Mushoku Tensei Redundancy (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Norn’s Betrothal (Part 1)

A FEW MONTHS HAD PASSED since the battle in the Biheiril Kingdom. The Man-God kept quiet after what happened, and as time passed, no new enemies made themselves known. That didn’t change my job, of course. I quietly kept up my travels, laying the groundwork for the war with Laplace eighty years from now. 

Even so, I’d been at home a lot lately because, as it turns out, Eris and Roxy were both pregnant at the same time. I kinda cut loose after defeating Geese, so I guess you reap what you sow! While I was happy with the way things turned out, it had been said that pregnancy would weaken their destinies and made them easier targets for the Man-God. So while my wives were pregnant, I wanted to be by their sides as much as possible. 

In the meantime, I spent my days processing the intelligence that came in from the mercenary band outposts around the world, meeting with Orsted to discuss our next moves, and enjoying some long-overdue family time.

This is a story from one of those days. Orsted and I were having a meeting about what we knew regarding my next destination. It was something about how the next in line for the throne of that kingdom was still young, yet showed promise. It seemed like a good idea to start putting things in motion now, so we could put him to good use later.

Orsted stayed silent without offering any comment on how to win over the next ruler. I figured he must have had his reasons. Maybe there was some person key to pulling it off who wasn’t in this loop. Or it could be that he thought there was no surefire way to do it right now, so we should wait until a later point in time.

So what should I do?

I looked down at the notes I’d taken based on the portrait that Orsted had painted of this amazing heir and thought hard.

Just then, he spoke. 

“Have Norn Greyrat get married.”

“Wha…?”

Out of nowhere, Orsted broke his silence with this bizarre statement. 

Although I was being careful with how I spoke around Orsted, I still almost blurted out, “What the hell are you talking about?!” It was that jarring. 

Right now, we were thinking about how to win over the amazing heir. What Orsted said was totally irrelevant. But then I started to wonder… Was it really irrelevant? 

And then it occurred to me.

“Do you mean,” I said slowly, “a political marriage?”

It was the only thing that made sense with the conversation we were having.

“I wouldn’t call it political, but when I consider the future… Well.”

“So you’re saying…I can’t do it alone?”

That was frustrating to hear. It meant Orsted had decided I couldn’t talk this amazing heir into an alliance. I wouldn’t have minded if he said that outright—hell, even I wasn’t confident I could do it by myself. I had no idea what I could even say to sway him. If he were a skirt-chaser like Paul, and the only way to get him on our side were to give him a woman, then Orsted’s proposal would have made sense.

But Norn was out of the question.

I knew Norn would get married someday, but there was no way I would hand her over to someone who was a womanizer like Paul. Norn had to marry someone more…earnest. And I had to approve of him—no way I’d just ship her off to some random guy. I’d never be able to face Paul again. You never cast aside family for the sake of a goal, no matter how lofty.

“No,” Orsted said.

“Then why?”

“The child of Norn Greyrat was a help to me.”

“Help…? So this has nothing to do with Norn; you need her child?”

“I do not need it. The child will not be of great importance in this loop.”

He was dancing around the point. Orsted always spoke in riddles, but based on our other conversations up until now, I got the gist of what he meant. Basically, this was groundwork. Norn’s child might not be important, but it had been useful to him in past loops, so he would make the play just in case—something like that.

“Very well.” I stood up. I looked down at Orsted, who was still seated and looking up at me. He wasn’t wearing his helmet. He had the same scary look as ever, but I bet my face was even scarier.

“If you are going to insist on this, then come to the northern forest at noon three days from now.”

Fear not, Norn. I shall defend your virtue. I will stand my ground, even if I have to face Orsted. Paul, please… Give me strength. Give me the strength to vanquish this mighty foe and live to tell the tale.

“Wait. You misunderstand.”

“I do?”

“Even I, in the course of these endlessly repeating two centuries, have people for whom I care. Norn Greyrat’s child is one such person. She has helped me, coming to my aid time and time again. It is for this reason that I wish to grant her life in this world. As things are, this will not come to pass.”

It was true that I never saw Norn with boys. She’d graduated, but she was still living at home, same as always. That wasn’t to say she was freeloading, however. Through her school connections, she’d joined the magic guild and was doing clerical work at their central branch. There were plenty of guys at the guild, but Norn didn’t seem to care for them. She never went out, even on her days off; rather, she was always at home helping with the kids or the housework. Even as a student, I didn’t think she’d dated anyone.

