Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

One Week in Millishion 

The next morning, I headed over to the headquarters of the Search and Rescue Squad to let Paul know about our plans. 

The HQ itself was a perfectly ordinary two-story building. It didn’t take long for me to find my father. He was hard at work in what seemed to be a conference room, discussing something or other with roughly a dozen other men. I could make out snatches of the conversation from outside; it seemed they were preparing for a large operation of some kind. 

From the way Paul looked the other day, I’d assumed he spent every day in Millishion either getting drunk or nursing a hangover, but maybe my timing had just been bad. Right now, he was the picture of a focused, competent leader. I was impressed despite myself…at least, until someone alluded to the fact that he’d skipped a month’s worth of meetings while on a massive bender. From the sound of things, it was only yesterday that he’d abruptly gotten motivated again. 

It was most likely because Paul wanted to show me his better side. In other words, he’d gotten back to work because of me. 

Goodness gracious. The boys do love showing off for me… 

With a theatrical sigh, I decided to wait for Paul to find a little free time. 

Sitting around in the room outside might get boring, so I opted to wander around the building for a while. After a few minutes of exploration, I came across my little sister Norn at play. She was in a room that seemed to be serving as a nursery, playing blocks with a bunch of other kids around her age. 

“Hey there,” I said, raising a hand in greeting as her eyes met mine. 

Norn started in surprise, then scowled and hurled the wooden block in her hand, which I managed to catch. “Go away!” 

This didn’t strike me as the friendliest way to say hello. Hmm. Had I done anything to make her upset with me? The only thing that came to mind was that time I beat the crap out of Paul before her eyes. 

Yeah, that probably had something to do with it. 

“Um…Father and I made up with each other, Norn,” I protested gently. 

In response, she shouted “You liar!” and scampered off as fast as her little legs would carry her. 

Apparently, my baby sister hated my guts now. That was a bit of a downer. 

I didn’t want to upset her with my presence, so I headed back over to the closest thing the building had to a waiting room. As I sat down in the corner, a number of heads turned in my direction. I recognized at least a couple of the guys I spotted “kidnapping” Somal the other day. 

I was starting to get the feeling I might not be too popular in this place. 

But before I really had time to bathe in the awkwardness, a familiar woman walked into the room, and all eyes were suddenly on her. It was the bikini-armor lady, back to her old half-naked ways. She spotted me immediately and walked right over. 

“Good morning,” I said. 

“Good morning,” she replied with a smile and a small tilt of her head. “Did you need something from us today?” 

“Yes. I’m here to see my father, um…” What was this lady’s name again? I felt like Paul hadn’t told me. “Ah, pardon me. I haven’t introduced myself, have I? My name is Rudeus Greyrat, miss.” Rising to my feet, I put one hand to my chest and offered an aristocratic bow. 

“Uh, oh…m-my name’s Vierra,” replied the bikini-armor lady, her hands fluttering anxiously in the air. “I’m a member of Captain Paul’s squad.” She proceeded to return my bow, offering me a truly irresistible view of her cleavage. 

The girl really was a sight for sore eyes. Or even non-sore eyes, honestly. I’d only just resolved to cut back on my perverted behavior, so I didn’t want to stare. But I couldn’t seem to look away. All my good intentions were meaningless in the face of her chest’s gravitational pull. 

That outfit was just unfair. 

“I’m very sorry I was so rude the other day. My father’s something of a womanizer, so I’m afraid I got the wrong idea.” 

“No, no! It’s all right. I can understand why you’d think that, given how I was dressed.” Vierra emphasized her words by shaking her head vigorously. Certain other parts of her body also moved as a result. That bikini armor did seem to be fixed in place to some degree, but it wasn’t enough to keep her from jiggling when she made sudden movements. Those things were big, after all. 

Whoops. I was doing it again. 

With an effort of will, I managed to tear my eyes away. “I’m not sure it’s a great idea to hang around a bunch of men in that armor if you can help it, miss. I’d imagine some people might find it a bit distracting. Maybe you could put on a cloak over it, at least?” 

Vierra smiled awkwardly. “I’m sorry, but there’s a reason that I wear this.” 

Maybe I was imagining things, but it felt like a lot of people were looking over at me all of a sudden. Had I said something I shouldn’t have? Well, whatever. I’d have to ask Paul about this later. “Do you know when Father’s meetings will be over?” 

Vierra cocked her head thoughtfully to one side. “Well, he has a whole month’s worth of work to catch up on at the moment. I expect he might be very busy for a while.” 

