Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 65 - A Sudden Friend

Snow drifted past the window. The northern Central Continent had fully entered winter, and half a year had passed since the start of term.

This world had no shortage of heating methods, but outside of magic, it all came down to coal and charcoal.

I climbed out of bed, washed up, and ate the breakfast the maid had prepared.

Norn and Aisha had no classes today. I still had to stop by the academy, though. Students had practical combat assessments.

I was heading for the door when Sylphiette's voice came from behind me.

"Rudy, here~"

She held out a scarf. She was fidgeting slightly, her long ears tinged faint red.

I stared at it. Didn't reach for it. Just spoke softly.

"This is...?"

"I knitted it myself. Since winter's here and all."

"Oh... thank you... Mm, do you need anything? I'll pick it up on my way back this afternoon."

Sylphiette pressed her index finger to her chin, thought for a moment, then smiled.

"In that case~ I hope Rudy wears the scarf I knitted properly~ and comes back early for dinner, okay?"

She stepped closer as she said it and gently wound the scarf around my neck.

Warmth? Comfort? Some other feeling entirely... I couldn't name it.

Maybe it wasn't physical at all. Maybe it was something further inside.

I just didn't know what to call it.

Sylphiette wasn't like Eris, who'd suddenly flash a cute side and make my heart lurch. She simply stayed beside me. That alone made me feel... warm.

"Yeah, I will..."

She saw me off from the entryway, gentle and devoted, exactly like a wife.

It made me a little restless. But I couldn't refuse Sylphiette's warmth, because I liked the feeling.

Asking whether she needed anything was probably just my way of wanting to give something back. If I could frame it as an exchange, I could lie to myself that what Sylphiette felt for me was nothing more than childhood friendship.

No.

I knew perfectly well that Sylphiette liked me.

For the past half year, she had never once hidden it. No deflection, no pretense. She showed her feelings openly and let them land.

And what about me?

I'd been taking her warmth for my own and giving nothing back.

I found that version of myself a little disgusting.

.......

I made my way onto campus, showed my face at the office, and headed for the practical assessment grounds.

I'd been on staff for over a month now. The school's rhythm had become familiar.

If I had to compare it to something from my previous life, it would be a university. A considerably more relaxed one.

The students were already in position when I arrived. Many of them actually looked older than me, but they probably just assumed I was the type who looked young for his age. Either way, they treated me with respect.

By the time the assessments wrapped up, it was already afternoon. Work was done for the day. The load should have been lighter, but there had been more incidents than expected.

"Time to head back."

I stretched, rolled my shoulders, and walked toward the school gate.

There was a girl ahead of me in the school uniform.

Long black hair.

I'd barely seen any around here, but that didn't mean there couldn't be any.

I was still thinking that when she turned around.

"Rudeus Greyrat."

What was this feeling.

Something about it was frightening. Like a dread that had been sleeping somewhere deep in my memory.

"You are...?"

"Have you forgotten me? Maybe this will help."

She reached into her clothes and pulled out a mask.

That mask. That mask was.

Dragon God. Orsted.

The name crashed through my head again, dragging that old terror with it. Right, she was the black-haired girl who'd been standing beside the Dragon God back then.

But I was his subordinate now, wasn't I?

Was her showing up here his way of finally handing me an assignment?

Deep breath.

I got myself calm and asked.

"I remember now. Do you have a mission for me?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"I just happened to remember you existed. I didn't expect to find you teaching at this school. Quite the coincidence, isn't it."

"I'll take that as a compliment. May I ask your name?"

The girl considered for a moment.

"I have two names. Would you like the real one or the false one?"

"Is there some deeper meaning behind that question?"

"No. Actually... maybe there is. But probably not for you."

"Then give me the real one."

She spoke.

It was a language I hadn't heard in this world for a very long time.

Not my native language. I simply knew it.

"Nanahoshi Shizuka." [Japanese]

"You... that's..."

"Wait. You recognize that language?!"

She grabbed my shoulders like a switch had flipped.

"Your language. You're from Japan?"

"Yes! I crossed over from Japan. You — are you from Earth too?"

"I am... Looks like we have a lot to talk about."

......

A person from Japan, soul and body crossing over together.

Her body was probably why she couldn't use magic.

