Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The Young Mistress’s Violence 

It was evening when I arrived in the City of Roa. 

Buena Village and the City of Roa are a day’s coach ride apart, a journey of six to seven hours. Just the right distance, neither too near nor too far. Roa is a lively city, one of the largest in this area. 

The first thing that caught my eye were the citadel’s walls. Sturdy walls, seven to eight meters tall, that wrapped around the city. Horse-drawn carriages came and went through the gigantic gate. As our coach passed through it, I saw lines of merchant stalls. 

The first thing that greeted me inside the city was a horse stable and an inn. A crowd of people bustled to and fro: merchants, townspeople, and even armor-clad warriors. It was truly like something out of a fantasy novel. 

I glanced at what seemed like a waiting station, where people sat with large amounts of luggage. What’s that about? I wondered. 

“Ghislaine, do you know what that is?” I asked the person with me. 

She had ears and a tail like an animal, with dark brown skin that her sparse leather armor showed in wide swathes. She was a tall and muscular swordswoman. 

There were seven tiers in the Sword God Style and Ghislaine Dedoldia was third from the top, with such impressive skills that she was known as a Sword King. She would be the one teaching me the art of the sword. 

She was like a second master to me. 

“You…” She turned irritably toward me. “Are you trying to make fun of me?” She scowled ferociously, and I jumped. 

“No, I was just… I wondered what that was. I didn’t know so I hoped you would tell me.” 

“Oh, sorry. That’s what you meant.” She saw that I was on the verge of tears and hurried to explain. “That’s the waiting area for the stagecoach. It’s what people normally use to travel between cities. The other option is paying a peddler for a ride.” 

As the coach went on, Ghislaine continued pointing out each place and explained it to me. That’s the weapon smithy, that’s the pub, that’s one branch of the Adventurer’s Guild, and that place is better left unvisited. Ghislaine had a stern face, but she was kind. 

The atmosphere changed as we passed one street corner. There were lines of stores aimed at adventurers, a weapon smithy and an armor smithy, and farther within, lines of shops for the townspeople. Residential homes were nestled deep in the alleyways. 

If you thought about it, intruders would have to attack the city from the outside in. It was obvious then that the city was constructed such that the deeper you went inward, the bigger the houses became and the more luxurious the goods shops offered. The closer you lived to the center, the richer you were. 

A gigantic building was nestled right in the middle of the city. “That is the liege lord’s manor,” Ghislaine said. 

“It looks more like a castle than a manor.” 

“Well, this is a fortified city after all.” 

Roa was an ancient city with a noble past. Four hundred years ago it was the last bastion of defense in the war against the demon race. That was why there was a castle in the city’s center. That said, despite its mighty origin story, the nobles of the imperial capital currently saw Roa as nothing more than a crude backwater full of adventurers. 

“The fact that we came here must mean that the Young Mistress I’m to teach is of high social status.” 

Ghislaine shook her head. “Not quite.” 

“Huh?” There was the lord’s manor right before us. By my reckoning, the only people who lived here had to be people of high social rank. Was my theory wrong? 

As soon as I began wondering, the coachman gave a small nod to the gatekeeper of the lord’s manor. 

“So, she must be the Lord’s daughter.” 

“No.” 

“She’s not?” 

“Not quite.” 

I felt like there was some hidden meaning behind her words. What could it be? 

The carriage came to a stop. 

When we entered the manor, a butler led us to what looked to be a reception room. We were pointed to two sofas lined up together. 

This would be my first interview ever. I had to play it cool. 

“Please take a seat there.” 

While I took a seat upon the sofa, Ghislaine silently drew away and stood watch in the corner of the room. I bet she picked that spot so she could survey the entire room, I thought. In my previous life, I would have pegged her for a middle school nerd that watched too much anime. 

“The Young Master should be returning shortly. Please wait here until he does.” 

The butler poured what I guessed to be tea into an expensive-looking cup. Then he retreated and stood by the entrance to the room. 

I took a sip of the steaming drink. Not bad. I wasn’t particularly well-versed in teas, but it seemed like the expensive sort. Since the man didn’t pour any for Ghislaine, it was clear that I was the only one being treated like a guest. 

“Where is he?!” 

A voice boomed from outside the room, accompanied by angry, thunderous footsteps. 

“In here?!” 

The doors burst open violently, and a buff, muscular man entered the room. He had to be about fifty. Despite the peppering of white in his dark brown hair, he looked in the prime of his life. 

I put the cup down, stood, and bowed deeply. “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Rudeus Greyrat.” 

