Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 20 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Headquarters of the Millis Church

NOW THAT MY WASTED meeting with Claire had concluded, I returned to Cliff’s residence in low spirits. What I saw when I got there knocked the wind out of me. Inside that house, I saw Cliff and a woman I’d never seen before holding each other in their arms.

The woman had a humble air to her. She was petite, freckled, and had short, bright brown hair. She was slender overall, but I there was real softness to her, like she’d never had a worry in her life and it’d made her sweet.

She looked similar to Elinalise, yet different. If Elinalise was a cat in heat, then this girl was a spayed dog. But here’s what really got me: I didn’t know this girl.

Not you, Cliff. Not after all those lectures you gave me over the same thing… Did you really leave Elinalise behind for this? What about Elinalise’s heart? She might’ve been a horndog, but she’s the mother of your child… Did you hold a candle for someone else?

Cliff, please, tell me it isn’t true. The House of Latria just let me down, so if you aren’t who I thought you were, I wouldn’t know what to believe in. Ah, damn it all, whatever happened to true love? Oh Sylphie, Roxy, Eris, anyone, I beg you, pull me close and whisper sweet nothings into my ear so that I can keep going…

“Oh, Rudeus, good timing. Could you get the box on top of that shelf? We’re not tall enough to reach it even with a step stool.”

“Oh, sure.”

Cliff had untangled himself from the girl at some point while I was narrating my next episode preview. He wasn’t even blushing or anything. Apparently, he just caught her when she nearly fell off of her step stool.

“Wendy, are your ankles all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you.”

They had a normal, boring conversation as I brought down the box. I blew off the last of the dust from yesterday and handed it to Cliff.

“Sorry about that. I think this is it… Yep, it is. Thank goodness, now I’ll be all right tomorrow.”

Cliff took out what looked like an iron-on patch from the box. It was the emblem of the Millis Church. I guess he needed it for work?

“Anyway, Rudeus, what brings you here? Were you not going to stay the night at the Latria home?”

That question made me lean in; I wanted to tell Cliff all about that circus.

“Yeah, about that. Listen to this…”

I let my fury take the wheel as I gave Cliff a full account of the day’s events. About how I went to the House of Latria. About what Claire said and how she acted. About how I couldn’t stand the indignity and went ballistic, leaving the mansion immediately after. I was quite a bit calmer, but I could still barely contain my anger. Just the thought of it pissed me off again.

“Hmm…”

Cliff’s face hardened as he listened to me. He was a saint among saints, so I was certain he’d have my back on this. 

“True, the nobles in Millis have a tradition in which the parents decide their children’s marriage partners, and there are even some people who say that bearing children is what makes a woman a woman…but even I find it questionable to marry off someone who can’t speak for herself.”

“I know, right?”

It was inhumane. It was downright monstrous. I consider myself hard to shock, but even I couldn’t overlook that. I couldn’t believe that person was Zenith’s mother. Where is God in all in any of this? Wait, right, she was in the Magic City of Sharia.

“Perhaps we should consider Madam Claire might be in shock, given what happened to her daughter, and so suddenly. Imagine if it happened to your own child… You could understand, no?”

Cliff sounded like he was trying to reason with me. Part of me was hoping he would share my anger. But from Cliff’s perspective, there had to be another side to this story. He must have wanted to stay calm and think about it from the other point of view.

So, I gave it some thought. My own children, huh? Maybe Lucie… No, it was still a bit hard to imagine for her. I tried with Norn instead. Let’s say that Norn left on a journey as soon as her coming-of-age celebration ended; just when I think she’s returned, her personality is dead. And worse, she came with the child of a man I didn’t know and a mistress’s child she had no blood ties with. I’d certainly be in shock. I’d want to do something for her…

But.

“No matter how shocked someone became, I can’t see how anyone would think about making Mom remarry.”

“This may not be as callous as you think. Putting the talk of children aside, having her marry a noble would ensure that she’d be taken care of. Even after the parent’s death.”

That was not the conversation we had. It was more like she wanted to recycle a tool because it still had some utility left. This was my mother we were talking about. Her own daughter, who I brought all the way here. Seriously, what the hell was her problem? I swear…

I could remember Claire’s face when I went ballistic in her mansion. Even when the shock waves from my Stone Cannon sent her guards flying down the halls, she was cold. As though she couldn’t understand why this boor was wrecking the place over nothing.

To be fair, I saw my memories through my own filter. Claire could have been taken aback, her face simply frozen in fear. But that didn’t change the words that came out of her mouth beforehand.

