Leon Greyrat: The Second Son – Mushoku Tensei OC

Chapter 54 – Road to Sharia

— Sylphiette —

“Stop,” Leon said, raising his hand to halt the caravan. “We have company. Thirty, in the tree line.”

As soon as he said that, a rain of arrows descended on the group, only for them to be blocked in midair.

…For some reason, I knew that was Leon’s work.

While I was surprised, I quickly got into a combat stance with practised ease.

We were being ambushed.

With that, the battle started, with the thirty enemies Leon had mentioned sprinting toward us, to which Eris, Leon, and I ran forward to intercept.

Luckily, they only seemed like bandits, so it was looking increasingly likely that the initial ambush after crossing the border was the only group of assassins sent to harm Ariel.

But, as I was just about to engage them, I was left behind, watching in amazement as Leon and Eris fought.

I was sure that Leon could have dealt with them in an instant. 

After all, he had done that against stronger opponents during our first meeting.

But instead, the two of them fought together, dominating the opponent’s overwhelming with perfect coordination and unmatched skill.

It was beautiful, in a way.

Every time Eris cut down an enemy, Leon supported her by blasting anyone closing in on her back with wind magic, and cutting down any that tried to sneak past her.

Going one by one, the two of them dispatched all the bandits, all without our group assisting in any way, leaving the rest of us to simply watch on in amazement.

And through it all… Leon had yet to use his sword, instead using his body as a weapon, cutting through the enemies nonetheless with his bare hands.

I was a bit confused as to why he was using unarmed combat when his sword was right there, but… it didn’t seem to be impeding him too much.

But still, those two… they really were quite strong.

It had only been a week since they joined our group, and our first instance of fighting together, but to think the gap between us would be so large… 

I was as annoyed as I was astonished, especially at Eris, who was able to fight right at Leon’s side.

I then watched as the final bandit, hiding beneath the treeline, formed a ball of flame in his hands, his gaze directed at…

“Leon!” I shouted. “Magician.”

“Thanks, Sylphy,” he said, not moving from his position as he extended his hand outward. “But I already knew.”

The bandit magician’s magic then… disappeared, the flame dissipating into thin air.

What?

Did he lose control?

No… the bandit looked just as confused, so that couldn’t be it.

“I just wanted the practice,” Leon said, forming a spear of fire at the tip of his finger that he then sent toward the magician, quickly searing a hole through the bandit’s head. 

And like that, the ambush of thirty enemies, which would previously have left us with at least one casualty, had been nullified in a single minute.

“Dammit. I forgot about Aisha and Norn,” Leon muttered.

“I told you they’re already mature enough to see that,” Eris said, wiping the blood off of her sword. “They’re fine, right? They can close their eyes if they hate it.”

“I guess…” he mumbled.

And to them… this was natural.

I suppose fighting on the Demon Continent must have been a regular occurrence if it was as harsh of a place as I had heard, so it was obvious they were experienced in combat.

Still… it was quite amazing.

And from the way Luke was staring at them, he must have thought so too.

Though he was only looking at Eris… perhaps he appreciated her sword skills?

While only an Intermediate-rank swordsman, he was still a man after all.

However, it did give me a pleasant tingly feeling when I reminded myself that Leon was stronger and that, more importantly, he was mine.

Hehehe~

Leon was mine~

I felt my gaze trail down to my hand, where the ring Leon so lovingly put on me was placed.

To think, only a week ago, I would have thought that something like this was a dream, but now… Leon and I were promised to each other.

Ah! But still… I was more interested in Leon’s magic.

That initial defence to block the arrows… that was barrier magic, right? 

And then there was that thing he used to stop the magician…

“Quite a splendid display,” Ariel said, poking her head out of the carriage with an appreciative smile. “Let’s stop here for now for lunch.”

With everyone dismounting from their horses and carts, I then decided to walk over to Leon, ensuring my voice was lowered so no one else would hear.

“Leon,” I said, tugging on his sleeve. “…What was that magic you used?”

He turned to look down at me, moving his body slightly to block my sight from the rest of the group.

“What magic, the one to disable the magician?” he asked.

I nodded.

“That’s… just something I picked up. Here, try to form a water ball,” he said.

I did as he asked, imagining the molecules of water combining, just as he had taught me all those years ago.

Remembering times back then, when everything was so exciting and Leon was so carefree, and now that those times had been taken away…

It was bittersweet.