“All right then. When you get a chance, could you let him know that I’m planning to leave Millishion seven days from now?” 

“Really? That seems awfully soon.” 

“Well, it’s what we’re used to at this point.” 

“I see… In that case, let me go get Shierra for you. Just a moment, please.” 

With that, Vierra pattered off somewhere or other. A few minutes later, she returned with a familiar robed healer. 

When the girl saw I was looking at her, she let out a little gasp and stepped behind Vierra before saying anything. “The captain’s schedule is jam-packed at the moment, but he has some free time in the evening four days from now. Would you care to have dinner with him then?” 

“Um, it’s all right if he’s too busy, you know.” 

“When he talks to you, the captain’s full of life and energy. He is very busy, but I hope you’ll come anyway.” 

Shierra’s voice sounded composed enough, considering she was still hiding behind Vierra. This girl really seemed to hate me. Or maybe even fear me. That was kind of regrettable, but…oh well. 

“Four days from now, right? Okay then. Should I meet him at his inn?” 

“I’ll make you a reservation at a restaurant our squad frequently visits. Please head directly over there instead.” 

Shierra proceeded to calmly provide me with an exact time and location. We’d be eating at a place in the Commercial District by the name of “Lazy Millis.” Just to be on the safe side, I asked about the dress code, but apparently there wasn’t one. 

This felt kind of odd, though. Like I was scheduling a business meeting with the CEO of some major corporation. Paul had a secretary planning out his days now, huh? The guy had certainly come up in the world. 

“Will you be bringing a companion?” 

Eris’ face popped into my mind, but in the same instant, I recalled her shouting “I’ll kill that stupid jerk!” as she stormed off to murder Paul. 

“No, I think I’ll come alone.” 

With that, we’d ironed out all the details, so I took my leave. 

*** 

Now then. A week wasn’t much time to work with, so we’d have to use it productively. With that in mind, I headed over to the Millishion Adventurers’ Guild. 

The building was on the large side, as one might expect from the headquarters of the whole organization. It was two stories tall and occupied much more space than any other Guild branch I’d ever seen. Of course, I’d seen a few skyscrapers in my time, so the sight didn’t exactly take my breath away. 

Once inside, I got to work gathering information. 

Initially I asked around about the Fittoa Region, but nobody seemed to know anything that Paul hadn’t already told me. In this city, at least, the Search and Rescue Squad was probably better informed about Fittoa than anyone else. 

Next, I looked for information on the monsters native to the Millishion area. 

From the sound of things, they weren’t comparable to the creatures of the Demon Continent on the threat level. Mostly, you had stuff like the Giant Locust, which was just a big grasshopper; the Meat-cutter Rabbit, a carnivorous bunny; and the Rockworm, essentially an overgrown earthworm. The majority of them posed very little danger to anyone. 

They also tended to be very small, at least in comparison to the beasts of the Demon Continent. In that harsh land, monsters several times larger than humans were commonplace. Even the Pax Coyotes, which we’d hunted to the brink of extinction (slight exaggeration), were over two meters in size; Acid Wolves were more than three. As for the Great Tortoises, an ordinary specimen might be eight meters long, and at their largest they could grow to over twenty. The monsters that emerged during rainy season in the Great Forest were mostly about the size of a grown man as well. 

Size didn’t always correspond to strength, but sheer mass was a weapon in its own right. All in all, the monsters around Millishion were puny weaklings. 

That was fine with me. One less thing to worry about. 

Once I’d heard enough about the monsters, I took some time to consider how we could improve the locals’ opinion of the Superd people. 

Unfortunately, it seemed like we had our work cut out for us. 

For one thing, there was a prominent political faction in Millishion that advocated the “expulsion” of demonkind. The leaders of this group were associated with the Temple Knights, one of the Millis Church’s holy military orders. They loudly declared that all demons should be banished from the Millis Continent entirely. 

At present, this party wasn’t in control of Millis. The current pope belonged to a more powerful faction that called for coexistence with demonkind; as a result, the Temple Knights couldn’t take active steps to expel them. However, if a demon happened to cause trouble in the city, they’d eagerly come running to harass everyone involved. Despite their political weakness, they often got away with taking aggressive action in the name of “justice” or “public order.” 

If Ruijerd were to publicly announce he was a Superd and start doing jobs around Millishion, the Temple Knights would be making our lives miserable in no time. They had eyes and ears all over this city, from the sound of things. 

