Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 22 - Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Infiltrating Fort Necross

WE WERE IN THE Gaslow Territory, one of the most hostile regions on the Demon Continent. The monsters that spawned on the Demon Continent were far more powerful than those on other continents and more numerous. There was still an ecological balance, however. Just as there were large numbers of Acid Wolves and Pax Coyotes in Biegoya, so too did this region have its native flora and fauna. 

There was the Basilisk, with its petrifying breath. The Black Drake, soaring unchecked through the skies with its powerful jaws and poison talons. The giant Lakewater Bug that created pools of its own mucilage, then attacked anyone who came to drink from them. Then there was the White-Fang Cobra, highly agile and covered in hard scales that resisted magic…

And beasts aside, some places belched poison gas and others gaped into deep ravines. Given that all the monsters were brutally vicious, the whole place was dotted with danger zones. As such, the Gaslow Territory in particular had a reputation as a miserable pit. Absolutely lousy with demons. Next to no towns or settlements were established there, and those that did exist were heavily fortified. Hardly any adventurers came here.

Some, however, allegedly saw this place as aspirational. It was home to the Demon Continent’s greatest fort, built by the immortal Necross Lacross, one of the Five Great Demon Kings. The master of that fort was Demon King Atoferatofe—Gaslow Territory’s Immortal Demon King.

In the war some four hundred years earlier, she had fought on Laplace’s side, raining fury down on the battlefield and crossing swords countless times with Armored Dragon King Perugius. There was a legend about her that was especially heeded by warriors:

“Journey forth, you who seek power.

The Demon Continent is your destination.

Travel its lands. Ascend to Fort Necross.

Show your might before the Demon King, and lust for yet greater might.

Only then may all-conquering power be yours.”

Yup—those who were in search of the fort were knights errant. They followed the legend here, seeking power. No one who made it here ever returned, so in the end, no one knew if the legend was true or a mere fairy tale.

Well, except for me.

Around half of those knights died on the journey. The majority of those who survived were assimilated into Atofe’s personal guard. Someone probably did make it home every now and then…but it takes more than one or two people knowing the truth to kill a good yarn like that. I was pretty sure that Atofe’s retainer Moore was the one spreading the rumors. It was a nasty trap, preying on purehearted warriors. Devilish, even.

Anyway. Our party that was heading to go see Atofe consisted of three members: me, Eris, and Roxy. I brought along a bottle of wine as an offering. Orsted told me that Atofe liked to drink.

There was probably still going to be a fight even if I plied her with alcohol.

***

Fort Necross was a three-hour journey from the teleportation circle ruins. It wasn’t such a long way, but the ruins with the teleportation circle were deep in the mountains. Some Black Drakes were using them as a nest.

The black dragons came flying at us and we sliced them up, one after another. The dragons themselves, we barbecued, and then we turned the eggs we found into an omelet to keep our strength up as we pushed on. Droves of other monsters came swooping down from up high to attack us, so we trudged on, avoiding some and driving off others. By the time we got to the bottom of the mountain, a whole day had passed. 

I’d never seen a teleportation circle this close to a human settlement before. Come to think of it, I’d never seen a human settlement somewhere so thoroughly steeped in magic.

“That was no sweat,” Eris said. She’d cheerfully cut through every monster that came at us, as if to sell us on the benefits of daily training. She had few opportunities besides her constant drills to slake her battle lust, rumors that she snuck out to hunt monsters outside of town aside.

“This is a harsh place. I shudder to think of what would happen if I came here alone.” Roxy looked worn out. She’d done her best to plot a route where we’d go relatively unnoticed by monsters. It was all down to her that the bottle of wine had come through unscathed. 

“That’s all you’ve got, Roxy? You’re rusty!” Eris laughed.

“I can’t deny that. My reflexes were a bit sharper back when I was adventuring, but now I sit around at my desk all day…”

“Better watch out, or your students won’t take you seriously.”

“You’ll have to start training me, then.”

“You’re on!”

While Eris and Roxy talked, I looked down at the fort below us. The first thing you noticed was that the whole thing was black. I guessed it was built from the same material as Kishirika’s castle. It wasn’t especially vast—just a castle and a town protected by thick walls. Not uncommon in this world.

