4 Lilia

Hands in position, tight on the blade, and then…swish.

On an open field by a lake a young boy and a maid can be seen practicing the blade(stick).

A swing of the blade, up. A tilt to the blade(stick) to allow another's blade to slide along its edge. One foot forward moving in conjunction with the swing, the other ready to pivot, if the position needs to be changed, for an oncoming attack.

And finally return to form. Repeat.

Swing, horizontal variant, same principals, but the body is ready to tilt in the direction of where an attack would come. Return to form, and repeat.

And so on, and so on. For about an hour.

Now onto the practical part.

Swing. Clang clang. Swing. Clang clang. 

Again and again. All the while staying true to form, I continued these repetitive movements I had remembered. Again and again. Clashing as I try to hit her.

Emphasis on try.

All the while still making sure to return to the proper stance when possible, so as not to let month's of repetition go to waste.

The process repeats. 

One Rudeus Greyrat, and one Maid are having an epic battle, of legendary proportions. One boy swings a stick again and again, all the while a cool beauty parries such attempts at her person, again and again. 

Swing, and parry. Swing, and miss. 

Surely bards will tell the tale of the young sword genius, first prodigal steps at the hands of his maid.

As if. 

I try to stay true, but can only handle failure for so long. Mostly, sadly, all I can do is swing wildly at times, in a vain effort to land one hit. That said; even when losing my cool, I still make sure to mimic the techniques I learned, and try to adopt them into my style. Trying to engraine them into my body.

An upward swing comes from down below. It comes towards my side, changing direction, and striking, poking at the shoulder. 

Oof.

Downward thrust towards her legs. A clang of our blades, followed by a bop to the head.

Ouch.

Horizontal swing at the waist. No clang this time, just the sound of a wooden stick sliding up another-

"Ouch," I can't help but yell out this time as my fingers are smushed behind another stick. 

"It seems you have just lost your fingers master Rudeus. I believe this is the end of today's lessons," Lilia replies nonchalantly.

I'm gonna feel all that tomorrow. I have a long way to go.

It has been a week since I asked Lilia for tutelage. At first she was against it, and suggested Paul. He is technically my father. And, misgivings aside, he is "technically," a genius, but… well…he sucks. As a teacher that is.

Besides that defeats the whole point of this exercise. Operation, raise Lilia's self-worth.

Anyways, Lilia was against teaching me at first, coming up with every decision under the sun to avoid me. You should learn from Paul, I can not teach you much, you are too young to be training, I have other duties. Etc. etc. 

Nope.

Needless to say, I shot such talks down immediately.

Just nope. 

Being a child does have its advantages at times, such as then, and as such I made sure to take advantage of it mercilessly. 

So… nope.

Sorry, Lilia (not really), but you will have to entertain this spoiled master.

Now if only she could hit me a little gently. 

"Now then, shall we?" After the sparring section part of training, Lilia enters sensei mode, and starts going back to the previous techniques she used during the fight, and reproducing them in a slower motion. After that, it's simply an hour of repeating the techniques slowly, and trying the body to get used to them. The next day will start the same as this, where I will train my body for a short while(warm up), followed by a short break, and then casting a water ball or two. Always, half my limit, and never more. 

Can't enter the training session following it after, with my mind being out of it. What good is having a genius brain, but being absent-minded.

"Ah, thank you sensei."

"...I'm not a sensei, young master," she whispers, looking off to the side, with feint annoyance, and half embarrassment.

"Nope~"

"Sigh, young master is incorrigible. In any case, let's get you home. I have to finish my 'maid,' duties," she emphasizes the maid part.

Yes, yes. I am aware you are a maid. You are still wearing the outfit. 

"I will be moving on ahead master Rudeus, I will wait for you in the kitchen," she walks away in the direction of my house. This routine has already been set after a week.

"...whew, I wonder if she still thinks i'll of me," I mumbled.

Now having a breather I decided to finalize my training period, and casting the water balls for the day, before setting out to help Lilia in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, playing the spoiled master role could only go so far, so in order to convince Lilia to hang out with me, I had to offer something. So when she gave the excuse of having her maidly duties, I offered to help her with them, and consequently giving her time..

I suppose she thought she was being smart, and that it would work as a deterrent, or that I would tire of menial work, but nope, that wasn't going to happen.

Haha, you fool. You've fallen for my plan. Kuku. All according to keikaku.

Truth be told I was going to offer that anyway. Eventually. My 'life,' skills leave little to be desired, so I was planning on asking her help in the future. It would also work as an excuse to hang out with her more. So when the opportunity to expedite my plans for a few years, I went for it.

Lilia [pov]

"...now you, wait a few minutes 'till the grain changes color before you can drop the veggies,"I explained to master Rudeus.

"Why?'

"Because the veggies, and the grain have two different boiling points, and placing both at the same time wouldn't be wise. You will end up eating a delicious meal, with a side of overcooked veggies. Possibly burnt," I explain to master Rudeus.

With a shake of his head, he responds that he understood. 

Similar lessons have now become customary now. The young master, as usual, absorbs everything like a sponge. He is Zenith's and Paul's pride, and joy, an exemplary child…

If only they knew how much.

