Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

An Audience with Perugius

THE MAN ATOP THE THRONE exuded a commanding presence. He had brilliant silver hair and golden pupils that were small yet piercing. There was an air of royalty about him.

So this is Armored Dragon King Perugius.

My legs began quaking the moment I laid eyes upon him. I instantly knew what it was that frightened me. He looked eerily similar to the man with silver hair who killed me, whom I would never forget. True, their clothing, hairstyles, and facial features were all different, but there was something unmistakably similar about Perugius and Dragon God Orsted.

“Step forward,” Sylvaril commanded.

Nanahoshi led the group, with Ariel right behind her. I went after them as if to hide from view.

The chamber was vast, with a tall ceiling and pillars that resembled massive trees. A dazzling chandelier cast light down on us. The extravagance almost unhinged my jaw. The walls were strung with banners painted with complex emblems. Some I recognized, such as the crest for Asura Kingdom and the Holy Country of Millis. Others looked familiar, but there were some I had never seen before.

Eleven men and women lined either side of the velvet rug we were traversing. They were all clad in pure white, with only the designs of their outfits differing slightly. But each one wore a different mask. Some were fashioned after animals, and others only covered the eyes, resembling the visor that Cyclops from the X-Men wore. Another wore a helmet that made them look like some kind of robot cop, and someone else had what almost looked like a bucket on their head.

These had to be Perugius’s twelve familiars. Not that the word really fit, since they all looked like humans. Arumanfi, however, had been Ghislaine’s match in combat. That probably meant that all of them had powers on the same level as a Sword King. I definitely did not want to make enemies of them. I better be really careful about how I speak, just to be on the safe side.

“Please stop there,” said Sylvaril.

Nanahoshi froze in place.

The throne was two small stairs and ten steps away from where we were standing. Perugius gazed silently down at us. More to the point, I was pretty sure he was looking at me. Our eyes seemed to meet, and a chill ran through me.

Sylvaril slowly walked past our group and made her way up the stairs, taking her place to the right of Perugius. Arumanfi was on his left. The rest of the familiars lined up on either side of us.

Perugius kept his gaze fixed on us as he drawled, “I am the Armored Dragon King, Perugius Dola.”

He said Dola! As in the air pirates?! Wait, no. Castle in the Sky has nothing to do with this.

“It’s been a while, Lord Perugius. I came, as I promised.” 

Nanahoshi lowered her head while she spoke. It was rare for her to bow like that and speak so respectfully. I noticed Ariel was doing the same, while Luke and Sylphie were down on one knee. I hesitated over how I should show respect but decided on a regular old bow—Japanese-style!

“So you have returned, Nanahoshi.” 

There was something so powerful and intimidating about his voice that I felt a chill run down my back. Fear threatened to swallow me whole. It had such a grip on my heart that I struggled to draw air. Sweat trickled down my forehead. This is kinda incredible. It’s like he really is a king.

“I assume that must mean you have found some way to summon things from another world?”

“Yes,” said Nanahoshi. “I’m not sure if the results are what you desired, however.”

“It is the pursuit of knowledge that gives purpose to we dragonfolk, not the achievements themselves.”

Wait, dragonfolk? So he’s one of those dragon people?

I had never really put much thought into it before, but it made sense. Dragon God, Armored Dragon King. They weren’t humans. They were dragonfolk. Now it made sense why Orsted and Perugius resembled each other; they were the same species.

Unruffled, Nanahoshi continued her conversation with Perugius. He was surprisingly friendly with her. At least the time he spent cooped up in this castle hadn’t turned him into a crotchety old man. “As we agreed, I would like you to teach me about the summoning magic in this world.”

“Very well,” he said.

The two of them must have made a deal with each other long before this. Nanahoshi would study how to summon objects from another world, and once her labor bore fruit, she would share what she’d discovered with Perugius. In turn, he would teach her about the mysteries of summoning magic in this world.

“By the way, this is quite the large group you have brought with you. Who are these people?”

“Actually, they helped me with my research. I brought them to visit you as a reward for their help.”

