Roa, Part 1

No matter the school of swordsmanship, Saint rank was a dividing line. Some ordinary people might never reach that threshold in their entire lives. Naturally, I was no exception.

Defeating an Advanced-ranked warrior at the age of seven and advancing to Advanced rank in the Water God Style had initially made both Isolte and me rather pleased with ourselves.

But the second half of the ranking matches later left us dumbfounded.

The relentless barrage of attacks, the sword techniques that looked plain and unadorned yet carried an overwhelming sense of pressure—it left both of us staring in shock.

I had always believed swordsmanship was a minor path. Magic was the true all-purpose power. After all, this was a world where gravity magic and time magic existed. Swordsmanship probably had no chance of standing against magic in Advanced-rank battles.

I had only studied the Water God Style to give myself another means of protection while I was still weak.

I had never devoted all my energy to studying Water God Style swordsmanship. Most of my efforts had gone into researching magic.

That changed after the final match that day. Thousand Waterfall Sword Emperor Diara Yang of the Water God Style challenged the current Water God, Reida Reia. Their battle was not held inside the dojo.

Instead, they moved to the open-air training grounds.

All training equipment was cleared away, and spectators were ordered to stay more than five li away. Even so, some people were grazed and injured by the aftershocks of sword aura.

Once the fight began, sword aura flew everywhere. It was impossible to see how many times the two of them swung their swords. After the match ended, even the ground near where they had fought had sunk nearly a meter.

Across the five-li-wide arena, the marks carved by sword aura spread out like two fans, cutting the ground into countless furrows. It was terrifying just to look at.

The final result was naturally Water God Reida Reia's victory. Thousand Waterfall Sword Emperor Diara Yang lost the match at the cost of one arm.

However, the best healing magician in Ars had been invited before the match began. With a Saint-level Healing Spell, her severed arm should have been reattached soon enough.

After that, we studied Water God Style swordsmanship even more diligently. Only after witnessing such an intense match did I understand just how far I still was from this world's greatest masters.

But things did not go as I wished. The harder I worked, the more reality diverged from what I had imagined.

After reaching Advanced rank, the Water God Style began using the realm of "Flow Perception." Its principle was to use battle aura to sense an opponent's breathing and center of gravity, perceive the movement of the air, and react faster than the opponent.

In other words, the Water God Style's defense was built upon sensing every movement the opponent made. If one could not react to an opponent's attack, then one could not defend against it.

Isolte learned this extremely well. She quickly mastered "Flow Perception."

After she mastered "Flow Perception," I was never able to defeat her again while taking the initiative to attack.

With every attack, she seemed to predict my movements, blocking me and counterattacking. Even if I changed techniques midway through, she could react to my change faster than I could.

Talent really was impossible to understand. During the ranking match, the Advanced Water God Style swordsman I fought had not been able to react that quickly with his "Flow Perception." When I changed techniques, he could not keep up with me.

From that alone, it was clear that Isolte's talent for Water God Style swordsmanship was far beyond that of ordinary people.

As for me, I was in a much worse position. Without battle aura, I could not even feel what "Flow Perception" was, let alone use it.

I remembered that Rudeus's swordsmanship had ultimately stopped at Advanced rank as well. Maybe this was what they called a limit?

No, think of the First Water God.

I could not give up like this. There had to be a way to cross this hurdle. I could definitely do it.

Facing problems with optimism, never giving up, never admitting defeat—that was my creed. I encouraged myself with those thoughts.

Although I maintained a good mindset, it did not actually help. Some things could not be changed merely by being optimistic.

Another year passed in the blink of an eye.

Over that year, my Water God Style swordsmanship saw almost no significant improvement.

I was somewhat disappointed, but overall, I still managed to remain optimistic. Although my Water God Style swordsmanship had not improved, my magic research had gone very well. What was lost in one place was gained in another. As long as I kept progressing, there was no major problem.

Dragon God Calendar, October 1st, Year 410

Just after September ended, I received a letter from my father. In it, he asked whether I had time to attend the fifth birthday of his sister's daughter in Roa City, the capital of the Fittoa Territory.

