Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 33 - Rest — Heartbreak

Walking out of the Adventurer's Guild, the world had gone strangely dark.

The sky was still bright. But the town wasn't.

It took me a few seconds to work it out. The town sat inside a ring-shaped mountain, and the walls were high enough that they swallowed the sunset whole, throwing long shadows across the streets before the sun had even properly set.

It would be pitch black soon.

"Anyway. Let's find somewhere to rest."

These past 2 months, I'd barely slept a single full night. I didn't need a mirror to know I looked like hell. For a ten-year-old's body, that kind of sustained punishment was too much.

Eris and Aisha nodded. Neither of them argued.

We used the money from selling monster materials and found a reasonably upscale inn. I was too exhausted to shortchange my own rest, so I didn't.

We ate dinner inside, then went up to the room.

The rooms came with a bathroom. Which meant a real bath.

"Eris, take Aisha and go wash up first."

"Mm! Aisha, come with me!"

"Oh, okay."

Aisha followed Eris into the bathroom without complaint.

While they bathed, I sat and thought about what came next.

We'd reached a town. That was a significant step toward home. But this city had no port. The plan was to head south and keep going until we hit Wen Port, then take a ship to Tezan Port.

The distance to Wen Port wasn't the real problem. That would take roughly another year on foot.

The northeastern Demon Continent was behind us now, which meant the monsters ahead wouldn't be as lethal. Things would get easier. But a year-long journey on top of everything we'd already been through, could Aisha actually hold up for that?

Maybe I should look into buying a horse. Or whatever they used for travel out here on the Demon Continent.

Then there was the ship. Wen Port to wherever-we-were-going was a long voyage, and long voyages weren't cheap.

"Money, huh..."

I didn't know the exact figures, but more was always better. An initial target of thirty gold coins sounded about right.

I was still running the numbers when Eris stepped out of the bathroom.

She had a thin bathrobe draped over her, barely. I had to give it to the inn, only a decent establishment would stock those. Under other circumstances I'd have appreciated the view more thoroughly. But I was too tired. The interest just wasn't there.

"Rudeus, your turn!"

"Right... Mm. Where's Aisha?"

"She said she wants to scrub your back! She's waiting inside!"

I smirked.

"And you?"

"Huh?"

"You don't want to scrub my back?"

A short silence. Eris's cheeks went red. Her fist came up and then stopped. She hesitated for a long moment before finally dropping her gaze.

Cute.

"Alright, I'll stop. Going to wash up now."

"Hmph!"

Eris stood frozen, her ears the color of ripe tomatoes, as I stepped into the bathroom.

Steam billowed out when I opened the door.

"Right this way, honored guest~"

Aisha stood completely naked, one arm extended in an elaborate welcoming gesture.

I smiled and reached over to ruffle her hair.

"Big brother! I just got clean!"

"Sorry, sorry. Let me rinse off first."

"I'll help!"

I sat down on the small stool and let Aisha do her work.

It really was comfortable.

In my previous life, a hot bath was just a hot bath. Nothing to get sentimental about.

Paul and the others are fine, right? That pillar of light, the range on it would have definitely reached the village.

No. Think positively. The three of us got out without a scratch. Maybe Paul and the others were transferred too.

Yeah. That's possible.

"Big brother. You've worked hard."

Aisha's voice came from behind me, quiet and gentle.

"Mm? What's this, suddenly checking up on me?"

"I always check up on you." A short pause. "Big brother, you barely slept at all these past 2 months. Your dark circles are awful. Sister Eris and I kept wanting to take watch so you could sleep, but you never let us. You told us you'd set up magic traps and gone to bed. You lied."

"I didn't lie. The traps were real." I kept my voice easy. "And look — we made it to a town in one piece. We can actually rest now. As for you, why is a little kid thinking about all this?"

I tapped her forehead with one finger.

"I'm four years old!" She didn't sound remotely intimidated. "And big brother — you're ten. Stop pretending to be an adult all the time!"

Four years old, and still not a little kid?

I didn't say that out loud. I just smiled.

"I'm your big brother. I'm also Eris's teacher. Keeping you both safe is my job."

Aisha went quiet. She kept scrubbing.

At the end, she struggled to hoist a full bucket of water over her head and tipped it down over me.

"All done!"

"Thank you, Aisha. That was really nice."

"Right? Take more baths with your little sister from now on~"

And just like that, as if the whole conversation had never happened, Aisha was bright and cheerful again.

Back in the room, I used wind magic to generate warm air and dried everyone's hair, Aisha first, then Eris, then myself. The clothes we'd washed earlier were already dry.

Right. Sleep.

I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.

...

When I opened them again, it was dusk.

Seems I'd slept through the entire day.

I started to sit up and found Eris and Aisha both tucked into my blankets with me.

What...? There are two beds in this room.

But looking at their sleeping faces, I didn't wake them.

2 months. They'd been exhausted too.

I lay back down and closed my eyes again.

...

The second time I woke up, the sky was fully dark.

Something was moving against me. I surfaced slowly.

It was Eris, shifting around in my arms.

"You're awake? How'd you sleep?"

"Mmm... G-good. Very good."

"That's good."

Her face was red. Her voice had dropped to barely a murmur.

She'd apparently realized I'd caught her climbing into my bed and found the situation mortifying.

After that, Aisha woke up too. The three of us went downstairs and had dinner at the inn.

"Rudeus! This one's incredible!"

"Big brother, this one too!"

Money well spent.

After dinner, we went outside and wandered the streets for a while. All kinds of races were out hawking their goods, vendors calling from every stall. There were even brothels tucked in among the shops.

"Eris. Starting tomorrow we take quests. I want to earn thirty gold coins before we leave this town."

The ship from Zant Port to the Shirone Continent would run about six or seven gold per person, if I had to guess. I didn't actually know the going rate over there, but I wasn't going to arrive short on funds. That wasn't how I operated.

"Yes! Finally, adventurer work!"

Eris was practically vibrating with excitement.

"Big brother, what about me?"

"You stay at the inn. I checked — they don't let unregistered guests in without payment, so it's reasonably secure."

"Oh..."

"Be good. I'll get it done in a month or two."

I reached out and ruffled her hair.

We kept walking, making our way through the street stalls and sampling whatever food looked interesting. Eventually we found a clothing shop, and I picked up hooded cloaks for both of them. Nothing extravagant, but decent.

Back at the inn, I'd only paid for one week up front. We needed to be saving now. After that week we'd move somewhere cheaper. Unless Eris and I managed to pull in more than expected, in that case we could stay put until we'd saved enough to leave.

"Rudeus, does it look good?"

"Big brother! What do you think!"

They'd both pulled on the new cloaks and were showing off in front of me, turning this way and that.

I smiled.

"Very nice. You're both really cute."

"I-is... is that so..."

Eris flushed and yanked her hood down low over her face.

Easy to embarrass, every time.

"Big brother really does know how to win a girl over!"

"What, you have a problem with that?"

I reached over and scrubbed her head.

"Big brother is the worst!"

Aisha yelped and ducked behind Eris.

We played around like that for a while longer before heading back to the inn together.

➤ Next: Cooperation — The Conversation