Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 91 - Past, Present — The Conversation

Inside Nanahoshi's laboratory, I knelt on one knee before Dragon God Orsted.

I wasn't well-versed in the etiquette of this world's subordinates, but showing deference could never be wrong.

"Rudeus Greyrat..."

He murmured the name to himself. His gaze swept over me and stopped at my severed arm.

"A variable..."

After a stretch of silence, he reached toward the empty air beside him. The space split open like torn fabric as his hand probed inside, and he withdrew a scroll.

"Rudeus Greyrat."

"Present."

"Over so many cycles, I've come to understand what the relationship between superior and subordinate among humans should look like. I'm not saying this because I want to be your superior, but it seems that's how you see it."

Cycles?

"Clear rewards and punishments. That is the only way to earn a subordinate's loyalty."

He tore the scroll open.

I felt an itch at the stump of my arm. I looked down. Flesh and blood were regenerating at the break, grotesque in the way it moved, but astonishingly fast.

In less than 10 seconds, my right hand had grown back.

The sense of wrongness was less than I'd expected. I flexed my fingers. They moved exactly as they always had.

I bowed my head lower.

"Thank you for your grace."

No reward without effort. That was the saying.

Whatever he intended to ask of me, I was certain it would be far harder than I was imagining.

"You don't need to be so stiff. I consider myself quite familiar with you."

Orsted spoke from the wooden chair, unhurried.

"Are you referring to our encounter at the Red Dragon's Jaw?"

"Encounter." A faint note of amusement. "You phrase it so nicely. But that's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

"I know you. I'm familiar with you — very, very familiar with you, Rudeus Greyrat."

I swallowed.

Nerves. Obviously.

His words carried a teasing edge, but I had no idea what he was actually talking about.

"In my memory, this is only our second meeting, Lord Orsted."

"Heh. No need for Lord. Same as before — just Orsted."

"I'm not quite sure I understand what you're saying..."

His fingers tapped lightly against the wooden table. He closed his eyes, as though considering something.

"Rudeus. Do you think your mother can still be saved?"

He knew about my mother?

Had someone been following me all these years...?

No. That's not what matters right now.

"Yes."

"You have leads?"

"A few. But they'll be very difficult to act on."

"Good. Next question: given her current situation, do you think Ariel Anemoi Asura has a real chance of becoming the next monarch?"

"Yes. But only a slim one."

Orsted's expression didn't change.

What is he actually after?

"If you were to help Ariel Anemoi Asura — could she become monarch?"

What does he mean...?

Dragon God Orsted wants Ariel Anemoi Asura on the throne?

But what does that get him? It's nothing but political squabbling among humans. No matter how it plays out, it shouldn't affect a powerhouse at his level...

First things first. Consider the question.

If I help Ariel become monarch, then the two obstacles at the end of the road are Darius and the Prince.

The Prince has Darius behind him. Darius has a bloc of nobles in his corner. And based on my earlier investigation, Water God Leda had suddenly and publicly thrown her support to Darius...

"Orsted... sir. Before I answer, I have two questions."

"Speak."

"If you want Ariel Anemoi Asura to become monarch, why not help her yourself? With your backing, her ascension would be guaranteed. No question."

"Hmm... to make friends, one must be forthright, is that it...?"

He seemed to consider that, then nodded and continued.

"The curse. Every living creature in this world fears me by instinct. A nation built on fear will not produce the kind of talent I'll need later."

He needs people who can actually help him. Fair enough...

"Understood. Then my second question: Water God Leda. How strong is she?"

"Very strong. But she shouldn't be an opponent you can't overcome. At the very least, you won't die at her hands."

I had no idea where his confidence in me came from, but what he wanted was probably a commitment, not an analysis.

This was the first task, after all.

I took a deep breath.

"I can help Ariel Anemoi Asura become monarch."

"Good. Very good. Once you've helped Ariel Anemoi Asura become monarch, I'll give you the method to save your mother..."

He paused, then added.

"Actually, I'll give it to you now. I want to establish what you'd call 'friendship' with you."

"...Ah?"

A way to save Zenith!?

Orsted smiled.

"No questions? Rudeus."

I had plenty of questions. The real issue was whether I should ask them.

Nanahoshi had been right, he was actually easy to talk to. There was no pressure here, no sense of a superior bearing down on someone beneath him.

In that case...

"Why do you need my help? My strength and yours are worlds apart. Most things would be effortless if you simply handled them yourself."

"Mana. My reserves recover very slowly. For the final battle, I can't afford to waste magic on smaller matters. Beyond that, there are many things my position makes inconvenient to do directly. Even if I forced a result in the present, the future course could go wrong."

He can see the future?

I'll ask about that later.

"Alright... One more question. Back then, why did you attack my younger sister? Aisha Greyrat."

"You already have the answer, don't you? Because at that time, Aisha Greyrat was an apostle of the Man-God."

"Then how did you detect it? I lived with her for years and never sensed anything wrong."

"The previous cycle... no. To be precise: the previous timeline."

"Timeline...?"

"It should have been another cycle. But because of your existence, things changed. I stole the mana storage device you and Nanahoshi invented, used the magic you created, and returned to the present."

Wh... what?

The information in that single statement was far denser than I'd expected.

Cycles. Rebirth, like me?

