled through Fittoa towards Roa, alarm bells rang in his head.
None of the towns in Fittoa exist anymore.
Despite all that, he managed to reach Roa in only two weeks, although the refugee camp supplies were heavily depleted due to the lack of towns and trade.
Even livestock and trees were gone, and forests were damaged beyond repair. As a silver lining, monsters were also erased. Even patches of grass were missing as the fields were stripped bare.
All that was left were open fields of damaged grass and water. As well as the heavily damaged ruins of Roa. Virtually nothing worth salvaging from the once mighty city that was the last bastion of humanity in the Laplace war. It seems that even the Emperor-ranked walls and barriers, supposedly made by the sacrifices of thousands of humans during the Laplace war, couldn't resist the disaster.
He was forced to buy overpriced and limited supplies at the nearby towns that weren't removed from the map.
He had already sent back fast scouts who could reach Ars in three days of heavy riding and were due to arrive at the head of a supply train three weeks from now if Lord James responded to the urgency of the situation.
Another problem occurred today.
Lord Sauros arrived at the refugee camp with a group of adventurers and a girl around Eris' age who appeared to be a recent addition to the party. While his presence is a welcome addition to the demoralized group in former Roa, the circumstances of his arrival were not.
"Alphonse!" Sauros' loud voice boomed across the entire refugee camp.
Alphonse ran towards his liege while the rest of the camp bowed at attention to the fuming Sauros, the Duke of Fittoa, and the father of their employer, James Boreas Greyrat. His reputation for aggression and beating up those who didn't listen to him was well known in the capital.
"What happened to my city?!" Sauros boomed. "I was in the middle of writing orders in my office when a flash of light entered the room, and I woke up in the middle of Milbots with nothing but my clothes and my letters. I thought the Notos Greyrats heard my declaration of war right after Rudeus' birthday and kidnapped me in the middle of the night." Sauros' voice was loud enough for the entire camp to hear.
Since most of the camp worked for James and came from Ars, this was news for them. The liege lord of Boreas Greyrats declaring war on the Notos Greyrats was a serious matter and one that must be reported before it caused more problems in the capital.
It was a poorly kept secret that James wanted an excuse to spy on Roa, particularly since Philip was starting to get more difficult than useful for his plans. Philip was indispensable so far in dealing with Asuran intrigues outside the capital, but his poorly disguised ambitions to take over the leading heir role from James always kept him as a threat.
The severe look on Alphonse's face reminded even Sauros to shut up and take a look at the workers around him. He realized those were not his workers at all.
"We can talk about this in private later; I think your adventurers are waiting for you." Alphonse reminded Sauros as he looked at the adventurers.
"Ah, yes. Alphonse, I promised to pay these adventurers 25 gold coins upon returning to Roa safely. Due to the upheaval, adventurers from nearby regions have hiked their rates. I had to pay this B-ranked party S-ranked pay because nobody else would take me at my word. Those Milbots adventurers must have been corrupted by Pilemon." Sauros casually ordered Alphonse to deplete the emergency funds of the camp, which were strained as it is due to unexpected supply expenses at the Fittoa border.
On the other hand, Sauros was still the lord of the Boreas Greyrats and could write an order to withdraw tens of thousands of gold coins from the Boreas Greyrat fortunes in Ars, even though that might make James even more likely to plot against his father.
Alphonse took 25 gold coins from his ever-shrinking treasury and a payment form to acknowledge payment for job completion. Most adventurer parties are honest when reporting payment for fulfilled quests, but this crisis situation made Alphonse more cautious than usual, especially when he had to report all significant expenses to James and now Sauros.
Alphonse walked towards the groups of adventurers; their leader was a man with long shoulder-length hair, wearing a gray scarf and brownish-red robes. He also has a surprisingly large magic wand; although it wasn't as large, fancy, or intricate as Rudeus' staff, it was larger than a normal B-ranked wand.
"I just need the party leader's signature and the party name on this form, and I can release the 25 gold coins," Alphonse told the party.
"Why do nobles have to do this? Don't they trust us commoners?" The younger girl commented. She got elbowed by the older woman.
"Shhh, not everyone gives a B-ranked party 25 Asuran Gold coins as a reward; of course, they'll need proof to acknowledge payment and Timothy's magical signature from his adventurer's card on the form." The older woman told her.
"Besides, Lord Sauros was even kind enough to offer us more opportunities once he declared war on the Notos Greyrats. Don't take it out on his chief servant." A green-haired man spoke loud enough for Alphonse to know he wanted him to hear it.
"Lord Sauros, just what kind of mess did you start here," Alphonse muttered to himself.
Counter-Arrow filled out the form and received their 25 gold coins before moving to the side of the camp; they were waiting for any orders from Sauros for at least another two days before going back to Senos in the Milbots region.
Before Alphonse could take a proper break, he heard Sauros shout and point towards the center of the camp.
"Philp wasn't making things up! That's Paul's kid flying to our camp!" Sauros shouted for everyone to hear.
People stirred from their tents, and even Counter-Arrow moved closer to the center to look at the legend come true.
