Rumination : Silence

After refusing Philip's offer to travel back via carriage, Paul spent the half-hour it took him to reach the Citadel ruminating over the future.

Though it felt like an entire lifetime had passed since he gained access to the Intersection of Fate, Paul knew that he was barely at the start of his journey in the world of Mushoku Tensei. The current year was only K401, and while he had little knowledge of the actual timeline, he recalled that events such as Laplace's resurrection didn't occur until around year K500. Since Laplace held half of the key required to access the Void World, that meant, unless the IOF provided them with a solution, there were still more than a hundred years until they could even attempt to defeat Hitogami...

Realizing how long the road ahead was, a pensive expression developed across Paul's face as he took a moment to stare up at the darkening sky overhead. A hundred years might not sound like a long time for races that lived for thousands, but it was a remarkably long period for humans. Even back in his previous world, humans only lived around 76-78 years with all manner of medical intervention. In a world like Mushoku Tensei, a century was roughly 6-10 generations as humans typically started having children around the age of ten and generally died in their mid to late thirties...

Though he intended to give them Visions, Paul felt a sensation akin to 'emptiness' as he imagined watching his children growing, having children of their own, becoming grandparents, great grandparents, and even great great great grandparents before he got anywhere near to completing his objective...

Shaking away such thoughts, Paul forced a smile as he continued along his way and stated, "I need to find a hobby..." in a faint yet decisive tone.

As much as he enjoyed practicing swordsmanship and spending time with the girls, Paul couldn't imagine 'only' swinging his sword and fucking for a hundred years. He would need to find something to occupy his time when he wasn't traveling around the world, so, as strange as it was to consider, Paul began humoring the idea of promoting technological advancements to the point he could get back into game design.

In Paul's original world, humanity had gone from building the world's first electronic computer to landing on the moon in something like twenty-six years. From there, they went on to develop a global telecommunications network, automatic assembly lines, the internet, smart cars, smartphones, and things like the Large Hadron Collider in less than forty.

With the proper stimulus, humans were capable of some pretty amazing feats. In a setting with magic, multiple races, and even Gods, Paul felt like they should be capable of much, much more. The only caveat was, much like his world, meaningful change only came about as a result of political upheaval and literal wars.

Imagining people other than Albedo developing explosives on par with Emperor-Ranked Attack Spells, a shudder passed through Paul's body. As impressive as his previous world's technology was, greed and nepotism had reached such extremes that Paul genuinely couldn't decide whether the politics of Mushoku Tensei or his previous world were worse. The one thing he knew for certain was that the humans of his previous world were on a fast track toward ruining the only planet they could call home...

Though he was in a peculiar situation where he could realistically regulate how technology grew and developed within the world of Mushoku Tensei, Paul was under no illusion that asshats wouldn't figure out a way to game the system and ruin everything. Just like how the Holy Church of Milis did its best to maintain a monopoly on Healing Magic and Holy Water, there would always be people seeking to take advantage of advancements and those who vehemently resisted even minor changes.

As selfish as it sounded, Paul reasoned that the best course of action was to develop advanced technology in secret and let competent rulers such as Ningguang and the future Princess Ariel determine which technologies would disseminate to the public. He would have resented the government of his previous world for doing the same, but comparing those blundering fucknuts to people like Ningguang was like comparing the luster of literal shit against the appeal of the polished jade...

With his rumination bringing him to the Citadel, Paul decided to shelve the matter until the IOF gave him access to people from Snezhnaya or Klee's mother, Alice. According to numerous sources, Snezhnaya had advanced to the point of creating factories powered by perpetual motion machines. As for Alice, she was, as described by Albedo and Jean, an enigmatic and near-omnipotent sorceress who dabbled in engineering and inventing new things. She had a fondness for explosives and exoskeletons, one of which was purportedly capable of exploring ruins more than 6000m beneath the ocean's surface.

Though Snezhnaya gave off a kind of Nazi-ish vibe due to their general disregard for human life, Alice was the manner of genius that could propel civilization by leaps and bounds in just a few short years. Assuming, of course, she didn't get distracted, wander off, or inadvertently teleport to a completely different world...

Recalling the mixture of fondness and exasperation on Albedo's and Jean's faces when they talked about Alice, Paul knew she was going to be at least a moderate pain in the ass. Not just because of her eccentric personality, but because he didn't really know how he would deal with a woman who was happily married before agreeing to become a potential summon. Sure, both she and her husband had perished when Teyvat was destroyed, but it didn't change the fact that he would someday be sharing a bed with both a married woman and her daughter...

"I'm just gonna stop thinking for a bit..."

Though his remark earned him a strange look from one of the sentries he passed along the way, Paul ignored the young man as he began imagining waves crashing against a beach at sunset. He knew there was no sense in worrying about such things, so he just enjoyed the white noise of his mind until reaching the corridor containing instructor residences.