“Still, I understand the situation you’re in. You’re free to use my home as you wish.”

“Thank you very much, Cliff.”

“This is papal territory. Even if the House of Latria wishes to make a move, they won’t be able to touch you here.”

Cliff’s assurance made me realize that I hadn’t actually considered the possibility of retaliation from the Latrias. As far as I was concerned, Claire and I were through; we would never see one another gain. But the House of Latria might have their own ideas. They might try to get Zenith back. If that were the situation, we needed to get Zenith to Sharia.

“It would be a shame if your mother had to turn right around just after arriving in her hometown,” Cliff said.

“Hrm…”

Millis was Zenith’s hometown. Now that Cliff mentioned it, I was sure she would prefer to stay a little longer. If I could make time for it, I would have loved to take her around to all the sights.

“But still…”

“Zenith’s needs will be taken care of while you’re out,” Cliff said, turning to the new girl. “She might be a bit of a klutz, but you can trust her.”

“Oh, Cliff, about that…who is she?”

“Ah, my apologies. I forgot to introduce you. Her name is Wendy. If I had to describe it… Yes, I’d say our relationship is similar to what you and Sylphie have.”

“I see. I understand completely.”

A relationship like mine and Sylphie’s… I see, so that’s how it was. Every last mystery had been solved. Opening up the cat box revealed that, indeed, only one truth prevailed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t rat you out to Elinalise.”

“No, wait. Hold on! Don’t jump to conclusions, it’s not like that.”

Cliff hurriedly explained what he meant. While Cliff was handling paperwork at the church headquarters, he was also setting up his household. One of the things he apparently needed was a helper, which brought Cliff to the orphanage he used to live at. As part of the orphanage’s job training program, it taught its children how to cook and perform housework, so Cliff recruited one from there.

“Wendy here was the oldest child there. She’s almost at the age where she’ll have to leave the orphanage, in fact. That wasn’t the reason I chose her, per se, but for now, she’ll be commuting here to help with the house. Doing housework here will give her real work experience too.”

So, she was more or less hired as an intern. Working at the home of Cliff, the pope’s grandson, was sure to impress future employers. She’d have an edge in the job hunt.

“I’m Wendy. I can handle all sorts of housework. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Just like Sylphie,” he says. That phrasing made me think something scandalous was going on, but basically, they were old friends who used to play together as kids. But while I didn’t know Wendy’s exact age, I had to wonder if Cliff wouldn’t have a moment of weakness with this young girl…

Nah, Cliff would be fine. It wasn’t like he was me or anything.

“…”

Anyway, storming out of the Latria home was a huge wrench in the works. At this point, it might be best to stop and take Zenith home before continuing. But after Claire’s objectification of Zenith made me flip my lid so bad, I at least wanted to give her a nice walk around the city with me… Ugh, was I being careless? Perhaps I should wait for Cliff to establish himself first. Then we could team up and knock the House of Latria down several pegs, and then we could take risks like that. True, there was no guarantee that things would go so smoothly…

“Aisha,” I asked, “What do you think?”

“Uh… Huh?”

When in doubt, talk it out. I wanted to hear Aisha’s opinion.

“Do you think we should take Mom back home and come back? Or do you think we should stay at this house for a while and let her sightsee around the city when we find the time?”

After I asked, Aisha crossed her arms to think. But not for long; she soon raised her head and looked toward Cliff.

“Is this house really a safe place?”

“Yes. It may be small, but the Latrias won’t be able to touch us here. Not without causing quite a stir.”

“What are the chances that the Latrias would make a move knowing full well what the consequences were?”

“Slim to none, I would assume. That house has their own reputation at stake.”

Reputation, huh? Given how much lineage mattered to that old woman, she’d definitely take that into account. She may be stubborn and rotten to the core, but she wasn’t an idiot.

“I think we’ll be fine,” Aisha concluded as she unfolded her arms. “It’s just a hunch, but I don’t think that house…that person sees much value in Mother Zenith after what happened to her. I think.”

She had a point. The Latrias surely weren’t going to use Zenith as a key part of any plan. Cliff said as much earlier; marrying someone who couldn’t even speak might have fit into the nation’s values, but it would raise eyebrows. And considering that the partners would be forced onto each other, it was hard to imagine the bonds of their matrimony would be terribly strong.

Maybe she wanted to make good on her investment in the Fittoa Search and Rescue Squad, but if so, she could bill me. Give me a number and I’d pay her to go away. It was safe to say that they had absolutely no emotional bond. If it were, then there was no way she would have treated Zenith like a thing.

