Mushoku Tensei Redundancy (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 4.1

Chapter 1:

Calling at the Latria Household

THE CHILDREN WERE growing up well. Lucie had settled in at the Ranoa University of Magic. Lara hated studying, but hey, she was happy. Arus was like Eris in that he had a bit of a rough streak, but he was unexpectedly diligent, and he didn’t bully the smaller kids. He’d be all right. Sieg was still little and as much of a crybaby as ever, but he’d toughened up a bit lately. Almost like someone somewhere was training him. Lily and Chris were still very little, but they’d long since stopped breastfeeding and recently started their gifted curriculum. A seventh was yet to come, but six kids was plenty. Every day was lively and challenging. Even so, with Lara and Arus starting school, and Lily and Chris walking around by themselves learning this and that, it felt like things had calmed down recently. There was no sign of the Man-God plotting anything. The days went by without a worry.

It was another lively night: Lucie looking after herself now; Lara getting in trouble for playing with her food; Arus being scolded for his picky eating; Sieg, his cheeks bulging with rice; Lily, spilling soup on her cute little bib as she ate; Chris on my knee with her mouth open wide, waiting for the next mouthful. Then there were my three wives, my little sister, and my two moms. The dinner table was alive with activity. 

It wasn’t just mealtimes—our household was like this all the time recently. As you’d expect, really. There’s never a dull moment with six kids, whether you like it or not! Arus and Lara were wild ones who’d start tussling at the drop of a hat. Lily and Chris were about the same age, which caused some friction, so they shouted all the time. Even Lucie and Sieg, who were comparatively chill, were still noisy from time to time. There was truly never a quiet moment.

It occurred to me that this might not last forever. Who knew what would happen once the kids grew up? They might join Orsted’s fight, but they also might leave Sharia for elsewhere. We’d decided to send all of them to the Asura Royal Academy for three years once they came of age, so they could settle there. Then again, they might suddenly decide to storm out of the house and strike out on their own before they were grown. That was what Paul did after he fought with his father, so the same sort of thing could happen in my family. 

I had the Man-God to worry about, so I always had the impulse to tell them how to live, but kids don’t really listen to their parents. You only had to look at Lara, who hated studying and training and was always plotting to escape her lessons. But that didn’t worry me, not in the long run. 

This was probably the only time that all the kids would be together under the same roof. I thought we should go on a family holiday.

We only had so much time left.

***

Obviously, I wasn’t planning on a world tour. I just set aside a month or so to take them to see some people who were overdue for a visit. On the way, I would show them that the rest of the world wasn’t exactly like Sharia; that was all. To that end, the destination I settled on was the Millis Continent.

Here was the plan:

We’d use the teleportation circle to travel to the Holy Land of Millis, where we’d stay for about ten days. We’d spend the first half calling on Zenith’s parents as well as Cliff and the Millis Church. Next, we’d visit places unique to Millis, like the Adventurers’ Guild Headquarters and the magic tower. From there, we’d take a carriage north along the Holy Sword Highway, briefly visit the Great Forest, then stop for a soak in the hot springs in the Blue Wyrm Mountains. Finally, I’d set up a teleportation circle and take us home. While we were there, I’d also look into getting in contact with the Ore God, something I’d been putting off for a while. 

I floated it with my family six months before I put it into action. There was Roxy’s schedule as a teacher to think about, and I had to ask Orsted, the CEO, for permission. Plus, the kids had their studies to think about, and everyone else had plans. Even so, everyone agreed. Lucie, perhaps because she remembered visiting the Asura Kingdom, looked especially excited at the idea of a trip. When I asked Elinalise if she wanted to come, she jumped at it. She was happy to be given an excuse; she saw Cliff a few times a year, but she would have much rather been with him all the time. Ideally, Cliff would rise quickly in the church so he could bring Elinalise and Clive to live with him, but the power struggles there took time to navigate.

