Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 115 - The Girl, and God

"You should go to school. I'll pay the tuition — I'm really good at magic, so I'm planning to become an adventurer."

I don't want to go to school...

"Look~ This bag is so heavy because it's full of silver coins, and that's just from one commission!"

I don't need that money...

"Don't be stubborn. If I stop being an adventurer, where will our income come from? The jobs available in this city can't possibly cover your schooling."

I don't need schooling...

"Oh come on, your big sister is something else, you know. Have you heard what the adventurers in town say? They say I'm like the next Lord Rudeus. Apparently Lord Rudeus was an adventurer too before he helped Princess Ariel."

None of that matters...

"I'm sorry. Your sister... when we found her in the labyrinth, she was already like this."

------

"Ah...!"

I jolted awake.

Again.

I climbed out of bed, walked to the shrine, pressed my hands together, and knelt.

"Lord Milis... I pray..."

When the prayer was done, I stood and walked to my sister's room.

She hadn't changed. Still motionless. Still silent.

I sat down at the edge of her bed.

"Sister..."

I'd lost count of how many times I'd woken up like this. It had been over half a year since she became this way, and I still couldn't get used to it.

Should I be grateful she was still alive?

But like this, what difference was there from being dead?

No. There was a difference. Sometimes she made small movements.

That was enough.

I sat at her bedside until dawn.

"Well. I'm heading out."

I unclenched my hands, pulled on my coat, tugged on my gloves, and stepped outside.

Winter mornings were a hundred times worse than summer ones. The air itself hurt to breathe.

"Hah... today... shoveling snow."

Ever since my sister became like this, I'd been picking up odd jobs while going to school. The only reason I was still in school was that she had already paid the tuition. Stopping partway would be a waste.

I followed the marks on the map into the residential district.

"Over here! Over here!"

A heavyset uncle was waving at me from across the road. I jogged over.

"Hello, Uncle."

"Oh... little miss, you..."

"I may look small, but I'm already thirteen."

"Alright then."

In this country, you could start working after turning eleven. Most jobs required you to be fifteen, an adult, but shoveling snow wasn't one of them.

"Little miss, this inn of ours is pretty big. It'll be rough for you to clear it all on your own, and climbing up to the eaves would be dangerous. How about we find someone else?"

"I can do it!"

"Fine, fine... I'll go get you a ladder and a shovel."

He went off with a helpless look, and came back with both. I propped up the ladder, tucked the shovel under my arm, and climbed.

Because it was an inn, it was far larger than a regular house. More roof, more work. But that was exactly why they hired someone. Ordinary households just dealt with it themselves.

"If only I knew magic like my sister..."

I remembered how it used to be. In winter, she could clear the eaves with a single spell.

I shook my head and forced the thought away.

"Alright. Let's get to work."

...

Three hours later, the midday sun was shining down.

"Oh! Not bad at all, little miss."

"Are you satisfied?"

"Mm, mm. Very satisfied."

He smiled and held out a silver coin.

"This... I don't have change on me..."

"Little miss, I thought you did a great job. The extra thirty copper coins are a bonus."

"Thank you..."

"Keep at it."

I left the inn and headed for school, arriving just as class was about to start. The timing worked out perfectly.

I just hadn't had time to eat.

I found my seat in the classroom and sat down. All afternoon, I barely had the energy to follow the lessons. I knew perfectly well that none of this knowledge had anything to do with my future. I had no use for it, and no desire for it.

After school, I had a second job: standing at the entrance of a bakery and drawing customers in. My looks were apparently cute enough to qualify.

When the sun had fully set, I stepped inside.

I looked over the counter and spoke up, quietly.

"Today..."

"Already set it aside for you. Hot sausage bun, a grilled pork cutlet, and this porridge — take it home for your sister. She's in that condition, so just feed her soft things. Understand?"

"Mm... thank you, ma'am."

"What's there to say between us? Without you, my bread wouldn't sell out every day. Here, today's wages."

I took the wages and the food and bowed.

