Ch.22 I Was Bullied So Hard I Was Isekai'ed Into A World of Sword And Magic And Emerged As The Lightning Samurai God To Hatefuck My Former Bully Until She Got Heart Eyes

— Law Greyrat —

As I ran on the road at full speed, my eyes finally caught the familiar sight of houses. I began to slow down before stopping just in front of the rather large town we had come across.

The red-haired girl in my arms slowly opened her eyes and looked around at our surroundings.

“We are… here?” Eris asked almost tiredly and I nodded. I hadn’t been running for very long, but Eris had been forced to keep her eyes closed the entire time thanks to my speed.

“Let’s try and find a place to stay before we do anything else.” I spoke quietly to her and she nodded. I lowered her so her feet could touch the ground and she stood up on wobbly feet. Once I was sure she was good to walk on her own, my eyes scanned the village we had spent so long trying to reach.

It was larger than Buena Village, but considerably smaller than Roa, and honestly that worked just fine. The population must be quite high, which means this place should have everything we’ll need for the coming days.

One of the most important things I could think of that we needed to have was information. One second we were standing in a field, the next we’re waking up on a mountain in a vast mountain range. Learning what happened, just how large the disaster was, and hearing from survivors would be our best bet while we’re here.

Heading back to Roa before learning those basic pieces of information would just be a massive waste of time.

I took Eris’ hand and walked forward. The girl I was seeing home quietly followed behind me as my eyes scanned the signs on some of the houses. Eventually I spotted an inn and pulled Eris along toward it. We entered and noticed a group of people sitting inside. The first floor looked like a dining area and there were plenty of rough looking people sitting at the tables. Most of their eyes fell on us as Eris and I entered but I didn’t let their gazes bother us. I pulled Eris all the way to the counter where a brown-haired older woman with her hair tied up and pretty large breasts was standing.

“Are you two kids lost?” She frowned as she looked down at us with concerned eyes.

“We are.” I nodded. “We’re from the Fittoa Region, specifically the Citadel of Roa.” I started and immediately my eyes narrowed as the woman’s eyes widened.

“Then what the hell are y’all doing up here?!” She nearly shouted. “Where are your parents?”

“We don’t know.” I admitted. “One second we were standing outside of Roa, then a super bright light consumed us, and the next we were waking up in the mountains.”

The room went dead quiet as all the chatter came to a stop. Everyone was looking at us with wide, confused eyes.

“You’re saying that light show from a couple of days back sent you two hurling into the mountains?” The woman asked as she grew more serious. I could see a bead of sweat dripping down her brow as she considered the two of us more carefully.

“I think it was more like teleportation, if we got launched away toward the mountains we would have died.” I scratched the back of my head.

“That’s… I don’t know what to make of that. A couple of nights ago we saw a storm of white light rush across all of Fittoa but we didn’t know what to make of it.” The woman admitted and I nearly dropped to my knees.

The Fittoa Region was huge, but even a light show that big would be hard to see from a faraway place like this if it was exclusive to Roa, meaning…

Paul, Zenith, Lilia, Norn, and Aisha must have all been swept up as well.

I clenched my fists and lowered my head.

“Girl, you’re wearing some fine cloth, what’s your name?” The woman asked and I could tell she was genuinely trying to lighten the mood rather than digging for information.

Eris being the foolish girl she was going to answer but thankfully I beat her to it.

“This is Eris, and my name is Law.” I smiled nervously at the woman. Eris looked at me with confusion and a frown began to form on her face.

“Law I can— Gugh!” Eris went to speak but I elbowed her in the side, shutting her up.

“Well it’s nice to meet you two. I must say, you both are rather well behaved.” The woman complimented us and I had to admit she was good at keeping people’s minds at ease.

“Thank you, you’re as kind as you are beautiful.” I offered the woman a more gentlemanlike smile and I listened as the entire inn blew up with laughter.

“Oh shut up the lot of you!” The brown-haired woman shouted and the laughter died down pretty fast. This woman was formidable if she could make a bunch of gruff men and women stop laughing with only a few words. Getting on her bad side wouldn’t be good for us.