“I think today taught them that they ought to be afraid of you, Big Brother. They didn’t send anyone to chase after us, either. I don’t think they’re very attached to Mother Zenith.”

Points were being made. We took our time coming back from the Latria home, and even then, nobody came after us. Claire could have easily reported me and had soldiers go after me. I didn’t know if she feared me or simply stopped caring, but she knew the rapport I had with Cliff. While I had no clue where she got that info from…the fact remained that given what happened, it would’ve been easy to guess that this home would be my hideout. And yet, she left us alone.

“It’d be one thing if it were a place they could do something about, but we’re under protection in enemy territory. I think we’ll be fine.”

“I see.”

It was high-risk, low-reward. With stakes like that, it was hard to imagine that they’d try to take Zenith back by force. Atta girl, Aisha. You really thought this through.

“In that case, Rudeus,” Cliff interjected, “I’ll be meeting my grandfather tomorrow, so would you care to come along? Causing trouble with the House of Latria will surely make your future endeavors in this country more difficult… I’m sure you want connections, no?”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, it depends on you as to whether you gain my grandfather’s backing. I’ll introduce you, but I won’t do more.”

“Oh, of course.”

Cliff had refused my assistance, and I had no intention of providing it directly. I wasn’t sure exactly how much he’d be willing to acknowledge me professionally. I’d assume that introducing people to enlist them as allies was an intervention Cliff didn’t want me to make. But it seemed that Cliff was willing to swallow his pride and introduce me anyway.

Helping Zenith was important, but I also had to make progress in building the Mercenary Band. Having the pope’s backing would work towards both goals. I didn’t exactly need the pope to personally provide Zenith protection; just having a connection with him would make it hard for them to interfere.

“It’d be an honor,” I answered after finishing my calculations. I bowed my head to Cliff.

Hey, I had other things to do here in Millis, so I had buck up and get back to it.

***

The next day. After breakfast, I headed to the church headquarters. I left Aisha and Zenith at home.

The church headquarters, being a gold-colored building with a giant onion on top, was a little hard to miss. The tranquility so valued in the Holy Country of Millis was reflected in the many shades of white and silver it was swathed in. And then there was this single, sparkly building with its downright clownish gaudiness. And with that gilded onion on top, the whole thing stuck out. Tacky.

From afar, it wasn’t too bad. It looked like a golden accent perched atop its white and silver surroundings. But once you got close, the effect fell apart. It came from a different planet.

But a trashy home didn’t necessarily reflect on its resident. After all, this was the headquarters of the Millis Church. It was basically filled with upgraded Cliffs, fresh off the production line. It might have looked in poor taste, but the fact that surely only the purest of saints lived inside…was far from guaranteed. I knew that much.

In my past life, everyone knew that politicians and religious leaders were the most corrupted by money. At least, that’s how I saw it. It seemed to hold true for this world, too. And the people who held so much power that they didn’t even try to fake it always went mask-off in the end. Then again, keeping that crowd at arm’s length shouldn’t pose any problems.

I took a deep breath and prepared to market myself. I’d show off my deep ties to Orsted and Ariel to make myself look big. I think that was one of my failures at the Latria home; it could have been why Claire looked down on me until it all went to hell.

But today, I would be the most interesting man in the world. For him. That was why I came in my formal robes; they were what I wore when I meant business. I was the Right Hand of the Dragon God, Rudeus Greyrat. I talked myself up a little in my head.

“My apologies, but I can’t allow anyone who doesn’t have a permit inside.”

I got stopped at the entrance to one of the buildings. Sad emoji.

“Huh? Is my entrance permit not enough? I could have sworn that companions used to be able to enter with one…”

“The rule’s always been one person per permit.”

“I see. Hmm. Guess people looked the other way since I was a child back then…”

Cliff eyed the patch he’d found last night with a troubled expression. Apparently, that was the permit. He was currently wearing his official Millis Church vestment. The patch was sewn onto the vestment’s breast last night.

“You already have a permit, Reverend Cliff, so I believe you can ask for them to issue a temporary permit inside.”

“Ah… Yes, that’s right. Apologies, Rudeus. I’ll get a permit for you, so wait for me here,” Cliff said apologetically.

“I understand. I’m in no rush, so feel free to take your time.”

I did as I was told and watched Cliff disappear inside. I stumbled at the first hurdle…but hey, at least I didn’t get kicked out before the starter pistol. I decided to take a stroll around the complex for a bit.