That child… he has never been nothing, but exemplary. 

It was frightening.

The child was born several years ago, drawing out amniotic fluids when he was born, I cleaned him, and brought him out into this world peacefully. Or more accurately quietly. He didn't make a sound.

He simply laid quietly in my arms with an expressionless face, and still.

It looks like this is it. I wonder where I go from here? I hope the young miss takes the loss well.

I had such thoughts at the time. Worried about my prospects of how to acquire new work, while also wondering how I should break such news to the young miss.

"Hmmm… argh…" 

Such thoughts were to never reach a conclusion, as they were interrupted by the sounds of a young baby groaning. The baby was alive.

I… made a mistake?

I remembered thinking at the time. I don't know how I made such a mistake, but I was thankful for it. I carried of the baby to its mother's waiting hands, and threw my previous worries to the side.

The baby continued to make unintelligible babble. It looked like my worries were for not, and the young couple's lives could continue. If he is this lively, he is surely healthy.

I really underestimated his liveliness.

After he was born, he was quite a lively child, and yet strangely quiet when not. It was a paradox. The baby was always quiet, never making a sound, nor a mumble. Only making sounds when needing changing or eating. 

A baby would usually make some unintelligible, baby talk, as he imitates his parents and grows, getting particularly vocal when eating, or in need of some cleaning.

But this baby was simply odd…

That was only where the irregularities began though, another was he was always on the move.  Kitchen, cupboard, fireplace, always moving. How he even made it to the second floor with his stubby limbs remains a mystery.He was 6 months old at that time..

Although, both of these notes made him unusual, that is not what made him frightening. Just… livelier than one would expect of him. 

No, that wasn't it, rather it was his eyes. His eyes were… those weren't a child's eyes.

Those eyes were simply too clear. When the baby started crying to have his needs met, one would enter the room, and then he would go quiet, and look at you. As if he knew why they were here. 

When a person enters a room he would turn their head towards them, acknowledging they were here. When you hold him he looks at you in the eye. When you read to him he focuses on the words, and not the speaker. When Lady Zenith would unbutton her blouse for feeding he would look at her breast for a moment. A moment too long in my opinion.

Everytime. 

At first it was unnoticeable, but as he got older, his childish features changed from baby to a young child. It became apparent that he is aware of the world… and women. Perhaps it was nothing, but he just seemed 'too,' aware from my point of view.

For a moment I thought it was my own experience with men distorting my view of the young master, and I was imagining things, but my intuition was telling me otherwise.

So I decided to test him.

One evening I asked Zenith If I could wash the young master today, so as to give lady Zenith a reprieve. I made sure to change clothes, and changed to a bathrobe. In front of him.

He definitely stared. 

I rubbed the master from top to bottom, and made sure to 'accidentally,' push my breast against his arm from time to time. As well, bending over, and letting him have a look, as I reached for a bar of soap. I made a 'show,' and made sure to take things off slowly. Not once did his gaze waver.

He even blushed. He wasn't even 2 at the time. He was clearly aware of the opposite sex.

I never had a shower with the young master after that.

From time to time, I would notice those irregularities. He would look at my 'assets,' when he thought I wouldn't notice. He would inhale your scent if you were to hold him close. Whether it's me or lady Zenith, doesn't seem to matter. He only didn't do it with Paul.

Just as strange, he would go up and read, from time to time, without a parent, alone.

And to top it off he would mysteriously disappear from time to time, coming back wet and breathing hard like a beast.

With such thoughts I was weary of the day he would attack me. My heart was beating heavily inside my chest when I thought the day came and he asked me to train him.

Of course no was the only answer. On my mother's name I would not want to stay in a room alone with him if at all possible.

He kept insisting though. As such I kept making logical responses to deny him, but he would quickly come up with a rebuttal. I almost had it when…

He squeezed my hands, and looked me straight in the eye. Pleading to me once more.

…those eyes. 

Somehow, my rejections died in my throat.

I think I am a pushover.

And so I relented and decided to teach the young master swordsmanship.

We started at the beginning, with exercises, and techniques. Any excuse not to spar.

It was fool-hardy. 

He already knew the basics. I already saw him stare at his father's own practice, so I guess it's no surprise he knew how to grab a sword. 

I could only stall him with techniques for so long however, and like any technique you need to practice them.

Sparring was inevitable.

I taught him some forms, and prepared myself.

I don't know what excuse I'll make for Zenith, but if my life is forfeit, I'll at least defend myself. 

And as such thoughts went through my head, I taught him a few beginner forms, had him go through some drills, and finally went into practical application.

I waited for him to attack, he did, and…

I parried. 

Then he attacked again. I parried once more. 

Again, and again, after a while I struck back at the end of every parry. and this process would go like this for the next weeks.

He was sloppy, clearly a beginner. Seems he at least got the basics, as he knows how to grab a sword.  However, I would still beat him down.

By the time we were done the young master would be laying in a pile of his own sweat on the prairie, every time, exhausted. 

His sweaty drenched form comes to mind, as he lays on the floor. 

