N CHAPTER 25

: THE LAID BACK LIFE IN THE GREAT FOREST

[N POV]

While Rudeus and Claude were busy exchanging their ideas on magic and spells.

After the fallen Beast-Warrior gathered in the corner to continue their groan, Ruijerd and Eris are sparring on the ground.

"You’ve seen my spar with Claude, right?" Ruijerd said as he evaded Eris’ attack.

"Yeah! It’s a great spar. I’ve had a lot of fun watching it. "

"Then apply what he did in our training right now," Ruijerd said as he stopped Eris’ sword and blew him away.

"Ugh... I mean, how? "

"Think more. Claude is the type of person who thinks more about the future."

"erh... What does it mean? "

"Have you heard about his experience in the labyrinth?"

"I do. It’s crazy! even crazier than ours. "

"Based on his story sparring before, I can deduce that his battle type is unlike ours. While Eris, you are perfectly compatible with the way of the Sword God's style. A headstrong frontal attack... "

"I learned it from Ghislaine!"

"A different type of style will achieve a different type of battle. While there are several other kinds, Claude's way of using his swords is one of survival. In terms of ability, I was better than he was. He can’t defeat me, but I am also unable to win against him. "

"Huh? Why?"

"His magic, the space-time magic that he created, was used for stopping time. It’s an ability that allows him to use a guerilla tactic. " He stopped for a while, then said, "Which means he can attack me, but once he wants to run. No one can stop him. "

"Whoa...."

"that’s why you should think more about what kind of battle style you want to do. You need to be adept at countering all the style types from now on. "

"Right, in other words. More training, right! "

"Hmm... that’s also true, huh."

Ruijerd said as he swung his spear from Eris’ opening.

"Ugh!"

Eris groaned at the attack that made her fly towards a tree. She manoeuvred in the air, moved her feet towards the tree, and shot off towards Ruijerd while pointing her sword at Ruijerd.

***

[Claude POV]

I seem to be stuck once again.

My mana can’t grow up anymore.

However, thanks to the troll, my body's regeneration grew better than in the past.

"Hey, Rudeus. Teach me magic again. I can’t seem to progress well these days. "

What the heck is wrong with that smug face of his? I need to hold my fist here. I still need him to teach me magic, after all.

"Well, well, well, if it isn’t my disciple Claude, The one that always says I’m weak... He sure had the gall to ask me to teach him magic... "

"Shut it. You are weaker than me overall. Don’t deny that.. "

"Urgh... Okay, okay... What a prickly man you are. This is why you won’t get any friends. "

"Mind you, I’ve got more friends than you, you know?"

"Ugh... I forgot that the whole village is your playground filled with friends...." he groaned and looked annoyedly at me, then added, "But, are those guys alright? They’re still groaning... "

It’s been 2 weeks since we resided in the Great Forest.

Within these 2 weeks, aside from searching the surrounding area for a surviving person or corpse, I also asked the Dedoldia guys to help me. In exchange, I make them weapons and train them.

They’re weak, weaker than even Rudeus.

"They’re this weak, and you’re still losing against Gyes?" I mean, seriously, You need to take care of your surroundings more. Although a shitty one, you’re also a swordsman, you know. ....."

"Hey, don’t reach me. I was ambushed when I mofumofued this guy here... "

That divine beast really is attached to him, huh.

What’s wrong with this dog? Is this really a holy beast?

"Well... leaving that aside, let’s continue our training. I also need to learn other languages, you know. "

It took me 3 days to learn the Beast God from Ruijerd and Rudeus.

They are astonished at my progress, but it’s not easy for me to reach what I currently had.

***

[Rudeus POV]

It was raining heavily outside when I got out of the prison.

The rainy season had come.

Supposedly, it will be raining heavily non-stop for the next three months.

The ground will be completely flooded, and you won't be able to walk.

This is why those in the Great Forest live on top of the trees.

It seems like the kidnapping incident this time was a rather special case.

It was a large-scale abduction plan orchestrated by a smuggling organization.

They came up with a plan to abduct the Holy Beast, the Guardian of Doldia.

I don't know why they would want to abduct something like that.

However, the Holy Beast is supposedly a special kind of animal, so there are a number of those who want to get their hands on it.

Well, it's difficult to just abduct the Holy Beast under normal circumstances.

Even if you succeeded in abducting it, the warriors have good noses, so they would quickly come to take it back.

Therefore, the smuggling organization aimed for the start of the rainy season.

The rainy season will continue for three straight months.

Since that's the case, all the villagers will be busy preparing.

All of the village warriors will have their hands full. Even during that time, the bastard Claude always beat them in the name of training.

Also, it's not possible to go out on a ship during the rainy season.

In other words, if you abduct the Holy Beast right before the rainy season and then transport it to the Demon Continent, the warriors will not be able to catch up in time, and you can perfectly escape.

Of course, the Beast Race was vigilant about that.

The adults warned the children not to go outside while preparing for the rainy season.

Needless to say, they also spoke to the Holy Beast that it was being protected.

That's why the smuggling organization went a step further with its plan.

First, they hired all the local kidnappers and waited for the right moment.

Then, they attacked all the places at the same time and took children from both sides at the same time.

The warriors were in a panic.

Just when they were starting to ease up because the abductions seemed low this year, children from all over the place were abducted at once.

Furthermore, the smuggling organization had hired armed forces ahead of time to attack the villages at the same time.For unknown reasons, they also attacked the Elven villages. They succeeded in kidnapping some of the children, only to be foiled because they were too greedy to attack the Dedoldia village.

There was no damage to the Dedoldia village at this time.

The warriors of the Dedoldia village received requests for aid, split up, and went out to defend the surrounding villages.

Then, when the guards for the Dedoldia village were thinned out, the smuggling organization launched an attack on the Dedoldia village with elite forces.

They succeeded in abducting not only the village chief's granddaughter but also the Holy Beast.

cause incidents all over the place, then attack the primary target, a lightning-fast plan.

