Mitsuri Kanroji nervously looked at the gigantic creature in the sky, the crimson scales shimmering with a deep red glow under the moonlight, the red dragon's body exuding a violent beauty.
"What is that thing?"
Mitsuri Kanroji swallowed hard, her hand gripping the Nichirin sword trembling slightly.
Such a colossal creature was not something she could see in her world.
Mitsuri Kanroji may be foolish, but she is not stupid. She looked at Roa with a hint of resentment and said, "Roa, where exactly is your hometown?"
Roa thought for a moment, holding the slightly tense hand of the girl, and said to Mitsuri Kanroji, "Right here, relax. This is my pet; it's very obedient. Um, red dragon, come down."
The red dragon looked at the surrounding trees, hesitated for a moment, and finally landed on the ground.
The trees were instantly broken, and the red dragon's bony wings easily flattened all the trees standing there. Of course, the red dragon wasn't that big; it just knocked down a few trees.
The landed red dragon looked puzzled, glancing at Mitsuri Kanroji beside Roa, exhaling hot air, and its big eyes scanned Roa, slightly bewildered.
It felt like it hadn't seen Roa for a while and sensed that his aura had weakened significantly?
With the transparent world activated, it had the ability to conceal its own aura. Although drawing a sword would still leak its aura, it hadn't drawn a sword yet.
The red dragon was puzzled but didn't openly show any rebellious thoughts.
It began to perform a kneeling ceremony before Roa, who looked at the red dragon with satisfaction, stepped forward, and gently stroked the dragon's head, a joyful smile appearing on his face.
The golden-red pupils swept over the prostrating red dragon, and Roa was pleased with its behavior.
After a little interaction with the long-lost red dragon, he said to Mitsuri Kanroji, "Let's go, let's take a look."
Holding Mitsuri Kanroji's hand, he took a step forward, climbed onto the red dragon's back, and under Mitsuri Kanroji's astonished gaze, the red dragon spread its wings, accompanied by a strong sense of turbulence, and soared into the dark sky.
Roa looked up; above him were the shining stars. The night sky of the "Mushoku Tensei" world was exceptionally beautiful, with countless starlights dotting the dark night.
When the red dragon took off, Mitsuri Kanroji felt a bit scared at first, but after the initial panic, excitement surged in her heart.
The sky has always been full of mystery, and being able to touch the sky so closely was an extremely happy thing for Mitsuri Kanroji.
The red dragon's flying speed was not slow. It cautiously glanced back at Roa, sensing that he was in a good mood, and began to gradually accelerate.
Flying high in the sky, Roa could see the entire forest's layout, the trees rising and falling, and the city named Roa, which was exactly the same as his name.
The towering city walls, the massive palace at the top, and the various European-style buildings below.
Roa directed the red dragon toward the city wall, looking at the road in front of the wall, pondering which way would be more suitable to return home.
However, what Roa didn't know was that the appearance of the red dragon had caused panic among the soldiers guarding the city below.
The soldiers looked at the red dragon soaring in the sky, unsure of what to do, their weapons trembling in their hands.
He gritted his teeth and woke up a nearby soldier who was dozing off, pointing at the red dragon flapping its wings above and shouting, "Are you still sleeping? Look what's up there!"
The dozing soldier was startled, raised his eyes, and shivered. He quickly rubbed his eyes and stared hard at the sky, stammering, "A dragon? Is it a red dragon? Aren't these creatures supposed to live in the Red Dragon Mountains? Why is it here?"
The two exchanged glances, ultimately swallowing hard and running toward the room where their superior was.
Don't be fooled by how the red dragon seems like a little cub in Roa's hands; in fact, the red dragon is like a walking high-level mage. Moreover, because it has the ability to fly, if it were to invade a human city, it would pose a significant threat.
It can even be said that even if the Royal capital had powerful court mages capable of killing the red dragon in a matter of moments, the damage caused by the dragon's breath alone could inflict immeasurable harm on the Royal capital.
This is the intimidation that the red dragon brings.
Naturally, when a red dragon appears at the borders of a human city, it will be reported layer by layer.
Then, they will monitor the red dragon's movements and ultimately determine whether its intentions are to invade the human city.
In fact, the red dragon doesn't have many thoughts about the human Royal capital. After all, it lives in the hot Red Dragon Mountains, which are suitable for the red dragon's habitation.
Roa was unaware of the little interlude happening over there, nor did he know that the unintentional appearance of the red dragon would put the entire border on alert for quite some time.
The red dragon's wings kept flapping, each movement stirring up large gusts of air. Roa pointed in a direction, and the red dragon sped toward where Roa indicated.