The complex was wide, and the building was huge. It was easily four times the size of the Latria home. The building was four stories tall, and from a bird’s-eye view, the whole place was structured like a diamond on top of a square. That is, rather than overlapping to make an octagon, one square was inset inside the other. The diamond was inside of the square.

The square on the outside consisted of the office building for the church headquarters. That was probably where all the office workers related to the church and regular priests pushed their paper. They seemed to handle religious conversion permits, funeral arrangement applications, and even sales of symbolic charms. That was headquarters for you; if you had any business with the Millis Church, this was the place for it.

The inner diamond held the Millis Church Curia’s residential and office space. It even had holy statues and temples. As a rule, only the highest of the top brass were permitted to enter; not even the office workers here were told what went on in there. It was the nucleus of the Millis Church. No wonder you needed a permit.

It was understandable, but as I continued looking around the complex, the sun climbed high overhead. I was getting hungry.

Maybe Cliff had miscalculated on getting me a permit. Surely debriefing the pope on just the trip back would take hours. He must have only gotten an appointment with the pope yesterday, an exception they made for him because he was family. But me? I was an outsider. Would it put the pope on his guard if his newly returned grandson said he wanted to introduce him to some weirdo?

I’d had a rough night trying to help Zenith, but I hadn’t forgotten about Elinalise’s request. I wanted to absolutely avoid holding Cliff back.

“Maybe I should have waited a few days first, and then made the appointment myself…”

As I reconsidered my plan, I found that I’d reached the garden.

The Millis Church Headquarters had four gardens. They made up the four triangular corners between the inner diamond and the outer square. Each one was planted with vegetation representing one of the four seasons. It was currently spring, and coincidentally, the springtime garden was the one I walked into. This springtime garden was spilling over with a rainbow of blooming flowers—but the bright, light hues of yellow, white, and pink dominated.

I took it all in as I walked. I used to walk with a plant encyclopedia in one hand as I looked up the names and everything of all the flowers, but I didn’t know a thing about the plants in Millishion. Actually, wait, I’d seen that tree with the pink flowers before. Its name was similar to “sakura,” like the cherry blossoms, so it stuck out to me. I felt like I’d heard someone say the name recently, but what was it?

“Look, the Sarakh Trees are in bloom!” someone said.

Yeah, Sarakh, that was it. They were trees that grew by the mountains in the northern lands of the Asura Kingdom. They had pink flowers at the tips of their branches that bloomed as spring came in, so they were known as “The Trees That Call Forth Spring” over there. Their lumber had a particular fragrance that made them popular among nobles too. But they grew only in the mountains, so they were expensive. Currently, the Asura royal family oversaw all cultivation of Sarakh Trees, sometimes even exporting them to other nations.

Or, that’s what Ariel told me the last time I went to the Asura Kingdom.

“Yes, they’re quite beautiful indeed!”

“The Sarakh Blossoms suit you very well, Blessed One!”

“Did you know that these Sarakh Trees were a gift from the Asura Kingdom when the current pope ascended to the throne?”

“Ohoh, Blessed One, how pure you are…”

I heard some voices that made my skin crawl. Out of curiosity, I turned to look toward their skin-crawling sources.

“Come, look, look! It’s as though we’re in a rain of Sarakh petals!”

“Ah, the sight of the Blessed One standing tall amidst the descending petals… it’s almost ethereal.”

“How beautiful!”

There, I saw an e-girl and her simps. The woman wore a frilly, almost princess-like dress as she held her palms upward and spun beneath the gently flitting flower petals. I could almost call her a young girl…except she was probably around twenty years old.

Her face was on the refined beauty side, but also a bit plump. Wendy looked soft despite having dainty arms and legs, but this girl’s upper arms and thighs were a little thicc. Both were unhealthy, but where Wendy seemed to lack calories, this woman seemed to lack exercise.

Swarming around this woman was a crowd of men. There were seven of them—a lucky number. Every time the woman said anything, they would agree and breathlessly praise her in this fawning-for-attention kind of way. Yeah, simps and their e-girl…heck, you could probably call her an e-princess. I think the reason they struck me as simps was because not one of them was a looker. Those unfortunate faces reminded me of a familiar one I used to see in my mirror. I suppose the blue cuirasses they all had equipped were a bit outside the scope of typical white knights, though.

“Hm?”

Note that while they felt like kindred spirits, I didn’t feel an iota of comfort. I could feel the tension prickling at my neck.

