Chapter 60: Paul's worries
(Paul POV)
It took another month for the rain to settle down finally. Repairs and restoration took over a month to finish because of the number of damages caused.
After that was somewhat finished, Norn and Aisha were supposed to restart their school. As I was worried about what may happen to them, I clarified that I would bring them to school and pick them up again. Lilia and the others insisted they do it themselves, but I was too worried to let something bad happen to them.
So far, nothing dramatic happened except the scornful glares I received from other parents at the school's entrance. It's mostly because of my reputation as the Fittoa Search and Rescue Squad captain, but others may have heard of me having two wives. And with the vast majority of Millishion's citizens being devoted Millis believers, my existence is a testament to infidelity. I paid them no mind as I'm more than aware of that fact than before.
There was something more concerning that bothered me a lot lately. It could be paranoia from that god's words about Aisha being targeted by the Millis Church, but I constantly feel like I'm being targeted at the corner of every alley I come across. Whether it's just a short walk or taking my two daughters to school, I can't shake the feeling that someone is keeping an eye on me.
Assassins could have been hired to eliminate me and my family. It doesn't necessarily have to be related to Millis Church, it can also be about Claire who absolutely wants to bring Norn into her fold.
Despite believing that the dream was just a dream at the time, I couldn't overcome this insecurity of staying in this city.
Lilia has noticed my behavior and constantly urged me to reveal what is happening. Still, no explanation in this world would be able to explain a prediction of an unknown god without looking like a madman.
She left it at that for now but couldn't help but give me worried looks.
Just like that, another month passed by without anything happening to my family and the restorations of the city going relatively smoothly.
***
'This old hag really gets on my nerves. I still don't get how a person like Zenith comes from such a parent.'
Peaceful days will never prevail. Zenith's mother, Claire Latreia, sent one of her knights to bring me over for a talk. Not ask, order. The knight made it clear that a no was not an option. I almost feel sorry for the guy who presented that message.
Lilia also wanted to go, but the knight was ordered only to take me. Claire dislikes her because of her belief in Millis. She is already getting harsh treatment for her betrayal against Zenith, but the only one to blame is me, so I rather feel better letting her stay with the kids.
The walk with the knight was silent, and I wouldn't have it any other way since I needed to collect myself if I wanted to talk to that grouchy woman.
Getting escorted through the Latreia mansion and into the meeting room.
Upon stepping into the room, I spotted unexpected company.
"Therese? What are you doing here?"
Sitting on the couch sat Zenith's younger sister, Therese Latreia.
She is not wearing her blue-coated armor, symbolizing and identifying her as a temple knight of Millis Church. Instead, she is wearing rather formal clothes, the likes of which I have never seen on her before.
"Good day to you too, Paul." She said indifferently. "Didn't think I would see you here today either. What mishap did you do this time?"
"Nothing. Also, weren't you demoted and sent away?"
"I am a devoted temple knight of the church. I managed to get back to promotion a while ago but had to stay at the station because of the rainstorm. And now I'm back."
That was fast. I heard the news of her incident after Rudy left. She was incapable of protecting the Blessed Child of this country and had to be assisted by Phillip's daughter.
Since it is an outrage that a knight cannot do their job, she was demoted and transferred to the port city in the southwest. But seems like her hard work on getting promoted paid off fast. It shows how much effort she puts into her work.
If only she would put the same effort into finding herself a husband.
I just sat down beside her, knowing Claire would want to sit on one of the two chairs in this room herself.
"Any idea why Claire called for us?"
"No clue. Mother must have a good reason to ask the two of us together to come here. It must be some serious matter about your son."
"Wait, what?! What do you mean? Rudy isn't even here."
"I already heard about it being talked about between some knights. They blame him for the unnatural phenomenon."
"How do they even suspect that a child, an eleven-year-old nonetheless, would be capable of such a thing?"
Before answering me, she crossed her arms and gave me an angry side eye while furrowing her brows.
"It's because of that God class spell he launched after your fight with him."
