Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

There Is No God 

Aisha cried for quite some time after we made our escape, big sobs that shook her whole body. She’d even peed herself. I understood how she felt. If a couple of scary men had grabbed my arm and threatened me, I’d probably be shaking, too. 

Not enough to pee myself, though. 

Those two soldiers were probably more gentlemanly than most, but it had to have been a terrifying experience for a five- or six-year-old child. Age gaps felt more pronounced the younger you were—high-schoolers could be as intimidating as adults to grade-schoolers. And the soldiers actually had been adults. 

At least, I wanted to believe that was the reason she was crying and not the crack of both of my legs breaking when we landed. I quickly used healing magic to fix them up, but that definitely hurt. 

Currently, I was avoiding mention of her little accident while silently washing her underwear. We were back at the inn. Eris and Ruijerd were both gone when we made it back, and they’d said they were going out to hunt down information, so they probably wouldn’t return until evening. 

Just moments ago, Aisha had peeled off her small, baggy maid outfit. Once she’d pulled off her thoroughly soaked underwear, I wiped her down with a moistened towel and gave her one of the shirts I normally wore. 

Now I was left with a wooden pail, some soap, and a young girl’s panties. My former self would have been incredibly turned on by this situation and the item in my hand. I mean, just think about it. In the bed was a young, sobbing girl clad only in my baggy t-shirt. Any pervert who found himself in such a situation would be aroused, right? 

Oh, why didn’t I give her fresh underwear to put on? That’s obvious—I didn’t have any for her. I’d been instructed never to touch Eris’ panties, after all, and no matter how urgent the situation was, I couldn’t break what was one of Dead End’s cardinal rules. The thought alone was terrifying. 

Anyway, back to the story. 

My heart was as calm as the still surface of a lake. Forget being aroused—there wasn’t even a ripple in the water. It was as polished and motionless as a mirror. The only thing that troubled me was Aisha’s endless sobbing. Had I become some kind of holy man while I wasn’t paying attention? Or had I become so terrified of rousing Eris’ wrath that my pocket monster was now incapable of engaging in battle? You’re okay down there, right, little buddy? 

Those troublesome thoughts preoccupied me as I washed and dried Aisha’s plain linen panties and maid uniform, both of which seemed to be made of high-quality materials. I handed them over to Aisha, who had finally stopped crying at some point, and she happily changed into them. 

Come to think of it, I’d never been interested in Zenith’s breasts, either. I hadn’t cared much about either gender or age in my previous incarnation, but apparently my current body’s family were off-limits in this one. Life sure was a mysterious thing. 

*** 

“My name is Aisha Greyrat! Thank you very much!” Dressed in her maid uniform, Aisha bowed to me. Her ponytail swayed with the motion. 

Ponytails really were amazing. Eris occasionally pulled hers back into one, but hers made her look like a girl in a sports club. Aisha, on the other hand, looked more like an incredibly adorable doll. Her eyes were bloodshot, though, so maybe more like a cursed doll? 

“Sir Knight, if you hadn’t saved me, they would’ve dragged me away back there!” 

When she called me “Sir Knight,” I remembered that I’d introduced myself as the Knight of the Shadow Moon. A tendril of sweat trickled down my back. Maybe I’d gotten too carried away in my conversation with Eris. When I thought about how that name could be used to make fun of me ten years from now, I kind of regretted using it. 

“Really, thank you so much.” She bowed deeply again. Just how old was she again—about six? She was well-mannered for one so young. “Since you saved me, I have but one selfish request to make of you!” 

“Sure.” 

“Please give me pen and paper so I can write a letter! Also, please tell me where the Adventurers’ Guild is! I appreciate your help.” Once she finished speaking, Aisha bowed her head again. 

At least she knew how to say “please” when she asked for help. She was a clever little girl. Ah, that was right—Paul had mentioned something about Lilia giving Aisha an extra-rigorous education, hadn’t he? 

“That’s all you need? Do you have any money?” 

“I have no money!” 

“Weren’t you taught that you need money to send letters and to buy pen and paper?” It was critical to teach kids the importance of money from a young age. I doubted Lilia would skip something that important, even if there were some things children shouldn’t be taught until they got older. 

“My mother taught me that if a girl like me looks up at someone with a pleading look in my eyes and says, ‘I want to send a letter to my father,’ then I won’t have to spend any money.” 

Aha—Lilia, you scoundrel. Were you teaching your daughter to use her femininity as a weapon? As I realized that, Aisha’s mannerisms started to feel very staged. No, seriously, just what was Lilia teaching her? 

“I’ve been trying to contact my father for a long time, but the people in the castle tell me no and won’t let me send any letters!” 

