Mushoku Tensei Redundancy (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 3.2

Rudeus

NORN AND RUIJERD’S WEDDING took place in the Superd village, and was done in their style. On the night of the full moon, the villagers came, each bearing food, then they all ate together to celebrate the new bride and groom. I wasn’t a villager, but naturally, I brought a plate of food and the whole family with me. We were Norn’s family. I wasn’t taking “no” for an answer. Not that anyone tried—on the contrary, they were very welcoming. 

Lilia and Aisha had made the food. Aisha seemed to have some seriously complex feelings about Norn’s ­marriage. Ever since it was decided, I’d seen her get in trouble with Lilia countless times for loafing on the sofa, lost in thought. And a few days before the wedding, Aisha and Norn had stayed up late talking about something in Norn’s room. Wonder what that was about? 

Anyway, Aisha probably had a lot on her mind. It wasn’t like she was unhappy for her sister or anything. In making the food for the wedding, she hadn’t been stingy—if anything, she’d given it her all. She hunted down ingredients from Millis and Asura to make an enormous fruit cake. I wasn’t sure if the Superd liked sweet food, but Roxy gave it her seal of approval. Then again, Roxy had a sweet tooth…

This was the happiest day of Norn’s life, so the whole family came. That meant not only Arus, Sieg, and the little kids, but also Leo, Dillo, and Byt. Orsted wasn’t family, but he was the one who’d set up the match, so he observed from a quiet corner. I also invited Norn’s friends in Sharia, and they enthusiastically accepted. When Norn’s junior school friends from the student council heard she was getting married, they bowed to me and begged for an invite.

I did feel a little sorry for the huddle of trembling humans surrounded by a crowd of Superd in the square, but once they saw how happy Norn looked, their nerves began to settle. By the time the feast began, they had fully gotten into the swing of things and lined up to pour Norn drinks.

She really did look happy. When she was at home—or rather, when she was with me—she usually looked sulky. For the entire time she was sitting beside Ruijerd, she beamed, albeit a little shyly. Every now and then, she would look his way, and he, sensing her gaze, would look back, at which Norn would blush and look down. Wearing a traditional bridal garment that the Superd women had made, with a table full of food before her, she glanced at her groom and blushed. 

As a surprise, I also had a Millis-style ceremony slotted in partway through, which went over great. I had Norn and Ruijerd change into pure white. When they came back, Cliff—the surprise guest—stepped forward to give a Millis-style blessing. Ruijerd put the necklace I’d gotten ready in advance around Norn’s neck and knelt, at which she, blushing furiously, placed a clumsy kiss on his forehead. Through the whole thing, Norn looked stunned, but when everything wrapped up, she wore a tearful smile. She was really, truly happy.

“Norn sure looks pretty, huh?”

That was Aisha. Whether it was the clothes making her beautiful or her happiness, I wasn’t sure. Aisha gazed at her sister with envy.

“That’ll be you one day, Aisha.”

“No, it won’t,” she replied curtly. So Aisha wasn’t planning on getting married. I personally wanted to see Aisha off too, just like I had Norn… Oh, well. Marriage wasn’t all there was to life. I didn’t mind her staying at home.

Man, Norn was a bride. It was enough to get me all choked up. When I first met her in Millis, she was tiny and ready to fight. There was even a point when she holed up in her dormitory room after starting school. As a kid, people thought of Norn as a handful, no good, clumsy. Then she joined the student council, carried out her ­duties as student council president commendably, and won the admiration of the junior students. 

And now, she was married.

“Sniff.” My nose was suddenly stuffy.

Dear Paul,

Norn has grown up into a good and beautiful girl. Are you watching? No way you wouldn’t be, right? If not, hurry and get over here.

“Don’t cry, Big Brother.”

“Crying? Me?”

“Yes, you. Rather than just sobbing in a corner, go talk to Norn.”

“M-mm…”

The guests were lined up to give their congratulations to the newlyweds. The Superd didn’t have a custom like that, but maybe Cliff had said something. Norn beamed as she thanked them all. Oh, it was joyful. Was it really all right for me to barge in there? I felt like I’d ruin it.

“You don’t think Norn will be annoyed?”

“Not a chance.”

“I dunno…”

“Well, I do.”

I hesitated. “Will you come with me, Aisha?”

“No reason why not.”

It wasn’t like I was that worried about her. If anything, it was me I was worried about. I was absolutely going to sob. I was going to cry on the happiest day of Norn’s life. I’d be a bawling, snotty mess, and everyone would point and say Norn’s older brother was a big crybaby.

Would that be so terrible? Yes. Just the other day, Ruijerd had told me not to cry, so I wanted to hold it together. I wanted to at least get home first so I could cry with my face buried in Sylphie’s lap. 

