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Chapter 52: Paul's Story

When I woke up, I had realized I was in the middle of a meadow in a grassland.

It was a grassland.

There were no other words to describe it other than 'grassland'.

It was nothing more than a completely ordinary piece of grassland with nothing particular about it, but strangely, it had about a sense of familiarity.

I spent a few minutes trying to figure out where this was.

I remembered.

This was the southern part of Asura Kingdom.

It's near the town I once stayed in.

During that time, I was learning the Water God Style swordsmanship in the town.

In other words, it was close to Lilia's home.

I thought this was a dream. It was only natural to think so.

Even so, it was quite the nostalgic place.

How many years did I live here? One year, or was it two?

I only remembered that it was not a very long time.

My memories mostly only included those of the dojo. I remembered the senior disciple.

He was a despicable guy.

A person who only knew how to run off his mouth.

He was a bastard who fiercely drummed the threat into my head that it was not my right to go beyond him once he saw my talent.

I hate those type of senior-junior and superior-inferior relationships.

I had run away from home because I had to hold my head down to my father as well.

Still, my father was better compared to him. How do I explain this, it was because he possessed power.

However, that senior of mine did not possess any power at all.

He was merely a small fry that had developed immense narcissism by running off his mouth.

When I had trained to reach the intermediate level, that guy was still hanging around at the end of the elementary level.

That was a guy of low caliber.

Even within the main dojo, that was their best of the senior Water God Style swordsmen.

They just kept coming up with different excuses with how their lack of competence was caused by this or that.

I had thought that someday I would show the true strength of my power to those guys.

Although, at the very end, I wasn't able to show that guy my own strength at all.

There were many things I wasn't able to put up with. Like the crime I had committed against Lilia, so I ran away.

I had more or less aimed at this from the beginning, the fact that I had wanted to trample on what was considered precious to them.

Those guys started to look for me in a frenzy ever since I fled.

I left the country in order to ridicule them.

When I think back on it, I realized I was a kid back then.

How that senior disciple acted did not matter, the fact was that I did a bad thing to Lilia.

"...nn"

The wind blew.

Dust entered my eyes and I frowned.

Then, the side of the hem of my clothing was pulled.

"Dad...where, is this...?"

"Un?"

Looking closely, Norn was clinging tightly to my chest.

She was looking at me with an anxious face.

So finally, I let go of my house coat, and noticed I was standing on the prairie.

The soles of my feet were feeling the texture of the ground clearly.

The warmth of Norn.

This was not a dream.

"...What's with this?"

I do not understand why I was here.

If I was alone then I would have thought it was a dream to the end.

However, there was Norn clinging to my chest.

Norn born three years ago.

Tiny Norn.

My cute daughter.

I rarely come into contact with my daughters.

Since I was hoping to become a strict father, I usually avoid physical contact with them.

So why would I be embracing Norn...?

...Oh right.

I remember.

Just until awhile ago, I was talking to Zenith at home.

It was just a talk about nothing special.

"As our daughters grow bigger, they'll start to resist contact with their father, so it's alright for you to stop holding back, just for now."

"No, no, I am aiming to become a dignified father. Unlike Rudeus, Norn seems to be more mundane, so I'll have to be more aware of how I act as a father now."

"So it's not like you dislike her after all then."

"...Yeah, then I'll hug her after all... "

It was such a conversation.

Nearby, Lilia was teaching Aisha something.

Lilia was going to let Aisha go through specialized education.

I opposed her saying that we should let them grow more freely but I was strongly overpowered by Lilia.

Aisha was growing quickly.

Anything taught was memorized immediately, just as how she also learned how to walk quite fast.

So.

It was at that time that, abruptly, I was wrapped in a bright light.

Oh, I remembered.

The memory continued.

...That something seems to have happened, I instantaneously realized it.

"...Dad?"

Norn raised her anxious voice as she looks at my face.

"It's all right."

I gently stroked Norn's head.

Then I looked over my surroundings.

There were no signs of Lilia or Zenith.

Whether they were nearby, or if I was the only one blown away, Norn was together with me.

Why I wonder?

...I remember.

In the labyrinths, there was one time where I was caught in some atrocious trap.

It seems to have been some sort of teleportation magic that we had triggered.

It was lucky of me that I had been transported to somewhere close at that time.

Elinalise at that time had grabbed onto the hem of my clothes and was fuming.

It was the sort of trap that spells instant death if you were unlucky.

