Things Pass, People Change

Hitogami probably often sent people with powerful destinies near Orsted, then used Orsted's hand to kill them.

After Orsted left, I didn't get up right away. I sat on a large rock and began evaluating this operation.

First of all, the part about me having memories of the future was an explanation I had prepared in advance.

I couldn't tell Orsted that I had transmigrated here from another world, and that the things happening in your world were the contents of a novel back where I came from, and I just so happened to have read that novel.

If I communicated with him like that, I was afraid I wouldn't even be able to explain clearly to him what a novel was.

Besides, I didn't think telling him in advance that I knew he would keep looping would lead to anything good.

After all, the reason he could believe me so easily and give me the bracelet

was because he didn't care whether I was lying to him or not.

If I was Hitogami's apostle this time, someone Hitogami had sent to trick him into trusting me, then all he had to do was kill me in the next loop.

So he had nothing to fear at all. But if I pointed out that I knew about his looping, he would probably silence me on the spot. After all, that would be the safest option.

So before gaining a tremendous amount of his trust, I must not reveal this matter.

Heh heh, lastly, I had to give myself a thumbs-up. This time, Orsted and I didn't fight all that fiercely.

I also didn't get one of my arms cut off. What I told him was that I would cooperate with him to fight Hitogami together. So I wasn't really Orsted's subordinate at all; at most, I counted as an ally.

In the future, I wouldn't have to obey his every word either. At most, I would lend him a hand with things like helping Ariel ascend the throne.

That had been one of my goals to begin with.

As for Rudeus, I'd still let him get framed by Hitogami, then get brutally beaten by Orsted.

And in the end, he could obediently join Dragon God Co. and become a professional corporate slave!

Now that I had the bracelet in hand, Hitogami could no longer see my destiny.

Heh heh. I had a feeling he was already stamping his feet and cursing me in the World of Nothingness.

I highly suspected that running into Orsted this time had been arranged by Hitogami.

As long as Orsted was involved in his future sight, Hitogami couldn't see any of the future that followed.

Only after passing through the future where the encounter with Orsted took place would his future sight recover.

That meant he could infer, from the very fact that there was an unseen portion of the future, that this person was going to encounter Orsted.

So he definitely knew in advance that Rudeus and I would run into Orsted on our way back.

He only knew that I would meet up with Rudeus, then head north together.

But while knowing there would be a blank in the future, he still had us take this road. That meant he had deliberately made us run into Orsted.

I wasn't too sure just how powerful Rudeus's destiny was, but if someone wanted to kill a person with a destiny as powerful as Rudeus's, only Orsted could do it, right?

After all, in my memories, he had led Rudeus toward Orsted twice, but he definitely hadn't expected that we might actually cooperate with Orsted.

He must have been thinking of making us go to Orsted to die. It would be best if Orsted killed us; if he couldn't, then at least it would fill us with hatred toward him.

No wonder what Hitogami had told me in the dream before was to escort Rudeus to Buena Village in Fittoa, and if they didn't want to settle there, I could continue escorting them to Sharia.

So it turned out that because we would run into Orsted, at that point in time, he simply had no idea how things would specifically develop afterward.

Now everything made sense, and I felt a little happy.

This way, as long as I kept staying by Rudeus's side, he probably wouldn't be able to see Rudeus's later destiny.

I hoped no more accidents would happen.

I also had to research this bracelet that blocked Hitogami from checking destiny.

If I could make a few more bracelets like this, I could have my family wear them as well. That would also increase the odds that Hitogami couldn't scheme against my family.

I flew alone toward the outside of the Red Dragon Lower Jaw. When I passed through the city closest to the Red Dragon Lower Jaw, I reunited with Rudeus and the others.

Seeing me return unharmed, all of them were happy for me.

Originally, Rudeus had still been a little guarded toward me, but after I saved his life this time, and wasted a Saint-tier healing scroll to treat his injuries, he already treated me like his own big brother.

We took seats in the inn's dining hall.

The candlelight in the dining hall danced with warm yellow light across the wooden table, and white mist rose from the hot soup in the porcelain bowls.

Rudeus solemnly expressed his gratitude to me.

"Big Brother Dolin, thank you so much.

At the time, in my heart, I had already seen the image of myself being pierced through the chest by that man in white and dying.

I never expected that you would still be able to save me under those circumstances. I truly don't know how to repay this kindness.

I was somewhat wary of you before. That was all me measuring a gentleman's belly with a petty man's heart. I hope you won't take offense.

From now on, you are my big brother. As your little brother, I will always respect and admire you.

I owe you this life. In the future, if you have any orders, whether it's climbing mountains of blades or plunging into seas of fire, going through boiling water and treading on scorching flame, I will not refuse."

Hearing him pour out so many words from the bottom of his heart all at once, I was left not knowing how to respond. Come to think of it, did Japan have sayings like climbing mountains of blades and plunging into seas of fire?

"Haha, Rudeus, that was nothing. I didn't do much afterward either. I cast flight magic, and that man in white couldn't catch up with me. There really wasn't much danger. You praise me too highly."