I honestly thought she might go her whole life without ever tying the knot.

Hmm. In this world, people with status seemed to do arranged marriages a lot, and while mine was a bit sketchy, it had provided me with connections and influence. Maybe this wasn’t such an outlandish proposal.

“Okay, but a child isn’t made by one person. It’s not like any old partner will result in the same child being born, right?”

We were talking about a king, so he had plenty of status, but I wasn’t going to consent. Not until I’d seen him with my own eyes and checked out what sort of man he was.

“Or does this amazing heir become Norn’s partner in the future?” I asked, glaring at Orsted. He was frowning. His expression was as scary as ever, but I’d seen this look before. It was his “What the hell are you talking about?” face.

The ends of his eyebrows twitched as though in surprise, and he said, “No… Forgive me. It is unrelated to that.”

“Huh?”

“This is another matter.”

Another matter…? Ah, that’s what he meant?

“So this wasn’t about our strategy for the next country? We’re just talking about Norn’s love life?”

“Yes.”

Huh. Well, all right, then.

“Sir Orsted.”

“Yes?”

“When you change the subject, it’s good to lead into it with something like ‘Changing the subject,’ or ‘By the way…’”

“That is true. I will be careful in the future.”

With all that smoothed over, I settled back into my seat.

***

I collected myself, then got back to the conversation.

“So who is it that Norn marries? Does she always marry the same person?”

“Yes. As far as I am aware, Norn Greyrat’s husband never changes.”

So Norn and this person were destined to be together. Lucky bastard. Just living his life, and then all of a sudden, he gets to marry my Norn. If he turned out to be a lazy bum coasting through life, I’d kidnap him and straighten him out—Spartan-style. I’d make sure he did nothing but train from the moment he woke up in the morning until he fell asleep. By the time I was finished with him, he wouldn’t be able to say anything but “yes,” “please,” and “thank you.” No way he’d cheat on her then. 

At minimum, anyone who wanted to marry Norn would have to take a punch from Eris without passing o—

“Ruijerd Superdia.”

My thoughts screeched to a halt. I saw in my mind’s eye the face of a bald man who’d lived around five hundred years. 

Scratch that—he wasn’t bald anymore. 

A handsome man with a handsome head of green hair. 

“Their child becomes the last Superd warrior. After Ruijerd succumbs to plague in his later years, she carries on his quest to restore the honor of the Superd, joining the human side to fight the demons. She is the one who deals the finishing blow to Laplace. Her fate is heavy, painful, and goes unsung by all… But in this loop, many of the Superd have survived. In all likelihood, no great burden will fall on her shoulders.”

While my mind sat frozen, Orsted’s words poured out as he remembered the girl’s life. If she defeated Laplace, she and Orsted had probably worked together. And if so… Yeah, I could see why Orsted had brought this up.

But okay, now what? It was different this time around. I was here, and the displacement incident had happened.

However Norn and Ruijerd’s relationship had developed in previous loops, if I knew one thing, it was that in this loop, it hadn’t blossomed into the love story Orsted knew. If I suggested marriage to Norn out of nowhere, she might just balk. I mean, it was a five-hundred-year age gap. It would probably confuse Ruijerd too. 

I wasn’t going to complain about Ruijerd joining the family, but I couldn’t just go making a decision like this myself. No, definitely not.

“If you ask me,” I said slowly, “I think Norn gets the final say.”

“Very well. There is no rush,” Orsted answered with a nod.

After that, he told me about Norn in all the loops up until now. In the worlds where I didn’t exist, Norn became an adventurer. On her adventures, she performed songs and wrote ballads as a bard who could sing, dance, and fight. She and others with similar interests formed a party and traveled around the Northern Continent. Her sword and magic skills were marginal at best. B-rank was her limit. Because of that, while they were in the middle of some quest, her party was wiped out by monsters. 

Norn herself was inches from death when who should appear but our very own Ruijerd. He tore through the advancing monsters and saved Norn’s life. For Norn, it was love at first sight. After that, she joined him on his journey to find the Superd. 

At first, Ruijerd hadn’t been responsive, but then he discovered that the Superd had all been wiped out by a plague and fell into despair. Norn devoted herself selflessly to comforting him, which in turn won her Ruijerd’s heart, and they got married. They began their life together in a corner of the Biheiril Kingdom. After a while, they had a child, then Ruijerd contracted the same disease as the other Superd and died, leaving Norn behind. She raised their child, then died of old age. 