Was this hostility? Well, that shouldn’t have been a surprise. Odds were that those guys were treating her like royalty because she was royalty, or at least had some similar status. And those guards probably weren’t just your ordinary simps. One look at their demeanor and muscles said these were all hardened warriors. They could have been Advanced-tier, if not Saint-tier swordsmen.

That meant they must have noticed me. I came prepared for the worst and wore my Magic Armor Version Two underneath my robes. While I should have seemed unarmed given my lack of a staff, I clearly wasn’t dressed for a picnic. They were, understandably, on their guards.

But still, something was off. This feeling had a dimension of something, I dunno, disconcerting, like a rumbling beneath the surface. It was an unease I found hard to describe…

It was possible that one of those men could have been the Man-God’s disciple. Should I test it out? No, wait, I had to stop and think. Specifically, I had to calculate the chances that saying the word “Man-God” out loud would go horribly, horribly wrong. Substantial. No, I would not be saying “Man-God” out loud. But how else could I catch them out…?

“Hm? I don’t believe I’ve seen you around before. Are you here to convert?”

While I was contemplating my strategy, they made the first move.

“Oh…”

The girl looked up at me with an innocent smile. She crossed her arms behind her hips and leaned forward toward me. It was the kind of pose that would make me lose all control if Sylphie used it on me. Roxy would never pose like this. If Eris tried it, she’d look like a snake sizing up her prey; I’d be frozen stiff, prepared to meet my maker.

“What’s wrong?”

Ah, right, good question. I had more important things to be thinking about. Um, uh… Well, I wasn’t here to convert… I needed to sniff out as to whether they were the Man-God’s disciples, so, um…

“S-so you’re allll, uh, god…guys?”

It happened in an instant. Three of the simps whipped out their swords and pointed them at my throat. The remaining four grabbed the e-girl and pulled her back, hiding her behind them.

There wasn’t a trace of that simp shit remaining in them. The men now before me had the ferocity of soldiers on a battlefield. Their sunken pupils bored down into the shining whites of their eyes.

Crap, these dudes were serious. I was sweating. I should not have started this conversation. Oh, wait. I hadn’t.

“There is a God.”

“Saint Millis is the one true God.”

“For what purpose would you ask something so obvious?”

“Could it be that you don’t believe in Saint Millis?”

“You don’t believe in God?”

“A…traitor?”

“A heathen!”

The simps interrogated me without my input as their eyes grew darker. Oh no, this was turning into a witch trial!

“S-sorry… I was, uh, thinking about something and that came out wrong. Please forgive me.”

This situation called for an honest apology. They were right; this was the headquarters of the Millis Church. Everyone here surely believed in only one god, Saint Millis. There was no worse place to ask something like that. I understand, I came off as cynical; suspicious and therefore suspect. Please, find it in your hearts to forgive me.

“Grave, what do we do?”

“Dust, you give the call.”

“All right, we’ll kill him. He’s probably a heathen. He seems unusually calm too… And even if he is a believer, putting such bizarre thoughts into our Blessed One’s head is a crime in itself.”

“Got it, we’ll kill him. Good idea.”

Wow, decided already, huh. They worked together like an oiled machine. I’d probably hesitate if I were in their shoes.

“Whoa, whoa, wait a second! Let’s all calm down, maybe let me explain myself—”

It’d make Cliff look bad if a fight broke out here, and I certainly didn’t want to ruin such a beautiful garden. Who would want to see those lovely Sarakh Trees torn out by the root? There was nothing in it for either of us, so let’s talk about it, no?

My thoughts were leaning toward peace, but my attitude had already switched. I’d had my Demon Eye of Foresight open since the moment they pointed their blades at me, and was pouring mana into my Magic Armor. I wanted to avoid violence, but if an apology wouldn’t cut it, then I wasn’t going to hold back.

After yesterday, they caught me in a bad mood.

“So… You really intend to come at me?” I asked.

Something about my question made them shudder and open their eyes wide. My Demon Eye of Foresight showed them tensing up, pouring their strength into their arms and legs.

Here they came.

“Halt!”

A commanding voice cut through the air. One that sounded just a bit familiar. Its authority cut the tension instantly, and that tension vanished from the other guys’ bodies.

“What are you doing?!”

Approaching us was a lone female knight. She looked in her mid-thirties and wore the same blue cuirass as the simps. Her calm, refined face was stern. I knew that face very well.

“Captain. This heathen was attempting to harm the Blessed One,” one of the simps promptly reported. C’mon, man, don’t lie!

