Reborn in Mushoku Tensei

POV: Paul

The conversation at the dinner table had been building for days. Sylphie and Rudeus were growing up too fast, and Sylphie was still too attached to him. She needed to grow on her own, and Rudeus well, he was getting too cocky for his own good. It was time to put a stop to it before he got hurt.

"We need to do it now," I said, breaking the silence.

Zenith looked worried. "Are you sure? It's going to break Sylphie's heart if we separate them."

I rubbed my forehead, tired of going back and forth on this. "It's for the best. Sylphie needs to grow. And Rudeus… he's getting too full of himself. If we don't snap him out of it, he'll get someone killed someday."

Zenith frowned but didn't argue. She knew I was right, deep down.

"I already called Ghislaine. She'll be here soon," I said. "I'll bring Rudeus over and explain things."

"You're going to fight your own son?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. He needs to learn. If I don't show him now, it'll just get worse later. I've been through it. I know what happens when you get too confident."

With that, I stood up and left to find Rudeus. He needed to be ready.

I found Rudeus outside, looking at the carriage that had just arrived. Ghislaine had shown up, and I could see the uncertainty in his eyes. Sylphie, as expected, ran off in the other direction.

"Rudeus," I called, "grab your practice sword."

He blinked, confused. I tossed it to him, and he caught it easily.

"What if I told you I'm sending you away, separating you from Sylphie?" I asked, keeping my tone casual.

His eyes widened for a second before a smirk spread across his face. "Then I'd say fight me for it."

I couldn't help but laugh. There it was that same cocky attitude I had when I was his age. He really was my son.

"Alright, then," I said, drawing my sword. "Let's see if you can back up that attitude."

We stood in the front yard, the sunlight stretching long shadows across the grass. I was ready to make this a good lesson. Rudeus was still small, but I could tell he'd learned a lot. I couldn't hold back.

I moved first, swinging my sword toward him. Rudeus parried it with ease and countered quickly, aiming for my side. I grinned. The kid had speed, but that wasn't enough.

"You're fast, I'll give you that," I said, blocking another blow. "But speed's not everything."

He moved again, a quick slash aimed at my face. I dodged, and we continued to circle each other, our swords clashing as the tension built.

Then I used Touki, I closed the distance between us instantly, slashing down with more force. Rudeus barely had time to react.

But he was clever. He wasn't just relying on his sword. I saw a brief flash of magic, and suddenly, the ground under my feet felt slippery. Quagmire a tricky spell. I slipped for a moment, my footing stinking.

Before I could recover, I felt the pressure of gravity magic. The ground beneath me seemed to pull me down, making my movements sluggish.

"Smart," I muttered, gritting my teeth. He was using magic to make up for what he lacked in raw strength. But it wasn't enough to stop me.

With a roar, I broke through the gravity's pull, using my speed to push forward. The ground was still slick with his Quagmire, but I didn't let it slow me down. I was faster, stronger. I closed the gap and swung my sword down at him.

This time, there was no escape. I knocked his sword from his hands with a well-placed strike. He stumbled back, breathless, eyes wide.

I stood over him, my sword raised but not touching him.

"You're getting better," I said, lowering my weapon. "But you're not ready for this."

I use the hilt of my blade and knock him out and put his unconscious body into the carriage. I'm glad Sylphie wasn't here to see this.

POV: Rudeus

I woke up, lying on the hard wood floor of the carriage. My head was pounding, the aftereffect of Paul knocking me out still lingering. The carriage was rocking gently as we traveled, and I groggily took in my surroundings. Across from me sat Ghislaine, who was looking at me with an unreadable expression.

I hadn't expected Paul to knock me out, but it made sense. If I were in his position, I probably would have done the same. Hopefully, everything was still going according to plan.

This whole situation was really proving that the butterfly effect was real. Meeting Sylphie so early had already set things in motion, and now Paul was acting faster than I anticipated. He'd already decided to separate me from her. It was happening sooner than I thought.

"Hey, tell your girlfriend to get off the roof of the carriage," she said, "Good plan, but I sensed her from the start."

I glanced at Ghislaine. Of course, she would be able to sense Sylphie. She was a Sword Queen.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, forcing an awkward smile, hoping to distract her.

But Ghislaine just laughed, the sound light but knowing. "Look, kid, I don't care what Paul's got planned. You two have a pretty strong bond, and from what I can sense, she's pretty strong herself. Her mana's vast. Just tell her to come down from the roof."

Well, that wasn't exactly what I expected to hear, but I was relieved. Ghislaine wasn't as opposed to this as I thought she might be. It wasn't going to be as difficult as I had imagined.

"Sylphie, you can come down now," I called, feeling a little more at ease.

After a moment, the small green-haired elf girl, Sylphie, dropped down from the roof and slipped into the carriage, her movements graceful as always.

I turned to Ghislaine. "This is Sylphiette. She's my friend."

Ghislaine looked at her for a moment and then nodded, her expression still unreadable. "Alright, now that that's settled, here's what's going on. You're here to tutor my lady in magic. As for Sylphiette, she could act as your assistant, but be warned she's not exactly the most approachable person."

I nodded, already having a plan for how to handle things. I had thought this through, and I'd use Sylphie's presence to my advantage. Hopefully, I could use her to make eris obedient