In that case, maybe we could try working outside of it. 

With that thought in mind, I snatched up a B-ranked task the Guild had only just put up on the board. Apparently, a rampaging monster in a local village needed killing. The location was near enough that we could easily make a day trip of it. 

Our target this time was a Leaf Tiger. This was a monster native to the southern regions of the Great Forest, but for whatever reason this one had wandered south to take up residence in this area. 

Leaf Tigers had coats of spotted green overlaid with a brown pattern. This allowed them to blend into the forest perfectly. Because they were hard to see and often moved in small packs, they were considered to be B-ranked monsters. However, the one we were after was on its own, and its camouflage was useless in these open grasslands. It was probably less of a threat than your average Acid Wolf. I’d have placed it at Rank D, at most. Back when we were on the Demon Continent, I would have jumped for joy to find a job this easy on the board. 

The three of us headed over right away. And just as we arrived, a big green cat happened to be sauntering out of the village with a chicken in its mouth. 

It noticed us and dropped its prize to growl in our direction, but Eris just said, “I’ll take this one,” ran up to it, and cut the thing clean in half. 

Mission complete! Huh, that was quick. 

The people of the village offered us their heartfelt thanks. This tiger had killed a lot of livestock and attacked several farmers in the area recently. 

Normally, one of the holy military orders would have been dispatched to protect them. But just a few days ago, there had apparently been a serious incident where a Blessed Child was attacked in this vicinity. Her escort, a unit of Temple Knights, was almost entirely wiped out; only their captain had survived. 

The knight captain just barely managed to protect the Blessed Child, fortunately. But she was still relieved of her post in punishment for the grave losses suffered. 

The holy military orders were already on edge after a recent string of suspicious slave kidnappings, even before this disaster. The news of it threw both the Millis Church and their knights into an uproar. As a result, they’d totally failed to do anything about a certain dangerous B-ranked monster. For lack of any better options, the villagers had turned to the Adventurers’ Guild. 

It was an interesting story. Not that it had much to do with us. 

Now that I’d gathered what information I could, I moved on to a little experiment. 

To be specific, I told the villagers about the Superd. I explained that our friend Ruijerd belonged to that tribe, and that his people were traveling all over the world doing good deeds in an attempt to gain the friendship of the other races. 

“At a glance, the Superd might seem cold or even hostile, but it’s easy enough to break through that stony exterior. You see this little statue right here, folks? All you have to do is show a Superd one of these and mention Ruijerd’s name. That fearsome scowl will melt into a happy smile, and you’ll be best friends for life in minutes!” 

It was a perfect sales pitch, if I do say so myself. Still, the village chief looked less than enthusiastic. They were grateful to Ruijerd, but that wasn’t enough to change their views on demonkind as a whole. And as followers of the Millis Church, they weren’t interested in owning a statue of a demon. With that said, he pushed the little figure back into my hands. 

It seemed the experiment was a failure. This probably wasn’t a problem we could hope to solve immediately. 

Maybe a figurine of a sexy girl would have been more effective. Ooh, what if I made a gender-swapped version of Ruijerd? 

Wait, no. That would defeat the whole purpose. 

“I had no idea you’d made such a thing,” said Ruijerd, studying the figurine admiringly as the three of us trudged back toward Millishion. 

“Isn’t it amazing? Rudeus is really good at making those things!” For some reason, Eris seemed very proud that I’d earned his approval. 

While this one had been rejected, my figures did actually fetch a good price on the market. They had quality enough to earn the admiration of a certain beastfolk Sword King and a prince in some foreign country, after all. 

Yes indeed. I was practically a royal artisan at this point! 

“This position is no good at all, though.” 

“Yeah, the stance is all wrong. You’d have to crouch much lower…” 

Sad trombone noise. 

Those two really knew how to burst a guy’s bubble. 

*** 

Three days later—the day before my dinner appointment with Paul—I realized that I didn’t have anything to wear to the restaurant. 

There wasn’t a dress code, and this was just a family get-together. Still, the clothes I’d bought back in the Demon Continent looked a bit shabby on the streets of Millishion, so I headed out with Eris to do a little shopping. 

This probably qualified as a date, although it wasn’t a particularly exciting one. Eris was never too motivated about buying clothes and tended to think everything looked “fine.” I figured I should take this chance to get her a few new outfits as well. From this point on, we’d be traveling in humankind’s territory, and they say first impressions are all about how you present yourself. At the very least, I wanted us dressed well enough that people wouldn’t treat us rudely. 