The Flying Greyrat was here, and she was just a tiny little girl. While Philip did his best to suppress the loudmouthed merchants and traders who saw Paul's child fly around with her elven friend, those who knew enough about their circumstances put two and two together, but legends got mixed up enough that Rudeus took undue credit from his sister for the "Flying Greyrat" title… although James' servants wouldn't know even that much.
Tanya Norn Greyrat landed in the middle of the camp and looked towards the quickly approaching Sauros. She gave a formal and proper Asuran noble greeting, the one Zenith and Lilia debated about all those years ago.
Asuran Nobles greet each other by putting their right hand on their chest and bowing their head slightly.
"Lord Sauros Boreas Greyrat, I am Tanya Norn Notos Greyrat, daughter of Paul Notos Greyrat." Tanya spoke with far more grace and elegance than her cousin, who was almost a decade older than her. If people didn't see her, they would assume a princess spoke to a crowd rather than a slightly ragged-looking toddler whose clean clothes were betrayed by its currently thread-worn look.
These were the effects of traveling for several weeks with only the same clothes (magically washed and dried) through a rough environment. The fact that these were Rudeus' old clothes didn't help either.
Tanya held several letters out and gave them to Sauros with a bow.
"I have messages to give you from your son, Philip Boreas Greyrat, as well as messages from my father and even from your retainer, Sword-King Ghislaine." Tanya continued her formal approach, although her image was suddenly changed in front of the awed camp.
Sauros lifted her like a little kid. Or rather, more like someone picking up their pet cat.
Tanya being lifted by Sauros : Check betaorionisff on IG
"So well mannered and refined, too! How did Paul make children like Rudeus and Tanya?!" Sauros ignored the flustered expression on Tanya's face as he lifted her up like a grandfather playing with a toddler.
"She's just as adorable as Eris too!" Sauros said like a proud grandfather, ready to spoil another little granddaughter.
Sauros was also happy to hear that Philip, Hilda, Ghislaine, and even Paul were still alive, even though Tanya flying all the way here to inform him was unheard of.
"Did you see how she flew to the camp? All she needs to do is cast a few Saint-ranked spells at the military forts in Milbots, and we could beat the Notos Greyrats before they knew what hit them." Sauros continued to carry Tanya around like a certain monkey, showing off a lion cub.
Scattered cheers came from the camp; the loudest ones came from a young girl with her adventurer's party. Some quiet gasps were heard, too.
"E-excuse me, Lord Sauros, I believe it is only proper to discuss and read the letters in the master's tent. We prepared it for you and would highly suggest that you bring Paul's child along." Alphonse saw a grateful look on Tanya's face when she was spared the public humiliation of being treated like a small child. As well as the awkward proclamation of Sauros' plan to use her as a trump card in the upcoming Boreas-Notos war.
She struggled with one measly mercenary camp a few weeks ago; she didn't have the same city-destroying power Rudeus had.
Loud shouts and laughs were coming from Lord Sauros' tent for the rest of the day.
Endless rumors and gossip from James' workers traveled faster than Arumanfi himself.
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K 417, Roa refugee camp
Tanya Norn Greyrat
Lord Sauros played the part of a loud fool well in public. He almost fooled me with his display outside the camp.
While I questioned his sanity over declaring war against another equally prestigious noble house, it seems like he also made some sense in hindsight.
While the Fittoa region is presumably gone, with people teleported to random parts of the world, the Boreas house was surprisingly well-preserved.
James Boreas Greyrat, the heir-apparent to the Boreas house, had most of the relevant family members in Ars, as well as a staggering sum of gold and businesses.
He even had the support of the powerful First Prince of Asura.
On the other hand, the Notos Greyrats were barely holding together in the Capital.
Pilemon Notos Greyrat, Paul's younger brother, took over the Milbots region at only nine years old after mysterious circumstances led to the sudden death of his father, Amarant Notos Greyrat.
The Notos Greyrats spent large sums of gold, giving gifts to powerful nobles under their house, as well as unfavorable concessions and tax breaks, which led to their current impoverished state, at least for a great house. Pilemon also likely barely had control over any of his noble's forces and resorted to keeping a mercenary company active to train his pool of soldiers at Senos and his garrison at the East Ars Fort.
They even had the weak second princess as their patron, who was an unpopular choice because of her overly familiar approach to the masses and merchants.
Alphonse was a very well-informed assistant to Sauros and filled me with additional relevant information that Philip and Hilda were unable to talk about during my two weeks with them.
I had a short break to rest and clean up after my prolonged flight before I had a longer conversation with Lord Sauros. Thankfully, nobody batted an eye at my hastily erected earth fortress tent, perfected after two weeks of intense travel.
Only Sauros and Alphonse were present in the tent as we started our meeting.
"Tanya! Tell me, just how did you defeat the Senos Rats two weeks ago? We need whatever you did once we start our campaign!" Sauros boomed across the table.
A large map covered with figures looked crudely like the old military maps I had seen during my time in the Empire.
Sauros read the letter from Philip, which explained the circumstances of his rescue, although Sauros probably wanted me to explain what happened in more detail.
"I created a massive stone projectile that I used as a platform with my father, flew upwards with it until I reached past 10,000 meters, and then accelerated it downwards as fast as I could, flying away with Paul with only half a second before impact. It was extremely difficult and risky to attempt, but a mere advanced spell wouldn't be enough to damage the Senos Rats camp." As I explained, I created a tiny stone figure which represented my movements.