I’d already heard that Lilia was being detained. Now I knew that they weren’t letting her or Aisha send letters, either. Maybe things were pretty serious here. When the Man-God told me I needed to “save them,” I’d suspected that this was a situation where Paul was being cuckolded. 

“Is there anyone else you could ask for help besides your father?” 

“There isn’t!” 

“For instance, someone your mother knows, like a girl who’s a little bit older than you and has blue hair? Or, perhaps…a brother of yours that should be out there somewhere?” I asked, completely nonchalant. 

Aisha furrowed her brows. She had a look of dismay on her face, but why? “I have a brother, but…” 

“But?” 

“I can’t ask him for help.” 

Why the heck not?! He just saved you a moment ago, didn’t he?! 

“D-do you mind if I ask what your reasoning is?” 

“Reason! Sure! My mother told me about my brother in great detail.” 

“Okay.” 

Aisha continued. “But I couldn’t believe any of it! Like being able to use Intermediate-tier magic at three and becoming a King-tier Water Magician at five? And then, on top of all that, becoming tutor to the daughter of the region’s liege lord? There’s nothing believable about that! She’s definitely lying!” 

Well, I couldn’t blame her for thinking that. “But maybe if you meet him, you’ll see he actually is a good older brother?” 

“Not likely!” 

“Wh-why not?” 

“My mom had this little box that she treasured, back home. She always told me not to touch it, so I asked why. Apparently, it had something really important to my brother inside it.” 

A little box… Come to think of it, I felt like I’d heard something similar from Paul before. 

Aisha went on. “One time, when my mother wasn’t around, I sneaked a peek. What do you think was it inside of it?!” 

“I-I don’t know, what?” 

“Panties. Girl’s panties. According to my calculations, a fairly young girl’s panties, at that. For moment, I thought maybe my older brother was actually a sister, but they would have been too big for him. So there was only one person they could possibly belong to, and that’s my brother’s tutor. He was only four or five and he was already saving an older girl’s panties for the future.” 

Calculations? Wait, hold on just a second here. This kid was way too smart for her age. What the heck? She was just five or six, right? 

“Maybe you’re just miscalculating?” I suggested. 

“Nope. I gathered more information from my mother. It seems my brother would peek in on that girl while she was bathing, and he’d also watch my parents while they were getting it on. My mother was trying to cover it up, but I knew there was no mistaking it—my brother’s a pervert!” 

A pervert! A pervert! A pervert! There’s no mistake, my brother’s a pervert! And, just for kicks, once more: A pervert! 

Okay, stop it! I thought. My mental capacity’s already at zero! 

“O-oh, okay, so your brother is a pervert. That’s really rough, ha ha ha…” I’d brought this on myself, but really, I was in shock. I’d never imagined something like this would… Damn. Now I understood. This was why the Man-God had told me not to use my real name. 

“By the way, Mister Knight, what’s your real name?” 

“It’s a secret. On the streets, they call me the Kennel Master of Dead End,” I answered, keeping a cool and composed look on my face. It was probably best for now if I held off on revealing that I was her older brother. 

“Ooh! Mister Kennel Master, is it? How cool! I guess you can use summoning magic and stuff, right?” 

“Nope,” I said. “All I can do is exert control over two very ferocious dogs.” 

“Thats amazing!” Aisha had a sparkle in her eyes as she gazed at me, almost like a puppy. 

A puppy that was being deceived, that is. That made my heart hurt a bit, but if I revealed I was her older brother, she might not be willing to listen to me. All I had to do was hide my real identity until I could dashingly rescue Lilia. Once I did that, it would greatly improve her perception of me. 

“All right, I’m going to rescue your mother!” 

“Huh?” She stared at me wide-eyed when I made that declaration. “B-but—” 

“Please just leave it to me!” 

And that was how Aisha and I met. She had the absolute worst impression of me, but not quite as bad as Norn’s, considering I’d punched our father right in front of her eyes. Right now, she thought I was a pervert for holding onto Roxy’s panties, but she’d eventually come to understand that sometimes people needed something to hold onto. 

That aside, why would she equate keeping panties with being a pervert, anyway? She wasn’t old enough to link underwear to sexual desire yet. She wasn’t even old enough to understand what sexual arousal was. If someone was teaching weird things to my little sister, they wouldn’t go unpunished. 

“By the way, Mister Kennel Master.” 

“Yes?” 

“How come you know my name?!” 

We’ll leave out the part where I scrambled for an excuse until I finally spotted her name embroidered on the edge of her clothes. 

Aisha told me what had happened in the past two years. She struggled with the details, resulting in a poor explanation, but I got the gist of what she was saying. 

