Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 26 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The End of the Battle

A MONTH PASSED.

I was standing near the edge of the forest in which lay the Ravine of the Earthwyrm. Around me stood simply constructed wooden houses. In a clearing where the trees had been cut down, a jumble of people walked this way and that. There were Superd, human carpenters and laborers hired from the Biheiril Kingdom, woodcutters…and the Ruquag Mercenaries.

“Hey, Big Bro, could I get you to clear a few trees over on the eastern side of the forest?”

Naturally, Aisha was there too. She strode about the village and issued instructions to everyone. After getting her orders, the mercenaries were then under the command of Linia and Pursena. Watching this, you’d be hard-pressed to say who the real company leader was.

“Yeah, no problem.” I was working alongside them to rebuild the Superd Village. I cleared trees with magic. Then, I used earth magic to build foundations for houses and a road from the village to the Earthwyrm Ravine. There was lots to be done.

I’m sure you’re burning to know why Aisha and the Ruquag Mercenary Band were wandering around here, and why, when Alec showed up, no one was to be found except Orsted.

I guess I’d better explain.

It’s a short story: it was all Aisha’s scheme. Okay, well, scheme sounds like she was getting up to mischief, so let’s call it work—it was all Aisha’s work. When the teleportation circles and communication tablets stopped working, she and the mercenary company had been thrown into chaos. With their lines of contact with far-off nations cut off, unease, then panic set in. Not for Aisha, though. She stayed calm and coolly assessed the situation. They were close to the border. If the fighting had already begun, they wouldn’t get there in time, and there wouldn’t be much they could do. She concluded that, as there was a strong possibility that Geese might flee the scene, they would work on getting the teleportation circles running again—in other words, restoring infrastructure. 

The trouble was that in addition to the teleportation circles, all the magic circles back at the office that corresponded to the spare magic circles she had on her had been destroyed. There was nothing she could do. I’d have given up there, in her shoes. I mean, I did give up. But see, Aisha had a brainwave. Her genius brain remembered that a certain individual had a secret technique. This technique allowed one to draw a new magic circle corresponding to a teleportation circle whose pair had been destroyed, and thereby travel to where you wanted to go.

The individual in question…c’mon, you know the answer. It was none other than Armored Dragon King Perugius Dola.

To request his aid, Aisha had hunted down a monument to the Seven Great Powers that stood near the border. When she found it, she used Perugius’s flute to travel to the floating fortress. Perugius, knowing that we wanted to help demons, was reluctant, but something about Aisha convinced him.

“I’ll link up one for you,” he said.

Aisha chose to link the magic circle near the border with the teleportation circle that led to the Superd Village.

And so, here we were.

“I’m impressed you got Lord Perugius to agree.”

“Yeah, he really didn’t want to. But then I told him Orsted would owe him a favor for this battle and he softened up.”

After that, while I was busy fighting, she’d traveled to the Superd Village. After hearing what was going on, she used the teleportation circle to evacuate the residents and others to the town near the border… It was a close one. If Roxy, after returning to Sharia, had prioritized the ­ordinary teleportation circles rather than summoning the Magic Armor Version Zero, it would all have been for nothing. Luckily enough, Aisha had ended up covering Roxy’s mistake. 

It was just how the cards had fallen. Roxy was still mortified about it.

“Around here?”

“Yeah, just chop ’em all down. Better to make more space than less, right?”

“Fair enough. I’m on it.”

“Call me when you’re done, okay? I’ll get the mercenaries to cart the wood away.”

“Yes, sir.”

It had been a month since the battle. I’d stayed on alert, ready to fight, but the next battle never came. There wouldn’t be another one. So, I’d had Roxy, Sylphie, Zanoba, and everyone else head back to Sharia. Eris was also kind enough to accompany their party under the title of “bodyguard.” The magic circle for summoning the Version Zero and the one used in the evacuation had both been destroyed in Orsted’s battle with Alec, so I’d asked Perugius to send a decent portion of the party back again. Those who returned would work on rebuilding the office and restoring the communication tablets and teleportation circles. Apparently, nothing had happened in Sharia. Even the elf girl was safe and sound. The worst of the damage was that the weapons and armor kept under the office were buried, along with the detailed documents Orsted had written out every day. The evacuated Superd villagers connected back up with the magic circle in the Second City of Irelil and returned from near the border. After that, the Biheiril Kingdom officially welcomed the Superd. The kingdom was happy to accept them as citizens. It probably helped that after losing the Third City and the Ogre God, they weren’t in a position to say no. They did set one condition, which was that to facilitate taking the Superd into the country, a minimum of three Superd be sent from the village to serve the kingdom. This was how it had been when establishing peace with the ogres, reportedly. Those three envoys had been chosen and were now working toward restoring the village. If the restoration continued without any problems, the Superd would have a home in the Biheiril Kingdom before long. 

