"...I'm hungry again," I muttered with a smile as I rubbed my stomach.
I had already spent almost the entire day sitting here, I had seen almost fifty carriages pass by and none of them had Philemon or Wii Taa in them.
I reached the point of becoming slightly desperate, but that wouldn't help.
I decided to walk slowly along the road and even lifted myself into the air to look at the caravans approaching.
In the distance I could see a completely deforested area which appeared to be a crater.
There he had fought against Mauricio's men, against Pablo...
It wasn't something I liked to remember at all, but I was confident that if I somehow faced him again, I would win easily, that's how strong I've become so that I can think something like that.
But I'm not here to reminisce about my old battles.
"Here comes another one..." I muttered as I watched in the distance a line of four carriages heading towards the city.
The crater area was significantly far from the area destroyed by me, so it did not affect the road at all.
I went down to the apartment to wait for the approaching caravan. I still hadn't lost hope. It was already afternoon, but the day wasn't over.
But if that happened...i would simply return to the Demon Continent to ask for another reward from Kishirika.
But apparently that wasn't the case...
After about ten minutes the caravan arrived near me, I quickly hid in the woods and began to see the mana signatures of everyone present.
There were about 34 people distributed in four carriages.
Nothing out of the ordinary but something caught my attention in the last carriage, there was a mana signature of a darker green color than the others and on top of it, more specifically on his lap, there was a much weaker mana signature, a child...
I pressed my lips together tightly at the possibilities. I couldn't see them from my position in the woods, but neither could they see me.
And running behind the caravan just to take a look wouldn't be the smartest thing...
But I am not someone who stands out for his intelligence, so I made a decision.
I leaped out of the woods and in less than a second I was running towards the first carriage, blocking its path.
"Hey! Stop the carriage!" I screamed as I did the T pose with my hands and blocked the way.
"Nggh! Damn kid!" A coachman shouted in frustration as he stopped his carriage and the others followed, almost colliding with each other.
And then...it happened almost immediately.
From the last carriage a figure appeared in my sight, he had not changed at all, he was still wearing that armor that made him look like a Disco Ball...
But he didn't even look at my face, he just attacked.
"It makes sense" I muttered to myself as I felt a smile form on my face.
They probably got into this caravan after Wii Taa offered his services as a bodyguard, that's what must have happened.
This thought passed in less than a fraction of a second as Wii Taa's sword came towards my neck, I simply stopped it with gravity magic and my short teacher was left suspended in the air.
"Wii Taa, it's me, Master, Paul!" I screamed as I waited for his reaction.
Man...he hasn't changed at all.
And in fact, I think I'm taller than him now because his head barely reaches my nose.
Wii Taa blinked in confusion as he tried to break free from my magic's grasp and also from my sudden declaration.
He narrowed his eyes at me, then opened them in utter surprise.
"L-Lord Paul?!!!...b-but how is that possible!!!" Wii Taa screamed completely shocked.
I released him from my grip with gravity and he fell to the ground before jumping up and staring at me.
"How do I know you're Lord Paul?! Show me your hands!!" He declared, his hand still on the hilt of his sword.
I just sighed to myself as I showed him my hands. He quickly looked at them, searching for some illusory ring, but when he didn't find anything, he started searching my wrists and then my arms.
"Hey! I'm the real one! What are you looking for?!" I said, a little annoyed.
"Hey Wii Taa!! What the hell happened!? What did that damn kid do in the middle of the road!!" A man's voice echoed and Wii Taa clicked his tongue.
"In a moment!" My teacher replied, ante then redirecting his attention to me.
"No, it's not possible! They said you were dead! They showed me your grave!!" Wii Taa screamed, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"My death was greatly exaggerated...but if you let me-"
"No!" He shouted as he stared at me with his hand still on the hilt of his sword.
[If you claim to be who you are, then tell me something only Lord Paul could know!] Wii Taa declared in the Beast God language.
It was a double test, I see.
[Well, what madness would that be?...On the day of the disaster in Mana, Dante and Darius betrayed my father and my father was killed by Aubert Corvette] I declared in the Beast God language and Wii Taa's eyes widened.
Suddenly his posture changed completely and he knelt down quickly.
"Lord Paul! I thought you were dead! But now you're here alive! How is that possible?!" Wii Taa screamed and I could see tears forming in his eyes.
The other members of the caravan looked at us in astonishment and confusion as they saw Wii Taa kneeling before me.
"Yes, master, I'll explain everything to you, but why don't we do it better in the carriage?...is my little brother with you?" I asked, feeling anxiety forming in my chest.
Wii Taa stared at me and smiled slightly at the question.
