Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race Chapter 414: 413 - A Day of Nonsense

Over the last few days, Rygar's house had become noisier than usual.

That was because his children had received a few days off from their studies and training, and seemed incapable of staying quiet for more than five minutes. With a few exceptions, of course.

Diana spent most of the day sleeping, reading, or simply lying somewhere comfortable.

Perseus was always looking for an excuse to compete with Aurora, and Aurora was always ready to retaliate.

Iris tried to keep up with the others without bothering anyone. Harris and Hubert were always fighting each other, or temporarily joining forces to fight someone else.

Hamish was the calmest, offering to help in the kitchen or with any other task, but he was also kept quite busy looking after the youngest, since Lenna now ran around the house as if she had finally discovered her infinite energy.

Rygar looked at that chaotic scene for a few seconds.

Aisha had gone to the Magic Tower, Verdia was busy with the Spirits, Eris was training a division of warriors from the Iron Legion, and Ghislaine was near the window stopping Lenna from shoving two whole fruits into her mouth at the same time.

It was a rare day when nothing immediately demanded his presence.

Rygar knew how to protect his children from almost anything. Even without seeing them, he knew where each one was.

He knew their heartbeats, the sound of their steps, their moods, fears, and lies with ease. He could stop a fall before the child realized they had tripped, pull any of them away from danger without effort, and instantly eliminate any threat that appeared within kilometers.

For a moment, he wondered if that was making his experience as a father too easy.

Then, since he had free time, he decided to do something stupid.

"I'm going to spend the day as a normal father," Rygar said.

Ghislaine, who had Lenna hanging from one arm, raised her eyes.

"A normal father? What does that mean?"

Rygar stared at her seriously.

"Basically, no using magic, brute strength, or anything else that can solve my problems with the children easily."

Ghislaine stared at him for a moment, blinking in confusion, and then looked at the children.

"With all of them?"

"With all of them."

"Is that even possible?"

It was Rygar's turn to stare at her for a few seconds.

What did she think his children were? A pack of monsters?

Even so, he announced the decision to his children and told them to prepare for a picnic. Perseus immediately asked if there would be any competition, which Rygar denied at once.

To make his own life a little easier, he also forbade the children from using any kind of magic during the outing.

Diana, sitting on the backrest of an armchair, wearing blue pajamas and eating an orange, was the last to react.

"Do I need to go too? Does this count as mandatory social interaction?"

"Of course you're going. And this counts as a pleasant family outing."

Diana thought for a few seconds.

"So it's worse...?"

"Go change your clothes."

She looked down at her own pajamas.

"I am dressed."

"That is a pajama."

"It is comfortable and covers the body. The basic function of clothing has been fulfilled."

Rygar opened his mouth to refute her, but gave up halfway through.

The personal rules he had established were simple. He would not use any kind of magic, Battle Aura, Demon Eyes, or even his natural strength in an exaggerated way.

He would also restrict his senses as much as possible, which seemed simple, but was strangely uncomfortable. Ghislaine would go along as witness and inspector.

"Since you're doing this, I won't let you cheat," she said.

"I won't cheat!"

Mentally, however, Rygar was a little apprehensive. He had already grown far too used to moving at a frequency very different from ordinary humanity.

The group left shortly afterward. Obviously, they did not go to a dangerous region of the Great Forest.

Rygar chose a calmer area, with spaced-out trees, a shallow stream, and a good distance from the zones where larger monsters usually roamed.

The children were very enthusiastic about the expedition. Rygar, however, spent the entire time fighting the urge to scan the surroundings.

He had done that for so long that it felt strange not to have that constant sensory feedback. It was like walking with part of his body completely still.

Perseus ran ahead almost immediately, announcing a race to the stream. Aurora accepted without hesitation, but instead of running, she simply vanished into the air and appeared at the finish line instantly.

"Alternative route."

"Teleportation is cheating!" Perseus said.

"No one defined the format of the race. Organizer failure."

"Aurora, I said no magic. That includes teleportation," Rygar said.

Aurora puffed out her cheeks and looked away, but said nothing.

When they reached the stream, Rygar once again almost activated his eyes to choose the best spot, but restrained himself at the last instant. Instead, he turned to Iris.

"Iris, you choose a place for the picnic."

The girl was startled.

"Me?"

"That's right. Go ahead."

Iris looked around and went off to search while Rygar tried to keep the rest under control. She returned a few minutes later, and had chosen a wide tree with good shade, flat stones nearby, and a good view of the stream.

Rygar ruffled her hair.

"Good choice."

She lowered her eyes, but smiled.

Things improved for approximately three minutes. Rygar began preparing the food with help from Hamish and Iris. Ghislaine sat on a rock, supervising.

Diana settled down in the shade and opened a bag of snacks. Perseus and Aurora went looking for "natural treasures," with Harris and Hubert following behind.

Lenna stayed near Rygar for less than half a minute.

Then she ran toward the forest with a mischievous laugh.

"Hehehe."

Rygar turned and raised his hand toward her, almost pulling her back with Telekinesis, but Ghislaine coughed.

"No cheating."

Rygar froze halfway through the movement.

Then he sighed, put down the knife he was using to cut the ingredients, and went after her on foot.

He found Lenna near the stream, crouched in front of a huge orange frog with blue spots on its back. The girl observed the animal with curiosity, as if she had found a legendary creature.

"Daddy, is he friend?"

Rygar was somewhat unsure what to answer.

"He probably wants to be alone, sweetie."

"Can I hug?"

"Definitely not."

"Why?"

"Because some pretty things can be poisonous, like this little orange frog."

Lenna frowned.

"Like a flower?"