“Good. And then…”

Extending his hand, I then felt my connection to the magic break, leaving the water to fall to the ground, splashing at my feet.

“W-What?” I said, too shocked to keep up the ‘silent’ part of my act. “H-How… what happened?”

Magic… wasn’t supposed to stop like that!

“I disturbed your magic,” he said with a proud smile. “How about I teach you? I assume it will be a good skill for a guard to have.”

Disturbed my magic?

That… I had never heard of such a thing.

But it was just like Leon to be able to do something so amazing…

Ah! He asked if he wanted to teach me, right?

I quickly nodded my head, looking up at him with a smile.

And so, during lunch, while Aisha and Norn decided to try preparing lunch for Leon, Eris, and me, Leon began teaching me the basic principles of the technique, correcting the flow of my mana with his Demon eye as I attempted to follow his instructions.

To be honest, I… really missed this.

After getting my bearings, I had attempted to learn more magic from the royal palace’s library, but I quickly found that without Leon and Rudy’s unique method of instruction, it was quite difficult and… boring to learn.

Of course, with me already being an Advanced-rank magician in all elemental magic schools, Intermediate-rank in healing and detoxification magic. And with my silent spellcasting enabling me to form my own spells, I never had an express need to do so.… I missed it. 

Learning.

Especially when I was learning with Leon.

Ah… my feelings… they were growing even stronger.

It was almost frightening, how strong they were.

After all, when I was left like this, what would I ever do without him?

But seeing that we were already promised… I suppose there was nothing to fear, right?

“We can keep practising whenever you want,” he said as we began preparing to head out again. “And if you want…”

He then leaned his head closer, whispering into my ear in a way that sent a warm feeling down my spine, “I would need you to not spread it, but I can teach you barrier magic as well.”

Leaning back to face me, he smiled as he patted my head, “After all, I want you to be safe… And Ariel as well, I guess.”

Ahh… those words… what are you doing to me, Leon?

I truly do love this man… with everything that I have, I love him.

Glancing around, and noticing everyone was preoccupied with their preparations and not glancing our way, I decided to act a little bolder than usual.

And so, I quickly wrapped my hands around his neck, my heart pounding in anticipation.

“…I love you, Leon,” I said as I stood on my toes to capture his lips, relishing in the pleasant sensations and sweet tastes.

Mmm… yeah, while it’s not exactly like I had imagined, this was surely a dream.

And what a pleasant dream it was… all the more so since it had come true.

— Leon Greyrat —

Slowly trotting down the road with Norn resting in front of me in the saddle, I leaned back as I felt the cool breeze of winter brush across me.

It was refreshing but… also quite chilly.

But seeing that Norn and Aisha were both comfortably snuggled up in their coats, it seemed that the cold wasn’t bothering them.

Those coats were a damn good purchase.

It had been a month since I crossed the border of Asura, which meant it was also a month since I had reunited with Sylphy, and a month since we became promised to each other.

Our relationship had progressed… slowly.

After all, we were almost always on guard, whether it be against humans or monsters, and that meant she also had to keep up her ‘Silent Fitz’ persona.

So no talking, and no affectionate gestures, obviously.

Still, despite that, I had been able to sneak in a few kisses here and there, as well as a few moments of multiple, deeper kisses.

Those moments usually only happened when I was teaching her barrier and disturb magic, though, so it was reserved for our downtimes.

But I loved those moments nonetheless, and from the way she always smiled so beautifully during and after the act, Sylphy did as well.

Unfortunately, even with our practice sessions, Sylphy was still unable to use disturb magic, likely due to not being able to see mana like me. But she was getting better at holding its form against my attacks, so there was progress.

And then, there was Eris.

Because of the people nearby, the thin barrier of the tent, and the fact that we were often switching guard duty, we had been holding ourselves back quite a bit.

But unfortunately, or perhaps I should say fortunately, last night our bottled-up feelings and urges erupted… quite literally, at least in my case.

It was a pleasant experience, to say the least.

“So that’s how you ended up staying in the Great Forest?” Ariel asked, leaning forward out of the window of her carriage as she listened.

Ah, whoops. I spaced out there.

“Yep,” I nodded. “They were quite thankful for us saving them, so they offered us a place to stay for the entire rainy season. Overall, it was a lucky meeting for both of us.”

I was currently trotting alongside Ariel’s carriage, which also contained Sylphy inside, and telling them stories of our adventures, like I had for much of our journey.

After all, it was quite boring to simply ride in silence, and both Sylphy and Ariel were quite interested in our tales.