Since we were going to visit the Latrias, Zenith and Lilia were also coming with us. If we got the chance, I wanted to ask the Blessed Child to look into Zenith’s mind again. Lara could communicate with Zenith, but she wouldn’t tell us much. She always looked like it ­annoyed her when I asked. At her age, she might not have understood how important it was.

Enough about that, though—even if this was only a personal trip, so long as I made appointments half a year in advance, making appointments to see important Millis folk like the Blessed Child and the Pope wouldn’t be an issue. I’d also asked Norn and her family to come this time, and I promised Claire that I’d bring her. Well, “promise” is a strong word. I thought it’d be good to show Claire in person that Norn was happily wedded, and I’d already told her about the marriage. I’d made sure to be clear about exactly who she was married to—including the fact that he was a demon. There’d still been no reply, so it was possible that she was angry or she wanted to pretend she’d never heard about it. But here was the thing: we weren’t going to compromise on this.

At first, Norn turned down my invitation because her daughter was still too young, but Luicelia was growing up fast. She’d already stopped breastfeeding, she had all her teeth, and she toddled around with the green hair and cute little tail she’d inherited from her dad swinging behind her. Still, she was young enough that Norn had to watch her at all times. 

Ruijerd took her aside. “I’ll look after Luicelia. You go.”

“But Ruijerd…”

“You should treasure your family.”

It was a heavy way to say it, but Norn obeyed. Ruijerd, it seemed, would have liked to join us. He didn’t know much about human customs, he said, but he understood that meeting the family was important. Unfortunately, bringing a baby—not to mention a Superd—on a month-long trip was a hard ask. We could put a hat on Sieg, and his hair just so happened to be green. A hat wouldn’t hide a tail, nor that Luicelia was a real Superd. People would freak out, which could be traumatic for her. Ruijerd also had his duties with the village and the Biheiril Kingdom to attend to. So, with great reticence, he sent Norn off in our care.

“Very well,” Norn said, “but I’m not going to the hot springs or anywhere else. After we call on my family, I’m heading home.”

“There’s no need for that. You should enjoy your trip.”

“No. I want to be here with you and Luicelia.” She’d agreed to come along, but she was still a lovestruck woman.

I asked the mercenary band and Zanoba to watch the house while we were away. Byt and Dillo would stay at the house too, just in case. We didn’t want a burglar breaking in, and the vegetable garden needed tending.

As a whole, the plan was a bit thinly sketched, but it wouldn’t be any fun if I overfilled the schedule and ended up pressed for time! This amount of planning should be just right.

***

It was six months later. As usual, the Magic City of Sharia was blanketed in snow. We called a carriage to the house. It then took us through the town where snow lay thick on the ground. 

Once we reached the office, we said a quick hello to Orsted, then got on the magic circle that would take us to Millishion. It connected to a hideout within the city. Just like that, we’d be on the Millis Continent. I wanted to travel; this method really lost what made the experience special. I would have at least liked to use a magic circle that deposited us away from the city so I could show the kids Millishion from the outside. It wasn’t every day you got to see the massive tower or pass through its high walls. Exciting! Then again, the scenery would still be there on our way out of the city. There was no need to rush.

At the hideout, we shifted to the readied carriages, then headed straight for the home of the Latrias in Millishion. Including me, there were fourteen of us, plus one dog. As such, we’d gotten two large carriages. I rode in the first one with Roxy, Zenith, Lilia, Lara, Chris, and Leo. Sylphie, Eris, Lucie, Arus, Sieg, Lily, Aisha, and Norn came in the second. We said a temporary goodbye to Elinalise and Clive, who were going to see Cliff.

The kids were so hyped up about their first trip that their three moms could barely wrangle them. Lara seemed to especially like the scenery of Millishion. She stared out the carriage window, breathing heavily. That was unusual for Lara, who was unimpressed by everything and always napping.

“Lara, stop hanging out of the carriage like that.”

“Fine,” she grumbled.

Every now and then, she stuck her head and shoulders out the window, and Roxy would tell her off and then pull her back inside. She rested her chin on the window frame and stared wide-eyed out at the surroundings. I worried that she’d suddenly lean out and end up falling, but Leo had the hem of her dress in his mouth, so it was probably fine.