"Oh, come on, Brother Dolin, don't be so formal. From now on, just call me Little Brother Rudy. That'd make me feel a little better."

"...Let's forget the 'little brother' part. I'll call you Rudy.

"Rudy, there's something I want to ask you. What is Hitogami?

"Why did that man in white go mad the moment he heard that name and try to kill you?"

Rudy looked a little awkward and said, hemming and hawing:

"Hitogami is someone who appears in my dreams. Through dreams, he keeps giving me advice. Every time he advises me, I gain a great deal from it.

"My Demon Eye of Foresight was obtained through his advice."

Good. It was just as I had expected. Hitogami's advice to Rudy had not changed too much.

"Rudy, you need to know that everyone has their own purpose in doing things. There's no such thing as kindness without cause.

"As the saying goes, the heart that guards against others must not be absent. You should keep the caution you had before. You also need to be on guard against strange figures in your dreams."

I did not spell everything out completely. After all, doing so would expose the fact that I knew specific information about Hitogami.

If Rudy acted too wary when the time came, Hitogami would probably be able to guess something.

After that, to celebrate surviving, we ordered a great deal more food and drink, and everyone began drinking to their hearts' content.

Needless to say, Rudeus was enthusiastic, and because I had saved their lives, Roxy and Elinalise were even warmer toward me as well.

We drank no small amount either.

In the end, I drank a little too much, and it was Aisha who helped me back to my room.

When I woke up in the morning, my left hand subconsciously gave the perky part of the woman in my arms a squeeze.

After all, these past few mornings, Elinalise had basically always been lying in my arms when I woke up, so I had gotten used to casually touching her.

But today, the feeling was completely different. It felt about the same as my former Dwarf-kin maid, Eva.

Actually, it could hardly be called a feeling at all, because my pectoral muscles were bigger than theirs. It was basically flat.

I lowered my head and discovered that my disciple Aisha had somehow appeared in my arms.

I was startled, and the haze of alcohol almost completely cleared.

I looked carefully. Fortunately, her clothes were still properly on. It seemed she had only lain down beside me to take care of me while I slept.

I had nearly committed a grave mistake. After all, she was still a child, so she probably had no taboo about this sort of thing.

And vomiting after drinking could easily cause suffocation. At times like that, someone needed to stay nearby and look after the person. Aisha really was a considerate disciple, and I felt very gratified.

After that, I got dressed and went to wash up on my own.

At that moment, on my bed, after I left, a wine-red-haired girl quietly opened her eyes.

She placed her hand on her own chest, lightly squeezed it the way her master had just done, then sighed with an "ah."

In her heart, she secretly swore that from now on, she would work hard to eat more every day, so that she could grow up quickly.

She still had plenty of room to grow. When the time came, a bewitching slut like Elinalise would no longer be able to steal her master away.

After I finished washing up, I found that Aisha had also gotten up.

I thanked her for taking care of me after I got drunk last night. Then I went downstairs to eat breakfast.

I had drunk quite a lot last night, but I hadn't blacked out. I clearly remembered Rudy being extremely grateful to me, and even wanting to call me Brother Dolin.

In the inn's dining hall, I ran into Rudy and Norn. As for Roxy and Elinalise, neither of them had the kind of personality that could get up early.

While eating breakfast, I discussed our route through Asura with them. Although I had not discovered anyone searching for me, I still chose to avoid Donadi Territory.

I had no idea what Grandfather was thinking. I had vanished from the world like evaporating steam, and yet he did not care or ask a thing.

The Prodia Family was still very powerful in Asura, but they had not even symbolically sent anyone to look for me.

If he had confirmed that I had joined Ariel's side, he should have sent someone to assassinate me or the like. Unfortunately, none of the above happened.

That made things a little awkward for me. If he sent someone to assassinate me, then when I killed my way back to Ars together with Ariel, I would be able to harden my heart and strike him down even more ruthlessly.

After all, as my grandfather, he had never done anything especially vicious to me, though he basically did not pay me much attention at home.

But overall, he could still be said to have cultivated me. Forget it. Thinking too much about this kind of thing would only affect my conviction. There was no benefit in dwelling on it.

We planned to go from Usur Territory directly to Fittoa Territory, follow the national border to the Red Dragon Upper Jaw, and finally arrive at the Northern Continent.

That same day, after preparing our supplies, we continued our journey.

Two months later, we arrived at the old Roa City in Fittoa Territory.

Quite a few people had already returned here from other places. In the old city district, many people had set up simple tents and were living there.

There were also many people opening up wasteland nearby. Although they would be unable to achieve self-sufficiency for the first two years, for now, the country's basic subsidies could still ensure that they would not starve to death.

People could never lose hope, no matter when. Even if hope was extremely faint, it was still the driving force that pushed people forward.

The people of Fittoa Territory were the best example. No matter whether they had been teleported to the ends of the earth, lost all their family wealth, or had many relatives they would never see again...