We had defeated the disciples and made the Superd, the ogres, and the Biheiril Kingdom our allies. We’d won. But could this really be called victory?

“Master Rudeus.”

“Oh, Sandor.” While cutting down trees, lost in my thoughts, Sandor appeared behind me. He wasn’t alone, either. Ghislaine, Isolde, and Dohga were with him. 

Sandor had come back around ten days after the battle ended. Not only had the Fighting God dealt him a mortal wound, he’d also been thrown into the ocean. He somehow managed to drift to Ogre Island, where he took some time to recover. It was impressive that he’d taken on the Fighting God and made it back alive. Only, when I saw him again, he looked uncomfortable. I guess maybe, when you went by the name of North God Kalman, losing in and of itself was an embarrassment. Or wait, maybe it had nothing to do with that, and he was embarrassed because he’d been acting like such a big shot all the time…

“Hey. What do you need?”

“Oh, nothing—we’re planning on returning to Asura soon, you see. So we came to say our farewells.”

“Ah. Right.”

Their work here was over. They were Ariel’s subjects at the end of the day, so if there was no fighting to be done, they had to go home.

“Sandor, thank you,” I said. “We’d never have made it this far if not for you.”

“Please, it’s Queen Ariel you owe your thanks to.”

“Sure thing. Please tell Her Majesty to let me know right away if she ever runs into trouble. Tell her I won’t hesitate to help.”

“Very well.”

Sandor, Dohga, Ghislaine, and Isolde. Each of them was at least a King-tier sword fighter. I couldn’t thank Ariel enough for sending me such a powerful lineup.

“Thank you too, Ghislaine.”

“Don’t thank me. By the way…I’m thinking I’ll come pay a visit to the grave.”

“Understood. I’ll be waiting.” 

Ghislaine left it at that.

“And you, Dohga. I’d have died after falling into the ravine if you hadn’t been there, so thank you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“If you ever have a personal favor I can do for you, please let me know. I want to pay you back for saving my life.”

“Uh-huh!” 

All Dohga said was “Uh-huh,” but he seemed a little sad to be parting. 

“And thank you, Isolde. If you hadn’t stood between me and the Fighting God, I’d be dead.”

“Not at all! It was a highly educational battle. I should be thanking you.” Isolde bowed gracefully, then grinned. From her face to the way she held herself, she was as beautiful as ever. It made me wonder what the men of Asura were thinking if this woman were still single. 

“And please give my best to the medical team,” I said.

“I will. If that is all…we will take our leave.” Sandor bowed, then turned. As he did so, however, I remembered something I’d forgotten to say and called it out after his back.

“About Lady Atofe—I’m sorry.”

Sandor had come back, but he was the only one. Atofe was still missing. She must have been swept away by the ocean. She wouldn’t be found for centuries, and the same was true for Moore.

“You needn’t worry about my mother,” Sandor said at last. “One of these days she’ll pop up where you least expect it. It’s the Ogre God I really feel bad for.”

“Yes… True.” 

The Ogre God had been confirmed dead. He had fought well against the Fighting God, but he wasn’t an immortal demon. In the end, his strength had failed, and he had died. And after we’d managed to reconcile. It really was too bad. 

“Still, it does no good to lament the dead.”

“I agree. We have to look forward.”

I’d made the Ogre God a promise. If he died, I would protect the surviving ogres. They weren’t in any danger at the moment, but even if it was only a promise, I wanted to keep my word if a threat reared its ugly head.

“Farewell, then,” Sandor said.

“Yes. Thank you for everything.”

“Ah, one more thing… Watch out for Alec for me.”

At length, I said, “I will.” 

Sandor left. No sooner had he gone than I saw Cliff walking up. Elinalise was with him.

“Rudeus.”

“Cliff.”

“Are they going home, too?”

“They are. Are you leaving as well, Cliff?”

“Yeah. Seeing as everything seems to have wrapped up… We never did get to the bottom of what caused the plague, but seeing as a month has passed without any further outbreaks, and they’ve changed where they live…I’m ­going home, for now.”

I was just as indebted to Cliff as the others. We couldn’t have cured the plague without him…even if it was technically the work of the Abyssal King rather than a true plague. 

“Thank you, Cliff. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come…”

“It’s you we’re talking about. I’m sure you’d have worked something out yourself. Call me if there’s another outbreak.”

