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Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 7




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Chapter 7:

The Kidnapping and Confinement of Beast Girls

(Part 1) 

LINIA DEDOLDIA. The granddaughter of Gustav, the leader of the Dedoldia, one of the Doldia tribes acting as protectors of the Great Forest. The daughter of the Warrior Leader Gyes, next in line to be Tribal Leader. 

Pursena Adoldia. From another of the Doldia tribes acting as protectors of the Great Forest. She was the granddaughter of the Adoldia’s Tribal Leader Bulldog and daughter of the Warrior Leader, next in line to be Tribal Leader, Tertelia. 

The Doldia Tribe were a special race among the beastfolk. Their roots could be traced back almost 5500 years to the aftermath of the first Great Human-Demon War. The humans had won that war, and grown more arrogant for it. Faced with impending invasion, the beastfolk living in the vast lumber resource that was the Great Forest were forced to take a stand. Their alpha at the time, the Beast God Giger, marshalled the beastfolk against the despicable humans and fought personally on the front lines. He wielded his power and his wit to rescue other beastfolk while defending the Great Forest. Even after Giger passed away, the Doldia Tribe were revered as chief among the beastfolk of the Great Forest. 

These days, beastfolk weren’t just limited to the Great Forest, but were expanding across the Central Continent and into the Begaritt Continent. They weren’t as numerous as humans, but were widespread enough that they couldn’t just be ignored, and they wielded great influence among the elves, dwarves, and hobbits. There was enough military power within the Great Forest to go toe-to-toe with the Holy Country of Millis, if the beastfolk so desired. 

Linia and Pursena were the granddaughters of the Doldia Tribal Leaders, directly descended from the Beast God. In human terms, they had the same standing as princesses. 

Why, then, had these girls come so far from home to study in such a distant land? Because the previous generation’s prince (Gyes) and princess (Ghislaine) had been complete screw-ups, and like them, Linia and Pursena weren’t very smart. The Tribal Leader Gustav ordered them to go study in a far-off land in the hope that they would find wisdom there, perhaps thinking that being in a place where they couldn’t exert their authority would teach them its meaning. 

However, Gustav had miscalculated. He sent Linia and Pursena to the University of Magic, assuming their positions as granddaughters of tribal leaders of the beastfolk would have no meaning there. The girls had likewise steeled themselves for discrimination, but were greeted instead by teachers who treated them with great caution and other students who tried to flatter them. 

The moment Linia and Pursena understood their lineage still held weight here, it went to their heads. When they first enrolled, they’d trembled with fear around the humans, but that changed the moment they saw how timid those humans were around them . They soon realized that the combination of incanted magic they’d learned in class, their Vocal Magic (which had been passed down through the Doldia Tribe), dexterity, and strength was enough to bring even the strongest upperclassman to their knees, and with that, their behavior grew steadily worse and worse. Extortion, blackmail, bullying—they were full-blown delinquents before long, and in a year’s time, had become the bosses of their own faction. 

Their steady advance, however, soon came to an end. When they became second years, a princess arrived from the Asura Kingdom. The Second Princess Ariel Anemoi Asura. This woman, who had recently created her own faction and engaged in a power struggle back home, brought two guards with her and waltzed right into Linia and Pursena’s territory like she owned the place. Even the professors who had been at Linia and Pursena’s beck and call now turned their attention to Ariel. 

Frustrated and annoyed, Linia and Pursena put up with Ariel, nonetheless—until she joined the Student Council despite being a first-year. As Ariel was showered with praise for being an honors student, Linia and Pursena, who’d been labelled delinquents, seethed with resentment. They began messing with the princess and her group. It began with simple harassment, such as spitting on the floor in front of the princess and her followers as they passed each other in the hall. They would purposefully bump shoulders with her, splash her with water, and steal her underwear and dump it in front of the boys’ dormitory, among other things. 

The harassment continued to escalate—until their entire mob of delinquents were utterly beaten by Master Fitz, acting on his own. Rumor had it that the showdown had been a trap laid by Ariel, which didn’t change that fact that Master Fitz had defeated almost twenty opponents by himself. The professors conferred, and every member of Linia and Pursena’s goons were expelled—except for Linia and Pursena themselves, protected once again by their status. 

Their reputation was ruined. Their minions were gone, so they had no allies left. Their social standing took a nose-dive, and the Asura Princess and her group become heroes in the student body’s eyes. Though technically a special student, the princess insisted that she and her bodyguards be treated just the same as the general admissions students, which only added to her popularity. 