With Reida's residence being located at the far end of the hall, Paul had to pass the rooms housing Jean, Eula, Ei, Lilia, Ghislaine, Xinyan, and Ganyu. The latter was currently running an errand for him, quite literally, but the others were usually back in their rooms by now.

Recalling that he had wanted to speak to both Jean and Eula, Paul made his way over to the duo's shared abode but stopped short of knocking as Reida suddenly emerged from her door, saying, "We need to talk." before turning around and leaving her door wide open for him to follow.

"..."

Retracting his hands from Jean's and Eula's door, Paul walked over to Reida's room, goosebumps developing across his arms and legs as he stepped into the inordinately chilled interior. It wasn't actually any colder than the outside, but Paul felt as though he had wandered into a freezer due to the aura permeating the dimly lit residence.

Noticing several emptied bottles of wine strewn about, a slightly cautious but predominately concerned expression marred Paul's face as he closed the door behind him and asked, "Are you okay...?"

Unsure of how to answer Paul's question, Reida replied with a faint, "I'm not really sure..." as she picked up two glasses and a half-emptied bottle of wine. She offered one to Paul, but he shook his head, taking both the cups and wine away from her as he said, "Let's talk..." as he ushered her toward the sofa where they frequently cuddled.

Though she furrowed her brows when Paul took away her win, Reida offered no resistance as he sat down and pulled her to sit next to him. When he guided her head to his lap and began caressing her hair, a faint moisture began to build in her eyes before she promptly closed them and allowed the tensions to drain from her body...

Despite hearing Reida's faint snoring shortly after she put her head down, Paul continued running his fingers through her somewhat oily black hair in complete silence. She had clearly spent hours drinking alone, so while he didn't regret his decision to meet with Philip, Paul regretted not returning to the Citadel sooner. He didn't know the reason for Reida's binge, but the thought of her nursing a bottle of wine as she stared listlessly at her door caused his heart to feel as though it was twisting in his chest...

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Though she didn't know how long she had slept, Reida was unsurprised to find Paul still awake, gently stroking her hair even after several hours had passed. He did his best to act casual and cocky, but he was easily one of the most sentimental people she had ever met. When someone he cared about was hurting, he hurt right alongside them...

Asking the first question that came to mind, Reida inquired, "Did you just use Detoxification Magic on me...?"

Nodding his head, Paul adopted a faint smile as he answered, "You kept groaning, and your body started to tremble. I figured you would wake up needing to go to the bathroom, so I used Detoxification Magic to ensure you wouldn't be grumpy or have a migraine..."

Instead of thanking Paul for his care, Reida made a show of rolling her eyes before adjusting her position slightly to get more comfortable. She didn't know what time it was, but she didn't really care as she didn't feel like getting up or doing anything. She just wanted to sleep and cuddle, so even though she could tell Paul wanted to ask her what was wrong, she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

Despite seeing through Reida's intentions, Paul didn't say anything. Even if she didn't tell him what was wrong, he could figure it out from context clues later. For now, he rested his head against the back of the sofa and continued caressing her hair until they both fell asleep...

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As it was pretty rare for Paul not to keep his word, Jean emerged from her room shortly after 8 PM. She doubted anything bad had happened to him, as both the Citadel and the Capital would be abuzz, so she made her way next door to Ghislaine's and Xinyan's room to see if he had stopped by for a visit. When they answered in the negative, she assured them everything was okay before making her way three doors down to the residence of Ei and Lilia.

Though it was well past the time most people went to sleep, Lilia quickly answered the door when Jean used one of their secret knocks. When she did, Jean immediately noticed the faint bruising under her eyes, a look of concern marring her face as she asked, "Is everything okay, Lilia? You're looking a little...haggard..."

Exhaling a sigh, Lilia replied, "You should come inside..." before stepping aside to allow Jean entry into the room. Ei had already emerged from her room by then, so Lilia encouraged them to sit around a square, low-lying table while she prepared tea.

Recognizing Lilia's behavior as a form of coping that caused people to stick to routines after experiencing tragedy, Jean's concerns increased as she sat adjacent to Ei and asked, "Did something happen? Please explain the situation." in a firm tone.

Since Jean was 'technically' the leader of their group in the absence of Paul, Ei only hesitated for a brief moment before answering, "A man came by spouting nonsense about teaching our Master a lesson for consorting with the Water God. He intended to brutalize Lilia and I before moving on to you and everyone else affiliated with our Master. Adhering to what our Master decreed, I made sure to deal with him without leaving so much as a single strand of evidence. Is there a problem...?"

Though she opened her mouth to speak, Jean found herself at a loss for words. She couldn't fault Ei for protecting herself and Lilia, but the notion that she had basically erased someone felt like it had crossed a line. With Ei's power, even apprehending someone as 'robust' as Reida wouldn't take too much effort. Instead, she not only killed someone but did so in a way that didn't even leave a trace...

Sensing Jean's disapproval, the ruthless expression on Ei's face began to melt away, her dignified aura giving way to a nervous tension as she tentatively inquired, "Did I, perhaps, misinterpret our Master's words...?"

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