Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 14

Extra Chapter:

A Wild Blade Finds Its Sheath

“NGHAH?!”

Eris’ eyes snapped open violently. She’d woken herself up with a somewhat undignified yelp.

“Mm…?”

She sat up in bed and scratched at her unkept hair, looking around in bleary confusion. She was in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. The window and the closet were both new to her as well.

However, she recognized the two swords leaning against the bed—and the clothes scattered carelessly across the floor. It was clear that she’d gone to sleep here on her own initiative last night.

“Ah, right…”

Once she’d processed all this, her memories from the previous night came back to her easily enough. 

She recalled saving Rudeus’ life, and fighting Orsted to protect him.

In her years at the Sword Sanctum, she’d dreamed about battling Orsted on many occasions. On the days she pushed herself to the very limit in her training, and fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, it almost always happened. The dreams changed somewhat as she grew older and stronger, but they always involved her battling the Dragon God alongside Rudeus, and she always woke up before the duel was concluded.

Yesterday, however, their battle had reached an end. Something that had never happened before. And the outcome was nothing like she’d imagined. It had seemed too strange to be real. She assumed it must have been another dream. 

But judging from where she found herself this morning…

“I guess that really happened,” Eris murmured thoughtfully.

The day after the battle with Orsted, she woke in the Greyrat family’s house.

***

Eris Greyrat was starting to feel uneasy.

For many years her dream had been to fight Orsted alongside Rudeus. It was the whole reason she’d travelled to the Sword Sanctum. She had now fulfilled that goal; things hadn’t gone exactly as she’d imagined, but she’d held her own against the Dragon God.

Of course, she had given some thought to what would come after this. Her plan was to live happily ever after with Rudeus. She’d never been too clear on what this would involve exactly, but it was still her intention to make it happen.

Yet despite how she felt about the matter, in the days after arriving at this house she’d found herself unable to even hold a conversation with Rudeus.

Eris muttered as she washed her face. “I don’t get it.”

This bathroom had a large mirror over the sink, offering her a good view of herself. She studied her face for a moment: unkempt red hair, upturned eyes, and a mouth that seemed to scowl on its own every time she closed it. She’d managed to wash the dried drool off her cheek, but it hadn’t helped matters much. 

The word cute definitely didn’t apply to her. When she considered the meaning of that term, two faces immediately appeared in her mind’s eye. Sylphie and Roxy’s features differed, but they could both be described as adorable. They didn’t have Eris’ sharp, upturned eyes, or her mane of messy hair, and they didn’t look angry when they closed their mouths. Their figures were very different from hers as well. Their bodies weren’t that… womanly, but Rudeus seemed to prefer things that way.

Of course, Eris couldn’t magically change her appearance overnight, so she’d given up on competing with them on this level. But there were other aspects of this problem to consider, too. Sylphie was the kind of woman who took good care of her family and her household. It wasn’t just that she could handle chores or cook a decent meal—she was also thoughtful and considerate to everyone. No matter how stupidly Eris might behave, Sylphie was never going to laugh at her behind her back. And above all else, it was obvious that she loved Rudeus very much. Anyone who could recognize how amazing Rudeus was earned some bonus points in Eris’ books.

As for Roxy, well… she was someone even Rudeus respected deeply. She had a bit of a clumsy side, but she seemed like a calm and clever person with a wise outlook on life. And on top of that, she had a good job at the University, which made her the biggest earner in the household. Rudeus had told Eris all about how wonderful she was on their travels together. As far as Eris was concerned, anyone Rudeus respected was someone worthy of respect.

Where did that leave Eris herself, in comparison?

She wasn’t much good at housework or cooking. When it came to earning money, working as an adventurer was the only thing she knew how to do… and it was hard to say how well she’d even manage that without Rudeus handling all the complicated details.

Just to repeat: Eris had every intention of staying with Rudeus from now on. The specifics hadn’t worked out as she expected, but those were all minor details in her mind. Of course, there was a part of her that wanted him all to herself, and she had some mixed feelings about coming on as wife number three. But she’d accepted all that some time ago. Rudeus had gone through a very difficult period because of her, for one thing, and she’d seen plenty of men with multiple wives back in Asura. There was nothing that strange about it to her.

That said, now that she’d actually met his other wives, she was starting to feel kind of inadequate.

Eris wasn’t a kid anymore. She knew that life wasn’t simple or easy. She still didn’t have a great sense of just how complicated it could get, but she was well aware that you couldn’t get through it with nothing but your sword skills.

