Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

The Adventurers’ Inn 

B y the time we left the guild, it was getting dark outside. The sky was still bright, but the streets of Rikarisu seemed oddly gloomy. After a second, I realized it was a side effect of its location; the tall walls of the crater had cast the city into shadow well before the sun actually set. It’d probably be pitch black in no time. 

“I guess we should find an inn right away.” 

Eris looked over me with a puzzled expression. “Can’t we just camp outside the city or something?” 

“Oh, come on. Might as well get a good night’s sleep in a real bed when we’re staying in a town, right?” 

“You think?” 

Ruijerd didn’t seem to have an opinion one way or another. When we were camping out in the field, he’d often handled the night watch duties all by himself, since he could sense approaching enemies even when he was half-asleep. I’d woken a couple times in the middle of the night to the sound of something exploding, only to realize that Ruijerd had just sliced apart some hapless monster. It wasn’t exactly conducive to a relaxing rest. 

Anyway, an inn was definitely in order. For one thing, I was starving. We could probably buy something in the city, but we still had a ton of dried meat left over from the other day. It was probably smarter to finish that and keep our expenses down for now, but I was hungry enough that I at least wanted someplace to sit down and stuff my face in peace. 

“Hey, Rudeus! Look at that!” 

Eris’s voice was full of excitement. Curious as to what she’d spotted, I looked up to find that the inner walls of the crater had begun shining faintly; the light seemed to be growing brighter by the second. 

“This is amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it before!” 

By the time the sun set completely, the crater’s walls were brilliantly illuminating the stone and clay buildings of the city. It felt like we’d stumbled into a lit-up amusement park. 

“Wow. That’s really something, isn’t it?” 

Of course, I’d spent my previous life in a place that never got completely dark at any time, so I wasn’t quite as awestruck as Eris. Still, this was definitely a magical spectacle. Why were the walls shining like that anyway? 

“Ah. Those are the illuminators.” 

“Hm? You know something about this, Raiden?” 

“Raiden? Who’s that? Hm. Was there a Sword God a few generations ago with that name…?” 

Naturally, the reference was completely lost on Ruijerd. There probably wasn’t a single person in this entire world who would have understood it. Kind of depressing. 

“Sorry. I used to know someone by that name, and he knew all sorts of weird things, so… It was just a slip of the tongue.” 

“I see.” 

Ruijerd reached down and patted me gently on the head, like a man comforting a child who’d reminisced about a deceased parent. 

Uh, just for the record, Raiden isn’t my dad’s name or anything. My old man’s named Pat or Pablo or something like that. Pretty decent father, pretty crappy human being. 

“Anyway, what are these illuminator things?” 

“They’re a variety of magic stone.” 

“How do they work?” 

“They absorb light during the day, then release it like this once it’s dark. They shine for less than half as long as the daylight hours, though.” 

So they were basically solar-powered lights? I didn’t see anything like these back in Asura. It was surprising they weren’t in broader usage, considering how convenient they sounded. 

“So why don’t people use these all over the place?” 

“Mainly, it’s because the stones themselves are rather rare.” 

“Huh? Looks like they’ve got a ton of them here, though…” It had to take a huge number of those things to light up an entire city like this, right? 

“The Great Demon Empress apparently had them brought here at the height of her power. You see that over there?” Ruijerd pointed to the broken fortress at the center of the city, shining faintly in the light of the stones. “It was all so her castle would glow beautifully in the night.” 

“Wow. That seems a little…excessive.” An image of the Demon Empress popped unbidden into my mind. It was Eris in a dominatrix outfit, shrieking, “More light! I need more light, so that the world may know my beauty!” 

“Doesn’t anybody try to steal them or anything?” 

“I’ve heard it’s forbidden, but I don’t know the details.” 

Right. This was Ruijerd’s first time in Rikarisu, too, after all. The stones seemed to be positioned fairly high up the crater’s walls, so maybe it was tricky to get to them unless you could fly. 

“At the time, the project was widely condemned as a selfish waste, but I suppose it’s proven useful in the end.” 

“Hmm. Maybe the Empress actually did it for the good of her citizens.” 

“That I highly doubt. The woman was infamous for her decadence and self-indulgence.” 