“I will… Cliff, I’ve done nothing but rely on you. I don’t even know to best thank you.”

“I can only leave Lise and Clyde to go do my best work in Millis because your family are there to look after them in Sharia. It’s mutual, Rudeus.”

It was kind of him to say that.

“Anyway, I’ll be seeing you… Oh, but first, I plan on stopping off at your house on the way home. Anything you want me to pass on?”

“Tell them I’ll be home really soon.”

“Got it,” Cliff said. 

They left with that. Elinalise shot me a wink before she took off after Cliff. She’d helped out plenty too, but I hadn’t been able to say anything to her…but then, she was a neighbor. I could show my thanks through actions. 

I really had received a lot help this time. Take Cliff: without him, the Superd might have been wiped out by the plague. Without Sandor and Dohga, I wouldn’t be standing here. Atofe’s timing had been utterly godly. First the Atofe Hand, then that perfectly timed attack on Ogre Island. You could say I owed my life to her as well. 

Leaving her missing felt so ungrateful that, once things had settled down, I wanted to go out to sea and search for her. 

The fight ended, and everyone went home. It was an empty feeling, like when a big event wraps up and everyone drifts away from it. 

“All right.” I’d finished clearing the trees during my musing. Before me spread a pristine stretch of land. After pulling the trees out by their roots, I’d piled them up neatly using earth magic. A job well done, if I do say so myself.

“Cool, so now Aisha will… Oh?” I turned around just as Ruijerd and Norn came walking up.

“There you are, Big Brother.”

“Norn! Perfect timing. Could I get you to go and tell Aisha that I’m done clearing the trees?”

“Yes, of course,” Norn replied. She turned at once and ran back toward the village.

Ruijerd drew closer. “Rudeus.”

“Ruijerd.”

“Sorry to put you through all this.”

“Hey now,” I shot back, “we promised not to talk like that, Mister.”

“I made no such promise.”

“No, I guess you didn’t.”

Ruijerd was working on the village’s recovery. After that, he’d probably frequent our office, or else take a role negotiating with the Biheiril Kingdom. Norn followed him around everywhere. It looked like she planned on staying and helping him out, at least until the village was rebuilt.

“Please come and visit Sharia again once the village is finished.”

“I will. I want to meet your children.”

“They’re super cute.”

“All parents say that about their children,” Ruijerd said, smiling. Then, he looked at me. We were practically the same height. “You really got stronger,” he said. “I never thought you’d go as far as becoming one of the Seven Great Powers.”

“You could become one right now if you wanted. One punch from you, Ruijerd, and I’m down. One punch.”

“Don’t joke.”

“Still, it’s a fact that I didn’t get here through my own strength alone.”

“Perhaps that is your strength.”

“Maybe so.”

After watching me for a little while, Ruijerd smiled. He took the pendant that hung around his neck and held it out to me. It was Roxy’s pendant.

“It’s time for me to return this.”

“But this is…”

“It should be yours after all.” I’d given this pendant to Ruijerd when we parted for the first time. Roxy’s pendant, the one that seemed to have at some point become my mark. This very pendant had first inspired me to go out into this world.

“Thank you,” I said, and accepted it. When I gave it to him back then, it had been for a silly reason. When we’d parted I hadn’t needed him to give it back, I’d just wanted him to take it with him. Maybe I wanted a connection with him. Now, he had given it back. Because we were already like brothers. We wouldn’t be parting again for a long while. 

“Ruijerd, you’ll have my back, right?”

“I will, though it might be beyond me.”

“We can each be what the other lacks.”

Ruijerd chuckled. “That we can.” 

I smiled, and Ruijerd smiled back.

***

Norn brought the mercenaries along with her, and Ruijerd went back to the village. I left the construction sites and walked to the magic circles. I thought it was about time to head back to Sharia for a bit.

Then, with a start, I noticed another person coming the other way. It was Orsted wearing his black helmet as usual, and he wasn’t alone. A black-haired boy trailed after him like a retainer. It reminded me of Atofe and Moore, or Perugius and Sylvaril. Like he’d been in this role for a hundred years. As much as I wanted to point out that I’d been here first, if it came to blows I’d lose. I kept my mouth shut. 

Still, whenever I saw him, my teeth were on edge.

“Is something the matter?”

“No,” I muttered.

“If I have done anything to offend you, please let me know. I’ll be sure not to repeat it.”

My wariness notwithstanding, Alec had grown submissive since that day. He was so earnest it made me wonder if it wasn’t a cover for something else. Orsted demanded absolute obedience from me as well, though, so I knew it was genuine.