I kind of wished I could turn to a friend who knew something about fashion for advice. But the only people I could even call “acquaintances” in this city were that monkey-faced newbie and Vierra. I had no idea where Geese was, and I wasn’t friendly enough with Vierra to ask her for a personal favor. 

Ultimately, I decided to study people going by until I had a feel for things. Eris and I sat by a street and engaged in a bit of idle crowd-watching. 

After a while, I noticed that blue clothing seemed somewhat popular at the moment. Also, some people had cloaks or jackets on, but many others didn’t bother. The climate here was nice enough that most outerwear was on the lighter side. 

“Looks like blue’s in style right now, doesn’t it?” 

“Blue doesn’t work at all for you, Rudeus.” 

Wow, blunt. Fortunately, I really didn’t care that much about the trends of the hour. “What does work for me, then?” 

“You’ve got that thing Geese gave you, right? Just go with that.” 

She was talking about that fur vest, right? That thing was a little big on me, though. It was long enough to look more like a coat. That said, it wasn’t uncomfortable at all, so I did wear it sometimes. Mostly on colder days. 

“That one’s not bad, but I feel like it’s a bit too long for me.” 

“Yeah, I guess so. Why don’t you just cut it down to size, then?” 

“That would just be a waste. I’m still a growing boy, remember?” 

Chatting casually, the two of us picked out a few purchases. It didn’t take long at all, which I chalked up to our mutual lack of interest. So, it came as something of a surprise when, at the very end, Eris chose a rather fashionable black dress embroidered with small white roses. 

“Do you really want this one, Eris?” 

“…What? Do you have a problem with that?” 

“No, no. I bet it would look great on you.” 

“Hmph. You don’t have to flatter me, you know.” 

After paying for our purchases, we headed back to the inn. 

Finally, the big day arrived. 

In the afternoon, I let Ruijerd and Eris know that I’d be having dinner with my father that evening. 

Ruijerd said “I’m glad to hear that” with a slightly relieved expression on his face. I could actually see the happiness in his eyes. From the looks of things, he very much wanted me to leave this city on good terms with my father. Not that he had any cause to worry, of course. I was going to take full advantage of this family-bonding opportunity. 

“I’m coming, too!” announced Eris. 

Turning, I found her staring me down in her usual arms-akimbo pose. 

“Uhhh…” 

“What? Is that a problem?” 

If it wasn’t for the other day, I would have given in immediately, but Eris clearly still felt some hostility toward my father. That was probably an understatement, in fact. It seemed like she hated his guts. I could understand how she felt to some degree, but I’d already decided to make nice with Paul. 

If that was the only issue, I might have brought her with me and tried to get the two of them on better terms. But this dinner was going to be our first meal as a family in many years, you know? And I hadn’t patched things up with Norn yet, either. Also, I did say that I’d be coming to the restaurant alone. 

“Would you mind staying here instead, Eris?” 

All things considered, I wanted Eris to show a little self-restraint here. Carrying a bomb into the middle of a raging forest fire didn’t strike me as the best of ideas. Formally introducing her to the family could wait until the two of us got a little more intimate than we were right now. 

“Yes, I would mind! I’m coming too, got it?!” 

Silly me. The word “self-restraint” wasn’t part of Eris’ vocabulary. 

“Ruijerd, could you say something here?” 

When I turned back to Ruijerd in search of help, I found him holding a hand to his chin in thought. His intense gaze moved from my face to Eris’, and then back again. “You’ve made up with your father, haven’t you? It shouldn’t be a problem, then. Let her come along.” 

Wow! Stabbed in the back! Was this the same guy who’d punched Eris to stop her from intervening last time? 

Oh well. I guess I’d have to let the majority rule on this one. “Well, if you say so, Ruijerd…” 

“Hmph! What did you expect?” 

“Just one thing, Eris. I want to stay on good terms with my father, so please be polite to him, okay?” 

“…Fine!” 

Judging from her tone of voice, she had no intention of actually keeping that promise. Not exactly reassuring. 

Afterwards, I went upstairs to put on my brand-new clothes, then headed over to the restaurant as a brand-new me (a.k.a. Newdeus). Eris tagged along in the black dress we’d bought the other day. 

I did my best to avoid the narrower side streets. There were lots of kidnappers lurking in those dark alleys, and they could get a little violent in some places. No reason to risk our new clothes getting messed up. 

