Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 50 - Change — Tears Unshed

Three days later, we crossed into the Asura Kingdom.

We had reached our destination. But that sense of wrongness only grew stronger.

"Brother..."

"Yeah. I see it."

Aisha pointed at the refugee camp, her expression troubled.

Beside her, Eris stared at it with steady eyes, unreadable.

The place had a hollow, drifting quality to it. In terms of scale, it was about the size of a village, which, by Demon Continent standards, probably put it closer to a city. But there was no life in it. A silence lay over everything, thick and still. For its size, the people were few. The hastily built wooden huts had occupants, at least. The numbers of people sheltering here weren't small. But you couldn't feel them. Couldn't feel any of it.

Dead still.

At the center of the camp, we found a building that looked like an Adventurer's Guild. The words above the entrance read: Refugee Camp Headquarters.

Inside, there were people, but the gloom hadn't lifted. Only bad feelings.

"Rudeus, look over there..."

Eris was pointing at sheets of paper pinned to the wall. Names covered them, tiny characters packed dense and close, the names of everyone who had gone missing in the incident. Sorted by village and town, listed in phonetic order.

At the very top: Lord of the Fittoa Region.

Under James Boreas Greyrat's name, the notice read: [Seeking Information on the Missing and Deceased.]

"We'll look at it later."

Paul had already seen this. No leads, that much was certain.

"Yeah."

A death toll beyond counting.

And the lord's name was not Sauros.

Not Sauros...

Carrying both of those weights at once, we went deeper into the building.

I gave Eris's name at the front desk, and the woman at the counter led us straight inside without a word. She brought us to where two people waited, a man and a woman with a presence that filled the room, then left.

I recognized them both.

The man was older, broad-shouldered, with a salt-and-pepper beard and the composed expression of a seasoned butler. His clothes were plain but well-made. The kind a prosperous townsfolk would wear.

Alphonse.

The woman had chocolate-brown skin and wore a swordswoman's clothes.

"Ghislaine!"

Eris's face split into a full smile. She ran toward her, practically bouncing, if she'd had a tail, it would have been wagging furiously.

There had been no word of Ghislaine this whole time, but she looked well. Paul probably hadn't heard anything because they'd simply missed each other over the past year.

Ghislaine's face lit up the moment she saw Eris.

"Eris, no. Lady Eris. You're finally safe..."

"...Honestly, just Eris is fine."

The joy held for a moment. Then a shadow passed over Ghislaine's face.

Alphonse was looking at Eris with apologetic eyes.

That look. I had seen it somewhere before.

"Eris... let's talk inside."

Ghislaine's voice had gone stiff. Her tail was standing straight up, the way it did when she was tense. This wasn't just relief at seeing Eris alive.

"I understand."

Eris caught it too. Something shifted in her expression. She followed Ghislaine into the back.

"Eris." I took Aisha's hand and spoke to Eris's back. "We'll wait out here. Whatever you hear, remember we're here."

Eris glanced back, nodded once, and went in.

......

After a long while, I heard arguing.

I didn't strain to listen. I didn't need to. Between nobles, with the way things had looked in that room, Sauros was probably dead, and Eris's parents were missing. I had already felt it coming. That didn't make it any less infuriating.

"Brother..."

Aisha's hand tightened around mine.

"It's all right."

A few minutes more, and Alphonse appeared at the door to bring me in.

"Aisha, wait for me."

"Mm!"

Inside, I found Ghislaine's face tight with anger. And next to her, Eris, calm. Completely calm.

That was unusual. I would have guessed it the other way around.

Ghislaine laid out the situation for me. When she finished, Eris spoke.

"...So. What are our options?"

"Lord Pilemon Notos Greyrat wishes to take Lady Eris as his concubine."

Alphonse said it plainly. Before I had made any conscious decision, I had already raised my hand and fired.

"Rudeus!"

Ghislaine moved first. Her blade split the ice lance apart before it reached him.

Sword King. Right.

Alphonse had fallen to the floor. He was breathing hard, hands braced against the ground.

I exhaled slowly.

"I apologize. I know this is selfish, but Eris is my family. Whatever happens to the refugees in this territory has nothing to do with me. If you try to use those innocent people as leverage against Eris again, I will kill them myself first, and then I'll go kill that noble."

"Rudeus! Get ahold of yourself!"

I looked at Ghislaine. The irritation kept rising.