“I understand why you are wary, but after the battle the other day, I know my place. I understand now how inexperienced and insignificant I am. I hope to devote myself to study under Sir Orsted and you, Sir Rudeus, during which time I will seek to understand what it means to be a hero, and what it means to be North God. I have had my sword hand sealed—as you can see here—as both proof of my intentions and as a warning to myself.” Alec raised his right arm to show me. It was severed cleanly at the wrist with a pattern carved into the stump. Orsted had cast that seal. Because of his immortal demon blood, Alec regenerated even when cut to pieces. He couldn’t do it as speedily as Badigadi or Atofe, but it would inevitably happen after enough time. That was why, after cutting his right hand off, he’d asked Orsted to put a seal on it to stop it from growing back. It was proof of his loyalty.

I supplied the mana to the sealing magic circle, by the way.

“I’m hardly a threat with only my left hand, am I?” Alec continued.

“I think you could kill me with both arms missing, actually. With a headbutt or something.”

“You needn’t worry…but then, such modesty is to be praised, I suppose. I look forward to your continued advice and guidance.”

“R-right… I really do think that, you know.”

Orsted apparently trusted Alec, for he didn’t say anything about letting him stay close. I, meanwhile, had the feeling Alec was going to knife me in the back one day. Put plainly, he scared me. Even knowing that he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box, scary’s still scary.

“So, uh, if you ever find yourself thinking, ‘Gee, I really want to be in the Seven Great Powers again,’ let me know? I’ll give it back any time.”

“Oh! About that, once I believe I’ve gained sufficient experience, I will ask you again.”

“You will ask me, right? Sneak attacks from behind are against the rules.”

“It may be that I challenge the Sword God and not you, Master Rudeus. Though rest assured that if I do challenge you, I shall do it with honor!”

“And no sharp edges, okay? I don’t want to fight to the death.”

“Understood!”

At present, the Seven Great Powers stood as follows:

Number One: Technique God Laplace.

Number Two: Dragon God Orsted.

Number Three: Fighting God Badigadi.

Number Four: Demon God Laplace.

Number Five: Death God Randolph.

Number Six: Sword God Gino Britz.

Number Seven: Quagmire Rudeus Greyrat.

I was the only one who looked ridiculously out of place, and I didn’t like it. It also really got me down thinking that I’d have to put up with idiots coming and attacking me to try and win a spot in the lineup. 

My mark was the mark of the Migurds, which I’d rarely shown off up until now. Even after Ruijerd had returned Roxy’s pendant to me, I didn’t plan to start waving it around for anyone to see. No one should know who the Great Power actually was. My name wasn’t especially well-known either, so that should keep the challengers at bay.

Yeah, I’d stick with “Number Seven: Identity Unknown” for a while. 

In case you’re interested, the Fighting God’s rank didn’t change in the last battle. Orsted said that it wouldn’t change unless the Fighting God Armor was totally annihilated. 

I turned my gaze away from the fired-up and antsy Alec toward Orsted.

“Sir Orsted, ah…how are you feeling these days?” I asked. He had been listening in silence to our conversation.

“Not bad. Using a little mana doesn’t worsen things especially, anyway.”

Orsted had used mana in the last fight, and a lot of it. He said it had taken about half of his total. The fight had looked like an easy victory from where I was standing, and given he’d finished with full HP and only used half his MP, you couldn’t say it hadn’t been. Things looked different when he couldn’t recover any of that MP, though. He had used the mana he’d been saving for Laplace and the Man-God. We’d won, but the Man-God had satisfied one of his own victory conditions. Would it still count as a victory for us?

“Our allies are more numerous and our enemies fewer. I will have still less reason for using magic from here on out.”

Orsted didn’t seem bothered by it. Maybe he was trying to be optimistic.

“I sure hope so,” I said.

“Even if it does not turn out so, this time was different to all that came before. Thus, we need only continue along a different path to before. I am already resolved to that.”

Orsted was counting on me. Even if he used up the mana he was keeping for Laplace and the Man-God, it didn’t matter to him because I was fighting alongside him.

It seemed that to him, this had been a perfect victory. If he thought it was a win, it was. To be sure, there had been hardly any deaths—the Ogre God, several Superd, and several of Atofe’s personal guard. That was the extent of the casualties. Orsted’s mana was the only area where I felt like we’d been defeated. 

“Oh, yes. What did you need me for?”

“I will be returning to Sharia.”

“Understood. I was thinking about going back myself… Oh, but I didn’t think the office had been rebuilt yet?”