“Oh.” Perugius let out a bored sigh.

Calling it a reward didn’t quite sit right with me, but she wasn’t entirely wrong.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Ariel said, stepping forward. “I am Ariel Anemoi Asura, second princess of the Asura Kingdom. I am most honored to be in the presence of one as great as yourself, my lord.”

“Ariel Anemoi Asura, you say?”

“Yes, I hope we can get to know each other better soon.”

He snorted. “I already know who you are. You lost in that filthy, underhanded battle for the crown they’re having in Asura, but you refuse to concede. Instead, you’re dragging everyone around you into the muddy waters of conflict. Foolish girl.”

Luke’s head snapped up. Anger strained his expression, but before he could do anything, Ariel held up a hand to stay him. She kept her voice even as she replied, “That’s a harsh way of looking at it, but you are correct.” Her lips curled into a soft smile as she stared back at him, unflinching.

“I assume you came here hoping I would lend you my strength.”

“Not at all. You’re a world-renowned hero. I simply wanted to meet you.”

“Hmph. I can see right through your act.”

As always, her voice oozed charisma, but her face had drained of all color. A cold sweat beaded across her skin. Perugius had read her like an open book, and he clearly didn’t have a good impression of her. She was struggling to cope.

Perugius stared down at her, smirking as if he were mocking an ill-behaved child. “But you did come here. That must also be fate. I will give you a chance. You may stay here in my castle.”

“I-I am…humbled by your generosity.” Ariel bowed once before retreating. Her expression dissolved into relief, but there was still anxiety in her eyes.

***

“Well, then, what about you?”

After Ariel stepped back, Perugius’ gaze shifted to me. It was as though he considered me second in rank next to her. Then I looked at the rest and I realized everyone else was on one knee. The only ones standing were Nanahoshi, Ariel, and me. It was only natural that his attention would be drawn to me next.

I put a hand over my chest and bowed my head again. “A pleasure to meet you. My name is Rudeus Greyrat.”

“Rudeus Greyrat?” He spoke my name as if he were chewing it over. “I had a lot of trouble teleporting you here.”

I tilted my head in confusion.

“Normally, when using teleportation magic, you can’t call upon someone with greater mana than your own.” He scowled. “Your mana closely resembles that of Laplace. If you were determined to resist me, I likely couldn’t have teleported you at all.”

“Oh. Well, I apologize for the trouble.”

Laplace was the Demon God that Perugius sealed away 400 years ago. Every time someone appraised my magic, they always brought him up. I guess our mana must be really similar.

“No matter, but I would warn you against trying to use that repulsive magic of yours in my castle.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said.

It was like he was trying to talk me down from trying anything stupid. No, it was more than that—it was a warning. But why was he so wary of me? I wasn’t the type to go berserk for no reason. I wouldn’t even go berserk if I had a reason.

Ah, maybe he remembers what happened just before the Displacement Incident. Specifically, the part where Arumanfi tried to kill me. Maybe he thought I held a grudge and this was his request to treat it as water under the bridge. “Um, if this is about what happened before the Displacement Incident, I don’t hold anything against you. So—”

“Hm? What are you talking about?” Perugius cocked his head.

Arumanfi appeared beside him in the blink of an eye, whispering the specifics into his ear.

“Ah, now I remember. There was a boy trying to cast magic in the sky—one protected by a Sword King. So that boy was you, hm?”

So he didn’t remember. Well, that meant I’d just dug myself deeper. Bringing it up out of nowhere was like announcing I had a grudge. At least they didn’t seem to hold it against me. I hadn’t done anything wrong, after all…had I?

“Rudeus Greyrat, from what I hear, is also the name of the person who managed to injure Orsted.”

If by “injure,” he meant I gave Orsted the equivalent of a paper cut, then sure. He and Orsted must be acquaintances for him to know that much. I figured that this was the case. Orsted was the only common link between Nanahoshi and the king of this floating castle. Looks like I was right.

“Those with talent like you get overconfident in your abilities at times. Being able to injure the Dragon God no doubt gave you an inflated sense of self esteem. However, if you choose to fight me, death is all that awaits.”