Back in the day, she’d never worried about all that other stuff. In her mind, Rudeus could take care of everything—and that meant she didn’t need to bother. But after seeing Sylphie and Roxy at work, she didn’t feel that way anymore. The whole reason she’d run off to the Sword Sanctum in the first place was to become Rudeus’ equal. She wanted to become stronger so that she wouldn’t be a burden to him anymore. 

And she had achieved that goal, to be sure. But now that she was back, it turned out Rudeus already had two women supporting him. They both had all sorts of valuable life skills which they actively use to help him in a hundred different ways.

Maybe she didn’t have the qualifications to be his wife after all. Maybe that was the reason he kept shooting her glances with a weird look on his face, instead of bringing up his marriage proposal.

It was a distressing thought, one couldn’t seem to shake off.

Under ordinary circumstances, Eris might have tossed all her worries to the side and charged head-on at Rudeus. But these weren’t ordinary circumstances; and her feelings of self-doubt had grown so strong that she couldn’t bring herself to start the conversation.

“…All right!”

By nature, however, Eris wasn’t capable of brooding at great length. And she wasn’t the spoiled young lady she’d once been, who was incapable of taking action on her own. She was a master swordswoman who’d studied in the Sword Sanctum itself, earning the prestigious rank of Sword King.

During the course of rising to these heights, Eris had learned exactly what to do when she felt self-doubt. When you lacked the qualifications that you needed, it was just a matter of obtaining them.

***

After washing up and finishing her daily practice swings, Eris quickly rinsed her sweat off, then headed straight toward the kitchen where Sylphie, Aisha, and Lilia were already bustling around.

Only a few days had passed since the battle with Orsted, which had been a stressful and tiring experience for everyone. But with three competent cooks in the kitchen working on a fairly small number of dishes, things seemed to be going smoothly enough.

Nonetheless, Eris called out: “Let me help too! What should I do first?!”

“You just wait patiently until the food’s ready, Eris!” Aisha instantly replied.

The implicit message here was “there’s nothing for you to help with.” Aisha was a cheerful, sweet girl by nature, and she had nothing but fondness and respect for her new big sister, but she was also well aware that Eris couldn’t cook to save her life. Also, they had the situation under control as it was.

Unfortunately, Eris wasn’t much good at reading between the lines either. “I can’t just sit around forever! I’m going to be Rudeus’ wife too!”

Aisha somehow resisted the urge to sigh in exasperation and looked over at Sylphie, who was smiling awkwardly. Sylphie was the one in charge here, so the final decision rested with her.

“Uhm… do you know how to cook, Eris?” Sylphie asked, her voice gentle.

“I can help out, at least!” Eris replied, puffing out her chest confidently.

“Well, okay… Could you cut these vegetables for me, then? We’re going to use them in a stew, but they’re always a little tough for us to chop.”

Sylphie handed Eris a kitchen knife and pointed her in the right direction. Eris looked down at the freshly peeled squash-like vegetables before her, brimming with excitement.

“I just need to chop these up, right?”

“Yeah. They’re pretty tough, though. Do you think you can manage?”

“Of course. I’m real good with a sword.”

“Uhm, but that’s a kitchen knife…”

Eris had basically done nothing except practice with the sword for years now. But back in her adventuring days, Ruijerd had taught her how to strip the skin off a dead monster, and she’d also dressed the meat a few times. It wasn’t like she had no experience at all with cooking, in other words.

Unfortunately, preparations for the Greyrat family’s breakfast didn’t involve the dissection of poisonous monsters, but Eris was convinced that she could handle chopping a few vegetables easily enough.

“…Huh?”

However, the squash proved a lot tougher than Eris had anticipated, and her knife stopped short halfway through it. She was very good at hitting quickly moving targets, but this was her first time facing an immobile object on a cutting board. Maybe it was something you needed to practice.

However, Eris was a Sword King now; she knew her way around a blade. And she knew how to slice right through things, even if they were a little tough.

“Uhm, Eris? You want to cut that at more of an—”

“Hmph!”

Just as Sylphie was about to teach her the trick to this, Eris exhaled sharply, raised her knife too quickly for the eye to follow, and swung it violently back down.

Sylphie didn’t even see a blur. She just heard the chunk of the blade striking home, and saw the squash split in half… along with the cutting board underneath it. The cutting board Rudeus had bought her when they got married, and she’d been using ever since.