No. His cycles and my rebirth were two different things, and besides, he said timeline.

So he traveled back through time? Using magic I invented? In his previous timeline, he knew me?

"You... traveled back through time?"

"Yes."

"Magic that I invented?"

"Correct. I still know how to use it, but I can't activate it again, not enough mana. The storage device you and Nanahoshi built is far too large to bring back."

"I see... In that previous timeline, were we friends?"

He shook his head.

"Enemies. Because I killed Aisha Greyrat and Eris Boreas Greyrat. When we were passing through the Red Dragon's Jaw, I sensed something wrong and used Dragon Tongue to interrogate Aisha Greyrat. The magic made her confess, in her dreams, she had contact with the Man-God.

I didn't hesitate. I attacked. Eris Boreas Greyrat took the hit for her and died instantly."

"I see..."

Orsted continued, his face blank.

"In that previous timeline, you — in your forties — laid a trap. You gathered the Sword God, the Water God, North God the Third, and Demon Lord Badigadi and launched a coordinated assault on me. In the end, I killed all of them except Badigadi."

"So... you believe I can handle the Water God because in the previous timeline she was working for me?"

"More precisely, she submitted to you. I don't know how you managed it. Looking back now, it was most likely an arrangement by the Man-God."

Submitted.

There's an enormous difference between submitting and being defeated.

Submission can mean two people moving toward the same interest, the same goal. Defeat means you have to actually be stronger than her.

The me from that previous life may never have had the power to defeat the Water God at all. We simply shared the same objective...

Just as I was about to speak, Orsted continued.

"After they died, you saw the situation had turned and immediately tried to escape using teleportation magic. But I had already marked you with magic when the battle began. So I followed. And I killed you."

"...Uh."

"The location you teleported to was the research institute you shared with Nanahoshi. Before you died, I asked you many things. The one line that stayed with me the most was:

'Actually, I don't hate you. There's nothing in me that could honestly be called hatred toward you. After all these years, attacking you was simply... wanting to find a way to die.'"

The me from that timeline, facing the man who killed Aisha and Eris, said something like that?

That doesn't track. I know myself well enough.

If something really happened to Aisha and Eris, I would hunt down revenge by any means I had...

"I was very curious what that meant. But looking at your face, you don't understand it either."

He reached into his coat and produced a research notebook.

"This one documents a magic that allows mana to invade the brain. It's also the method I mentioned for saving your mother. And it's another magic you invented yourself."

"The me from the previous timeline... managed to wake my mother up?"

"Yes."

Then he produced a second notebook.

This one was much thinner.

He extended both toward me.

"This one is the Holy Country of Milis's assessment of you. Both of these are items from your research institute in the previous timeline. They were yours to begin with."

I took them and flipped through a few pages.

Orsted added.

"Just skim it. I don't think the you from that timeline was as contemptible as the biography makes out."

I nodded and read a little more.

It was an assessment of me.

This is... not very charitable.

"In the previous timeline, even without my involvement, you chose to help Ariel Anemoi Asura on your own. And because of your help, she became monarch."

"I see. So that's why you trust me."

"But there's one difference. In the previous timeline, Water God Leda never stepped forward to support Darius. She is an apostle of the Man-God. Because I didn't kill Aisha Greyrat this time, you had no reason to oppose me. And if you don't oppose me yet still help Ariel Anemoi Asura take the throne, that's not good news for the Man-God. So he played the Water God."

As he said this, Dragon God Orsted smiled.

It was a deeply unsettling thing to see.

"In any case, Rudeus Greyrat, I don't want a superior-and-subordinate relationship with you. I'd much rather we become friends. Allies."

"I..."

"I know what you're worried about. Don't be. I have a way to protect your family. Even if you're not there, the Man-God will have no means to touch them."

If I'm being honest with myself, all I've ever really wanted was a quiet life.

For the sake of my present happiness, I never wanted to take on even the slightest extra risk. But now I had a way to save Zenith. For that, shouldering some risk was a fair trade.

And on top of that, Orsted was promising to protect my family.

I knew how selfish this was. I wasn't only Zenith's son, I was also the fiancé of Roxy, Sylphiette, and Eris.

But no matter what...

I took a deep breath.

"Hearing you say that puts me at ease."

Orsted extended his hand.

I hesitated. Then I extended mine and clasped it.

"Rudeus! My goal is one thing only: kill the Man-God! Even if you have no quarrel with him right now, I'm certain he will find ways to harm you and everyone you care about. In the previous timeline, he used Aisha Greyrat to set us against each other. That will not happen again. You handle the things I can't do directly. I'll protect your family. I swear it on the name of Dragon God Orsted!"

"I will do everything in my power to see your goal realized."

"Then we're allies. Tomorrow... actually, no. I might frighten your family. Tonight, when they're asleep, I'll come and cast the spell. It's a secret art of the Dragon Tribe. It will shield your family from the Man-God's influence and ward off illness and pain besides."

"No... since we're allies, I think my family should meet you properly. Come to my home tomorrow morning. I'll introduce you one by one. If Aisha panics, I ask for your patience."

"I understand. I have killed her once, after all."

"Ha..."

And just like that, I became an ally of Dragon God Orsted.

Even if, in my own head, the position I'd carved out for myself was something closer to subordinate.

➤ Next: Returning Home — Tears Unshed