The armed forces attack.

The abduction of the children

As well as the abduction of the Holy Beast.

Since it was like that, no matter how skilled the Beast Race warriors were, they wouldn't have enough forces to cover it.

Gyes and Gustav first gave up on the children.

They gathered together the warriors and went to set up the defense lines of the village; then they went off to search for the Holy Beast themselves.

It just means that the Holy Beast is that much of a special existence to the village, it seems.

The time between kidnapping the Holy Beast and transporting it on the ship wasn't even supposed to be two days. They could locate the safekeeping place for smuggling goods, which was supposedly good luck.

The smell of blood and the sight of rising fire

Supposedly, those two factors became the key that allowed them to locate the building.

It was thanks to us.

However, I wonder why the Holy Beast was in the same place where Ruijerd was transported.

It was a large-scale operation, so there were probably some mistakes here and there.

Otherwise, they might have planned for Ruijerd's handcuffs to be undone and rampaging.

Now then, from here on, it's unrelated to me.

What were they doing after neglecting me for a week?

According to the story, Ruijerd was furious at the smugglers.

He suggested attacking the ship that was prepared to depart.

They didn't know which ship had children on board because the smugglers had discovered a way to hide from the beast race's noses.

The way Gustav put it, after understanding their intentions, they responded to them accordingly.

Speaking of Eris, she was also taking part in this plan, supposedly as an escort for the children.

with a full-faced smile, of course.

This must be Greyrat's blood as well.

Well then, the attack of Ruijerd and the others succeeded.

Tragically, the smuggling organization's ship was discovered, and all of its members were half-killed and captured.

From within the ship, abducted children kept coming out, one after another.

There were supposedly around 50 of them.

Well then, the children were saved. Happy Ending

That's not quite what happened.

Since they had just attacked the last ship departing before the rainy season, the Saint Port officials came out.

Obviously, Gustav and Gyes protested against them.

The beast races abductions. Slavery was taboo between the Great Forest patriarchs and the Holy Milis Kingdom.

They only tried to prevent that, so it would be strange for them to take the blame.

The Saint Port officials were taken aback by this.

They would have been fine with at least a bit of notice beforehand.

However, the attack was barely in time to catch the ship's departure.

There was no leisure time to explain.

As well as the fact that there were 50 people.

50 children.

It wasn't just five or ten.

There were one or two children abducted from villages all over the place.

Saint Port hadn't caught on to this at all.

Even more so, the officials were taking bribes and looking the other way.

This was a violation of the treaty.

If they left things as they were, a large crack would have been made between the Beast Race and the Holy Milis Kingdom.

In the worst case, it could have been war.

The talk even made it up to that level.

In the end, the Saint Port side withdrew.

Regarding the Beast Race, a considerable amount of compensation was paid.

Those negotiations and returning the abducted children to their parents took roughly a full week.

That was why I was put off and left neglected for a full week.

Well, I guess it couldn't be helped.

Rather, I'm glad they managed to finish such an important matter within a week.

Though, you know,

The Beast Race people are full of gratitude and enraptured with Ruijerd.

Eris is surrounded by the children of the Beast Race and full of smiles.

I was in prison with a monkey-faced man, experiencing the life of freedom.

It's not something I can accept.

Rather, they could have just let me out of the prison midway through, and it would have been fine.

I was clearly displeased, and Gyes apologized.

"I'm really, very sorry."

It was the Beast Races version of prostrating oneself.

Gyes was facing up to me as he showed his stomach.

I thought I was being made fun of at first.

Even though his stomach was visible, Gyes's tone was desperate.

He couldn't imagine that his daughter was just saved, nor that the seals on the Lord Holy Beasts had been removed, and that he had just stripped that savior naked and threw cold water on him.

And halfway through that, he forgot about it and focused on other matters. No matter what he does, it's not something that can be forgiven.

There was no option left but to offer his neck.

That is what I was told.

However, he wanted me to forgive the watch guard.

She was just doing her own job as she was told.

Since she will get married after the rainy season is over, while it's fine to seek punishment, he doesn't want me to do anything in retribution that would humiliate her.

If that becomes the case, then there would be remaining evil intent.

That is what I was told.

To put it bluntly, I was totally put off.

If you go that far with the reverse prostration in front of everyone, it will cause me problems.

Also, if you show me that tightly chiseled six-pack, it will make me jealous.

Rather than that, what about the Onee-san guard… No, never mind.

"Everything started from a misunderstanding. Well, I'm not really bothered about it. "

Here's the time to be forgiving.

I'm an adult, after all.

I'll show my dignity.

That's right.

The one in the wrong is the smuggling organization.

And that smuggling organization has been wiped out.

It's a happy ending.

I suffered, and you all suffered as well.

It's fine like that.

I have nothing to say beyond that.

My life in prison was somewhat fun.

The food was good, and Geese were there.

The Onee-san left in charge of me was beautiful as well.

"I, the village leader, am also grateful for your great tolerance and heart."

After seeing my response, the old warrior called Gustav said that arrogantly

Gyes is fine, but wouldn't it be fine for you to apologize?

For the most part, it was you who was there at the time and gave out orders, right?

Well, it's fine.

I don't want to see some old man prostrating himself.

Rather than that, I'd prefer to see the Onee-san guard...

Ruijerd also brought his face close.

"Would it be good for me to apologize as well?"

"No, it's fine, Ruijerd-san."

"Is it fine? Though it's my fault? "

"Ruijerd-san also gave it his best for a week, didn't he?"

The Beast Race approved of Ruijerd as well.

Both Gustav and Gyes have already heard that Ruijerd is of the Superd race.

Regarding the Superd race, I don't know what kind of feelings they hold towards them.

Though at the very least, right now, Ruijerd is the hero who saved their children.

I was being patient, and Ruijerd was raising his profile.

In that case, the outcome is all right.

Putting aside the process, I have no complaints as long as the outcome is achieved.

"Hmph!!"