“How do you like that?” said Eris proudly.

Sylphie’s cheeks twitched slightly, but she managed to control herself. She’d been fond of that cutting board, yes, but it was a practical object, and it would have gotten worn out eventually in any case. They could always buy another one.

“Aaaah! That’s the cutting board Rudeus bought Sylphie as a wedding present!” Aisha cried out in Sylphie’s place. Picking up the two halves of the broken cutting board, she glared at Eris reproachfully. “Eris, you’re terrible!”

“Uhm…” 

Slowly, anxiously, Eris looked over at Sylphie. The woman’s cheeks were still twitching, but somehow she’d managed to keep a smile on her face. 

“Oh, i-it’s all right. It’s not like she did it on purpose, right?”

“…S-sorry about that.”

Eris’ apology was genuine. If someone had chopped a gift Rudeus gave her in half, she knew she would have flipped out on them.

“I think we’ll let someone else handle cutting the vegetables today, though.”

For the next few minutes, Sylphie made an effort to find little tasks that Eris could help out with. Unfortunately, she proved much clumsier than expected. When she tried to heat something up, she nearly caused a fire; when she washed a saucepan they were finished with, she somehow bent its handle; and when she carried food out to the table, she ended up dropping it all over the floor. Normally, she might have handled these tasks just fine, but she was a little too vigorous doing everything today.

When you’re trying very, very hard, it’s easy to make mistakes you wouldn’t otherwise.

Ultimately, Eris ended up with the assignment of sharpening the kitchen knives that were growing dull. While most of what she’d practiced recently concerned how to use her sword, she’d also learned how to maintain it. Ruijerd had taught her the basics, and she’d had extensive practice in the Sword Sanctum as well. There were good reasons for this. For practitioners of the Sword God Style, who sought to cut down their opponents in a single strike, it was crucial to keep their sword razor-sharp.

A kitchen knife wasn’t a sword, obviously, but it was still a blade. There wasn’t much difference in how you maintained them. By the end of that morning, every knife in the Greyrat family’s kitchen looked sharp enough to cut through steel; this accomplishment earned Eris a good amount of praise from Sylphie and the others.

Of course, she was fully conscious of the fact that this wasn’t quite the kind of housework she’d been hoping to help out with.

***

Eris had screwed up big time in the kitchen. Still, she wasn’t about to give up. It seemed like cooking wasn’t her thing, but she could still find a way earn her keep at least. With this thought in mind, she set out for the Ranoa University of Magic, where Roxy worked as a professor. The plan was to explain the situation and see if Roxy knew of any jobs she might be suited for.

“Uhh… You want to know if there’s anything you can help out with?”

Eris arrived just as Roxy was getting started on her lunch—distracting her from the mystery of why so much of her lunch box’s contents were slightly charred today.

“Yeah! Everyone says it’s a big help to have you bringing home that nice, regular salary. I’m gonna be Rudeus’ wife too, so I should really earn some money myself.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I can certainly do my best to help you find a job, in that case.”

“Thanks, Roxy!”

“First of all, can you tell me what your skills are?”

Eris’ mind immediately jumped to the things Rudeus had taught her many years ago. This place was a school, so it seemed like the most relevant knowledge she possessed.

“I can read, and write, and do arithmetic! Oh, and I know some basic magic too!”

Of course, Eris wasn’t especially good at any of these things, but she still delivered her reply with confidence.

Roxy fell silent and tried to think this through.

Eris was a Sword King. Naturally, the best option was to find her a job where that title would be relevant. Although it wasn’t clear if she had the ability to teach others her skills, finding her a post as an instructor of swordplay seemed like the ideal option. She didn’t have the necessary qualifications to become a formal faculty member yet, but she could be hired as an assistant instructor right away. Fortunately, the University of Magic did offer its students swordplay lessons, and Roxy’s recommendation would count for something here.

The University’s current swordplay instructor was of the Advanced rank in his style, which made him Eris’ inferior. There was a chance that taking on such a powerful assistant would be too much for his pride to tolerate… but as she considered this, Roxy recalled seeing the man talking excitedly about the arrival of two Sword Kings in Ranoa just the other day. He’d even mentioned something about how badly he wanted to meet them, and maybe even learn a thing or two under their instruction. At this very moment, the man seemed to be shooting jealous glances in her direction from the other side of the faculty room. Roxy had the feeling he might endorse this idea enthusiastically if she called him over.