It sounded like a lonely, bittersweet life, but Orsted said there had been a look of contentment on her face. As a love story, it was hard to swallow, but what goes on between a man and a woman is something only they know. 

Things hadn’t gone that way for Norn this time. Was it still okay to set her up with Ruijerd? Would Norn be happy with someone she didn’t love? Would Ruijerd be open to it?

There was no point in me worrying about it on my own. The important thing was how Norn felt. She didn’t show any sign of interest in boys, but she was the right age for romance. One day, she’d suddenly bring him home, and the little punk would say, “I’ve come to ask Norn’s father for her hand in marriage.” Then I’d say, “Who’re you calling ‘father’?” Or “I’m her brother.”

But I’m getting off topic here.

I had the feeling I wasn’t the right person to ask Norn about this sort of thing. I couldn’t see her opening up to me. Another woman would be better—just not Aisha. I had the feeling that if I sent her, it wouldn’t end well. Sylphie or Roxy, then? Norn respected Roxy in particular, so maybe Roxy was best. 

Eris might work too, if we were talking about respect. She’d been teaching Norn swordwork for a long time. Every morning since she graduated, Norn had been out with Eris jogging and practice sparring and what have you. You only had to look at them together to see how Norn admired Eris. Unfortunately, I doubted Eris’s move list included the “indirect question” skill. 

No, it had to be Roxy. Wait, hold on. The one with the high “indirect question” stat was Sylphie. And while it wasn’t quite respect, Norn did seem to recognize Sylphie as the top dog in this house. 

Or maybe I should just consult all three of them… Yes, the four of us could work together to decide who was best suited to the task. It’d be better to get Sylphie, Roxy, and Eris’s opinions. But were the three of them enough? Should I talk to Lilia and Zenith too? 

I mulled it over on the living room sofa.

“Oh.” My eyes fell on a woman who’d come into the living room—Norn.

“I’m back, Big Brother,” she said.

“Welcome home.” She’d grown up beautiful. She looked just like Zenith had when she was younger, with sizable breasts and silky blonde hair. I bet she’d been popular with the boys at school.

“What…?” Norn asked after a while.

“Nothing… Um, Norn, want a cup of tea?”

“Yes, please.”

I picked up one of the cups on the table, quickly filled it with tea, and then handed it to her. As Norn accepted it, a dubious look came over her face.

“This is cold.”

“What?!”

Didn’t I just have Lilia make me a pot? I touched the teapot, and she was right. The cup in my hand was cold too. What’s going on here? Is someone attacking me?!

“Wait.” A thought hit me. “Come to think of it, didn’t you have work today?”

“Yes, I just got home now.”

I looked out the window. It was already dusk. My meeting with Orsted had ended, then I’d come back here and had Lilia make me a pot of tea. That had been early afternoon, so two hours must have passed.

“Right, sorry. I must’ve zoned out.”

“I’d appreciate it if you waited until you’re older before going senile…” Norn teased. “I’ll make another pot. Wait there, Big Brother.”

“Is no one else home?”

I was sure Sylphie and Eris had just been here. And Roxy… Okay, at this time of day, Roxy wouldn’t be home yet.

“Sylphie and Eris left just as I came back to take the children for a walk. Lilia went shopping.”

“Aisha?”

“I don’t know. She’s probably still with the mercenary band, isn’t she?” Norn said as she carried the teapot off to the kitchen.

Right, okay. No one’s home. Just me and Norn… In a way, I couldn’t have asked for a better situation. Yeah, I’d tackle this head-on. No beating around the bush. If that didn’t work, then I’d move on to the next thing. That was how I would be honest with Norn.

Right. Yeah. Norn wouldn’t like it if I only talked to her after I’d set everything up. I mean, she was the one getting married.

I had to start with Norn.

“Here you are.” While I was lost in thought, Norn came back, setting a cup of tea down in front of me.

“Thanks.” I watched as she sat down directly opposite me, then took a sip. “You’ve gotten good at brewing tea, huh?”

“We learned how to at school.”

“Not from Lilia?”

“Lilia… I don’t think she would teach me.”

Well, yeah. If she asked Lilia to teach her how to brew tea, she’d probably say there was no need because that was her job.

“I’m sure she would if you asked.”

“Perhaps. But seeing as the school had a place to learn, I took advantage of it. Besides, I never have the chance to make tea at home.”