"Gof!

Eris came forward and kicked Gyes in the stomach just as I thought that.

Then he said, "Give water protection where you want it, and let the clear water flow toward here, Water Ball."

I struck the unguarded Gyes mercilessly with the water bullet.

The surroundings were dumbfounded.

Eris took her usual pose and said it loudly.

"With this, we're even!"

I thought. As expected of Eris.

Of course, the real demon was there, sitting nonchalantly while giving them a small smile. I can see Claude's eerie smile that tells me, "you’re weak." I’ll train you more in the meantime. I don’t care if you spat some blood. I will definitely teach you so much that you won’t be defeated by these weaklings’

I mean, man. Seriously?

I’ve known you for years.

You’re more Sparta than Paul in training. I can already accept that you’re better than me in battle...

Well, it was only later that I knew.

I misread his smile.

It was aimed at the warrior, not at me. He trained them till they puked blood.

***

[N POV]

Within Gustav's house, the village chief

It's a house on top of a tree and the largest house in this village.

It's a three-story building constructed from wood on top of a tree.

They wondered if it would be okay if something like an earthquake hit, but it didn't even shake a bit when the adults were running around inside.

They are the Dedoldia race.

The Dedoldia race patriarch, Gustav.

And his son, warrior leader Gyes,

The one Rudeus saved from the smugglers was Gyes's second daughter, Minitona.

It seems the eldest daughter, Rinia, is studying in another country.

And then there was also a daughter of the Adoldia race mixed in with those we saved.

The Adoldia race patriarch's second daughter, Terusena,

A dog girl with big breasts

There were plans to return to the Adoldia village, but the rainy season started up on the way, so she'll be staying here for three months.

Incidentally, even among the beast race, it seems those with the blood of the Dedoldia can be sold for a high price to a certain country's nobles.

In particular, children who can be trained easily are aimed at often.

A certain country's nobles.

‘It sounds like a story I've heard somewhere!’ Rudeus thought.

"The nobles of Asura can't afford to be lax with stuff like this!"

'The Eris-girl over there!'

'Why are you saying it is unrelated to you!'

'There are likely people with a mouse-like family name related to this from the start!'

‘I've never heard anything along those lines from the butlers and maids at Eris' house, but there’s a possibility that they were abducted like this. ’

Sauros Boreas Greyrat is a good person, but he has a slightly different viewpoint.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

‘Yeah, for the time being, I'll keep quiet about this.’

It's better to say nothing at this time.

Just as Rudeus thought that Eris had just happened to remember something and showed him the ring she was wearing.

"Come to think of it, do you know Ghislaine? This ring is Ghislaine's. "

She can't speak in the Beast God's language.

Therefore, it was in human language.

The only ones here who can use the human language outside of Ruijerd and myself are Gustav and Gyes.

"Ghislaine…?"

Then Gyes made a grim face.

"Is she still alive?"

"Eh?"

That voice was filled with disgust.

A voice, as if he was going to throw up.

Then a single word.

"She was the disgrace of the family."

Those words were just the start of Gyes's bashing of Ghislaine. In the human language, which Eris could understand.

Then he told us how much of a failure she was, how inappropriate she was as a younger sister, and such. Gyes had a voice filled with indifferent emotion.

Since Ghislaine had saved Rudeus's life before, it was a subject that he couldn't listen to anymore.

It seems she did some rather mean things when living in this village. However, that is talk from when she was a child.

The Ghislaine they know is a clumsy person who gives it her all.

Someone who does everything carefully and puts her heart into it.

She's not a person who deserves to be talked about like this.

Rudeus respects Ghislaine as a sword teacher and a magic student that he can brag about.

That's why, somehow or other...

'Please stop it.' Rudeus thought, trying to stop himself.

"That ring is also something she got from our mother after recklessly acting out. There really was no meaning to it. She was an idiot who only knew how to break things. "

"You--"

"Shut up! What do you know about Ghislaine!"

BAM!

Interrupting Rudeus’ words, Eris started screaming at them in a loud voice. In a voice loud enough that I thought the house would break, the Dedoldia family faces were frowning.

Claude kicked Gyes out of the house, and he suddenly flew out. Then, he shrugged and came out of the house to pick up the injured Gyes. Claude threw him on the hard floor.

The only ones who understand human language are Gustav and Gyes.

The other few who heard Eris suddenly start yelling and throwing Gyes were dumbfounded.

I thought Eris would start acting out violently, but Claude acted violently.

However, Eris just made a mortifying face, and tears started welling up in her eyes. Her fists were shaking with anger, but she didn't move to strike.

"Ghislaine is my teacher! She's the number one person I respect! "

‘I know.’

How well do Ghislaine and Eris get along together?

She is the one that Eris trusts the most.

far more than Rudeus.

"Ghislaine is amazing! extremely amazing! If I need help, she will quickly come to my rescue! extremely fast! And extremely strong! "

Eris started yelling out all sorts of words she didn't know herself.

Even if you couldn't understand why, the meaning was understood with that bitter voice.

At the very least, she said everything I wanted to say.

"Ghislaine is... hikku... egu... To say something... like that... hic. "

Eris continued to give her best not to strike them while her tears started to flow.

‘That's right, you shouldn't hit Gyes here.’ Rudeus then glares at Claude.

Ghislaine was hated for her violence in this village.

She would always act violently as she pleased.

If Eris were to strike him, it would prove Gyes's words.

That means you and she are the same.

Gyes started to panic as he watched that. When he remembered Claude’s kick beside him, that still healed him.

"No, but..." It can't be that Ghislaine has... respect? How could that be? "

After Rudeus saw that, he calmed his anger.

"We should probably stop talking about this topic."

I proposed that while embracing Eris.

Eris looked at me like she couldn't believe it when I proposed that.

"Why? Rudeus? Did you hate Ghislaine? "

"I like Ghislaine as well."

But...

"The Ghislaine we know and the Ghislaine they know are different people with the same name."