Ooh. I like the sound of those words. If this lady’s still alive somewhere, I’d love to meet her. We’re definitely talking about a sexy succubus type here. 

“Hey, sometimes truth’s stranger than fiction, right?” 

“Is that some sort of human proverb?” 

“Yep. Think about it though. The Superd don’t have a great reputation either, but they’re actually kind-hearted people, aren’t they?” 

Ruijerd patted my head affectionately. I wasn’t sure how I felt about being petted like this at my age, but…let’s think this over, shall we? Yes, I was basically in my mid-forties, mentally speaking. But this guy was in his 560s . Just chop off a digit if it’s too hard to wrap your head around that. Now we’ve got the equivalent of a four-year-old being patted by a fifty-six-year-old. That’s nice and heartwarming, right? 

“Hey, Rudeus! Why don’t we go check that place out?!” Eris said, pointing at the ruined, jet-black castle looming ominously against the night sky. 

“Not tonight, Eris,” I said. “Let’s find an inn.” 

“Oh, come on! We can just take a little look around!” 

Well, now I’d got her pouting. It was charming enough that I was tempted to indulge her, but based on what Ruijerd said earlier, this light wasn’t going to last forever. The last thing we needed was to find ourselves plunged into total darkness just as we reached the castle. 

“I’ve been feeling kind of worn out lately, Eris. I’d rather head to an inn.” 

“Huh? Are you all right?” 

I wasn’t lying. It probably had something to do with the fact that I wasn’t used to traveling, but I’d been feeling kind of sluggish for the last few days. I could still move just fine in battle, so it hadn’t been a major issue yet. Still, I did seem to be getting tired more quickly than usual. Maybe the stress was getting to me. “I’m fine, Eris. It’s nothing too serious.” 

“Really? Well, all right then… I guess I’ll have to be patient.” 

Now that was a phrase I never would’ve expected to hear from Miss Eris Boreas Greyrat. The girl really had come a long way in the last few years, hadn’t she? 

*** 

We settled on a place called the Wolfclaw Inn. It had a total of twelve rooms, and the rate was five stone coins per night. The building itself had seen better days, but they openly welcomed beginner adventurers, and the price was definitely fair. For an extra stone coin, they provided morning and evening meals, and if you were an adventuring party with more than two people staying in a single room, they waived that fee altogether. As part of that newbie-friendly strategy, the rate stayed the same no matter how many beds you used. 

Their front lobby also doubled as a little tavern, with a handful of tables and a few counter seats as well. When we walked in, one of the tables was occupied by a group of three young adventurers, which didn’t strike me as surprising. 

The word “young” was relative here, of course. They were probably older than I was, maybe about Eris’s age. All of them were boys, and all of them were staring at us without making any attempt to hide it. 

“What should we do?” said Ruijerd, shooting me a glance. He was presumably asking if we were going to put on another show. 

“Let’s not,” I replied after a moment’s thought. “This is where we’re sleeping, right? I’d rather be able to relax here.” There was no telling how many nights we’d actually be spending in this particular inn, but these boys were still children by Ruijerd’s standards. If we stayed under the same roof for long, they’d naturally come to learn that he was a good-hearted guy. 

“We’re a party of three. We’ll be here three days at least.” 

“Yeah, fine. You want the meals or no?” 

The innkeeper here didn’t seem to be the friendliest. “Yeah. Meals, too, please.” I handed over enough coins to cover our first three days upfront. The free food thing was definitely a nice bonus. This left us with one iron coin, three scrap iron coins, and two stone coins…the equivalent of 132 stone coins, in total. 

“H-hey, are you a rookie adventurer too?” 

As I was listening to the innkeeper explain the rules and such, one of the newbies wandered over and spoke to Eris. It was a kid with white hair and a horn sticking out of his forehead; you could probably have classified him as a “pretty boy,” if you were feeling generous. 

The other two…weren’t bad either, I guess. One of them was a sturdy-looking, muscular guy with four arms, and the other had a beak for a mouth and feathers where his hair should be. They were all relatively handsome, although in different ways. If Horn-head was a normal-type Prettymon, Four-arms was a fighting-type, and Beak-boy was a flying-type. 