What qualified it as a fort was its structure. The walls divided it into five blocks, each adjoining the others to form a terrace. The lower three were an ordinary castle town. The upper two were full of buildings with no connection to daily life and a great amphitheater. A military facility, most likely. Right at the top was a black castle-like building that towered imposingly over the rest. That would be the keep.

We ended up approaching the fortress from behind. It seemed pretty defenseless to me. It made sense, given it was protected on this side by the mountains.

“Oh, I see people,” I said. They came into view as we approached: five of them, clad in black armor, standing on the wall. They’d seen us and started clamoring about something. 

“Was it bad manners to arrive from this side?” I asked.

“There isn’t really etiquette around that. I expect they just don’t get a lot of travelers coming down from the mountains,” Roxy replied decisively. Eris was already racing ahead. What do we do if they shoot at us from above? I wondered, but the five figures on the walls showed no signs of moving. Eventually, we reached the base of the wall. I spotted a big door, so this was probably some kind of back entrance. It was a black-painted gate in a black wall, so I hadn’t noticed it from farther away, but drawing closer it became immediately obvious.

“Well met, heroes! You have done well to reach Fort Necross.” Demon tongue. It’d been a while… They say you never forget how to ride a bike, but apparently a language once learned was much the same.

What was that about heroes?

“You must be stout of heart to have traversed the demon mountains!”

“Do you seek the honor of champions or the power of the Demon King?”

“Whichever, it makes no difference!”

“If you wish to enter, here!”

“First you must defeat us, Lady Atofe’s personal guard!”

In summary, they weren’t going to let us through. That tracked. No country anywhere would let in a strange man who showed up on their back doorstep.

“Very well. We’ll go around to the front gate,” I replied, also in demon tongue. When in Rome, as they say. I planned on going around as we were told. I was coming here to ask for a favor, so I ought to do things right. The black-armored figures didn’t reply. They seemed kind of perplexed. One appeared to be asking another what to do. I knew what to expect with Atofe, but this back-and-forth at the gate was a surprise. Had I said something wrong…?

“Oh and, I’d really appreciate it if you could tell Captain Moore that Rudeus Greyrat has brought Queen Atofe an offering,” I added. Maybe I should have led with that. Make it clear that I wasn’t suspicious. With that, I turned to leave, but then a voice rang out.

“Halt! You are a guest of Queen Atofe?!”

“That’s right!” I replied. “I had the honor of her acquaintance, very briefly! So I came to pay her my regards!”

There was a brief pause. “Very well! Wait there a moment!”

Well, well. They were going to let us in. That was a relief. Going the long way around would’ve been a pain. Eris grumbled, but I was happy to take the back entrance. If the alternative was fighting our way through each of the guard’s Ultimate Four, that was a big no thank you from me.

***

We were in the audience chamber at Fort Necross, an open-air affair with no ceiling. A long staircase wedged between thick pillars engraved with images of devils led up to a platform. It was ringed by candles burning with purple flame. In front of each candle was stationed a soldier in black armor standing at attention. The platform had no walls or handrails. From the edges, you’d probably get a good view of the castle town below. At the very back sat a menacingly ornamented throne. 

Hold up, this isn’t an audience chamber. It’s more like, y’know, the place where you draw an enormous magic circle to summon an ancient archdevil or whatever—at the last possible moment. An arena where the band of brave souls fight to stop a demonic king. 

That’s the kind of place this was. It wasn’t an audience chamber. It was an arena.

“Well met, heroes! You have done well to make it here!”

Sitting on the throne was a woman of about Eris’s height who wore the same black armor as the others. She stood up, looking genuinely excited, then spread her robe with a flourish. The evening light of the sunset behind the mountains cast deep shadows over her.

She cut a truly majestic and wondrous figure. If you just focused on how she looked, that was.

“I am Immortal Demon King Atoferatofe Rybak!” she declared.

It had taken us about two hours to come in the back gate, be taken to Moore, and then escorted up to this arena. She must have gone out of her way to get everything ready so fast…unless she’d waited for sunset because she knew it’d make a good scene. Regardless, it was a five-star effort.

“You should be proud to stand here, mortals!” said one of the guards. The others followed, one after another.

