Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 19 - Chapter 12.2

Rudeus

WE MADE IT BACK to Sharia. People often say things like, “Going is the easy part, it’s coming back that’s hard.” That didn’t really apply to us; we had a smooth return trip. I used my Magic Armor to draw our carriage back to the woods, where we had a teleportation circle prepared to take us back. Zanoba and I worked together to disassemble my armor, then hauled it back to the floating fortress. Roxy went on ahead while Zanoba and I stayed behind to pay our respects to Perugius.

He said a curt “I see,” when he first saw us, and we filled him in on what had happened. Afterward, he guided us to the room we’d last spoken in and offered his own words of wisdom: “It’s foolish to let any country tie you down.”

Zanoba nodded earnestly and told Perugius he was abandoning his royal status, which left Perugius looking pleased. He even offered me some words of encouragement, saying, “You did well.” Honestly, I was relieved that I hadn’t lost a friend I enjoyed sipping tea with.

We also stopped by to visit Nanahoshi, who reacted to our return with a drawn-out sigh. I could understand her exasperation; Zanoba coming back like this ruined any sentimentality she’d felt during her teary-eyed, heartfelt farewell.

Anyway, Eris was due to deliver within the next month. The least I could do was be with her for the birth. The problem was that although I wanted to head straight home, I needed to do something else first. Namely, report to Orsted.

The Man-God had really pulled the carpet out from under me this time. On the plus side, I had succeeded in my goal of bringing Zanoba home safely, and I hadn’t died or been maimed. On the downside, we learned nothing about the Man-God’s goals this time around, and we failed to keep Pax alive. Orsted had already told me that someone pivotal to his plans would be born in the Shirone Republic, which meant he’d lost a powerful piece on the board because of this. It was an utter defeat.

Perhaps our return had been a bit premature. Maybe it would have been better to stay for a little longer and influence things so that Shirone would still wind up becoming a republic.

Nah, if it was that easy to turn the nation into a republic, then Orsted wouldn’t have ordered me to keep Pax alive.

Regardless, it was probably best to be completely honest about how it all turned out. If there was a way to compensate for this setback, I would do so.

“Okay, Roxy, I’m going to head to the office for a few. I’d like to stow the Magic Armor,” I said.

“All right. I’ll head on home and let everyone know we’re safe.”

The two of us parted at the entrance to the city, and I made my way toward the office. For some reason, Zanoba had decided to tag along with me.

“Something wrong?” I asked him.

“No, but that armor helped keep me alive, so I thought I would thank Orsted for lending it to me and apologize to him for having destroyed it during our journey.”

“Oh, okay.”

It was odd that Zanoba wanted to thank Orsted directly. I figured Orsted’s curse would be potent enough to snuff out any positive emotions Zanoba had. Perhaps this sudden change was courtesy of Cliff’s painstaking research. Maybe Zanoba might start throwing punches once he actually came face-to-face with Orsted, but as long as I held him back, everything would work out, surely.

Feeling confident, the two of us walked together the rest of the way to the office. I stowed my Magic Armor, locked the door to the storage, and headed into the main building. We passed through the deserted lobby and made our way straight to the boss’s office.

I sucked in a deep breath before going inside. I was about to report that I’d failed, after all. Not like I hadn’t failed numerous times before (I had) but this one was a considerably larger failure than the others. He might reprimand me for it.

Maybe I’ll be lucky and he won’t be in today?

Nah. It would be better to get it done and over with.

Okay. Well, first thing’s first…time to knock.

Indeed, a courteous knock could put one in a good mood. I needed to keep mine calm and polite. I raised my fist and very lightly tapped it against the door.

“Rudeus, hm?” echoed a voice on the other side.

So much for the hope that he wouldn’t be in.

Despite my anxiety, I had already mapped out an explanation in my head. All I had to do was stick to the truth and be honest with him.

“Pardon the intrusion! I, Rudeus Greyrat, have at last made my return from Shirone Kingdom!” I threw the door open, barged in, and bowed deeply. When I straightened up, a strangled cry escaped my throat. “Gah?!”

Orsted was wearing a black, full-face helmet. I could only assume this new face—er, magical implement, I guess—had been newly crafted by Cliff.

“Seems you have returned safe and sound,” Orsted observed.

“Uh, y-yes.”

His appearance had taken the wind out of my sails, but I carried on. I had resolved to give a most sincere, accurate report about my mission’s failure. Yes, indeed. All I had to do was say, “Sir Orsted, I achieved absolutely, positively nothing!”

