Mushoku tensei: The renegade heir

[please give me power stones...]

I woke up before the sun came up, I opened my eyes and Hilda was hugging me tightly, her breathing was weak and her expression was calm, a tremendous contrast from the Hilda I rescued from those slaves.

I looked around, everyone was sleeping except for Gesse who was already getting up from the floor while scratching his back, apparently we both share similar sleep schedules, so I gently got up from Hilda's side, took off my tunic and put it rolled up under Hilda's head for her to use as a pillow.

"Oh? Good morning Paul, I thought you were still sleeping, I was about to make breakfast" Gesse said with a yawn.

"No, I couldn't sleep anymore so I'll join you" I said sitting on the floor.

"Okay, then pay close attention to me so you can do it later!" He said excitedly and began to make preparations for the meal, half an hour later Roxy woke up followed by Flute and Lilia and only Hilda was missing but I let her sleep for the moment.

Gesse's breakfast was a simple vegetable soup with bread that he made himself with an improvised oven that he made with earth magic, from dinner last night until breakfast this morning Gesse has performed as a good cook, I praised him for that.

"Gesse you cook very well, even I'm surprised" Flute said with a murmur.

"Hehe... well, since I'm not good in the field of fighting then I looked for what other talents I had and here we are" he explained and took a sip from his spoon to his mouth.

It seemed that Flute took this very seriously by the way he nodded while looking at the pot where his food was.

"Nngh....Paul?" Hilda murmured from where she was sleeping, she slowly got up and looked around where she found our group and sighed in relief.

"Good morning Hilda, we were already having breakfast, do you want to eat?" I murmured picking up my bowl of soup.

"Yes please" she said shyly and sat down next to me conveniently close enough for Flute to notice and nod with a smile.

"I hope you had a good night's sleep miss, here is my signature dish" Gesse said with a smile passing the plate to her.

"Thank you very much and yes, I slept better today than I have in a long time...mmm! It's delicious!" she murmured and then tried the food which only increased Chef Gesse's ego further.

I waited for everyone to finish eating, take a bath and gather their things and so we set off again. Everyone already knew my plan and there was no need to repeat it. This time we would only stop at the cities to replenish supplies. I, for my part, wanted to buy sleeping bags. This trip would still be long and I didn't want to spend all the time sleeping on the floor.

So we started again with our training and after riding for three hours we arrived at a medium-sized city.

Its name was Molidia and it was another of the many cities on the way to Millis, but something that caught my attention was that it didn't have an adventurer's guild, something strange considering that it is even larger than cities like Vinebrin, but I soon discovered that this city is simply a huge permanent trade district, just the place we needed to replenish supplies.

We split into two groups: Roxy, Flauta, Lilia and Hilda went in a group to buy clothes and various things, I was worried that this would increase the load of our luggage but Gesse had an idea.

"What if we buy a carriage instead? You have enough money and the horses are already there" he said without much importance while scratching his nose but I froze in the moment.

"I think... that's a good idea, thank you very much Gesse" I said with a smile.

"Eh?, really?!, I was joking" he murmured.

"No, it's a good idea, we are a big group and two of us are in very weak conditions, that can help us move and let them rest... come with me to find one!" I said to Gesse and so we searched all of Molida in search of a carriage.

After a couple of hours of searching we found a great carpenter's stand but unfortunately he wasn't selling it... or so he said until I gave him five Millis Gold coins which he even helped us move to the outskirts of the city.

And just like that we bought a new carriage and Gesse tied the horses to it while we waited for the girls.

"... they're taking a while aren't they?" Gesse muttered from the driver's side of the carriage, he would be the one to take us.

"Yeah, shit" I muttered as I unsheathed my common sword.

"Take care of the carriage, I'll go get them" I muttered and ran back to the city, but nothing happened as after a couple of minutes the women were back with several things in their hands... damn, this doesn't change even in this world huh?...

"Paul, what are you doing? You look agitated" Roxy asked confused.

"Nothing, they were taking a while and I thought something had happened to them" I muttered, sheathing my sword again and returning.

"Hehe, thanks for worrying, but we're fine" Roxy said with a smile and Hilda walked beside me.

"Huh? A carriage? Paul? Where did you get it?" she asked in shock as they reached the outskirts of the city.

"It was Gesse's idea actually, so we can move and you and Lilia can regain your strength at the same time" I said and she smiled shyly.

"Alright, alright, everyone get in the carriage and we'll start moving again!" Gesse announced,

the women and I got in the carriage, thankfully it was the kind used by merchant caravans, so it was quite large and spacious.

"Paul! Are we going to continue to the next city or are we going to rest on the side of the road again?" Gesse asked as he took the reins of the carriage.

I looked behind me at the women, Roxy was an adventurer but the others were just civilians and they were in bad shape.

"...we will keep moving until the sun sets, but go slowly we don't want to get dizzy" I declared and he nodded and with a whip to the three horses the carriage began to move.

It was significantly slower than just riding but infinitely more comfortable, I sat next to Gesse while the others relaxed in the back, I planned for them to sleep here if there was room.

...

"ngggh!!" Roxy moaned from the effort while trying to concentrate, we had already been on the trip for a couple of hours, it was past noon and not knowing what to do I decided to continue with my magic classes without enchantments for Roxy.

