Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 13 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Can I Keep Him?

LET’S TALK ABOUT Aisha for a moment.

The girl was doing well. Despite the tragedies that had befallen our family, she seemed as bright and energetic as ever. I never caught her gazing sadly out the windows like her mother sometimes did. She didn’t bite her lip when she looked at Paul’s sword, the way Norn would. She did her housework cheerfully, as if nothing had changed. During the day, she tended her flowers in the garden and in her room; at night, she threw herself into my magic lessons, and cuddled up with me happily.

It almost seemed like she was more energetic than before. She was probably the single least melancholy person in our entire house.

Sometimes, it almost felt like she wasn’t mourning Paul at all. I couldn’t help wondering if he hadn’t meant that much to her.

That said, Norn didn’t remember much from our time at Buena Village, so it seemed possible that Aisha didn’t have many memories of Paul or Zenith either. Just as Norn had spent many years on the road with Paul, Aisha had spent most of her childhood with Lilia.

All things considered, it wasn’t fair for me to expect her to act all gloomy. Maybe her joy at Lilia’s safe return overweighed her sadness at Paul’s death. If so, it was probably for the best.

It wasn’t like I wanted my sister moping around instead of enjoying life, after all.

***

One day, I had nothing in particular to do.

My classes weren’t meeting that day, but unfortunately Roxy and Sylphie both had to work. I was planning to look after Lucie and spend the day relaxing.

I felt a little guilty about lazing around the place while both my wives were hard at work…but grownups need to get their rest in when they can, right?

Hmm. I’m not earning any money at the moment, though. Is that really okay? Considering I’ve got a baby and all? Well…getting my education is the best way to earn more money later, right? Yeah, it’s all good.

After seeing off my wives, I checked in on Lucie. She was still sound asleep, so I wandered out into the garden for no particular reason.

When we first moved in here, there was nothing out here but a barren, neglected patch of earth. But now, after only a few years, it had been transformed completely.

First of all, we now had three big evergreen trees back there. One of them flowered in spring, the second in summer, and the third in autumn. Not that I’d seen them blooming for myself yet.

When I’d asked Aisha where she got them, she explained that she’d placed a request with the Adventurers’ Guild and had them brought here from the nearest forest.

Transporting full-grown trees sounded like a real hassle, so I asked her how much it had cost. She said Zanoba had helped out, so she only had to cover the cost of a few bodyguards.

In one corner of the garden, there was a section of soil separated from the rest by brick dividers. This was where Aisha had planted the rice seeds I’d brought back with me. None of us knew how to make a proper rice paddy, so we were trying to grow the rice on dry soil. So far, the first crop seemed to be sprouting nicely. It was hard to say whether we’d get anything edible out of it in the end, though.

Aisha was squatting down by that small field at the moment. To my surprise, Zenith was sitting next to her.

“What are you two doing?” I called.

“Oh, hi, Rudeus!” said Aisha, looking back at me. “We’re weeding the rice!”

For a second I thought she was joking, but then I walked over and realized it was true. Aisha was pulling weeds out from between the stalks of rice, and Zenith was quietly helping out as well.

Now that I thought about it, I had some vague memories of Zenith pulling weeds back in Buena Village. Maybe it was just a standard part of growing plants, even in a cold climate like this.

“Miss Zenith wanted to help out, too!”

“…”

Something about the Miss Zenith thing didn’t sit quite right with me.

“Um, Aisha, you can call Mother Zenith ‘Mom’ if you want, you know?”

“Nah. Mother Lilia said I can’t. She always says I have to call her Miss Zenith or Madam.”

Ah, so it was another one of Lilia’s commandments. She was sure strict about this stuff.

Then again, I felt like Aisha didn’t really think of Zenith as a mother anyway. For the record, Zenith had treated her just like one of her own children back when she was a baby, but Aisha obviously couldn’t remember that.

Well, whatever. It wasn’t that big a deal either way.

“How long has Mother Zenith been helping you out like this?”

“For a while now, actually. Mother Lilia tried to stop her at first, but she always comes over to help when I start messing around in the garden. She’s better at it than I am!”

