Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 10 - Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Nostalgia and Frustration 

I WAS CURRENTLY PERCHED on one of the living room couches. Seated across from me was Ruijerd. Sylphie had guided Aisha and Norn off to the bath. Sylphie and I had both sobered up. The smell of alcohol still probably lingered on our breath, but detoxification magic had at least lifted the inebriation. 

As I looked at Ruijerd’s face, illuminated by the crackling fire, I remembered the first time we’d met. Other memories flooded in: the time we’d traveled with Eris, just the three of us, and other things. 

“It really has been a while,” I said. 

“Yeah.” Ruijerd also narrowed his eyes and lifted the edges of his mouth. Just the way I remembered. 

“First of all, I guess I should say thank you for escorting my little sisters here.” 

“No thanks needed. Protecting children is only natural.” 

Right—that was Ruijerd for you. I remembered jokingly calling him a lolicon when we were traveling together. Still, I was surprised to see the person Paul mentioned in his letter was Ruijerd, after all. I’d considered the possibility that it might be Ghislaine, but given that the task was escorting children, Ruijerd was the best man for the job. So much so, in fact, that I would have hired him on to be Aisha and Norn’s bodyguards for life, if that were possible. 

At any rate, it had been a long time since the two of us had talked. What had we even talked about, back then? Ruijerd was quiet, not the kind who went in for small talk. 

“By the way, what happened to Eris?” Ruijerd asked, bluntly. It was a question I didn’t really want to answer, but he deserved to know. 

“A lot of things. Let me start from the beginning.” 

I told him about what happened after we parted ways in front of the refugee camp. About how Eris and I slept together. How, immediately afterward, she disappeared and I fell into the depths of despair. How I couldn’t recover from it. How I spent the intervening two years searching for my mother. How I met Elinalise and heard about what was going on. How I followed the Man-God’s recommendation and enrolled in this school. How, in turn, that led me to reuniting with Sylphie and how she’d helped me recover. Then about our wedding. 

“I see.” Ruijerd listened quietly the whole time without saying a word. Finally, he said, “That happens often.” 

“It happens often?” I repeated. 

He just nodded. “It’s an outlook warriors often get bogged down by. I’m sure Eris doesn’t hate you.” 

“But she said the two of us weren’t ‘well-balanced’.’” 

“I have no idea whether she meant those words literally, or if you just misunderstood her meaning.” 

“Misunderstood?” 

“Yes. Eris was never very good with words.” Ruijerd would know—he wasn’t, either. “At the very least, she liked you when we were traveling together. If you have the opportunity to meet again, keep a cool head and talk to her about it.” 

Had I gotten it all wrong? When she said we weren’t well-balanced, did she just mean that she wasn’t at my level? Had she left to get stronger, so she could achieve that balance and then return? In which case, maybe her meaning had been, Wait for me . 

Even so, it was too late to be told that now. No matter what she’d meant, I’d still spent three years suffering. Three years in which I hadn’t heard a peep from her. The person who finally saved me was Sylphie, not Eris. What was I supposed to do now, toss Sylphie aside and make up with Eris? There was no way. 

Besides, honestly, I was still a little terrified by the thought of meeting Eris again. It wasn’t as if I didn’t trust what Ruijerd was saying, but there was the possibility that she really had just gotten fed up with me. It would be a real blow to my feelings if I approached her with the intention of reconciling, only for her to punch me and refuse to look me in the eyes. 

Let’s stop thinking about it, I told myself. Whatever the truth was, I couldn’t change the past. Dwelling on it wouldn’t help. 

I changed the topic. “What have you been doing all this time, Mister Ruijerd?” 

“Ah, yeah.” He looked like he still had something he wanted to say, but still nodded. “After I parted ways with you two, I headed for the forest area in the southern region.” 

Apparently Ruijerd had guessed that the Superd Tribe hiding in the Central Continent would be in a forest. He made his way to the dense forest to the south of the King Dragon Mountains, where he conducted an exhaustive search for two years. Ultimately, he found no trace of the Superd, though he did find several items belonging to people believed to have died during the Displacement Incident. He delivered those to the closest town. 

His search of the forest yielding nothing, Ruijerd headed south along the coast and arrived at East Port. He’d planned to catch up on the information coming out of Millis there, then head north to search the Conflict Zone. However, as luck would have it, he ran into Paul. After that, everything happened just as Paul had written in his letter. When Paul hesitated over whether or not to send his two girls away, Ruijerd volunteered to act as an escort. 