In that instant, his familiars began radiating bloodlust. Please stop. I don’t wanna fight any of you. I only came here to learn about Zenith’s illness and learn a little bit of summoning magic.

Perhaps Perugius was under the mistaken impression that I’d fought Orsted as an equal and that was how I wounded him. Still, he had twelve familiars here. I knew what their abilities were, more or less, but only from what I’d read in books. That wasn’t the same as seeing them in action on the battlefield. Plus, numbers were always a huge advantage in a fight. That was what made zombies so terrifying—they were weak on their own, but in large numbers, they could easily overwhelm you. If Arumanfi was any indication, they were also all as capable as Ghislaine at least. To say nothing of the abilities that Perugius himself possessed—no doubt he was strong too. There was no way I could survive taking all of them on. I had no intention of doing so either. 

“Of course, I have no intention of trying to oppose you, Lord Perugius,” I said.

“A wise decision. I like clever people. The foolish only blind others, but the intelligent help each other grow.”

In other words, “clever people” were those who didn’t oppose him. I certainly didn’t think of myself as the intelligent type, but I was at least smart enough not to pick a fight with him.

“Lord Perugius.” Nanahoshi cut in. “If I may, um…his enormous mana pool has been of great help in my research. He’s no enemy. Couldn’t you please treat him a bit more kindly?”

I knew I could count on you to step in! Yeah, you’re exactly right. I have no interest in making enemies. Let’s play nice with each other.

“Hm.” Perugius nodded. “Very well, I’ll be ‘kind,’ then. Since you helped Nanahoshi, what is it you desire in return? Money? Or is it power you seek?” 

His voice was flat, as if he was bored with the conversation now. He had agreed to treat me as a guest at least, but were people generally so hostile with someone they’d only just met? It seemed especially off-putting since I was being so deferential.

No matter. Might as well ask him the question that had been weighing on my mind. “If I may… I have one thing I’d like to ask.”

“What?”

“It’s about my mother’s illness.” I proceeded to explain the details of Zenith’s condition.

“I see.” He nodded after I’d finished speaking. “I have heard there are old labyrinths out there that take people captive. That person becomes the ‘heart’ of the labyrinth, allowing it to function. The mana that flows through them as a result transforms them. They all lose their memories, without exception, and in return, their body is infused with a mysterious power.”

“A mysterious power?” I echoed, confused.

“I believe you call such people a Cursed Child or a Blessed Child.”

So Zenith had a curse on her, then? One where she could never cry nor laugh? “Why do these labyrinths use people, though?”

“I do not know. There is a theory that the ancient demons gave birth to these labyrinths and their creatures in a quest to create a paradise for themselves. The magic crystal at the center of those labyrinths is supposed to distribute mana to all of its inhabitants. There, they can thrive without ever going hungry. It wouldn’t be surprising if these older labyrinths take humans captive to increase their efficiency.”

So the ancient demons tried to create a paradise where they’d never starve? Come to think of it, there were a bunch of monsters in the Teleportation Labyrinth. The place was practically infested by those creepy Devouring Devils. I had wondered what they could be feasting on in those tunnels, but this explanation made sense.

But wait a second. Roxy said she was running out of mana in the labyrinth. So obviously, it’s an overstatement to say it feeds mana to those who inhabit it. Unless monsters have some way to absorb mana from empty space or something?

Well, none of that really mattered right now. Zenith was my priority. “Do you know of any way to heal my mother?”

“I don’t know the specifics myself, however…” Perugius’s voice trailed off as he shot a look at someone behind me. “There is a woman whose fate followed a similar path. One who is still alive today. If it’s information you seek, she would be the most knowledgeable.”

I followed his gaze to the elf in our group with dazzling blonde hair.

Elinalise slowly lifted her head.

“Elinalise Dragonroad, one of my companions saved you from a labyrinth about 200 years ago.”

“Yes, that’s right,” she said.

“You are the elven woman who lost her memories. I met you once before. You certainly have grown since then. Have you forgotten me?”