Then Rudeus looks at the confused Gyes while saying that.

He would probably change his mind if he met the current Ghislaine.

People change as time passes.

Since Rudeus is the one saying it, there's no mistake.

Eris couldn't accept it.

However, she did, for the most part, let go of it.

"No, has Ghislaine really become such a respectable person?"

"At the very least, she is someone I respect."

After saying that, Gyes made a face, lost in thought.

Claude, who had finished his healing, slapped Gyes in the back.

"He’s someone I’m indebted to." Even if Ghislaine is a bit of an exhibitionist, looking at the people here, she might be better. But, hearing you mocking her like that, I'll undoubtedly kill you on the spot if you’re someone I don’t know. "

After hearing that story just now, it seems like all sorts of things happened between him and Ghislaine.

Those must have been things that he felt could never be forgiven.

The relationship between blood is relatively severe.

especially since it's a blood relative.

Some things are unforgivable, no matter how many years pass.

"Since that is the case, will you apologize?"

"I'm sorry about that."

What a soothing atmosphere it's become.

‘In any case, Ghislaine, huh.’

They had forgotten about it this past year, but she should have gotten dragged into that teleport.

‘I wonder where she is and what she's doing in the world.’

‘Since it's her, I imagine she's off searching for Eris and me…’

Rudeus regrets being unable to gather information in Saint Port.

"Now tell me, how does Ghislaine get out of the forest when she’s a child?"

Claude suddenly asks Gyes and glares at Gustav. Since Gustav is Gyes's grandfather, he should know something more than the younger Gyes at that time.

There, they tell the story of a young and wild girl no one can deal with.

Ghislaine was already a prodigy when she was small.

She was someone that couldn’t be chained and feared by the villagers.

Claude snipped their story, and Ruijerd also agreed with his remark.

"You fear a girl, no, a warrior better than you... How cute... "

"You do know that if she can already do something that great since she had her child, it can also be possible for her to become stronger than Gyes right now… no, she’s already stronger than Gyes. Right now, you do know what the title of Sword King is entitled, right? "

From what Claude said, both Gustav and Gyes had sadness in their eyes.

"For a weakling that was defeated by a mere Saint to be a smuggler, you had a stupid brain, eh..."

"Leaving aside the fact that the one who keeps the small Ghislaine is the former Sword God, Gal Farion, aside. Are you sure you guys are the village strongest and the village chief right now? "

"Please, it’s already the past. We can never know what the future holds because what we see that day is a human monster in human skin...." Gustav suddenly said

"She’s still a damn child, though." sigh... I guess the only one who knew the meaning of what a family is in this room was just Ruijerd and me, huh...."

Claude said while looking at Ruijerd.

He can already see the agreement in Rudeus’ eyes towards what the Doldian did to Ghislaine. Although he despises what they choose, Rudeus accepts it as the best option.

Eris is just too young to understand the meaning of abandoning such a young child while she’s still too immature.

However, Ruijerd, the last in his race, sends his disapproval-filled gaze toward them just like Claude.

"Sigh... I am too lazy to have a debate... Just so you know, the monster in human skin you all feared is no more. The one that’s in your memory is The Swords God Style, Sword King, Ghislaine Dedoldia. Someone that can easily destroy the smuggling rings encroaching on your territory, not just once or twice... "

"Bear it in mind that your past choice is a mistake… I believe that a family is something that must be protected no matter how bad they are, unless they wish for your demise... "

With that, Claude left the house while Ruijerd sighed and sat down.

The melancholy in his expression can be seen in everyone in the house.

He is the last of his race.

The spear in his hand is something his child gave to him.

As the last person in the race, he can only reminisce about the past and drown in the sorrow...

***

[Rudeus POV]

One week passed.

The rain continues to fall.

Claude's yelling and the beast warrior's groaning can be heard softly within the rain.

We occupied one of the vacant houses in the village and live there.

For the most part, we are heroes of the Great Forest, so even if we don't do anything, we still get food.

This isn't a good lifestyle. It's far too deprived.

But Claude is more deprived than that. He just used this opportunity to beat the guy's black and blue until he was satisfied. He came to me to learn more about language before we started our debate on magic and spell mastery.

There was a huge flood happening below the village, and it was terrible. At one point, a child from the village fell in.

I used magic to save them, and they were surprised and grateful.

Since that's the case, I considered using magic to just blow the clouds away, but I decided not to do it.

Roxy also said it, but it's not a good idea to manipulate the weather too much.

If I were to forcefully stop this rain, something bad could happen to the Great Forest.

Quite frankly, I just want it to end and hurry to the next place, but...

Well, it will stop in three months or so. It's just a matter of enduring until then.

While Claude is fidgety, he still controls himself since the great forest and the surrounding area are free of the people teleported aside from the deceased one.

I asked him at the time.

"You sure can be patient."

"I believe in Mike. He’s more capable and trustworthy than you. I’ve been planning every possible scenario with him, so there’d be less loss than expected before.. "

"Ugh… Geese told me that his Arbalest Merchant group is officially acting on behalf of the Boreas Greyrat house to deal with this situation."

"Yeah… he’d be doing well. It’s been half a year, after all. Those that can be saved will be. And those who can't possibly be dead by now...I just hope that I don’t waste those damn 2 months in the end. "

Well, I can’t blame him.

He needs the time to regenerate his limbs, and the fact that something scary like the troll could actually be there alone within the flocking monster will make you wary.

Someone as cautious as Claude will always think more about the safety of the path he treads.

I started to wander around the village in the rain.

After all, it was a village, so there were no weapons, equipment, shops, or inns.

Fundamentally, it was all private houses, warehouses, and guard stations.

All of that was built on top of the trees.

The design of the village was three-dimensional and quite interesting.

Even just walking around gets your heart beating.

There was a place where I wasn't allowed to enter beyond a certain point in one part.

That pathway is supposedly an important place for this village, it seems.

Of course, I don't intend to walk into such a place with my shoes on.

