Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 137 - The Superd Race

The journey with Ruijerd and Norn began.

Throughout the trip, Ruijerd played the role of [Guardian] well.

He hadn't crossed any lines with Norn, either...

Well. Even if he had, I'm not sure I'd have anything to say about it.

If Norn genuinely likes him, what can I do?

And this Ruijerd seems to take [duty] seriously too.

------

We'd agreed to return home every two days. I finished drawing the teleportation circle and got ready to bring Norn back for a night's rest.

"Brother, are you going to leave Mr. Ruijerd here alone?"

"That's not really what I meant... We'll be back tomorrow morning, won't we?"

"No. Even if it's just one night, we shouldn't leave Mr. Ruijerd here by himself!"

Alright. My little sister really does care about him.

Fair enough. If she didn't, she never would have followed him this far.

We do have spare rooms at home, so...

Just as I was about to open my mouth and invite Ruijerd along, he spoke first.

"It's fine. I'll guard the teleportation circle."

"Then I'll stay here and keep Mr. Ruijerd company."

"Go back and rest properly. Children who don't sleep enough won't grow."

"I'm already 20 years old, Mr. Ruijerd! Humans stop growing at this age!"

Norn huffed and dropped down beside Ruijerd.

"I'm staying with you."

Ruijerd smiled, helpless.

"Alright."

Watching the two of them, even someone as slow as me could see it clearly.

Norn likes Ruijerd. Seriously.

I wasn't sure before. Now I am.

...Fine.

Sigh.

"Ruijerd, Norn — go back and rest. I've put up magic here. It'll be safe when we teleport back tomorrow."

"Okay! Mr. Ruijerd, even my brother says so. Let's go back and rest?"

Norn grabbed Ruijerd's arm and pulled him toward me.

Our eyes met. He spoke.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

------

The journey continued like that, until we found the last teleportation circle.

After that, we traveled another month.

Four months in total.

Four months, and we finally reached the village marked on the map.

It looked a lot like the Migurd Race's village.

A fence roughly 2 meters high enclosed the whole settlement. Inside, simple wooden huts stood in rows.

Not far from the huts were fields, modest in size.

The crops were different from what the Migurd Race grew. All kinds of vegetables flourished there, healthy and full.

The soil here was probably good.

Behind the huts, beasts had been butchered and left in pieces.

Four-legged creatures with nearly white fur.

Clear Wolves, if I remembered right.

One of them had attacked us on the road not long ago. I'd killed it.

They turn transparent and ambush from hiding. Without detection magic, they'd be a real headache for a mage.

In the center of the village sat a pond. Nearby, people were gathered around large pots, preparing a meal.

The culture really was similar to the Migurd Race's.

But there was one difference.

The Migurd Race's village was full of people who looked like middle schoolers, all with blue hair. Here, though...

Everyone had a red gem set in their forehead. And their hair was a deep, lustrous green, the color of emerald.

The Superd Race.

Every single one of them.

I noticed something else, too. Something that surprised me.

The Superd Race weren't just defined by their emerald hair and forehead gems.

They were beautiful.

Every last person, without exception, strikingly beautiful.

Standing at the entrance, taking in the village, I glanced over at Ruijerd.

Hmm. He really is the handsome type, isn't he.

No wonder Norn fell for him. That made sense.

But...

Hadn't the letter said there was an infectious disease? A critical situation?

Looking at the village now, nothing about it seemed critical.

Ruijerd stepped forward and addressed the two figures standing guard at the gate.

"My name is Ruijerd. I received a letter and came."

He produced the letter as he spoke.

The guards took it, looked it over, then turned their eyes to Norn and me standing behind him.

"Who are these two?"

"Rudeus Greyrat. Norn Greyrat. Both are people you can trust."

"Understood. Follow us."

------

Once inside, I realized my first impression had been off.

The people here were listless.

Someone preparing food paused to cough. Then kept going.

There was a smell in the air, too. Something like the herbal medicine scent from a traditional Chinese medicine clinic, the kind I remembered from my previous life.

Hopefully it wasn't contagious for me and Norn.

"This way."

We were led to a building.

The oldest structure in the village.

But also the largest.

The chieftain's, I guessed.

"Chieftain, we're coming in. Ruijerd is here, and he's brought two guests."

The Superd man announced us and pushed the door open.

Inside was a single large hall.

Less like a home, more like an assembly hall or council chamber.

Four Superd Race members waited inside.

All four were elders, by the look of them.

They carried a different weight than the man who'd escorted us, calmer, more settled.

Yet every one of them had green hair and pale skin, and was strikingly handsome. Their age was impossible to read.

The one who looked like the chieftain spoke first.

"Ruijerd... It has been a long time."

"A long time indeed, Chieftain."