I explained more about the operation and subsequent rescue as Sauros questioned my actions, he must have a great interest in all things combat related.
Sauros looked impressed.
"Impressive; while I never heard of a Saint-ranked spell that can do as much damage focused as what my son said in the letter, it would be impressive to deploy against the Notos levies once they form. Now, if only we can get your older brother back so he can cast a Saint-ranked spell again." Sauros grimaced at the thought.
He already shed a few tears when he found out that neither Eris nor Rudeus were with our party, although he had already given instructions to Alphonse to send an urgent S-rank mission to retrieve Eris, Rudeus, and even the other members of my family.
Rescuing Eris or Rudeus would give the lucky adventurers 10,000 Gold coins each, while finding any of my family members would get 1,000 Gold coins each, a massive sum for anyone and a large boon given because of Philip's promise to Paul.
"I may only be an aging advanced Swordfighter who hates sitting in front of nobles and other useless people in the capital, but I get my blood flowing whenever I get the chance to fight! This was what I wanted to do as a Boreas Greyrat! If only James was as ambitious as Philip, or if Philip was as brave and direct as James, I could've given up my seat already and started a mercenary company full of hot beast women and fought in the conflict zone."
"I even had half a mind to give up my hopes for combat and throw away my fortune to help the victims of this disaster in Fittoa and die a poor saint, but the best way to solve this is to get resources and lands from our unworthy southern neighbor. Your actions, together with the others at the combat zone, are restoring my faith in the family affairs."
Sauros paused for a while and then added.
"Although I am starting to favor Philip again if he manages to pull this off. James has been too dismissive of me ever since I left the capital. Doesn't he know who still holds the purse strings of this family?"
I nodded, not wanting to add more fuel to the fire.
"Anyway, back to what I want to tell Philip. I want him to use Ghislaine and call the debt the Markien Mercenary Country has to her. At the same time, I'm willing to tender a downpayment worth 20,000 gold coins to hire their services for a three-year campaign, with a monthly salary of 5,000 gold coins. I would've spent this much on the Boreas levies anyway." Sauros handed me several letters.
"We need them to storm the East Ars Fort and take it from the Notos Greyrats. That's the only way we can connect our groups directly." Sauros continued.
"Unless you can carry a thousand troops past the fort and into Roa…" Was the uncomfortable question he raised towards me.
"Unfortunately, no, I struggle carrying my group of four for more than thirty minutes a day, although my mana is gradually increasing, and while that's more than enough to cross the East Ars fort, eventually, the Notos Greyrats would notice troops behind their supply lines." I bluntly explained I learned from my past life that not explaining my limitations directly would lead to more work piled on me.
Sauros had a disappointed sigh but nodded. "Well, I shouldn't expect a little girl to carry a man in the first place, let alone a thousand of them. My wife would've hit me on the head if I made my daughter carry me."
Sauros looked at Alphonse and barked more orders.
"Alphonse! I'm taking the elite Boreas guards from Ars; they'll form my core unit on this side of the continent. Let's hire some landless knights and wandering mages, too. Grab the latest crop of unemployed mages from the Ars College. And try to contact Rudeus' old master, whatever her name was, she was a Saint-ranked mage, right?!"
I stepped up to correct him.
"Actually, Roxy is supposedly a King-ranked mage now, and based on the letters my parents forwarded to Rudeus, she was working at the Shirone Kingdom as a court mage; maybe you can start from there." I helpfully added.
"Why did Philip decline her in the first place? That short-sighted idiot could've hired that young girl to teach him or Hilda magic or even use her as a court mage. I would've gladly paid her two gold coins a month to get a mage of her rarity alongside Ghislaine. He was too focused on getting a tutor for Eris to notice her combat potential."
Sauros was frustrated as he said that.
"Aren't we worried that the Notos Greyrats would attack the poorly defended Boreas assets in the capital if you take away the elite guards from Ars?" I asked Sauros, pointing out a problem posed by an overly aggressive and risky opening maneuver.
"As an inter-house ducal war, both houses are restricted by law to keep open fights within their borders or outside of the Asura kingdom itself. While most people would consider this bleak, empty piece of land that is now Fittoa, I see an opportunity that most houses would never have in a war." Sauros pulled out his sword and cut a nearby piece of firewood a dozen times at blinding speed.
"We don't have to defend anything; we don't need to stay in any location. We can advance and fight like free mercenary companies and destroy enough towns and cities to get Milbots so unstable that Pilemon would have no choice but to comply with my demands. I'll let that miserable weasel live as a vassal in a small town, but Rudeus would make a fine ruler of the region, a perfect bride price to pay for Eris' hand in marriage." Sauros chuckled.
He was right; with most of our assets safely kept in Ars, and protected by law, all we had to do was hire an army willing to follow our orders and invade Milbots lands. All the missing people from Fittoa would take a significant amount of time before they would arrive here, making them and their defense a non-factor for the near future.
"Moving our forces without regard for commoners to defend would let us blitz through Milbots lands. The excess monsters running wild around Milbots should also keep them even more vulnerable right now, and the fact that the minor Milbots nobles defy their weak ruler to the point that they do not send their troops outside of their own fortresses is a sign that Milbots is ripe for the taking".