"Huh?!" I exclaimed, widening the distance between us. "How deep did they dig in to find out about my squabble with him being the cause?"
"HE told me. He and his friends arrived at the port I was transferred to. The Duke running that place disdains you and gave them some trouble getting after not believing the credibility of commander Galgard's letter he gave that Superd man."
"I, uhmmm…"
"But," she started off as she looked back to the front. "you can call yourself glad in a way. When Duke Bakshiel of the Millis continental customs office ranted about you, Rudeus was about to take his life by destroying the entire city. Seems even after the little squabble, he cares about you even when people talk bad about you."
What? That's hardly believable.
Then again, I was like that as well. Even after I left my home, it wasn't like I absolutely hated my father. I just couldn't keep up with his antics.
The way Rudy became angry after hearing about Phillip's letter already showed me he isn't thinking straight and lets his emotions plague his judgment too much.
Rudeus is young, but this little incident caused by Phillip might have blinded him on his perspective on other nobles the way Therese said he would have destroyed the city when one of them insulted me. If I didn't roughly know his prowess as a Magician, I would doubt that, like many other people, when they think about his age.
My hope is that he remembers not to use his strength for bad and to use it to protect people. It's the one thing I tried my best to teach despite being a rather bad teacher.
As the two of us silently waited, the doors to the room finally opened to let us be graced by the presence of Claire.
She didn't speak a word as the maid behind her closed the door, and Claire just sat on the seat opposite of us with a table between us, her expression cranky as ever when she saw me.
I never saw how the relationship between Therese and Claire was, but it seems to be set aside for today.
"It's good to see you again, Mother." Therese softly said.
"Leave the small talk aside. I didn't bring you here for nothing."
Uh oh. If she replies like that to her daughter, she must be in an especially bad mood. Not even the glint of disgust in her eyes when she looked at me could say how much of a terrible mood she was in.
She momentarily looked at the two of us before uttering words that would make me hate her even more.
"Let me get straight to the subject. The church has announced Rudeus Greyrat as the reincarnation of Demon God Laplace. His display of Magic prowess over the past year has shown more than enough that he is a threat to all our lives and has, therefore, to be taken care of. Because of some complications on the Red Dragon's Lower Jaw, first steps on investigation on him had to be put on hold."
"Mother!" Therese yelled out, jumping from her seat. "That is Zenith's son you are talking about. You can't approve of that."
"You saw what that monster did. Everyone in this world saw what calamities and danger he unleashed. Zenith will have to understand. It is already a disgrace to see how she gave birth to a demon like that."
"You can't say that. It will break her heart and make her forever hate you."
"Do not think it is not hard for me either! As the Latreia household is part of the Demon Expulsion Faction, our already demolishing rank is at stake. I am doing what is best for this household."
She began looking at me, her expression unchanged towards my dumbstruck state.
"Paul. For the sake of Norn, I advise you to deny any association with that Rudeus. The church is also targeting your illegitimate offspring after her numerous upbringings at the school. They suspect her to gain the same dangerous prowess as she is being manipulated by Laplace."
"Mother, that's ridiculous. She is but, as you said, a child. And so is Rudeus. YOUR grandchild."
"Child or not, we are discussing the possibility of two major threats, one of which is a major threat to humankind. I am just making the most rational decision here."
"Do you even hear yourself? None of what you are saying is even close to rational. Zenith would be devastated if she knew how you see her family."
"Nonsense. If she is truly a follower of Millis, then she would not even acknowledge any existence within that traitorous woman and her offspring."
I was already on the brink of losing my cool when she told me to forget about Rudy since those noble bastards were claiming him to be Demon God, but that last sentence put an inferno into my anger.
With a strong kick, I sent the table between us flying, crashing it against the door.
While the two of them were still surprised by this sudden act, I went over to Claire and grabbed her by the collar, pulling her up to my eye level.
With my eyebrows furrowed and fists quivering from anger, I looked the woman in the eyes and told her what I had always wanted to say.