"Ghislaine, shut your mouth. I told you to protect Sauros. That's how you protect the person who saved your life? And now you're defending the man who wants to sell his granddaughter off?"

Ghislaine went quiet.

"Rudeus... stop..." Eris's head was low, her voice careful. "Alphonse is only trying to keep the territory alive..."

I sat down.

Eris turned back to Alphonse.

"Is there no other way?"

"N-No... there is nothing left in the territory that would interest Lord Pilemon Notos Greyrat..."

Eris was quiet for a moment. Then she stood.

"Let me think alone for a while."

........

We went back to the main hall. I took Aisha over to the missing and deceased lists.

Buena Village.

The names I knew were lined up in the missing column. But more than half of them had been crossed out with a diagonal line.

One thing I was relieved to find: Sylphiette's name was not on the death list.

There were no clues about her, though. She had vanished completely.

Of Paul's family, only one name remained on the list.

Zenith Greyrat.

Still not found.

I was on my way out of the headquarters when Alphonse called after me. I had Aisha wait at the entrance again and followed him to an office inside.

I sat down. Alphonse stood across from me. Ghislaine stood to my right.

Both standing. Were they worried I might lash out again without warning?

The two of them were nothing like me when it came to rank and formality.

"Now then, Lord Rudeus. Please give your report. Concisely, if you would."

"Impressive. Half an hour ago you nearly died, and you can still talk to me like this?"

"To be honest, Lord Rudeus, I am still frightened."

"Can't tell."

"I am frightened. But I also know that you acted out of anger for Lady Eris's sake. You would not kill me without reason."

"That's less certain than you think. I've killed quite a few innocent people on the road here."

"...That is not a particularly funny joke."

I recounted 3 years' worth of travel to him. Edited, no mention of killing witnesses, no mention of the demons I'd put down simply because I didn't like the look of them.

When I finished, Alphonse told me about various people and events. All high-ranking nobles. All the kind of people who deserved what was coming to them.

From there, the conversation circled back to Eris's future. Ghislaine and Alphonse started arguing again.

"Let Eris decide. The two of you going in circles won't change anything."

Both of them went quiet.

They had genuinely forgotten to ask what Eris herself wanted.

"Alphonse, step out. I need to speak with Ghislaine."

"Yes, my lord."

The door closed behind him. I stood.

"Ghislaine. Why didn't you protect Sauros? I told you clearly, I asked you to stay by his side."

"I was held up."

"What?"

"That day, I was held up by an assassin. Sent by Darius. Before the Teleport Incident — while I was still tied up fighting him — the pillar of light appeared. I was teleported before I could break free. I came back as fast as I could. But it was already over. Lord Sauros wasn't teleported. Darius framed him. He was executed."

Darius. Right. That one. The pervert who preyed on young girls.

"Why would Darius go after him?"

"Lord Sauros constantly stood in his way. And Darius wanted Lady Eris."

"So. The Sword King got pinned down by some low-grade assassin. You expect me to believe that?"

I wanted a lie-detection spell right then. That was my most immediate thought. Though Ghislaine didn't seem like someone who lied easily.

"It was no ordinary assassin. Only one person. I still don't know where he came from."

"Even you had trouble with him?"

"He was stronger than me."

"Then how are you certain he was sent by Darius?"

"He told me himself."

I paused.

That assassin probably wasn't Darius's.

No matter how you looked at it, what assassin announces who hired him?

"Rudeus. I'm sorry. You had already seen it coming."

Ghislaine's tail fell completely limp.

I scratched the back of my head. Her personality really was just like a dog's.

"Forget it. Sauros is already gone. Chasing it down won't bring him back." I paused. "I also owe you an apology for what I said earlier. I was out of line. I'm sorry."

"No. You weren't wrong." Her voice was quiet, but steady. "And I intend to pursue it. I want to kill Darius."

"So do I. But the timing isn't right. And if that assassin really was working for him, then he still has someone strong on his side. You can't take that on right now. And Darius may not even be the real culprit."

"Even if he isn't, he's an accomplice. So I need your help, Rudeus. You're the strongest mage I have ever seen. If you were with me..."

"I refuse."

"Why?"

"If I help you now, what happens to Eris? What happens to Aisha? What about my mother? I don't have time for noble politics right now. Once I find my mother — once the family is together again — I'll think about it then."

"...All right. Thank you, Rudeus."

"I'm still your teacher. After all."

➤ Next: Love — Heartbreak