“I’m being falsely accused. I was simply looking at the Sarakh—”

“Silence, you,” one of the men said in a low voice, his sword still pointed at me. Heck no, I wasn’t staying silent. My life was in danger here.

“A heathen?” the female knight said as she finally looked at my face. “Ah!”

And then, she realized who I was. Her face warmed up into a smile.

“Rudeus! My li’l Rudeus, is that you? Wow, it’s been so long!”

Then, she shot a look at the men who had their swords drawn and raised her voice.

“Stay your blades! This man is my nephew!”

After watching the simps startle with surprise and sheathe their swords, I closed my Demon Eye of Foresight.

Therese Latria. Zenith’s younger sister, and therefore my aunt. She helped me a lot back when I was taking that ship from the Millis Continent to the Central Continent.

Therese appeared to be the leader of these swordsmen; at her order, the simps stowed their blades in the blink of an eye and even offered an apology just in case. Reluctantly, of course. I apologized for my own slip of the tongue, but their open hostility toward me didn’t change; that wasn’t enough for them. They continued keeping their e-girl a safe distance away from me and remained fiercely vigilant.

“Do you remember me? Or did you forget since we only saw each other once?”

“Of course I remember. You were a lifesaver in getting us that ship.”

Well, I could ignore those guys for now. I talked with Therese instead. Ah, seeing her really took me back.

“I heard you showed up at the family home, but I didn’t think you’d come to the church headquarters, too. Ah, did you come all this way to see li’l ol’ me?”

“No, an acquaintance was going to introduce me to a head of the Church… I see you made your way back here, Therese.”

If I recall, the last time I saw her, I’d heard that she’d been demoted to the western port city. Ten years had passed since then; it wasn’t much surprise that she’d worked her way back.

“Ah, well, some stuff happened,” Therese chuckled with a shrug. I guess she had some circumstances that were a bit hard to talk about. I wouldn’t pry. There was something else I wanted to know, however.

“So, I take it that you were informed about my visit to the family home?”

“Yeah, sounds like you had a spat with Mother.”

“Spat… Is that what you’d call it? A spat?”

“I heard Mother got you pissed off. I know how she is. She probably told you to do this and do that, right?”

“That’s right! Listen to this!”

It was my first time meeting my aunt in a long time. The thought crossed my mind that I didn’t know if she was on my side, but I couldn’t stop my mouth from running. Before I realized it, I’d told her every possible detail about what had happened yesterday. Looks like I still had plenty of anger pent up. Or maybe it just put me at ease to see a real, present smile on a face that was so similar to Zenith’s.

“Does that sort of thing fly in this country?”

“No, even this country has its limits… Even for Mother, that’s just… I think there had to have been some misunderstanding? Still, hmm… Rudeus, are you sure you didn’t say anything that might have made Mother angry? If someone picks a fight, she can argue them into the ground…”

“I wonder that myself. I was trying to avoid saying anything upsetting, so I put up with a lot of what she said.”

“Hmm…” Therese crossed her arms sternly and grumbled under her breath as she thought.

It hadn’t felt like she picked a fight yesterday. To me, it seemed that was her plan from the start.

“Well, I’ll ask about the details the next time I’m at the family home. Mother can be stubborn, overbearing, and bossy, but she’s not an evil person at heart. I’ll bet there was some misunderstanding.”

“…”

Therese reached her conclusion in seconds. Even if there were some misunderstanding, I knew how angry I got. I didn’t want to ask her to help patch things up. It’d been a long time since someone made me cut them off entirely. But, if—if—there really was a misunderstanding, and if she apologized in good faith, I’d apologize for wrecking the house.

“Wow, though, Rudeus! You’ve gotten so big! Ah, wait, you’re not supposed tell a man he’s getting big… You’re about twenty by now, right?”

Therese was considerate enough to change the subject. I sure didn’t want to talk about Claire all day, either.

“Yes, I’m about twenty-two years old.”

“Really now! Guess that was a whole ten years ago, huh… Ah, that reminds me, what about Miss Eris? Is she doing all right? I remember her being a handful back in the day!”

Therese got as excited as a child. Where’d that refined look go? Her expression when she got serious almost reminded me of Grandma Claire… Ugh, oh no, I don’t wanna think about that.

“Eris is doing well. She gave birth to her first child this past year.”

“Child… Ah, I see, you two got married! Congratulations!”

“Thank you very much.”

“Is she here as well?”