His nostrils flared. “Hmph, you don’t even know how to introduce yourself!” 

“Master, Lord Rudeus has never been outside Buena Village. He is still young, I am sure he has not yet had the time to learn proper manners. Surely you can overlook a bit of his…” 

“And you, shut up!” 

That rebuke silenced the butler immediately. 

If this were the master of the house, that meant he was my employer, right? He certainly was angry. There must have been something about me he found lacking. I’d tried to be as polite as I could when I introduced myself, but perhaps the etiquette of nobles was different here. 

“Hmph. So I guess Paul didn’t even see fit to teach his own son manners!” 

“I’ve been told my father detests formality, which is why he left his father’s house. I suspect that’s also why he didn’t teach me any of it.” 

“Already with the excuses! You’re just like him!” 

“Did my father really make that many excuses?” 

“Yes! An excuse every time he opened his mouth. If he wet the bed, an excuse! If he got into a fight, an excuse! If he played hooky, an excuse!” He was really going off about this. “Even you! If you wanted to learn manners, you could have done it! The only reason you didn’t is because you didn’t put any effort in!” 

Part of me agreed with him. I was so preoccupied with magic and swordplay that I hadn’t tried learning anything else. Perhaps I had been too narrow-minded. 

The best response was to concede my mistake. “You’re right. It’s my own failing that I lack the proper manners. I apologize for that.” 

As I lowered my head, he stomped his foot so hard the floor creaked. “However! I will acknowledge that you made a valiant effort instead of being defensive about your lack of education on etiquette! I will permit you to stay here!” 

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but at least he said I could stay. 

With that, the master of the house turned and strode out of the room, his shoulders stiff and firm. 

“He is the liege lord of the Fittoa Region, Sauros Boreas Greyrat. He is also Master Paul’s uncle,” said the butler. 

So he was the liege lord. His intensity made me worry about how good he was at governing. Then again, there were many adventurers around these parts, so maybe you needed a forceful personality to be a proper liege lord. 

Wait. Did the butler say Greyrat and uncle? In other words, that meant… “He’s my great uncle then?” 

“Yes.” 

I knew it. 

So, Paul had used his connection to a family member, albeit one he was estranged from. I never dreamed he came from such a noble family. He had quite the privileged upbringing. 

“What’s going on, Thomas? You left the door wide open.” Someone appeared in the doorway: a thin, lightweight man with sleek brown hair. “It seems like Father is in a cheery mood. Did something happen?” 

Because he called the liege lord father, I guessed he was Paul’s cousin. 

The butler said, “This is the Young Master. Pardon me. Just a moment ago, the Master met with Lord Rudeus. It seems he was pleased by him.” 

“Ah-ha. If he’s the kind of person my father likes…perhaps I’ve chosen incorrectly?” He took a seat on the sofa across from me. 

Oh, right, I should introduce myself, I remembered. 

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Rudeus Greyrat.” Just as I did a moment ago, I bowed deep and lowered my head. 

“Ah yes, and I am Philip Boreas Greyrat. Nobles greet each other by putting their right hand on their chest and bowing the head slightly. You must have angered my father with your incorrect approach, yes?” 

“Like this?” I followed his example and bowed my head slightly. 

“Yes, that’s right. Although your attempt a moment ago wasn’t bad. It was still polite. I’m sure if a worker greeted my father like that, he would be pleased. Now please, sit.” He flounced back upon on the sofa with a loud thud. 

I followed his example and took my seat. And now the interview begins. 

“How much have you heard?” 

“I was told that if I spent five years here teaching the Young Mistress, I would be given enough money to cover the tuition costs for attending the University of Magic.” 

“Is that all?” 

“Yes.” 

“I see.” He put his hand on his chin and gazed at the table as if lost in thought. “Do you like girls?” 

“Not as much as my father.” 

“Oh really? Then you pass.” 

W-wait, what? Wasn’t that a bit fast? 

“Right now, the only people that girl likes is Edna, her etiquette tutor, and Ghislaine, her sword trainer. I have already dismissed more than five people. Among those was a man who taught in the imperial city.” I understood he was implying that just because someone taught in the imperial city didn’t mean they were any good at it. 

“And how is that relevant to whether I like girls or not?” 

“It’s not. It’s just that Paul was the type of man who would work as hard as he could if it was for a cute girl. So I figured you were probably the same.” He shrugged. 

I should have been the one shrugging. Please don’t lump us in the same category. 

“I’ll be honest, I don’t expect much from you. I just figured that since you’re Paul’s son, I may as well give you a try.” 