“No matter. There will be somewhere I can sleep.”

The basement with the teleportation circles had been dug out to a bare minimum with earth magic, but with the restoration work continuing, it would need to be expanded. I also had to come up with a countermeasure to stop something like the Ogre God’s destructive rampage from happening to it again. Admittedly, I was fresh out of good ideas on that score. It might be better to not have magic circles for any nations outside the principle ones. It was shocking that I’d never considered the possibility of an enemy using them to break in before.

“But first, I will go and see him one last time.”

Oh. Him.

“I’ll accompany you,” I said. 

***

That night, Orsted and I went to the Ravine of the Earthwyrm—to the bottom of the ravine. We went down the level path surrounded by blue mushrooms and lichen, to a little hole carved so it was concealed in the wall. It was about a meter tall; due to its slight curvature, it looked from the outside like it ran straight into a dead end. If you followed it ten meters or so down, it let out into a large cavern. In the cavern was a vast, glowing magic circle with a sword at its center. Maybe vast was overstating it. It was five meters in radius at most. Within it lay a reclining man.

“So, you have come.”

It was Fighting God Badigadi. His body had been split into five pieces, each of which was sealed in a different location in the ravine. His main body was here. This barrier couldn’t be broken unless the other four seals were broken first. It operated using the mana from Badigadi’s own body and was amplified—and therefore, sustained—by the King Dragon Blade and the Fighting God Armor. It would go on operating almost in perpetuity. It was a custom-made barrier magic circle, a Perugius specialty. It was Divine-tier barrier magic, created to seal the Demon God. The sealed subject served as the medium and the magical implements as vectors, and the more powerful each were, the stronger the barrier became. This one used both the Fighting God Armor and the King Dragon Blade, meaning the barrier it generated was so powerful that even Orsted would be helpless to escape it. Using two Divine-tier pieces of equipment as one part of a barrier might have been overdoing it a tad. But that equipment was far more formidable in the hands of our enemies than used by us. Given that just the other day our enemies had used our teleportation circles against us, this wasn’t out of proportion to the threat. As long as the seal on Badigadi remained intact, it effectively rendered the Magic Armor and King Dragon Blade sealed as well.

If anyone broke through this, we might as well just give up there and then. That was the reasoning.

Orsted had gone to Perugius to request the base for the barrier. He had bowed his head and asked Perugius for his aid, and Perugius had agreed. It wasn’t just about the barrier: Perugius was Orsted’s ally now. They were joined by a bond of fellowship. But Orsted would later have to kill Perugius. He had chosen the path of betrayal.

I was indebted to Perugius and Orsted both, so my personal feelings about it were complicated. I knew that Orsted hadn’t wanted to do it this way. That he had chosen it anyway meant that it wasn’t for me to say anything about it. If only, I thought, there was a way to get to the Man-God without using the Dragon Tribe’s sacred treasures, but I knew it wasn’t a problem you could solve with wishes and a little time in a library.

Ah, well. Maybe it wasn’t something I ought to be thinking about. I had the guy in front of me to worry about right now.

“I am terribly sorry, Your Majesty, but as you’re a disciple of the Man-God, we had no choice.”

“I am cramped,” Badigadi said pompously as he lay there like a reclining Buddha. “I should like a little more freedom of movement.”

I had my own relationship with jail cells, but I think even I would have found the sealed barrier cramped. Having said that, I hated the idea of killing him. Kishirika had also asked us not to.

“I really am sorry, but this is as much as I can do.”

“Humph. Then so it must be!” Badigadi said, adding a little fwahaha of laughter.

He had two arms, and his body was smaller than it had been before. That was the result of the seal.

“Now! What brings you here, pray tell? I assume you have not come to drink and make merry while basking in my sultry allure?”

“Sir Orsted has something to speak with you about,” I said, then stepped aside for Orsted.

“Demon King Badigadi,” he intoned.

“Good evening to you, Master Dragon God. And how may I be of assistance?”

“Leave the Man-God and submit to me.”

For a moment, Badigadi gaped at him. But then, he burst out in raucous laughter. “Fwahahahahahaha!” It echoed around the cavern.

“The pariah of the dragon tribe dares command me, an immortal demon, to bow down to him?”

“There was a time when we were enemies, but you are a friend of Rudeus’s. Alex, Alexander, and Atofe have all allied themselves with me. There is surely room for you to consider it.”

“There is not!” Badigadi said defiantly.

“But why, Great-Uncle?” Alec, who had been standing near the entrance to the cavern, stepped forward. “You’re defeated, are you not? In accordance with the laws of the immortal demons—”

“Alec, do not misunderstand. That is not a rule across all of immortal demonkind. It is an Atofe rule.”