“No, she’s staying home in Sharia. Someone has to take care of the baby, after all.”

“I see, I see. Well, there might be some bumps on the road of life, but I’m sure you two can work together to make it over them!”

Just two? Oh… Right. She was a follower of Millis, wasn’t she? I’d need to clarify that I was married to three women. Oh well, I decided to keep silent for now. Didn’t want to upset her now that we finally had a happy moment between us.

“Yeah, so, marriage, huh… To think my little Rudeus and Miss Eris grew up and got married… Sigh…”

Or, so I’d thought, but Therese looked like her soul was leaving her body. I guess marriage was a sensitive topic for her. Given her reaction, I had to assume that she was still single. That, or divorced. Uhh, how old was she, again? Zenith was around thirty-eight, and Therese was younger, so…yeah thirty-five-ish. When you considered that adulthood in this world started at fifteen, and that most people got married between then and the age of twenty… Uhhhh…

“So, how’s work?”

Let’s change the subject.

“Hm? Oh! Well, some stuff happened since we last saw each other, but I’m back to protecting the Blessed Child. I’m even leading these guys!”

At Therese’s mention, I glanced back at her group. Of the seven knights, only two were still cautious of me, while the rest had turned back into the e-girl’s entourage. It looked like the problems of the world floated away easily for them.

“Quite the intimidating bunch.”

“Yeah… Ever since that attempted assassination, only the strongest of the Temple Knights’ warriors have been assigned to guard her. Which means you met the guys who are a little…much.”

Therese had previously described the Temple Knights as “a bunch of fanatics.” Perhaps that was what her use of “much” referred to. They did jump straight to lethal force after my slip of the tongue, after all. They were as fast as Orsted when I first met him.

“Well, they might be a little attached to the scripture, but they’re not a bad bunch.”

Whew, scary. I could understand believing in God, but you couldn’t believe it to the point that you got tunnel vision. Wasn’t your God supposed to be forgiving?

Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind. “Pardon, Therese? May I join in on your conversation?”

The e-girl that the knights were simping over was peering at us. Her entourage was right behind her, ready to draw their blades at a moment’s notice.

“I believe I heard you say the name ‘Eris.’ Might you be an acquaintance of a certain red-haired Miss Eris? The swordswoman?”

So this was the Blessed Child, huh? People kept calling her “Blessed” this, “Blessed” that, chirping it over and over like little pocket critters, but I didn’t know her real name. She sounded pretty joyful, so maybe “Nurse”? I could ask… No, I should introduce myself first. Claire called me “tawdry” after I introduced myself first, but doing so was simply a warrior’s etiquette.

“My apologies. I am Rudeus Greyrat, a servant of the Dragon God Orsted. Sword King Eris Greyrat is my wife.”

Dragon God and Sword King. Those two terms instantly put her entourage on even greater alert. The fact that they reacted to “Dragon God” made me think there had to be a disciple here… But then again, it was all seven who reacted, so who could say?

“Oh my! So you are! I owe a great deal to Miss Eris, as she saved my life ten years ago!”

Ten years ago, meaning when I came to Millishion. I think I remembered her telling me about it. She said she went out to hunt goblins but came back having disposed of some assassins.

“Is Miss Eris visiting here as well?”

“No, I’m afraid that she had to stay home to take care of our child.”

“How unfortunate.”

When the e-girl looked sad, all of her simps sympathetically lowered their brows. It was kinda adorable. These guys really loved their e-girl.

Wait, I introduced myself, but I didn’t get a name in response. Was I supposed to say “Blessed One” too?

“But if so, that would mean that by extension…it was the Dragon God Orsted who saved me, no?”

“Huh?”

He didn’t have anything to do with it. Eris and I didn’t even know Orsted’s name at the time. Then again, I was Orsted’s subordinate now, and Eris accepted that and even offered aid. You could sort of make the argument that Eris was therefore Orsted’s subordinate…which would mean Orsted saved her, I suppose?

Nah, I didn’t want to bother with a lie that’d get found out so quickly.

“No, neither I nor Eris had any connection to Orsted at the time. But if you feel any desire to repay a debt, Blessed One, then I would be much obliged if you were to refrain from holding any hostility toward Orsted in the future.”

“Hm? Should I have hostility toward someone I’ve never met?”

“Orsted possesses a curse with that effect.”

When I said that, the e-girl looked deep into my eyes. Seated within her rotund face was a pair of deep, rounded pupils. The colors of her eyes didn’t seem different; it didn’t look like she had a Demon Eye.

