Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race-Chapter 160 - Scarlet Hair, Flaming Heart

POV Rygar Adoldia

I began to "follow" the instructions in Eris's letter.

It was an old letter, and, in fact, it bore my handwriting. It was the same letter I gave her almost three years ago, when I brought a mutant ogre to challenge her to become a Sword Saint.

The map was very simple, with several landmarks; I made it simple enough for Eris to understand.

You see, she already knew how to think for herself back then, but she was still a bit scatterbrained.

She was very different from what she is today. Although she was still an intense girl, she was more like a sheathed blade now.

I walked without needing the map's guidance, as I was just following Eris's scent, and gradually I approached the same spot where she became a Saint last time.

I kind of expected an ambush, given that Aisha had helped her.

But there she was, standing in the middle of the clearing, waiting for me. Arms crossed while the snow piled up in her long red hair.

Over the past years, she had changed a lot. She had an imposing presence now.

She wore the same type of cloak as Ghislaine, which was standard for practitioners of the Sword Sanctuary, but the design was different.

She wore black pants and a white top over a dark shirt—it was an outfit she could fight in.

She was tall for a fifteen-year-old girl, but not by much compared to me, and was a stunning young lady at first glance, already developing the striking features of a woman.

She carried the longsword she received from the Ore God, Godbard at her waist, and she also had other short swords.

But there was no sign of the Phoenix Elegant Dragon Sword she received from Gall Farion.

She carried herself confidently. You could tell that becoming a Sword King at fourteen would give someone some self-confidence.

But if someone from the outside blamed only her talent for that, they would be mistaken. Eris had trained more than anyone I had ever met.

It had been six years since I met the girl in the Blue Dragon Range.

And since then, no matter what challenge she faced, her spirit never wavered. Eris was a force of nature.

I realized this as soon as I saw that she didn't seem particularly shaken by spending days in a blue dragon's cave trying to kill her.

On the contrary, there was an unquenchable fire in her eyes driving her to improve.

She trained day and night, trained until she collapsed from exhaustion, and then dragged herself to me and asked me to heal her fatigue with magic... and then trained again.

Even during travels, she did all kinds of training. The only times she paused were moments when we were doing some group activity.

Such great ambition that I don't think I could compare her training level if my endurance weren't almost inexhaustible due to my regeneration magic and physical strength.

Her motivation was infinite, and with her talent to support her, she went further and further, until reaching where she is today.

I watched her look at me with a challenging gaze, with her characteristic pose of crossed arms, and reflected on when I started seeing her differently.

To some extent, I just saw her as a child, even though she was a phenomenal warrior... I guess it was when she saved me from the Ambush of the Tyrant's Storm along with Ghislaine... Yes.

That day, I began to see her differently. I truly admired her ferocity in battle, without seeing her just as a child, though I still considered her one, of course. Just one that I respected and admired.

Eris had never been able to hide that she liked me. Although she probably thought she hid it very well, I wasn't that dense.

I also understood why she would like me.

But when she was a child, I simply didn't even consider the possibility of accepting her affection romantically.

It was only a few months ago that I began to notice the differences compared to her child self: the beauty, the maturity, and the confidence she exuded.

In this world, she was considered an adult today.

In my previous world, she would be a teenager, but that view had been far behind me for many years—I had already lived for almost sixteen years in this new world... Eris could be young, but she had experienced much more than most, both physically and mentally.

Life-and-death fights and battles, she faced opponents she had no hope of winning—and survived.

She learned to read and write in two languages, learned basic arithmetic, learned everything about being an adventurer, about being a mercenary, and even learned magic from three different schools.

She was an extraordinary young woman, on her way to becoming an incomparable woman in the world.

And that same girl was head over heels in love with me.

Eris's affection, devotion, and love were like spears that gradually broke down my defenses over the years.

She gradually achieved the same kind of affection I held for my master, Verdia Solarion, and for my first wife, Ghislaine Dedoldia.

Even so, even falling in love with Eris, even falling for her intensity in everything she did, I would probably still wait a few more years before telling her about it.

But Ghislaine convinced me that it would be unfair of me to continue letting Eris wait.

After all, the girl had trained so much all her life to be by my side. Not as my subordinate, but as my wife.

After observing her actions and words, Eris was an easy person to read—it was easy to know what she was thinking.

She loved me from the bottom of her heart, and even if I didn't reciprocate, she would probably never stop loving. But that doesn't mean she wanted that.

She wanted to be loved back. She liked how things were, but she was still a young woman, and wanted a romance with the one she chose to love. She also wanted a happy ending.

I gradually approached the girl with a smile, until I was very close, about thirty centimeters.

I looked down at her, as I was taller. She blushed when she saw me come so close, but kept her pose, and then said:

"Hmph! Rygar, I challenge you once again!"

"Good morning, Eris. Happy birthday..."

I spoke with a calm smile, completely ignoring her challenge.

As expected, Eris's face turned even redder, her cheeks burning with embarrassment and frustration. She shook her head forcefully, trying to regain composure.

"The challenge first!" she exclaimed.

I made a mock expression of surprise and replied:

"Oh? Then all right."

I leaped several meters back, landing lightly on the rocky mountain ground.

I concentrated to keep my body without any reinforcement from Touki.

She advanced like lightning.

Her blade, the one she received from Godbard, sliced the air with astonishing speed.

She wore her magic cloak, which made her lighter, and the sword also had enchantments that made it lighter.

It was as if she were fighting the wind armed.

Eris attacked with a storm of blades, and no matter how much I dodged, several cuts opened across my body. I could barely keep within her range.

If in our last fight I was already inferior, and won only by luck and improvisation, now the difference had increased drastically.

And this time, luck seemed to be on her side.

Without Touki, my physical strength made me comparable to a North King, but North God Style was weak against Sword God Style by nature.