The letter also included information about his sister's family—my aunt's family.

My aunt was named "Hilda Prodia Greyrat." By now, she should have changed her name to "Hilda Boreas Greyrat."

My aunt's husband was "Philip Boreas Greyrat," and the birthday girl was "Eris Boreas Greyrat."

Wasn't that Eris's family? Then Eris was my cousin.

Roa also seemed to be the city where Rudeus worked as a tutor, didn't it?

Perfect. I could check whether there was a Seven Star Orb in the sky and use that to confirm which timeline I was in. That would be highly significant for my future goals.

I could not let myself make plans based on my old memories—

Only to discover in the end that the timeline was completely different from what I knew. That would be far too embarrassing.

Once I made up my mind, I acted. I prepared to attend my cousin's birthday.

Oh, right. At the end of the letter, Father also wrote that Saulros Boreas Greyrat, the current head of the Boreas Family, was living in Roa. Father mentioned that Saulros and my grandfather had a terrible relationship, so I was to behave obediently around him and never bring up anything related to my grandfather.

It seemed Darius's bad reputation was known throughout the entire country. As his grandson, I felt an enormous amount of pressure.

Eris's birthday was in mid-October. Since I intended to privately visit Buena Village if I confirmed there was a small orb in the sky, I prepared my things the next day, sent someone to request leave from my two teachers at the Water God Style dojo and the court magicians' office, then selected guards and maids before setting out.

Roa was not particularly far from Ars. Traveling by carriage, it took around five days to reach Roa.

The fortress city of Roa lay deep in the heartland of the Fittoa Territory in the Asura Kingdom, far from the coastline. It had once been the kingdom's first line of defense against invasions by demonkind or eastern neighboring countries. Several overland trade routes converged here, making it a transfer hub for troops and supplies.

Roa's defining feature was its enormous city walls. They stood about twenty meters tall, with foundations fifteen meters wide, built from a mixture of brick and stone. Their outer layers were covered in magic alloy plates to resist magical attacks. The battlements were designed in a double swallowtail pattern, with firing holes between them that could accommodate both archers and magicians.

Outside the walls was an artificial moat twenty meters wide and ten meters deep, fed by flowing water from an underground river. Its bed was packed with sharpened stakes. The main entrance was an iron-chain drawbridge that could be severed in an emergency.

The inner city was divided into three areas: the noble district, containing the Boreas Family castle and several minor nobles dependent on them; the middle ring, containing barracks and warehouses; and the outer ring, containing the commoners' district.

Passing by from outside, one could still see cracks in parts of the walls caused by ancient magic during the Laplace Campaign. They remained impossible to repair even now.

After crossing the drawbridge and entering the city, I immediately lifted the carriage curtain and looked up at the sky. The sun shone brightly in a cloudless blue expanse. Squinting, I searched carefully for a long time, but found no tiny black speck or any other foreign object in the sky.

Normally, it was now Dragon God Calendar year 410, Eris's fifth birthday, and I remembered that she was about two years older than Rudy. That meant Rudeus had definitely already been born.

Then there should already have been a Seven Star Orb in the sky. Yet even after the sunlight made my eyes water, I found nothing unusual.

Had I been sent to a timeline without Rudeus?

I could not draw that conclusion yet. As I remembered it, Rudy had seen the Seven Star Orb from the highest floor of a tower. Perhaps my angle was wrong. I needed to find an opportunity to look from the tallest tower in Eris's home.

The carriage quickly passed through the commoners' district and military district before arriving at the noble district. The noble district here was very small. Apart from the Boreas castle, there were only a few small villas.

As a fortress city, Roa should have experienced frequent wars throughout its history. Most nobles had probably moved to safer cities farther inland.

Only nobles like the Boreas Family, who had built their standing through military strength, would put down roots in a city like this.

After I handed my calling card to the gatekeeper, I was quickly invited into the castle.

Eris's home was vastly different from mine. Though their castle walls were enormous, the buildings inside were not particularly large. There was only a three-story wooden villa covering five or six hundred square meters.