Then I discovered a point where the lower and upper levels met.

As I was thinking about whether a woman would pass over above me, Geese appeared.

"Yo, newbie, have they already let you out?"

After calling out to him, Geese made a happy face and waved toward me.

"Yeah, The Dedoldians told me to never do it again. They're idiots, right? It's already decided that I'm going to keep doing it."

"Police officer dog?! This guy over here hasn't learned his lesson!!"

"Hey, wait just a minute there. Wait. Stop it. I can't run away right now because it's the rainy season. "

Since it's the rainy season right now,

Since that's the case, this guy will do it again.

Really, he's a guy who can't be helped.

"Ah, I'll return the vest."

"Didn't I say to stop with that respectful way of speaking? Keep the vest. "

"Is that fine?"

"During this season, it's still cold."

However, he's not a bad person, it seems.

This whatever is convenient and warm feeling reminds me of Paul.

Paul.

I wonder if he's doing well.

"By the way, Geese, tell me more about this Arbalest group...."

"What? Won’t Claude know about it more than me, senior? "

"Well... you know..."

"Ah... you’re too embarrassed to ask, huh. Well, I don’t know much about this. But from the history, it started 3 years ago with a merchant group. They grew into the Arbalest we all know. Every piece of merchandise they create isn’t that amazing, but they’re cheap...."

"What does "cheap" mean?"

"It’s what it means. Every product Arbalest sold was obviously in the middle tier, but they sold it cheaply. Way lower than the actual market price...."

"Won’t the other merchants be mad at them?"

"Yes, they create a ruckus at that time." Almost every merchant group goes to their HQ and makes Arbalest have a tough time. But, they soon became allies... What happened in the HQ is unknown, but the fact they can bring the high and mighty merchant group under their heel is something else....... "

"What?..."

What did Claude and Mike do?

Did they use mind-controlling magic?

No, it’s forbidden from being used.

There’s also the drawback to using that kind of magic.

"No one knows what happened. But the fact that the merchant group leader was overjoyed in the meeting that day was obvious to all. "

"Did there any usage of magic?"

"Mind controlling type magic, right? No... there’s none. "

"Then... what?"

"It’s the weapon box."

"Whoa! Geez, don’t startle this old man. "

Claude suddenly appeared, astonishing us. Geese even jumped.

"The weapon box? That coffin? " I asked.

"Yeah, we promised to sell them that space box. No one can create the item in this world besides me, at least not yet. "

"They don’t haggle, even try to confiscate the one Arbalest owns."

"Arbalest doesn’t have it. All the items Arbalest sold were created by the Buena Village. "

"Wait...."

"Ah… so that’s why the merchant group only sold things limitedly." Geese add

"Yep, the smart ones know that technology that can make their lives easier is good for them. The inventory box I showed them was only a prototype sized 3x2 m. It is limited and can’t have something 4 times its size within, but it can store items unlimitedly... The weight will increase too, though. "

"However, they can have their item spoiler free with that item."

"Not quite, but it can let their items be safe within another space." So the item that breaks in transportation... "

"Will decrease huh… as expected of a merchant... "

"Well, I’m not promising to give them for free, but I'm allowing them to buy it later."

"What do you mean?"

"Hah! Hahaha! Those guys must be biting their fingers knowing that the craftsman might be dead in the teleportation incident. " Geese laughed out loud.

"Wait, but didn’t you tell them you created it?"

"You sure are dumb, Rudeus... The things that happened 2 years ago How old was I? "

"Oh...."

That’s right, there’s no way they will believe a 10-year-old kid can create an item like that. That’s why they should be in tears when they realize that their golden goose can die...

"Is this one of your plans?"

I asked him because this can also be linked to the Merchant group, who’ll be searching for the whereabouts of the Buena Villager.

"It’s Mike's idea. Brilliant, right? I’m telling them the truth and saying I created it. But, Mike controls them to make them believe that the one creating it resides in Buena village. increasing our contact with the outside world. "

"Creating an economic circle in the village. Thus allowing the population to increase... "

I am amazed.

Is this something a child under age can do?

I can't even think of something like this.

I mean, am I the modern-day reincarnator or him?

"I see that asphalt road. Is that something Arbalest did? " Geese suddenly asked.

Wait, asphalt?

"Nah, it’s my idea. My magic training under the fire and earth combination created it. That’s why it’s not something other than me who can do."

"An original magic at that age? Senior, along with you... What kind of monster does this Buena Village hide? "

"You forgot to mention Mike. He’s also from Buena and the leader of Arbalest... "

"Damn, what a mystical village..."

Huh, Asphalt?

Wait a second...

Did that imply...

Claude is also…

…

..

.

[Claude POV]

"F*ck! Head towards the furnace! Don’t try to run away from the heat! Embrace them. As a smith, how can you fear the heat? " As I chastised them, the beastmen smiths continued to work their hands and create more weapons.

I never stopped to bark at them, and they fear me as I’m stronger than their protector.

No one will save you from my beating here, and with how I am irritated by the life and death occurrence I just experienced on my way here. There’s no way I’d be light with my punishment.

The bastard, on the other hand, appears to enjoy how I punished them. They think this is some kind of care, since they were neglected by the villagers before I arrived here. They feel their improvement since I trained them and started to see me as their savior.

Oh well, I don’t really care, as long as I can deal with all these troubles I feel. I need some kind of release, and torturing them is a way for me to deal with my rage boiling from the inside.

I’d never thought this to be a boomerang for me in the future though.

***

[Rudeus POV]

Two weeks have passed.

The rain still won't stop.

I learned that the Dedoldia race has secret magic.

letting out a howl to search for the location of the enemy and letting out a special kind of sound to screw up the opponent's balance—sort of magic, it seems.

The magic Gyes used to paralyze me was one type of that magic.

I heard that it seems to be magic that uses "sound".

Since that's the case, I asked Gustav to, by all means, teach me how to use it.

Thankfully, he agreed to it.

