Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 18 - Chapter 9.4

Watson’s Input

“Watson…” I shook my head. “No, Linia. What do you think, having heard all of that?” I figured it was worth asking my assistant, since she was Pursena’s friend, after all.

“I thought she was guilty from the start, mew.”

“Hm.”

“She’s always had the habit of swiping anything available and devouring it when her stomach’s empty, mew. She’s even eaten some of my dried fish before, you know.”

So she already has a prior offense on her record…

Having heard what everyone had to say, I noticed there was only one witness whose statement seemed inconsistent. Someone had to be lying. But who could it be?

Character Select: Pursena

Correct, it was Pursena. She was the only one who hadn’t admitted to her own actions, claiming someone had punched her from behind.

I returned to the jail to question her about it once more.

Action Select: Move location

Location: Edge of the village → Jail

Character Select: Pursena

Dialogue Option: Ask about incident

“Pursena,” I said. “Are you absolutely certain you aren’t guilty? Look me in the eyes and tell me.”

“I mean it, Boss. Believe me.” She gazed directly at me, eyes glimmering and hands clasped in front of her. The one thing that seemed suspicious was the way her tail wagged.

Time to trick her into telling the truth.

“If I advocate for you, there’s a good chance I can get you out of here,” I offered.

“I knew you could do it, Boss!”

“But, if you do leave this cell and I discover you are lying, I won’t let you eat meat for a whole year.”

Pursena flinched. “W-well, of c-course I’m n-not lying!”

I stared her down. “Can you swear to God?”

“I-I can!” Her eyes darted back and forth nervously.

I knew something was fishy. That’s a guilty look if I’ve ever seen one.

“Just so you’re aware, I show no mercy to those who blaspheme my God.” I reached through the bars and grabbed her head in my hands, forcing her to look me in the face as I spoke to her. “Can you truly swear to God?”

Pursena was fully aware of the person I revered so greatly. Her face went deathly pale and her entire body began to tremble. She curled her tail between her legs and grabbed the tip of it with both hands.

“Well?”

“I-It was me. I did it,” she finally blurted.

And with that, the case was solved. The culprit was, as everyone expected, Pursena Adoldia. She laid the blame on an unidentified third party because she didn’t want to admit responsibility. Sneaky little devil. Although she was bewitched by the meat, so perhaps she was a victim herself in a way.

“Mister Gyes, I apologize for the extra trouble,” I said.

“It’s fine. More importantly, are you sure you’re all right with Pursena?” 

He’d watched the whole thing play out with an exasperated look, but now that everything was resolved, he seemed eager about something I couldn’t place. “All right with Pursena, for what?”

“I’m speaking, of course, about the other warrior you plan to take with you to look after the Sacred Beast.” 

Um, what? Hold up here. I never said a word about wanting Pursena to fill that role.

He seemed way too excited about the prospect of me taking Pursena. Although, I guess I had brought her up in the first place. It made sense that he’d gotten the wrong idea.

“Are you truly sure you want her?” he asked again.

“No, I don’t.”

Of course I didn’t want her! I’d be suspected of cheating once again if I let her into our house on a daily basis. Sylphie and Roxy had both given me beautiful baby girls, and I didn’t want to screw up my whole family because of this idiot. I could already picture her gobbling up all our meat, and how bitter Aisha and Lilia would be afterward. The only person who’d welcome her with open arms would be Eris.

In any case, it would be better to have someone more serious, who wouldn’t get me accused of two-timing. Like…yeah, Gimel for instance.

“I see, so you would prefer someone else.” Gyes nodded thoughtfully. “Then will you be going with Minitona or Tersena?”

“No, those two are also candidates to become matriarch, right? There must be someone else.”

We started toward the exit as we discussed our options.

“Ah, wait! Don’t leave me here, Boss! Get me out. I want you to take me with you! I don’t wanna live a life without meat!”

We both ignored the voice shouting after us.

“Mewhahaha!” Linia cackled as she slipped through the door, having waited outside this whole time. It seemed she’d been thrown in here naked before, and going in would only make her relive that shame. That was why she’d vehemently refused to accompany me at first.