But I felt it. Something was being done to me. What that something was, I wasn’t sure. There was nothing binding my body, and nothing stealing my breath. All I could tell was that something was being done to me, nothing more.

“Hm… It seems you’ve been truthful.”

After a moment, the e-girl nodded.

“You can tell?”

“I can, yes.”

I looked to Therese and the entourage, but none of them seemed to find this strange. Meaning…this was her power as a Blessed Child. The power that compared to Zanoba’s monstrous strength and stamina. The power to simply look in one’s eyes and know if they were telling a lie. Or, was it to read the other person’s mind? Perhaps it was something else entirely.

“Is…that your power?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

I would have loved to ask the details, but her entourage was still eyeing me. It was probably safer to leave it unsaid. But should I? Orsted never said a thing about this Blessed Child.

“Wow, that’s…something…”

Crap. I think I might have been too obvious about my ambivalence the moment I realized that something had been done to me. There was nothing I could ask that wouldn’t drive the entourage to attack. But it felt like I was missing a trick if I didn’t learn something here. There was no guarantee that we’d meet again. To ask, or not to ask?

“Hngh… Phew…”

First, a deep breath.

“Blessed Child. May I ask you a question that I’m aware will seem quite rude?”

Next, get permission before asking. It was important to take these things one step at a time. Once I had that, I would ask one simple question that wouldn’t reveal what I was searching for.

“Yes, by all means.”

“Have you had any dreams lately in which someone who claims to be a god offers you a prophecy?”

“No. Not lately, and in fact, not once. And I’m certain I never will.”

The e-girl spoke in no uncertain terms. She looked me in the eyes, listened, and said that neither her past nor future contained such a dream. She seemed to know. Was this another effect of her power? Perhaps it was a power that could refuse to ever meet with the Man-God. Maybe she really could read minds? The Man-God surely had many more dodgy hidden secrets than I did.

“Thank you very much.”

The tension lifted from my shoulders. For now, I knew she wasn’t an enemy, and that was enough. The Blessed Child might have lied to me just now, but I would choose to believe her.

“Now then, it’s my turn to ask you!” the Blessed Child said giddily.

“Gah! Yes, ask away.”

What else could she ask? If she could read my mind, then would there be any need to ask at all? It looked like her power wasn’t active at all times. She had to look someone in the eyes and do something to activate it. If she didn’t look at my eyes…then maybe I was safe?

“Please, tell me about Miss Eris!”

“Oh… Sure.”

That was all? Well, hey, if she wasn’t an enemy, and if she had no relation to the Man-God, then I suppose I could trust her.

Perhaps I’d include some shilling for our wonderful CEO, Orsted. Worry not, our company insurance covered preexisting blessings. With an eighty-year history of reliable service, you could rest easy that that our top-of-the-line staff would provide you with all the help you’d need. And our company is always recruiting associates with a can-do attitude to join our team.

Hmm, was it overreaching to scout the Blessed Child while I was planning to persuade the pope to back us? I think the Blessed Child and the pope belonged to different factions…

“Rudeus! Rudeus, are you here?”

As I was thinking up my future job board posting, I heard a voice calling for me from far off. It was Cliff’s; it seemed like he’d finally gotten the permit.

“My apologies, Blessed Child, but it seems my time has come.”

“What?! Oh, what a shame…”

The e-girl furrowed her brow. Her entourage furrowed their brows in unison as I felt their aggro energy rise.

How interesting. Fascinating, even. I definitely wanted to keep this conversation going. But first, the person I kept waiting took priority.

“I’m sure I’ll be in this town for some time to come, so we can save talking about Eris for later.”

“It’s a promise!”

I bid farewell to the e-girl and made one last request to Therese.

“Also, Therese. If you go to the family home, I’d like you to tell Claire that I’ll be responsible for looking after my mom, so she’s free to mind her business… Also, if she wants a return on her contributions to the Fittoa Search and Rescue Squad, tell her that I’ll gladly front the money. Any price she names.”

“Got it. I’ll tell her.”

“Thank you.”

After I bid farewell to Therese, I gave a nod to the entourage and left them behind.

The Blessed Child, huh? At a glance, she struck me as a sheltered pick-me or a shallow princess with an entourage of white knights, but I felt some unfathomable depth in her. She told me, clearly, she wasn’t my enemy, but I got the sense that she knew who the Man-God was. I should be on my guard. Wait, I forgot to ask her name…

Those were the thoughts running through my mind as I made my way toward Cliff to obtain my permit.