He performed it live for me several times as I tried to imitate it.

But... It didn't go very well.

It seems to be something you can't use unless you have a special vocal cord from the Dedoldia race.

I thought it might be something like that.

But, Claude actually succeeded in doing so but stopped since it was hurting his throat.

He’s already finished analyzing the magic and recreated it normally.

Is he the prodigy, or am I?

Anyway, he enjoyed beating the beast warrior. But, after the smithy was completed, he chose to spend his time teaching them how to be good blacksmiths.

I can’t believe that he can make a smithy atop the tree.

Not to mention becoming an adept teacher.

He can actually open a smithy and make money from it with his skills alone.

Going back to the topic before

It would most likely be an exaggeration to say I can't use most magic specific to certain races.

Even though the beast races can use the magic of the human race, it's unfair.

I understood the basics of combining your voice with magic power and tried it several times, but the effects weren't really all that powerful.

The only thing that I could do was surprise my opponents for an instant.

It seems it won't be very useful.

After showing my voiceless incantations to Gustav, he was quite surprised.

"Do the magic schools teach those sorts of things these days?"

"It's because my teacher's instructions were good."

Then, for no reason, I started pushing Roxy's name up.

"Ho, where did that teacher originate from?"

"She's a Migurd race from the Biegoya region of the Demon Continent. In terms of magic... I guess she would have learned it from the magic university. "

After saying I planned to eventually go to the magic university myself, Gustav said, "Ho, you can already do that much, and you still strive for more," and admired me.

It was a bit of a good feeling.

Once he knew Claude could do so too and could even use their magic, he acted nonchalantly as if it was not something weird.

When I asked him about it, he shrugged and said,

"He might look like a human to you, but he’s actually a beast inside. It might be because of his experience, but his regeneration alone can be said to be strong enough to call him a Demon of the Demon continent. "

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I only heard it from the older ones when I was younger. But, some called Demon lord in the Demon continent."

Yeah, I’ve met one, and she gave me this eye.

"Demon lords can do almost everything. They had regeneration powers strong enough to regenerate half of their bodies in an instant... there’s no one aside from those Demon lords of the Demon continent that can do it, which is why it’s not weird for him to be able to do something like that. "

Whoa.

Now, everyone thinks that Claude is weird.

Great, I have more compatriots!

One month passed.

Monsters appeared in this village.

An insect-like monster similar to a water spider appeared on top of the water and suddenly jumped off the water and attacked. Something similar to a sea snake climbed up the tree as well.

The materials from both of them seemed profitable.

Incidentally, the village's warriors protected us.

However, the beast race's proud sense of smell and sonar-like voice aren't very useful in this rain.

The monsters kept avoiding the guards on watch and appeared in the middle of the town.

I was walking in the village with Eris when a beast-race child suddenly got caught by something like a chameleon right in front of our eyes.

Instantly, I sent the chameleon flying with an earth bullet.

That was dangerous.

The child cutely waved its tail and thanked me.

After seeing that, Eris started breathing roughly from her nose.

In a fluster, I stroked Eris' butt, and she stopped.

The child watched that with a smile.

That was dangerous.

And then, right now, my life is in danger as well.

I told Ruijerd about it, and his face turned into a frown.

He can't let a situation pass by where children might be in danger.

Even though that's the case, the village's guards were against us helping out.

"The warriors of this village have their own pride in protecting our people."

Supposedly, there's something like that.

It's the duty of the village's warriors to protect the village.

They won't ask outside warriors for help, and they won't allow you to intrude on them.

That's supposedly Ruijerd's common sense.

I didn't understand it at all.

Claude just shrugged it off since he didn’t care about the villagers that much.

Then, he continues to train his smithing skills and his beast race disciples.

"Isn't the safety of the children more important than something like that?"

After saying that, Ruijerd thought about it for a few seconds and then went to talk about it with Gyes.

"Oh, Master Ruijerd, would you like to offer help?"

Gyes welcomed him greatly.

His impression of Ruijerd was extremely strong.

Come to think of it, it seems like Gyes was participating in the attack on the ship.

He offered a reward for the help as the representative of the village's warriors.

It became the place where we would help exterminate monsters that appeared around the village. Bring it to Claude for him to create more weapons.

Ruijerd finds them, and I use magic to defeat them.

Then we recover the corpse and strip them of the materials.

Then Gyes will buy those from us.

Quite a good cycle.

In the beginning, just as Ruijerd had said, the warriors of the village didn't make very good faces.

However, after seeing us exterminate every monster without mercy, it seemed like there would be no victims this rainy season, and they gradually opened up to us.

Claude feels they wasted his time training them, just beating them up senselessly.

"I thought the beast race was prouder, but... To leave the defense of their village to another race, really... "

For some reason, only Ruijerd was bothered by it.

It seems that several hundred years earlier, the beast race was different.

One and a half months have passed.

I have the feeling that the rain has started to weaken a little bit.

It's probably just my imagination.

Eris, Tona, and Terusena are all getting along well together.

Even if they can't communicate with words, they can still get along well at that age.

Even while it was raining outside, they wandered around here and there.

and somehow or other, having quite a bit of fun.

I wondered what they were doing, and it seemed Eris was teaching them human language.

That Eris is teaching someone a language!

With the experience of a teacher, this isn't where I cut in and crushed Eris's image.

I'm a man who can read the mood, after all.

I'm just hiding somewhere nearby and observing the situation.

Eris never had any friends of the same age up until now.

Since that's the case, I felt quite proud that Eris finally got along with someone of the same age.

red hair, cat ears, and dog ears.

I'm fine with just being able to watch them get along happily.

Though you know, Eris,

I don't think it's a good idea if you cling to someone so recklessly.

Someone like me could misunderstand.

See, just look over there.

Isn't Gyes-san watching?

What do you think a parent would believe while watching someone cling to their daughter while their nose is flaring like that?

"Hmm, Eris-dono, thank you very much for getting along so well with my daughter."

Uh.. what?