“W-we’re pretty new to this ourselves actually. Want to come eat with us maybe?” 

Oh wow. He’s actually hitting on her. This little punk was pretty damn precocious, huh? Too bad his voice was trembling. It was kind of adorable, in a way. 

“We can probably give you some advice on picking jobs and stuff, you know?” 

“…Hmph.” Eris’s only response to the boy’s offer was to turn her face away. Way to go, girl! Give that little flirt the cold shoulder! 

Well, not like she can even understand what he’s saying. 

“C’mon, just for a bit? Your little brother over there can come too.” 

“…” 

Just as I felt like I should intervene, Eris abruptly glanced across the room and began walking away from the boy. I recognized the technique of course. It was something she’d learned in Edna’s etiquette lessons…a basic move from the Art of Avoiding Annoying Aristocrats ! Now then, how was the kid going to play this? At this point, a gentleman would get the message and back down gracefully… 

“Hey, don’t ignore me.” 

Horn-head was evidently not a gentleman. Clearly irritated, he reached out and grabbed the bottom of Eris’s hood. The kid yanked Eris backward, but she had enough lower-body strength to keep her balance. As you might expect from an adventurer, he seemed to be relatively strong himself. 

Unfortunately, there was a cheap piece of cloth caught up in the middle of this power struggle. With an ugly ripping sound, Eris’s hood gave way. 

“…Huh?” 

Eris looked down at the damage. There were tiny tears all along the hood’s bottom edge, where the seams had pulled apart. 

I think I actually heard her snap. 

“What the hell d’you think you’re doing?!” 

A shrill cry, loud enough to shake the inn to its rafters, served as the starting bell. Twirling around, Eris fired off a Boreas Punch. This was a turning blow she’d learned from Sauros and perfected in the course of her training with Ghislaine; the poor kid never saw it coming. Her fist caught him square in the face, and his head jerked back so far that it almost looked like she’d broken his neck. 

The kid fell spinning backward, hit the back of his head against the floor, and was instantly unconscious. 

I was a total amateur, but even I could tell that blow had some serious power behind it. You could almost hear the world’s strongest death row convict muttering, “What a punch.” Kinda serves you right for being so pushy, man. Hopefully the kid had learned his lesson and would never again do anything so foolhardy as speaking to Eris. Sometimes education can be a painful process. 

Anyway, his two friends were presumably going to come charging in at this point. I probably needed to step in… 

“Who do you think you are anyway?! You’ve got some nerve touching me !” 

But to my surprise, Eris wasn’t done yet. This time, she unleashed the Boreas Kick…another highly sophisticated technique she’d learned from Sauros and perfected under Ghislaine. Her foot smacked into the solar plexus of her second victim. 

“Gah!” 

Four-arms moaned in agony and sank to his knees. Eris promptly drove her knee into his chin, sending him flying backward. 

“Huh? Wha— Huh?!” 

It didn’t seem like Beak-boy had fully processed what was happening yet, but as Eris rushed toward him, he reached reflexively for the sword at his hip. That seemed a little overboard, so I quickly tried intervening with magic. 

As it turned out, though, Eris was the only one really going overboard here. Before Beak-boy could even draw his weapon, she smacked her fist viciously into his chin. I’d never seen a bird’s eyes roll back in its head before, but apparently there was a first time for everything. 

In mere seconds, Eris had totally immobilized all three of her opponents. 

She stalked back to where Horn-head lay unconscious and kicked his head like a soccer ball. The first blow jolted the boy awake, but he couldn’t do anything except curl up in the fetal position. Eris proceeded to kick him over and over again. “That…was…the…first…piece…of…clothing…Rudeus…ever…bought…me!” 

Oh my! Miss Eris! Do I really mean that much to you?! It was just a cheap little thing to cover up that hair of yours, you know… Goodness, you’re going to make this old man blush! 

Eris kicked the boy over onto his back and reached down to grab one of his legs. Her face was twisted with rage. “You’ll regret this until the day you die! I’m going to stomp that thing into mush!” 

What thing was she referring to, you might wonder? I was too afraid to ask. 

