Mushoku Tensei: Life and Strife.

Within the woods, five assault dogs sniffed around as they scouted for prey. Three stared ahead while the other two were sniffing around on the right side. Behind them, a boar walked out on its two back legs, its four arms waving away whatever bugs had flown over its face. The boar noticed a black dot growing larger at that precise moment, just out of the corner of its eye.

Out of curiosity, the boar turned to see what was happening. However, the moment it turned in that direction, the black changed directions, swinging to its left. Sounds of barking could be heard, and when the pig turned back, by then it had already lost all five dogs.

Startled, the terminator boar stared at the scene. The two on its right got decapitated while a ray of heat remained on the other three headless figures. At the corners of its eyes were black dots.

Without hesitation, the boar ducked down. A whooshing sound was heard passing his head. As the pig located its target, it saw the one who killed its dogs.

A pair of purple eyes with pupils so small it was as if it were never there. It was staring at the boar. Cold, merciless, as if it were swatting an insignificant bug. That was the last thing the boar saw as its head flew off by the blade.

…

Laurel’s POV

…

“Huff… Huff… Huff…”

How many did I kill today? No, never mind, it doesn’t really matter at this point. Damn it. I made a miscalculation. I thought there were only a few, so I decided to use that, but there was a whole bunch of pork for slaughter.

I thought as I walked back tired. It was a bit of a prototype that I was working on. During the fight with Ghislaine, the biggest problem was catching up with her. And that was under the condition that she was blindfolded and quagmired while I was focusing on her mana fluctuations.

That was when I thought of increasing the speed of my reflexes. Of course, I can’t magically do that. But since water and liquid were similar, I thought I could speed up blood as well. And as you can see, it worked.

The downside is that it tires me out crazy fast. And if I’m not careful…

“Cough cough!”

… I’d die from either lack of blood flow or my vessel bursting. Seeing that I’m coughing myself to death, it’s the latter. I silently whispered the incantation of intermediate healing. I didn’t want anyone to find out.

…

Paul’s POV

…

“Oi, Paul. Is it me, or is your kid acting weird lately?”

“Huh?”

“Like, I heard from my daughter that Laurel was… I don’t know how to say this…”

"Oh, come on, Laws! Just say it as is!”

“Well… Doesn’t Laurel seem… a little bit on edge these days?”

Laws said, pointing at Laurel, who was staggering back while breathing heavily.

Paul, with a frown on his face, stared at the kid. Laurel came out breathing heavily as if he were about to die or something, yet not a single trace of blood of monsters was found on him. Not even a scent.

After he created this new weird magic, he kept blasting through the air with telekinesis and wind magic while maneuvering in air using fire magic and just decapitating everything within the vicinity.

Paul heard from Ghislaine through a letter that Laurel even made a name for himself, which, Ghislaine knowing how to write in itself was shocking, but that was a story for another time. Seeing how dozens of monsters lost their heads like that, Paul couldn’t help but find that the moniker, the Purple-eyed Reaper, surprisingly fit him.

… Still… Reaper? Really? How are you going to woo girls with that kind of name, you brat?

“You see?”

Laws said.

“Oh please, Laws. He’s fighting monsters; it’d be weirder if he weren't."

“I mean… True, but what I’m saying is that he… had the face of someone who’s about to die or something. I mean, look at him.”

“Oh, enough with the—"

Paul was about to roll his eyes, but then thinking back, Laurel did seem to have been locking himself up inside his room lately. It happens once in a while, but not that long. Paul had to help Zennith with that too. So, being himself, Paul walked towards Laurel.

“Hey~ Sup!”

“Paul, what is it? Did you do this time?”

“Huh?”

“Well, you wouldn’t just come at me for no reason, so it’s either about my love life or you causing trouble.”

“Huh? Wait. Oi! What do you mean by me causing trouble? When have I ever caused you trouble?"

“Last time.”

“Last time? What last-Oh.”

Right, the affair. Damn. Laurel's trust for him had really stooped that low already, huh?

“…”

“…”

If Paul were like who he used to be, he would have dragged Laurel up and beaten him until he spoke his mind. But violence was never the best way to settle things. He learned that the hard way.

…

Laurel’s POV

…

Silence continued to haunt the atmosphere as neither of us spoke first. Looking to the side, I could tell that he was walking on eggshells… Seriously?

“Hah… "What is it this time, old man?”

I decided to be the generous one and started the conversation. The fact that he hasn’t backed down after failing to ask probably meant that it was important, so I might as well hear him out.

“Oh-Uhm, well… Are you okay?”

… Changing the topic? Whatever. Just make it quick; I need to go back to draw those damn circles. Damn it. Why did the advanced circle fail? Did I mess up the calculations somewhere?

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“You don’t look very fine.”

Was it that obvious? I thought to myself as I inadvertently touched my face. It was slightly hot, a similar situation to my whole body, which had been burning.

“If you’re worried about my face looking like my blood vessels were going to pop out, then I’ll assure you that I know what I’m doing.”

“No, it's not that… just.”

Caught red-handed, huh? I smiled bitterly. I wanted to tell the truth and be completely honest, but the truth wasn't going to change anything at the moment, so I might as well sew my mouth shut and let them not drown in worry.

“I was being too on edge?”

“…?!”

“It’s nothing. Really. It’s just the mana density.”

I said, staring at the distance to where the crack was located. I couldn’t see it here, but I knew for sure it was there.

“It’s way too dense. It’s too unsettling.”

…

Paul’s POV

…

Mana density? Huh? What? Huh?

For a second, Paul’s brain malfunctioned. His original goal was actually to stall for more time, but then the conversation turned weird, and now Laurel suddenly revealed that he could see mana all of a sudden. But then again, Rudeus and Laurel could use silent magic, so it’s not weird for him to see things.

To be honest, Paul wanted Laurel to have more experience fighting monsters while he was still around. That way, when Laurel leaves, Paul won’t have to worry about him anymore. Whatever the case, even if the numbers went up to triple digits, Paul was confident that he was still strong enough to cut them all down and drag Laurel out of there.

… Looking down at his feet, Paul saw Laurel’s boots. They seem torn and rugged. Laurel had used them for 4 years while running around ripping off monster heads, so it was normal for the shoes to go. Should Paul have gotten him boots instead?

Speaking of… Since Zenith probably finished that by now, Paul had done his part as a man. Now it’s his job as a father to his son.

“Hey. Old man.”

Laurel said, looking directly at Paul.

“Just a stupid question, but… if I got lost in the Begaritt Continent’s labyrinth… would you search for me?”

“… Eh? What kind of question is that? Of course I will! Duh!”

“Pinky promise?”

Paul stared at the pinky before him. It was the most childish thing he had ever seen Laurel doing. But the look in his eyes. Those purple eyes are filled with sorrow and grief; why do they look like that?

“Pinky Promise.”

“You promise to go there no matter how long it takes?”

“Yeah. No matter how long it took. I’ll find you.”

And for the first time in a while, Laurel showed a genuine smile.

"I'm counting on ya~"

Paul didn’t really get what exactly happened either. But for some reason, his heart ached.

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