Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

An Unreachable Power

(Part 2) 

“NICE TO MEET YOU. I’m, um, Fitz.” 

Master Fitz was a bit nervous meeting Zanoba. Zanoba, on the other hand, marched right up to him. “I am Third Prince of the Shirone Kingdom, Zanoba Shiro—aaah!” 

He was acting so arrogant that I hit him in the knees, forcing him to stoop. I usually wouldn’t police how people conducted themselves with a superior, but Fitz was an upperclassman, and Zanoba could stand to lower his head a little at their first meeting, surely. 

“Zanoba, Master Fitz is the one who proposed the solution we’re using. Show him the appropriate amount of respect.” 

When I said that, Zanoba bent at the waist. “Understood, Master. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. 

My name is Zanoba Shirone, Third Prince of the Shirone Kingdom.” 

“N-no, you don’t have to be so, um… formal. You’re a member of the royal family, so please don’t stand on ceremony.” Master Fitz waved his hands frantically as he positioned himself behind me. 

Zanoba’s eyes widened. A great dissonance existed between a) the rumors about Master Fitz, b) Master Fitz’s physical appearance, and c) his actual mannerisms and speech. He was called Silent Fitz and feared as a magician who could wield voiceless magic, but when you actually talked to him, he was just any other person his age. A kind upperclassman who looked out for his juniors. 

“Well, now that the two of you have met, let’s get going.” With that, the three of us moved out. 

The slave market was in the Commerce District. The buying and selling of slaves was a quiet affair on the Millis Continent and in the Central Continent’s southern region, but the Northern Territories were different. Here, most countries had legalized the slave trade, which was a key part of the economy. 

People became slaves for various reasons. There were those orphaned during wars. There were those who were sold as children by their parents when crop harvests failed and they had no other options. There were also those who sold themselves as a way to save their family. There was even a rumor that a slave ranch existed in the darkest parts of the Thieves’ Guild. The Magic Nations were generally prosperous enough that their citizens never had to resort to such means, but further to the east were several desolate villages that periodically sold off their children to slavers. Those slaves were then recruited by the Northern Territories’ militia or mercenary bands, or bought by the government to serve as cannon fodder during war. 

Before setting out, I had gathered some information from the Adventurers’ Guild. Large cities had multiple slave markets, and this particular one had five. The less savory markets were frightful places, so we made our way to one that was recommended to me as being both beginner-friendly and aimed at clientele with deeper pockets. 

“Hm, this is quite unlike the market in my home country.” Zanoba nodded in approval, as if he were impressed. 

At a glance, the slave market looked like any other building. It was plain, comprised of three mud-and-stone buildings. Above the entryway were the words Rium Group – Slave Market . A brazier crackled near the entrance, and beside it stood a man clad in thick Arctic clothing topped with leather armor. 

“So it’s not outdoors, huh?” Fitz remarked in surprise. 

Slave markets were generally indoors affairs in the Northern Territories. For a simple reason. 

“Let’s go inside.” 

A blast of hot air enveloped us when we entered. Crackling fires were spread throughout the interior of the building, as were eight stages where naked slaves were lined up—obviously, not something you could do out in the cold if you cared about the slaves’ health at all. The market I’d been advised against visiting was held outside. 

“Hm, there’s lots of shops here. Master, where should we go?” Zanoba asked. 

“I’ve never done this before. Let’s just have a look around first.” 

The eight different stores were all owned by slave merchants under the jurisdiction of the Rium Group. The clientele gathered around them were fairly diverse: There were adventurers like me, people in noble attire like Zanoba and Master Fitz, merchants, townspeople, peasants, and students. There were even a few slaveowners in the mix, standing around with their newly-purchased slaves and merrily chatting amongst themselves. 

The most shabbily-dressed characters might have been pickpockets—no, they wouldn’t be able to slip into a guarded market like this. Maybe they were slaves themselves, sent by their masters to find additional slaves to purchase. I further secured the coin bag hidden beneath my robes. Zanoba was the one funding the purchase of the slave, but I was the one handling his wallet. We’d be in deep trouble if someone came and along and swiped it from him, after all. 

“Uh, um, wow… they really are all naked.” Fitz was looking at the shops, his eyes wide with surprise. His face was bright red. I followed his gaze to a group of lean, muscled slaves, probably warriors. The female warrior in the center was particularly…well-endowed. You might think melons like those would get in the way in combat, but I knew from watching Ghislaine fight that that wasn’t the case. 