Horn-head didn’t know what she was saying, of course, but he seemed to understand what she intended to do. He started yelping apologies, begging for help, and trying desperately to squirm away. But his words were meaningless to Eris, and they wouldn’t have made a difference either way. Eris always finished what she started. The girl was nothing if not thorough. This kid was about to meet with the same fate I might have suffered three years earlier, had I failed to escape her wrath. 

“Stop it, Eris!” 

At this point, I finally managed to step in and intervene. Everything had happened so quickly that I’d been too startled to react immediately. “Down, girl! Down! Calm yourself!” 

“What’s your problem, Rudeus?! Why are you stopping me?!” 

I’d grabbed Eris from behind, but she was still thrashing around in my arms, trying to bring her foot down on the boy. What part of the boy specifically, one might ask? The answer was too horrible to contemplate. 

“We can just repair the hood! I’ll sew it up for you, okay? So cut the guy a break! You’re going way too far here!” 

“Oh, whatever! Hmph!” 

Fortunately, my desperate pleas got through to Eris in the end. She stopped fighting and stomped back over to Ruijerd with her face still full of fury. 

Ruijerd, incidentally, had been sitting in a chair at the counter and watching all of this unfold with a small smile on his face. “Ruijerd, come on! Don’t just sit there next time this happens!” 

“Hm? It was only a children’s fight, wasn’t it?” 

“Yeah, but the grown-ups are supposed to stop those!” 

Especially when it’s such a total mismatch… 

*** 

“Are you all right?” 

“Yeah, I’m f-fine…” 

Feeling a bit sympathetic despite myself, I cast Healing on the battered boy and helped him to his feet. “Sorry about that. She can’t speak Demon-God.” 

“Th-that scared the heck out of me… Wh-Why’d she get so mad anyway?” 

“Well, she doesn’t like being pestered, and I think that hood is pretty important to her.” 

“R-right… Uh, would you mind telling her I’m sorry?” 

I glanced over at Eris. She’d taken off her hood, and was staring at the huge tear in it while grinding her teeth furiously. She was definitely in her “never forgive, never forget” mode right now. I hadn’t seen her like this since the very first day we met. I half-expected to see little cartoon clouds of smoke coming out her ears. 

“Sorry, but if I spoke to her right now, I think she’d punch me too.” 

“Uh, wow. She’s cute, but kinda scary, huh…” 

Honestly, I’d thought the girl had grown more civilized recently, but maybe it was only an act. Kinda depressing, since I’d just been patting myself on the back about how far she’d come. “Well, yeah, she’s definitely cute. And that’s why you probably shouldn’t talk to her unless you have a good reason, okay?” 

“R-right. Sure…” 

“Also, if you ever feel the urge to try and get revenge for this, I’d advise against it. I stepped in today since the whole thing was just an accident, but next time you might actually die.” Not exactly subtle, but I wanted to make sure he knew where we stood. 

The boy’s eyes widened, and he rubbed at his nose, then checked the back of his head for lumps. After a few moments, he seemed to calm down. “My name’s Kurt. What’s yours?” 

“I’m Rudeus Greyrat. Oh, and she’s Eris.” 

At this point, the two others, who Eris had punished for their friend’s misdeeds, came up to introduce themselves as well. The four-armed muscleman was Bachiro, and Beak-boy’s real name was Gablin. 

Once we’d finished exchanging our names, these two took up positions on either side of Kurt, and the little group struck up a dramatic pose. 

“Together, we are…the Tokurabu Village Toughs!” 

“…” 

Were these kids trying to pull off an Athena Exclamation or what? Talk about lame. And you’re calling yourself “toughs”? Seriously? What are you, a biker gang from fifty years ago or something? In fact, is this Tokurabu place even on any maps? 

“We’re on track to hit rank D soon! We were thinking it was about time we found a girl magician to round out the party, you know? That’s why I came over.” 

“A girl magician…?” That didn’t make much sense. I was the only magician in our party. It’s not like Eris is wearing a wizard robe or anything…oh. Wait a second… 

“Did you assume Eris was a magician because of the hood she had on?” 

“Well, yeah. Only spellcasters wear stuff like that, yeah?” 