Hold up, that doesn’t seem right…

“Allow me to give you my report,” I said, and launched into a matter-of-fact overview of the events that transpired. I noted all the things I had been wary of, plus whatever signs I hadn’t noticed at the time. As I spoke, I was careful to keep a level head and lay out every detail one by one, so it wouldn’t be a problem if he wanted to be nitpicky. My report had a rhythm to it: first, I described an event, then what I felt about it, what I thought about it, who I consulted about it, what conclusions I drew and what actions I took. Then, I told him what the results were. I also included what I suspected the Man-God’s motivations were, and how I thought best to proceed in relation to that. I didn’t leave anything out.

“I offer my most sincere apologies. I failed to fulfill my duty, thereby allowing Prince Pax’s death.”

A suffocating gloom filled the air. I couldn’t read his expression beneath the helmet, and that only made it several times more terrifying than usual. Frankly, I preferred him without the helmet.

Actually, while we’re on the subject, why is he wearing that thing anyway? Couldn’t he just—I don’t know—take it off for me?

“The King Dragon Realm’s King, Leonardo Kingdragon, is one of the Man-God’s disciples. Most likely, General Jade of Shirone Kingdom is one as well. He manipulated the two of them in order to drive Pax into a corner, forcing him to commit suicide,” Orsted said.

So there were two disciples involved this time. The Man-God had used the King Dragon Realm’s monarch to support Pax, which then instilled in Pax the idea that he had to live up to the king’s expectations, lest he become a failure again. The king gifted him a queen and the Death God, which gave him every advantage. But at the height of it, the Man-God used Jade to orchestrate Pax’s fall.

That was my read of the situation, anyway. If the Man-God really could see the future, then he knew exactly which pieces on the board he had to move to coax Pax into taking his own life. Who knew if my interpretation was correct, but it seemed the most direct conclusion to draw.

“So who was the last disciple, then?” I asked.

“Perhaps the king of the Bista Kingdom, although there’s also a good possibility he didn’t employ a third.”

“Oh, come to think of it, the Death God did mention that Demon King Badigadi might have once been one of his disciples.”

There was a short pause before Orsted responded, “If he were a disciple this time, it wouldn’t make sense for him not to show himself.”

True. Badigadi was the type who liked to be in the spotlight.

As far as the Man-God was concerned, I was an irregularity. So it was likely he’d actively pick people I wasn’t likely to have met. Alas, I had failed to figure him out this time. I felt pathetic.

“We could still take Jade out, if you want?” I offered.

“It’s too late.” Orsted’s voice betrayed no emotion.

“Um… I really am very sorry about this.”

“I made an incorrect prediction from the start. After I disposed of Leonardo, I should have gone to Shirone Kingdom personally, rather than leaving everything up to you. That was my mistake. However…” His voice trailed off. It didn’t seem like he was going to comfort me and tell me not to worry about it. Apparently my failure in this was rather far-reaching.

“Um, isn’t there anyone else who could serve as a replacement for Pax?” I asked.

“No.”

“There’s really no other option?”

He didn’t respond.

Was the Shirone Republic really that important to his plans? I had tried pushing him to consider another path, but he’d dismissed me twice. Now what? How was I supposed to salvage this?

“Sir Orsted, would you mind if I spoke?” 

A voice broke in from behind me. I glanced backwards and found Zanoba standing there. How long had he been there? Err, from the beginning, I guess, right? He hadn’t spoken the whole time, so I figured he was waiting outside.

“Zanoba Shirone, hm?” Orsted murmured as though he hadn’t noticed Zanoba until now either.

No, there’s no “as though”—I think he really didn’t notice him until now. He probably couldn’t see anything in front of him with that helmet on. In fact, the realization just hit me that he was finally able to speak with that thing on. That had to mean he could actually breathe with it, unlike before.

“Firstly, allow me to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you for lending me armor to use during our foray to my homeland. It was unfortunately destroyed in the process, but happily, it preserved my life.” Zanoba took a step forward and bowed.

I still couldn’t read Orsted’s expression beneath the helmet, but that helmet probably helped mitigate whatever menacing aura he would have otherwise given off. Right. I guess that’s probably why he’s wearing it. He had probably sensed Zanoba’s approach and put it on for that very reason.

“If you wish to thank anyone, it should be Rudeus. Is that all you wish to say?”

