Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 22 - Chapter 1.2

Lilia

THAT DAY, Elinalise was with us. She came to the house a few times a week to speak with the house’s mistresses. She was married with a child and household of her own, but her husband was far away. I expected she was lonely. That feeling was most familiar to both the ladies of the house and to me. From Elinalise’s manner and bearing, however, you would never have guessed that she was quietly unraveling on the inside—I imagine that was why she constantly came over seeking advice. We went over all sorts of questions, from what sort of education was appropriate for children of a certain age to small complaints. 

One such question: “When do you think Aisha will learn how to behave like a grown-up?” 

“I wonder the same, myself. It’s not as though she can’t… Well, she probably won’t until she feels it’s necessary.”

“When might that be?”

“Say she found a boy she liked, for example…”

“I suppose Master Rudeus won’t do.”

“You know as well as I do that the reason Aisha keeps acting like a child is entirely because she’s stunted in her role as Rudeus’s little sister. She’s not his lover or wife.”

“Now that we’re discussing it, I suppose I did know that.”

“All of which is to say, you need to find someone else for Aisha. Someone charming. Someone who won’t pay her any attention unless she behaves like an adult.”

“Hmmm,” I mused. Yes, I was the one looking for advice that day. Miss Elinalise looked much younger than me, but she had the wisdom that came with age. I was grateful for how thoroughly she addressed my concerns. 

“Yes. You want someone younger and a bit useless. Someone who’s got it really bad for grownup women.”

“Really bad, you say?”

“Exactly. Aisha should have no trouble satisfying the fantasies of a kid like that, and she can also knock some sense into that kind of boy.”

I knew perfectly well that Aisha wasn’t going to end up with Master Rudeus. He didn’t want her, and she wasn’t interested in him. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see any potential marriage candidates I brought home going down well, either.

“All you can do is to try to make it happen.”

“I see…” I replied, hanging my head, and then cried out, “Oh!” as Leo came galumphing into the dining room. Miss Lara and Miss Lucie were seated upon his back. They appeared to be playing horse.

“Woof!” Leo barked, looking at me.

How odd. He was a clever dog, and hardly ever barked unless there was a reason. It couldn’t be that something had befallen Sylphiette?!

“Woof, woof!” Leo wagged his tail, then looked from me to the front door and back again. 

Ah, never mind, then. Leo was far too happy. Besides, if something happened to Sylphiette, he would have barked urgently for someone to come to him.

His gaze was fixed upon the front door. Were we to have a visitor? Leo didn’t typically wag his tail for visitors. Ah, perhaps Miss Roxy has come home, I thought, standing up right as the lock on the front door went click. I rushed over to receive the arrivals.

“Oh, hey, Lilia. We’re back.”

“Hey, Lilia!” 

“Welcome home, Master Rudeus! Miss Eris!” I cried.

There, in the doorway, was Master Rudeus, together with Miss Eris, Miss Zenith, and Aisha, and much earlier than I’d expected them. Master Rudeus’s plan had been to remain in Millis for around half a year, but hardly a month and a half had passed since they left. On top of that, Master Rudeus’s expression was unusually solemn…

I immediately knew what must have happened. There had been trouble. Whatever it was, it was probably Lady Claire’s fault. Lady Claire wasn’t a very flexible person, and also more than a little severe towards Aisha and Miss Norn. She was a devout believer in Millis and by no means a bad person, but also not one you could call “good,” even if you were being nice. Thinking about their personalities, she and Master Rudeus would be like oil and water.

If I had to guess, they had a serious disagreement about something to do with family, and it had resulted in a confrontation.

“Did something happen?” I asked. Master Rudeus’s already-solemn expression grew even harsher. I was sure Master Rudeus could handle any obstacle…but it stood to reason that some differences just couldn’t be worked out.

“I guess you could say that,” he replied. His phrasing was deliberately vague. 

“Was it Lady Claire?” I asked. Rudeus looked surprised.

“No,” he replied. “Well, I mean, Claire and I did have a bit of a falling-out. We’re all good now, though. She’s not such a bad person, deep down.”

This only perplexed me further, although I felt a little relieved. For the past month and a half, I’d been beset with anxiety over not going with them. I’d thought I ought to accompany them to mediate. My worries were unfounded, according to Rudeus’s explanation. What had gone wrong?

“Then—” I began, but Master Rudeus looked away with a troubled expression on his face. Beside him, Aisha looked uncomfortable. Something else must have transpired. Looking at Aisha, she may have been the subject of the conflict.