It seemed she and Lilia had been teleported to the Shirone Kingdom’s Royal Palace. Their sudden appearance was suspicious, and they were both arrested. Lilia had tried to explain, but the powers that be decided to keep them both confined to the palace. Aisha didn’t understand why, or what would happen next, but she did know that for some reason they wouldn’t even let her send a letter. 

Apparently, they hadn’t done anything bad to Lilia, or at least nothing that left visible marks. Who knew what might be going on at night while Aisha wasn’t aware of it? Lilia was getting on in years, so hopefully the possibility of people going out of their way to violate her was low. 

It was strange that they were still being detained two and a half years after they were teleported here. Had Lilia really failed to correct the misunderstanding in all that time? There had to be some other factors I wasn’t aware of. 

In the midst of all this, Aisha was trying to send a letter to Paul asking for help. She’d gotten lost, and figured that if she followed an adventurer, she’d eventually get to the guild. Apparently, that adventurer was me. 

Aisha hadn’t mentioned Roxy. Was she really not trying to help Lilia? No…it was possible that things were only this bad because Roxy was helping from the shadows. Whatever the case, all I could do now was wait for Roxy’s reply. The Man-God had told me to send her a letter. Now that I had done that, the rest of the puzzle pieces should fall into place. 

“Ooh, so you came all the way from the Demon Continent, huh?” Aisha was anxious to hear more about me. 

“Yeah. I was caught up in the Displacement Incident in Fittoa as well.” 

“And what did you do before that?” 

“I was a home tutor. I was teaching magic to a noble’s daughter.” 

“Oh really? Where at?” 

“Roa,” I said. 

“That’s the same place as my brother! The two of you might have passed each other at some point!” 

“Y-yeah. The possibility’s as minute as a grain of salt, but it’s there.” 

That aside, it seemed Aisha had learned a lot from Lilia. General common sense, etiquette, wisdom that would help in her daily life, how to be a maid, etc. It seemed suspicious to me that she could understand all of that at her age, but at the very least, she knew it well enough to be able to explain it to me. Her powers of speech were advanced for her age, too. Perhaps she was just pretending to act like an adult, but she was still a clever one. Seriously. 

Ever since she was young, she’d had the ability to soak up whatever she was taught like a sponge. I wondered what she would be like as she got older. Could I really maintain my dignity as an older brother? 

“If you were teaching a noble’s daughter, maybe her family was in contact with my brother’s employer. Have you heard anything?” 

“N-nope,” I stuttered. “I’m afraid I have no knowledge of him.” 

“Oh, All right. I was hoping to hear what your impressions were of my brother.” 

“Uhhhhh, the only thing I ever heard was that the Young Miss at the Liege Lord’s manor was very violent and impossible to manage.” Much as I was tempted to drop some more information, Aisha was eventually going to discover I was her brother. I didn’t want her realizing that I’d deliberately talked about myself while pretending to be someone else. 

She asked me various things about the Demon Continent, and I answered in detail. I’d been worried I wouldn’t know what to talk about with a child this young, but Aisha was so smart that we never ran out of topics. Strangely enough, I found myself genuinely enjoying what was basically my first real conversation with my little sister. 

A few hours later, perhaps exhausted, Aisha fell asleep. Eris and Ruijerd returned after the sun had set, looking weary. Apparently, they’d gone all the way to the slums to gather information, and a lot had happened, including a scuffle. 

They’d gotten in a fight yet again? They looked apologetic, but this was nothing new, and I wasn’t going to ask for details. Everyone messed up sometimes, even me. As long as we had each other’s backs, it was fine. 

I told them how I’d met Aisha, how Lilia was locked away in the castle, and how a lot of things about the situation seemed awfully suspicious. While I was at it, I told them I was concealing my name from her, too. I impressed upon them the importance of keeping my real identity a secret. 

“Why are you being so evasive about this?” Eris asked. 

“Apparently someone has fed her some misguided information about me. I want to show her my good side so I can correct her perceptions of me.” 

“Hmm. Well, I think you’re cool just the way you are.” 

“Eris…” I tried to give her a grin that read thanks for saying such sweet things about me , but when I did, Eris took a step back. 

“Ugh…why do you get that creepy grin on your face when I compliment you?!” 

Apparently, my trademark look was a creepy one. That was a bit of a shock. Someone please give me a new face… 

“Anyway, if that’s what’s going on, then let’s attack the castle!” Eris exclaimed, totally ready and willing to throw down. 

“It’s been a while since I stormed a castle.” Even Ruijerd was hefting his spear as if raring to go. 

I hurried to cool their jets. “No, no. Let’s just wait for a reply to my letter, for now.” 

