Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 168 - The Wedding Date

The wedding date has been set.

Mama Zenith chose it, and Mama Lilia nodded in agreement.

Three days from now.......

For this one, I'm planning to invite Orsted, so the guest list is small. Aisha felt the same way. Outside of family, I've only invited Cliff so far. Next up is Nanahoshi.

I wonder who Aisha's inviting.......

------

Nanahoshi's lab.

She had her legs crossed, reading the invitation I'd handed her.

"You, and Aisha?"

"Yeah......."

".......I'll be there."

"Nothing else to say?"

"What could I say?"

"I don't know. Condemning me, maybe."

"Heh. I'm not that bored."

She tucked the invitation into her pocket and went back to studying the blueprints for her hibernation pod.

Oh, right.......

Aisha and I had talked it over earlier.

She said we could give Nanahoshi the potion, the one that can alter a human's species.

Back when we first got it, we were moving too fast. Aisha hadn't thought to ask about anything beyond the basics. All she knew was that it could change someone's bloodline and extend their lifespan.

So I took Aisha to ask Orsted.

He thought for a long time before answering.

[You must completely empty your mana before drinking it. If any remains, there's no telling what might happen. There's no risk to your life, but there may be side effects.]

If we'd just drunk it back then....... who knows what might have happened.......

Aisha flew into a rage at Orsted when she heard that.

Orsted apologized to her on the spot. [I'm sorry. That was my fault.......]

Thankfully nothing terrible happened, and Aisha forgave him.

So we decided to give the potion to Nanahoshi.

Nanahoshi genuinely has no mana. Not a drop.

I thought it over. Giving it to her really was the right call.......

Not aging, but still dying when time runs out, that's just too cruel a joke.......

I cleared my throat.

"Ahem, Nanahoshi."

"What?"

She answered without turning around.

"Could you, uh, face me for a second."

Nanahoshi turned, a little impatient about it.

I took out the bottle of golden potion.

"What's that?"

"You're researching a hibernation pod, right? You might not need it anymore. This potion can give you some dragon bloodline. It'll extend your lifespan considerably, maybe...... several thousand years?"

Nanahoshi's brow furrowed.

She leaned in close and peered at it.

"Really?"

"Orsted said it's fine."

"You're giving it to me?"

"Yeah."

Nanahoshi shook her head.

She pushed the potion back toward my chest.

"I told you before, I want to die before you. The hibernation pod....... that was never really a plan. Just something to hold onto. If......."

"If...... if my guess is right, it'll still take at least a hundred years before I can go back. Honestly, I don't have the confidence to get through those years after you're gone. So drink it yourself instead. Keep me company for these hundred years."

Her words stopped me cold for a moment.

What did she mean, she didn't have the confidence to get through a hundred years after I died.......

Aisha and Orsted were Nanahoshi's friends too, I was sure of it. Aisha used to help her research teleportation magic all the time, and Orsted had started dropping by for drinks every now and then.

I thought she wasn't so alone anymore.......

Still, I said:

"Nanahoshi, I can't drink this."

"Why not?"

"You have to completely empty your mana first. I can't do that, there'd definitely be residue left over, which means there's a risk. And honestly, I never planned on living that long anyway."

Nanahoshi nodded.

In a perfectly flat tone, she said:

"Yeah. Liar."

"Huh?"

"You said before that you'd always stay with me. If I drink this, I'll outlive you. The promise breaks, Rudeus."

"That's true....... But my children — Sylphie, Roxy — they'll stay with you after I'm gone too. You should open up to them. Let them be your friends......."

"I already consider them friends. That's not the same thing."

I didn't quite understand what she meant by that.

She didn't seem inclined to explain, and she didn't seem inclined to drink the potion either.

Silence settled between us.

Then I asked:

"If the hibernation pod actually works — what's your plan?"

"Wake up for a day each month, I suppose. Check how much time has passed. Eat something. Go back to sleep. Until that day finally comes."

"Why, though? I'd still die either way. How is that different from drinking the potion?"

"It's different. My body doesn't age on its own. If I drink that potion and then have to watch the one person I can actually talk to grow old and die, that's not something I want to live through."

"Yeah....... I think I get that. It's kind of why I don't want to drink it myself either......."

"Right? Honestly, opening my eyes one day and just finding out you're already dead is probably better than watching it happen slowly."

"What kind of logic is that."

The corner of Nanahoshi's mouth twitched.

Didn't say anything else.

She was starting to turn back to her blueprints when I caught her arm.

"Nanahoshi."

"Hm?"

"I'm happy right now, really. But if I could only see my best friend once a month, I'd still be sad about that."

"So?"

"So, just for selfish me, drink the potion. Then you can drop the hibernation pod research."

Nanahoshi didn't answer.

She just looked at me. Straight at me.

We sat in silence for a good few dozen seconds.

Then, slowly, she opened her mouth.

".......For you?"

"Yeah. For me."

Nanahoshi tilted her head. The corner of her mouth twitched.

"For me, huh....... Then I guess I've got no choice. Are you that scared of being alone?"

"Yeah. When I think about a future where I can't just drink with you whenever I feel like it, it feels like something's already missing."

"Heh. Fine....... Make sure your kids come talk to me every once in a while."

"Of course."

I held out the potion.

She didn't hesitate.

Opened it right there and drank it down.

"UGH!"

Nanahoshi gagged hard, barely keeping it down.

"This stuff....... is definitely the worst thing I have ever drunk......."

"Well, it's essentially dragon blood."

"Ugh....... I think I'm going to be sick......."

"Hold it in, hold it in."

Several minutes passed before she finally recovered.

"Anything feel different?"

"No....... but....... maybe a little......."

I was watching her hands. Scales were slowly spreading across her skin.

Golden ones.......

"Rudeus! What's happening!"

"You should be able to control it. Try to feel for it."

Nanahoshi shut her eyes immediately, like she was meditating. Her face looked like someone running a fever, a few beads of cold sweat on her forehead.

A few minutes later, the golden scales faded.

"Nanahoshi. I think it's okay."

She opened her eyes and looked at her own hands.

"Huh......."

"Looks like it worked out."

"Doesn't feel any different, really....... Alright, time to switch research topics."

"What? What are you researching now?"

"The Mana Storage Device. Orsted asked me to. In the previous timeline, we developed it together, the two of us. You'll help me, Rudeus."

"Sure......."

Nanahoshi gathered up the blueprints from the table.

Then she looked at me.

"Actually, the hibernation pod already has a lot in common with the Mana Storage Device."

"Does it?"

"Yeah. At its core, it stores mana too. It just can't output magic. Figure out how to make it output, and that's basically it."

"Oh......."

"You definitely didn't follow that. Forget it. Let's go drink first! To you and Aisha getting married, and to me having a body that can actually hold up!"

"Alright. Let's go."

"I bet with this body I could drink forever and never get drunk!"

Nanahoshi grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the lab.

She really does have strength now.......

------

Nanahoshi still got drunk.

Maybe her body just hadn't adapted yet.

But it wasn't the kind of drunk where she passed out. Just loose and hazy, talking the whole way back.

I carried her on my back toward her dormitory.

"Rudeus......."

"Hm?"

"It's different now......."

"What's different?"

"From now on, I'm the one staying with you....... You're going to die......."

"Yeah. I'm going to die."

"That thing you used to say....... I will always stay with you."

"Thank you, Nanahoshi."

"Before you die....... I hope we can stay like this. That nothing changes......."

"Nothing will change."

Nanahoshi wrapped her arms around my neck.

Softly:

"Yeah. Like this is good......."

➤ Next: Bloodline