“Did Aisha make a nuisance of herself?” As I’d just been saying to Elinalise, Aisha, despite being already fifteen years old, adamantly refused to behave like an adult. She was talented but persisted in acting like a child. 

I was so proud of her, long ago. This girl is a gifted child, I’d thought. Now I can pay back Master Rudeus for his kindness. But if she never stopped being a gifted child…

“No, Aisha did her job well,” Rudeus said.

By now, even I felt like I was prying as I opened my mouth. “So why—”

Master Rudeus cut me off. “I… Look, it’s gonna be a really long story once I get into it. Can we wait until everyone’s here?”

“Of course. I beg your pardon, Master Rudeus.”

“No worries… Hey, and it’s not all bad news. I have one piece of great news. Um, I need to unpack, so watch my mom for me, okay?” Master Rudeus laughed weakly, then hurried off to his room. A worried-looking Miss Eris went after him.

Aisha and Miss Zenith stayed where they were. Aisha was sulking, but I somehow sensed that Miss Zenith was in good spirits.

“Did you behave yourself, Aisha?” I asked.

“I, um, did sort of screw up.” Ah, so not sulking. She was depressed.

That’s not like you, I thought. Ever since she was a child Aisha hardly made any mistakes, and on the rare occasions that she did she rarely owned them. Yet now here she was, admitting one without hesitation. She might have matured a little more than I’d thought. 

“Was it something very bad?”

“No, Rudeus fixed it straight away.”

I fell silent. What could it have been? With that look on Master Rudeus’s face…

But never mind. He said he’d talk about it later, so I would wait. 

I suddenly realized Zenith was looking at me. She reached out, looking extremely sunny, so I took her hand and led her to her room.

Later that evening, the whole family gathered. Everyone was there on Master Rudeus’s orders. Elinalise had been here already, so she was of course present, as well as Miss Norn and Miss Roxy just home from school. It was of course usual for the family to gather when Master Rudeus returned home, but much less common for him to propose it formally. We usually got everyone together only when Aisha or Miss Sylphie’s perceptive eyes deemed it necessary to talk something through. Rudeus still had that look on his face.

This was going to be important. As he began his tale, I listened with trepidation.

“Let’s get things underway. First, I successfully met my objectives in Millis. Cliff worked his way into the Church too, so there’s no need to worry about him.”

Despite a hiccup with Lady Claire, Master Cliff had established himself in the church as he had originally planned and Ruquag’s Mercenary Band was up and running as a result. The church was now thoroughly indebted to Master Rudeus and he had recruited the Blessed Child as an ally of Orsted. It sounded like a total and unmitigated success. Miss Elinalise, hearing that Master Cliff had gotten himself a position in Millis, looked relieved. Sadly, Rudeus’s tale didn’t end there.

“Geese is a disciple of the Man-God,” Rudeus announced.

Geese. That demon thief from Master Paul’s old party? He was behind all the trouble that Master Rudeus encountered, and in the end, he had made a declaration of war before fleeing. I’d known him for many years, from back when we crossed over to the Begaritt Continent. Even then, he was always concerned for the welfare of Master Paul and Miss Zenith. I remembered how conscientious he had been about gathering the necessary intelligence to brave the labyrinth expedition. Geese had worked tirelessly to save Miss Roxy and Miss Zenith. While Master Paul sank into depression, Geese ran around trying to recruit powerful warriors to join the party, selling maps he’d drawn up himself for next to nothing. The whole time he’d been helping Master Paul, he never let on he’d had another agenda.

I couldn’t square the Geese in my mind with the Geese Master Rudeus described—the traitor working to try and bring Master Rudeus, Miss Roxy, and the others down.

“Ever since your request to post wanted notices came, I’ve been wondering…” Miss Roxy said. “You’re sure there hasn’t been some mistake?” An experienced labyrinth explorer herself, she always regarded Geese highly. According to her, there was no one more reliable in any field except combat.

“If only…if only I could say it was.” Master Rudeus gave a sad smile, then pulled a letter from his pocket. Miss Roxy took it from him and read over the contents. Her usually sleepy expression darkened, but she nodded, accepting it at once. She passed the letter to me. When I looked at it, I understood. 

The letter had a lighthearted and friendly tone despite its contents. Something about that told me instantly—this really was Geese. It wasn’t that he hated Master Rudeus or Miss Roxy, or that he’d been plotting to destroy them from the start. He and Master Rudeus happened to be opposed, but it wasn’t the sort of enmity that came from a grudge.