Isn't your response different from the last time with me?

She's, without a doubt, excited over that daughter of yours.

I wonder if women and men are different after all.

I see. I guess that would be the case. It should be obvious, huh?

"By the way, I'm sorry about the situation with Ghislaine. We haven't met in quite a long time, so there was some misunderstanding. It seems that little sister has grown up quite a bit by walking around in the outside world. "

Gyes bowed his head.

During this past month, he must have made apologies here and there.

It's a good thing.

"That's the case. It's Sword King Ghislaine, after all! The current Ghislaine can even use magic, you know. "

"Hahaha. Ghislaine can use magic? Lady Eris, your jokes are too good."

"It's true! Ghislaine taught herself letters, math, and magic after all. "

"Master Rudeus did?"

After that, Ghislaine and I were pushed forward in reputation by Eris.

talking about my classes and things that happened in the Fittoa region.

That sort of talk about how, no matter how bad she and Ghislaine were at learning at first, both of them still managed to be taught properly by Rudeus and how much she respects me, that sort of thing.

After listening to it, I started to feel a bit embarrassed.

After three years, the teleport incident happened, so I couldn't teach until the end.

Gyes was quite interested in the topic.

Then, after he separated from the three, he came over to where I was hidden in the wooden box.

"Then, what is that respectable teacher doing in this place?"

"My... my hobby is observing people."

"Ho, that is quite a noble hobby to have. Incidentally, how in the world did you manage to teach Ghislaine letters? "

"There's nothing special about it, just like normally."

"Normally? I can't even imagine it. "

"It seems like she was troubled here and there by her lack of knowledge during her adventurer days." It's probably natural for you to be unable to imagine it. "

"I see. Even though that younger sister used to be the type of person who wouldn't stop beating people up whenever something she didn't like happened... "

After listening to him, Ghislaine used to be the same kind of girl as Eris.

If you were to ask how, it would be getting into fights, not to mention she was strong and couldn't be stopped.

It seems like Gyes was forced to drink boiling water several times.

He was a weak older brother who couldn't match his younger sister's strength.

Speaking of older brothers, I'm also an older brother.

I wonder if Norn and Aisha are doing well.

That's right.

I wanted to write a letter, but I kept forgetting about it.

After this rain ends, I'll go to the Holy Milis Kingdoms capital and send a letter to Buena village.

Oh right,

The village is still a wreck, huh...

"By the way, Rudeus-dono."

"Yes?"

"How long are you intending to remain inside that wooden box?"

Of course, until they start to change clothes.

It's almost night, after all.

They'll start taking a bath and getting changed into pajamas soon.

"Sunsun... I smell the scent of arousal. "

"Eeh! No, that can't be. Could it be that some beast-loving girl is making a happy face somewhere? "

I was playing dumb, and Gyes raised his eyebrows.

"Rudeus-dono. I'm grateful for that time. I'm still quite sorry about the misunderstanding that led to that situation. "

After setting that preface, Gyes changed his expression.

"However, if you put your hands on my daughter, the situation is different. If you don't move away right now, I'll throw the box with you in it into the water. "

He was serious.

I didn't hesitate.

I left the box for a second.

At an amazing speed, even.

"I'm one who protects this village. I don't really want to say this, but go easy on it. "

"Okay."

Yeah

Well, maybe I went a bit overboard.

I'll reflect on it.

…

..

.

[Claude POV]

ROAR!

I roared at the beast corp, using their own magic. I unleashed a barrage of attacks that decimated them and made them groan in pain while being stunned by their own magic.

Rudeus might be able to develop the magic himself, but it’s not really that good aside from attacking an enemy in a surprise attack.

This kind of attack wasn’t something that a twig like Rudeus could use, but rather, the combination of my brawn and brain. I can use this magic to decimate the stupid beast of Dedoldia.

They call themselves protectors of the village, but a simple North Saint can overpower them. This isn’t funny, considering the fact that they are ridiculously weaker than me. Even Gyes is weaker than me.

"What a nerve to call yourself a warrior," I said, mocking them while they were groaning on the ground.

Seeing my expression, none of them could retort.

As I see that no one can stand, I just leave them and continue to train myself in another location.

Not long after, Gustave came, and asked me, "Were they that weak, young Claude?"

I stop swinging the spear in my hand and start thrusting. I won’t stop just because the old man came to me, even though I still answer him, "Yep, they’re weak."

"I see..." Gustave was disappointed with my response, so he asked me again."What do you think their problem is?"

While still thrusting my spear, I said to him, "They lack the mentality of a weakling."

His expression shows me that he still doesn’t understand the meaning of my answer.

"They are too full of themselves. A weakling will always do their best to train and become better than their target." The lack of vision and knowing that they’re the best in the forest is not enough to develop. I can see that even Gyes was lacking in that aspect. "

After pondering over what I said, he nodded and left the place without saying anything else.

I don’t care about this, I just continue my training.

Later, Gustave came to spar with me and asked Ruijerd to train him along with Eris and Rudeus.

***

[Claude POV]

I’ve been here for 2 months already.

Aside from bullying those weak-ass beast race warriors, I also do my own training.

Learning the other 3 languages from Rudeus took me 3 weeks.

It only took me 3 days to learn the Beast God’s language since I can understand it better with those that speak the same language as me, and the Demon Language has Ruijerd, who I can talk to while having a spar with him.

The hardest part was fighting God’s language, which took me 2 weeks to learn the language from Rudeus.

I don’t even know if it’s right or not, but I should have a normal conversation with the holder of the said language.

Well, leaving the language aside,

I succeeded in creating a better weapon than before.

"This is something else."

said Ruijerd, as my weapon could create a nick in his spear before it snapped in two.

"Haha! A successful invention! "

"Whoaa!"

"Our teacher is awesome!"

"Great!"

"Wooho!"

My smithy’s slaves were delighted with my achievement.

Guys, you are way better than those stupid warriors.

