Departures and New Beginnings

With less than a year remaining until the debuts of Aiden and Aria, Paul was finalizing his preparations to return to the Milbots Region. He initially intended to wait for Badigadi to appear, but it had been close to two years since the six-armed Demon's disappearance. Even Clairvoyance couldn't uncover his position, so Paul focused on improving himself rather than fretting over future events.

Fortunately, though her presence brought him a fair amount of pain and suffering, the appearance of Murata ushered in a 'new era' as far as Paul's training was concerned. The red-haired Archon was on par with Atofe and Reida in terms of dynamism and her thirst for battle, so Paul rarely had an opportunity to rest unless she was out on a 'campaign.'

With the blessings of the twin Demon Empresses and Atofe, Murata had been spreading her influence through the Demon Continent by defeating some of the more problematic Demon Lords. As a result, she had earned herself the epithet and title of 'Flame Demon King,' as, despite appearing human, everyone she encountered viewed her as a Demon. Paul was no exception. Not because Murata was particularly harsh during their training but because she was a monster in the bedroom...

Though he managed to talk her down from building an army from their progeny, Paul couldn't escape Murata's desire for children. From her point of view, the strong and capable had an obligation to reproduce as much as possible. She hated how it was almost the complete opposite in most human societies, so, back in the world of Teyvat, she took it upon herself to build one of her own.

To dissuade Murata from doing the same thing in the world of Mushoku Tensei, Paul challenged her to raise their son, Iskandar, to be powerful enough to take on his other children. He argued that quality was always better than quantity and that if their children ended up weak, there was no difference between them and ordinary humans. Murata didn't like that one bit, so she intended to train Iskandar personally once he was mature enough to wield a sword. Until then, he was predominantly left in the care of Ganyu, Noelle, and Lilia. Paul also tried spending time with him, but, as could be expected from someone descended from the Greyrats, Iskandar wanted very little to do with him. He clearly wasn't a reincarnator, but his fondness for big-breasted women had been evident from day one...

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Staring cross-armed down at the large, fortress-like complex being constructed a few hundred meters from the base of Fort Necross, Atofe couldn't help frowning as she asked, "Are you sure about this? It seems like a waste of time and resources..."

Nodding his head, Paul replied, "People from all over the world already come to the Demon Continent in search of strength, wisdom, wealth, and many other things. Given time, the Necross Academy will become one of the most prominent institutions in the entire world. Then you won't have to kidnap people and hold them against their will..."

Scratching the back of her head, Atofe groaned, "If you say so..." before looking up at Paul and asking, "So, when are you planning to leave? If you don't depart soon, you won't be able to traverse the Great Forest on foot."

Adopting a wry smile, Paul replied, "It's complicated...I want to travel the world and experience what it has to offer, but too much is at stake for me to risk my life sightseeing. Right now, I'm stuck between deciding if I want to form a convoy or if I want to travel incognito..."

"Ah, I see what the issue is..." remarked Atofe, a teasing smile developing across her face as she added, "You can't decide which of your little pets you want to accompany you."

Shaking his head, Paul explained, "Nah, I'm well past that point. Whoever wants to travel with me is welcome to do so. I'm more concerned with how the countries we pass through will respond. At this point, the leaders of every major nation should be aware of my affiliation with Ningguang and the burgeoning nation of Teyvat. If we travel in a large group, it will make a lot of people 'very' nervous..."

Raising her left brow, Atofe retorted, "Yeah, and? Humans are always fretting over one thing or another, especially if they feel their positions or livelihoods are at stake. As the Special Envoy of the Asura Kingdom, you 'should' throw your weight around. Making concessions for the weak will only undermine your position."

Though Atofe's words sounded tyrannical, Paul understood there was considerable truth within them. The mighty could only be so 'humble' without inviting disaster upon themselves and the people they wished to protect. People would likely never cease attempting to assassinate him, but he could prevent his dissidents from openly maneuvering against him by demonstrating the consequence of such actions...

Nodding in affirmation of how own thoughts, Paul's expression hardened as he asserted, "Then that's what I'll do. I'll need to talk with Ningguang first, but I doubt she'll mind having the focus pulled away from her for a few months."

Adopting a toothy grin, Atofe gave Paul a firm punch in his arm, nearly knocking him off balance as she teased, "There he is. I was wondering where the man who was brazen enough to waltz into the center of the Demon Continent went. It's too bad he couldn't best me in single combat these past two years..."

Recalling his promise to defeat Atofe and make her 'his,' Paul's furrowed brows creased further. Despite mastering his Visions and developing the traits of various Demons, making him functionally immortal, he could not defeat Atofe in a 'serious' bout. More frustratingly, his swordsmanship had stagnated on the border between the Saint and King Ranks as his focus was split between mastering his Visions, developing his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, spending time with the girls, and fathering his newest child...

Discarding such thoughts from his mind, Paul stared into Atofe's crimson, black-sclera eyes and said, "The next time we meet, I'll be sure to make you mine..."