“Brave champions, you have overcome many trials! We ask you this!”

“Do you seek the honor of champions? The renown of heroes? Or perhaps…the power of the Demon King?”

What a mean question. If you said honor or hero, you got the crap beaten out of you then made to serve the Demon King. If you said you wanted the power of the Demon King, you got the crap beaten out of you then made to serve the Demon King. It was an ultimatum to which the only answer was “yes.”

Eris snickered. 

Eris is smirking? Right, she’s into this sort of thing.

“Lady Atofe…mumblemumble…” One of the guards wrapped up in black armor standing beside Atofe went to whisper something in her ear. Something about today’s itinerary, perhaps. I’d made it clear that I was here to apologize, but now we were talking about heroes and whatever. Chances were high that some misunderstanding had occurred.

“Shut up! Like I can tell from over here when it’s so bright!”

Atofe Punch! Moore went flying.

“Show me your faces!” Atofe demanded, striding over. The fist she’d just used to punch out Moore was still clenched tightly. She came right up to me, then said, “Oh.” The moment our eyes met, her mouth twisted in an evil smile, and she breathed, “It’s you.”

Gotcha, was what it sounded like. Scary.

“…Um, good to see you after all this time.”

“After that—after you and Perugius! That trap you set for me, and you just—you come to me, you stroll on in here…” A vicious smile was spreading across her face. But I’d seen this coming. That’s why I brought an offering. I was here to apologize. Honestly.

“Yeah, about that… I’d like to, ah, offer you an apology—”

“Very good! You’ve grown into a man since I saw you last. I like that face on you; that’s the face of a man who isn’t afraid. All the brave souls who challenged me wore such a face!”

Atofe hadn’t listened to a word I’d said. She just pressed her face up close to mine, eyes wide with excitement, then bared her teeth in a grin. I could practically see the lens flare on her fangs.

“That’s the face of a man who isn’t afraid to die.”

Wh-what? That’s weird. I’m sure I anticipated all this… Huh? How come my legs are shaking? Ah, crap. Not just my legs, I’m shaking all over…

“Huh?” Just then, something red filled my field of vision. Red hair.

“Stand down,” Eris said, inserting herself between me and Atofe. 

“Who’re you?”

“I’m Eris Greyrat.”

“Oh ho.” Atofe took a step back. “That fearlessness. That burning rage. That sword of yours. And even now you’re thinking about swinging it at me.” She appraised Eris with a piercing gaze. Eris glared back with a feral gleam in her eyes. 

You could have cut the tension with a knife.

“Are you a champion?”

“That’s right,” Eris retorted.

You are not! What are you even doing?

“That woman beside you, she’s sure appraising her surroundings… Is she a magician?”

“…I am,” Roxy said hesitantly, tipping the brim of her hat. “My name is Roxy Greyrat. It’s an honor to make your acquaintance.” 

I feel like you could’ve figured out she was a magician from the outfit…

“You look fearless as well. Are you going to fight me?”

“If you are set on killing my apprentice, Great Demon King, I will do what little I can to stop you.” Even level-headed Roxy was gearing up for a fight. I must’ve looked really scared if they were squaring up to protect me.

Come on. Pull yourself together.

“So then…you’re…” Atofe turned to look at me. I wasn’t shaking any more. I returned her stare with determination. “What about you?”

What about what about me? What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t know how to answer that. 

I forced myself to calm down and think. Eris was a champion; Roxy was a magician. Sylphie wasn’t here, but she’d probably be a magic knight or a thief. So I’d be the cleric… Wait, no. Cliff was way more of a cleric than I was. I obviously wasn’t a warrior, either. Which left…

“I’m a magician?” I tried.

“Moron! As if you’d have two magicians!”

Getting called a moron by a moron, ouch… Okay, I got the logic. One person per class. That was the rule.

Wait. But if I wasn’t the magician, what was I? In this party, what role fit me best?

Hold on. Here we need to take a deep breath and look at the big picture. 

Eris was the champion. She’d literally strode up to shield me from Atofe as I stood here trembling. My role was to be rescued by her… Meaning…

“I’m the princess?” I tried again.

“Eh heh heh, princess, you said? Eh heh heh…heh?”

