Leon Greyrat: The Second Son - Mushoku Tensei OC

Chapter 87 - Betrayal

— Leon Greyrat —

A few weeks had passed since the attempt on Ariel's life, and with the year K423 upon us, it meant that I was now eighteen years old.

Ideally, I would be spending this time of year at home, cuddled up with Aria and my two lovers in front of the fireplace and sharing a cup of tea or warm milk, but unfortunately, that wasn't something I could do right now.

I had been tasked by Ariel to go to the capital and ascertain whether the Notos had truly betrayed her, and if so... why.

She was also hoping that I could provide any insights as to why they had sent a North Emperor her way now of all times, but that was only a secondary priority.

Using the same teleportation ruin over a year ago, when I picked up Eris' family, I was able to cut down the regularly season-long trip between Sharia and Ars to only a few weeks.

Obviously, I didn't want to leave Ariel and my family with Wii Taa and other possible assassins on the loose, but Ariel convinced me it was unlikely that they would attack again for a while, as I had already dealt with quite a strong group.

Instead, it would be better for me to leave now so that I could beat Wii Taa back to the Ars before the news of the failed attempt reached them.

After all, once that happened, we would have to be wary against more attacks, so this was the only window of opportunity for me to get some information.

So, with two and a half weeks of travel behind me, I had galloped through the countryside, staying on the road for the most part, but sometimes taking a shortcut through the vast plains of the region to cut down my travel time.

And that... was how I came across the sight before me.

A giant city, bigger than anything I had ever seen before, with buildings spread across the hills, even spilling past the city walls, while a giant palace stood at the highest point in the centre of the settlement.

This... was Ars. The capital of the strongest and most prosperous nation in the world.

Well, it was certainly an awe-inspiring scene, but I wasn't here to sightsee.

As expected from such a large city, the security was lax getting into, and while I didn't have any concrete plans as to how to fulfill Ariel's wishes, I did have a place to start.

After all, Master did tell me to visit whenever I wanted to, and since she said that she would be back in the capital by the end of the year, she should be here.

So, after getting some directions, I then made my way to the main dojo of the Water God style, a fancy complex of various buildings that rested close to the Silver Palace.

Fortunately, unlike the Sword Sanctum, I didn't need to fight off a bunch of swordsmen on my way to the main building, but I did notice a few people watch me cautiously as I tied my horse up at the stable inside.

I didn't know if it was simply the passive nature of the style, the fact that they could comprehend my strength, or if Master had previously told them about me, but I was grateful for their compliance nonetheless.

Having spotted a familiar flow of touki with my Demon eye, I quickly made my way past the building, hoping that she would be able to help me a bit.

"Oh? I didn't think you would actually come see me so soon," Master said, looking over to me as she sat in a garden. "Aren't you supposed to be fathering your child by now?"

"Yeah, I'm just here for a little errand," I said.

"An errand? This is the capital, you know. Well... come sit," she said, patting the spot on the bench beside her before she suddenly held up her hand. "Actually, show me your Flow first."