“I guess so.”

She’d had student council meetings and her room at the dormitory, and now probably her workplace too. She seemed content with that.

Anyway, now that I’d warmed things up with some light chitchat, I wanted a good way to broach the main topic. What to say? Where did I begin?

“Umm… Ahem, uh-hrmm…” As I cleared my throat, Norn looked at me dubiously.

“Was there something I neglected?” she asked.

“N-no, not at all. Very nice tea.” I took another gulp from the steaming cup. The flavor wasn’t anything amazing, but it wasn’t bad enough to make me want to spit it out. It was ordinary, just like Norn. Good, but not great.

In other words, nice. But leaving that aside… 

“By the way, Norn, how…how’ve things been lately, hm?”

“What things?”

“Well, your job, for example. How’s that?”

“Everything’s normal. A senior staff member is still teaching me the ropes…but I think I’m doing well enough. Of course, I’m sure Aisha would be doing far better.”

“You ought to stop comparing yourself to her,” I said. Norn nodded obediently. Aisha had her own work. So long as they weren’t doing the same job, comparisons didn’t do anyone any good.

“Now, this senior staff member…” I went on. “That’s a thing, eh? Cool, I bet?”

“Oh, very elegant. I think the two of you spoke once, Big Brother. Yes, you remember the deputy student council president from when I was president?”

“The… The burly beastfolk kid?”

“Not him. The woman.”

Oh. A woman. Right. The name wasn’t coming to me, but there had been someone like that. Actually, I had the feeling Norn had brought it up when she got the job. Something about how they were in the same department.

“A woman, eh… Don’t happen to be any men around, hmm?” 

“Of course there are.”

“And are any of them…you know…cool?”

“Some are, some aren’t.”

So there was someone cool. This was big.

“Big Brother, what are you getting at?”

“Calm down, there, Norn. No need to rush to conclusions.”

“You’re the one who doesn’t look calm,” she countered.

Of course I’m calm! I’m always cool, calm, and collected. CCC Rudeus, that’s me. And none of those stand for crazy!

“Norn, uh… Just for example, um, this cool person… How cool do you think he is?”

“Are you asking if I like him?”

“Do you?”

Crap. I asked her straight out.

“No, I can’t say I do.”

Oh, screw it.

“So is there by any chance someone you do like?”

There was a long pause, then—

“Yes.”

There is! She told me there is someone!

“Y-you don’t say! There is, is there? Well, you are a grown woman. Of course there is. Nothing strange there. No, sir.”

“You, on the other hand, are being very strange.”

“What?”

I’m not strange. It’s everyone else! This world is strange, not me!

“So what’s he like, hmm?” I went on. “This person you like?”

“He’s…older.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I can depend on him.”

“Uh-huh…”

“And he always takes care of me.”

Take those three criteria, and you get…

“Do you mean me?”

“Is something wrong with your head?”

Sorry. Got carried away.

“He’s much older than you, Big Brother, and he never loses his cool in a crisis. He’s composed and dignified.”

“You know, lately, your Big Brother has also stopped losing his cool in a crisis.”

“I don’t think you get to say that considering how you’ve been acting.”

Oof…

But okay, she said much older than me and dignified? Damn…

“By much older…you mean, what, ten years older than me?”

“Older.”

“I…didn’t know you had a daddy complex.”

“A daddy…? Well, I do like older men.”

By “older,” I guessed she meant more than twenty years older. That would put him in his forties or fifties. Add “dignified” to that, and I was thinking of someone on the heavier side. With a lower center of mass, you get a real sense of gravitas. Not that I was anywhere close to “dignified” in my past life.

I was picturing something like an old man with a greasy face who was CEO of an evil trading company. I wasn’t about to criticize anyone over an age gap, but no matter how I looked at it, it sounded like she was looking for a sugar daddy. 

I won’t stand for it, hell no!

But hold on. What if this guy turned out to be more sincere than I thought…? An age gap was nothing, really. You can’t judge people by their looks.

“But I’ve accepted that nothing will come of my love.”

“Oh… Is he married or something?”

“No… He said he lost his wife…”

Lost, huh? Maybe that was a convenient way of saying he divorced her. Or maybe she’d just slapped him with the divorce papers.

…I was working hard to avoid accepting the truth.

“Apparently, I remind him of her.”

Okay, in that case, it can’t be. Yeah, no way. He wouldn’t say something like that.