Eris looked unenthused at my words. As usual, she just wanted to go wild. It certainly would have been simpler to dispense with subtlety and launch an attack on the castle, but that might land Roxy in trouble, and I wanted to be able to look her in the eye when we met. First, we needed to know exactly what was going on. It definitely wasn’t just because I wanted to see Roxy, just so you know. 

With that, the day came to a close. 

*** 

The next day, a knight came to the inn just as the clock was about to strike noon. The armor they wore was similar in style to that worn by Aisha’s would-be kidnappers, albeit of higher quality. I had the others wait in the room while I went down to the lobby by myself to deal with them. 

“You are Lord Rudeus?” 

“Yes.” 

“I am part of the Seventh Prince’s imperial guard. My name is Ginger York.” 

I wondered why a member of the imperial guard was here. Then again, Roxy was tutoring a prince. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m Rudeus Greyrat.” 

The knight was a woman, and had come alone. She watched me without a flicker of emotion as she gave a knightly introduction and bowed. I returned it with a nobleman-style bow. I wasn’t actually sure what the appropriate greeting was, but as long as I conveyed my sincerity, that was enough. 

“Lady Roxy bids you come see her. Please accompany me to the royal palace.” 

She mentioned nothing about the events that transpired the day before. I hadn’t hidden my face during the dust-up, but it seemed I hadn’t been identified. 

I hesitated. What was I supposed to do with Aisha? If I took her with me, they would know I was the one who’d attacked those soldiers with my stone cannon. I was just going to have to leave her behind. I could apologize to the soldiers once I had Roxy to help. 

With that decided, I told Aisha not to leave the room under any circumstance and entrusted her protection to Ruijerd and Eris. Since I was going to meet Roxy, I double-checked my appearance before I left. My hair was combed, and I was in my usual robes. Oh, right, I thought. I should get her a box of sweets. I wondered what I should buy, since I hadn’t seen her in such a long time. 

It was then I happened to spot the ultra-unpopular Ruijerd figurine at the bottom of my tool bag. I recalled that in one of her letters, she’d talked about seeing a figurine of herself. It might be interesting to show her this one and tell her that I’d been the creator behind that one, too. 

“You’re being awfully thorough about this,” Eris commented. 

“It’s been a while since I last saw my master.” 

“…You’re going to formally introduce me to her, right?” 

“Yeah, of course. I’ll make sure to do that once everything is settled.” I finished the last of my preparations. 

“Are you sure you’re fine by yourself?” Ruijerd asked in a worried tone. I often ran into trouble when I was left on my own, so I understood his concern. 

“No problem. If anything comes up, I’ll fly right back here.” That was just a figure of speech, of course. I was never going to take such drastic action that I broke both of my legs again. 

“Mister Kennel Master…” Aisha said. 

“Don’t worry. Just leave this to me.” She looked anxious, so I patted her on the head. She drew her lips into a line and nodded. That’s a good girl , I thought. 

Led by the knight Ginger, I started toward the royal palace. We moved quickly along the edge of a main road, bustling with carriages going to and fro. The road had so many twists and turns and sometimes was so narrow that carriages couldn’t freely pass by one another. I assumed this was a countermeasure in case of an enemy attack. I’d heard of a town in the Mino region back in Japan that had streets like this. 

Ginger seemed quite taciturn, so I didn’t speak unless necessary. If I asked her a question, however, she would respond. She was always polite. 

“Okay, up next is this one!” An energetic voice boomed through the air. I turned my head in its direction. “She used to be a knight from the country of Washawa. This is a battle-ready slave! She’s a bit feisty, but she’s skilled! Three gold coins!” 

A slave market occupied an area facing the main road. There, on a tall platform, was a line of slaves. There were three humans and one beastfolk with rabbit ears. Two of them were men and two were women. All of them had their upper bodies exposed. Even from this distance, I could see their skin shining. It was probably oiled to make them look more attractive. 

I was sure the beastfolk had been taken from the Great Forest. I had no means or even an obligation to help them, but I did furrow my brow. I squinted at the Washawa woman’s bosom and felt my little friend down there react. 

I could hear the merchant beside the slaves explaining various things about them, but I couldn’t make out the particulars. They were probably talking about each slave’s selling points, such as their abilities and country of origin. After a few moments, the voices from the crowd grew louder. It was an auction. 

If Lilia and Aisha had been unlucky, they might have ended up alongside those slaves. Their current circumstances didn’t seem all that bad by comparison—not that I could say that for certain yet. 

I realized Ginger was looking at the slave market with a wrinkle in her brow. Her duty was to maintain public order in the country. Perhaps seeing people doing such unscrupulous business out in the open bothered her. 

“I thought the slave market was further inside,” I said, by way of making conversation. The slave markets we’d seen had mostly been nestled further back within their cities. Slavery wasn’t seen as a bad thing in and of itself in this world, but this was the first time I’d ever seen slaves sold this openly on a main street. 