"I'll be back tomorrow."

"If you're tired, rest. My place isn't that important."

"I will come!"

I walked home with the warmth of people's kindness trailing behind me.

...

A man was standing in front of the house.

Brownish-gold hair. A gray-black robe, the kind adventurers wore.

One of my sister's old companions?

He carried himself like someone well-bred...

Judging by the look of him, I felt safe enough to approach.

"Hello?"

He turned his head at the sound of my voice and lowered his gaze to meet mine.

Oh.

A noble? Royalty? There was something about him...

"Are you Miss Brene?"

"Ah... yes."

"My name is Rudeus Greyrat."

Huh?

Rudeus Greyrat?

That Lord Rudeus Greyrat?

In the Asura Kingdom, there wasn't a single commoner who didn't know that name. In less than two years, he had purged nearly every noble house. There was no stated reason, no demand. Lord Rudeus Greyrat simply used force, and the nobles bent.

Submit, and the nobles served the commoners. Their interests were spared, but barely.

Resist, and die.

The rumor was that he'd only backed Princess Ariel because she had drawn a clear line between herself and the nobility.

Because of all this, many people called him the King Without a Country.

But was it really him?

Wait.

There was one way to tell. Rumor said he wore four rings on his left hand, all the same size but different colors, one for each of his four beloved.

I looked at his left hand.

There they were. Four rings.

"You... you... you are..."

"No need to be nervous."

I took a slow breath.

The rumors also said Lord Rudeus was gentle with commoners. Everything frightening he'd done had been aimed at the nobles, and only the nobles.

"You were looking for me... is there something you need?"

"Mm. I'd like to see your sister."

"My sister? She's... ill."

"I know."

"The kind from the labyrinth. The illness where you can't wake up."

"I know."

Huh?

"Alright..."

I pushed the questions aside for now.

I opened the door and led Lord Rudeus into the room. My sister lay on the bed, still, unmoving. Lord Rudeus walked over and studied her for a long moment, then nodded.

"Miss Brene."

"Yes! Lord Rudeus!"

"No need to be so formal. I'm the one asking something of you."

"Huh?"

"I want to treat your sister."

"Huh?!"

Treat her?

In a hundred years, there hadn't been a single successful case. Not through intervention, not through waiting. No one had ever woken up.

Lord Rudeus was saying he wanted to treat her.

"Do you agree?"

"Are there... risks?"

"Of course. She could die outright."

I stood there with my mouth slightly open, no answer coming.

Lord Rudeus was powerful enough that if he wanted to harm me or my sister, he could do it without thinking twice. He'd killed plenty of nobles. A pair of commoners would be no concern at all.

But still.

"I..."

"I know what you're worried about. Have you heard of the Archbishop of the Holy Country of Milis?"

"Of course. The chosen one of God — someone who can restore severed limbs, who might even be able to bring back the dead..."

"I can arrange for your sister to go there for treatment first."

"Really?!"

"Mm. If it fails, then I'll take over myself. What do you think?"

"I..."

I turned and looked at my sister.

She used to be so confident. She had a brighter future ahead of her than anyone I knew. She chose to become an adventurer for me. She went into the underground labyrinth for me. She ended up like this for me.

And now there was a chance.

A chance for her to come back.

But it might also be the thing that finally took her from me.

What would she choose, if it were her deciding?

"I know this needs time. I'll come again tomorrow."

"No. I agree." I met his eyes. "When can we leave?"

My sister had never been indecisive. She wouldn't want to lie in that bed for the rest of her life, I knew that without having to ask.

And if she died because of my choice, then I would follow her. If there was an afterlife, we'd find each other there.

"Tomorrow, then?"

"Could it be the day after? I need to explain things to some people."

"That's fine."

------

Inside the carriage, my sister and I sat facing each other.

The journey from the Asura Kingdom to the Holy Country of Milis was supposed to take half a year, sometimes a full year. Lord Rudeus had told us to just stay inside the carriage. One month, he said.

...

