Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race Chapter 254: 254 - Brutal Trial

Minitona, after spending a long ti chattering beside Aisha, finally said her goodbyes.

"I need to get back to classes, Lady Aisha."

She gave a respectful bow to my daughter, then turned to with a warm smile.

"It was a pleasure to et you, Lady Lilia!"

"The pleasure was mine." I replied, still getting used to the fact that so many people treated Aisha with such reverence.

As soon as the beast-girl walked away, we began to talk about all kinds of things.

I had so many questions I barely knew where to start.

For a mont, at the instant I saw her again, I had completely forgotten all the problems that surrounded — worries, regrets, plans.

Everything seed more irrelevant. What mattered was only Aisha, my daughter, in front of .

I wanted to know everything about the life she had led in recent years.

Observing the way she moved, her posture, the confidence in her gaze… everything indicated she was no longer the little girl I had left behind.

And she also seed eager to tell about it.

To my surprise, like , Aisha was already an Advanced swordswoman in the Water God Style.

The sa level I had reached only after a lifeti of dedication, training under my father's strict gaze and, for a ti, with the guidance of Eidar, who was a Water Saint.

It took decades to get there. And she had achieved it at ten years old.

Perhaps, physically, I still had so advantage due to the natural maturity of my body.

But that difference could easily be offset by the strengthening of Touki that she had already mastered to so extent.

I knew how impressive that was… but, curiously, she didn't seem all that impressed.

"I probably won't reach the Saint level in swordsmanship that soon…" she said, shrugging.

"I'm focusing more on improving my use of magic."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Is that what Rygar told you to do?"

Aisha shook her head.

"No, no. The master gives plenty of freedom about what to train. After all, he can teach anything. But he told that swordsmanship training is much more effective when the body has already developed in adolescence. So I decided to prioritize magic for now."

I nodded slowly.

"Makes sense…" I murmured.

The world of geniuses really was sothing else. I rembered well when Paul appeared at my father's dojo when we were young.

In a few months, he surpassed not only but all the other practitioners in the dojo. He was only eleven or twelve at the ti.

I envied him for a long ti. Jealous that my father imdiately considered him the heir to the dojo.

That was a genius.

And, looking at Aisha, I realized my daughter had inherited a talent equal to or even greater than his.

But I also knew that talent alone guaranteed nothing.

Paul was lazy and unfocused; he never went very far in any of the sword styles, despite having a lot of potential.

An uncomfortable thought hit at that mont.

If it weren't for Rygar, maybe I myself would have wasted Aisha's talent.

I was ready, at that ti, to train her only to serve her older brother as a maid… nothing more than that.

Realizing that brought a bitter regret.

But, as she told about the Star Rise Academy, her routine, the challenges and decisions she had to make as headmistress, that weight began to dissipate.

I saw the sparkle in her eyes, the energy she put into her actions.

And then, sothing new replaced the guilt: pride.

That was my daughter.

She had achieved so much… so things thanks to the help of others, it's true, but most by pure effort and her own talent.

And, strangely, there wasn't a trace of envy in — none of what I felt when I saw Paul's talent so many years ago.

Instead, there was only joy, affection and love.

It was a strange feeling. But one of the most pleasant I've ever felt.

But even with all that pride, I was still very curious.

I wanted to understand how my daughter had reached such an… unlikely point.

As we talked, we continued walking through the corridors of the Star Rise Academy, passing classrooms, training yards and even so luxurious halls that looked more like a castle.

"How did you get to the point of commanding all this? Did Rygar put you in charge?"

Aisha put her hand to her chin, thoughtful, with an almost playful air.

"Hmmm… actually, I don't really know…"

"What do you an you don't know?", I asked, confused.

"It's that… when I was at the Sword Sanctuary, so mbers of the Iron Legion showed up there. There were also people from the Sanctuary who decided to join. So… I just… tried to command them to look for sothing for … and they went."

She smiled to one side.

I stared at her with an empty look.

She saw and let out a short laugh.

"Well, saying it like that sounds like a lie, but that's what happened! I think they didn't know if it was an order from or from the Master, since I'm his disciple."

She continued, skipping across the yard excitedly.

"Then, when I arrived in Milis, it was the sa. The Master always told that if I had an idea, I should try it. And that he would support unconditionally. So… I kept testing."

As she spoke, I realized she really wasn't joking.

"So I started to analyze… who I could command, who would probably cause problems… and, since I was relatively strong and the Master is even stronger, I ended up not facing real obstacles. I made friends… and gained several subordinates."

She spoke as if it were sothing casual.

But I knew Aisha when she was a child, that little girl who ran around riding Skoll, with a curious sparkle in her eyes and wild plans in her head.

Imagining what went on in her mind now… was difficult.

Reaching that point, even as a disciple of the Beast God, must not have been as simple as she made it seem.

"I think, in the end, it's about potential for power." she concluded.

"Here, strength is highly respected. Since I am a Saint in several magics and train swordsmanship at the sa ti, so believe that one day I could reach the Master's strength."

She smiled ironically.

"Of course, most know that's almost impossible. The Master, at ten years old, should already be capable of killing hordes of dragons with ease."

The conversation continued naturally. I asked, she answered.