“Is this your first time coming here, Master Fitz?” 

“Huh? Oh, um, yeah.” Master Fitz scratched at the back of his ear while shyly drawing his cloak tighter around himself. Exactly the kind of reaction you’d expect from a virgin. “S-so, Rudeus, you’re used to this?” 

It made me feel a little triumphant to think I might have more sexual experience than an upperclassman, but I’d only done it once, myself. And my partner ran off after it. Nothing to be proud of. 

“I’m sure you’ll feel more at ease once you get some experience,” I assured him. 

“Y-you sure about that? Hey, wait, that means you have experience…” He looked suddenly crestfallen. 

Ah, you’re still so young, I thought. 

“Master, we don’t want warriors, do we? We’re searching for a race with dexterous hands that can use magic, right?” Zanoba jerked his chin at us, as if to say that our conversation was irrelevant to him. 

“A race with dexterous hands—that’s gotta be a dwarf, right?” I asked. 

“A dwarf that can use earth magic. Though the latter is more important than their race,” Fitz replied as we made our way around the shops. 

Despite the size of the market, there weren’t many dwarves among the slaves. Most of the people on sale were clearly warriors, and none had the dexterous hands we were looking for. 

“Um, I think we could make do with a child even if they can’t use magic yet, since Rudeus can always teach them that later,” Fitz said. 

“Why a young one?” I asked. 

“It’s easiest to learn voiceless magic when you’re young.” 

“Oh, really, is that true?” 

“Yeah, it’s almost impossible to learn once you’re older than ten.” 

Seriously? Although, come to think of it, Sylphie had been able to use voiceless magic but Eris hadn’t. Perhaps their age had something to do with it after all. “So it’s connected to age, huh?” 

“Yeah. I might be mistaken, but this is the conclusion I’ve come to on the basis of my personal experience, my master’s, and the words of our professors. Also, if you start using magic by the age of five, the size of your mana pool will drastically increase. If you want to teach the slave how to make figurines using your method, then the bigger the mana pool they have, the better.” 

“I thought the size of a person’s mana pool was fixed at birth,” I said. 

“That’s incorrect. The textbooks may say so, but the truth is that a person’s mana pool ceases to grow once they reach the age of ten,” Master Fitz explained. 

I see . That would explain why I had such a vast mana pool, having started using magic when I was about two or three. And since Master Fitz had said he was speaking from personal experience, he probably harbored an impressively large mana pool, too. “Have you also been using magic since you were pretty young?” 

“Yeah. Well…a long time ago, my master saved me and I asked him to teach me, which is how I learned.” 

“Aha.” Maybe his master had saved him from monsters in a forest, or something. No—if he’d been a child then, it was more likely that he’d been kidnapped. There was a thriving business in trafficking children in this world, and even with the sunglasses on, Master Fitz was good-looking. “So your master can use voiceless magic, too?” 

“Yes. He’s amazing. I respect him deeply.” 

“That’s great. I’d love to meet him,” I said. Meeting another teacher of voiceless magic could help me improve my own abilities. 

Master Fitz gave a bitter laugh. “Uh, I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.” 

“Really? I guess he must be a pretty important person.” Master Fitz was bodyguard to a princess, after all, so his master might be a court magician or something. 

“He’s, um… not highly-ranked, but he is from the Fittoa Region.” 

“Ah…” Someone who got caught up in the Displacement Incident? So Fitz probably didn’t know where he was now. “I’m not really sure what to say, then… I hope he’s still alive.” 

“He’s still alive. I’ve found him, in fact.” 

Come to think of it, he had said that he’d started looking into teleportation to search for an acquaintance. So that was his master, huh? “Wait, then why can’t I meet him?” 

“Hehe. That’s a secret.” Fitz grinned toothily. 

Why was it that my heart seemed to pound when I saw his smile? Sure, I might swoon over fictional pretty boys, but I wasn’t gay. Maybe this was my body taking drastic measures in its pursuit of recovery. 

In keeping with Master Fitz’s suggestions, we settled on three criteria as we searched for a slave. One, they had to be around five years old (any younger than that and there was a high probability they wouldn’t be able to speak). Two, they had to be a dwarf (for their dexterous hands). And third, it had to be a cute little girl (my personal preference). 

“A girl? I don’t mind either way, but Master, aren’t you losing sight of our goal here?” 

“Rudeus…” 

It was my last requirement that led to both of them scolding me. “Huh??” 

“That said, we can’t expect a five-year-old to have had much education. If all they speak is the Beast God tongue, then we can forget about trying to teach them magic.” 