“Your words flatter me, but I’m old enough to be your mother’s mother.” The woman placed a hand on her heart as she smiled down at me warmly. I blinked at her words. Sure she was an older woman but she didn’t look exceptionally old.

Realisation struck me as I remembered how old Paul and Zenith were when we were born. Judging by the stories, they were around eighteen or nineteen when they had Rudeus and I, so this woman calling herself a grandmother while being around her forties wasn’t too unusual.

“You two must need a place to stay, yes?” The woman asked and Eris and I nodded. “Well then, you’re more than welcome to stay here, but you’re gonna have to work for it.”

“That’s fine!” I grinned before Eris could say anything. I didn’t need her entitled little ass saying anything that would ruin our chances! “Thank you, Ms!”

“Call me Joanne.” The brown-haired innkeeper, Joanne, smiled at us. “Follow me, you two must be tired right, I’ll lead you to your room.”

I blinked, room… as in singular? Well I guess expecting two rooms would be kind of greedy. I looked at Eris who looked very unhappy at the moment but I just tapped her shoulder and followed after the kind woman. We could worry about getting separate rooms later, right now we needed to count our blessings and be happy.

The busty woman walked to the end of the counter and out of an opening before gesturing for us to follow. Eris gave me an odd look but I put on a genuine smile before ignoring the red-haired girl and following Ms. Joanne.

The inn-keep led us up the stairs and down a hall before she stopped at a closed door. She opened it and stepped aside so we could pass her.

As we walked into the room my face cringed a bit. The action came without my say so and it wasn’t because I considered the room to be unbearable… It's because I knew Eris would not be staying here.

I looked around the room and saw a run down looking mattress propped on a weak looking bed frame. Dirt stains that looked too hard to scrub out littered the room and there were small holes in the walls that looked big enough for rats to skitter through. My eyes slowly looked over to Eris to see her eyebrow raised as she held her head high and looked down at the room with more disgust than I have ever seen on her face. I’m not even kidding, I’ve seen her less disgusted with blood on her face and guts spilling out on the ground.

“This is it. It ain’t much but it should be enough to get you two through the night.” Joanne spoke as she placed her hands on her hips. “What do you two think?”

“It is absolutely-*”

“Amazing!” I shouted as I covered Eris’ mouth and smiled nervously at the older woman. Eris wriggled in my grip but I continued my act. This woman was nice enough to give us a room free of charge for the night, and I would not let Eris take that for granted.

“Haha!” Joanne let out a barking laughter that reminded me a lot of Ghislaine. “It’s quite alright lad, it’s clear that you two are quite well off, the room looks like shit, even common-folk could pick that up from a glance.”

My cheeks grew red as I slowly let go of Eris and the girl gave one last powerful rip to release herself from my grip. She glared at me before glaring at the woman.

“Eris…” I whispered warningly and watched as Eris’ glare lessened.

“Eris and I are very thankful for the room. I’m sure it will require an adjustment period but in time we should grow comfortable here.”

Joanne nodded and turned to take a step out of the door. Before leaving she turned back to us one more time and spoke. “I’m impressed by the guts you two’ve got… to be sent away to the mountains and return with your lives, you two are either incredibly lucky or more impressive than meets the eye.”

“Can’t we be both?” I shrugged with a small smile and Eris puffed her chest under the praise.

“Either way you both should know that as long as you work, you’ll have a room here. Either work for me or work like the rest of those shit stains downstairs and become adventurers. The choice is yours, just decide before tomorrow morning.”

My eyes narrowed at her words but I nodded anyway. She gave one last wave before closing the door and leaving us to ourselves for the night.

“Adventurers…” Eris whispered with wide red eyes. I turned away and walked over to the bed to take a seat and gather my thoughts.

We had managed to drag ourselves to a town, now what we needed to do was stay put. It sounded dumb, but until we knew more about what happened or got word from others that have been affected, we have no reason to leave.