The feeling of looking down from above was surprisingly pleasant; the thrill of overlooking the mountains and valleys arose. Men enjoy this imposing feeling, while girls prefer the romance of soaring on a dragon with their beloved.
Mitsuri Kanroji felt this way at that moment. She reached out her hand to touch the stars at the edge of the sky, murmuring, "This is the closest I've ever been to the stars."
Roa smiled and didn't say much, looking down to start identifying the way home.
Paul is indeed the local lord, but the nuances of that position are self-evident.
As for the area Paul governs, how should it be described? It can only be said to be neither too big nor too small.
While it can't be considered impoverished, it is far from wealthy.
Most of Paul's savings come from the wealth accumulated during his youth as an adventurer.
After winding through several turns, Roa finally found his location.
Ahead was farmland; today was the season where summer and autumn intertwined. From above, it was a sea of golden rice ears.
The plants in this other world grow quite tall, and the long rice ears sway gently in the quiet night breeze, each ear filled with plump grains.
Roa's home was very obvious, at least quite noticeable in this area.
Roa didn't let the red dragon land directly. He looked at the terrain and instructed the red dragon to lower its altitude, planning to jump down directly.
The girl beside him hurriedly grabbed Roa's sleeve, glancing at the height of at least ten meters, swallowing hard, and said to Roa, "Isn't that going to kill us?"
Indeed, at this height, even a typical Sword Saint would likely break a leg if they fell in a hurry.
Roa wrapped his arms around Mitsuri Kanroji and said helplessly, "Don't you know what my strength is?"
Roa took Mitsuri Kanroji and directly dropped from the sky, feeling the flowing air and the whistling wind by his ears. Mitsuri Kanroji instinctively closed her eyes and tightened her grip on Roa's arm.
During the descent, the wind direction began to change. Roa started to use magic to manipulate the upward airflow, altering the wind speed. The upward airflow slowed their descent, allowing Roa and Mitsuri Kanroji to gently land on the ground.
The feeling of weightlessness disappeared, and Mitsuri Kanroji opened her eyes, amazed at the soil beneath them.
Roa and Mitsuri Kanroji were standing on a small path in the middle of the rice ears, with two wheel tracks visible on the ground where carts had passed.
Roa whistled at the red dragon above and waved his hand, signaling it to leave.
The red dragon looked curiously down below, showing no intention of leaving.
Roa thought for a moment, unleashed his magic, and concentrated it above, delivering a heavy punch to the red dragon's forehead.
The red dragon whimpered, showing a pitiful expression to Roa, and flew toward a nearby hill.
Hmph, silly dragon, running away after riding it.
The red dragon muttered in its heart, soaring high into the sky.
Not far away is Paul's house, which is also my home.
I haven't seen Paul and Zenith for a long time; I wonder how they are doing?
That red-haired maid, the girl who always needed my help when she was young, is now a mature mother.
Aisha and Norn, my two younger sisters, still haven't truly gotten to know their big brother.
Although Rudeus didn't come, Roa brought Rudeus's heartfelt intentions with her.
As I reached the front door, the sky was still dark, and the night was still hazy. It was the middle of the night, and I wasn't sure if I should knock.
Would knocking at this hour be a bit too late?
But if I didn't knock, it felt awkward standing in front of the door.
Fortunately, I didn't hesitate for long before a slightly tired voice came from upstairs.
"Who is it? It's the middle of the night; aren't you going to sleep?"
Who else could it be but Paul? He looked visibly tired as he stood on the second floor, opening the window. The wooden window creaked as he poked his head out and looked down.
What he saw was a boy with a head full of golden hair.
Paul was momentarily taken aback, then rubbed his eyes and looked at the boy again. Just then, I raised my gaze to meet his, and our eyes intertwined. I gave Paul a handsome, sunny smile, and he fell into deep thought.
After glancing at my height of 1.85 meters and my strikingly handsome face, Paul instinctively shouted, "Is that you, Roa?"
I was slightly taken aback and nodded.
Without saying much, the noise from upstairs soon followed. Paul called Zenith awake, and even I could hear the commotion and Zenith's surprised exclamations from below.
Mitsuri Kanroji looked at the building in front of her, lost in thought.
She raised her gaze to my smiling face and suddenly said, "Big brother Roa, you really love your family, don't you? I feel like I've never seen such a smile from you before."
Upon hearing this, I smiled and replied, "It's okay; my family is made up of really good people. Well, it should be like that, right?"
As I said the last part, I couldn't help but feel a bit lacking in confidence.
Hmm, it seems that all the boys in this family are particularly unserious.
I shook off my distracting thoughts and looked forward to what would happen next.
The door opened, and out came a somewhat weary Paul, followed by a just-awoken Norn, who timidly hid behind Paul, tugging at his clothes.