“Making the occasional gesture like this, telling you out of a sense of fairness when he usually never bothers… That’s very like Geese, in a way,” Miss Elinalise said with a sigh. 

When I thought back, this kind of thing had frequently occurred in the inner palace in Asura. The fierce power struggles of that country had turned scores of people who had no real personal enmity against one another. However, once circumstances had turned a man against his fellow, custom dictated that he should meet his new enemy in a fair fight. This letter modeled that mentality.

“I know Geese did a lot for all of you, so I’m sorry to have to say this,” Master Rudeus said, “but it looks like I’ll have to fight him…and kill him.”

The words seemed to pain him greatly. It might not have been obvious, but I think Master Rudeus thought highly of Geese. Miss Eris described them as good friends and had told me that they called each other “boss” and “newbie.” The way Geese talked about Master Rudeus’s achievements as though they were his own made me think he truly loved Master Rudeus. Of everyone, this was probably hardest for him.

“Oh, Rudy…” said Miss Sylphie. She didn’t seem to know what else to say.

By contrast, Miss Roxy’s face was hard. “Geese. Our Geese…” she muttered.

She, like me, had been in that party with Geese. She had relied on him. She’d accepted this new revelation quickly, however. There was no doubt in her eyes. On the contrary, I got the feeling she was determined to be a rock of certainty for Master Rudeus’s sake.

“Anyway,” Master Rudeus went on, “it looks like I’ll be away for a long time again. You have Leo here to protect you, but there’s no telling what Geese might do. I want you all to be careful and stay out of harm’s way, okay?”

I wasn’t going to allow any of us here to become a liability to Master Rudeus. I would work together with the rest of the family to ensure that the whole household was kept safe so that Master Rudeus could fight without worrying about us. He was always fretting, always looking back over his shoulder. He couldn’t see how committed we were. It was a good quality to be sure, but when he failed to rely on us it made him feel remote. Though I suppose, from the perspective of someone like Master Rudeus, we must have seemed terribly fragile. 

“I’ll make sure of it,” Roxy replied. “Rudy, if Geese is moving against you, this isn’t plain old work for me anymore. Whatever you need, tell me.”

“The same goes for me,” Sylphie added. “I can’t do anything right now, but I’m here for you, Rudy.” They were playing to their personalities as always.

“Yeah, no question!” Miss Eris added, right as Aisha said, “You got it!” They both spoke like there was no other possible response.

“I understand the situation,” said Miss Norn. She looked unsure, but her nod was determined. 

I approved too, of course. “I cannot be of much aid,” I said, “but I will ensure I do not become a hindrance to you.” 

If not for the old injury to my knee, perhaps I could have spoken more confidently. The answer I gave was as much as my strength would allow. 

“Thank you,” Master Rudeus said. “As I said, I likely won’t be home for a while. I think for now, though, we can call this family meeting to a close—”

“Wait, Big Brother,” Aisha cut in. “You need to tell them about Zenith.”

“Oh, yeah.” 

Miss Zenith. I felt my body stiffen. I remembered then that the mistake Aisha hadn’t wanted to talk about was also yet to come up and grew even more nervous. But Master Rudeus was smiling.

“So actually, I found out all about the curse on Mom,” he said. This had to be the good news he’d mentioned then, not Aisha’s mistake. “She has a curse on her that allows her to read minds. Not that she can see everything, but…it looks like she understands all of us really well.”

Master Rudeus relayed all that the Blessed Child had told him and then described how Miss Zenith saw the world around her. Tears ran down my cheeks as a great wave of memories washed over me. There had been plenty of signs, now that I knew to look for them. Miss Zenith had always been one step ahead on tending to the garden, and when Miss Lucie was still small, Miss Zenith seemed to know when she would cry before it happened. Then there was…well. I wasn’t sure how to describe it. Miss Zenith knew about Paul. We all assumed she didn’t realize he’d died. We thought that, if her memories ever returned, she would be distraught. But she knew everything. Not only that, but she had accepted it and had started moving on. When that sank in, I couldn’t stop crying.

“Lilia…” Master Rudeus said.

“I’m so sorry. Master Rudeus…” There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, but I was the only one who buried my face in my hands and sobbed. I’d done nothing but cry recently. When I was young, I hardly ever shed tears. I didn’t think my emotions had such a hold on me. It could be another sign I was getting older. 

Aisha stroked my back as I wept, then when my tears finally subsided, Miss Zenith came and laid a hand on my head and set the sobs in motion once more.