I continued to let Lord Sauros speak because he looked like the kind of man who wanted to hear himself speak.
Could I do it? A blitzkrieg strategy in a fantasy world of swords and magic? Nobody ever talks about logistics in fantasy settings, Narnia worked on a talking Lion who was just as meddlesome as Being X solving their problems, while Lady Eboshi from Princess Mononoke was unfairly villainized for being a rational person who made the most use of ignored and marginalized assets.
"A brilliant strategy, Lord Sauros. I believe that we can lead a well-trained and coordinated army to march much faster and further than any pursuing force assembled against us. We would also have enough firepower to destroy any local defenses and resistance and leave before any amassed forces attack us. Long-range bombardment combined with Aerial attacks to wipe out localized resistance, and our soldiers fighting on the ground and cutting down anyone who stands in their way. Standardizing orders and communication is also a must, and a large supply chain is also needed for a prolonged, high-speed campaign, as foraging would be difficult under these circumstances." Tanya stopped as Sauros slapped his hand on her tiny back
"Unbelievable! You also have a keen military mind! Are you a reincarnation of one of our old heroes? Hahaha, I'm just kidding." Sauros laughed as he poured himself some wine. "While some people would call your tactics as utterly dishonorable and downright evil, battles don't start the moment the figthers clash in battle, humans lost many of the early encounters against demons in the Laplace war because of that kind of stupid thinking. Mercenaries nowadays only stick to pitched battles with swords just because it makes them look like they're working, but it's the least harmful way of fighting each other while limiting damage to property and less durable people."
"You know what, I'm half-tempted to make you take command of the mercenaries in the conflict zone. Paul may have a good head for running his village guard, while Philip is a devious schemer, and Ghislaine is a powerful fighter on her own, but you have a natural eye for battle. If you keep it up, I might just make you command my personal forces when you grow up and get too old to run around the field." Sauros stretched himself, making loud cracking noises as he pulled.
"But I'm not an old geezer yet! HAHAHA." Sauros laughed as he slapped Alphonse's back with an audible thud.
"Take over the East Ars Fort with the Markien Mercenary group helping out; my forces would meet yours on the other side of the fort in 30 days. I will send an adventurer's party to the northernmost town in Milbots, Oppo, and they will receive any messages you intend to send to me. It would be inconvenient for you to fly too deep into Milbots territory to find us for messages fruitlessly. Update them once a week." Sauros opened the tent flap and pointed at a group of adventurers around a wagon at a vacant side of the camp.
"They're the Counter-Arrow, a B-ranked adventurer's party, and they brought me here safely. Apparently, their youngest member has problems with Pilemon's style of ruling, and the rest of the party was also unhappy with how the disaster has been handled. They're willing to receive and send messages for us, and you can easily find them through the Oppo Adventurer's guild. Try to keep your flying discreet and walk to the town." Sauros waved at them, and the party waved back.
I gave an awkward smile in return.
"Yes, Lord Sauros. I will do my best to deliver these messages discreetly. Besides, who would suspect a cute little girl to be anything but trouble. Although I believe that 30 days is too short to prepare a mercenary company to the standards, I believe it would be necessary to blitz through the fort and into Milbots territory." I said, trying to stall for more time. While I made a thesis about highly mobile warfare in my past life, it wasn't made with Renaissance-level supersoldiers in mind. I also needed to undo the years of mercenary tactics when I needed more regimented and large-scale maneuvers in order to make the most out of our highly mobile warfare. Even mages in my past life had far more standardization from their basic training onwards, despite their varying magical prowess and skills.
"Well, find a way to deal with it! We don't have all the time in the world to let Pilemon levy his troops or organize his nobles. They'd have far more troops than what I can hire if we let them get together. We should destroy various pieces of their armies before the group together into something larger."
He had a point. I needed to think about it quickly and plan something with Paul.
"Yes, sir!" I saluted out of habit.
"Hahaha, I suggest you sleep here and leave right before dawn, replenish your mana reserves, and then send these messages back to Philip and Paul." Sauros dismissed me after that.
It was a different experience working for someone who had effective control over the military and political aspects of a war.
My previous life had central command do a delicate balancing act between military objectives and political will.
Lord Sauros was both. He had political, strategic, and tactical objectives and the power to demand it.
I was caught off guard and was unable to voice my opinion as much as I would have in my previous life.
Although I lacked the benefit of training in this type of warfare, I only achieved as much as I did in my previous life due to my military interest in 19th to 20th-century warfare, as well as months of military training, and even the chance to make a thesis on it before higher-ups started paying attention to me.
Now, without those benefits, I was forced to agree with relatively sensible orders and prevent myself from faltering with an uneducated guess.
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I woke up several hours too late; the sun was high above me, and I felt lethargic. This was the first time I slept more than 6 hours over the past two weeks. Was this a result of my young body's craving for sleep and rest?