Joanne’s options were interesting though… becoming adventurers. That may actually help us in the long run, more than just earning us a place to stay. If we became adventurers we could make a name for ourselves and even spread our name. If everyone we knew was affected by that light then hearing of us could end up guiding them to us. It wasn’t fool proof and it would take a year or two at least to adequately spread our names across the lands, but even still, it was better than sitting on our asses washing dishes or sweeping and cleaning. Plus, Eris wouldn’t follow me if I told her that we should work for Joanne rather than going out on adventures.

“Eris, we’re going to become adventurers tomorrow.” The words flowed from me with a confidence I rarely ever saw in myself. Eris immediately looked at me and her eyes lit up.

“Yes!” She jumped before lunging at me and forcing me to lay down on my back. She hugged me while on top of me all while muttering about her dreams coming true. Any dissatisfaction I had with our current closeness died when I noticed just how happy she was and how pure her intentions were. I smiled softly as I ran my hand through her hair as she babbled on about how we would slaughter monsters as an unstoppable force.

All this time I had been trying to keep her as unaffected and safe as possible, but in my heart I didn’t have anyone to do the same for me. The truth was… I was scared. Since the moment I woke up on that mountain, I was terrified, but I knew fear wouldn’t lead us out of that hellish place. I forced myself to carry the burden of our lives as I led Eris out, and only now do I feel that burden slipping off of my shoulders and I recognize just how heavy it was.

We were safe, things would be okay. We’d find the Boreas Family, we’d find our family and we would find Rudy. It is only a matter of time.

— Rudeus Greyrat —

The sun beat down on the three as they walked through the vast rocky wasteland that made up the Demon Continent. Hard dirt and rocks crunched beneath their feet giving way to the only sounds they heard as they trekked through such barren land.

Rudeus looked around at his surroundings and fully understood that the Demon Continent was not for the weak. They had only come across a few nasty monsters so far and even without those threats the land was incredibly taxing mentally.

They were essentially in the middle of nowhere with no landmarks for miles and miles. Rudeus understood that had he ended up here alone without Ghislaine or Ruijerd to keep him company he would have gone insane.

“Are we close?” Rudeus asked for the first time today. In his last life he had hated walking and had thought in this one he actually enjoyed exercising… Today had changed that and his hatred of moving had rekindled.

“Yes.” Ruijerd answered curtly. Rudeus side-eyed the Superd for the short answer but stayed quiet and kept walking. He kept his boredom and uncomfortable feelings to himself but realized that he couldn’t keep going like this without anything to keep his mind off of the mind numbing journey.

“Hey Ghislaine.” Rudeus smiled up at the beastwoman who was walking in front of him. She was keeping her body in the middle of the group and had insisted that she walk in the middle at all times. It didn’t take too long for Rudeus to understand that she was doing it to keep both of them safe from Ruijerd in case he turned on them. Her mistrust of him was valid, even if Rudeus felt as though he was right about the Superd.

“Hm?” The large woman slowed down a bit but kept her eyes on the back of the green-haired man.

“That light… I think it brought us here, do you think Law and Eris got swept up in it too?” Rudeus asked even though he already knew the answer.

Ghislaine crossed her arms and tilted her head with a frown. “They weren’t that far from us, so maybe? I’m not picking up their scents though.”

“So the teleportation was completely random.” Rudeus sighed. “The light started in Roa and then came for us, so everyone in Roa must have gone through the same thing right?”

Ghislaine paused in her walking and looked back at Rudeus with wide eyes full of surprised realization. Rudeus scratched his cheek and averted his eyes from her.

“We gotta get back as soon as possible.” Ghislaine narrowed her eyes and picked up her pace. “Go faster.” She barked an order at Ruijerd who had been walking at the same pace. Ruijerd raised a brow then looked at Rudeus who offered him a nervous smile.

Maybe he shouldn’t have let her in on that bit of information…

— Later —

After hours of basically jogging, fighting monsters, and miles upon miles of barren land, they finally saw a small settlement of huts ahead of them.

Upon seeing civilization, Rudeus fell to his knees and thanked his glorious blue-haired goddess for allowing him to rest! Ghislaine backtracked and dragged him behind her since she didn’t want to wait for him to get up and he didn’t mind the rough treatment. At least he didn’t have to walk anymore!