The main avenues had their dangers too, of course. Since it was around dinner time, quite a few people were buying something like yakitori from the outdoor stalls. If I bumped into one of those guys, the result would no doubt be tragic. And if one of them walked into Eris, her Boreas Punch would probably leave both of us drenched in their blood. 

As a precautionary measure, I kept my Eye of Foresight active. By constantly looking one second into the future, I was able to navigate us safely through the crowds. I felt a bit bad for using such a powerful ability for something this mundane, but at least we reached our destination without incident. 

That whole thing with the “reservations” had gotten me a little nervous. As it turned out, though, Lazy Millis was a perfectly ordinary place. It was a stand-alone bar and restaurant, not part of an inn; most of the clientele seemed to be relatively respectable locals. When I gave my name to the waiter up front, he brought me and Eris over to our table immediately. The fact that there were two of us went unremarked on. Paul was already sitting at the table with an awkward smile on his face, along with a very grumpy-looking Norn. 

“Sorry, am I a bit late?” 

“Uh, nah… Sorry about this, kiddo. Shierra got kind of carried away for some reason. I told her the usual place would be fine, but…” 

“Nothing wrong with a change of pace every once in a while, right?” 

I started to pull out a chair, then stopped as I noticed that Eris was looking rather grumpy herself. This technically wasn’t the first time she’d met Paul, but maybe introducing them would be a good idea. “Um, Father, this is Eris. As I told you the other day, she’s Philip’s daughter, and a member of the Boreas—” 

“Oh. Right, right.” Cutting me off mid-sentence, Paul rose to his feet and turned to Eris. He straightened up and put one hand to his chest, then lowered his head slightly. It was a practiced bow—no less smooth than Philip’s. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss. I’m Paul Greyrat, Rudeus’ father.” 

Taken aback, Eris tried to glance at me, but couldn’t manage to totally break eye contact with my father. 

“Uh, I’m…E-Eris Greyrat…sir.” The expression on her face was still grumpy. Nonetheless, she grabbed the ends of her dress and gave an awkward little curtsy. It felt like she’d missed her chance to start screaming or throwing punches. 

I had to admit, I was impressed with Paul. Apparently, he’d learned a thing or two about handling girls from his years as a womanizer. 

…Since when could he pull off a bow like that, though? 

“All right then. Why don’t we all sit down?” 

In any case, our family dinner got underway without any bloodshed. 

Eris and I settled into our seats. For the moment, Eris was keeping quiet, but it was obvious she’d bare her fangs in an instant if things took a wrong turn. Paul still looked a bit uncomfortable. And as for Norn… Well, she hadn’t even glanced at me yet. 

Long story short, the mood wasn’t so great. Maybe it really had been a mistake to bring Eris with me. 

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who found the situation a bit awkward. After a few moments of silence, Paul turned to Norn with a troubled expression on his face. “C’mon, kiddo. Your big brother’s here, see? Why don’t you say hi to him?” 

“No! I don’t wanna have dinner with some jerk who punched my daddy!” 

Eris scowled and started to open her mouth, but Paul was quicker. “Don’t say that, kiddo. Sometimes Daddy deserves a punch or two.” 

“But you didn’t do anything wrong!” said Norn, puffing out her little cheeks in an adorable show of indignation. 

“Your big brother and I already made up, okay? Isn’t that right, Rudy?” 

Oh boy. He was throwing this over to me, huh? Well, maybe this was an opportunity of sorts. An opportunity to demonstrate my wit and charm! 

“Oh, absolutely,” I said with a smile. “Want us to kiss and prove it?” 

“Huh?!” 

“Huh?” 

For some reason, the line went over like a lead balloon. Actually, I couldn’t really blame the guy. I didn’t want to kiss him, either. Maybe we could just forget I ever said that. 

“Uh, anyway…the two of us are friends again now, Norn. Why don’t you make up with your big brother too?” 

“No way!” 

Paul patted Norn on the head as she pouted. That golden hair of hers really was pretty, though. It reminded me of Zenith. Come to think of it, she used to sulk up a storm just like this whenever something ticked her off. Maybe Norn had inherited that habit from her mother? 

After submitting to Paul’s petting for a little while, the kid abruptly turned to glare at me. She had to tilt her head back just to look me in the face, so the overall effect was more adorable than intimidating. “Daddy’s trying really hard.” 

Since this comment seemed to be directed at me, I responded as gently as possible. “Yeah. I know he is.” 

