Mushoku Tensei — Chapter 197 - Aisha and Jealousy

A few days ago, Orsted asked me for a favor: rescue someone, said it would be useful to him down the line.

My first thought was to send Aisha alone. Worst case, have her bring Ghislaine along.

Then Orsted mentioned the area had a heavy monster presence.

I looked into it. Aisha's real combat experience was almost entirely against people. Ghislaine had fought monsters before, but swordsmen have a rough time against large numbers of them. Still a headache either way.

Well, it was only a day or two. So I went with Aisha myself, and figured I'd use the chance to see what she was actually capable of.

She didn't disappoint. I only had to step in a handful of times. Mission done.

Now, standing at the gate to our yard, I gave Aisha a pat on the shoulder.

"Good work out there, Aisha."

"No, no! A small task like this — and I actually got to run a mission with Lord Rudeus..."

"Orsted wasn't wrong about the monster density. Going alone would've been risky."

"I'll get stronger! Strong enough that Lord Rudeus won't have to worry about me!"

Then her expression shifted. Softened.

"Um... thank you, Lord Rudeus. I really did learn a lot working with you today...!"

"Mm. Head home. No need to stand guard tonight — get some rest."

"Yes...! I-If any more missions come up... please, assign them to me!"

"Noted. Go rest."

"Yes! Lord Rudeus!"

I watched her go, then exhaled slowly and walked to my front door.

I hadn't even knocked.

Aisha pulled it open from the inside.

I smiled.

"I'm home."

"Welcome back! The sisters and the kids went over to Mom and Dad's for dinner tonight."

"Oh? Why didn't Aisha come?"

"Waiting for my brother~"

She stepped close and brushed the dust off my clothes. Then she leaned in and gave me a quiet sniff.

A beat of silence.

All that warmth switched off. She turned away and said, flat and cool,

"I'll start dinner."

...Hm?

That's it?

Inside, she didn't help me with my cloak. No fussing over whether I was tired or cold. Nothing.

I hung up my own coat and followed her to the kitchen.

Aisha was definitely sulking. I just didn't know what had set her off.

In the kitchen, she was chopping vegetables. Smooth, even strokes.

I leaned against the doorframe and watched.

She held out longer than I expected.

"Brother."

"Hm?"

"How capable is Aisha, actually?"

"Her spellcasting flows pretty naturally. I can't judge swordsmanship too well, but it seemed solid enough. She handled the monsters cleanly..."

I stopped mid-sentence.

Aisha kept chopping. Very focused. A little too focused. Each chop hit the board harder than it needed to.

Right.

I stepped up behind her and wrapped my arms around her.

"Hey. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Keep talking, brother. Tell me more about her good points. And don't hold so tight — I can't chop like this."

"Jealous?"

"No."

She shook her head and kept chopping.

Then, a few seconds later:

"Maybe. A little."

I smiled and rested my chin on her shoulder.

"Then I'll drop it."

"Hmph. I'm not that petty. Go on." A pause. "Like why you smell like her, for instance."

"We were in the same carriage."

"Mm-hm. That's really all?"

"That's all."

I tilted my head toward her ear and rested my cheek against hers. We stayed like that, quiet, while she finished chopping.

When the last piece was done, she spoke again.

"Really nothing? Like, she wasn't leaning on you in the carriage or anything~ Like, maybe you ended up sleeping together somewhere~ I mean, the mission was 2 days, and you definitely didn't come home last night. I heard that area has succubi. Did you get hit with something? And if you did, was it her who helped you out?"

I frowned.

"You trust me that little?"

"I trust you, brother. But she looks exactly like me." Her hands didn't stop moving. "If it were some stranger, I wouldn't be asking."

"I know she's not you."

"Oh? Lord Rudeus~ Would you mind moving your head? I need to get the pan going."

"Aisha..."

"Lord. Ru. De. Us. Maybe I'll start calling you that too. You looked pretty pleased in the yard just now."

Honestly.

She'd heard the whole thing.

But this was the good part about her, she never tried to hide it. Every little flicker, right there on the surface.

Which meant I knew exactly what I needed to do.

"Aisha."

"Hm?"

"Leave dinner."

"Hm? Lord Rudeus isn't hungry tonight?"

"I'll eat. I'll have something sorted before the kids get back."

"Oh? And what exactly does Lord Rudeus have in mind?"

I kissed her.

She kissed back.

When we broke apart, she was a little breathless.

"So... dinner is me?"

"You guessed it."

And that was that, with this kind of love, I put my jealous wife to rest.

➤ Next: Cliff, the Child