“Indeed. These types of auctions are always conducted further within the city.” 

“Then I suppose today must be some kind of event or something?” 

“No. Yesterday, some adventurers apparently got into a fight in the area where the slave markets usually are. Since that location can no longer be used, they’ve temporarily relocated here.” 

A fight at the slave market, huh? Eris and Ruijerd had said they’d been involved in a fight. I had a feeling the two things were connected, but it would only cause trouble if I brought it up. 

“Pardon me,” Ginger said as she suddenly grabbed me under the arms and lifted me up. “Please watch the proceedings from here.” 

“Oh, thank you.” 

She was giving me a better vantage point to see what was going on. She sure was perceptive. You definitely couldn’t call her a beauty, but with her powers of observation, I was sure she’d find a nice husband someday. 

“Lady Roxy would also hop around trying to get a look whenever there was a crowd.” 

“Really?” 

“Yes. Although she always looked conflicted when I lifted her up like this.” 

I tried to picture it—Roxy hopping up and down while complaining, “I can’t really see.” Then I pictured Ginger, with her good intentions, unable to just stand by and watch. Then finally Roxy again, looking disheartened as she’d say, “Please put me down.” 

“You’ve held her up before like this before?” I asked. 

“Yes, and she got mad and told me to put her down immediately.” 

I knew it. 

“Where did you grab her?” 

“Where? The same way I did with you just now.” She’d reached under my arms when she’d lifted me up just a moment ago. 

“What was it like?” 

“It was just like I said,” Ginger repeated. “She looked conflicted and told me to put her down immediately.” 

What I wanted to know was what her skin felt like, but oh well. 

“Please put me down,” I said. “Let’s hurry on.” There wasn’t anything particularly interesting happening. All I could see were the slaves about to be sold standing in an iron cage. 

We turned back toward the palace and hastened our pace. 

“What’s my teacher doing at the royal palace?” I asked, thinking I’d found something we had in common to talk about. 

“Usually she’s teaching the prince, but when she’s not busy, she joins the soldiers for training.” 

I seemed to recall Roxy had mentioned something along those lines in the letter she sent me when I was in Roa. “Ah yes, I heard how you conducted training under the premise that your opponent was a magician?” 

According to Roxy’s letter, the soldiers were training to deflect magic that she would throw at them while they were engaged in melee combat against one another. The principle was that learning to deflect magic that came at you suddenly during training would help you escape death when you actually faced such circumstances on the battlefield. 

“That’s correct. We are all Intermediate-tier Water God Style swordfighters already, but thanks to Lady Roxy, we can now deflect magic when it’s suddenly thrown at us, too.” 

So that was why the knight from yesterday was able to deflect my stone cannon. It’d been a shock to see a no-name soldier defend themselves against my attack, but it made sense now that I knew it was thanks to Roxy’s teachings. 

We continued talking about Roxy for a little while after that. We talked about how it warmed the soldiers’ hearts when they saw Roxy’s face go pale after she burned a rug in the middle of her magic lesson. Then we talked about how her face turned pale again when a meal included bell peppers, and how she swallowed them whole without chewing once. 

“I’ve heard about you as well, Lord Rudeus,” Ginger said. 

“Yeah? Wh-what did she say about me?” 

“She told us that from a young age, you were a genius who could cast magic without the use of incantations.” 

“My teacher said that?” I asked. 

“Lady Roxy bragged often about you. She said that she honestly felt like she wasn’t even qualified to teach someone of your caliber.” 

“Heh heh,” I chuckled. “That’s an exaggeration.” 

We eventually reached the castle as we talked. It was quite a large one, though not as big as the Kishirisu Castle in Rikarisu or the White Palace in Millishion. It was about the same size as the one Eris and her family lived in. In other words, the country was about the size of a single region in the Asura Kingdom. Way to go Asura Kingdom, you sure don’t let a man down! 

“…” 

Ginger gave a small bow to the guard at the gate. In response, he snapped stiffly to attention. “Thank you for your dedicated service!” 

“Come this way.” I started heading straight ahead, but Ginger guided me aside. We circled the castle and went through what looked like a back door. “My apologies for this. Only nobles are allowed through the front entrance.” 

“I understand.” 

We came into what resembled a guardroom. There were two long desks with numerous soldiers sitting at them, amusing themselves with what looked like a card game. The second they saw Ginger, they immediately left their seats and stood at attention. 

“Thank you for your dedicated service!” 

Ginger again bowed slightly before heading deeper inside. I watched the men out of the corner of my eye as I followed behind her. 

“Miss Ginger, are you someone important?” 