"I am truly grateful for everything you have done. For everything you did to restore the honor of the Superd Race. These years out there must have been hard on you..."

"It is what I ought to have done. And these two humans behind me helped as well."

Ruijerd gestured toward Norn and me.

Norn didn't understand the Demon God Language, but I'd given her that translation necklace before we set out.

The chieftain bowed his head to us.

"Our deepest thanks!"

Norn faltered a little.

"No, you don't... you don't need to thank us..."

"My sister and I only did what we should. Ruijerd has helped us greatly as well."

The chieftain nodded and let it rest.

Then Ruijerd asked.

"The infectious disease mentioned in the letter..."

"Yes... I'll explain everything properly."

------

The chieftain recounted how the Superd Race had come to settle here.

The matter of the old war, discussions and reparations with the Bihiril Kingdom 2 or 3 hundred years ago, had all been graciously accepted.

And so the Superd Race began their life in this village. Long-awaited peace at last.

[But then an infectious disease swept through the village.]

Origin unknown. It had started 2 years ago.

The early symptoms were similar to a cold, but the body would slowly lose all strength. Trembling would set in for no clear reason. The eye on the forehead would go dim. And in the end, death.

Even a race as physically powerful as theirs couldn't hold out.

The healthier warriors left the village and scattered in every direction, searching for a cure.

They failed. They died.

All but one.

One warrior succeeded. He came back with medicine. Slowly, the condition began to improve.

But while the Superd Race was consumed by the disease, the monsters they had kept in check started to stir.

More and more of them spilled out of the forest.

And so a rumor spread.

[Demon-spawn dwell in the forest. Every person who went to investigate never returned.]

Before the Superd Race had settled here, the forest had been overrun with monsters. Once they arrived, the hunting brought the numbers down.

Now, with the disease gutting their strength, the monsters crept back to the forest's edges and began attacking humans.

People who didn't know the truth decided it was demons in the forest hunting them.

A year ago, the Bihiril Kingdom sent the village a letter.

The message, plainly put, was this:

The king would raze the village to put the people's fears to rest.

"Is that so..."

The expression on Ruijerd's face was not anger.

It was not [Then we'll go to war with them].

It was something heavier, the look of a man who had run out of fight. He sank, the words that came out of him carrying the taste of surrender.

"We can't even stay here anymore..."

"Where are we supposed to go..."

"If only that war had never happened..."

Facing the chieftains' worn, grieving faces, Ruijerd's own expression collapsed into guilt.

"I'm sorry..."

The chieftains shook their heads immediately.

"We are not blaming you, Ruijerd. We also agreed to side with Laplace, back then."

"There is some bitterness, yes. But at the time, everyone saw your warrior corps as the pride of our race. And we were the ones who sent you to that battlefield. The sin is shared."

"But... why must we alone be made to suffer like this..."

"Why did Laplace do this to us..."

Voices filled with grief. No accusation in them.

No regret, either.

Just the sound of men who had given up on the fate of their own people.

I didn't feel much. Mostly, another thought was turning in my head.

[The infectious disease doesn't seem that dire. What's weighing on these chieftains is really the question of where to live...]

As I was thinking that, Norn tugged at my sleeve.

"Brother..."

"Yeah?"

"Could we... help them?"

I considered it.

Honestly, agreeing would be easy. The Asura Kingdom, the Ranoa Kingdom, even the Holy Country of Milis, I had enough standing in any of them to arrange something.

But the infectious disease was still bothering me.

One person brings back medicine, and it holds the whole thing in check?

I remembered why I was actually here.

Not to save the Superd Race. To find leads on the Man-God's apostles.

Orsted had told me this was an incident that hadn't appeared in any previous loop.

I patted Norn on the head.

"Let me ask a few questions first. Then I'll decide."

"Okay."

I cleared my throat and looked at the chieftain directly.

"Chieftains, I have a question."

"Please, benefactor of the Superd Race."

"Is the infectious disease truly under control?"

The 3 chieftains exchanged glances, then all eyes settled on one of them.

The highest-ranking one, it seemed.

That chieftain looked at Ruijerd first.

"It's rather rude to ask this of our benefactor, but... Ruijerd, can he be trusted?"

"Yes. Everything I have done for the Superd Race was arranged by him. Much of the reputation we've built comes down to his efforts."

"Very well..."

------

The chieftain dismissed everyone else.

Including Norn.

Inside the hall, only the 3 of us remained: the chieftain, Ruijerd, and me.

The chieftain let out a long breath.

"Ruijerd."

"Yes."

"Before we wrote to you... we were already nearly at our limit."

"But the village, everyone in it..."

"A lie. Every warrior who went out to find medicine died. There was never any medicine."

"Then right now..."

"Right now, the deterioration is simply being held back."

"How?"

The chieftain removed his hat.