“Heya, Pursena. I see you got your just deserts, mew!”

Pursena’s jaw dropped. “L-Linia?! I thought I caught a whiff of your scent. What are you doing here?!”

For some reason, Linia was sporting a pair of sunglasses. They were the same ones she’d worn while she was working—the ones that hid the way her eyes turned into dollar signs as she counted her money.

“Why, you ask? Mewhehe. You really don’t know, mew?” Linia grabbed my arm and pressed her breasts against it.

Knock that off already. Urgh, I can already smell you going into heat.

“D-don’t tell me that you and Boss are…?” Pursena’s nose twitched as she sniffed the air, and her lips trembled.

Linia’s lips pulled into a truly sinister grin. “You got it. Ah, that reminds mew of the passionate night we spent together. Boss picked me up and carried me-ow like a princess in his arms. Oh no, I can’t share any more than that, mew! Just know that Boss made me-ow weep that day.”

“Th-that can’t be…” Pursena shook her head in disbelief. “Boss said it’d be doing dirty by Fitz and Roxy, so he wouldn’t even give us the time of day!”

“Mewhaha! Don’t ya think the only reason he never paid you any attention is because you weren’t attractive enough? The second it was just him and me-ow, he couldn’t get enough. Aw man, I tell ya, the noble blood of the Greyrats flows strong in his veins. Our first night together was so rough, I thought he might break one of my ribs, mew.”

“B-break one of your ribs?! Just how rough was the sex you were having?”

She was probably referring the first night she spent with Eris. Eris had a habit of practically squeezing her bedmate to death in her sleep. I’d fallen victim to that before. So had Leo, and apparently Linia. The next morning, Linia was on the verge of tears as she had Sylphie heal her wounds. She wasn’t lying about the details at least.

“L-Linia, you’re Boss’s wife now?”

“Nah, not his wife exactly, mew…” Linia paused for exaggerated effect and then said, “But basically, I’m like his slave, mew.”

“His slave?!” Pursena’s face went bright red as she slapped her hands over her mouth.

Well, the slave part wasn’t a lie, either.

“You could say I’ve carved out a pretty good spot for myself, mew. I may be his slave, but he lets me work and I’ve got fifty subordinates under me-ow. Unlike you, I’ll never be thrown in jail, and I get to enjoy Boss’s affections. Oh, but I gotta admit, it would be way more grand to be the Doldia’s matriarch, mew. But you seem to be out of the running for that. Mewhaha!”

Her obnoxious laughter filled the room.

“Liniaaaa!” Pursena’s face heated with anger as she grabbed the metal bars and shook them. Slowly but surely, the strength left her body until she at least slumped to her knees, sniffling. “It’s not fair… That day, I really was so busy I couldn’t find time to eat a single bite the whole day. I didn’t even eat that much from the storehouse—only what I’d eat during any normal meal. We could replenish that much by killing and drying out another beast…” She slumped forward and began weeping.

Linia finally peeled herself from me. “Aaah, that felt good, mew.” She did look truly satisfied.

What a terrible person.

That said, I did think that Pursena’s exceptional circumstances deserved some consideration. The monster attack had gone on from midnight until early morning. Whoever was on guard duty at the time was responsible for the number of injuries, as far as I was concerned. Their misstep had shifted the burden onto Pursena, as one of the tribe’s healers. Once all the monsters were dealt with, she’d worked tirelessly to heal people, which was probably why so many were saved. But in the end, she collapsed, having spent all her mana. They gave her no time to eat when she finally woke up and was sent straight to guard duty.

What she’d gone through would have been rough on anyone. There were some parts of the situation that, really, no one could be faulted for. Granted, she did steal food. Even though she’d been assigned to guard duty after not eating for an entire day, that wasn’t an excuse to swipe food. Back in Japan, if a police officer was discovered to have committed a crime, they were immediately removed from duty. She was due some consideration for her circumstances, but a crime was still a crime. She had defied one of the village’s rules. She couldn’t very well complain that she was no longer in the running for warrior chief or matriarch.