“No, it isn’t.”

Strange. A moment ago, I was under the impression that was his only intention in speaking to Orsted, but now he advanced a step, as if trying to exude his own intimidating air.

“Judging by your conversation with Master just now, I take it that Pax was caught in the middle of your battle with this enemy? Is that interpretation correct?”

Uh-oh. Did he think that this was all Orsted’s doing? If so, perhaps it would be better to stop him now?

“It sounded to me as though you were the one trying to save my younger brother, though. Is that correct?” Zanoba went on.

“I wasn’t particularly trying to save him, no. What I wanted was a person who would be born in the country your brother would build.”

Confused, Zanoba echoed, “The country he would build? And you wanted someone who would be born there?”

Orsted was being more cryptic than usual. Honestly, I wanted to know more about all of this too. Without all the information, it would be impossible for us to rectify the situation.

“Sir Orsted,” I cut in, “if at all possible, I think we would appreciate a more detailed explanation, please.”

Orsted didn’t respond immediately. Silence dominated the room, only broken when I heard him suck in a deep breath from inside his helmet. Under any other circumstances, that might have eased some of the tension in the room, but I sensed anger in the way he gulped in the air. My anxiety ratcheted up.

“After becoming king, Pax Shirone would have created a republic,” he explained.

He’d told me that part before. What I wanted to know was what happened after that.

“After Shirone became a republic, a man who had once been a slaver would rise to prominence. A man by the name of Bolt Macedonius. Pax would have appointed this man to an important position.”

Huh. So the key person we needed here was Bolt Macedonius then.

“Bolt Macedonius would go on to be an authority in the Republic and put down roots there.”

“So what role does he play?” I asked.

“Bolt himself plays no role in my plans. But one of his descendants gives birth to the Demon God Laplace.”

Laplace? So that’s where he came in, huh?

“Now that Pax is dead,” Orsted explained, “I have no idea where Laplace will be born.”

In other words, Shirone becoming a republic was a precursor to Laplace’s rebirth.

“In that case, we could still make Shirone into a republic. Or we could at least make sure that Bolt Macedonius meets the partner he’s supposed to, so that he can marry and have kids,” I proposed.

“It’s pointless. Do you truly think I haven’t tried that before?”

No doubt Orsted had tried all sorts of things in the long loops he’d been stuck in. Apparently Laplace’s rebirth was a really unpredictable wild card, which was why Orsted had hoped to pin it down, making it easier to locate him. I suspected the Shirone Republic wasn’t the only domino required for this part of Orsted’s plan. He’d probably been orchestrating things for a hundred years just to make sure Laplace was reborn there. Perhaps some of my other missions had played a hand in that. But with one element gone awry, the entire house of cards had collapsed.

“Reaching the Man-God requires that I first kill Laplace,” Orsted explained. “After he reincarnates, he’ll spend a little while lying low before gathering his comrades and starting a war. At that point it would require significant effort and mana to dispose of him and his followers, and then I’ll have to face the Man God immediately afterward.”

“Um, so there’s no option to defeat Laplace, take some time to recover your mana, and then face off with him?” I asked for clarification.

“Laplace’s reincarnation is largely set in stone. It always happens near the end of a loop. I have attempted to usher in his rebirth sooner, but to no avail.” Orsted let out a breathy sigh. “Going through a war like that means I won’t be able to reach the Man-God. This loop is a failure.”

A failure. The word echoed in my brain, bouncing around. The scumbag inside of me screamed back, Well then, why didn’t you come to Shirone if it was so damn important? But I kept silent. He’d entrusted this mission to me, and I had failed. This had been a test to see how useful I was.

I guess that means I’m done for then, huh? He’s probably already fed up with me, isn’t he? I assume that means he’s going to give up on this loop. But if he does, where does that leave me? And what about my family?

“It’s a bit hasty to call it a failure at this point,” Zanoba cut in cheerfully.

Zanoba, did you actually comprehend everything he just said? I wondered if perhaps he was confused after all that talk of the future and what was to come.

He said, “If a war is coming and we must take down Laplace and his followers, then that means we should start preparing forces of our own to combat them.”

“Oh?” Orsted said.

“We don’t have to put together an entire army, but surely, we could begin gathering comrades powerful enough to stand toe-to-toe with Laplace.”

Ooh, Zanoba actually said something good there. His plan made sense, too. If the main issue was that all of this would sap Orsted of mana, then all we had to do was make it so that Orsted didn’t have to fight.