“She’s carrying a sword, you know…” 

“Huh? Oh, wow. You’re right.” Apparently Kurt hadn’t even noticed. He seemed like the type who only saw the things he wanted to see. “But you’re a magician, right? I mean, you can use healing spells and everything. That’s pretty awesome.” 

“Yeah, spells are basically what I do.” 

“Hey, why don’t you both join up with us then?” 

Wait, you think we’re going to join your gang? Seriously? Didn’t you learn anything from that little episode earlier? 

“Just so you know…if I joined up, that guy over there would be coming too.” I pointed over at Ruijerd, who was busy lecturing Eris about something or other; she looked a bit sulky, but was nodding at his words. 

“Huh? That guy’s in your party too?” 

“Oh, absolutely. His name’s Ruijerd.” 

“Ruijerd…? What’s your party called anyway?” 

“Dead End.” 

The boys stared at me with undisguised bewilderment. They were obviously wondering what the hell we were thinking. 

“Uh, is it really a good idea to use a name like that?” 

“Well, we got approval from the man himself.” 

“Suuure…” 

Yeah, I know it sounds like a joke, but I’m actually telling the literal truth here… 

“It’s just a name, right? Point is, Eris and I are already taken, so we can’t join up with you guys.” It was hard to imagine we’d get anything out of teaming up with these kids anyway. We weren’t here to run around playing make-believe. 

“Oh yeah? Guess that’s your loss then. We’re gonna make a big splash in this town, you know? Don’t come beggin’ us to let you in the party once we’re famous.” 

Is he for real? Well…nothing wrong with a bunch of fresh-faced youngsters heading to the big city with their heads full of dreams, right? Those grizzled veterans back at the Adventurers’ Guild probably welcomed kids like these with warm, indulgent smiles. 

“You talk awful big for someone who just got his butt handed to him by a kid…” 

“Hey! She, uh, just caught me off guard, man.” 

“You gonna trot out that excuse when some monster ambushes you in the wilderness too?” 

“Gah…” 

Yeah, I think I won that one. Feels good, man. Hard to argue with the mental image of a Pax Coyote ripping out your throat, right? 

I left the “Tokurabu Village Toughs” to nurse their bruised egos. 

*** 

After dinner, we headed up to our room, where three fur beds awaited us. 

“Phew…” Sighing softly, I took a seat on mine. Today really had been exhausting. I wasn’t in the best condition to start with, and we’d met so many people, heard a ton of laughter, and endured so much mockery. Even when you’re consciously playing a part, that stuff takes a toll on you. 

Eris was gazing out our window at the city, which was growing darker by the minute. That ruined castle was pretty captivating, sure, but you’d think the girl was a tourist or something. We had all sorts of things to worry about right now, didn’t we? Did she expect me deal with everything all by myself or what? 

Okay, no. I needed to stop being so negative. Eris trusted me; that’s why she wasn’t overthinking things right now. It wasn’t as if she was being a spoiled brat or anything. Now if only she’d stop getting into pointless fights… 

I fell back onto my bed, looked up at the ceiling and thought about what came next. 

First and foremost, we needed money. This room was costing us fifteen stone coins a night for the three of us. We needed to earn at least that much per day at a bare minimum. But based on what I’d seen earlier, F-rank jobs paid out about five stone coins, and even E-rank jobs were only worth one scrap iron coin or so. As a solo adventurer, you could probably just tackle one F-rank job per day to cover the cost of your lodgings, then start saving some cash once you ranked up into more lucrative work. F- and E-rank tasks were mainly odd jobs around the city, but at D rank you started getting more requests to gather materials and such. Basically, the system was set up so that you could save up some money doing easy work, then buy some equipment to tackle more dangerous jobs. 

It was well thought-out, but…there were three of us. 

Including the cost of lunch and everyday goods, we’re probably looking at twenty stone coins a day on average. If we handle one task a day, we’re probably looking at a net loss of ten to fifteen stone coins. And we’ve got 132 left at this point… 

We’d be flat broke in under two weeks. That wasn’t much of a cushion at all. We needed to be completing three or more jobs per day to stay out of the red. 

If we could split up, it’d probably be possible to pull in more than twenty stone coins doing simple jobs. But if we left Ruijerd by himself, there was a risk his real identity would be exposed. And Eris couldn’t even speak the local language, so she’d have a hard time on her own. She had a short temper too… She might end up getting into fights with her clients. 