I needed to fly back as soon as possible. I was several hours late, and Paul told me that the longer they waited for me, the more likely the Senos Rats would be able to get us. Ghislaine's actions and reputation were enough to draw more attention and gossip too in the town
Sauros was nowhere to be found by the time I went around the camp; he was supposedly off to Ars for his plans, while Alphonse told me that I was clear to leave at my earliest convenience, a subtle reminder to me that I had to leave already.
It was a boring flight on the way back, although with the later timezones, I ended up landing on the same field in the forest I took off from yesterday.
A strong pair of arms grabbed me when I was unaware, and all I saw was a blur as my body was carried at extreme speeds towards a house in the middle of nowhere.
I was planning an emergency magical attack while preparing my flight plan. I needed to find Paul and the others, or else I'd be forced to go back to Fittoa empty-handed.
A frantic minute of rough traveling made me regain some of my senses, and I saw who exactly was my kidnapper….
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A strange family reunion
K 417, Red Dragon Lower Jaw, Six weeks after the displacement
Laws Dragonroad
"Sylphie, are you just going to sit around letting him protect you forever?"
It was Ironic that after all the months I spent motivating Sylphie to work and study as hard as possible to make her less dependent on Rudeus, and here I am… Helpless and dependent on someone else's goodwill.
Despite all the hard work and effort I put into reaching Advanced North God style fighting through Paul's help, I barely survived landing in a forest full of Vampire treants and all the other assorted monsters that filled it.
The next six weeks were the hardest I had ever experienced, and if it hadn't been for all the training I had, I would have died halfway through. At least I had enough Elf blood in me to never get lost in a forest.
In fact, if it wasn't for this dwarf, I might have been left crippled in the forest. He saw me struggling at the edge of the forest and pulled me towards his camp.
"You're lucky I learned how to do a beginner healing spell after my party disbanded years ago. You're even luckier that I have a soft spot for elves, too." The dwarf harrumphed as he set up a campfire beside the makeshift bed he made for me. He was surprisingly close, too, placing his bed right beside mine. I guess he believed in sharing body heat with the injured.
While my injuries weren't that crippling, the lack of sleep, food, and safe drinking water has left me with barely any energy or means to reach civilization alive.
The dwarf man was rough around the edges but seemed awfully nice to me, reminding me a lot of how Zenith cared for the injured.
"Thank you. I wouldn't have made it out of the forest alive if you hadn't rescued me. I am in your debt. While my family may not be the wealthiest in the village, my commander can compensate you for all your help. My name is Laws, Laws Dragonroad, I guess, but I haven't seen my Mother in over a decade."
The dwarf choked up and turned red at the mention of my name. Don't tell me he was one of my mother's partners at one point.
He saw my reaction and scoffed, shifting slightly further from me. I guess he does have a past with her. Do I have a half-sibling from him and Elinalise?
"Of course, the rare elf I see on this side of the world has to be related to that woman. I'm Talhand, and before you make any assumptions about myself and your mother… No, I wouldn't sleep with her even if she offered me a hundred gold coins." The grumpy dwarf replied.
"For old-time's sake, I'll take care of your injuries and bring you somewhere safe, but then I need to fulfill another favor for my other old party member. It seems like that scumbag Paul Notos Greyrat lost his family and that his wealthy relatives from the Boreas Greyrat family released a massive bounty to return his children back to him." Talhand spat as he said the Notos Greyrat name.
"Imagine a thousand gold coins each for Zenith and her daughter and even Paul's other wife. We're near the southern entry point to Asura if you want to join the mission. I think an elf would be useful for their search and rescue." Talhand offered his hand to me, which I took since I was also curious about this mission. It was a ridiculous sum of money; while I knew Paul's uncle liked him, I didn't expect him to spend this much on his nephew's family. A thousand gold coins is enough to build a nice mansion.
"And to top it off, his ten-year-old Saint-ranked water mage son, Rudeus, has a TEN THOUSAND gold coin bounty, as well as the Boreas princess, Eris Boreas Greyrat. That crafty Lord Sauros clearly favors Paul if he goes this far to value his family. It seems that Rudeus is to marry Eris Boreas Greyrat and that his upcoming consort, a part-elf named Sylphiette, also has a thousand gold coins as her bounty; she can supposedly,"
I interrupted Talhand as my fatherly instincts flared up.
"WHO SAID SYLPHIE IS GOING TO BE RUDY'S CONSORT! I never agreed to that; nobody even told me anything; how can she be promised to a boy without her Father's blessing?! Is this what my wife was hiding from me whenever she was with Zenith and Lilia? He's gonna imitate his father and bring in more and more women to his household if he already has two women intended for him at the AGE OF TEN!" I realized I was shaking the poor dwarf as he was red-faced in front of me.
"Of course, Paul's spawn would be stuck with Elinalise's descendants; imagine my surprise. You all deserve each other." Talhand said with a loud groan. Talhand also shifted away from me as if he was disgusted by my being even further.
Wait a minute, he's a dwarf and knows both Paul and Elinalise…
"Are you from Paul's old party? The one he… uhmmm... Left behind?" I broached the awkward topic
"Yes." Talhand paused as he clearly didn't want to explain further. "Now, as much as I wouldn't want to associate with any of her children, I believe you're highly motivated to at least find your daughter. Gold is gold; if you're still up for it, we should temporarily form a party and do this quest together. We should also recruit more party members. What are your skills?" Talhand asked professionally.