“I understand that your curse makes it hard to gather such comrades yourself, but you have my master to assist you. And I will aid you as well.” Zanoba took a few more steps forward and then went down on one knee, lowering his head. “Though my proposal is based only on what I understood from our short conversation, I won’t deny that it may be off-base.”

It sounded like a good idea, even if we didn’t know if it would pan out or not. If, as Orsted claimed, Laplace’s rebirth was fairly consistent in all loops, then we had about eighty years, give or take a few. In the interim, we could gather a group of strong allies—people like the Death God or Perugius—who we could then pit against Laplace when he returned. That would leave Orsted unscathed for the battle to follow.

“I don’t know the precise details of the situation,” Zanoba continued, “but I have heard that the two of you have combined forces to battle this ‘Man-God,’ as you call him. This Man-God…” Zanoba paused and lifted his chin, staring directly up at Orsted. Then he slapped his hands against the ground. “He’s the one who killed my younger brother!” He pressed his forehead to the floor, prostrating himself. At least he did it less violently than usual, maintaining some grace even as he kowtowed. “I beg of you, allow me to be one of your subordinates as well, Sir Orsted.”

Silence.

“I want to avenge my brother!”

Orsted’s neck turned ever so slightly, as if he was glancing in my direction. I was pretty sure he couldn’t see anything while wearing that helmet, but perhaps he wanted me to weigh in.

“With Zanoba on our side, we could make better progress with the Magic Armor. I think the suggestion he made a moment ago was smart, too. This failure has admittedly increased our future workload, and even one more pair of helping hands would—”

“Very well,” Orsted interrupted, not bothering to let me finish. He nodded and rose to his feet, gazing (or at least it looked like he was) at Zanoba. “In that case, I would have you work under Rudeus and take orders from him. If you propose we make more allies, then that is what we shall do.”

“Yes, sir!”

Orsted made his declaration without bothering to take off his helmet. Zanoba kept his forehead pinned to the floor the entire time. Just like that, I suddenly had a new co-worker and Orsted had a new subordinate.

Pax was dead, and Shirone would not become a republic. These two facts had largely derailed Orsted’s plan. We’d lost an enormous amount of progress. All because I hadn’t made the correct decisions. 

On the flipside, we’d gained Zanoba as an ally. I had no idea what that meant for the larger picture, but at least my Magic Armor would see steady improvement with Zanoba on our side.

I had to wonder if I was proving to be beneficial to Orsted or not. From what he’d told me, all my efforts till this point had given him considerable breathing room, but I felt like my failure this time had undone it all. Perhaps I was becoming less of a help and more of a hindrance. Would my efforts in the future ever be enough to compensate for this?

No, they have to be. I need to make sure they are. Otherwise there would be no meaning in Orsted rescuing me from the Man-God’s clutches.

Besides, while Orsted might be able to casually abandon one loop for the next, I had only this single lifetime. It was a miracle that I got this do-over. I was unlikely to be lucky enough to get another. 

And even if I was granted another chance to live as Rudeus Greyrat all over again, I wanted to live the life I had right now to the fullest. I’d already burdened Orsted with this screw up. If I impeded him any further, he might start seeing me as a destructive interloper instead of simply a useless nitwit—not that that was much better—and cut me out completely.

If I didn’t suck it up and do a good job now, there wouldn’t be a next time. Should Orsted decide I did more harm than good, then in the next loop, I might be used by the Man-God again and try to find a way back to the past, only for my younger self to be pitted against Orsted and killed. Assuming he didn’t decide to kill me sooner, that is. He could snuff me out when I was still a child in Buena Village, or after I started working as Eris’s home tutor, or even when we ventured back to Asura Kingdom after being teleported off to the Demon Continent. What he decided to do with me next time depended on what happened this time.

Orsted was being kind to me now. I was sure there were a multitude of reasons for that, but it was probably a calculated move on his part. I couldn’t forget that he was always contemplating his next loop, and that it was perfectly possible he was feeling me out to see what pleased me and what didn’t.

During this mission, I’d been too dependent upon him as usual. Somewhere inside of me, I’d convinced myself that as long as I obeyed his commands, he’d swoop in to rescue me if I got myself into a tight spot and needed help. That things would just magically work out. A part of me genuinely believed that.

I couldn’t keep leaning on Orsted like a crutch. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t anymore.