More importantly, we couldn’t spread the word about Ruijerd unless we worked as a group. 

Once we ranked up, money would be much less of an issue. Monster-slaying tasks were right up Ruijerd and Eris’s alley. Once we could take those, we’d be sitting pretty in no time. 

That said, jobs of that sort were all rank C or higher. Basically, if we managed to hit rank D within the next two weeks or so, everything would probably be okay. That wasn’t going to be possible if we only took on one task a day though. I’d forgotten to ask how many completed jobs it took before you could rank up, but…at the very least, the guild clearly didn’t let you hop up the ladder just because you were a powerful fighter. They expected everyone to work their way forward step by plodding step. 

It didn’t help that I wasn’t in the best condition right now. This probably wasn’t anything serious, but there was a chance Eris or I might come down with some illness I couldn’t cure with basic Detoxification spells. 

Also, it was hard to know how much we’d need to spend on irregular purchases. We’d have to keep buying hair dye for Ruijerd periodically for one thing. 

And then there were our clothes. We couldn’t keep wearing the same ones forever. Our outfits were made of durable, high-quality materials, and they didn’t take too long to clean when I used magic to dry them. But doing it that way was bad for the fabric, and they’d eventually get ripped and torn. The earlier we could get some extra sets, the better. Soap would be really nice too. Eris and I had just been wiping ourselves off with a rag soaked in hot water for a while. 

There were probably all sorts of other basic supplies we’d realize we needed too. Money was going to be an issue. 

Oh, right. Maybe we could take out a loan or something? There had to be at least a couple moneylenders somewhere in this city, right? 

No. We probably didn’t want to get into debt if we could help it. Not until we had a clear way to pay it off at least. I guess I could always sell Aqua Heartia, but…that was going to be my last resort. I didn’t want to lose the first birthday present Eris had ever given me. 

Wow, look at me anguishing over the family budget. Never thought the day would come… 

As I recalled…in my previous incarnation, I’d been known to ward off my parents’ attempts at discussing money matters by pounding my fists on the floor like an overgrown toddler. Talk about a nauseating memory. I’d have to make an effort to forget about that one. 

I also found myself remembering the look on Paul’s face when I asked him to pay for both Sylphie and me to attend school together. Also somewhat embarrassing in retrospect. I really had been a bit too casual about money in the past. 

All right. This isn’t the time to be learning valuable life lessons. Let’s focus, please. 

What was the most efficient way for us to earn money? Should we try to complete as many jobs per day as possible? It might be easier to just head out into the plains and hunt monsters for their raw materials, honestly. I didn’t have to get too fixated on the adventurer thing. 

But if we went that route, we wouldn’t have many chances to build up Dead End’s reputation around the city. Moving up the ladder as adventurers would be the better way to do that. Hitting a high rank would make things easier going forward…and we’d probably get a better price for raw materials going through the Guild too. 

Could we get ourselves established before our money ran out though? Maybe it’d be smarter to put helping Ruijerd out on hold until our situation was relatively stable? 

Damn. I’m just going in circles at this point… 

I couldn’t find a clear-cut answer here. Making money and improving Ruijerd’s reputation at the same time wasn’t going to be easy. 

Hopefully I can figure something out… 

Nothing came to mind before I fell asleep, though. 

*** 

I was dreaming. In my dream, I found myself in a pure-white void. I could sense I’d reverted into a duller and more pathetic version of myself. 

Not this again. Sigh… 

A vaguely obscene-looking little jerk appeared before my eyes. 

What is it this time? I asked. Can we wrap this up as quickly as possible, please? 

“You’re as hostile as ever, I see. My advice about relying on Ruijerd worked out for you, didn’t it? He got you to the nearest city safe and sound.” 

Yeah, I guess. But knowing Ruijerd, he probably would have tagged along and protected us from a distance even if we ran away from him. 

“Goodness. It certainly sounds like you trust him . Why are you still so suspicious of me then?” 

You seriously don’t know the answer to that question? Did you forget the part where you called yourself a god? 

“Oh well, I suppose it doesn’t really matter. I’ve got some more advice for you, Rudeus.” 