The monkey scout that had been caught up in the trap was never found... Such a story doesn't matter.

In summary, only the person that was in contact with you during that instant would get teleported with you.

This was why Norn was with me.

However, why?

Why has such a thing happened?

It's way too abrupt.

Whose handiwork was this?

There were many enemies around me.

It wouldn't be strange for whoever it was to do it.

However, this was teleportation.

Teleportation is another story.

There was no casting used for the teleportation magic.

Therefore, items imbued with magic or magic products were used.

Teleportation-imbued magic items were considered to be illegal no matter where in the world.

The magic for teleportation was designated as a forbidden technique and has become long lost.

In order to take revenge on me, a single person, why was there a need to go through such lengths, through such a dangerous path?

Also, how come the place I was transported to was such a barren field?

No way.

A disciple of the dojo was one of the culprits involved?

A thought suddenly surfaced in my mind.

In order to get to Lilia, they had me moved.

This place I was at was supposed to be a hint.

By the time I return home, Lilia and Zenith might have already been sullied by a vulgar man.

Damn it, it seems to be an idea they would come up with.

"Hey, father."

"Norn, it's alright. We'll return home immediately."

As I kept murmuring that to myself, we headed towards the town.

Fortunately, in case where something were to happen, Asura gold coins were concealed inside the sheathe of the sword.

The sword was to always be worn at all times, which was a habit formed from my time as an adventurer.

It was not to be removed even when sleeping.

The only time it could be allowed to be removed was when feeling up a woman.

The adventurers' card was also placed within the sheathe.

It was for times like these.

I went to the Adventurers Guild in order to exchange the money.

Eight large copper coins and nine pieces of silver.

The commission fee was raised before I knew it.

Although this amount was plenty enough.

A quick check around the Adventurers Guild request board was made, and since there was a request for an urgent delivery, I immediately accepted it.

The lady at the reception desk updated the magical power to the adventurer card along with the accepted request.

After realizing the rank written on the card was S, she showed a surprised face.

The reason as to why she was shocked was not because S rank adventurers were rare but rather the fact that I had accepted such a quest.

Usually, such delivery quests can be accepted regardless of rank because of the urgency but it's still commonly considered as an E rank request.

Usually, I would not bother hiding the reason behind it but explaining it was troublesome so I didn't.

I readily held out one silver coin.

How many years had it been since I prepared for traveling?

It's been a long time but I still remembered clearly what was needed.

The preparations were finished in no time.

I had also rented out a horse from the Adventurers Guild.

I'm glad that there was a request for urgent delivery.

Of the many benefits of the S rank, renting out a free horse on such a request was one of them.

Of course, that didn't necessarily mean that I was going to return it immediately once the request was finished.

This time, I headed out in a different direction from the delivery.

I feel bad for the client, but I'm also in an emergency.

These horses that have been bought were definitely good ones for sure.

My luck was good.

This just goes to show how much of an emergency it was.

There could possibly be a chance of having my adventurer's status revoked for taking advantage of its benefits, but so be it.

I had not intended to continue living on as an adventurer in the first place.

Norn was placed on top of the horse and I jumped onto its back.

Immediately, we set off from the town.

Part 2

Norn became sick on the way.

I was in too much of a hurry.

Norn had absolutely no experience riding, even more so to have to continue moving throughout the day and night, even when she's still just a child.

Extra time was taken to nurse Norn, and so by the time we reached the Fedoa region, two months had already passed.

This was the number of days that it would've taken it if I had used the horse-drawn carriage in the first place.

Therefore, the delivery request had already been failed long ago.

The fine was not a big deal though.

Though, I was in despair.

Before we reached the village of Buina, I had already realized the gravity of the situation.

The entire Fedoa region had disappeared.

I had sunk in to the polar regions of confusion.

What had happened?

Where's the Buina village that I had known?

Zenith?

Lilia?

The walled city of Roa was not there anymore either.

Then, wouldn't that mean that Rudeus was gone as well?

Stupid...

Unknowingly, I had my knees fall onto the ground.

"Annihilation from the Teleportation trap."

Such words swirled inside my head.

The adventurer era.

I had heard many times about labyrinths, that the number one trap to be wary of was teleportation traps.

The party will fall apart without even knowing the location of their comrades.

It is one of the absolute worst traps that we shouldn't get caught up in.

I have heard many stories of parties that had been caught up in such a trap and most would end up wiped out.

If any parties were to be caught in such a trap, they should all find their way back to the entrance to rendezvous.