"I'm an expert archer, Advanced North God style; I could also fight with swords and daggers as needed, although I prefer relying on my dexterity and agility over getting hit." I explained to Talhand.
"You're the exact opposite of your mother; I hope it runs deeper than that. I think we can get along." Talhand patted me at the small of my back, a little too low, but I guess he was too short to easily reach my shoulders.
Why did I shiver uneasily.
.
.
.
.
After a long day's walk to the nearest town with an adventurer's guild, my weary eyes saw someone I didn't expect.
"Talhand? Laws? Is that you?" A beautiful face approached me and squeezed my cheeks.
"Damn it, Mother! I'm not a child anymore! You made that clear when you left me behind." I slapped away my mother's hand. Elinalise left me as soon as I turned fifteen and found a job at the adventurer's guild, barely leaving more than a necklace and a nice bow and arrow set that eventually broke by the time I went to Buena.
"You know how difficult it was growing up with me. I let you go so you wouldn't deal with the problems I made. Besides, if you're a man now, why are you whining. Man up and help me find that deadbeat's family." Elinalise pulled me up from my tired slack and pinched my cheeks again.
I'm Paul's age, so why is she treating me like a child?
Then again, almost everyone is a child to someone hundreds of years old, but I don't want to remind my mother about her age.
"That deadbeat's family also includes your granddaughter, old woman... Sylphiette:" I couldn't resist prodding at her age.
Talhand barked a deep laugh at the Elf's expense while Elinalise turned red.
"You're still young enough for me to turn you over for a spanking for saying mean things about your mother!" She growled at me.
"Although, A granddaughter? I haven't seen one in ages, not that any of your siblings ever admit to being related to me as the years go by. Even though I hate Paul, I should go and try to save at least my own flesh and blood. Let's party up!" Elinalise's personality took a full 180 after she thought of my precious daughter.
My wife should be able to handle herself; she's the smarter and cleverer one between us; if anything wrong happens to her, she can probably go to her father and cry for help. Unless she already did.
Talhand and Elinalise reluctantly decided to party up, although I dreaded being their mediator in the future. They forced me to be their party leader, and I feel like an unwanted child in a couple that broke up years ago.
Their constant arguments every five minutes made me wonder why they even wanted to take the job? Were they that desperate for money? Was it a point of pride? Did they owe Paul and Zenith that much? I think it was a mix of all three and more. Although I couldn't deny the benefits of S-ranked adventurers with me.
I saw another familiar face at the door… Wasn't that Rudy's old teacher, Roxy? I remember she gave us a lot of advice and helped to deal with Phie's bullies before.
"Mister Laws? Is that you? Are you also looking for the Greyrat family? Of course, why am I even asking? Your daughter is missing, too. I owe the Greyrats a great deal for the two years they took me in. Can I join your party?" Roxy called me out.
Well, I can shift the responsibility to her. She's going to mediate these two overgrown and ancient children for me.
"Of course, you're definitely welcome to join us!" I jovially accepted, and even registered her name on the card before she could think twice.
She wouldn't know what would hit her.
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Non-Canon Omake: Just following orders
Geese x Roxy
K 423, Begaritt continent
Geese Nukadia
Hitogami appeared to me in a dream
He told me that this little woman holds the key to his destruction, he told me that her seed is the one who would vanquish him and that he ordered me to stop it by all means necessary. He promised me wealth, riches, and finally, a path to all sorts of power, with the agreement that he would NEVER BOTHER ME AGAIN.
I racked my mind, thinking of anything; how could I eliminate Roxy's child without dying instantly?
She was a King-ranked mage, and the rest of the party was extremely strong. I was barely able to fight off anyone who was intermediate level, and that was with decades of experience and all the subterfuge I knew.
I had to assess all the skills and abilities. What could I do to take Roxy away from the equation without my imminent death?
I was pretty hungry and hungover when I thought about it, and I prepared breakfast for the party.
As usual, everyone loved it when I made a meal. Even the ever-irritable food critic, Rudeus, found my cooking to be the "best in the world," as if that little kid knew true cuisine. Although I heard from one of his tales, he made even a tall, skeletal man running a restaurant in the King Dragon Kingdom cry in shame. As if he could make the Death God cry in shame.
Roxy broke my reflection by asking: "Can I have another helping of this dessert? I really love your custards. It reminds me of the good old days in Millis when I saved up my salary to go to this bakeshop."
She looked at me with such an adorable face; if I didn't know she was "the enemy" of the lord Hitogami, who I sarcastically worship, but I acknowledge his overwhelming power...
I might have given her a try; I mean, Paul gets all the women that passed our way before, and nobody pays attention to the small, weak, normal-looking monkey-man Geese.
Talhand doesn't care because he wants hot men who don't get swayed by Elinalise; they're secretly best friends because they point targets at each other.