“Halt!” A young looking blue-haired man called out in the Demon Language as he walked forward with a sword at his hip.

Ruijerd stopped at the village entrance and held his arm out for Ghislaine to stop as well. Contrary to Ghislaine who seemed upset at their sudden stopping, Rudeus was beaming as he looked up at the sky.

“I am here to see your elder.” Ruijerd spoke with some bass in his voice that took the blue-haired man off guard.

“… Very well, I will contact him.” The guard said before standing perfectly still without moving an inch.

Rudeus blinked back at him. Was he… fucking with them?

“Telepathy.” Ruijerd answered his question even though he never asked it. “The Migurd Race possesses the ability to communicate with one another telepathically.”

Telepathy?! That’s so cool!

For a moment the realization of how cool telepathy would be left him and was replaced by a sense of unease. The Migurd Race… he had heard of that race before, he just couldn’t remember where.

The soft taps of footsteps approaching made Rudeus let out a sigh as he rose to his feet and looked at the approaching people. There were a couple of men along with a woman. There was one older looking guy with the same blue hair that everyone else had that was walking slightly ahead of everyone else.

“Ruijerd, you have returned. It has been many years, old friend.” The old man smiled with a reminiscent light in his blue eyes.

“That it has.” Ruijerd kept his face completely neutral before gesturing at us. “We need a place to stay, these lands are harsh and it is no place for a child.”

The older blue haired man looked at Rudeus and a bead of sweat fell down the boy’s brow under the group’s gazes.

“I see, you are more than welcome to stay in our village, especially after the good deeds you have done for us.” The man returned his eyes to Ruijerd and the Superd lowered his head a bit.

“Thank you, Rokkus.”

The blue-haired man nodded before returning his gaze to Ghislaine and Rudeus. “Forgive me for not yet introducing myself. I am Rokkus Migurdia, the elder of this village. Please enter and find comfort in our home.”

“Wait… Migurdia?!” Rudeus blinked in surprise once again earning the attention of everyone present. “Are you all related to Roxy Migurdia?”

The group went silent as several people’s eyes widened.

The man who had stopped them earlier stepped forward and placed his hand on his heart. His eyes screamed with emotion as he struggled to get words out. “Roxy… Roxy is my daughter!”

Again Rudeus found himself surprised. This man who looked no older than twenty was Roxy’s father?!

“Is she okay?! How do you know her?! Where is she now?!” The man bombarded Rudeus with questions but he stopped when Rokkus stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I believe we can pester our guests with questions later, for now we should allow them to relax.” Rokkus smiled understandingly at the younger man who seemed upset.

“No, it’s fine.” Rudeus held up his hand. “I know Roxy because she was my magic tutor. She lived with us for about a year before she left to go tutor somewhere else.”

“A magical tutor…” The man who had claimed to be Roxy’s father breathed out and looked down at the ground. A relieved smile tugged on his lips as his eyes glossed over. “Then she’s safe?”

“She is.” Rudeus assured. “Last time I heard from her was a few months ago through a letter. She is currently in the Shirone Kingdom tutoring Prince Pax Shirone, for whatever that’s worth.”

Roxy’s father clenched his fists and stared off at the ground. The man was clearly lost in his thoughts and Rudeus felt bad. He hadn’t heard much about Roxy’s time in her village because she hadn’t mentioned it. Judging by her father’s reaction to hearing about Roxy’s life, they were likely very estranged. Rudeus was curious as to why, but he wouldn’t judge Roxy for her actions. How could he when he went over twenty years without leaving his room, much less caring about his family?

“You got food?” Ghislaine questioned as she walked forward.

“We do, we can have something made post haste.”

“Mm, thanks.” Ghislaine walked past the elder and moved into the village. Rudeus stared at her back with a deadpan. Did she even know where she was going? She definitely didn’t.

“Well, it seems one of our guests is eager to see our humble village.” The elder, Rokkus, chuckled to himself and some of the others around him joined in. “Then I believe it is time I lead you to your temporary quarters.”