"Listen here, you centrical old hag. You can call me all you want, berate me for being a bad father and husband, try to get me out of the way all you want, but if you dare one more time, ONE MORE TIME PHYSICALLY OR VERBALLY ABUSE ANY OF MY FAMILY, I WILL GO FOR YOU AND PUT AN END TO YOU AND YOUR CIRCLE."
"Paul, you are going too far!"
Therese came over to me and tried to free Claire from my grip.
Claire was looking at me with the same expression she always has given me, even during this situation, she still looks at me as something lesser.
"You are right. I will never think of you as my son-in-law. If you even attempt to keep your family safe, then leave Norn to me and think about the rest of them."
"She will just eventually do the same thing as her mother!"
I know Zenith's story. Her life as a noble was even worse than mine. Everything, even against her wishes she never uttered, was dictated by her mother, down to who she was supposed to marry. Heck, the fact that Zenith had enough courage to leave her home takes a lot, and not many would go through that alone as she did.
But I'm sure Norn will endure the same hardship as her. Norn is already coming home upset whenever she is at Claire's for etiquette lessons. No way in hell am I letting this eccentric woman take her in.
By now, guards came through the door and were about to lay their hands on me, but I let go of Claire, letting her fall on her chair.
With my eyes cast down on her, I gave her one final warning.
"Command me what to do with my family again, and I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life."
Her response to this was only a strong glare before I left the room, pushing the guards out of my way.
As I went on my way out of the mansion and back to my inn, I heard Claire screaming at me that I'd be the one regretting that, but to me, it didn't matter. She is already dead to me for telling me to not only abandon my son but to leave my daughter to save the other.
***
On my way to the inn, I wanted to take a shortcut through an alley to avoid any onlookers since my expression was still strained from my outburst earlier.
During that walk, I needed to think about what to do next.
We can obviously not stay here and wait for things at the church to settle down, as that would make Aisha a target and threaten Norn to get kidnapped by Claire.
I'm pretty sure that the latter would happen since it's Claire we are talking about.
But with the kids with us, it won't be easy to travel, and there is Lilia's bad leg to think about.
Where could we even go in the first place? The Fittoa region isn't ideal since the information about old man Sauros's execution has reached us, and I don't know how it stands with Phillip.
But then there's the information about our whereabouts that I wrote on the slips of paper. If Zenith gets hold of one of them, she won't find us here again.
One of my last hopes is that Rudy finds some hint on her in the Northern Territories.
I stopped on the spot, standing in the empty alleyway I went into and casting my sight up into the cloud-covered sky.
"Rudy…"
The dream. Now, I have barely any reason not to think it wasn't real.
What that god said turned out to be true. Claire wants Norn, and the church wants to dispose of Aisha. But why did he leave out the part about Rudy getting targeted? Could it have something to do with his association prior? It did seem like they knew one another, and Rudy told me not to trust his words. He must've meant the advice he was about to give me.
If Rudy hadn't barged in, I would have made another mistake I would regret my whole life. Well, that is if I didn't end up getting myself killed anyway.
Speaking of, that state Rudy was in is alarming as well as those two monsters. Whatever got him into that condition was apparently more important for him to return to. When I think of what might have happened to him, it fills me with so much fear to get the information that he died.
"Paul, there you are!"
From behind me, I heard Therese calling out to me.
I turned around to look at her, my mood still irritable from before.
"If you are going to tell me to talk it out further with her, then go back to the people you're working for who want my children dead."
"Don't be ridiculous." She reprimanded with one hand on her hip. "I actually have to agree with you on this. What my mother said was outrageous. Especially the thing about declaring Rudeus as Laplace. You're right about my sister. After she would hear about it, she would never likely never want to meet my mother again."
Well, at least someone agrees with me today.
"But getting violent with her made everything much worse in the end. Rudeus must've gotten that from you."
I take it back. This is another reprimand. And it cuts so deep.
"Then what do you suggest we do? I'm pretty sure some of the high-class knights are already getting orders to subjugate us."
