Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race Chapter 407: 406 - Holding Hands?

"Man, if I had a stepdaughter like that, I would feel intimidated too. I can't blame you!"

Taes Dedoldia, the Supreme Commander of the Iron Legion, gave a few comforting pats to the shoulder of the man beside him.

Before them, in the main arena of the Combat Temple, Eris Adoldia and Reida Lia exchanged blows in a training match that, to any normal person, would look less like practice and more like a mutual attempt at murder.

Two of the most powerful women in the world were facing each other with real weapons, at a speed and power that inspired both admiration and fear.

"Haha... I am not intimidated..." Reinard answered stiffly. "I just have chronic back pain."

The excuse convinced no one.

Reinard was a middle-aged man with blond hair, with a shortsword fastened to his waist. Although he looked relatively ordinary at first glance, he had a rather handsome and well-kept appearance.

This was the current husband of Hilda Greyrat.

And, by consequence, Eris's stepfather, the Sword God.

He stood with his arms crossed, trying to maintain a dignified posture, but his back was soaked with cold sweat and his muscles were so tense he could barely move.

Hilda, who was sitting farther to the side with Lilia and Selene, observed him from time to time to make sure he had not run away.

She sighed frequently.

You see, her new husband was not exactly the bravest person she had ever known. Convincing him to meet Eris had required quite a lot of effort, and now that he was standing before her daughter, Hilda could clearly see that the poor man was beginning to regret accepting.

It was already getting dark.

Taes spoke with Reinard for a while longer, making casual comments about the fight and trying, without much success, to make him more comfortable. Then he finally said goodbye, leaving him alone before the arena.

Meanwhile, Eris and Reida continued fighting.

Like most of the arenas built in the Combat Temple, this one had been constructed with magic to consistently withstand the constant collisions between high-level warriors.

Even so, that did not make the training any less impressive.

Despite wearing magical bracelets and anklets, each with Gravity Enchantments equivalent to hundreds of kilograms, Eris was still a red blur to the eyes of most spectators.

Her attacks came relentlessly, one after another.

The Longsword of Light, usually used only once in battle, was executed countless times.

Reida Lia was not an ordinary person either.

Using the Secret Technique Counterflow, she continuously deflected Eris's attacks with natural ease. The Sword God's blade had not reached her body even once.

Of course, this was also because Eris was restricting the use of the Foresight Eye.

Even so, despite deflecting, Reida was not comfortable.

The attacks came too fast and too strong. Each time she tried to fit in a counterattack, Eris advanced again, forcing her to prioritize defense, repositioning, and economy of movement.

The spectators were divided between disciples trying to absorb something from that battle and ordinary people who had come simply to appreciate a spectacle impossible to see anywhere else in the world.

The deadlock continued for a while.

Until Reida finally found an opening.

Her counterattack slipped through Eris's defense and cut her neck in an almost lethal way, throwing her backward with the impact.

Eris was sent flying several meters before falling onto the arena floor.

The healing magic circle activated automatically.

Light enveloped her body, and the wound on her neck began regenerating rapidly, leaving behind only traces of blood.

Reida, on the other hand, was panting.

Even so, she raised her voice with vigor:

"Haha... Hahahah! You thought you could beat me while using those weights, brat?! You're still a hundred years too early for that!"

She laughed loudly and immediately began walking toward the edge of the arena, planning to withdraw before Eris asked for another fight.

God, she had become younger, but her spirit was still that of an old woman at times!

She could not endure that much intensity like she used to!

Meanwhile, Eris stood up, even more out of breath. She deactivated the bracelets and anklets, analyzing them with interest.

Those training tools with increased gravity were truly convenient. But without coating her body in Battle Aura to withstand the weight and condition her muscles properly, Eris would not be able to use them.

She looked at Reida with displeasure when she realized the old woman was running away.

Even so, she sheathed her sword and also walked to the edge of the arena.

For an instant, her gaze passed over the stands.

There was her mother, and near her, her stepfather.

Eris was not even very good at the Beast God Style, but even so, she could feel Reinard's nervousness.

She ignored him.

Instead, she went to Ghislaine, who was sitting near the edge of the arena with three children, casually watching the fight.

Harris and Hubert were beside her, complaining about Reida's victory and calling her a coward.

Lenna was in Ghislaine's lap, clapping happily while babbling and looking at Eris.

"Mommy strong!"

Eris smiled. Harris nodded vigorously and confirmed.

"That's right, Lenna! Red Mom is the strongest!"

Hubert cut him off immediately:

"Don't talk nonsense. Magic Mom is the strongest!"

Harris looked at him as if he were staring at an idiot.

"Are you stupid? Aunt Aisha isn't our mom!"

Hubert blinked, confused.

"How not?"

"She just isn't!"

"But she—"

"Enough of that, you two!" Eris interrupted. "Didn't you want to fight in the arena? No one is using it now. Go ahead."

The red-haired twins answered simultaneously, their ears swaying with excitement:

"Yes, Mom!"

Both ran toward the arena.

They wanted to fight there solely because only very powerful people needed to train in that space. To them, that alone was reason enough.

Eris watched them with a smile.

Then she sat beside Ghislaine.