“They can stay at our hut.” Roxy’s father spoke immediately which earned everyone attention.

“That works wonderfully, I leave them to you, Rowin.” Rokkus nodded with a look of understanding and Rudeus could tell he was in for a night of questioning. He didn’t mind though, after all talking about Roxy was one of his favorite things in the world! His master was the best damn master this world could give him after all!

Rudeus and Ruijerd followed Rokkus and his entourage as they led them to Rowin’s hut. Rudeus didn’t even know where Ghislaine was. The beastwoman had gone off somewhere but she’d be back and she was a Sword King so Rudeus didn’t even waste a brain cell worrying about her.

When they arrived at Rowin’s hut they saw a woman outside hanging clothes up. She turned to them and acknowledged their presence. She gave a deep and long bow to the elder before looking down at Rudeus with a warm motherly smile.

Rudeus blinked then nearly facepalmed at the realization. They have telepathy… the entire village probably knew everything he said about Roxy by now which wasn’t a bad thing but it was embarrassing how long it took him to figure that out.

The woman stared at the elder for a while and Rudeus could see that they were communicating with one another. After a while the Rowin gestured to the woman and smiled at him.

“This is my wife and Roxy’s mother, Rokari.” He introduced the woman who kept the same warm smile on her face.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Rudeus Greyrat, Roxy’s student.” Rudeus lowered his head a bit in a more traditional Japanese way like the rest of the Migurd were doing rather than the Asuran noble way.

“Please child, the pleasure is all mine!” Rokari beamed. “Any friend of our daughter is a friend of ours, you are always welcome here.”

“Thank you!” Rudeus grinned as they moved aside and allowed him and Ruijerd to walk in. He was happy that Roxy’s parents seemed happy to meet him. Having the creators of his Goddess appreciate and respect him would do wonders for his chances with his master!

Upon entering, Ruijerd took a seat on the ground and Rudeus copied him. Rowin and Rokkus sat opposite to them while Rokari stayed outside.

“Will Roxy’s mother be joining us?” Rudeus asked as he looked toward the outside of the hut.

“She and some of the others are preparing a meal worthy of our guests, she will return in time.” Rokkus informed them and Rudeus nodded slowly. “Now then, forgive me for being so direct, but I find myself wondering… what are a beast woman and a human child doing this far north on the Demon Continent?”

Just from the question Rudeus could tell that the air of their meeting had completely shifted. Rokkus was clearly interested in their situation and his seriousness showed that.

“Does it matter?” Ruijerd narrowed his eyes at Rokkus and the elder looked at the Superd with calm blue eyes.

The elder let out a sigh and shook his head. “No, it does not. Even still I wish to know.”

“It’s fine, Ruijerd.” Rudeus chuckled but Ruijerd put his hand in front of Rudeus.

“No it is not.” Ruijerd’s frown sank deeper and there was some coldness growing in his deep green eyes.

“This boy is a child, have you lost your way, Rokkus?” Ruijerd questioned with his eyes locked on the elder.

“I understand that Ruijerd, but I merely wish to learn and acknowledge what distress has led him and his partner here. Do I not deserve that much?”

The question brought silence to the hut and slowly Ruijerd turned his head away.

“Go on, child.” Rokkus waved his hand and Rudeus nodded.

“Well… just yesterday I was on the Central Continent within the Citadel of Roa located in the Fittoa Region… that was until a massive light erupted from Roa and consumed Ghislaine and I. When we woke up… we were deep in the Demon Continent.”

The recollection of events causes the room to grow silent again as Rokkus and Rowin processed Rudeus’ words.

“Teleportation magic… that can be the only explanation.” Rokkus closed his eyes and brought a hand to his chin. “I feel for you, boy. You and your friend, Ghislaine you called her?” Rokkus asked and Rudeus nodded. “You both have found yourselves in the worst place possible. Your home is a world away… but if there is anyone who can bring you back, it is Ruijerd.”