“You’re right, that was very honest,” I said. 

“What, you mean you’re confident you can do it?” 

No, not at all. Though that wasn’t something I could say in this situation. “I won’t know until I actually meet her.” 

Besides, I could just imagine Paul’s mocking laughter if I failed at this job and had to find another. I knew it, you’re still just a kid, he would say. This was no joke. I wouldn’t tolerate being looked down upon by someone who was technically younger than me. 

Hmm… 

“Look, I’ll go meet her and if it looks like she’s going to give me trouble…I can try using one of my tricks.” This was an opportunity to use some knowledge from my previous life. The perfect way to make a spoiled, bratty girl listen to me. 

“A trick? What do you mean?” 

I gave him a simple explanation. “We’ll have someone associated with your house kidnap us while I’m with the Young Mistress. Then I’ll use my reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, as well as my magic, so the two of us can escape and return safely back here. That’s the gist of it.” 

Philip stared blankly for a moment, but realization dawned and he nodded. “In other words, you’re trying to get her to study of her own free will. Interesting. But are you sure this will work?” 

“I think it has a better chance of working than adults forcing her into it.” 

This was a frequent plot device in anime and manga: a child that hated studying who learned the importance of education after being caught up in something they needed their wits to escape. It didn’t really matter if the ones orchestrating it were her family, right? 

“Is this something Paul taught you? As one of the ways to get a girl to fall for you?” 

“No. My father doesn’t have to go that far to be popular with women.” 

“Popular, huh… Pfft.” Philip burst into laughter. “That’s right. He’s always been popular. He doesn’t have to do anything and the girls come right to him anyway.” 

“Every person he’s introduced me to has been one of his mistresses. Even Ghislaine.” 

“Yes, I’m incredibly envious of him.” 

“I’m worried he might even lay his hands on the childhood friend I left behind in Buena Village.” 

Anxiety hit me the moment those words left my lips. Five years from now… Sylphie would have grown a lot in that time. I would hate to return home to find that she had become part of my father’s harem. 

“Don’t worry. Paul is only interested in adult women.” As Philip said that, he gazed at Ghislaine in the corner of the room. 

“Oh.” I realized what he meant. Ghislaine definitely had a very…developed figure. Come to think of it, so did Zenith and Lilia. What was so developed, you ask? Their breasts of course. 

“You should be fine, it’s only five years. She may mature some, but I doubt she will get that big, since she has elf blood in her veins. Even Paul isn’t that much of a fiend.” 

Could I trust that? Besides which, how did he know that Sylphie was part elf? Maybe I was better off assuming there were no secrets about the time I spent in Buena Village. 

“I’m more worried about whether you’ll seduce my daughter.” 

“Why are you worried about that when I’m only seven?” Jeez, what a rude thing to say. I wasn’t going to do anything. And if she went and fell for me of her own accord, well, it wouldn’t be my fault. 

“In Paul’s letter about you, he said he was sending you away because you spent too much time playing with women. I thought it was just a joke, but after hearing your plan, I’m starting to doubt that.” 

“That’s only because I had no friends besides Sylphie.” Also, it was none of his business. 

“Well, we won’t make any progress by talking. You need to meet my daughter. Thomas, bring him to her.” Philip stood. 

And so, I finally met her. 

*** 

Arrogant. That was my first thought when I saw her. She was two years older than me, her eyes sharp and narrow, and her hair wavy. It was also such a pure shade of crimson it looked like someone threw a bucket of paint on her. 

My first impression of her was that she was fierce. I had no doubt she would be a beauty one day, but I predicted that most men would find her too much to handle. Maybe if you were a serious masochist… Well, okay, perhaps not quite that bad. 

Either way, she was a dangerous one. My instincts screamed warnings as I got close to her. 

But it wasn’t like I could just run away. So instead I greeted her just as Philip had instructed me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Rudeus Greyrat.” 

“Hmph!” She took one look at me and her nostrils flared, just like her grandfather’s. She had her arms crossed firmly over her chest as she glared down at me—both figuratively and literally, since she was taller than I was. Her expression turned sour as she said, “What’s this, he’s younger than I am! And yet he’s supposed to teach me? Stop joking around!” 

I knew it—she had a lot of pride. But I couldn’t just back down. “I don’t think age has anything to do with it,” I said. 

“Oh yeah?! Do you have some sort of problem with me?!” Her voice was so loud my ears rang. 

“What I’m saying, Miss, is that there are things I can do that you can’t.” 