Fine, fine. Would you please just get it over with? I hate the sound of your voice, and I hate being here too. I hate feeling like the time I spent as Rudeus was just a dream. I hate feeling like I’ve gone right back to being some useless, pathetic loser. If you’re going to make me hear you out, I wish you’d just say your piece upfront. 

“Somebody’s awfully submissive today.” 

I’m just going to end up in the palm of your hand no matter what, right? 

“Don’t be silly, Rudeus. All your choices are entirely your own.” 

Can you stop prattling on and get to the point? 

“Oh, all right… Listen carefully, young Rudeus. Take on that task to find the lost pet, and you’ll soon find yourself with much less to worry about…” 

With the Man-God’s final words echoing in my ears, I felt myself slipping back into unconsciousness. 

*** 

When I woke up, it was still the middle of the night. Talk about a bad dream. 

I’d had about enough of these divine messages, to be honest. The timing here was incredibly suspicious. Pixel-face had picked the perfect moment to take advantage of my uncertainty. Classic evil god stuff really. We totally had a MOCCOS on our hands here. 

Sighing softly, I looked over to my left. 

Ruijerd was asleep. For some reason, he’d opted to lean against the far wall with his arms around his spear, rather than occupying his bed. 

I looked to my right…and realized Eris was awake as well. She was sitting on her bed, hugging her knees, staring out at the darkness. 

I rose quietly, walked over, sat down at her side, and looked out the window with her. The moon was out. This world only had one too. 

“Can’t sleep, huh?” 

“Yeah,” Eris replied after a momentary pause. She hadn’t taken her eyes off the window. 

“Hey, Rudeus?” 

“Yes?” 

“Do you think we’ll make it home…?” 

All of a sudden, her voice was painfully anxious. “Oh…” 

I was ashamed of my own cluelessness. I’d thought Eris was her usual self. I’d thought she wasn’t even nervous. I’d thought she was simply enjoying this situation…our “adventure.” 

But that wasn’t true at all. She was afraid too. She’d just been hiding it from me. The stress must’ve been building up inside her for days. No wonder she’d gotten into that stupid fight earlier. That should have tipped me off right away, if I weren’t a total moron. 

“Yes. Absolutely.” I gently wrapped an arm around Eris’s shoulders, and she promptly put her head against my shoulder. 

She hadn’t taken a proper bath in days, so the faint scent wafting from her hair was new to me. It wasn’t unpleasant though. Not at all. Which was kind of a problem, since my rambunctious little buddy began threatening to act up again. 

Control yourself, Rudeus… Until we make it home, you’re an oblivious protagonist. 

This wasn’t like the Sylphie thing. There was a reason, however flimsy, that I needed to hold myself back. And in any case, only a scumbag would take advantage of a girl who was feeling this anxious and vulnerable. 

“Rudeus…you really will figure something out, right…?” 

“Don’t worry. I’ll get us back home, no matter what it takes.” 

Oh man, this little lady’s too cute when she gets all meek. No wonder Sauros spoiled her rotten. I wonder what happened to the old man anyway? That flash of light covered the entire Fittoa region, so I guess… 

Nah, let’s not think about it right now. I’ve got my hands full with my own problems. 

“Let’s just focus on doing what we can for now, okay? You should get some sleep, too, Eris. Tomorrow’s going to be another busy day.” 

I patted Eris on the head, got up, and headed back to my own bed. Just as I reached it, my eyes met Ruijerd’s. He’d heard our conversation apparently. That was…somewhat embarrassing. 

After a moment, though, he just closed his eyes without a word. 

Man, what a good guy! Paul probably would’ve started mercilessly teasing me on the spot. Ruijerd really was a sweetheart. It’d just be plain wrong to put his problems on the backburner. 

Speaking of Paul though…I wonder if he’s worried about me or anything? I really ought to send a letter telling him that I was alive and well. Although it was hard to know if it’d actually reach him from way out here. 

Anyway. Tomorrow we’re hunting someone’s pet, I guess… 

The Man-God’s motives were still unclear to me. But for this one time, I was willing to follow his advice without giving it too much thought. 

Our first night as adventurers came to a quiet end—with the air in our little room still thick with anxiety.