The servants' quarters, storage rooms, stables, and other buildings were all single-story wooden structures. The largest area, of course, was a stretch of flat land that had probably once been used by the Boreas Family to train in martial arts and drill soldiers.

After looking carefully, I found the tall watchtower near the stables. It rose more than ten meters above the city walls. From the top, one should have been able to overlook all of Roa.

After entering the villa, the butler escorted me to the reception room. Along the way, I kept watching him, wondering whether he was the butler who would later send people to kidnap Eris. Of course, I had already forgotten that butler's specific name.

Upon entering the reception room, I was warmly welcomed as one of the early guests. Philip personally greeted me alongside my aunt.

My aunt, Hilda Boreas Greyrat, must have been treated poorly in the Prodia Family when she was young. Aside from that head of red hair, none of her other features resembled those of the Prodia Family at all.

Especially those two watermelons in front of her. At a family gathering, the other men of the Prodia Family would surely shake their heads at the sight. Her face was not the slim type the Prodia Family favored either.

With a broad forehead, rounded chin, and those 36D big eyes that tilted slightly upward at the corners, she possessed a different sort of beauty. By modern standards, she was undeniably attractive.

It simply did not fit the Prodia Family's standards of beauty. No wonder Father had said that aside from him, this aunt did not get along well with the rest of the family.

Otherwise, her entire maternal family would not have sent only one child—me—to celebrate the birthday.

After exchanging a few polite words, Philip called over his beloved daughter.

I studied her carefully. I had to admit, she was about eighty percent similar to how I remembered her.

Though her hair was the same color as mine, my red was darker, while hers was brighter. Her eyes resembled Aunt Hilda's, with corners that tilted slightly upward. Her face was sharper than I had imagined, but she wore a tight expression, looking somewhat impatient.

Her stance was just like the novel had described: legs spread apart, hands on her hips, chin slightly raised.

She looked as though she wanted to look down at me through her nostrils, but because she was too young and not tall enough, she instead looked like she was glaring at me with her head tilted back.

Philip told her to call me Cousin, but she merely snorted, turned her head away, and ignored him.

I did not take it to heart. Before coming, I had already known what kind of girl she was, so I did not hold it against her.

Still, I did not pay her any attention either. I easily ignored her provocation.

I was not her family's tutor. As a guest, I would stay at her home for two weeks at most. I would not be living here long-term, and we would not have much contact in the future. Her personality was something for Rudy or Luke to deal with.

My aunt, however, was very warm toward me. She not only hugged me herself, but also earnestly asked after how I was doing.

When she heard that I was living in Ars and could not stay with my parents, she seemed to be reminded of something and began crying while holding me.

Those two watermelons nearly smothered me to death.

That was close. I needed to be more careful next time, I reflected as I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth.

That evening, I had dinner with the Boreas Family. Saulros was there as well, but he only exchanged a few simple pleasantries with me.

Perhaps seeing me made him think of my grandfather's face. He did not speak with me much.

Although Saulros was said to be the current head of the Boreas Family, he no longer seemed to manage much of anything.

Family affairs had already been handed over to James in Ars. Saulros himself was essentially half-retired.

James Boreas Greyrat was now the acting head of the Boreas Family. Once Saulros died of old age, he could take over the position of family head.

After the banquet, I asked Philip whether I could go up the tall tower beside the stables the next day to admire the view of Roa. He readily agreed and reminded me to be careful on the tower and not run around up there.

After breakfast the next morning, sunlight poured down as thick as honey, while the morning breeze was as cool as mint. In such pleasant weather, I climbed the tower that was important for determining the course of my future life.

To put it simply—

There was nothing. The sky was cloudless and blue. I searched in every direction from the tower, all three hundred and sixty degrees, but did not even see a bird, much less an orb.

Still uneasy, I used earth magic to construct a spiral staircase outside the observation window. Even standing atop the tower, I found nothing.

It seemed this truly was a timeline unfamiliar to me. All my foreknowledge had become completely useless.

I only knew that Ariel would most likely become queen, but I did not know how she became queen. Without Rudeus's involvement, the Water God might not necessarily intervene in Ariel's ascension to the throne.

Everything had become uncertain once more.