Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 30 - Setting Out — Heartbreak

I had no idea which direction to go.

But I'd seen a map of this world before. We were on the Demon Continent, which meant heading west long enough would eventually get us to a town.

Before we set out, I tried every method from my previous life to figure out which way was west. None of them worked. The stars here were different. They were useless as a reference.

In the early morning, before we left, Aisha pointed in a direction and said that was west.

I asked how she could be sure.

She told me it was a feeling.

I had nothing better to go on, so I went with Aisha's feeling.

........

"The Demon Continent! The adventure begins!"

Eris was up ahead, practically glowing with excitement. A few hours ago, the heat had beaten her into total silence. But after a freezing night, being slammed with temperatures like this was rough, it made sense that both Eris and Aisha had struggled.

So as we walked, I kept Ice Magic running to cool them down while using Earth Magic to quietly probe for any monsters lying in ambush.

Aisha was too small to keep pace on foot. I used Wind Magic to lift her and carry her along as we moved.

If only there were something like telekinesis magic. It would have saved me a lot of effort.

Lifting Aisha with Wind Magic actually drained more mana than I expected. It needed careful, continuous control. But my mana reserves seemed abnormally deep, even after carrying her all day, a night's rest was enough to bring me back to nearly full.

"Brother! The sun is so strong!"

"Mhm."

Even with the air around us cooled, the sun still beat straight down on Aisha and Eris. I couldn't figure out how to fix that.

Roxy had once told me: magic is by no means all-powerful. Right now, I understood exactly what she meant.

Eris kept looking left and right as she walked, taking in the unfamiliar terrain with restless curiosity.

"Rudeus! There's a cliff up ahead! No road!"

"It's fine. Brother can use magic to lower us down."

Aisha answered before I could, looking up at me with that familiar admiring gaze.

She was right. It was simple enough.

I nodded and used Earth Magic to ease all three of us down the cliff face, slow and steady.

At the bottom, the land stretched out endlessly. We were inside a canyon now, and the walls cut off the direct sunlight.

"Brother, I want to come down and walk on my own for a while."

"No. Too dangerous."

"Alright..."

Aisha was sensible that way. Once I said no, she never pushed a second time. She understood where we were and what that meant.

Eris, on the other hand —

"Rudeus! There are actually trees ahead!"

Trees? On the Demon Continent?

I reached out with Earth Magic.

Those trees were moving.

At the roots, slow and deliberate. Waiting.

"Eris. Those trees are monsters. Watch yourself."

"Eh? Really?!"

She had her sword out immediately, ready to go.

I didn't want to steal her moment, so I used Ice Magic to freeze the roots in place.

"Eris, strike!"

"Right!"

She lunged forward and split two of them clean in half with a single stroke. The remaining three tried to run, but their roots were locked in ice. They gave up pretending, bared their claws, and held their ground.

I froze the claws too. Eris found her openings and cut them down one by one.

When it was over, I walked up and picked up one of the severed branches.

Just looked like an ordinary branch.

"Rudeus! This is that, right?"

Eris's voice was bright right beside my ear.

"This is it — adventurer teamwork! Rudeus handles support, I handle the kills!"

"That's one way to put it."

"This feeling... it's even better than I imagined. It has to be because you're the one supporting me, Rudeus!"

I smiled.

"Don't celebrate yet. We need to hunt something edible. None of us have eaten in a while."

"Mhm! Rudeus can definitely find something, right? Because Rudeus is amazing!"

"Probably."

She wasn't wrong. If I expanded my detection range far enough, I'd find something.

I glanced over at Aisha, still floating beside me in the Wind Magic cradle. The longing in her eyes was plain enough to read.

I patted her on the head.

"When you're older, I'll support you too."

"Really?"

"Really."

"When I grow up — if I invite Brother on an adventure, will Brother definitely come?"

"As long as you actually grow up first."

"It's a promise!"

"Mhm."

We pressed deeper into the canyon until evening, and Eris and I brought down a monster.

It was large. Not powerful, just large.

A land tortoise, by the look of it. A land tortoise on the Demon Continent.

I remembered reading about it in a book Zenith had given me a long time ago. Great King Land Tortoise, I thought it was called. Apparently they could be tamed as mounts.

I ate the meat with a look I couldn't quite hide.

It wasn't a question of good or bad taste. It had no taste. None at all.

Though maybe that was a blessing. At least Aisha could get it down.

I boiled her portion until it was soft before feeding it to her. She was four, roasted meat would have been impossible to chew. She worked through it with an expression that wasn't exactly happy.

Watching her, I felt a quiet pang of guilt. And I made myself a promise.

Find something better. Something with flavor. Something nutritious. She was still growing, she needed to eat properly.

It was probably an arrogant thing to be thinking about on this continent. But it was what I was thinking.

Eris, meanwhile, ate her portion like she was the happiest person alive.

"I've always dreamed of this kind of adventure! Eating monster meat grilled over a fire!"

The adventure had finally become real to her, I supposed.

Night came. I built the campfire and got it going.

Aisha practiced magic for a little while, then dropped into my lap.

"Brother~ I'm sleepy...~"

"Go ahead and sleep. Are you cold?"

"No~ This is just right...~"

"Alright. Sleep well."

She was out almost immediately.

Eris wasn't doing much better, honestly. She was twelve years old. Saying she had no fear would have been a lie.

After Aisha fell asleep, Eris leaned quietly against my side.

"Rudeus... will Father and the others be alright...?"

There it was. Once the excitement faded, her family was what was left.

That light, when we were pulled away, it had looked like something that could level Roa.

I didn't say that. I nodded instead.

"They'll be fine. Ghislaine has been with Uncle Philip the whole time. She'll protect him no matter what. Your father and mother both have personal guards. They'll be fine."

"Mhm..."

I raised my hand and stroked her head.

Before, she would have blushed and looked away, not out of resistance, just reflex. But now she stayed still, quiet, and let me. Like it was enough. Like it helped.

Not long after, Eris fell asleep too.

➤ Next: Aisha's Dream