Mushoku Tensei: Life and Strife.

Aisha’s POV:

…

Approximately one year ago, when Laurel had fought Aleksander K. Ryback and disappeared.

When people are drowned in fear, they tend to look for ephemeral things like hope and guidance. And Aisha too had looked for said guidance. From one of the two things he had left for her. From Laurel’s notebook.

The book itself was mundane, but the knowledge held within was not. Countless details and information on things that looked like an analysis, an estimation, and an immaculous calculation as if Laurel had intended to guess the future.

Who to side with, what can be used as leverage, and what each can gain from one another. Nothing, just anyone, even. It was a set of plans made to ally with God-level powerhouses from all over the world. All of them intertwined together into a meticulous weave.

And that book had fallen into the lap of one of the most competent and talented children known to mankind. That was all it took to turn the world upside down.

Aisha was helped by Guildmaster Melantha, perhaps due to her guilt over Laurel. Because of that, the foundations of Vast Expanse were further refined and strengthened, perfecting its flaws and turning it into a sturdier clan.

With Lady Luck on her side, she managed to find the Dragon God Orsted and allied with him, enabling her access to connect with Silent Seven Star and, as an extension, Armored Dragon Kind Pergius.

Aisha was both charismatic and talented and therefore was loved and taught by many.

Orsted had taught her close-quarter combat from all three styles, and Melantha had taught her unorthodox magic. Pergius, on the other hand, had taught her summoning and barrier spells. That, along with Mica’s library of knowledge and Alexsander’s North God Immortal Style, had played a huge role in her growth.

Mica’s abilities to gather and filter intelligence helped her smooth out the chain of commands, making it highly efficient with its fireflies guiding the way. Because of that, she herself often did not need to move personally, as members of Vast Expanse became her hands and feet.

From there on, with Laurel’s notebook as guidance, Aisha had flipped the board entirely.

…

Laurel’s POV

…

I stared at the Aisha telling me her story with the most innocent eyes. Crazy. This bitch is crazy. She tore a page from my long, intricate plan and gave a middle finger and a smile.

Aisha dipped her hands into politics through Philip and ascended Princess Ariel onto the throne using Pergius’s influences, then joined hands with her to increase capital and connections for Vast Expanse operations.

Using the Metasis Event as a pretext, she had Ariel lift the ban on teleport research and fuel the growth of magical development. After that, Aisha recruited not only swordsman but also mages from all over using magical knowledge and money as bait, growing Vast Expanse into a mega-sized company.

She then went to the North, in the Biheiriru Kingdom, and fed Laurel’s house of caterpillars with the oversaturated mana in the Devil’s Forest.

To the Superd tribe who were cast out and were on the verge of destruction, she was a godsent ally. She brazenly claimed Ruijerd’s survival and then used him as a reference to coerce Superd tribesmen to shave and join hands, helping each other.

Because of that, there’s a trend of shaving and calling oneself a Superd in the North, causing the fear of Superd tribes to wane entirely.

Not only that, she contacted the Thunderbolt clan, saying that she’ll sponsor them, and in exchange, demanded shares. For the Thunderbolt clan, which was having a financial crisis, a giant sponsor had come and told them that they’ll get paid for doing what they want to do.

That was the start of multiple dungeon excavations, starting room for trades in magical artifacts and magical tools. While most of these were only at the initial stages, they were, without a doubt, great investments for the future.

And how was it made possible? It’s all thanks to me. In the literal sense, even.

Caterpillar auto-farming in oversaturated areas to grow my mana and make magical tools for money and trade while carefully tip-toeing between terrifying powerhouses… Those were my retirement plans. Bro. The long and safe route by sticking close to the original plot was flipped in its entirety.

Of course, in the short term, one could say that it was beneficial, but is it really? We’re in the light, while the enemy had retreated into the dark and changed their plans. I thought to myself. What exactly had gone off script among the things we knew.

Of the original plot, Ariel had failed, seeking refuge at the academy before going through the underworld and meeting a thief. The thief was an ex-noble; therefore, with her bringing in her testimony, they were able to execute Darius, Hitogami’s apostle.

However, because Philip was alive, the Notos had sided with Ariel, instead pressuring the prince. On top of that, Pergius’s support had helped her gain a strong foothold on the throne. Ariel had won on the fly, and in turn, it meant that Darius had not died.

Since the thief did not appear, they didn’t have a plausible enough excuse for an execution. Darius was politically suppressed, but not dead. Ironically enough, the fatso had also encouraged lifting the ban on teleport.

But that also meant that it allowed him to escape via teleport. In addition, I can’t tell for sure Reida would end up being a friend or a foe. The best-case scenario would be him dying before her intervention. Assassination was an option, but the possibility of Hitogami intervening is way too high to dismiss.

There’s also the possibility that Hitogami had already discarded him.

Then was the matter with Biheiriru. In the original story, where Geese had brought Fighting God, Sword God and North God into the game, they had threatened the king and lied to Ogre God to cause mayhem. Because they started the subjugation campaign, they had left the King in trouble.

And that was the reason why the King had owed Rudeus a favor, which led to the acceptance of the Superd tribe and allying with Ogre God. But now the board has flipped; even that is now not a guarantee.

While the Superd are currently considered non-threatening, it also meant that the subjugation had never happened and therefore could happen later. Ogre God, on the other hand, had no reason to join us. If we consider things cruelly, we didn’t really lose anything since Ogre God would have died after joining us, but not losing doesn’t equate to victory either.

Moreover, the fight between Rudeus and Orsted, as well as his fight with Aleksander K. Ryback, was two of his major character growths. With one replaced and the other never happening, could I even rely on him to make things work?

One could say that all of Hitogami’s cards were laid bare, and we were strong. However, the fact that I was attacked by North God out of nowhere had probably already proven that I was the one in the dark from the very start.

If he really did attack me because he had been egged on by Hitogami, that meant Hitogami knew I existed—most likely through Geese. But then why didn’t he make me an apostle like Rudeus? We’ve never crossed paths. Why did he try to kill me? Or was there something I had been missing?

Is Rudeus even an apostle in this life? What about Eris? Would she be able to reach King-ranked in Sword God Style without her own character arc? And then there’s Sylphie and Roxy… With every new variable, we lose an ace card. Now even the plot becomes unreliable.

Variables, variables, variables… Why are there so many variables?

“Brother?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Just a bit tired.”

A noose had been tightened around my neck. Everything had been done in broad daylight. The safe route to secretly cultivate strength in the dark until I’m strong enough no longer existed. Aisha was young, so she had gotten too greedy.

By swallowing everything at once, we’re inviting the wariness of others. If we can’t swallow everything, we’ll die from choking. And even if we don’t choke, we’ll still be deli aisles; those vultures aren’t going to stand still and watch.

Everything is like a bomb ready to blow up at any moment. A single mistake, and we’d all die. Perhaps it already did, and this was just the calm before the storm. Hah. We can’t even be passive anymore. Since the waves are already crashing into the shore, I can only ride the tides.

I need to grow stronger. Stronger. Strong enough to handle all possible scenarios. Strong enough to crush everything on my path. And I need to grow stronger fast. The moment I fail to do so is the moment the ball is out of my court. And when that happens… I pray that day never comes.

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