“Hey, Boss, Dad…” Linia turned toward us, her expression now solemn. “I have a favor to ask, mew.” She lowered her entire upper body in the perfect forty-five-degree bow. “I would like you to appoint Pursena to look after the Sacred Beast, mew.”

When she lifted her face again, she stared right at us with determination in her eyes. I stood up a little straighter, ready to hear her out.

“The two of us went to those far off, foreign lands so we could become the best we could be as potential future matriarchs, mew. I’m confident we put in more effort than anyone else. We’d never have become head of the class otherwise, mew. When I lost to Pursena at the very end, I gave up and let her walk the path of our people. But I only did it ’cause I thought she’d make a great matriarch, mew. I don’t think it’s fair for her to have to start back at square one for a single mewstake.”

Linia paused and took a breath before turning toward her father. “I want you to give her a chance, mew. If she’s able to look after the Sacred Beast for the next five years—no, make that ten—like she’s supposed to and fulfills the role assigned to her, then let her come back here with Boss’s daughter and forgive her for her crime, mew. I won’t ask ya to make her the matriarch, but I’d like her to at least have a similarly respectable position, mew.”

Her request wasn’t the least bit logical. Linia had, herself, abandoned her duties to become a merchant. She had no right to make a request like this. Besides, this crime was a result of Pursena’s lack of self-control. I could admit she deserved some leniency because of the exceptional circumstances. Truly, I did…but a crime was still a crime. It was too much to ask for complete forgiveness simply because she’d worked hard up till this point. That wasn’t a valid reason.

“I cannot do that,” Gyes said, sharing my sentiments.

Mistakes you had made in the past didn’t simply disappear, and you couldn’t erase them, either. That was how the world worked. I knew that as well as anyone. Still, I wanted her efforts to be rewarded somehow. Pursena had worked her hardest; she earnestly attended her classes, snacking on meat the whole while. We took healing classes together so I knew how dedicated she was. In my mind there was no question that she’d worked twice as hard as most people. That was how she topped her class despite most beastfolk lacking an affinity for magic.

I wanted all of that to pay off for her. I honestly did. Mostly because I empathized with her: if I worked hard at something, I’d want it to bear fruit for me, too.

And if I were in a position to help someone be rewarded, I wanted to do my utmost in that respect. 

“Mister Gyes,” I cut in. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’d also like to ask you to agree to Linia’s request.”

“Huh? Boss, you mean it?”

Gyes pulled a face, dipping his chin as he contemplated my request. After a moment, he finally raised his head again and said, “Very well. I’ll allow it.”

The Gyes I used to know would have stubbornly said no until the end. Taking care of the Sacred Beast seemed like an exceedingly prestigious duty, and not something you’d entrust to a criminal who’d stolen food before. To not only let Pursena have that honor but to wipe her slate clean too? It was foolish. The only one who benefited from this was Pursena, and enormously, too.

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure my judgment on this matter was correct. I was probably making a mistake, but that was exactly why I acknowledged I was being selfish.

“Linia, Pursena,” I said, “you’d best make sure to fulfill your duties properly. Understood?”

“Yessir, mew!”

“You got it!”

The two girls bowed their heads at the same time. As I watched them, I found myself thinking, These two really are at their best when they’re together.

We used the raft to return the way we came, heading toward the Holy Sword Highway. When we found the monument to the Seven Great Powers, I figured it was as good a time as any and pulled out my flute. I managed to summon Arumanfi, who led us back to the floating fortress.

“This place sure brings back memories. Never thought I’d come back to the city I once ruled before,” Pursena spoke nostalgically as she gazed at the Magic City of Sharia from where we stood on the floating fortress.

Yes, she had indeed come back to the very place she might call her second home.

“Oh, Pursena, there is one teeny thing I forgot to mention, mew,” said Linia.

“What is it? I’m kinda getting sentimental over here, so I’d appreciate it if you kept whatever you wanna say short.”

“Well, I did help you out. So for a while, you’re going to be my underling, got it?”

“Huh?!”

And that was how Pursena became Linia’s lackey.