“I speak Beast God. I can educate them.” 

“Truly, Master, you know the Beast God language? You never fail to impress!” 

“Heh, I guess.” I puffed up in pride at his compliment. I might not look it, but I was multilingual, after all! I’d even taught a five-year-old in the past. 

Speaking of which—I wondered how Sylphie was doing? Elinalise and Master Fitz were testament to my fascination with elves, whose slender beauty would appeal to any old school fans of fantasy. Sylphie had elf blood in her, and she would be about fifteen right now. I bet she’d grown into a green-haired beauty, and judging by what Paul had said, her magic skills had really advanced, too. Her fame should be spreading far and wide, but I hadn’t heard a single whisper about anyone fitting her description. 

“At any rate, we’ve decided on our requirements, so let’s try asking one of the merchants.” 

I headed to the Information Center. Behind the desk was a macho dude with a slick, bald head and a mustache. He seemed puzzled when he saw Master Fitz and I, but then nodded in satisfaction once he spotted Zanoba. 

“Um, excuse me, we’re actually looking for…” 

Macho ignored me and instead addressed Zanoba. “Hey there, welcome. Whatcha lookin’ for? A fighting-type that can act as a bodyguard? We have some available right now that can be taught how to wield a sword. We do have some magicians as well, but you’d probably be better off going to the university in that case. Or are you interested in the type that can, uh, you know? Nah, you don’t even have to say. I can tell by your mug that you don’t exactly attract the ladies. We have one curvy girl in her twenties. A former prostitute, so she’s pretty skilled at—aaaah!” 

The man took an iron claw to the face and was lifted into the air. 

“Don’t ignore my master. I’ll rip out that ridiculous waggling tongue of yours, and take your jaw off while I’m at it.” 

“H-hey now! What are you doing?!” 

Two guards swarmed in to subdue Zanoba, but he didn’t budge an inch. In fact, all he had to do to fling them off was to shrug slightly. Impressive , I thought. This tall, underfed otaku had totally overpowered two brawny guards without even trying. So this was the might of a Blessed Child, huh? 

Oh, wait, I shouldn’t be spectating. “Stop! Zanoba, knock it off. Down, boy!” 

“Yes, sir!” 

At the sound of my voice, Zanoba released the man. I turned to face the security guard and bowed swiftly. “I’m terribly sorry about that, he just got a bit excited.” 

“No, it’s fine… just, try not to go too wild, okay? We’ll draw our swords next time.” They happily let it slide, and I pretended not to notice the fear in their eyes. 

The most unexpected thing, however, was Master Fitz’s reaction. The moment the guards seized Zanoba, he stepped in front of me with his wand raised. His movements were incredibly fast, but unsurprising for a princess’s bodyguard. 

Well, whatever, on with the conversation! 

“We’re looking for a dwarf, about five years old,” I said, repeating our request to Macho. 

The man trembled as he ran his eyes over the inventory list in front of him. He flipped page after page and his eyes narrowed. “We don’t really have many dwarves ’round here to begin with, especially five-year-olds.” 

It seemed our requirements were too specific, after all. Dwarves mostly lived on the Millis Continent, to the south of the Great Forest at the base of the Blue Wyrm Mountains. 

“It doesn’t have to be a dwarf. If they’re dexterous with their hands, that’ll do.” 

“Oh, we do have one. Just one.” Macho tapped his finger against a spot on his inventory list. “A six-year-old dwarf girl. Her parents were in debt, so her entire family were sold off to slavery. She’s not in the best of health, though. Well, she’ll probably be just fine once you get some food in her. She doesn’t speak the language of humans, and since she’s only six, she can’t read, either.” 

“I see. And what’s the status of her parents?” 

“We already sold them both.” 

“Well, why don’t we just go ahead and meet her then?” 

Macho called out, and a merchant showed up. He was dark-skinned, most likely from the Begaritt Continent. He was stocky and sweaty, wiping himself often with the damp cloth around his shoulders, but the market was hot. I’d taken off my robe, and Zanoba had removed his cloak; only Master Fitz remained fully-clothed. In fact, he seemed perfectly comfortable, judging by the look on his face. Well, okay, his face was bright red, but that was for an entirely different reason. 

The merchant introduced himself, extending his hand in Zanoba’s direction. “Greetings, I’m the branch manager for the Domani store, a subsidiary of the Rium Group. My name is Febrito.” 