The land had grown barren as well. Everything had to begin again from scratch.

And yet there were still so many people silently starting over, sparing no effort to rebuild the home they once had.

We went to look at the notice boards for survivors and the dead.

Rudy kept checking the survivors' section, and in the end, after seeming to confirm that someone had survived, he looked extremely happy. But after confirming something with a nearby staff member, he seemed a little dejected again.

On the other side, Elinalise stood motionless before the death notice board. Her pupils had widened, her eyes were empty, and unnatural twitches ran across her face. Tears poured uncontrollably from her eyes.

I suddenly realized that Elinalise's son had also died in this disaster. He should have been Sylphie's father, the one called Rolz, I think.

She must have seen news of her son's death.

I felt a little guilty. I had known about this disaster in advance. But I truly had forgotten that Sylphie's father had also died in it. In the original work, his name had only appeared once or twice, so I really had not thought of him.

After all, we had shared the intimacy of skin against skin. I stepped forward and pulled her into my arms. She kept crying in my embrace, but she did not say a single word.

That state lasted for about half an hour. Gradually, she stopped crying and left my arms.

Looking at my shirt, soaked through with tears, she smiled faintly and said, "I never thought you were actually a gentle man."

I did not answer her, nor did I ask why she had cried. I took out a handkerchief and wiped the remaining tears from her face.

I gently patted her shoulder, and then we left that sorrowful place together.

We did not stay in Roa for very long. Later, we went to Rudy's old home as well.

In truth, it was already very hard to tell where their original house had been. Rudeus also found a slope near their home, confirmed the direction, and then kept walking toward the place in his memory.

In the end, he stopped at a spot where the outline of the foundation still remained. Rudy, Aisha, and Norn stayed at their home for a while. They were probably each recalling the days they had once lived here.

After that, we left together.

The past had gone, and the present was as it was. We all had to face the days to come with strength.

Days spent traveling on the road always passed quickly. After all, the scenery around us was constantly changing, making one forget how swiftly time flew.

After walking for roughly another three months, we finally arrived in Sharia.

Although Paul had given Rudy a sum of money before he left, telling him to buy a residence in Sharia...

Buying a residence was not something that could be done overnight. I had a home in Sharia, and I would have felt too embarrassed to make them stay at an inn.

So I brought Rudy and the others to stay at my house.

The one who greeted us was Hilda. When Rudy saw Hilda, he was stunned. He had never imagined he would see Hilda here.

After entering the house, I introduced my relationship with Hilda to Rudy and the others. She could be considered my aunt, so the explanation was very simple.

After learning that my original name was Dolin Prodia Greyrat, they all understood.

Rudeus said in some surprise, "So you're the cousin Eris used to talk about all the time!

"When I was Eris's tutor, I often heard your name from her. When you used flying magic before, I should have thought of it. Speaking of which, how is Eris now? Is she in Sharia too?"

"When the Teleportation Incident happened, Eris was with me in Ars, so she wasn't caught up in it. After we found her parents, she went to the Holy Land of Swords to study. She should be in the Holy Land of Swords now.

"Also, Philip is working under a big shot at Ranoa University of Magic. When you go to study at Ranoa University of Magic, you'll probably run into him often."

"Oh? Then, Dolin, you're not going to study at Ranoa University of Magic with us?"

"I'll go ask tomorrow. With my level, I probably won't be able to learn much at the university.

"But I heard that as long as you graduate from Ranoa University of Magic, you can obtain a very high rank in the Magic Guild.

"So tomorrow, I plan to go to the magic university and ask whether I can become the kind of student who doesn't need to attend classes every day and only has to be registered in name.

"If I can be that kind of student, I'll enroll."

At this point, Roxy cut in:

"The magic university recruits special students. Special students don't need to attend classes at fixed times. Of course, if special students want to, they can also attend classes normally like ordinary students. They can also borrow research labs at any time.

"As long as a special student completes one piece of research within seven years and transfers that research to the school or the Magic Guild, they can become a C-rank member of the Magic Guild. If they don't have any magical research, they can still obtain D-rank membership.

"It's just that special students are basically students with deep backgrounds. At the same time, their classmates are also people with especially powerful backgrounds. Usually, they're the noble sons of various countries, or princes and princesses and the like.

"But with your status, Dolin, you're definitely qualified too. You can go try. If the school doesn't agree, I can ask my teacher when the time comes and see if they can make an exception."

In truth, the simplest way for me was to go find Ariel, but I did not really want to owe that woman a favor. So I prepared to try on my own.

With my current magical ability, the only things I could study at the magic university were summoning magic and barrier magic. I had already mastered all the other knowledge.

However, I did not plan to waste that time. When the time came, I intended to go straight to Nanahoshi and learn ready-made knowledge from her.

After thanking Roxy for the explanation, I assigned rooms to all of them.

In the afternoon, Doris and Philip came back. They were also very happy to see that I had returned.

Dinner was a lavish meal prepared by Hilda and Doris. Our whole group also celebrated being reunited in Sharia together.