Zenith stood beside them.
Both of them were slightly taken aback upon seeing me, and Zenith was even more obvious. She looked at my face in surprise and reached out to pinch my cheek.
I looked at Zenith with a bit of helplessness, while Paul circled around me, examining me.
For a moment, Mitsuri Kanroji was actually overlooked by everyone.
Logically, when bringing a girlfriend home, the first person to pay attention to should be Mitsuri Kanroji.
But alas, my transformation was too drastic; going from a pretty boy to a sunny handsome guy in just a few years truly shattered Paul's worldview.
Paul cleared his throat, trying to put on a serious face to show some paternal authority, but after thinking for a moment, he felt there was no need to be so serious since his son had just returned.
Zenith shot Paul a glare, took my hand, and smiled at me, saying, "Welcome back, Roa, my son. Norn, this is your big brother; quickly greet him."
Norn timidly peeked out from behind Paul, sizing me up. Upon seeing my friendly face, her cheeks flushed, and she shrank her neck, shyly saying, "Big brother, hello."
I smiled and walked up to Norn, ruffling her little yellow hair, saying, "I can't believe Norn has grown so big."
"Um~"
The girl, whose hair was being tousled, was at a loss and could only look at Paul for help.
Paul gently cleared his throat and said to me, "Let's go inside; it's not convenient to stand outside."
I stepped in first, and Mitsuri Kanroji, who was beside me, seemed a bit nervous. She stammered a greeting, saying, "I am Roa's wife; my name is Mitsuri Kanroji."
I had previously taught Mitsuri Kanroji the language of this world, and now her level was only enough for basic daily conversations.
When Paul and Zenith saw Mitsuri Kanroji, they were both a bit confused, especially Paul, who directly grabbed my shoulder and said with a serious expression, "You kid, how did you bring a girl home in just a few years? But her hair color is quite strange, and your clothes are also quite odd."
Upon hearing Paul, I realized I was still wearing that loose kimono.
Kimonos are quite common in the Taisho era, and people there have already adopted them as everyday wear.
Compared to Western-style clothing, I still prefer simpler clothing.
I smiled and explained to Paul, "Mitsuri Kanroji is not from here; she is from another country, and her hair is naturally like this. There's nothing we can do about it."
Paul nodded and suddenly asked, "What about Roxy? Didn't you stick to her all the time when you were a kid?"
I hesitated and weakly replied, "Well, I want both of them."
A different light flashed across Paul's face. In fact, if we were to talk about being a playboy, Paul had done many outrageous things when he was young, so he understood that his son was likely not a good person either.
Paul put on a serious face and said, "Have you made it clear with that girl named Mitsuri Kanroji? If someone comes from another country, you need to be clear about it; you can't use any deceptive tricks."
I nodded and replied, "I've made it clear. I asked her, and she was willing to come with me, so I brought her along."
Paul smiled, nodded, and patted my shoulder, winking at me, saying, "Kid, don't let your mom find out. If she does, you're going to get scolded."
I fell into deep thought again.
Indeed, Zenith's religious beliefs could be a bit troublesome.
Born in the Holy Millis Kingdom, she believes in Millis and, as a follower, adheres to strict religious laws.
Given my situation, her discipline towards her son would naturally be the same.
Although Zenith usually didn't interfere with me, she might very well step in and stop me in this matter.
I said to Paul with a serious face, "Um, father, please don't let my mother know about this."
Paul gave a helpless smile and said, "You kid, you can hide it for a while, but not forever. Well, as long as you have your own plans, just don't end up like me."
When he mentioned himself, a hint of awkwardness flashed across Paul's face.
Paul had not yet been completely forgiven for his infidelity.
But this was indeed Paul's fault, and he could only bear the consequences himself.
While chatting, we had already arrived in the living room.
Upon entering, I saw Lilia standing aside, accompanied by a cute little girl with red hair.
She was wearing a smaller-sized maid outfit, her big eyes staring unblinkingly at me.
She had a pair of beautiful eyes that sparkled with mischief, and her features were exquisite. Every child born to Paul could be considered outstanding.
Just one glance, and I felt that this child was extremely clever.
I smiled at Aisha and said, "Aisha, do you remember me?"
After saying that, I pointed to my handsome face and flashed a sunny smile.
But it was clear that Aisha seemed to have trouble recognizing the boy in front of her.
She looked at her mother with a puzzled expression.
Not only Aisha, but even Lilia was taken aback by my change in appearance.
People say girls change a lot as they grow up, but I had never seen a boy change this much.
"Hey, Lilia, have you forgotten me?"
I turned to the somewhat flustered maid standing beside me and made a sad expression.