“Oh, I met your master too.” 

“Master Roxy?” 

“Yeah.” Ruijerd had a strained smile. “She was a little different from your description.” 

“Really? In what way?” 

“The second I said my name and she saw the gem on my forehead, she was completely terrified.” 

Come to think of it, Roxy was the one who’d told me that the Superd Tribe were terrifying killers. As a member of the Migurd, who lived in fear of the Superd, her reaction was probably inevitable. I wished I could have seen it, though—Roxy trembling in terror at the sight of Ruijerd. 

“So I heard you traveled alongside Miss Ginger all the way here?” 

“Yeah. We arrived in the evening and went to the university but couldn’t find you there.” 

They’d thought I lived in the dorms. Of course, I’d already left for the pub at that point, and I guess no one they asked knew where I’d gone, so they asked for my address instead. To make sure they didn’t somehow miss me, the three of them went looking for my house while Ginger split off to cover more ground. However, they got lost along the way, either because Aisha or Norn got the street wrong, or because the person who’d explained the house’s location had done so incorrectly. As they wandered the city, Ruijerd picked up my footprints and followed them to our house. 

“So that’s what happened,” I said. “I must convey my gratitude. Thank you.” 

“There’s no need to thank me.” 

I couldn’t help but smile at his words. One of my greatest sources of pride was being recognized as a friend by this man. 

“Anyway, you guys sure got here fast,” I said. The letter had only arrived last month. I’d thought it would take them two or three months to get here, at the earliest. 

“Your little sister was eager.” 

“Which one?” 

“Aisha. It was thanks to her we were able to travel so quickly.” 

According to Ruijerd, Aisha had proposed they accompany a merchant caravan so they could travel at night, too. Such caravans generally didn’t accept outsiders, so Aisha offered them Ruijerd and Ginger’s services as guards in exchange for letting her and Norn ride along. It was a good deal, though the negotiations hadn’t been easy. 

Every time their current caravan reached its destination, they would move to the nearest town in search of another one. It was through this rapid changing of caravans that they were able to travel so efficiently. They would gather information on the caravans’ schedules and locations, sometimes even retracing their steps to a previous town to hop on a caravan that suited them better. When the three of them asked Aisha why they had to double back, she said, “Because this way is faster.” Amazing. 

“That must have been rough for you, though? If you were moving around in the daytime and acting as a bodyguard at night, that means you had to be awake all the time.” 

“It wasn’t. I’m used to traveling continuously without rest, and have been for a while now. But…” 

“But?” 

“It was the first time in a while that I felt like I was being ordered around.” He gave a thin smile as he said that. Perhaps he was recalling the time of the Laplace War. 

Aisha, that little stinker. “Well, I’m not really sure what to say, but it seems my little sister caused you a great deal of—” 

“It’s just a funny story.” As usual, Ruijerd was soft when it came to children. But even if he didn’t mind it, we couldn’t raise Aisha to be the kind of person that ordered people around. I’d have to give her a piece of my mind later. 

“But she just slept like a log while you worked nonstop, didn’t she?” I argued. 

“She wasn’t sleeping. She was constantly calculating our route, planning for us to travel in the most efficient way possible.” 

Hm. Okay, so she hadn’t been making Ruijerd do all the work. If that was the case, then I couldn’t fault her. 

“She’s still a child, though,” he added. 

Aisha’s gleeful no-breaks plan apparently didn’t account for their stamina. Partway through the journey, she and Norn both collapsed from exhaustion. According to Aisha’s internal schedule, she planned for them to arrive before winter, when the weather would make it difficult for them to travel. That was how they made it here faster than the letter suggested. 

“Miss Ginger must have had a rough time of it as well. How was she?” 

“She was actually quite happy with our pace. She said she wanted nothing more than to see His Majesty as quickly as possible.” 

There were a lot of people in this world with muscles for brains, it seemed. Ginger sure was a loyal one. She’d probably been reunited with Zanoba by now. How would she react when she saw Julie? I wished I could be there to see it. 

“She intends to resume serving the Prince, apparently,” Ruijerd confirmed. 