“There’s so many more colors than near us, Blue Mama,” she said.

“There are lots of famous designers who live in Millishion that design clothes for common folk. They all like to be fashionable.”

“There’s no snow even though it’s winter. It’s not even cold.”

“There isn’t much snow in these parts, though they do get heavy rain at one time of year. That big tower maintains the water levels, so the city never floods.”

It warmed my heart to see Lara bursting with curiosity and Roxy explaining it all to her. Lara really was like Roxy. A mini Roxy.

“Dada, I’m hungry,” said Chris. She’d been monopolizing my lap and in a good mood about it the whole time, though she seemed scared either of the city outside or of the shaking of the carriage. She held my sleeve tight. If I made her let go, I suspected she’d start bawling. 

“We’ll eat when we get to Great-Grandma’s place, okay?”

“Mmkay.” Chris accepted what I said without a fuss. If I were one of the moms, she’d have thrown a tantrum and said she wanted to eat now. It wasn’t fair to Sylphie and the others, but being Chris’s favorite made me feel a teensy bit superior.

When Chris took my hand then used it to rub her empty tummy, I desperately wanted to buy her something. 

“You there, fruit seller,” I felt like saying, “I’ll take your sweetest apple. What’s that? You don’t know which is sweetest? Then make it the whole shop. Fear not! I’ll give the rest to the Latrias as a present.”

Speaking of which, I’d brought all sorts of presents for the Latrias to butter them up, but I wondered if they’d be to Claire’s liking. If she turned around and said, “I have no interest in such vulgarities,” what then? How rude!

As I was thinking that, I noticed a tense look on Lilia’s face.

“Lilia? Is something wrong?”

“I’m a little…apprehensive,” she said.

“About what?”

“Lady Claire.”

There was only one difficulty we had to get through on this trip—my crotchety grandmother, Claire Latria. When I told her we’d be traveling in Millis, she’d immediately replied to insist that we stay with her. If only I’d declined. We could have called on her without staying at the house. Given her past behavior toward Norn, Aisha, and Lilia, I had my misgivings. 

Despite everything, I didn’t dislike the grumpy old bat that much. Claire had some serious flaws, but she wasn’t so bad that I wouldn’t let her spend a few short days with my adorable children. We’d at least go see her. Let her meet the kids. If it all went south, we could find another place to stay. So it was agreed at the family meeting.

Even so, it was true that Claire had saved more than a few unkind words for Lilia in the past. It made sense that Lilia was apprehensive about having to go through that again.

“I know how Claire can be, but she does care about us—even if she is a bit inflexible,” I said. “If you like, you’re welcome to hide behind me.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean for myself,” Lilia said. Her eyes were on Roxy and Lara. 

Right, the kids. Roxy and Lara had demon blood. Then there was Norn, who had married a demon. Not to mention the fact I had three wives. Claire, meanwhile, was a devout follower of the Millis faith and a demon expulsionist.

She’d said that she’d do her best to keep her opinions to herself, but that’d been years ago. A few years was plenty of time to forget a little promise like that. I didn’t need to tell Roxy, though. At the family meeting, she’d confidently told us that it wouldn’t be a problem. It might be a little unpleasant for Lara and Lily, but it would teach them how people with demon heritage were so often treated in places where humans lived.

Norn was prepared to put up with Claire’s comments, too. Unrelated to anything to do with demons, I was worried about the strange ways Lara might react if Claire said something nasty to her. Lara’s pranks were nerve-wracking. She didn’t care who got caught up in them.

“It’ll be okay, Lilia,” said Roxy. “If it weren’t, she wouldn’t have invited us in the first place.”

“You think so?”