Crap, I confused Lady Atofe. There was doubt in that laugh.

Atofe had been staring at me like a carnivore eying up its prey, but now she glanced around, looking a little lost. 

Roxy rolled her eyes. “Don’t be silly.” 

Eris, taking her side, added, “Yeah, you know what you are. A sage or whatever!”

The thing is though, Eris, after becoming Rudeus the Celibate, I haven’t been all that sage-like. I’m a fool. Ariel even suggested I become a jester…

“Whatever, I don’t care. I’m Rudeus Greyrat.”

I am who I am! And nothing more or less!

“Eh heh heh, that’s funny! All three of you are Greyrats, I see… Associates who just happen to have the same name banding together! That’s hilarious!”

It was pretty funny, when you interpreted it like that, but Eris and Roxy were both my wives.

Good. I was regaining my composure.

“Lady Atofe. Before we fight, will you at least hear me out?” I said. I made my quaking legs behave, then faced her.

“Why?” she said.

“Because I came to talk to you.”

“I hate talking. Nothing you humans say makes any sense.”

“I think today it’ll be quite straightforward,” I said, then looked over at Roxy.

She lowered her pack, then from it produced a wooden box. I took it, raised it up before me, then held it out to Atofe in tribute. “First of all, I offer this. A gift to express my apologies for the past.”

“What is it?”

“Wine from the Asura Kingdom.”

“Booze!” Atofe exclaimed, her attitude totally changed.

It was exactly as I’d been told. According to Orsted, one of the champions who’d come to fight her had challenged her to a wine-tasting battle, then tried to beat her after getting her drunk off her face. The final result, by the way, was a loss for Atofe. At wine-tasting, that is. She’d won the actual fight.

“The Notos Greyrats gifted this wine to the Asura Kingdom at the coronation. It is both rare and very expensive.”

“Does it taste good?”

“Very,” I replied.

I hadn’t sampled it myself, so I had no idea if that was true or not. Ariel said it had been made a hundred years ago. It was supposed to be so delicious that the winery that produced it and their vineyards had been made into a supplier exclusively for the use of the royal household. It would be a waste to simply down it all, so the wine was left to rest in the depths of the winery’s cellar, only brought out on vanishingly rare occasions. A hundred years had passed since then. Lately, the royal household had hosted a great number of important events, so the supply had been totally exhausted. But that was only the royal household’s supply. Some still remained in the vaults of the Notos Greyrats who had produced it. They had given ten bottles from that vault to Ariel at her coronation—Pilemon’s attempt to suck up. Nowadays, one bottle was worth around three hundred Asuran gold coins, or about two Linias. It ought to be good.

I didn’t pay for it. Are you kidding? I asked Ariel if she had any good alcohol, and she’d given it to me. I didn’t learn how much it cost until much later. That was a bit of a shock. 

Between the pricey booze and how readily she had agreed when I came to her about the King Dragon Realm, it really felt like Ariel was fishing for a favor, lately. It made me a bit nervous. One day soon she might call it in. 

“It’s good, huh?”

“Yes. So I hope you’ll forgive me for the past.”

“I will. I’m far more generous than Perugius could ever be, y’know! I won’t hold a grudge over something stupid like that.”

“Thank you very much,” I said. Now that debt was canceled out, at least. I think? She might forget she’d forgiven me once she’d drunk the wine, though.

“But I won’t forgive Perugius. One day I’m gonna kill him.”

That’s between you two. I won’t stand in your way. Perugius was hardly about to trek out here to kneel before her.

“Was that it?” Atofe asked.

“No, there’s one more thing.”

I reached into Roxy’s pack and took out another bottle. This one was from Orsted. It didn’t come with a wooden box, so I didn’t know its maker or its price. There was some kind of writing engraved into the old bottle, and the liquid was cloudy. Orsted had said that Atofe would probably appreciate it, so I doubted it had gone bad.

“This is—”

“Whoa!” Atofe exclaimed, snatching it from me. “No way, this is—you gotta be kidding! Mwahahaha!” 

The suits of black armor started muttering at her sudden outburst. Amidst the uncertainty, one sidled over to us. It was Moore, the guy who’d been lying in a pool of blood after having his face smashed in earlier.