“I see. By the way, how long do you plan to stay here?” I asked nonchalantly. I assumed the answer would be about a week. It wouldn’t take that long for me to introduce him to all of my friends. I was sure Zanoba would be delighted. Linia and Pursena would probably also have something to say. Who knew what Cliff would think? Ruijerd and Badigadi might already be acquainted, actually. 

Those thoughts came to a crashing halt when I heard Ruijerd’s response: “I leave tomorrow.” 

“That’s quite…soon.” 

“I heard someone saw a devil deep in the woods to the east. I plan to check that out.” 

Ruijerd had already sniffed out his next stop. I did think he could afford to stay a bit longer, but it would be insensitive of me to keep him. 

“Besides,” he said, “I have no intention of getting in your way.” 

“Of course not. You’d never be in my way.” I would never treat him like a nuisance. 

“It’s also a bit…difficult to be here.” 

There was a loneliness to his voice. Perhaps it came as a bit of a shock that Eris and I weren’t together. I didn’t know exactly how Ruijerd felt, but if I were in his position, I might also find it a bit difficult to watch me cozying up so lovingly to Sylphie. “I guess I can’t blame you for that.” 

It felt like a rift had formed in our friendship. Maybe Eris was the foundation that kept us together. 

“Rudeus.” 

I lifted my head when he called my name. Apparently, I’d averted my eyes at some point. Ruijerd gave me a thin smile. “Don’t make that face. I’ll come back again.” 

It was all I could do to force a smile in return. I didn’t regret the fact that I had married Sylphie. However, I did feel as if I’d made some kind of mistake, here. 

“If I happen to meet Eris, I’ll see what she has to say.” 

“Please do,” I replied, looking straight into his eyes. I found a gentle light burning within them. 

Soon after, Sylphie emerged from the bath. Norn apparently fell asleep mid-bath, while Aisha had been quite rambunctious in the water, but collapsed into sleep the moment she got out. Such was the relaxing effect of a bath. Warm water did wonders for an exhausted body. 

“Thanks for doing all that.” 

“Aisha seemed to remember me. She guessed who I was right away. Q uite unlike someone else we both know.” 

“Your hair is longer, you’re not wearing sunglasses, and you’re not in boy’s clothes, so it doesn’t count.” 

“But Norn didn’t seem to remember me.” 

“It’s rare for a three- or four-year-old to remember other neighborhood kids.” 

“I guess.” 

Sylphie had changed the girls into pajamas and tucked them into the same bed. Talking to them would have to wait till tomorrow. 

“Um, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Sylphiette Greyrat.” 

“Yeah. I’m Ruijerd Superdia.” 

Sylphie and Ruijerd awkwardly shook hands. They’d both suffered for their green hair in the past, though neither of them sported that color anymore. Ruijerd had shaved it all off, while Sylphie’s had turned white during the Displacement Incident. 

“Umm, Mister Ruijerd, what would you prefer in terms of a room?” 

“Anything is fine.” 

“Rudy, should we have him use the big room? He’s an important guest, isn’t he?” 

I didn’t think Ruijerd would be particularly concerned about the size of the room. Besides, he wouldn’t use the bed, anyway. “Sleep wherever you like. Think of our home as yours.” 

“Yeah, I’ll do that then. Well, I’m off to sleep.” Ruijerd finished speaking, then stood up. 

“All right, good night.” 

Sylphie and I just stood there stiffly, listening as he moved through the house. Apparently, he’d entered the room where the children were sleeping. That lolicon bastard! Nah, just kidding. When we’d traveled together, he never took his eyes off of us even when we slept. That was just the kind of man he was. Besides, he’d let us hear his footsteps on purpose. If he were up to something suspicious, he would have silenced them and moved with stealth. 

“Did I do something to offend him?” Sylphie asked anxiously. 

Ruijerd had been a bit curt. It seemed he had some conflicting feelings about my marriage to Sylphie, after all. 

“No, you haven’t done anything wrong. He takes a bit to warm up to people he’s just met, that’s all.” 

“If you’re sure that’s all it is.” Sylphie had a slightly wounded look. 

“Let’s go to bed, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

I’d skipped dinner that night, but I wasn’t even hungry. Oh, I should’ve at least provided Ruijerd something to snack on, I thought as I put out the fireplace and checked the lock on the front door. We already had the most useful security system in the house, but I still wanted to be safe. 

After turning off the lights, Sylphie and I headed up to the second floor together. Then we slipped into bed. 