She'd met the Dragon God and followed him since. So that meant.

"What about you? Where are you from? What was your name on Earth?!"

"Where I'm from... Honestly, if you hadn't shown up, I'd have nearly forgotten, washed out by over a decade of memories here. I'm not from Japan, but I'm from Asia. You can probably piece the rest together."

"Oh! More or less, yeah. And your real name?"

"Does that matter?"

"Of course it does!"

"XXX. So now that you know — are you going to call me that?"

"No. So. Do you have any leads?"

"Hold on, you're jumping around. Leads on what?"

"On getting back to Earth! I've been researching this entire time. There's teleportation magic in this world. We might actually be able to use it to go home."

Nanahoshi stood up as she said it, practically vibrating.

It had probably been years since she'd had anyone to say any of this to. That weight was showing.

"I'm sorry. I've never looked for a way back to Earth. Because I died there."

Nanahoshi went still. Then she settled back into her seat, quietly.

"I'm the one who should apologize."

"Even so, I'll help you. Whatever you need, just ask."

"Really? No conditions? No payment?"

"Payment... If you actually make it back, would you pass on my regards to my mother?"

The topic had grown heavy. Nanahoshi let her smile fade and nodded, serious.

"Alright. This is getting too somber."

I was the one to break the mood.

"So — how do I help?"

"Magic power. That's all I need. Magic power, again and again, for each experiment. You understand how it works, right? One or two failures don't count as failure. One or two successes don't count as success. I need hundreds of experiments. Maybe thousands. And every single one takes a massive amount of magic power."

"Fine by me. My reserves are honestly a bit absurd. Aside from that one time I threw everything at the Dragon God, I've never once run dry."

"That's all I needed to hear! Want to grab drinks tonight? My treat, obviously!"

"Are you even 18?"

"What kind of standard is that? Legal age is 20! Relax, add my previous life and this one together, and I've been an adult for ages. We have to celebrate. Two people from Earth, running into each other here. Tonight, we drink properly."

"Countryman, huh... Do you want me to speak Japanese? I'm fluent in quite a few languages, and no one in this world will bat an eye regardless of what we use."

"You'd do that?! Thank you — uh, XXX!"

"Let's stick to the names of this world. I imagine mine doesn't come naturally to you."

After sundown, Nanahoshi and I found a tavern and settled in with drinks and meat.

She spoke in Japanese. Words the people around us had no hope of following. And she talked, about the years, about how hard they'd been.

She couldn't grow. Couldn't age. Couldn't metabolize.

Time might never come for her unless something else did first.

I told her she'd find a way back. I meant it.

But she was already drunk. Past drunk, really.

"Rudeus! Look at this! My research! Returning to Earth via teleportation magic is not impossible! There is absolutely a way!"

She shouted it, slapped a sheaf of papers down on the table.

I glanced at them. Felt the weight of the problem immediately.

Honestly, Magic Circles weren't my strength. I'd rarely needed incantations or drawn ones out, my magic didn't work that way.

"That's exactly my point! Everyone in this world is useless! Not a single brain between them! This convenient magic exists right in front of their faces and nobody thinks to study it?! Does that make any sense to you? Are they all defective?!"

She was waving her hand at the people at the next table as she said it.

They noticed. They looked over.

"Ha, haha... she's saying you adventurers work yourselves too hard and really ought to spend more time with your families..."

I offered that explanation to the adventurer she was pointing at.

Fortunately, Nanahoshi had been ranting in a language none of them spoke. They looked skeptical, but they let it go.

An hour of that later, she slumped over and passed out.

I'm never drinking with this person again.

Back in my previous life, she would have been exactly the type I couldn't stand.

But running into her here, now... it left me with something. Not annoyance. More like a quiet feeling of recognition. Maybe I'd changed more than I thought.

I hoisted Nanahoshi onto my back and walked out of the tavern. Snow was still falling.

I draped my coat over her.

"Where do you live?"

The only answer was her slow, steady breathing. And the smell of alcohol.

No helping it. I turned toward home.

Leaving a girl this drunk at some inn alone, that would be wrong. And besides, she was my fellow countryman.

Although.

Didn't you say it was your treat?

In the end, I was the one who paid.

➤ Next: Feelings — Heartbreak