Linia and Pursena, of course, were none too pleased. They took out their anger on the two other special students who had enrolled the previous year, Zanoba and Cliff, and once they’d soundly defeated them, went on to use Zanoba to gather information on the Princess and her ilk. For the moment, though, they made no moves toward revenge. Their conduct could still use improvement, but they were even attending lessons in earnest these days. You might even say they’d been rehabilitated. 

Their war with Ariel was at an end… or so it seemed. 

Zanoba 

A MONTH HAD PASSED since Julie became our master’s junior pupil. 

Master was using a peculiar method of training, claiming, “It’s an experiment.” At the beginning of each day, Julie would have to cast one spell using an incantation. After that, he would teach her no more incantations, but make her silently conjure clumps of earth instead. I didn’t think she’d ever learn to use voiceless magic that way, but to my shock, she managed it after one month. 

That was right—in just one month, Julie had successfully created a lump of earth. Without an incantation. An astonishing accomplishment. 

According to Master, however, she still had a lot to learn. She’d only managed to conjure earth without an incantation that one time, and she also ran out of mana quickly. Still, compared to someone like me, who had no talent for magic whatsoever… I couldn’t believe it. 

“This is all thanks to Master Fitz and his advice,” Master said, but he was the one teaching her, which meant he was the one who should be praised. I’d been right to become his pupil. 

Alongside magic, Master was teaching Julie the language of men. She already knew bits and pieces, which made sense, given that she’d lived with her parents on the Central Continent for years. Julie was a fast learner, and picked things up quickly. If I told her to bring me this or bring me that, she’d select the correct thing without more detailed instructions. She was good at intuiting what I wanted. It reminded me of Ginger. 

Newly-purchased slaves were generally marked with a brand or magic seal, but Master didn’t like that sort of thing, so I refrained. After all, we’d intended Julie to be more like a pupil than a slave. 

Then one day, an incident occurred. 

It was late evening, and I was instructing Julie in the history and magnificence of figurines. She wouldn’t be able to assist me in my massive undertaking if she lacked passion for the craft. That particular day, I decided to use the Ruijerd figurine to illustrate the brilliance of Master’s handiwork. I drew it out of a locked storage box: the figurine of a warrior who emanated a sense of power and dread, endlessly fascinating to me no matter how many times I set eyes upon it. 

Master, who had been about to go back to his room, looked at it. He asked: “By the way, whatever happened to the Roxy figurine?” 

The moment he asked that, cold sweat covered my entire body. I almost said, “I left it in Shirone,” but that would be a lie, so I bit my lip hard and held it in. I… will not… tell a lie. I would never, ever, lie to Master. 

Finally, I said, “The truth is… it’s technically here, but…” My mouth wouldn’t move correctly. My hands were shaking. If he knew what had happened, Master might renounce me as his pupil. Just the thought made my body feel as heavy as lead. 

“It is? I’d like to see it since it’s been so long. Will you take it out?” His voice was filled with anticipation. It made my heart hurt. 

With great difficulty, I reached for one of the locked storage boxes beneath my bed. I turned the key with trembling hands and took out the contents. At that moment Master’s expression froze. 

“Hey, what the hell is this…?” His voice shook. It was flat, with no intonation, and yet somehow it shook. 

I was close to tears. Master’s masterpiece, the 1/8-scale Roxy figurine, was tragically broken into five pieces. Her head was ripped off, the parts that made up her clothes were smashed, her arm was broken off from the elbow, and her leg was bent at an odd angle. Only her sturdy staff had made it out safe. 

“Explain this, Zanoba. You—I—come on, just what the hell is this, huh…?!” Master was angry. Master, who normally spoke in carefully modulated tones, using dispassionately polite speech, was tripping over his words. “Didn’t I tell you how grateful I was to my teacher? How much I respect her? Didn’t you understand how much I poured those feelings for her into this figurine when I made it?” 

Master was truly angry. He responded self-deprecatingly when Linia and Pursena made fun of him, got dispirited when Cliff lashed out at him, and when Luke made fun of him, all he did was put on a troubled look. But that same man, my master, was now overflowing with murderous intent. Terrified, Julie hid behind me. I wanted to hide, too. 

“Don’t tell me… are you making fun of Roxy? Are you actually my enemy?” 

“Th-th-that’s not it!” I frantically shook my head. 

Master talked all the time about Lady Roxy, about how amazing and deserving of respect she was. I sensed it wasn’t merely adoration, but something more akin to religious fanaticism. It was the same vibe I got from the Temple Knights. Frankly, I didn’t really care at all about Lady Roxy, but if I said so, Master would strike me down in anger. If he got serious, there’d be nothing left of me but cinders. I had the supernatural strength of a Blessed Child, but my body wasn’t that resistant to magic. 