““Have you pledged your loyalty to the Man-God then, Great-Uncle?”

“I have not.” Badigadi sat up and shook his head. Then he folded his only pair of arms and crossed his legs. “I was not one for fighting, originally. What I liked was to travel, to drink and be merry, seducing passing women, bedding them, on occasion. Taking a beating from a jilted fiancé, making friends and drinking, laughing, and singing, then looking around at the worn-out faces, sleeping and satisfied. The Man-God came to me, head bowed, and asked me to fight, and so I did. That is all it was. ‘I want you to kill Dragon God Orsted and Rudeus Greyrat, no matter what,’ he said. ‘Who do you have to thank that you and Kishirika are alive in the same era?’ he said. And he asked me to remember four thousand two hundred years back and repay the debt I owed him. As a result, I agreed to help him this one time.” He paused for a moment. “That one time has passed. Now, I ally myself to no one! If my choice is to fight or to be sealed in this place, then I choose to remain sealed.”

That made me think that maybe we could let him go. Though he was still a disciple of the Man-God, so we couldn’t just blindly let him loose after nothing more than a bout of smooth talk.

“Either way,” Badigadi went on, grinning at me as I pondered, “You’ll release me when your fight against the Man-God concludes, will you not?”

“Yes,” Orsted said. I looked at him, and that’s when I realized. 

It wouldn’t happen during my lifetime, but if Orsted won his battle with the Man-God, there’d be no need to keep Badigadi chained up any longer.

“It will be a hundred years hence.”

“Not so soon then. I shall be patient,” Badigadi said, then lay back down. With a nod, Orsted turned to leave. It looked like the discussion was over. That was quick.

“Your Majesty, I…I know this might not be the best circumstances to say it, but I wanted to thank you for everything at the Magic University.”

“Listen well, Rudeus. This may be the last time we meet, so I shall say it now: congratulations.”

“Congra…tulations?”

“You were victorious, thus, I congratulate you.”

“I’m not sure if I was, though…”

That was exactly what I was worried about. In the end, Orsted had used his mana. I’d slipped up at the very last moment.

But Badigadi didn’t mention that.

“You have given the Man-God a taste of defeat.”

“I gave him…what?”

“You have made him think that, no matter what he might try, he cannot kill you. He has lost all will to try. Indeed, it is hard to describe how he looked when I saw him last, except that he looked the very image of defeat. What else to call the one who fought him but victorious?”

“Is that really true?” I asked.

“You need only take off that bracelet and pay him a visit yourself to verify it.” He pointed at me, and my hand unconsciously went to cover the bracelet.

“I…don’t think I will, thanks.”

“No? Well. As you like it!”

I wasn’t falling for that one. I never wanted to see the Man-God again, though he had seemed pretty desperate when I’d last seen him at the bottom of the ravine. Maybe he really had taken this last battle as a heavy defeat. I still didn’t trust Badigadi when he said the Man-God had lost the will to try any more, though.

“Is that all?”

“Yes, from me, at least.”

“Then keep yourself well, Rudeus.”

I turned and followed after Orsted. As I did so, Alec ran forward, looking anguished.

“Great-Uncle…I…”

“Listen well, young Alexander. If you seek to be a hero, find your true foe. That was something your father never did. You will surpass him when you strike down that foe.”

“Thank you,” Alec replied, and he, too, turned to leave.

This would probably be my final farewell to Badigadi in this life. Nothing stopped me from dropping by once a year or so, but talking to him I might weaken and end up breaking the seal. Better not to come at all. I hadn’t told any of the others from the Magic University that Badigadi was sealed here either. Only five people knew: me, Orsted, Ruijerd, Alec, and Perugius. We’d already ­decided that Ruijerd would watch from the village to make sure no one visited the ravine. Not many could make it to the bottom of the ravine or make it back up again. And a hundred years shouldn’t be long enough for the seal to spontaneously fail.

And then—

“Rudeus, the entrance.”

“Understood.”

I would fill in the narrow entrance. Anyone who came after would have to dig it out if they wanted to find it again. This was goodbye.

At the end, ever so faintly, I thought I heard Badigadi’s voice.

“May it be that your curse is lifted, young Dragon God.”

***

Early the next morning, before the sun rose, I returned to Sharia. Between the new office currently under construction and rubble left from the old, there was a makeshift accommodation where Zanoba—our acting director of construction—and the others were sleeping all packed together. Zanoba! He’d been a big help, too. I hoped we could go on being the sort of friends who always had each other’s backs.