Zenith had put a lot of effort into maintaining our garden back in Buena Village, too. Maybe that had something to do with this.

I wasn’t going to discourage it either way. You never knew what might help her regain her memories. In any case, it was kind of nice seeing her and Aisha sitting side by side like this. They looked content in each other’s company. Even if they weren’t blood-related, I guess Zenith was still Aisha’s mother.

“Oh, right. Rudeus, you’re off today, right?”

As I watched them working, Aisha turned back to look at me. Her cheek was smudged with mud.

“Yeah. I’ll be at home all day.”

“Great! There’s something I want to show you. Can you come by my room later?”

“Sure thing,” I said, bending down to wipe her face. Aisha smiled dopily as I cleaned her off. 

Zenith looked on from beside her, staring at us both intently.

“There’s something I want to show you. Can you come by my room later?”

A very suggestive line, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Aisha was a very precocious kid. There was a possibility she’d lift up her skirt and try to show me her private parts or something.

Well, maybe not, on second thought. We already took baths together on a regular basis. She didn’t have anything under there I wasn’t already familiar with.

Still, the kid was so shameless that I was starting to get a little worried about her future. Maybe I should be giving her some basic sex ed lessons at this point. 

Wait, didn’t she say Lilia had gone over all that with her?

Okay…but what if she taught her a bunch of nonsense? I should really step up to the plate here…

Frowning slightly as I considered the proper course of action, I stepped inside Aisha’s room.

She’d told me to stop by “later,” but she hadn’t specified a time. It shouldn’t be a problem if I waited for her here, then.

It’s not like I just wanted to get a look around a young girl’s room or anything. Although I was a little curious, maybe.

“Well, looks like she keeps the place clean, at least…”

Aisha’s room was impressively tidy. Everything was put away in its proper place, and I couldn’t see a single speck of dust anywhere. Her bed was neatly made, too.

Here and there, I noticed a few slightly girly touches. The stuffed toy on her bed was particularly conspicuous. It was a little guy, maybe twenty centimeters in height, with light brown hair, a robe, and a staff. He was supposed to be a magician, presumably.

They didn’t sell toys like these in this city, as far as I knew. Had she bought it from a travelling peddler or something? I don’t even think Zanoba had anything like this in his collection, and that meant it had to be a pretty rare find.

Maybe she’d made it herself? Nah, surely not.

Aisha also had quite a few potted plants by her windows—everything from tulip-like flowers to aloes and a little cactus. There were maybe ten of them lined up together in pots of various sizes. Compared to Norn’s room, the place looked a bit more like what you’d expect from a young girl’s room.

Wandering over to the corner, I opened up Aisha’s closet and took a peek. There were three full maid outfits inside. All of them were obviously well-used, and had some conspicuous patches here and there. They looked more like the clothes of a veteran maid than those of an eleven-year-old kid. Aisha had been growing fast lately, so she’d presumably grow out of these entirely before too long. Unless Lilia could modify them somehow.

Glancing around again, I noticed a single cute, girly outfit hanging on the far side of the closet. It had lots of frills and everything. Maybe she was saving it for a special occasion?

Hopefully this wasn’t what she’d been wanting to show me. I’d have to pretend I hadn’t already seen it.

Closing the closet, I pulled open the drawer underneath it. 

One side of it was packed with neatly folded panties. For any boy with a crush on her, this would have been a real treasure trove.

Next to her underwear were a number of shirts…and now that I got a closer look, a few bras, too. My little sister was well-developed for her age, and already capable of equipping “chest armor.” Still, she was probably the equivalent of an A-cup at the moment. The Wise Old Hermit had already classified her as a rare gem in the making, but it was early days yet.

As I was contemplating my sister’s clothes, a small thump from behind made my heart skip a beat. Activating my Demon Eye of Foresight, I channeled mana into both my hands and spun around, making sure to close the drawer behind me.

“Who’s there?” I called, pointing my fingers toward the door.

There was nothing there. No one I could see.

Aisha and Zenith would still be occupied with the garden at the moment, and Lilia should be busy making lunch.

Was it our pet armadillo, then? No, he’d tagged along with Roxy when she headed to the University. He was probably taking a siesta in some stable over there. 