Eris also liked telling them stories, especially when it contained a hint of adventure, but right now, she was simply watching the scenery with wide eyes alongside Aisha, who was in her lap.

Right.

I had forgotten, but it had been the first time Eris had seen snow in a long time.

And as for Norn and Aisha… they might not even remember the last time they saw snow.

After all, it was only becoming winter now, and for the last winter, we were too far south for snow to fall, and before that we were in the Millis and Demon continents respectively.

So this was quite a novel experience, and with the way the towering trees were dusted in white, and the ground blanketed in a soft layer of snow… it was quite beautiful as well.

Either way, it was cute to see Norn and Aisha all excited, and even Eris was showing a glimmer of enthusiasm she had lost ever since reaching the Asura kingdom.

Though, Norn was currently sleeping after having tuckered herself out with her sword training earlier today… silly girl.

But still, with the surroundings being so beautiful, it would be a shame to just leave it at sightseeing.

Hmm… maybe I could ask Ariel for a longer break so we could enjoy it.

“But what happened for your companion to take so long coming back to the forest?” Ariel asked in confusion. “And especially the beastfolk warriors… was there something stopping them?”

I was quite surprised with how interested the princess was in my story.

After all, with someone of her status, she should have been able to hear many stories from many amazing people.

But I appreciated it nonetheless.

Wait… was part of her charisma?

Well… if it was, fair play to her.

She definitely didn’t seem as… disgusting as other nobles were to me.

“…You could say that. The smugglers had a pretty good plan that would have worked if I wasn’t there. Eris would have better details about it though…”

My words trailed off as I looked to the sky.

“Is there something wrong, Leon?” Sylphy asked.

“…Just a second.”

Ensuring Norn was secure, I quickly hopped off the horse, stepping out ahead of it before our new visitor made themselves known.

Grooaaah!

Slamming to the ground in front of us, causing a plume of powdery snow to fly into the air, a monster made its appearance, its red scales glinting in the sunlight as it roared.

A Red Dragon.

What the hell was this thing doing so far out of its territory?

I had heard stories of strays coming down from the mountains and not being able to fly back, but… this was quite far.

Was it injured? Stupid?

Well, luckily it was grounded now, so I should be able to deal with it.

“A-A Red D-Dragon?” one of the attendants sputtered out in fear.

“It’s alright,” I said, walking forward. “Everyone stay back. Eris, Sylphy, watch out for any other monsters. I’ll deal with this.”

I had been quite… bored, with our slower pace.

After all, with the need to guard a caravan, and not being able to navigate the often unstable roads easily with just horses, we weren’t able to go nearly as fast as I’d hoped.

So it was only obvious, right?

I was antsy for a fight, and this was the perfect opponent.

Strong.

And an opponent I wouldn’t have to be overly cautious of, worrying about schemes to get to Ariel, like I would against humans.

“What are you doing so far from home?” I asked.

Instead of returning my greeting, it simply bucked its head, releasing a spout of flames towards us.

Ah, well, I tried.

As I thought, monsters were better to fight.

Unfortunately, its flame breath was not considered magic, at least from what I could see, so I couldn’t remove it with disturb magic.

But… since this fire was natural… and part of the environment, much like the wind and earth I manipulated for my magic… I could simply take control of it.

As its flames closed in towards me, I spread my mana into the air, infusing it into the fire and taking control of it before stopping it and concentrating it into a compressed ball.

Unsheathing my sword, I sent the fireball back towards it, watching as the dragon brought its wings up to defend itself.

Well… let’s see how far my renewed swordsmanship has come.

This was considered an S-rank threat, right?

While I wouldn’t be able to confidently kill it if it was in a large horde, if it was just one…

It should be a good measuring stick, at the very least.

Letting the touki spread into my sword, I stretched it into strings, forcing them to overlap and tie together, almost like braiding hair, as it trailed down my blade.

It wasn’t nearly as good as Orsted’s application, but that was okay.

I would get there eventually.

And the trees around the dragon… there were three big and sturdy enough to use as platforms.

Letting my touki flow into the atmosphere, I traced a path to my position and the tree to my right, and crouching down, as soon as the dragon pounced on my position, I leaped toward that very tree.

My feet planted against the trunk and I felt the lumber explode from the pressure, splinters of bark bursting into the air as I leaped once again, this time using the touki path I had created to speed toward the dragon, my blade dealing a deep gash in the back of its neck.