“No, I haven’t.” She averted her gaze from me, an awkward expression on her face.

What in the world was going on? Did this mean Elinalise had been through the same thing? Someone else had rescued her from a labyrinth 200 years ago? Wait, hold on a minute. I hadn’t known about this.

“Why haven’t you spoken to him about it?” asked Perugius. “Since the two of you are here together, I assume you must be acquainted.”

“Yes, but…”

“You experienced it for yourself. You know more about it than anyone else would.”

His words quieted her protest for a moment, but she remained resolute the next she spoke. “I never recovered my memories. I didn’t say anything because I thought Zenith’s case might be different.” 

Her face contorted in pain, despite how bravely she spoke. Cliff gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder. I was too confused to speak. Sure, I did think Elinalise had acted a bit strange back then, but I never dreamed such a thing had happened to her in the past as well.

“I’m sorry. I felt like I needed to tell you, but you have been so happy lately that I hesitated to bring it up. Besides, Zenith’s curse isn’t a danger to her life. I thought perhaps she was a Blessed Child or that maybe she’d recover and there would be no adverse effects at all.”

She continued babbling excuses, and it was all I could do to muster the strength to say, “We can discuss this further afterward.”

“All right.”

I had no intention of blaming her, really. She may not have shared her backstory, but she gave quite a bit of advice on Zenith’s condition when we were on the Begaritt Continent. At the time, I thought she was just sharing wisdom she’d accumulated over the years, but apparently, she was speaking from personal experience. 

Knowing Elinalise, she probably had her reasons. Maybe she thought Zenith might be different, that she might regain her memories. Or perhaps she simply didn’t want to twist the knife after I had already lost Paul. She only kept it to herself out of consideration for me, I was sure. Still, I did wish she had said a little bit more about the curse that Zenith might be afflicted with.

“Is there anything else?” Perugius asked, disinterested.

I shook my head. “No.” 

The conversation only lasted minutes, but it left me as exhausted, as if we’d been talking for hours. There was still more I wanted to ask—about summoning magic, for example, or Laplace’s War or the Displacement Incident, but my brain was so full. I couldn’t fit any more information in even if I wanted to.

“What about the rest of you? Is there anything you desire?”

Zanoba rose to his feet. “Would you permit me to ask a question?” 

“And you are?”

“I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I am Zanoba Shirone, third prince of the Shirone Kingdom.”

“A prince, hm? And do you also desire my support so that you might take your country’s throne?”

“No, such a thing has no value to me at all,” Zanoba replied, without missing a beat. He slipped a small notebook from his pocket. There was a crest drawn on the surface—one I recognized.

Wait a minute. That’s the one we saw in my basement, on the doll maker’s blueprints.

“This crest resembles your own as well as that of Lord Maxwell. I see there are other similar crests on that wall over there. Do you know to whom this one belongs?”

I followed his gaze to the wall covered in numerous crests. Several of them looked familiar. One of them was the same one I’d seen carved on the monument for the Seven Great Powers. Another belonged to Dragon God Orsted. Another was carved into a magical implement that helped keep the teleportation ruins hidden. Judging by the incantation we had to use for it, the crest likely belonged to the Holy Dragon Emperor, Shirad. The one beside it was the same crest drawn on Zanoba’s notebook.

“I do know it. That belongs to the Maniacal Dragon King, Chaos.”

“Ooh!”

Aha, so that’s the thing that Zanoba saw at the gate. He must have seen Maxwell’s crest there and realized its similarity to the one on the blueprints. Naturally, he assumed the two must be linked somehow. Incredible! I’m impressed!

Zanoba stepped forward, unable to tamp down his euphoria at this discovery. “M-might I ask where this Maniacal Dragon God Chaos is now?” 

Perugius shook his head. “He’s dead. He passed away a couple of decades ago, and I don’t know if he has a successor.”

The notebook slipped right between Zanoba’s fingers, landing on the floor. His shoulders slumped. “I-is that so…” In an instant, his face looked as if it had aged five years. That was saying something, because Zanoba already looked way older than he was.