Well, Smithy’s slaves were actually way better at comprehending my teaching.

I don’t want to beat the Warrior anymore since Gyes can counter-attack me.

It’s not like I’m afraid to get beaten back by them. I will continue to focus on my individual training with Ruijerd and do my smithing work.

There’s also the fact that Ruijerd said to control my bloodthirst.

But, even until now, I’ve failed to control them.

How the heck do you control something intangible?

I mean, it’s not like bloodthirst can be controlled like mana.

Because of that damn dungeon, I always had a nightmare and held a weapon even in my sleep.

I thought I’d already overcome my trauma, but it still haunts me.

"Sigh... I need to meditate... "

With that, I stop what I’m doing and continue to meditate.

…

..

.

[N POV]

It’s a queer sight for all to see.

A young man was sitting in the middle of the rain without even budging a bit.

doing nothing but focusing on the matter of the heart. That is something a person can’t do.

"This is something else, huh." Rudeus said, while watching his childhood friend acting like a weird person.

While Rudeus watches Claude in admiration,

"Huh, why the admiring gaze, Ruijerd?" Eris asked, seemingly puzzled.

"This is what they call a person with a world, an event that happens when a person can converge with the world. In other words, he’s being enlightened. "

"Huh?....." Eris is confused.

"Basically, he’s increasing his understanding of something and focusing on it, right?"

"Indeed, It’s a thing that everyone wishes to have but can’t. Something like this was a rare sight even 400 years ago. "

"It’s something that’s a level above Mana Burst." Gustav suddenly said, while still looking at Claude in wonder.

"It’s something that happened to the person fighting against the Demon King Laplace. He once defeated and ran away from Laplace successfully. However, since then, he’s always been afraid of the Demon King until Perugius brings him to meet with him and asks him to fight with Perugius. "

"Then..."

"Of course, that person still afraid of Laplace refuses it. Perugius then leaves him alone. But, knowing that Laplace is approaching closer to him, he can’t run away from it anymore. So he meditated and received enlightenment. "

"Who is this person you’re talking about? ....."

"He is someone that’s not written in the history book. His legend was not told since he’s one of the deceased.. "

"Wait, how could a person that leaves his mark on history not be written in the book?"

"I don’t know about that. You, humans, are weird creatures... Political thinking is what I don’t understand. After all, I’ve met that person several times in the wars, and his strength is something I can’t fathom. If he was not poisoned, he might have been the person that defeated Laplace that day, not Perugius. "

"Huh...."

Confusion filled Eris and Rudeus’ expressions.

It took him a while to remember what happened on Earth to make Rudeus realize that this person might be scratched by the human ruler of the era.

"But, what’s about this Enlightenment thing?"

"Just think of it as the next stage of Mana Burst without the defect of the said event."

The Enlightenment is such a bizarre state.

No one can explain what it was and what it achieved when it reached that state.

Once the person wakes up from it, they will be more powerful, while most will only slightly improve.

This is not something desirable for someone that needs to be immobile for a long time.

So, the Enlightenment was not a popular thing.

It took Claude 4 days to awaken from his enlightenment.

Once he was awake, he immediately fainted with a high fever.

It took him another week to recover from the fever, but he is still working in the smithy even with that fever.

Though he stopped his training for that week, his dexterity could increase.

Between the person that achieves some big increment or not, Claude will fall for someone that achieves the latter.

He didn't get any better at anything, but his heart stopped being afraid of the dungeon.

With that fear taken away, he becomes more approachable and gentler.

Rudeus then realized he had gone back in time to the village.

"So he becomes a mad dog because of his fear?" Rudeus asked Ruijerd.

"Probably, since the bloodthirst surrounding him has diminished...."

"What... I thought he’d be stronger like that time in the manor... "

Eris's face can be disappointing since she wants to see something interesting.

But, the relief on Rudeus's face shows that he doesn’t want to be left behind further by Claude.

"Ruijerd, can we have a spar? That Warrior isn’t a warrior anymore...." Claude said while waving his hand to Ruijerd.

In the middle of the sparring ground, the groaning Gyes can be seen with his eyes swollen.

"Well, he might not be stronger physically." But, mentally, you need to be prepared as his real occupation isn’t a fighter. " Ruijerd said as he moved to the sparring ground.

"He isn’t a fighter with that prowess?" Eris asked.

"… I got to train harder...."

"I’ll come with you, Rudeus! Let’s train! " Eris said, following Rudeus, that they were walking faster to the training ground.

…

..

Meanwhile, in the Fittoa region, in the City of Roa, Arbalest HQ.

"Sauros, stop acting like a child! You’re a damn noble man. Can you just stop asking for a beast race maid? "

"Shut it, Mike! This is a man’s need! A boy like you won’t understand! "

"Ahhh, why’d Claude ask me to shelter you… I mean, you must be one of the reasons why the beast race has become such a desired slave commodity to the slavers. Damn, can’t you just act like a noble should? "

"What kind of act would a noble do? I am a noble, and this is something a Greyrat noble does! "

"Ah... I see why Paul became like that... Sigh, I wish Rudeus wouldn’t start to act like the Greyrat family... Ah, wait... He already did... "

Mike was babysitting Sauros, who acted like a baby, and thinking, "What’s wrong he did to be left with a whacko like this?"

"I’m sad about the Asura Kingdom’s future since this is the better noble of the empire... sigh... Should I leave the kingdom and start in another from now on? "

Knock

Knock

"Come."

"Master Mike, here’s the latest report on our search."

Mike received the papers from his subordinate, sat on the sofa, and read them carefully.

"I see... We'd found 90% of Buena villagers, and almost all of the Central Continent explored... Around 40% of Millis's continent is covered, and others are still under 30%. Huh... It’s too long. "

"What? You’ve already finished your exploration of the Central continent in under a year? You dare to call it slow? "

"Ugh, shut up, Sauros… Men just bring some female beast race to accompany Lord Sauros here...."

______________________________________________

[Edited 09/29/2022]

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