Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race

POV: Rygar Adoldia

Even now, I had not stopped being surprised by how convenient it was to have a nation working toward a single objective.

When I started the Iron Legion, it was only a group of beastmen in the Great Forest. Influenced by my corporate mindset from another world, I naturally tried to make things more efficient.

Simple things, like divisions responsible for different functions, competent leadership, with capable people making good decisions even without my direct interference.

A shared objective that generated loyalty and made people want to belong, and internal trust, with members who trusted one another and fulfilled their own roles.

Since there was no shortage of slaves who wanted to be freed, manpower was the least of our problems. Even if some chose to follow their lives elsewhere, many had nowhere to go.

New recruits joined constantly, and that structure, combined with strong command, grew over more than twenty years until it became the greatest military force in the world.

Right, it was fun back then.

But it did not feel real now that everything had become so large.

There was an old division in the Legion called the Research and Technology Division. At present, however, it had separated from the army and become the Institute of Magical Technology.

In simple terms, in my view, it was like Gaia's magical-scientific labor market.

While Star Rise Academy was focused on education and development, functioning as both a school and even a college, the Institute was the place where professionals trained in that field went to build a career, earn a very good salary, or obtain resources for their own research.

And, from what I could see, they truly had several interesting demands coming from many places.

The Dragon Knight Unit wanted equipment capable of reducing air resistance during flight and making maneuvers easier.

The Minister of the Kingdom of Gaia requested a population counter that could fly over a region and count its inhabitants. There was also a request from Gustav himself, my father-in-law, to develop a magical self-cleaning sewage system.

And those were only a few of the demands.

That Institute, even though it was only one of the many structures necessary to keep the Kingdom functioning, was already quite impressive. I even felt a little guilty for dragging them away from their duties so suddenly.

"Lord Rygar."

A halfling called my attention.

"I am Division Chief Zigwin. We have finished the manual assembly of the wave pillar's circuits, but we cannot advance with the magical inscription. Our Earth Magic specialist was temporarily allocated to another division, and we do not have another mage capable of using chantless magic in the Division."

I looked at him attentively.

It was not very surprising. Even though chantless magic had become more common over the years, there still were not many people who could use it. In that division of about twenty mages, only one of them could.

The researcher in question was a very short halfling, with bulging eyes. I was very good at remembering faces, and I had the impression that I had seen him somewhere before.

"Right. By the way, have I seen you somewhere before?"

The halfling researcher seemed extremely excited.

"You freed me during the attack on Zant Port many years ago, sir. I was a slave at the time."

I remembered as soon as he said it. Indeed, there had been a few halflings back then.

What a coincidence.

"Right, Zigwin. Lead the way."

He turned and walked quickly, going down the stairs.

We were in an enormous underground tunnel on the Demon Continent. I was here because the sentinels stationed in that place had spotted a Black Drake wandering around the vicinity.

Even though it was a powerful S-Rank monster, normally it would be ignored or diverted by the sentinels, but with the delicate operation happening in this place, the priority was to eliminate any possible instability as soon as it appeared.

Preferably, Aisha or I should act personally, to avoid Hitogami's detection.

The Drake was easily eliminated, of course.

But since I was already there, I decided to supervise.

And that was why I was thinking about the convenience of having many capable subordinates. If it were only Aisha and me, who knew how many years it would take us to complete the construction.

That was only one of several places around the world where the World Stabilization Mechanism, as Aisha had decided to name it, was being built.

Zigwin finally guided me to the location.

The other mages bowed politely, and I identified exactly what he wanted me to do.

Obviously, both Aisha and I had mastered the assembly of the mechanism, but supervising and correcting was much more efficient than forming a team with only the two of us.

I began working immediately.

When the other mages and researchers saw me using magic, they stopped in admiration. From experience, I knew this work would take several hours, perhaps even days, for other mages capable of casting without incantations. I took only twenty minutes.

After that, I observed everything carefully.

The pillar was gradually beginning to take shape. Unlike the small pillars we used in the Beast World, this one would be more of a monumental tower, about three hundred meters tall, with more than half of it underground.

But now it was even more important not to make mistakes than before, because it was our world that would need this.

I turned to Zigwin.

"Good work so far. Remember to always stay in contact with the sentinels and call me in case of any unforeseen event."

Zigwin bowed.

"Yes, sir!"

As soon as I received confirmation, I teleported high into the sky and looked around while checking the communicator.

The next destination was the Celestial Continent.

Although the Legion had a base there and we were even building an essential part of the Mechanism in that region, we had no real contact with the Sky Race. I somewhat agreed with that conduct of theirs.

They had been living in peace for thousands of years with that isolationist method, and you can be certain that I would not be the one to interrupt that peace.

There were advantages and disadvantages to that, of course. Even if we had much to offer, I could not guarantee that this peace would continue when I was already dead, hundreds of years from now.

And even if it continued for a long time, what would happen two or three thousand years from now? The hearts of living beings were difficult to predict.

They were doing very well on their own right now, from what I had seen on my last visit. As long as none of them turned against the Legion or other races, generations could pass, and from my side, they would see no interference whatsoever.

I continued looking through other messages.