Otherwise, those that were unable to come out would most likely be dead.

Any men who would hear of such a story would end up with a stunned look on their faces.

But, surely.

In such a place like this.

I...

"Dad...we're still not home yet?"

With those words, I returned to reality.

My daughter of a mere three years old, had grabbed onto the hem of my clothes.

I silently hugged Norn.

"Dad? What is it?"

Yes.

I am a dad.

A father.

My daughter still doesn't know what had happened yet.

But, because of me, she can have peace of mind.

I am a dad.

A father.

Do not show any weaknesses.

I must retain a resolute attitude.

It is so.

Teleportation's a terrible trap indeed.

I do not know why we had ended up in such a situation.

But, I am alive.

Zenith was even a former adventurer as well.

Even Lilia, although not as strong as she used to be, could still use a sword.

Aisha...

I remember, at that time, at that moment, Lilia was in contact with Aisha right?

...I can't remember clearly.

No, do not give up.

At that time, Lilia was holding Aisha's hand.

Let us think that is true for now.

Part 3

While returning the borrowed horse to the nearest town, I tried to collect some information.

It seems that the disaster took place throughout the entire Fedoa region.

Sauros and Phillip are both missing, and his brother is the lord now.

But, it doesn't seem that Phillip's brother is going to take responsibility and intervene in the downfall of this disaster at any moment.

They're too concerned about themselves to bother lending a helping hand.

It seems, rather than to protect the people under one's own dominion, he would rather care about himself.

The Asura nobles are absolutely repugnant because of this.

While I was gathering information, an old man named Alphonse made contact with me.

He was the butler that had been serving under Phillip.

He had sworn allegiance towards the Greyrat house.

Even under such a situation, he did not harbor any other selfish thoughts of his own.

He had even used his own property in order to start the construction of refugee camps.

Alphonse had said that he wanted my help. When he heard me ask him [Why me?], he responded saying that he had heard about me from Phillip.

Phillip had said,

"He is a person who puts in effort in the case of an emergency, but since he doesn't have the power to see ahead, he's an unreliable person that gets himself in trouble because of his own mistakes."

The story goes like that. That's none of your business.

Alphonse seemed to have been hesitant whether to attempt to contact me, but considering that I was Rudeus' father, he took up the chance to offer cooperation.

I was just following the conversation but became delighted that Rudeus has been evaluated so highly even by the house butler.

I willingly accepted and followed Alphonse's instructions.

Then one month passed.

Alphonse continuously borrows and collects volunteers as well as funds from various kinds of places while using them to expand the refugee camp.

What superb ability.

I, on the other hand, find and gather the lost people to the refugee camps while establishing and organizing the "Fedoa region's Search Group".

The network had spread to all places, trying to save those that had turned into refugees.

However, my purpose was not to save strangers, but to help to find my family.

By that time, the power attained over the place was large enough to be compared to a king and Alphonse was gaining steady funds for the reconstruction of the camps.

I left a note in the refugee camps, saying I was aiming for and heading to the Holy Milis Kingdom's headquarters, the Adventurers Guild.

Milis and Asura, if I was able to successfully connect these two then information could easily be obtained between them.

This was the judgment I had made.

Anyone and everyone would easily be found.

That was what I had thought at that time.

I was too naive.

Part 4

Half of a year's time has passed while I was active in Milis.

A considerable number of people had been transported to the Milis Continent.

All of them were rescued, one after another.

Some within the group were sold as slaves.

I had decided to save them all.

It's said that if you were to free slaves by force, you would end up going against the Milis Kingdom's law.

But, Zenith and Lilia could have possibly ended up as slaves as well.

If that were to be the case, then there's no need for any hesitation even if it were to be a crime.

I will save them all.

I kept that sort of attitude.

That way, in any sort of situation, I will remember what am I doing is for a just cause.

I do not allow any sort of precedent or reason to sway my decision.

Thinking about that, I realized that I could rely on Zenith's house.

Zenith's family is a house of powerful nobles in the Milis Kingdom.

Prestigious and known to have bore many excellent knights.

I made a commitment to rely on them.

The refugee rescue was advancing nicely as well.

Thanks to the early start of the movement, many of the people in need of help were found immediately.

Many of those from the Fedoa region had indeed been teleported over to the Milis Continent.

Those that had to go back by foot were given travel expenses in order to assist them.

The elderly and children that the Fedoa Region Search Group had found were provided with a place to rest.