There, Sylphie said, “Let’s, um, just skip today, okay?” 

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure.” 

We held off on the sex that night—the first time we’d skipped for a reason other than her period. 

*** 

The next morning, I woke up in bed just as I always did. Sylphie was still asleep. Normally she was curled into a ball, using my arm as a pillow, but today she was using her own pillow and had a tense look on her face. Ordinarily, my affection for her came unbidden, together with a pinch of sexual desire, and I would reach out to touch her chest. Then, as I had that source of perfection nestled in the palm of my hand, a wave of bliss would wash over me. 

But I didn’t feel that sensation today. Instead, I felt under the weather. It wasn’t a good day for my rising dragon. I should’ve been happy since Ruijerd was here, but it seemed Eris was really weighing on my mind. I felt gloomy and restless. 

Though I didn’t feel too motivated, I decided to start my daily training anyway. I was sure that five minutes—no, ten minutes—of exercise would perk me up. With that thought in mind, I stepped outside. 

A chilling scene awaited me. 

Someone else was already standing at our front entrance. Two towering figures, actually: one a bald warrior, a man who’d shaved his hair in order to hide its green hue. He wore none of the arctic clothing common in the region, but was dressed in civvies, bearing a lance. It was Ruijerd. 

Then there was the other man. He had a large and brawny body, with skin as black as pitch, and purple hair. Badigadi had his six arms folded together over his chest, giving off an immensely imposing aura as he stood in front of Ruijerd. 

The chill in the air was intense. Volatile. If someone lit a match, it might explode. 

Badigadi wasn’t smiling, which was rare. In fact, he wore no expression at all. Ruijerd had his back to me, so I couldn’t see his face. 

Did this mean they knew each other, after all? They’d both been alive since about the time of the Laplace war: one the captain of Laplace’s imperial guard, the other in the moderate faction on the opposite side. Ruijerd currently despised Laplace with all his heart, but back then, their circumstances had probably been quite different. 

“Hm.” Badigadi gave me a glance. Then he looked at Ruijerd once more. “So that’s it.” He nodded, apparently having satisfied his curiosity. Then, without saying anything more, he turned on his heel. The snow crunched beneath his feet as he disappeared into the distance. 

Ruijerd silently glanced over his shoulder at me. He looked a bit anxious. It was a rare thing to see him in a cold sweat. 

“Did something happen between you and King Badi?” 

“A long time ago.” 

I could infer the rest from his short reply. I’d heard the madness of the Superd Tribe had led them to attack any who crossed their path, be they friend or foe, and that had to have included some of Badigadi’s people. Regardless of how uncommitted he was to ruling, he was still a king. 

I wondered what their relationship had been like after the war? I couldn’t picture someone as optimistic as Badigadi seeking revenge on the Superd. If anything, he’d probably championed the powerless citizens the Superd had hurt. Even if Laplace had been the cause of the Superd’s destructive tendencies, Ruijerd had still killed people, and Badigadi had gotten his revenge for it. I was sure that was it. 

No, wait. It was possible Badigadi didn’t know how or why what went down with the Superd Tribe was Laplace’s fault. I should talk to him about it next time we met. 

Come to think of it, how would he react if I told him that I planned to mass-produce and sell Ruijerd figurines in the future? 

“Mister Ruijerd, just to be clear, that man has been good to me ever since he came to this city. I can only imagine what must’ve happened in the past, but…” 

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of fighting him.” Ruijerd smiled stiffly as he said that. Yet he’d clearly exhibited the intent to kill moments ago. If I hadn’t come out when I did… “Still, I never thought I’d see him here of all places.” 

“Apparently, he came here to see me,” I said. 

“Ahh, well, that does fit his character.” Ruijerd forced another smile before returning to the house. 

The whole encounter had thrown me for a loop. I would have thought cheerful, easy-going Badigadi could get along with anyone. 

When I returned to the house, Sylphie was awake and preparing breakfast. Aisha, who had donned a maid outfit for some reason, was helping out as well. Norn appeared to still be asleep. Intending to rouse her, I headed upstairs. I knocked on the door and immediately began reaching for the doorknob, but a sense of foreboding stopped me from opening it. Instead, I called out to her. “It’s about time for breakfast, so please come downstairs.” 