And, often, she digressed, going far beyond what I had asked. And I listened attentively.

Sotis, I realized I was smiling without noticing. Just from seeing her so excited.

At one point, Aisha picked up a strange device.

She seed to be writing sothing on that device.

"I'm talking to the Master." she explained, noticing my curious look.

"It's a kind of long-distance magical communication."

I tried to understand the technical explanation that followed… and failed completely.

But I liked seeing her excited to talk about sothing so advanced.

When the day was ending, it was ti for us to leave.

I imagined we would travel by cart, but Aisha said she had a much more convenient thod of transportation.

And that's how we reached it — a Red Dragon, its scales shining like embers and golden eyes that looked at with a mixture of curiosity and authority.

"This is Helios." said Aisha, with evident pride in her voice. "He is mine."

I took a step back.

"Yours?"

She laughed at my reaction.

"Yes. He is very docile… with ."

There were ten long minutes of attempts to convince that it was perfectly safe to fly on him.

In the end, perhaps more because of her insistence than my courage, I accepted.

We climbed into the saddle, and the heat that emanated from the scales was almost comforting. With a deep roar, Helios spread his wings.

The gust of wind almost took my breath away — and then, we were in the air.

The view was… indescribable.

The Great Forest stretched out before us, a green sea dotted by rivers that reflected the sunset.

I was still tense, holding on tight, but I forced myself to just enjoy that mont.

Flying on Helios was… surreal.

Apparently, he was an excellent flyer among dragons. But even flying on a dragon, it was still a considerable distance; it would take a few hours.

And as ti passed, I gradually got used to the sensation.

---

While Lilia and Aisha flew toward the Great Forest, Rygar's house was filled with a sound that mixed muffled explosions, quick footsteps and occasional laughter.

In the yard, Rygar sat calmly on a large moss-covered rock, one leg resting over the other and a relaxed expression.

Relaxed… for him.

In front of him, running and throwing herself behind obstacles, was Ruby — his sister, eyes wide and breathing fast.

For Rygar, that was simple fun training. For Ruby, it was an epic fight to save her own life.

Small fireballs cut through the air threateningly, zigzagging as if they had a will of their own.

Between them, stone bullets flew everywhere, chipping the ground or hitting trunks.

Of course, Rygar knew exactly what he was doing.

His magical manipulation and environntal sensitivity were so high that there was no real risk for his sister.

He adjusted each shot to be at the limit of what she could react to, always leaving a margin so she could manage to escape.

It was, in fact, a sophisticated training to develop reflexes and combat instincts.

Ruby, however, had no idea.

As she threw herself aside, barely avoiding a fireball, Ruby thought she was literally surviving by a hair.

"Co on, Ruby! You can do it!" Verdia shouted, excited, clapping.

Selene watched further back, leaning against the porch railing, letting out a resigned sigh.

She said nothing, because she knew Rygar was extrely careful when it ca to his sister. Perhaps even more careful than she herself was.

Rygar kept a calm smile, but, noticing Ruby getting too close, increased the cadence of the fireballs, forcing her to fall back.

"Co on, Ruby!" he taunted.

"How do you expect to beco a legendary warrior if you can't dodge a few little fireballs?!"

"Aaaah, brother! Careful, careful!" she scread, diving behind a large stone.

The fireballs kept raining down, the heat passing close enough to make sweat run down her temple.

"You're taking it too far!" she complained.

Rygar only raised an eyebrow and didn't answer.

With a determined push, Ruby leaped over the stone and ran forward.

At that mont, a stone bullet flew directly at her head.

She spun in the air instinctively, trying to escape… not realizing that a subtle puff of magical wind diverted the projectile completely.

Convinced she had dodged by herself, she landed, adrenaline at full throttle.

Two more fireballs ca, but she passed through them with agility and, at the last mont, threw herself at Rygar, hugging his waist.

The magics ceased at once.

"Very good, Ruby!" he said, laughing, as he mussed her hair.

"Great tactic… but rember to always catch the opponent by surprise when you use a different tactic."

"Hehehe, okay, brother!" she replied, still panting, but now with a confident smile.

Passing the "brutal test" made her feel she was getting stronger every day, even without having reached the level of Elentary Swordsman.

It was then that a figure appeared among the trees. An agile leap brought Eris into the yard.

"Sister Eris!" Ruby ran to her, forgetting the training, and threw herself into the woman's arms.

Eris smiled warmly, holding her.

"How are you, Ruby?" she asked, before turning her gaze to the others.

"Lilia and Aisha are arriving. I just saw Helios on the horizon."

Rygar nodded slightly. He had already noticed the approach.

Selene, still on the porch, raised her voice:

"And Zenith? Is she coming too?"

Rygar thought for a mont before answering:

"I think so… but maybe she's worried about the reunion with Lilia."

Little by little, everyone headed inside the house.

And then, the characteristic sound of wings beating strongly echoed above the treetops.

Helios, the relatively small Red Dragon, appeared through the clouds, landing calmly.

From the saddle above, Lilia and Aisha dismounted, their boots touching the soft ground of the clearing.

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Hi, I've been pretty busy at work lately because a coworker got sick, but whenever the opportunity arises I'll try to post two chapters. Probably two tomorrow.