Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 124 - Cliff Grimoire — The Conversation
"Cliff~ What are you looking at?"
"Lize... you're awake."
"Mm~"
"I'm reading some reports on the Holy Country of Milis. Things aren't exactly stable there right now."
Lize wrapped her arms around me from behind and blew softly into my ear.
"Well~ no rush, is there? Didn't you want to push graduation back by half a year?"
"Yes... that was the plan."
I pulled out the envelope as I spoke.
A letter from my grandfather. On the surface, it was all warmth and concern.
It should have been nothing more than that. But at the very end, I could see it clearly.
Grandfather wants me to come home.
"Lize... I may have to return to the Holy Country of Milis ahead of schedule."
"Mm. Should I wait for you here?"
"No. I'm taking you with me." I set the letter down. "Everything these past years — the studying, the training, all of it — it was for this moment. I'm confident I can come out on top in Milis's power struggles."
"Cliff..."
"Lize, I'm sorry. We've done everything a couple should do these past two years, and yet I still haven't given you a proper wedding..."
I wanted to say more. Lize's lips found mine before I could.
When we finally parted, she caught her breath and spoke.
"Cliff, my love. I know what you're weighing." Her voice was quiet, certain. "I don't need a formal title..."
"How can you say that! I love you, Lize. Lord Milis's blessing on us is absolute."
"But it's dangerous... I know how the Milis Church operates. They will use me against you. I don't want to be a burden."
"Don't worry. I have a plan."
------
The plan was to ask for help.
I had heard plenty about Rudeus Greyrat.
The Asura Kingdom. The Ranoa Kingdom. Even the Holy Country of Milis. He held influence in all of them.
I didn't need him to take action personally. I only needed his name. That alone would be enough.
With that decided, I followed the information I'd gathered and made my way to the front door of Rudeus Greyrat's home.
Come to think of it... meeting Lize in the first place had been because of him, and now here I was, back at his door asking for more.
I really am...
I raised my hand and knocked.
"Coming, coming~"
The woman who opened the door had green hair and the long ears of the Long-Ear Tribe.
I recognized her. Sylphiette Greyrat, one of Rudeus's wives.
Word had it that prejudice against green hair had faded considerably in both the Ranoa Kingdom and the Asura Kingdom in recent years.
The man responsible for all of that was Rudeus Greyrat.
"Hello?"
"Hello. My name is Cliff Grimoire. Is Rudeus in?"
"May I ask what business you have with my husband?"
"There are some matters I'd like to request his help with..."
Sylphiette smiled warmly and led me inside.
The moment I stepped through the door, I spotted a petite woman with blue hair cradling a red-haired baby girl. She was frantically trying to soothe the child, who looked ready to burst into tears at any second. The panic on her face was impossible to hide.
That must be Roxy Migurdia Greyrat.
So Rudeus already had a child...
I'll be honest, Lize had been wanting one too.
My thinking was to wait until my position was fully secured. We'd been careful about it.
"Rudy~ Someone named Cliff is here to see you."
Sylphiette called toward the bathroom, then turned back to me.
"Please wait a moment. He's washing Eris's hair. Make yourself at home."
"Of course."
------
Rudeus Greyrat.
Just as the rumors described. A man with something quietly unsettling about him.
Though now that I thought about it...
Eris Greyrat.
Sylphiette Greyrat.
Roxy Migurdia Greyrat.
Hm...?
Wasn't it said that the four rings of different colors on his left hand each represented a wife?
I was only counting three.
"Cliff — may I call you that?"
Rudeus settled into the sofa across from me.
"Yes."
"Call me Rudeus. Last time we met was at my wedding."
"It was."
"So. What brings you here today?"
I wasn't Rudeus's friend.
I was a priest he'd crossed paths with once, someone who happened to recite the declaration at his ceremony.
But even so.
"Rudeus, I need your help!"
I stood up, lowered my head, and bowed.
Several seconds passed in silence. I raised my eyes.
"Tell me why you need it first."
------
I laid everything out. The situation inside the Holy Country of Milis. My identity. Lize's curse, and the complications that came with her Long-Ear Tribe bloodline.
Rudeus listened without interrupting. Not once.
When I finished, he spoke.
"To put it simply, you don't need me to show up in person?"
"That's right. There's no need for you to appear."
He closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
"What you said earlier moved me."
"Hm?"
"Responsibility. You want to win this power struggle in the Holy Country of Milis because of responsibility. Win first, then hold the wedding."
"Yes. I want to give Lize a proper title. And I want to wait until after we're married before we have a child..."
"Why not have that... uh..."
"Elinarize."
"Right, Elinarize. Why not have her ask my father? If she went to him, and my father came to me, I'd find it very hard to say no."
I understood exactly what Rudeus was getting at.
Somewhere in the course of this conversation, I'd realized it.
Rudeus and I were the same kind of person.
If that was the case, then what I needed to say was obvious, wasn't it?
Just say what was already in my chest. That would be enough.
"This is my responsibility. There's no need for Lize to go asking anyone for anything. I'm her man. I will handle this."
A smile broke across Rudeus's face.
He reached out his hand.
I didn't hesitate. I reached out and gripped it.
"Cliff, I think we're going to get along very well."
"I think so too, Rudeus."
"If it's just my name you need, use it freely, though honestly, I'm not sure it's worth much."
"Thank you, Rudeus! When I win, I will stand in the Holy Country of Milis and declare to anyone who will listen that green hair is no curse."
"Good." He leaned back. "Want to stay for dinner?"
"I'll pass this time. Next time, we'll share a proper meal."
And with that, I had what I came for.
➤ Next: The Eldest Brother