Matsukaze, the horse I’d bought before leaving for Begaritt, was housed in a stable in the city. Sometimes I’d head over there to check up on him, but I doubted he could make it all the way over here on his own.

That just left Lucie, and she wasn’t even crawling yet.

Was it someone totally unexpected, then? A burglar? A pervert looking to steal an innocent young girl’s first bra?

Lowering myself cautiously into a crouch, I glanced all around the room.

I wasn’t seeing anyone. And there weren’t any good hiding places, either.

Still, something felt odd. My sharply honed intuition was telling me I wasn’t alone in here.

Could it be an invisible enemy? Maybe someone with a magical implement that provided perfect camouflage? In that case, the effect would have to wear off sooner or later.

“…I guess we’ll just have to see who blinks first, then,” I muttered quietly.

Hopefully it wasn’t just the house creaking or anything. I’d feel like a real idiot.

No…there’s definitely something off. I can feel it. 

Look closer, Rudeus. What’s changed in here? What’s out of place?

…The stuffed toy? No, it’s not that.

The door’s still closed. The bed’s still made. The ceiling’s spotless as always.

That leaves…the potted plants. Yeah. Are there more of them than before?

I don’t think so. But I feel like I’m getting warmer here…

“…”

As I stared at the plants, trying to find something out of the ordinary, the sun emerged from behind a cloud. A ray of light poured through Aisha’s window.

Thump! Thump!

“Gaaaah!”

The plant in the single smallest pot reacted instantly. It was wriggling around in there, trying to get more of itself in the sunbeam, twisting its leaves toward the window.

With its every movement, the pot thumped slightly against the wooden windowsill.

This was obviously what I’d heard a few moments ago, as well.

“What the heck is this thing?”

I gave the plant a cautious poke, and it jerked in something like surprise. After a moment, though, it leaned over to rub itself against my finger, and began to slowly twine a shoot around it.

A little taken aback, I pulled my finger away. The plant promptly went right back to bathing in the sun.

“A moving plant…?”

How very bizarre. Hopefully it wasn’t going to start dancing around the room and burst into song or anything.

“…”

In all seriousness, though, I had some idea what this thing might be. I’d seen its kind many times before, after all.

This thing was a Treant.

***

The creatures known as Treants could be found all over the world. They were one of the most common and well-known categories of monster. You might compare them to the slimes from Dragon Quest, in that sense.

I’d done a lot of travelling for my age, with journeys across the Demon Continent, the Millis Continent, the Central Continent, and the Begaritt Continent. I hadn’t gotten a chance to visit the Divine Continent yet, unfortunately, but that was still four out of the major five.

On every one of the continents I’d seen so far, there were Treants of some kind.

You’d find them in basically any forest, and they weren’t uncommon in the plains and deserts, either. Most of them were largely made of wood, but not all of them looked like walking trees.

The Stone Treants resembled big, lumpy potatoes. The Cactus Treants looked like spiky green plants. And there were many other species, too. I’d heard of Elder Treants capable of using water magic, for example.

Still, I’d never seen a Treant this small before. The thing was about fifteen centimeters in height. Maybe twenty, if you counted its roots. It had four large leaves and two tendril-like shoots. I didn’t see any flowers or fruits yet. It looked like a very young sapling, maybe. Accordingly, I decided to refer to it as a Baby Treant.

Not that it really mattered. I just needed some way to refer to it.

Now then. My main question at the moment was what our Baby Treant was doing in Aisha’s room.

“Okay, Aisha. What’s the deal with this thing?”

“Um, well, it just started moving all of a sudden.”

Aisha, who’d come running at my cry of alarm, didn’t appear to feel particularly guilty about the situation.

“When did that happen?”

“Right after you came back from your trip, actually. What do you think? It’s pretty cool, right?”

If anything, she seemed proud of her little…pet.

“Yeah, it’s really something. Why didn’t you tell me about this, though?”

“I wanted to! But you’ve been so busy lately, you know? I thought it could wait a while. And now you went and found it on your own!”

Aisha puffed out her cheeks sulkily. The effect was adorable, needless to say. Now I knew what she’d wanted to show me, at least.