The Dawn Cup would begin in less than a month. The children were very excited, and, in truth, I was also quite curious.

Who would be the winner, after all? It was a different kind of excitement from usual.

"Haaah... for now, let's work."

I shot through the sky toward the Celestial Continent.

----

Meanwhile, at the Greyrat residence in Sharia, Lucy, the family's firstborn, currently twelve years old, was trying with all her strength to overcome her final obstacle.

Sylphiette Greyrat.

The Magical Fairy of the Greyrat family.

Sylphy was, without a doubt, the most powerful combatant in the family at that moment. Roxy was an experienced and very powerful mage in her own right, having even conquered an A-Rank Labyrinth alone.

Sara, after beginning to use the Magic Rifle created jointly by Rudeus and Zanoba, had become ten times more lethal than before, dangerous even to warriors said to possess superhuman reflexes.

Even so, Sylphy stood at the undisputed top.

She was a King-Level mage in Healing, Water, and Wind. She possessed the dangerous Demon Eye of Affection. And, finally, her skill in the spear style of the Superd Race was certainly what had changed the most in recent years.

Sylphy had always been skilled and talented, having learned that fighting style from Ruijerd on the Demon Continent when she was a child.

She had also always dedicated herself to training, but until then, it had been only that: excellent. A few months after Rudeus's death, however, she took her training to another level and asked Ruijerd to train her again.

About eight months ago, with only her skill with the spear, she was recognized as a North Saint.

Her general battle strength, considering magic and the Demon Eye, was much higher than that.

Overall, Sylphy had also become much more serious. She no longer smiled or casually enjoyed herself the way she used to, and she even began actively working for the Dragon God.

The rest of the family quickly realized that she was striving to take Rudeus's place as the protector of the house, ensuring everyone's safety. Although they tried to reassure her, she took on that role very well.

Sara and Roxy were with the other children having an outdoor picnic while watching the battle between Lucy and Sylphy, with the exception of Lara, who was currently in the Kingdom of Gaia with Aurora, and Sieg, who was training with the North God Kalman III.

Arthur, Lily, and Christina were watching curiously.

Lucy used a spear, just like her mother, but she was still far behind in terms of skill.

The battle was happening for a simple reason: Lucy wanted to participate in the Dawn Cup, and Sylphy did not want to allow it.

Lucy was very talented. She mastered all schools of magic at Advanced Level and was Saint-Level in Wind Magic.

If someone evaluated her in physical combat, she would probably be at Intermediate Level with the spear. Her body was also gradually adapting to the reinforcement of an emerging Battle Aura.

For a twelve-year-old child, that was exceptional.

But Sylphy's argument was that, in that competition, there would be several opponents who were much, much stronger.

She denied her firmly, and Lucy insisted with equal stubbornness. This continued until Roxy suggested that Sylphy test her personally. If, after the test, she thought Lucy was strong enough, she would allow her participation.

Lara was not interested in competing, and Sieg, although he was training with Kalman III, was still nine years old and could participate in the second edition five years from now.

Sylphy accepted the test, and even said she would not use magic or the Demon Eye.

Now, Lucy fought with everything she had to at least manage to injure her mother. She used Wind, Earth, and Fire Magic in creative ways, enhancing her own speed, altering trajectories, and trying to deceive Sylphy with magic.

But Sylphy was nothing less than a specialist in chantless magic, and she knew every trick, since she was the one who had taught Lucy. Even using only a spear, her strength, speed, and skill easily surpassed her inexperienced daughter.

"Is that all?" Sylphy asked, dodging a blow and striking Lucy's guard with the shaft of her spear. "Is that what you want to use to compete against the Blessed Child Aurora? Do you think this level can defeat a Sword Saint like Kody? He has the Sword God as his master. And you?"

Lucy gritted her teeth and attacked again. Sylphy spun her spear and pushed her back with ease.

"Even the Beast God's newborn could knock you down."

Sylphy was even attacking her daughter's mind, aiming to destabilize her. But Lucy remained aggressive.

She advanced again, combining a gust of wind with her strength and Battle Aura. The earth beneath her feet rose into a small step, increasing the angle of the attack. Very creative. For someone her age, it was excellent.

But Sylphy read everything.

Her spear moved calmly, intercepting the attack without wasting strength. Lucy nearly lost her balance, but used wind to retreat and continued pressing.

Then, suddenly, she let out a cry.

"Gaaaaaahg!"

A small invisible wave spread.

Sylphy was confused for a fraction of a second, but in the next instant, her mind became clouded as she was struck. She realized too late what her daughter was using, and was completely shocked.

Howling Magic! How could her daughter do that?

She had not been prepared, and as a result, she was disoriented for a moment.

"HAAAAAH!"

Lucy was already upon her. By instinct, Sylphy activated the Eye of Affection.

"Stop!"

Lucy's blow stopped only a few centimeters away. Her eyes were pink, completely enchanted. Sylphy deactivated the enchantment as soon as she recovered, and Lucy returned to herself in the same instant.

Then the girl smiled happily.

"Yes! I did it!"

Sylphy still did not understand how Lucy had used Howling Magic. But, according to the rules, Lucy had truly won the match.

----

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