Rudeus looked at Ruijerd with a contemplative look. Ruijerd had promised to take them back home but would he really stand by that promise? Rokkus wasn’t kidding when he said that they were on the other side of the world. The Fittoa Region is literally almost the furthest you can get from the northern part of the Demon Continent, which means they’d need to traverse the length of the entire world just to get back home. It was an incredible ordeal that made Rudeus wonder if he would ever see Fittoa again…

“Do you truly wish to bring this child back home, Ruijerd?” Rokkus asked slowly and judging by his face he already knew the answer.

“I have already given my word, and I would never leave a child behind.” Ruijerd spoke quietly.

“Yes, your nature always changes when it comes to children, that has never changed about you.” Rokkus nodded.

“I’m back.” Ghislaine announced as she entered the hut with a piece of meat in her mouth.

“And it seems you found the food.” Rudeus chuckled and the others in the hut minus Ruijerd did as well.

“She was quite hungry, if you two are anything like her you will be delighted to know that the food is ready.” Rokari came in and clapped with an excited smile.

“Then let us put aside this serious talk and feast.” Rokkus closed his eyes and smiled. Rudeus watched with awe as a couple Migurd women and Rokari brought in a bunch of food. The food didn’t look as savory as the Asuran food but it still didn’t look too bad. At least not with his empty stomach singing to him!

The group took time and ate and drank quietly for the most part. Rudeus was almost certain that the Migurd with them were communicating telepathically and again the oldest son of Paul pondered on just how useful telepathy was.

As the food on their plates began to lessen, Rokkus slid aside his plate and placed his head in his hands as he patiently waited for everyone else to finish. Rudeus understood the elder’s intention to talk and sped up with his eating. He side eyed Ghislaine who was taking the last bite of her plate and his eye twitched. The woman ate through more plates than anyone else faster than anyone else could manage.

“I must admit, your willingness to guide these two is quite valiant, Ruijerd. That being said… I believe you accompanying your new companions may bring them more harm than good.”

Ruijerd slid aside his plate while looking deeply into Rokkus’ eyes. “How I am perceived has never stopped me from helping a child, I will not desert them.”

Rokkus let out a sigh and massaged his temples. “Any demon settlement will not allow you entry, you know that. To live in the wild wilderness of the Demon Continent is a harsher journey than to rest at the lands inhabited and protected by demons.”

Ruijerd folded his hands and grit his teeth and it was clear he was conflicted. Nonetheless he eventually shook his head with eyes filled with determination. “I will take these two through the lands and settlements myself, and if anyone tries to hold me back I will cut them down.”

“I’m sure you will.” Rokkus frowned. “But that will only tarnish the Superd name further.”

“Don’t.” Ruijerd leveled a hate-filled glare at Rokkus but the village elder met it evenly.

“The Superd may be less cruel than people believe, but if you slaughter demons just to enter a city and protect this boy, you will only worsen your name.” Rokkus spoke out and it was clear the man wasn’t scared of Ruijerd. Whether it was because the elder was strong, or just because he respected and trusted Ruijerd enough to not attack, Rudeus didn’t know.

Rudeus realized that the mood had dropped severely and he decided it was time to do what he did best. Gather more information and make peace.

“The Superd… I thought they went mad under Laplace who thrived in slaughtering others-

“You thought wrong!” Ruijerd’s glare was immediately leveled at Rudeus as his eyes were fueled with his anger. “It was that bastard Laplace! We were innocent!”

Rudeus wisely backed off and shrunk in on himself. A sideways glance at Ghislaine and he could see the woman had a hand on the hilt of her blade as she glared at Ruijerd with the same frenzied look she had before when she woke up and saw him.

“You cannot fault the boy for not knowing the truth, it is widespread knowledge that the Superd are evil, even if it is not true.” Rokkus placated the Superd demon who silently clenched his fists.

“I’m sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, Ruijerd.” Rudeus apologized and rubbed the back of his nervously. “I never knew of the Superd’s innocence… if you could, I would like to hear your story.”

“No… you were not in the wrong.” Ruijerd took a slow breath. “And the Superd are far from innocent, but we did not do the things that foul liar Laplace pinned on us.”