"I would marry a man that would rescue me from a labyrinth and make me the best meals ever," Roxy said to herself... Wait , It may be the stupidest idea ever, but what if I married Roxy and kept her from having a kid with Rudy? I don't want to kill either of them; they were too nice to me, and I finally got a pretty girl as a reward; I'll even fulfill Hitogami's request, and he can give me all the wealth, riches, and power he gave that other apostle Darius. He may be a deceptive god, but he also rewards his followers…
While I would've wanted someone of my own species, Hitogami showed me his power when he wiped out my village and blamed it on me. Now, none of them want to meet me; even the ones far away heard of the tales of Geese the destroyer. I heard they even sent their children all the way to Ranoa to avoid me.
Ironically, only my own people think that I can be so destructive. Everyone else treats me as a joke However, Roxy is a demon too, and she looks pretty cute and is someone who would talk to me. Vierra and Sierra look like they'd go for Paul the moment Zenith would allow it, and Zenith probably would give them permission if we could rescue her. She's the kind of person who takes in strays like how she accepted that maid Lilia Those two girls would make a sob story that would change her mind or something like that , But Roxy, there's that.
I may have won a couple more bets last night and drank enough ale to get drunk enough to see Hitogami prematurely, but that was a great idea The best way to a woman's heart is through their stomach, right? Oh, wait, no, that's the best way to a man's heart, like what happened with Zenith and Paul; why the rest of the party blamed me for the breakup, I don't know why. How the hell would I know that cooking would break up the party? I was hungover as hell, but Roxy poked me and showed me really adorable eyes.
I had long given up on the thought of love. I wanted to impress Zenith with my cooking, but instead, she went to Paul.
What if Roxy went for Paul instead? Wouldn't that also work? Paul's kid with Roxy wouldn't be the same as Rudy's kid with Roxy, right?
Plus, Rudy wouldn't want to screw another extra mother of his.
What should I do? I gave her the last custard, one I was supposed to eat myself.
"Thank you so much, Geese, I had a bad morning earlier, but this made my day!"
Roxy hugged me; she showed a lot more expression than usual, she always looked droopy most of the time.
Maybe she really just needed something sweet after all.
"What is your favorite meal, Roxy? I realized that I know what everyone else in the party loves, but not you." I decided to give it a shot; the man who takes the biggest risk grabs the biggest reward.
"I love sweets, anything sweet, tasty, and fun to eat. I hate the demon continent because their food is always spicy, bitter, or salty but never sweet." Roxy said while eating my custard,
"Well, it's nearly impossible to get sugar in the demon continent; what do you expect when the humans keep blocking everything from us." I told her, thinking a pro-demon angle might work; it was one of the few things we'd have in common.
"That's true; they hate Demons and lock us in our own continent, but that was exactly why the demons waged war against the humans; we want to be able to go around the world too!" Roxy said as she was finishing the custard. It seems like she had some resentment against the human kingdoms.
"Hey, would you want me to bake some brownies? I got a special mix that doesn't just make it sweet, but it leaves a very unique experience."
Time to make my move.
"It has some special herbs I got from Begaritt; it usually doesn't grow well in the central continent while the Millis missionary knights destroy these crops in Millis continent." I held a bag filled with special buds that I just needed to turn to oil; I could add this to the brownies I'd bake and give her a remarkable experience.
It gave me visions that didn't involve Hitogami, and it reduced my panic attacks whenever I was stuck in S-ranked missions with the party whenever I took it. And it gave me the appetite to enjoy the great meals I made.
"Really? That doesn't sound like anything I've tried on the other two continents. Why exactly would I want these kinds of brownies?" Roxy asked suspiciously
Why did I even tell her that those were my personal items. I never shared it at the party, aside from that one time Paul ended up getting all the girls in his room.
I swore never to give them brownies and booze again.
"Ehh-he, sorry, it was just a special treat I discovered myself; since I'm the scout of the party, I tend to try all the herbs, plants, and spices we encounter along the way; it helps that I am more resistant than the rest of them when it comes to poisons, being a demon myself. These things are merely just to help with relaxation, that's all." However if I really wanted to get what Hitogami wanted me to do with Roxy, I should move more directly.
I should probably add some of the vatirus plants into the mix... eventually. I knew what the Boreas Greyrats did to their potions to make them potent; I made them illegally myself to earn some money
If I did this eventually with Roxy, then I could both fulfill Hitogami's demand, save Roxy's life
And get myself a wife
I may have blue haired Nuka kids, but at least we'd be able to replenish the tribe with long-lived and adorable children.
"Really? The whole party's been so stressed lately, we've been struggling to find Zenith and all that. Rudy and Elinalise are still too far away, and I believe Badigadi wasn't even interested in helping us as much as using Elinalise as his relief before Kishirika grows up again," Roxy sighed.
"Well... I can make a batch for the party, but maybe you'd like to help? I can teach you how to do this. We can share this with the party, and then we can have a special batch for ourselves. I also love sweets, although it is usually mixed with the alcohol I drink." I told her with a smile.
"I make a pretty good bartender, if I may say so myself." I could give her an honest smile with that; even the picky Zenith loved my brews.
"Sweet and alcoholic drinks? How do you do that?" Roxy said with a surprised expression on her face.
" The Sazerac, a blend of whisky, absinthe, bitters and sugar." I brought out a flask for her.
"I passed by a convent years in the Millis continent that was known for its breweries. They were also infamous for being part of the pro-demon faction and wouldn't kick me out on sight."