I was skeptical. That’s not to say that I didn’t trust Claire. She’d extended the invitation, and inviting us just so she could be unpleasant was beneath her dignity as a noble, surely. Not that I knew what the manners of the Millis nobility were like, but spurning people who’d come from far away to visit you had to be an embarrassment. Only, even if you know what’s “proper,” you never know how you’ll act when the thing you hate is right in front of you. Sometimes you just can’t behave.

Just then, Zenith squeezed Lilia’s hand. No words came out, but it was obvious she had something to say. I tapped Lara on the shoulder.

“What’s Grandma saying?”

Lara looked at me like I was being a massive pain, then at Zenith, then back at me. “She says that Great-Grandma worries a lot. It’ll be fine.”

“Thanks.”

For once, Lara actually translated for us! And if Zenith said it’d be okay, then I expected she was right.

***

The mood was welcoming when we got to the house. The maids were all smiles, and the butler was courteous. They were a lot happier to see us than they had been on my previous trips to Millishion, although that was a low bar to clear. After handing over our luggage, they showed us to the room where Claire awaited us.

“What a long journey you’ve had,” she said when she saw us. She didn’t rise from her chair. I couldn’t call her disrespectful for that. She was the mistress of this house, after all.

“Actually, it’s no time at all nowadays,” I said.

“Ah, yes. I still cannot get my head around it.” Claire put her fingers to her temple like she was valiantly restraining herself. It was probably a snide remark about me using the teleportation circles like they were my personal property. Teleportation magic was technically forbidden, after all.

“Allow me to introduce my family,” I said.

“Please do.”

I had all the family members line up—the kids, my three wives, and Norn and Aisha. Aisha was wearing a pretty dress rather than her maid uniform today. If you didn’t know her, you could have mistaken her for the eldest daughter. Lilia wasn’t wearing her maid uniform ­either, but she’d already gone with Zenith to another room.

“Mary,” Claire called to a nearby maid.

“Yes, ma’am.” The maid reached out to put a supportive arm around Claire, helped her to her feet, then handed her a cane. She leaned heavily on it. She was weak and unsteady on her feet. Her regal bearing from the last time I’d seen her was gone. I realized that when she hadn’t stood up to greet us, it hadn’t been out of pride.

“Are you…unwell?” I asked.

“I’m old.”

“Surely you’re not old enough to be too weak to stand…”

Yes, she was old enough to be a great-grandmother, but my parents had me young, and the same was true of my kids. I wasn’t going to ask after her age, but Zenith was about forty. Claire couldn’t be much more than sixty or seventy.

“I could cast an antidote or healing magic on you, if you like,” I said.

“No, thank you. I’m sure you are a competent magician, but here in Millishion, I am a noble.”

In other words, if she wanted healing magic, she could get it. Well, I had no reason to doubt her if she said she was fine, but seeing her so weak worried me a bit.

“Rather than fussing about me, I am eager for you to introduce your family,” Claire said pointedly.

“Right, of course.” With her guidance, I moved on to introductions. First, I introduced Sylphie, Roxy, and Eris. “This is Sylphie. I married her first, and she looks after the household now.”

“Sylphiette, at your service,” said Sylphie. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for welcoming us into your home.”

That was Sylphie for you. A simple greeting reflected how comfortable she was with fine manners. No one would have guessed she was a country girl from the Fittoa Region.

“This is Roxy. She’s a Migurd—a demon—so while she looks young, she’s actually much older than me. She teaches at the magic university.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” said Roxy. “I know you may have some misgivings about my heritage, but I hope we will get along.”

When Roxy introduced herself as a demon, Claire didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow. They hadn’t met before, but she wasn’t a secret. It seemed that, at least for the moment, Claire wasn’t going to pick a fight about it.

“And this is Eris,” I said. “She’s a master of Sword God Style, and the younger sister of the current head of the Boreas family, an important Asuran noble family.”

“Um, hello. Nice to meet you.”

Eris, of course, was a bit awkward. Though, she could act naturally at parties in Asura, so maybe the problem was meeting my grandmother.

Claire said…nothing! No snide commentary about my marriages. Great, so far; next up were the kids.

“This is my eldest daughter Lucie,” I said.