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s go, then.”

I just couldn’t miss out on this moment with Norn. So, with the others in tow, I approached her.

“Oh.” When Norn saw us, her lips went tight for a second. Almost at once, she was smiling again, but it seemed like maybe she’d wanted to say something.

Now I’m scared… 

While I wavered, Sylphie overtook me to get to Norn first.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Norn.”

“Thank you, Sylphie.”

“It’s work, but it’ll be rewarding. Be sure to talk through your troubles and try your hardest.”

“I will.”

Sylphie smiled at Norn, then stepped aside. Next in line was Eris.

“Congrats, Norn!”

“Thank you, Eris.”

“Don’t slack off on your sword training, got it? Ruijerd’s tough, but it’s your job to have his back.”

“I’ll be sure to remember.”

Eris nodded with satisfaction, then stepped aside. Next, she went over and started saying something to Ruijerd. It sounded like “If you don’t protect Norn, I’ll break you.” That was our Eris.

Roxy came forward from behind Eris. “Congratulations, Norn.”

“Thank you, Miss Roxy.”

“No need to keep calling me ‘Miss’… Well, all right. It’s the last time, so let me say one more thing as your teacher. When you marry someone from a different race, I expect people around you will have more thoughts on it than you yourselves. Ignore them. Just go on as usual, and everyone will accept you eventually.”

“Th-thank you, Miss Roxy!”

After Roxy came Lilia and Zenith. “Congratulations, Miss Norn.”

“Lilia, Mother… Thank you.”

“I think I may not have been a positive presence in your life, Miss Norn. All those times that Aisha made you unhappy, that was all my fault…”

“Don’t say that. Lilia, you’ve been another mother to me. Aisha is my little sister. Yes, there were some bad things, but that was just life. It wasn’t because of you, Lilia.”

“You’re… You’re too kind…” Then she hiccupped. As she stood there all proper, Lilia immediately burst into tears. Literally everything seemed to make Lilia cry these days. Zenith patted her, making soothing sounds, but after a while, she turned her attention to Norn.

“Mother?” Norn said, but Zenith was silent. With a small smile, she took Norn’s hand in both of hers, holding it tenderly, as though it were something precious.

“Mo… M-Mother…” Norn stammered. Zenith said nothing, but it was impossible to mistake her feelings. Tears began to pour down Norn’s cheeks. Just like that, I knew her expression before had been her holding back tears.

“M-Mother, thank you… Th-thank you…for everything…” Norn was barely coherent. By the time my turn came around, her face was covered in tears and snot. Even though it was her wedding—the happiest day of her life…

“Big Brother…”

For the time being, I pulled out a handkerchief and put it to Norn’s nose.

“C’mon, big blow.”

“I can do it myself,” Norn protested as she snatched the handkerchief and blew her nose. She looked unsure what to do with the handkerchief, so I tucked it back into my pocket.

Then, I faced Norn once more. “I, uh… Norn… Congratulations.”

“Big Brother…” Norn looked up at me, her mouth set in a line.

What should I say? I could’ve sworn I had something ready, but my head’s empty.

When I hesitated, Norn said, “Big Brother, um, thank you for everything. I…right now, I’m so happy. And it’s all thanks to you, I know it is.”

She told me she was happy, but that was clear just by looking at her.

“No, no… It’s because you’ve done your best.”

“I haven’t done anything. Even the wedding was thanks to you!”

“Norn, if you hadn’t been doing your best, Ruijerd would never have asked for your hand.”

To Ruijerd, you were either a child or a warrior. If she hadn’t changed, he never would have seen her differently.

“Still, thank you.” Norn looked like she might cry again, so I reached into my pocket for the handkerchief. Just as I realized it was all damp, another one was suddenly held out from beside me—it was Aisha. I took her handkerchief and wiped away Norn’s tears.

“Norn.”

“Yes?”

“Um, I don’t know what to say, and everyone’s already said the important stuff, so there’s not much left.”

“Yes?”

“There’ll be struggles and pain ahead for you, but…do your best for me to…to always be happy.”

Funnily enough, I didn’t cry—I’d been sure I would. Just like before, I started choking up, but the tears themselves had retreated. Standing there in front of Norn, all I felt was pride.

“I… I will!” Norn’s tears stopped, and she beamed at me.

And so, Norn was married. Their height difference was almost as big as their age difference, but it seemed they were surprisingly compatible anyway. A year later, Norn had a baby. She was Norn’s spitting image, but with green hair, a cute tail, and a gem on her forehead—a Superd girl. They named her Luicelia Superdia.

The face Orsted made when he heard it was terrifying to behold—he was smiling. But I understood. The name Orsted remembered and the name Norn and Ruijerd had chosen were the same.