“He doesn’t kiss any girls or anything!” 

“So I’ve heard. I’m sorry to have doubted him.” 

“He’s always really nice to me, too!” Norn’s little eyes were filling up with tears. Crap, did I say something mean? Please don’t start bawling, kid… “Daddy always looks like he wants to cry!” 

Flustered by Norn’s obvious distress, Paul and I looked at each other uncertainly. “Wait, really?” 

“Uh, well, I got a little—” 

“I feel so sorry for him!” 

Neither of us had anything to say to that. 

“How could you beat him up like that? You’re so mean!” 

Looking at Norn’s face, I had to fight the urge to heave a long, heavy sigh. Paul and Norn had been teleported together. I knew all about that now. She’d gotten very sick during their journey back to Fittoa and was nearly attacked by monsters several times along the way. And it was her father who’d protected her from all those dangers. 

With her mother, maid, and sister missing, and her heart bursting with anxiety, Paul was the only person she could rely on. For years, he was the only family she had left. 

And then some stranger showed up out of nowhere, knocked him down, and started punching him in the face. That would be enough to traumatize most kids her age. 

“Norn, look. That was all my—” 

“It’s all right, Father.” 

If she was a little older, the three of us might have found a way to talk this through. At her age, though, that was probably impossible. Both Paul and I had made mistakes and jumped to conclusions; we’d reconciled by acknowledging our faults. But you couldn’t expect a child to understand that. “Norn’s still very young. And if I was in her shoes, I don’t think I’d forgive the jerk who punched you, either.” 

It was sad that Norn hated me, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. We’d just have to talk things through a few years down the road. Once she was older, I was sure she’d understand. Time’s not an infinite resource, but it can heal at least some wounds. 

“No, it’s not all right.” Evidently Paul wasn’t on board with my plan, though. “You guys might be the only siblings you’ve got left, okay? I want you to be good to each other.” 

As the meaning of those words sunk in, I frowned at my father. “That’s a little ominous, don’t you think?” 

“…Yeah, you’re right. Sorry.” 

Well, this was no good at all. The mood was getting heavier by the minute. It seemed like it was time for a change of subject. “By the way, Father, what’s good here? I skipped lunch today, so I’m starving.” 

Not the smoothest transition, no, but Paul seemed to pick up on what I was doing. With a strained smile, he took his cue. “Hm, let’s see. They’ve got a damn tasty seafood stew with fresh fish from the sea down south. Oh, and the beef’s good too. They raise a lot of cattle in the farms around here, you know? It actually tastes pretty different from the Asuran kind, especially since they tend to boil it. Gives it a real nice, rich flavor.” 

“Oh, I’ve got to try that. All the meat on the Demon Continent was seriously foul.” 

“You said it was mostly cuts of Great Tortoise, right? Yeah, most monsters do taste pretty nasty.” 

The conversation was finally starting to pick up some steam, but Norn still had her head turned away. She only responded when Paul said something to her, refusing to even glance in my direction. I’d more or less resigned myself at this point, but it still kind of stung, you know? 

Of course, this was the exact same thing I’d done to Paul just a few days ago. I felt terrible about that, in retrospect. 

Eris wasn’t too pleased by Norn’s attitude, judging from the way she was staring at her. I really didn’t want this to turn into a fight, but…it was best to leave things be for now. 

“Oh, right. There was something I was meaning to ask you about, Father.” 

“Yeah? What’s that?” 

“Do you know of anyone by the name of Gash Broche?” 

“…Uh, nope. Where’d you hear that name?” 

I took the chance to tell Paul about Ruijerd’s letter and the mysterious friend who’d written it for us. I’d made a rough copy of the emblem on the wax seal, so I took that out and showed it to him. 

“A sheep, a hawk, and a sword, huh? Looks like the family crest of a paladin. I don’t think I’ve heard the name Gash Broche before, though. Not that I’m familiar with all the Millis nobles or anything.” 

“I see… Do you think Shierra might know something about him?” 

“Hmm, dunno. I’ll ask her later.” 

It wasn’t reassuring that he’d never heard of the guy, but we’d just have to wait and see. 

With that topic exhausted, Paul and I went back to chatting about anything that came to mind. Eventually we landed on the subject of my tenth birthday. 

According to Paul, the monsters in the forest outside Buena Village had grown much more active about a month beforehand. Paul and Zenith had been so busy trying to get the situation under control that they just didn’t have the time to worry about my presents. They finally managed to clear the forest the day before my birthday, but just as they were getting ready to send me a few things, the Calamity took place. 