Rudeus’ eyes widened at Ruijerd’s words. The Demon God Laplace… had pinned the blame on the Superd?!

“We were loyal to Laplace, we trusted him and we killed in his name in an effort to win the war.” Ruijerd started with clenched fists. “Us Superd fight with these spears, they initially start as our tails but eventually harden and snap off and thus they become our weapons of war and our pride and will given form. One day… Laplace commanded we relinquish our spears and take the spears he procured for our race. All of the Superd were hesitant, but I as their leader trusted and believed in Laplace.” Ruijerd gritted his teeth with sheer blazing anger expressed on his whole face. “He tricked us! The spears were cursed! They caused us to go mad and slaughter each other and feast on our own allies!”

The hut went silent and Rudeus looked around to see the Migurd had solemn expressions but not ones of surprise. They all already knew this story…

Rudeus looked over to Ghislaine to see she was watching Ruijerd with attentive eyes but her hostility had mostly dissolved as they listened to his dark past.

“… In my maddened state… I killed my own son.” Ruijerd admitted as he bit his lip and looked down at the table. “And when I was pulled from my madness, I had nothing left. The Superd had completely vanished.” Ruijerd clenched his fist and banged it against the table. “It’s his fault! Laplace tricked us and I was foolish enough to trust him! The Superd name was destroyed and our race was nearly wiped out.”

“Ruijerd.” Rudeus whispered so quietly that it was below a whisper. He doubted anyone could have heard him but his intention wasn’t to be heard anyway. Rudeus could now understand why that shady guy had told him to help Ruijerd out. The man’s past was depressing and now he had to live with the severe consequences of his decision, and so did his race.

“This spear.” Ruijerd grabbed the spear he had been traveling with the entire time. “It is the spear of my son, Ruiweld Superdia. Born from his body and given to me after his death, I will carry it for the rest of my life and use it to bring honor to his sacrifice.”

There was a silence that consumed the hut as Ruijerd finished. Rudeus locked eyes on the spear with wide eyes and felt a pang of hurt hit his heart. To carry his own son’s spear… Rudeus couldn’t even understand the amount of pain he must feel every moment his hand is wrapped around it.

“I see… thank you for explaining your past to me.” Rudeus spoke slowly as he tried his best not to slip up and offend Ruijerd again.

Ruijerd remained silent when regarding Rudeus but looked at Rokkus with a determined glare. “I will see these two home, regardless of the effect it has.” Ruijerd spoke with a tone that just screamed unchanging. No matter what Rokkus said he would not change Ruijerd’s mind.

“Then I wish you all the best. You all are welcome to stay as long as you like until you are ready to set off.”

“We’ll be leavin’ tomorrow.” Ghislaine spoke up immediately. Both Rudeus and Ruijerd already knew she was in a rush to return to Roa so they weren’t surprised by her words.

“Very well, please enjoy your night then. We will talk tomorrow morning.” Rokkus smiled and stood up. Ruijerd nodded to the elder and he returned it before walking out of the hut and leaving for the night.

A few seconds after the elder left, Rokari and Rowin began interrogating Rudeus about Roxy with the intention of learning everything he knew about her, and Rudeus realized that he was in for a very long night. A nervous chuckle escaped him and he spoke about the time he and Law learned under their magical tutor. All the while a reminiscent smile tugged on his lips. Thinking about his childhood always brought a smile to his face and made Rudeus think about what the future held for him. Would he see Roxy and Law again? Would he be able to spend time with them like he had in the past?

A warm smile came to him as he nodded to himself. He knew he would see them, Law was too strong to be caught up for too long, and Roxy should be safe in the Shirone Kingdom.

Time… time is all it would take. When he returned to the Central Continent, his brother would be there waiting for him and they could set out on their adventures they dreamed of their entire lives.

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Beta Readers: @LuluViBritania (FF.N, SB, WN and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord) / @Dragonboy1 @Forzarismo

Author’s Note: The time it took me to write this chapter was more than I’d like to admit. Not because of writer’s block, but because this chapter was written when I was moving. It was a pain in the fucking ass moving all that shit and even now I’m dead tired.