“Among the knights, I rank about twelfth.” 

Twelfth? It was hard for me to tell whether that was a high or low ranking. If it included all the hundreds of knights within this country, then it probably wasn’t low. 

“This way.” Ginger led us way deeper and deeper into the palace. Her steps grew increasingly cautious as she went. She never climbed any stairs, but simply led me down one final hall and stopped outside a door deep within the core of the castle. 

This must be Roxy’s room , I thought. It was located in an awfully deserted area of the palace, but that somehow seemed appropriate for her. 

Ginger looked at what I had with me and held out her hand. “Excuse me, please hand over your staff and other belongings.” 

“Oh, sure.” How kind of her to even go so far as to act like a doorman. 

Ginger took my things and then pounded her fist against the door. “It’s Ginger. I brought Lord Rudeus with me.” 

“Enter.” It was a man’s voice that responded. 

Before I could process the doubt I felt at that, Ginger immediately opened the door and motioned me inside. Obediently, I went in. 

“Oho…so this is Rudeus, huh?” 

Seated before me, looking self-important, was a boy. He looked like a small barrel as he arrogantly reclined in his chair. Not just in terms of height; his arms and legs looked short, too. Almost like what you’d get if you combined a hobbit and a dwarf. The only thing conspicuously large about him was his head, which was adult-sized. His face resembled that of an otaku, giving me a sense that the two of us were brethren. It wasn’t an attractive face, though. 

Standing at the boy’s side were two maids. One of them looked familiar and the other didn’t. We’ll call the latter of the two Maid A. She seemed to be in her late twenties and was fairly normal-looking. As for Maid B, her face looked exactly like Lilia’s. Actually, no…that was Lilia. Five years had passed, so she looked a bit older than I remembered. That was no surprise, given she was getting on in years on top of having been through the stress of the Displacement Incident. 

“Mrgh?!” 

Lilia was in a chair. There were ropes tied around her and her mouth was gagged. I didn’t see Roxy anywhere. 

“Huh? What the heck is this…?” Confused, I looked around. I thought Roxy was going to be here; that she was going to explain what was going on. 

“Drop him.” 

At the sound of the boy’s voice, the floor beneath me vanished. 

*** 

By the time I realized where I was, I found myself trapped within a magic circle. The moment the boy gave the signal, the ground beneath my feet fell away and I dropped through a hole in the floor. It took me several seconds to realize what had happened. I was in a small room now, about six tatami mats wide. There was a magic circle drawn on the floor, faint light radiating from it. 

I immediately tried to use an earth lance to lift me back up to the room above. 

“…Huh?” 

But the magic never happened. I tried again, channeling a greater amount of mana into my feet in order to conjure an earthen pillar, but nothing happened. That was strange. I could definitely feel the mana leaving my body. This was probably the work of the magic circle that surrounded me. 

“A barrier, huh…?” 

I reached out to the edge of the circle and found myself touching what felt like a wall. I tried punching it, but it didn’t even shake. I wasn’t getting out of here. 

Still, I didn’t feel a sense of panic. Perhaps my mind didn’t yet fully grasp the situation I was in. 

“Hahaha! It’s futile! Futile, I say! That’s a King-tier barrier that I had created so I could trap Roxy! Someone like you has no hope of breaking free of it!” The rotund boy from a moment ago came waddling down the steps in the corner of the room. He stood in front of me, a great big grin stretched across his face as he triumphantly leaned back. 

“And you are?” I asked. 

“My name is Pax. Pax Shirone!” 

Pax? Oh right, the Seventh Prince. What was he planning to do by trapping Roxy in a barrier where she couldn’t use her magic? Wait—in her letter, Roxy had described him as being similar to me. I was a gentleman. So it only stood to reason that he was going to do something very gentlemanly. A gentlemanly act of violence. 

“Heh heh…I like that look on your face, Rudeus Greyrat.” He chortled when he saw my frustration. 

I put on a poker face and took a deep breath. Calm down , I told myself, just calm down. 

“So I’ve fallen into a trap? I understand. I’ll apologize formally for attacking those soldiers yesterday. But before that, please call Roxy here. I used to be her pupil. She can confirm my identity. Then I can call my lawyer and we can have a proper trial—” 

“Roxy’s not here.” 

Roxy wasn’t there. 

“What…?” I was even more shocked by his words than I thought I would be. Roxy wasn’t here. That meant God wasn’t here. There was no God. 

No, that couldn’t be possible. Did not the great mathematician Euler claim that God existed? Did he not receive an order from Catherine the Great and magnificently offer up proof that God was real? God did exist. I would do the same and prove that God existed myself. 

“No. God is here.” 

“What? God?” Pax had a dumbfounded look on his face. 