“That’s not it at all!” I stammered. “This is my most precious possession, the one I wagered when I dueled Linia and Pursena! After I lost that duel, it was tragically destroyed when they trampled it with their feet, but I absolutely did not do anything to make fun of Lady Roxy!” 

“Duel, you say?” 

I told him the rest of the story, speaking the truth with sincerity. One year ago, Linia and Pursena had challenged me to a duel. The loser would offer up the thing most precious to them, which, for me, was my Roxy figurine. I had no doubt I would win, given that I was a Blessed Child and had never once been defeated while I was in Shirone. Even if they used Advanced-tier magic on me, I was prepared to shoulder through it and swing my clenched fists at them. 

But the two of them used some strange magic on me. They paralyzed me, then, as I was unable to move, finished me off. I sobbed and sobbed as I handed over my figurine. It had to be done, though. I’d lost, after all. It was my own fault I’d had such an wondrous item taken from me. Anyone who saw it would’ve wanted it. 

But somehow—if you can believe it—those two had no appreciation for the item’s value! They said things like, “What the heck is this?” and “Creepy, mew,” before dropping it on the floor and stomping on it, breaking it into pieces. 

Once I’d explained it all, Master’s murderous intent subsided. 

“So that’s what happened. I understand.” He patted me on the shoulder. 

He understood! With that thought, I lifted my head—only to squeak pathetically. The killing intent emanating from him hadn’t subsided at all! There was now something even more sinister about the expression on Master’s face. 

“You should’ve told me right away. If I’d known that was what had happened, I wouldn’t have smiled like such a fool.” His words sounded almost gentle, but I could see right through them. Master didn’t talk that much about figurines. Lately, I’d even found myself thinking he didn’t love them that much. I was wrong. The feelings hidden within my Master’s heart burned fiercer than anyone else’s. “Let’s teach those girls a lesson.” 

Linia and Pursena were going to die tonight. I was certain of that. 

I trembled with what I thought at first was fear, but soon realized was joy. “Yes, Master!” 

With this powerful ally at my side, I could finally exact revenge for my destroyed figurine. 

Rudeus 

U NFORGIVABLE. 

I absolutely hated bullies. I might forgive the girls for ordering Zanoba around like a servant once he’d lost to them—after all, they’d quieted down once Master Fitz did the same to them. But I could never, ever, forgive them for not just taking something that someone else had made, but purposefully trampling on and destroying it! An outrageous show of violence! It was the same as someone taking a bat to someone else’s computer! Ugh, dammit. I wouldn’t let them get away with it. 

It might have been just a figurine, but they’d kicked Roxy . I’d chuckled at historical records of Edo-period officers making suspected Christians step on objects depicting Christ to prove their guilt, but now, I understood those Christians’ feelings. I understood the insult of watching someone trample on something you believed in, right before your eyes. The truth behind the Shimabara Rebellion. The Humiliation of Canossa. The crusaders who made their impossibly long trek to the Holy Land. 

Linia and Pursena didn’t understand the extent to which my memories of Roxy had kept me going since my ED problem arose, of course. So, I needed to make those mongrels realize the gravity of what they’d done. I was going to teach them that when they lived by their own selfish whims, they would reap the consequences. 

“Are you listening, Mister Zanoba?” 

“Y-yes?” 

“We’re going to capture them alive. No killing them. They need to be punished for defying God.” 

“Punished? Yes, I see.” 

“For the moment, I think it would be best if we could capture each one of them separately.” 

“But the two of them are always together.” 

“That’s true. They’re not stupid, and they were strong to shut you down, albeit two-on-one. It looks like this will be quite the formidable battle.” 

“No! I think they’re no match for you, Master.” 

“Let’s not overestimate my abilities. Victory falls into the hands of those who remain humble, after all.” I was maintaining my composure. Calm and collected. Back when I was an adventurer, being level-headed meant the difference between life and death. If I kept my cool, I could obliterate these two fiends. “Alright! Here’s my plan!” 

“Okay!” 

“Their battle strength is an unknown variable, but I already know their attack style. One will rapidly charge, using magic and the like to confuse their opponent, while the other uses that distraction to render their enemy powerless with Vocal Magic. If they’re attacked from the rear, they can immediately switch roles.” 

How had Master Fitz had managed to break through their coordination? I should’ve asked him. 

“But this time, it will be two-on-two. On a more level playing field, you, Zanoba, should have no trouble keeping up with them as a Blessed Child.” 

“Master, you don’t even need me. You could devastate them on your own,” he said. 