Those that had become slaves also needed gold to purchase back their freedom, along with the power of the Zenith family.

If all else were to fail, then we would resort to looking for a chance to kidnap them back.

Of course, a problem surfaced.

The Milis Kingdom's nobles became aware of the fact that I was the one in charge of the recent disappearance and theft of slaves, and so many sent their own private armies to attack me.

Many members ended up dead because of that, but I did not stop.

What we were doing were justified.

We were right in saving people, and so the search group continued to follow me.

I used the status of a senior noble of the Asura Kingdom's Greyrat family, the house of Zenith and the fact that I was a former Adventurer in order to solve our problems.

However, not even one single piece of information of Lilia or Zenith came to me.

Not to mention, the same went for Rudeus as well.

That son of mine, wherever he would be, he would still stand out with overflowing information and rumors, but unfortunately, it did not enter my network at all.

Part 5

One year had passed.

It became a year in no time at all.

At this point in time the reports of discoveries become quite varied and confusing, as well as more infrequent than before.

There are those that were found to be roughly in the middle of the Milis continent and the central southern continent.

There are still some villagers who have still not yet been found, and others are still trapped as slaves.

To this degree, the liberation of the slaves was proceeding according to plan.

The first priority is to secure custody of them, even if it required using brute force.

I also realized that this is an abomination to many of the nobles, so much so that they can't turn a blind eye towards us.

The situation worsened due to the fact that many of our members were attacked and either killed or seriously injured.

There are even some members who blamed me for it.

We could have done better, not to mention I didn't expect us to be in such a situation.

Even so, my attitude did not change.

It's too late to afford a change.

Recently, more reports of discovery of refugees' deaths have come up.

They weren't that recent or ambiguous.

There have been many death reports since the beginning.

To be frank, the reports of death were more overwhelming than those of survivors.

Eto, Chloe, Rawls, Bonnie, Lane, Marion, Montie...

Every single time I hear the death report of an acquaintance, my spine goes cold.

There were some who broke down from the reports.

There were also those who we were one step behind from preventing their suicide.

There were others who ended up blaming me, asking why didn't I look into that place sooner.

Each and every time, I grew into an even more desolate mood.

Then, as time flows by, even the death reports became ambiguous.

The person might be dead.

A corpse of that looked like that person might have been found.

In the depths of the forest, someone could have seen someone who looks like that person.

When I thought about it more clearly, the actions we have taken have ended up as vain effort for way too many.

Information about my family still did not come up.

I thought that I might have failed.

We should have looked into the magic continent and the northern part of the central continent.

If they had become slaves in those places, then they might still be alive.

What could have been put off should have been put off.

The first choice should have been to search within those dangerous places.

No, impossible.

Most members of the search team were not suited to fighting.

The majority of them were the original town's farmers.

Some of them were adventurers but they were too few in number and of those that I had known, I had sent them to suitable places.

For the rest of the members of the Fedoa Region's Search Group, if they were to be sent to the northern part of the Magic continent, the Central Continent, and the Begaritto Continent, they wouldn't be able to stand in the midst of battle.

Those sent to rescue would need rescuing.

Therefore, my choice was not wrong.

Thanks to the decisions I had made, I was able to save thousands of refugees.

Or perhaps, if I was able to make contact with those of "Fangs of the Black Wolf", I would have been able to search the Begaritto Continent and the Magic Continent as well.

Unfortunately, I was only able to get in touch with a single person.

Also, that one person whom after I had made contact with once, I no longer knew where he was or what he was doing.

I do not think that they were cold-hearted guys.

The relationship between us was bad originally, and I also had a big fight with them during our parting.

It was the worst farewell ever.

It would not be strange even if they were to still have a grudge against me.

Why in the past did I make that kind of farewell?

I know, it was because I was a kid.

That being said, I cannot begin to regret now.

Part 6

A year and a half has passed.

These days, the amount I'm drinking has increased.

It has become a fact that I am unable to do anything unless I resort to alcohol.

I'm drinking from morning till night.

There's no time when I'm sober.

Even while I think I should not be like this when I wake up in the middle of the night, whatever I do becomes completely useless.

I would have thoughts that my family has died.

What was their death like, what became of their corpses?

All I would end up thinking of were such things.

After all, even with that excellent son of mine, I still had not heard of even one thing of him ever since the disaster.

I do not want to think.

I do not want to think, and even possibly consider their deaths.

Surely everyone during this one and a half years was waiting for my help and then ended up dying in tears.