Rygar saw Iris watching from afar.

"Sometimes, yes. That is why you always need to ask us first."

"Can I ask him?"

The logic of a child could never truly be defeated. Rygar sighed.

"Of course you can, sweetie. But if he doesn't answer, it means no."

Lenna stared at the frog seriously.

"Mister frog, do you want hug?"

The frog jumped into the water and disappeared.

Lenna sighed.

"He shy."

"Very shy."

When Rygar returned with Lenna in his arms, he found the camp in a pitiful state. Harris was covered in mud up to his waist, Hubert had dirt on his face, and Perseus was arguing with Aurora over a bright, pale stone.

"I was gone for less than two minutes," Rygar sighed.

Harris tried to explain himself before Hubert could speak.

"The ground was wet. I slipped, fell on top of him, and then he decided to respond by throwing mud."

"He does it on purpose!" Hubert said.

Rygar looked at Harris.

The boy sighed.

"Okay, sorry. I slipped, but I did fall on top of you."

Hubert rubbed his face with his sleeve and made the stain worse.

"I also didn't need to throw mud. Sorry."

Rygar considered that a small victory. In truth, most of those two's fights were easily resolved between them, as long as someone stopped the argument from growing too much.

After cleaning the children with magic, Rygar returned to preparing the food peacefully.

Or tried to.

The smell began to turn suspiciously poisonous. Diana observed for a while, sitting in the shade, until she finally decided to intervene.

She stood up with an expression of suffering, went over to the food, and took Rygar's position as cook. According to her, that was the only reasonable alternative if everyone wanted to avoid death by poisoning.

Rygar no longer even took offense at that sort of thing.

The food calmed everyone down for a while. Rygar made his symbolic contributions, distributing the snacks Verdia had prepared.

Diana, now more awake due to the presence of sweets, supervised the division with more seriousness than usual.

The rest of the afternoon continued at that pace. Rygar tried to play hide-and-seek without using supernatural senses, which proved almost impossible, since his body noticed things automatically.

Ghislaine declared several times when he cheated, even when Rygar tried to argue that noticing someone's breathing behind a tree did not count if he was not trying to notice it.

Diana lay down in a patch of shade and was considered missing for almost ten minutes, until Lenna tripped over her.

Perseus did not hide very well because he did not want to stay still for that long.

When the sun began to set, everyone was quite dirty and tired. Lenna fell asleep in Rygar's arms before they had even finished gathering their things.

Diana soon went over to him and asked whether the success of the family outing allowed future mandatory social interactions to be reduced. Rygar answered that he would evaluate the request.

On the way back, Iris walked beside Rygar, holding his free hand.

Ghislaine observed everything in silence as they returned home.

"You ended up using magic three times," she said.

Rygar looked at Lenna sleeping in his arm, then at the other children walking ahead.

"For a first and last day as a normal father, I think it was acceptable... I don't think I'll ever repeat this."

Ghislaine thought for a moment.

"Well, neither you nor your children are normal. But, in my short experience, you are a great father."

Rygar felt satisfied with the compliment.

For a long time, he had thought of freedom as the ability not to kneel before anyone. Later, as enough strength to protect what was his. After that, he wanted to free the world from the constant loops and Hitogami's schemes.

But on that late afternoon, walking back home with his children, it seemed like something much simpler.

Perhaps it was simply being able to waste an entire day on nonsense that changed nothing for the rest of the world.

----

On the Demon Continent, in an isolated village among dangerous ravines, lived the Barbatos Tribe, heirs of one of the Five Great Demon Kings of ancient times.

Even among demons, the Barbatos were known for their savagery. Their bodies were practically indestructible, resistant to wounds that would easily kill other races, but that absurd strength came with a fragile intellect.

For that reason, they did not live in society. They lived primitively, guided by instinct and physical dominance, similar to gorillas in the way they formed groups and decided hierarchy.

The strongest commanded.

The weakest obeyed.

A few days ago, however, a Barbatos who was particularly weak compared to the others changed suddenly. He had been inferior among his people for a long time, but from one moment to the next, he became strong enough to quickly dominate his peers.

Although he was weak by the standards of his race, he was also smarter than the others. And it was thanks to the advice of a certain God that he managed to unlock an innate trait of the Barbatos.

From that point, his rise began.

One by one, he began to overcome those who had once stood above him. Little by little, using his newly awakened strength and the small advantage in intelligence he possessed, he carved his path to the top of the Barbatos Tribe's hierarchy.

---

On the Central Continent, within the Sanakia Kingdom, another extreme situation occurred with a human slave.

By pure coincidence, Rahab found a powerful magic sword in the depths of an A-Rank Labyrinth. His owners ended up perishing unfortunately inside the labyrinth, and that man, once a slave, emerged from there together with his mysterious magic sword.

Now, he too owed a debt to the mysterious God who appeared in his dreams.

---

Finally, near a desolate village in the deserts of Begaritt, a half-blood with long wine-colored hair and exceptionally pale skin was rotting in the sand.

The demonic heritage in his blood had allowed him to survive for several days through hunger, exhaustion, and wounds. Even so, he never would have made it that far without the advice of a generous and somewhat desperate God.

That man was a cruel mercenary, renowned in Begaritt for many years for his magical ability and for being an exceptional warrior.

But when the Iron Legion came to evacuate the lands because of the battle, he was hunted and suppressed by the unbeatable armies of the Kingdom of Gaia, surviving only through sheer skill and luck.

His organization had been dismantled, and his city had been erased from the map.

Without that God, he never would have escaped alive.

This was Agares, the Bloodied One of Begaritt. And he was eager for his revenge, in the cruelest way he could imagine.

----

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