However… Eris hadn’t mentioned her swordsmanship in response to Roxy’s question about her skills. Why was that?

Roxy was a clever woman. It didn’t take long for her to arrive at an answer.

Eris was a Sword King, a cut above even the Sword Saints. Only the truly talented and powerful ever earned that title. Among magicians who rose to the equivalent rank, there were many who would only take on specific pupils they deemed promising. In all likelihood, Eris was also unwilling to teach her skills to just anyone. In that case, suggesting she take a job as an assistant swordplay instructor would be most unwise. She might even take it as an insult.

Of course, all this was just Roxy overthinking things. But nonetheless, she opted for a different suggestion.

“All right then. How about a job as a security guard?”

“A guard? That sounds kind of dull.”

“Well, most jobs are a bit on the dull side, I’m afraid.”

“Hmm… Yeah, I guess even adventuring was a little boring sometimes. Okay then.”

Within minutes, Roxy’s recommendation secured Eris a trial run as a Ranoa University of Magic security guard.

Once the formalities were taken care of, Roxy led Eris out to the University of Magic’s main entrance. Since Eris didn’t yet have a good sense of the campus layout, guarding the front gate was the only job she could do at the moment. The idea was for her to work a shift that afternoon, after which she would be officially hired by the University.

“All right then. I have a class to teach, so I need to be going now. I’ll come by to get you in the evening.”

With those words, Roxy left Eris in the hands of the veteran guard at the gate and headed back toward the main school building.

The guard looked Eris over for a moment, then scratched the back of his head uncertainly. “Uh, let’s see. I mean, gate duty’s pretty simple, honestly. You just stop anyone who looks fishy or dangerous, ask ’em to prove their identity, and kick ’em out when necessary.”

“That sounds easy!”

“Yep, it sure is. It’s not like we get that many suspicious characters loitering around, you know? But hey, let me show you how it’s done anyway.”

With that, the guard positioned himself next to the gate and began to keep a watchful eye on everyone who passed through it.

However, the University of Magic had a wide range of facilities and stores on campus, so it was fairly rare for students or professors to leave the grounds on their lunch break. That meant there wasn’t much foot traffic apart from a handful of people who seemed to be maintenance men or vendors bringing in supplies. The guard did call out to one tough-looking customer with a big scar on his cheek, only to discover that he was a bodyguard for some noble student living in the dorms. Just as he’d said, the campus didn’t seem to get too many fishy-looking visitors.

“So that’s about it. The foot traffic will slow down even more by the early afternoon. Why don’t you have a try for a while?”

“Got it!”

In high spirits, Eris positioned herself next to the gate, where she assumed her signature pose—arms folded, legs spread wide, and chin in the air.

Her gaze was intense. Too intense, in fact. Nobody could seem to look her in the face; those who passed through the gate did so staring at the ground, in an effort not to meet her eyes. There were no shady customers to be seen. Anyone who was considering some illicit behavior would have thought twice after one good glare from Eris.

However, among all the cowering and cringing, there was one man who didn’t so much as flinch. Indifferent to Eris’ presence, he strode onto the campus as if he owned the place. The expression on his face was calm and confident. There was nothing that unusual about his bearing, but given the quivering people around him, he stood out like a sore thumb.

And so, Eris made a snap decision: there’s something strange about that guy!

“Hold it right there!”

The man stopped in his tracks and looked over at Eris dubiously. “Can I help you?”

His tone was polite enough, but the look on his face was saying “I’m a busy man. Can we get this over with quickly?”

Of course, this attitude only made Eris more suspicious. “There’s something fishy about you!”

“I’ve been passing through this gate for more than twenty years, and this is the first time I’ve heard that. You seem rather… fishy to me yourself. I don’t recognize your face… How long have you been working here?”

“Just started today!”

“I see. Well, I suppose I can’t blame you, then…”

The man reached into his pocket to retrieve his official University identification badge But in that moment, an unseasonably strong gust of wind happened to sweep by, and his hand jumped reflexively from his pocket toward his head.

Eris reacted instantly to this highly suspicious movement. Stepping forward in the blink of an eye, she seized his wrist firmly in her hand.

“What are you hiding up there?”

“Guh…!”

Before Eris’ very eyes, the wind… carried off the man’s hair. All of it. At once.

All that was left behind was a beautifully shiny dome.

“…”

Eris froze up. She’d recognized the man was trying to hide something, but she hadn’t imagined it was… this.