“Zanoba, you idolize me because I’m your master. And while I appreciate that, when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, my childhood friend who was two years older than me always beat me senseless. I’ve done a lot of physical training since then, but I can’t honestly say I feel confident about it.” 

“What?! There’s someone out there that could beat you senseless, Master?!” 

“Of course. At least four, that I know of.” Eris, Ruijerd, Ghislaine, and Orsted. Those were just the ones I knew of—there were certainly more out there, and no guarantee that Linia and Pursena might not be among their number. I could defeat Eris if I used magic and my demon eye, but we’d never seriously fought each other. Linia and Pursena were about the same age as Eris. It was probably best to assume they were both as strong as she was. 

“You’re being far too humble, Master.” 

“Zanoba, victory must be absolute. The past cannot repeat itself. Master Roxy must never again be trampled upon. To be honest, I would really like to enlist the help of Master Fitz and Elinalise, but unfortunately, they both seem to be busy.” 

Elinalise wouldn’t get involved in a personal squabble, anyway. Even though she’d spent time with Roxy, she’d still probably say, “It’s just a figurine. It’s not as though the real Roxy got beaten up.” Cold-hearted woman. 

“Very well. Let’s issue them our challenge. In my homeland, it’s an ancient custom to send a letter with a knife and a single flower. Among the Doldia Tribes, throwing rotten fruit at your opponent’s head is apparently the equivalent method. Granted, I’d never heard of this custom before, so that might be a lie, but it’s what they said. What do you think, Master?” 

“We’ll launch a surprise attack,” I said. 

“What? But isn’t that underhanded…?” 

“Zanoba.” 

“I’m sorry, I was speaking out of turn!” 

Hmph. I didn’t care if he thought it was underhanded. This wasn’t a duel—this was a holy war. All you had to do was win! 

*** 

In the end, however, I gave up on launching a surprise attack because I couldn’t think of a way to deceive their keen sense of smell. We decided to simply ambush them, fair and square. 

We went to a building some distance from the main school building, searched for the route to the dorms, and settled on a deserted spot. There was a forested patch by us, where we crossed our arms and stood with our feet firmly planted. It was evening. The path was practically empty. We’d chosen this timeframe because it was when our opponents’ classes ended and they left the school building. Additionally, they might have less mana at the end of the day. 

That aside, we were waiting a while. The girls stayed to the very end of their classes, completely at odds with their delinquent image. They should’ve been blowing off their afternoon classes and gathering with the rest of their ilk in front of a convenience store. The evening deepened and the area around us began to grow dark, swallowing the shadows cast by our bodies. I started to think it might be embarrassing if someone saw us like this, standing together in our ridiculous stances, just waiting. 

And then they finally appeared. 

“What’s this, mew?” 

“What’s going on?” 

Linia glared suspiciously as she saw us. “Hey, you two. You’re standing in our way, mew. Move aside, mew.” 

She made her demands, but we didn’t move. Pursena’s nose twitched as if she smelled something. She licked the edges of her lips, grinning widely. “Linia, it seems like they want to go at it.” 

Linia took a long hard look at Zanoba, who was standing behind me. Then she let out a single sigh. “Zanoba, don’t you feel embarrassed at all, mew? I can’t believe you’ve brought this tiny boy with you for your one chance at revenge.” 

“Hmph.” 

In response to Zanoba’s dismissal, a blue vein throbbed in Linia’s forehead. “Why, you! I don’t like your attitude, mew. Looks like you want us to break that other figurine you have too, mew.” 

“Grr… Master, leave this to me.” Zanoba wore an indignant look as he stepped forward, but I grabbed him. I shared his anger. She was probably talking about the Ruijerd figurine—in other words, threatening to destroy the image of another person who’d saved my life, someone I respected and considered a friend. 

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “They’re the ones who should be embarrassed, always attached at the hip like that. It’s almost like they want everyone to know they can’t do anything on their own.” 

“What did you just say, mew…?!” 

The girls radiated threat and incredulity, but I wasn’t afraid. I knew people far more intimidating than they were. If I’d said something offensive to Eris, she wouldn’t have said a word. She would’ve just attacked. 

“Newbie! Stop acting so full of yourself, mew! I’ll be nice and let this slide, since you’re an acquaintance of my grandfather, but keep yapping like that and I’ll destroy you!” 

“If you get it, then go on, get outta here, mew! We’re busy honor students now that we’ve given up on being delinquents, mew. Go fight somewhere else, mew,” Linia said and waved her hand at us in shooing motion. 

There was a proverb: “If you dislike a man you will come to hate everything he stands for.” Long ago I would have found that “mew, mew” pretty titillating, but right now, it felt like she was mocking me. 