"Yes my Lord, your little brother is with me safe and sound" was all Wii Taa said and I was already running towards the carriage.
And when I get there...
There he was, he hadn't changed at all, he was crouching in the left corner of the carriage next to other people and his gaze met mine.
"p-philemon?!"I cried out uncertainly as tears began to well up in my eyes.
Next to him were two people, they were men and they looked like adventurers but they were not carrying swords or anything like that.
He looked into my eyes without understanding and got up from the floor.
"Who are you?...h-how do you know my name?" He asked with a hint of fear and I pressed my lips together but relaxed.
It's obvious, he's barely 4 years old and I haven't seen him for over a year.
"Lord Paul! Wait! Let me explain everything to him!" Wii Taa said as she came running after me h Philemon's eyes widened.
"Paul...brother?" He asked uncertainly and tears sprang to my eyes.
"Yes little brother...it's me, your older brother Paul...y-you don't know how long I've been looking for you!" I said with a broken voice as I got into the carriage.
He looked at me silently but tears formed in his eyes anyway and he ran towards me.
"Brother! I missed you so much!" He said and I hugged him tightly.
We both cried while hugging each other for a while, I could even feel Wii Taa's hand patting me on the shoulder.
After so much time...after wasting so much and so many days without rest...I finally found him.
...
After a good five minutes of hugging and sobbing I finally pulled away from Philemon while still holding him by the shoulders.
"I must say, Lord Paul...I never expected to see you here of all people, how did you find us?" He asked, and my expression turned serious.
I glanced at Philemon who was still trying to calm his sobs with a grimace of a smile and then I looked at Wii Taa, he noticed the change in my posture and became serious in the same way.
"I'll tell you... but I think we should explain the situation to the owner of the caravan first, right? He doesn't seem very happy with the situation," I muttered as I looked out the window to the man in fine clothes who looked at me with anger and confusion.
"Huh?...Ha! That's right, Sirus! I need to talk to you!" Wii Taa said and we both got off the carriage.
"Paul? Where are you going?" Philemon asked anxiously but I just ruffled his hair.
"Don't worry, little brother. We'll just go outside and talk for a few moments, okay? I won't leave," I told him, and he instinctively relaxed, but he followed me with his eyes as I walked to the other carriage.
In the middle carriage sat a middle-aged man with an annoyed expression and his arms crossed.
"So!? Why the hell did you have my carriage?! Who do you think you are?!, And why didn't you cut it in half Wii Taa!" The man shouted clearly frustrated and I just sighed.
"Sirus, this is Lord Paul Notos Greyrat...oh well, he was, but he was my master before the destruction of the city of Ars" Wii Taa introduced me and Sirus narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"Heh!" A snort of disdain left his lips, he leaned back in his seat and stared at me.
"You don't look like a person who comes from a noble family, do you want to betray me, Wii Taa? After everything we've been through!!" The man shouted and I suppressed my urge to cut him in half.
"Sirus...we've had this conversation before, haven't we? In Ars, all the nobles had their titles revoked and everything was left in the hands of Minister Darius! It's obvious that he doesn't seem like a noble Now that he's lost everything!" Wii Taa said in frustration as he looked at me out of the corner of his eye.
"Okay, enough! So you had the simple caravan to see one of your bodyguards, or what?" He continued and I smiled ironically.
"No, I'm here because I've been looking for my brother for months since the mana disaster in Ars, that's why and now I've found him" I muttered as I looked at the last carriage.
There I could see Philemon's little head peeking out of a window and I couldn't help but smile.
"So your brother huh?..." Sirus muttered while scratching his chin.
"Yes, and I would like to ask you to let me travel in your caravan while I tell Wii Taa and my brother the whole situation," I declared with a slight bow.
Sirus narrowed his eyes again and his gaze fell on Wii Taa, he looked at him for about ten seconds and then nodded.
"Fine, but don't let this happen again," he said and we both nodded.
"Okay, we'll get into the carriage again," Wii Taa said and Sirus nodded and proceeded to shout: "Move forward now!" And immediately the four carriages began to move while we were still getting on these.
I jumped into the carriage and now paid more attention to the people inside it.
"Paul!" Philemon said happily as he hugged me again.
"See? I told you, I wouldn't leave," I muttered as I looked for a place to sit.
Like any merchant caravan, the carriage was full of boxes of merchandise and there was only room to sit in the corners which I did.
Wii Taa sat next to me and Philemon sat on my lap.
"Well Lord Paul, let's forget about me, I'm still alive and so is your brother... tell me what happened to you during all this time that you were lost" Wii Taa murmured with a smile and I nodded in agreement.