Perugius slid forward in his seat. “By the by, where did you come across that crest?” 

Zanoba continued to look dejected as he answered, “Oh, I found this in my master’s house—in a rundown estate in the Magic City of Sharia. It was drawn on some blueprints for an automated doll.”

“Hm. An automated doll, you say.” Perugius nodded to himself. “And how was the doll? Incredible?”

“Oh, yes, more than words can express! The detail in the craftsmanship was utterly enchanting. You could tell just by looking at it how great the creator’s love for dolls was! I share the same fondness, so I could feel the depth of his adoration myself!”

A smile stretched across Perugius’s face, all the way to his eyes. “It seems you have an appreciation for the arts. That pleases me. I have a number of Chaos’s works in my treasury. I will show them to you later.”

His voice was so gentle, I could not believe this was the same man who had spoken so gruffly with me only minutes before. Why was Zanoba getting special treatment? Not that I really cared, honestly.

“You honor me!” Zanoba’s face lit up as he sank to the floor, prostrating himself. Obviously, he was as happy as Perugius. Better yet, he had won the dragon king’s favor. I envied him for that. I’d wanted to do the same.

“Is there anything else?” Perugius asked.

Sylphie’s hand shot up. “Yes, I have something—I mean, if you wouldn’t mind, there is something I would like to ask.” She awkwardly bowed.

“And you are?”

“Sylphie Greyrat, wife to Rudeus Greyrat and a bodyguard of Princess Ariel.”

Sylvaril leaned over, whispering something into Perugius’s ear. The man grunted, his mood soured. “So it was both of you…” he muttered.

As in Sylphie and me? Had the two of us done something to upset him? Sylphie did have quite the mana pool, but it wasn’t as vast as my own. Did it maybe bother him that she once had green hair in the past?

“Before I answer your question, I want you to answer something for me. Do the two of you have a son?”

His query was so out of nowhere that Sylphie hesitated for a moment, confused. She slowly shook her head. “Huh? No, I have a daughter, though.”

“Very well. If you should ever give birth to a boy, bring him before me. I will name him for you.”

“Uh, um, all right…”

He gave a thin, eerie smile.

Well, that’s mildly discomforting. Was he implying there would be something wrong with our child if we had a boy? Or was he looking to give our son some super quirky name? This was the man who’d named his castle Chaos Breaker, after all.

“Now then.” Perugius cleared his throat. “What is your question?”

“I would like to ask you about the Displacement Incident. Do you happen to know who caused it?”

That was something I hadn’t thought about lately. The Displacement Incident was what teleported Nanahoshi here from Japan. It only made sense that magic powerful enough to rip someone from their own dimension would have some kind of recoil. In my case, I just happened to reincarnate here, but perhaps the laws of physics or magic here were different when someone came here with their original body. Of course, the opposite could be true. Maybe someone was trying to accomplish something else, and the recoil of their magic happened to summon Nanahoshi instead. Which meant the whole thing was just an accident.

“I haven’t confirmed anything for certain. At the time, I suspected it was the doing of someone connected to Laplace, but…” He glanced over at Nanahoshi before continuing. “Even I’m not capable of summoning someone like her, and if I’m not able to, no one in this world is.”

“Which means?”

“That calamity wasn’t manmade. It was an accident.”

I thought as much. It was possible that someone more capable at summoning magic than Perugius was responsible, like Orsted. Although it would be rude to suspect a culprit behind things when Perugius had already definitively stated there wasn’t one. I’ll just keep my thoughts to myself. I don’t feel like ticking this guy off any more than I already have.

“Oh, all right, then. Thank you.” While I was considering different possibilities in my head, Sylphie lowered her eyes and ended the conversation.

“Anyone else?” Perugius asked again. This time, no one answered. Elinalise kept her eyes glued to the floor, and Cliff was too nervous to even move. As for the others, Ariel had already ducked away, and Luke was still quietly kneeling.

“In that case, enjoy your stay here in my fine fortress.” He gave an exaggerated nod, and our audience with him was over.