“Are you incapable of normal human speech? The beastfolk I’m acquainted with could all converse properly. You aren’t a baby anymore, so stop speaking like one!” 

“Mew?!” 

Linia’s mouth flew wide open. Then her pupils rapidly narrowed. An angry breath exited her lings, and her tail stood up straight and rigid. “You bastard… I’ll strip you naked and throw water on you, mew!” 

I’d had that done to me before. What a pathetic excuse for a threat. 

“Tsk. Linia always loses her temper right away… fuck.” Pursena mumbled to herself as she bared her fangs and put her hand to her mouth. I flashed back to the time that Gustav did the same thing and rendered me powerless. She was about to use Vocal Magic. 

“Fwah!” As if called into action by Pursena’s movements, Linia kicked off from the ground. There was a resounding boom as she leaped to the left and disappeared. 

Linia will move three steps to the side and then suddenly change course and attack. 

She was fast, but I’d already activated my eye of foresight. 

“Zanoba! You take care of Pursena!” 

As I followed Linia with my eyes, I thrust my hand toward Pursena. Vocal Magic was difficult to track with my demon eye. It was best to stop her before she used it, but I had no idea how the flow of mana for Vocal Magic worked, so I had no idea if Disturb Magic would do the trick. Instead, I conjured a large cloud of dust right in front of her. 

“…! Geheh! Geheh!” Having drawn in a bunch of air, Pursena violently coughed out all of the dust she’d inhaled. 

“Shah!” 

At the same time, Linia came diving in. I could see it. Her attack was slow, clumsy, and backed by all the force she could muster. I could probably have handled it just fine even without my demon eye. She couldn’t compare to Eris, whose attacks were faster, sharper, stronger, tougher, and more bestial than actual beastfolk. 

I countered her attack. The palm of my hand smacked against her chin. That was enough to make her legs jerk and wobble. I struck my fist against her temple, sending her to the ground, where I put my foot on her chest and hit her with a stone cannon. A pleasant boom echoed around us. 

“Gyamew?!” Linia was out like a light. 

I lifted my foot off her body, now splayed like a frog on the ground. The impact of our battle had flipped her skirt up. Hm, so she’s wearing white ones today . 

I turned my gaze toward Zanoba and Pursena. We’d planned for him to go after the rear attacker, the one that would use Vocal Magic, and he was doing just as I’d instructed. Pursena was fleeing on all fours, and she was fast… actually, no. Zanoba was just slow. He really needed to work on his running speed. 

I conjured a quagmire in front of Pursena. Her feet were suddenly sucked into the mud and she faceplanted into it. At the same time, I used my magic to harden the sludge. 

“What?! What is this?!” Pursena panicked, trying to pull her body out of the solid earth. 

I used my left hand to aim a stone cannon at her. 

“Gyah?!” 

There was another satisfying boom, and Pursena fainted. 

It was over. 

“Phew… okay, come here!” Once we gave the signal, Julie, who was hiding in a nearby bush, jogged over to us carrying a large gunny sack. She and Zanoba worked together to quickly stuff the two beast girls inside. 

What an unsatisfying fight. Was that really all there was to it? If Eris had been my opponent, she would never have taken a roundabout course and attacked me from the side. Her fist always took the shortest distance to its target. She would never have let herself be hit by my first counterattack, and even if she did, she would’ve immediately fallen back to avoid the follow-up. Even if she somehow got thrown to the ground, she’d be right back to grappling with me and launching her next attack. I’d never manage to put my foot on her chest. The moment I tried, she’d grab my knee or my ankle and snap my bones—of course, that wouldn’t have stopped my stone cannon. 

Of course, these weren’t things Eris knew from the beginning. These were things she’d learned from sparring with me. But then there was Paul, who’d found a similar way to handle my attacks even on the first occasion he’d seen them. An Advanced-tier swordsman with ample battle experience could easily avoid something like my quagmire. I mean, even the beasts of the wild wouldn’t—actually, the straggler had gotten caught in my quagmire. 

Hold on a minute. Could it be that Paul and Eris were actually particularly strong? I had been told that they were talented before, but… 

“Impressive as always, Master. You didn’t even need me.” Zanoba returned carrying the gunny sack. 

I turned to look at him. “I’m surprised as well.” 

“You’re being humble again. Come now, let’s return to your room.” 

“Okay.” We traveled down the unlit path, careful to not be seen. “Julie, watch your steps.” 

“I-I a-am.” For some reason I got the impression that there was fear lurking in Julie’s eyes as she looked at me. 



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