With the hand that Eris wasn’t grasping, the man reached into his breast pocket once again and pulled out his University badge.

“My name is Georg. I’m the Principal of the Ranoa University of Magic.”

As he spoke, his face was crimson with both embarrassment and fury.

***

To cut to the chase, Eris was fired on the spot.

Well… it wasn’t technically a firing, since she hadn’t even been hired yet. But the University formally declined to take her on as a security guard.

“Sigh…” 

Understandably, this had left Eris feeling a little down in the dumps. She was no good at housework, and she couldn’t handle working a job either. Her growing sense of her own uselessness had been painfully reinforced by today’s events. It might have felt different if she’d at least managed to stumble through something she set her mind to, but after two straight disasters, her self-confidence was reaching new lows.

At the moment, Eris was lying on top of a shed in the corner of the Greyrat yard and staring up at the sky—much like she used to do back when she was living in the city of Roa. In her mind, she was replaying a conversation with Rudeus from many years in the past.

“What’s the point of doing something I’m not even good at?!”

Rudeus’ reply had been simple enough. “The worse you are at something, the more satisfying it feels when you finally get the hang of it.”

In a sense, housework and employment weren’t different from the dancing she’d struggled with back then. She’d get the hang of them eventually, as long as she kept trying despite her failures.

At the same time, something felt a little off about that plan. It probably would be satisfying to succeed, but even so… something just felt off.

Unfortunately, Eris couldn’t seem to figure out why that was.

“Let go of me!”

Just then, the wind carried a voice up to her. It was one she recognized.

Eris sat up on the shed’s roof and turned in the direction the voice had come from. From the sound of things, there was an argument taking place near the front door of the Greyrat family home.

“Wonder what’s going on…”

She hopped down from her perch and headed around the house, where she spotted Rudeus’ sister Norn with a boy about her age.

The boy was richly dressed. His uniform had the same design as Norn’s, but you could tell at a glance that his was made with fine fabrics and expensive buttons. 

It wasn’t just his clothing that stood out, either; he had long, wavy blond hair, neatly groomed eyebrows, and skin that clearly got a lot of care. The two guards standing at attention behind him made it obvious that he was a noble.

At the moment, he was holding Norn’s hand—apparently to prevent her from entering the house. 

“Come now, Norn,” the boy said, brushing his free hand through his hair in an obnoxiously showy gesture. “If you simply come along with me, you’ll be helping out that dear brother of yours and your beloved Princess Ariel.”

“What are you talking about?! Princess Ariel and Rudeus aren’t even around right now!”

“So much the better! If they return to find we’ve taken helpful measures on their behalf, they’ll surely praise us for our foresight and initiative. It will be a valuable step toward winning their confidence.”

“They’d just get mad me for acting without permission, actually.”

From the looks of things, Norn wanted nothing more than to pull her hand free. But this kid was a noble, and it looked like he had some real influence; she probably didn’t want to run the risk of angering him.

“Oh, they won’t be upset, I assure you. Take a look at these two behind me. They’re elite fighters we recruited from one of the best mercenary bands in all of the Northern Territories. Your brother’s been spending a lot of time away from the house lately, hasn’t he? Allow me to protect it in his stead.”

“That’s not necessary. We’ve got Sylphie and Roxy to look after us.”

“Nothing but women, in other words?”

“Z-Zanoba and Cliff come over all the time!”

“But they’re not here now, are they?”

In the face of the boy’s relentless pressure, Norn’s protests were growing briefer and less firm. At this rate, there was a good chance he might end up bullying his way into the house. Frowning, Eris strode over. “She’s not interested. Take your hands off her.”

The boy knitted his brow at this sudden interruption. “Pardon me? And who are you supposed to be, anyway? Do you not know who I am?”

“No.”

“I’ll tell you, then. I am Richard Moanarius, heir to the honorable house of Moanar—”

“I couldn’t care less. Did you not hear me the first time? Take your hands off her.”

As Eris cut off his attempt to introduce himself, the boy Richard’s confident expression took a turn for the sullen. “You’re a remarkably rude and ignorant woman! Look here, if I wanted to, I could have this little house of yours torn down in no— Hm?”

Richard stopped midsentence, realizing that his legs felt strangely cold all of a sudden. When he looked down, he found his pants lying around his ankles, leaving his underwear fully exposed. With a little squeak, the boy hurriedly pulled his pants back up—only to discover that his belt had been sliced in half, forcing him to hold them up with his hand.