“Well, anyway…I can’t believe one of those seeds I brought back was actually a Treant. What are the odds of that?”

“Huh? No, no. I’m pretty sure it grew from some Vatirus seeds we got back in Asura.”

“Oh. Really?”

“Yeah. It’s got leaves and tendrils, see? It should get some nice purple flowers before too long.”

I recognized the name of the plant. Its flowers were the primary ingredient in a powerful aphrodisiac, and it could also be used to make certain perfumes. They cultivated it in certain parts of the Kingdom of Asura.

That didn’t explain why this one had turned into a Treant, though.

“What made it start moving, anyway? Was it like this from the start?”

“Nope; it was just a plant at first. It started moving when I moved it into this pot.”

Aisha explained that she liked starting off her flowers in the garden outside before moving them into her pots. Once they grew big enough, she put them back into the yard. She was still experimenting at the moment, which was why the pots and the plants inside them were all so different.

“Hrm.”

The pot itself was a perfectly ordinary thing that we’d purchased together at a general goods store a while ago. I found it very unlikely that it was a magic item, or otherwise enchanted.

“You didn’t do anything weird to it, did you?”

“Nope; I treated it just like all the others. I’m using the soil you make for me. It seems to have more nutrients than the earth around here does.”

That probably ruled out the soil, then. I always made her perfectly ordinary dirt with my magic. It wasn’t something I put a lot of effort into. Maybe I threw a touch of affection for my little sister in there, but that didn’t seem relevant.

“Oh, wait. Sometimes I gave it leftover water from the bath, I guess.”

Leftover bathwater! Hmm. I wasn’t around at the time, so it would have been infused with Sylphie and Aisha’s sweat…maybe a bit of Nanahoshi’s, too. 

Intriguing. I could see how that might lead a plant to grow some gropey tentacles.

Okay, Rudeus. Stop being an idiot.

“Hmm…”

What could have caused this to happen, then? She’d planted a normal seed, and cultivated it normally, but somehow it had turned into a monster. Was that a thing that just…happened sometimes?

It felt more likely that a Treant seed had been accidentally mixed in with the normal ones somehow. Treants were natural mimics. Maybe it was just pretending to be a normal Vatirus plant at first to stay inconspicuous. It felt like a coherent theory, at least.

“Well, in any case, I guess we should kill the thing,” I muttered to myself. “Maybe I could just burn it or something.”

“Whaaat?!” shrieked Aisha. “Why?! I spent all this time raising the little guy! Why would you burn him?!”

I was a bit taken aback by how fiercely she objected. But then again, she’d brought me here to show off her Treant. I guess it made sense that she wouldn’t be too happy about getting rid of it.

“…Aisha, you know what this thing is, right? It’s a Treant. That’s a kind of monster.”

“But look how little it is! It’s adorable!”

“Yeah, for the moment. But once it gets bigger, it might start attacking people. It’s dangerous.”

“I’ll train him! I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone!”

She was clinging to my waist desperately now, and there were tears in her eyes. I was sorely tempted to just say Oh, all right. I’m not cleaning up after it for you, though! 

Still, this wasn’t a stray kitten we were talking about here. It was a monster.

“Come on, Rudeus. Can’t I keep it? Please?”

“The puppy-dog eyes aren’t going to work on me. We need to get rid of it.”

“But he’s a good boy, really! He’s nice to everyone else, and he does whatever I tell him to!”

“Now you’re just making stuff up, Aisha. How is a Treant going to do what you tell it? It doesn’t even have ears.”

“Look!”

Trotting over to the Baby Treant, Aisha reached out a hand toward it. The little creature reacted by slowly slipping one of its tendrils around her slender index finger. Without extracting herself from its “grip,” she gently rubbed the underside of its leaves with her fingertips, and the Baby Treant twisted its body in something that looked like pleasure.

It was kind of a bizarre sight. The thing looked exactly like a plant, but it was reacting like an animal.

“Okay, let go,” said Aisha. 

The Treant immediately uncoiled its tendril from around her finger, letting it rest in the palm of her hand.

“Which one’s the pinky finger?”