“Look! Well?” Atofe demanded.

Moore took the bottle and scrutinized its surface. Then he noticed a marble-like object submerged in the liquid and made an exclamation of surprise.

“It’s exactly the same as the last one,” he said.

“Right?!” she agreed, then turned to me again. “Oi, you! Where’d you get this?” 

“Well, my master, the Dragon God Orsted said to bring it if I wanted to befriend Lady Atofe—”

“The Dragon God?! That settles it then!” Atofe trembled all over as she gazed at the bottle. “This is the very drink Urupen sent Carl and I when we got married! The fabled secret spirits of the Dragon Clan!”

Ahhh, so that’s the story. No wonder she likes it.

“Its name: Nile Ale, the Dragon God’s Jewel!”

Man, what a killer move. I’ve got goosebumps. 

Was the stuff inside actually ale? The color of the bottle was so dark it was hard to tell.

“That day was the one time I got to drink this, never once before or after. I’ve been hunting for it ever since, but now I’ve found it at last!” I practically heard a Da da da dan! sound effect as she raised the bottle. She looked thrilled.

I was just happy that the gift went down so well. 

I felt bad we’d bowled over Atofe so easily, but this was a crushing victory for Orsted.

“So, that ale—”

“That’s it! I’ll beat you and then the ale will be mine!” Atofe declared, the wine in her right hand and the Nile Ale in her left. She took what she wanted by force. A demon king to the end.

“I’m giving it to you!” I said quickly.

“You what?!”

“It’s a small symbol of friendship offered by the Dragon God Orsted to the Immortal Demon King Atofe!” I shouted.

When talking with Atofe, it was important to be loud and forceful so that you didn’t get steamrolled.

“Eh?” A question mark popped up above Atofe’s head. Around three had materialized while her brain shorted out. “What, are you chicken?” she yelled. “Fight me!”

“We can fight if you want, but I’m giving you the ale!”

“I don’t get it!”

You don’t get it, huh? That’s too bad. I tried to explain it as simply as possible…

“It’s not a banquet, it’s not a party, and it’s not a thank you or an apology. Why would you give this to her?” asked Moore.

Moore to the rescue. Right, I did need to explain that bit.

“The thing is, I have to fight this guy called Geese in the near future. He’s gathering powerful warriors under him to bring me down… I was hoping to ask Lady Atofe for her assistance in that battle.”

I wasn’t going anywhere near the subject of the war with Laplace eighty years from now. Orsted said that even if I asked her to work with me to fight Laplace, she’d never agree, and it’d likely end in a battle. She wasn’t duty bound to Laplace or anything—it was simply too difficult for her to understand. In all the futures Orsted knew, Atofe fought for Laplace without fail, so he’d arrived at the conclusion that it was easier not to bother persuading her otherwise.

I could talk to Moore about the details later.

“You want Lady Atofe to fight together with you?” Moore said.

“That’s right,” I replied. Thanks to Moore’s easy-to-understand translation, Atofe seemed to be following the conversation.

“Aha, I get it! I’m no dummy! I like it! Let’s do it!”

Wait, never mind, that sounded like she wasn’t following. She was nodding like Eris did after saying “Okay!” when she had no clue what was going on.

At least this response meant Geese stood zero chance of smooth-talking her into anything.

“Is that all you have to say?!” she demanded.

“Yes.”

And thus, I won Atofe’s allegiance. The Death God and the Immortal Demon King. By getting two people who’d beaten me before on my side, I felt like I’d gained a major advantage. Wherever Geese was, whatever he was doing, right now I felt like things were going smoothly on my end. At any rate, I’d come here prepared to have to fight. Avoiding that was a huge relief—

“Now, we duel!” Atofe yelled.

Um?

“You said, ‘before we fight’ before! You’re done talking. It’s time to duel!”

Um, did I say that? I… Wait, what?

I gave her the wine, then she forgave me. Then she promised to join my side… There was no reason for us to fight. This wasn’t right. Orsted hadn’t said anything about this!

“I am Immortal Demon King Atoferatofe Rybak! Come at me, all three of you heroes!”

Why, though…?