When I think about that, I almost become mad.

Why am I in such a place?

Out of all the possible choices, it would have been best if I had started looking in the most dangerous places.

Even at worst, I alone could have somehow worked it out.

Any mistake in my decisions contributes directly to those who had died, those that could have been saved but weren't.

Those that we hold dear to us, those who were the most important to us, were mercilessly taken away.

Rather than wanting to believe it, I drink away my sorrows.

Only when I was drunk was I happy.

I was unable to do any work at all.

Six months later, the plan to return all of those found in the Milis Continent back to the Fedoa region begins.

I just can't move those who were ill, the women, the children, and the elderly recklessly like that.

There are people that cannot withstand the long trip even if there was a gold coin each for their travel expenses.

But we have hope with us as well as the will to return home.

Those of us within the Fedoa Region's Search Group escorted them back to Fedoa.

While the plan was progressing, even though I was responsible for them, I did not participate at all in the meetings, and instead I just drank all day.

All of the key members, including me, remained in Milis.

But in the end, the searching activities were reduced.

Two years.

The search movement will stop after two years.

While I think that it is still too early, there were others who thought that this was it.

Even if we were to search more, we would just be wasting money in vain.

In the end, I wasn't able to find even one family member.

Such a useless man.

Why in the world was I so useless?

Always a mere kid, not fit to be an adult even to the ends of time.

The teams members all started to take a step's distance away from me who was now always drunk and filled with the smell of booze.

This was natural.

No one would want to be acquainted with such a fool of a man who only drinks all day.

However there were some exceptions, one of which was Norn.

"Dad! Just a moment ago, a huge man was there."

Even when I was this drunk, Norn would still talk to me so joyfully.

Norn.

For me, Norn is my only family now.

She's my most important person in the entire world.

To me, there is only Norn.

Right.

I didn't even go to the Begaritto Continent or Magic Continent.

This was because of the presence of Norn.

My daughter who's only four years old right now, how could I abandon her?

Why should I leave her behind and go to such a dangerous place where I might die?

"Oh? What is it Norn? Have you encountered anything fun?"

"Yeah! When I almost fell into the ditch awhile ago, a bald person helped me! So, this! I got this!"

While saying that, Norn held up what was in her hands happily.

It was an apple. A red apple. A most appetizing color indeed.

"I see, that's good. Did you thank him properly?"

"Yes, I said 'Thank you'. The bald uncle then stroked my head!"

"I see, I see. A good person. But, you shouldn't go calling him bald since it might bother him."

Conversations with my daughter were always fun.

Norn's my treasure.

If there was anyone who would dare lay a hand on her, I would be ready to go against the entire Milis Kingdom.

It was at that time when I was thinking about that...

"Leader, it's very bad!"

One of my team members jumped into my room.

Interrupting a conversation with my precious daughter, I was feeling a little cranky.

If it was like always, I would just reply back at him while yelling my lungs off.

However, with my daughter besides me, my pride held me back.

"What's the matter?"

"I was doing the work you assigned to me when we were attacked!"

"Attacked?"

They were attacked.

By whom?

It must be those damn nobles.

We told to them that those under the Asura Kingdom's dominion were wrongfully forced into slavery after the disaster.

Even so, they did not budge nor hand them over, those greedy bastards.

That was the story today, they sent people over to take their slaves back.

"All right, everyone, quickly get equipped. Let's go!"

For now, we called out for everyone to gather together.

They weren't a bunch of powerful fighters but it wasn't like their opponents were strong adventurers that have fought through labyrinths.

They should be able to at least fight neck to neck with them.

While they gather, I headed off to where the problem had occurred.

The place should be close by, where I can immediately jump in.

The Search Team's secret headquarters were a bunch of old warehouses where clothing and other sorts of items were stored.

It was a place someone was bound to discover.

This is bad. It may be necessary to change the base.

"Mr. Paul, the enemy is only one but he is strong, be careful."

"...he uses a sword?"

"No, it's a magician. Probably a kid, but he has his face covered."

A magician brat...

Possibly an amateur, though with that said, how would he defeat us with so many adults as his opponents?

It would probably be someone from the Dwarf race.

With a small stature like a child, he can easily fool us into thinking he's a mere kid.

An opponent of the dwarf race.

Even drunk, I should still be able to win.

I am confident that I wouldn't be defeated by these mere thugs, but...

Nope, there's no problem.

I have more than enough options in terms of fighting abilities.

Thinking so, I continued on to the warehouse.