For a moment, he had no idea what just happened to him. Then he heard a small clink from the sword at Eris’ waist… and he looked up to find her staring at him with cold disdain in her eyes.

“Next time, I’ll cut that arm off instead.”

“Eee!”

Richard was infamous for his shameless behavior, and was sometimes called deficient as a noble. But whatever his moral flaws, he possessed a perfectly functional sense of self-preservation. He knew that Eris wasn’t making an idle threat. He instantly released Norn’s hand and took a quick step backward. 

“F-fine. Fine! I’ll be on my way for now, then.”

At those words, Eris drew her sword again. Somehow, it left its sheath without making a sound. Something about that felt incredibly menacing.

“Wh-what?! I already said I’m leaving for today!”

“Don’t come back tomorrow, either. Or the next day.”

Richard’s legs began to tremble at the sheer intensity of Eris’ gaze. He couldn’t meet her eyes, of course; but he could feel them boring into him. Still, he had his pride as a noble on the line. He couldn’t bring himself to just let this crude commoner make an utter fool of him.

“Do you dare to threaten—”

But just as he opened his mouth to speak, one of his bodyguards grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him firmly backward.

“Sorry, your lordship, but we better get out of here. I’d bet good money that girl’s the Berserker Sword King people have been talking about. She’s not bluffing about this, you understand? There’s no reasoning with a woman who trained in the Sword Sanctum.”

Normally, these men followed their young master around even on his most idiotic escapades, efficiently cleaning up his messes with a quiet sigh. But it was precisely their skill and competence that allowed them to realize just how dangerous Eris really was.

“Damn it! I won’t forget this!”

With this limp attempt at a parting shot, Richard started to turn away. But before he could move an inch, Eris called out to him sharply.

“I won’t forget you either. And if you mess with this girl again, I’ll kill you. That’s a promise, okay? I’m going to remember your face.”

Those words were the finishing blow. The knowledge that this terrifying woman was going to be keeping tabs on him left Richard’s body quivering with fear.

“Guh…”

Terrified into silence at last, the suddenly pale-faced boy spun around and strode quickly away.

Eris kept glaring after Richard and his bodyguards until they’d disappeared completely from view. Only then did she finally relax. 

“Hmph.”

Of course, she hadn’t meant any of that seriously. Eris could be somewhat violent at times, but she didn’t actually go around murdering obnoxious brats. It had only been a bluff. Honestly, she didn’t intend to remember the boy’s name, much less his face. Remembering things was never her strong suit. Still, the force of her very genuine hostility had been enough to make her words seem plausible.

“Phew…”

With a little sigh, Eris turned and headed back inside the house.

Norn just watched her go, without managing so much as a “thank you.” But her hands were clasped against her chest, and admiration shone in her eyes.

***

Scaring off that boy had felt pretty good, in all honesty. But Eris was already wondering if she’d just screwed things up again. Norn had looked unhappy about the situation, but their discussion had sounded kind of complicated. Maybe the brat was actually important somehow. It felt like she might be in for another lecture later on.

Sure enough, just as she stepped into the house, Sylphie and Roxy stuck their heads out of the living room and beckoned her over. They’d clearly been watching that little scene unfold from a distance.

Bracing herself for a talking-to, Eris headed over to join them…

“Thank you, Eris!”

“Well done.”

…and found herself blinking with surprise at their sudden words of gratitude.

“Huh?”

“We saw that! You helped out Norn, right?”

“That boy didn’t listen to a word we had to say, but it looks like he won’t be bothering her again.”

There were big smiles on both of their faces, but Eris frowned uncertainly.

“…Are you sure I should have done that? He’s got connections, right?”

“Hmm. Well, his father is contributing to Princess Ariel’s cause, and he does have some influence at the University…”

This was exactly what Eris had been afraid of. Sylphie explained that Richard was the son of a powerful Ranoan noble. Not only was this noble one of Princess Ariel’s main financial supporters, he made large donations to the University on a regular basis and had a considerable amount of sway with its administrators. To put things bluntly, a decent percentage of both Sylphie and Roxy’s pay was coming from money he provided.

Of course, his son Richard had nothing to do with any of these matters. Even if he ran back home and whined to his daddy for hours on end, it was unlikely there would be any consequences for Sylphie or Roxy, let alone Princess Ariel. However, Richard had convinced himself that his father’s contributions entitled him to strut around like he owned the place. No matter how many times Sylphie and Roxy told him off, he’d simply ignored them.