I was hesitating and there was a question mark hovering above Roxy’s head. Atofe’s personal guard didn’t seem surprised, so this was probably Atofe’s usual routine. There was a general sense of “Not again…” among the audience. Moore seemed similarly resigned. 

Only one person stepped forward as though they’d been waiting for this.

“You’ll fight me,” said Eris. She strode right up to Atofe until their noses were practically touching, as though she could care less about distance. 

“You wanna fight me one-on-one?” Atofe said. They looked like they might kiss, they were so close, staring each other down.

“You’re not worth Rudeus’s time,” Eris hissed.

“You talk big, kid,” Atofe replied. Eris’s goading had hit its mark. The murder in her eyes grew more and more intense. “In a hundred years, you’re the only one who’s ever talked like that to me.”

It would have sounded pretty badass if she hadn’t been holding a bottle in each hand. She’d smash them for sure if she launched into a battle like that…

Just then, Moore appeared at her side, saying, “I’ll look after those,” and took them away.

“You’d do well as one of my guards. I’ll smash you to a pulp, then add you to their ranks,” Atofe said. 

“When you lose, will you hear Rudeus out?” Eris retorted.

“Fine.”

Fight, win, make nice! Was she that simple? I guess I’d messed up. I’d been thinking about this wrong. “Here’s an offering, to forgive me, okay? And here’s another offering, so become my ally, okay?” All too complicated for Atofe!

Fine, fine. I knew from the start that this fight was practically inevitable.

We’d fight, win, then make Demon King Atofe our ally. We’d prepared for this.

All right, let’s go.

“Lady Atofe, please wait.” It was Moore. He ran over to Atofe, then whispered something in her ear. He was trying to convince her not to fight, I guessed. Ah, there was nothing like a man with a little sense. There was no point in pointless fighting. Love and peace.

“Say what…?” Atofe didn’t look pleased at whatever he was saying. Telling a battle-starved demon king not to fight was insanity.

See? Now Lady Atofe’s mad. She’s gonna punch you, I thought, just as Atofe called out, “Hey, you!” at me. She was beckoning. Crap, was I going to get punched? I wondered if I could block it… If she hit me in the face like with Moore I was a goner.

I walked, trembling, over the Atofe, but she just stared intently at me. She didn’t seem like she was winding up for a punch.

“You’re the princess,” she said.

“Huh? Oh…I guess? Um, I think so?”

“Eh heh heh. Here I thought you were a man.”

“I am a man.”

“Say what? You’re a princess even though you’re a man?”

Gender’s so fluid these days. Anyone can be a princess, I thought, but shut my mouth tight before I could say it out loud. Overly complicated words were a guaranteed ticket to getting my face bashed in.

“Hmph. Fine. Let’s do this!” Atofe suddenly grabbed me around the waist, lifted me up, and threw me over her shoulder.

Uh oh, a piledriver?! But it’s okay! The Magic Armor will handle it!

I braced myself, but she didn’t move to throw me on the ground. She held onto me like a sack of potatoes. If I was a princess, she shouldn’t haul me over her shoulder like this! It should be more, I don’t know, dainty-like?

“Rudy?”

“Rudeus?!” Roxy and Eris cried out. When I looked for them, I found the ground was suddenly far away. Atofe, with me on her shoulders, was flying.

This was bad. Way worse than a piledriver. Some other, more incredible move was coming…like a demon-king bomb! Crap! If I fell from this height, my skull would crack open like an egg! I squirmed, then got both my arms around Atofe in an attempt to escape—

“Hey! Hands off my butt!” she yelled. I hurriedly let go. 

It’s not like that, I swear. I wasn’t groping you or anything, and I definitely wasn’t being unfaithful! I didn’t have any control over it. 

She did have a nice butt, though. It was tight. Nothing but the best on a demon king, heh.

While I fretted, Atofe called out, “Champion! I have your princess! If you want her back, take her from me at Fort Necross!”

Um, I’m pretty sure this is Fort Necross…

“Eh heh heh… Mwa hah hah, mwaaaahahahaha!” she cackled. Her voice echoed through the back of my skull as the ground shrank further and further away. Where in the world was she taking me? What was going on? In the midst of my confusion, I caught a fleeting glimpse of Eris and Roxy, gawping up at us in stunned amazement.