"You're actually in luck. I heard that two of the strongest ones died defending the border during a Blue Dragon attack from the north, and they both belonged to the Demon Expulsion Faction."
I don't feel comfortable calling the death of two knights who sacrificed their lives to protect the city lucky. However, for better or worse, it's a blessing for my family's well-being.
And yet, it still doesn't solve our problem of where to-
"Paul Greyrat."
As an unknown voice called out my name, I quickly unsheathed my sword and pointed it in the direction it was coming from.
I didn't realize it before, but we were standing in a junction the whole time.
The person standing defenseless there was a masked person wearing a white suit and a short sword on the back of his waist. Such sketchy attire is unfitting for any assassin, but there were no sounds at all when he suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Therese went behind me as I went into a battle stance with both hands firmly gripping the hilt of my sword.
"Who are you, and what do you want?"
With a low voice, he answered me quickly. "I am Arumanfi of the Bright, one of the twelve familiars of the Armored Dragon King and one of the three heroes, Perugius Dola."
The what?! What would the familiar of a legendary hero do here? This guy must be a fraud trying to trick us.
"Lord Perugius wishes to speak with you regarding your son, Rudeus Greyrat."
What the-... Is everyone just fixated on my son nowadays, or is this one big trap set by the church? No, it must be the god. Was that (Hitogami, I think his name was) guy telling those higher-ups the lie about Rudy being Demon God? Dammit. Who the hell is that bastard?
"If you really are one of the Armored Dragon King's familiars, then tell me, where is my son now, and how is he doing?"
"He is currently within one of the Three Magic Nations, the Basherent Kingdom, in the city of Rosenburg. After the Red Dragon attack three months ago, he went through recovery." His answer was to come as if he knew what I would ask before I asked.
"S-So he is alive?"
"Indeed."
Well, that's a minor relief. It does add up with what Rudy said in that dream world. The burnings on his body must be from a reckless accident against that monster.
"I mean no harm. Lord Perugius ordered me to protect you should the need ever arise so you can lower your sword."
"So it was you who kept an eye on me?" I asked angrily since I was stressed the whole time because of him.
"I am afraid not."
Oh crap. That means it was spies or even assassins all along who followed me. The church acted sooner than I thought.
This is bad. What can I do? There is no option other than to flee right away at this point.
"I cannot go. I am currently in a tight situation in which the lives of my loved ones are in danger. Unless Lord Perugius can provide assistance, I am unable to find time to speak with him."
Countless reprimanding insults swirled inside my head. Did I just turn down an invitation from the Armored Dragon King? Obviously, I have to prioritize my family before anything.
"Would you be willing to speak with him once your family is safe?"
I raised an eyebrow at his question.
"I believe that would be the perfect solution."
"I will inform Lord Perugius about your conditions. I will soon get back into contact with you."
That was the last thing he said before vanishing in a literal flash, leaving me dumbstruck at how this ended.
I am unsure what happened, but I can't shake the feeling that I unintentionally got us a safe place to go.
Maybe we could get refuge?
*Pow*
"Oww, why?"
Therese just punched me against the back, and I rubbed the spot.
I still have my sword unsheathed.
"You idiot. How are you planning on leaving? The church surely won't let that happen."
She is right. I'm not skilled enough to defeat a group of assassins while simultaneously defending my family.
Vierra and Shierra aren't versed enough in combat to handle something like that. At the very least, we can ask Ginger to come with us since she doesn't exactly have anywhere else to go as of now.
"Well," Therese began after sighing. "I guess I can lend you a hand in this. We can return to your inn first and discuss things with your family. And should the Armored Dragon King approve of helping you, then I'll use some connections and see how I can help."
"Really? Won't you risk getting demoted again?"
"The way things are going now, sooner or later, I'll be a target too."
"I-I'm sorry."
"If you apologize for your son, then knock it off. To think that even the Pope with approve of declaring Rudeus as Laplace seems unreasonable to me."
"… sorry."
"What did I just say!?"
"Okay, okay. Let's go then."
///
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