Zanoba was reaching for the man’s face, so I forcefully took his hand into mine and gave it a shake. “A pleasure, my name is Rudeus the Quagmire.” 

When I offered my name, the man looked dubious for a moment, but his expression quickly shifted into a broad smile. “Oh, so you’re Quagmire! I’ve heard of you. They say you took out a straggler last year.” 

“I was just lucky. My opponent was also weakened.” 

Febrito took a brief glance over at Zanoba and Master Fitz. “I hear you’re looking for a dwarf today?” 

“Yes, this man over here will be funding the opening of a new business venture. We’re looking for a child to drill with the necessary skills from a young age.” It was a haphazard explanation, but it wasn’t a lie. 

“I see, I see. I can’t really recommend this particular individual to you, but…why don’t you have a look first? This way, please.” 

We followed Febrito out back and to the slave storage. Well, I called it ‘storage’, but it was just lines of steel cages connected to pulleys. Each cage was just about a single tatami mat wide, with one or two people crammed inside. The merchants probably washed and polished them before putting them on display, but they were filthy right now, and a whiff was enough to make me crinkle my nose. Upon closer inspection, I saw weeping children and others with piercing glares full of murderous intent directed our way. There were a few others like us, conversing with other merchants in the storage area. 

Febrito walked swiftly through the gaps between the steel cages, calling out to someone standing at the edge of the pathway. “Hey, is that one dwarf kid still alive?” 

“Yep, she’s hanging on.” 

“Where?” 

“Over here.” 

We went deeper into the storage area. The heaters didn’t seem to work all the way back here, so it was a bit chilly. Febrito’s subordinate stopped in front of a cage that held a girl with a blank look in her eyes, seated with her knees drawn up to her chest. 

“Well, bring her out.” 

“Roger that.” Febrito’s subordinate nodded and opened the steel cage, dragging the girl out. 

The child had a collar around her neck and shackles around her feet. Her skeletal body was covered by pathetic rags. Her hair might have been orange once, but was now a disheveled, filthy mess with strands of gray peppered throughout. Her face was pale and her eyes were hollow as she wrapped her arms around herself, trembling. I realized it was chilly, but that didn’t seem to be the only reason for her quivering. It was a painful sight to behold. 

“Strip her.” 

Her shivering didn’t seem to bother Febrito’s subordinate, who quickly ripped the rags right off her. Her deathly thin, undernourished body was left completely exposed. 

Master Fitz’s face screwed up as he watched. “Rudeus…” 

Even I found this nothing but abhorrent. I just wanted to hurry up and buy her so we could get her a meal and a hot bath. However, the girl’s eyes did concern me. Those empty eyes. I’d seen them somewhere before. 

“As you can see, she’s a dwarf. Six years old, so she doesn’t really have any skills to speak of. Both of her parents were dwarves. Her father was a smith, and her mother crafted jewelry. She should have the dexterous hands you desire, assuming she’s inherited their skill, but the only language she knows is the Beast God tongue. We didn’t really think we could sell her, so her health isn’t in the best condition, either. We’ll give you a discount on that account.” 

Master Fitz looked troubled as he approached the girl, putting a hand to her cheek. After a few seconds, her complexion improved a bit. He’d probably cast something on her. 

“And she’s a virgin, of course. We’ll detox her just in case, if you decide to buy her. Though I can’t really recommend it.” 

Master Fitz looked at me like a child that had found an abandoned puppy and brought it home with them. The girl met our criteria…but those eyes really bothered me. 

“Hello there, miss.” I knelt down and called out to her in the Beast God language. “My name’s Rudeus. What’s yours?” 

“…” 

“You see, there’s something that I’d like to have you do.” 

“…” 

“Um…” 

She just stared back at me with those blank eyes, not offering a single word in reply. Febrito’s subordinate reached for the whip resting at his side, but I stopped him with my hand. 

“Master, what is it?” Zanoba queried. 

“She’s lost all hope. She’s got the look of someone who doesn’t want to live anymore.” 

“You’ve seen someone like that before?” 

“Many times. Long ago.” 

Both Zanoba and Master Fitz looked concerned, but I didn’t intend to volunteer any more information about my past life if I could help it. Nothing good could come of it. 

The emptiness in the girl’s gaze brought back memories. I’d had the same look in mine when I was around twenty. I had no schooling, no hope for the future, no job prospects. All I could do was eat, crap, and survive. 

In hindsight, it hadn’t been too late for me to turn things around. But instead, I’d sunk further into despair, devolved into a complete shut-in, lost even more hope. I’d wanted to die. 