That’s right, God. Make no mistake—if God wasn’t here, there would be a holy war. Bring it on! 

“Hm, so you’re praying to God now? That’s the correct decision, though it’s already too late for you.” 

“That’s true.” I’d calmed down by now, so it was time to dispense with the jokes. “So judging by what you just said a moment ago, Roxy isn’t in this country anymore?” 

“Correct! You’re going to be the bait that lures her back here.” 

“If you mean she’s going to swallow me up, then that’s been my lifelong dream,” I responded off-handedly, trying to think. Roxy wasn’t in this country, but this person wanted to get his hands on her. Why? Was he the reason she ran away? 

Just as I thought that, Pax launched his next words at me. “I was surprised when I read your letter. I never thought Roxy’s lover would try coming to this country!” 

“What?! Roxy has a lover?!” Seriously?! I never wrote anything like that in my letter, though!” 

“Hm? You mean you’re not?” Pax asked. 

“Don’t be ridiculous! That’s unthinkable! I’m an unworthy apprentice; there’s no way such a relationship would develop between us!” I shook my head violently. 

I was actually incredibly happy he’d made that assumption. Happy enough to make me want to wiggle with glee. I wanted to wiggle around like a certain rare reindeer. I wanted to wiggle around like a certain person living within a metal monster. But I forcefully restrained myself. 

“Hmm…well, even if you’re not her lover, she’ll still come for her pupil.” 

“Will she really?” I asked. 

“She will. Lilia may have been too weak to use as bait, but for you, the pupil whose praises she wouldn’t stop singing, she’ll definitely come! Then when she does, it’ll be the end of her as a woman. She’ll live the rest of her life as my sex slave! I’ll make her give birth to five of my heirs!” 

“Excuse me, can I ask just one thing?” 

“What? Ah yes. I’ll be sure to rape her the first time right before your eyes! Then I’ll do it a second time after I cut off your head and see her face filled with despair!” 

Boy, this kid had some wild delusions. 

“Prior to coming here,” I said, “I couldn’t find any information about Lilia, so…how is Roxy going to know that I’ve been taken captive?” 

Pax froze. “Hm…well she’s incredibly capable, I’m sure she’ll catch wind of it somewhere!” 

Uh-huh. So it’d be fine because Roxy was capable. Perhaps she’d be able to find information that I hadn’t been able to, but the odds seemed unlikely. 

“But don’t you think it would be better to let that information out into the world?” Not that I wanted to see Roxy get raped, but if he did that, word might get to Paul’s ears. 

“Hmph, I’m not going to fall for that! You’re under the patronage of one of Asura’s high-ranking nobles, aren’t you?! I’d be making enemies of the Boreas family if they knew that I was holding you or Lilia in captivity, wouldn’t I?” 

“You would…?” Hmm. Something seemed strange here. Well, old man Sauros might try to help if he heard I’d been taken captive. But what did that have to do with Lilia? 

“Lilia also tried sending letters numerous times! As if I would allow her to call for help!” 

Why in the world was he not letting her write for help if the whole point was reeling Roxy in? 

Ahh, I get it , I thought. He’s a moron. 

“Besides,” he added, “I can just hand that information straight to her!” 

“You can?” I asked, doubtful. 

“I’ve been searching for her for the past two years, but I haven’t found her yet! Still, one day I will! She stands out wherever she goes!” 

Just because she stood out didn’t mean he’d ever find her. She’d written in her letters that he was similar to me. That he had talent. Did that just mean her impression of me was this bad? 

“Heh heh. It looks like you’ve given up. I don’t care if you are a magician who can cast spells without voicing them—you stand no chance against me!” 

There was no way I was going to lose to this guy! I glared at him. 

“Ooh, I like the look in your eyes. Makes me shiver. I hope you’ll keep that look until the very end. Ahh, I’m looking forward to it so much. Roxy, don’t keep me waiting…” He sounded like a little boy pining for attention as he mounted the stairs, disappearing through the hole in the ceiling. 

There’s no way in hell she’s coming , I thought to myself. 

“Hey, who said you could remove Lilia’s gag?” 

“I’m sorry, but she seemed like she had something to say.” 

“That’s not your decision to make!” 

“Please, Your Highness. I don’t care what you do to me, but please spare Lord Rudeus!” 

“Shut up, I don’t need anything from an old hag like you!” 

“Aah!” 

I heard a cry from the stairs above, accompanied by a dry slapping sound. Did he just slap Lilia? 

“Anyway, have you still not found Aisha?!” 

“Your Highness, we’re still searching for her!” 

“Grr. What does the man who kidnapped her look like?!” I could hear the irritation in Pax’s voice. Apparently, they were talking about what happened yesterday. 

