Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 185 - Naive? — Face to Face

After the very welcome emotional reconciliation, our whole family sat together for breakfast.

Once the plates were cleared, it was time to get ready for the trip to the Holy Country of Milis.

This one was pure vacation. Eris had fully recovered, so no excuses there.

Christina, though, was still an infant. She couldn't make the trip, so we left her in Zenith's care. The two maids and Aisha were also stationed at Zenith's place. As for why both maids specifically...

Windsor had very firmly demanded we bring Pursena along, so that was that.

I genuinely have not figured out how to say no to my daughter. And I still don't understand why Windsor is so attached to Pursena.

Honestly, in my eyes, Pursena and Daibai occupy basically the same rank.

Windsor's probably working off the same system, right?

Right now, Aisha was pinching my cheek for no apparent reason.

Aisha... last night I'd pulled out every trick I had just to comfort her.

She's a swordswoman at the end of the day. Even more sensitive than Eris, but still a swordswoman. When she decides she wants something, she can absolutely steamroll me without breaking a sweat.

While Aisha showed no sign of stopping her assault on my face, Sylphiette rested her chin in her palm and smiled.

"Aisha~ how was last night?"

"Hm? Ah... mm. It was good."

Roxy stirred her milk, a helpless little smile on her face.

"Lucky the children went to sleep early. Rudeus~ you didn't use the Silence Magic last night."

Ah?

Now that she mentioned it...

I had gone in planning to apologize, and then Aisha just suddenly...

Beside me, Aisha's face had gone so red it looked ready to produce actual steam.

She dropped her restless hands and lowered her head just slightly.

Eris chose that moment to helpfully add her thoughts.

"Aisha was so bold! The things she said were pretty embarrassing too!"

"Ugh... Eris-nee... please stop..."

Yeah. I was going to stay out of this one.

I dropped two sugar cubes into my milk, the first time in a long while, stirred it slowly, and took a small sip.

Mm... that sweetness. I'd missed that.

"How could that be? Why would Lara think that~"

Lara mimicked me and dropped some sugar cubes into her own milk.

Five of them.

She copied my motion, took a careful sip, and spoke.

Lucy and Windsor had both paused their eating. They went very still, like they were waiting for something important.

Pursena had her hand pressed over her mouth.

The traditional move here was to change the subject.

The more open-minded family approach was to give the kids a proper explanation.

Mm...

What the children were actually feeling was worry. Worry that their parents had been fighting.

Windsor and Lucy's faces showed it plainly.

Lara was a different case. She just liked teasing her father.

I set my cup down, cleared my throat, and spoke.

Windsor nodded.

Lucy seemed to follow too, and nodded as well.

I added one more piece.

"Right. Depending on the time and situation, the same person can have a different role."

Windsor nodded again.

"I get it. Like how Mama is usually my mama, but when we're training with swords she's my teacher. And Pursena is a maid, but when I'm petting her she's my dog."

"Uh... more or less..."

Something about Windsor's logic felt slightly off.

I just couldn't identify exactly what.

I glanced over at Pursena. Her expression was perfectly normal.

Fine. Good enough.

Windsor and Lucy were both satisfied. Only Lara was still quietly circling her spoon through her milk, uncommitted.

She finished the glass, set it down, and nodded.

"Okay, I get it, Papa. But I still have one more question!"

"Oh?"

"Why do Green Mama and Blue Mama call Papa such different things at night? Like~ Papa, Master, things like that..."

"Cough cough!"

I choked on my milk.

I wiped my mouth. Sylphiette and Roxy and I looked at each other in silence for a moment.

Lara was still going, counting on her fingers.

That didn't add up.

Aside from last night, I had always been meticulous about the Silence Magic.

There was no way the children should have been able to hear anything.

Tsk...

The only explanation I could think of was that Lara had used magic to punch a hole through part of the barrier.

I really should have taught her less.

"Pfft..."

Pursena lost the battle against her own laughter.

"Sorry, Boss! I didn't mean to!"

Windsor took the opportunity to pet her tail.

Pursena's face went red immediately. She turned to Windsor and murmured, "If you want to pet me... just give me a little warning first, little Windsor..."

"Oh."

Windsor nodded. She kept petting the tail.

Roxy, cheeks flushed, reached over and delivered a clean karate chop to Lara's head.

"Are you staying up all night instead of sleeping?"

Lara clutched her head and looked deeply wronged.

"I just couldn't sleep..."

"And what were you doing while you couldn't sleep?"

"Researching magic... and while I was researching, I noticed there was a mana barrier near my room, so I tried breaking it..."

Roxy started laughing despite herself.

Sylphiette looked at me, cheeks pink.

Yeah. Having those particular sounds reach the children was... not great.

I kept my face as neutral as I could manage.

"Windsor, Lucy, did either of you hear anything?"

They both shook their heads.

I looked at Lara.

"Lara."

"Uu..."

"That was Papa's magic. It's there to protect you."

"Really?"

"Mm. The voices you heard from Green Mama and Blue Mama... those were auditory hallucinations that happen when the barrier breaks. A side effect. You understand?"

"Is that how it works?"

"That's exactly how it works. Don't break the barrier again."

Lara didn't answer. She just put her head down and went back to eating.

My troublemaking daughter. I had a strong feeling she was going to break it again.

I needed to upgrade that Silence Magic.

Either way, everyone had finished eating. I clapped my hands and moved us along.

"Alright, alright. Time to get ready. We're heading to the Holy Country of Milis."

➤ Next: The Holy Country of Milis