“Do you not want to live anymore?” I asked in Beast God. 

“…” 

“You feel like everything’s hopeless. I understand what that’s like.” 

“…” 

Her gaze slowly settled on me. 

“If it’s that bad, should I just end it for you?” 

I could do my best to save this girl. I could buy her clothes, I could feed her, I could even offer her kind words. But I needed to know if she wanted me to. 

“…” 

“Say something,” I said in Beast God. 

The girl didn’t even flinch. She just very slowly opened her cracked lips. “I don’t want to die,” she muttered in a small voice. 

It was a half-hearted response, but it would do. It was okay if she didn’t “want to live.” She at least didn’t want to die, and that enough for now. 

“We’ll buy her.” 

I wrapped the robe I was carrying around her shoulders. Then I used magic to warm her up and chanted a detoxification spell. Healing magic wouldn’t do anything for her stamina, so we’d just have to get some food in her. 

“Mister Febrito, how much?” 

She was the equivalent of ten Asura large copper coins. That was her price. 

*** 

We took the child to a wash area at the edge of the slave market to bathe her, then headed to the Commerce District to purchase clothes and other necessities. We finally wound up at a ritzy café—not somewhere I’d have gone by myself, but Master Fitz was the one who picked it. He fit right in, while Zanoba was completely unfazed, as befitting of royalty. The girl we’d just purchased was wholly focused on gulping down food, making me the only one who felt uncomfortable in such fancy surroundings. 

Master Fitz seemed to be in good spirits. “Glad you like it,” he said, as he stroked the girl’s head. “By the way, Rudeus, what’s her name?” 

“What’s your name?” I asked in Beast God. 

The girl looked at me, puzzled. “Name?” 

Huh? Was I not communicating the words clearly enough? I hadn’t used the language for about three years now, but I’d done fine in the Great Forest. Maybe those in the Doldia village had indulged me the same way someone from Japan might indulge an American who showed up in Tokyo and claimed to be fluent in Japanese? 

“Um, what are you called?” 

“The child of Bazar of the Holy Steel and Lilitella of the Beautiful Snow Ridge.” 

I had no clue what was going on, so I just translated her words verbatim. When I did, Master Fitz simply replied, “Oh, okay,” nodding to himself with a knowing look on his face. “Dwarves don’t get an official name until they’re seven,” he explained. 

“An ‘official name’?” 

“When they turn seven, they receive a name that’s fashioned after something they’re good at, something they’re attracted to, or something they like.” 

So that was it. Master Fitz was knowledgeable as always. “Still, we need something to call her,” I said. 

“Her parents are gone. We’ll just have to name her ourselves.” 

“We’re going to decide on your name, now. Do you have any preferences?” I asked the girl myself, but she merely tilted her head. 

“She’s a little girl. Let’s give her a cute name.” Master Fitz’s reasoning sounded like something a girl would say. It made me want to do the opposite and give her a tough-sounding name… but no, I couldn’t do that. We had to do this right. 

“Zanoba, let us hear your opinion!” 

Zanoba glanced my way. “Hm? Are you sure it’s alright for me to decide?” 

“You’re the one who funded this venture, after all.” 

“Then Julias it is,” he said, with no sign he’d given it any consideration at all. 

“Isn’t that a boy’s name?” 

“Yes, it was once the name of my poor little brother. The one I killed when I misjudged my own strength.” 

I couldn’t quite control my face when he said that. I knew that Zanoba had killed his little brother, but didn’t know how to react to the indifference with which he spoke. Master Fitz just looked confused. 

“She’ll be staying in my room, won’t she? She should bear a name that I feel a connection with.” 

“At least make it Juliette. She is a girl, after all.” 

“That’s fine with me. Juliette it is, then.” 

“Juli… ette, hehe, that’s a good name.” Master Fitz laughed merrily, as if he found something about the name amusing. 

“From today, your name will be Juliette,” I relayed to the girl in Beast Tongue. 

“Julie…?” 

“Juliette.” 

“Julie,” she said with a clumsy grin. Close enough. 

And that was how Juliette (nicknamed Julie) came into Zanoba’s care. At night, I tutored her in voiceless magic and the human tongue, while Zanoba gave her rambling lectures on the properties of dolls and figurines. He also made her go through dexterity-developing exercises with him, probably because he still wanted to be able to make figurines by himself someday. 

In the meantime, there was still no sign that I’d achieve my true objective any time soon.