"Don't you want to fight too? Lenna still doesn't even know you're as strong as I am."

Lenna had already become distracted again after seeing her older brothers fighting with wooden swords in the ring, cheering excitedly without really understanding who was winning.

Ghislaine looked at Eris and answered:

"I simply do not see why I should continue training in such a punishing way. In truth, I am more interested in knowing why you are still training with such intensity."

While they spoke, both of them watched the boys' "intense" fight.

Harris mainly used techniques from the North God Style, using feints, tricks, and trying to change angles at every moment.

Hubert preferred the Sword God Style, attacking head-on with a conviction greater than his technique.

Of course, both of them were still only beginners. In the end, they were only four years old.

Eris pondered for a while, then snorted.

"Hmph! It's because of that damn North God. He almost defeated me in our last fight... Honestly, he is stronger than me. I only won by relying on the Foresight Eye."

She looked sour as she admitted it.

"I mean, it's not like I'm trying to climb the Seven Powers ranking. But losing my position to someone coming from below? No, no. I won't let that guy pass me."

Ghislaine smiled softly upon hearing the report.

"You still have plenty of energy, from what I can see."

Eris smiled as well.

Ghislaine continued:

"I like training. Swordsmanship is and always will be an important part of my life. But knowing that all our powerful enemies have already been defeated, I simply do not see that much need to improve."

She looked at the children fighting in the arena.

"It is not as if I would be of much help in a fight against the Human God, after all. He is a God. I would rather leave that to Rygar and Aisha."

Ghislaine glanced sideways at Eris.

"And, in truth, I am also facing a difficult barrier. I have not made any truly significant improvement in recent years. I believe this is my limit."

Eris took an apple from a bag and bit into it.

She spoke with her mouth full:

"But you defeated Gall in Begaritt, right?"

"I did not truly defeat him," Ghislaine answered. "He was faster than me. Significantly faster. But he simply did not seem to truly want to defeat me. Besides, he was missing one eye. I merely exploited an obvious weakness."

Eris thought for a moment while eating the apple. In the arena, Hubert was shouting at Harris to stop running and face him like a man.

"I see... more or less."

The two fell silent for a moment, letting only the familiar noises of the Combat Temple fill the space around them.

When the conflict between the brothers stopped looking like a fight and turned into meaningless punches, kicks, and shoves, Lenna finally fell asleep in Ghislaine's lap.

Eris leaned back on the bench.

In the arena, Harris and Hubert were sprawled on the floor, exhausted after ending their brawl in a draw.

After a while, Eris spoke:

"What do you think about Aisha and Rygar?"

Ghislaine released a sigh.

"Well, Aisha already told us about her goal more than a year ago and still has not made any progress. I hope that, during this date, she finally manages something."

Eris smiled.

"She is surprisingly cowardly when it comes to love. Honestly, the way they are now, they look more married than we do. I can feel the sexual tension just by entering that research room."

Ghislaine also smiled.

"Either way, she is already part of the family. All that remains is making it official. But, with the way she is about this, who knows... it may take a few more months."

She looked at the boys in the arena.

"Either way, at least the children are already used to Aisha."

"Yes... especially Iris," Eris answered. "She is much closer to Aisha than to me."

Ghislaine raised an eyebrow.

"Well, what did you expect? Rygar already warned you about that. You should not place so many expectations on her. Honestly, he seemed very angry that time."

Eris did not answer immediately.

It was true that she had gone too far with Iris.

In truth, it had happened subtly, ever since her birth. Eris had not only wanted her first child to be a boy, she had wanted him to be a natural-born swordsman, or at least to have some extraordinary trait.

Iris was none of that.

Quite the opposite, she was an ordinary child.

Very cute, in fact, which earned points with Eris, but still ordinary.

It was only because Rygar constantly convinced her that Eris eventually accepted everything more calmly.

Even so, she did not want Iris to feel weak or useless compared to her siblings, especially the older ones, Diana, Perseus, and Aurora, who possessed extraordinary traits.

For that reason, she often trained her separately, trying to make her keep up with the others.

But that pressure was too much.

Although Eris's intentions were good, Iris began to feel anxious and pressured. After an incident where the girl cried a lot, Rygar severely reprimanded Eris.

Fortunately, the situation did not grow beyond that.

Unfortunately, some damage had already been done.

Iris did not dislike Eris, but she preferred Aisha's company.

Eris sighed.

"Well, I already apologized... I definitely don't want to see Rygar angry again. Actually, thanks to Aisha. She was the one who convinced Iris to forgive me."

Ghislaine nodded.

Eris then wondered:

"Where do you think they are now? Maybe they're finally holding hands?!"

Eris laughed.

Ghislaine also smiled slightly.

"Who knows?"

---

Meanwhile, in the family house, more specifically in the double bed, Aisha was in a deplorable state.

Her hair was sweaty and tangled, just like the rest of her body, partially covered by the blanket. Clothes were thrown all over the room, scattered randomly.

Beside her, Rygar stared at the ceiling, a little confused by the sequence of events that had led him to that place.

But that confusion did not last long.

Aisha spoke, still a little breathless, but with eyes full of desire:

"One more time?"

----

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