As she listened to all this, Eris pouted with her lips pursed. Come to think of it, she’d looked really sad when she found out Paul wasn’t coming to that party. 

“Just out of curiosity, what were you planning to send me?” 

“I was going to give you a pair of gauntlets. I felt a little guilty, since I’d just found them in the back of our storehouse, but these were magic items from the bottom of a labyrinth. Those things were light as feathers. They never fit me, but I thought they might look good on you, Rudy.” 

“No kidding? I didn’t know you had anything like that lying around.” 

“Yep. Zenith said hers was a secret, but sometimes I noticed Lilia looking at this little locked box with a smile on her face. I’m guessing that was for you, too.” 

“A box?” Now he had me curious. What could have been inside that thing? Not that there was much point thinking about it. Whatever it was, it was long gone now. 

After this, we somehow got onto the topic of Zenith’s family. They were evidently well-known among the Millis nobility, and had a history of producing many talented and righteous knights. Unfortunately, my grandparents had basically disowned Zenith when she left home, so they weren’t too enthusiastic about helping search for her at first. 

They’d changed their tune completely once they got a look at Norn, though. This world was different from my old one in a lot of ways, but the power of a cute grandkid was evidently universal. 

“Hmm. I wonder if they’d give you more money if I stopped by?” 

“Uh, I think that would probably backfire…” 

“Yeah, you’re right.” I could try to act like a sweet little tyke for them, but my true nature would most likely reveal itself in time. It wasn’t worth the risk. 

Not long after this exchange, the waiter finally brought our food out to the table. “Okay, let’s dig in,” said Paul, his fork hovering theatrically in the air. “Hmm, what first…?” 

“This does look appetizing,” murmured Eris, studying the spread with shining eyes. She seemed more like Paul’s child than I was, honestly. Then again, Paul and Philip were cousins, so maybe that wasn’t too bizarre. 

In any case, this seemed like a golden opportunity to improve Norn’s image of me slightly. “Father, your manners are—” 

“Cut it out, Daddy! You’ve got to pray before you eat!” 

The two of us had spoken almost simultaneously. Norn looked over at me in surprise, but turned away sulkily a second later. 

“Ha ha. Okay, kids.” 

“…Fine, fine.” 

Paul scratched his head ruefully, and Eris looked a bit reluctant, but they both leaned back in their chairs for the moment. The four of us proceeded to say a short Millis-style prayer. All this involved was clasping your hands together and closing your eyes for a few seconds. 

Eris and I weren’t believers, and Paul probably wasn’t either, but this was just good table manners in this world. When in Rome and all that, you know? We went through the motions without complaint. 

For some reason, it seemed like Eris and Norn were in a slightly better mood after this. 

We enjoyed our food while chatting about nothing of real importance. Paul and I did most of the talking, of course. Norn never looked in my direction, and for her part, Eris kept mostly silent. Paul did start to speak to her now and then, but the waves of hostility she emitted were strong enough that he always thought better of it. It was probably wise of him not to poke the beehive. 

As Eris and I left the restaurant together, I heard her mutter, “Hmph, I guess he kept himself under control this time,” under her breath. 

I didn’t even want to think about how she might have reacted if Paul had yelled at me, let alone taken a swing at me. But since there hadn’t been any of that, her desire to murder him might have faded—at least slightly. 

In that sense, at least, it had been a productive use of our time. 

Our week in Millishion came to an end in no time at all. 

On the day of our departure, we headed for the Adventurers’ District gate. We’d finished loading our stuff into the carriage and were just getting ready to head out when Paul showed up to see us off. “Hey, Rudy. You sure you don’t want to stick around a little longer?” 

Much as I appreciated the sentiment, it was a bit late for that now. “I’m sure that would be nice, but we might end up lazing around here for the next year if we don’t get moving.” 

“You and Norn haven’t even made up yet, though.” 

“There’s time enough to work on that once we’ve found the other three.” 

Also, this wasn’t just about me. I glanced over at Eris. Ruijerd had seized her by the scruff of her neck as a precautionary measure, but she was still glaring daggers at Paul. I might have overestimated that girl’s ability to quickly move on. “And I’m not the only who wants to see their family, you know?” 

“Right, of course. But the Boreas family’s probably—” 

“Let’s not talk about it,” I said, cutting Paul off with a movement of my hand. “It’s possible that Philip and Sauros will be waiting for us when we get back to Fittoa, you know? The news might not have made it here yet.” 