After a moment’s hesitation, the tendril slipped around her pinky.

“Middle finger.”

The tendril released her pinky and took hold of her middle finger.

“Don’t let go, but grab my thumb, too.”

Still wrapped around the middle finger, the tendril reached out further, obediently stretching toward Aisha’s thumb. It wasn’t long enough to grab it, but it just barely managed to touch her fingertip.

“Okay, let go.” She kept playing with the Treant this way for a while longer, then turned back to face me. “See? He listens to what I tell him, right?”

“Yeah, it looks that way.”

To my surprise, it was clearly possible to communicate with this thing. And from the looks of things, it was very attached to my little sister.

I needed to rethink things a little here.

Treants were monsters. That was just a fact. In my experience, they disguised themselves as trees or other plants, then launched vicious surprise attacks on any travelers who came by.

Still, I knew there were some species of monsters out there that could be domesticated.

Creatures like Dillo, our family pet; and the lizard I rode around on the Demon Continent weren’t usually thought of as monsters—people usually just called them “beasts.” But there was nothing that inherently separated them from monsters, other than their temperament.

This Baby Treant seemed tame enough, so maybe I didn’t have to classify it as a monster. 

It honestly wasn’t that threatening, either. Dillo could surely do a lot more damage than this thing if he wanted to.

That said…Dillo had been domesticated by a professional beast trainer.

“Look, I’m a little worried this thing might try to strangle you in your sleep, honestly.”

“I think it should be fine, Rudeus. Even full-grown Vatirus plants only get about twice this big.”

“Hmm…okay, but—”

“If he hurts anyone, ever, I’ll do what you say! I promise!”

“What if you get seriously injured the first time he attacks, though?”

“Grr…”

Aisha puffed out her cheeks sulkily at this, but then seemed to reconsider her strategy. Opening her eyes real wide, she laced her hands together in front of her chest and looked up at me with her most sweet and innocent expression.

“Please, Rudeus? Can’t you give me a chance?”

Where the heck did she learn to plead like that? Not subtle, kid.

I was tempted to pursue the point, but right now there were more pressing matters at hand.

Okay, let’s see…

I was positive I’d never heard of anyone domesticating a Treant before. I didn’t know much about their behavior, either, so it was hard to say what the best way to train one was. Most importantly, they were dangerous monsters, albeit fairly weak ones. If we messed this up even slightly, things might turn ugly very fast. 

Then again, if it really was going to max out at thirty centimeters in height, there wasn’t that much it could do to hurt us.

Aisha had raised this thing herself from a seed, so it was accustomed to having people around. That made it less likely it would attack one of us… assuming it was like an ordinary animal in that respect.

Hmm…

Clearly irritated by my indecisiveness, Aisha began to pout. “All right then. If that’s how you’re going to be, maybe I should play my trump card.”

“Your trump card?”

“Why don’t I tell Sylphie and Roxy about your little secret?”

“What are you talking about?”

Was I keeping any terrible secrets from the two of them? Nothing really came to mind…

But then, smirking haughtily, Aisha dropped the bomb on me. “I’m talking about your secret room in the basement!”

“Gah!”

Everyone has a part of themselves they want to keep private. In my case, it was that little altar downstairs.

That room was a sacred place that I visited only in the night, offering my prayers as my family slumbered. My goddesses were now physically present in my house, true; but that didn’t make the ritual any less meaningful for me.

Faith has value in and of itself, you know? The act of prayer calms us and centers us, helping us live each day to the fullest. I’d been keeping up this routine for years now. It was a part of my life.

But what would happen if my altar was discovered? What would Sylphie think? What would Roxy say? I wanted to think that Lilia would understand, at least. Aisha had evidently been keeping quiet about it, but what about Norn? I had the feeling she’d react with open disgust.

The ultimate outcome would likely be the destruction of my altar. And with it, I would lose a crucial part of my daily routine.

“A-Aisha, listen. I’m just worried about your safety, okay? Treants are dangerous monsters, so raising one might put you at risk.”

“I don’t care if you’re a total pervert, Rudeus, but I wonder how Sylphie and Roxy will feel about it. Especially Roxy… You’ve been worshipping her panties for a loooong time now, haven’t you?”