She was crouched slightly with her hands in front of her and with her eyes closed while she made a significant effort to imagine the spell.

"Paul? What is she trying to do?" Hilda asked curiously.

"Non-enchanting magic like I do, that was our deal to get her to come with us" I explained.

"I see, it seems it's difficult" she said with a worried expression.

"Yes, and now we must keep quiet while she concentrates" I murmured with a smile and she nodded blushing.

"Hmmmm!!, ngggh!!!, aaagh!" Roxy moaned from the effort while squirming sporadically, the effort she was exerting was so much that her face was turning red.

"Hey, don't force yourself so much...it's like when you do normal magic, imagine the water droplets forming to create a ball of water, imagine the rain, things like that" I murmured softly in her ear.

"Huh?, e-easy for you to say!" she said with a squeak and a blushing face...cute.

She continued to squirm for a few moments but eventually managed to calm down, apparently she had followed my advice and immediately a small ball of water the size of a ping pong ball formed in her hands, but she didn't stop there and the ball of water continued to grow until it was the size of a soccer ball, the standard size.

"Roxy... open your eyes" I said with a smile.

She opened her eyes as she looked at me confused, then she looked at her hands and her eyes widened.

"E-eh?!!!" She squealed again and the ball of water fell to the floor wetting the wood.

She blinked several times with confusion alternating between the floor and my smile.

"That...t-that was it?..." she murmured.

"Yes, congratulations Roxy, you were finally able to do your first spell without incantations" I said with a smile.

She stood there for a few moments and then a big smile formed on her face and with "yes!! I did it!" she celebrated.

...

We continued practicing for another half hour, in that time Roxy managed to make another three water balls without any incantation but after concentrating for a while, but I gave her the advice to try to remember that feeling every time she does the spells which proved to be effective after the second water ball.

"Try to practice as much as you can in these free times, the more you do it, the better and faster it will be later" I explained.

"Paul?..." she called.

"Hmm?, what's wrong?" I asked looking at her out of the corner of my eye.

"Thank you very much" she said with a small bow which made me feel a warm feeling in my chest.

beautiful...

...

We continued on the road until sunset, the next city was still a few hours away, and the eastern port was about two weeks away...we are closer now.

The trip had been calm until now, the grasslands were now slowly being replaced by forests, the landscape was changing slightly as was the weather, which felt a little cooler compared to Millis.

There had come a point where we had all fallen silent, only the sound of the carriage wheels or the occasional creaking of the horses could be heard, at these moments your mind began to wander and I thought mainly about my mother and the letter I sent, if my calculations are correct the letter could already be in the central continent and heading in a hurry to Ars, besides I was worried about how my mother and little brother my brothers could be.

but I had faith... but that faith wavered when I saw Lilia and Hilda, my mother is a woman with a large chest... and this sight before unpleasant men could be too dangerous... but no.

I shook my head removing those thoughts from my mind, I don't need them, not now, if I continue like this I could become paranoid.

everything in its time, even if it is painful.

Fortunately something caught my attention, it had already gotten dark half a day ago and Gesse still had energy so we decided to continue for another hour.

They were two figures walking slowly down the road, but when they saw the carriage they stepped aside and started waving at us.

I ordered Gesse to stop the carriage and I signaled to Roxy to be aware of the situation.

They were two people, a man and a woman, but I still unsheathed Sakka, it could be an ambush and the terrain of the forest was not helping, especially at night.

"Emmm good morning young man, where is your carriage going?..." the man asked, he was a blond-haired elf and had a bow and arrows on his back and next to him a woman Adolfia llacia behind him.

"...yes, we are heading to the nearest city, why do you ask?" I muttered while staring at them.

The man took a step back nervously and gulped loudly.

"W-well, we left the great forest a while ago and now my wife and I are heading to the central continent and we were wondering if you could give us a ride...we would pay you obviously!" he said nervously.

I stayed silent as I looked at him, the guy looked somewhat strong but not too much and the woman Adoldia looked anything but a warrior like those of her kind.

Apparently they looked like a normal couple leaving their place of origin looking for the Asuran dream...well no.

"Of course...but we were about to stop to rest, are you willing to wait until then?" I muttered.

The couple looked at each other and the woman nodded and the man looked back at me.

"Of course and thank you very much, my name is Laws and my wife's name is Anna and yours young man?"

"Paul, my name is Paul, nice to meet you" I said shaking his hand and his expression relaxed visibly.

After that I walked back to the carriage and announced that we would rest here, so with Gesse's help we moved the carriage out of the way and as was the plan, Lilia, Hilda and Flute would sleep in it and the others in sleeping bags.

But seeing that Anna was not a warrior I also let her sleep in the carriage despite my doubts and so me, Gesse and Laws stayed outside surrounding the campfire in silence.

Only the sound of Gesse's boiling soup could be heard in the place.

"It's not common to see your people leave the great forest, much less the elves, I must assume something happened, right?" Gesee murmured breaking the silence.

But apparently this slightly upset Laws by the way he reacted.

"Actually yes...but it's a family problem, my wife and I want to go to the central continent to start over that's all" he said and the conversation died again.

We spent another hour there and had dinner and then went to sleep, but I finally managed to do so in a sleeping bag!!

I was finally able to sleep comfortably!...

Or so I thought...because apparently the Millis bastards are a bunch of spiteful shit and nothing gets away from them...