While the style I had to use was based on unpredictability and endurance, hers focused on a single decisive blow.

There was no room for mistakes. One mistake, and I would be defeated.

So, I began to retreat through the mountains, jumping between rocks and chasms, smiling as I analyzed the extent of her progress.

Eris also smiled.

---

POV: Eris Greyrat

I trained for months for this.

Every strike, every breath, every step I took... it was all thinking of this moment.

Today, I would defeat him. Today, I would become a true adult. Not just a warrior—but someone Rygar would recognize as a woman.

As I pressured him with my relentless thrusts, I realized clearly: I was at an advantage. But I knew that wasn't everything.

Our recent fights always began like this. Rygar dodged, retreated, let himself be slightly wounded... until he found a gap.

And then, he counterattacked with brutal precision.

I even asked the Sword God himself, Gall Farion, how to defeat Rygar. And he gave me a simple answer:

"Do not fight a battle of endurance with him. He will adapt. He will wait for your strength to diminish... and then crush you."

I couldn't allow that. I needed to finish before I grew tired. Gall had also said:

"From the start, don't use all your strength. Let him underestimate you. When he thinks he can win... strike with a single, powerful, unexpected blow."

Those words were engraved in my mind. And today, I would apply every one of them.

I ran through the mountains like a hurricane, cutting everything in my path, and slowly guiding Rygar exactly where he should be.

My blood burned, my heart pounded fast. Rygar moved ahead, always smiling, always alert.

I followed him to the edge of a cliff and, with a shout, kicked him with all my might. His body was thrown into the void. Yet, he smiled.

But so did I.

I leaped after him, falling in freefall. The wind tore at my ears. It was time.

The plan was in motion.

Below, lodged in the middle of a rocky ledge, was my sword: the Phoenix Elegant Dragon Sword. I had left it there before the fight, anticipating this exact moment.

Rygar passed by the blade, and upon seeing it, he was stunned.

Instinctively, he tried to grab it but failed. Just as I wanted.

Almost at the same instant, I threw the sword I was using until then. As expected, he dodged—even in freefall—but that broke his posture.

That was my chance!

I planted a foot on a protruding rock of the cliff and gained momentum, further increasing the speed of the fall.

I spun in the air, grabbed the Phoenix Elegant Dragon Sword on the rocks and, with both hands, delivered my fastest Longsword of Light yet.

My cut was aimed at his neck. The blade sliced the air swiftly and lethally.

I saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes for a moment before it vanished. He wasn't prepared.

In midair, without support, he wouldn't be able to dodge.

The ground approached. But my sword would arrive first.

The blade was almost there...

And then, I saw it.

His golden eyes glowed intensely, as if they were on fire. It was like looking at the sun.

He activated his Demon Eyes!

In the next moment, a massive explosion of steam formed between us. The air trembled, and a shockwave threw me back.

At that moment, I felt something blocking my blade; Rygar had stopped my blow, using only his fingers to hold the blade!

I was thrown backward, spinning in the air, trying to regain control.

Through the thick, hot mist, I saw his silhouette.

Rygar... was smiling.

It all took no more than a few seconds. A great vapor suddenly covered my vision, thick and hot, as if alive, too dense to see through.

My senses were swallowed by it, and everything became confused.

I felt firm arms wrap tightly around me, and a deafening crash echoed in my ears.

The impact on the ground had happened, I was sure of that... but, strangely, I didn't feel it.

My body seemed to float, as if suspended in the air, lightly, protected.

And then, softly, as if I were resting on clouds, I "fell"—or rather, was placed carefully on something warm and solid.

When my eyes opened again, the first thing I saw were his—golden eyes, intense as living embers, yet serene like the sunset over a plain.

They were fixed on mine, and for a moment, I paid attention to nothing else. A gentle smile formed on his lips as he said in a low, warm voice:

"You won, Eris..."

My breath caught.

He continued, still with that calm smile, looking at the fallen sword beside us, which he had stopped with his fingers at the last moment, even midair:

"I ended up having to use touki and magic to free myself from your blow..."

I was dizzy, stunned, my body still processing what had just happened. My mind screamed, but my mouth wouldn't.

"I-I, w-won?!" I stammered, surprised and embarrassed, my voice coming out choppy, louder than I intended.

Heat rushed to my ears when I realized he still hadn't put me down. I was in his arms! My heart raced like a war drum.

Rygar smiled more containedly, with an almost affectionate expression, and said:

"That's right, you won..." He paused briefly, and his gaze became more serious.

"You can help me in the fight against the Dragon God. But you know that being a King-level isn't enough to help defeat him, right?"

Even feeling my face burning and my heart wanting to leap out of my chest, I managed to muster the strength to nod and reply, still avoiding looking directly at him:

"Y-yes! I know!"

I forced my eyes to stay anywhere but on his. I was about to try to get up when he gently called:

"Eris..."

My name on his lips sounded different. I turned to him, and before I could ask what it was, I felt something warm, soft... and sweet.

His lips touched mine.

The world disappeared. Time seemed to stop.

I felt the warmth of his body, the light scent of earth and dry sweat, the subtle taste of mint and a salty touch of battle. His lips fit mine perfectly.

When he pulled away, I could still taste him on my lips, my body light as a feather, my heart racing as if I'd run a thousand leagues.

My eyes were wide, my face on fire, and the only thing I could do was stare at him, speechless.

A delightful euphoria flooded my chest. It was as if the world was aflame inside me, a heat that rose and spread like a boiling river, to the tips of my fingers.

And then, he spoke. He said words I would never forget for the rest of my life. Words that would mark the end of our fight and the beginning of something new.

"How about it, Eris...? Would you accept being my second wife?"

----- freeweɓnovel.cѳm

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