The gem set in his forehead, what should have been the Superd Race's red, had turned a pure, deep blue.

"This is...?"

"My body is currently being inhabited by [Underworld King] Vita."

Underworld King.

Orsted had mentioned that name.

One of the candidates for the Man-God's apostles...

"Underworld King Vita divided pieces of himself and distributed them to the sick in the village. Through those fragments, he is holding back the disease's progression."

"Is that... safe?"

"No abnormalities. He's only suppressing the worsening and the symptoms."

"Did he say anything? Any conditions?"

"Nothing."

All I had from Orsted was the name.

I'd never asked about his appearance, his nature, what he wanted.

He could possess people, apparently. And these divided fragments, were they autonomous? Something capable of splitting from the main body?

"But [Underworld King] Vita should be in the labyrinth [Hell] on the Sky Continent... Why is he here?"

"When the village fell into crisis, a man appeared before me carrying a bottle with Vita inside."

"A man?"

"He called himself Geese. He said a great battle was coming and asked the Superd Race to lend him their strength."

The chieftain let out a quiet, self-mocking laugh.

"I had once sworn I would never let our people be dragged into another war. And yet... I agreed. I had no other options. And now, if Vita dies, our entire race..."

Geese.

A great battle.

Orsted had said the Man-God might try to move against Lara. That he would gather forces.

That made the picture clearer.

Saving the Superd Race wasn't just about doing the right thing. It was necessary.

Fewer enemies was always better. I wasn't sure of the Superd Race's overall fighting strength, but Ruijerd alone was a reference point.

I had zero interest in fighting multiple people at Eris's level simultaneously.

After a moment's thought, I spoke.

"Chieftain. Do you know the name Orsted?"

"Of course. The one person in this world who must never be made an enemy."

"That Geese is almost certainly planning to pit your race against Orsted."

"Wha...t...?"

The chieftain went still.

Ruijerd went still.

Both of them clearly understood what that meant.

"Are you serious?! Rudeus!"

In the silence that had fallen over the room, Ruijerd's voice came out sharp, urgent.

"Almost certainly. Think about it, Ruijerd. Why did I come all this way? If Orsted hadn't sent me, I never would have."

"This..."

"Orsted's enemies want to use your people. And there's a good chance they're the ones who spread this disease in the first place."

Ruijerd had nothing to say.

The chieftain's face had gone the color of ash.

"What did we, the Superd Race, ever do wrong..." he murmured. "We only wanted... to live quietly..."

The Superd Race holds honor above all else.

But.

When a man knows that crossing Orsted means the death of his entire people, any man, any person at all, will choose survival.

And they may well have been manipulated by the Man-God from the start. There was no honor to be found in this battle.

"If I can find a cure, will you switch sides? Join Orsted?"

Orsted was versed in every form of magic in this world. A disease like this, he should be able to handle it.

"That..."

"If you join Orsted's camp, I'll arrange a place for your people to live. I have standing in both the Ranoa Kingdom and the Asura Kingdom."

The chieftain didn't answer right away. He looked at Ruijerd.

"Is what this benefactor says... true...?"

Ruijerd shook his head slowly.

"I can't say for certain. But... there's no other path, is there? Rudeus. I'm counting on you."

The chieftain hadn't agreed yet, but Ruijerd already had. He lowered his head to me.

We weren't close. But he believed in what I could do.

The chieftain sighed and nodded.

"If this is what it takes to save our people... I agree."

"Then it's settled. I'll summon—"

The chieftain dropped to his knees before I could finish the sentence.

Ruijerd was at his side in an instant.

"Chieftain? What's wrong?"

The chieftain lifted his head and gripped Ruijerd by the shoulder.

Something was wrong.

His face was changing, a shift that had no right to be there.

Both eyes flooded with deep, vivid blue. Pupils and whites alike, swallowed by it entirely.

His mouth hung open slightly. There was nothing rational in that expression.

The gem on his forehead had returned to red, but the markings surrounding it pulsed with a light that felt wrong.

I understood immediately.

"Ruijerd! He's being controlled!"

By the time the words left my mouth, it was already too late.

Ruijerd was controlled too.

What kind of ability was this. Completely underhanded.

I reached for the Arrogant Water Dragon King staff beside me, preparing to cast.

"...Hm?"

The magic didn't fire.

What.

I looked down.

A magic circle beneath my feet was glowing faintly.

I hadn't noticed it at all when I walked in.

A circle concealed this carefully. This had been planned from the start.

"A magic-sealing circle..."

...I'd been played.

I steadied my thoughts and activated the magic Orsted had left dormant on my body.

Please work.

Ruijerd was walking toward me now, eyes wrong, expression empty.

"At least Norn isn't here..."

Something like liquid forced its way into my mouth. It moved like something alive, sliding down into the depths of my throat.

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