Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 90 - Some Preparations
When was the last time I'd set foot in the Adventurer's Guild?
I pushed open the small wooden door and walked in.
A quick glance around — still plenty of familiar faces. Made sense. They were seasoned adventurers by now. They wouldn't die that easily.
"Hey... you're Rudeus, right? You're Rudeus, right?"
A rough, familiar voice from behind me.
I turned. It was Bahn.
That melee priest. After all these years, he looked the same... mostly.
He was missing two fingers on his right hand.
"Long time no see, Bahn."
"Long time no see, Rudeus! I heard you found your mother? Congratulations."
After I recovered Zenith, I'd come back to the Adventurer's Guild and pulled the bounty on her information. Them figuring it out was only natural.
I nodded at Bahn and looked past him. Still a party of four.
But there was a new face.
"You're Rudeus? The mage they call the Ultimate Weapon?"
One of Bahn's new party members, a girl who looked maybe fifteen — suddenly rushed up and grabbed my hand with both of hers.
"I'm a mage too! Could you take just one quest with us? I want to see the legendary Rudeus's magic with my own eyes!"
I was still working out how to respond when Bahn grabbed her by the collar and tossed her aside.
"Too much energy, Lien. You're in the way."
He turned back to me. "So what brings our Lord Ultimate Weapon back to the Adventurer's Guild?"
Ah.
That title.
It had started after a quest with Bahn, I'd dropped a weakened Red Dragon in a single hit, and he'd done the rest with his mouth.
"Don't call me that."
"It's practically legend at this point~ The new blood who came after you don't even believe a mage could one-shot a Red Dragon." He waved a hand. "Anyway, forget that. What are you actually here for? Surely not just to see us old-timers?"
"I have a commission. Specifically requesting you."
"Oh? Specifically me?"
Bahn looked me over, top to bottom.
"Rudeus. I don't know what kind of monster could take your hand. But if you're asking me to go up against something that could hurt you, my answer is no."
"I don't make a habit of sending people to die."
"Who knows?"
------
"Rudeus, here."
Nanahoshi handed me a letter.
"What's this?"
"From Orsted."
"Right..."
Had I been living too comfortably for too long? Because I was genuinely scared.
But whatever task the Dragon God had in mind, the man himself was far more terrifying than any of it.
I opened the envelope slowly, holding onto the thought that nothing he could ask of me would be scarier than him.
[Rudeus Greyrat, meet me at Nanahoshi's laboratory in three days. Before then, investigate the circumstances of Ariel Anemoi Asura.]
Ariel Anemoi Asura?
Who was that again? The princess of the Asura Kingdom?
Investigate her?
I doubted Dragon God Orsted's version of "investigate" meant anything as ordinary as looking into her background.
She was just a student princess. What was there to investigate?
"Rudeus?"
"Hm?"
"What did he write? You look troubled."
"No... if anything, it's so simple I'm almost surprised."
"So what does Orsted want you to do?"
"Investigate Princess Ariel."
"Isn't she just an ordinary princess?"
"That's what I thought. Which is part of what's bothering me."
"Don't overthink it. Whatever Orsted looks like, he's actually pretty reasonable to deal with."
Reasonable.
Just picturing his face made my skin crawl.
In under five seconds, he could kill everyone I loved right in front of me, and there would be nothing I could do.
Still — being under his banner now did bring a certain quiet reassurance.
"Yeah. Understood."
------
All the same, I made preparations.
I commissioned Bahn to find out whether Ariel was quietly building a private army, to look into how her rivalry with the First Prince currently stood, and to map out which nobles sat in her faction.
The more I dug, the more Princess Ariel looked like someone who knew exactly what she was doing.
She'd stumbled early in the political game and retreated to Ranoa Magic University. Started there with almost nothing. And yet she'd climbed to the point where she could actually match the First Prince blow for blow in the political arena.
Her weakness was force. She had no faction that could genuinely be called muscle, no powerful backer to anchor her position.
Left to run its course, she'd probably lose to the First Prince.
"Rudy, who's this person in the documents?"
Sylphiette's voice pulled me back.
I turned. Sylphiette and Roxy had, at some point, settled in on either side of me.
"She's Ariel Anemoi Asura. Second Princess of the Asura Kingdom."
"Oh~ Why is Rudy looking into her?"
"Nothing. Just browsing."
"I see~ I'm planning to go with Roxy and Aisha to visit Mother Zenith. Want to come?"
I reached out and gently touched Sylphiette's cheek.
"No. I've still got things to take care of."
"Rudy... do you need help? You can lean on me and Roxy more, you know."
She seemed to see straight through me.
She hugged me, gentle, barely any weight to it.
"Rudy, your expression hasn't been right for days."
"It's nothing serious."
Beside me, Roxy reached out a finger and poked my nose.
"Rudy~ Do you still consider me your teacher?"
"Of course."
"Then if you won't tell your fiancée what's worrying you, telling your teacher should be fine, right?"
"It's not worry. I've just been tired."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Rudy, don't lie to me and Sylphie... we..."
I kissed her before she could finish.
"I'm just tired."
"Mm... okay. I believe you, Rudy..."
Roxy said it softly, her head dipping down.
If I gave her a little lead-up, a moment to read the room, she'd accept a kiss gladly, sometimes even ask for one herself. But when it came out of nowhere, she went quiet and shy.
Genuinely adorable.
"Rudy~ What about me?"
"You know I wouldn't forget."
I kissed Sylphiette, then watched them both leave.
Tomorrow, I'd be meeting Dragon God Orsted.
I understood it wouldn't be dangerous. That no conflict would break out.
But the tension wouldn't leave.
➤ Next: Past, Present — The Conversation