There was no answer, but when I strained to listen, I heard the rustling of clothes. Apparently, she was in the midst of changing. I’d avoided triggering a surprise naked scene! I wasn’t a dull-witted protagonist anymore, after all. 

“…Okay.” Once I heard her voice from behind the door, I felt relieved and returned to the first floor. 

The five of us ate breakfast together. Aisha seemed to have good table manners for her age and ate beautifully. As usual, Ruijerd only used a fork. Norn, still looking half asleep, didn’t eat very gracefully. Well, at least I could say she was using a fork. That was a step up from Eris, who just stabbed her meat with a knife and put it in her mouth. 

“Well then, it’s time for me to be off.” 

As soon as our meal was finished, Ruijerd prepared to depart. He had very little in the way of baggage, so he wasn’t carrying much. The five of us set out for the city exit to see him off. Ruijerd claimed that wasn’t necessary, but it wasn’t a problem of necessity. It was only natural to see a friend off. 

There wasn’t much conversation as we walked. Eventually Norn grabbed onto the hem of Ruijerd’s shirt, quiet enough it could almost go unnoticed. Ruijerd, however, did notice and slowed his pace a bit. I eased up to match them. 

Norn didn’t seem to want to part with Ruijerd, and I understood the feeling. Perhaps I should beseech him to stay, after all? One night just wasn’t enough to catch up, and there were people I wanted to introduce him to, and a mountain of things I wanted him to see. 

But the thought of Eris held me back, as expected. I didn’t want to cause Ruijerd discomfort. It wasn’t any fault of Sylphie’s; it was just that I felt like I couldn’t really talk to Ruijerd until I’d cleared the air with Eris. Yet, right now, I didn’t even know where she was. 

As I debated these things, we arrived at the city entrance. “Well then, stay safe,” Ruijerd told me. 

“You as well,” I said. 

Our goodbyes were short. There was so much I wanted to say. I just couldn’t find the words in the moment. Well, it wasn’t as if this was goodbye forever. I just had to talk to him again once things had calmed down more. As for Ginger, she had apparently already said her farewells to him yesterday. 

“Thank you for taking care of us!” Aisha cheerfully bowed. She surely understood her fast travel schemes would never have worked without Ruijerd. that. I was sure Ruijerd had protected them from dangers unbeknownst to them, too. 

“Aisha, don’t demand too much of Rudeus.” 

“Yes, I know!” 

Ruijerd smiled stiffly and patted her on the head. 

“U-um, uh, Mister Ruijerd…” Norn still hadn’t let go of Ruijerd’s shirt. She had an anxious look that clearly said she didn’t want him to go. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll meet again.” Ruijerd offered her a small smile as he rested his hand on her head. Seeing the two of them stirred up old memories. Back when I made that same anxious expression, Ruijerd would also stroke my head. 

Norn looked down, then lifted her face. She tried to say something, then pursed her lips. Her face contorted into several different expressions until she finally made up her mind. “I-I want to go with you!” she declared. 

Ruijerd looked troubled as he stroked her head, saying nothing. However, as the seconds passed, Norn’s eyes quickly filled with tears. 

“Rely on Rudeus from now on, not me,” he said. 

“But I can’t! He and Father—” 

“That’s in the past. He’s already reflected on his actions. Your father did as well. I told you about the hardship he’d been through as we traveled. Even you accepted that.” 

“But yesterday he was drunk! And he’s with a different girl this time than he was last time! I can’t trust him!” 

The air around us seemed to grow chill when she said that, though maybe it was just my imagination. After all, I had already told Sylphie about Eris. It wasn’t cheating, and it wasn’t as if I were trying to be a playboy—though that probably wasn’t how it looked to Norn. 

Ruijerd looked at me and then Sylphie before forcing a smile. “That’s just the way of things between men and women. It happens. It absolutely doesn’t mean your brother is disloyal.” He took his hand away from her head. “Over there, you. Will you tell me your name one more time?” 

“Oh, yes. I’m Sylphiette.” 

“Sylphiette. I leave these two and Rudeus in your care.” 

“O-of course!” 

Ruijerd finally exchanged words with Sylphie at the very end. His feelings toward her were surely complicated, but I prayed he held no ill will. 

“Well then, let’s meet again.” 

I watched him go until I couldn’t see him anymore. There was a time when I’d watched as his figure receded into the distance, filled with gratitude toward him. I was sure that right now, Aisha and Norn felt the same.