He kept his word.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

------

The treatment failed.

I brought my sister home.

The Archbishop had been powerless. He had known from the beginning it was impossible. He only tried because Lord Rudeus asked him to.

The so-called chosen one of God was nothing but a fraud.

I knelt before the shrine, hands clasped.

God must exist. Lord Milis must...

"Lord Milis... I know you are endlessly busy every day..."

But even one second? Just one second to look upon your follower...

Isn't bearing witness to the suffering of the world your duty? Please...

"Knock knock."

The sound cut through my prayer.

I got up and went to the door.

Brownish-gold hair. A gray-black robe.

Lord Rudeus.

"How is it?"

"My sister... wasn't cured."

"Then according to our agreement, I'll take over the treatment."

"Mm... I entrust her to you... Lord Rudeus..."

As the words left my mouth, my knees gave out.

------

The treatment began.

Lord Rudeus's approach was nothing like the Archbishop's. He came every day, each session lasting about 2 hours. I wasn't a mage, but even I could sense it, magic, flowing steadily into my sister's mind.

------

Every day.

Every day was agony.

Every day he came, and every day my sister showed no change.

I was afraid.

Afraid that one day, Lord Rudeus would arrive and say:

I'm sorry. It failed. Your sister is gone.

I had made my decision already, if my sister died, I would go with her. And yet now I was afraid. Afraid of what, exactly? My own death? Hers?

I didn't know.

------

Today was the 67th day.

After the usual session ended, I stepped forward.

"Lord Rudeus..."

I looked up. He was smiling. Those gentle eyes curved at the corners, his voice perfectly calm. His gaze wasn't on me or my sister. It seemed to be somewhere far away.

"The treatment was a success."

I turned to look at my sister. She hadn't moved.

"I've already layered a sleep magic over the healing. She'll wake up in about 3 or 4 days."

"Tha — thank you!"

He didn't respond. He simply turned and walked out.

------

5 days after Lord Rudeus left, my sister woke up.

Not the vacant kind of waking, eyes open but no one home. She actually woke up. She looked around the room, blinking, already trying to say something.

"Sister!"

I rushed over with a cup of water. She took it and drank deeply.

"Bre... ne...?"

"It's me! It's me, Sister!"

"Why aren't you at school...?"

"Huh?"

She woke up.

But it wasn't quite how I'd imagined it.

She had fragmented memories of the past year. She knew I'd skipped school sometimes. She knew I'd taken part-time work. She had believed she was still out on adventurer jobs, just tired, just resting a little while.

I explained everything to her. The illness. What had happened. All of it.

"So... that... Lord Rudeus... these past few days... he hasn't come?"

"Mm. After he told me the treatment was successful, he stopped coming."

We'd barely had the chance to talk about it when there was a knock at the door. I ran over.

Of course it was him.

"Lord Rudeus, my sister has woken up!"

"Mm. No complications, it seems."

He walked into the room as he said it. My sister saw him and tried to get out of bed to bow. The moment her feet touched the floor, her legs buckled. She went down on her knees.

"When a body goes too long without movement, even healing magic can only do so much."

Lord Rudeus murmured it to himself.

"Tha... nk you... Lord... Lord Rudeus!"

"Speaking is difficult?"

"A... a little..."

"Mm. Try this."

He produced a scroll. Light bloomed from it as it unrolled in his hands, washing over my sister's entire body.

"Try again."

"Lord Rudeus — thank you!"

"No problems."

"Yes..."

"Mm. Then I'll be going."

He turned to leave. Just like that.

No further words.

No conditions.

As if the only reason he had ever come was to finish the treatment.

I watched his back.

Before I knew what I was doing, I spoke.

"Lord Rudeus. Is there anything I can do? I want... to repay you."

He turned back and looked at me.

The same expression as always. Gentle. Warm. His gaze somewhere past me.

"No need for repayment," he said. "Live well."

And then he was gone.

I stood there for a long time, unable to move, the whole thing feeling like something I might have dreamed.

"God... must exist..."

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