“That’s one of the oldest lines in the book.”

A man catching a much younger woman and telling her she looked like his dead wife? What else could it be? He was basically saying she was the sort of girl he could see himself marrying.

Hold on, though. It didn’t really sound like a pickup line when you thought about it. Something about how she was nothing like his wife, how he’d never met a girl like her before… That’d be a better line.

“…Are you asking if I’ve been seduced?” Norn put her hands to her cheeks, which were a little flushed. Was she happy about the idea? Oh, right. Norn liked him, not the other way around.

But Norn, he might be leading you on. There’d be a fight if I said anything right now, so I kept the thought to myself.

“Why all these questions all of a sudden, anyway?”

“Huh? Well, that’s…”

“You’re up to something, aren’t you?” Norn glared at me. It was a look that said she’d been honest, so now it was my turn. I hadn’t expected her to be so open. I’d have been happy to just gather she liked someone from her reaction.

“Well, I don’t want to bring it up right after what you just said…”

“Okay.” As I leaned slightly closer, Norn drew back in turn. 

“The truth is, Norn,” I said. “I’ve had a sort of marriage proposal for you.”

For a few seconds, Norn froze. Her eyes were wide, and her lips pursed in a frown. It was like she was glaring at me.

“A proposal…” she repeated. “Very well. I accept.”

“No, I get it. Say no more. After what you said? Let’s pretend I never brought it up.”

“No, like I said, I accept.”

I stared at Norn, the doubt probably clear on my face. “But you…you already have someone you like, don’t you?”

“That doesn’t matter. After all, it’s never going anywhere.” Norn seemed to consider for a moment, then continued. “We aren’t nobility, but you have status, and my friends told me something like this might come along one day. Besides, ever since I found out that you have connections all over the world, I’ve expected to be used like this.”

“I didn’t say ‘use.’ I’m not going to make my family into pawns,” I said a little heatedly. Norn’s eyes widened, then she bowed her head.

“Of course… I’m sorry.”

Such a good girl.

“Norn, if you say you don’t want this, then we ditch the idea.”

“No… I’m not against it. The fact that you’ve come to talk to me must mean the other person isn’t a bad man, right?”

“Well, I guess.”

He wasn’t a bad match… At least, I didn’t think so. They’d seemed to get on well during the battle in the Biheiril Kingdom. Ruijerd was an honorable man. 

“Only… Well, my heart isn’t set on getting married, but I’m not dead against it either. I would be grateful if we could pretend this never happened, Big Brother, if you’d do that for me. Of course, if the other person insists, then you should go ahead with it. You needn’t worry about me…” Norn looked away.

She didn’t seem to want it very much. She would do what I said if I asked, that was all. That might be convenient for me, but not for her.

“I haven’t run it past the other person yet, so it’s fine.”

“I see… Thank you.”

Sorry, Orsted, but if it’s what Norn wants, then we ditch this idea.

After a moment, Norn added, “By the way, what sort of person was it? Were they some sort of royalty? Or an Asuran noble?”

“No, nothing like that… But you know him, Norn.”

“I do…? Oh, do you mean Zanoba?”

“I don’t think he’s the marrying type.”

Zanoba was best left alone. Even with Julie blasting him with her love beam, he showed zero signs of interest in her, much less Ginger. He probably planned on spending his life with his figurines.

“It was Ruijerd,” I said, revealing his name.

Before I knew what was happening, Norn was leaning toward me, both hands on the table. There was an intense look on her face, which flushed bright red. She looked angry. 

What was that about? Had I said something to offend her? 

Norn did seem to have a lot of respect for Ruijerd, so it seemed she didn’t think of him in that way after all.

Right. Sorry, Norn. Your big brother messed up. You can stop glaring at me like that now.

“Hey, look, it was silly. Even setting aside that he’s a different species, the age gap is too big, and even you—”

“Please accept the proposal!”

Norn cut me off, her voice brimming with excitement and delight.

***

As it turned out—or sure enough, I should say—the object of Norn’s affections was Ruijerd.

Apparently, she’d adored him since she was little, and that childhood crush had developed into romantic feelings. And while in the Biheiril Kingdom, she had reaffirmed her feelings: she was in love with him.

But Norn, knowing Ruijerd’s past, had assumed he wouldn’t reciprocate. She’d resigned herself to spending the rest of her life hiding her true feelings.

I put a hand to my chest and said, “Got it. Just leave it to me.”