"I learned of this little mix from one of the monks there, and I frequently keep a few bottles of absinthe and whiskey myself to keep this available. Of course, I make it even sweeter and tastier than the original sourer taste. " I let her drink from the flask.
"Oh my, this is DELICIOUS!" I forgot how easily Roxy gets drunk, and Absinthe is ridiculously strong, especially for one who wouldn't cast a detoxification spell before drinking it.
Other humans usually light it up before drinking it...
We drank a bunch of shots and ate more brownies as we took a steady descent into euphoria.
My brain started thinking in fragments; I saw life flash before me in choppy pieces rather than the usual flow of time.
She eventually forgot about the brownies and pulled me with surprising strength.
Her face was so red and wild that you could mistake her for a tiny, blue-haired Eris rather than Roxy,
And I was feeling the pressure from down under.
And the only person who could've detoxified me is even more intoxicated.
Am I really going to fulfill my objective now? This is the absolute worst way to do so.
This is exactly how Paul got into Elinalise, Ghislaine, and Zenith that one night,
But my animal instincts (or was it demon) instincts were taking over.
We ran to my room and sealed the door.
Paul, Lilia, Talhand, and the mage girls? They were out in the town, and all they'd find when they entered the in would be... My special drink in a normal bottle...
Roxy grabbed me as soon as I entered the door.
She was making odd sounds as she animalistically took me.
Why did I make this Sazerac again? And why in the six-sided world did I put Vatirus extracts here, too.
Oh, right, I was supposed to sabotage Paul's progress by making him and the rest of the group drink that
If there is another god in this six-sided world other than Hitogami, fuck you, may you be stuck together with that dancing pompous Hitogami for all eternity.
Why did I have to take this myself?
Author's Notes:
Visha represents memories from Youjo Senki restaurant (which isn't canon, but doesn't interfere with canon) that, in this story, were erased from Tanya's mind due to Being X taking her memories away each time she used the Type 95.
Lergen represents Tanya's memories of Isekai Quartet; yes, she will start remembering this absurdity, too, although those memories aren't gonna make her turn into some overlord/aqua/Reinhard clone anyway.
Canon Sauros was missing from Fittoa for at least 2 months but was executed within a year of the incident. This Sauros just happened to be dropped at a different place due to his circumstances in this story.
If it's not obvious, Philip didn't learn about Flying Sylphie and Tanya from random merchants. He first learned it from a letter given to him by a merchant paid by Sylphie back in Ch3. Although it isn't a lie that closer to the displacement incident, Tanya's flying operations were too obvious that other merchants and travelers saw a flying child burning forests, and they easily connected the dots that the child of the Greyrat knight in town was doing all that.
The LN implied that everything aside from grass was wiped off the area affected in Fittoa, but the anime left traces of the walls and castle of Roa around. Although the LN had log houses and hastily built buildings around the Roa refugee camp, rather than just tents, so I'm trying to strike a balance.
There's no canon answer where Sylphie's parents landed after TP1, but due to changes in circumstances and Laws having more training from Paul this time around, he barely services
I'm using Rudy's rough Yen conversion to Asuran gold coins, while 20,000 gold coins sound crazy high, it would've been 20 million USD in 2010-ish terms or maybe 25-28 million USD today, A lot of money for most people but for one of the most powerful nobles in Asura, likely only a moderately inconvenient sum. I'm scaling Asura's economic size to somewhere closer to the 15-16th Century Ottoman Empire and the Mughal Dynasty, so the Boreas Greyrats, despite losing their economic base in Fittoa, have a massive reserve at Ars and the means to back a short but decisive war against the Milbots Notos Greyrats in a desperate gambit. Of course, there are massive repercussions back in Ars once James finds out what happens, but by the time he knows what's going on, Tanya and the gang might do something irreversible.
For scale, if the Asuran Kingdom is anywhere near as wealthy as peak 15th-16th century Ottomans and Mughals, they'd have tens of millions of gold coins circulating their economy, as the wealthiest and largest human kingdom (or any race actually) in the world, the Boreas are likely millionaires even without Fittoa, although they're likely down to a single million due to the incident.
I still think Ghislaine was massively underpaid for her talents, 2 gold coins monthly were only 200k yen or 2k USD a month. While she didn't pay for her boarding and food, she was one of the most famous fighters in the world and was literally worth a few thousand soldiers (Roxy was considered a thousand soldiers as a King-ranked mage in LN 19), Philip definitely duped her and her lack of math skills.
Setting aside 25k gold coins for Rudy, Eris, and the rest of Paul's family doesn't sound so fantastical when Philip and Hilda owe Paul and Tanya their life, and with Rudy and Eris being the lynchpin of their plan to take over the Notos Greyrat house in Milbots.
I took some liberties by making Roxy, Talhand and Elinalise meet up together early, but they're generally likely to meet up with their plans and paths.
For the non-canon omake, I think it's generally a bad idea to mix booze, not! weed, Boreas vitality drugs, and more with a virgin wizard (Roxy) and a virgin wizard (Geese)
Excerpts From
Rifujin na Magonote Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation LN 3
Rifujin na Magonote Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation LN 2
Carlo Zen Youjo Senki Vol. 1
Carlo Zen Youjo Senki Vol. 2