The moment I said that, her hair appeared to stand straight up, like a physical manifestation of her anger. 

It was terrifying. 

Aww, crap, why do I have to be afraid of a girl that’s not even ten yet! 

“Certainly full of yourself, aren’t you! Just who do you think I am?!” 

I tamped my fear down and answered. “You’re my second cousin, right?” 

“Second…? What the heck is that?” 

“It means my father is the cousin of your father. In other words, you’re the granddaughter of my great uncle.” 

“What are you on about?! I don’t understand!” 

Maybe that wasn’t the best way to word it? Perhaps I should just tell her that we were related. “You have heard of Paul, right?” 

“Of course not!” 

“Oh, all right.” That was unexpected. Apparently, she didn’t know who he was. Not that it really mattered how we were related. It was more important to get her talking. After all, when you first start a video game, the best way to build up a relationship with an NPC is to talk to them repeatedly. 

Just as I thought that, she lifted her hand and slapped me. 

“Huh…?” It was so abrupt. She just struck me across the face. Slightly confused, I asked her, “Why did you hit me?” 

“Because you’re acting so full of yourself even though you’re younger than me!” 

“So that’s it.” My cheek was still hot where she slapped me. It stung. That hurt, I thought. 

My second impression of her was that she was violent. 

I guess it looked like I had no other option. “All right, then I’ll return the gesture.” 

“What?!” 

I didn’t wait for her response, I just slapped her. Smack! It wasn’t a very pleasant sound. 

Oh well, it was probably weak because I’m not used to slapping people. That’s fine. At least she felt the pain, I reassured myself. “Now do you understand—” 

How it feels to be slapped, was what I was trying to say, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw her hair stand up as she drew back her fist. It was the exact same pose as a Nio statue, one of Buddha’s divine and wrathful guardians. 

Just as I thought that, her fist made contact. Her leg caught mine the moment I began to stumble. Then her hand slammed against my chest, forcing me to the ground. Seconds later she was perched on top of me. By the time I realized what was going on, she had my arms pinned under her knees. 

H-huh? I can’t move? I panicked.“Hey, wait!” 

The sound of my dismay was drowned out by her howling. “Who do you think you just raised a hand against?! I’ll make you regret that!” 

Her fist came down on me like a hammer. “Ouch, ow, that hurts! Wait, what, no, stop!” 

I took five punches before I managed to use my magic to get away. Though my legs threatened to buckle under me, I forced myself upright and rounded on her for a counterattack. I smacked her in the face with a wave of wind magic. 

“…You’re not going to get away with that.” My attack had thrown her, but it didn’t stop her for even a moment. She came flying at me with the look of the devil on her face. 

I realized my mistake the moment I saw her expression. Stumbling, I ran for it. She wasn’t the kind of young mistress I was used to. She wasn’t the whimsical, selfish type that made decisions based on their feelings in the moment. She was more like the delinquent protagonist of a manga! 

Maybe I could have beaten her up with my magic, but I doubted it would make her listen to me. She would bide her time to recover, then come back for revenge. I could hit her with magic each time, but her resolve would never waver. 

Unlike a manga protagonist, she seemed the type to fight dirty too. She might throw a vase at me from the top of the stairs or come at me from the shadows with a wooden sword. She would do anything to make sure she returned the damage she received tenfold. If the opportunity came, she would hold nothing back. 

This was no joke. I couldn’t use healing magic because I couldn’t stop to chant the spell. But so long as we kept this up, there was no way she would listen to what I had to say. I was going to have to use brute force to make her listen to me. 

That, however, was the one decision I couldn’t make right now. 

There, now we’re all caught up. 

*** 

Exhausted from her pursuit, the Young Mistress eventually gave up and returned to her room. She didn’t manage to find me, but it was close. 

I felt numb as that red-haired demon went by me. I’d never imagined I would experience being the protagonist of a horror movie in this way. Utterly exhausted, I returned to Philip, who was waiting for me with a bitter smile on his face. 

“So, how did it go?” 

“It didn’t go at all,” I answered, on the verge of tears. 

When she was punching me, I thought she might actually kill me. When I ran away, I was nearly in tears. 

It had been so long since I felt like this. Still, I had experienced this before. Not that I was carrying the trauma with me or anything. 

“Well, going to give up then?” 

“No, I’m not.” How could I? I hadn’t accomplished anything. If I backed down now, it meant I got punched for nothing. “I want your cooperation to do what we talked about before.” I bowed my head to him, sharp and low. I was going to teach that beast what true fear really was. 