“I’m Lucie Greyrat!” she said, curtseying. “It’s an honor to meet you for the first time, Great-Grandmother! I’m looking forward to staying with you!”

Claire smiled a little. She’d been strict with her grandchildren, but it seemed even Claire had a soft spot for her great-grandchildren.

“This is Lara, the next eldest.”

“Hello,” said Lara, managing to sound surly, bored, and like she wanted to be anywhere else. Claire’s brow furrowed a little. Okay, so her soft spot didn’t apply to all great-grandchildren.

“Next is my eldest son, Arus.”

“I’m Arus and I’m nearly eight! Nice to meet you!”

In the end, only Lara was sullen. Sieg, Lily, and Chris were introduced without incident. Since they minded their manners, Claire didn’t frown at the rest of them. 

“You two say hello too,” I said, gesturing to Norn and Aisha to come forward. They both lowered their heads gracefully—not just Aisha, but Norn as well.

“It’s been too long, Great-Grandmother,” said Norn. “I’m Norn Superdia now.”

“Thank you for having us,” said Aisha. As far as etiquette went, it was a flawless performance.

Still leaning on her cane, Claire stuck her chin out and said, “Indeed. It has been a long time, you two.”

That was all. She didn’t ask anything about Norn’s marriage. Maybe she didn’t think this was the right place and wanted to be considerate. In any case, thanks to everyone behaving themselves, we hadn’t started off on the wrong foot. Good, good! We—ah. Lara was picking her nose. I’d talk to her about it later.

Next, I turned to the family and said, “This is Claire Latria, your great-grandmother. We’ll be staying with her for the next ten days, so be sure to be polite.”

Claire gave an elegant bow. Her manners were charming, as usual. I could only hope the kids would learn from her example.

“Good day, all of you. On behalf of my absent husband, I welcome you to our home. The maids and butler are at your service. You may find yourself confused or discomforted by the cultural differences here, but I hope you will think of this house as your own.”

“We’re very grateful for your kindness. Say thank you, everyone.”

“Thank you! We’re looking forward to staying with you!” The children bowed as one. Claire sat down with great dignity. We’d gotten through it. The family’s Millishion holiday could get started.

“Rudeus, would you stay behind? I would like a word with you, if I may.”

No sooner had I thought that than Claire stopped me, right as I was about to leave the room. Her expression looked, well, fine. She didn’t seem angry or anything.

“Sit down.”

“Thank you,” I said. Doing as I was told, I sat down across from her. A cup of tea appeared before me straight away, like the chair had a switch in it. I might have been indignant that she didn’t offer my family tea, but then, I hadn’t invited them to join us. There weren’t enough chairs anyway.

“There’s no need to be stiff. I’m not going to scold you.” Claire saw right through me. I hoped she’d cut me some slack for being a little guarded, given what happened last time.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“I thought we could chat.”

She was sipping her tea with an innocent expression. She did it very elegantly. I guess there was even etiquette for tea drinking. I raised my own cup, imitating her. Mmm, fine tea leaves.

“Speaking of tea,” I said, “Aisha started growing tea trees recently. I brought a bag of the leaves she harvested for you to try.”

“We shall brew it tomorrow.”

“I hope you’ll like it.”

Every few years, Aisha started growing something new. At one point, she was growing herbs or something that she’d added to her cooking, but she’d stopped. Why was that? Oh, yes, Chris had seemed to be allergic. When the herbs grew fragrant, her nose started dripping. You could fix the symptoms of allergies with an antidote, but not the allergy itself.

“Aisha still isn’t thinking about marriage?”

“It doesn’t look like it at the moment.”

“I hear Norn got married.”

“She did.”

“What sort of person is her husband?”

Here I’d thought it was all done and dusted, but it turned out that I couldn’t avoid this subject. Still, I ­appreciated that she’d asked me rather than Norn.

“He’s a demon,” I said. I’d already told her in a letter. I knew there was no point in trying to gloss over it.