“Right. Yeah, that’s true. But you know, Rudy…” Paul paused for a moment, his face growing grim. “You really shouldn’t be too optimistic about that. Even if the two of them do make it back alive, there’s no telling what might happen to them after a disaster of that scale.” 

“What do you mean by that?” 

Paul lowered his voice just a little. “Philip’s brother James is busy trying to save his own neck. There’s a chance he’d push all the blame for this mess onto one of them.” 

Wow. 

The idea hadn’t occurred to me before, but it sounded plausible. Sauros was the lord of Fittoa, and Philip was the mayor of Roa; they’d both held major positions of authority. Even if they made it back home, they might be held responsible for the massive loss of life and property caused by the Calamity. 

I didn’t know exactly what that would mean. But at the very least, it was hard to imagine they’d get to step back into their old roles and rebuild their power. In fact, it wouldn’t be that surprising if someone had them assassinated immediately. That would prevent Philip’s brother from using them as scapegoats, making it far easier to corner him politically. 

“If things do look ugly, just make sure you keep the little lady safe. Some people might trot out a bunch of crap about the ‘duties of the nobility,’ but you don’t have to pay them any mind.” 

“Of course,” I said, nodding with the most serious expression I could muster. “I’ll be careful, Father.” 

Paul smiled proudly and nodded back. “Oh, and I asked Shierra about that letter, by the way. She’s never heard of the guy, either.” 

“I see…” 

“She did say he probably wasn’t anyone dangerous, though.” 

“All right then. Would you mind thanking her for me?” 

Paul nodded slightly. And then, finally, he turned around and spoke to the little girl who’d been standing behind him. “Come on, Norn. Say goodbye to your big brother.” 

“…Don’t wanna.” 

Norn didn’t move from her hiding spot behind her father. Half her face was peeking out, though. Talk about adorable. I found myself wondering if she’d grow up into a beauty like her mother. “I don’t know how long it will take, Norn, but let’s meet again someday.” 

“Don’t wanna.” 

Right until the very end, my little sister refused to look me in the face. Smiling awkwardly, I headed back to our carriage. 

And just like that, our party left the city of Millishion behind. 

Paul 

Just like that, Rudeus was back on the road again. 

The kid was as impressive as ever. He figured out his plans in no time, then put them into action immediately. Elinalise once told me I was “rushing through my life,” didn’t she? You had to wonder what she’d think if she got a look at him. 

It might be fun to get the two of them to meet sometime, but…maybe that wasn’t such a great idea. Yeah. The last thing I wanted was to end up as that woman’s father-in-law. 

Just as I’d reached this conclusion, someone slapped me on the shoulder. I turned to find a monkey-faced man grinning at me. “Hey there, Paul. You done sayin’ goodbye to your son?” 

“Geese…” I was grateful to this jerk; more grateful than I could express in words. If it wasn’t for him, I probably never would have made up with Rudeus. “I seriously owe you one, man.” 

“Hey, don’t sweat it!” 

At this point, I noticed that Geese was dressed for the road. “What’s with you, though? You going somewhere?” 

“Yeah. Not sure where just yet, but there’s plenty of places you folks ain’t poked around in yet, right?” 

It took a moment for me to realize what he was saying. Geese was going to keep searching for my family. That came as a shock, frankly. Of all the members of my old party, Geese had struggled the most after I disbanded it. He wasn’t a fighter, but a jack-of-all-trades without any real specialties. No other party would take him in, and he wasn’t strong enough to handle tough jobs on his own. He’d been forced to leave the adventuring life behind. He had all the reason in the world to resent me, even hate me. 

“Why are you…doing this, Geese? Why are you trying so hard to find them?” 

The corners of Geese’s mouth twitched up into his usual ironic smirk. “Just feels like my fortune.” And with that typically cryptic “explanation,” he turned and walked away. 

I put my hands on my hips and watched him go with a wry smile on my face. The man had a lot of ideas about luck, and none of them had ever made much sense to me. But this time, I wasn’t exactly complaining. “All right then!” 

Once Geese disappeared from view, I reached down and hoisted Norn up onto my shoulders. All of a sudden, I was bursting with energy and motivation. 

First things first—we had to make sure that the refugee relocation operation went off without a hitch. And once that was done with, I’d find the rest of my family. No matter what it took. 

With my resolve fixed firmly in my heart, I headed back into the city.