“We were just about to go out and shoo him away when you showed up, Eris,” Roxy added, her nose flaring with enthusiasm. “I was a little worried for a minute there, but my goodness! That was satisfying to watch!”

Sylphie chuckled a little, but then turned with a serious expression on her face. “Hey, Eris?”

“Wh-what is it?”

Sylphie reached out and took Eris’ hands in hers. And then, as Eris hesitated uncertainly, she began to speak.

“Sometimes I get the feeling you think you’re… not good enough the way you are. But that’s definitely not true, okay? Try to have some confidence.”

Eris frowned a little. This almost felt like a rejection of her efforts to improve. “Where did that come from?”

“Well, you’ve been worrying yourself sick lately, right? I think I kind of understand how you feel. Whenever I watch Rudy at work, it makes me feel like I have to learn all sorts of new things.”

“…”

Startled by Sylphie’s perceptiveness, Eris found herself at a loss for words. But Sylphie wasn’t done yet. “You know, Eris… we’re pretty good at watching Rudy’s back, if you know what I mean. We keep an eye on things behind the scenes. You definitely helped us out today, but normally, we stay on top of those sorts of problems.”

Sylphie paused for a moment, and her grip on Eris’ hands tightened noticeably.

“But when I saw how Orsted, Rudy, and you fight… well, I realized something. When Rudy’s up against something really dangerous, we’re not strong enough to stand in front of him like you did.”

She was looking Eris straight in her eyes now. The strength in them was downright intimidating, but she didn’t flinch or look away. In fact, she stared right back with all the power she could muster.

“You trained for years so you could be strong enough to do that. I think it’s something you should be really proud of.”

With that, Sylphie released Eris’ hands and smiled at her.

“That’s all I wanted to say, really. Other than… I’m glad you’re here, Eris.”

***

Eris wandered down the hallway in something of a daze. How typical. After all that worrying, she’d ended up with the conclusion that she was fine the way she was.

But the more she thought about it, the more that sounded right. Rudeus was the magician, and she was the swordswoman. It was what she’d had in mind all along, from the day she left him for her training. It seemed natural for both of them to play the roles they were best suited for.

But Rudeus couldn’t handle everything else on top of casting spells. He’d done some growing up, and learned a bunch of new things, but that didn’t make him superhuman. There were some things he couldn’t deal with on his own. And that was where Sylphie and Roxy could step in to help.

Of course, Eris’ own train of thought wasn’t quite this clear or coherent… but she did find herself feeling happy and relieved. She hadn’t screwed it all up after all. Her efforts hadn’t been wasted. Just knowing that meant the world to her.

“Oh.”

Eris’ aimless movements through the house had brought her into a quiet little room. And there, she’d found a seated woman who was gazing out a window with an absentminded expression.

It was Zenith Greyrat. Eris had heard about her situation by now; she knew that a long captivity deep inside a labyrinth had left her mind shattered.

But to Eris’ surprise, Zenith turned toward her, as if sensing her gaze. The woman’s eyes were clearly focused on her. Eris straightened her spine reflexively. Regardless of her condition, this was Rudeus’ mother. She had to put her best foot forward here.

With slow, cautious steps, she walked up to Zenith.

Eris definitely needed to say something, but she wasn’t sure what it should be. She hesitated for a long moment, longing to fold her arms, but refusing to allow herself to do so.

Ugh. Now I wish I’d paid more attention to those stupid etiquette lessons…

For a moment, she flirted with the idea of leaving the room and coming back once she’d worked out what to say. But Zenith was staring up at her patiently, as if waiting for her to speak.

Buckling under the pressure, Eris finally squeaked out the first thing that came to mind.

“I’m… I’m still quite inexperienced, but… I’ll do my very beft.”

Beft? My very beft?!

Eris frowned irritably at her own mistake. But then she noticed Zenith’s expression change as well.

She was smiling.

Eris had always hated it when people smirked at her mistakes, but this didn’t look like a smile of amusement. If anything, it felt more like an answer. Zenith hadn’t said a word. But for some reason, Eris thought she could hear her voice.

“Try saying that to Rudy instead. There’s no point being all formal around me.”

“…”

Without another word, Eris lowered her head to Zenith. And as she did so, she renewed her promise to herself: I’m going to marry Rudeus, no matter what.