“I am aware. As he hasn’t graced us with his presence, I wish to know what sort of man he is.”

Oops. So, that was what she meant. Fair enough, he was letting his newly wedded wife out and about unattended. Claire wanted to know why he hadn’t come.

“They have a child who’s still young, so he stayed home to look after her, but he wanted Norn to at least come and pay her regards to her grandmother. He definitely didn’t mean any disrespect to you, Claire, or to the Latria family…”

Claire frowned. “I asked what sort of man he is, not why he didn’t come.”

“Huh? Oh, um, he’s dependable, of course. I said in my letter, I think. He’s an upstanding guy who’s an ally to the weak and an enemy to evil. His people have a different idea of family and status compared to humans, but he was once the captain of an elite guard unit in a big army, and he’s got an important position with his people. Oh, and Sir Perugius, one of the Three Godslayers, admires him. Also—”

“Enough.” Claire cut me off midway through, giving me a piercing look.

Had I said something wrong?

“Just from listening to you now, I can tell that you gave Norn away to someone worthy of trust. Whatever I might think about other aspects of the match, it is not my place to say anything more.”

“I appreciate you saying so.”

“Gratitude is unnecessary. I promised you that I would not interfere in your business.”

“You remembered?”

“Of course. I have a bad back, not a weak mind.”

That was a relief. But why was she asking? Well, probably because we were chatting.

“Your wife Roxy is very small, isn’t she?”

“It’s because she’s a Migurd. She’s older than she looks. Oh, but you mustn’t call her small to her face. It ­bothers her.”

“I understand. I am a lady of the Latria family. I might have a sharp tongue, but I do not remark on their appearances to their faces.” I was half joking, but Claire replied seriously. “Besides, given our history, I am endeavoring to understand as much as I can about demons, beastfolk, and their ilk.”

“I think that’s great! Like them or hate them, it’s important to try to understand them.” In some cases, people ended up hating others because they didn’t understand them. People dismiss what they don’t understand as lesser—like when you decide you hate a dish without ever trying it.

“That Lara is a problem, though, isn’t she?”

“Well, yeah,” I admitted.

“And I am by no means referring to her mother’s stock. I mean the way she speaks to people when meeting them for the first time.”

“I’m very sorry about that. I need to teach her how to at least greet people properly, it’s just that lately she doesn’t really listen…”

“I don’t mean to meddle,” Claire said, “but children sometimes require a firm hand.”

Underneath that vague turn of phrase, she probably meant that if Lara were her child, she’d discipline her physically. I mean, there were times that was the right approach, but Lara was clever. She’d push her luck right up to, but not beyond, what would get her a spanking from Eris. Lara seemed wild from an outsider’s perspective, but she knew right where the line was.

“You of all people must understand why you ought to do so.”

“For her future.”

“Precisely. Those first words of greeting can determine how people see you. A lack of proper courtesy at the start can land one in trouble later. That is why we nobles study etiquette.”

Uh-oh, this was starting to sound like nagging. Though I had the feeling that Claire was enjoying the opportunity.

“That being said, demon or not, her mother Roxy comports herself very well, and in accordance with her station.”

“She does?”

“Indeed. She did right by your first wife, Sylphie, by always standing a little behind her, and her modest way of speaking was excellent. She knows her place.”

Oh, no, surely not. I hadn’t meant for it to look like there was a hierarchy of first wife and secondary wives—wait, no. Roxy was doing it on purpose because she thought there’d be fewer problems that way.

“As for Eris… Well, she’s a warrior. I suppose there’s no helping it.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

Claire looked like she wanted to nag some more. I hoped she’d hold off giving Eris too much grief. She was trying.

“In any case, Rudeus,” said Claire.

“Yes?”

“Thank you. For bringing them to see me.” She bowed her head.

She didn’t name any names—not about Norn, or Aisha, or Roxy, or any specific people. I grasped that she meant everyone, then realized that I’d been a little too defensive. I should have relaxed and treated it like a trip to grandma’s house: our family holiday in Millis.