Agh! This girl is ruthless! I was just trying to watch out for her, and now she’s blackmailing me!

Dammit, what am I supposed to do? What’s the least bad option here?

As I racked my brains for an answer, the door to Aisha’s bedroom suddenly swung open behind us.

“Um, I think I heard my name just now. Did you need something?”

“Gah!”

“Guh!”

Aisha and I spun around to find Roxy standing in the doorway, looking a bit nonplussed.

“Wh-what are you doing here, Roxy?!” I sputtered. “Didn’t you just leave a little while ago?”

“I came back to get something I forgot. Fortunately, I don’t have a class at the moment.”

Classic Roxy! The forgetful little professor! How cute!

Wait, let’s try to stay focused here.

“Well, Roxy, Rudeus and I were just talking about his secre—mmmph!”

Hmm. Now I’d gone and covered up my little sister’s mouth midsentence. What now?

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence ensued. The only sounds were the soft thumps of the Baby Treant wriggling on the windowsill.

Roxy’s eyes jumped over to it, and opened wide with surprise.

Okay, maybe I can turn to this to my advantage. Roxy should take my side on this, right? I’m sure she knows how dangerous Treants are.

“That’s a Treant, isn’t it?” asked Roxy curiously.

“Right, yeah!” I said. “Aisha just told me she wants to raise that thing as a pet! But Treants are monsters, you know? It could be dangerous. Can you help me convince her to get rid of it?”

Aisha grabbed at my hand, which was muffling her cries of protest, and tried to pry it away. Foolish girl. You can’t beat me in a contest of strength! Bite my fingers if you want, I won’t let go!

Gah, wait. Don’t lick them! Stop! That’s fighting dirty!

“I don’t know, Rudy. I think it should be fine.”

Huh?! She’s taking Aisha’s side?!

“Treants are loyal creatures if you raise them properly,” Roxy continued. “And this one’s rather small, too. There shouldn’t be much danger to speak of.”

“Wait, really? You can domesticate them?”

“Sure. It doesn’t seem to be very common on this continent, but the Migurd tribe use Treants to scare birds away from their fields.”

Did they really? Hmm…maybe. My memories of that visit were a little fuzzy at this point.

Oh, right! They had those things that looked like Piranha Plants out in the fields. I hadn’t realized they were Treants, though.

In any case, it sounded like Aisha was right after all, so I released her from my clutches.

“Sorry, Aisha. Sounds like I was wrong about this one.”

She looked up me dubiously for a moment, but eventually smiled in relief. “That’s okay, Rudeus. You were just worried about me, right?”

“Yeah, of course. You have to admit, raising a monster sounds like it could be dangerous.”

“Okay then. I guess I’ll keep quiet after all.”

“Thanks, Aisha. Remind me to buy you a nice meal one of these days.”

“Will do!”

Spinning away from me, Aisha promptly ran over to Roxy and threw her arms around her.

“Thanks, big sis! I love you!”

“…Uh, you’re welcome, I suppose.”

Roxy accepted the hug, but looked as perplexed as ever.

From that forth, Aisha’s Baby Treant joined the household as our second pet. Naturally, I laid down some rules and conditions beforehand.

First and most importantly: If it ever hurt someone, we’d get rid of it immediately.

Second, Aisha needed to thoroughly train it not to attack anyone.

Third, she had to explain to everyone exactly what kind of a “plant” it was.

Fourth, she wasn’t going to let it near any babies, just to be on the safe side.

And so on, and so forth.

I delivered these rules to Aisha in the form of a strict lecture, but she nodded in agreement to every one of them without so much as a scowl. The girl kept her promises, fortunately, so this would probably work out fine.

Incidentally, I gave our little friend the name “Byt,” picking out a few letters from the words Baby Treant.

Hopefully he would develop into a trustworthy and helpful member of our family. I was already picturing him planted out in Aisha’s fields, defending my precious rice crops from predators.

…How the hell had the girl found my secret altar, though? You really had to keep an eye on these maids.

 Legends of the University #4: The Boss has tamed monsters living in his house.