This wasn’t good. I hadn’t concealed my face, so I was sure they’d figure out it was me immediately. I’d put the location of the inn in my letter, too. But oh well, so what if they found me out? Ruijerd and Eris were at the inn. As long as Ruijerd was there, I was sure he’d take care of things. Eris’ offensive skills had established their own reputation, too. 

“According to the report, he called himself the Knight of the Shadow Moon. He’s a huge, brawny man who laughs loudly as he jumps from roof to roof like a pervert.” 

“If it’s someone who stands out that much, why haven’t you caught him yet?! Dammit, you’re all so useless!” 

“Yes, sir! My apologies!” 

Hey, wait a minute! Excuse me, Mister Soldier! Please report the facts properly! Just what part of my body was brawny and muscular? Wait, no—perhaps the inaccurate report had been given out of kindness. Maybe they were trying to help Aisha escape. They didn’t seem like bad people when I met them, after all. Okay, good job, Mister Soldier! 

“According to the report, we did tear up the letter she wrote.” 

“And she can rewrite that letter as many times as she wants!” 

“A high-ranking noble isn’t going to take action just because of a child’s letter. Shouldn’t we just forget about her?” 

“No, no, no! Search for her! Don’t you care what happens to your family?” 

“…I’ll dispatch a search party immediately!” 

Then came the sound of frantic footsteps. Judging by the conversation, did that mean Ginger’s family had been taken hostage? 

“Hmph. Throw Lilia in her usual chambers!” 

“Yes, sir!” 

“Lord Rudeus! I swear I’ll save you!” 

“Shut up! As if I’d allow you to do that!” 

“Aah!” 

“Hmph. You knew Roxy too, didn’t you? I’ll have you beheaded in front of that impudent brat as well!” 

Smack! I heard another dry slapping sound, followed by something being dragged across the floor. 

“Rudeus! I’m never going to let you go!” 

When I followed the voice and looked up, I saw Pax’s creepy face grinning down at me. Then, a lid was slid over the hole above. Quiet settled over the room as I was left with only the faint light of the magic circle as company. 

“Phew…” 

I felt somewhat dumbfounded. I should’ve been angry at Lilia being hit, but strangely, I didn’t feel rage rising up within me. Perhaps it was because the entirety of our interactions prior to that had been comical. Or because the Man-God had already told me she would be saved. 

Then again, maybe it was because all of this was a product of Pax’s feelings for Roxy, as warped as they might have been. I might have ended up the same way, had I been cast aside by her. 

No, that wasn’t it. It was because he did resemble me—the old me, before I was reincarnated. That was why I felt confusion rather than anger. 

“Well then…” 

Regardless, I understood the gist of what was going on. Simply put, Pax was the one who had captured Lilia. Then he’d detained her, using whatever pretext he saw fit, such as claiming she was the spy of a foreign power. As he listened to what she had to say, he’d somehow come to the conclusion that she was associated with Roxy, which was when he devised his plan. He would use Lilia as bait, contact Roxy, and lure her back here. 

He kept this all secret for fear of the Greyrat family, but really, even if the Asura Kingdom found out, Lilia was nothing more than a maid. The secrecy—and the fact that they were unable to locate Roxy—was why Lilia had been detained for so long. 

Lilia was surely trying to send Paul a cry for help, but the prince would not allow it. That was why Aisha had escaped the castle in an attempt to try to post her letter, only to fail and have her letter shredded. 

What came afterward was what baffled me. For some reason the guards were falsifying reports to aid her escape. Did they just hate the prince, or was there another reason involved? It seemed like Ginger’s family had been taken hostage, so maybe the other soldiers found themselves in a similar situation? 

And I’d landed myself perfectly in the middle of their spider web. But I did write to Roxy, just as the Man-God had instructed me to do. This was probably all part of how things were supposed to end up, right? There was no need for me to panic. Right now, I was doing exactly as I’d been told. 

No…wait. 

Had I really done things the way I was supposed to? For instance, I told the soldiers I was the Knight of the Shadow Moon. According to the Man-God’s advice, as long as I told Aisha I was the Kennel Master of Dead End, everything would be fine. But maybe I was supposed to use that name with the soldiers as well? 

That wasn’t my only potential misstep. The same thing happened with the letter. I thought for sure I would be fine as long as I didn’t say my name was Rudeus, but if I hadn’t written my name on that letter, maybe things wouldn’t have ended up like this? If the prince had thought I was just some acquaintance of Roxy’s, perhaps things would have proceeded more peacefully? 

Crap. Now I really felt like I’d screwed things up. 

No, it was fine. It was still fine, right? This was still within expectations, right? 

I was worried. For the moment, I decided, I would at least try to secure an escape route.