He would tell me to walk away, and that he'll follow me in a second. After repeating this event again, and again, the truth finally set in.

He's just a child.

I don't know what I was expecting, but after a few beatdowns, my apologies to lady Zenith. It became apparent that the young master was just a child.

He is precocious. He is lively. He is aware… perhaps too aware, of women, specifically.

But he is not a bad person.

At this time a scene of a young baby holding a bloody finger towards my lips comes to mind. And then the image of the heavy breathing toddler on the floor.

An abnormal child indeed, but not evil.

"Miss Lilia, I'm done slicing the veggies."

"Thank you, Rudy, please set them aside, and I'll put them with the rest," I stared at the young child. 

If nothing else, an extra pair of hands is always nice to have.

///

Rudy [pov]

I say operation raise Lilia's affection is a success. Don't know exactly where I am going with this, but one taking things one happy day at a time, can't be wrong. I hope.

Anyways, weeks turn to months, and I am now 3 yrs old.  Have been training with Lilia for a while now, and I feel I might be nearing my limits of what I can learn by myself. 

My swordsmanship is going well.

I can at least act appropriately, and react in time, rather than pause with attacks. It is now apparent to me how kind Lilia is. Seeing as I am not a pile of mush. 

She could have struck me way more than once in between pauses.

She's a good teacher, but as for magic…

I'm not quite sure where to go. In the magic department I'm all by myself, and unlike a certain 34-yr old isekai neet I am an 'average,' person. My understanding of physics starts and ends at a fifth grade level. The water cycle; condensation, evaporation, precipitation, yeah, I can work with that. Making a bog, or lightning, a little beyond my expertise.

Where is my explosion magic?!

Can I do this by myself? 

I stood by the pond, turned out it wasn't a lake, and took out the book I hid behind a tree, and started wondering if it's time to move forward with the next step. Unlike my other actions, that were generally along the plot line, not including Lilia and swordsmanship, this decision would have general repercussions. 

The question is do I learn by myself, or do I go down the Roxy path.

Going down Roxy-

That doesn't sound right.

I have been thinking for some time whether I should go down the 'plot,' or not, for the most part I've completely disregarded that, and decided to live true to myself, but ultimately in the end I haven't really changed much. 

But my magic lessons are a real turning point.

On one hand I could tough it out, and go at it by myself, take the swordsmanship lessons I can take from Lilia and Paul as much as possible, learn magic by myself and move on.

Too bad Hitogami exists.

Unfortunately all my future knowledge is only usable, during this 10 year window, after that it's practically useless. The 'man,' is a clairvoyant after all.

And that is the crux of the issue; the core of the series was written about a character, me I suppose, reacting towards the machinations of a clairvoyant by the name Hitogami. In essence; I am in the palm of his hand, or will be at the very least.

So the situation I find myself in is; Clairvoyant, and telepath, because of course he is, versus me… a guy with future knowledge.

For a moment I wondered If I just avoided Roxy, that could be it, I could be free. Free from the plot, and free to live my life as I please. No Roxy, no romance, and hence no Laura, no threat to Hitogami.

That is too hopeful.

As soon as that naive thought entered my head, it was quickly extinguished as I recalled the rest of that story, specifically an event about a time that never was.

Sometime, during his academic years, the protagonist of Mushoku Tensei had a visitor from the future, himself, and through that a possible future became apparent, one where Hitogami won.

In that timeline Roxy was the first to die, and consequently Laura was to never be born. You would think that would be it, bad guy wins, roll credits. No, Hitogami is not that type of person.

He is thorough. Unfortunately all of my descendants, children and/or grandchildren, are blindspots for Hitogami, their nuisances, something outside his control. Something he could not allow to exist. So he didn't.

Unfortunately, I can not remember the details, it was a novel to me back then. Probably for the best, I do not want to picture my loved ones dying, now that I have an actual face to associate it with.

But I remember that they died, all of them. Roxy, my would be wife, died first. Followed by Slyph, then the others, the order is murky, but I remember enough to know that all my lovers died first, then my friends and family. Kept going until there was no one left, and why? Because he can.

It makes sense when you disassociate from the characters. 

Because to him, our lives are nothing, simply pawns on a board, and we were simply living outside of his control. An uncontrollable variable, and as such had to be removed from that board.

…

…funny enough, he didn't kill that version of Rudeus. Instead told him everything, and left him to 'live,' a life of misery.

Quite a comic book villain isn't he.

But yes, ultimately Hitogami is cruel. Peaceful coexistence is impossible.

And so the decision of avoiding Roxy, or not becomes simpler than expected.

The answer was easy. 

"Splash Flow…" 

If I have to go down paths, where the same dangerous beast lies across both paths. Then you would go down the one you know best. Don't know about lover, but a powerful friend and ally is just too attractive an option to let go.

"Hah, ha…This is why I need a teacher," I don't remember the original breathing this hard. This is why I need a teacher. "I'll see you soon Roxy sensei," 

Become my strength. Clairvoyant and telepath vs self-insert, the equivalent of future knowledge. It's like being gifted a gun with one bullet that can shoot down god. 

Well then, better make that shot count.

I go home. I have some intermediate magic to perform.