But that wouldn’t be enough to take down an S-rank threat.

Screeching in pain, the dragon turned its head towards me, its gaze blazing in anger as it leapt toward me.

Narrowing my eyes, I felt my perception of the world slow down as I focused on its claws as they neared my chest, and raising my sword… I parried it, stepping past the dragon in a blur as its arm soared through the air.

As for what I had done, it was simply the opposite of my other unique move.

For my boosted Longsword of Light, which was still unnamed, I used the application of Dance of Deluge, a Water God technique, to increase its power and speed.

For the move I had just used, however, I used the principles of the Sword God Style to increase the power of the Water God Style’s Flow.

Flow, in essence, used the opponent’s power and touki to reverse the effects of an attack, either through nullifying the opponent’s power or using their touki itself against them.

But with my technique, I also used the basic application of Flow, but instead of simply using the opponent’s power against them… I used it for myself, taking in the force to increase my speed and the touki to increase my power.

I still felt like my swordsmanship was missing something, something that was just out of reach, but I was still pleased with my accomplishments.

Rooaaaah!

Oh, it’s still alive?

Well… I used both of the techniques I wanted to try at full power, so…

“Uh, here.”

I then coated my sword in lightning, letting the touki mix with the pure energy as I stabbed into the dragon’s side, causing its body to freeze as the electricity ran through its body.

And a moment later, with smoke rising out of the gaps of its glistening red scales, it fell to the ground, limp, and most importantly, dead.

Hmm… were those techniques enough?

I know that my unique Flow move would only show its true power against a human opponent with touki, but still…

“Am I really strong enough…?” I muttered to myself.

After all, the Dragon God was far above the level of this lizard, and unlike this lizard, he would destroy me if I gave him a single second.

And my techniques… they were just a better version of the two most basic attack and counter techniques that I already knew.

Improved, but basic nonetheless.

I know they were strong in their simplicity, but… how could I make something truly unique?

That feeling of something missing… I don’t know how, but I have a feeling that once I got that, I could improve much more.

Sighing, I looked back to the group, only to be met by a collection of wide-eyed stares.

My battle was apparently impressive enough to leave even the level-headed princess speechless.

Eris and my sisters were the only ones not surprised, with Aisha and the now-awake Norn looking at the display with wide, excited smiles and Eris looking at me with… well, I could only describe it as lust.

…I guess I would be getting some action for two nights in a row, at least if those lidded eyes were anything to go by.

Anyway, with the battle concluded, our group decided to use this as the stopping point for lunch, and with a few of Ariel’s attendants carving the dragon scales and fangs off its corpse, I decided to take the time to have some fun in the snow with my family.

Norn and Aisha were initially confused about what to do, simply standing around in the knee-deep snow, but after I threw them into a nearby snow bank, they quickly found their way to have fun.

Unfortunately, the first way was pelting me with snowballs, an attack that Eris quickly joined in on, but they were giggling the entire time with wide smiles, so I bared with it, even if I got quite wet.

We then moved on to building a ginormous snowman, an idea that Rudy showed me back in Buena Village, with Norn and Aisha both deciding to make it taller than me and using my shoulders as a platform to place the rocks on its face.

And then, before we left, there was sledding, with Eris and I carving a pair of sleds out of the tree I had accidentally destroyed and going down the giant hill near our camp.

Of course, for Eris and I, who could move at speeds faster than sound, there wasn’t any excitement in the act itself, but seeing Aisha and Norn’s happy smiles made up for it and more.

It was at this point that Sylphy joined in, which I was surprised by as she was meant to keep up her ‘Silent Fitz’ persona, but soon enough all five of us began rolling down the hill and laughing with glee.

Even if I was acting childish, especially for someone who was currently the guard for a princess, I didn’t care.

Even if there was still a lot of work to do in reuniting with Mama, Lilia, and Rudy, I didn’t care.

Because these happy moments… those smiles on those four precious faces… this was everything I wanted.

These family times, where everyone was happy and carefree and the chilliness of winter was overpowered by the warmth of love… it meant everything to me.

During our time playing together, I looked over to Ariel who was near her carriage, only to notice her staring at us with a blank face almost… longingly.

…Odd.

That… wasn’t a face I had seen on the princess thus far.

But as soon as our eyes met, she performed a fake smile before getting back into her carriage, with Luke following behind her.

I had seen that fake smile quite a few times now, to the point where I had gotten used to it, but… why?

Why, this time… did it seem pained?