“Goodbye, Rudeus,” he ushered me onward. “Until next time.”

The same went for Orsted. On the outskirts of the town, we parted ways. I walked on through the streets in the morning mist. I was carrying presents from the Biheiril Kingdom—largely soy sauce. So long as I had this soy sauce, I’d never be at a loss for what to eat again. Soy sauce goes with everything. 

Well, everything might be an overstatement.

I looked around. Sharia was just as I remembered it. The people were the same—farmers heading off to their fields, adventurers training in inn courtyards, and a man in a robe who might have been a professor at the university. Snowdrifts lined the road I walked on as I passed each traveler, heading toward home. I went through the central square to the residential district. Seeing it made me feel somehow nostalgic. It was a street I walked down practically every day, and yet seeing it felt like I was coming home for the first time in my life. 

From the street, I turned down a back alley. This alley, too narrow for carts, provided a tiny shortcut that I’d used often. Coming out of the alley, I could see my house. Byt was coiled tightly around the gatepost and opened the gate for me as I drew closer. I passed the garden and the slightly neglected garden. Dillo the armadillo spotted me and came to rub himself against my legs. I crouched down to rub his head, at which he rolled over to show me his belly. As I rubbed his tummy, he purred happily. He was a cute little guy.

Then, I heard a loud noise from the entrance to the house.

“Dada!” A little girl with hair the same color as mine came running out. It was Lucie. She came sprinting over like she was going to tackle me around the knees, so I crouched down to meet her. With a sizable thud, a ball of softness and warmth threw itself into my arms. This was unusual—she was always hiding behind Sylphie.

“I’m home, Lucie.”

“Welcome back,” she said eventually.

“Have you been a good girl?”

“Yes! I’ve been looking after Lara and Arus and Sieg!”

“Have you really? You’re a real big sister now, aren’t you?” I said. Lucie’s arms squeezed even tighter around me, spurring me to pick her up. I walked up to the house with her in my arms. From inside came a smell that somehow put me at ease—the familiar smell that hung around our house. Since we’d first bought this house, the number of inhabitants had increased. As we’d lived in it, it had changed, but I was so used to it that I didn’t notice how it smelled. But now, coming back after a long time away, and from a brush with death, no less, I felt all the tension drain out of me. My heart was at ease. It was a smell that let me know I was home.

“Hello, Lilia. Hello, Mother.” As I stood filling my lungs with the smell of home, I saw Lilia and Zenith in front of the stairs. 

Lilia bowed deeply when she saw me. “Welcome home, Master.”

“Thank you for looking after the house while I was gone, Lilia.”

“Not at all, Master. I’m so glad to see you safely home.”

“It will be a little longer before Norn and Aisha come back.”

“Thank you for letting me know. Oh, but I am glad you’re safe… When the Dragon God’s residence on the outskirts of the city was attacked, I was beside myself with worry. I am so glad, so very glad…” Lilia made normal conversation for a while, but it wasn’t long before she put her hand to her mouth as though she couldn’t hold it back any longer. Her shoulders shook. She started weeping.

“I’m sorry I made you worry…”

I’d had no means of contacting her, so there was nothing I could have done. It did make sense that, after the company I was working for was crushed by a rival company, she would have been beside herself. And in truth, things could easily have turned out as she’d feared. And not only for me; any of the others might have failed to come back from that fight. I had done everything I could to ensure everyone did come home, but it was a miracle that none of the people I cared most about had died. 

On the other hand, I couldn’t honestly say that I could stop anything like this from happening again.

“There shouldn’t be another big battle like this one for a while, so please, don’t worry anymore.”

“That’s good,” Lilia said. “I’m so very sorry you had to see me go to pieces like this.”

I realized that Zenith was rubbing Lilia’s back. Had I made Zenith worry too? She seemed to have lost her negative emotions, but I thought she’d at least worry about me. She was that sort of person.

Anyway.

“I’m home,” I said. I took a step into the house. It ­finally felt real that my long battle with Geese was over.

***

It was the day after the end of the battle had really sunk in, and I couldn’t relax. The battle with Geese was over, which was to say, the contract I’d made with myself was over, too. 

Look. You know what that meant.

The battle had gone on for so long that this way of life had started to feel natural to me, but early that morning, my little guy had started reasserting himself. Talk about an insistent reminder. 

My name was Rudeus Greyrat, son of Paul Greyrat, which meant treachery from below my belt was part of my DNA. I’d put Rudeus Jr. through a long period of hardship and endurance. That was what had enabled me to do my best. As the first Rudeus, it was my duty to see he was repaid. He’d fulfilled his side of the contract.