Though she snorted through her nose, Atofe maintained a grin as she retorted, "Whatever you say, brat. Just be glad I didn't make you mine."

Looking past Paul, Atofe narrowed her eyes at Ei and Ganyu, his usual entourage. If not for their presence and the circumstances surrounding Paul, specifically his relationship with the two Kishirikas, she would never permit him to leave...

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With his mind made up, Paul discussed his intentions with Ningguang, who, as expected, readily approved his decision. In fact, predicting his actions, she had even prepared a boat to transport him between Wind and Zanto Ports, several carriages to carry supplies, and a contingent of sixty people to act as an escort.

Though he felt Ningguang's actions were a bit much, Paul didn't contest them as it wasn't uncommon for landed Nobles to travel with an escort of three-to-five-hundred people. To compensate for this, Ningguang made sure the lowest-ranking person within the convoy was at least Advanced Rank in terms of skill. This placed them above the average Royal Guard in the Asura Kingdom, so, despite being relatively few in number, they could be considered a batallion(1000 people) in terms of military might.

As impressive as this sounded, what truly distinguished the individuals in Paul's escort was their unprecedented diversity. Everyone wore matching outfits, armor, or robes(depending on their role), but there were Humans, a variety of Demons, Beast People, Dwarves, and even Elves. They were a veritable menagerie but exuded a sense of unity and purpose comparable to the Holy Knight Order of Milis.

Due to Paul's actions as a child, combined with a healthy amount of propaganda, nearly everyone affiliated with the burgeoning nation of Teyvat viewed him as a savior-esque figure. Many of them were former Slaves or from groups of people suffering extreme hardship, so they had all but given up hope before being liberated by Ningguang. Now, they had been given purpose and the means to rise above themselves, becoming a part of something much greater...

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Following a sleepless evening in Kishirika Castle, Paul was preparing to depart with Jean, Eula, Ei, Yae, Venti, Xinyan, Xiangling, Lynette, Shinobu, Ghislaine, and Lilia atop Ganyu when Klee abruptly appeared, shouting, "Klee wants to go with Big Brother! Please, please, please, please, please take Klee with you~!"

Though he was initially surprised, it didn't take long for Paul to adopt his usual smile as he replied, "That's fine with me, but we're not going to play around, Klee. If you're serious about coming with us, you'll need to listen to Jean and be on your best behavior."

Seemingly ignoring the latter half of Paul's statement, Klee jumped up, shouting, "Yaaaaaaaay~!" before skipping over and leaping into his arms. She hadn't changed the slightest since the moment she was summoned, so Paul carried her like he would one of his children before giving a curt nod toward Fayde and climbing atop Ganyu's back. Kishirika and Kishirisu weren't much for goodbyes, so neither had shown up in person. However, he could sense them using Clairvoyance to observe him, so he adopted a smile and used his free hand to wave at empty space before giving Ganyu permission to take off...

Following Paul's party with her eyes, Fayde waited until the group had fully disappeared before adopting a somewhat pouty expression and muttering, "Good riddance..." in an irritable tone. Her efforts to seduce Paul had borne fruit, but his refusal to contract and impregnate her had left her feeling...frustrated.

Tracing her glowing blue nail across her abdomen, Fayde exhaled a tired sigh before returning to the interior of Kishirika Castle, now resembling a lush garden. It was also completely saturated with Elemental Energy, so Fayde found a thick branch to lie upon before dozing off under the rays of an artificial sun...

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Even with Ganyu pacing herself, it only took around five and a half hours to travel from the Capital of Rikarisu to the southernmost tip of the Demon Continent, Wind Port. Another half an hour and they could have reached Zanto Port on the Milis Continent. However, as they comprised nearly half the Demon Continent's active S-Ranks, they had an obligation to check in with the Adventurer's Guild before departing.

Upon learning of Paul's intentions, the Guild Master of Wind Port's Adventurer's Guild did his best to convince them to stay in the Demon Continent. The loss of a single S-Rank Adventurer was a heavy blow to the Guild, so the prospect of losing eleven made the middle-aged retiree sweat. After all, most of the A~S-Rank Quests posted over the last two years were dealt with by Paul and his companions.

Unfortunately, while he empathized with the Guild Master's plight, Paul was many other things before he was an Adventurer. In this particular instance, he was the Special Envoy of the Asura Kingdom, so, with that as an excuse, he bid the Guild Master and his staff farewell before departing to board the massive galleon Ningguang had charted for them.

Though the sea between Wind and Zanto Port wasn't particularly wide, it was still infested with sea monsters and rogue members of the Sea Race. Any ship that looked like an easy mark would simply disappear during the crossing, so the vessel Ningguang procured had a total of thirty cannons and a giant harpoon strapped to the front. Its hull was constructed from the bones and scales of the many sea beasts it had felled, so, other than Klee getting a little seasick, Paul's group had no issues traversing the narrow stretch of sea...

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(A/N: It may not surprise you to learn that Iskandar's nickname is fated to be Alex xD...)