“All right. Thomas, make the preparations.” Right on cue, the butler took his leave. Philip said, “You really do have some interesting ideas.” 

“You think so?” 

“I do. You are the only teacher to have come to me with such an ambitious plan.” 

“I think it will be effective though.” 

Still, I was a little nervous. Would my little trick really work on someone with her personality? 

Phillip shrugged and said, “Depends on how hard you work.” 

Naturally. 

And so, we began working on our plan. 

*** 

I entered the room they gave me. It was exquisitely furnished. It had a large bed and other heavily decorated furniture, beautiful curtains, and a brand-new bookcase. All it needed was an air-conditioner and a computer and it would be a shut-in’s paradise. It was a nice room. 

This had to be a guest room, rather than servants’ quarters, given to me because I bore the name Greyrat. For some reason, most of their maids were beastfolk. I heard they discriminated against demons in this country, but it seemed the beastfolk were a different matter. 

“Ah, Paul, you bastard. This is one hell of a place you shipped me off to.” 

I sank onto the bed and put my throbbing head in my hands. Probably a lingering effect from the punching. I muttered a chant to heal my wounds. 

“At least it’s better than what happened in my previous life.” 

Sure, the part where I got punched and kicked out of the house was the same. But this time things would be different. I wouldn’t just be left out in the cold. There was a world of difference between my present and my past. 

Paul would make sure of that. He had already prepared a job for me, as well as a place to sleep. He even gave me some spending money. That was more than enough. 

If my old family had done that much for me, maybe I could have turned my life around. If they had found a job for me, a place for me to live, and watched over me to make sure I didn’t run away… 

No, that would have never happened. I was a thirty-four-year-old with no work history. They abandoned me because there was nothing they could do with me. 

Anyway, I doubted I would have changed even if they did that for me. I probably wouldn’t have even tried to get work at all. If they took my computer, my only love, away from me, I would have probably contemplated suicide. 

Things were different now because I was different. Because I decided I would work and earn money this time. I may have been forced into this situation, but the timing was perfect. Perhaps I had misunderstood Paul. 

“But he didn’t have to send me here to deal with that.” 

What the hell was that rage-filled creature anyways? In all my forty years of life I had never seen something like that before. Terrifying wasn’t the word for it. It was violent. Like a pressure cooker exploding. Bad enough to give you PTSD. I may have wet my pants a little. 

Whereas most Japanese blades had a blunt side, she was like a double-edged sword. Like a bottle of poison that had been spilled all over the place. 

Now I understand why she was kicked out of school. 

There had been experience in the way she swung her fists at me. Those were fists that were used to punching people. Fists that had pummeled people regardless of whether they resisted or not. 

She was only nine and yet so skilled at rendering her opponents powerless. Could I really teach someone like that? 

I’d talked to Philip about our plan. 

First, we would kidnap her and give her a taste of what it felt like to be powerless. That was when I would come in to help her. This way, she would learn to respect me and attend my lessons obediently. A simple plan, but I knew how it should go. So long as I got the right reaction from her, everything would go smoothly. 

…But would it really? She was way more violent than I could have ever imagined. She would bellow and scream until her opponent took the bait, then beat them to a bloody pulp. Her belligerence made it clear just how strong her desire to win was. 

Was it possible that, even after being abducted, she would be completely unaffected? And that when I went to help her, she would be completely unsurprised and say, “It took you long enough, dirtbag.” 

It was possible. With her, it was definitely possible. 

It was likely she would react in a way I couldn’t predict. So I needed to mentally prepare for that. Failure wasn’t an option. 

I thought about it. I tried coming up with a plan that would definitely allow me to succeed. Yet the more I thought about it, the more muddied my thoughts became. 

“Please, God, let this plan work.” 

In the end, I prayed. I didn’t believe in God, and yet, like any other Japanese person, I turned to prayer when I was in trouble. 

Please, somehow, some way, make this work, I prayed. 

That was when I realized I had left my treasured panties behind in Buena Village, and I cried. There was no God (a.k.a. Roxy) here. 

*** 

NAME: “Young Mistress” 

OCCUPATION: Granddaughter of Fittoa’s liege lord 

PERSONALITY: Fierce 

DOESN’T: Listen to what people say 

READING/WRITING: Can write her own name 

ARITHMETIC: Can add single digit numbers 

MAGIC: No clue 

FENCING: Sword God Style – Beginner-tier 

ETIQUETTE: Can do the Boreas-style greeting 

PEOPLE SHE LIKES: Grandfather, Ghislaine