Before the sun had risen, I got out of bed, went downstairs, and headed for the front door. There, I found Leo and Eris.

“Rudeus! You’re up early today.”

“Morning, Eris. Where is everyone?”

“All safe.”

“Not that. I mean what are they doing?”

Eris thought for a moment. “Lilia and Sylphie are making breakfast, and Roxy and the children and your mother are still asleep. I just finished training, so I was about to go for a run.”

“Right,” I said softly, taking Eris’s hand. She squeezed my fingers. Maybe because she’d just been training, but her hand was warm. I noticed her face was also a little flushed.

“Wh-what?” she said.

“Eris, let’s take today off.”

“R-right! Okay!” The way she said “okay” sounded like she’d guessed exactly what I had in mind. Maybe it showed on my face.

She was right on the money.

“Sorry, Leo, but no walk for now.”

“Ruff.” Leo looked a bit disappointed, but he gave my hand a little lick, then went back into the house. 

I followed him inside, still holding Eris’s hand, and headed for the kitchen. Lilia and Sylphie stood beside each other cooking.

“Sylphie,” I said.

“Oh, good morning, Rudy. You’re up early.”

“Good morning, Master.” Both women smiled at me like they always did. I turned to Sylphie then, with a smile so natural I surprised myself, said, “Sylphie, let’s take today off.”

“What? I don’t mind, but when you say ‘day off’…” She looked at me quizzically. But Lilia seemed to catch on right away.

“Very well. I’ll finish up breakfast, Miss Sylphie.”

“Oh…” Sylphie said, her face going red. “That’s what you mean.” She smiled shyly, then took the hand Eris wasn’t holding. Maybe it was because she’d wet her hands while cooking, but her fingers were a little cold. 

“When you said it, Rudy, the look on your face was so normal that I didn’t realize. Did you see it straight away, Eris?”

“I just sort of knew!”

As the other two chatted, I turned to Lilia. “Lilia, please watch the children until lunchtime. Oh, and let’s all go out to eat tonight.”

“Very well, Master.” She smiled like she’d seen right through my plans, though she also seemed a little embarrassed.

Well, it was a bit late for that.

Holding hands with Sylphie and Eris, we headed for the children’s bedroom. I quietly opened the door and peeked inside. The four kids were sound asleep. Lucie, Lara, Arus, and Sieg. Leo was curled up in a corner of the room, watching over them.

In the battle, I’d worried so much about my family. Despite my fears, all was peaceful here. Unless some battle had taken place at the house, unbeknownst to me, and Leo had protected them…

Anyway, after checking that the children were all well, I softly shut the door again. Then, we went upstairs to Roxy’s room. In the interests of good manners, I knocked.

There was a pause for a few seconds, then, “Yes?”

I opened the door and saw Roxy, her eyes bleary with sleep. Her hair was rumpled and there were drool marks around her mouth. Her nightgown hung open at the front, so that I could almost see inside. Very sexy.

“Oh…Rudy. Good morning. It’s so early, did something…?”

“Good morning, Roxy. I thought we’d take a day off. What do you think?”

Roxy stared blankly at me, then she seemed to work out what “day off” meant. Toying with her sleep-tousled bangs, her cheeks turning pink, she said, “Well, I don’t mind, but…” I followed her gaze to one of the two women holding my hands. “Did Eris agree to this?”

I looked at Eris. Her face was red, and she looked a bit shell shocked.

“I was just about to ask her.” Turning to face Eris properly, I said, “Eris, I’d like to go back to my bedroom with the four of us. Is that okay with you?”

Eris seemed to understand what I meant. Her face went even redder, and she pursed her lips. She probably would have struck her favorite pose if she’d had both hands free.

“Well, I suppose, if you really want to…”

Sorry, Eris. I just wanted to treat myself a little today. And bid farewell to Rudeus the Celibate.

“Thank you,” I said. I didn’t just say it because Eris had given her permission. I was thanking all three of them for everything they’d done to support me up to this moment. I was so thankful I hadn’t lost any of them. 

Geese and Badigadi had both said it was over now. That the Man-God wouldn’t bother me anymore. I didn’t believe a word of it: the Man-God would be my enemy for as long as I lived. But today, I’d relax and do absolutely nothing. Not a thing. Rest. Get my strength back for tomorrow, and spend a day in peace. To remind myself that I could still laugh, and—

Nah, I’m messing with you. I was gonna get laid. From today on, I was Rudeus the Free. Felt good.

With that, we headed for the bedroom.