"I was initially teleported to the great forest..." I said and so I began to tell him everything that had happened to me with great detail.
That I had been trapped in the great forest for three months during the rainy season, and just as I was leaving I found a family kidnapped by a nobleman, that when I rescued her I killed the nobleman and destroyed his entire mansion, causing Millis to set his eyes on me, that I rescued Hilda from a slave market destroying it in the process causing me to become a public enemy of Millis and consequently causing them to send assassins after me, They almost managed to kill me twice but I was able to survive.
As I told all this, Wii Taa's expression became more and more sour. I could see how he clenched his fists in anger as he listened to me, apparently feeling powerless.
Likewise, my voice became increasingly aggressive and full of venom as I recounted everything that happened, especially what happened in Ars, just five days ago.
I told him how upon arriving I discovered that everything was a desolate wasteland and that immediately afterward Darius's men tried to arrest me.
At the mention of that name, Wii Taa's eyes widened and he unconsciously gripped the pommel of his sword so tightly that his skin turned pale.
But the worst came when I mentioned what I talked about with Darius, I told him exactly everything that had happened, only omitting the Hitogami name.
I told him that my parents' death had been orchestrated by him, as had the plan to expel the nobles.
I could clearly see the anger forming on the face of my almost always stoic teacher.
But he visibly relaxed when I told him that I had successfully killed him and Reída, he was even surprised.
"Lord Paul... so if what you say is true... haaa... you were able to avenge your parents" he murmured as he leaned his back against the wooden wall.
"Yes...but that won't bring my parents back" I muttered.
"S-so...D-Darius killed mommy?" Philemon asked through tears as he stared at me.
"Yes, but he's already dead anyway, he can't hurt you," I said as I hugged him tightly.
Wii Taa's expression was now indecipherable and I could see that we were already approaching the city.
"Master, what are your plans from now on?" I asked him while looking at him seriously.
His expression went from concern when he looked at Philemon to uncertainty when he heard my words.
"Well... now that you're here, my plans must change completely. I was planning to take little Philemon to Millis, but..."Now that you are an enemy of the state, I guess that's not the best place to take your brother, My Lord," Wii Taa muttered with a smile as she looked at me.
"...I understand, I only have one place to go, the magical city of Sharia in the Kingdom of Ranoa, there are Lady Hilda and my other teammates" I declared.
"Hmm...that's a nice place but it's half a year away" he murmured and stroked Philemon's hair
"I guess this is our goodbye, isn't it, little one?" Wii Taa murmured with a smile as he stroked Philemon's hair and I blinked in confusion.
"Aren't you coming with us, teacher?" I asked him, and he shook his head.
"There's no need...please allow me to be selfish for once Lord Paul but I suppose you'll understand that I also want to see my family right?" He murmured and I smiled weakly.
"...I understand and thank you very much for taking care of my brother all this time" I told him.
"There's no need to thank you, after all it was my duty as a bodyguard...but now I see that you've become very strong, right? That magic you used...left me completely incapacitated" He said with a smile and I nodded.
"Yes...it's a developing technique but it helps me a lot" I replied.
I didn't realize it but we had already arrived at the city of Shirone, the murmurs of the streets soothed our voices as I looked at My Master.
And as if fate itself had decided, the caravan stopped in front of what appeared to be a warehouse north of the city.
I took Philemon in my arms and got up from the ground, Wii Taa did the same and we both jumped out of the carriage.
"Paul? Are we going back home?" Philemon murmured and I stroked his head gently.
"Something like that, we'll go to a new home" I told him and he nodded.
We both stared at Wii Taa without saying anything, the man before us means a lot to both of us but in different ways.
"Thank you very much for everything, teacher. Your teachings have saved my life more than you think," I said as I bowed to him.
"I...I also want to thank you Dada...I mean!, Wii Taa!...t-thank you so much for taking care of me!" Philemon said and Wii Taa smiled.
"It's nothing, I already told you, but it was a pleasure serving you...if you ever want to visit me, go to the Hobbit territory in Millis, I will gladly welcome you." He said, the other passengers of the caravan began to leave it and entered the hold while Sirus looked at him expectantly.
"Haaaa...I guess it's time to go" he said and I nodded as did Philemon who now had tears in his eyes.
"See you later," Wii Taa said before turning around and walking towards the warehouse.
I stared at him as his small figure disappeared into the building.
I couldn't explain how much that man meant to me, he was my teacher who taught me everything I know.
With a final bow to no one, I turned and started walking back toward the exit of the city.
"Where will we go now?" Philemon asked as he hugged me tightly.
"To Sharia Magic University," I replied, and so we continued walking.