***

Sylvaril guided us to the guest area, where nearly twenty identical rooms sat vacant. Inside was dark wooden furniture, feather beds, and enormous, crystal-clear mirrors. Each room was equipped with a cabinet lined with what I assumed was alcohol. The only thing that differed between them were the paintings in each one. The accommodations were far more luxurious than your typical business hotel. To draw a comparison from my previous life, it was like a royal suite at the Empire Hotel. Not that I had any experience staying in either a suite or the Empire Hotel, mind you.

“There’s only twelve of you managing a castle this vast?” Ariel blurted out.

She had a point. There was barely a speck of dust in the corners of the rooms. They looked as if no one had ever been in them. I wouldn’t quite call it creepy, but it had an air of loneliness to it, like buying an extra controller for your console even though you had no friends to play with. Although Perugius had implied that they occasionally got some visitors here.

After we picked our rooms, we split up to do our own thing. Zanoba and Ariel set off to see a bit more of the castle. Luke and Sylphie accompanied their princess, of course. 

As for me, I stayed in my room. I was exhausted. Our audience had lasted little more than an hour, but it was like I’d crammed a whole day’s worth of discussion in my head. Part of me did want to see more of the fortress, but for now, I would rest.

I collapsed on the bed. “Ahh, it’s so soft.” So soft, in fact, that I felt like I would sink right through, all the way to the floor. I wonder if we could take one of these beds home with us…

No. Leave the beds aside for now. I was surprised by the crests I saw. A bunch of impressive names came up in our conversations that I didn’t recognize, such as the Abyssal Dragon King and the Maniacal Dragon King. If I remembered right, they were part of the Five Dragon Generals. Way back in the mythical age, they faced off with the Dragon God in a battle that claimed all of their lives. But surely, these weren’t the same people from the myths? The ones in the story were likely from many generations before the people who’d come up in our conversation.

Of those five, three had been mentioned today: Armored Dragon King Perugius, Abyssal Dragon King Maxwell, and Maniacal Dragon King Chaos. There was also the one whose name I’d heard in the incantation for the teleportation ruins, Holy Dragon Emperor Shirad. That made four of them. There was supposed to be one Dragon Emperor and four Dragon Kings, which meant there was one more Dragon King left. Now that I thought about it, I only saw four crests resembling the Dragon God’s on that wall. Maybe the last of their group was on bad terms with Perugius?

In any case, I was more surprised by the connection with the doll. I knew I had seen the crest on those blueprints somewhere before, but to think it belonged to one of the dragon kings… I knew nothing about the language on those memos, but perhaps we could ask Perugius to decipher it for us. That would put us leaps ahead of where we were now. Maybe I should ask him, then.

Or not. He didn’t seem too fond of me. In fact, he seemed wary of me. I’ll ask Zanoba to pester him about it instead. The two of them seem to share the same appreciation for art.

Hold on. If that crest belonged to the Maniacal Dragon King, that meant he had once lived in my house. A Dragon King, of all people, had cooped himself up in my basement to fiddle with dolls. Something must have been wrong with his head. The way that doll operated was pretty crazy. Well, given that Chaos and Zanoba seemed to be on the same wavelength, the title “maniacal” made a lot of sense. He must have really loved dolls.

That aside, I was hoping to learn summoning magic from Perugius, but at this rate, it wasn’t looking very likely. He was so hostile toward me. If I asked him to teach me, he might say, “What? Planning to summon Laplace with all that mana of yours?”

Hmm. I wonder if such a thing is even possible.

Perugius said it was impossible to summon anyone whose mana was greater than your own. Since mine was on par with Laplace’s, did that mean I actually could summon him? Could I set up a sinister altar underground and bring the Demon God back to life? I wouldn’t, of course, but I could understand his animosity toward me if that were true.

“Well, it could have gone worse.” Although Perugius hated me, he hadn’t driven me out of his castle or tried to start a fight with me. For the moment, I could breathe easy. It didn’t go perfectly, but it did at least go well.

And thus my first day in the floating fortress came to an end in silent contemplation.